Wench457

This is aaaaaaaaal about the grapefruit in the bottle. Once I put it on however the apple cider comes out to play, along with a stunningly gorgeous floral I can't quite identify. It's reading like a white floral, but not at all soapy or sharp, just lush and beautiful and a tad spicy. Plumeria maybe? I'm not getting a ton of honey from this yet, but I think it's contributing to smoothing out that grapefruit so it doesn't go sharp. Perfectly balanced; perfectly stunning. Definitely back up bottle worthy, and may even topple Baobhan Sith from her spot as my favorite grapefruit scent.

SWEET PUMPKIN SPICE this stuff is powerful! Oh how I wish "pumpkin" didn't always seem to be code for "cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves." My husband commented that it smelled like candy corn, and it definitely has that over-the-top sweetness. For someone who was looking for a super sweet ALLTHESPICES!XOXO! scent, this would be a winner. For someone who was hoping for gentle, slightly astringent yet buttery fresh-cut pumpkin and rich golden amber, it's a miss.

Such a lovely, true honeysuckle scent! It's for sure in your face with lots of throw and a little goes a long way. But it's also a soft, sweet floral, without the slightest bit of soapiness. Utterly in love with this one!

This is lovely in the bottle and when first applied. I am also reminded of Skadi, but the pine ruined Skadi for me. This is frozen fruit and blossoms and I love it very much at first. Then my dreaded woods amping skin comes into play and something cedary begins to take over. It's not necessarily cedar, my skin turns any and all woods into pencil shavings no matter how slight. I can still sniff the lovely fruits when I hold my wrist close to my nose. The pencil shaving smell does die down a bit eventually, but is still present, alas. This is a beautiful scent ruined by my wonky skin chemistry and I am very sad about it. Perhaps a bit of aging will resolve the problem, because I really do want it to work!

I love this! On me, it is strongly sweet mint, with a soft floral underneath. Fades very quickly but fun while it lasts - exactly the way gateway errors aren't.

I put it on this morning, and immediately thought: "Lemon meringue pie!" So I added some Pickle HG and thought no more about it.

 

Now, a couple hours later, I CANNOT stop sniffing myself. The citrus has faded into the background and this is now a glorious swirl of sweet vanilla and oudh and apricot. I adore a good oudh, and this is one of the best, imo. Musky and rich, without overpowering the other notes. I'm not getting a lot of DBR, except just a hint of spiciness to add zest. This has aged incredibly well.

I must admit that I was very on the fence about getting this one. Dorian and Antique Lace are probably tied for my all-time favorite scent, but I still have original bottles of both, and I was underwhelmed by the recent incarnation of AL, so I thought this would be much of a muchness for me.

 

Boy, was I wrong.

 

The glowing reviews tempted me into picking up a bottle in my most recent order, and I am instantly in love. This scent takes the best of Dorian and AL and elevates them into a whole other realm of gloriousness. I get an initial lemony note that is a bit overpowering on first application (and I say that as a citrus lover), but it soon mellows out, and I suspect that aging will settle it down even more. It's a sugary cloud of AL, with the occasional waft of Dorian's tea, and the florals in AL combine into perfection with Dorian's fougere. Let the hoarding commence.

I agree, loads of rich, thick honey drizzled over a pile of Snow White snow. It's SO good! If you like honey scents you absolutely must get this one. I will definitely be hoarding this one.

 

ETA: Wearing again today and I'm getting loads of carnation, which makes zero sense. I've worn this many times over the past few months, and this is the first time I've gotten anything remotely like this. Probably just a skin chemistry thing, but I thought I'd put it out there FWIW.

This one is a knockout winner for me. It almost had to be: I adore all pumpkin scents, pomegranate, and maraschino cherry. Add floss to the mix and there is almost no way it could NOT work for me.

The first hit is that rich, sweet pumpkin scent I adore, with pomegranate adding a tart note. Those two notes seem to be a bit at odds at the beginning, but after it warms up for a few minutes the cherry and floss join the party and smooth everything together. Fruity, not too heavy and not too sweet. I will wear this one a lot all year around.

Super strong throw on this one! It opens with a blast of citrus (more lemon than orange for me) with just a hint of candy corn underneath. I'm not getting much pumpkin from this, except maybe just the barest whiff of cinnamon at the edges.

As it warms up, the citrus backs off a bit and I get more of the waxy candy corn. Still only a little bit of pumpkin, and I'd like a bit more for depth. Hoping the pumpkin shows up more with a bit of aging, but as a major citrus fan, this is definitely a winner for me!

Agree, sugary pomegranate. Fortunately for me, I am exactly the right audience for this. Definitely low throw, it's only detectable from very close to my skin, even after slathering, but it's so delicious I find myself walking around holding my hand under my nose. This would be an AWESOME scent for a HG.

I have always gotten great service at Pilot Vials: http://www.pilotvials.com/Roll-on-vials.html

Maybe if we combined Casablanca's skin chemistry with mine, we'd hit the sweet spot for this scent. So far I'm getting a lot of herbal woodsiness, with just the barest hint of sweet mead in the background. It's quite nice, just not the meady scent I was expecting. Going to let this one age a bit before retesting.

Definitely a lovely creamy sweet cake. Mine seems to be dusted with just a touch of cinnamon - quite nice! I agree it seems more of a cool weather scent, but it will complement so many things. I would love to try it with Bengal, my go-to fall scent.

