patina

Peach! mostly, with some dark, bitter opium (smells a bit chemical but not unpleasant to me.) Also there's jasmine. I worried it would smell like pee or drier sheets, but there's really so much going on here that jasmine won't ruin anything. There's also lovely, sweet blackcurrant-musk. This is way heady, intoxicating and a little animalistic (jasmine). "Haughty" and "decadent" describe it as well. In a book I once saw a woman's perfume described as "one of those scents that won't give up until something awful happens." This is one of those scents. It's not bad, though. I happen to like blackcurrant and this is stunning. It fits the picture in fact- a cold blue night sky with stars and swirling black clouds of opium. I like it, but I'm wondering if it's too much for me.

I have mixed feelings about this. This is mostly light frankinscense, with a little dark pine pitch and a tiny curl of woodsmoke. I'm sure it'll get stronger as it gets older and possibly balance out a little more, but it's a bit too close to Danse Macabre (and in fact, I prefer toasted hazelnut to woodsmoke ashes). Night Hag may be a little bit stronger than Danse (due to chemistry, I have to keep slathering Danse Macabre.) I'm just going to have to hold onto this one for a while.

I smell the leaves, moss, and vetiver notes from Black Annis. Maybe plus a little geranium, but that vanishes. I prefer Black Annis.

Coconut with patchouli? Try Goblin.

Oh, A Study in Scarlet would be nice. And a Hound of the Baskervilles. I have doubts about Dorian and London (yes, even though I just recommended London.) They both evoke Victoriana for me, but they might be a little feminine for Holmes stories. Old Scratch might work if you're looking for gentleman's cologne. Ooh, and I second Parliment of Monsters for general dark, dusty parlor-ness.

Hellfire sounds promising if Sherlock Holmes infiltrating a Black Mass isn't too weird for you: A scent celebrating Sir Francis Dashwood's Order of the Knights of St. Francis of Wycombe, also known as the Hellfire Club. A swirl of pipe tobacco, hot leather, ambergris, dark musk and the lingering incense smoke from their Black Mass. Also I'd try London (Wanderlust), and Smokestack (Phoenix Steamworks- I'd take a look through the whole Steamworks line myself.) None of the scents say "chemical experiment" like Brimstone, but it has no other notes. In LE's there's Velvet Dogs Playing Poker: Smooth wood, sweet pipe smoke, tonka, and Irish coffee. and A Bachelor's Dog: Soft musk, leather, and Brazilian cigar tobacco.

If you can stand coconut (I think it has it) there's Black Opal. Maybe one of the Salons or traveling Salons would suit you? I'm not terribly familiar with them. I'm also tempted to recommend Prague based only on your eye color, ha. Shanghai goes well with sushi too.

For some reason I thought of La Belle au Bois Dormant first. Not sure is the spelling is right, but it's a rather lovely pear. Lyoness is a lady-like but lovely vanilla, sandalwood scent. If you want something with a little more kick, you could try Liz.

So, if you were putting together a list of scents for a villianess, which ones would you choose? I vaguely have Snow White's wicked queen, Maleficiant, and the Wicked Witch of the West in mind. You can add your own, list scents for wicked queens in general or be specific.

I like patchouli and dark musk. I'm sometimes ok with vetiver, but this... It smells extremely unpleasant in the imp, and ends up mildly unpleasant on my skin. There is something farm-like about it. I blame red sandalwood and ambrette for my dislike. If there was some kind of spice or sweetness to this, I'd probably like it. Try this is you'd like a dark, woody vetiver with a bit of a pimento note.

Beautiful musk and vanilla with apple. Reminds me of Snow White. Then the florals get all shrill and high-pitched and take over. Florals and musk battle it out.

Light mellow apple that's the tiniest bit headshoppy. I really love this one even though it's faint and sticks close to the skin. Be warned, though, when I first apply it, I get the smell of sweet tart candies and then it turns into unpleasant detergent for a few seconds.

The citrus may be the white tea? That's what I'm sensing. I also smell violet leaf and faint hints of red musk. This scent is sweet and complex. There are pale, delicate, dusty notes, citrus-bright notes, and something (myrrh? red musk?) giving it a bit of depth. I can't pick out the myrrh and saffron as scents, but I can tell they're giving this a spicy, resinous weight. I can't smell wormwood at all. This has a traditional perfume vibe and I have no idea why I love it as much as I do. It would be even more gorgeous in the summer, because of the cool pale musk note. I haven't tried The Unsteady Governess, but I think this is in the same family as The Phantom Wooer and Shanghai. Edit: Ok, now I get the herbal powder of wormwood. This is still gorgeous and I get the sense of wispy tendrils of perfume wrapped around me when I wear it.

