sarada

Another one I thought I already reviewed!

 

This is the 2004 version. I will want to try the 2005 version as well, in case the resin notes are stronger in it...

 

I was surprised by the reviews that described this as having a foody quality since the ingredients would suggest nothing of the sort. I thought it would be something of an incensy scent with a touch of smoky florals. It does, however, remind me a little bit of bread with a touch of perfume about it. Strange, that. Like a richly perfumed woman taking little cakes out of an oven?

 

I do get more of the frankincense as this dries -- I am very familiar with the lab's frankincense and myrrh, and I can sense a bit of that Penitencey aroma in this but it is much more peppery in this blend. It just takes the part of frankincense that smells like something baking, and spikes it with pepper....and then the florals come out in a warm sort of glow. Co-workers remarked on how they smelled flowers, when I wore it. I don't get much of the flowers myself out of it.

 

This was great to test but I don't think I'll wear it again, now that I've sniffed it a few times...I'll just wear Penitence and Cathedral when I want frank and myrrh. I hope to sample this year's version to see if it changed at all.

Have I really not reviewed Samhain? I would swear it was one of the first reviews I ever wrote. Guess I forgot to post it!

 

I had been afraid of Samhain at first because I never like traditional autumn scents -- pumpkin and apple, as smells, are among my very least favorite things. Ironic, because I eat a bag of apples and a pumpkin pie every week all autumn! So I LIKE them, but I don't want to SMELL like them, dig? Every year I dread when "pumpkin spice" scented things start popping up in all the stores that I frequent and I have to hope that no one buys me something that smells like that, knowing my love for Halloween and assuming that it goes with a desire to smell like pie.

 

Enough back story though. Let's get to the point -- Samhain is one of the most incredible scents EVER and it has melted my evil heart. At my very first sniff I was a little worried about a hint of that thick, syrupy pumpkin/apple smell but it never really "took" on my skin in quite that way. Instead it unfolds into the most incredible bonfire of autumn leaves imaginable; a cold night, smoke in the air, dried pine needles underfoot and a dark cidery smell that never for a moment makes me feel nauseous.

 

A single drop of Samhain sticks around with me all day, so in the past year I've barely used anything from my bottle and even managed to decant a fair amount. I only need one drop at a time so this will last forever. And one year later it smells just as wonderful. I rub it on the backs of my wrists and through my hair and throughout the day whenever I want to be transported deep into the forest sipping cider with witches and pumpkinmen all I have to do is run my fingers through my hair, and that incredible smoky scent is released all around me.

 

I hope that Samhain 2005 is just like last year's, because this is an absolute treasure. It's so strong that I can't wear it too often though. Just a couple days each month in the fall and winter, and then it goes into the box until the weather turns crisp again. I almost want to drown in it but I think I can pace myself. It's all I can do to not just reapply it every 12 hours all autumn long but I'm going to try to vary it with some other favorites.....and cross my fingers that this year's will be a near match!

This is very pretty but I have no idea what's in it. No idea. At all. My notes on this were "warm, soapy jasmine" but now I don't agree with that at all. I don't smell roses much though, isn't it weird? Now that I am looking for them I guess I can sense them.....this reminds me a bit of Rose Cross now that I am actively trying to smell roses.

 

Yes, something like rose/sandalwood or rose/frankincense but there is another sinuous floral note winding through it. Pretty but not for me, and yet another example of how very unique each of the Sephiroth is. These each have their own personality and I imagine that meditating with them would yield great results.

 

As for wearing this one I can't see it happening! I actually am already getting a bit of a headache from it. Which is what 80% of rose blends does to me after a little while anyway!

Wow, sinus-clearing!

 

This is...definitely medicinal. Cough syrup, Vabo-rub, you name it. Actually what it most reminds me of is this Chinese white flower oil my mom gave me so I could have it rubbed into my shoulders to help with my horrible upper back tension and resulting headaches. This is definitely not something you'd just splash on casually as a perfume. This is a dead serious oil!

 

I'm going to have to agree with the sassafras and eucalyptus description. Actually, birch beer and things like that all smell medicinal to me and I sense something like eucalyptus or menthol in them. This smells like all of that. It would be great to rub into your temples if you had a headache, I think. Or onto sore muscles. I can't imagine wearing it because I wanted to smell like it, since this makes me think of muscle pain. But wow, that's some strooooooong stuff.

