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Notes to myself and anyone else

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The continuing saga

I talked to my landlady and she might let me out of my lease even though I'm technically already into my next year. Not only that but I might have to be out by the end of October.....which is faster than I was planning on. I need to get all this resolved soon, because it's making my anxiety worse than ever. I need to know where I'm going to live! She's going to look over the lease and call me back (I guess tomorrow....I thought she would call me back tonight but she never did).
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That Feeling again

I guess basically it's insecurity that I'm feeling. NYE was fun, but ever since then I've been worrying that I made an ass of myself....said the wrong things.....acted like a dumbass......etc. I hung out with 3 of my friends, 2 of them are a couple I know, both very good looking, good friends, always gracious to me and I know I worry needlessly. They were nothing but nice and let me crash on their couch, invited me to a great dinner, went out of their way to make fun drinks I hadn't tried before (caiphirina? I don't know how to spell it), but I can't seem to just let go of my worries and just have fond memories of the whole night. I envy them because I am single and when I let myself think about it, not really happy about it, so I usually just try to focus on school and work. Anyway.....just feeling totally unworthy and trying to write about it to get it all out. Really nothing new in my world.
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testing at the laundromat

More scent blogging because I'm boooored......   The one good thing about doing laundry is, it's a good place to test scents. It's good because it takes a couple hours, my mind kind of wanders, and with the movement of my hands there is plenty of wafting so I get a good idea of 'throw'. So as my mind is wandering, I might forget what scent I put on, until it wafts up at me again. And the whole process has a little bit of zen that I enjoy.   Other than that......I hate doing laundry. : )
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Temporary wish list

Okay, I can't handle being w/out a wishlist, it's driving me crazy. I'm going to start a temporary one and then I will integrate when we get our old ones back.   5ml bottles......   The Great He-Goat Helios Mad Meg   GC Imps.....   Paramatman Old Demons Of The First Class The Old Goblin Rocking-Horse-Fly   Unimpable....   The Curator The Floating Market Hunter Lamia The Marquis de Carabas Night's Bridge The Velvets Witchblade   LE to try.....   Interfector Panther Moon Tombeur The Traveller
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Summer LE Breakdown

Rated on an "interest scale" of 1-5   Brood XIX...."Tree sap, hay, almond blossoms, moss, hemp, corn stalks, acorn, sweet amber, and rice milk" Well, I don't like nut notes, but other than that I'm fairly interested. I'd love a dry summery scent and this looks like a fancy, lighter relative of Scarecrow (which I already have a bottle of and hardly ever wear). Worth a decant, for sure. 4/5   Atlas...."Mallow, oak bark, coffee bean, hinoki wood, and khus" I haven't grown to love The Arabian Dance as of yet, and that's what this list of notes reminds me of, even though they only share the coffee. But this does look even more promising than that.....I'm all about woods, usually. Preliminary reviews are saying the mallow adds sweetness, and I'm not sure if that would be good or not for me. Bottom line.....worth a decant. 4/5   Brahmin...."Rose otto, red ginger, caraway seed, myrrh, orange peel, mandarin leaf, black peppercorn, and vanilla orchid" Without the rose this would be sort of intriguing, but the rose kind of turns me off. Could be worth a sniff but I'm not actively seeking it. 2/5   Io....."Red musk, pomegranate, cranberry, blackberry, mango, purple sage, thyme, and angelica root" Too much non-citrus fruit, not really my thing. 2/5   Pussy....."Orange blossom honey, brown sugar, saffron, tonka absolute, and tobacco leaf" I am over my aversion to honey, and I will try it in the right combination with other notes. That said, this could be sultry and sexy, or it could be too sweet and cloying. Worth a try, for sure. 3/5   Blue Morpho...."Wild orchid, pikake, honeysuckle, calla lily, agave nectar, pink geranium, violet leaf, and white amber" I like violet leaf and white amber, I think, but I don't like lily or geranium. Think I'll pass on this one. 2/5   Goliath Birdwing....."White sage, lemongrass, lemon balm, dusty beige musk, and drops of anise" Sounds beautiful, and I think I need to try this! I just hope it's not too one-dimensional with all that lemony goodness.   Mourning Cloak....."Opoponax, kumaru, cocoa butter, Mysore sandalwood, verbena, almond milk, guiac wood, beeswax, and myrrh" I do not like the smell of cocoa butter, but the other notes sound good. Not sure about this one but it's worth a try. 3/5   Purple Spotted Swallowtail....."Black plum, opium poppy, dusky amber, opoponax, castoreum accord, dried berries, tolu balsam, clove bud, and lime" This is kind of a wild card, because it could be really good, but I just can't imagine what it's like. I really have no clue but I'd like to try it. 4/5
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Suck It

