thekittenkat
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Everything posted by thekittenkat
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In the decant: Amber, benzoin, rockrose, and tonka for sure. Wet: The tonka has come forward, but is being tempered by the amber. The dry-down: Ambrette is musk mallow (amongst many other nic-names), hence the faint muskiness that has appeared. Costus can refer to a number of plants; I'm not sure which one is present in this blending. Resin from the galbanum adds in a nice depth. I've liked this scent in previous years, and it's just as light and elegant this year. This is one Yule, besides Snow White, that I am happy to see return whenever possible. The amber may be getting a little powdery, but that's just an occupational hazard between me and amber. Unisex, and good for an office environment. If I huff a bit, the tonka and benzoin exhibit their gentle sweetness.
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In the decant: Purple sage, but only lightly, and lots of florals. Wet: Sage is coming more strongly, but lots of pretty flowers. The dry-down: I just can't pick out each of the flower notes; they were blend together from the first sniff. There's some I'm not overly fond of, like mum, plumeria, tuberose, and lily, but the angel's trumpet and dahlia are probably over-riding them. Azucena seems to be lily of the valley, which usually doesn't work on me; it's a lovely scent at first, but it can dry to a sharp brown note. If there's incense, it's very faint. At any rate, this is another perfume oil that could work well in the late spring and early summer. Not much throw, and even though I slathered a bit, it seems to be fading faster than expected.
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In the decant: Sharp leather, lots of pepper and some vetiver. Wet: Very sharp leather now, almost chemical. The dry-down: Really not liking this at all. The chemical note of the leather that has just been taken out of the dying vat is rather omnipresent. It's pretty much stomping all over the other notes. The tonka bean, cumin, and oakmoss never showed to the party, and the pepper and vetiver left early. If Scrooge smelled liked this, it's no surprise that he had no friends.
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In the decant: Cool blue musk and frankincense. Wet: The currant and mugwort are bullying all the other notes, alas. The dry-down: The cool blue musk make a lovely return.There may be wisteria, but the real flower always smells like purple grapes to me, and I'm not getting a grape note here. The currant and mugort have returned to the depths, to ground the blue musk. It is sort of dream-like. An interesting scent, but I don't know quite what to make of it.
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In the decant: Tea, patch, benzoin, and the florals. Wet: Tea and the sharpness of the iris. The dry-down: The patch and ambergris appeared to give this a needed depth and earthiness. It is just a little on the sweet side, but floral, not foodie or fruity. The tea is just gorgeous. I was afraid of the iris note, but perhaps florentine iris is not as bad as a regular iris note, and perhaps all the other notes are holding it in check. And they are all note that I love. Surprisingly this might make a good spring-time scent, with the florals and the good earthy notes (not dirt, mind you, just an earthy evocation or effect). I'm delighted and may have to get a bottle.
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In the decant: Vetiver, but with a slight tart fruit note from the black currant, and a hint of incense and resin from the myrrh. Wet: Smoky vetiver and not much else. The dry-down: The currant come back, but it's very tart now and just serves to round the vetiver out. My beloved myrrh has packed its bags for another scent, obviously. I didn't think that this was goint to be my thing, and I was quiet right, but I had to try it for the myrrh and currant.
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In the bottle: Each time I sniff I get a different lovely note: the vanilla, orange, sandalwood, tea, and carnation all present. Wet: And then my nose is almost blown away by the orange and the mate. (I forgot that I don't like mate; I think it ruined one of the Luper chocolate scents for me last year.) The dry-down: I'm thrilled that the orange has receeded somewhat, and the tea and carnation and vanilla have come to the foreground, whilst the sandalwood keeps their sweetness in check by adding a little dryness overall. A very lovely scent, and I can see why this has gotten so many reviews. I think that this would be perfect as a late spring changing into early summer scent. Not too floral, not too sweet, a skin scent that makes one wish that this is how one naturally smelled (except then how could we appreciate so many wonderful scents!?).
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In the decant: Just what I was afraid of: metallic lemon. Wet: The metallic sharp note is fading away somewhat into a light pleasant lemon scent. The dry-down: In the end, this reminds me a little of what you might get if you layered Iron Phoenix with Numb. It's pleasnt enough, but citrus scents just aren't that much of interest to me. I was hoping for ice-cold metals, I guess.
