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zankoku_zen

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Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    Fractured Singularity

    Vetiver, grass, opium and tobacco flower like a la Belle Epoque without the sandalwood. This is redolent, smoky sophisticated blend. It's slightly gender neutral to me in that it has a smoky floral vibe with a softer edge but its not overtly feminine. The best way I can describe it as opulent. I like Belle Epoque, and I like this by extension. This may require further testing to decide whether or not I need more.
  2. zankoku_zen

    Who In the World Am I?

    I get mainly a green, woody, hint of vanilla with a touch of lavender. It's soft, woody, and pillowy. Unfortunately, it has low throw and my skin eats this up like mad. So, it's going to have to go on to a new home. SAD PANDA FACE.
  3. zankoku_zen

    The Nun and the Courtly Lady

    Bergamot, tobacco, and honey. This smells like a green cologne, slightly gender neutral. Its honey, tobacco, and very smooth.
  4. zankoku_zen

    Unmasking the Sambasô Dancer

    Mandarin, rose, and musk. The mandarin is a pretty strong top note, but then you get the rose and musk, particularly in the drydown. It's a warm mandarin-rose blend. Eh, not for me.
  5. zankoku_zen

    Geisha in a State of Rumpled Annoyance

    Super fresh lavender, rice wine and hint of plum blossom. This is a light asian blend - light and airy in both composition and feel. The lavender is probably the most prominent note on wet, but it dries to a rice wine/plum blossom blend. Elegant, fresh, asian. I am seriously considering more of this.
  6. zankoku_zen

    The Blooming Flowers of Spring

    Mimosa, honey, and a brush of amber. Mimosa to me is a bit of a sharp white floral, and the honey + amber make a soft, powdery base. Soft, amber, honey.
  7. zankoku_zen

    Youth's Disengagement

    Vanilla, cherries, and red currants. I get alot of things from this blend that I wasn't expecting to. I'm surprised at how much cherry I get (and it reminds me to Gothabilly in a sense), except with vanilla, red currants, and whiff of cream. Lovely, fruity, bright.
  8. zankoku_zen

    Love and Sleep

    Soft creamy fig, with pillowy orchid and ylang ylang. This is the scent of reclining on a super luxurious bed in a super luxurious hotel and not having to worry about a thing. Except perhaps wondering if that is egyptian cotton or silk. In other words, anytime you feel like you need to bring some Marie Antoinette luxury in your life and not give a damn, wear this.
  9. zankoku_zen

    Shamisen

    Rosewood, bamboo and a touch of smoky wood. This is lovely. Delicate, serene woods with a hint of rose. Pretty, stays close to the skin, and its a luxury in the same way that silk stockings are.
  10. zankoku_zen

    Awabi Divers

    Patchouli, cedar, vetiver with a dribble of apricot. Oh, Awabi. The apricot is not strong or sweet enough to contain the patch/cedar/vetiver bully which just sort of reigns through this blend like a giant smoky bully. So, not, this doesn't really work on me at all.
  11. zankoku_zen

    Death Shall Come in with Thee

    Well then. You smell quite a bit like Gun Moll, minus the gunpowder. On me it's opium, smoke, tar and hints of cognac, clove and vanilla that give it a warmness. So yes, sophisticated, deadly, and seductive. Let's just say that Death smells amazing.
  12. zankoku_zen

    Furo

    Patchouli, balsam and a hint of bergamot and vanilla. It's a powdery patchouli blend with a twist of citrus/vanilla. PASS.
  13. zankoku_zen

    There is a Garden in Her Face

    I really really wanted to love this. It had three elements I had high hopes for. And the pink roses I felt I could handle. And in most ways, this doesn't disappoint. It's pink, delicate, floral with mainly cherry blossoms, honey and a touch of lilies, and pink roses. And yet... I don't adore it. On the other hand, this would be perfect for standing a cherry blossom tree as it blooms, and the petals are carried off in the wind, as you turn around to gaze at the eyes of a besotted youth. Very much like in shoujo/school girl animes. Gloriously, cherry blossom pink.
  14. zankoku_zen

    The Fimbul Winter

    Lemon, ozone, eucalyptus. This is slushy snow, eucalyptus and a bright pop of lemon. Not desolate at all. Not entirely welcoming either. It's like a winter storm. It just is. "And the storm doesn't care what it leaves behind", to quote a song. That's what this feels like.
  15. zankoku_zen

