AmyO'Shields

And cares long, long, forgotten: joyful sugared carnation and vanilla freesia. Oh my. If you love carnation and vanilla do not let this pass you by. This is the carnation perfume of my dreams. It is a true carnation and, while I don't smell freesia yet, the vanilla is prominent. I don't often smell vanilla when it is listed, but here I smell it. Lovely. Stunning. I love it. Eta: I just wanted to say that I get absolutely no honey here, not even a vibe (I cannot wear honey) just for those of you who cannot wear honey and are interested in this scent. I know honey is not listed as a note but whenever I read a review where someone so much as mentions honey I run...

This is the jasmine I was hoping for. It is beautiful, white and intoxicating without going to funk as many jasmine scents tend to do on my skin. The leather seems to be of the white variety and the white musk is adding just a hint of the lift that white musk tends to do on me (which I love). Huh. I didn't really notice the white tea blossom. I'm sure it is there...maybe on the next wear. :-) I love this.

If I didn't know the name of this, I would have sworn it was Smut '10. Seriously. How is that possible? I don't smell any carnation, incense or chrysanthemums (and yes, I am very familiar with them) so??? I love it but it is nothing like what I was expecting and I'm confused. I checked it against Smut '17 and the viscosity is very different so I know it isn't a mislabled bottle. Oh well! I will put it next to my beloved Smut '10 and am happy to have it, even though it smells nothing like the notes listed. Sorry for the strange review! ETA: I received a decant of this today and yup, I definitely have a mislabeled bottle and will contact the Lab. After testing it alongside Delight in Disorder I figured out they are the same...easy to get the names confused, I guess. The decant smells exactly how I imagined and lines up with the notes. Gorgeous fresh mum with a touch of incense and full, fresh carnation. Gorgeous.

Cherry blossoms falling into folds of red musk, bourbon vanilla, and strawberry cream. I'm going to sound like a broken record but the Lupers this year are so expertly and perfectly blended and the Instructional Manual is no different. The first things I smell are strawberry and red musk. All 4 components of this perfume are equal though...I can smell all of them but no one stands out to me. I think lovers of Hollywood Babylon, Mania and Smut will be really happy with this one...I know I am. It verges on being a tad foody but never gets there. I feel like this is the same strawberry from Strawberry Sufganiyot. A very beautiful blend, and the cherry blossom doesn't fight with the strawberry. If you think you might love this, you're probably right. Eta: The cherry blossoms seem to come forward more in the dry down...this one morphs! :-)

Shadowy lavender oudh. Anyone remember the I Am Tired of Tears and Laughter perfume oil? Oh yeah...this is similar. Simple and beautiful lavender oudh. I have secretly been wishing for a lavender bath oil to use as an in shower moisturizer and bought it immediately. I will cherish this bottle. Eta: I just used this in the shower...it is a lovely, dark lavender. Love it.

Mmmm decant of LXIX smells like frankincense heavy incense. It doesn't smell so great in the bottle but it just needs to be freeee and then it is amazing. Holy crap. Eta: I think I smell sandalwood, too. Gorgeous hg scent!!! Oh. If anyone doesn't like their decant of LXIV I will help them out :-)

Gorgeous dark patchouli with hints of pink pepper and a touch of tobacco...lovely. As patchouli lover, I have to 'collect them all!' (well, except Tricksy which was ruined by the honey...) but the pink pepper gives this gem a new twist. Great stuff and I love the charity aspect!

Holy skin interpretations of this scent so far! Strong (but not mentholic) spruce/soft evergreen with a touch of what my nose interprets as a whisper of black patchouli and skin musk... I get no snow note, no stone notes and no vanilla. Dry, the evergreen is muted with a very very light touch of cedar heartwood scent, and the musky quality becomes stronger. Honestly? This is what I was hoping Black Forest would smell like but it always went too high pitched/mentholy pine on me... What a perfect scent to dedicate to the NPS! I will probably reach for this most on days when I can't get into the woods. Beautiful.

At first I smell just a hint of leather with light cherry vanilla and the lightest brush of the memory of lemon... This dries down to a gorgeous vanilla/cherry/lemoncream blend but it is sooooo light on me. I really have to huff my wrist to smell it but it is so worth it because of how beautiful it smells. I will hope age makes it oomph!