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In the bottle: Red musk, saffron, a hint of ozone. Wet: Sweet red musk, but the amber, galangal, and saffron are holding their own. The dry-down: Not so much like a thunderstorm, as that hot sweet smell of drying fields in the summer countryside, where the crops, especially the corn and the hay, need a little water to keep going. I suspect the amber and the saffron are giving that dry note in combination. I think that I will appreciate this more in July. The cover art is of a red-orange phoenix, that looks to be flying over green hills topped by thunderclouds, with a fork of lighting in the distance.
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This is for the 2010 version. In the bottle: Yeah, baby! That's what I'm talking about: all the yummy notes! Wet: The pipe smoke is cherrywood, and the leather is soft and sweet. The dry-down: This continues to be yummy. My ex-bf used to smoke a pipe early on, and he ever only bought the sweet-scented tobacco. But this is a lovely and unique scent that I can sniff whenever I want to, and not have to worry about lung cancer, etc. Probably more masculine than not.
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This is for the 2010 version. In the decant: Light musk and light woods. Wet: A metallic scent rises up. The dry-down: The dust, wood, and musk are defeating that metallic note. However, this is nothing that I really need. I do want to compare it with the previous version first.
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In the bottle: Cherry blossoms and myrrh. Wet: Still lovely cherry blossoms and myrrh, but the spring wildflowers and the dandelion are coming forward. The dry-down: Very much as wet. The flowers are all melding together to make a harmonious whole, and the myrrh, which is not overwhelming at all, corrals the flowers' sweetness, adding just an edge of danger. Lots of throw. May have to get a back-up, since this is a partial bottle. Very much a spring time scent. The label art is of a pink phoenix against a sky blue background, with a cherry tree branch with its flowers in the lower left-hand corner.
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This is for the 2010 version. In the decant: Sure smells like a very rich eggnog. Wet: More nutmeg than the other notes. The dry-down: The brandy & rum, along with the cream and sugar, are struggling to overcome the stompy nutmeg. In RL it is a powerful spice and a little goes a long way; and it's the same in perfume oils as well, I see. But it is slowly getting there, moving along into the lovely eggnog scent.
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In the imp: All the notes are here: amber, lavender, vetiver, and rose. Wet: Amazingly, the rose is coming out to play, but it is indeed the delicate tea rose. The dry-down: The tea rose is still present, but there's a dark undercurrent made up of the amber, the lavender, and vetiver, that gives this an edge. The amber and the rose now have a touch of powder to them, but not too much so. If I really huff, the vetiver is more obvious. It's in the same grouping, however distantly connected, as London and The Rose. I was expecting this to be this year's Yule Cat, that is, because of the vetiver. I should note that I sometimes amp rose, so YMMV. Also, I like Yule Cat and bought a partial bottle.
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This is for the 2010 version. In the imp: Wow, that's a heady but interesting range of scents! Kind of green, kind of snowy, and some dirt lurking in the distance. Wet: That's more like it! Sweet pastries and orchids kick in. The dry-down: In the end, it's like the plants combine into one scent, the snow and dirt into another note, and then they combine into something strange and unique. The pastries just leave a hint of sweetness, as though they had long since been consumed, leaving only a few crumbs behind. I like this, but not sure that I need any more than I have. It might be a good scent as nature turns from winter to spring.
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In the decant: Lots of grass and weeds, a little dirt. Wet: Again mostly weeds and grass, and just a little soil. The dry-down: This scent does not really change from first sniff to the dry-down. I love Graveyard Dirt, and dirt notes in general, but this is mostly plants on me. Colour me disappointed. However, it does evoke a untended cementary in the coolness of night rather well.
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This review is for the 2010 version. In the bottle: Lightly spiced sugar plums and ozone. Wet: The sugar plums are more spicy now. The dry-down: In the drying time, there's an evergreen note. It's as though someone had brought into the kitchen some pine boughs with snow and ice on them, but the spiced sugar plums are still competing. This is rather evocative of the Eve of Midwinter. However, it's nice, but not quite as a perfum on my skin. I will save this partial for a room scent and also for my locket. The bf thought that it smelled lovely in the bottle.
