Ok, so I admit I didn't splurge as much as I thought, which is a good thing because student loans don't arrive until late September. I'm making another order on Saturday because my dad gave me some money and I'm going to put it in my bank account tomorrow...ok, so what do I think? Update musings...

 

The ones I got-bottles:

 

F5

Aloe, white musk, lime peel, fresh mint, seaspray, verbena and green tea.

I love it. F5...what a cool, minimalist, modern name for a scent. Almost mainstream, and fitting with it's notes. I wonder if it will smell like a fresher, more gender neutral Berenice with a little bit of Embalming Fluid? The only note that could turn odd is verbena which can be gorgeous or soapy.

 

MME. MORIARTY, MISFORTUNE TELLER

Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, patchouli leaf and wild plum.

This has such a stellar cast of notes. It also brings to mind Snake Charmer. How could I refuse a scent named after Beth herself?

 

THREE BRIDES -- Moroccan rose, king mandarin, red sandalwood, Egyptian amber, orchid, carnation, benzoin, tonka, calla lily, vanilla flower.

This reminds me of the Haunted Palace with hints of Moscow or LitA. I adore Egyptian amber, rose, red sandalwood, carnation, vanilla (vanilla flower sounds especially nice-it seems like it will be softer than the bean) so I think this will be fantastic on me.

 

The ones I got: imps

 

LES BIJOUX

Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh.

Reads like a who's who of favourite notes and notes I like and won't ruin the scent. I should have got a 5ml straight away.

 

TANIN'IVER

Lilith’s monstrous dragon steed: dragon’s blood resin, patchouli, pomegranate, myrrh, mimosa, cassia, blood musk and smoke.

What an amazing cast of notes. I adore cassia, blood musk and myrrh. Like pom, patch and mimosa. The smoke and DB could be either nice or not so good. But the surefire winner notes outnumber the questionable ones, so this one's destined to work on me.

 

MANHATTAN

sheer amber, black leather, white mint, lemon peel, white tea, grapefruit, kush, teakwood and orchid.

Could this be my new favourite of the leather scents? I am reminded of that other fantastic leather scent, Bow and Crown, only this looks more slick and sophisticated, and more complex, maybe sharper. I'm interested to see what kush is like-is it really cannabis?

 

URUK

Thick bitter almond and heady night-blooming jasmine with saffron, cinnamon leaf, red patchouli, river lilies, bergamot, fig leaf and the sacred incense of Inanna.

This looks like it will be stupendously beautiful. I do like jasmine-night blooming ones work nicely on me. Saffron, patchouli, fig and almond are all good. Cinnamon, water lily and incense are favourites. if this doesn't work, I will cry...the Sumerian civilisation is my second favourite ancient civilisation...

 

COCKAIGNE

milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine.

Hoping the milk and honey are more Dana, less Milk Moon. And CAKE! Gimme cake! cake! I want cake! I vant ze cake!!

 

LYONESSE

Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss.

This looks absolutely spectacular. I love vanilla, musk, stargazer, and sandalwood. I'm a bit iffy about grey amber, if that's the note that turned sour in Ides of March. Elemi I'm not familiar with. But this looks very, very promising.

 

Will get:

 

THE PENITENT MAGDALEN -- Immortelle, lily of the valley, gaiac, amber, honey, white sandalwood, almond flower, blonde musk, and hyssop.

The gaiac, immortelle and almond flower are unknown to me so I can't wait to see what they smell like. Honey (the sweeter, the better), amber, sandalwood and musk are favourites. This is set to be another stunner.

 

CARNAVAL DIABOLIQUE

opium smoke, lemon flower, heliotrope, tuberose, black musk, vanilla, coconut, apricot flower.

The opium smoke worries me, but the other ingredients either intrigue me (lemon flowers-the flowers of the lemon tree, I know for a fact, smell gorgeous) or delight me. Heliotrope, black musk, vanilla, coconut, are all favs, and apricot flower intrigues-will it smell like the fruit?

