tinyvulture

Straight out of the imp...ROSEMARY! The piney, herbal, lemony, outdoorsiness of rosemary smacks me in the face and it's refreshing and awesome. Then a soft rose note appears and dims the herb's brightness. Next, the cloying sweetness of orange blossom makes me sigh and place it in the swaps pile. But it was lovely while the rosemary lasted! Maybe a rosemary single note is what I'm after.

Gorgeous rich, buttery rice pudding! So buttery, like Christmas butter cookies. I love the realistic powdery rice note, and that creamy note that's like warm milk. Just a hint of cherry pie filling that comes and goes. Sometimes I don't notice the cherry at all. Love rice pudding, love this.

Italian lemon ices. Fresh-squeezed lemonade and clouds of powdered sugar. Lemonheads. Lemon sugar cookies. That's all the foody imagery that I associate with this scent. Mostly the lemon ices. Such a bright, yellow, summery, cheerful scent. So glad it's not turning chemical/cleaner on me! A foodie delight.

Strong, earthy, gritty patchouli. Almost too strong...it irritates my skin if I slather too much. The tobacco absolute lends an exotic spiciness in the background. No cacao or vanilla on me; not foody in the least. I love patchouli, so I love this hippie goodness. Just gotta be careful not to overdo it.

A surprisingly light fragrance. I'm wondering if it may have lost potency over time. So we have lightly sweetened, airy ricotta cheesecake...not buttery at all mind you...with just a suggestion of burnt-sugar and honey notes, and garnished with a single purple sprig of lavender. I'll have to try it as a sleep blend. It fades into nothing on my skin, but perhaps my brain will extract some benefits from the subtle lavender that my nose is missing out on.

I get vanilla incense a la Snake Oil, mixed with bold, fruity red wine and white cake. And there's also a Dia de los Muertos vibe from the desert florals and tobacco. Sweet, foody to the max, comes on strong, but then softens to a beautiful soft, sugared incense. My new love!

I read Frankenstein in college, and this scent makes me want to revisit it. Herbaceous, menthol absinthe is there, plus the distinct "flash of lightning" shock of ozone. Then there's the laudanum, and the floral spice of Oriental perfume. Really unique, evocative, mysterious. Like a dark and stormy night in a bottle.

Woodsy vanilla, YUM! Oak already has almost a vanilla aspect, to my nose, and benzoin is sweet, so these notes work wonderfully together. I love a good sweet, grainy, woodsy resinous blend. The only downside is that I really have to slather it on. Ten minutes later: still vanilla oak.

A strong bamboo note takes center stage, very clean and green! Maybe some other woods...fresh, young woods, not dry. I'm surprised at how strong the bamboo is...almost like a single note bamboo. After a few minutes I still don't smell any frankincense or myrrh. Youthful, natural, nice.

I'm not sure what hyssop or life everlasting smell like on their own, but I'd classify this scent as herbal. Vaguely green like a garden. Then a sweet, purple wine note comes forward. Finally, it all turns soapy. Pass.

Super sweet coconut, with a light touch of citrus. No black pepper sharpness. Just summery, happy coconut. It seems an appropriate scent for a butterfly, lightly flitting from flower to flower. After a few minutes, a burned sugar note comes out. Maybe that's the citrus I was getting...that note does turned citrusy on me sometimes (like in Kill-Devil). After ten minutes, citrus is gone and it's all coconut and caramel. I don't need a bottle, but it's really pretty and nice.

Jasmine + patchouli, match made in heaven. Is indigo musk the same as black musk? I'm finding a similarity to Raven Moon (2012), as they share black musk and patchouli notes. Definitely makes me think of darkness, mysterious shapes in the night sky. There are hints of various other florals, but mainly jasmine. No cinnamon!

Faith + white chocolate! First the white chocolate hits my nose. It's like a rich chocolate liqueur. Then I catch the violet. Two notes that go together perfectly. White and purple. Love it.

Strong cider with mulling spices. Whoa! This decant may not have aged well...it's just so earthy and pungent, with a sour fermented note, almost like cheese! ETA: It smells different and better on my son...like wine with cinnamon.

Very green, earthy, slightly herbal. A garden, some vines, and bitter saltwater tears. Makes me think of someone having a cry, up in their room, and then they throw open their windows and look out on the garden, taking in deep breaths to feel better. The dragon's blood note is noticeable, but very soft.

Ahh, dry leaves! One of the best notes that I never tire of. Here, they're mixed with a minty or menthol note...must be the "wintry wind." The leaves have a realistic dry sharpness to them. Almost bitter. No hint of currants, just leaves and winter air. Along the lines of Black Forest, Thanatopsis.

Golden liquid in the vial...At first sniff, it's shiny metallic notes with light florals and incense. But then the medicinal tartness of lemon verbena comes in, clashing with the metals. Evil verbena. All I can do is wait it out. Later it morphs back into a baby-powdery, floral/incense. Pass.

I'm terrible with my floral identification; I can't pick out the narcissus or daffodil (and when I googled them, I learned that they're basically the same flower?) But this is a lovely floral bouquet, makes me think of creamy white and cheery yellow flowers in the warm sunshine. I like it a lot!

Hmm, on me this smells like...celery! What is that? I guess it's the green/herbaceous vibe from the violet leaf and rosemary, playing tricks with my nose. On the other hand, I have no idea what a fuselage ought to smell like. A surprising, eye-opening, and somewhat unsettling scent...suitable, considering its name.

Bright yellow oil in the bottle. So this is black musk? I would've guessed there's red musk in there, too. Strong, lasts for hours and hours. And I love that the motor oil has a definite olfactory presence. This scent makes me feel powerful. Detroit will rise.

I'm getting a sweet red popsicle (childhood nostalgia alert!) with a crazy strong, coppery tang! In Indian cooking, there's a spice, asafetida, with a similar tang that just hits you in the face. As that note eventually fades (never completely), it morphs into a less threatening frozen treat. There's amber, maybe a tiny bit of coconut, and clove, but mostly cherry and strawberry. Makes me think of Hollywood Babylon.

Kind of a cough drop vibe, at first. I think it's the interaction of the honey plus the herbaceous/woodsy cypress and pine notes. After a few minutes, the patchouli and tobacco come forward, making things heavier, darker, uncertain. I see how it can represent Detroit, the parts of they city that are as uninhabited and wild as a forest. I really like it, but not quite enough for a bottle.

A rich, luxurious leather note hits me first. There's also beeswax and something sweet and fruity, a plum maybe? The notes are woven tightly together but my overall impression is someone with a lot of money and time. Ancient, wealthy, decadent.

Deep, swirling, meditative rose. Glorious, rich teak and cedar notes. (Fresh cut wood, like walking in a forest, as opposed to lacquered, polished wood in someone's home.) Somber, transfixing in its singularity and beauty. I would wear this to do yoga.

Roses and sweet citrus (orange blossom), with light incense floating through the background. There's something soapy. I don't dislike it, but it doesn't wow me like the rest of the collection.