Nachtwulf

Bottle: Well. This is different. It's thick and incensy and dark, all right... strangely more 'dark' than Darkness. Ironic. It's kind of spicy and thick and exotic, not quite managing to make it to being sweet at all. It is Man Scent, I think. Wet: Ooh. Warm and spicy and yes, incensy. It's also distinctly smoky. There's some kind of musk crawling around underneath it, though, that threatens to turn into that icky 'animal stink' that I found in one of my CT2 imps. I have to wonder if it's civet. Dry: ...It's sure different. It's thick and smokey and potent, and it reminds me....well... it kind of reminds me of Samhain ritual incense, from back when I used to practice with a Wiccan coven. It's harsh and smoky and dark, and I'm somewhat bemused as to how they got the smell of autumnal incenses and smoke into a bottle like that. This is bonfire smoke, too, not pansy candle smoke. Oak and wood and resins. Final Opinion: ....Hmnr. Jury is out on this. It's potent stuff, but I'm not sure I want to smell like I just came inside after standing next to a bonfire and hanging onto a shell full of dragon's blood for an hour. I'm almost tempted to try layering it with Sugar Skull to see if the sugars will mute the beast a little. I'm getting throw from both right now, and it's actually pretty nice.

Bottle: Wow, this is sweet. In fact, I can't smell cinnamon, honeysuckle, myrrh, /or/ copal. It's a warm, sweet, almost buttery smell to me (although not the 'butter' note I've learned to dread). If I inhale really hard, I do get some of the cinnamon and honeysuckle, but it's really one tightly tangled web of fragrance that I can't pick apart. Wet: It retains that buttery quality... a sort of caramel-corn kind of thing at first, until the cinnamon starts to curl out from under everything else. It's very different... warm and spicy and sweet and ever so subtly floral (I do love honeysuckle)... it reminds me of something. Hell if I know what, but it's an autumny sort of scent. The myrrh is hiding. I think this may be a good thing. Dry: Oh, wow. It's hot and dry and spicy and smoky. I think of spice candles that have been burnt. It brings to mind Halloween, of the warm, dusky aftermath, after the trick-or-treaters have gone home and the strobe lights have been turned off, the candles in the pumpkins blown out. It is resinous, I'm finally getting the copal, which I think is responsible for the sweet-burnt smell. Final Opinion: Just... wow, again. I love this. The throw is great, it smells great on my skin. To me, it reminds me of autumn, of Halloween night, but it's not the least bit foody. It's spice and smoke and darkness, and it's absolutely wonderful. This definitely goes into the 'bottle' pile. Edit: I wore it today while working on a carpentry project... (long story). Oddly enough, while getting hot and dusty and sweaty is not normally a good thing, Chimera actually became more active the more I worked, until I was in this kind of warm spice cloud. Which is, one supposes, better than a cloud of 'hot stinky person'. It also complements the smell of sawdust, though I guess that's not really a telling feature for most people...

A glowing red and flickering scent: warm, lurid, seductive. Bottle: I'm hard pressed to say what this smells like. It isn't as sweet as I'd expected, it's spicy and clear, and a little pungent. I believe I can pick out some sandalwood, and some sort of musk maybe? It's woody more than anything, though. (Because wood burns?) Wet: Very spicy! Sandalwood, and...not cinnamon, but something else similar. I wouldn't call it a warm scent, myself, but... I do feel like my skin is actually heating up a bit where it's lying. o.o; Clove. I'm getting cloves now. Sandalwood and clove, that's where the sharpness is coming from. Dry: It remains very woody, though I do get a bit of musk now...or civet; I can hardly tell them apart. It's got a sort of weird almost salty undertone that I don't really care for. It might work on a guy better than me, though; it's an extremely manly sort of smell. Final Opinion: Much like Nemesis, I think this is Too Much Man For Me. I never got anything terribly warm or lurid... there are other things I'd be more inclined to describe as 'warm' besides this. I don't really care for the animal/feral twang, and really, it's just not sweet enough for me. Off to the swaps with this one.

