Invidiana

DARK PUMPKIN MEAD Thick, heady pumpkin mead sweetened with clover honey and a hint of maple. Ah, mead. Only my favorite thing in the world to imbibe. What's this, you say? Pumpkin mead? Forget the "I die", I'm already dead. I haven't ever been able to find a ready-made pumpkin mead (of the drinkable persuasion), but this one (of the smellable persuasion) bottles up everything I hope the real thing will someday be. f the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire were as crazy for pumpkin as I am, this would be in all their drinking horns. Let me clarify that this actually isn't a boozy scent. It has that characteristic honeyed sweetness of mead which is tempered by a golden, almost bready undertone that the honey gets from fermenting. Compared to a sniff of the actual (drinkable) bottle of mead in my liquor cabinet, this is by far a darker, richer scent. I'm sure the pumpkin contributes to this quality but it also seems like the honeys used here are generally darker. I also think the maple contributes to the "dark" aspect; while the pumpkin and honey mead are definitely the prominent notes here, the undercurrent of maple deepens it further. The maple note here is more like that amazing Grade B maple syrup you can never find in your average supermarket, not as sweet but a more robust dark amber. Long story short I want to roll in this for all eternity.

There's all manner of shenanigans in this year's pumpkin patch! Pumpkin'ized hybrids of GC BPAL scents abound! As if Samhain couldn't get any better, along comes this. I die. Samhain already has a pumpkin note, but this is Samhain meets the Great Pumpkin meets ultimate autumnal-scent bliss. Like the other 'Patch blends, the pumpkin note is warm, creamy and lightly spiced enough so it adds some warmth but doesn't amp to the high heavens on my notoriously spice-amping skin. Because the original does have spices of its own, this one is slightly spicier than the other pumpkins but not insanely so. Samhain's patchouli, apple and woods are still very much pleasant, just subtler. If the original Samhain is Halloween after nightfall, I'd say this is Halloween during the day. Maybe it's the golden quality of the pumpkin, or maybe the additional sweetness added by it (though it doesn't get anywhere near cloying). Kind of like Samhain with a slice of pumpkin pie on the side. I love them both to death.

ACHLUOPHOBIA Fear of darkness. Oppressive, stifling, suffocating, blinding: black patchouli, tobacco absolute, opoponax, and inky black musk. Menacing, in the best possible way. Let me explain. This is a scent that conveys the feeling, the very idea of thick, impenetrable darkness through the sum of its parts. You have to give this a chance to dry down a little before you can really experience its true beauty. Wet the first thing I get is patchouli but it's so much more than that. Patchouli just has that tendency to dominate the wet stage of things. It slowly starts to reveal its true nature on the drydown, like the many layers of darkness that make themselves known as the night grows deeper. The oppoponax has an almost syrupy quality to it, and by syrupy I mean dense and rich rather than saccharine--think sticky resin rather than sugar syrup. My skin does tend to bring out the sweetness in oppoponax but nowhere near cloying capacity. The tobacco gives it a pleasant (and very fitting) smokiness, and the dark musk wraps it in a sheer black veil of sensuality. Once you have one sniff of this you will get completely lost in it--and you might not want to be find.

AUTUMN FANCIES Faded the clover now ;-- sere and withered the grasses: What dreams the matsumushi in the desolate autumn-fields? Strangely sad, I thought, sounded the bell of evening; -- Haply that tone proclaimed the night in which autumn dies! Viewing this autumn-moon, I dream of my native village Under the same soft light, -- and the shadows about thy home. Dry grasses bathed in amber light, muted by gentle shadows. The moment I smelled this I imagined falling backwards into a sun-warmed field of golden grasses. There are some drier notes that I simply can't do, but the dry grass note here is just perfect. It's not that kind of suck-all-the-moisture-from-the-earth dry like some kinds of sandalwood, but more of a warm, autumnal kind of dry that's even comforting in a way. It's not woody and not even really grassy in the conventional sense, but closer to hay or wheat or something in that neighborhood. The amber also contributes to the "golden" current that runs throughout, and gives the grass note some mild sweetness along something of a honeyed undertone. Oddly enough I do pick up something playing the part of shadows here. I can't exactly put my finger on it, maybe some type of sheer, shadowy musk? It reminds me of that dry patch in my backyard I loved so much as a kid, just breathing in the scent of that and feeling the warmth against my skin.

