Category: Diabolus
I really wanted to like this one, both for the name and ingredients! All I get is pine trees and eucalyptus, though, and it's not even that awesome. It could have been the heat and sweat, but even with trying to slather it, the scent just disappears. So sad.
Category: Phoenix Steamworks
At first blush, I get a blast of citrusy smell, and then the cedar kicks it to make it smell like woodsy polish.
It has decent staying power and throw...not sure if this is a keeper for me, though.
Limited Edition -- Yule 2009 -- Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire
Unfortunately the decant I had of this had leaked, so I didn't have much to test. What I can sniff smells like chocolate at first, then gets a sweet berry note to it. It seems to be a scent that stays fairly close to the skin, but appears to last for a decent long while.
When first applied, I get frankincense and a hint of amber -- very lovely. I can see how people get the 'fizzy' feeling, though, because I quickly detected it there, as well. Then the incense morphs quickly to something sweeter; while I didn't get out and out 'grape' scent from the wine, it was vaguely there. After a bit, it just goes generically perfumey. Just not my thing...
Category: Rappacini's Garden
Like many of the Garden scents, I find this one a very green, viney sort of scent. Up close on my skin, there's a more pungeant, earthy scent -- I can see where some people were getting the 'burnt tires' vibe! This doesn't have very much throw; it hugs my skin throughout the day. I actually sort of wanted to like this simply because so many people seem not to. It's decent, but not awesome enough for me to need to keep.
It smells slightly like generic perfume or cologne, but there is enough amber present to keep it interesting. Unfortunately, it turns very powdery fairly quickly...and while that's not necessarily bad, it's not really what I was looking for from this scent. Not for me.
Limited Edition -- Halloween 2009
A wee, meek whiff of butter, and then spicy leaves like whoa. Lots of tomato leaf and rosemary to this one, with maybe a touch of mint. Actually, now that I think of it, this is a lot like going down to the garden to get your pumpkin -- there are lots of stems and vines and leaves covered with that strange, horny sort of velvet that tomato leaves have, all dotted with this morning's rain. Definitely a fun change.
A light, bright, cheerful peach scent. It actually reminded me a bit of Aglaia, only without the deep musk and amber notes that made it a little overpowering and cloying. This scent hugs the skin, doesn't give much throw, and seems to wear off fairly quickly, which is diappointing, but it's definitely a charming scent while it lasts.
Category: Sin & Salvation
In the imp: A very heavy, dark scent reminiscent of incense.
Wet: It honestly smells like a really, thick, resin-based incense to me, with a floral sweetness around the edges. I'm not familiar at all with opium, but perhaps this is what's producting that? Very interesting.
Dry: It softens down pretty drastically to a leftover sort of flower scent. I'm wanting to associate that with the honeysuckle.
Verdict: This scent intrigues me even more now because I could have sworn that this was an 'incense' scent...but no, it's florals. Which is amusing because I was comparing it to other incense scents I've worn, and thinking that I'd found my happy medium there. My only criticism of this scent is that it didn't have the throw that I desired. It tends to last a while, though, and it's just lovely all-around as far as I'm concerned, even if it doesn't quite justify a bottle.
What I liked: It combined sweetness with the smoky quality that I love about incense, and yet had a nice, thick, sticky body to it, as well.
What I didn't like: I want to reek, dammit! In the good way! I'm strange.
I'm scratching my head about the vetiver. Maybe that wasn't the problem with Alecto, then? Because I didn't detect anything sour about this, at all. I'm just not sure. It's really a shame about Alecto, because I really liked the leafy quality that it had...but it made me smell like I was on my period or something. Ick.
I'm tending to ramble today, apparently.
Category: Wanderlust
Initially, I smelled the myrrh and wine, with perhaps the honey thrown in...it had a very sticky, tart, juicy sap-like quality to it.
As it went on, the stickiness of it went away...just becoming myrrh and wine, with perhaps an herbal tint around the edges.
I'm thinking that myrrh is going to be one of those hit-and-miss things with me. This time, it was a miss, and I think it was the wine note that did it...the blend had a sourness to it that did not appeal to me. So, nope, not for me.
I liked Anubis better than this, and I'm guessing it's because of the mixture of herbs that was in it...the wine note couldn't come out and outright trash things like it did in Athens.
