Lycanthrope

I have no idea what I'm really supposed to be, but I was born a Leo (although I was six or so weeks premature, so I think I was supposed to be a Virgo - though I tried that one and it was decidedly Not Me and I ended up frottling the thing to my friend, a true Virgo, who adores how fieldy and fresh it is. But I digress.) This is a beautiful bottle, with a ferocious lion reared up and pawin' on the front, done in a beautiful graphic design style. Sniffing from the bottle, the note is decidedly woodsy, and reminds me very much of that initial sweet nutmeat scent I got from Cerberus, a kind of sticky sweet. Wet on me it's initially still very light, and now I've dabbed it around on my knuckle some with my fingers. The scent immediately richens, the color I get is a definitely russet-brownish gold, and this is now exotic musk, spicy, not quite as sweet as The Lion but complex and sparkling, gilded with gold. The components of the blend meld together very smoothly, and I think what is giving me the sweetness is the frankincense, as it adds a swirly white smoke element to the ambery base. Over time it dries down to a peaceful, skin scent, light against the skin. This I'd classify more as 'personal perfume experience' rather than something I'd wear to attract attention to myself or as a perfume perfume. Gold kitty, yes, my very own gold kitty. I think it complements me well, as truly deep down I have a diva cat, although I'm quiet and unassuming on the outside (save the cloud of perfume). Like described upthread quite nicely as a 'Leo Child' developing over time, the scent starts off simply, sweetly, and as it dries the components make themselves known without any of them dominating. If our true astrologic signs were defined by BPAL, I'm most certainly a Leo fan moreso than a Virgo. So perhaps I really am a lion. Mew? No, ROAR!!!

Anyone have any problems getting sensitized to Balsam of Peru? I was just dabbing on and rereviewing the notes in A Farewell to False Love and noted it was listed as an ingredient. Regarding allergic contact dermatitis and common sensitizers, Balsam of Peru is among the top 10 offenders for new ACD (along with nickel... which I doubt is in perfume). Mostly just to sate my curiosity. I'll weigh in that something in Bengal and Arachnina gives me the burny skin something fierce, and I can't figure out what it is.

I wore this once after I got the pumpkin patch but I think I had too many of those on, and didn't give it a fair trial. The imp is very cute, with stylized cartoon crows sitting on pumpkins being all 'lolrawr, we be crowzzzz.' Oil color tends towards light blonde straw. Wet this is a very light, rooty aroma, definitely a touch violet almost, or that could be the iris/orris, earthier floral playing tricks on me. As I let it dry it transitions from that moist rootiness towards squishy, wet, velvety petals. Oh, and there's the resin, gummy, sweet, kind of snappy, it really does remind me of benzoin or copal. This reminds me of The Raven, in that similar deep glossy wing feel, but Murder of Crows has more of a floral, less violaceous tone to it. I thankfully do not get too much verbena, as lemons/verbenas tend to go crazy on my skin. The drydown is more amber than the initial iris, although I can still get that purply petal feel on top of it. A win, but I'll enjoy my imp.

Now how the heck did I of all forumites not review this? I have two bottles, mostly motivated by the fact this buddy's a werewolf. Even so, unlike other lycanthropic blends Beth's pulled from her magic cloak, Wulric really does strike me as friendly, soft and sweet. Initially on me the notes I pull are an immediate tie between lavender and deep cocoa absolute. The smokier essences, vetiver/birch tar do not really seem to pull forwards, perhaps the bourbon vetiver is a different, less smokey and bitter type? There is a definite richness under the entire blend which may be a combination of the vanilla, musk and cistus. Clary sage is said to have soothing properties and I was scanning for its sharper, brighter floral notes but also could not find them. Overall Wulric is a sweet, deep gooey chocolate aroma with the slightly spiky ouevre of crushed lavender. Do not be scared by the vetiver, it doesn't dominate.

Hmm... cooler full of BPAL. As opposed to alcoholic drinks. The fratboys who find my cooler will be sorely disappointed, unless they're 'family.'