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This review is for the 2010 version. In the bottle: Frankincense and myrrh, maybe some other resins. Cool but not aquatic. Wet: Much the same as when I first sniffed the bottle. The dry-down: Same as above, but now with a hint of smoke, and a very faint creaminess from the beeswax candles, which serves to tie all the other notes together, and help give a depth and roundness to the scent. It reminds me somewhat of the incense in the censer used during Holy Communion in my Episcopal church (when I was a teen) which was High Church for a while because of the then-current priest. That incense had more of a spicy richness to it, and could make me feel like sneezing. This Midnight Mass scent does not, and I think it should layer nicely with the Frankincense & Myrrh soap and bath oil from the Post.
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In the bottle: Gentle honey tempered by a light mint and the apple blossom. Wet: The mint and the blossom are somewhat dominating the light honey. The dry-down: Still pretty much the same as when it was wet. It's a pleasant, gentle, springtime scent, but I was hoping for more honey. The partial bottle that I have will be fine for now. I'm hoping that this might age into something a little honey-sweet.
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In the decant: Something high and sharp, probably the almond note in the marzipan and the white musk combining. Almost not sure I want to try this. Wet: Almost metallic now, which is not surprising, considering this particular dance. The dry-down: Thank goodness the metallic note faded. I can now pick up a blending of all the other notes (that means no almond or musk) and they make a pleasant rosy wood scent, highlighted with sweetness from the tonka. Nice, but don't think I'll be needing more of this, especially with the metallic sharpness to start with.
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In the bottle: Just as advertised. Wet: Beautiful so far, a rich medium red rose, with dew on the petals, and has just been brought inside to a very cool, almost, cold room. The dry-down: Just a hint of the green stem, but the rose scent is still very present. A fresh rose indeed, and a far cry from previous versions that always translated to green stems in ice water, what I call the generic florist shop smell. I may have to grab another bottle of this before the Yules go down. And I might try a layering experiment with The Rose, a favourite from the GC. When I tried this at WC a while back, I was expecting the stems in water scent, and was pleasantly surprised to find a rose amongst the stems and water. ETA: This is for the '10 version.
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This is for the 07 version. In the bottle: Spicy and much richer in scent than the '10 version. Getting all the notes except the pastry. Wet: Much as when sniffed. The dry-down: Still somewhat spicy, but not as spicy. Very different to the '10 version. The fruit notes are submerged in the olive oil and beeswax, with only a hint of the sufganiyot. Can't figure out where the spice notes is coming from, but I do like it. I'm hoping that the '10 version develops the spicy note and loses the butter note. I like this older version better than the new one. The spice note reminds me of Falling Leaf Moon, a favourite of mine.
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This review is for the 2010 version. In the bottle: Certainly there's the olive oil & beeswax, and the two fruits, all very mild. These are all notes that I like. Wet: Rather much the same as when first sniffed. The dry-down: And now the pastry and filling of the sufganiyot is coming forward. This is much nice than the first time I tried it, as there seemed to be a slighty rancid butter note in it, though not as bad as the one in Jack (one of the few BPAL perfume oils that I had to wash off immediately!). That butter note is from the sufganiyot, I suspect. A comparison with the 07 version is on tap. If you want a sweet perfume that is not too sweet, not too fruity, not too cakey, or just not too rich, Chanukkiyah may fill the bill. In the end, all the notes come together to make a yummy scent. ETA: May have spoke too soon about the butter note. My nose doesn't like this note on my skin, but I can't sniff it in the bottle, so I'll keep this partial for the scent locket.
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In the bottle: Mmm, two of my faves, cedar and frankincense. Wet: The cedar is becoming a little bit sweeter, but the dust note is tempering the frank. The dry-down: The three notes have combined into a lovely scent. If you like cedar or frankincense or the idea of them together, this is a must. And it's a warm scent on me, not cold at all.
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In the bottle: There's patch and blackberry, tempered by the cognac. Wet: And now here's Lavender and Opopponax! Good grief! The dry-down: Thank goodness the lavender and opoponax have calmed down, and are lying down in an arrangement with the very mild patch and the gentle blackberry, and dripped over with cognac, but again lightly. The myrtle and olive leaf combine to round this blending out. A unisex blend that will smell awesome on the bf, I'm betting. I did have to try this, as I always like to try any scent where Beth uses blackberry or blackberry leaf. Without the lavender and opopponax this would have been one of my faves of the A Christmas Carol set. As it is, I do like it, but will probably decant out half the bottle for the bf, or just wear it in my scent locket.