I tried this at Sally's house, but it was kind of drowned out by the 50 other scents I was wearing. I smelled the cherry and a little booze, and it might actually be a nice, subtle scent, but I would have to re-test to give a real impression. Just posting this here for my own future reference (sorry that it's a useless review). : )
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Stressing about money

I hate this, but I don't see any way around it. I'm absolutely stressed out about money. I don't know how I'm going to make it through the next month or two, and there is lots of stuff going on that I want to take part in. My friends are going to a big drag show in Dayton, which is about a 45 minute drive. They want to get hotel rooms so we can all drink. I don't even know if I can afford to drink at a bar, much less do that and get a hotel room.   Then our gay pride weekend is the following weekend, and I'll be going out again, and spending money again. I guess I just need to sit down and write it all down, and figure out a budget because my funds are definitely limited. : (
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Speculation

My unofficial speculation for the anniversary update.....   I still think the periodic table scents might be the Phoenix scents. I know someone said those were for the upcoming local alchemist section, but I still have this nagging hunch. I counted and it seems there were 7 periodic prototypes at the will-calls, which is close to the number of Phoenix scents we are expecting. And it just seems to fit the themes from the past Phoenixes. Or, it seems like a natural progression.   As for resurrected scents, I'm going to make some guesses. Someone recently posted that they got frimps of Mantis and Neo-Tokyo in their order, which I thought was unusual since those were both discontinued a few years ago. So I'm guessing we might see one or both of those resurrected. As for LE, I'm just going to make some wild guesses: Underpants, Pinched, or Glowing Vulva. Those are because Beth seems to like to bring back popular and longed-for scents in the past (Midway, Snake Charmer, Hod).   It also crossed my mind that we could see Pumpkin King or Noir. Now I know that the recipe for Pumpkin King was lost, but I'm a firm believer that anything is possible and I would love to see Pumpkin King available some day. Same deal with Noir. That is another scent that lots of people would love to see come back.   I can hardly wait to find out!
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sniffie overlooooaad............

I got so many decants today yesterday! Add that to the Lab order I got this week, and a couple other forum swaps this week also......I have a whole big bunch of new sniffies to try. I'm so glad tomorrow is Saturday, even though it's my weekend to work. I'll have time tomorrow to relax and try out all my new stuff. Well, I doubt I'll get to everything but I'll try a bunch.   I already tried A Countenance Forboding Evil, and didn't like it much. : ( I usually like patchouli but it disagreed with me in this blend, for some reason. Maybe the ylang-ylang contributed some weirdness, because honestly I couldn't smell that note, but there was something there that just wasn't sitting right for me. I will, of course, try it again......maybe in a few days, maybe sooner.   I also tried Monsterbait: Underpants and honestly......I wondered all day if I got a mis-labelled decant. It smells exactly like Morocco to me. I did some searching and found that some other people smelled the similarity, but really....I thought it really was Morocco and not Underpants. I told moonarcana I think she'll help me figure it out, she has a decant of Underpants.   I tried both Christmas Rose and Buena Noche, and I liked B.N. much better. It did remind me a little of Chrysanthemum Moon (which I was hoping for), and later some soapiness came out (from the lily, probably). Christmas Rose was sharper than I was expecting, and almost aquatic with the snow note. Not sure that one is going to work for me but I'll be trying it again.   Out of all the Yule LE blends this year, I know I want a bottle of Jolasveinar. Beyond that I don't know yet, I've got a lot of testing to do. I probably don't need a whole bottle of Buena Noche, but I might want one. I can't wait to compare Rose Red and Peacock Queen.
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sigh of relief