I was interested in this one, but it has a sweetish, powdery scent that reminds me of hairspray mixed with dust. There's also the suggestion of the powdery insides of latex gloves. After a little while it becomes more pleasant. The sandalwood, while still powdery, loses some of the sickly hairspray sweetness.

The Vetiver is very present, but it doesn't overpower the champa, clove, and cognac. The champa here does have a kind of rootbeeresque scent. Right now, this is a bit manly for me, but I think this is one of those scents that has to be smoothed out by aging before I can appreciate it. It has the potential to be very pleasant dark scent in the future. Edit: actually, as I wear it, this is getting smoother, spicier and more likable. I may get a bottle.

I've read that this could be compared to Smut with cloves, but I don't know because Smut immediately turned to plastic on me. What it does remind me of is Old Demons of the First Class. No black pepper, of course and the musk doesn't seem so shiny and black in this one. Also, Sentimental Initiation is less sharp and woody. The edges are rounded and sweetened a bit, but that doesn't mean it's any less powerful. If anything it may be more powerful than Old Demons. Strangely I get an ash note under the clove. Ashes and something that's almost a burning clove cigarette mixed with those orange circus peanut candies. Well, maybe not quite those, but the mandarin and the fruity red musk seem an odd contrast with the rest of the scent. Later on the drydown, I think I can smell a darker musky version of a ginger-citrus bodywash I had once. That had clove in it too, so maybe that association's not so crazy. This is wonderful to wear in chilly weather, but people who don't like cloves or patchouli should probably stay away.

How about Hymn for the angel/housewife? Or maybe Pink Plastic Flamingo. For Sally, I'd imagine something with cloth. Boo has linen.

Gnome's pretty good, though it is peppery. Weirdly, I get fizzy gingerale from Eau de Ghoul. But there's also leather and dirt.

Far sweeter than I expected. Immediately after putting it on, it smelled candy-like and artificial. Then the apple toned down, turning into a sweet, tart slice of dried apple (not totally dry, still chewy). There's some undistinguished dark stuff in the background that smells a tiny bit artificial. Overall there's a craft store vibe that I'm not liking. I haven't tried the other apples, but should I want an apple perfume in the future, I'd probably go with the Poison Apple instead. Edit: Wait, this has turned into fresh green apple (quince?) It's a lot less crafts-candley and the cypress is nice. I may actually want to keep this one. It's a bit similar to Black Death without the sandalwood and clove.

Wow. That's furniture stripper for people who bathe in champagne and use hundreds for toilet paper.

Decadentroots: It's hard to guess what you'd like from your interests, but maybe you could check out the Mad Tea Party section for something that interested you? I'd suggest a foody chocolate scent that isn't too sweet or has other elements involved. Sadly I can't remember any from the GC like that, but there have been some Lupercalia scents that were based on chocolate. The Mother Shubs in particular: Mother Shub's Dark Chocolate and Pepper Caramel, among others. And there's The Seekim which is in this year's Halloweenies. I don't know if you can wear patchouli, though.

They are usually up until mid November. There is usually a few weeks overlap when the Yules and Halloweenies are both available. Thank you so much!! I feel good knowing I have time. Actually, on the BPAL site at the top of the Limited Editions page, it says that Halloweenies will be up until November 13.

I had to try this one because Scorpio 2007 was mentioned in review. I don't get that one, but I do get a similarity to the Ode to Mars: Aatos Polemoio. They smell almost like twins at first. There's strong, splintery cedar and saffron. Up close it's a bit much, but as the spray dissipates, it turns into something lovely and spicy. Eventually I can detect something like vanilla or old books which must be the balsam. I think the black amber is there sweetening things up a bit too. This is not nearly as smooth as Cathedral. These pews would be full of splinters. This is lighter on the frankenscence than that one. Conclusion: Dry, spicy, rugged and a little bit dark. Good for the cold midwinter.

Frenchwaffle, The Knave of Hearts isn't terribly quirky, but it does have cake, roses (roses remind me of Victorians) and blackcurrant. Maybe also The Buggre Alle This Bible. I haven't tried that one, though.

I could stand to be an honorary Leo, and the 15th of August was an outstanding time for me, so I have hopes for this bottle Opening bottle: Whoa! Herbal lemon and frankincense. It's not bad, though. On, the frankincense comes out more strongly, and there seems to be a creamsicle note somewhere in there. Something creamy, anyway. I don't generally like lemon (herbal lemon can be ok sometimes), but this is good. There seems to be a lot of energy to the blend and I feel a bit of relaxed alertness that wasn't there before. Very leonine. Over time: Yep, still like a leo. A relaxed big cat. Edit: Beth clears up my misconceptions here: Hm. The blend still seems to be a little leonine to me, but it is quite good for art and self-expression, I've found.