[Review] The 'Coast of Cascadia' collection from Arcana Wildcraft

 

• Shop name: Arcana Wildcraft
• Location: Port Angeles, Washington
• Known for: Vegan and cruelty-free handmade perfume oils inspired by astrology, nature, literature, and witchcraft

TL;DR: I liked the sweet and fruity scents (Pink Saltwater Taffy and Surfers on acid) but did not jive with Cascadian Mermaid, Raven Rock, and especially Echolocation. I like Arcana but don't know what I was thinking.

 

Scents

 

🌊 Cascadian Mermaid

(The scent of a dank mermaid in the Pacific Northwest. Cannabis concentrate accord, uplifting grapefruit, cotton candy, Moroccan blue chamomile, vanilla-laced sugar cane, warm rain, wild-harvested spruce tips, and shimmery mermaid musk.)

This is interesting and definitely aquatic. I mostly get the smell of rain with an adjacent note – I think it’s a combination of the grapefruit, chamomile, and cotton candy. It’s not particularly bright or heavy, but it does seem very much like a mermaid and somehow manages to smell wet. It reminds me of being on the coast during a rainy afternoon.

Longevity: Forgot to record 

 

🌊 Echolocation

(Ambergris and amber resin with ruby grapefruit, sweet guava, saltwater, vanilla pods, and the merest hints of patchouli and vetiver.)

Guessing blind, I think this smells like blackberries, a lot of cucumber, seaweed, and a very strong dank smell that I'm guessing is patchouli. I don't think I should have tried this. Seeing the notes, I wasn't too far off! Patchouli is one of the notes, but I think that dank smell was ambergris - I read it described somewhere as "marine and fecal". Yep, that fits! I nailed the saltwater/brine part, and the rest could be chalked up to my unfamiliarity with vetiver and guava overall. I think the cucumber would be vetiver (based on the description I saw that vetiver is like lemongrass), which explains the tangy green smell. Guava/grapefruit would likely be the explanation for blackberry that I smelled. It wasn't citrus enough to tip me off to grapefruit, so I understand the combination throwing me off there. Overall, not too bad for guessing! I am impressed that I could smell most parts of this.

Longevity: 10.5+ hours

 

🌊 Pink Saltwater Taffy

(A candy pink blend of cherry, sugarberry, black and gold raspberry, vanilla fondant, white sugar, and a grounding touch of patchouli.)

Immediately, it smells like the most delicious, juicy taffy before drydown. Once dry, it smells like very sweet candy with a bit of a dark edge. Fades slightly over several hours to let the darkness come out more but overall very linear.

Longevity: 6+ hours 

 

🌊 Raven Rock

(The green leafiness of the Blue Ridge Mountains with cherry blossoms, white tea, and hints of basil, cilantro, and dill weed.)

I had an incredibly hard time identifying these notes, since I don't actually like any of them separately. It was very green and sharp, which I imagine was the dill, with something astringent yet soft. I guess this is the white tea + one of the other herbs. If I sniffed long enough, I got a little bit of what reminds me of baby wipes... That must be my interpretation of the cherry blossoms.

Longevity: 6.5+ hours 

🌊 Surfers on Acid

(Based on the deliciously beachy (and rather wicked) cocktail, with sweet coconut milk, pineapple, and absinthe.)

Absinthe and pineapple hit you in the face immediately when you open this. That combo immediately overpowers my nose. Describing absinthe itself is hard - imagine something rich and alcoholic with a little bit of dark licorice. I think the creaminess of the coconut milk is there, but it's not adding much else. Coconut milk barely has a smell, anyway. This can be summarized as sweet, creamy pineapple shot with absinthe.

Longevity: Forgot to record

 

Thoughts

 

Arcana's scents are usually a pretty safe buy for me, so I often try at least one thing from her releases (even if it isn't until much later). The Coast of Cascadia collection doesn't have many scents I like, but the two winners are standouts in my mind. I don't know that I've smelled anything that reminds me of Surfers on Acid, and I would love to eat taffy if I knew it would taste the way Pink Saltwater Taffy smells. I bought my perfumes in 2018, but she seems to resurrect the collection every so often.

These are mostly hot weather scents for me, though I may occasionally pull them out in a colder season for fun. The longevity was good, as is usually my experience with Arcana, so I have no complaints there. The only negative is why I thought I should try some of these, when experience would indicate that they are not my style at all. I'm not quite that adventurous, either.

I won't be keeping Raven Rock, Echolocation, or Cascadian Mermaid, but I am glad to have Surfers on Acid and Pink Saltwater Taffy. The curation of this collection as a whole is well done, in my opinion, and I think it really speaks to the love the owner has for where she lives.