I've been feeling a bit down and out-of-sorts lately with the job situation, so this big update is a nice distraction. I waffled on 13 -- I bought a bottle of the 2005 original and while it was nice, I ended up swapping it away. I think it was the iris at the end that made it not as enjoyable. Anyway, the reformulation was tempting enough so it's been ordered.

I can't believe there are Yule bottles available! I tried Jacob's Ladder at a Meet-n-Sniff and didn't like it as much as I thought I would -- unfortunately I haven't found an amber blend I love yet. Stardust has a great description, but I tried it and it's not something I would ever wear regularly. I already have bottles of Lick It and Midnight Mass. Here are the new ones I'm interested in:

Haloa -- I'm all over any reference to wine, but the "cakey" note hasn't been working on me lately

Jolasveinar -- snow and dirt sound intriguing and different, and with pastries in the background? Weird!

Knecht Ruprecht -- more snow, this time with fruit trees, but if "Black Forest" means pine in any fashion it won't be good for me

Krampus -- this one sounds like a lot of fun, but the black leather scents come out too processed and "city," if that makes any sense. I like the leather of Dead Man's Hand (and Quincey Morris, from the reviews). We'll see

Snow-Flakes -- I'm anxiously awaiting the hopeful return of Snow White, so hopefully this isn't a substitute, but it sounds nice anyway

Sol Invictus -- this sounds a lot like Litha (great!) and Et Lux Fuit (OK), so I'll check the reviews

Yule -- I had a bottle of Yuletide which was good but not great. Too much Krafty Korner craft store smell. This one might be a bit more complex

Phoo, that's a lot. The new GCs I'm interested in are:

Mania -- the musk blends have really been nice lately. Smut totally changed my perspective

Horreur Sympathique -- wow, so many great ingredients, I can't wait to start reading reviews of this one