SophieCedar

Something about this scent makes me a bit feral. I think it's the hay and hemp combined with almond blossom? I really didn't expect to like this so much. Wet: a wonderful dizzying blast of sweet humid heat. That's the best I can equate it to! The hay and tree sap are dominant with sweet almond and rice milk and a poof of hemp behind it. Very rich, strong, sweet, dry golden hay, greenery, and moist air. I have the sudden urge to go running through the woods howling and foaming at the mouth. Fortunately for the neighbors and local law enforcement department it stays at urge instead of uncontrollable impulse. Whew. Drydown: I'm proud of myself that I can get this far without galloping out the door. *pats back* Ok the feral part finally subsides. The rice milk and hemp are hanging strong with sweet almond It's really bizarre because I don't particularly love Brood but I'm drawn to it and after it wears off, I'm searching for the smell on clothes, furniture, me... bizarre and a bit unnerving. Did they put pheromones in this?

I purchased this blindly because the notes looked like a win and the reviews basically said "win". Not disappointed. Wet: There's a big rush of girly musky mall-sweet vanilla floral. Memories.... Honestly, and I hate to admit it, I enjoy those scents to a certain extent. I mean, it makes me want an orange julius and some awkwardly tight jeans I'll never wear. Then the picture starts to break up, thankfully, as the smoke and leather become more prominent. A feeling of bittersweet anguish overwhelms me... ooooh fun! That's a wonderfully romantic feeling! No, it's not because I'm looking at the picture on the bottle. I'm typing. Drydown: musky, sweet florals and sharp alcoholic vanilla. Still some of that mall vanilla feeling but more sweet and woeful than anything. Where was this when I was in my late teens/ early 20's..?? torturing myself over not-so-sweet sweethearts, drama, and easily finding excuses to go out for a drink with friends? I'll wear this when I feel like wallowing in some wonderful, innocent self-pity. Yes!

Hmm. OK then I would go with Villian and Old Scratch. I see Old Scratch as basically Villian's cleaner brother. Bow & Crown would also be a great & safe work scent. From Carnivale Diabolique, I'd highly recommend Theodosius, The Ledgerman. This is like Dorian but slightly more complex and refined. I love the jasmine leaf and bergamont notes. It's soft and very well blended. Desc: Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean. I would also recommend Wulric (this is my husband's FAVORITE to wear) but it could be too foody for what you seem to be searching for? If you want something classic but a little smoky, try Gaueko. It's a lovely smoky lavender and sandalwood. Clean and classic but unique: Blackened sandalwood and misty lavender, with curling wisps of smoky tobacco, nag champa, and labdanum. A couple in Steamworks: Galvanic Goggles has a clean tobacco flower with metallic notes. Really interesting and a great unusual spin for a masculine scent. No. 93 engine I think of as golden saffron, hyssop, beeswax, and golden metallic notes. I'd also recommend Byronic Antihero: a Victorian fougère and a dashing carnation boutonnière tainted by a cloud of khus, yew, and patchouli. You might be able to find this LE on the forum. I think of it as a smoky carnation with fougere. It's both clean and smoky (is that possible? hahah) Hope that helps!

Uhm.. Hmm. Good question! 1st that came to mind for a masculine floral is Highwayman. I can't really say it's a clean floral though. Mainly gardenia and a but of rose. There's also the usual suspects: Villian, Whitechapel, and Old Scratch(lavender fougere) and Bow & Crown of Conquest (carnation and leather). You say you want clean, so I'll try to pick from my favorites the ones that are as clean & masculine as possible! L'Ecole des Filles: orange blossom, ambergris, orris root, white rose, lemon balm, jonquil, carrot seed, and benzoin. Vicomte de Valmont: ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary. Lysander: (I love this one!)Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin. Himerus: (this comes across as a golden smell) juniper, sandalwood, rosewood, red musk, orchid, bergamot and lilac The Sluggard: Pious frankincense, angelic gardenia, unsoiled pear, and staunch ho wood conflict with prickly, overgrown thistle, idle labdanum, and lethargic lavender. Bensiabel: Plum juice, lilac, leather, and a smattering of herbs. Veritas: frankincense, white carnation, angelica, chamomile, and heliotrope.

