coulrophobe

I met a traveler from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed, And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. Desolation. The remnants of an empire, shivering with forgotten glories, a monument to megalomania, sundered power, and colossal loss. Dry desert air, dry and hot, passing over crumbling stone megaliths and plundered golden monuments, bearing a hint of the incense of lost Gods on its winds. Preconceived notions: Anything with “desert” and “wind” in the description is sure to grab my attention – I just love scents like that. And incense? Added bonus! In the imp: Sweet, dry and perfumey. This is reminding me of a vintage perfume. On: I think Beth’s done a great job capturing the dry/windy “feel” of this one, but still having it be pretty. My chemistry turns a lot of things sweet and a bit powdery, and Ozymandias is no exception – but that’s fine with me, as “sweet and a bit powdery” suits me. To my nose, it’s a bit like a lighter version of Chanel No. 5. Final verdict: I was betting I’d like this one, and I do. EDIT: Added poem. --Shollin

Salvation found in darkness beyond darkness, the blessed sleep of nothingness. Dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron. Preconceived notions: Sounds nice, but perhaps a bit too manly for me? In the imp: First I have to remark on the color – it’s a funky olive green! I have other green oils, but none quite this color. On to the scent itself: some scents just grab me, and this is one of them. It’s clean and musky, with a bit of a dry-wood note. A bit masculine, but not to the degree I expected. On: The spices come out a bit more. It’s not nearly as manly as I thought it would be, and works nicely with my chemistry. To my nose, it’s primarily a warm, dark musk with spices and a bit of wood. Absolutely gorgeous.

Smooth, polished and lethally sharp: dragon’s blood resin and three sandalwoods. In the imp: Yep... that's sandalwood, sweetened with a bit of dragon's blood! On: A very warm dry scent. Woody, but the dry, white, sun-baked variety. For a few brief moments, this smells almost burnt on my skin - luckily that passes. On me this dries down to a very pleasant, smokey-sweet incense blend. It strikes me as a good evening blend - a bit sexy and exotic, but not too overt or in-your-face about it.

The Hebrew Underworld, the Abode of the Dead, the Pit. It is as forbidding as the grave itself: a joyless and dolorous cave deep with the bowels of Earth that every man, saint or sinner, must travel to upon death, where his soul finds rest in the silence and dust. For the living know that they will die, but the dead don't know anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. Go your way””eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. Let your garments be always white, and don't let your head lack oil. Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going. Ecclesiastes 9:5 - 10 The final burst of the soul's light and joy before passing into the depths of the earth, and into the cords of Sheol; Sheol, who is never satisfied, and who makes wide her soul to all. Vibrant gladiola, graceful stargazer lily, triumphant iris and bright heliotrope flare, and is finally made somber by heavy copal, a drop of labdanum, and tonka. In the imp: Lots of florals (though I can't distinguish any in particular), and a hint of tonka. Very fresh and light smelling. On: This one changes a lot with my chemistry. It's dominated by a familiar-smelling floral that I always have trouble placing -- I think it's heliotrope, though there's also kind of a dusty, pollen-y note I associate with jasmine in there. The lily creeps in a little as it dries, but not nearly enough for my tastes. Unfortunately, while this one doesn't actually trigger my pollen allergies, it has a smell that I associate so closely with pollen that I'm getting a bit sneezy. Sadly, not for me. Edited to add full description. --Shollin