Bottle: Curiously spicy. I can't pick up any of the fruit or much of the florals... It seems incensy, though much sweeter than other incensy sorts like Anathema or Cathedral. There is a floral quality to it, but it's mingled together too much to identify. Wet: Very much 'cypress and myrrh'. The florals remain, softening it and preventing it from becoming churchy, though. The cypress is quite strong, though, verging on being overwhelming. Dry: Still basically cypress and myrrh. Still faintly sweet. It doesn't change much at all from wet to dry. I do like how neither the evergreen nor myrrh notes is allowed to go acrid, though (that happens so easy with myrrh!) It's a pleasant, warm, woody sort of scent that seems kind of deserty to me, if anything. And finally, at the veeeeeery end, I'm getting a bit of currant to sweeten up the woods. Final Opinion: In a way, it reminds me almost of Jabberwocky, except that instead of being a sweet, light cedary scent, it's a lot warmer and spicier. I like that it's /subtly/ piney, not overwhelming. It's quite complex, and I like how it keeps changing. I don't know if I'll go out for a 5ml or not, but the imp definitely goes in the keep slot.

Bottle: Pure, light, sweet florals. I suppose that's the moonflower and moss talking. No incense as far as I can tell. Maybe a -wee- bit of musk, but 'white musk' always seems kind of fragile to me, and may not appear in the application. Wet: Okay, there's the musk. Nnnh. My first impressions are more like 'storebought perfume' on this one. It kind of reminds me of something my grandmother used to wear (though I suppose it doesn't qualify as 'old lady-ish', it's just reminiscent of that. Dry: The white musk has kind of taken over, and I can't say I really go for it. I know other people have occasionally complained about cat pee... this isn't cat pee, but I think it's /something/ pee. There's florals still going on, but there's a really obvious under-note of something distinctly animal and sour. Final Opinion: Nnnrf. Not my bag, no. It might've been okay if it weren't for the white musk, or maybe there's some civet hiding in it, but... yergh. My skin does not go for this.

Bottle: A spicy aquatic? The myrtle and apple blossoms make this surprisingly 'wet' and floral, though the ambers are definitely present to give it a bit of zap. Wet: I want to say this is a warmer version of Bayou. Except it isn't as sweet or clear, and it doesn't seem to last as long? I wonder if it's already fading... Dry: Going, going...er. Gone? o.o Final Opinion: Ninja VANEESH! Someone stole the gold! .... I'll give this one another try tomorrow, but as far as I can tell, it sinks in and goes away in a matter of moments. I can't smell it at all anymore!

Bottle: Definitely rosey. I can kind of pick up some of the sourness of Zombi's 'dead roses', but it's not bad. The 'Victorian spices' are at least in the imp, drowned out by the rose. Wet: Roses, and...a faint coppery smell that I swear reminds me of blood. (Centzon Totochtin is supposed to have a bloodlike element to it, but I never noticed it!) Apropo for the title, but... jury's still out if I want to smell like a recently satiated leech... *cough* Dry: Rose, rose, rose. It's like Whip, almost, but instead of leather, it has a bit of spice to it. Final Opinion: Although it goes through a Zombi-like sour stage when wet, it's actually rather nice dry. The spice is subtle, well back behind all that rose, but it makes it less pure rosy. I think I'll keep the imp for awhile, but I don't need a bottle.

Bottle: It's like it can't decide whether to be sweet or peppery. I get a really strong 'pepper' note from it that I really don't care for, in the imp. But it's trying so hard to be sweet and fruity underneath! Wet: ...Ooh. Huge metamorphosis on skin. Pepper bite goes away, leaving something sweet, yet resinous. It's still got some sort of musky edge to it that makes it much less 'friendly' than say Bordello, and I'm getting some kind of woody... hm. Sandalwood? Yes. Pure sandalwood, like the powdered wood I use for incense, sometimes. It's a very raw scent, sweetened yet not overwhelmed by the sweeter background notes. Dry: Sandalwood subdues back almost into the typical 'incensy' scent a fair bit of BPAL dries down to. But it's sweeter, definitely, and has some truly interesting (and hard to identify) notes floating around in it. Definitely resiny. Final: Hn. I think the imp's a keeper, but it's not an OMGBOTTLE scent, surely. I do sort of wish I knew /what/ it dried down to, since the scent is weirdly familiar to me, but for all that, I do like it. Just not one of my everyday scents.