OK so Kvass? Sounds strange making a mixed drink using rye bread, but hey. This smells great. I guess I need to keep in mind that some form of coarse grain or gruel was traditionally used in lots of alcoholic drinks... Wet: the honey drizzled bread and berries pop out with a dark syrupy wine hanging around the background. The roasted meats note freaked me out when I 1st read about this one..and made me curious. Now that I have this on, I notice it shows up as a golden roasted smoky smell, not like Drink Me, where you can smell beef right off. Drydown: smells like a mulled wine, as the honey burns off. The roasted meats note is fortunately still not freaking me out...really interesting scent. Golden, brown, dark red, glistening, and sweet. But, this will have to be a special occasion scent, instead of an everyday.

Hi! Gardenia is my favorite smell as well. These are the ones I've liked the most. Gaoler's Daughter: even though this is an LE and made a few years ago, this is my favorite gardenia scent. It pops up on the sales page occasionally. The Lady of Shallot: strongest gardenia I've found but there is an aquatic that sticks out on my skin. Euphrosyne: I loved this way more than I thought I would! Tea rose is not my friend but this turned out to be a sweet gardenia floral blend. This one makes me really happy! Highwayman is a ballsy scent (vetivert!) but has a prominent warm gardenia. Tavern of Hell: slightly competitive with the tobacco flower but totally there! White gardenia is a little cleaner and dry of course, but still there. Tis the Voice of the Lobster: throwing this in there for the hell of it.. this is mostly blackberry and watermelon on my skin however I was really surprised how much I could smell the gardenia through the fruit! Regarding Eternal: I found the other green florals overpowered the gardenia on my skin. Best of luck!!

This is exactly as described, on my skin. The golden musk is amping a bit more, so this smells like vanilla herbal grass with a bright touch of neroli. Pretty frikkin awesome..especially in the morning. I feel so plucky that I could clean the whole house.. but belgian waffles and smelling the flowers outside win instead.

OK this one was absolute love, as soon as I tested it. Wet: ooh! Perversion with porter instead of chardonnay and slightly browner! YES! No real man cologne hints, just warm buttery leather, magnetic wonderful tonka, and porter. Drydown: the woods dusting helps keep this from turning mushy..or something nauseating that started out sexy but you wore it on a bender night and never want to smell it again.. Nope..not either of those~! This is warm, aromatic, sexy, permeating, prominent but understated..is that possible? Rarely, but pulls it off. It's awesome. Totally getting a bottle.

Argh..internet connection! Love when I loose my review to the internet black hole! Wet: MANGO! and juicy crushed red tomatoes. Smells like a passionfruit pomegranate something something from a drugstore bodywash that my friends used to have. It always hit me in the face when I walked in their house..but I liked it. Drydown: I can smell more red musk here now that the fruits are done bouncing around. I initially wanted a bottle when I 1st tested it..I want one again.

Thanks, lab! Wet: the palmarosa is very perfumy and green.. reminds me a bit of some origins products. They use lemongrass or something? This is far less overpowering than Origins though. The red sandalwood is warm, glowing and a nice balancer. Surprisingly enough the attar of rose isn't annoying my nostrils. This is just warm, deep, sweet, floral. There's a breath of patchouli in the background giving it a nice base note. drydown: overall, its sweet sandalwood, light green notes, buoyant palmarosa, sweet patchouli similar to the mix of Imp or Fae. I like it! More sugary on me than I expected, but then again, its morning-time..my skin always smells like Midnight on the Midway after a good sleep.

