tinyvulture

Sugar cookie topped with caraway seeds? That's what I'm getting. A sugar cookie's not as buttery as shortbread, but it still has that buttery baking note. I can see how it smells like snickerdoodles, too. I drink a lot of ginger tea and I'm not getting that, nor the citrus that others have mentioned. Caraway is an interesting choice of spice. Maybe I'll have to make caraway sugar cookies! Not a ton of throw, but I'll enjoy the decant I got.

At first: warm golden musk, red berries, and a forest note that my amateur sniffer identifies as pine, but which must be hawthorn bark or aspen leaf. These notes together make me think of Yules, like Mistletoe and Skadi. I can't pick out any violet, moss, or honeycomb, and I'm not sure what life everlasting smells like. After 5 minutes: the woodsy note is gone, now it's all berries (sweet/sour/fruity) and honey. Sort of reminds me of Florence. Strong and bright, a happy, youthful blend.

A close match with Black Forest, one of my top GC's. They share pine, juniper and animal musk notes. The animal musk in Faunalia, while warm and sweaty, is also more cuddly and soft than in Black Forest. Think Ivanushka. Faunalia's scent description also lists some herbal and floral notes, but I'm not picking up any of those. The only additional thing I notice is a bubbliness or fizziness. Makes me think of a gin and tonic. A lovely woodland scent; if I didn't already own a bottle of Black Forest, I'd be ordering one of Faunalia.

With shared pear and milk/cream notes, I'll have to compare this blend to The Perilous Parlor, which I own and love. PP is super sweet and creamy. Contemplating the Moon has the same juicy pear note, but the milk accord is dry, powdery...like powdered milk, I guess. Plus, there are soft, dry floral notes -- jonquil, tuberose -- and the vegetal neutrality of carrot seed. So while PP is a playful, foody scent, Contemplating the Moon is more of a complex women's perfume that happens to contain a pear note. I like Contemplating the Moon, but it's a bit too powdery, so I prefer The Perilous Parlor.

With leather and sarsparilla notes, I thought there might be an "Old West" vibe to this scent, but it's actually coming across as an "outdoorsy" blend. The earthiness of the patchouli and the distinct spiciness of sarsparilla have bound together to remind me of walking through the woods in Western Maryland as a kid. That earthy, woodsy, herbaceous, sweet scent of all the different foliage. The leather blends in seamlessly and I'm not picking up any honeysuckle or vanilla. I don't feel the need to track down a bottle, but the imp is a definite keeper, for nostalgic reasons.

On my skin, lotus can either be terribly cloying, or sophisticated and lovely. It's simply gorgeous here, its sweet womanly perfume enhanced by golden honey notes. Not overstated, a bit powdery but in a nice way. This may end up on my bottle list. For fans of Glowing Vulva or The Flower Song.

At first I smell lemon tea. Similar to Shanghai, but more wispy and subdued. Shadows of florals and watery notes in the background...there's a stronger flash of dry, powdery floral...poppy?...that quickly fades. Nice but too subtle for my tastes.

On first application, not a pleaseant scent. Smells like an old, abandoned library with lots of mildew. I love libraries. Mildew, not so much. I guess the dark green herbal/musty note is coming from the balsam. The leather note's also strong, but I'm getting no vanilla. After 10 minutes: Was hoping for a morpher, but it's not changing. Still quite strong. I long to visit the Mutter Museum some day and this blend is perfectly creepy, but not something I'd wear on my skin.

My husband and I both adore copal. Where we live, it's burned at Dia de los Muertos festivals, and we always have a little bag of resin rocks on hand to burn at home. This is almost pure copal to me. It is slightly cologne-ish, but so is copal resin, IMO. I guess many folks would call this a masculine scent, but I'll wear it. Regal and rich and mineral and sweet all at the same time.

I love the oats in Gunpowder, and I adore the lab's pear note. And wine's never a bad thing. So I knew I'd love this blend, and I do. The oats are warm, comforting, foody without being sickeningly sweet. I'm not sure if the lab has different wine notes, but this wine really reminds me of the honeyed red wine in my favorite, Athens. So gorgeous, just the right amount of throw, and perfectly blended so all the notes are balanced. I want a bottle so bad now! Thanks to Mellifluous for including a tester with my decants!

For orchids, Magdalene is my go-to blend, so I'll do a comparison. Opiate Southern Gardens isn't as lush; it's more dry and understated. The poppies are noticeable, too, and I always equate their scent with a candle being blown out. I'm not really picking up any peony. I can see how this blend fits the description because, for a garden full of lovely orchids, there's something dark and somber about it.

At first, almond extract? OK, that's random. When that goes away...buttery cookies with caramel. Like a tin of those shortbread cookies you get at Christmas. Super buttery and sweet. I didn't know the meaning of "squamous" so I googled it and it means...scaly. After a couple minutes, I get the aquatic note that other reviewers have mentioned. Oh, darn, it's that aquatic note that goes sweet on me, like pineapple. I'm trying to tell myself, "Well it still smells okay, like pineapple upside-down cake." But honestly aquatics don't do much for me and as far as this year's foody Yules, Pumpkin Pecan Treacle Tarts has already won my heart.