No 138 West 27th St. Mrs. Lizzie Goodrich, the dashing brunette, whose smiling face is ever ready to welcome her patrons keeps this house. Mrs. Lizzie as she is generally called, has five good-looking lady boarders whose cheerful dispositions tend to drive away the blues. There is a regular physician attached to this house, and every attention is shown to visitors. As a first class house, it is neatly and comfortably fitted up, and is very quiet and orderly. A merry honeyed carnation dotted with dried ruby fruits. I was crossing every limb on my body this would work on me since my name is Elizabeth. By some kind of magic it did! Sometimes I amp carnation to the point of it crushing everything else, and red or purple fruits can sometimes go cloying on me, but not this time. What stays at the forefront is honey, honey, golden and glorious honey. Full disclosure: I amp honey. The carnation is not too strong, more like a decorative flower behind the madam's ear, and the fruits add a bit of a tart (see what I did there?) element with a blush of red. First-class house indeed.

The house No. 99 is presided over by Mrs. Bunce. It contains twelve lady boarders. The house is well furnished, very pleasant, and is well stocked with beautiful girls. It is the most quiet and orderly house in Mercer street, and frequented by men of taste. Tobacco leaf, amber, sweet golden musk, blonde sandalwood, and hay sugar. I had such high hopes for this, from the tobacco leaf to the golden musk to the hay sugar and amber. I wanted it to be like an autumn sunset in a bottle. As an atmo it probably would be an autumn sunset in a bottle. The only thing I was leery of was (skin chemistry strikes again) the sandalwood. Sandalwoods that are blonde to white tend to screech on my skin, and unfortunately, this one gladly gobbled up all the gold gloriousness I could smell in the background. In an effort to get past the sandalwood takeover I tried picking out the other notes. The combination of those is like the last honeyed rays of sunlight falling upon the hay bales of a harvested field. Sigh.

The house at No. 157 is kept by Mrs Valentine, who has four ladies in attendance and ready to receive gentlemen into their tender arms. This is a second class house. Lacy white vanilla, mallow flower, white sandalwood, sweet oudh, and a drop of red musk. I might be a fan of everything dark and unholy, but I love this ethereal white scent. Clouds of fluffy vanilla and mallow amp on me, like a more sophisticated version of vanilla marshmallows. White sandalwood is an iffy note for my skin but thankfully this one behaved on my chemistry and acted more as a hint of a something sultry along with the oudh and tinge of red musk rather than a screeching white sandalwood banshee. Mrs. Valentine is somehow innocent and sexy all at once, even for a proprietress of a house of ill repute.

Vetiver, you and I just can't get along...you overpowered everything as this dried down. I'll never know what lovely shadows this could smell like without the vetiver, but on me, at least, it overpowers everything, leaving just wisps of the other notes in the background struggling to make themselves known. That's what you get when your skin amps vetiver.

TREE OF LIFE Tree of Life, Gustav Klimt. Ash bark, Kashmir wood, tonka bean, clary sage, Spanish moss, cocoa absolute, King mandarin, galangal root, and matcha tea. In the bottle this is a little odd and sharp with an herbal and citrusy edge. However, like a tree in bloom, on my skin it morphs into something completely different--and amazing. This scent has elevated the classic pairing of chocolate and orange to new heights. It isn't foody per se but more in that lovely sweet and earthy vein of Brood XIX and Atlas. True that it's a little sharp from the matcha tea at first but upon the drydown that disappears entirely and is replaced by cocoa and mandarin on a bed of lush woods and earthy moss with a vanillic undertone of tonka. What I'm guessing is the Kashmir wood really smell amazing on me, deep and warm and sensual very much like oude. The mandarin is there though not a prominent citrus scent per se, more of a contribution to the overall luxurious feel of the scent. There is a bit of smokiness which I'm guessing is from the galangal, and the sage behaves in the background, not amping to herbal death but entwining with the moss to fill out the overall idea of a great tree rising from the shadows of the forest floor. I am so glad I took a chance on a bottle of this unsniffed. It's gorgeous.

