strahlend

Exploratory sniffs from the bottle reveal a good many of the listed notes, dark musk, tobacco and even a bit of currant and a nice round patchouli.

On my skin I'm getting something pungent in here, like black pepper and a hint of vetiver. It's sharp and kind of dry.

This is a mainly smooth sweet sandalwood-vanilla scent to my nose. It's very bright smelling, not at all foody. I think it's the saffron. It's quite unusual and gorgeous. I don't smell pepper in here at all.

My first impression was that it smelled a lot like rootbeer. In the drydown it reminds me a lot of Snake Oil in that the dominating notes (vanilla, patchouli, incense) notes seem really similar.

Starts off reminding me of an almond spice cookie sitting in a pile of dry leaves. Then comes in some fresh evergreen boughs. Then some apples that have been dried in a big oak barrel. Now I'm getting some dried wood and maybe some hint of currant or tart berry. In the drydown it's mostly dry woods and a hint of evergreen. Like being in a forest and the scent of spices waft in the air occasionally.

It's a very lovely winter scent and while I'm happy to have a partial bottle I would love to see this in the Yule rotation.

Interestingly, Mermaid opens up with the candy notes from Elephantine Colossus. It reminds me of kettle corn. That fades off pretty quick though and what emerges is a very mildly minty ambergris. I'm not getting anything floral, orange, or vanilla infused. There is something that's keeping this soft aquatic musk on the lighter side and I would guess it's the tiare I'm smelling. Not what I was expecting, but a pleasant scent.

first sniff – smells smokey and woody like vetiver and liquid smoke. Reminds me of Agnus Nutter or something similar.

Skin testing – goes on smelling like strong campfire smoke. Pungent. Strong. Like being nose to nose with a campfire of a wood I can't quite name. This is a real wood and real smoke scent, which is amazing. It's just so strong and so intense that it feels almost too on the nose, so to speak. My partner, however, loves smokey wood scents and perked right up when I mentioned this scent and is happily skin testing right now. If he decides to get a bottle I certainly wouldn't mind smelling it on him, it's just not for me.

First sniff – I get the tobacco and a hint of pepper and some of the resin and a faint hint of black musk.

Skin testing – very sweet and chewy tobacco scent. I also get the pepper. What started out as a tobacco single note has softened into a tobacco that has a slightly soapy muskyness to it because of the resins and sandalwood. The tobacco note is still out front and talking kind of loud. In comparison, French Tobacco single note goes on a bit more high pitched, VII is much more sweet in comparison. They both end up in the same ballpark, but VII initially has a lot more dimension and roundness to it, as would make sense when comparing it to a single note. In the end, it's a lovely scent, just not for me.

First sniff – I'm only getting the lavender, it is of the thick and sweetened variety, as opposed to the sharp and astringent kind.

Skin test – simple concept, brilliant execution. My favorite of the bunch so far. Gorgeous sweet lavender. This is one of those scents that needs to be given a chance on the skin, sniffing from the bottle or decant won't do it justice. I think this scent would be easy to overlook, but it really is lavender perfection in a bottle. I have lots of other lavender scents in my collection, this one is by far my favorite. I can only think to describe it as smelling your most favorite lavender bush, but better.

Edit: my initial reviews are always so optimistic. I have a bottle of this now and realize that it smells very similar to Villain.

First sniff – Something interesting is happening here. The pepper is combining with something to make this unusual almost chewy kind of scent.

Skin testing – The pepper comes on strong. Sort of musty and spicy. Like a closet in an old house filled with pepper corns. After a while it settles down, but it still smells more peppery than anything and is not entirely enjoyable.

First sniff – I get the patchouli and honey and some spice. The honey could be a deal breaker.

Skin testing – it's lighter than I would think. Almost a hint of flower? Smells like cheap chocolate chips? Perhaps that's the vanilla. The honey doesn't make me happy. It's just not a note I like anymore.

Dries down to a gently sweet mildly honeyed patchouli. Makes me think of what Womb Furie smells like in late dry down.

First sniff – this does smell faintly of oranges and incense.

Skin test – goes on with a lot more orange citrus blast than it smelled like in the imp. Usually burns off fast though. Some time later, it's still pretty orangy, but the champaca is starting to mix in. It is staying a citrus scent, I'm guessing it's in part due to the verbena. It reminds me a lot of Wake.

First sniff – I get the vetiver, but after that this is quite an unusual scent. I'm not sure if in a good way or not. Sometimes dark notes with a fruit are nauseating to me, but this is more interesting than gross. This is the winner of the most unexpected scent out of this group.

Skin testing – goes on smelling as it does in the imp, which is to say a bit confusing. There is an aspect to this that feels like if you sniff too deeply it will singe your nose hairs. This vetiver is potent and pungent. I feel like I can smell the apricot in there, but it's a lost cause.

