galahad

In the Bottle: Smells so good in the bottle. I am loving the tobacco incense note off the bat. I love the lab rum accord and can pick that out too

On the Skin: This is definitely a warm and golden scent. It is sweet and the mahogany adds a dry and rich woodiness. It reminds me a lot of Mahogany Hall atmosphere spray. Overall, sweet and resinous verging on gourmand at times but never fully.

The Drydown: This seems to have great throw and lasting power, as you would expect from the resins. It has a spicy and elegant oriental feel to it. Definitely multiple bottle worthy.

In the bottle: Overwhelmingly frankincense with a dry touch of patchouli

On the Skin: Surprisingly the vanilla kicks in early to tame the frankincense and a few minutes into the drydown lets the leather, champaca and patchouli shine through. Overall this has a rich ritual incense vibe. Definitely an autumn/winter appropriate blend. It is a strongly fragrant blend but doesn't seem to have a lot of throw in the early stages.

The Drydown: The clove doesn't peek through until well into the drydown and it is pretty subtle but adds a delightful warm spiciness and petitgrain becomes quite prominent on my skin in waves, disappearing now and then. The blend becomes quite dry and dusty in the extreme drydown. The leather is restrained. I love this.

In the bottle: Strongly lavender but backed by a high white musk

On the skin: This starts as pretty much straight lavender with a greyness to the background. In no way is it bright. It doesn't take long for the asphalt (more like rain wet concrete) to emerge as part of the lavender rather than a separate element. This is never spiky and I credit the oudh in the mix acting to round out the blend. I agree that this is a melancholy scent and would be perfect to wallow in on a gloomy day.

The Drydown: This softens dramatically on the drydown to become a close to the skin soft and slightly sweet lavender, remaining grey, cosy and intimate. It is one to share with hugs with loved ones rather than with a room full of strangers.

In the bottle: Patchouli and honey, very slightly reminiscent of Snake Oil

On the Skin: Initially the patchouli backs right off, leaving earthy fig, deep oud and a general sweetness which is slightly fruity. The whole is quite gorgeous and not as strong as expected. A few minutes into the drydown though and everything ramps up in volume which is great. This is up front and centre patchouli but the supporting notes transform it into a thing of beauty.

The Drydown: There is a note that gives the whole the quality of a fine perfume and I am assuming the loukhoum is responsive because this is a very different patchouli blend from the lab. I find myself constantly sniffing trying to identify exactly what makes this so amazing but have to come the the conclusion that it is the sum of the parts rather than just one element. If you are dead set against patchouli this may not be for you but if you are on the fence this could be your breakthrough patchouli blend. I need a couple of back up bottles to cellar.

Chant d'Automne

In the Bottle: Fir and cologne with leather

On the Skin: This smells like a Lush shop. Not a bad thing, necessarily. I get fir and lavender (strangely) but that could be the chaparral influence. There is a slight smokiness and the depth of the black amber starts to exert some influence a little further into the drydown, starting to round out the scent.

The Drydown: The leather doesn't really start to peek out until well into the drydown and it's a new leather rather than the beloved BPAL aged leather note. I'm not one to ascribe gender to a scent generally but this one falls firmly into the masculine camp. I'm going to love this once age softens the edges.

I never considered this one back in the last CD incarnation so I was determined to try it this time around.

In the Bottle: Nice creamy floral with a purple incense

On the Skin: Cotton candy, incense and white flowers. The florals emerge a little further down the track and rather than being creamy they tend to be sharp edged (I get a similar sense of hard edged floral from Snow White and Black Lace). This reminds me so much of my beloved Black Lace with more sweetness.

On the Drydown: Definitely Black Lace on steroids and it might actually knock BL off it's prominent place on my most loved. I do find this scent a little unsettling which is not necessarily a bad thing. The incense note is particularly lovely. Will age it for a while and see how it goes. I'd like it to smooth out a bit.

In the Bottle: Definitely vetiver and I can pick out the coconut as well with a grounding of snake oil

On the Skin: Initially the vetiver is surprisingly light and the play of the black coconut with the snake oil and an extra boost of vanilla is delicious! The vetiver does come out to play a little more as it dries down and the whole is unexpectedly perfumey in a good way (Smokestack this is not).

The Drydown: The vetiver certainly plays a feature role in this but never gets out of control. This is not a tame creature but it sure is beautiful. All of the elements promise spectacular aging.

I love the snakes and I never grabbed a bottle of this one back when CD was last live although I did try a sample and vowed to get a bottle when the opportunity came up.

In the Bottle: Can just make out the SO in the background but it's mostly frankincense and champaca

On the Skin: The frank and champaca bloom pretty quickly but so does the snake oil to tame the rawness of those 2 elements on their own. 5 minutes in this really starts to show it's true potential with the sweetness of the vanilla and sugarcane nicely balancing with the resins and the herbal hyssop (which is faint to my nose).