I got A's in both of my classes. Medical Terminology was a breeze but Excel had was much more of a challenge for me. And it stayed challenging, not just for a week or two, but for most of the quarter. But I did well, and got A's on both of my final exams. So, I'm off school for a week and just feeling like relaxing and celebrating. Not sure what I'll do specifically, but I might go to Columbus to visit my friend Kevin. I'm meeting my dad for lunch Tuesday and after that I'm free until Thursday night. Woo Hoo!   Next quarter will be strange......both of my classes are online, except one of them does meet in person for a total of three times. Other than that, it's all online. I have Medical Terminology II which, obviously, will be harder than Med Term I was. The other class is an Intro class for Health Information Management, which shouldn't be too hard, I don't think.
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Sigh of relief

I am finally done with early fall term, and I think I got some good grades. I know I passed CPT coding, which I was really worried about for a while. I was worried because I just wasn't getting it and I bombed a test and a couple quizzes, but I finally got the hang of it more or less, and ended up doing okay. So I am on a short break until late fall term starts (a week from today, I think), and just enjoying that even though I'm at work right now. I placed an order with the lab and I'm impatient for that to arrive, but it won't be here for a couple more weeks. It's just a relief to be done with those 3 classes. For the last 2 or 3 weeks I've been really stressed out and was having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
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Shill

I don't wear food scents a whole lot, mostly just around the house as 'comfort' scents. I was curious about this one. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work out for me. It comes off kind of flat, like stale popcorn. I didn't get much of a butter note, it's more salty and a little stale. And it fades really fast....within an hour or less, it's pretty much gone unless I sniff up close to where I applied it. So there ya go, curiosity satisfied.
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Serge Lutens, Five O'Clock Au Gingembre

List of notes: "Bergamot, candied ginger, honey, patchouli, pepper, and dark cocoa"   Well, this is quite a warm, cozy scent, very yummy, as could be expected just from reading the notes. But....it's not really a straight-up foody blend, and it's not quite as sweet as you might expect either. It's spicy but it's also very smooth and wearable, on the male side of unisex in my opinion, and just completely blended, with no notes standing out very much except maybe the ginger. I can't smell dark cocoa but I can tell it's there supporting. Overall I really like this and I'd love a larger bottle if it weren't so dang expensive. As it is, I'll keep wearing my little sample and maybe some day get a larger amount.   Edit: I got busy here at work, so I didn't really finish what I was writing. This scent has a small component of the whole that adds some kind of strange salty or doughy part of the scent. It's just an interesting little twist that kind of reaches out from the scent from time to time.
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Serge Lutens Chene

Notes: cedar crystals, wood sap, black thyme, oak, immortelle, beeswax, silver birch, rum absolute and tonka bean   I'm getting mostly sharp woods, verging on sour like patchouli sometimes does to me. I can sense thyme, just a little. I like woody scents but lately I've been more in the mood for something a little sweet and spicy. Maybe because it's almost fall? I like Chene but won't be hunting down more. I'll keep my sample in case my scent moods change again back to more intense woods.
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Scent locket

I don't have a scent locket. I've thought about buying one, and I bought one for my sister, but I've never bought one for myself. I always think, "I have so many different scents that I can hardly decide what to wear on any given day. A scent locket is just going to make that decision more complex and difficult. It's like adding another layer to the whole business when what I really want to do is simplify".   However, every once in a while I come across a scent that is really nice, but seems that it would be better suited for a scent locket. So now I'm going to start making note of that here. Tamamo-No-Mae is such a scent. It is very, very lovely, but somewhat fleeting. When I first put it on, it has these delicate, sparkly top notes, something almost minty, that could be from the tea or maybe ginger, or who knows what. Anyway, I love that part of the scent, but on my skin it lasts all of 5 minutes! It's still a great scent after that, just very subtle and kind of like skin-incense, the powder stuff (although I've never tried that). Kind of fruity and smokey-sweet at the same time.   So, as a note to myself, or a reminder, when I do eventually get a scent locket, Tamamo-No-Mae would be a great scent for it. I think that sparkly note in the beginning might last longer, and the scent as a whole might be a little stronger in a locket. If I find more scents that seem tailor-made for a locket, I'll continue to make note of it here.
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Sapphics