Category: Excolo
Upon first whiff, it smells very sweet -- deliciously sweet to me, as if I'm smelling a bag of good, pipe-quality tobacco. Then the bay kicks in, giving a strident, not-quite-sour edge to it. Over time, it gives the impression of faint whiffs of booze and tobacco; it combines all the scents you'd expect to find on your long-lost Uncle, the ne'eer-do-well that likes to take long trips to exotic locales and then saunter back into your life to regale you with intriguing yet slightly menacing stories of his travels.
Bay leaf is an interesting thing. Used to flavor a dish, it imparts a very nice, hearty flavor. If you forget to take that leaf out and happen to get a good taste of the thing itself, though -- yowza. Not nearly as pleasant. And, unfortunately, though Baron Samedi has that delicious, evocative air to it, ultimately he is like sucking on a bay leaf -- just too pungeant, too sharp around the edges. Not my thing.
This scent is not for me, yet somehow I think I would like smelling it on someone else. Once you have that degree of seperation, this blend becomes a lot more tolerable; it's a bit like settling into Uncle's chair after he's gone off for more sinister adventures somewhere, revelling in the scent he's left behind, and breathing a sigh of relief that he's gone.
I was really leery of this one, but like all the Phoenixes, it was really nice. Believe it or not, but I really can 'smell' the 'gleaming white metal' in the description; it's like what the mirror-sheen on a stainless-steel table would smell like, if it had an odor. I think the honeysuckle is what makes it so palatable for me.
It's super-light, and seemed to fade really fast. This one won't be so hard to let go of.
Limited Editions -- Halloween 2009
Crisp, green, slightly juicy apple, paired with the tang of rum and with a wee bit of slightly-toasted caramel (with perhaps some nuts on it). It's a really fun initial whiff; unfortunately, it dissipates pretty quickly on me.
October 2008 Lunacy
This was actually the first lunacy that I ever purchased, and it was a really great choice.
Initially, I get a light, sort of tart citrus scent -- definitely grapefruit, there. As it dries, it quickly picks up...a sort of body and depth, from the violet leaf and other, darker notes, while the citrus notes keep it sweet and feminine. This is a beautiful, rich, classy perfume, not entirely woeful to me; more like the air of a mourning widow who is determined to keep her head held high and keep carrying on. There's a sort of sad determination to it, as well as a hopeful appreciation for the beauty of life in the here and now. Truly gorgeous.
Category: Bewitching Brews
At first I wasn't sure about this one, because the sweet berry note was throwing me off quite a bit. As much as I like sweet things, the berry notes usually feel too thick and sappy for my liking. For instance, Baneberry was just too in-your-face with the berry, and Akuma was sickeningly candy-sweet. Fortunately, later on Bewitched became more balanced by the herbal elements, and smelled like someone who's been working in their herb garden, with just a hint of otherworldly sweetness thrown in for good measure. It was much more pleasant, then! I would nudge people who don't usually like strong berry scents toward this one, as I feel the herbs and musk really help to ground it well.
Category: Somnium
I've been applying this every night before I go to bed for about ten days now...and for the most part I'd say it works really well. This is the first of the Dream Formulas that I've tried -- I didn't know that you could order them as imps, until someone in a decant circle thoughtfully included this.
The scent is predominantly lavender, with a strong thread of eucalyptus underneath it, and hints of anise here and there. They mingle to create a very medicinal odor -- as a perfume, this would be really bad, but as a component for relaxation and sleep, it's *very* useful. The strident quality of it is actually soothing...it reminds me of when I'd get colds as a child and my mom would smear Vicks on my chest and under my nose -- that same sort of 'OMG this is strong...but it's helping, so yay!' feeling.
By morning, it has worn off, so I never smell it when I get up...though I often can smell traces of the other perfume I've been wearing the day before. This is the perfect medicinal blend -- it does its job, doesn't interfere or interact with anything, and then evaporates.
The vast majority of nights that I use it, I can be asleep in under fifteen minutes, and sleep all the way through the night with no interruptions. While I rarely have trouble sleeping anyway, this past month I've been having lots of problems with anxiety and such, so Baku has been a blessing.
I tend to be a skeptic, but as far as I'm concerned, this stuff works pretty well.
Chrysanthemum, marigold, vanilla, and amber all mingle together to create a spicy, warm sort of vanilla-floral on my skin. It's a durable scent that treats me to delicious wafts of dry warmth. This is like the scent of pressed, dried flowers, given by a lover from long ago. Out of all of the Shungas, and indeed all the Lupercalia scents, this was definitely my favorite.