The Native American Creator / Trickster God of Chaos and Change. The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk. Wet: warm amber and fuzzy brown musk with a slight incense smell.. copal? There's a mens cologne note in the background..something like white musk and citrus but I think that's supposed to be the grasses. drydown: still plenty of warm musk and amber. The grasses turn citrusy and sweet. Not bad! The doeskin part is pretty cool but I can't help being freaked out and reassuring myself that it's not real doeskin and if it was it's definitely still attached to a living animal, in theory. (repeat 10 times)

Wet: this phase is not favorable for me.. a quick blast of skin musk then very tart quince mandarin and cognac. The combination smells like acidic b.o. I can see the association with salty sweet dried plums drydown: About 5 minutes into it, the b.o. smell passes and it's lovely. The honey and vanilla are dominant now with light juicy quince pear, warm golden tobacco, and wafts of beguiling cognac. It stays this way for quite a while! Whew..because I bought a bottle blindly.

So, I thought this would be the end all best match for me when shungas appeared this year.. however I completely surprised myself by falling in love with some on the opposite side of the spectrum... Wet: wet peach, magnolia, very wet pink musk, slight rose geranium, red currant is juicy here. No acidicy, which is nice. Everything is well blended and smooth but strong. Very crimson and pink..accurate depiction. Drydown: the peach burns off somewhat..turning more peach blossomy and there's a slightly dry red currant with rose geranium and magnolia. The pink musk has turned to soft pink sugar. Nice and I would have been obsessed if I hadn't already pursued a ton of peach scents..gaoler's daughter is still my favorite, however this is a lovely brazen red peach. I can see this heightening a perfect humid afternoon moment this summer.

Hmm.. I don't get grapes so much..more just a slight boozy note when it's wet. Cream note throughout, water lily, oh wait..grapes slightly when dry. Light herbal background but I can't tell what it is..may actually be high john root?

This was love on 1st sniff.. I had this on my wishlist for a long time and received a frimp. Wet: sweet dragons blood, vanilla, and lilac. Warm and surrounding. I don't get any powderiness and the lilac isn't overpowering (though lilac does not offend my senses by any means..I love it actually). Drydown: some of the warm vanilla feel burns off and the blend gets redder, but not by much. The lilac turns slightly green too, but not 100% noticable if I wasn't huffing my wrist every 2 seconds... this is a great spring + summer blend! I love it and looking for a bottle. I would say try it of you like dragons milk, eros, follow me boy, or dragons blood straight up.

Not sure what your scent preferences are, but purely going on the outfit: I would vote Romanti.goth (for sure!), Black Dahlia, Hunger, Sin, or Perversion for a heavier scent. Lighter ones, I would pick La Petit Mort, Morgause, Medea (in small amounts this is brilliant), or Eros. Ooh wait..! Infernal Lover too!

Wet: wet whip leather with cardamom. I was hoping for more patchouli and bourbon here. Still a lovely leather scent. Warm and slightly foodie..leather. 2nd application offers more patchouli and bourbon, so more balanced now. drydown: warm foodie leather still. The cardamom smells similar to the cinnamon used in chimera on me. Actually, now that I think about it and smell again, this does smell like chimera with leather on me! Yum!

Wet: promising.. sweet fresh leather, crushed grass, a touch of mud, and sweet lemon. drydown: uh oh.. Sangre de grado is also known as dragon's blood..but dragon's blood usually does wonderously well on me. It's the only note that I can figure would be going wonky..? Could also be the mud throwing things out of proportion. Ok now it smells a little like a pet store or a dentist's office. My nose needs a break from this one. I've apparently asked too much of it today. I few minutes later, I get mostly leather and a bit of mud and grass..no lemon candy. Not bad, but not for me.

wet: starts out strong bluberry cream and pie crust with sweet lemon meringue. Very foody. Trying not to eat my arm. drydown: this starts quickly. The hemlock joins the lemon meringue for a second..lemon meringue gives the hemlock an icy stare.. hemlock recedes to a corner, quietly. Reminds me of a sweet weenie at 1st..boo or ghoulish or gollettes. Then it strikes up momentum and turns sexy cocktail.. like the kind I wish existed in real life..maybe a lemon blueberry vanilla flip made with real essences and fruit pulps *drool*. I think the hemlock is giving it the real fruit, not candy, impression. It goes a little luau lounge on me, but in a much more seductive, tasty give-me-another, vanilla girl-get-drunk drink way. Awesome. This one will be a blast in the summertime.

