ofthegood

Just got a well-aged bottle of this because I'm a sucker for prototypes! In the bottle, I could definitely sniff a mix of mint-citrus-lavender notes - mundane, but still pretty. The minute it hit my skin, I was thrown into a strong sense memory, because this reminds me immensely of my grandfather's Stetson cologne! It's not a dupe, by any means, but it didn't surprise me at all when I googled Stetson and the top notes are lemon, lime, bergamot, and lavender. This doesn't deepen like Stetson, because it's not backed by vetiver/patchouli/tonka/amber (though after several hours, I feel like the drydown has something a little deeper). So it's like a light, feminine Stetson, and close enough that I feel deeply nostalgic wearing it. My grandfather slathered his cologne on every night before bed, and bedtime hugs always smelled like this. I miss him so much! It's a pretty blend with my skin chemistry, soft and fairly unisex, but definitely meaningful for me!

The description for this one sounded really promising, since I've recently been loving the soil/stone scents. The reviews were all over the place, so I didn't have any idea what to expect! I knew I might not like it the minute the bottle opened and I got a whiff of a very rich foody smell - it reminded me of one of the 2010 Yules, but I can't remember which one (one of the foody ones that I didn't like). It was sweet and a little smoky and had a strong hint of generic-Christmas-candle-potpurri spiciness that made my stomach churn a little. I applied some before I could change my mind. Wet, it was super-foody and sweet, with undertones of sharp smoke and bitter vegetable smells. The sweetness faded quite a bit in dry-down, though it's still there, and the smoke kept amping up. The foodiness is still there in the spiciness, and I never really got as much of the woods/soil as I'd hoped for. It really smells like I've just blown out something from Yankee Candle, all generic holiday spice and smoke.

Chocolate, orange blossom honey, and pomegranate. This one really surprised me, because I'm generally not a foody scent lover and the inclusion of chocolate, honey, and pomegranate really concerned me. In the vial, I got a lovely blend of cocoa-honey sweetness, but it wasn't cloying... it was like the dry scent of cocoa powder, with the golden touch of honey and a little floral-fruity touch. I still dabbed sparingly, but it stayed nice and dry-sweet! Whew. The chocolate faded, and the end result was something faint and golden, sweet and floral. Very pretty. I'm glad this one wasn't a foody monster!

Note to self: look up what a 'sufganiyot' is before you slather this on. I wasn't expecting the blast of warm, buttery, jelly donut sweetness that greeted me - from the rest of the description, I'd expected more like Liberty or Hanerot Halalu. And while I can detect the beeswax and olive oil and fruits... mostly, I get the donuts as the oil dries and develops. It's quite dead-on, just not my cup of tea, and each whiff overwhelms me. The good news, for me at least, is that the donuts are eaten by my skin pretty quickly, and I'm left with a scent that's far closer to what I'd hoped for. The amber comes out to play and overwhelms the sweet foody smell. But it also drowns out the delicate beeswax and olive oil notes that I really like. It's pretty once it's dried, golden and warm, but I wouldn't make it through the foody period to wear this regularly. (This review is for the 2010 edition.)

This blend made me say GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF and run for the soap and alcohol. Alas, it hung around even after I scrubbed and scrubbed. Patchouli and feral animal urine. If I force myself to get past that, I can definitely smell the leaves and the coffee. But... yeah. Urine.

Wow, this one really morphed! At first dab, it was fairly light and feminine - floral and fruity and bright. But it lost those notes during dry-down and developed into something rich and almost masculine - musky, darker, and potent. I definitely got a whiff of the leather from time to time, but it was subtle. Thankfully, the patchouli didn't really come out to play much at all. I'll have to try this one again, to see if it morphs the same way. I like a little intrigue with my scents, as long as every stage still smells good!

Man, I was so excited about this blend - I love black tea scents and really hoped that this would be magical scent for me. But I never got a whiff of tea, but... patchouli, patchouli, patchouli. It was present in the vial, but just kept developing and lingering during wear, overpowering anything else I was looking for. Definitely a dark blend, and the patchouli makes it earthy. But not the spicy masculine black tea I was expecting, AT ALL. The final lingering smell on my skin was musky, dirty, sour, incense-y patchouli. It was like head shop in a bottle.

I found this oil nauseatingly foody. Spice, sweetness, butter, nuts, baked goods... it's all there. Too foody for me, by far. I couldn't test anything else for a while after I'd smelled this. Ugh.

This was sweeter than I expected, but not particularly foody - just soft, and creamy, and pretty! The vanilla was the main note throughout, and I kept getting a hint of coconut in there, too. I got more mint than pine/fir, and wished for more trees and snow during wear. Overall, it's a scent I'd prefer in a bath product (it reminded me of something from Lush, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was) or a dusting powder that would linger throughout the day. My officemate may have fallen in love with this, though. It certainly is lovely, even if it didn't compel me to buy a bottle! And the reference to the scent from the Aria... yes, I can see that relationship as it fades!