The house No. 101 is of the third class, and contains nothing worthy of attention. A little shabby: dusty sandalwood and cold black tea. I was really, really hoping this would be like All Hallows' Eve 1917 on me, that same scent of dusty light beaming in through a window at dusk. Alas my skin chemistry and the sandalwood just couldn't agree with each other. I amp many types of sandalwood and sadly I amped this one to the point of it going from swirling dust to the strong dry wood I was so desperately hoping wouldn't rear its Cerberus head. The black tea was completely overshadowed. It is, however, and atmospheric scent, and if it was an atmo, I would probably love it!

The house No. 112 Spring street is kept by Mrs. Palmer. It is a low establishment and frequented only by the lagends of the community. The dregs: muddied leather, ragged patchouli, cistus, fig, black clove, and rockrose spattered by rum and vetiver. Ah, vetiver. Why must my skin chemistry turn you into a perfume of ill repute? I love leather and couldn't wait to see the Victorian whorehouse version of it until you crashed the party. Even the clove here doesn't amp too much on me and I'm notorious for ruining things like Voodoo Queen because my skin will not love certain types of clove. The vetiver is the perpetrator stealing into the brothel and terrorizing the ladies. Trying to put the vetiver aside, I can smell that the leather and patchouli, splashed with rum to sweeten the toughness with a boozy kick, are the 19th century version of badass.

This is a first class Ladies Seminary, conducted by an accomplished and intelligent young lady, who has a class composed of seven beautiful young lady scholars who do credit to her establishment. The house is newly furnished in a magnificent style, is very quiet and orderly, and first class in every respect. A sophisticated arrangement of graceful blooms: cherry blossoms, Florentine iris, violet absolute, and wisteria, warmed by honey, almonds, and cacao. I can't possibly resist anything with wisteria, and the floral charms of Miss Anna do not disappoint. It's like the first flowers off spring blossoming straight form the bottle, and while lit starts off like a shower of petals, it is eventually warmed up by a lovely backdrop of honey and almond with a slight shadow from what I'm assuming is the cacao. Wisteria is one of my favorite florals and while I don't amp it, it doesn't vanish after the drydown. This is not a screeching floral but more of what I like to call a fairytale floral. It starts off innocent and slowly reveals something telling about its namesake. Who knew a painted lady could be so respectable?

THE SEEKIMCacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash. This is unusually yummy. You'd think these notes would be discordant, but everything just ties in so well. The cacao absolute and patchouli are the main players on my skin, both thick and deep and and lovely. It's like that Schwarzer Mond-type patchouli covered in bittersweet chocolate. Supporting this dusky deliciousness is just a hint of black pepper which gives it a bit of extra zing but doesn't go so far to be a piercing sneezeworthy pepper like Ebeneezer Scrooge. They hay note adds a certain cozy autumnal warmth which actually blends very smoothly with the other elements, and there is also some sweet resiny incense at the finish. I almost didn't chance this one because of the pepper, but so glad I did!

Deep blue musk, olibanum, passion flower, galbanum, immortelle, and sweet myrrh. I feel blue musk is one of those notes that is often underrated. The blue musk in this I feel is deeper than that in the Blue Moons though still with that lovely ethereal quality that blue musk tends to have. It evokes the endle intanglible expanse of night sky or the crystalline depths of the ocean without any aquatics. The floral element here is surprisingly sexy and seems classically Oriental to me, but is given a unique freshness by the blue musk. I'm not too keen on what passion flower and immortelle smell like on their own, but together they are highly sensual, with an almost sandalwoody quality but not quite. There is even a tinge of an orrisy quality to them. The flowers and musk are grounded by the sweet resins, which still remain light enough to retain the gauzy dreamlike spirit of the blend, which is appropriate seeing how it was created to compliment a painting involving a ghost. Like a glowing vision of a phantom, this really beautiful and almost otherworldly.

