Stereoplasm - The Secret of Time and Heaven Collection

it's hard to think of a more sentimental and nostalgic collection for me than Stereoplasm's october 2020 mini collection, titled The Secret of Time and Heaven - i found all the scents so good that it was a no-brainer to full-size all of them, and it was immensely hard to choose a favourite because they each excelled in their specific niches.

the description for the collection sets the scene with a beautiful poem:

"Take a journey into childhood with me,

Sitting in front of your little TV, 

Going to heaven, 

Coming back to earth, 

Let's rediscover childhood's worth 🦕:

Where all dogs go to heaven to stay,

Where Littlefoot finds his family one day,

Where Great Owl gives sound advice,

Where you and I

Are by stories enticed."

==

first up is a sweet gourmand that just magically transports you back to those carefree weekends where it was such a treat to wake up to maple syrup pancakes and saturday morning cartoons - Enjoy Your Waffles (A welcoming breakfast of homemade waffles with plenty of maple syrup, coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Superseded by manipulative whispers from a garden of white daisies, heliotrope and magnolia). 

in the bottle, oh, this is pure sweet orange maple syrup poured with a liberal hand (or greedy child's one) over fresh waffles. the smooth sweetness here is amplified by a drop of strong coffee beneath, making this a gourmand that's hard to beat. i wouldn't have expected anything less of a Canadian-based company, and whew, the maple syrup note in this is just so intoxicating i could huff this an entire morning for breakfast.

before opening the vial, i had been initially apprehensive about how well orange juice would go with coffee, but my fears were truly unfounded. the orange blends superbly well with the maple syrup to give it a bit of a citrus and tangy kick, while the coffee gives a background contrast to exalt the maple as the star of the show.

on application, the scent remains almost unchanged from the sniffs i loved so much in the bottle; despite the reference in the description to the garden of flowers, it's really almost all orange maple waffles for me the entire two hours of wear. this is truly a really delicious scent, one that would make me enjoy all waffles if they smelled even half this good. i don't even need to ask myself twice whether a full-size is worth it. 9/10.

==

next, The Great Owl (Ancient amber, frankincense, benzoin and champaka in a hollow draped in thick cobwebs, glowing citronella and vetiver root) which is instantly recognisable as having its inspiration drawn from that wise and mystical creature in The Secret of NIMH. 

where Enjoy Your Waffles was sweet and overflowing with childhood joy, The Great Owl was the striking essence of the adults that we looked up to and respected so much as kids.

in the bottle, the citronella comes out strongly in a no-nonsense fashion, not unlike how as children we had to endure the fuss those grown-ups kept making about mosquito repellent before we were allowed to go out to play. yet this isn't your usual mosquito coil or spray scent; the resins create a sort of deeper mysticism about it - picture an old lady garbed in black and illuminated by firelight, looking up at you as you enter her desolate cave to beg for help with your mozzie problem. she cackles and prepares a concoction guaranteed to protect you, but it will come at a price...

you clutch your precious potion to you as you make your escape, unsure of whether you fear the bloodsucking insects more or the woman who wields immense power over them. outside the cave, you apply a dab of the strange liquid to your wrist, partly skeptical, partly in awe at the depth of the resins and herbal spice.

and then as suddenly as it had appeared, your fear is gone together with that spookiness. the benzoin and champaca bring out an almost-calming smoothness as the citronella and frankincense fade to the barest whisper. this is probably what the pied piper of mosquitoes would smell like as he lures his unsuspecting victims away and to their doom - all sweet and seductive layers over a core of mosquito-bane. just like in The Secret of NIMH, The Great Owl was intimidating from a distance and with its first impressions, but with time, it really showed itself to be an invaluable companion and friend. i've never put this scent to the test on how well the citronella works against these pests, but even if it fails to turn them away, it's still an amazing perfume full of scent-iment that i'm glad to be full-sizing. 8.5/10.

==

last but definitely not least, The Star Leaf (Morning dew, rich soil, nurturing chamomile, mossy stone, fresh herbs and all the star leaves you can eat) which is such a beautiful Littlefoot reference that it just overwhelmed me with childhood nostalgia and longing for the sentiment of those days again.

the first sniffs from the bottle reveal a really lovely green grassy atmospheric. everything is in place with a great balance - it's like lying in the middle of a field where the air is light and cool, the grass is fresh and green with the crisp morning dew sparkling on each blade, and the earth beneath you is warm and rich. there's a slight sweetness to the scent which is balanced well against a couple of sprigs of herbs (basil? cilantro?), making this a great atmospheric for The Land Before Time.

on application, the greens come out a lot more and i begin to get the chamomile as a distinct note. now the scent transitions from fresh daybreak into calming morning; the chamomile is very light and not overly herbaceous, evoking fond memories of running through open fields as a kid. the drydown also smooths out much of the crisp green freshness to plant The Star Leaf firmly in nostalgic atmospheric territory, a beautiful wearable aura of the countryside and the lightness of mood and heart that invariably accompanies it. this is really a wonderful scent that i foresee myself reaching for on many occasions in the future. 8.5/10.

with all the sentiment and feels from these phenomenally lovely scents, i was inspired by the collection (and mainly The Star Leaf) to try my hand at a piano cover of If We Hold On Together (by Diana Ross) from The Land Before Time. the music is now up on my IGTV - do check it out if you're interested!

==

this review is of perfume samples that were received with purchase. i wasn’t asked to review these as a condition of receipt and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Stereoplasm and as always, all opinions remain my own.

The Secret of Time and Heaven scents are available here as a set, and can also be purchased individually. prices are CAD$16.50 for a 4.5ml bottle and CAD$26.50 for a 7.5ml bottle (before shipping); it seems that the option for a set of three 4.5mls isn't available for this collection.

all information correct at time of publishing.