At midnight, in the month of June, I stand beneath the mystic moon. An opiate vapor, dewy, dim, Exhales from out her golden rim, And, softly dripping, drop by drop, Upon the quiet mountain top, Steals drowsily and musically Into the universal valley. The rosemary nods upon the grave; The lily lolls upon the wave; Wrapping the fog about its breast, The ruin molders into rest; Looking like Lethe, see! the lake A conscious slumber seems to take, And would not, for the world, awake. All Beauty sleeps! - and lo! where lies Irene, with her Destinies! O, lady bright! can it be right - This window open to the night? The wanton airs, from the tree-top, Laughingly through the lattice drop - The bodiless airs, a wizard rout, Flit through thy chamber in and out, And wave the curtain canopy So fitfully - so fearfully - Above the closed and fringed lid 'Neath which thy slumb'ring soul lies hid, That, o'er the floor and down the wall, Like ghosts the shadows rise and fall! Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear? Why and what art thou dreaming here? Sure thou art come O'er far-off seas, A wonder to these garden trees! Strange is thy pallor! strange thy dress, Strange, above all, thy length of tress, And this all solemn silentness! The lady sleeps! Oh, may her sleep, Which is enduring, so be deep! Heaven have her in its sacred keep! This chamber changed for one more holy, This bed for one more melancholy, I pray to God that she may lie For ever with unopened eye, While the pale sheeted ghosts go by! My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep As it is lasting, so be deep! Soft may the worms about her creep! Far in the forest, dim and old, For her may some tall vault unfold - Some vault that oft has flung its black And winged panels fluttering back, Triumphant, o'er the crested palls, Of her grand family funerals - Some sepulchre, remote, alone, Against whose portal she hath thrown, In childhood, many an idle stone - Some tomb from out whose sounding door She ne'er shall force an echo more, Thrilling to think, poor child of sin! It was the dead who groaned within. Night-blooming jasmine, opium poppy, wild rosemary, Calla lily, oakmoss and crypt musk. In the bottle, I can smell something sharp and pungent, almost "spiky" smelling - that's definitely the rosemary! The sharpness persists when the oil is wet on my skin; it's an assertive and somewhat disquieting smell to my nose. I often see the term "feral" used in the description of musky scents, and for once I actually am finding a musky scent "animalistic" rather than clean or warm. I think it's the combination of the rosemary's sharpness and the "crypt musk" - wet, this oil is a little to pungent for my skin to handle! The Sleeper mellows considerably on drydown, for which I am thankful - the rosemary fades and blends with the other notes, and the florals make a subtle appearance. There's a slight smoky/spicy feel to it, which I'm thinking might be the opium poppy. It's really quite lovely, now that the rosemary's playing nice! I'm having a hard time pinning down the crypt musk, other than as an underlying warmth; musk fanatic that I am, it's driving me nuts that I can't isolate it. I'm thinking perhaps it's a bit like black musk, but more dusty. In all, a very complicated and definitely a morpher on me. Fascinating!

The Mock Turtle went on. 'We had the best of educations--in fact, we went to school every day--' 'I've been to a day-school, too,' said Alice; 'you needn't be so proud as all that.' 'With extras?' asked the Mock Turtle a little anxiously. 'Yes,' said Alice, 'we learned French and music.' 'And washing?' said the Mock Turtle. 'Certainly not!' said Alice indignantly. 'Ah! then yours wasn't a really good school,' said the Mock Turtle in a tone of great relief. 'Now at ours they had at the end of the bill, "French, music, and washing--extra."' 'You couldn't have wanted it much,' said Alice; 'living at the bottom of the sea.' 'I couldn't afford to learn it.' said the Mock Turtle with a sigh. 'I only took the regular course.' 'What was that?' inquired Alice. 'Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with,' the Mock Turtle replied; 'and then the different branches of Arithmetic-- Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision.' 'I never heard of "Uglification,"' Alice ventured to say. 'What is it?' The Gryphon lifted up both its paws in surprise. 'What! Never heard of uglifying!' it exclaimed. 'You know what to beautify is, I suppose?' 'Yes,' said Alice doubtfully: 'it means--to--make--anything--prettier.' 'Well, then,' the Gryphon went on, 'if you don't know what to uglify is, you are a simpleton.' Alice did not feel encouraged to ask any more questions about it, so she turned to the Mock Turtle, and said 'What else had you to learn?' 'Well, there was Mystery,' the Mock Turtle replied, counting off the subjects on his flappers, '--Mystery, ancient and modern, with Seaography: then Drawling--the Drawling-master was an old conger-eel, that used to come once a week: He taught us Drawling, Stretching, and Fainting in Coils.' 'What was that like?' said Alice. 'Well, I can't show it you myself,' the Mock Turtle said: 'I'm too stiff. And the Gryphon never learnt it.' 'Hadn't time,' said the Gryphon: 'I went to the Classics master, though. He was an old crab, he was.' 'I never went to him,' the Mock Turtle said with a sigh: 'he taught Laughing and Grief, they used to say.' 'So he did, so he did,' said the Gryphon, sighing in his turn; and both creatures hid their faces in their paws. 'And how many hours a day did you do lessons?' said Alice, in a hurry to change the subject. 'Ten hours the first day,' said the Mock Turtle: 'nine the next, and so on.' 'What a curious plan!' exclaimed Alice. 'That's the reason they're called lessons,' the Gryphon remarked: 'because they lessen from day to day.' This was quite a new idea to Alice, and she thought it over a little before she made her next remark. 'Then the eleventh day must have been a holiday?' 'Of course it was,' said the Mock Turtle. 'And how did you manage on the twelfth?' Alice went on eagerly. 'That's enough about lessons,' the Gryphon interrupted in a very decided tone. Not quite Turtle Soup: blurry aquatic notes, with a confusing, contrary splort of iris, ambrette, green apple, vodka, white mint and a squish of lime. In the imp: It’s definitely minty, but I can smell the other notes in there, too. On: Mint and lime with an aquatic/ozone (soap to my nose) kick to it. As it dries, I can pick out the apple, too. This is an odd one for me, as I can’t figure out whether I want to (figuratively speaking) drink it or use it as shower gel. It’s a bit like a fresh, soapy cocktail! Final Verdict: Kind of a smorgasbord scent, and definitely confused – but in a good way. I’m not usually too fond of aquatics, but this one is really interesting and has a nice cool/springy feel to it. It'll be great for hot summer days. Merged two simultaneous review threads and added the passage from Lewis Carroll. --Shollin

