Review: Auric Blends Perfume Oils (High-end fragrances at drugstore prices. Really.)

Don't you just love it when you discover something amazing that happens to be inexpensive? It's like a little secret that you want to keep all to yourself. Well that's exactly what happened to me when I was in college up in Northern California back in 1993, the year that Auric Blends debuted their fragrances to the world.

I can remember so clearly the day I walked into a local organic food market and saw a display of perfume oils with a distinctive Native American dreamcatcher logo. This was my introduction to Auric Blends, which quickly became my best kept fragrance secret. But now it's time for me to share my secret with you. Auric Blends Perfume Oils are this recessionista's secret weapon and I'd love for them to be your secret weapon too.

For around $7 a bottle, Auric Blends has been hand-blending in small batches some of the most delightful fragrances I've ever had the pleasure to sniff. Many of their scents smell like something you'd find at LuckyScent.com which, as you know, is a high-end fragrance lover's paradise. When I sniff my Auric Blends fragrances, I often wonder, "How in the heck can they sell these for $7? This smells like something you'd pay several hundred dollars to own."

I have been wanting to write a review of Auric Blends fragrances since I started this blog, so I am delighted to tell you that I recently reached out to this company to let them know of my love for their products and they graciously sent me some fragrances to test. So now I am honored to pass along my reviews of some of their newest, as well as their classic, scents for your reading pleasure. So let's get started!

Egyptian Goddess. Arguably their most popular fragrance, the ladies on the MakeupAlley.com fragrance board have much love for this fragrance and I completely understand why. If you've tried other Egyptian-type musks in the past, let me assure you that this is the best of the genre. It's a white musk that is blended so expertly, I defy you to try and pick out the other notes. They all blend together so beautifully that what you're left with is a soft, clean scent that brings to mind warm, fluffy sweaters and clean skin. That's about the best description I can give you. For you non-perfume-wearers out there, I say give this fragrance a shot because it goes against any preconceived notion of what perfume smells like. Also, it's great to use to layer with other scents.

Love. One of Auric Blends newest scents and an instant classic. I wore this the other day and a lady stopped me in a parking lot to tell me that I smelled "amazing". Love is Egyptian Goddess blended with some extra musk and woods notes. Now you might think that would equate to a stronger, more heavy fragrance but you'd be wrong. Love is light, ultra-clean, super soft and it encompasses you like a snuggly blanket. To my nose, this smells a lot like Narcisso Rodriguez for Her, which will set you back $160 a bottle. Why pay that insanely expensive price when you can get something just as wonderful for, um, SEVEN DOLLARS!

Honey Almond. Do you use the iconic Jergens Original Cherry Almond Lotion just because you love the smell? And have you ever thought to yourself, "I wish they made this scent in perfume form."? Well, my lovelies, wish no more because Auric Blends Honey Almond smells exactly like the classic Jergens lotion to me! Seriously, it's got that real almond note blended with a bit of cherry and a bit of honey. It's such a soft and comforting scent and it instantly brings me back to Jergens and being a kid again. Love it.

Vanilla Musk. OK. I'm going to speak to the hardcore fragrance junkies out there for a minute so bear with me. Fragrance junkies: If you love/own Etro Heliotrope (which retails for $90 a bottle) you must give Vanilla Musk a try. I personally am a huge fan of that candy-like, powdery vanilla quality of heliotrope, and this scent's got tons of it. I am in heaven here. Sheer bliss. So if you like your vanillas candy-sweet and powdery like me, you simply can't go wrong with this one. And again, you can get this for seven dollars! I feel like I'm stealing it for that price, I tell you.

Divine Opium. Are you a lover of the spicy-sweet scent of fresh carnations? Is the carnation note in YSL Opium the thing you love the most about that fragrance? Well instead of shelling out 100 bucks for something like Comme des Garcons Carnation why not try Auric Blends Divine Opium which, to my nose, smells like a bouquet of fresh carnations mixed with a sweet warmth that isn't too heavy on the patchouli but warm and sensual enough to keep things interesting.

Water Goddess. My new favorite scent. I cannot stop sniffing this one. According to the Auric Blends website this fragrance is composed of: A magnolia floral bouquet with touches of rose and violet, supported by a background of exotic woods and mosses. To my nose, I get the most lovely, invigorating combination of water, lemon, and fresh mint. Now I know those notes are not listed, but to me this fragrance smells as if you took some sparkling ice water and mixed it with fresh lemon wedges and tons of fresh mint leaves. It's a cooling, refreshing and uplifiting scent that I just cannot get enough of at the moment. If you're a clean, citrus, aquatic or minty scent lover, you've got to give this one a shot.

You can purchase Auric Blends in several retail, specialty and health food stores across the nation, as well as online. Also, I want to mention that you can purchase sample kits on the Auric Blends website, which have FREE SHIPPING. This is an excellent way to try a few fragrances before committing to a full-size bottle and, believe me, a little of each fragrance goes a long way so you'll be able to test your fragrances several times with each sample vial.

Do you own any Auric Blends fragrances? Do you plan to purchase any? I'd love to know your thoughts!

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and gratis samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.