Bottle: Sharp, sharp, acrid. Talk about unforgiving. o.o It claims to have fruit notes, but I'm not seeing any; this is a dose of pungent herbals and cypress, with little to soften its scourging blow Wet: Okay, my skin can kind of beat it into submission, it seems. It is, however, almost entirely a sharp, woodsy, cypressy note. No tonka, no fig, no patchouli even. It's a powerful and masculine thing, all rough and edgy. Dry: Still a rather unforgiving kind of scent. The throw is pleasant enough, and is the only place I've gotten any fruit notes, but once you get up on it, it goes right back to being cedarwood and cypress and wood and resin. It does soften a touch over time, but a 'gentle' fragrance this ain't. Final: It's better on than in the bottle, certainly, and I might have my days when I want this. But overall, I'm going to have to say 'way too manly for my druthers'. Nemesis is definitely, /DEFINITELY/ a no-nonsense lady.

Bottle: I dunno about any of those other notes in here; What I smell is jasmine, honeysuckle, wisteria, and magnolias. It's a summer evening on the bayou, all right, minus the reek of bog water. Wet: All of the florals mingle together into what seems like one sweet note with an aquatic underpinning. This isn't a super-'clean' scent like Water of Notre Dame, this is crushed flowers floating on the surface of a spring. It's also got a shadow of 'watermelon', though that might be my imagination and hopeful wishing. Dry: Still clean, sweet, lightweight. Still aquatic. It becomes /more/ aquatic, as it dries, though the florals are still a big part of the scent. Final: MUST HAVE BOTTLE. MUST HAVE BOTTLE. I could /bathe/ in this. Seriously, if there was a soap with this in it, I would buy it. I'm not even a floral fan, and I love this. Not a hint of soap or powder, sweet and clear and pretty from start to finish. I need to get a 10ml and dump it into one of my nice new roller bottles.

One last try for an aquatic I can wear. ....All I have to say is...wow. Just, oo wow. In the bottle: It smells like water. Water in a spring, lightly ringed with reeds and soft green moss, with just a touch of rose. Pure, clean water. I'm brought to mind of those sacred grottos where the holy spring trickles over cool rocks and into a pool at the base. Wet: Some percentage of the 'aquatic' notes fade (because my skin eats them) but it leaves behind a light, fresh, faintly sweet scent that I'm hard pressed to identify. Vaguely floral. Dry: Very 'clean'. It goes a touch soapy on me, but not badly. It makes me think of something one would put on right after getting out of the shower.... because it's like /having/ a shower. The watery note has kind of resurfaced, mingling with some sort of sweet floral. Final: Hm. I do like it. I'm not sure I'd wear it often; for the time being, I think the imp is fine. But the considerable amount of 'throw' it has is enough to keep you smelling spring-shower-fresh for /hours/. I also like that the rose-qualities of it are softer and less in your face than many of the other rose blends. It's kind of like a 'wetter', greener Moon Rose to me.

Bottle: It's definitely a different sort of rose than say Moon Rose (which is light and sweet) or Whip (dark and thick). It's harsher, more acidic, though tempered by the background notes. I can definitely pick up the moss (making it kind of green and damp), but I don't get any dirt out of it at all. Which is just as well. Wet: .... I smell.... Pledge. I swear, it goes lemony-sour. ._. It's like furniture polish. Dry: Well, less like Pledge and more like roses. It still seems a little sour/acidic, though. I like the rosy quality of it when dry, but I think it needs something else to 'underpin' it so I don't get constantly reminded of 'slightly stale rose potpourri'. Final: I dunno. I may give it another chance later (I want this to like me!) but I think it's probably too astringent for me. The sour undertones really don't seem to work on my skin well. I think it does pull off the 'withered funeral arrangement' thing well enough, once it's dry, but I'm not sure I want to smell like funeral decor.

