Sunny Side Up: A Sniff Test

A couple of weeks ago I received a lovely, small haul of roll-on cuticle oils from Sunny’s Body Products, an indie manufacturer and retailer I’ve mentioned numerous times before on this blog. Sunny’s gets all my nail care love (her cuticle oils are the only product I actually use; we are the next best thing to hand care Luddites here at Finger Candy HQ) first and foremost because her oil blends are soothing, smoothing and nourishing, secondly because her roll-on applicators (my preferred method of oil distribution) are well-made and blessedly leak-free, but mostly because she offers very nearly all of her products in over 500 different scents, 20 or so of which I’ve tried and find absolutely delightful.

So given that I’ve said just about all the good things I can on the subject of the base products, I thought it would be a fun little exercise to do a sniff test on some of the scents themselves that I think take Sunny’s products from great, to absolute must-haves.

First up on the docket is Blueberry Cheesecake, which I purchased as part of a trio of sampler roll-on cuticle oils. On Sunny’s list of scent descriptions (an extensive, fun-to-peruse document) Blueberry Cheesecake is described as “Fresh from the dessert menu, creamy cheesecake with plump sweet blueberries in sauce, spilling over.” This one is Mr. Finger Candy’s favourite, and it’s heavenly (it’s not a totally uncommon occurrence around here to see me sniffing my fingers, Mary Katherine Gallagher-style.) I love blueberry scents, and this one is extra lovely, with an almost tea-type note amidst all that berry goodness. And while cheesecake scents can often err on the side of sour, this one is sweet and unobtrusive – just a sweet little something to round off the juiciness of the berries.

Next up is Donut Shop, a scent I used as the inspiration for a manicure during the recent Oh Mon Dieu Nail Art Challenge. Sunny describes the scent on her site as “The scent of fresh baked donuts when you walk into your favorite donut shop.” I mentioned then – and the scent-iment remains – that Donut Shop smells nothing like any donut shop I’ve ever been in (which to me always smell like yeast, frosting, coffee and a vague hint of middle-of-the-night, fluorescent-lit loneliness.) To me, it smells like the perfume my best friend wore in high school, Parfum d’Été by Kenzo, offset by a hint of something sweet and rich and delicious. Donut Shop is actually quite complex, and one of those scents that will smell different on every person it touches (clearly, if I think it smells like my friend’s fresh floral perfume crossed with a muffin.) Confusion over nomenclature aside, Donut Shop is a gorgeous, unique scent that will please bakery lovers and scent traditionalists alike.

The third scent, which closes out my trio of mini samplers, is Blackberry Scone, a relatively recent addition to Sunny’s scented line-up. In the description document Blackberry Scone is described as “Notes of freshly picked blackberries are complemented by hints of boysenberries & raspberries and nuances of buttery, warm crust.” This is another one of those scents that maybe should have been given a second pass through the name generator, because the scone element is totally missing. I will concede that taste in scents is a highly subjective and personal thing, but this isn’t a matter of preference – I actually quite like the scent of Blackberry Scone. It just smells nothing like a baked good. Instead, Blackberry Scone smells fresh and green and crisp – like a summer salad sprinkled with blackberries. That I like it very much has turned out to be a big surprise – I’m typically not one for fresh-type smells, and Blackberry Scone definitely errs on the side of veggie. Still, a lovely scent that marries well with its more bakery-minded order mates.

The final scent I chose was Poison Pie, which I purchased in a full size roll-on after burning through my mini bottle earlier this year. Poison Pie, a seasonal scent from last year’s Halloween-themed beauty box, is described as “The aroma of freshly picked blueberries, fresh cut granny smith apples, smothered in butter, cream, and cinnamon, with a background of fresh baked crust.” Sounds delicious, smells even better – exactly like my mom’s kitchen after she’s tossed apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon together for pies. It’s quite uncanny how that memory (not much of a memory, actually, as she makes me pies every couple of weeks) comes to mind when I smell Poison Pie. It’s so delicious and I love it. And look at that adorable little label!

In the final analysis, though, scent is a highly subjective sense, and what smells amazing to me may cause your nostrils to turn tail and run, and vice versa. My advice is to get out there and play the field – order a mixed bag of scents, ones both in and a little bit out of your wheelhouse, and see what strikes your fancy. As always, you can purchase Sunny’s products through her website here.