Category -- Bewitching Brews
A sweet, almost cloying mix if rose and other florals. Not really my thing. It has decent longevity and some moderate throw, especially if, like me, you tend to amp this certain kind of rose. (Now if only I knew just what *kind* of rose it is...)
Category: Limited Edition: Lupercalia
In the bottle, this blend is thick and sweet and pungeant. Throughout wearing it, I think that the amber, honey, and currant were predominant, as it was a very thick, sweet scent. When it dries, it gets light and powdery with just the hint of a sweet undertone. It has good throw and staying power -- it's lasted all day on me.
Verdict: This is another bottle that I'm glad I bought! It actually reminds me a lot of Aglaea, only without the slightly cloying air that that other blend had.This is sweet and sexy and mmmm yum.
I like the thick, sweet muskiness of this. To me it actually smells like oranges, but oh well! I like it.
Category: Sin and Salvation
Normally, I greatly enjoy florals, and this should have been a really great combination: lovely ylang ylang, earthy patchouli, and sultry, amping musk. And I think that if it had just been the patchouli and musk, it might have been fine...but today it's the floral note that kills it. It's like a menage a trois gone horribly, horribly wrong; the primadonna floral sweeps in, greedily hooks into the musk, and gets selfishly, insatiably busy with it while patchouli cries in the corner, wondering what the hell just happened.
When you are wincing every time you lift your wrist anywhere near your nose, it's a bad sign.
So, nope, no Lust for me, thanks.
Category: Limited Edition -- Halloween 2008
As many others have said: OMG YUMMY. Admittedly, it did take me a day or so to warm up to it, but once the full brunt of orange custardy cake goodness seeped into my system, I was hard-pressed not to just sit in a corner and lick myself for hours. I had been afraid of the floral notes, but I never really detected them at all. It just smells like moist, delicious, orange-glazed cake, and that is definitely good enough for me. Foodie fans must procure themselves a bottle of this.
Man...what a flippin' cocktease.
I get a brief, teasing whiff of orange, and then a pine branch smacks me in the noggin. But I like the orange...so I keep coming back to sniff again...and keep getting pine needles shoved up my nose. And then amber and incense come around afterward to douse my wounds in a medicinal bath, and prep me for round 7,531 of this endless cycle.
It's an exercise in sadomasochism for me.
On me it's a really resinous, dirty-hippy sort of scent, all teak and musk and patchouli. Then it gets a high, sweet-sour scent, almost like furniture polish...I suppose that's the star anise trying to work its magic. Its best phase is when it's completely dried; then it is a dark yet gleaming scent, like an intricately-carved teak chest, glistening with polish and the adoring care of generations of hands.
As aggressive as all of the notes sound, this one doesn't throw at *all*. Really strange. It's not for me, yet if I were to smell it on someone else, I think I'd really like it and be coming in for lots of close, intimate sniffings.
Category: Excolo
In the imp: Whoa, that grapefruit is aggressive! I could smell it as soon as I took the stopper out of the imp.
Wet: Very citrusy/fruity, though it quickly had a mellowness to it, which I am assuming was brought on by the tea.
Dry: This is a very fresh, clean, crisp scent; I detected the grapefruit throughout, and also fancied that I smelled the tea...like I was near a fresh, cold glass full of green tea on ice on a summer's day. It's really lovely! Unfortunately, I think my skin eated it, pretty much...it lasted the majority of the day, but now I have to get my nose to my wrist and huff forlornly to get any residual nummy smell. Strangely enough, now that it's been quite a while, I smell a sweet cherry scent, mostly.
Verdict: I like it, really I do. I wish that it came in some form of spray, though, or a lotion...it would be a really great scent to slather on in the summertime, when you're showing lots of skin.
What I liked: Citrus! Whee!!
What I didn't like: The fact that my skin seemed to slurp it up; it didn't throw very much. But hey, maybe in summertime, with short sleeves? I might have better luck.
Upon first application, it smelled like what I fancy an old-fashioned licorice candy would smell like: vaguely bitter, but with enough sweetness in its scent to lure one in for a tooth-achingly good time. I actually envision a licorice-flavored 'coal' candy with this one.
It is decent staying power and throw, and is pleasantly-sweet throughout; I can definitely pick out the licorice and leather notes. The coal dust makes it just a tad dry or powdery around the edges, without the whole thing crumbling into powderiness. It's very interesting, but an imp is most likely enough for me.
