Aviatrix

"Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, was brought up upon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst., abstracted from the jewel-case of the Countess of Morcar the valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle. James Ryder, upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to the effect that he had shown Horner up to the dressing-room of the Countess of Morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he might solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been called away. On returning, he found that Horner had disappeared, that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco casket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the dressing-table. Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be found either upon his person or in his rooms. Catherine Cusack, maid to the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder's cry of dismay on discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room, where she found matters as described by the last witness. Inspector Bradstreet, B division, gave evidence as to the arrest of Horner, who struggled frantically, and protested his innocence in the strongest terms. Evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate refused to deal summarily with the offence, but referred it to the Assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense emotion during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was carried out of court." Gilded cypress wood, padded silk, and a hint of perfume. This is mainly cypress on me, and very elegant cypress at that. It definitely feels "gilded", somehow. If you are scared that the perfume note will be soapy or floral, I can say that at least on me I get very little floral, if any. There is a touch of something sweet to keep the woody notes in check. I like this one and I look forward to seeing how it will age!

It’s always a bit weird with family. A scant two-hundred years old, there doesn’t seem to be anything that roots Ava to her past. Her scent is utterly contemporary, and, like her personality, it is impulsive, capricious, and dangerous. Voluptuous and brittle, lovely and toxic: sheer vanilla musk with tuberose, red mandarin, and the sweet poison of white almond. First! Oh dear Ava sounds simple, but it feels incredibly complex on the skin. The vanilla musk grounds the scent very beautifully, and the tuberose and mandarin mix to create a light floral feeling that plays well with the sweet musk. I'm actually not detecting the almond. It's incredibly ethereal and beautiful! I'm not a huge floral lover, but this is just like I want a good floral perfume to be. It also stays fairly close to the skin, but has good lasting power, so it's like being enveloped in a blooming fae garden all day. I was expecting something sharper, considering the character of Ava in the film, but the scent is very mellow. It has a youthful feeling to it as well. I would probably say that if you like a good floral, you won't be disappointed. If you're iffy on almond, don't let that deter you from trying Ava, because I'm not getting any almond at all.

Brown leather, tonka, vanilla bourbon tar, and a thin whiff of rose. This is the Luper I was looking most forward to try, because I have been raving about a book+rose scent for ages I love it! The rose is dewy and quite prominent, while the leather and tonka takes a backseat, so rather than a pressed-rose-petal-between-pages-of-an-old-book this is like reading an old book with a vase of fresh roses on the side table. The rose feels reminiscent of the one from The Bear Prince, actually. I can see this morphing a lot with age as well, so I definitely look forward to seeing what has happened in a year from now

White sandalwood, ti leaf, osmanthus, pink pepper, and white vanilla bark. This is heavy on the tea and pink pepper! I don't get a lot of osmanthus. The sandalwood sits in the background and makes the scent a little more soft and dusty, although I wouldn't characterize this as powdery at all. It is a very spring-like and fresh scent with a little kick from the pepper, and it would also work very well for summer, I think.

This smells soapy in the bottle, but on my skin it turns into a dreamy, ethereal wisteria and clove, if that makes sense. Wisteria stands out, along with a bit of spiciness from clove, but everything seems well blended in a way that transforms it into more than the sum of its parts. This is my favourite among the shungas this year, which I was not expecting!

Ink and musk! The ink is overpowering the parchment for me, but I still get a distinctly bookish feel from this. The lilac is really only a whisper. I found it to be a rather powerful scent in terms of throw and longevity.

I had such high hopes for this, but I am not getting any of the elegance others experience. In the bottle this smells surprisingly fresh, but also refined. Unfortunately, my skin turns it weirdly chemical. Not sure why, or which note it could be, but it definitely isn't working for me.

This is just like the smell of my morning cup of tea! No honey, but I don't mind. I would have loved a little more vanilla orchid, but this is mainly a true to life tea scent for me.

A memory of Antique Lace, Formula 54s pink pepper, and a splash of Dorian's white tea and lavender fougere. White tea and a sweet lavender - definitely sweetened by some fluffy vanilla in the background! It feels like a perfect sleep scent, at least if you are the sort of person who enjoys lavender for sleep. It reminds me a little of The Serpentine, but not as much as I had expected. This one is softer than The Serpentine, and it feels well balanced with the sharpness of the white tea. If you enjoy any of the notes listed, you should check it out. Chances are you will love it!

This is like a .... tea cologne? It definitely has a cologney vibe on my skin, but not so much that I couldn't envision a woman rocking this as well. The tea is prominent on me, with a woody background, but I'm not getting much vanilla. It is unisex, but leaning on the masculine side, and feels comforting, like a man you love sitting in his favourite chair reading an old book (I agree with the old book smell mentioned in the review above too!) If you like bookish scents, or anything unisex, really, you might want to check this out.

