Lycanthrope

On a ship at sea: a tempestuous noise.

 An electric blackberry violet tossed with seaspray. This is extremely juicy and fruity. A salty kind of lime-yellow citrus bright, bubbly blackberry, with a hint of that salt and sea note. I don't get very much violet It's very youthful, and very potent. Does read as neon, but definitely less floral than I thought it would be! Going to give it some wears. It's summery, brash, and quite loud.

I was hoping for the violet ice cream above, but I don't get too much of that, just very dusty orris (like Staged Moon landing?) The lily of the valley adds a distinctively pompous white floral, but it's a bit of a sour/sweet one (as lily of the valley is). The vanilla cream on me is not too foody, but this turns out to be more of a dry, powdery dusting powder on me instead of violet ice cream. Hope springs eternal and I'll wait for that someday, but this is still ok. I don't think I'm as head over heels as I hoped I'd be.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Olibanum, labdanum, spikenard, cade, cardamom pod, and olive blossom. Super light and airy wet from the bottle. On skin, it's a very wonderful topnote of frankincense (olibanum), with a bit of creaminess and thrummy warm gumminess of labdanum. The olive blossom reminds me of Succor (I love(d) that blend!). The spikenard/cade/cardamom add a little herbal spiciness to the resins and it ends up feeling very comforting, supportive... for me those resins send up meditation vibes. It's still very light, not too 'churchy,' though as it dries down sparkles of the frankincense resin predominate. Cardamom is nice but not too powerful, as it can be, just a kiss. Wonderful!

A verdant grove of evergreens, the promise of peace, quiet, and refuge within the heart of Nature’s embrace: clusters of clubmoss huddle silently under a gently shadowed canopy of silver fir, blue spruce, red cedar, cypress, and live oak. Another earthy offering from the Empress! From the bottle, this is more fir-heavy, but is a swirl of mostly coniferous, sappy evergreens, but backed up with a touch of oaky woods. The cedar and cypress are trying to peek through. Dabbed on the skin, whoa, whoa nelly, oh, man, I am Become Conifer! STAND ASIDE, YOU ANGIOSPERMS FOR WE ARE THE STUBBIER, SCRAGGLIER PIONEERS TO CONSERVE WATER WE DEVELOPED THICK NEEDLES (WHICH REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT SUN EXPOSURE) IN MOST FOREST ECOSYSTEMS WE PROMULGATE FIRST THEN YOU FROO FROO BROAD LEAFED WHIPPERSNAPPERS COME IN AND OVERSHADOW US KILLING OUR TINY IMMOBILE SAPLINGS ...BUT WE LIKE CLEARINGS AND GROW IN COPSES WHEN ONE OF YOU FALLS SO WATCH YOUR BACK! GYMNOSPERM PRIDE FIE, FIE YOU OAK BEWARE NEEDLES IN YOUR BA®K! In more fragrance related news from that odd divergence: This is a HUGE blast of needly green things. It's on me almost a bit much and reads almost as Single Note: Holiday Christmas Tree to me. It's very natural, just strong, and even for its strong opener, it actually fades pretty fast on me. This is common when I'm wearing any 'evergreen' note. With about half an hour, it's a whisper of mostly a bit of dry fir, and some cedar warmth, but beyond that, not too much else comes roaring to the surface. If you're a big fan of evergreens, don't pass this one up, it's an experience, true, but at least on me died down pretty quick.

The flow of inspiration and passion, intuition put into action. The stream flows from the heart of the Empress’ Forest into the verdant fields at her feet. Sakura blossoms, neroli, and peach blossom cascading into a pool of white frankincense and hiba cedarwood. This sounds like an amazing Shunga Salon-type blend. I had to try it for the sakura and hiba cedarwood alone! Sniff from bottle is ... confusing. It's very subtle, light, at first, but then I think it's trying to be topnote of neroli, a hint of frankincense resin, and then I get a background of warm peachy peach. A hint of honey sweet that then turns a little syrupy, I think of crystal clear simple syrup. No idea why. Wet, it's... cedar? But like hinoki type, clear, not too woodsy, oh, and there's the spicy cream of cherry blossom. There's a bit of a swell of orange-blossom candy neroli and peach roiling together in the first few minutes, and I'm reminded of fruit candies, like some kind of exotic floral candy (There's actually an old-school Japanese candy called 'Flower's Kiss,' which has inexplicably pictures of flowers all over the wrappers but is in actuality an apricot hard candy... I used to have these a lot as a kid, and couldn't place the flavor - what a naive non-BPAL person I was! Apricots!). This does remain fairly sweet, and light, on my hand. With a bit of time, I can start to get more of the slightly sharp cedarwood - japanese cedar? Or something... It's definitely taking this a bit away from pure candy and sweetness. It still remains pretty strong on the peach/peach blossom, with the sakura and cedarwood giving a distinctively Japanese-style Salon flair. I'm not getting frankincense as a dominant scent, but it must be doing something to unify everything and ground these lighter notes, like a background glow.

