themerrybaker

I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself — “It is nothing but the wind in the chimney — it is only a mouse crossing the floor,” or “It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp.” Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel — although he neither saw nor heard — to feel the presence of my head within the room.

 Unutterable dread: thick black patchouli, shadow musk, myrrh, and threads of hot saffron mired in sweet, viscous labdanum. Mournful Influence reminds me of Midnight Mass plus saffron (paella on Christmas Eve?). The saffron and myrrh are very pronounced with an overall vibe of dark, dusty, and slightly sweet. I believe it needs to age some; right now there is very little throw. I like this scent a lot and shall certainly wear it when striking fear into old men's hearts and chucking.

51 -- Luminescent, glowing, and otherworldly: green mandarin, neroli, honeydew, white amber, guava, freesia, white and green musks hovering over desert scrub, smashed wood, and the dry, biting scent of night air over the Groom Lake salt flats. Enraged Martian Musk? 51 is quite sweet and reminds me of honeysuckle powder. Once in a while I get a whiff of a bit of citrus fruit but on the whole, these are very dainty and demure little green muskymen.

French lavender, cedar, armoise, white sandalwood, awapuhi, and the smoke of burning love letters. After writing a parody of "How Doth the Little Crocodile" and dropping a broad hint for "Passion", I found out I "Lost" instead. This blend smells of citrus, lavender, and cedar as described, though. Not for me. I guess I'm just not lucky in love.

Cardinal fire: the essence of identity. Black pepper, honeysuckle, opoponax, dragon's blood, and wild ginger. I have the revisited version which seems to be heavy on dragon's blood. As a perfume, Aries is rather bitter and resinous. I think the essence of this one's identity could best be realized in an oil burner.

She is tearful and dejected: her lover has broken a promise, and did not arrive for their tryst. She feels that she has been deceived, and her heart is volleyed from misery, to anger, to resentment: benzoin, Greek sage, hay, melaleuca ericifolia, oakmoss, and blue chamomile. This is not a happy or pretty scent. Misery, anger, and resentment are bitter herbs. Vipralabda is butt-kicking earwax bitter, rather than mopey, wistful, or melancholic. I think the sage predominates, but to my nose the herbs smell like thyme. A good while after drydown, there may be a hint of benzoin - like a tantalizing memory of something sweeter. The oil itself is unusual in that it makes an opaque coating on the inside of the bottle and has a layer of something lighter on the top. This is a great addition to the Heroines concept. If there are eight faces; each has its time. Bitterness belongs, but is no more the "truth" than anticipation or confidence. I could see myself wearing this on an "all things must pass" day. It will be interesting to see whether the contents of the bottle eventually mix themselves.

U Mutter (as opposed to U Mama) does a great job of evoking LIBRARY. The scent is cool. quiet, and still. On me this oil is predominantly resin without leather or vanilla taking over. I don't know how the Lab gets its dust note (they probably don't shake their feather dusters into the mixing bottles) but that vibe is definitely in there. "U" gotta love it.

Yum. Rue as in Cimaruta makes this oil smell extra witchy. BOH is more of a Panacea-type blend (as opposed to normal perfume) that I'll be wearing when I can't decide whether to protect myself from the evil eye or chill out with a gin and tonic. It is also fine in an oil burner for getting in touch with your inner streheria.

The only thing that makes hot, humid, weather tolerable for me is the way plants thrive and display every shade of green. Carlin is an "every shade of green" scent. The sage helps to keep the blend dry instead of sticky and sappy. This scent is a fine evocation of the border between spring/summer growing deciduous plants and autumn/winter evergreens.

The planchette moved to the "M" then to the "I" and on to the "N" and the "T". I think was starting to spell out "furniture wax" but I cheated and pushed it over to the big NO. I like wood blends, but Ouija was a total miss.

Sugar and Spice, it smells pretty nice. Mama Ji reminds me of Silk Road, Tushnamatay, Bengal, and other baking spice oils. Good if you collect this type, but not outstanding.

I received Oberon as well aged imp as part of a swap; I usually try to guess what is in a mystery imp before I review it. In this case I was off: way, way off. I would have guessed subtle rose, wood and musk but this is orchid, musk, and other things. I did not pick up the bergamot or juniper, and would say that this is a dark floral. Nice, but not spectacular. Some of the lab's orchid numbers get "stuffy" on me and unfortunately, Oberon is a culprit.

