We worked with Nui Cobalt Designs to design three perfect perfumes that match our personalities.

How It Started

Two years ago, Giulia and I had an idea to create a collection of three perfumes, one for each of us, and one that combined our two personalities for the perfect fusion of who Indie Mood is. Liv, which is my scent, is spooky, smoky, and dark. Giulia’s is clean, light, and bright. The Indie Mood is the combination of both, creating our shared love of creativity and innovation.

Nui Cobalt Designs was a brand we already loved, having reviewed their collections. They represent what we love as fans of indie beauty and small business: true creativity, individuality, and a little bit of magic. Nui Cobalt was a staple in the indie community, a favorite perfumer of many and for a good reason. Their collections are inspired by English desserts, forest creatures, and iconic women throughout history. They were a clear choice of a brand we wanted to work with!

We reached out to Forest and presented our idea and she was 100% enthusiastically on-board. I remember crying on the phone with Giulia because we were so excited and honored.

The Decision Making

Now it came down to creating the fragrances. Giulia and I chatted with Forest and Josh and shared our ideas. We wanted our two individual scents to represent who we were as individuals, and for Indie Mood to represent our values and shared passions. We shared what perfume notes we were drawn to, and which ones we didn’t love.

Forest made it very easy to create the scents. She is a very talented perfumer and olfactory artist. She created exactly what we had in mind with ease. After we nailed down the final blends, Forest and Josh sent us the final bottles. More shrieking and crying ensued because we were so happy and proud of how they came out. Then I had the honor of taking the photos!

I brought the perfumes on a camping trip in New Hampshire and took tons of photos with them. It was the perfect environment; much of the perfumes were inspired by nature and had earthy notes.

The Result

We’ll break down each scent in the collection, presenting the notes and description along with a quick review. We’ll also include a few reviews from customers who’ve tried the collection, too!

Liv

The brand’s description: The fecundity of the untamed forest at twilight. Earthy patchouli, deep incense, wild blackcurrants, and the lingering smoke of a maplewood fire.

First impression: Yup. She did it. Forest crafted the perfect scent that fits the vibe I wish to emulate. It immediately hits me with a sultry blend of sweet musk, smokey wood, and the cleanest patchouli I’ve ever smelled.

Full review: This is my all time favorite perfume, my signature scent, and everything my witchy heart always wanted. It smells like a wild girl running through the woods to the mysterious allure of a fire in the distance. It smells like witchcraft and abandon. That bit of patchouli adds a smokey witchcraft shop allure to it, and reminds me of one of my favorite teenage haunts, Mystickal Tymes in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

As it wears, the smokey wood notes take over and leave you with a sexy earthiness that lasts for hours. There is just a touch of sweetness from the blackcurrants, rounding out this unisex scent.

Wear time and throw: This is a rather strong scent, so apply a tiny bit at a time. The throw is strong. Get ready to walk into a room and have someone wonder if the Sanderson Sisters have made an appearance. This scent also lasts a long time. I love the way it integrates itself into my clothes and scarves and coats, branding everything I own with the scent of a wild witch.

Purchase a 1 ml sample or a 5 ml full size of Liv from Nui Cobalt Designs.

Customer Review:

Giulia

The brand’s description: Unabashed refinement and sheer elegance. White santal and sunwashed teak edged with vetiver, silk, and chilled Earl Grey.

First impression: This is citrus and sun-dried cotton. This is white linen on the Mediterranean coast. This is minimalism with the addition of the coziest blankets. This is so totally Giulia! Also, for some reason, this scent is giving me Meryl Streep in Mama Mia! realness.

Full review: This is a fresh, beachy fragrance that smells like a clean house with white shag carpeting. At first, the yuzu citrus notes are the brightest. After they fade, the clean scent of cotton, teak, and sandalwood remain. It’s a clean skin scent that’s rather minimalist. This leans more traditionally feminine than Liv or The Indie Mood, but like all the fragrances in this collection, I’d consider it unisex.

Wear time and throw: This fragrance is very strong so use sparingly. It lasts a long time and has a wide throw.

Purchase a 1 ml sample or a 5 ml full size of Giulia from Nui Cobalt Designs.

Indie Mood

The brand’s description: The dynamic harmony of light and shadow. Lapsang souchong tea, sumptuous velvet, labdanum and tonka punctuated by precious Peru balsam.

First impression: This scent is more reserved than the other two. It really is an excellent combination of light and dark, earthy and airy, clean and musky. There’s an almondy scent, slighly gourmand like a macaron.

Full review: This is a really lovely scent thats way more subtle than Liv and Giulia, but reveals a lot of complexity as it wears. The balsam gives the scent a wintery vibe, like snowflakes melting on your tongue during the first snow of the season. The tonka gives it a skin sweetness and musk that is so warm, like your favorite scarf. I want to wrap myself in this scent and cozy up with a book and some tea. That is totally both Giulia’s and Liv’s vibe, so once again, Forest did an incredible job creating this masterpiece!

To describe this simply, its a sweet, cozy skin musk. This is a perfect every day fragrance.

Wear time and throw: This scent lasts forever but fades to warm tonka and musk over time. It doesn’t have as much strength as Liv and Giulia, so the throw isn’t big.

Purchase a 1 ml sample or a 5 ml full size of Indie Mood from Nui Cobalt Designs.

Customer review:

Final Thoughts

We couldn’t have chosen a better brand to collaborate with to create this collection. Nui Cobalt Designs did a perfect job creating the perfumes that define who we are as individuals and as a collaboration.

The Indie Mood perfume collection with Nui Cobalt Designs is now available as a set of samples or 5 ml bottles, as well as each scent available individuality as either a 1 ml sample vial or a 5 ml bottle.

This post is not sponsored and all opinions are our own. Reviews were left by verified customers on nuicobaltdesigns.com.