brilliantcat

2013

Piney and lovely, but the second it hits my skin there's this fizzy effervescent note that just amps until it ends up smelling like either forest-flavored soda (ew) or some kind of fizzy cleaner (ew). I'm really disappointed, it seems like it would be so amazing without that bubbly note

Minty, citrusy, sweet snow. The grapefruit melds with the snow note to create something really magical. I may need a bottle.

The currants are the strongest note both in vial and wet on me. The wine speaks up pretty quickly and it's a nice rich, almost syrupy wine. Surprisingly I don't get any wood at all at this stage. I actually never get any wood, for some reason this blend is reading as very perfumey to my nose. This is a nope for me

Red musk and heather when wet. I like the red musk in this quite a bit, it's quite subtle. After a bit, the peat starts to peek out. I find this blend super interesting both for the subtlety of the red musk and the addition of the peat, however I'm not a huge fan of dirt notes so this is a pass for me.

Initially this is leather and cake with a hint of licorice. As it dries down, the leather fades almost to nothingness, the cakey goodness disappears, and I'm left with slightly cologney licorice. Pass.

The pecan note is FANTASTIC. It's very true to life and is making me very, very hungry. Oh, I do like this one. The pumpkin, spices, and tart crust are all taking a backseat to the amazing pecan, buoying it and adding complexity. It reminds me of the pecan pie I make for Thanksgiving but with a much richer, more decadent crust. The treacle is reading as dark brown sugar to my nose and the pumpkin is just a hint in the background without being overpowering. It's got a good amount of throw too. This may be a Yule, but I think I just found my signature Thanksgiving scent

Caramel and leather. Uh oh, caramel notes don't usually work on my skin, they amp and become cloyingly, sickeningly sweet. Oof, this is no exception which is sad because the rest of the blend is nice, when I can get a whiff. Soft suedey leather and vellum. Nope for me.

One of the darkest oils I've ever seen. Awesome!

In vial, moss, citron, fungus, salt water... and a touch of menthol. I LIKE this! On me, it's definitely moss and fungus. I'm picturing an underground cavern with deep dark pools of water and an absolute carpet of bright green mosses and lichens with glowing fungi on the walls providing the only illumination. So cool. The scent wafting around me is so different from the one on my wrist. It's primarily moss and fungus in the air, but at my wrist Salty coconut with a hint of citrus. Unng, it's gorgeous. I'm not sure I'd want to wear this often, but I am definitely going to look for a partial bottle.

This is the spawn of Snow White and Lick It. It's all minty mint mint in the vial but on my skin the marzipan joins the fun and adds its almondy goodness. The mint is fairly long-lasting which is unheard of on my skin, it eats mint for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This blend also brings to mind Go to Sleep, Darlings though without the snowy note and incredible throw. This has much gentler throw. It winds up a lovely soft, creamy marzipan with hints of mint here and there. Possible bottle!

Minty vanilla snow with a hint of evergreen. Be still my heart, could this be the replacement for my beloved Waltz of the Snowflakes?! In-vial this is less pine than WotS of course, and more snow but they definitely share a bloodline. On, it's the lovechild of Snow White and WotS, though it does have a bit of that play-doh feel to it that aging should fix. It has a surprisingly strong throw and lasted overnight on me and near 24 hours later, I can STILL. SMELL. IT. It's not quite good enough to cure my WotS craving, but it's goooood. Since it lasts so long and is so powerful on me, I may not need more than my decant. Or I might be kicking myself like I did with WotS for not buying a bottle. That fear alone plus the fact that aging will do glorious things for this blend has me thinking a bottle is a very good idea

In the vial I can definitely smell the apple and mint, along with what I think is the metal note and musk. On me, I get baked goodies and apple, yum! Sadly on drydown, it turns to sharp floral apple. WOT

Sugary sweet, almost effervescent blueberry/blackberry with just a hint of the lime adding brightness. On drydown it goes to pure snow/slush with a slightly sweet edge and maybe a touch of fir. DISAPPOINT.

In the decant and wet, this is primarily leatherleatherleather. I also get cherry (?). Weird, maybe the red musk in combination with these notes is doing it? This is skintight womanly black leather, a corset or a catsuit. Wait. OH GOD. ROSE WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET AWAY FROM THE HONEY AND SUGAR! I don't even know what happened but that lovely almost sugary leather smells like sweaty latex gloves I'm a nurse so unfortunately that smell is well-known to me even if we don't use latex much if at all anymore. Ugh. Washing this monstrosity my skin has produced off. It was so lovely in the decant too

This is absolutely gorgeous in the vial. Salty sweet clean water. I get the impression of a still, immeasurably deep pond, the breeze brings hints of it to my nose as I lie on the bank with my eyes closed. Sadly it turns to a dead ringer for ivory soap on the drydown. Still quite pleasant actually but I don't need a bottle. If this were a bath oil though I would love it.