I like this a lot at first...it's the first one I tried of the Sephiroth and I think it could be my favorite though I still don't know if I would use it as a fragrance...like all of the oils in this category it has a feeling that it should be used for something, but I would not know what for.

 

I definitely agree that cedar is what this is all about. Reminds me a little of Jupiter actually, which is the only other almost pure cedar scent that I've come across at the lab; I liked Jupiter too but straight cedar goes a little "hamster cage" on me, without darker woods to keep it down. This has something else in it though that comes out quickly, and I'd guess it's lotus. Something watery, slightly fruity, but still aquatic. Lotus is an absolute disaster for me so that kind of throws the cedar off.

 

I wish this stayed cedar longer, but still it's one of the closest to a wearable scent among the Sephiroth for me. Again, I truly admire the strength and artistry of this blend, I can definitely imagine dressing a candle with this oil or using it to create an atmosphere for meditation and reflection.

I like this in the imp and when I apply it. It reminds me of something right in between Geek and Medicine Show...heavy on the leather, maybe some tobacco and some light medicinal herbs.

 

Looking at the other reviews, it appears that I might be on the money with my leather comparison! That's refreshing, I usually am way off the mark.

 

This one is actually kind of working for me as a fragrance but Geek and Medicine Show are still more up my alley as far as scents go...this is a slightly medicinal leather with maybe a hint of tobacco.

 

It fades very quickly though there's still a hint of leather in the drydown...very much like Geek now. I didn't like leather in many blends, only with lots of woody scents to back it up, but I do like it in this.

Upon sniffing this I can't really identify what it is, but I don't care for it...it makes me feel slightly queasy. It has a slightly chemical spice smell...my stomach goes "bleah" for a moment but I'll try it out anyway.

 

It gets spicier...not cinnamon spice but more like clove. Maybe it's carnation? I don't like carnation so that would make sense. Now that I think about it, this is probably like that undefinably spicy-but-not-spicy smell that is in Alice.

 

More of that clove-like spice as it wears, and it still makes me feel sick. I like clove normally so yeah I'm going to have to guess it's another trick up the sleeve of our friend carnation!

 

Hod went from making me feel uneasy to making me feel queasy, to indifferent so I am guessing that there's something in this that just doesn't agree with me. I wish I got amber from this...I don't get anything but stuff that makes me uncomfortable.

 

I don't know much about the meaning of this Sephiroth but I don't think this is one that I would typically work with, if I did, so it's not too surprising that this doesn't agree with me.

This makes me think of cherry or almonds at first, but it doesn't make my stomach clench like those notes normally do....so maybe it just smells ~like~ them without actually being them.

It thins out quickly after that, and loses all of the almondy quality. It almost has that sinuous, creeping quality of civet where you can feel it snaking up through your nose and lingering there whether you want it to or not.

Not exactly something that I'd want to smell regularly, I'm almost afraid this is the dreaded almonds and civet blend we've all feared. Now that my brain has decided that that is what this is going to smell like I can't make any more sense of it than that!

It really isn't all that scary when it dries down, it's very light and airy, faintly sweet. It just has a few frightening moments before it gets there!

Call me crazy, but this smells like Mata Hari at first to me. Well that kind of makes sense, since many other reviewers have described the smell as jasmine and possibly rose. and those are among the main notes in Mata Hari. But I'd swear there's a little of the "toasted rice" scent I get from that as well (I think that's my nose interpreting tonka and coffee bean, in that case).

 

I'd definitely say there's jasmine in here but whatever that grainy note is, hits me at first and stays for awhile. It becomes a nice jasmine...the kind that I smell when I go to this one store near where I live that sells everything from Chinese slippers to ninja swords, with a row of jasmine scented soap and candles right next to the throwing stars.

 

Ahh, but I like it for some reason. I don't like jasmine typically but this has a really familiar, comfortable scent to me that makes me think of those stores and makes me want to buy an imitation jade Buddha statue. It's not something I'd wear but it's very comforting...I'd burn a candle that smelled like this, in a second.

