sqwook

2009 version In the bottle: Cold chilled ice-covered floral On me: Cool, in a similar way that Ultraviolet is, but with a natural fresh-mint scent instead of eucalyptus. And maybe it's… what, underneath, exactly? Perhaps light florals, cool air, and a lovely vanilla, as the mints burn away (which they do fairly quickly, as usual). And then a cool green feeling, akin to aloe or cucumber though this is NOT a cucumber scent at all, it's more cool vanilla. This might be just amazing in the heat of summer. (On me, FYI, I do not get any wintergreen, or menthol.) Try this if you like: Ultraviolet, Envy, Squirting Cucumber.

In the bottle: Foody baked goods On me: Creamy, buttery, possibly nutty, not overly spicy, and am I getting something slightly musky? It's a butteryness that reminds of the pumpkin patch, though here with a tinge of maybe lemon zest. Ultimately, it's a nut scent on me, and I'm not quite a foody-lover enough to pull it off.

2009 version In the bottle: Vanilla, antique lace-like, I predict it'll be popular on the forum. On me: Vanilla with a tinge of almost pina colada on me. I don't get snow, wind, chilliness, or flowers. It's highly not me, though in a way that is usually popular for those who love vanilla more than I do. Pretty & innocent.

In the bottle: Lemony cleaning fluid, metal, bug spray, grease, & wood On me: Metallic, plus dishwashing soap. And I'm one of those who hates "clean"/soap. I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about the description of this scent so much. (Seriously. It's fantastic writing.) And I guess I'll just go on loving the description without, alas, loving the scent itself.

Caterpillar is a great name, however the scent is both floral (jasmine even) and headshoppy so I can't recommend it for a young boy. *lol*

Of the Mad Tea Party scents I've tried, Jabberwocky might work. The Dormouse & White Rabbit had that 'clean-laundry' scent, which meant I personally HATED them with the fire of a 1000 suns, but ha! that may be an overreaction. Maybe Tweedledee? All the others I've tried I feel are more feminine or just not young boy; but just so you know what I'm talking about, here are those I *don't* particularly think would work: All In the Golden Afternoon; The Lion; Mouse's Long & Sad Tale; Frumious Bandersnatch; The Unicorn; Eat Me; Drink me; The Caterpillar; Queen Alice; Alice. If you know which ones they liked of yules, there's still time to order those. Stuff from the Steamworks line might be neat, too - maybe Aelopile, Robotic Scarab, or Phoenix Steamworks.

2009 version In the bottle: Foody nutty coffee On my skin: Wow - this is the real deal: rich dark chocolate with cinnamon. Exactly. I've even had those chocolate-cinnamon drinking chocolate rounds that are kind of grainy & you break them into pieces and then grind one up to make hot chocolate - this smells exactly like those. I'm not generally much of a foody-wearer, but I certainly *am* extremely impressed with the execution.

In the bottle: A cool slightly dusty metallic verbena. On: A cool verbena, kept in line by the light resins. Stays pretty consistent throughout the day. Gender neutral. Might be fabulous in warmer/hotter weather. I think this would be at home in the Steamworks line - it reminds me somewhat of Robotic Scarab, Phoenix Steamworks, No. 93 Engine.

Thank you mlle hackess! You are great!

Your notes list made me immediately think of Pais de la Canela. As far as your description of how it is on you... Mulling spices with citrus... Hm, sounds good! I would love to find something like that. Maybe Clemence?

Venneh, I wore Lambs Wool on Thanksgiving too! And it was perfect. <3

Hi! Of the "still-to-tries" in your list, I've tried Sea Foams Milk and Shadwell, and I wouldn't get your hopes up too high for milk-only from them- they each have definitely other stuff going on. Of course, you may like them for what they are! Have you tried Castitas bath oil from BPTP? It's creamy with a hint of vanilla. You can use the bath oils as though they were perfume oils, or as moisturizing oils - you don't need to use them in a bath.

Actually, Eat Me is from the Mad Tea Party section, and it refers to the cake that Alice finds on her adventures in Wonderland and eats to grow taller. It may be a good choice! It's definitely a great vanilla scent. Also, I just keep thinking: while any of us may not want to *give* a 14yo 8thgrader something too sultry - don't you remember *being* 14? Am I the only one who was trying to act like hot stuff at that age? I somehow doubt it...