I had high hopes for this one because I love the name Xenia which in Greek means "stranger". It was a bit difficult to discern as it settled. It started off with what I'm taking to be a strong black tea note, but dried down to something of a sheer lemony anise. I feel that there is something light and earthy in the background, which I'm guessing is a black tea with a very slight smokiness. It can't be green tea because my skin turns that to Attack of the Lemon Death. There is a moderate sweetness there as well. Overall this reminds me of a cup of licorice tea with a squeeze of lemon and a cube of sugar. It's oddly refreshing though not really my thing.

NOCTIPHOBIA Fear of nighttime. The vast, endless canopy of the night sky, dotted with cold, harsh pinpoints of light under a bulging white moon: If there ever was an "essence of night" captured in a bottle, this is it. I cannot begin to express in humble human-derived words how amazing this is. I don't normally spring for bottles of scents that don't have notes listed, but anything with that has the general idea of all-encompassing darkness is the big exception. This is so well-blended to capture that feeling of thick, dark night that it's difficult to pick out notes but I'll make some feeble attempt. There is no single note that dominates from the wet stage all the way through the drydown. I can detect lavender, but not the kind of gun-toting lavender that pierces your nostrils with no mercy. This is a soft, mysterious lavender that spins itself into a veil of what I'm assuming to be a dark musk. Definitely a subtle backdrop of dark woods here too, but while I can't tell exactly what they are (might be a bit of teak or sandalwood somewhere in here) I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that there's no cedar or cypress because my skin amps those to eleven. Possibly a hint of black amber or something close resin-wise anchoring it; there's a very slight smokiness on the drydown. There must be some night-blooming florals here too, not jasmine, but I feel it shares a few things with Midnight and I have no idea what a lot of the floral notes in that smell like on their own. Maybe evening stock, maybe nicotiana. Educated guess. In fact it is kind of like Midnight's older sister, kind of like Death is to Delirium in Sandman. In other words, if you like Night's Bridge, or my discontinued first love Midnight, run.

Dorian in the Pumpkin Patch There's all manner of shenanigans in this year's pumpkin patch! Pumpkin'ized hybrids of GC BPAL scents abound! Of course, first thing I thought when the update went live and I saw this: Puddin' in the pumpkin patch. References aside, who knew Dorian would go so well with pumpkin? Then again, pumpkin is a natural with tea. Take your favorite pumpkin tea, make it that much better than you could imagine and you've got this. It's all pumpkin wet, and then Dorian quickly comes through until they balance each other harmoniously on the drydown. The pumpkin is that same delicious baked pumpkin note I recognize from Theme in Yellow, dusted with just enough spice. The spice here really plays well with the rest of the blend, doesn't even amp on me and I can amp spice something fierce. It's warm, creamy pumpkin steeped in the aromatic vanilla tea of Dorian, with a hint of Dorian's characteristic fougere swirling in the background. Need I say more?

