I really don't know at this point if it's a "my nose" thing or a "my skin chemistry" thing, but to me sandalwood always always smells like pickle brine.
I thought it was strictly a my-skin thing, because like, obviously sandalwood is a popular note and I never have thought "wow, that jerk over there reeks like pickles", so clearly I'm not noticing it on other people in that way.
But today, my sample set order from Sorce came in.
It's their Spellbound discovery set, a sampling of their Halloween-adjacent scents. Or rather, fall-ish? I dunno exactly. Basically, four scents that are very obviously Halloween inspired, and then we've got English Major randomly in there too. English Major is a very popular scent by them and a lot of people associate it with fall, so I guess that's why it's here.
Anyways, I'm extremely excited to try most of the set. Vampire Husband, Ephemera, and Stuck on You are ones that I greatly look forward to. Meanwhile Vampire Wife and English Major I was apprehensive about. But anyways, I figured I didn't want to wait and let the perfumes settle (the way you're supposed to do after they've been through the temperature changes and extreme jostling mail system), so to scratch the itch, I should start trying the ones I don't have high hopes for. So, today was English Major.
English Major's listed notes are: library books, orris absolute, marshmallow, carrot seed, sandalwood, fallen leaves. It's described as an earthy gourmand. And lots of people say it's cozy, smells like a lofi studying video. But for me, all I see on that list is that dreaded sandalwood. I figured this would go pickles on me.
Aaaaaaaaaaand it did. I sprayed it hours ago and still all I get from it is pickle juice. Like an open jar of Vlasics.
But here's the weird thing?
My wife smelled it on me and she loved it. She said it's nice. I asked her to describe it to me and she said "it reminds me of the Texas Roadhouse rolls, with the cinnamon butter spread. Very creamy, very soft and sweet butter."
And I'm like damn. Wish I could smell that. I love that smell. Unfortunately all I actually smell is PICKLES.
So yes. This is probably a very great scent. For other people. But unfortunately I am afflicted with some sort of sandalwood curse which taints all perfumes which have it.
Trying to go through my pile of samples. These are the ones I’ve tried recently.
I honestly can barely tell the difference between all the Glossier and I don’t understand the hype. Besides that, most of these are beautiful and my wish list has grown so much longer.
Good morning upper east siders, gossip girl here. And I have the biggest news ever. I don't know if you've heard, but I'm back, and stronger than ever.
This page is currently under construction, as you can see in the countdown. This means changes are about to happen.
This drama is adorable and one of my favorites, I would give it 10/10 but there's a shitty makeover episode that makes the lead look basic. The femail friendships is adorable and the lack of catty femail characters makes me very joyous. It talks alot about inner beauty and learning to love yourself. My least favorite character would be the male lead however who has the typical misunderstood jerk trope.
7/10 --- Boys over Flowers.
This is a classic. It's quite long and one that tends to have people re-watching. The series is far from perfect and features allot of misogyny and double standards. However its one of the few iv seen where i prefer the Lead male and his jerk boy routine becomes very understandable when you learn his backstory. The characters are well fleshed out and it's full on telenovela drama. The script writing can be a bit all over though with the lead femail being a badass with a killer flying kick one second and then turning into a helpless babe the next.
8/10 --- Strong woman Boon Song.
This one is such a laugh, so many comical moments and really fun script. The characters are very likeable and really subverts expectations when it comes to the classic first and second male lead narrative. The concept for the drama is pretty unique and i love a strong STRONG femail lead. She takes no prisoners and speaks her mind. Honesty worth a watch just to see a 4ft Collage girl accidently become a gang leader.
5/10 --- Coffee Prince
This is your “girl undercover as a guy making people think there gay” trope. Which seems to be rather popular. It gives some cute bromance moments and had some cute secondary characters but overall i found this rather boring. The male lead is suppose to be nearly 30 and acts like a spoilt child. It all boils down to the secrets being kept and trust issues with lack of communication. Although the femail lead starts off as a kick ass take charge type she quickly becomes a bashful mouse incapable of going more than one day without crying.
8/10 --- Birth of a Beauty
This drama is all kinds of dramatic, with murder plots and conspiracies left and right. The lead femail is an overweight housewife who becomes a gorgeous supermodel. The characters is more than adhering and the male lead is kick ass. it's hard not to love these two together as they take on the forces of evil. The series is allot about having confidence, being the best version of yourself you can be, inner beauty and revenge. The plot is very fun but it does drag on a few episodes too long. Sara is a very quite meek character and keeps allot to herself witch seems to be a popular character choice for femail leads which leads to misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
4/10 --- Cinderella and the Four knights.
This has been one of my least favorites, the characters seemed so rushed and pretty much everyone in it seemed rude and unlikable. They also all seem to be bipolar switching there emotions and feeling every 5 seconds. The second femail lead was the most irritating of the bunch though due to just terrible writing. This character your suppose to feel pity for ends up being so overly whiny and stalkerish that you'll be fast forwarding all her screen time.
You're Beautiful --- 5/10
Another one that lacked depth in the characters for me. The main male lead is plays the bad boy with a secret heart of gold quite well and there are some real comical scenes in the series, over all it doesn't take itself too seriously and is pretty light hearted. The second male lead falls short with no memorable qualities and the naivety of the femail lead is overplayed making her quite unrelatable.
Tempted --- 4/10
Basically if cruel intentions was a Korean Drama. most of the characters are just psychotic and not deserving of any happy endings. There tragic backstories are surely there to make you have empathy for them, However it's pretty hard to like anyone other than the femail lead. It took me quite awhile to finish watching because i had no motivation to finish it since i just don't believe the selfish entitled characters deserve a happy ending. However the last couple of episodes are quite redeemable. Trigger warnings for suicide and self harm.
Cheese in the Trap --- 8/10
This one had me hooked from the get go. The lead actress is adorable and i dont think i've enjoyed a drama as much since *She was Pretty*. The Drama has a real nasty case of second male lead with some wonderfully romantic and sweet moments. The characters have real depth and i love that we finally get a femail protagonist that learns to stand up for herself. The male lead is interesting because he's less bad boy and more comic villain. The surprise ending had me gagged thought.
Extraordinary you --- 9/10
This drama blew me away, i was recommended it and unsure if i wanted to watch it after the trailer. I'm glad i did though since it's such a unique drama. The Characters in the series end up breaking the 4th wall and realise there in a drama. The characters then subvert all expectations of how a typical kdrama should go and put a middle finger up to the forced tropes of the category. I pretty much cried through half of this series fell so deeply in love with the characters, i think it had some of the most relatable writing.
Oh my Ghost --- 4/10
This was recommended by netflix because its the same actress i loved in Strong woman Boon Song. However i did not enjoy this drama or find it memorable. The idea of fun loving ghosts should have kept me entertained but its a very slow melancholy drama. The ghost herself is very adorable and well played and the drama elements are pretty fun with a nice serial killer angel. However it progressed so slowly that it was hard to finish. The romance was none existent until at least half way through and ends up being very problematic (as always) i found the male lead unlikable and rather in-human in his dealings with others mental health problems.