Bottle: Eugh! This smells like Grog, or something! Waugh, butter! In skimming the other reviews, though, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that was wondering if they got a mislabel. Wet: Phew! Icky butter smell goes away. It goes kind of resiny, and honestly, goes almost exactly like every other incense type I've tried (Anathema, Seraphim). Not, mind you, that I don't -like- that scent, but... there are catalog scents that duplicate it... Dry: It calms down, becoming warmer, softer, and sweet yet still very much incensey. It's comforting. It makes me want to curl up someplace warm and feel watched over and content. There's something gently floral about it, yet so muted by wood and incense that you can't identify it; it's just there to soften the force of the impact and make the scent more approachable as a whole. Final opinion: Out of the bottle, it's awful. BUT. Thankfully, as soon as it touches skin, it ceases to be 'slightly rancid butter' and turns into something positively lovely. It has a lot of throw, but not so much as to become gagging, and remains a lovely sweet incense. Here's hoping that the 2005 version is similar, 'cause I have a whole bottle on its way!

In the bottle: Grk! @_o This is... I can't.... quite describe it. It's /very/ pungent, though, I have to give you that. The 'ozone' note is -extremely- prevalent; they're not -kidding- about the 'electric and wet'. It's got a sweet undertone beneath it, but mostly, it's all claws in the nostrils. Wet: It's even harder to identify wet. It becomes more sweet, slightly, but still remains all edges and points, 'ozone' notes overriding almot everything. But there's flowers under it... it's like a screaming thunderstorm in a flower garden in the middle of the night. It's too sweet for me to read 'winter' in it, really; it's not cold enough. But there's something kind of mediciney in it, too, that makes it less pleasant than it might otherwise be. Dry: I think... it turns into something I'd tend to call 'Cool Breeze Aftershave'. It's very masculine, and the sweet-floral undertones aren't enough to soften it down at all. That 'mediciney' note sticks around, though a bit softer, falling short of 'soapy' but still remaining rather like men's toiletry items. When it's sat dry for some time, it seems to gain a faint citrusy note. Final Opinion: Um. Well... I just...don't think this is me. It's too sharp, it's a little too male, and not really in a good way. The overall impression of aftershave (even if it's not cheap aftershave) seems to be a little funny to me for a woman. I wonder if anyone will trade for it... it /would/ be nice on a man.

In the bottle: Wow, acrid. x_x Chaotic is right. The vetiver is also trying to crawl up my nose and spear my brain. There's something sweet and spicy-incensy underneath it, but the sharp spines of the vetiver, and probably lavender and rosemary for backup are totally beating it into the ground unabashedly. Wet: Okay, not quite so bad, wet. It's like a lighter version of Anathema. In fact.. it almost seems to be going away. What up with -that-? Dry: Once it settles, it's actually kind of nice. It's still a sharper sort of scent than most things I like, but it sweetens a bit when it dries, the vetiver gives up and moves into the back seat and lets cardamom/cypress/frankincense drive. I'm not picking up ANY fruit notes at all, no fig or tamarind or anything like that. Final Opinion:Still a lighter version of Anathema. I'm curious about trying to layer it with something genuinely sweet, like Bordello, and see what I get. Take something that verges on too sweet and spice it up a bit. Not entirely sure I like it by itself, though, it's awfully masculine.

In the bottle: Pine? o.o Or at least, highly evergreeny. (Kind of a shock after Blood Kiss, I'll tell you.) It is indeed, 'green' though... green green wet and green. In fact, I daresay it strikes me as more wet-green than even Burial or R'lyeh. It seems a bit clearer and sweeter than either, as well. Wet: Mmm. Very wet, clean, and still green. It becomes more floral, but not overwhelmingly so. Frankly, this is what I was hoping both Burial and R'lyeh were. Wish I knew what flower note that was in it. I wouldn't say it was 'earthy', though, but more aquatic... fresh streams with rocks covered in soft green moss. Dry: Dries down to something very similar to Black Forest, if a bit more 'leafy' and still aquatic. Over time, though, it seems to go kind of powdery. Final Opinion: I do like it, but not really as a personal scent. I haven't decided if I'll trade it, or if I'll keep it for burner use.

