Pyewacket Potions Create Indie Fragrances Inspired by Folklore and Fiction
With prices starting at £2.50, these redolent indie fragrances from Pyewacket Potions are a cornucopia of evocative scents to explore.
Here at Mookychick, we adore delving into indie perfumes. We have, naturally, covered Les Grandes Dames of indie perfumery (like Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Blooddrop Perfumes). What of the groundroots scent-witches and wizards out there?
Pyewacket Potions sells home-made fragrances based on fiction and folklore. Each perfume tells a story, and the prices are very cheap so you can afford to explore. Bottles are £2.50, and you can hold a gathering with the £10 set of five samples to determine which scents you and your friends most prefer. The scents change SO much from person to person.
Our favourites from the Pyewacket Potions range:
Star of the County Down
Inspiration: “He smiled at me and he said, says he/ “That’s the gem of Ireland’s crown/ Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann/ She’s the star of the County Down.” Inspired by the Irish folk song, this perfume holds echoes of lush green grass with hazelnuts as brown as tresses, sweet honey (non-vegan, unfortunately), and a lush mingling of chamomile, blooming roses, and marjoram.
Our review: At first it had a pleasantly damp green smell, like the ripped petals of daisies (that must have been the chamomile). On one participant it changed to a lily of the valley scent, and on another it changed to hold hints of parma violet!
No More Monsters
Inspiration: Monsters and boogeyfolk come at night. If you can’t see them they can’t see you, so it is best to hide or sleep. If you’re weary of sleep blends with lavender, this perfume oil contains all-natural oils popularly used to promote sleep and reduce anxiety. Expect a dark background of patchouli, cedar, and dill, lit up with a gentle glow of bergamot mint. (No claims are made regarding actual medical effectiveness; please consult your doctor.)
Our review: We’ve always been patchouli fans. When first applied this one smells like a monster’s skin, sort of pungent and leathery. Then the bergamot really comes through and mixes well with the patchouli top notes. Patchouli is such a strong smell that it can overpower other scents but there’s definitely a play of complementary scents at work here. This one smelled different on the skin of all participants over time. Intriguing.
The Sculpture
Inspiration: We don’t know if this refers to a sculpture in particular or the homunculan root of sculpture, crafting a semblance of life from clay. It is a leathery, stony, raspy brown musk with cinnamon, vetiver, and cruelty-free civet, splattered with raspberries oozing mysteriously from nowhere. Recommended for those who prefer something a little unusual.
Our review: The cinammon is a solid top note but it’s overlaid with all these other wonderful things. It’s a good one to ask a companion to sniff, to see if they can guess the smell. Also, CIVET SMELLS LIKE SEX. This perfume smells like sex. And we are glad the civet is cruelty-free, otherwise no.
There are many more perfumes in the fiction and folklore range. They have wonderful names, like Panacaea (a cure for what ails ya), Bug Bash and Hand-drawn Cassy. Many of the perfumes are sweet, sweet like cola bottles from a sweet shop, but there are some deliciously bitter, woody and astringent notes in there too.
IMPORTANT: The fragrances from Pyewacket Potions are like Bertie Bott’s every-flavoured beans from Harry Potter. They are such a mix, and they seriously do change over time when applied to the skin, and they really do change from person to person, too.
We have nothing against mainstream perfumes as per se, for so much craft has gone into them. But indie perfumes are… eclectic. They smell of childhood, reverence, taboo, sweet shops and shadows. They smell of dirt and temples.
Rachel Waller, the creatrix of Pyewacket Potions, discovered that beauty products in the UK need an expensive chemist’s certificate to sell, but with help from The Prince’s Trust she took the next step. Pyewacket Potions is named after an accused witch’s alleged familiar, and this bubbling cauldron of scents has been years in the making.
We thoroughly enjoyed testing out these Pyewacket Potions. If you also love to explore indie perfumes, visit the Pyewacket Potions Etsy shop and have a play!