HAUNTED HOUSES All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses. Through the open doors The harmless phantoms on their errands glide, With feet that make no sound upon the floors. We meet them at the door-way, on the stair, Along the passages they come and go, Impalpable impressions on the air, A sense of something moving to and fro. There are more guests at table than the hosts Invited; the illuminated hall Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts, As silent as the pictures on the wall. The stranger at my fireside cannot see The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear; He but perceives what is; while unto me All that has been is visible and clear. We have no title-deeds to house or lands; Owners and occupants of earlier dates From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands, And hold in mortmain still their old estates. The spirit-world around this world of sense Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense A vital breath of more ethereal air. Our little lives are kept in equipoise By opposite attractions and desires; The struggle of the instinct that enjoys, And the more noble instinct that aspires. These perturbations, this perpetual jar Of earthly wants and aspirations high, Come from the influence of an unseen star An undiscovered planet in our sky. And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud Throws o'er the sea a floating bridge of light, Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd Into the realm of mystery and night,- So from the world of spirits there descends A bridge of light, connecting it with this, O'er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends, Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Quiet, ineffective ghosts haunting the realm of mystery and night, stretching dusty hands back to homes and lifetimes unforgotten: pale gossamer musks swirling in thick, dense otherworldly vapours through cracks in dry wood and old, old stones. I've always wanted a haunted house scent that could work as a perfume on me. There have been so many I tried in the past that would have been great as atmos, but just didn't like my skin for one reason or the other. I think I finally found the big exception in Haunted Houses. It's a scent that evokes the feeling of a ghostly, abandoned house without actually smelling musty or moldy but more ethereal and even feminine, in an unexpected way. In the beginning I got the wood first and I was gritting my teeth hoping this wouldn't die an untimely cedar death on my skin, but it ended up doing a complete turnaround to show off the pale musks instead. They have a lovely cool, crystalline feeling that evokes things like fleeting ghostlike visions and dust swirling in late-afternoon light. There still is subtle wood in the background, and a bit of a cool stone note; they round out the scent more than anything else, adding to the feeling of a house from a forgotten era. Come to think of it, this really reminds me of the actual haunted house in NYC that I went to visit a few years back. I can almost feel the invisible presence of a ghost.

Moroccan Pumpkin Patch There's all manner of shenanigans in this year's pumpkin patch! Pumpkin'ized hybrids of GC BPAL scents abound! Pumpkin makes an amazing pairing with Morocco. These two were just meant to be. Both are warm scents that amount to double deliciousness when they come together. No doubt that the incensey notes of Morocco make this something of an exotic pumpkin, not the burlesque pumpkin of Sin in the Pumpkin Patch but more of a belly-dancing pumpkin with a sheer red veil (from the red sandalwood of course). The light spice of Morocco, including that from the carnation, also blends perfectly with the pumpkin note, since pumpkin and spice are just a natural pairing to begin with. The spice is present enough to contribute warmth and sensuality but not dominant enough to amp to infinity. I love how the warm musk in Morocco adds something to the pumpkin that's hard to put my finger on but makes it even more warm and inviting. Belly-dancing jack-o-lantern indeed.

There's all manner of shenanigans in this year's pumpkin patch! Pumpkin'ized hybrids of GC BPAL scents abound! This one makes me think of a pumpkin centerpiece at Alice's tea party. It's surrounded by flowers, and alongside a pitcher of milk and a jar of honey. The creamy milk and golden honey are a natural match for the warm, sweet pumpkin, and the milk note works to make the already smooth pumpkin even creamier. There's just a hint of spice that warms up the scent as a whole but doesn't amp even on my notoriously spice-amping skin. As is its nature, the carnation adds a tiny bit of spice as well, but it's very subtle. The interplay of the foody and floral elements here is actually very pleasant. The florals of Alice, as in the original scent, are not overbearing here either (even the rose I swear). They add a feminine element to the whole thing, and I swear that "feminine" and "pumpkin actually can belong in the same sentence. Somewhere in the background there is just a bit of bergamot tea. This is more of a daytime pumpkin, the pumpkin you wear when you're going to meet the parents, perfectly nice and sweet with nothing scandalous about it. I can almost see it wearing Alice's bow and pinafore.

The Lake of Hate: blood musk, pink pepper, and neroli boiling in a seething mire of saffron. This had me at "blood musk", and as a big fan of Beth's blood accord, it lives up to any and all evil, sultry, blood-soaked expectations I had for it. It's basically the love child of Blood (GC) and Oceans of Love and Millions of Kisses bath oil. It has that ridiculously sexy blood note entwined with come-hither musk (there has to be red musk in here somewhere), but it's also so much more than that. Neroli gives it a heady, almost honeyed feel that receives a sensual warmth and flame from the saffron. If I hadn't known there was no honey note in this, I would have guessed there was. It's a scent that burns with two colors of fire. Whereas the blood musk and slight bite of pink pepper give this moon its red fury, the neroli and saffron swirl the Lake of Hate with molten gold. Seething and boiling indeed, but in a really good way.