I agree with all above, it smells like cherries and dragon's blood in a way that is much nicer than it might sound. I also detect a bit of cinnamon. At this point my son said that it smells "like candy." In the drydown I'm smelling mostly a lovely dragonsblood with just a slight hint of tart sweetness from the cherry.

In the decant this smelled kind of soapy and reminded me of Embalming Fluid.

Skin testing was a whole other story. Fog Machine Juice actually manages to be diaphanous while maintaining a very clear presence. There are no sharp notes here that jump out at you, there's just this smooth cloud of gorgeous scent that carries with it a hint of lime. The base of this scent eludes my ability to name it, but I can tell that it is not soapy, it's not sharp, it's not lemony, and it's not a musk or resin as they typically appear. Call me crazy, but I feel like I smell a bit of quince. This was the Weenie that put me over the edge and made me decide to put in a lab order. It really is a fascinatingly beautiful and unusual scent.

Edit: continuing to try to puzzle out this scent. Today I feel like I'm detecting absinthe in here. I feel pretty sure that it's a component of this scent. Absinthe, lime, and quince? Sounds weird, but that's what I'm coming up with.

Started out with a strong scent of whiskey like in Mad Sweeney. It fades quickly here as it does in MS.

Now the tobacco and musk are reminding me of a mix of Black Lace and Haunted.

The tobacco and whiskey notes both have a bit of sharpness to them, but the musk does round things out.

The overall impression is of expensive perfume wafting around a parlor where guests are drinking whiskey (but not smoking).

The tobacco here is not like in cigarettes or pipes, it more like what I imagine tobacco smells like raw or dried.

In the end it is the bear musk that is the longest lasting note, it is warm and strong, this is not a subtle bear. The whiskey and tobacco provide interesting dimensions as the perfume settles in. My initial impression was that I probably could find a similar scent in my existing collection, but that's actually quite false. The bear musk is new to my nose and the companion notes set it off beautifully.

Edit to add: many thanks to the lovely person who sent this to me from the NYCC!

I thought this scent might be more on the musky side, but what I got was a very sugary/caramel vanilla richness with an overtone of booze. It reminds me a lot of Red Lantern mixed with Grog.

First sniff – more orchid, floral, than I expected. I thought it would be more milky and sweet.

Skin tested – to my nose this is an orchid blend with some other notes faintly in the background rounding it out. I had hoped that the dominant note would be the fig milk, so this is a lot more floral than I anticipated. Ends up smelling like a drawer sachet to me, but might work great for the orchid lovers out there.

First sniff – sharp piercing lavender, but stays on this side of pleasant. I like this better than the expensive lavender perfume I have a sample of (Caldey Island Lavender).

Testing – this is a fantastic lavender. Sharp enough to smell like real lavender flowers but just slightly rounded. Love it. Perfect balance of sharp but rounded out and beautifully accented (but not overwhelmed) by the ginger and plum blossom. I can see myself wearing this often and have it on my bottle list.

First sniff – very light and airy incense. Airy sweetness.

Skin testing – this is very much like wearing nag champa incense. I like it very much.

After a while – yep, this is really, really nice. It's warm but light and airy but sweet.

Most certainly considering a bottle. This is the closest thing to wearing nag champa incense that I've encountered.

First sniff – exactly as I imagined. Very sweet and creamy with equally strong and compelling florals. There's something in here that almost reminds me of coconut, like a sweetness you can bite into. Makes me think of a more mature and glamorous version of snow white.

Testing – it does end up being a lot like snow white. Not able to distinguish itself enough to make me want a bottle, but very pretty.

This scent reminds me a lot of Tezcatlipoca, but with a strange undertone of vitamins. Even though leather isn't listed in the notes, it seems to have a chocolate and leather feel to it.

I just got my decant in the mail and misted just a bit on my sweater.

The scent reminds me a lot of a sprayable form of Haunted. I think the similarity is the dark sweet musks and amber. Reads very much like a black musk/amber hybrid. The vanilla isn't pronounced, it just keeps things on the sweet side from the background.

The scent is pretty much as one would expect from the note list, if ambery musks are your thing, this is your atmo spray.

I get a custardy, vanilla, honey, powder from this scent. Not too powdery, not too foody. I'm in love, so glad to have a bottle.

Smells pretty much exactly like Lush's Silky Underwear perfume (I've never smelled the powder).

Wet on my skin. I smell like I have been rolling in celery.

This is an unusual interpretation of a resinous blend, usually I associate amber and frankincense with being anchors, but this blend plays out a little differently.

The frankincense is lending a hint of sweetness and holding its own among the higher and airy notes of the galbanum. I have the SN galbanum, and it is definitely a feature here. The other notes play supporting, rounding, softening roles to the galbanums sharp, green somewhat piercing starring role.

A very light, almost honeyed smelling vanilla with a beautifully subtle hint of earthyness.

Absolutely gorgeous, but fades so fast off of my skin that it's just depressing.