A whisper of names: Nandi, Dido, Clytemnestra, Hatshepsut, Merneith, Olga of Kiev, Boudicca, Urraca the Reckless, Makeda, Sasaban, Semiramis, Rabodoandrianampoinimerina, Theodora, Julia Agrippina, Wu Zeitan, Irene Sarantapechaina, Elizabeth. She is every queen that has ever walked on this Earth, and every queen that shall come. She rules the past, the present, and the future; she is the archetypical sovereign, the amalgamation of feminine power – dark and light – throughout all of mankind’s history. White gardenia and tuberose with ambergris accord, vegetal vanilla musk, bourbon vanilla, and amber incense. From the bottle whiff: High pitched, bright, clarion call creamy gardenia petals. A bit of sweetness, but without too much foodiness. Waxy, but waxy like buttercream frosting, not candles. Wet, the gardenia is joined by tuberose, and the two make for a distinctively LOUD opener. Heady, sensual, yes, but very tropical and extremely white floral! There's a more floral vanilla attempting to bring down the florals over the first 10-15 minutes, a little tickle of cream at the edges of the floral bouquet. I'm sniffing around, it's getting... somehow, smoother? The initial very potent tropical blast is starting to calm down into a very interesting combination of scents. I'm getting a little bit of a salty, smoky amber, but just a hint. Like an extinguished vanilla incense stick. I think I'm actually getting a kiss of white musk, but again not dominating. Over time, this has a bit of a 'gauzy' overtone with the florals amazingly draped over but not dominating the central notes of the blend, which strike me as being a very inoffensive, well-blended melange of subtle incense, a white or light amber, and a mysterious vanilla that grounds this, without making it dessert-y. Over time, the tuberose starts to be stronger than the gardenia, but that could just be my skin... as it does that to tuberose. Glittery diaphanous gauze over a polished ivory marble stone, strewn with ripped tuberose petals.

The personification of nature itself: patchouli and clary sage with a host of dark mosses and lichens, wild grasses, warm acorns, dammar, burgundy pitch, pine needles, mandrake root, hay absolute, and sweet vetiver. From the bottle whiff, I get immediately a pine scent, with a swirl of very verdant, wet and sappy greenery. Not foreboding, but definitely a lot going on. The image I get is a glossy mix of obsidian and emerald. There's a bit of a 'Tramp' feel from this, for you LUSHies. Immediately on the skin it's patchouli and pine, both vying for attention. Around this vacillation between airy, clear and klaxon pine, patchouli grumbles and gives everything a loamy, soily feel. I'm now getting the hay, which is of a slightly damp persuasion. This is all forest, a coniferous one. Not too heavy on the soil and dirt notes, although there is the patchouli, but what makes it so foresty is the combination of all the subtle, woodsy/oak, gummy, rooty scents. The moss and lichen does add a bit of an ashy/rocky feel to it. As time passes, this actually gets a touch drier, more of a solid wood, with pine needles gracing it but not dominating. It settles on me into a very smooth, non-cacophonous 'forest.' Although this isn't a dead ringer for the sadly discontinued LUSH Tramp, it has the similar feel of moss, patchouli, and nymphlike greenery. I like it! I think one bottle is enough for me since this is very environmental. Lovers of Black Forest or similar aromas, please try this!

The Red King and White Queen, sulfur and mercury, Rubedo and Albedo. The unification of opposites, putrefaction and individuation, the culmination of the Great Work. ὁδὸς ἄνω κάτω μία καὶ ὡυτή: red and white musks alight with frankincense, white oudh, sweet labdanum, and saffron. The way up and the way down are one and the same. Wet, this is a spicy, warm frankincense with a bit of a gummy, resinous sweetness from the labdanum. It's definitely very magical smelling, like the curl of a smoldering frankincense tear. The saffron is providing a bit of a dry pepperiness in the background. I think the oudh and red musk are making this a bit more 'warm' in tone, but strangely it's not super 'oriental,' and in fact remains very crisp and clear. None of the resins are 'gummy' per se. The musks are smooth and straightforward, and I think the white musk makes this have a bit of a chillier, bright tone. It's very nice, very magical.