The Drydown: This goes through a bit of a roller coaster ride with the snake oil and the resins alternating dominance, sometimes dry opopanax and frankincense and sometimes smooth rich snake oil. I never detect labdanum specifically (a component I love) but I am sure it is playing a supporting role. I love this and like all the snakes it will age to perfection (my 2008 Western Diamondback bottle is just coming into it's own right now).

 

 

Bow and Crown of Conquest is a snuggly vanilla-leather on me, but the sage and lavender notes might make it more herbal/masculine than you're looking for.

 

 

I think Bow and Crown also has cedar which I cannot wear...and it's a shame too because there are so many beautiful blends out there with it

I probably should have mentioned my aversion to herbal notes too, haha thanks for reminding me!

 

 

I just remembered - one vanilla + leather that doesn't work as well on me but might on you is Western Diamondback (Snake Oil with leather, tonka, and sage). The sage isn't very noticeable, and while Snake Oil does bad/medicinal/patchouli-ruins-everything things on my skin, I'm a rare Snake-Oil-hating exception and most people adore it and smell awesome in it.

 

I second the Western Diamondback. And aged for a few years it is beyond amazing

In The Bottle

Myrrh, musk and lavender

On Application

The lavender and olibanum are really quite strong and overpowering initially. Surprisingly, don't get any rose.

Dry Down

Once this settles down it is quite nice. A fruity sweetness with a touch of rose and incense.

Rating (0-5)

3

In The Bottle

Vanilla, musk and rum

On Application

The above with the emergence of vetiver as well. Quite rich and complex

Dry Down

Hmm...this one is quite surprising. I really like it. It has a lot of depth to it. Smoky, boozy and dark.

Rating (0-5)

4.5

In The Bottle

Softly herby with some florals

On Application

Floral and herbal

Dry Down

This started off as quite heavily floral but softens to quite a lovely soft floral and hay-like scent. Nice but not particularly to my liking.

Rating (0-5)

3

In The Bottle

Herbal and lavender

On Application

Lavender and smooth chamomile with a slight fruitiness

Dry Down

Really pretty. Smooth with some depth. I definitely get wafts of tart and fresh currants occasionally and the play of chamomile and grapefruit gives a kind of mintiness. Lovely and the changeability of the scent is very Cheshire Cat-like

Rating (0-5)

4

In The Bottle

Cool and softly snowy. Reminds me of Smow White missing an element which makes SW deeper and richer

On Application

Really beautiful snowy floral.

Dry Down

This could have a complete fail but I had hoped it would work. It does. Stunningly beautiful scent reminiscent of Kumari Kandam which is one of my favorites.

Rating (0-5)

5

In The Bottle

Not alot. Faintly sweet

On Application

White, pale musk perfume

Dry Down

Wow. Really disappointingly thin and pale. All I get is the musk and iris

Rating (0-5)

1

In The Bottle

Dry, thin and sllightly spicy

On Application

Definitely dry and stony (not dusty)

Dry Down

Smells kind of like a high end talcum powder. I expected to reallly love this but...no.

Rating (0-5)

1

In The Bottle

Caramel and vanilla

On Application

Wow, I get buttery toast and custard!!

Dry Down

This is incredible. The buttery toast and custard morphs to fruit (pineapple definitely), custartd, toffee. Love it. It ends on pure, thich, rich and vevety vanilla custard. Yum

Rating (0-5)

5

In The Bottle

Sweet and spicy dirt

On Application

Lighter and thinner than expected. As aboce and kind of sweet.

Dry Down

What a strange scent. I almost get parsley. Every single note listed screamed that this would be a perfect scent for me but alas it is pure fail.

Rating (0-5)

1

In The Bottle

Sweet and lightly floral

On Application

The above with honey and little smoky leather

Dry Down

This is really light. It doesn't take long for the woods and leather to emerge and make this blend awesome. This is so hard to describe but it is no true to the concept it is awesome. I get a floral perfumey quality overlaying the leather and hard wood ad throughout a smokey subtle spiciness.

Rating (0-5)

4.5

In The Bottle

Charred wood indeed

On Application

Vetiver but fairly smooth. Interesting

Dry Down

So far the Good Omens scents have mostly been outstandingly good on me and this is no exception. As the deescription states - charred wood and gunpowder with the thin metallic notes of the rusty nails.

Rating (0-5)

4.5

In The Bottle

Magnolia, lavender and rose. Not a good start

On Application

Powdery cat pee and candy

Dry Down

Just strange. Kind of bleach and cat pee. Ah well. Can't win them all and this series has some major wins

Rating (0-5)

0