tallan

Cypress. Sweet cypress. Something floral, but not explicitly rosy, so perhaps the cyclamen? I think I can smell the patchouli. As this dries, the notes blend to the point that I can't even try to identify them anymore. I get a blast of ginger for a short while, but other than that this is quite sweet and girlish, a deep pink. Inoffensive, something up-thread wrote, and I totally agree with that. Not at all what I expected from the goddess of vengeance. A bit bummed about it.

Mother of Demons, Vengeful Fury, Darkest Seductress, Queen of the Djinn, Goddess of the Gate. Red wine, myrrh, black musk, and attar of rose. Wet: My first experience with wine in perfume. I can definitely smell the alcohol, with rose in the background. This attar of rose (also a first-time experience) smells a lot more like actual roses (greener, plantish) than what I've encountered in other scents (Wildfire, Les Infortunes de la Vertu, Nemesis). The alcoholic note dies down pretty quickly, leaving this sharp and warm and floral. Drying: A warm, spicy rose. Dry: This changes completely when dry, the black musk suddenly appears and takes over the whole scent. Musk, musk, musk, perhaps a little myrrh, and a faint rose tint on the thing. I'm sad about the red wine, I would've wanted more of it than that initial booziness. Lilith's pleasant, but nothing spectacular, and if I want black musk I'd rather reach for Dance of Death, so. Not a keeper.

Oooorchiiid. Mmm. The vanilla takes a few moments to appear, and then it's there, anchoring the orchid, rounding out the scent. This is soft and creamy, the warmth of the vanilla balancing the cooler flower. Not sure if I'm getting any of the stephanotis, as I'm not too familiar with that note. Very nice, but one of those scents I'm don't know if I'm capable of wearing. Time will tell.

Very dark and masculine. Lots of evergreens, but this is not a cold scent at all. There's one note in this that's very distinct, one I can't identify, which reminds me of something, only I have no idea what... I hate it when that happens. I suspect it's the ambergris, as I should be able to recognise the other notes. This entire scent is just so familiar in some unexplainable way. I'm sniffing and huffing, trying to come up with what it is, but no luck. I think I can smell the black musk, but I keep getting distracted by something in this that's almost golden, high and just a bit sharp. Hmm. Clearly evocative of something, but not a scent that works for me.

Wet: Oooh, sharp. I didn't think I had any idea of what pimento berries smell like, but I'm pretty sure this is it. I recognise the lovely dark musk from Robin Goodfellow, and think I can smell the birch wood as well. Drying: The pimento berries have stopped dominating, and the scent is sort of soft and sharp at the same time, mellowing more and more as time goes on. I like it more now than in the beginning, I must say. Very green. Dry: This is Robin Goodfellow without the heather and sage on me, fresher and a little bit sharper. I like it. I like it a lot.

As an anglophile, history and mythology buff, fantasy nerd and fan of Arthuriana, I really want this to work on me. Am slightly scared of all the flowers, though. Wet: Very floral. There's definitely jasmine in this. Smoky, quite dark. Oooh, there's the violet. Heavy florals read very feminine in an adult way to me, it's the same feel I got from The Caterpillar. Unfortunately The Caterpillar didn't work for me for that exact reason; let's hope Morgause will turn out to be different. Drying: The fruits are starting to peek out, balacing the flowers. There must be plum in this, I'm reminded of the plum-jasmine combo from Kitsune-Tsuki, only darker, not nearly as sweet. The violet seems to have disappeared completely, replaced by the incense. Dry: Huh. Fruits are all gone, and what's left is a slightly incensey floral. Not as strong as in the earlier stages, but still heavy, almost intoxicating. Overall: Elegant, sophisticated, and a bit mysterious. Aargh! It's not bad at all, it's just not something I can ever see myself wear. BPAL's helping me get over my strong aversion to the very idea of floral perfumes, but this is too much for me.

Lavender, fennel and star anise. I don't really get anything else. Quite medicinal. On me, this doesn't change from wet to dry in any way. It's an interesting scent to be sure, but it's not doing anything for me. I'm not the world's biggest fan of fennel, either. Disappointed!

Wet and... fruity? I get melon and/or cucumber. Ah, definitely melons. Not at all what I expected. I think I can detect a small hint of... swampiness? But I don't get any mint or violets. Okay, the mint is starting to appear. It's not very strong or very, you know, minty; I don't get that icy sensation in my nose, but it's there. Extremely evocative. It has a very mystical, ethereal feel, appropriate to the concept. Green, very green, but murky, foggy. Still smells like melons on me. Swamp melons. Very refreshing. Will see how much use this gets when it gets warmer.