The unknown factor, the outsider entering your town uninvited, unannounced, and unknown: a narcotic black chypre with crushed violets, indigo lilac, patchouli, oakmoss absolute, labdanum, and clove. Super intrigued! Wet, it smells very cold, almost like a splinter of blue-black dark. I bet there are some opium notes in this because I get that soporific swell in some of the poppy-containing blends. Labdanum is one of those notes I love, but also jumps out on me, and the poppy-black-musk opening becomes gummy with warmth on my skin and lets out a spicy-sweet cloud of labdanum, made gritty and husky with the patchouli. This is really, really heavy and basically is prowling off my skin. Interestingly, it isn't until at least 15 minutes later, that I can get a bit of the oakmoss/lilac/violets. These are not whomp you on the head florals or greens... a tangle or dark crown or wreath of gray-green foliage scattered with dark, subtle petals, but still a menacing arrangement, lurking in the shadows. I like this, but it is farrrrrr to dark for this bright violet-wearing metal-aquatic werewolf. Still, this is super dark, moody, sexy. Complicated and layered. Even with the florals, I think this is unisex and may even transform based on who's wearing it... again on me, a guy, it's an unconventional, dark musky in tone with bruised purple florals lurking but not showy in the background.

Divine ecstasy and divine madness. Ambivalence and absolute faith. Frankincense and lemon peel drifting on a cloud of lemongrass, white coconut, sandalwood, and vanilla absolute. In the bottle, this is surprisingly less citrus than I would have guessed from the notes. It's mostly a whiff of a lemon kiss gliding over the meat of a coconut. The lemon like notes then veer more towards lemongrass, but it's subtle and not super sharp, as that note can be. With a little more time and heat from my skin, the coconut becomes more apparent, deepening, and then kissed and brushed with dusty medium brown sandalwood (a sweet, not super sharp, but just thrummy enough woodsiness to ground the higher notes)... and there's a bit of gourmand from the vanilla. Certainly not truly foody, but having elements of both the resinous citrus and yet creamy spice variety. With even more time, the lemon notes deepen and I can swear that the spritz of a lemon rind is now more apparent. On me, the scent does become quite subtle, and mostly a tasty buttery lemon-coconut.

There was one born, in times of old, with wondrous might endowed, of origin divine: nine Jötun maids gave birth, to the gracious god, at the world’s margin. Giâlp gave him birth, Greip gave him birth, Eistla gave him birth, and Angeia; Ulfrûn gave him birth, and Eyrgiafa, Imd and Atla, and Jârnsaxa. The boy was nourished with the strength of the earth, with the ice-cold sea, and with Sôn’s blood. “The One With the Iron Knife”, she is one of the nine sisters who gave birth to the god Heimdallr and, by some accounts, the mother of Magni. Her scent is that of ice floes and frozen mountainsides, white juniper crushed under the bare feet of a jötunn. I'm questing a lot in Stormheim in World of Warcraft... so this scent spoke to me as a Valarjar / Questing type of scent! Wet, this is a very cool, ozonic scent. Kind of murky deep cobalt blue, not very 'snow/slush' as I would expect initially. On me, I get an immediate lift of eucalyptus and spearmint together, all kind of sitting on a bunch of fir and dark spruce. I think there's a tiny touch of rock in this, because it's got a bit of grit. I can get the juniper as well, that's probably what I'm interpreting as a melange of coniferous scents. As it dries it definitely veers quickly into the conifer territory, mostly a mixed northern forest with a hint of cool from the breeze of mint and ice. It has very low throw on me, but I can get whiffs as I type. Get this if you love Beth's interpretation of forests, this is definitely a chilly, borean one.

Blue lilac, white sage, orris root, sweet pea, a smear of crushed blueberry, and tobacco leaf. Very lilac when wet. A beautiful, light and sweet lilac. There's a hint of fruitiness. This reminds me of Blue Flasher, with its slightly berry floral. The blueberry is not terribly potent, though. A hint of squishy blue juice! There's a streak of brown-gray smoke, the tobacco adding a little darkness and depth. I can also smell a bit of a powdery sparkle, clay-like, but lighter. Must be the sage and orris! I think there are kisses of sweet pea dancing about as well. This is very complicated. Lilac lovers should try this. And if you liked Blue Flasher, you should definitely give this bolster a whirl.

This is like a less piney version of Snow Bunny with a decidedly asian floral bent. That being said I agree with the above, the wisteria is subtle. I would say, most of the wisteria this 2018 Lupercalia season has been very subtle! I do like the piney snow note, and this is kissed with a little plum-fruit / blossom and is snow fused with the cherry blossom note. Over a bit of time, the cherry blossom 'fleshiness' becomes a bit more apparent. I think there's a tiny bit of the sour-ish wisteria peeking around but it's quiet and mostly covered up by the snow accord. Gonna have to give this one a few wears.

I am reminded of how the air around a Strawberry Pocky frosted stick smells. Or that kiss of vanilla-cream-strawberry flavor that you smell/taste when you're chomping on them. Oh bother. Now I'm hungry. This is really good. Subdued, like strawberry puree folded into buttery frosting.

This is a whole bunch of bright, smooth and sweet white/golden waxy flowers planted in a bower made of carved, blonde-colored woods. It is extremely elegant and smooth. The florals blend together wonderfully without becoming too 'old-fashioned' or excessively lush. It's restrained, complicated, and very, very coherent. It just smells ... grand, and good.