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OctoberGwen

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Everything posted by OctoberGwen

  1. OctoberGwen

    Pinched With Four Aces

    Oh dear God, this smells wonderful. It's just a perfect balance of not-too-sweet (is that subtle sweetness from the cinnamon bark?), a tiny bit of an edge from the tobacco (wrappers), and a gorgeous woody quality - nice and dry, just how I want my scents, but with a lovely depth. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for the tester, sunshinedaisybliss. Should I kiss you or kick you, as I will never ever find any more of this? Honestly, I'm so glad I got to try it.
  2. OctoberGwen

    Psychological Horror

    What a fascinating oil. It captures the concept really well, I think. Wet, all I can smell is a strong chemical note - like cheap hairspray. After a bit this begins to die back, and quite some time later I get an unassuming powdery musk with a bit of violet. And that horrible chemical note lurking underneath. Psychological Horror doesn't unnerve me quite as much as Whitechapel did, but it's close. I am so glad I got to try this!
  3. OctoberGwen

    Sweet Barking Cheese Room Spray

    Hi, Poenari! I was another of the lucky winners in the lovely SSDB's giveaway, and I just adore both her and her Sweet Barking Cheese. This stuff smells wonderful. I agree that is has a sweetness to it, but it's not foody, really. It also has a nice spicy kick, maybe from the same Ceylon cinnamon that Kypria has. Ceylon has some woodiness and does not really smell like the cooking spice except in passing, at least to my nose. Sweet Barking Cheese has good staying power (like all of the Post's sprays.) My husband came home hours later and asked what smelled so good...and I was so happy to tell him! I'm just delighted to have this. Thank you, Sunshine! ETA: The more I sniff this, the sweeter it gets. I would love to know what the magic ingredients are. Cheesy poofs? Vanilla? Vanilla-covered cheesy poofs?
  4. OctoberGwen

    Satyr

    Civet loves me, apparently. I never get anything remotely "pee like" or nasty with civet, just a deep, sexy musk. Yum, yum. Satyr is sweetened considerably by the cinnamon (a note I don't often love, but it's quite nice in this blend.) There is almost certainly some patchouli here, as well.
  5. OctoberGwen

    Snake Charmer

    Snake Charmer Resurrected I really dig this type of blend. I'm not a plum fan but I don't smell it here, just a gorgeous sweetly spiced vanilla (the kind that works on me), and incensey deliciousness. Fades really fast from my wrists but sticks around pretty nicely in the cleavage. Weird. I can see why this one is so coveted. Thank you, arlith, for gifting me a decant!!
  6. OctoberGwen

    Sumatran Red Patchouli

    Oh sweet baby Jesus. This is just....gaaaaaaaaaah. Not catch-in-your-throat filthy patch, but a chewy, earthy, spicy patch. So rich and redolent and red. The patchouli from my beloved Tricksy, along with every other of Beth's patch blends that I love. Patchouli connoisseurs, rejoice. And order seventy-seven bottles.
  7. OctoberGwen

    Exhibit Hall Fatigue

    I bought this off the etsy site (thank you SO much, Lab, for offering it there.) I actually love all these notes. I'm also a TAL devotee, so no stranger to oils with a purpose. That said, this baby is really potent smell-wise! I arrived home today hot and exhausted from work and too little sleep last night. I pulled this out of my mailbox and immediately put it on...and I really did feel better almost instantly. It really cleared the cobwebs! This is definitely a workhorse oil, not a perfume: the menthol is strong, as is the bergamot, giving it a very medicinal edge. After several minutes the citrus does come through more. I think I will find this very, very useful, and it will be a great partner to my TAL Energy oil. A note of caution: don't apply this to your temples. It will make your eyes sting.
  8. OctoberGwen

    The Turkish Village

    I adore this. It is blended magnificently. I definitely get strong coffee, I think a hint of the cardamom, and a lovely sort of rose that I don't recall smelling before. It's an exotic, slightly sweet, slightly spicy gorgeousness of a scent. Win!
  9. OctoberGwen

    Sweet Alyssum

    This is beautiful. A sweet, honeyed floral note. There is absolutely nothing "high pitched" or green about this. It lasts a good long while, too. Not a scent I will wear all the time, but I am happy to have it nonetheless.
  10. OctoberGwen

    Lunar Eclipse: April 2013

    Oh. I am so happy I bought a bottle of this. This starts off sort of fresh, with the white tea note very dominant (and it's fecking lovely; I adore tea notes.) The florals are lending a soft and very pretty waft of support to the tea. As it dries, the darker aspects of the scent become apparent but never overpower the soft freshness of the other elements. The result is a complex and very nicely blended scent, with none of the strange undertone that my skin usually brings out of the lunar oils. This is unique; I have nothing like this in my collection. Also, the label art is awesome.
  11. OctoberGwen

    Coraline Jones

    I was gifted a bottle of this (thank you, thank you - you know who you are ), and I am so happy to have it! I never would have bought Coraline Jones for myself, and she smells wonderful. Clean but not soapy, fresh and slightly grassy but not too green, with a hint of juicy sweetness from the red berries. This is a completely inoffensive scent for when you want to smell good but not 'dressed up' or sexy. It will be perfect for sweltering, muggy Summer days, too.
  12. OctoberGwen