Opium-laced dreams of flame, plunder, power and fury: dragon’s blood resin, poppy, amber and ylang ylang. First review... eeek, the pressure! In the imp: a very light, refreshing floral (as a caveat, the Lab's dragon's blood is similar to lilac, to my nose). On: Now I can smell a bit more of the amber, which grounds the scent nicely. To me, this is a very wearable and sophisticated floral. It's reminding me a bit of Bearded Lady - not that it smells like it per se, but has that same amber-floral feel. The poppy adds a bit of smoky sweetness, but it's not overpowering at all. There's a soft, dreamy quality as it dries down - I think the "reverie" part is captured quite well in this blend. Verdict: I think this is my favorite of the Ars Draconis category.

Pumpkin and pomegranate. Preconceived notions: I like pumpkin. I like pomegranate. Not things I'd automatically pair with each other, but I've got a good feeling. In the bottle: Fruity, yet pumpkiny. Imagine that. On: The juicy red smell of pomegranate is a really interesting contrast to the more buttery, pulpy pumpkin - it adds a layer of light sweetness on top of the pumpkin's warm foody tone. As it dries, it does develop a bit of a candle/potpourri smell to my nose, but that's probably because the only time I've really smelled these two scents in conjunction with each other is at candle shops. It's a light, fun fall fruit scent, and very pleasant.

Young flowers were whispering in melody To happy flowers that night - and tree to tree; Fountains were gushing music as they fell In many a star-lit grove, or moon-lit dell; Yet silence came upon material things - Fair flowers, bright waterfalls and angel wings - And sound alone that from the spirit sprang Bore burthen to the charm the maiden sang: 'Neath the blue-bell or streamer - Or tufted wild spray That keeps, from the dreamer, The moonbeam away - Bright beings! that ponder, With half closing eyes, On the stars which your wonder Hath drawn from the skies, Till they glance thro' the shade, and Come down to your brow Like - eyes of the maiden Who calls on you now - Arise! from your dreaming In violet bowers, To duty beseeming These star-litten hours - And shake from your tresses Encumber'd with dew The breath of those kisses That cumber them too - (O! how, without you, Love! Could angels be blest?) Those kisses of true Love That lull'd ye to rest! Up! - shake from your wing Each hindering thing: The dew of the night - It would weigh down your flight And true love caresses - O, leave them apart! They are light on the tresses, But lead on the heart. Honeyed lilies, dry lotus root and fae flowers. Am I the first? Eeek, the pressure! As I went through quickly sniffing the Hideous Throng when I first opened my package, Al-Araaf was one of the stand-outs. In the bottle, it smells cool and clean, yet musky. Not too sweet, and the tiniest bit masculine - these are all good things to my nose. Then I read the description and was very confused - a honey/floral scent? This? Hmmm. On, the clean, musky scent persists for about ten minutes - then the honey emerges. Honey is a difficult note for me, as my chemistry tends to sweeten anything I put on it, so the already-sweet scents can be a little overbearing. I definitely like the initial stage more, but the drydown is pleasant, and fans of honey scents should be very pleased. I think I'll try wearing a bit in my hair, where my uber-sweet chemistry can't mess with it!

Pumpkin with sandalwood and orris. Preconceived notions: Pumpkin Patch IV was the one I was most intrigued with, because of the unusual pumpkin-orris pairing; orris is one of my favorite notes (as is sandalwood), but I couldn't imagine how it would smell with pumpkin. In the bottle: faintly incensy pumpkin On: Definitely still pumpkin, but more smoky than foody, thanks to the sandalwood. As the oil dries on my skin, I can smell the orris - it adds an unusual and unexpected velvety purpleness to the blend. This P-Patch is smoky and rich; decadent-smelling to my nose, but not in an overtly foody way. The richness is almost buttery, but not in the rancid or cloying way that buttery scents end up with my chemistry. Truly an amazing scent - kudos to Beth for formulating such a unique and wonderful blend!

