Lycanthrope

Oh, my. I just snagged a 5 mL of Shub-Niggurath and a big bottle of Castitas. No patience for me! (Hah hah, Patienta... hah... ok, not that funny). But it's funny how all my gifts turn into BPAL/BPTP in the end. And technically, didn't pay a cent and still have about a buck left over to cover anything else I buy from the 'zon.

Mmm. This is a very woodsy, twiggy, campfire-y aroma. In fact, it smells like the favorite bits of Yankee Candle's Fireside candle, with a whiff of something yeasty (stout?). The leather, if present, is clean and not overpowering at all. There's a smattering of resin, but to me this is a woodsmoke, tasty aroma. Snuggly. It doesn't really amp up in my car, so this'll definitely be an atmosphere, at home kinda spray. I really really like it. *grabbypaws*

Hrm... Sage. I find that Moon of Small Spirits has a good sagebrush/sweetgrass note. Coyote does as well. The problem with both is that MoSS is rather slushy (not fruity, but perhaps 'floral') and Coyote does have a skin musk note. I would avoid Aeval, it's a very sweet scent, heavier on some sweet tonka and something... else... sweet pea? Or floral. I dunno.

I've already added a few things to my wishlist. I think my friends will be surprised at the prices though, I'm desensitized because it's WORTH IT! But they may go '8 ounces of oil for... 27 bucks?' And what is all this TKO business? I guess it's a good thing there's only part of the catalog up for sale, because if not, this gift cert I have from my friend would have melted very fast.

Goodness. This has a first fresh burst that reminds me of those box-gum 'Fusen' things you could buy at asian markets, little globs of gum that never lasted long, but always had a characteristic grape flavor. Then it deepens and smells like a very sparkly burgundy berry scent, with white sugar crystals. There's the deep 'dark bitterness' of currant definitely sniffable, but it's all kept very bubbly with the apples and pears, which lend an airy sugar to this without being too 'snappy' or overpoweringly fruit.

Whoa. This smells like an old, aged leather bar. Not ... er, that I've been in one, certainly not... But it has that whole rough-edged, smokey, sort of body scented aroma, but it's also very ... potent. I don't think I like my apartment smelling like this, because it's very, very strong, but it's actually very evocative of a saloon.

Yes! It is why I now have the practice of writing down all my pending Lab charges from any source, and then that helps me remember when I get the charges a few weeks later.

I was very excited for this fragrance as I love scents with grassy notes, and I'm also a big fan of Beth's snow/ice/slush scents. This is a good scent, one that I will enjoy wearing, and will keep a stash of (as I tend to). Wet and in the bottle it smells green without being overtly grassy, and there's a hint of dry brush grassiness. This isn't A Blade of Grass raging, rollicking verdant leaves, but this also isn't the hay absolute note of Hay Moon or Bezoar sharpitude. This reminds me a lot of a colder, less musky Coyote, with a very pleasant slushy snow note overlaid on top. There definitely is a softer pine here, it's not supremely sharp, and it plays together with the grasses to create a delicate, wistful winter scent. For me, this is a dry prairie without much snow at all, just a few smatterings, like a tundra. It's very pleasant! In the vein of yeahbutnobut: If you like Coyote and/or Talvikuu and were always curious to know what would happen if they were combined, this is a pretty good example. Minus musk.

Reminds me of Malkuth initially with all the plummy spiciness and a distinct 'maroon purple' vibe I get. There's a smattering of De Sade-like leather that tickles in the background but this is a masculine-appearing spicy splort of lilac plums. On me, after the spices have burned off it trends towards being lilac and amps up on that, which by no means is bad, but it's going less manly and more 'hidden tendencies towards wearing lilac perfume in the closet' is coming up. Spices have decreased. However! If you liked Malkuth, you will probably like Bensiabel. You'd also like him if you like lilacs, this is pretty good.