In the vial, this was a very aquatic men's cologne/aftershave smell. On my skin, it immediately developed to more of a green, ozone, and soap scent, and got sweeter and soapier as it dried. At one point, it really reminded me of bathing with Irish Spring. Not a terrible thing, but a strong and fairly generic scent on me. Drying down, the dirt started to emerge and it was like... washing my hands with Irish Spring after planting bulbs? It just kept getting softer, quickly losing the sharpness from the greenery and the ozone. Having loved Shadows of What May Be, I desperately wanted more of the raw earth and plant smells to come out. But it faded into soapy powdery generic blah.

This scent... just confuses me. I mean, the description alone is pretty overwhelming. But the oil is very complex and I had an ever-changing response to it as it dried and developed on me. I still can't decide if I like it or not. There's definitely a lot of elements that make this oil "golden," and that's the color it immediately evokes. Honey, beeswax, amber, polished wood, golden coins... very rich. At first, I definitely got a lot of the beeswax and wood, and was pretty pleased. But then some other notes popped up, and it turned into more of a masculine cologne-y scent... and that beautiful waxed wood scent was drowned out. It wasn't bad, just more generic and less nuanced. Further development brought out some notes I didn't really like - maybe some of the salty, metallic, peppery ones. Overall, this was just weird. I liked it... I didn't like it... I sort of want to keep trying to figure it out!

Klara’s most prized Christmas gift. Broken by Fritz in a fit of jealousy, repaired by Drosselmeyer’s magic: frankincense, black mission fig, and galbanum. This smelled lovely in the vial! I didn't get the fig, but a nice sweet incense smell. On skin, the fig still wasn't there - ever. I definitely see why other reviewers are thinking there's cedar in there, especially while the oil is still damp and fresh. It's a dry, masculine scent with a hint of incense and smokiness and spice. The smokiness grows as it settles, and it makes the blend really dry and maybe a bit stale, almost like incense or a scented candle that's going out. Any sweetness that I picked up at first disappeared. I can see the Nutcracker - masculine, woody, a bit of stale resin/incense from Drosselmeyer's magic and repairs. It's just not the lovely fragrance on skin that I was hoping for from the description and the vial.

This is a fairly foody scent, especially when it dries down and all of the sugar and marshmallow come out to play. It starts out more ginger (a sharp, bold ginger, not gingerbread cookies) but develops a sweeter and spicier profile as it dries. I don't really enjoy it either way - too much ginger, then a cloying sweetness. Blech. As much as I love to eat these holiday sweets, I'm not in love with them surrounding me all day. I feel smothered by Mother Ginger.

At first, this was leather, like I'd just walked into the leather store at the mall and was surrounded by hundreds of items made of tanned cowhide. Whoa. It was like putting on a new leather jacket for the first time. Then the coffee stepped up, and a bit of the hazelnut, and I was teleported from the leather store to a coffeeshop, still wearing my new leather jacket. Drier still, the tobacco and spices came out to play. This scent is so rich and warm! It's the vaguely fruity smell of unlit cigarettes and some nice exotic spices. The more this settles, the more I love it. Mmph.

This is so crisp and light! It definitely came out of the vial as a strong green floral, but quickly faded during drydown to soft floral prettiness. I couldn't pick out specific flowers, which would probably the mix of wildflowers and dandelions and such. It's just... a field full of grass and flowers and springtime air. Really feminine and gentle and young and very evocative of spring. Unfortunately, I found that it was so crisp and light and gentle that it faded almost completely in under 4 hours. All that was left was a tiny breath of soft floral air, and a tiny hint of the myrrh that I hadn't really picked up during wear. Still pretty, even as it disappears entirely!

I'm not sure which note(s) in this I'm finding disagreeable, but this really isn't for me. I think I'm fine with the amber and musk, which make it really rich and golden and warm, but the ozone/aquatic/saffron notes are probably what's making me wrinkle my nose every time I sniff my wrist. It's sort of musty and stale, with a murky humidity that sort of correlates with that "summer rain on pavement" concept. But... I don't want to smell musty or stale or murky! The combo is rather cloying, and the scent that's wrapped itself around me is more oppressive than soaring!

I suppose I can see the Jolly Ranchers association, but that's not quite how it smells to me. It's definitely sweet - lots of sugar, especially fresh out of the vial. There's a sharpness to it, and also a bit of a burnt-caramelized note that keeps it from being just pure sugar. It makes it more like spun sugar or boiling candy or something. I can't quite put my finger on it. As this develops, I get a lot more of the tiare and the fruit notes are bit more apparent over the sugary sugar. Not very vanilla-y at all, which I'm happy about. It is sweet and light and dainty, almost something I'd want to lick but not quite. It definitely loses more of the "candy" and moves more into "light perfume." The amber musk seems to be the last thing to emerge, which is what grounds everything and makes it much less of a straight-up sugary sweet scent. Never really found the cacao. The last lingering bits were slightly floral muskiness. Overall - pretty, fairly subtle, a little too sweet-floral for my usual tastes but still a very pretty blend. I'm glad I liked this, as I spilled most of my half-decant onto the carpet and the living room will smell like Sugar Plum Fairy for days to come.