In the bottle: It's sweet, I'll give you that. I can't really clearly identify any notes in the bottle, save perhaps the cherry, vetiver, and this melange that's probably vanilla/clove. Wet: ...Amaretto? Then again, I tend to think amaretto smells of cherries anyway, so. I think this likely would've been better without the vetiver, though; it's an acrid note that this otherwise warm and sweet blend doesn't really seem to need. Dry: Mostly clove. There's a bit of something under it, but largely, it seems to have gone all clove and vetiver, and is kind of unpleasantly sharp/spicy. Final Opinion: I wish it had kept its sweet notes, but the drier it got, the less sweet it got, until it was all pointy sharp ends. This is in sharp contrast to /most/ BPAL blends, that get warmer and mellower as time goes on. I suspect it's a chemistry issue; I'll probably give it a second chance, but I suspect it will be one for the trading pile.

In the bottle:Well, it doesn't smell like wolfsbane, for sure, but that's not really a bad thing. It's basically a floral, but not the 'night flowers' variety. This is sweeter, rounder, and I'm going to take a wild prediction that it's likely to go powdery on me. There is a hint of pine. Wet: Well, it's not powder. It's wet flowers and deciduous trees, ferns and streamlets. Mostly, it's wet flowers, and I can't for the LIFE of me figure out which ones. The fact that it does, however, continue to smell like actual damp flowers and not like soap, baby powder, or cleaner, is somewhat bewildering. Dry:The pine note settles more to the fore when it's dry, but the 'damp flowers' are still there. I /wish/ I knew what kind of flowers they were. Carnations, maybe? I still can't get over how much it /does/ remind one of a damp flowerbed. I think...there might well be rose in it. Rose and pine? How odd. Final Opinion: Jury's still out on this one. I'm not, by nature, big on florals, but this isn't 'omgstinkyflower' or anything. I don't hate it, by any means, but I'm not entirely sure if I like it enough to keep it. Hm.

In the bottle:Very very sweet and fruity. Though looking at the note list, I can't say -that's- a surprise. Definitely can pick up the amaretto, with a hint of something like bourbon; a thick, boozy note that makes it warm and indolent. It might be the 'wine', but I'm thinking more 'cognac' or 'brandy'. Wine is very sharp to me, and this is anything /but/ sharp. Wet: Hm. Most of the fruit seems to vanish on me, leaving primarily amaretto, and that cognac flavor. Dry: Plum, currant... pipe tobacco? The 'boozy' scent has become a slightly more leather-and-pipe-tobacco sort of note to me, but the fruit has come back. It's no longer quite so foody, though it's still very sweet and warm. Definitely what I'd call a 'dark' scent. It also has a surprising amount of throw. Final Opinion:'Love potion' is right. This isn't something you wear to work, or to a movie. This is something you wear when you're hoping to get hot and heavy with someone, and you want to smell like...well, okay, it smells better than sex, I'll give you. The imp is a keeper, but I don't know how much I'll actually wear it. Might try it in the oil burner...

In the bottle: I can't really smell the rose as a separate note. It's soft, sweet, both spicy and floral to me, but the actual flowers aren't identifiable. It's a wee little bit sharp around the edges, but not pungent. Wet: It smells.... um. Actually, I'm hard pressed to identify it. What it /reminds/ me of, is the smell of a metaphysical store, all warm resins and spicy wood and dried flowers. It's faintly incensy to me, but it's not the heaviness of ecclesiastical resins. I think I can pick up a hint of nag champa in it somewhere, but it isn't just that. In fact, it may just be an illusion made up of other things. Dry: I can actually pick up a hint of rose, now, sweetening the spice. It's almost entirely all amber and musk, and a much less uber-sweet amber than I'd honestly expected. It's not anything like as rosey on me as I'd been led to believe, but that's all right. I have lots of rose type scents anyway. Final opinion: I got this in my very first-est order, and am just now getting to it. I didn't know what I was missing, no indeed. It's /lovely/. It doesn't dry down to the same incense notes as a lot of things seem to, it's not too sweet, or too harsh, and it doesn't fade too quickly. It still smells like 'high end metaphysical store' to me, but honestly, I -like- that smell. Years of incense and flowers permeating everything until it's mellowed to that perfect scent. I do believe I am, indeed, Spellbound.