(First "review" ever, will return to it a bit after wearing Olokun again.) Wet: Melon! Salty, watery, light blue-green melon, sort of. That was unexpected. Dry: Still melon, perhaps some flowers, and water; a more rounded smell. Very pleasant. I didn't expect to like this one as much as I do. A nice surprise. Keep: Yes Bottle: Probably ---------------------------------- After rewearing: Wet: A fruity aquatic. Blue-green. Honeydew melon and salty, tangy ocean. Very, very fresh. Veering towards masculine on me. Drydown: It settles down very quickly, no throw at all. The melon+ocean combo starts reminding me of lilies. Dry: Very much a skin scent, I don't notice it at all unless I huff my wrist. Another victim of raised standards: after trying more scents and finding some loves, I don't like this nearly as much as the first time I tried it. It's light and pleasant, but nothing spectacular. Keep: Not much left of the imp, so yeah Bottle: No

Wet: Sharp, crisp green. Drydown: Herbs and a bit of the ginger, I think. Dry: Green, herbal and fruity at the same time. Sweeter, warmer, not as sharp as wet. A pretty neutral soft scent. I didn't get a lot of strong impressions from this one, so I don't have a lot to say about it, but I like it. Keep: Yes Bottle: Maybe

I was so excited about this one, but alas, on me it's nothing but roses. Roses, roses, roses, and then after about an hour it turns into sweeter (could that be the dragon's blood?) roses. I quite like roses, but this far they've never worked for me in perfumes. Keep: No

Wet: Sharp and minty. Smells like that blue gum I can't remember the name of that I loved as a child. That was unexpected! Something green and herbal underneath. Drydown: Still sharp and cool and minty, there might be some woods there in the back as well. It's not unpleasant, I don't dislike it, but this is really screwing with my preconceptions. I thought Yggdrasil would be a whole lot more green and brown (menthol feels very blue to me). Wait, now the mint has softened and blended with the underlying notes to produce something almost citrusy, backed by bitter herbs. And that combination smells a bit sour to me. I'm really confused. Dry: It seems to have settled on sour, which is not particularly pleasant. This clearly isn't a scent that works for me. Oh well. I'd be a lot more upset if there weren't tons of other green/woodsy ones to try. Keep: No Bottle: No

Wet: Fresh, lime green, citrusy. Almost like lemongrass. Drydown: I think that's the musk, softening it a bit and giving it some depth. Still very green. More regular grass than lemongrass. Actually very grassy. Ooo, now the currant is peeking through! Adding a bit of fruit to it all, very nice. It's green+yellow+red now, very bright and cheery. Dry: Citrus and herbs and red currant, very bright and refreshing, but with some depth courtesy of the green musk and perhaps the snakeskin? A scent for spring or summer. Upbeat and energetic. I'm not head over heels, but it puts a smile on my face, and that's more than good enough. Keep: Yes Bottle: Maybe

Frimp from the Lab. Wet: Whoa, spilled some all over my hands. Whoa, leather. Have never tried a leather perfume before, so is a bit distracted by that. Was going to write that nothing else gets through, but there it is. The dreaded rose. I think I get some orange blossom as well, because this scent feels orange-brown. Sharp and spiky. Drydown: Still sharp and spiky upfront, but there's a sweetness (the oakmoss? the incense?) — and a slight soapiness, whatever that is — underneath. Leather keeps on dominating the scent. Dry: Lots and lots of leather, some sharp florals and a little bit of incense. Eh. I get this image of a manly manly man in my head, and it's not something I particularly like. Keep: No Bottle: No

Wet: Dirt! Wow. I didn't know perfume could actually smell like wet earth. This is awesome. And mushrooms! Holy crap! There they are. Pretty sharp. Drydown: Shroooooooms. Sweeter now. Dry: Okay, I'm not sure I got to this part. I'm finding out that I actually don't like the smell of mushrooms! Or at least not this mushroom. Or maybe I just don't want to smell like them, I don't know. All I can think of is mold, and that really really doesn't work for me. 20 minutes after putting it on, I had to wash it off. Bummer. Keep: No Bottle: No