The amber stands out, and it really is grey amber, but everything else is just seamlessly blended. I smell a marshmallowy sweetness, and I would think that's tonka, but it's not the warmth of tonka that I usually can pick out. I have been known to really pick out the sweeter notes in scents, for example, Oblivion also dries down to a very marshmallow sweetness when I wear it.   Anyway, this is really a great scent. As long as I've had it, I have kind of neglected it, but I always knew I liked it. It just got lost in the shuffle of my other oils. But I'm wearing it now, and it's one of those great, sophisticated, gender-neutral scents that I think are my favorite category, if you can call it a category. This could be worn equally by either men or women. It's ambery, slightly sweet, a little woody, and somewhat velvety. There is a nearly dusty grey quality but it's not a dusty scent. Very sophisticated and definitely one of my favorites of all the Lupercalia scents.
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Rice Field

I wore Lovers In A Rice Field again today, and I like it more and more. The plum blossom was much more apparent, and overall it smells like some kind of fabulous plum/cream dessert, but still not totally foody. It's rather on the femme side for a bearded guy like me but that doesn't hasn't stopped me from wearing it, and in some situations it would be just great. Possible bottle? Or maybe just another decant would suffice. Still have to test my other decants which are still pending, and there may be another favorite among those.
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Ranting and raving....

First of all.....if you're reading this, and I complain about something that you do, please don't take it personally. Just a minor pet peeve of mine.   I've noticed a trend lately with reviews. People are writing their reviews based only on sniffing the scent in the vial, not putting it on the skin. This drives me crazy. Basically, it's like judging a book by it's cover. In my experience, most scents smell totally different, or they go through changes, after they touch a person's skin. I admit, when I go to a meet 'n sniff, I don't try on every scent that I come across. I smell some of them in the bottle and make a judgment based solely on that impression. But that is different from writing a review for other people to read.   When I read a review of a scent, and the person didn't actually try it on, I write it off as completely useless to me.
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random thoughts

Yesterday I was seriously considering making a resolution for 2008......decants only. Like, no bottles whatsoever.     When I think about it, it makes sense. I've never used up a whole decant. My first bpal bottle, over a year old, would still pass for new if you just glanced at it. I'm really just a dabber. It's pretty ridiculous for me to buy a whole bottle of, for example, Beaver Moon. That was a total impulse scent buy and I really should have just searched out a decant instead of a whole bottle. There's no way I'll wear all that!! I like how it smells, but I know I won't wear it much. So, decants only for a year would make sense for me.   Then I think about it. A whole year. That includes next year's Halloween blends and Yule scents. Decants are plentiful, but really.......could I really do that?? I don't think I could. I mean, what if some incredible forum-only scent came out? Or that one elusive scent that was made "Just for me!!"?   Well, even though I won't do it for a whole year, I will definitely be curbing my bottle habits, lol. And also I need to seriously do some de-stashing (like everyone else it seems). I'm gradually working on that......testing imps, writing reviews on my laptop, and wrapping plumber's tape around the ones I know I'll be swapping. I'm keeping them in a small cigar box, and when it's full, I'll be posting them for sale/swap.   Speaking of swaps......when I look at my wish list, I think to myself 'do I really need to try all those?'. So little by little I'm whittling that down, too.
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random boredom post

