crebbsgirl

Honestly, my husband loves TKO. I mean LOVES. I mean, I-can't-wear-it-as-a-sleep-blend-if-I-actually-want-to-get-rest LOVES! If it makes you relaxed, and you like the scent, I say go for it!

Lavender and what smells like anise and a hint of smoky incense. This is a little more astringent than I typically like my lavender, but that may be the anise coming into play. I'm definitely getting a soapy vibe from this, which is so disappointing. I thought I would really like this one, but I think I'll be passing it on to my mom.

Ok, my skin totally ate this?? It started off with a shot of bay rum, strong and smooth, with a vaguely masculine overtone to it. The "old books" note was a little similar Aziraphale, and that quickly faded into the background as the incense came out. It was a smoky sweet note. But in about 2 hours, I couldn't smell this on me anymore.

I remember reading the Sequential Tart interview with Beth where she mentions that Mike Mignola wanted Hellboy to resemble Old Spice. That is EXACTLY it! Smelling it on myself I couldn't quite pinpoint it but this smells like a less cloying/choking/chemically version of Old Spice. There's obviously more depth to the scent itself, but there's a reminiscence here. The aftershave is heavily predominant in the wet stages, but as it dries, the musk comes out a little more and there is a bit of a sweetness. The brimstone seems to be taking on a smoky vibe. It's a little much for me, but I'm passing this on to my husband, because I think it will be AWESOME on him!

Snake Oil with linden blossom, calla lily, passion flower, and narcissus. I love this!! It's like Snake Oil Lite on me. I don't get one flower standing out, but more of a mellowing vibe to the whole blend. This really surprises me of course, as flowers and I have a rather tumultuous relationship. I will say that at some point in the drydown this gets a little hazy and smoky feeling, but it's a light wispy smoke, and I don't exactly know what's causing it. It's beautiful though, and a little ethereal. Overall, this is total love.

The orchid notes here are a standout for sure! This is a really beautiful tropical floral scent, and as it dries, the ginger comes out and deepens and rounds it out wonderfully! Sweet and exotic, and a little intoxicating. I like this, but it's not really my style.

The mint is totally in the driver's seat during the wet stage here. The juniper comes out a little bit and deepens the scent, but it doesn't really start to shine until the drydown. It's a little sharp for me. As it dries, it does become more aquatic. But I'm not getting much in the way of the lotus (which has been known to go bubblegum-y on me). It's nice, but too cold. I prefer my scents a little warmer.

I swear there's jasmine in here, but that may be my nose interpreting gardenia (it does that sometimes). On me, this smells like a lighter version of Hony Mone. Sweet, with a bit of a fruit-like vibe to it. The lotus isn't very predominant here either. I like it, but it's a little too girly for me. Also, this has throw like woah!

This started out as an aquatic floral on me, and then quickly when to a ROSE/lily combo that lasted all of 1 1/2 hours. And then promptly disappeared. Huh.

I get a cider-like vibe from this, and I'm not exactly sure where that's coming from. There's definitely cinnamon, but something is coming across as cider on my skin. It's not overtly apple mind you, but a cider vibe none the less. I can't speak to the efficacy of this yet, but scent-wise it's quite nice!

This is like sticking your nose in the biggest bouquet of fresh red roses. Unbelievable. Even more unbelievable is the fact that I am not amping or turning this to ammonia. It actually smells exactly like roses, and it's staying that way!!! Granted, I'm not one for flowers, but this is exciting. I really really like this, and it does have a tad bit of greenery.

This goes a little candy-like on my skin, and I'm blaming the red currant for that. There is definitely a sweet fruity/candy/pink vibe here. The pink pepper is pretty tame, and normally I have some trouble with that note. I like it, but it's a little too sweet for me. It seems a little girlish (and not in a wearable way for me).

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I'm not one for aquatics but this turned into what I can only describe as an aquatic incense on me and the combination was surprisingly pleasant. It starts as a bit of a salty aquatic, but the blood note tempers it nicely and it never goes screamy or soapy - as aquatics are wont to do on my skin.

This was really interesting. It opened with the fruity notes, I could discern all of the lime, tangerine and grapefruit. As it started to dry the lavender came out and the citrus receded a little bit. The chocolate peppermint was detected about an hour or so in. It wasn't overly foody, but a bright sunny kind of smell. I could see this wearing very well in the summer. The citrus notes accompany the lavender and sweetness of the peppermint/chocolate combo quite nicely.

Wet the peach and rose (my skin turns rosewood to rose - don't ask) were standouts. As it dried, the red sandalwood came out more and provided a bit of depth here. It's not overly floral on my skin, and the rose(wood) behaves nicely here. I'm not getting much in the way of vanilla here. The end product is mainly peach with flowers and sandalwood.

This was pretty heavily floral on me. The lilac was beautiful, but the lily of the valley turned this blend soapy on me. It was almost headache inducing, and disappeared on my skin within the hour.

Pallid skin musk, white roses, and a languorous vapor of Oriental perfume. Alright, this went to ROSE on me. I guess I can't wear roses still, even with the skin chemistry shift. I can very vaguely pick out the skin musk, but that's about it for this one.

I don't get ozone here, but I do get a light musk smell, accompanied by something a little... musty? It smells... old. Not in an old lady way or anything like that. But there is a definite sense of something aged, and a little decrepit. There does seem to be a floral vibe deep underneath somewhere, but it's not predominant. I'm left feeling... unsettled.

This is predominantly moss on my skin. The frankincense doesn't show up very strongly at all, which is surprising since I typically turn it to play-doh. This does smell a little "cologne-y" on me though. Kind of generic and when I sniff too much I can feel the beginnings of a headache starting. However, on someone with better chemistry than I, I can tell this would be wonderful. It smells woodsy and deep.

Well this is interesting. I was expecting to love this, but it seems my skin has other plans entirely. I'm getting a very VERY prominent red sandalwood note here, that seems to be amping to the exclusion of all other notes in this scent. I can detect a bit of a savoury undertone, and there isn't much sweetness. Incensy and hot. I think I may have to let this one age significantly before I can wear it with any success.

Well, this was a little disappointing for me. There's a crispness to this scent that almost goes soapy on me. Very clean smelling. And a little cool.

Well this is most certainly exactly what the description implies. Sandalwood and leather. The sandalwood adds a smoky wispyness to the leather, which on my skin smells a little sharp and new. I saw someone in the will-call thread say something like "White Rider was a new pricey handbag" and that's exactly the vibe I got here. It's nice, but not for me.

Ok, it's not often I refer to a perfume as girlish, but I have to say that this one is exactly that. And as I am not a fan of girlish scents, imagine my surprise when I LOVED it! (You're talking to the woman who prefers things of a dark and dangerous nature scent-wise). This is very fluffy and light, but something prevents it from becoming an eleventeen-year-old's perfume. The jasmine is very subdued and adds just a hint of flowers. I'm getting something that hints of fruit, without being actually fruity, and I think that may be the pink musk. It's just wonderful!

Unfortunately I amped the heck out of the leather in this blend. Which was too bad because at the start this was really awesome and dark. Smoky and evocative, I really liked it but during the drydown the leather came out and took over.

There are some similarities here to Hanerot Halalu for sure. But this has a bit of a vanillic feel to it, as opposed to the olive oil/citrus combo of Hanerot. The beeswax note is just stunning. Very warm and cozy. The smoke isn't overly dominant.