Lycanthrope

Reddish, an amalgCARAMELam of notes that shoCARAMELuld work on me. When I first pCARAMELut this on, I really did smell the orange niceness of the petitgrain mixed with a sweet muCARAMELsk, deepened by vanilla, and I was pleasaCARAMELntly surprised. But I was teCARAMELsting in the vicinity of Eutectic, who can then atteCARAMELst that this turned to a sharp, unpleasant burnt sugar caramCARAMELel scent on my skin. My experience with caramel has been 'fail' as a noCARAMELte due to my skin chemistry, but the initiCARAMELal wet phase was promising... just not for me.

This starts off with the same Tiki-wet-ocean scent of Moana, but takes a different tack during drydown. Whereas Moana headed off towards gardenia-water, In Winter in my Room's yuzu really starts to add the sparkling sweet gummy-bear citrus to the mix.

 

Sadly, yuzu and I do not get along, so the scent, bright and sparkling and tropical, pretty much shifts towards the uber-sweet yuzuness, on my skin at least.

 

But... if you like yuzu... do it!

I can't add too much, except that I'm in the camp that really gets the drydown of Snow White, and the rose is a faint tickle. On me, that's saying a lot, since I amp rose!

What an interesting scent! I'd think from the name and notes that Diable would be a very masculine, red, spicy blend, but it definitely mellows out as it dries, and morphs, as noted above. The scent starts out as a very reddish, sweet redwood scent, with a hint of the sweetness of tonka, and there's a bit of something sharp and leafy in the first part of the oil's drydown. Over time, this really swings towards a juicy peach scent! It's akin to... that Inquisition scent... the patchouli-peach one that I can't recall right now.

 

It's definitely peachy, but this peach has a supporting depth behind it.

The label art on this is a little strange, a dapper young man riding Krampus. The dood on Krampus has a Victorian mustache. Anyways...

Sniffed from the bottle, this is a sweet, cool pine with a touch of a skin-musk, sort of like Coyote / Ivanushka. On the skin, this scent develops a little bit of the metallic snap of pine, similar to Black Forest/Nocnitsa (without the dirt). It's not a sharp, airy pine by any means, and there may be a hint of snow but this is not a predominant note. The scent dries down to a soft, snuggly Coyote-esque forest aroma, with the pine and woods being a full, rounded note as opposed to bracing.

It's actually quite nice and close to the skin, and if you're scared of 'forest' notes, you shouldn't be of this one!

I got lots of eucalyptus, menthol, or some kind of sharp cold mint variant as the topnote on this oil. On the skin, it starts to segue towards a Snow-White-like creamy cold scent, but stays more perfumey and cologney, like a faint aquatic. The eucalyptus burst / menthol coldness dissipates and it's a very chilly whisper on the skin, but without much throw.

 

Several guys who happened to be at a baby shower I was attending commented that it smelled 'cold.'

So... here goes.

 

YULES 1

YULES 2

YULES 3

YULES 4

 

FAIRE

Mmm.

 

Anise-y at first, very black-jellybean-ish, crusted with sweet sugar, and as it dries, a sugary cinnamon. The anise burns off quick. It's like the lingering flavor, more of a red jellybean that you thought was cherry, but were surprised to find, was not.

Sent to me by accident, but I was so curious that I used a toothpick to test a drop.

 

WHOA NELLY.

 

Briefly: this is an aquatic, fresh lily-floral that has an odd, bicarbonate/baking soda mineral edge, maybe cherry blossom.

Also, briefly: OMG, A BATHROOM.

 

And holy frip, it amps like nobody's business on me. It's cold, chilly, sorta antiseptic, but wet, like ... toilet water... and the surface cleansers really do smell like 'masking odor floral' that they use in spray cleanser. There's that hint of dry, tickly floral that makes me thing 'cherry blossom,' very little if any citrus (so it's not a very citrussy cleanser), and a very potent sweet note that keeps amping up and up on my skin.