Wow, I guess it's my turn in the barrel for forum problems tonight. I've had hour-long stretches where I couldn't get anywhere, because the page just kept loading and loading.....eeeeever so slowly. Apparently it has been going around lately.   In other news, fingers are crossed because my requests are in for the last 4 Lupercalia decants that I wanted to try. Still waiting to hear if they're available or not. I had thought about risking a bottle unsniffed again this time, but the choice is just too hard. I want to try them first. As usual, excited as heck about pending decants!   More later if I am still this bored.....
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Quick reviews

Gacela.....almost works, clove is really iffy on me and it doesn't quite work for me here. It comes off a little dusty or something.   Faunalia.....Eek....this reminds me of Golden Priapus, a lot, which I hated, except this isn't quite as bad as that was. Still, this isn't for me.   Men Loved Darkness......Another miss.....a lot of times clove and patchouli combine and turn really sour on me, which is what happened here, just like in Smiling Spider. They amp each other up until it's all sour clove and patchouli.   Season Of Ghosts.....Very odd for a citrus scent....actually I don't even get much citrus. I recognize the rose geranium from On Darkness, and overall this scent turns weird and soapy on me. Did not like at all!   Joulumuori......Big winner for me! I love this scent, and I had a feeling I should have gone straight for a bottle. Well, I was right. For all the foody notes, this is a wearable scent that isn't as foody as I thought it would be. The wood smoke or hearth note is very, very much like Djinn, my favorite GC scent. But it has the fabulous cheery spices mixed in, and I just love this. Kind of reminds me of the best parts of Djinn and Jolasveinar, with none of the snow or pine notes from Jolasveinar. Just great.   Pink Snowballs......Not a fan.....I understand the comparisons to Snow White, but Pink Snowballs is more perfumey, fluffy, almost powdery, and not cold at all. Very commercial smelling to me. It's not terrible, but not what I was hoping for.   Snowball Fracas.....Familiar snow note, but I do smell the soil from Graveyard Dirt underneath it. After a while more moss comes out. It's a good scent because I like these things, but doesn't stand out enough for me to want more. The soil note can be a little yucky but mixed with the snow notes, it's not bad.   First Soft Snowfall......At first reminds me of Death Of The Grave Digger, a lot. Then as it dries, it becomes more floral, and I find myself thinking of Archangel Winter. Again, not a bad scent, but not quite as good as Death Of The Grave Digger.
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Pumpkin Patch Breakdown.....all years, all releases!

