AmyO'Shields

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.

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!

I love this so much. I loved it earlier this year but I love it more now.

 

Lavender, Carnation and vanilla are the strongest notes backed by hay and a touch of amber. The strawberry comes out on the drydown just detectable hanging above the scent, if that makes sense. Lupers killed me this year and this one is such a masterpiece. I am so glad I have a bottle, I have a feeling I will be reaching for this when I need a pick me up. :-)

I just wanted to stop by and say this:

 

If you are wary of the mandarin note in this, don't be. It is gorgeous and velvety and melds perfectly. I have had problems with the king mandarin note going sharp and/or rancid in the past which made me wary of this but I am glad I got a decant. This just ousted something from my top 20 list.

Starts off a bit disjunct to me, probably the fig and cinnamon and dries down to a lovely sandalwood/myrrh scent. Very nice :-)

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.

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...

I love Leda! It reminds me of Hygeia and Mircalla minus the clove. Starts off a bit funky (orris usually does) and ends up a gorgeous red musk + spices and a sandalwood that does smell red instead of white. Lovely.

Prominent leaf note with a soft, fuzzy lavender. Beautiful.

This is the runaway hit of the dead leaves for me. Yes, Cardamom. Yes, leaves. It is so much more though. This is one of the most atmospheric scents I've smelled and it is comforting. I want to layer this with Autumn Overlooked My Knitting for the perfect Autumn scent. Beautiful and comforting!

Well, all I get from this so far is cedar but it is a beautiful soft cedar. I wonder which notes will show up with age?

Beautiful. I guess the oak reminds me of Arana, this is very similar to me. Amber and oak.

This is evergreens and just a hint of smoke. Beautiful and evocative of being outside at night in the winter.

This smells just like my Tagetes essential oil which smells nothing like marigolds to me. Oh well, had to try it. Thick, heavy, cloying wow.

This is more of a spiced pumpkin than Yellow Pumpkin Floss, with a hint of lavender in the beginning drying down to pumkin spice-ish violet? I had to try it but it isn't a love.

Gorgeous. This reminds me of something but I cannot think of what! I smell white tea and an edgy sandalwood with a tiny hint of orris. I suspect this one and Spectre Blue to be the surprise hits and no one will know till it is too late. Perfect for Autumn, too. :-)

Wow. Yup- non spicy pumpkin with lemon sugar! This is really yummy. Canned pumpkin meets Lemon Scented Sticky Bat. Go! Oh, and I forgot to add how STRONG this is. Holy moly!

I quite like this. I don't smell any lavender (even after a second day of testing) but this is definitely tooth achingly sweet candy with snake oil underneath. Happy scent.