I have no background whatsoever on the Orishas, but found this description online: In Haitian Vodun, Ogoun (or Ogun) is a loa who presides over fire, iron, politics and war. He is the patron of smiths and is usually displayed with his attributes: machete or sable, rum and tobacco. He is married to Erzulie. In Yorùbá mythology, Ogun (same as Ogoun) is a son of Yemaja and Orungan. In Santería, he is identified with Saint Peter. In the bottle: I smell mint, but it's almost overwhelmed with something harsh and sour. I can't quite put my finger on it... I'm a little wary of trying this one on, but knowing how differently blends smell after mingling with my chemistry, I really can't predict how this one will turn out. On my skin: The sourness evaporates almost immediately, and is replaced by... CLOVE! Sweet spicy clove, with a hint of minty coolness lingering in the background. After reading the description, I'm wondering if there's tobacco in here, too - but that's a note I'm horrible at recognizing. There's a hint of something smokey as it dries on my skin, and I'm left with a gorgeous smokey clove scent. Definitely an assertive blend, but one that works well with my chemistry. I think I'll be wearing this a lot this fall... aw, hell who am I kidding. I won't wait until cooler weather, I'm down with the spicy scents ANY time!

I'm one of the ones who amps litsea cubeba, apparently. In the imp, Lemon Pledge. Wet on my skin, Lemon Pledge. After 30 minutes or so it starts to settle down a bit, but the sharp lemony madness in the beginning is a bit alarming. That said, it's not one I got for myself - I got this for a boy (I'm trying to convince him he should smell like something other than just "boy" once in a while - he seems to be humoring me in this endeavor). Maybe it will work better with his chemistry? If it's just as lemony to his nose, I can't really imagine him having the patience to wait for the dry-down, though.

Pumpkin with five woods, English ivy and galangal root. Preconceived notions: I was pleased to see that not all the Pumpkin Patch blends were foody - blends IV and V seemed to be the ones that fewer people talked about, but I for one thought this woody blend would be a great showcase for pumpkin's versatility. In the bottle: The pumpkin is the dominant note, but I can smell a tiny bit of sharp greenery from the ivy. On: Now the woods come out! This smells like the wood of deciduous (sp?) trees, rather than conifers - which I'm fine with, as the more piney woods make me smell like cleaning fluid. This is more like fresh-cut lumber, and dry woods. The pumpkin is still their lurking in the background, providing a warm base, and the suggestion of spice, rather than actual spiciness. This seems very autumny to me; my parents have a wood stove, and when I was little, the onset of fall meant stocking the woodshed with chunks of alder for the winter. That's what this scent reminds me of - split alder logs, and warm pumkiny goodness. Would probably make a great men's scent, too.

That *totally* makes sense to me. And I've had whiskey, not wine, but I think we're in tune here. Bwahahaha... great minds think alike, my dear Floppy. *hijack* What kind of whiskey? I almost busted out the Redbreast tonight, but had some dry Gewurtz that needed to be finished off before it went off.

Maybe I'm just overly literal... but I bifurcate the incense/resin conundrum (oooh, look at those big words! I've had wine and I'm trying to compensate for my resulting stupid) along tactile/sensory lines: Incense - airy, smokey, dry Resin - rich, sticky, wet And that probably only makes sense to me. In my scheme, something like Al-Azif would be an incense; things like Sloth or Jacob's Ladder would be resins.

If you can get your hands on some Montresor (from the Descent into the Maelstrom series), it's the only blend I've gotten a strong blackcurrant vibe from. The description only says "black fruit," not blackcurrant specifically... but it's all blackcurrant and vanilla on me.

In the bottle: Light, herby - green tea and bamboo. On: A hint of fruit behind all the green tea and bamboo at first - then *poof* - I'm obviously in the distinct minority here, but I'm getting no apple or spice. Drydown: There's the sweetness of sugar cane in the background, and a grainy feeling from the wheat - and the green notes have mellowed down a bit. I'm left with a light, sweet scent, with that "lunar herbal" smell the lunacies share. Mabon is one of my favorites, so I got excited when I saw those comparisons - but no, not on me. Doing a direct wrist-to-wrist comparison, Mabon is a much deeper, darker scent on my skin - deep leafy notes, hops, and a hint of spicy-sweet apples and blackberries, and with my chemistry, there's absolutely no similarity. I love fruit, and I'm bummed that none shows up on my skin - but it's a pretty blend all the same.