Caveat: I amp rose and turn amber occasionally into baby powder, depending on which kind it is. Ifrit / Sparrow / This Blend = powder. So... this goes completely and utterly to a powdery rose on me in no time flat, and then amps to the point where a tiny dot on the back of my hand is overwhelming a coworker or two. Initially on application there was a golden sparkle that was promising but my chemistry doesn't play well with this scent. Can't do.

Wet, this reminds me very much of the LEs Faue Boulanger and Moana, in that it has that wet, greeny splort of quasi-aquatic. Where those fragrances take a subtle turn towards both slight violet and seaweed, respectively, SwGEaFT (bllaaarh!) tends towards rindy, pulpy green fruits. Not quite honeydew, but with that same sort of squishy, aromatic essence. I'd say this falls in the line of fruity wet melony scent. I like it. If I ever run out of Moana or Faeu, this is where I'm turning next.

Interesting. This sparrow starts off very high pitched and sharp, there's mostly this strong cologne-y mishmash of initial non-seedy, floralness, that seems to settle towards a very bright, persistent amber with more powder than I usually prefer. As it dries down I'm getting more 'dryness' to the scent and can start to get a sense of the seedy, slightly grassy sedgy note, but there's still that very strong powdery amber that is over the entire aroma. Whoa, strong. The powder does not recede. This again remains chirpy and high pitched like a tiny flitty bird, but a no-go on me. I'm sure it'd be a hit on folks whose skin does not mutate amber occasionally into this bizarre perfume.

Used on the palms of my hands, I've been having horrible fortune on the roads in Chicago (being cut off, basically running into bad situations where it's tiny car vs. large buses and just bad, bad judgments all around. Plus snow). So I thought I'd see if I can increase my on-the-road fortune and used this with Crucible of Courage. On my palms, this is super pepperminty, like the essential oil, with as stated above a mild herbal aroma. Definitely as time passes, this goes towards cinnamon or cassia. Basically, this smells like the best toothpaste ever, in a good way. Mmm. The drydown is still quite potent, herby, cinnamony. No skin welts (yet) but cinnamon is unfriendly, I'll have to see if I get 'em. Today the weather sucks and I have to drive in the afternoon on a Chicago weekend. Let's see how much trouble I get into.

What? It's fizzy, a little different, peppy, and very headstrong. Like Alkaseltzers! Effervescent.

USPS says pakkit was delivered on 11/24. No such package at my doorpeople. Usually they're pretty good about getting the orange-taped packages to me. It's got stuff that is going to other folks other than me... when do ya think I should start to panic?

Brruuuh. Each time I put this on, my brain goes 'Estate Bath oil!" It's a slightly twingy peach pulp with a hint of vanilla-cream, but not overpoweringly so. Don't really get much neroli, but it sits together quite like L'Estate does when I drip it into the bathtub. No marked supergardenia to me, it's pretty tame, sweet, innocent. If you like Tamora or the Estate bath oil try this one.

Initially on this is the scent of cocoa, and old people. Kid you not, I have no idea, but there's this dry papery smell that I've come to associate with old folks. So, I can see the chocolate coins spilling out of grandma's hands. Thankfully with time this goes into a very pure, straight up cocoa absolute aroma. If you liked Boomslang but couldn't take the Snake Oil, go for Gelt. It's not too similar to things like Candy Butcher, though, it's fairly 100% cocoa single note. Which is awesome that the grandmas burn off after a few moments.

Seriously, I can't stop slathering this on myself. It's wonderful. Such an unassuming description but this blend is one huge winner from the recent Yule update. Initially it starts off quite cologney, almost like Irish Spring in that there's a fresh, grassy burst of aquatic mist, tickling at my nose a touch, but definitely dewy, swirly, light fog (not peasoup fog), over a base of that same pretty grass note as in A Blade of Grass but with less leaves and overt mowed lawn. Over time as the scent evolves it deepens just a bit and goes from a misty aquatic into a sweet, light misty apple. Fairy Apple. There, I said it. Yes. It's quite subtle, so not like SGA apple or Hesperides apple, but this is a pretty, misty, night-picnic with sliced apples aroma. ETA: In locket after 12 hrs this is a grand failure, probably because by the time I've worn it for 12 hours it's changed its balance. In my clocket, it kept amping the 'soapy note' and it was quite verdantly aquatic sharpitude in the AM, at the end of my night float shift. Oddly enough, on skin, it gets eaten real quick and that's why I got more apples before.

