Lycanthrope

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes, wow, this is rose. A bit of a lemony, bright rose. I definitely see the Rose Jam LUSH comparisons. The vanilla is present as a touch of foody sweetness at the base of the scent but I am getting very little in the way of cotton candy. A bit sad.

This is mostly dark, dark oudh on me. Chew with your teeth and fangs smoky oudh. Perhaps a bit of the carnation petal in the background, but it's also a deep russet red, and not particularly flashy. The wood is the star here.

Yes, I can immediately smell everything on the skin when wet - orange, amber, cocoa powder, and honey, but a thin, sweet, idea of honey, not too gloopy. It starts off very chewy, almost toffee-rich and very gourmand. As it sits on my skin, battling it out, it seems to lighten, and veers on me towards sweet orange honey cocoa. The lilies and orchids are in the background, but I mostly get a yellow day-lily kind of floral sitting lightly upon a slightly dry, almost 'reedy' orange that's been rolled in dry cocoa and honey powder. Very much like what I'd imaging the pollen from cock stamens to smell like.

Oh my.

 

I'll have to give this one a few more wears, it's a bit of a chameleon.

 

It kind of reminds me of 'Love-Lies-Bleeding,' one of my favorite chocolate-y-velvet-florals, although where that one gave me the color brownish-burgundy, this is a bit of a yellow-orange gilded with brown and gold accents.

Oh, my.

 

This is 'sweet green' wet to my nose, and goes on with a jade-green smoothness, like a bunch of mosses, kissed with orange blossom. It's even a little cooling on the skin. Then, sitting present on the skin, pine needles emerge! It's a touch of fir. Dangerously close to a Yule moment for a bit, but instead of going full christmas tree mode, the pine needles remain present, under the glowy haze of orange blossom. I don't get any violet petals (it's all just violet leaf, I take it), which keeps this more 'noonday mountain fir' as opposed to 'Santa's Here!'

Pretty gender neutral although I take it the pine does make it a bit more masculine. Straddles the line as the chypre and pine move it more 'masculine' but the orange blossom still flirts about to blur the strength of the green.

So... unexpected.

Wet, I get a bit of the clove, but only like the top part of it - medicinal, sharp. I also get a smell that reminds me of the inside of a dried ume plum, and also maybe... camphor? What? As this sits on my skin and dries down... It's still very clovey... oh, wait, what? White Necco wafer? This smells like a clove cigarette. There's maybe some kind of more non-sweet, crumbly and sticky frankincense, a little sharp-sweet smoke. I don't get much of the classic 'green tea' note. I'm also struggling to find any lush wisteria. The color I see is... browns/ochre, gray-white or even bone-white wisteria, thin, sharp, not like purple unfurled blossoms. If there is a bit of that note, it's only a faint accent over the clovey-resin nature of this scent.

I'm so very confused. But if you like clove...

Was super interested in this melange of scents all together. I have no idea what to expect.

Wet and in bottle, it's a weird mix of orange blossom and... maybe the sweetness of blue musk?

Applied to the skin, it's a very strong thrwoosh of something very similar to fabric softener? Maybe it's the orange blossom. As it has a bit more time to settle down on the skin... I'm getting the two florals mixing together - orange blossom and water lily. Definitely getting a very beachy aquatic floral vibe. The jasmine is adding a little bit of ferocity in the background, a bit of depth, however the floral stays a... um, Mediterranean floral? Crisp/clear, and high. The blue musk kind of evens everything out and it's a little sugary.

Hinoki and cedar really aren't too apparent. There may be a little 'sandiness' or 'woodsiness' at the base, but it's definitely not cedar-shavings/pencil cedar. Very subtle. It keeps this from being purely a floral scent.

I'd say this is one of the more surprisingly 'beachy' scents. Light, airy, and somehow a little 'salty' without having the salt note (which on me turns into tortillas). I like this one a lot!

Wet, this is both tuberose and honeysuckle swirling together in a higher pitched sworl, with a hint of wet greenery.

On, whoa, whoa, HONEYSUCKLE'D. And a bit of leafy greens. And then it gets a little waxiness from the tuberose. In a way, it's like the high, clarion honeysuckle dips into the thrummy medium tones of tuberose. And then... back towards elevation with waxy gardenia. It's vacillating between a very interesting Southern floral with a hint of exotic Asiatic florals. As I keep smelling it, the floral trills between gold-yellow and wax-white. This is exquisitely tropical as it calms down, and on me at least it heads towards tuberose... but however still with glittering honeysuckle plorps on occasion.

It calms into a slightly citric-high tropical floral that's like a fusion tuberose-honeysuckle. Not much residual grassiness or leafiness.

Opening the bottle, greeted immediately with a splorty wet blade of grass, and definitely a little bit of that milkiness of dandelion sap. I love Beth's grassy scents, so I'm very excited that there's so much GREEN in the description.

Applied to the skin, it's definitely like wow, like more mushed crushed grass leaves, and as it continues to dry down, it gets rounder. I really like the Blade of Grass Halloweenie that appears on occasion, but that is more of a 'cold wet grass,' whereas as this sits on the skin, I can get a tiny prickle of heat, the vegetable note is more than just 'park grass,' I think it gets a bit more fullness from the addition of the lettuce. I kind of smells like when you chew on an unseasoned leaf of lettuce. Wet, cool, crisp. With more time, this doesn't evaporate as fast as Blade of Grass does on me. That's a very brief-lived, environmental scent. Tennis Match seems to have a bit more staying power, and a bit more 'dirtiness' (oakmoss?)

My verdict: slightly different, more wet/full-leafy Blade of Grass, without dried leaf note, and with a little spicy mossy base, but still reads forward as grassy.

Yes. YES.

This is amazing, and definitely NOT methanous!

Wet, it smells like a sparkling, crystalline translucent yellow-orange, really bright orange blossom, definitely hazy, gauzy. On the skin, it's a real mix of ice, clouds, marine, lightning... like all of Beth's fun storms swirled together over a crystalline ocean and is whipping it into a frothy frenzy. There's definitely an ice note in here, I think the one from like Monastery in the Mountains - definitely a high clarity, non-slushy ice note, mixed together with a bit of Lightning's bright ozone. There's also a little bit of orange rind jumping in and out here, adding a bit of weirdly citrus warmth (spark?) to the melange of atmospherics. I don't get much iris, but if there is some powderiness holding everything together it is thrumming in the background. Over all this, I can definitely pull out that clarion call of neroli - the smooth glow of that note ascends and orbits all the rest of the scent. It truly is a core of ice, rain, wind, ocean, resonating with a bright, high-pitched sweet citrus-floral haze.

I got two on impulse, will love them to death!

Oooh! Smells like Brom Bones (cold, musky leather) right on cold sniff. I'm excited. I kind of had a bit of a 'Firefly?' moment when I read the description, so, of course, in it went to the cart.

Wet, on me, it's like you can see the leather note kind of... separate... like there's a distinct cold thread spiraling away while this warmer, spicier leather (with lambs-wool, warm, fluffy, worn, loved) emerges, with a hint of incense and spice. But the incense and spice is not overwhelming, and it veers back towards a leather scent just touched with a throb of warmth. I can get a bit of the chrome note (think Katiniya, Torture Queen) underneath everything all, just kind of little neck studs glinting through the leather. There's a bit of smoke in the background, which has a bit of mossiness to it.
Overall very well blended. A sexy, kind of edgy western leather scent. Stays close to the skin. It's fabulous!