thekittenkat

In the imp: Magnolia and white honey. Wet: Now the blonde tobacco appears, late to the party. The dry-down: The magnolia and honey return, bringing just a wee dram of the vanilla, and run the tobacco off. They didn't want such a strong scent to ruin their genteel party. Pretty and delicate, but I can't imagine reaching for it that often.

In the imp: A red rose sprinkled delicately w/ myrrh, amber, honey, and sandalwood. Wet: A rather nice red rose scent mixed w/ the lovely resins. The dry-down: The resins have turned the rose into powder, or maybe it's the other way round. Disappointed, but the dark roses can do just that.

In the imp: Hints of all the notes blending together. Wet: Mostly sandalwood, lightly sweetened by honey. The dry-down: The sandalwood is more spicy now, less sweet, but still mild and delicate. I suspect that the bergamot is to blame. Very much a skin scent. The lady doesn't want to wear her rich rose perfume when visiting her sister, the nun.

In the imp: Dark chocolate-covered cherries, but something animalistic is lurking nearby. Wet: Much as when sniffed. The dry-down: This is getting a bit perfumey on me now, alas, probably due to the poppy, wine, and musk. I don't mind vetiver or clove, but only in tiny traces. It's still good, but not as good as when I 1st applied it. Might be bottle-worthy, still.

In the imp: Bitter dried leaves, salty tears, a hint of rose. Wet: The leaf note is indeed dry, bitter, almost crunchy. The dry-down: Much as when I 1st applied it. No roses, just a trace of salty tears. Seems to more of an autumnal scent, somewhat masculine. I like it, but not enough for a bottle.

In the bottle: This is more like the Lab's black leather note, which smells like a vat of odd chemicals mixed together to cure hides. Wet: Much as on cold sniff. May be a hint of the spices. The dry-down: Not a morpher, not really. The chemical leather note calmed down, but only a little bit. There's a hint of the other notes, but just faintly.

In the decant: Stone, blood, and what must be the grey musk. Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but the three notes are starting to meld. Stone the most dominant note, though. The dry-down: Musky stone, but in a pale way (that's the combination of the stone and the grey musk). There's a faint hint of the sweetness of the blood, no metallic tang like iron. I like this, but it's very much a skin scent, even though I slathered, and it's not something that I would wear that much. I'll keep the decant, but something like this in a room spray could be rather awesome.

In the decant: Salt, pinch of dirt (dried), something plant-like but strangely sweet? Blood, then. Wet: Plant-like note now more herbal and bitter, less sweet, so less blood-like. This plant-like note is stomping all over the other notes. The dry-down: Herbal dirt in the end. With an old dried-out bone buried in it.

in the decant: Lemon mint ice. WTH? Wet: Cool lemon and cold mint. The dry-down: Faint scent of lemons, a hint of mint, a breath of coolness (not really much ozone). Disappointing. I had hoped for something in the same family as Moon of Ice or Countess Dolingen of Gratz, w/ lots of icy ozone. If you like Numb or Nuclear Winter, but found them too cold lemon minty, get this.

In the decant: Drying pine needles, a metallic tang from the blood, a whisper of fur. Wet: Perhaps the pine needles are coming back to life? Again the hint of fur. The dry-down: The slight lemon scent of ironwood emerges finally. In the end, this was slightly lemon-scented pine needles that have totally dried out. The fur must been unhappy with this conclusion and departed. The Big Bad reduced to not much that I would have liked.

In the decant: Sprucewood, myrrh, and ambergris, with ice over all. Wet: The oak appears amidst the other notes, and the sprucewood and ambergris back away. The dry-down: The woods are now dried out, as in late autumn, when have been no rains for a while. I could also say that this scent not unlike the scent of the inside of a cedar chest. I like it best from the cold sniff.

In the decant: Moonflower, night air, hints of salt and spices. Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but the oudh and myrrh are coming into play. The dry-down: Not really a morpher; it mostly stays the same throughout. The moonflower scents the night air that is gently touched with some resins and salt.

