cfrancesca

Threnody v3 smells like clean, powdery, pretty sophisticated floral on me. As soon as I smelled this, it invoked images of actresses from the 1930's. I get some beautiful fresh jasmine (not the usual kind that sadly smells like to cat pee on my skin) and maybe other well-blended florals, which thankfully never get too sharp or heady on me. I'm also getting something slightly bitter in the beginning but that fades away quickly. As it dries, it gets very powdery, it could be white amber, but I've never had it become this powdery on me. It makes me wonder if powder is an actual note in here, because it's really one of the most powdery bpal's I've ever tried (if not the most), veering into into Johnson's Baby Powder territory. There's also something almost vanillic that emerges from the powder as it dries, which sadly develops a slight plastic tinge with time. Threnody v3 actually reminds me of a lot of the Chanel No. 5 in the dry-down (which also smells very powdery to me). I really love this.

#567: I get dark vanilla, soft tobacco, resins, nag champa-type incense and woods. The woods and incense amp with time and I also start to get some musk. #627: Vanilla orchid and soft champagne #614: Fresh roses, bright vanilla and very creamy lemon tea #511: Vanilla Buttercream

The only note I was worried about in Tattered Lace was the 'tea-infused' part, and unfortunately for me, that's the strongest note I'm getting. I was surprised at how tart it smelled in the bottle. On my skin, the scent blossoms into a light, complex, citrusy tea blend with some dry coconut husk, a little bit of smokey frankincense and soft vanilla in the background. As it settles, I start to get the soft, sweet booziness from the cognac, the frankincense gets a little stronger and the blend looses some of it's citrusy tea tartness. At times, I think I'm getting hints of opium, but it's very fleeting. The overall scent is soft and stays close to the skin. If you like complex tea blends, I recommend you look into this one.

Prototype, unreleased, no scent description. On me, this starts out as slightly smokey/burnt brown sugar, soft spices, pie (or a soft bread-like note) and dried fruits, I'm guessing figs and maybe prunes, and a touch of vanilla. I also get some citrus, maybe orange (or possibly mandarin) with a bit of lemon zest, it's actually really lovely. As it settles, it kind of reminds me of the "figgy pudding" note (but not as spicy) in A World of Fools or the mince pie note in Fezziwig's Ball, it's also a bit reminiscent of Bedbug (which smelled like dried fruit cookie to me). It's a very warm holiday type scent to me.

When I first tried Count Dracula a few years ago, I found it way too sharp and heavy for my liking. I decided to try it again a few months ago and it was instant love. I was amazed how wonderfully it had aged, I didn't get any sharpness this time, everything had smoothed out and blended beautifully. I get a well-blended, softly spicy blend of cinammon, clove, ginger (the spices smell slightly foody to my nose), an almost citrusy edge from the neroli, soft leather and patchouli with a background of woods and a hint of black musk. Everything is smooth and soft, I don't get anything sharp this time. This is aging wonderfully and it's truly one of my favorite masculine leather scents.

I get fresh, clean and musky gentleman's lilac cologne with a wonderful leather note in the background. Masculine, sexy, gorgeous.

This one starts off as boozey apricot brandy with a backdrop of red musk, it really does remind me of Snake Charmer or Mme. Moriarty, but with boozey apricot and stronger on the red musk (maybe a little Arabian musk too). As it dries, I also start to get some patchouli and woods (not sure which kind), and some dark plum emerges. It settles into a blend of red musk, fruits, patchouli, woods and booze.

On me, this starts off like a slightly creamy, soft melon sugar (maybe watermelon?) with a hint of vanilla, it's very well-blended. I also get a little of lemon, but it doesn't amp on me. Quickly I also start to get some florals (sweet pea!), with a little bit of greenery and maybe a bit of berry, there's also something watery? This is sweet and pretty. It settles into a soft, well-blended, sugary melon/berry floral (sweet pea and maybe a little bit of lily) on my skin. I get a medium throw.

This starts off pretty much like Dorian, but I find it heavier on the lemon and musk, almost sharp. There's a pretty slightly creamy coconut note that emerges. So, it's the heavy Dorian lemony tea (strong on the lemon) creamy vanilla musk with the soft coconut. It's like a tropical version of Dorian. Dorian visits the Bahamas, lol. Too heavy overall for me, but if Dorian is your thing you might want to seek it out.

Complex and evocative, I get a distinct scent of salty breeze and zesty lime over lush, tropical blooming flowers, that amp with time. I also get a little bit of watery cucumber but it's soft and stays in the background for the most part. It settles into a complex, somewhat strong tropical flower scent.

Creamy vanilla musk (maybe a bit of tonka too?), with a little bit of lemony tea and soft lavender cologne? This smells masculine, smooth, soft and snuggly to my nose, like a creamy, soft, lavender fougère. Sadly, it starts to fade a little too quickly for me and becomes more of a skin scent. I really wish it was stronger and had better throw.