I love the lab's Honey scents and Delphi is the bee's knees. This reminds me a lot of the original Honey Moon, is heavier than the newer Mead Moon, and less randy than Hony Mone. If I were intentionally collecting honey scents it would be an addition to the herd and might be a purchase when I run out of the current hive.

This was and wasn't what I expected: I expected Asian incense as opposed to church incense and that was pretty accurate. I expected aquatic and got it - also pretty accurate. The unexpected: big fat warm raindrops!! Not a bad thing to get happy instead of dreary! I am also surprised at the amount of sillage and generally happy (in a big fat warm raindroppy way) with the Temple.

My favorite seasonal story involves the animals being able to speak on Christmas Eve. Winter of Our Discontent suggests that story. I get "Sweet and Smoky Stable at Bethlehem!!" (sounds like a cussword substitute?). Although I love this oil, the name makes me laugh because of the additional quote from Richard the Third: "My Kingdom for a Horse!!" Sweet leather, hay, and smoke. Not what I expected but very good.

There is incense and then there is Incense-Woot-Woot-Woot!! Midnight Mass evokes the canonical idea of smoky, burning incense perfectly. I only wish it had more throw and lasted longer. That wish may be unrealistic, since adding something to increase the sillage might mean less Incense-Woot-Woot-Woot!! and something more like a muskrat snuffling around in the church. Love it....

Snow-covered pines, witches herbs, bestial musk, flax, and ethereal flowers that represent both birth and death. Frau Holle needs some time to settle on the skin. It starts as an herbal rush and eventually mellows out to subtle sweet herbs. I don't get pine, but can detect faint musk and something that smells a little like masking tape (maybe the flax is a grain?) I like it a lot, but it evokes kitchen witch more than Yule when I wear it.

This Cookie becomes the 60 ft Sugar Monster!! Butter Rum Cookie is very strong, and the mapley sugar smell stomps on every other component. Very similar to the initial stages of Sugar Moon and Sugar Skull on me.

Right On, Darkness!! (And all you other Gothic Reindeer): After a while, you get a sense of deja sniff when trying a new perfume. On Darkness is a horse of a different color - it it smells nothing like any other Lab scent I've tried. OD is also surprisingly herbal and more "winter-berry-ish" than I would have expected. A bottle purchase would be a done deal if we weren't in a recession right now. Really, really, good. Two nostrils up.

I like Love Me better as a conjure oil than as a perfume. At first, it sends me short lived roses and dragon's blood, goes through a lotus stage, and finishes with almond and cinnamon. I'm not sure whether this is meant an allegory for the stages of love or is a take on a traditional recipe...

Having never voted Republican in my life due to the socially reactionary platform, the name is something to get past - but the perfume is better thank OK. My guess at the ingredients are: aromatic wood such as cedar or cypress, bourbon, dirt/vetiver (maybe a political statement there?) and something sweet such as vanilla. Such a nice scent for such an off-putting name. Channeling Lincoln while huffing .... I'll wear it as often as it lets me, assuming this GOP allows me to have a choice!!

The Temptation is as lovely and elegant as Diana Ross. It is predominantly lily with a bit of peach. Unfortunately it pulls a "Baby, Baby, Baby Don't Leave Me" all too soon.

Years before Lilith Victoria and Lady Lilith there was primordial/basic/original Lilith!! For such a visually light oil, the scent is black and toasted. Might be the myrhh? Verdict: A definite "Like" - which is surprising given an oil with the problematic notes (wine and roses). Bravo to the Lab for pulling off the combination.

The Apothecary reminds me a bit of the old Herbal Essences shampoo. It is sharp and astringent in a good, refreshing way. I would wear this when I wanted to feel brisk, as opposed to feminine or sexy. Definitely a win for this tea and herb lover.

I am so glad that Tabella was kept around for a few more days so that more people could have some. It is herbal with a waxiness and a dustiness that reminds me of the smell of old parchment. Definitely one to hoard.

By the way, which one's Stink? (Couldn't resist a little Pink Floyd action there - and Piper is actually very nice) Piper at the Gates of Dawn changes quite a bit between initial application and full drydown. When wet there are Traditional Victorian Christmas Oranges and all manner of herbal. Dry, a clear sweet honeyed patchouli that evokes the bearded hippy side of Pan. I will be wearing this a lot over the winter and also look forward to seeing how a bit of aging will go.