 

I really have no words, it's so very evocative of bathroom cleanser without being lemon-pledge. Whoa.

Te Po (Tiki) was very cherry cola-almond esque to me.

I was super looking forwards to this, as it's an aquatic, and Lycanthrope and aquatics are like THIS. *awkward gesture with paws* The only thing that gave me pause was all the fresh green notes, but there were violets, so I grabbed a bottle.

In the bottle, it's definitely super salty, fresh air, a crisp biting aquatic.

On the skin, there's an odd experience of the scent almost separating into two different entities. I can smell the airy salt, which is getting even more 'blue and bright' on my skin, a hybrid between Tempest (which was a fresher, deeper watery marine) and Lightning (which was to me more sharp, 'dryer sheet' ozonic). There's a hint of the violet but it's mostly adding a muddy cool floral note, and there's a TON of this background lemony, herby tone over the salty aquatic.

It's almost a bit much, actually, the herbs give a frightening brightness to this blend that, combined with the already existing ozone, send it into hyperdrive. Underneath it there is definitely a floating woodsy scent (alder? violets?)

It's quite intriguing, but I don't know if it's all me. Definitely sharper, brighter, less 'watery' than I thought.

At first, El Dorado was all like 'I'm sparkly like Festival of Anuket!', but then that odd bright lotusness trended towards as noted above, the slightly sickly smell of copal, and then I get an odd earthy dirtness.

 

Over time, the drydown does get richer, but on me, the smoky incense is tending towards headshop - as copal is my skin's version of patchouli - I smell it all the time.

 

I may try this in a burner, but on my skin, not so much.

 

It certainly smells like incense and a bit of bright shiny gold, though!

Oh holy crap, this stuff is awesome win.

 

It takes that essence of beeswax I love, gives it a kiss of Coyote's skin musk, and then... it blossoms.

 

I liked Hand of Glory and Hanerot, but for some reason, this is a great, richer, less mixed, more pure smoky candle scent.

 

LOVE.

 

BOTTLE(s).

When I spray this, I get 'smells like high end soap!' in only the most complimentary of ways. It starts of quite smooth with a hint of ferocity, and then the cinnamon-ish spicy cinnabar comes out a touch more. It's very different, spicy, yet smooth, and quite... posh. I don't know how else to describe it. Smells well-blended, and spicy.

This is very nice! I sampled this with Eutectic.

 

After receipt, I promptly sprayed some in my car, which became a big rolling nap-to-be, and then I had Pho.

 

The scent is very much like TKO - a sweet deep vanilla musk that is kissed most strongly by the lavender. It's not too herbal, this is the floral part (and not so much balsamic) aspect of lavender flowers. The other notes are very subtle, but do make it a hint sweeter (?melon?). I used this on my pillows in the Denver dryness, and it is quite a nice sleeping blend.

 

The lasting power is moderate, but the sweet vanilla is mostly gone by the next day. The lavender bite persists and this spray does need reapplication (I'm all too ready!)

This is truly a radiant white floral, but I think the davana or some honey-sweet amber aspect of The Girl goes too strong on me, because it's doing what The Lotus Tree did on me - the honey-syrupy glowing sweetness is turning quite potent and magnified on me, to the point where I get a nice tickle of pretty flowers all gathered in a row, with a giant monstery honey amber monster lurking protectively behind them.

Did not work on me.

 

It was like old, powdery, undead grandma. Agree with talc, and pleasant old woman perfume, mixed with DEATH AND DIRT. Considering the background behind the scent as well as the intent... wowzers, rousing success.

 

Having worked in a hospital, this scent is quite unnervingly the smell of slowly atrophying smiling grandmothers.

Spicy gingerbread nuts, but mostly big spicy nuts at the drydown. No big whomp of violet, which I was snorflin' for.

 

 

 

 

 

... nuts.

I must be crazy, or my skin must be so.

