My Non-Traditional ‘Best of 2021’ List

Good grief! It’s December 31st already? When did that happen? I don’t know about you, but for me 2021 has been a mixed bag and not quite the year I thought I was going to have. I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences I was able to enjoy, though many plans were also postponed or dashed completely. I haven’t seen my family in person since 2019 and it will likely be sometime in 2022 before that happens. Thankfully, not everything was awful and there are still wonderful things happening in the world, including new perfumes to be sniffed and fragrance artistry to be celebrated. If nothing else, 2021 was a great time for being bold and brave and experimental with my perfume choices–there were no fellow subway commuters or co-workers to offend (at least, not until November and I’m not sure if the office will remain open much longer at this point. Thanks for nothing, Omicron!) While I did sometimes go full “over-sprayer” with a beast mode scent at home, exploring the world of solid fragrances has also helped me reign in my heavy trigger finger, reset my nose and learn to appreciate the beauty of kinder, gentler fragrance presentations.

The end of the year is traditionally the time when content creators trot out a “Best of…” list to summarize the year and top off their income with some click-throughs. No shame in that game, but Solidly Scented is not monetized in any way, so please know that any links I’m including here are simply because I LOVE the product and often the brand/person behind it, too. If my love leads you to click a link and give your money to these amazing makers so they can keep making, that’s a beautiful thing!

This is not a traditional “Best of” or “Top Ten” list (there are only eight items). It’s not in any particular order. Some of these scents were not even new releases in 2021. These are simply my personal “Best of…” categories to call out noteworthy scents, brands and circumstances I encountered in 2021. I hope you enjoy it and I’d love to hear about your own “Best of…” choices in the comments or on Instagram.

Solidly Scented’s Best of 2021

Best New Scent I Tried in 2021: Luna by The Lovely Muse Apothecary. This warm, gently sweet (but very tenacious!) scent has been perfect in all four seasons, for day or evening wear, and in solid or liquid format. (Read more here.)

Best Concept for a New Brand: Epilogue Fragrance. Highly giftable solid perfumes inspired by literature, in adorable tins, with something for everybody! (Read more here.)

Best Packaging: Made By Me Perfume Palettes. Whether it’s a Duo or the large Nude Perfume Palette, Made By Me brings the allure of glamorous high-end cosmetic palettes to the solid perfume experience. (Read more here.)

Best Color as Representation of Scent: Lush Junk. Ooh, that deep purple and oh, those blackcurrants! (Review coming in 2022.)

Best Fragrance Worth a Long Wait: Lilac Wine by Organic Perfume Girl, whose fragrance took ten weeks to reach me, and it was entirely the fault of USPS, but I’ll give them a break due to extenuating circumstances in 2021. The important thing is that the scent was wonderful when it finally did arrive! (Read more here.)

Best Solid I Purchased After Loving the Liquid: Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery Jewelry of Heaven. I now have it in parfum, EDP and Solid, and you know what? I really do love ’em and need ’em all! (Read more here and solid review coming in 2022.)

Best Sense of Humor with Seriously Good Scents: Copper+Copper/ Copper Cat Apothecary. I bought so many perfume gems from this house in 2020 and 2021 and I know I’ll buy more. Their soaps, shampoos and body care products are also wonderful. The packaging and product names offer the EXACT perfect touch of dark humor we need right now. (Read more here.)

Best Solid Perfume I Sourced Locally: Pumpkinhead from Philadelphia’s Cinag’s Alchemic. What luck to have such a talented perfumer in my very own city! (Review coming in 2022.)

Thanks so much to everyone who read, followed, commented, liked and shared in 2021. The fragrance community is truly one of the friendliest and most supportive communities on the internet. I hope you all have a Happy New Year and I’ll see you in 2022!

All images by me. All links ’cause I love.