This strikes me as a hot, fiery blend. Not spicy, just hot. Like wood heated red hot on a fire...a dry, blasting heat. Is there pepper in here? This kind of wood makes me think of myrrh, though that tends to be spicy on me...maybe there is something spiced coming out in this.

 

It makes me think of a ritual incense or an occult store oil, as do most of the Sephiroth oils. Even though I tend to like things like this, there's something about it that makes me think that it wouldn't be worn as a fragrance, but as part of some sort of ritual. A hot, dark, spicy perfume.

 

None of the Sephiroth strike me as something I would wear for the fragrance, as they are all very heavy and slightly medicinal but this is one of the ones that comes the closest to my kind of fragrance.

Whippoorwill smells like Dublin layered with Silk Road to me.

 

Oakmoss is pretty pronounced in Burial and Omen as well maybe one of those layered with Silk Road would work as well...

 

But Silk Road definitely has some of the same spices, to my nose!

This might be a little off topic, but on a related note...are there any catalog scents that have rose and tobacco or rose and smoke as main notes?

 

In addition to LiTA, I am wild about Gypsy Queen...I can't remember if there are any smoky rose or tobaccoy rose scents in the regular catalog though. Most roses are too sharp and floral for me...even Zombi, it's just been too sharp of a rose for me to wear regularly. Roses usually give me a headache unless there's lots of amber or tobacco to smooth it out.

Woo, this is the first elemental I've been able to sample!

 

As others have said, lavender is definitely there. Lavender is something that I associate mainly with either bath products or aromatherapy, though it does work marvellously in many blends (like old Scratch!). In this blend it is striking me mainly as the kind of lavender that would be intended for aromatherapy or a similar purpose.

 

There's also a strong sense of...dust, actually. It makes me think of something musty and dusty...not quite moldy though. More like the scent of an old dusty bookshop, with motes of dust floating in the air on a sunbeam. Not an oppressive scent, just that musty old book smell. And there's a hint of a lemony fragrance as well.

 

I think of a dimly lit room with some dusty sprigs of lavender hanging to freshen the air, a mug of lemon tea and shelves and shelves of old books.

 

I'd enjoy this as a room scent in the morning (if I was ever awake in the morning) or as an after-bath scent.

This is the scent I was most looking forward to from recent updates because the description was so beautiful and evocative. I think of stretches of cave glittering white with calcified crystal formations reflected in perfectly clear cold underground streams. I think of the scent of cold rocks and earth. And I knew that whatever the scent wound up being, that I would have to give it a try.

 

I think a lot of the other reviews have described it well: there's a chilly vanilla and a warm light musk, and a bit of a mineral smoothness. It strikes me as far more white than black. I think of rock formations that look like candlewax, dripping from the points of stalactites. I have always thought that if I were able to taste those sort of chalky white crystals they would be something like this. There's a faint whiff of powdery cold sweetness...then the nuzzling warmth of white fur.

 

It is subtle and doesn't have a lot of throw on me but thanks to the musky underlayer it sticks around for awhile. I know that I'll have to use a lot of this to get the kind of cloud of scent around me that I like so I ordered a bottle after my first sniff, anticipating that I'll use this a lot in the winter. I think it would work all year round though, as a cooling blend when it's warm and a warming blend when it's cool! It has a very classic perfume quality to it (without being "perfumey") but I think that this will be a very popular fragrance...it's not my typical style but it's so unusual that I find it compelling. And it's the kind of thing that I've been favoring for nighttime wear lately so I look forward to really getting to know this fragrance.

I feel like this is something that, if it had been described in a fantasy book as some kind of marvelous magical potion, I would have gone mad with the desire for it. When I first read the description of that incredible rainbow bouquet of fruits, I thought like my head would explode...just looking at the names of all of those fruits summons up a vision of a juicy jewel-colored paradise.

 

Every single time I open this up I get a different fruit. It is an ever-changing thing, this magic potion. First honeydew melon, then pineapple (which isn't even listed, I don't think!), then lime, ahh then there's something that I think is passion fruit or maybe mango -- mostly orange and golden colored fruit, with some pale green. I don't get a lot of berries, but sometimes they pop up...a wee bit of crackling fizzy sourness into the mix.