Oh nice! I've been so delighted with this one that I purchased 2 bottles and have been bouncing around happily in the morning wearing it on a regular basis..yet I haven't reviewed it yet. What a great thing to do on a rainy spring morning. Wet: sweet honey, vibrant lemongrass, sweet ginger, delicious black tea and cream (I think the cream idea is coming from the grains). This scent frequently makes me do a little spastic plucky jump (think Mr. Bean or an overactive kitten). It's very well blended. I think to a different nose this could smell like Crib Girls or froot loops...fortunately, that's not happening to me. Drydown: sweet honey, grains, black tea, and slight lemongrass. Color impression is a creamy golden yellow and orange. I love it.

My most favorite sweet opium is definitely Romanti.Goth. This is very sweet dark opium with plum and lots of dark musk. Seconds are in order kubla khan (gorgeous), belle epoque, and event horizon.

Wet: *boom!* ambergris. Then warm honeyed skin musk with tobacco, hay, light rose, and stronger than expected bourbon vanilla. This smelled so distinctly of ambergris that I really thought it was the 1st ingredient. It starts to mellow into a warmer honeyed skin musk and hay, with dry golden tobacco. Slight top note of lavender that gives it a gentle relaxing feel. It's still definitely bopping around my nasal cavity, in the same manner as ambergris. The rest flows and washes over me. Strange perception! Drydown: still ambergrisy and still prevelant skin musk, smoking pipe tobacco, warm golden honey, and rose. I like it very much but need a little more time to come to a conclusion. ETA: ok this is one bizarre scent and I like it overall.. I woke up the next morning and the tank top I was wearing smelled of honeyed skin musk, amber with a slight ambergris pungency (not bad..just meaty with a rosey top note). Blonde for sure, bold yes, strong!, everlasting to a goth scent extent. I have a bad feeling that I'll be falling in love with this later, when it'll be harder to find a bottle. This has a very confusing, intriguing quality that makes it very memorable for me. Leaves one of the strongest lasting impressions out of many many bpal scents I've tried.

I bought a bottle of this right off... When I 1st tried it a month ago, it smelled heavily of mango and spun sugar with freesia and coconut lurking around the corners, occasionally popping into the middle. I was confused and disappointed because I was hoping for a more balanced scent with stronger rose, cucumber, freesia, and lavender. I'm glad I tucked it away and waited for a warmer day.. I figured this would seem much more appealing outside of the cold winter months. Yes~! Wet: now I get more apple blossom, white rose, and mango. The spun sugar is a haze that surrounds it. Drydown: sharp tinges of cucumber and lavender over sugared rose and mango. The coconut fills the back of my nasal cavity and hangs out for an extended time. The freesia is sweet, slightly acidic in combination with everything else..wonder if it's conflicting with the lavender. Overall, very girly, youthful, more balanced this time. I'll continue to hang onto it and try when the thermometer hits 70.. this could be brilliant then.

Whoa! Thanks trading post!! Wet: spicy sweet chocolate glazed maple cakes with something floral..not piney. Maybe a slight touch of juniper? I might be crazy. Drysown: sweet and planty floral.. I swear. Like cockaigne with chocolate and a bit of juniper. The floral could be my skin, but this is great on me.

Wet: oooh the lab has got my number..(thanks!!) This has all my favorite heavy hitters: black amber, dragons blood, jasmine sambac (melati), and currant. This could be quite aged so the mandarin and rose geranium have lost a bit of sharpness. drydown: I smell more mandaring here? Strange! It's still warm, volatile for sure, and energizing. I love it.