Tess

Brand: Arcana

Scent Description: A pure woman, faithfully presented. Rustic violets, fresh cream, amber, vanilla bean, and soft, milky musk.

10 thoughts on “Tess”

  1. Tess is so beautiful and may be my favorite Arcana perfume. I also love Violet Mallow, which I find to be haunting, luminous, powdery and ethereal (Tess would be a perfect compliment to the VM EDP. ) To me, Tess is warmer and more human. The violets are just enough to add a fresh, outdoorsy, English innocence. The cream and vanilla musk notes become so delicious on my skin after the violets fade away, kind of like the sweet scent of a baby’s head, melted ice cream, and the warmth of clean skin. Like it’s namesake, Tess is innocent, sexy, warm and kind.
    My boyfriend loves when I wear it.

  2. I’ve worn this a few times and it’s really hit or miss. Positive: this violet note is awesome, and I love it with the musky vanilla. Negative (for me): all but one time I’ve worn this, it turns into a warm freshly baked bread smell. I guess it’s the milky musk and/ or cream notes. It’s not a bad smell but I have found I don’t really like *smelling like* fresh bread. Not really a fan, glad all I paid for was a decant. I noticed other commenters compared this to Solstice Scents Violet Mallow, which is one of my favorite perfumes. Personally I don’t find them very similar, but everyone’s chemistry is different.

  3. I absolutely love this! To me, it’s very different from Solstice Scents’ Violet Mallow. Violet Mallow is a very gourmand violet with marshmallow, and Tess is a more floral/powdery violet with cream. Great longevity, peaceful and calming. Can’t wait to get a full size.

  4. 90% violets, 10% cream on me. I like it, but hope the vanilla will come out more with aging. As of now it’s almost a violet one note.

  5. as much as i wanted this to work on me, the cream note smelled awful. it overpowers everything else and smells like spoiled milk.

    1. I had the same reaction to this. Something about the violets and cream made it smell rather spoiled to me. A bit plasticky as well. Wasn’t a fan.

  6. Cream scent smelled like spoiled milk to me – the “milky” musk only amped that sensation. A scrubber for me.

Leave a Review