 

It's very much like the fruity components of Mi-Go, just like Flower Moon reminded me of the floral components of that blend. But I much prefer fruits to flowers, so this will work a lot better for me. I can see this being a regular favorite in the spring and summer months, so it's a shame that it will be a few months before I get to put it to regular use.

 

It has pretty good staying power but it's really the most exciting in the bottle and in the early stages, so this would be one to refresh regularly as it loses its oomph after about an hour. Right now it's so unbearably humid outside that I am probably not getting a good feel for how this would work in, say, April or May when I'd be the most likely to wear it.

 

This is the thing to get if ever you wanted to open a bottle and be surprised with a different fruit every time you sniffed. It's truly magical and wonderful. While it's probably not my favorite lunacy blend overall (Buck Moon is looking like a fave right now), I haven't had a lot of luck with finding lunacy blends that I wanted to keep more than one imps' worth of so I'm glad that this is a "keeper" for me. I can't wait to use it in the spring!

Add me to the list of people in love with this scent!!

 

I like lavender but it often overpowers all the other notes in a blend for me so I was a little wary. However, having loved Dorian which is also a fougere, whatever that means, I figured this was a safe bet...especially since I am a patchouli-crazed devil-lovin' hippie.

 

This is so much more amazing than you would ever guess, by the notes. I was afraid it would be kind of cologney or floral but it's not...the lavender is strong and noticable but it does not overpower the blend. Tonka is always a good note in any blend though I don't know it well on its own. I think it must be softening the lavender's sharp edge and making it much more of a comforting and lasting scent. Amber helps it to last and disperse and adds a touch of incensy, resiny sweetness. It really loves my skin, too.

 

The patchouli really adds a wonderful base to this, a little dark, a little gritty and a touch of incense. The way lavender and patchouli interact is really breathtaking...the sharp, strong floral is transformed by the woody, earthy base.

 

The throw is amazing and it's an incredible mixture of lavender, resin, sweetness, incense and wood. This is already a favorite -- Top 20 for sure, probably working its way up as I wear it more. It's going to be hard to wait two months for my bottle but I should be able to keep myself busy with my other scents in the meantime! This also would work all year long, day or night, I think. It's a great all-purpose scent with a little bit of everything in it.

In the imp my first thought was that I'd probably pass on Bengal, since the musky scent really doesn't seem to go with the spicy notes...but I know that it's always worth testing these oils unless I absolutely know that something is going to make me ill (i.e. butterscotch, ugh).

 

And after all I do like the "skin musk" where it pops up in other blends. So let's see.

 

Ahhh, there we go. This really works marvellously on my skin, and the muskiness is no longer mismatched. Now it's simply allowing the spices to come out and blend nicely and mixes them all up in a gorgeous cloud of spice cabinet scent without the dreaded "cinnamon potpourri" effect. The musk helps it to last and gives it a lot more throw.

 

As for the spices, the clove is at the forefront, and ginger is nice and strong without being lemony. The cinnamon doesn't bother me for once, and neither do the peppers -- both of those have been known to burn my skin. It does feel a little hot on the underside of my wrist when I put it there, briefly. The honey isn't the sticky sweet kind that I often dislike, it's much more understated and soft like what I get from Honey Moon.

 

It doesn't smell like a cup of chai to me because it's missing the tea element but it does smell like my Indian spice cabinet and makes me want to start mixing up some garam masala.

 

Now, is this the spice scent that I want? I like that this lasts a long time on me and the musk really blends in well with my skin and helps me to waft it around and carry it with me for longer. I can probably use the imp sparingly and get a lot of mileage out of it so I don't think I'll need a bottle right away but this is definitely something I'd like to have around on cold winter days. Al-Shairan might be winning the spice contest on the overall fragrance but Bengal wins on overall chemistry reaction for me, and for staying power. I guess it's a tie! But I'll probably wait a bit for a bottle of this.

I am trying to decide whether Al-Shairan or Bengal would be a better spicy blend for me, since I've always avoided spicy blends (I don't like cinnamon and anything with cinnamon in it just smells like cheap potpourri to me). But I really like these and I'd like to give at least one a try as a bottle.

