cfrancesca

2011: The resins in here are almost medicinal on me at first, the white rose softens them slightly. It settles into equal parts resins (still a bit harsh) and white rose.

At first I get sweet fresh water and soft hints of resins, as it dries the rose and a bit of amber start to amp. It settles into a fresh, watery rose, with soft olibanum and hints of amber.

2011: I found this version much stronger on the osmanthus and lily, whereas the 2007 was stronger on the frankincense and white musk (I hardly got any florals). This has a tart, kind of apricot fruity scent on me, I'm guessing it's the osmanthus, the lily blends with the osmanthus and create this tart fruity/floral scent, the frankincense peeks through and I start getting some white musk, but I find it a bit too cloying in here.

2011: I've tried previous versions of Red Lantern and remember it being way too heavy for me and the lab's caramel just doesn't work on me, this version is pretty much the same as I remember but perhaps even heavier, probably due to the fact that it's fresh. I mainly get a strong boozey, heady caramel and tobacco blend, with soft, dark coconut and amber in the background.

2011: I find this pretty much the same sensual floral as the previous versions. Mostly champaca flower, sandalwood and date palm, with honey and vanilla, which help sweeten up the blend and give it a slight creaminess. I get soft hints of rose and tuberose after a short while. Heady, lush, a little smokey and sweet with an almost boozy feel.

I get sweet(almost juicy) fruits, strong coconut, soft florals and some green musk in the background. I think this will make a wonderful summer blend.

I find this one a resiny, mildly fruity, tart, floral blend. I get soft, but very present, frankincense, lemongrass (I don't find it quite as sharp as it usually is), plum, and soft honeysuckle.

ETA: After a short while the plum really amps up and it started to remind me of Dionysia.

This is a very nice, simple, fresh tea blend. I get white tea, lemon verbena (which starts amping almost immediately), and soft honeycomb (but there's hardly any sweetness). It somewhat reminds me of Spirits of the Dead, but tarter and papyrus-less.

Wet, I get grains, lemongrass and honey. It quickly settles into a a really nice lemony honey tea with ginger.

In the decant this smelled like tobacco to me. On my skin I still get an almost harsh smokey tobacco scent (smells slightly ashy), soft vetiver, woods (I think cedar), and hints of rose, honey and vanilla that soften it up just slightly.

I get a lot of sweet rum, woods and vetiver. After a short while I also start getting some soft musk.

I get strong mahogany and a hint of apple.

This starts off as fizzy gin and slightly cloying white chocolate. However, it settles into a lovely, sweet, creamy, soft, fizzy scent. I think this may be the winner among this year's chocolate scents for me.

This one started out very promising, with lots of dark chocolate and the slightly tart tamarind, but on my skin it the fig amped and I'm usually not a fan of fig scents.

I find this one a bit cloying, most likely due to the white chocolate, the sweet mango is there (though it’s softer than I’d imagined) with a touch of buttercream. The mango in here smells artificial to me, similar to mango candy.

I get the cassia (I really love it in here), milk chocolate and the bacon is softer than I was expecting and a little salty and smoky. Definitely not for me, but it wasn’t as scary as I’d thought it would be.

I find this one heavy on the raw ginger but the milk chocolate and butterscotch soften it up a bit. Personally, I find it too cloying and I’m not a fan of raw ginger so it’s definite no for me.

This reminds me of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. I was worried about the lime, but I find it stays soft and works well in here, giving the blend a very refreshing feel. This is my favorite amongst the chocolates, but it sadly didn't last very long on my skin.

I'm getting teakwood, dark vanilla, a little bit of resins and tobacco. This reminded me a lot of The Antikythera Mechanism, but stronger.

On me, WILF is a mix of Smut, Snake Oil and Black Temple Burlesque Troupe with a hint of mint. It starts off a little too sharp for my tastes but quickly develops this wonderful throw that is all warm, sexy, furry and musky cocoa. I think it will age wonderfully.

I find this one a very complex scent. It starts out as fresh white tea, Parma violets, lavender, orange blossom (which keeps threatening to amp but thankfully stays soft) with a backdrop of Egyptian Musk and beeswax. The other notes are also there, but remain well-blended and don't stick out on me but give it more complexity. I was hoping for more leather but I'm hardly getting any.

Once dry, the Egyptian Musk starts amping, and the violets turn slightly powdery and vanillaic (similar to violet pastilles), the tea gets a little sharp (this usually happens with tea-blends on my skin),I get a bit more lavender and orange blossom and now I get hint of leather but it's still very soft.

This yummy. In the bottle and wet, this smells like a really good, heavy on the coconut, Piña Colada. As it dries, I start getting some anise (a note I was worried about) but it blends really well with the other notes and I think it might be what's making me think of booze? The white amber amps the longer it's on my skin (love white amber), the hazelnut is also well-blended and turns the coconut scent into a drier, husky-type.

 

I find this one a mainly coconut scent, if the notes listed weren't listed I'd have thought this was fresh, creamy, meaty coconut husk with a dash of booze. Sadly, it's on the verge of turning plasticky on me, coconut does this sometimes on my skin.

No the best pic, but here's some of this year's Shungas - Burning Vulva, Young Pine Saplings, Loosening the Obi, Time Does Not Bring Relief (I love the cherub angels on that one), Dancing Koi and Harigata II.

 

Lots of frankincense, toasted sandalwood (mmm...), oh no...here comes the champaca to ruin the party, my skin amps the champaca within seconds. After a few minutes, the brown musk peeks through but remains soft and warms up the blend, I start getting a bit of the labdanum too. I think the champaca is overpowering the leather and clove because I'm not getting much of either. The final dry-down is toasty sandalwood, frankincense and lots of champaca. I find the overall scent warm, woody and just slightly smokey.

I really liked Dancing Koi (it actually reminds me a little of last year's Prosperity of a Country) but I was hoping for a lot less champaca, sadly my just skin amps it too much, it would have been a keeper for me if hadn't been so overpowering.

ETA: After testing it a few days later, I decided it's a keeper. I love the warm, toasty, woody goodness that the frankincense, brown musk and toasted sandalwood create, so much so that I can tolerate the champaca (I think it has already mellowed out in just a few days) and actually like it in here.

Creamy spicy ginger, definitely the same ginger I got from Mother Ginger and Playing with a Loaded Gun. As it dries it gets almost foody, and makes me think of a wonderfully creamy and spicy honey chai, I also get a biscotti-type scent. The clove doesn't stand out (might be well-blended and just making the blend spicier).

 

I find it really beautifully unique, creamy, spicy and comforting. However, this type of ginger just doesn't work on me, it's too fresh smelling (it reminds me of freshly grated ginger), zingy and almost citrusy.