The dawning of hope and the blossoming of charity: vanilla, orange blossom, white sandalwood, mate, red tea, and carnation. Definitely got the strongest whiff of orange blossom after opening, which was sweet and floral. On the skin, everything else started popping out - especially the vanilla. So for a while, I smelled like a sharp floral creamsicle! The carnation and red tea were never particularly strong notes on me, but eventually I felt like it had mellowed and rounded to something sweet, gentle, and slightly spicy. Very soft and light scent on me, but lasted decently. It's definitely an "innocent" blend, and I can definitely read "hopeful" into it, too. Perhaps a little too innocent and hopeful for my tastes.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this! I was fearing that it would be too foody or too much like holiday candles and potpourri... and it turned out to be a really lovely scent that definitely evokes Christmastime and all of its trappings. It was a bit sharp in the vial, but on the skin it immediately settled into a juicy bayberry/citrus/spice/pine mixture that was quite pretty! It got progressively sweeter with the honey and amber during wear, but I wouldn't have pegged those notes at the top. Lasted quite nicely, especially in my clothes - which still smell like it the next day! This is pretty, but not me.

First things first - I am wholeheartedly NOT a fan of foody scents. But I am a huge fan of lebkuchen, which definitely represent the holidays to me, and was hoping from some other reviews that this would be more fruity/spicy than sweet/foody. Opening the vial released a huge cloud of buttery sugary spice, and I had second thoughts about putting some on. But I give every oil a fair chance, so onto my skin it went! At first, it really was buttered popcorn jelly beans, which I find absolutely disgusting. Then the spice started to develop as it dried, along with a maple scent. It's sort of like wearing... gingerbread pancakes? Buttery maple-raisin oatmeal? In this stage, it is 100% most definitely food and quite sweet. And I am not loving it. I'm sure that the food it smells like would be really delicious, but I'd rather be eating this smell than wearing it. In fact, it started to turn my stomach, and I wanted to scrub it off for a while. Fortunately, it softened more and the buttery scent receded quite a bit. Still caramel-cookie-candy-porridge, which is pretty close to the description so it's not like I wasn't warned! It faded pretty quickly, as did my nausea. This has reinforced my strong dislike of foody scents.

Oh, this... this is absolutely fascinating! I haven't had much experience with dirt scents, and if this is any indication, I need more! It's unmistakably earthy, but in a really rich and sweet way. Though it doesn't make any sense, smelling like this dirt makes me feel really clean - it's airy and fresh, maybe due to the grass/weeds component. But it's not at all green, thank goodness, because I tend to dislike really grassy green scents. All in all, wow. My favorite of the 2010 Yules I've tried so far, and a total surprise winner. I expected this one to be a novelty, not a must-have.

In the vial, I immediately picked up a fruity smell but couldn't quite place it. The minute it hit my skin, it was definitely lemons. It's a powdery, soapy lemon scent, though, and not the crisp, tart, realistic lemon that I favor. I definitely see the soap references, because this scent is very clean! In the drydown, it's basically a clean, soft, feminine scent with powdery, soapy lemon and a bit of ozone. It really turned into commercial ladies clean perfume on me - not really evoking the grave-cold iron links of a chained ghost! Well, maybe if that ghost was a businesswoman...

The first whiff I got of The Soldier, it reminded me of birch beer -a little woody and herbal. I can see where you'd get a hint of sarsparilla or root beer as well. On top of the birch beer, I've got vanilla and musk, and a hint of the pepper. That makes it sweet, spicy, and creamy... not OMG FOODY, but still a scent that you wouldn't mind tasting, if that makes sense! I'd drink something that smelled like this. But I'm not sure that I'd wear something that smelled like this. Too sweet for me, in the imp, on the skin, wet or dry. I was in it for the leather and tea, and got pretty much everything else instead!

Watching people go crazy over this, I had to hunt down an imp and try it! I'd heard some comparisons to Lush product scents (maybe Butterball?) and the note-less description was intriguing. But when I sniffed the imp, it was so much more foody than I expected! Not a straight-up foody scent, but I definitely got strong impressions of sugar and vanilla. On the skin, I could also get some florals and creaminess in the background. It's gorgeously blended! And the lasting power was fantastic for me - I was still smelling a hint of it the next morning before my shower. It wafted around me as I moved, and made my boyfriend ask what I was wearing. It's borderline love for me - I can recognize that it's a really amazing oil blend, and the throw and staying power were both impressive. But it's also almost too foody for me, especially given that the notes didn't give me any hint of the sweetness and foody qualities that I discovered. If this weren't some sort of holy grail that people are willing to pay $$$ for, I'd be more interested. I'm not going to sell my soul for this!

I mostly wanted this for the beeswax, since that's been a recently-discovered note for me... and it never really popped up for me in this blend. This is a strong, cloying oil for me, both in the imp and on my skin. I'm glad that I only applied it to my arms, and not closer to my face! I thought I was smelling amber in here, but it must be all of the other incense/resin/spiciness going on. It's bold, a little sweet, very warm, very golden and... gleaming? Not at all the sort of thing that I would wear, but I can appreciate the uniqueness of the blend!