I've been thinking about the Pumpkin Patches, past and present, and I know there are at least a couple I'd still like to try. Here's a breakdown so I can get it all straight in my mind. There are so many, it's kind of hard to keep track of them!   So, I will rate these on a scale of 1-5, based on interest. Anything 3 or above, I'll probably track down a decant at some point.   Pumpkin Patch '05 and '06......   I......Pumpkin with apple cider and mulling spice. This sounds pretty yummy, but I think my ultimate mulled cider scent has already been found (Fearful Pleasure). I wouldn't mind sniffing this but I won't go way out of my way to find it. However, if I found a cheap bottle, I'd probably grab it for a room scent. 2/5   II.....Pumpkin with cocoa, hazelnut and walnut. Nah, don't like cocoa that much, and not crazy about nuts in perfume either. I can safely pass on this one. 1/5   III......Pumpkin and pomegranate. I'm not a big fruit scent fan either....I already have a few, and they are more than enough to fill that niche in my collection. Pass on this one. 1/5   IV......Pumpkin with sandalwood and orris. I don't like orris that much. I like sandalwood, but I already have plenty of nice sandalwood essential oil. If I ever get the urge for pumpkin and sandalwood, it would be pretty easy to recreate on my own. Pass on this one too! 2/5   V.......Pumpkin with five woods, English ivy and galangal root. Now this one, I have always wanted to try. I tend to like green scents, and a lot of woods work well for me. Some woods go kind of flat for me but this is worth a try, for sure. 4/5   Pumpkin Patch '07   I.......Pumpkin with pear, white wine grapes, and jasmine-laced tea. No.......not for me. Probably smells nice, but just not my thing. 2/5   II........Pumpkin with tobacco, champa flower, carnation, and tonka. Hmm, I thought I had tried a decant of this, but I never wrote a review. It does sound like something I'd like. Tobacco is the only iffy note, but it works for me sometimes. Would like to try except I have this nagging feeling that I already have a decant of this somewhere. I'll have to look for it. 3/5   III........Pumpkin with white chocolate, caramel, pomegranate, and cream. Again, not crazy about chocolate. I remember thinking this sounded interesting when these first came out. Since then, I've had my fill of chocolate and/or fruity scents. 2/5   IV.....Pumpkin with cactus blossom, sage, and sweetgrass. Definitely already have a decant, not a bad scent, but do not need more. 1/5 (would be higher if I didn't already have some)   V.......Pumpkin with benzoin, bourbon vanilla, lemon peel, neroli, blood orange, and red ginger. Yes! Already have a decant, and could probably use another one. I have tested this side by side with Pumpkin Queen, and although they are different scents, it's really hard to tell the difference. 3/5 (would be higher if I didn't already have some)   Pumpkin Patch '08   I......Pumpkin with mango, persimmon, coconut, and myrrh. Already tried it, have some, do not need more! It smells like sweet potato casserole to me. 1/5   II........Pumpkin with black musk, leather accord, tonka, teak, orange wood, and opoponax. Yes, yes, yes! Have a decant, would not mind another. 4/5   IV......Pumpkin with white sage, cherry tobacco, honey, smoky vanilla, cedar, and pine. I had an interest in this one, but I let it pass by because of the honey, probably. Still wouldn't mind trying it, as long as the honey behaves itself. 4/5   V.......Pumpkin with cranberry, strawberry, red musk, red rose, rosehip, frankincense, fig, jasmine, and carnation. No ma'am, no sir, not for me! Red musk, jasmine and frankincense are nice, fig and carnation are okay, red rose can be wearable sometimes, but all together, and with the fruits, make this one an easy pass for me. 1/5   Pumpkin Patch '09   I.......Pumpkin, almond, brown musk, and honey. I usually can't wear honey, with a rare exception here and there. And I don't think I like brown musk that much. Pass on this one. 2/5   II.......Pumpkin, rosewood, red sandalwood, and tea rose. Not really of interest to me, except for maybe the red sandalwood. 2/5   III......Pumpkin, fir needle, pitch, rosemary, and tomato. I am interested in trying this, not sure if it's something I'd wear, but it's unique and I'd like to try it. 3/5   IV......Pumpkin, black musk, tobacco, myrrh, and clove. Reminds me of a couple of the past ones. I wouldn't mind trying it, but I also have lots of scents like this already. Maybe not with pumpkin, though. Interested enough for a decant at some point. 3/5   V........Pumpkin, chocolate, coffee bean, vanilla bean, and hazelnut. At first I wasn't interested because of the chocolate, but the will-call reviews are saying this is heavier on the coffee, which makes it a little more appealing in my eye. Would like to sniff at some point. 3/5
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Possets wish list

This is for my future swap post. I'll have some Possets bottles up for grabs, and here are some that I would swap for:   Adamus The Awakening Conscience Cootie Dark Lady Margot Queen Of The Night Risk Sex With The Spirits Tulipomania Warmth
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Possets Halloween