In the bottle: I'm...not sure. I don't know if I'm picking up throw from Grog (which makes kind of a murky cloud of scent) or what, but there's something kind of odd about this. I can smell the tangerine clearly enough, but either the 'white chocolate' note is striking me as odd, or else the waft is being contaminated by Grog-haze. I think I'm going to go wash and come back for a second opinion later. ---- Later: No, it's still faintly odd. Wet: I still don't know about the chocolate scent. It seems to make what would otherwise be a pleasant fruity-floral smell kind of cloying and sicky sweet, to me. It's not as bad as Grog or Gluttony by any means, but it's not quite perhaps what I expected of it. Dry: Okay, NOW I like it. The funny not-quite-chocolate scent has dried down, leaving a pleasant sweetness that fails to be gagging. It reminds me of pipe tobacco, almost... the ultra high grade variety that smells of amaretto and other less identifiable things. It's a /touch/ spicey, but of all of the 'sweet-foody' type scents I've tried, this one is probably the nicest. Final Opinion: I wasn't sure I was going to keep it initially, but it's really grown on me. It dries down to something that reminds me of spicy dark-chocolate mandarin oranges; it's foody without being oversweet or over-obviously foodlike. There's just enough spice to keep it warm, but not to turn it into 'incense', like so many things seem to on me. Definitely a win, in my book.

n the bottle: It seems like a 'clarion spice'... not a warm spice, but sharp and prickly and bright. I can definitely find the ginger and the balsam, though they sort of overwhelm everything else, at least in the bottle. Makes my nose itch a bit. Wet: It reminds me strongly of aftershave with tobacco in it. It's brittle and harsh, and nothing but edges. Dry: It tones down, but it's still very masculine and rather after-shavey. Final Opinion: It'd probably work on a man, but I'm afraid it's not for me. Already swapped off to a good home, though!

In the bottle: Honeysuckle! Night blooming flowers, sweet and fresh. I suspect I'm actually smelling the narcissus, but I'm definitely thinking more 'wisteria and honeysuckle' than anything particularly 'gloomy'. Wet: Still kind of a light, sweet floral, though on my skin I can pick up a bit more of the opium flavor (especially if I snort it.) Still not what I'd call 'darkness', but at least it's a floral that doesn't go soapy, it seems. Dry: It warms down nicely, gaining a comforting edge without losing its pretty sweetness. It's not as spicey as I'd expect a myrrh/opium undertone to get, but at least I don't smell like a potpourri sachet, either. (Second Test: It goes amazingly clove-y. I'm SURE I can smell cloves in it. Clove and myrrh, surprisingly sharp.) Final Opinion: Not sure. It's /very/ different wet than it is dry, and it might be a little too sharp for me to be all that attached to. It's not in my Trade Right Now pile, but I'll probably swap it off at some point in the future.

In the bottle: Sweet! Very...buttery. Butter and sugar, but a bit warmer than Jack comes off. I can smell a /bit/ of rum in it, but it's mostly sweet butter. Wet: Sweet butter and caramel. It smells more like Cracker Jacks to me, than grog. Dry: Still smells of cracker jacks. If they wanted to have a /real/ carnival scent, I swear, this would be it. It makes me wonder where the peanuts are. It also has a lot of throw, which is somewhat bollixing my other tests at the moment. ; Final Opinion: Where has all the RUM gone?! That's it in a nutshell, really. I can't find -any- rum in it, just brown sugar, butter, and a subtly salty edge that makes me think irrevocably of cracker jacks. I like it, I suppose (because I like cracker jacks) but... really, I don't think I want it for a perfume. Someone might try to bite me.

In the bottle: A clear, almost 'terse' scent. It's got a fairly masculine edge to it; it's a little floral, but not flowery, and isn't particularly sweet, as such. It's not soapy, either, at least in the bottle; I'm hard pressed to say -what- it smells like, right off. It does have a rather peppery quality to it. Wet: The peppery notes seem stronger once it hits my skin, along with something... something else. I don't know what the 'else' is at all, but I don't think it's lavender -or- carnation. It's VERY masculine, though; it reminds me of aftershave. Dry: Still very after-shavey. I can pick up the lavender, though. Final Opinion: It's nice enough, but it's just too masculine for me. It makes me think of men's cologne or aftershave, and while I don't mind it, I can't really see it on me as a scent. Doesn't suck, but it's not my bag.