ILLUMINATI COTILLION The All-Seeing Eye Will extend its tentacles To crush all nations. The great strength of our Order lies in its concealment; let it never appear in any place in its own name, but always covered by another name, and another occupation. - Attributed to Adam Weishaupt Ceremonial incense, pipe tobacco, temple roses, and shittim wood. I was crossing my fingers for this because of the incense, and I do love my incensey scents. Wet I do get the incense for a moment, and it is a lovely mysterious incense note, but unfortunately it fades to the background within a couple seconds on my skin. The pipe tobacco just amps on me like many types of smoke do (such as that in Djinn), and the combination of the roses with this type of wood turns out to be a very dry and dusty type of rose on my skin, not the silky and voluptuous type I like. It is these three notes that end up taking over the whole blend and making it come off like dry roses and pipe smoke backed with old wood with my chemistry. I could even say this borders on masculine, at least the way it turns out on me, because of the smoke and wood. The extreme drydown is all smoke and wood with an undercurrent of dry rose and no incense to speak of. I do wish the incense could have been the dominant note in this since then I would have probably loved it, but that sadly wasn't meant to be.

MENACING IONOSPHERIC RESEARCH INSTRUMENT Bright, gleaming weapons Are housed out in broad daylight Squishing my brain waves. The HAARP research facility in Alaska houses top secret weaponry that is utilized to down aircraft and trigger massive power outages, for meteorological manipulation, and to instigate "natural" disasters. The power housed at HAARP can be used to control minds and produce effects in humans that are indistinguishable from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Gulf War Syndrome. Electrically charged white amber, violet, sage, mint, and neroli flanked by dazzling metals and shining wires. This starts out as a very sharp herbal metallic mint and pretty much stays that way through the drydown. I was hoping the white amber and violet would be able to save they day but they weren't able to do me any favors this time. They were both just completely overpowered by mint and sage and something very similar to the "electrical fire" note I described in Aurora Spacesihp Takes a Dive but with more of an electrical/ozoney rather than a burning feel. It does indeed evoke "dazzling metals and shining wires" , but the olfactory "shine" is so bright, at least on my skin, that it's almost blinding, much like Volt but without the leather and less masculine. As it dries down further, it settles into metal/ozone, mint and sage, in that order. I imagine it would be a brilliant scent for people who really like those blends that have you wide awake in half a second, but it's just not for me personally.

Being Greek of course I had to get a perfume named Clytemnestra. This definitely doesn't disappoint; it's a shadowy, scent worthy of its namesake. There is rose in here, but it's a dark, velvety rose that is soft and subtle, no dry screeching rose that makes me sneeze. It could possibly be white rose too, which I may have interprted as dark because of the other dark florals. The rose really just lays a backdrop for other dark and exotic florals--to my nose it seems like tuberose and a dark type or orchid though I could be wrong. There may even be a hint of violet. These are really the stars of the scent along with a bit of dark fruit that I'm taking to be blackcurrant, maybe even a hint of plum; there is definitely a "purple" feel here but it's more like a purple-tinged twilight rather than a juicy/fruity purple. It actually reminds me of Autumn and Winter without the cold/fallen leaves elements with the gauzy, enigmatic quality of Kataskopia that I adore.

Henry Fuseli Mandrake root, apple blossom, dusty brown sandalwood, coconut milk, woodmusk, and soft leather. This is a contemplative scent, soft and dusty in a pleasant way. The first things I smell in the wet stage are the sandalwood and coconut milk. I love the uniqueness of this sandalwood note, which really sets itself apart form the too-dry sandalwoods and the sexy sandalwoods that often appear in Ars Amatoria and the Lupers. This one is unexpectedly comforting, like a furry blanket you've just discovered in the attic and now can't let go. There is an additional, earthier woodiness behind it, which I believe is the mandrake root, and a hint of very well-worn brown leather. The creamy coconut milk and gently floral apple blossom also wrap themselves around you like that furry blanket. It's something I would want to be wearing during a long rainy day, curled up on the sofa, oblivious to everything else except the book I'm reading.