Cold, but not slushy/snowy...it's more of a cold ozone scent, wintry air, with a touch of aquatic for the river. It's so smoothly blended, I can't pick out any woodsy or smoky notes. A winter's day in the woods, turned into a cologne. Too masculine and I don't do well with ozone.

Gingerbread meets Snake Oil! So we have gingerbread with plenty of bite from fresh ginger and cinnamon, plus lots of vanilla and the other spicy/woodsy secret notes that comprise Snake Oil. A close relation to Shub-Niggurath, Pumpkin Queen, and undoubtedly Gingerbread Poppet, although it's been ages since I've sniffed that one. Also kin to Dia de los Reyes, for that heavy cinnamon note. Foody meets sexy, with excellent throw.

Here's the slush/snow that was missing from my Pink Snowballs. It's paired with sweet and sour (mostly sweet) plum. This is one strong, bold blend. The currants are present, too...this scent is heavy with dark fruits. Cardamom is usually easy to pick out, but I'm not finding it. I like this decant, but there are other plum blends that I prefer, so no bottle necessary.

It's been several years since I sold my bottle of Snow White, because it made me sneeze. But this smells soooooo similar. Except it's not making me sneeze. Gentle florals, tons of vanilla, and a little coconut and mint. Creamy, white, sweet, comforting.

Opium hits my nose first...think Darkness, Languor, Belle Epoque. Dark, powdery, hypnotic. The frankincense and opoponax resins add to the solemn and, yes, ritualistic feel of this blend. After about five minutes, just the tiniest hint of champaca. The cheery floral almost feels out of place. Nice but needs stronger throw.

Rich mahogany crossed with warm, grainy amber...a winner for sure. I love the lab's mahogany note and it's the star here beautifully blended with amber as well as syrupy sweet labdanum and tonka, and just a hint of slush/snow. No currants or wine for me, but I don't feel anything's missing. So gorgeous. I need all the wood blends and definitely this one.

I recognize the dominant note, herbaceous carrot seed, from a lotion I used to have. It's fresh and earthy, kind of like walking into a vegetable garden, but without smelling like soil. I also smell something salty and warm, makes me think of aquatic scents without actually being too aquatic, if that makes sense. I guess it's the sea buckthorn berry. It pairs well with the carrot seed. I'm not really getting florals or frankincense, so this ends up being a very natural (as in nature, as in veggies and water), unique blend. It's not wintry...perhaps Mr. Flaubert is daydreaming of his summer garden to banish his winter blues.

Roses and vanilla, sweet and creamy. Year after year, I've passed on the straightforward rose blends, Rose Red and Peacock Queen, wanting something a little sweeter, a little more complex. It's silly that I never tried Pink Snowballs before now. But I had overosed on slushy notes and was scared off by the "snowballs" description. And now that I get around to trying it, I'm actually not noticing any slush/snow whatsoever. Gorgeous. I may need a bottle.

Cucumber, as the Poison Queen said, and mold and darkness. Picture Books in Winter also has notes of old books and leather, but it's sweet and soft and comforting. This isn't even close to that. It's the bold, strong scent of something rotten. Not familiar with the sugandh kokila or pimento leaf notes, and curious how they contribute to this scent. But, I just can't...it's making me slightly nauseated.

At first: fizzy, sweet champagne with fruity notes! If you enjoy the bubbliness of Swank, Polynesian Pop, try this one. After it dries, the fizziness fades, and no more fruit...instead, a floral bouquet, and soft tobacco. Can't pick out individual floral notes, but it's very pretty in combination with the champagne. I'm picky with my floral blends, so probably pass on a bottle, but glad to have the decant.

I adore all the lab's "autumn leaves" blends, and this is among the best of them IMO. The leaves have their natural bitterness, and the ashes add a sharp acridity. If you're afraid of strong charred/smoky/ash blends, I'll add that the ashes aren't overpowering here. They blend in really nicely with the leaves and enhance them. I'll compare it to A World Where There Are October's, since that's a recent blend the same family: Death's Second Self is less woodsy, but much sweeter thanks to the amber and frankincense. Really lovely. I have so many leaves already but I may have to add to the collection.

Myrrh and frankincense, super sweet and syrupy, with the "cola" note that I often get from myrrh. A cousin to Schwarzer Mond or Raven Moon (or Anne Bonny or Kathmandu, for GC resin-lovers.) Chamomile is very faint...I only notice it because I'm looking for it. I like it, but it's not that different from other resinous blends I own to warrant a bottle.

What a sweet poem, and a sweet scent that captures the cozy childhood ritual of storytime. On me, it's foody, with condensed milk and caramel notes. (Hubby says buttercream.) Soft leather and paper notes linger in the background. No florals that I can make out. It's soft, maybe too soft for me to wear that often, but it would actually be perfect on my daughter.