Mini-breakdown.....   $10,00....."A dry masculine and memorable scent featuring a smooth yellow amber, bay, bay wood, a drop of tobacco flower, a very tiny amount of lavender". Sounds good but just doesn't grab me. I dunno, Possets are so inexpensive it might be worth a try. I do like dude-fumes, and I like bay. We'll see.   301...."a multiplicity of my favorite musks and cashmeran". Not much to go on there. Could be good, I looked up cashmeran and all I could find is that it's a synthetic musk. Moving on for now....   Black Hole...."Vetiver and black pepper, lavender and earth, a "black" patchouli, a slight slight slight bit of tarragon". Again, sounds okay but not shouting out "buy me, buy me!". I'll watch reviews and keep it on my list for consideration. The more I think about it, this could be a good one, but I do have a few scents like that already. I never even wear Void Moon or Winter Solstice, which I should because they're both really great scents.   Dank...."sweetbriar makes an appearance lending it's zest to the whole, while root oils hold the bottom half down, particularly vetiver and ginger. There is a splash of booze and a few autumn plums in the mix to give it an air of being a luxurious rest rather than drippy". This sounds good too, unless it has that galbanum-like note that Fabienne has been using lately. I don't like it and it could be one of the 'root oils' mentioned. I'll have to sniff this before risking a whole bottle.   Dark...."A thick and perfumy blend with a heavy dose of Frankincense to start off, black musk and fig. No greenery with it but a good layer of an almost burnt sugar and an animalic undercurrent which somehow becomes very light and sweet when breathed out". This sounds appealing....yet again.....could have that green rooty note that I don't like. Maybe I should just ask her what it is?   Phantome...."A very light and transparent scent with a subtle amber as a base, Sicilian lemon zest, a drop of cognac, and the tiniest amount of menthol (you really would not notice it if you were not looking)". Okay....getting more and more promising....this sounds pretty good. Sounds kind of sophisticated and ethereal. We'll see.   Specter...."Amber and fennel, put together in a thoroughly unexpected way". Now we're cooking with gas....this sounds really interesting, and it's high up on my list of what to seek out and at least sniff first.   Spirit....."A strong dark chypre with a lot of incense and resin to it. Frankincense, myrrh, copal, fir resin, and labdenum. Yet this is a certified Western European chypre. It is lovely, dry and captivating. Neither warm nor cold, like a spirit with a 10,000 mile stare". Oooooh, this sounds really great. This has the most potential for an unsniffed purchase. I could always use another good fir scent. The only thing holding me back is if this were major dude-fume, which can be a turn-off. I like butch but there's such a thing as too butch. Possible bottle?   That's all I got for now. I skipped the kitties because they will be at the Possets/OAR party at Fabienne's studio, and I'll be able to test first. I'll report back on those.
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Planning a Lupercalia order (mini breakdown)

