GhillieDhu

This went on much lighter than I expected. It's a green lemony men's cologne with a woodsy vetiver base. This is what I expected Guerlain Vetiver to smell like. Probably a good BPAL for enabling manthings who are used to commercial colognes - it's unique, but still accessible to a "normal" nose. Opens up clean, slightly bitter lemon (the peel, not the juice) cologne with a bit of a minty note and just a hint of what might be fennel. (This is actually the first mint that I've found wearable!) I can definitely smell the vetiver underneath - it's the clean woodsy-earthy kind rather than swampy-earthy. Not actually getting identifiable woods, just a general "evergreen" accord and perhaps a pinch of juniper, but it does have a foresty feeling. On drydown, I get a twinge of vetiver and dry sandalwood, but mostly a grassy bitter ivy scent, like undergrowth after a cold rain, with a barely discernable hint of something mineral like wet charcoal. This is somehow a damp scent. Like a freshly showered, shaved, and teeth-brushed man. No sweetness to this blend AT ALL. A little short-lived, but overall very nice.

All those beautiful complex ingredients… and I get toasted nuts?? On my skin, Cytherea is halfway between hazelnut and cashew, with a fuzzy edge of sandalwood, eventually drying down to a faint clean vanilla musk and not much else. Interesting effect, surprisingly conservative and professional for something with so many incense notes, but I don't particularly want to smell like nuts every day. Middling wearlength, very light throw.

This is a work of art. Starts out deliciously piney (but it is sap, not needles) tobacco and morphs from there. 15 min. or so of vanilla that seems like it's going to go plastic but never quite does, then half an hour of overtly sexual skin musk and honey, then slow fade to a beautiful, long-lasting incensey skin scent of sweet honey and pipe tobacco with a hint of exotic resins. This would be a great everyday scent. Not too heavy in 95 degree heat, and likely to be even better in the fall... although on me, it has little enough throw even in summer that that may be a problem. Hoarding at least one bottle, two if I can get them.

Why?? I could have sworn this would be my holy grail of perfumes, but my skin eats the amber and vanilla musk completely and regurgitates them half an hour later as very expensive Chinese soap. Double alas. I think vanilla musk may be related to white musk, as it's doing the same powdery weird thing.

Gorgeous clove pinks fading to smoky strong chai tea, with a big kick of dirty patchouli and somehow a honey-like sweetness in the drydown. The carnation goes a teensy bit powdery, but not enough to bother me. Incredibly long staying power. This is a STRONG oil on me - any more than a dot can get overwhelming. Bold and brash but snuggly, like a girl who wears Doc Martens, dyes her hair black, and spoils her pet bunnies rotten. A little heavy for hot days, but I'll probably wear this a lot in the fall and winter, and it should make a great room scent too. Hoarding at least one bottle.

Oh, this is lovely! It's definitely a cousin to Hades, one of my favorite GC blends, but rounder, softer, and less musky. The muguet is fresh, springy and green on my skin, instead of FLORAL SOAP DOOM. The resins are so nice and gentle, and a bit powdery without being baby powder. Tonka adds a warm, womanly character to this scent, so it's not straight up resinous, and the oakmoss contributes its crisp papery smell to the drydown. This "feels" softly greenish-gray and matte, with fuzzy edges. This is a very grown-up perfume - if I made a "department store" comparison, it would be something classic from the middle of last century. Except I think this is what those classic perfumes are supposed to smell like, but they never do on me, so this is a fantastic surprise. Definitely keeping the decant, may need to track down a bottle.

Okay... I really wanted to like this. Seriously. Incense? Olive blossom? But I put it on, and got nothing but STRONG smoky spice. You know those little packets of spices that come with a corned beef? Clove, bay, cinnamon, pepper, mustard seeds? That's what this smelled like. And then it started to burn. So I washed it off. The residue is a pretty nice smoky frankincense, so I'll try this in a locket, but it's probably off to swaps.

Not something I can really wear, but probably the ultimate spring room scent. Grassy, sweetly herbal goodness with an edge of bitter ivy, like romping through an overgrown English garden after a June rain. The flowers don't really make their appearance until the first edge of GREEN! has worn off. On my skin, the rose comes out more strongly on the drydown, while on fabric it's mainly carnations. This is a bright grass-green and deep pink scent. Not unexpected in any way, but quite lovely.

Hmm... I've had this for 5 months now, so it's probably about time to post a review. My notes say: Decadent warm spicy fir (that doesn't go car-freshener!). Almost a minty overtone. One of the infernal flora is really sweet, but not in a bad way. The skin musk is well behaved. This would be perfect if there were a little less fir and more incense, but it will still be good for days when I feel "woodsy" and want something a little more dressy. Very unique and exotic, though not particularly wild or outdoorsy. Might be nice on a man. ETA: I think the sweet note is blackberry leaf? It's similar, but not identical, to the raspberry leaf in Alecto. After a couple months, this has aged and is less minty-firry and more feminine amber/incense. It's an improvement, although now it has a slight tendency to make me sneeze! Strong throw, extremely long wearlength (>12 hours!) even from a roll-on diluted with 60% almond oil. A little goes a very long way. I like this a lot, but don't anticipate using up the whole bottle. This scent is like hiking through a mountain meadow, smelling dry grass, late summer wildflowers, and the vague presence of small burrowing animals. You're sweating a little from the effort and the hot sun on your back, but a clear cool breeze scented with fir trees, snowy air, and just a hint of someone's campfire smoke swirls down from the peaks ahead of you.