Musky gingerbread, mmm. Oh so THAT'S the civet. Definitely a little funky animalistic but not butt. Good to know I can wear it. This is sticking surprisingly close to my skin. It gives me evil gingerbread vibes. Fun to sniff but I don't need a bottle.

Gorgeous vetiver in this! It's grassy and smoky and not scorched or rancid in any way. Yum. I get heavy, earthy patchouli and vetiver with a nice dose of juicy, sweet pomegranate atop it. It pretty quickly develops a deep cacao note to it and the pom softens. Damn, I catch the first hints of the rose otto which I am sure is going to amp like crazy and ruin this dark, sexy, smoky blend. Oh hey, myrrh, there you are with your weirdly cola vibe. Granted all this has happened within the first five minutes of having applied it so I'm VERY curious to see what's going to happen on the drydown.

Vetiver? Patchouli? Can we have a chat? What did the rose DO to you guys? You were all nice and dark and smoky and yummy and then you just ran off! I'm left with a shockingly faint rose and nothing else. Color me baffled. I really liked the early stages with the smoky chocolate earthy notes

Just what it says on the tin. Yummy spicy gingerbread with slinky Snake Oil as frosting. I don't have much of use to add except that it's surprisingly softer than I expected. Throw is light. I like it a lot but it does go oddly musty on drydown so no bottle.

I smell mostly the blackened vanilla musk and gardenia in the decant, oh yum! On me it's mostly gardenia with a hint of jasmine that is for once behaving on me. It smells haughty, so it's certainly living up to its name! It remains a strongly gardenia blend which isn't bad at all, but not really something I'd wear.

This smells just how a knight should. Clean and striking and just good. The lavender is most prominent when wet and I'm getting a bit of cologne/manly scent. This is a paladin in blindingly bright armor atop a white courser, sunbeams behind him radiating off in all directions. On drydown it smells like a really, really, really hot guy. I want to slop this all over the husbeast

I feel I should mention that the oil itself is absolutely beautiful, a light peachy pink rose color. In the decant, it's a strange melange of minty/menthol/eucalyptus, sweet/cream, and salty aquatic. I love it in the decant but as soon as it touches my skin, it's all rose. Well, almost all rose, there's a hint of that salty aquatic to keep it from making me run to wash it off immediately. It has a laundry detergent/soapy vibe with strong floral rose.

It kind of smells like waxed parchment and old, rotting leather at first. I think I get the cucumber vibe others have mentioned but it's not bothering me. On, it retains that waxiness. This is not soft, suedey leather or shiny new black leather, this is decaying leather. I'm picturing some of the locations in fantasy games like Skyrim, dungeons and caves and old abandoned ruins where there are overturned ancient books and scrolls. I get a touch of sweetness from the tonka or fig (or both). On drydown, the decay softens considerably and the waxiness disappears. It's become a warm, broken-in kind of scent that's actually quite pleasant.

Oh god, this is a gorgeous, buttery sweet fruity shortcake with just a touch of mint. It smells so real I could eat my arm and I am absolutely craving baked goods now! This dries down to buttery shortcake and powdery sugar with just a hint of pomegranate. I like it well enough but not likely well enough to warrant a bottle no matter how much I adore the bottle art.

In the decant, it's delicious cake and sweet citrusy frosting with a tiny hint of caraway and watery ginger tea. It's fairly bland at first but after a half hour or so it warms into the most amazing musky vanilla cake I have ever smelled It reminds me of another blend I can't recall at the moment but it's definitely a bottle purchase, backup depending how many Yules I need.

In the imp and wet, it's a slightly cologney, slightly sweet leather. Leather is definitely the star here. I get a bit of the powderiness I expect from amber, though it usually grows richer on the drydown and I'm hoping that's what will happen here. But it doesn't. It smells like biker baby powder, leather and powder.

Mainly woods with some lime and a breath of sea air. As it warms, it remains primarily a woodsy blend on me with hints of the musky ambergris and salt air. It's actually very... plain? on me. Nothing special. I got this for my husband and it smells FANTASTIC on him, so he's definitely safe from me stealing it