Castitas, a bath oil from the Black Phoenix Trading Post, is another thing to consider if you want to branch out into other products. It's very soft and beautiful, creamy with a light vanilla.

A new rec for deep-earthy-foresty: Greed. I know, I know, it doesn't make any sense based on the name. But it is great!

So. It turns out I love oakmoss. And apparently I love a perfume oil named Greed. *sigh* First, preconceived notions: Without looking at the notes, I'd have thought 'greed' would be a sharp, dry, sour, spiky, pinched, thin scent, perhaps with mint. This is not any of those things. I get a lovely foresty earthiness - not the lab's "soil" or "dirt" note, just a round earthiness. And over the day, a lovely soft green-ness. And I can definitely pick out the soft deep green oakmoss that I have loved in other scents with this note. I don't get a lot of patchouli, myself. And I don't think I know what heliotrope or copal are enough to pick them out. It's not too masculine for me to wear. I think I'll rename this Forest Nymph in my mind. If you liked this, you may like: Faiza The Black Mamba, Salome, Cathode, Danse Macabre, Two Monsters

LOL- in my experience, eucalyptus doesn't "hide" at all! Some other eucalyptus hypotheses include: Grr TKO Baku Cathode And many things that mention frost or snow. And, wow, I did a search in the Reviews section for the word eucalyptus and got 11 pages of scents listed! You'll be busy for a while...

Side note -- If florals aren't really your thing, try some of the other recs or other things on your list before trying Fallen; it's more floral than vetiver, on me anyway. Reminds me a bit of Salome & Pannychis, if you've tried either of those.

You might consider Tushnamatay or perhaps even Eden (they're more grounding than elevating, yet very serene). For some elevating scents that connect me personally to my higher self, I really like Yggdrasil. Mag Mell, also. I have a strong affinity to nature, and they remind me of the out-of-doors. So ymmv. Is there any description that really calls to you?

@Lyanna - HI! I didn't reply earlier since I haven't tried most of those you've listed -- hopefully somebody else has & can talk about them. Of those you've listed, I've tried only Paris, Bastet, & Bengal, which are nothing like each other. One thing I'll say is that you definitely don't have many "forum faves" on your list - I'd at least consider adding Snake Oil to see what people are talking about.

Sweet clove, ginger, and spices at first. Over time this becomes a lovely creamy lightly-apple scent, sweet but not overly sugarly, warm, soft, wonderful. I don't like many of the foody things, but this is really nice. Definitely pondering a bottle.

Wet: Nuts and cough syrup. Totally chaotic and not good when wet. As it dries, it becomes really wonderful - a soft blend of smooth nuts and berries. It reminds me a lot of Eden actually - which, interestingly, is also really not great when wet, though I love it when dry. With the apples and berries, Pomona is slightly brighter and fruitier than Eden.

I love Lambs-Wool! Harvest spices that dry down to a lovely creamy apple scent, sweet but not overly-sugary, warm and soft, really wonderful. Not *too* literally apple-y. Pomona is nice but it has a lot of other stuff going on, so it doesn't read as an 'apple' scent to me. It reminds me a lot of Eden, actually.

I amp pine too, so I totally understand. They always smell good, just not on ME. Yggdrasil is AWESOME - a fabulous deciduous forest scent, and the best thing ever for wearing out-of-doors, yet I don't get any dirt scent from it if that's what he's looking for. But he should try it anyway. Oooo - you know what? Two Monsters is just like what he's looking for -- while it is wet, especially, much less so when it has dried down. From my notes: "Mossy, trees, earth, the whole forest. Dries to a oakmoss/leather." For a dry woods (late fall) perhaps Danse Macabre, Aureus, or Fire of Love. There's no green-ness in those, though. Maybe Omen, though it went powdery on me.

Totally agree on Manhattan most of all. Also Bat-Woman (recently discontinued though) much more than Yvaine. I also use Death & Life Completed for this. D&LC is warmer where Bat-Woman is cool. I like Salome for strength & confidence but I find it less business-like. And one that I've recently fallen in love with that also has this feeling is Death on a Pale Horse - it's so not like it's macabre description, so don't let that deter you - kind of like an alpine meadow on a crisp fall day (which is a really energizing powerful feeling for me), and the more I read your description, the more I think you should try it out. And maybe Antony. Curious to see what you'll like!