 

MIDNIGHT ON THE MIDWAY

sugared incense and night-blooming flowers.

Mmm, looks interesting. Vague, but promising. I'm just a little worried that the nasty variety of gardenia could be among those night bloomers. But it could be like Midnight with added candy floss and incense...

 

MELISANDE, THE PUPPET MISTRESS

Jasmine sambac, dark musk, violet water, vanilla bean and mimosa.

I wonder if 'jasmine sambac' is a rich, deep, heady jasmine? Violet water looks interesting. And it has vanilla!

 

GENNIVRE, L'ARTISTE du DIABLE

Hyson tea leaf, pale mint, sugar cane, orange blossom, lemongrass, and honey.

Once Macha said this was inspired by Moroccan tea, it made me even more eager to try it. But lemongrass could overwhelm it all. But this looks so promising, so fresh and sweet.

 

THEODOSIUS, THE LEGERDEMAIN

Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean.

First thing that pops into my mind is Dorian. I loooove Dorian. So if this is Earl Grey Dorian, I will probably adore this (if it smells like Tetley's Earl Grey Vanilla tea, I will do a glee-squee). I wonder if jasmine leaf is floral, or leafy?

 

I DIED FOR BEAUTY

The Venusian splendor of ylang ylang and violet stirred by hyssop, frankincense, and grave loam.

Love the loamy scents (apart from Zombi) so this could be lovely. Like ylang, hyssop and I love frankincense.

 

THE JERSEY DEVIL

Pitch pine with blackberry leaf, cranberry, cedar wood and tomato leaf.

What an interesting note list. Good to see cranberry and tomato leaf here. I've never smelt tomato leaf and I've seen it's praises sung on this board so much it's aroused my curiosity. This could be a gorgeous nature/garden sort of scent for autumn. Imp.

 

CALIBAN

The scent of the salty seas, bittersweet wine, palm and tropical ferns.

This looks like a good summer scent-I like the marine notes so far. Fern and palm and wine looks like a very unique mix.

 

LADON

The hundred-headed dragon that guards the garden of the Hesperides: dragon’s blood resin, golden apple, apple blossom, white musk and hyacinth.

DB and apple? Interesting. And there's hyacinth! Apple blossom can be dry on me, but I'm hoping the apple note is sweet.

 

MAG MELL

The warmth of amber, the puissance of white ginger and the clarity of verbena, with fresh green grass, lush sage and cleansing droplets of summer rain.

This looks intriguing, indeed-fresh and clean and green. The rain may turn odd on me, but this looks amazing. I would love to see how the amber works with the fresh, bright notes.

 

PONTARLIER

Swiss ferns, lilac, blackcurrant, Gallic rose and lavender with a dollop of sugar and absinthe.

All the ingredients apart from absinthe look gorgeous so I'll get this soon.

 

PORT ROYAL

Spiced rum and ship’s wood mixed with the body-warmed trace of a prostitute’s perfume and a hint of salty sea air on the dry-down.

Arrr! I need to get this for it's piratical associations. I'm a bit intrigued and slightly concerned about the 'prostitute's perfume' though. To my modern-day mind it brings to mind cheap, sleazy scents, but back in the old days, such perfume must have smelt a lot better (and this is Beth, mind, and she doesn't do cheap, tacky stuff!) so I have high hopes for that.

 

DEATH OF THE GRAVE DIGGER -- Snow, soil, opoponax and myrrh.

I wonder if this snow note is that lovely pine-citrus scent from Skadi and Snow Moon etc? This one looks intriguing-snow and soil and resins? Wow.

 

ELIXIR VIII: BITCH -- Snappy-quick PMS relief

YES I NEED THIS. (is currently going into the dreaded monthly mood.)

 

ELIXIR IX: TKO -- Sleep, sleep, and more sleep.

Ditto. I hope this will be the mother of all soporific scents. My insomnia is so bad that I need something equivalent to chloroform-hopefully this will have that effect but with a nicer smell.

