zankoku_zen

Cherries and piney snow. I get a ton of bright cherry notes, and piney-wintery sugary snow. Definitely a cherry slushie!

Strawberries and dandelions. There's a very sugary edge to this. This smells like sweet strawberries and grass. If you ever wanted that for your hair, then get this! For me, its just ever slightly too sweet *goes off in search of fruity dessert now*.

Sweet fizzy champagne, with touches of lemon, blueberry and black currant. I occasionally get the sparkle of sugar in this. HOT DAMN. I really really love this and would consider more.

Wisteria, cereus and lotus blossoms. This smells like darkness and white florals with a cool undercurrent. mr. zee_zee said it smelled nice, which is not something he typically says about flowers. This is like bathing in a cool pool in the darkness. Deeply mysterious.

Moving counter-clockwise through the room, you come upon the next stage. The backdrop is shredded, and seems to have been torn in a fury. On the remaining half of the canvas, you can barely make out a faded illustration of the sun setting over a pyramid. On the center of the platform, an elaborate golden sarcophagus has been set upright and propped up towards the edge of the stage. Beside it, upon the ground, sits a hooded lantern. A woman’s image is painted on the front of the sarcophagus, and upon the gold limned body, a tale is being told in hieroglyphics: scenes of murder, carnage, and grotesque, mad passion. Although you do not know the language, the inscription upon the tomb translates within your mind, and the words burn behind your eyes as if they were written in blood and fire: “The Guardian will never part the veil for her soul. Mighty Sutekh, have pity on us all.” A thin, dark-skinned man wearing a linen loincloth climbs onto the stage. His form is frail and withered, he is impossibly old, yet his long, straight hair is as black as the night skies. With solemn, reverential gravity, he slowly moves the casket lid aside. Within the box, you see a skeletal figure wrapped in stained, ragged cloths, draped in a mauve cloth. The dark-skinned man bends low, and lights the lanterna magica. From within the glass, images begin to form, and glowing alchemical symbols cast their eerie light onto the mummy. As the lights touch the creature, the desiccated body swells, and with horrific, agonizing slowness, a woman’s form begins to appear within the wrappings. At her chest, the rotted wrappings burst, exposing sinew and the glinting white bones of her ribs. Her hands reach towards her face, and with a screech of agony and eons-long rage, she tears the gauze from her glittering black eyes. The perfume of life-in-death: embalming herbs, black myrrh, white sandalwood, black orchid, paperwhites, olive blossom, tomb dust, and Moroccan jasmine. Jasmine, myrrh, sandalwood and something that smells like papyrus. For me, I am really amping up the jasmine which is covered in dusty book jacket over a resinous base. Compared to the 2006 version, the jasmine on my skin is definitely more prominent. I get less of the dust and resins, and definitely more white jasmine florals. Good throw and wear length.

Rich, smoky vanilla and tonka. I can see why people really enjoy this. It's a very subtle, sophisticated foodie vanilla type.

This one is so citrusy and gorgeous. I get mainly mandarin, green tea, and a whiff of black currant and incense. This smells clean and citrusy. Love it.

Cinnamon, tobacco, and leather. It's a sort of cinnamon, smoky incense and tobacco over alot of leather. It ends up smelling like sueded leather to me, actually. Great throw and wear length.

Apple, fig, and a touch of patchouli. This is mainly a fruity apple and fig blend, with just enough musk and patchouli to make it sexy. Lovely. Good throw and wear length.

Soft beeswax, soft rose smell, and smoke. This one sticks close to the skin, and is sexy, soft, and rosy. But grown-up roses. Medium throw and wear length.

Creamy sugary florals. I really get a mishmash of notes - plum, strawberry, maybe cherry? There's a foodie-vanilla working as a base, but it doesn't code as cake to me. It's mainly a candy/fruity blend. Low throw and wearlength but given the age of this tiny sniffie, unsurprising.

Maple, leaves, and cedar. mr. zee_zee really enjoyed this, saying it smelled like maple syrup. Lovely.

Bamboo, green tea, and oakmoss. This one is greener and mossier than I expected, with a blush of mums and sandalwood. Fresh, green, floral.

On wet, this really smells like cinnamon/cassia and cloves. As it dries down, I get more of the blackened patchouli with a swish of absinthe. After an hour, it smells vaguely like a kissing cousin to Voodoo Queen but more clovey, more whispy, and less musk. I think its the clove + patchouli coming out. Unfortunately the patchouli is the type that sometimes smells dirty/gnarly on me, as if I were an unwashed miscreant. Moderate throw, moderate wear length.

Lily, neroli, aldehydes and tuberose being a bitchy spoiler as always. Tuberose to me ends up smelling like a chemically, high pitched hair spray sort of note. Which is perfect considering beauty ir drag pageants probably see a ton of hair spray. It then veers straight into gender neutral aftershave cologne, but after about an hour, dries down to a muted slightly masculine lily blend. And yes, it does smell rich. Medium throw and wear length.

Chestnut, sugary vanilla, and a touch of tobacco. This actually smelled like maple syrup to mr. zee_zee. The following conversation ensued. mr. zee_zee: "Something smells like maple syrup" me: "It's a me!" mr. zee_zee: "So you're Mario's canadian cousin who spends his entire day in a sugar shack? What's a good Canadian name? Justin. Justin is a good Canadian name, because you can say JUS-TIN-E, and it sounds French, but it's really just Justin." So the Young Man with Long Hair has a name in our house. And it's Justin.

Hot smoky vetiver, buffalo grass, and earth. In alot of ways, this also smells like it should be some sort of ceremonial blend. And if you needed Graveyard Dirt, I think this could probably work in a pinch. It's a deep earth and smoke blend, with some grass thrown in. It dries almost to an incense. On wet, the vetiver is particularly aggressive, but then it transitions to an almost smoked buffalo gras smell (ie - fire in grass), and you get the peaty earth.

Hay, tobacco, touch of incense and plum. This one was kinda smokey incensey.

Smells like mugwort, aquatic amber, and a pinch of frankincense. This actually smells like a ceremonial/TAL type blend. I'd use this to summon Odin. It starts off very herbally - I actually thought it was a combination of sage and thyme, and then as it dries you get the amber and the frankincense. It's powerful, masculine, evocative of the deity its suppose to embody, and deeply Nordic. Would have been at home with the Song of Creation blends recently released. ETA: so mr. zee_zee has been having a really torrid love affair with the Glass Eye. He amps his up alot, and I can mainly smell herbiness (again, it sort of smells like sage to me), amber, and a whiff of ash on the drydown.

Orange, almond, amber and beeswax. This is gorgeous. It's like a dark orange foodie amber.

Red rose, amber, jasmine, and a touch of patchouli. The amber and patchouli darken the red roses, and occasionally I get whiffs of carnation. This one is a dark, regal blend. Like a slap from a red rose. Great throw and wear length.

Raspberry, orange blossom, brushed with red musk. This one is a sexy raspberry blend. Medium throw and wear length.

Liquid chocolate. This reminds me to a sweeter version of Cacao Pod, but with the lusciousness of Lump of Coal. This one is a fudgey brownie chocolate. Good throw and wear length.

Creamy vanilla jasmine. Great throw and wear length. Not for me.

Minty cherry vanilla. Like a sweet cherry slushie with a dash of vanilla. Good throw and wear length. For those of you like candy blends or Pink Phoenix.