Wet: Pine? Must be the cypress. Lots and lots of it. Very sharp and dark. Drydown: Like wearing Lush's Goth Juice, to my unsophisticated nose. Starts to soften and round out a bit. Oooh, I can smell the frankincense now. Dry: Dark, dark green and foresty. Lots of cypress, again. Not getting any of the hazelnuts, and I have no idea what oude or oakmoss in perfume form actually smells like, so it's possible I just can't identify them. Very suitable for winter. Still a bit like Goth Juice, which is a scent I enjoy, so that's good. Keep: Yes Bottle: Maybe

Wet: Dark, dark green patchouli. A sliver of sharpness, then the warmth of the musk and myrrh. Drydown: The scents bleed into each other and OMG OMG this is very close to Tramp, but warmer, fuller, a bit softer. Oh dear, soap. Let's hope it goes away. Dry: Soap's still around; I guess that's the orris. Soap and powder. Poo. I really wanted to love this. I'll keep sniffing my wrist, hoping it gets better. It's not bad, just not what I expected. I still like it, I just don't know how much I'll actually use it. We'll see, I guess. Keep: Yes Bottle: Probably not -------------- Later Worn: Okay, still a bit soapy when worn in greater amounts, but not as bad as I remembered. And anyway, it's not soapy-bad. I still like this, but this time it seems very similar to Robin Goodfellow, and I like Robin a whole lot more, so I probably won't have much use for this. Reworn: Okay, this is nothing like Robin Goodfellow. Dance of Death is a lot darker, deeper and more solemn. The more I wear it, the more I love it. It dries down into this absolutely delicous dark green-brown scent, which I theorise is the patchouli and myrrh (update: I got some of the same with Black Forest, so the black musk must be part of it). It's lovely, whatever it is, and I think I'm going to need a lot of this. Keep: Yes Bottle: Yes

Carnation! Then patchouli. Then jasmine. Lots of sharp jasmine. That's all I get from this one. It's not bad, it's just not a combination that works for me, apparently. It's probably the carnation's fault. Whenever possible, blame it on the carnation. Keep: No Bottle: No

Wet: Herbal floral with a fruity note. Mainly orchid and apples. Oh, this is good. Wild and strong. Drydown: The different notes have all melded into a dark, heady, intoxicating purple-green scent. Womanly, confident, absolutely gorgeous. Dry: Back to orchid and apples on a bed of green things. I wish I knew more of these notes, it's possible that I can smell meadowsweet, rue, hawthorn and/or red clover, I'm just unable to identify them. This is absolutely lovely, though, if somewhat faint. My favourite so far. Of course. I was hoping I wouldn't care for it since it's been DC'ed, but no luck. Will have to hunt for more. Keep: Yes Bottle: Please

This was a frimp from the Lab. Wet: Soft. Sweet. Good! I can only identify the jasmine, and I like it a lot more here than in The Caterpillar. Perhaps the sweetness is the plum? Glowing white. Drydown: It's turning a teeny tiny bit sharper on me than in the bottle, but it still smells delicious. Something a bit more herbal is starting to peek through... could it be the daffodil? Dry: A lovely fruity floral. Soft and sweet with a whisper of tanginess lurking behind. The sweetness recedes a bit after wearing it for a while, and white turns to shearest, transparent fairy green. Seems my skin wants to turn everything green! After that, the plum. Oh, yum. I'm really surprised to like this so much, considering it wasn't anywhere on my ridiculously long want-to-try list, but it's really good, and was the first scent I tried that put a big smile on my face. Keep: Yes Bottle: Yes

Wet: Sort of... minty? Piney? No no no, it reminds me of eucalyptus! Flowery eucalyptus. Very sharp and astringent, but not unpleasant. Drydown: The eucalyptus is fading fast, and Belladonna turns into a cold, sharp floral. Dry: The sharpness has all but disappeared, leaving a soft, very green floral behind. Understated. It's a lot nicer than I expected, but it's really good. I'm going to enjoy using this when I want to feel sophisticated. Keep: Yes Bottle: Probably

Wet: Deep green and mossy. Something herbal. Smells wild. Drydown: Starting to sweeten, I have no idea whether it's the musk or the sage or the heather. It lightens up considerably, I'm not sure I'd even call it green anymore. I miss the wild woods a bit, but this stage is not bad either. Dry: Okay, still green, but not nearly as dark as in the beginning. Soft, sweet, lush, enticing, seductive. A half-naked, pretty damn good-looking Robin Goodfellow lounging in the shadows beneath the trees in an enchanted forest. Later on, it turns a little bit incensey, which doesn't spoil the image at all. Quite the opposite. Yum. I really, really like this. Keep: Yes Bottle: Yes