zankoku_zen

BACON and ranch dressing potatoes. Seriously, this smells like bacon and ranch dressing potatoes. This smells like food. And smoky bacon.

BACON BACON BACON BACON. Great throw and wear length, of course.

Woody sandalwood, smoky vanilla, and touches of patchouli and leather. This one is a crowd pleaser! Sadly, it has low throw on me or else I would be much more into it.

Orange over champaca, with tinges of both vanilla and tobacco. I'm actually amping up the champaca quite a bit. To me, this sort of reminds me to Pallas Athene. PA is richer on me because of the amber though. Medium throw and wear length.

Rosey pomegranate and buttery pumpkin. I honestly was not expecting that much rose from this. Nor this much pom. Medium throw and wear length.

Clean bay rum and a swish of lime. This one smells somewhat masculine to me. Low throw and wear length though.

Opium with a swish of orange. This one is a heavy opium blend, and smells perfumey. Medium throw and wear length.

Musky dark dead leaves. Also, HOLY CAMARONES, BATMAN. This has the most staying power and throw of ANY hair gloss I've tried. It was going strong 12+ hours later.

2016 version review

 

Mint tea and a snake oil base. I wish the mint stuck around, but its definitely minty tea. Vanilla mint tea. Good throw and wear length.

2016 version

 

Narcissus is very heavy, not alot of snake oil. I mainly get a narcissus + lily blend. Medium throw and wear length.

Creepy minty amber. Eerie, green, and just a little weird. Low throw, great wear length.

Dark musk, inky olibanum and a touch of patchouli and oakmoss. This one is a dark perfume, full of inky blackness. Very wearable. Medium throw and wear length.

Oakmoss, patchouli, and a touch of amber. This one is pretty golden amber blend with a touch of herbiness and earthy rootiness. Good throw and wear length.

Sugared rose, greenery, and its very feminine. Soft, feminine roses with a touch of citrus. Medium wear length and throw.

Red musk, ambergris, black musk. Dark, dank, and musky. Medium throw and wear length.

Sugary plum with whiffs of lemon candy. This smells like the Sugar Plum Fairy dropped some acid and sprouted extra chitinous legs. It's not really dark, but rather strange and playful. Medium throw and wear length.

Thyme, juniper, bergamot, and gum mastic with minty overlays. This is a strange odd one. It's cool, refreshing, and kinda oozy tentacley weird. Honestly, this is more like six octopus a-chilling in an aquarium. Being you know, low-key Cthulu guys. Very fresh, aquatic and gender neutral. Medium throw and wear length.

Cinnamon and roses. That said, when it dries down, I get ROSES. Harlot's rose note has pretty much vanquished all of the spices. Despite a spicy beginning, this dries down to a pink rose on me.

 

Odd. Good throw and wear length.

On wet, I get a blueberry note that reminds me to blueberry muffins. However, it dries down to a chypre with a hint of dead leaves. The blueberry is MIA at this point. However, this is one of the longest lasting hair glosses I've ever had on. I fluff my hair and its just like I applied it. It's very gender neutral, and sort of a fall chypre on my hair. Gentlemen, take note.

Bay Leaf SN is legit bay leaf. It's like crumbling a dry bay leaf under your fingers and smelling the residue. It's sort of gender neutral/manly. Low throw and wear length. But yes, epically bay leaf.

 

Same almond snow note as int Snow White, and a touch of spicy pepper, with a whiff of oudh. But it's essentially Snow White + spicy black pepper on me. Good throw and wear length.

Alright guys, this sucker is at least 13-14 years old, so it's been aged. It's definitely orange, and on wet, its got an orange zest and orange PEZ combo, but less than what you expect. Citrus oils tend not to age well in general, less so by themselves so given how 'orangey' this is despite the age is nothing short of a blasted miracle. Definitely 1 hour after drydown, the orange has developed a slight berry undertone to it. It definitely codes as 'blood orange zest' as opposed to 'regular navel orange'. Low throw, low wear length.

 

The oil itself is a nice golden color.

ETA to add wear length and throw.

Tobacco, oudh, and bay rum leather. Do you like cigars? This reminds me to a cigar shop. Good throw and wear length.

Sage, black currant, and brown leather. It's a herby masculine leaning blend. Good throw and wear length. Golden, despite not having an amber like element.

Soft vanilla woods. This is comforting, and woodsy, and a fair bit of vanilla. Medium throw and wear length. Very pleasant and cozy.

Apples and absinthe, with a dollop of sugar. I actually really like this, and mr. zee_zee went out of his way to say that it smelled nice. LOVE IT!