 

Ones I'm interested but unsure of:

 

THE PHANTOM CALLIOPE

black cherry, patchouli, cassis, cardamom and verbena.

Love cardamom. Not so sure about cherry and verbena but this is worth a decant too.This seems like it will be sharply fruity but...cardamom!

 

THE CANDY BUTCHER

Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone.

Oh dear. If this does a Bliss on me (ie turns fake and bland smelling) I will cry. My dream is that it smells like that delicious, thick, indulgent, rich hot chocolate I drank all the time when I was in Paris. Both in the bottle and the skin.

 

THE ORGAN GRINDER

Almond milk, sarsaparilla, tobacco smoke, black patchouli and white pine bark.

This sounds a bit masculine but I'm intrigued by almond milk and salsaparilla...

 

PULCINELLA & TERESINA

Labdanum, cedar, teak and red rose.

Seems like a nice, uncomplicated mix of notes-and I love some rose.

 

DOC CONSTANTINE

Sheer musk, cedar smoke, fir needle, black amber and leather.

Aagin, seems masculine but definitely worth a try. I need a boyfriend now to test these on.

 

XANTHE, THE WEEPING CLOWN

Guava, orange peel, white pepper, spun sugar and apple blossom.

Guava...mmm. I've not smelt a guava perfume before. Apple blossom is hit or miss. Spun sugar looks yummy.

 

ANTONINO, THE CARNY TALKER

White musk, wild plum, vetiver, black coconut, verbena, fig, and lavender.

The notes here are making me drool but I'll get a decant for now, especially if the vetiver is too strong. But plum, white musk, coconut? mmm. King of Spades, anyone?

 

THE TAVERN OF HELL

White gardenia, ambergris bouquet, lavender fougere, orange blossom, melissa, tobacco flower, coriander, ebony wood, ylang ylang, absinthe and aged whiskey.

The ingredients that give me pause are gardenia (can be the Note of Doooooom on me), absinthe (can turn to soap) and whiskey (may be too boozy). Other notes sound a bit masculine. I wonder if melissa is lemon balm though.

 

THE ISLES OF DEMONS

The scent is of wet, dark greenery, carnivorous flowers, volcanic gas, and the hot black musk of the demons and wild beasts that populated the islands.

Hmm. This sounds very feral, very wild. And the 'volcanic gas' is kinda offputting (sulphur??) But I might give it a try. I want to see what it's like to smell like prehistoric times.

 

JEZIRAT Al TENNYN

The Dragon’s Isle: smoke and fire, earth and wind. The rage of the elements blasting over a primordial paradise.

Oooh, a vague description. Will wait for reviews.

 

KUMARI KANDAM

Thick incense, clay, stone, and hothouse blooms with a spike of frost, a hint of decay, and heavy, dolorous aquatic notes.

This also looks very intriguing, with it's notes of clay, stone, decay and frost. Now those are things you don't see much in perfume. Will wait for reviews.

 

CLOISTER GRAVEYARD IN THE SNOW -- Three white musks, ozone, frankincense, mint.

Decant. The ozone could spoil it but I'm a sucker for musk and frank. This might be wonderful for hot summer days.

 

THE FOX-WOMAN KUZUNOHA LEAVING HER CHILD -- White tea, cherry blossom, wisteria, star jasmine, and teak.

I'll get a decant but this seems like another one of those lovely, zen-like Asian scents which Beth does really well.

 

SILENCE -- White sandalwood, iris, blue musk, lotus root, moonflower, plum blossom, green tea, white mint and white peach.

THAT PICTURE IS AMAZING. I love the musk in Nuit, so this blue musk looks good. A lot of the other notes look good too but this may go all 'Budding Moon' on me, and I wasn't so keen on that moon. Decant.

 

So yeah, that's the update rundown. Wow, what an incredible one that was. Luckily a lot of scents will be up either indefinitely or for a year so there was nothing too urgent here. All I can say now is...roll on Chrysanthemum Moon!