Since I just spilled some allover myself, I thought it would be a good time to write a review. Without reading the notes, I thought this was sugary bubble gum, a little grass and soft florals with a slight smokey haze in the background. So I was surprised to read this has sugared incense and night-blooming flowers as notes. I think this has lotus because I get a soft pink bubble gum scent, it does have a clean feel with time, not exactly soapy but more like the scent of fresh, clean clothes with soft floral detergent feel plus the smokey haze and bubble gum, it's so interesting. I wish I'd tested this before it got discontinued, but thankfully I was able to find some. I just love it.

On me, this smells like creamy, sugary, spicy floral, metal and a bit of bubble gum. As it dries there's also a soft grass scent that emerges. After a while it sadly gets little soapy on my skin and I start to get a kind of a handcream-like scent. I wonder if there were different batches of this one because I'm sadly not getting any cotton candy. ETA 10/08/13 I think I might have found the cotton candy 'version', or at least this smells a lot more like the other reviews describe. I have a hard time getting a distinct note but the over all scent is like very sweet orange-d cotton candy, vanilla, and floral blossoms. It gets a little waxy on my skin and as it settles I think Invidiana is right that there might be dragon's blood in this, something about it reminds me of Dragon's Milk. It's pretty and very sweet!

This smells like nice, clean, smooth metallic brass with some aftershave and a hint of herbs and spice. It's settles into a smooth cologne scent. I like this but I think my decant will be enough. eta: Sadly for me, I'm amping the herbs and brass in here, the aftershave cologne is still very present but not as strong as I hoped it would remain.

On my skin, all I get a sharp, chemical-like, cheap detergent and hair dye scent. I find this too heavy on the chemical-like smells and I really can't get past that.

This one starts off like a mix of Hearth 05 and black musk on me, it's a browned, slightly roasted, sugary nutty scent with a hint of spice. As it dries, I start to get the creamy buttered bourbon, it smells like salted toffee caramel to me, which sounds good but goes all wrong on my skin. There's something brown sugary here that's not working for me at all. Though this doesn't have much throw on me, I find the overall scent cloying and too rich and foody for taste.

I find this a dark, sexy, smokey, spicy rose and leather blend. The smokey opium and leather stay strong for a while, but eventually the spicy rose amps on my skin.

This is really creamy in the bottle, it reminds me of the creamy ambery base in Glowing Vulva. As soon as I apply, I get orange, mandarin, and slightly spicy cream, which together smell like an orange creamsicle on my skin. Though not listed, I think I'm also getting a bit of vanilla in here, but cream isn't listed either and this smells really creamy to me. Next to amp is the gardenia and at this stage it starts reminding me of a creamier Sibyl. The gardenia continues to amp on me, at times I find it just a little bit high-pitched, but the soft spicy creamy base really helps with that, though the creaminess does weaken with time. This finally settles into a gardenia scent with a creamy citrusy base.

Fetish.Goth is mostly strong, spicy resins, patchouli and leather on me. I do get some sharpness from the blend, which I think may be mostly coming from the patchouli and maybe the resins. The leather starts off strong (it kind of reminds me of the leather in Black Rider), but it moves to the background with time. Once settled, I start to really amp the resins and I also get some smokiness and bit sweetness coming from them. The latex emerges as well, but it's soft and I find it works surprisingly well with the blend. I also get occasional hints of the skin musk, but it's faint on me and mostly overpowered by the resins and patchouli. Very sexy and I think this will get even better with some age (and possibly lose some of the initial sharpness). I think resin and leather lovers will like this one.

I'm getting a smoky, woody floral with myrrh, dark musk (black?) and currant. As it dries I start to make out some of the blood note and bit of rose (which has a tinge of soapiness), the musk slowly starts to amp and turns slightly powdery.

First applied, I get a lot of chestnut, some smokey leaves, soft spruce and gritty dirt and gravel. As it dries hints of tuberose come out, the chestnut takes a back seat and the blend starts to get smokier. It finally settles into a mostly dirty, smokey leaves and tuberose scent, with hints of chestnuts in the background. I find this very evocative.

This lemon verbena smells like a mix of citronella and lemongrass on me, a green and herbal lemon.

This is very dark brown in color, almost black. I'm getting a dark, fruity, deep red musk. As it dries, some earthy patchouli emerges. This is gorgeous.

I get a slightly sharp, spicy floral powder, as it dries a get a little nutmeg and the cardamom become more pronounced.

I'm mostly getting creamy cherry blossoms and some juicy, slightly tart tropical fruits. Though I find the over scent well-blended, as it settles I can make out the pink grapefruit, guava and a touch of lemongrass, the hibiscus also peeks through. Sadly, I don't smell any of the foody scent or vanilla others are getting.