Saturday, July 26, 2008

Review - Sycamore Boutique 1899 Soap Company Products


I got a cute little bundle of products from Sycamore Boutique, and actually at this moment I am burning the delicious spring lilac soy candle and it's so cute and teeny but spreads a wonderful scent throughout our apartment (which isn't easy because it's a long long hallway with many rooms!). The candles are slow burning and all natural, so you don't have to worry about lead in the wicks and other gross things creeping into your lovely scents.
I also received an unscented shea butter lotion that is very natural smelling and not thick and difficult to absorb into your hands like some shea butter products. It cures dry spots like elbows and knees really great also.
My two REALLY favorite items I got though are the rose petals perfume oil and the cherries & chocolate car/closet/drawer freshener. The freshener is an adorable heart shape (and I love anything star or heart shaped) with a really pretty soft penetrating scent. I'm currently using it in our self-built closet in the bedroom and it's making a huge difference removing the musty weird smell that has sort of creeped into there from who knows where. The perfume oil is soooooo sooooo beautiful. It's not overpowering but has a strong enough smell to last all day (even through a strenuous gym workout, I could still smell it), and it comes in a cute little glass rollerball applicator bottle that is easy to keep in a purse/make up bag. It completely lacks any chemical, artificial or weird smell to it, it's just straight rose scent with no weird by products to muck it up.
What a great series of products with an impressive dedication to natural products.

CitySlicker Says:
I too got a little bundle from Sycamore Boutique.
Spring Tulip Candle – I burned this in the office and it carried throughout the area. It is a bright spring bouquet that is very pretty and enveloped all that came through. I then brought this tiny dream home to fill my living area with a fresh bunch of floral sunshine. This candle is small but throws a scent into the air even before lighting it. I really liked my scent!
Cotton Shea Butter Cream – This is a perfect scent for anyone who doesn’t really like scents; it’s light and smells clean. I used this after showering. It absorbs really quickly and left my skin feeling soft and supple. The moisture lasts throughout the day to.
Jessica McClintock Perfume Oil – This is a powdery musky scent that also has floral notes. I apply in the morning and found that it faded throughout the day, by the end of the day I could no longer smell anything at all. It’s a very pretty feminine scent.
Car Freshener in Juniper – This little freshener is very cute and in the shape of a vw beetle. It’s got a true juniper scent that really smells fresh. I put this in my car and have smelled the scent all week, it’s not overpowering in a perfumey way, and it’s like having a juniper bush in the back seat. The scent is beginning to fade but it’s still there and I am sure will be for some time.


Hillary says:
I got the perfume oil in Downy scent (yes the fabric softener) and it smells just like the real thing (one of my favorite scents in the world). I've been let down by fragrance oils before, I found the scent just wasn't strong enough, but that can't be said for this oil. I could still smell it hours after putting it on.
I also got she butter lotion in Downy scent. It smells wonderful! I love the fact that it moisturizes but it sinks in completely. If you wear layers of fragrance (body wash, lotion and perfume) the scent lingers much longer.
I don't recommend the Woodland Violet scent of candle because although it smells divine in the tin, once lit I could only smell it by holding it up near my face. From the looks of the other reviews, this is only the case with the scent I got.
The car freshener I chose is Violet as well and it smells divine. It is even strong enough to smell over my husband's smoking and is shaped appropriately enough as a car.Sycamore boutique has hundreds of scents to choose from and their prices are out of this world.

Maria says: Well, I burned my entire tin of the lovely Orange-Vanilla scent. Yum. Such a great smell. I will say that I could smell it much better in the bathroom - which is very small. When I moved it to my bedroom, I couldn't really smell it anymore unless I was very close to it (like you Hillary). When I opened up the rest of my little package from this great company, my daughter immediately took off with the star-shaped room freshener (in Downy) smells JUST like it - she hung it from her ceiling fan in her bedroom and when the fan is oscilating it smells just like fresh laundry in there - I got the perfume oil and body lotion in Blue Musk and it has to be one of the cleanest, softest, scents I've ever had the pleasure of wearing - it's so pretty and it's not like when you smell it you can say "oh this smells like ________" (insert perfume company name here) because it is unique. I wish the scent lingered a little longer on me. But that tends to be a problem with me - scents tend to fade quickly - who knows...maybe it's my skin's absorption properties! I can imagine that I'd have a field day with the amount of products to choose from. This is just an all around GREAT company.