    A Demonstration of Affectionate Excitement

    Wood, beeswax and bamboo on wet dry into a cedar, frankincense and myrrh. It starts off as a fresh woody, which as it dries, progresses into a much more resinous/wood blend. I liked it best when it was a bamboo/wood blend, and I feel like the cedar is overpowering everything at this juncture.
  16. zankoku_zen

    The Elephant’s Leash

    Peach, lilac and red musk. I am actually surprised how much I enjoyed this. It was a peachy blend, with brushes of lilac, red musk and on the drydown a bit of sandalwood. It's sexy, red, and very wearable. Hmmm, may have to consider more of this one.
  17. zankoku_zen

    Unspeakably Evil Temple Atmosphere Spray

    Dank dungeon! This smells dark! I get frankincense, mosses, and something that smells dark and smoky like vetiver, with a slight aquatic edge to it. Highly masculine blend. PASS.
  18. zankoku_zen

    Arise, Lift Up Thine Eyes and See

    Nutmeg, champaca, amber and chamomile on the drydown. This smells like a smokier version of Sachs, with the addition of nutmeg and champaca. It's incensey, slightly spicy, and there's a sharp note to my nose which actually I think is the chamomile. Eh, not my type of blend at all.
  19. zankoku_zen

    Plovers Above the Waves

    Light, creamy tea roses. This is light, pink, and creamy. It smells pretty and fresh, and I think it would very apropos for a teenage girl.
  20. zankoku_zen

    Imaginer

    Honey, amber, beeswax and a touch of saffron. This smells vaguely familiar, and honestly, it reminds me alot to Haus of Gloi's Come Hither lotion, which is one of my favorite lotions ever. Very pretty honey blend. I may need some more in my life.
  21. zankoku_zen

    The Waters of the Well of Wisdom

    Thyme and aquatic/water. It's slightly bitter, herby, water. Definitely can smell the thyme. Occasionally, I can smell the mugwort, which lends a bright citrusy pop to the water, and its a component that I feel is very present in Blue Moon formulations.
  22. zankoku_zen

    Crowned and Robed and Dead

    Smoky. Honestly, this is actually a very gender neutral blend that could potentially be masculine, so fellas, take note. I get smoky (the good time) - like that out of a tobacco pipe, with woody elements, from the mahogany and oak, and with a touch of floral sweetness. Oddly enough, I may in fact be getting the magnolia, which almost smells like wet wool to me... but in this blend it smells more like a trace of worsted wool. I find this a more delicate, subtle version of what I wished the Hellfire blends would have been - smoky, woody, and with a trace of wool and florals from either the vases around, or a rose that a gentleman in a fine wool suit wears on his lapel. This is smooth, in the same way polished banisters, polished wood furniture, gleaming brown leather couches is. Sophisticated. If I were the BBC, I'd take this and market this as Mycroft Holmes, as portrayed by Mark Gatiss.
  23. zankoku_zen

    The Sunlight and the Moonlight Fall from Thee

    This one is a bit of a surprise in that black pepper doesn't doom this blend into a horrible failure of a mess. On wet, I definitely get the peppery overlay over everything, but then I get a GIANT liy + frankincense bloom that sort of makes the pepper disappear. So yes, heaps of lilies, with a touch of frankincense to ground and deepen it all. On the drydown, I get a slight overlay of tuberose which unfortunately for me always smells like hairspray. Still, WAY better than I would have predicted in a blend with both black pepper and tuberose as notes for me.
  24. zankoku_zen

    Queen Venus with a Hood Striped Gold and Black

    On me, this is deeply resinous with a touch of almost boozy red wine/borgoña on the drydown with a swirl of red rose over it. The red rose note is the apple/green stem red rose note from the Yule Red Rose blends. In alot of ways, this is Behind the Scenes as a perfume - minus the jasmine, and amping up the resins. I'm actually surprised at how much I am enjoy this blend, as neither roses, red wine, nor resins are particular favorites of mine. This is really delicious, and compelling. This one is dark, heady, and mysteriously sensual. This is definitely the siren call of femme fatale (one that likes to drink dark red wine), with her nail polish this deep, velvety burgundy color.
  25. zankoku_zen

    Love Lay Upon Her Eyes

    This one is amazing in its simplicity. It's soft, cuddly, and it smells like a rosy version of Alice. Instead of carnations, you get soft, creamy amber with just a brush of roses. I really do get a creamy/milky aspect to it. Clean, white, sophisticated. I wish this were made into lotion. It would be amazing.
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