 

Sarah is a moist rocky metal scent to me. It has that same cold feel as Metal Phoenix and Kataniya (to name examples) and a touch of the oily scent of several of the Steamworks series. My chemistry must be weird, because this dries down on me to the scent of cold rocks. Fairly awesome, but I don't think I need to get more than what I skin tested.

How very odd, these zombies, they run a donut shop.

 

It starts off quite strong when wet with a mixed raspberry/strawberry 'mushed berry' sweetness, and doughiness emerges later. The scent veers off towards strawberry sugar, but not in a cotton candy way, it's like the remnants of gooey sticky strawberry jam when you've misfired on your toast. Sticky, like that feeling between your fingers.

 

Not bad. I will keep my bottle.

So, let's see. I'm always hoping the manly scents will work on me, so when someone asks me what I'm wearing I can rattle something off like 'Vampires Standing Precariously Close to a Cliff Looking Menacing but Oddly Sexy Wearing Inappropriately Tight Black Clothing,' so, of course, what works magic on my skin?

 

Yup.

 

I suppose, though, the sheer goodness that is Plastic Pink Flamingo on me makes up for the fact that there is, in no terms, any way where I can pull off masculine when I tell someone I'm wearing a perfume that is not only pink, but a lawn ornament.

 

In short, this scent is "Sweet Grass Frosting."

 

Which, as horrible as it sounds, is really, really good. On me, the grass and dandelion are very subtle and the pink sugary rock candy comes through - not as almondy candy as Velvet Unicorn, not as blended with gin as Pink Kitty, and, while still not flexing its muscles and pretending not to secretly like watching HGTV, is not as potently feminine.

 

Wet, sappy, milky, with a bright burst of sugar, and drydown, I get that elusive sugar that people must be getting from other sugar blends that never worked one me - plus that nommy floffy sugar note that resembles Peeps before I OMNOM them to nonexistence.

 

Good lasting power, too.

 

I, uh, am glad I stocked up.

Forgive if this has been elsewhere, I looked and did not find.

 

I was very intrigued by this as it had both salt and ocean, as well as ... a floating coffin! The artwork is by Gris Grimly, and I'm not sure, but it's some kind of skeletal fish critter with a deranged skull, which is adorable.

 

Anyhow... onto the scent.

 

Bottle - marine, in the ocean way, maybe a hint of seaweed, but this is a cool dark sea-blue aquatic without the sharpitude of Lightning nor the frank melon-green-wateriness of Tempest. There is a familiar saltiness which is kinda like Pool of Tears, but this is ... saltier.

 

On skin this is very salty indeed. It has a little sticky quality to it, but the majority of the scent remains a citrussy marine wateriness which, if I had to compare it to other oceanics - is closer to Y'nathlei, Deep Ones, and Olokun, versus scents like Cthulhu (more violaceous). The woodsiness comes out a hint but it's mostly salt and water.

 

Drydown is soft, not obtrusive at all, and the marine waters soften a good deal. Throw is subtle but it's there.

 

I'd say it's not as sweet and bright and misty as Kingsport, but quite nice and a great addition to the marine family.

Whoa momma vetiver.

 

I have the unfortunate tendency to make vetiver smell exactly the same no matter when it touches my skin. No different with Kroenen, although I can tell there's a hint of something more pleasant, smooth, running under the whole scent - I think it's trying to be a little musky, but I can't tell.

 

The drop I tried from Eutectic didn't really change much except fade, though.

I was sorta confused about Liz.

 

Sniffing and dabbed on, it's really really dry. Like, sucks the top of your mouth dry, dry. With it there was this very nice but unidentifiable flower. I think it's lily or hydrangea or hyacinth - not a common flower, something else that's of the bright and warm variety. But so dry.

What fun!

 

This was very familiar to my current Ash-Smoke-Herbs fave, The Norns' Farmhouse. It has the most marvelous myrrh undercurrent throughout, and a fiery, very warm sensation lifting above. The scent is mildly savory, and makes the back of my throat feel as if I am sucking in warm air. Quite interesting. I kinda want a bottle like nao.