 

Al-Shairan is the early favorite. In the imp it's all about clove, and I like clove a lot. There's also a hint of the incensy notes, whatever they may be. I have to admit, yeah, it does smell like Christmas. I don't have many good associations with Christmas though so this is something I kind of have to ignore, rather than embrace...nonetheless it's the best spicy blend I think I've tried yet. No hot/burning sensation from the cinnamon, that's a plus.

 

I don't get any peach/orange at all though which is a bit of a shame since I like some fruit with my incense. Clove and patchouli dominate and I feel like there could be some champa floating in there as well. This is definitely feeling like a bottle purchase...I can see wearing this throughout the fall and winter, even if it does make people think I smell like a spice rack.

 

I was hoping that the peach/orange and incense/patchouli notes would help to keep this from going "cheap potpourri" on me and they do even though I can't smell the fruit at all in any stage of this. The only bad thing is that it lasts less than an hour and then it's gone without a trace. I can't smell a thing! I'd have to get a bottle and keep reapplying it to be able to enjoy it properly and I'll have to keep comparing it to Bengal before I can make a decision...

I needed to round out an imp pack so I decided to try this since the description was ambiguous!

 

I don't like florals...but sometimes I do. So you never know.

 

The main note in this is something that is also in Darkness, I think. Darkness is one of the scents that I least get along with. There's something in it that smells like hairspray and bandaids and I just don't like it at all. The note that is in Asphodel is not that note, but it's one that I don't like very much on its own anyway. And there's something else, like jasmine, that doesn't agree with me. Overall it's a very chemical-smelling sort of cloying floral to me. I can see it being grey, but it's as if tiny little pale grey flowers are interspersed with little pale yellow flowers as well. They are fragrant and floral but on me it comes across as a rather depressing.

 

Since a lot of people like the notes that I think I detect in this I think that this must be a chemistry issue...these kinds of florals will never work for me, but fans of perfumey florals would definitely be wise to try it out!

This is an incredible, unique fragrance...I had a feeling that this was going to be an instant love affair for me and I can sense that a beautiful relationship is about to start!

 

My first impression in the imp is that it smells like Hunter Moon somewhat...the slightly sour hint of wine and a dry, smoky wood. I like this a lot more than Hunter Moon though, it's not nearly as sour and there is a slow spiral of tobacco and wood smoke drifting through the air. It makes me think of a group of adventurers in leather armor sharing a flask of red wine on a smoky autumn evening as they make their way through a thick dry forest to a blasted heath and a ruined tower.

 

I would swear that I smell cypress in this, but whatever I am smelling it is wonderful...it is the darkest, richest wood and the deepest fragrant dry greenery. It is smoke and crisp air, and the refreshing splash of wine on thirsty lips. I am only just beginning to understand this scent. As it dried down the main thing that stood out was that greenery, but I have a feeling this will develop on me in different ways when the weather changes.

 

I can't wait to wear this through the autumn and the winter. I ordered a bottle within moments of trying this and I can't wait for it to get here! Smoke, wood, forest greenery, and wine are among my favorite notes....this would also fit in perfectly as a Samhain scent.

I love "cold" scents so I was very excited about Numb...Ice Queen, Skadi and Szepasszony currently epitomize what I think of when I think of frosty scents.

 

This is closest to Szepasszony out of those but what this is really, really like is Yog-Sothoth. It's almost identical actually, to my nose, and I just tried Yog again to compare. I literally don't think I could tell them apart, but I love Yog, so this is great!

 

I don't think that I could describe any of the notes. I am sure that there might be floral elements but the overall smooth, clean, clear glassy (not not aquatic) quality of the scent comes across to me more than anything else. It is ice blue, grey, white or transparent in character if I think of it as a color. It's a little stronger and more airy than Yog-Sothoth, so people who found that too unsettling in its infinite darkness might get along better with this in its crystalline purity.

 

Violets? I don't know, maybe...I think of this as "clean" which could also be interpreted as soapy, which is how violets are on me. I'd guess that pale purple flowers were a major component of this but overall I just get that wonderful astral starry clear feeling from this that I get from Yog Sothoth.