Deedlejuse says:
This is a relatively difficult review for me to write. My job is for a company that is quite similar to this boutique, but their products are much cheaper. Unfortunately, my soy candle went the way Maria and Hillary's did. I got Lemon Verbena and I loved the size of the candle tin, and the scent before it was lit, but I couldn't smell it at all after it was burning. I let it burn a long, long time before I decided to just give up and snuff it. The car freshener I got in a scent called Mediterranean Fig; I wasn’t the biggest fan of this fig smell. I actually used it in the car, which was a bad decision. It got so strong the first day (probably because it was really hot) that it was difficult to breathe, and by the second had faded to nothing. My recommendation on the air freshener is: by in bulk to save on shipping, pick a smell you know you'll love, and please use them when the temperature outside is less than 90*. The lotion was nice, and of course it is cool that you can have it scented with your perfume. I got Angel Food, it was a very strong version of the desert. I really did like the smell I just found it strong. The perfume oil was Sandy Beach, it was a very accurate smell beachy flowers and maybe cucumber to make it sort of fresh. Not overly coconut, which is nice. Again, the oil, like the lotion is very strong. I think that they are both stronger than alcohol based perfume, which is quite unusual for oil. Overall I kind of think purchasing blind is risky, maybe have them send you samples of the smells first? I don't know I guess even if you hate it you have only wasted $7 for the perfume oil!
P.S. I just realized that I was also scent a glycerin soap which is useful when one is having a hot flash. I very much like the smell of the rose geranium, and the soap suds well and lasts a while. Unfortunately, I'm 24 so I cant report back on the hot flash thing......
Sheba says:
I can see why Deedlejuse had difficulty reviewing these items as she is associated with another line. However, these are in a completely different category completely. Nantucket Naturals is top of the line while Sycamore Boutique is a much lower priced alternative. Actually I probably should not say alternative - but addition. I would not leave Nantucket Naturals for just about anything however, I would definitely add Sycamore Boutique. I selected the Orange-Clove Candle and it is pure Heaven. I love it. . . and I did have it throughout our home but I put it out pretty fast as I do not want to use it up before I can replace it with maybe 10 more. It is addictive. That combination is one of the most pleasant ones that I have ever been surrounded by and they do an excellent job of capturing it. Then I chose the Cotton Blossom Perfume Oil which is one of my favorite scents. It is very clean without blanketing you in a Tide or detergent aroma. It is very refreshing and I enjoyed it. It is strong without being too strong. You might think if it is strong it will last all day. However, it fades as the day goes on but that is not a problem if you carry the little bottle with you. I often have to refresh my fragrances and am used to doing that. I decided on the Lemon Verbena Shea Butter Lotion and that was another good decision. Being a 'citrus nut' I love the fragrance -- it is very captivating. I feel that the lotion is absorbed into the skin very nicely and definitely moisturizes you and I love it on elbows and those other very dry area. The scent is not overpowering and needs a bit of refreshing once in a while but once again I wash my hands so often (due to my dog) that I always have lotion handy so I can freshen up frequently. My pick of the Fresh Linen Scented Ornament could not have been more on target. I love to keep something like a scented candle or sachet in the linen closet. This leaves such a pleasant and clean aroma in there that I love it when it I open the door and get this fresh scent instead of that stale scent you can get from a linen closet. I definitely have to stock up on some of these. . . they are wonderful. All in all I would say Sycamore Boutique is a winner with very affordable products that actually work as intended.
Joyce says:

Review: Blue Musk was the scent for my soy candle; shea butter lotion; scented ornament that could be a car, bathroom, or lingerie freshener; and the perfume oil. I love musk, and this one is particularly yummy. I had on the perfume oil and a guy caught a whiff of it (no, not a total stranger) and began nibbling on my neck. A woman caught the scent and went crazy over it (without nibbling, of course). This scent is both sensuous and innocent. Very, very nice.

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