This is the most perfumey bpal I've ever smelled...it is gorgeous. Bright and cheery, sweet lily and a bit of plum. I don't really detect lavender. Bottle for certain.

Gorgeous frosty evergreen needles!!! This is somehow sweet without being candied. It smells just like sniffing crushed fir needles! Awesome. Eta: I get no fruit or berries from this...just smells like slightly sugared crushed fir needles

I love Dusky Shroud! The coffee is nice and strong for about 10 minutes and then it folds into the blend. I must be really odd because I swear I smell mahogany wood...whatever happens, it is beautiful and smooth with nice throw and longevity. This is my favorite of the Trading Post Yule perfume oils.

Yup, black patchouli and then there is a burned meat scent that dies off...dry this is nice and kind of sparkly? Very masculine. Very nice.

Funny, I barely get any carnation from Morocco!

Ha! This is so evocative of being in a tundra / taiga area in Autumn!!! I sniffed it wet on my skin and really wasn't a fan so I waited an hour before I sniffed it again. I would say the white tea is most prominent of the four notes but it is soft and atmospheric. Wow. I was instantly transported to the Exit Glacier in Alaska. I visited last Spring and apparently, my brain says it smells/feels similar. Funny, this would have been my one blind bottle purchase if I hadn't decided to try decants and it certainly is a keeper. Definite bottle purchase in my future.

This is very evocative of walking around in the woods on an overcast, 'gloomy' day. I was worried about the balsam (which usually goes horribly sharp in a masculine way on me) but this is lovely. Gloomy Day and Desert Places are two of the best atmospheric scents I've smelled and I cannot stop huffing my wrist. On a side note, when I close my eyes and smell this, I am instantly on a stretch of the Kautz Creek trail near Mt. Rainier (just past the river crossing for anyone who has been on that trail) :-) ETA: After a few months of aging, I get a bit of Autumn mushrooms underneath the leaves and a bit of soil from this, softened out by the ambergris. I love this scent so much.

This is a very chewy myrrh :-) Reminds me a whole lot of Herodotus' Phoenix...very similar. The myrrh is rounded out and supported by a gorgeous vanilla. I will definitely use my decant.

At first, the raspberry was lovely, light and tart. Then the tea that I hoped wouldn't be the licorice tea of doom turned out to be the licorice tea of doom. It does soften a bit but I cannot wear that tea note so it ruins the blend for me. I never smelled birch tar or any iron /metallics. Glad I got to try this.

How strange. I love ambers and they love my skin but I am having an opposite reaction to everyone else so far :-( When I sniffed the decant I actually recoiled a bit...I had been expecting a sweet, soft ambery amber with bits of moss and greenery. This was sharp and medicinal. I figured it might be strong oak/oakmoss and skin tested anyhow. Well, this was super sharp oak / oakmoss (which I normally like) on my skin with a touch of camphorous trees and no amber in sight. I guess my skin chemistry makes me the odd girl out. Glad so many folks are loving it but it is definitely not for me. Eta: Now I remember, this reminded me of Samhain. Eta 2: This is much nicer a few hours later...sweeter and leafier.

Very yummy, very short lived marshmallowy cookie. I bet the longevity will improve with age.

This is a lovely, sweet scent. It starts off snowy like whoa and dries down to a cherry blossomish ylang scent with a hint of chill and cypress. Very nice.

This smells nothing like hay to me. Color me disappointed because I was hoping for a hay single note. I smell something camphorous but no hay. :-( Glad it is only a decant.

The Lake of Solitude: a scent of introspection and introversion. Meditative white sandalwood with rosewood, Roman chamomile, white lavender, marjoram, Himalayan cedar, and oudh. Cedar, lavendar, oudh. Beautifully, seamlessly blended. Wow. The sandalwood and marjoram provide a soft/sharp contrast for the bottom. The chamomile is light and soft and beautiful. I opened this late last night after a long day of travel and after one sniff, i needed to wear it to sleep, and it let me sleep soundly. I adore this and will treasure my bottle. Sorry this first review isnt more descriptive...i just wanted to.share my impression. :-)

Smells very similar to Mistletoe perfume oil. It smells nice. I think I was hoping for something more, I don't know, green? and am a bit underwhelmed by the fruitiness...

I just received a frimp of this lovely gem...how have I not fallen in love with it before?! Bright orange patchouli dazzles me after it dries down. There was something medicinal happening early on but it completely disappears. Magnificent!