Mmm, this is grand. Also of note, this bottle came at a much lower 'default' fill level (like a good mm or two below the neck) - it's a somewhat denser, darker appearing oil in the bottle, dunno if I was the only one. Back to the fragrance. In the bottle and wet, it's a very strong, moist dirt note for sure, and I was concerned that Badger was going to be all dirt, all the time. On my skin, it's a sharp, mushroomy dirt like Graveyard Dirt / Death Cap, and there's a touch of these darker, streakier woods (definitely cherry - mahogany - dark, burly woods) swirling around underneath. The dirt on me definitely burns off quick and then this becomes a fairly strong, pungent in a good way, teakwood aroma. There's a very, very slight dryness to this which may be the cedar, but it's not leaping out and strangling me with HAI I'M CEDARWOOD PLZD TA MATCHA. It shares a similar but darker wood drydown to a compatriot scent, Mole, but I like this fuzzy critter better. ETA: This smells to me a lot like Aureus.

Echo above. This is not an aquatic, in the strictest marine/ozone sense of the word. This is soft, sweet, musky, and there's the spirit of ships in the background, but as the Sea Rat says ... this guy is a swinger who loves the coast! The buckthorn is what I'm assuming gives this the tiniest of fleshy berry punch, but for the most part this is a dashing rogue's musk, cuddly pirate. The dry down is sweeter, and I feel like it's creamy in that resin/amber way.

Strong herbs at first. Sharp, almost like a related scent Parentalia, except that the floral drydown on this beauty is quieter, more subtle, and smells like the most wonderful, rich, luxurious creamy European soap ever. I have no idea. I keep smelling my snuffbox (er... that little divet behind your thumb) where I placed this, and it's unmistakeably, singularly, uniquely beautiful. It's not jumping out as a single floral, but a definite united whole. I admit I'm one of those people who will go to Marshall's and embarrass myself as a grown man smelling boxes of fancy soaps as children look on quizzically. Now I have another outlet!

Oh my. I wasn't expecting this kind of smell, it's very much initially a lot like Christmas Rose, that sort of sweetish effervescent lemon-lime aroma, which does not to me pull out rain and dusty temple incense. As it dries down on my skin it starts actually smelling more like cola, as there is an undercurrent of something... spicy... but overall totally not what I was expecting. Not quieting or calming to me, it actually is a very perky scent. I dunno. It's definitely running its own niche with Religious Soda!

Reminds me a lot of Talvikuu - this is a much more piney, sappy, boughy aroma. I think there's a slightly different herbal background but my brain keeps thinking 'whee! Talvikuu!' I'm sure there are very subtle differences I'm not quite picking up. All in all, it's a true pine forest scent but not as dark or deep as Hex, it's a quieter winter where the revelry and ritual isn't swathed in darkness, bonfires, and madness.

"No." That's what I told Jack, when he came back to my door, this time dressed in fine green livery. "I told you, I'm not interested." He shuffled around a bit in his garish outfit... just a bit over the top - too green, too leafy, very sharp in more ways than one. But underneath that initially crisp outside appearance I knew that his pumpkiny, buttery oozy skin was lurking below. Even now I could see the diffuse orangeness seeping everywhere, and I could just tell nothing was going to be different this time. Impression: Very sharp citrus and an initial leafy mint that quickly fades, leaving the buttery strangeness of Jack-on-my-skin that I cannot escape. The combination of citrus (which does not play nicely with me) and pumpkin is not a good one for me! I've already passed off this would-be salesman to throw his pitch elsewhere.

I've always felt that Rosalind is very similar to the long-long-long discontinued scent Refreshing Garden Mint (which smelled nothing like mint, but hey, it was watery and green).