zankoku_zen

Green grass, kinda sweet, and just... grassy. As it dries, I get more of a basil/green stem sort of whiff to it. The vibe is slightly aquatic, and I can see it when it ends up in a few Voodoo Blends. Absolutely lovely.

Dark aquatic, mysterious flowers, light opium and lotus swirling about. Hints of water and stone swirling about. Waters of Oblivion is a very hard scent to describe as its not overly aquatic or floral. It's got both aspects, but not in the way that we usually think of them. This is definitely a pool of water in the middle of the night, with the flowers opening up to the darkness (as opposed to the light of the moon). It's still, and kinda creepy and desolate in its very stillness. There's nothing soft or comforting about this blend. If the overarching vibe of the discontinued Salon blend Silence was the pristine moment of silence, then Waters of Oblivion is its sister in the sense that this is about the absolute lack of movement. Wow. Bravo - Beth, Brian and Labbies. This has been truly a scent experience.

Rich, dark musk, inky and spicy amber. This smells like an Alchemical Workshop. Its got spices, its got amber, its musk, its golden, hot, and full of ink. There's a certain quality to it that does remind me to India Ink SN in it. Spicy, inky, amber.

Cayenne, ginger, frankincense and amber. This is a spicy resin/amber blend. Red-hot, and spicy! Spicy, red, resinous.

Honey musk, cologne, hints of wine, leather and rose. The cologne is mostly present on wet, and dissipates in the drydown. This is a sophisticated, perfumey honey musk. Very sexy. Unisex, but a teensy bit more on the masculine side for me.

Tobacco, coconut, chamomile and white musk. Slighly powdery tobacco and coconut blend. Sort of tropical, sort of dusty, sort of cuddly. If you don't mind your cuddles to have a bit of a bite. If you dig tobacco AND coconut, give this a whirl.

Fig, rose and honey. This is a very honey and fig blend, kinda foody, and very rich. Tasty, but not for me.

Gardenia, jasmine and vanilla. This is a very rich, opulent gardenia/vanilla blend. The gardenia, as it tends to, gets the barest wet wool smell on me. Other than that, its a gorgeous blend.

Kelpy, salty incense. It smells watery and very silty, like Hatmehit, with a very rich incense background. Odd fish, this one.

Fig, orchid, tobacco honey. This is heady, sexy, and honey. It's like a skin scent... on sex.

Pimento, bitter clove and whiffs of caramel. This smells spicy and sweet at the same time, and it kinda breaks my head. It's sort of smoky, spicy, bitter.

Red musk, incense and autumn leaves. The red musk in this one is very different from Tears of Lilith. This one is a autumn red musk , bonfire smoke and dry leaves in the wind. It would actually be a fantastic room scent.

Pumpkin, hay and leather. The hay is particularly strong, with the pumpkin and leather coming in later. Not foody at all. Smells like someone who works with horses, outside during the fall.

Deep red musk, rose, wine and honey. This is a heady rose/red musk blend. Very womanly, very sexy.

OMG. Freesia, I think you hate me. So underneath the FREESIA OF DOOM, I have this warm woods, amber and peach. And THAT smells delicious. Except for the whiffs of Freesia that sems to overlay it all from wet to dry.... My heart is broken. I got this because of my namesake and I can't wear it. (on the other hand, if I were patient enough, I'd see how this ages....)

Gin and pumpkin! For me, this is an odd mix. The gin is effervescent, but most definitely gin (why hello juniper). The pumpkin is slightly sweet and buttery.... and the combination ends up... ODD, for lack of a better term.

Violets, siberian musk, and a swirl of other florals. This is kinda resinous and musky, with the violets being the main floral. Warm, pretty, resinous.

Black plum and black currant candy. It's very strong, and in your face. I occasionally get whiffs of neroli and jungle orchid. Actually, it reminds me quite a bit to Morgause, without the strong incense aspect. Very purple.

Sea-faring jasmine. I get pine, jasmine and something aquatic. The jasmine is well behaved in this blend, and smells almost 'herbal' and 'very green', in among some river aquatic notes. Not my style, but a very pale blue blend indeed.

Ashy sandalwood, hints of balsam and spice and eucalyptus. It was much warmer and sweeter on wet (I am assuming because of the carrot seed), but it dries to a sandalwood blend, with hints of paper. It's an interesting blend, and definitely more of a 'scent' experience as opposed to more of a wearable perfume to me.

2012. Super strong polished mahogany and cognac. It's kinda sharp. Pass.

2012 version is much more CLAY on my skin. Mind you, its bloody clay. Like I can smell the 'blood', and definitely the CLAY. Strong, mineral clay smell, with an acrid note of vinegar on wet, but dries down to clay and blood. And in some ways, it may be creepier to me than the 2007 version.

Oh, oh. This is the same note in Ice Queen (minus berries and florals), the same note in Snowy Mountains (no vanilla though), and a kissing cousin to the snow note in Cloister Graveyard. It's minty, slushy, snow. AND I LOVE IT. If you loved Ice Queen, and loved Snowy Mountains (which I do), this is that SNOW note. ... And now I am off to go and get as much as my greedy heart desires because Ice Queen is hard to find, so is Snowy Mountains, but now there is a blend that I can use and slather and roil in. Oh yes, it will be mine.

Glittering motor oil and gasoline. There's definitely something 'metalic' and 'shiny' to this blend, as well as an underlay of clay, and grittiness. It smells like a gas station. Or when you go get your oil changed. So... yeah, not really a perfume per se, but WOW, its like A GAS STATION IN LIQUID FORM. Which makes it an awesome scent experience.

Spicy pumpkin with maple sugar and licorice. I am really enjoy the scent. It's too foodie for me to wear, but it would be a FANTASTIC ROOM SCENT. It would make your house smell delicious for Halloween. Love it.