First of all, quoting myself:     .....looks like I got my wish with a few of these. I also noticed a fair bit of chypres or chypre-like scents. I'm excited but I think I can narrow these down to just one or two bottles, and maybe a handful of decants. There were quite a few scents that I was able to remove from the list without hesitation.   Color key: Bottle Decant Shimmery Chypre Black text means still up in the air about whether to hunt down a decant, put it on wish list for later, or let it pass by altogether   OLISBOS 2011 – polished wood, well-loved leather, and olive oil. This has possibilities, but I'm not very hopeful. It's a possible decant just to try it because I don't want to rule it out completely. Olive oil will probably make this smell strange and not for me. We'll see, maybe.   RED LANTERN 2011 – Golden amber, blonde tobacco, Sudanese black coconut, rich caramel, black currant, white opium and delphinium laced with a sensual blend of Asian spice. This sounds so sensual and appealing. I'm almost positive I've tried one of the older versions, but I don't own any and I may want a decant this time around.   TIME DOES NOT BRING RELIEF – Remembrance: Parma violet and leather accord with beeswax, Egyptian musk, orange blossom, white tea, lavender, myrrh, and copal. Kind of a half 'n half list of notes, some I like and some I don't like. It's worth a try. I think it could be too soapy or perfumey.     ++ LUPERCALIA: NOVEL IDEAS FOR SECRET AMUSEMENTS   BURNING VULVA – Vanilla-infused amber, leather, beeswax, cyclamen, oakmoss, peru balsam, orange blossom, red ginger, tonka, opoponax, myrrh, and black pepper. This is in the running for a bottle! I will watch the will-call posts for impressions.   COUPLE ENGAGED IN LOVEMAKING – Honey, lemongrass, black tea, white ginger, and grains. Well, this is a possible decant but it might get squeezed out by others with higher priority. There is something appealing in the combination of notes but honey might be a sticking point. I used to think I hated honey in perfume but now I'm not even sure any more. Sometimes it's okay.   COPULATING MICE – Bergamot, clove, hazelnut, pecan, lavender, tonka, and thyme. Perfectly cute scent, would be a good decant choice. I don't like nuts in my perfume but I want to try this. And who knows, it could surprise me.   DANCING KOI – Brown musk, leather accord, toasted sandalwood, clove, labdanum, and champaca. Brown musk worries me but I want a penis scent, and this looks like the one most likely to work for me. Toasted sandalwood in combination with brown musk might be too fuzzy and.....brown. I know I have to try this, for sure, and it might be a bottle purchase.   FESTIVAL MASK – Rubbed sage, ti leaf, osmanthus, immortelle, patchouli, amber, and mandarin. Could be nice, interesting notes, worth a try. Decant but not bottle (unless it surprises me, of course, but that goes for all of these).   HARIGATA II – Coconut, white amber, hazelnut, and anise. See above note about me wanting shimmery white scents. Hello, here is one! Could be odd, but it's worth a try.   LOOSENING OF THE OBI – Rice wine, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, and white musk. Again with the shimmery/white scents for spring. I want to try it!   SPRINGTIME PLAYFULNESS – Green and brown musks, coconut husk, wisteria, lemongrass, hydrangea, cranberry, woody sandalwood, and ripe squash. Hmmmm...another penis possibility (I love trying the penis scents). Can't imagine what this will smell like, so obviously I need to try it, right? That artwork is simply too much. I may have to get it for the label alone. That is high quality comedy.   TEA – Darjeeling tea, lemon verbena, star anise, and honeycomb. Hmmm....sounds like a nice, fresh spring scent. Not my usual thing (and there's that honeycomb.....), but looks to be worth a try.   YOUNG PINE SAPLINGS – Cream, clove, ginger, and honey. Have to really think about this one! I love spicey scents and this looks like a good one. I'm not afraid of the cream as much as the honey, but combined with spices that honey might be tamed. Definitely need to try this one.     ++ LUPERCALIA: ODE TO APHRODITE   APATOUROS – Deceptive One – Black fig, green tea, opoponax, ciste absolute, myrrh, carnation, nutmeg, and Brazilian vetiver. I'm guessing this will have a citrus vibe, grounded by spices and vetiver. It's worth a try but might be too much like some other scents I have. I might have to compare this to some of last year's Lupers that did not work, so I can compare notes and decide if I want to even try it.   APHROGENÊS – Foam Born – Orris root, iris, white honey, white sandalwood, coconut, and cherry blossom. Again with the white and shimmery. I have discovered that I like white sandalwood (I used to think I didn't like it). Yup, probably have to try this one. KYTHERIAN – She Who Conceals Love-Affaris – Black narcissus, purple orchid, neroli, white sandalwood, ambergris, plum musk, jonquil, thyme, oakmoss, and grapefruit. I'm curious bacause this sounds like a floral chypre. It looks interesting.   NIKÊPHOROS – Bringer of Victory – Black currant, patchouli, blood orange, oakmoss, galbanum, benzoin, and white mint. Another chypre? Want to try.     ++ LUPERCALIA: VENUSTAS   MALE NUDE, ARMS UPSTRETCHED – Dark musk, linen, and red chypre. Yes please! My number one choice for immediate bottle purchase, unsniffed. Wasn't there a white chypre in one of the Yule scents? I wish the lab would give us a whole series of chypres of different hues. I'd have to try all of them! MANILUS HURLED FROM THE ROCK – Frankincense, leather accord, sandalwood, Himalayan cedar, nutmeg, and violet leaf. I've been flip-flopping on wanting to try this, but I think I'm going to have to try a decant. I almost want to pass it up but it has just enough potential.   THE RING – Antiqued amber, frankincense, patchouli, hay, oakmoss, skin musk, and white mint. Hmm, another chypre-like scent?? Sounds pretty interesting, and I think I'll definitely have to try this.   WRESTLERS – Vetiver, guiac wood, peru of balsam, two musks, labdanum, saffron, and rum accord. Another must try, but it may not work. This is another scent that I'm having trouble imagining what it will smell like. I'd like to find out!
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