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Scent Trunk Aquione, Magnolia & Celestial Gala ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Jessica on 20 January 2022 15 Comments

Earlier in this pandemic era, as I recall, multiple fashion/beauty magazines came out with similar listicles of the best scents to wear for imaginary travel, in the months of lockdown and pre-vaccine isolation. I liked the concept, but couldn't help noticing a certain sameness about the selected perfumes and the locales they might conjure up: waves on a tropical beach...the flower fields of southern France...the sunlight and citrus trees of the Mediterranean.

For something more "off the beaten path," in terms of scents and destinations, I'm personally turning to a handful of samples from Scent Trunk. Scent Trunk, whose tagline is "Travel Through The Senses," provides various ways to experience its offerings: an introductory Discovery Palette, DIY Bespoke scents to layer or wear alone, and more esoteric Original Edition fragrances commissioned from independent perfumers. In 2021, the latter category was expanded by the Botanical Machinist Collection, in which the perfumers were invited to evoke "a world where plant intelligence is concurrent with technology and artificial intelligence, more specifically an alternate universe where the dominant language is scent."

Aquione (shown above), for example, was created by perfumer Amber Jobin. Its imagined setting: “Neo Atlantis, a city under the sea, is the genesis of this thoroughly modern, marine perfume. . . . Leave the shoreline behind for a new world under the waves." This is not your typical Calone-and-coconut beach fragrance. Its notes include Neofolione (a Givaudan molecule also known as Melon Nonenoate), "iridescent ocean accord, sand and seaweed accord, technology and teak accord," oxygen and ambergris. Aquione starts off on the fresher side and then goes below the surface with salty green notes, a healthy dose of ambergris and something that reminds me of rusted metal. It gives me a mental image of seaweed and coral clinging to underwater ruins, as though Neo Atlantis were built on a pre-existing foundation of shipwrecks and other human debris.

For Magnolia, perfumer Rodney Hughes poses the speculative question, "What would a post-apocalyptic bloom from a Magnolia tree dating back to Eden smell like on a far away space station?" If you're familiar with Frederic Malle's Jurassic Flower candle, you may already know that magnolias are prehistoric — they evolved about 95 million years ago. This Magnolia's composition includes notes of grapefruit, sweet herbs, mint, galbanum, grey pine, magnolia, orris, papyrus, sandalwood and incense. If this magnolia is being raised in sterile solitude in a space station, then this fragrance captures its ancestral memories: vines and other greenery, an ancient forest that has been burnt out by a fire, and cool earth. It's not a conventionally floral perfume, and certainly not a "feminine" one, but more of a flower-tinged, citrus-mineral scent with a resin-y base. 

Lastly, I've been spritzing myself with Celestial Gala, a fantasy of the "gossamer glow" of a dying star in the Butterfly Nebula, created by perfumer Linda Sivrican with notes of "effervescent esters (marine, citrus, white floral), lactonic dust (milky gourmand), cosmic nitro musk accord and lucent ice particles (metallic mint)." It's a playful yet smooth scent that "combines pop and punk with elusive and elegant," as the perfumer writes — sheer musk and ozonic notes, a cool mint sensation and a creamy effect that feels comforting but not too sweet. Celestial Gala makes me feel as though I've been eating mint chocolate chip ice cream in outer space, and if that were possible, I'd sign up right now.

Back on solid ground in 2022, after these subaquatic and extraterrestrial journeys, I spent more time on Scent Trunk's site to see what else was available. I wish sample vials could be purchased for the Original Edition and DIY Bespoke perfumes, but even so, I'm finding myself making a mental list of future olfactory "trips" to take.

Have you tried anything from Scent Trunk? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Scent Trunk Aquione, Magnolia, and Celestial Gala are each available in 5 ml ($16), 30 ml ($42) and 100 ml ($92) sizes via the Scent Trunk website. 