Is it too premature to start worrying about moving my sizeable stash in one year from now? I'm going from IL to CO, likely in my hatchback (2B!) and while I'd love to make sure everything is absolutely safe, I shouldn't sacrifice space for necessities in my car for, say, perfoom. I'm also concerned that I'll be traveling in late May in the middle of the country, where it could get warm - boiled BPAL is likely Not a Good Thing. I was thinking of getting lots of bubble wrap and boxes from Uline before I go, but I don't know if I even have too much stuff to require using 25 boxes . Mostly dry medical textbooks, a computer, and way too many smelly things. In addition to the topic of security, they totally are random. One time they took my toothpaste, LUSH face cream, and sunblock (you do not take a future dermatologist's sunblock!!!), not because of size restrictions, but because I decided to use my opaque Aveda bag instead of the ziplock baggies they want you to use. That would have been nice to know, say, going into the line, and, well, providing said bags for customers instead of nabbing your stuff at the check-in. I did lose some replaceable imps, and The Lion survived by wedging into the very corner of my bag under the seam line. Cowardly The Lion ftw. I've traveled with checked imps in my luggage fine, in a chocolate mint altoids tin. They escaped during one trip, though, luckily no breakage, but I'm still looking for one or two of my Salon decants. I HATE TRAVEL.

Bottle: Caramel vanilla. Wet: Buttery, rich vanilla, gourmand (not floral). Drying: Turning even more buttery, if that's possible. This phase rocks! This scent is very richly caramel and sticky, almost toffee-like. It reminds me a lot of Shill but with less pure butter. This is more scorched sugar, like caramel. Dry: It's pretty much sitting at the single note Caramel stage for me. I'm not getting a great deal of peanut, which is all for the best I suppose. No other nutty notes. This has really captured that whole brittle butter scent, which is that 'back of the throat' salt taste. The caramel rises up but it's not burnt, it's laden with sugar, which gives it that extra kick. 10 m: Is that a little nutmeat I detect? *snorf* Maybe. Still wonderful toffee-caramel. Overall: OMG, if this were GC. Thank you Ma Shub! ETA: Man, now I have to get some Garrett's popcorn. NOM NOM NOM - NOM NOM NOM *nibbles back of hand*

Sparkly, is what I get. Very almond-y, that fizzy/cyanide-y topnote. The lime and cherry make this smell very close to a cherry cola. Dries down to a faint, slightly sugary almond after-aroma. It's nice. I dunno if I'll get another bottle though. Very light.

Hm. Interesting, verrry interesting. This has similarities to Kingsport, but mostly in the drydown. From the imp it's an airy, misty, bubbly ocean aroma with definite sweet flower (that would be the awapuhi). None of the real seaweed scent of Windward Passage. It's not as aquatic as I thought it would be, but it has an almost translucent, ethereal quality to it that still says 'bright tropical sea!' as opposed to Kingsport's 'gray Atlantic seaboard' aroma. My sniffer must be off because I really don't get any seaweed from this. I'd say... pleasant white tropical flower and sea spray, no lemons, no lemongrass. I do like it. I'm not sure I will invest in another bottle but it's pleasant.

Am I crazy? For this smells of pine, apples, and seven-up. Dries down to nearly nothing on my skin but a whisper of something sharp, an ozone remnant. Have you tried Villainess's Frostbite soap? 'cause this is similar.

Here's my brief two thoughts on this scent, as I managed to hit it right desc-wise on the LUSH forums: Initially it's burnt sugar with some kinda dark fruits, blueberries or blackberries, and eventually it dries down to something akin to a sweeter, deep fruit leather.

Athens smells to me like the honey syrup I make while making baklava (cinnamon, orange zest, rosewater, water and honey)... I say Bengal reminds me of it because it's a spicy dough foody scent.

I may or may not have KO'd a guy next to me (he moved) wearing Love's Philosophy that reactivated with cardio. Oops.

It's so... seaweed! The vial almost made me go arrrrrr in a different sort of way, because I could really smell the wet-rotty-squishiness of the seaweed, but the drydown is marvelously aquatic and it makes me want to swash some buckles and yo ho a few bottles of rum. It also brings to mind the New England coast, so that's very nice. I wish I lived by a real ocean, and not a gigantic lake, heh heh.