In the bottle: Ripen apples, w/ a cider feeling, and then hints of dirt, drying leaves, and moss. Wet: All the notes are fresher and greener on my wrist. The dry-down: Still green and fresh, but slowly turning from late summer into early autumn apples. Not a sweet cider, but a dry one. I may pair this w/ any of the Lab's apple blends for extra appleness. Or may try the scent locket, as I adore the cold sniff scent--it's a perfect autumn scent.

In the decant: Getting some ylang, ylang, hint of patch, and a dusty note that is probably the amber. Wet: Much as on cold sniff. The dry-down: As other reviewers have said throughout the review forum, this is why I get decants when I can. This is mostly dusty amber. I wanted the spicy-sweet blend promised by the patch, cacao, honey, and oudh. Disappointing. Note: this was tested as a body lotion.

Note: I'm using this as a body lotion. In the decant: Cacao & vanilla, w/ hints of coconut and shea butter. Wet: Mostly cacao, w/ hints of the vanilla, coconut, and shea. The dry-down: In the end, this is just a powdery cacao, slightly sweetened by the vanilla. Very nice!

In the decant: Musk, tonka, myrrh. Sprayed on an unscented tissue: And now the ambrette seed joins the other three to make a scent that I really like, sweet and mildly spicy, and again another atmos spray that will be perfect for late summer/early autumn.

Note: I use the bath oil as an after-the-shower lotion. In the decant: Lots of apricot. Wet: Now the white tea and the orange blossom overtake the apricot. The dry-down: Finally, the three notes blend together in a pleasant early summer scent. Quite the morpher!

In the decant: Ozone through cypress trees. Sprayed on to an unscented tissue: Ah, there's the sandalwood mixed with the musky grass. Only a faint memory of a night breeze amongst the cypress trees at night in a cemetery, which is what I was hoping for. Nice, though.

Note: I use the bath oil as an after shower moisturizer. In the decant: Black tea leaf with some vanilla orchid. Wet: Much as in cold sniff. The dry-down: A very faint blending of the black tea leaf with the vanilla orchid. No foodie vanilla present. Nice, but I don't need any more at present. Was really hoping for this to be my OTL.

In the decant: A red wine tempered by beeswax and the pom. Sprayed on an unscented tissue: Very winey, but the lily petals are a little too forward for my tastes. W/o the lily, this would have been an awesome scent. As it is, it's pretty good, but the lily tickles my nose, and not in a good way, alas.

In the decant: Patch with some spices and a hint of the orange blossom. Sprayed on an unscented tissue: This is sensual and sexy! Patch lovers, rejoice! This not a gritty dark patch, but a nice fresh patch that is tempered by all the other notes--the ones that stand out are the sandalwood, the labdanum, and the balsam. But no worries, this is still more spicy than sweet. And I'll save this for the autumn--it has that feel to it.

In the imp: Laurel, certainly, the mead, and a touch of bay and incense and smoke. Wet: The bay is stronger, but not too much so. The dry-down: This is nice, all the notes blending together, but sadly, something is tickling the back of my throat and making me sneeze--suspect it may be the bay or the incense or both together. Washing off in a minute.

In the imp: Vetiver SN! Wet: Much as on cold sniff. The dry-down: This does calm down somewhat over time. There's a hint of nutmeg and cream, but just a hint.

In the imp: A fruity sweetness w/ some evergreen boughs, freshly cut. Wet: The sweet fruit note is turning candyish, and the evergreen is pine, fresh pine. The dry-down: Well, this is disappointing! It's become some sort of sweet and piney cleaning product. Exactly that. Must wash off, stat. Nasty. Not at all like the yew trees in an old cemetery, which is what I was hoping for.

In the imp: Lilies in water, dried leaves near-by. Wet: Sweet water, bitter lilies, or bitter oak, or bitter cypress. The dry-down: The bitterness is fading away, leaving a slightly sweet aquatic note, with the white lilies now out of the water, but still near-by. It's a Poe scent, but would I wear it enough? I don't know, and time is running out.