thekittenkat

In the bottle: Yes, like others, I get the Boomslang and Snake Charmer feeling, but more like the proto of Boomslang that has more cocoa in the mix. Wet: Much the same as on cold sniff, only moreso. The dry-down: This has changed into a perfumery scent. Not sure how that happened! I'll keep this half-bottle from my decanter for use in the scent locket, though. Btw, the cacao just doesn't mix well at all in the bottle. I rolled it several times, but it still precipitates rather quickly.

In the decant: powdery rose, a bit old-fashioned, like the rose potpourri my grandmother had all over the house. Wet: mostly the rose champaca aka rose potpourri, but a hint of the vanilla frank The dry-down: There's a bit more of the vanilla frank, but it's still mostly the rose "potpourri". No sign of the red licorice, thank goodness! My grandmother would have loved this, I suspect, but it's not really my bag. Those who like The Peacock Queen or Black Rose might give this a try.

Fearful Pleasure while I help the SO hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters, but Samhain '13 over that later on.

In the bottle: Samhain, but with extra pumpkin--not fresh and foody, but more like drying vines and gourds. Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but not so sweet & spicy as Samhain by itself. The dry-down: Amazing morpher! This has done a 180 degree turn-- the sweet & spices have amped a bit, and the pumpkin has turned into something like fresh baking pumpkin, but not w/ the buttery crust of a pumpkin pie. Horde-worthy, and I want a back-up.

This is for the 2013 version. In the bottle: The fruits are spiced, sitting on the damp forest floor. Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but everything is doing that lovely blending thing. The dry-down: Sweet and spicy and damp woods--a wonderful version of one of my fave scents. Note: can there be a pumpkin emoticon, please? *********************************************************** I seemed to have reviewed the 2013 version twice! Here's another review from Nov. 27, 2013. This is for the 2013 version. In the bottle: Lovely--all the notes just swirl together in a wonderful blending of many of the scents that I love about autumn. Wet: The woods and the fir needle dominate for now. The dry-down: Close up, this is the woods in autumn after a cool, brief shower. From far away it's all the other notes muddling together. Interesting, a two-level scent. I get a bottle every year, simply because it's so different each autumn, and yet is still the essence of the season.

THOUROS Furious Rose otto, lychee, and cistus absolute. First. let me say that this is lovely, from first sniff to dry-down. Cistus, according to the wiki, is also known as rockrose, although it shares that common name with several other flowers. Its leaves produce labdanum, btw. The rose otto is very prominent in the bottle and on my wrist, even hours later. For some reason, I think that this may be the damask rose, which I have smelt before. The lychee fruit adds a touch of sweetness, and is probably, in my case, keeping the rose in check. (I sometimes amp rose.) The rose is soft, maybe like a dusty pink rose. It's not light like a white rose or a tea rose, but it's not the dark rose of The Peacock Queen, but somewhere in-between. (Also added value: no green stems in cold water that I get with Red Rose.) Thouros reminds me a little of The Rose, from the Marchen, but it's lusher and deeper than that rose. This doesn't seem to be a rose newly blooming in a garden, but at its fullness, just before it is cut. And then someone dipped it in sugar syrup so they could feed it to their pony. (Note: there's no aquatic notes here.)

In the decant: Mango pieces nestled in a bed of the other notes, not too sweet. Wet: Much as on the cold sniff, but the warmth of my skin is bringing the sugar forward. The dry-down: This really doesn't morph from the cold sniff, which is nice, but it doesn't last long, which is not nice. I'll keep the decant, though.

In the decant: Ack! As I was afraid of, the rose geranium is the dominate note. Wet: Still mostly the geranium. The dry-down: There's hints of the salt and berry notes, but mind you, just hints. I adore all the notes except for the geranium, which has basically taken over the seashore club. Very sad.

In the decant: Hmm, the notes aren't really coming together for me. Powdery and musky. Wet: Much the same as the cold sniff. These notes aren't working together. The dry-down: Patch, anise, and sandalwood just didn't see to blend w/ the citrus blossoms and the fruits. Rather disappointed with the lack of the fruits.

In the descent: So well-blended that it's a little difficult to pick out the individual notes. A creamy green scent. Wet: Now the vetiver comes forward! The dry-down: The vetiver is slowly melting into the other notes. Not quite the creamy green scent of the decant. I do like this, and will debate on a bottle. Would really like a Mimosa SN; it was the mimosa note that convinced to try this.

In the bottle: Fresh but not overly strawberry, red currant, and something green and fresh and natural. Wet: Sweetening up as the red fruits come into more dominance. The dry-down: I was a little afraid that the green notes would overwhelm the red fruits. They are tending to be a little stronger the longer I wear it, but the red fruits are still there. A little heavier for early summer, but good for later on, for an early evening date. Perhaps still more femme than masculine. No notes here I don't like.