If you can get your hands on a bottle of Neptune, that one is very orange blossomy to my nose. And I agree, orange blossom is a floral note to my nose - I don't get any citrus or fruity-ness at all.

To me, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale is like Antique Lace without the musk. I don't get sweet pea per se - just vanilla and a bit of floral. Very pretty, but I'm such a musk fiend, I can't help liking Antique Lace better. As for Eat Me... I don't smell any resemblance to the other two. Smells like cake. Which isn't a bad thing at all. Foody scents are iffy for me, since I can't wear chocolate or buttery blends, but Eat Me isn't too bad. Like Monsterbait: Closet, but with less currant.

In the bottle: faint lemony-floral On: This blend amps up quite a bit on my skin, into a perfumey floral with a sharpness to it. This smells very similar to a commercial fragrance I'm familiar with... but I can't put my finger on which one (since discovering BPAL, I haven't worn ANY commercial perfumes, so I'm out of practice). As it dries down I can smell the daisy, and I think the ylang ylang - but not any of the notes I was hoping for (amber, carnation, musk). I end up with a heavy floral that's a bit too commercial smelling for me... curse my chemistry. It's driving me crazy that I can't put my finger on what this reminds me of. It's so familiar smelling!

In the bottle: Sharp citrus On: Ah, that's better! The grapefruit loses it's sharpness quickly, and it becomes a sweet, fruity blend. There's a "roundness" to it that I'm attributing to the musk and vanilla - those notes aren't pronounced, but I can smell them if I sniff deeply. It starts off a bit "green" to my nose, but after it's dried down the color association I'm drawing from it is a mellow peachy color. Basically, I'm echoing everyone else here. HGM is lovely.

I've had excellent luck with Al-Araaf, but it's getting hard to find these days (luckily I have a few bottles stashed away). And I haven't had any guy-feedback on them per se, but I'll second Morocco, Antique Lace, Dorian, Regan and Snake Oil as great "all occasion" scents that are clean enough for the office but still have a little something sexy to 'em (I'm a big fan of light musks and vanilla, obviously). The one scent that had the somewhat surprising effect of making my very platonic guy-friend say, "Um... please don't wear that one, it's making me think impure thoughts" -- Yerevan!? So I guess it just goes to show, kind of depends on the guy when you're talking about what turns their cranks.

In the bottle: Definitely not the wallop of lotus I was expecting - light and herby, with a tinge of lotus lurking around the edges. I don't smell any pine resin or rose - which is actually a bit of a relief to me, as neither of those notes work well with my chemistry. On: Really quite lovely. The lotus does move to the forefront as it dries down - on me, this is a soft, mild, slightly watery lotus, rather than the strong bubblegummy variety. Very cool and calming.

In the bottle: Mead? Where are you? I smell herbs and fruits, but not honey mead! It does smell wonderful, mind you. On: Ah, there's the honey. And I was a little nervous about it, because honey can be a fickle note for me - luckily, this seems to be a honey blend that likes me! I am still getting a mysterious fruity note - maybe it's just in the way that the honey combines with the herbs and florals. Or perhaps my nose is on crack again. Regardless, it's lovely, and the honey-mead scent gets more and more prominent as it dries down, without ever reaching that cloying stage that some honey blends seem to settle into, at least with my chemistry. A beautiful, decadent summer scent.

For me, the notes that tend to make me think of sex - anywhere from a vague suggestion of it, to being clobbered over the head with it caveman style - are MUSKS. Which one(s) works for you depends on chemistry, of course - I'm partial to white and black, though the ones that are most reminiscent of actual sex (sometimes not in the most attractive way, mind you) are red musk blends. White/light musk scents include things like Dorian, Morocco and Antique Lace (which doesn't have it listed, but I have a whole bottle of White Musk SN to compare it to, and they smell pretty darn similar); and in a lot of more floral blends like Juliet and Fae. White musk is clean, soft, and a little powdery to my nose, but still sexy - it's what I was meant to smell like! Red musk includes the oft mentioned Smut (which sadly, smelled like peanutbutter and dirty sheets on me - not the sort of "sex scent" I was looking for). I also think the TAL Blinding Glory of Love has red musk - and I highly recommend it. Another dead sexy blend containing red musk is Loviatar. Black musk is in Iago, Lilith, Desire - a lot of the "dark" scents, as well as in things like Mad Hatter, which I love. To me, it's a kind of rich and buttery musk. It seems to be the one that goes funky on a lot of folks though.