Possibly of interest

Eau de Jane, Parfums Quartana Forest of the Golden Dream & Andrea Maack Flux ~ fragrance reviews
Anna Sui Thorn of a Rose, Utopia Mist & Mystic Luna ~ fragrance reviews
Cra-yon Art Life, Snif Natural Talent & Maison Millais New York Nostalgia ~ short fragrance reviews

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: amber jobin, beachy, linda sivrican, magnolia, rodney hughes, scent trunk

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15 Comments

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  1. littlecooling says:
    20 January 2022 at 1:48 pm

    Lovely review, Jessica ?
    Magnolia sounds pretty..I would love to try that one ?
    I love that they work with much less or unknown parfumers and their price point is great, when you think of the niche world (they probably aren’t niche, but I haven’t heard or seen about this brand).
    The only downside is the bottle-looks a bit iffy to me, but it could be entirely different in person ?

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    • Jessica says:
      20 January 2022 at 3:01 pm

      Hello!! I haven’t seen the bottle in person yet…if I do, I’ll report back! I also really respect the fact that they’re working with emerging independent perfumers and giving them such creative and open-ended concepts to work on! I think they deserve more attention. 🙂

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    • Amy says:
      20 January 2022 at 3:24 pm

      I think the bottles are pretty nice. Solid with wood tops.

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      • Jessica says:
        20 January 2022 at 8:28 pm

        I really like the labels and the color-coding of the various categories on their website! Nice visuals.

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  2. MMKinPA says:
    20 January 2022 at 7:52 pm

    I discovered Scent Trunk when Dawn Spencer Hurwitz did a coriander scent in late 2019? I like that you can pick up travel sprays. My latest acquisitions are Black Hemlock and Ginger but I definitely have a list of others I’d like to try. I like that they’re finding all of these indie perfumers for interesting concepts.

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    • Jessica says:
      20 January 2022 at 8:29 pm

      I think that was my first awareness of Scent Trunk, too — through DSH, since I follow everything she does (as best I can! she is prolific and very active!). The creative direction is smart and I’m learning about perfumers who weren’t on my radar yet!

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    • Adrihazel says:
      21 January 2022 at 5:32 pm

      Oh I just ordered black hemlock (along with sensuous amber)! How do you find it?

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      • MMKinPA says:
        22 January 2022 at 12:31 pm

        I was intrigued by Black Hemlock because Ormonde Jayne Woman uses the note. This one is woodier/sharper, more resinous and perhaps more “masculine” but I love the forest scents!

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        • Adrihazel says:
          22 January 2022 at 3:36 pm

          Oh it sounds good, I’m looking forward to it even more now!

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      • Tamsin says:
        23 January 2022 at 5:05 am

        I don’t think ORmonde Woman by ORmonde Jayne could ever be beaten. I have been returning to it for nearly 20 years, and each time I wear it,I’m struck by it’s genius. I read it was the first fragrance ever to use black hemlock.

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        • Adrihazel says:
          23 January 2022 at 9:05 am

          It’s definitely on my radar to try just a bit out of my price range at the moment. I’ll have to get my hands on a sample at least this year.

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  3. vampsandtramps says:
    21 January 2022 at 8:18 am

    I’ve got Beeswax, Cloak Musk and Black Frankincense on the way!

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    • Jessica says:
      21 January 2022 at 3:47 pm

      Beeswax sounds SO good. Salt is tempting me, too!

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  4. Old Herbaceous says:
    21 January 2022 at 10:02 am

    Yes, I have several of Scent Trunk’s 5 ml sprays (great size!) and a couple of bottles. So far, my favorite is probably Marigold. I like their bottles, they’re very solid. I really like the packaging; the bottles come in a cardboard cylinder that is labeled with more information about the scent, such as the material it highlights, other notes, the perfumer. And I appreciate the collaborations with such a wide range of independent perfumers, from Dawn Spencer Hurwitz to less-known but also talented collaborators.

    I haven’t yet started collecting the DIY Bespoke products, but I want to, lol!

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    • Jessica says:
      21 January 2022 at 3:46 pm

      I love the postcards that were created for some of them!

      Quite a few of the DIY Bespoke blends sound VERY appealing to me. I may cave one of these days…!

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