In the decant: Honey musk and gardenia. Wet: Yes, my beloved honey musk from Lady Una, and the lovely gardenia. The dry-down: The honey musk and gardenia continue to abide, and the rice milk adds a creamy touch, but the dreaded orris is beginning to impart a sharp note. I really had high hopes for this, seeing as how I love all the notes except the orris.

In the decant: Lots of vetiver, but softened by the clove and pepper. Wet: Much as when sniffed. The dry-down: This is one vetiver-strong dragon! Can't imagine that no one would not smell him from a distance flying in for a landing. If you like the Lab's other strong vetiver blends, you should like this one.

In the decant: Those little wild strawberries that hide in the unmowed grass and aren't very sweet. Wet: A touch sweeter now, but fruity-sweet, not sugary-sweet. The dry-down: Not much of a morpher. If you prefer your strawberries to be fresh and not dipped in sugar, this is the perfume oil for you. Close in feeling to Strawberry Moon '09, a sometime fav of mine.

In the decant: Many, many white florals and fresh-cut grass. Wet: Much as when sniffed, but a touch of a fresh sweetness from the clover and the ozone. The dry-down: Not a morpher. I like it, since it has my beloved ozone. :

In the decant: Yummy sweet fruit! Wet: Same as the cold sniff. The dry-down: If this was a dish of raspberry sherbet with all the goodies, I would want a tablespoon.

In the decant: Tuberose, my dreaded foe, is totally 100% present, alas and alack the day! Other notes? Not to sensed. Wet: The jasmine and maybe the blue musk have appeared. The dry-down: I wanted to try this for the blue musk, as well as the moss and sandalwood. The jasmine is a liked version. There might be a touch of sharpness from the iris root, only to be expected, but it's the evil tuberose that has ruined what could have been a lovely scent with a blue feeling.

In the decant: Yet another well-blended scent. The hay note is the most obvious. Wet: Still lot of hay, but all the other notes floating underneath in a blended mix. The dry-down: Very surprised by this, as I expected the lemon verbena to do its' usual stomp-all-over-the-other-notes thing, but strangely it did not. Nor did the cedar amp. I suspect that the seaweed, salt, and SO are keeping the two bad notes in check, a pleasant surprise. I have Hay Moon for my hay note needs; however, this would be good to get if I did not.

In the decant: Effervescent fruit and floral blend! Wet: Not so effervescent now, but otherwise much as on cold sniff. The dry-down: Not a morpher. Very well blended mix of the fruit and floral notes, with the sugar to keep it sweet. A great happy perfume for warm summer months.

In the decant: This may be sparkly apple musk, but there is nothing sweet here. Wet: The crisp tartness of green apples sings out. The dry-down: The green apples slowly sweeten up, as though they had been peeled and are now being sliced in to a bowl of sugar water aka a sort of simple syrup, though not that sweet. Reminds me of SGA, but sweeter and warmer. Might upgrade to a bottle. A lovely morpher for those who like fresh green apples.

In the decant: Like a classic perfume of yore, well-blended and elegant in a very dry fashion. Wet: The bergamot and lemon peel make their presence known. The dry-down: Something, not sure what, has come forward to make this a dry peppery scent--it's probably a combination of notes. I ordered this for the magnolia, but never detected a hint of the lovely creaminess that I'm so familiar with, living in the Deep South.

In the decant: All the notes! Wet: The rose sugar dominates, as I was afraid it would. The dry-down: Now becoming candy-sweet, perhaps too much so. Reminds me of a perfume spray from Avon that I had as a little girl. Another great scent for a young lady. I like it, but I liked the cold sniff the best. May get a bottle, but really not sure, and this was the scent I expected to indeed love the most from this wonderful series. ETA: The longer I wear this, the more I like it.

In the decant: Vanilla, but not foody, woodsy, creamy resins. Wet: Much like the cold sniff, but there's something bright about it. Not exactly warm, though. The dry-down: Moving towards a subtle blending of all the notes. I do like it, since it is woods, resins, and a non-foodie vanilla, a nice change of pace. This could be good for late summer/early autumn, evocative of when nature starts to dry out for the coming cold.

In the decant: Very sour cherries, a hint of apricot, but also something like what some offices and stores clean with. That's not a promising start. Wet: Less disinfectant and more sweet. The dry-down: Sour cherry gummy bears. Great scent for a little girl, perhaps. Not sure where the apricot preserves scurried off to. Still not sure why I ordered this, as it's not my thing.

In the decant: Very dark, very smokey tea, not sweet at all. Wet: A hint of lilac brightening things up. The dry-down: Back to the smokey tea. Nice.