 

And the weather is utterly horrible right now with endless oppressive humidity and heat even stronger than we had in the summer, even though summer should be gone by now. This is very refreshing. I'd enjoy this a lot on a cold snowy day as well.

 

I was using my Yog sparingly because it was such a unique fragrance and I figured I wouldn't ever see anything like it again but now I feel I could use the two interchangably.

The first imp I had of this was, I think, slightly yellow in color and the pomegranate was more pronounced. The imp I just received as a freebie from the lab is clear, and the rose is much stronger. Ahhh, I think I liked the first incarnation the best but I still like it and I am hoping to receive a bottle later this year as a gift since I asked very nicely. Maybe this will age and the pomegranate will get stronger.

 

I love pomegranate. This is one of the blends in which pomegranate is the strongest, I think, though you definitely have to be open to rose to wear it. I don't like rose all the time but when it works, it works.

 

Sweet, succulent, ruby red pomegranate...sweetening the otherwise sharp and slightly perfumey rose. So simply but so elegant, and I think that it likes my skin after all.

 

If you like the pomegranate and rose combo in Queen of Clubs this should work for you as well...I was thinking I could layer it with Graveyard Dirt or something else that's slightly earthy to recreate that Queeny scent but Persephone is nice on her own as well!

 

One of the lab's simplest delights...there are few finer pleasures than two lovely scents that complement each other so perfectly. A bit more floral than my tastes typically run but one of the only things that can save rose for me is rich red fruit (amber and earth are two other rose-savers).

 

I do hope I get a bottle. I think I'll especially want this in the spring.

All cherry oils smell like almond to me, which I can't stand, so I haven't been able to handle more than a sniff of anything that contains cherry...it's not so much that it smells like cough syrup, it just smells like almond.

 

But if you like cherry and would like something that smells kinda like cherry but doesn't have that woozy sickening cough syrup feeling, you might like some blends that contain heliotrope. It's a flower that smells surprisingly like cherry but doesn't turn into an almond or candy scent.

Received via circular swap.

 

I really have no idea what is in this! At first I thought floral but after reading some other reviews I sniffed it again and I think I do agree with the resinous descriptions. Yes, that does smell like Frankincense. Maybe I was wearing something else earlier and didn't realize it.

 

I actually thought for a moment that I detected civet because it has a sense of something sharp and sinuous winding its way through the blend, tickling the back of my mind with a sense of vague alarm the way that civet does, but I think that must just be a trick that the other notes are playing on me.

 

A light resin with a trickle of something slightly sharp winding through it....something medicinal or evergreen. It fades rather quickly though and leaves me with a faint impression of some sort of musty flower.

 

I feel like this is an oil that you would want to do something with. It has the feeling of an occult shop...something that should be dabbed on candles or meditated on. Unfortunately I have no idea how to use it properly, and as a scent it fades very quickly and doesn't agree with me...I might have to do some research into how these oils can be used as they have very strong, unique and powerful fragrances that I think would work better on a candle than on my skin.

I almost ordered this right off the bat because of the fig and pomegranate...two things that I enjoy sniffing. But I didn't buy it because the rest sounded kind of hit or miss for me.

 

In the imp, this is very very figgy with a swirl of cocoa. While I am a chocolate fanatic I absolutely hate the idea of smelling like chocolate. Cocoa belongs in my mouth, not on my skin! So I tested it nervously but the cocoa goes away instantly and it's ALL fig from here on in!

 

The cocoa does sweeten it a bit and the lemon does add some sharp notes but it's mainly just fig. I like the lab's fig a lot, it's completely unique and I've never come across anything else like it in the world of oils. It is, indeed, strangely comforting and familiar. I like fig in Gomorrah and Nemesis too but I don't usually wear them...I just like to sniff them.

 

As I wear this it's still just fig! It stays strong for awhile though. I don't get any other notes in this at all.

 

This is a fig-lover's dream come true but I desperately wish I could smell the pomegranate. Pomegranate is one of my favorite things in the world and I just can't seem to get enough of it in any blend.

 

I will enjoy sniffing this but I don't think I would use it enough to justify more than a partial imp, so I'm glad I passed on a bottle yet I still got to experience it!