Open of yourselves, you doors, for mightly Ploutos will enter in: golden amber and smoky oudh with honey, patchouli, and leather. Am I first? Okay then! I love this! It's the softest worn leather you can imagine, with just a teensy whiff of patchouli and sweetness from amber, oudh, and honey. The notes are very well blended, and the only thing that really stands out is the leather, but in a good way. I am so glad I got an imp of this; I will definitely be treasuring it and wearing it when I want to be a little snuggly

Shaggy fur, snow-flecked and rose-touched. This immediately caught my attention when I read the update, and I am very glad I took a chance on a bottle. It starts off as mainly fresh dewy rose petals with a snowy sweet background. After a little while the fur starts peeking out and the scent becomes more snuggly. It is like the snow from Snow White, the rose from Rose Red, and a touch of fuzziness from the fur. He really is the beautiful cousin of those two, but I would say the scent is mainly feminine, although the right guy could pull it off as well. Throw is fairly good, decent wear length.

In the wet stage, this is very sugary - somehow it reminded me of fruit hard candies. On drydown, it's mostly incense. It's a sweet, not too smoky, incense note with an overtone of something fruity - the lingering candy note, although the sugariness has faded somewhat by now.

This one is pure sweet lavender on me. I imagine it works well as a sleep blend. I can't say I am getting any coconut, really. But the lavender note reminds me of the one in The Serpentine, so if you enjoy that one, you might also like this!

The honey is barely there, which is good for me, because honey rarely works well on my skin! The rest is like a peaceful, fragrant flower pond; watery and slightly ethereal. A very calming blend.

I'm not sure what baby's breath smells like, but this is very lily-heavy on me. Right when I put it on it borders on SOAPY, but there is something sinister underneath it - so....sinister soap? I'm not sure.

This is very heavy on the pepper, with a slight coconutty background. Much spicier than I had expected! The spice gives it a certain autumnal vibe, so.....a tropical fall scent? I am still undecided about how much I would wear this normally, even though I like it, but if you love a good peppery scent, this might be for you

This smells just like the vanilla orchid I know and love, so it did not disappoint! It is a light, pretty floral with a hint of non-foody vanilla in the background. Simple and perfect

This reminds me of A Pale and Glimmering Light from last year's halloweenies, and I think it's because this is mainly oleander on me. So it's rather sharp at first, but mellows out after a while. There is a berry-like sweetness to it and something almost citrusy, but I do think that's just the oleander too. I am not getting much wisteria, which is good, because that rarely works on me. I got a compliment on this today, so I think it works well on me. But it's also a decidedly unique kind of scent, so it's not for everybody, I imagine. But if you like oleander, or you're curious about smelling like a poisonous garden, you should give this a try

The wet stage is a little soapy on me, but I hope a little aging will take away some of the soapiness. The drydown, however, is lovely; like snow-covered (kind o minty, slushy snow, similar to Almond Blossom) flowers. It was pretty much what I wanted it to be! I think the tea lends some of that freshness that I interpret as snowy. Also, the cypress is present, but not sharp or overwhelming in any way. A lovely unorthodox Yuletide blend

The new Luper Cave of Treasures is sweetened lilac on me

I'm a sucker for lilac scents, but I was worried the cream might make this one too heavy and foody on me. It didn't! There is a creaminess here, but it is mostly a light, airy lilac, not too much honey either, and a drop of light spice from the cardamom. I really like this, but it is faint on my skin. It would be great to wear in everyday settings, though, as it isn't in-your-face in any way, and a lot of people would find this pleasant

This is mainly white tea on me, with a hint of jasmine. I am not getting much leather, except perhaps an edge in the background, but it's hard to say if it's really leather or an edge from the sharp jasmine blossom. There is something in this that smells vaguely like bergamot as well, but it could be something in the tea note, perhaps? This actually makes me think of a floral version of Severin - the leather in that is also very light on me, and they both share the bergamot-like tea note. Overall, like sipping a cup of slightly citrusy white tea next to a blooming jasmine. You might be wearing leather boots, but they are clean and polished and very unobtrusive, because you can hardly smell them here.

I love The Perilous Parlor, so I was curious how close this would be to it. Instead of the sweet vanilla, we get rice milk that isn't cloying at all, but actually feels rather fresh and not entirely unlike vanilla. If there is a musk in there, it is very subdued on me. The pear is sweet, but very subtle, as is the entire blend. I feel like I am all set as far as pear scents go, but I really like this, and it feels calming and sweet. Overall, I feel like this is an Asian Perilous Parlor

Hahaha, I couldn't have said it better than the review above This is ultra-sweet jasmine sugar, and upon drydown a bit of the anise comes forth and gives the blend a bit of an edge, which is nice, because it is veering on a little too frilly. BUT, that said, I love all things cute and frilly, so of course I also love this one. I can't imagine wearing it in an everyday setting, but probably when I wanted to feel uplifted and happy, or wear a really cute dress. I am not a jasmine hater at all, so maybe for those who don't like jasmine, this won't work too well. But for jasmine lovers, this is perfect!