Goest perfumes

 I think I have found a little gem. Last week I stumbled over a picture of a perfume bottle that I felt compelled to look at a little closer. It had a nice Art Deco feel to it and when I followed the link I found this little perfume company, Goest, on Etsy. As you may remember I really love perfume and investigating the wonderful world of vintage perfume has been a joy these past years. It has also been quite expensive. So I wouldn’t mind at all finding perfume that evokes a vintage feel while being new. I think I may have found it.

This is what they say about themselves:

We're Goest Perfumes. Welcome to your new metaphysical wardrobe. Our purpose? To bring you prestige-quality fragrance that's distinctively-designed, very handmade, and whose aim is true.

We don't set any artificial bars to excellent fragrance, and work (with our very own hands) with small quantities so you can actually afford to have things like rose absolute (which you're not going to find in mainstream fragrance due to price) in the perfume you wear every day. No material is off limits, and our sources run the gamut: we've used precious flower absolutes, low-tech essential oils, hi-tech commercial syntheses, house-made herb and tea tinctures, and traditional Indian attars. Our only binding parameters are safety, excellence, fair prices, and always, great scent design.

There are a lot of fragrances out there. But between dandy, highfalutin, exclusive "branding" perfumers where you're just paying for marketing, and cheap and cheery--and terribly boring--fruity florals, there isn't a lot for the aesthete who wants to smell good. We aim to fill that niche with a vengeance.


This company is also somewhat experimental. You'll be able to get things here that you absolutely, positively, would never find anywhere else. That we don't go along with the crowd more or less entails that not everyone is going to like what we do. But if you find yourself going to Sephora and not relating to any of the cotton-candy-florals or deodorant/cleaning product scents they offer; if you feel like you put a lot of thought into your style and environment but can't seem to find a fragrance that actually fits into your world; if you just don't think perfume is that interesting: we exist for you. Welcome to your new metaphysical wardrobe. You won't smell like anyone else in the room, and before now, you've never known what a good thing that can be.


HOW WE DO IT - - - - -

Every scent we make is made with super high quality raw materials, some of which are house-made (which means you're not going to smell like the person next to you on the bus, though they might end up wishing that they smelled like you). We do everything in super small batches, testing them all rigorously (not on animals). What you get in the mail when you order your new scent is basically the result of a ton of hand-labor. We even cut and score our packaging to order. This is a couture experience that you can't get elsewhere and we're elated that we can do it for you. These aren't cheap, repackaged "fragrance oils", nor are they whole-food essential oil blends ("not that there's anything wrong with that"). They are thoughtfully, painstakingly, creatively designed, real-deal products. And you'll smell better for it.

Very seductive, if I may say so. Then there was the visual impact. Clean, nice lines with, as I said, a clear Art deco vibe. I must say that I felt instantly compelled to buy one of the large bottles just for the joy of displaying it on my vanity table. Miniature bottles, samples and general packaging are also very well designed. Someone here knows marketing- I felt prepared to buy something even before I had read the perfume descriptions. Of course, a good description is equally important- if one hasn’t had the opportunity to actually smell a perfume, you need to be made wanting to smell them.

And Goest succeed:

 

Silent Films opens with an aromatic burst of old-world lavender and mint, and settles to reveal a hypnotic and cool heart of vanilla and black spicy earth; before the night is gone, it gives way to a smoldering, powdery, and purely addictive drydown of seductive leathers, musks, and smoke.

Dark, cool, and narcotic, this animal is cast in polar absolutes: no fruit; no flowers; no noise. This perfume is not as a warm and rosy body itself, but like an uncanny image of the body, a mercurial impersonation--almost as if in a mirror, or projected on a screen…

Silent Films takes its cues from the dark and restrained drama of its namesake. Yet showy it is not. It is only the drama of significant looks exchanged from eyes rimmed with kohl; of the thrill of the unspoken; of the gestures of love which pass by silently, in the dark, on a flickering screen: where black is very black indeed, and white shines out like silver.

Totally distinctive; totally addictive; Silent Films is for bold men and bolder women.

So, it took me about ten minutes to decide I wanted to try these perfumes. As they offer a three-sample set for $11 and as they currently only have six scents, I ordered samples of all of them. Here’s my experience.

Customer service When I made my order Etsy claimed that the seller didn’t sell outside US, despite the store said otherwise. I mailed Goest and got an answer within hours that it was indeed a mistake and that they do ship internationally. I placed my order and I got a mail that my samples had been shipped the same day. It took eight days to reach me, but that is normal for packages from USA to Sweden. The samples were beautifully and well packed. I’m really pleased!

Products and price Apart from the samples, the perfumes are sold in 20 ml splash bottles for $36 or 5 ml mini-bottles for $11. There is a possibility to buy all six perfumes as a set in the mini-bottles for $50. A few of the perfumes can also be purchased in 60 ml spray bottles for $52. For perfume, that is pretty fair prices, I think. US-residents may be happy to know that samples ships free for them as I write this. Also, when purchasing a large bottle, one gets a free sample, if you request one.

And, after having waxed so lyrically over the looks and language, what do I actually think about the products? Well, I have only tried Silent Films so far and as this post is long enough as it is, here is my thoughts on that, the other five scents will be reviewed in a later post.

Notes: Vetiver, Vanilla, Leather, Smoke.

Aspects: Mysterious, Powdery, Brutal, Nostalgic.

First impression was not lavender and mint, but vanilla and smoke. Then there was vanilla and leather, with vanilla as the dominant note. Several hours into wearing it that has shifted and the leather goes more dominant. The vetiver keeps in the background, but I suspect does a lot in making this scent special.

I like this perfume a lot. I’m a former vanilla-addict, but have come to regard most vanilla-scents as too sweet and cloying. The vanilla in Silent Films is prominent, but the other notes give it a balance, depth and edge. It wraps around you like a luxurious fur coat and I have sniffed my own wrists all afternoon. I can agree on mysterious, powdery and nostalgic, though not brutal. Perhaps it would if I amped leather notes more than I do. A co-worker who sniffed me pronounced the small “warm”. Quite apt description.

 

So this first perfume has definitely delivered. I look forward to try the rest of them.