You are welcome! Hope you find it!

I haven't smelled Ojun, but I did a search on the Lab's page for Vanilla and Orange Blossom and came up with:

 

Hunger: Evokes sheer, unadulterated carnal lust. An undeniably warm and sensual scent. Black narcissus, orange blossoms, and vanilla.

 

and

 

Mastermind: An elegant cologne of olibanum, opoponax, leather accord, black amber, bois de jasmine, cade wood, pale balsam, orange blossom, oudh, black plum, bourbon vanilla, and sandalwood.

I am thinking there is a difference in components between original and the 2017 version. Not at all surprising, given the length of time that has passed. Or it's possible that my skin chemistry has changed, although my old bottles of AL wear just fine still.

 

Something in this, I'm guessing the vanilla, is going a bit plasticky on me. Original AL never did that on me, even when fresh. The only thing that keeps me from wailing in despair is that the ultimate dry down (ten hours later) is the faintest trace of the true scent of AL close to my skin. This gives me hope that a bit more aging will resolve the plastic issue, and I will once again be able to slather with abandon.

 

Will update in a few weeks with the results of my retest!

I see where people are getting wood polish, or as my son said “a slight undertone of floor cleaner.” This is in-your-face oud, and is quite sharp and strong at first. The vanilla is barely there, although I expect it will bloom with aging. It becomes more creamy on the dry down, although still quite woodsy. I may need another bottle - I think this will be stunning with a bit of age to settle it down.

 

ETA: After a bit of settling, I'm getting a rich, primarily honey scent with just a hint of vanilla, but with an amazing smooth oud underneath, which gives it a wonderful complexity. Short throw, but that's fine with me. Adore it - definitely hoard worthy!

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Testing fairly soon after the bottle arrived, so I will edit if things change after settling/aging.

I am getting a lot of orchid and almost no vanilla at this point. The orchid is very similar to violets for me. It's wanting to go soapy and sharp, though it settles back down into pretty flowers fairly quickly.

I have high hopes that this will mellow a lot with aging. It's quite pretty, but definitely more of a floral than a gourmand scent.

You know how there's an adorable puppy, and you're calling and calling and calling, but it will never come to you? Yeah. I have tried and tried to get Were Puppy to like me. It's just a no go. Most milk scents simply don't work on me. This one winds up smelling like a pina colada made with curdled milk. I'm going to have to admit defeat and try to find it a new forever home.

I am a sucker for pear scents, so this was an instant blind bottle. I have had issues with milk scents in the past, but I was hoping that rice milk would work out better, and I am not disappointed!

 

The pear in this starts out bit sharp, and almost hollow feeling, but the rice milk quickly comes out and smooths things over. It's a lovely creamy almost vanilla pear scent. I am hoping that the musk comes out more with aging, since this feels like it could use just a bit more depth. Even so, it is a sparkling, wispy and very pretty scent. Not much throw, which makes it perfect to wear for work.

 

ETA: Three months of aging has made all the difference. The musk is definitely more apparent, which I love, as white musk is one of my favorite scents. All three notes are readily apparent and perfectly blended. The threow is a bit stronger now, but still appropriate for daytime wear. It would probably also be a great sleepytime scent, it is so warm and comforting.

 

Right up into my top ten!

Testing through my stash, so I am finally putting up a review for this one.

 

DCXCIX (699)

 

Starts out a lovely lemon and cream - sharp but sweet with a musky undertone.

 

Once it starts to dry, the lemon backs way off and I get a rich floral coming forward - my nose says rose, but the Lab's rose note never works on me and this stays lovely and true. It's possibly peony, but that doesn't seem quite right either.

 

The ultimate drydown is a beautiful rose (or peony, or ??) and apple. Really quite pretty, but just not something I can see myself wearing often.

 

I am being ruthless with my culling, so off to swaps it goes.

 

 

MXLVII (1047)

 

Whoa. Holy scent memory, Batman! Fresh out of the bottle, this positively threw me back to my childhood, visiting my grandparents in North Carolina. I don't know why it does, but I have never before had such a vivid scent memory. Crazy! It starts out with a candy sweetness, but overlaid on top of a musky earthy note. I cannot for the life of me pick out an individual note in this one yet.

 

As it dries, I can start to pick out a hint of vanilla. The sweetness fades fast and I get more musky earth and a hint of spice that I almost recognize. Possibly clove, because it's starting to sour, though it doesn't seem quite spicy enough for clove.

 

Ultimate drydown: I'm pretty sure it's carnation. I also get something kind of woodsy. Another pretty one that just isn't something I will wear enough to justify keeping, even for the initial scent-inspired trip to the past.

Baobhan Sith for grapefruit tea. One of my favorites! Linky

Retesting rose scents!

 

Unfortunately, while my skin chemistry has changed enough to allow me to wear rose now, it has NOT changed enough to allow me to wear jasmine.

 

Alas.

 

It's really lovely in the the imp though.

Is there anything to replace Neo-Tokyo? It has been gone quite some time by now, but perhaps there are some who can help.

I haven't personally tried it yet, but Little Sister Is Watching You has been compared to Neo-Tokyo in reviews. A voice on the airwaves: electric, aldehydic cherry blossom.