So, echoing what people have said about this being woodsmoke and charred logs. I haven't written a review for a while as I'm usually overwhelmed with scents that I have come out of hiding to remark on what is truly, really, very accurately one of the weirdest, quirkiest and most non-Lycanthrope-wearable and not-sure-to-use-as-room-scent aromas I've experienced this year. It's a brief description, but each element is there. Brimstone to me is powerful smoke + vetiver + cinnamon. Inferno was tons of cinnamon and smoke. Djinn? Myrrh + smoke. Agnes makes me think of: 1) Black peppery, crackled air after a gunshot. It smells warm, your body is tingling from the discharge, you're not sure if you can relax. 2) You've doused the campfire. Because you're weird like me, you sniff the burnt logs. They smell like Agnes Nutter. 3) See 2, except you were silly enough to sniff too early, you got a snootful of wet smoke. You cough. It pervades. Cough. Ow, my lungs, they burn with hydrocarbons. 4) After a few very disconcerting minutes of wearing Agnes and going 'Whoa...' it dries a bit down to something like Bed of Nails. Sharp, metallic. Tangy. I don't know, on me, this sort of metal-aquatic always smells clean. The 1-3 elements do make it seem dirtier though. Agnes is sitting on my shelf next to Aziraphale and the two could not be more opposite, I want to slather Aziraphale and I'm not sure I want to wear nor diffuse Agnes, as I think my neighbors would come running to see if I set the place on fire with my newfangled candles and japanese incense...

Tombstone... nggggggrrrhhrhrmrmm. I'm biased though, srsly. I also love Casanova but it has a more urbane hit to it, and I detect the airy muskiness and the tonka to me is sweet rather than vanilla-y.

In the vial - spicy, warm, gingery chocolate. Mmm. On me... sadly... this turns into apple rinds and dry, dusty cocoa. There is an overall clovey spiciness and less 'depth' or 'cream' to this one than the prior incarnation of 13 I have...

ARGH! This is so much apricot and date on me + supah-grape that it's one giant fruity raisinoid scent. My skin chemistry must have destroyed this one - I don't get any cream at all, it's all fruit compote.

Wet, it smells a little sweet and herby. On me, it changes from that generic sweet herbiness to something... maybe a little fruity? I don't know why but I get pear and apricot, those dried ones that taste great if you eat a few and then get sorta bland and squooshy. Ya know, those flat ones. Underneath it all there are very subtle florals. Hm. On me, this is definitely NOT what I expected! Heh. Although... for me, it's quite apropos for me, since I am always bitter in the realm of love! ETA: Oh... my sniffer must be so broke! Where'd I get that impression?!

In the bottle, it wafts up a little like candy, a touch like chewing on a candied violet off of a piece of fancy white cake. There's a touch of wet, gooshy fruit, definitely plum. Juicy. Dab... On me, egads, it's floral! Oh, wait... this reminds me of that nice floral in Morgause. Given a little time, it's definitely very well blended, and though I can pick out a few notes, it shifts and moves. I'd say the drydown is definitely floral, maybe to the point where I can't really pull this one off, but of course I love all things violet. I got a few (a few!) of these, since purple/violet is among my favorite colors, and I may be biased but this does smell violet, maybe like some kind of night flower that is a striking, unnatural cobalt blue.

Fenris Wolf!!!

I'm a spicy, fruity thing! b..b...ut seriously... Malkuth is kinda berryish and with a stroke of cinnamon or spices. May be worth a shot...

I love this. It's not what I expected at all... Mostly it starts off with a subtle, understated creamy almond note that is blended really nicely with a bright pine. Given time to dry down, I can start detecting a brush of leather, smoke and masculine tang. It's ... wow. Mmm hmm. I'll probably get another bouteille of this while CD is in town.

Chrysanthemum Moon! I got a bunch of these, because of the description... let's see how it plays on my skin. In the bottle, it smells a little resiny, a touch like... sassafras? Woods? It's sweet and a little spicy. Wet, it's a little like lotus, a sweeter flower essence over a musky base. It dries down to a relatively inobtrusive, soft incense powder with a little bit of twang which I assume is a touch of tobacco smoke. It's nice, but not a 'me!' scent. Maybe I'll give it a few more tries

It smells kind of like... bananas? Oh, wait, that's frankincense and resins! And copal, too. Oh, after a bit of time this glows. I guess it's the combination of the herbal flowers. This really reminds me of that glowing, crackled gold patina of the painting. It kind of reminds me of Midnight Mass, as well. Such beautiful light.