    Hungarian Caraway

    I like this very much, perhaps I love it, even on my skin. (Hungarian Caraway is an oil that I felt certain was destined for the oil burner only.) This is the reason why I love single notes from Beth. It is such an interesting scent, and has such fascinating associations and properties. I will almost certainly add it to any protective charms I make for my sons. Anyway, freshly applied it has a musty quality to it, like a potting shed where there are dried bunches of herbs hanging from the ceiling. It smells homey, and ancient and magical all at once. The far drydown is just a soft hint of spiciness that sticks very close to my skin. I can't stop smelling myself when I have it on, and it definitely has a calming influence. I'm very pleased to have found a bottle. Thank you, Ashmedai!
  13. OctoberGwen

    Lot and His Daughters

    Oh God, I adore this. It does have an initial blast that is almost mentholated (I attribute that to the bourbon geranium, which once it calms down smells diviiiiine), and then almost right away it smells exactly like the New Age shop I used to frequent in my youth. The far drydown is a lovely, softly sweet and spicy skin scent. It lasts forever. Like all the Salons, this is very complex and sophisticated. It reminds me a bit of both Third Charm and Lips Full of Lust and Laughter - it's in the same family, I would say. Totally brilliant. I hope I can find a bottle. ETA: This has rocketed into my Top Ten. It's long lasting and smells wonderful on me, and is also nice in the scent locket. I now own two bottles and counting...thank God for the forum sales!
  14. OctoberGwen

    Self-Portrait With Puffy Stickers

    Oh, goodness. I finally found a strawberry scent that I love, and I think it's the extremely realistic berry here. It's not a candy smell, which can go plastic on me, and it's not mixed with anything sugary at all. I love it. I'm getting lots of sun-warmed strawberry and an equal amount of clover and grass. It just smells like being in the strawberry patch of my childhood on a warm June day, with the scent of my mom's wild roses being carried on the breeze. I don't know what the orris butter is doing; perhaps it is lending a nice, smooth base to the whole thing to keep it from being too green. At any rate, this is absolutely beautiful and I'm quite sure I need a whole bottle of it.
  15. OctoberGwen

    Love

    Sniffing from the imp, I get a perfect embodiment of an "I love you Daddy" picture drawn by a little girl: innocent and sweet, fluffy-pink vanilla marshmallow, strawberry, and soft rose. It's quite divine, actually. My skin, however, is not nice to sugary scents and strawberry is often problematic, too. Here it develops a distinct plasticky edge that taints the innocent perfection of the smell from the imp. I still get that prettiness underneath, but I dislike the overtone when I'm wearing it. Phooey to you, skin chemistry. I'd bet my life this is fantastic on lots of people...just not me, sadly.
  16. OctoberGwen

    Aperotos Eros

    Oh, my skin loves Aperotos Eros. This is definitely my kind of scent! Indian is one of my favourite musks, as it turns out. It has a deep, sweetish quality that hints at civet but isn't quite as animal- smelling. That is mostly what I get here, after the first minute. (Freshly applied, there is sharp weirdness happening on my stained-yellowish wrists.) Thankfully, this dissipates quickly and I am left with just a dusky, musky deliciousness. I don't really pick out the fir as a separate note, but it's probably lending a nice woodsy quality to the resin/musk party. This is for certain turning into a big bottle for me. I fucking love it.
  17. OctoberGwen

    Whitechapel

    Jesus, maybe it's all psychological, but this one gives me the CREEPS. It smells like a dirty lollipop. I just...can't.
  18. OctoberGwen

    Herbert West

    When first applied, I quite love this. I'm not generally a fan of smelling like a man, but the lemony quality of this one is just fabulous on me. If it stayed the way it smells when wet, I would totally wear this on hot summer days: it smells clean but not soapy, fresh but not sharp, and is just complex enough to please my nose and avoid boredom. Unfortunately, the longer I wear it, the more cologney it becomes. The pretty lemon is eventually overtaken by whatever that undercurrent smell is (the aftershave, I suppose.) Bummer. Still, I'm glad that Puddin' included this in my last Post order as a frimp, as I never would have tried it otherwise.
  19. OctoberGwen

    Haute Macabre

    I was hoping for more almond husk, oak leaf, and aged patchouli. On me, all I'm getting is ! LEATHER ! and my too- sweet frenemy, bourbon vanilla. Not for me.
  20. OctoberGwen

    Imp

    I hesitated to try Imp for a long time because peach and I are not on speaking terms. Peach likes to go all nauseating, cloying sweetness on my skin and most of the time I simply dislike smelling of fruit. Imagine my surprise when Imp turned out to be gorgeous on me! First off, I think white peach is a much lighter, less syrupy version of this note. The other thing working in my favor here is the fact that the amber, patchouli, and wonderful, wonderful golden musk sit on the peach, keeping it from being too...peachy. That earthy trio keeps the sweet fruit in check, so that it's lending just a hint of sweetness and a slightly fresh quality to the scent. This is lovely, and it is on my list of General Catalogue Bottles I'd Like To Get Some Day.
  21. OctoberGwen

    The Last Evening of the Year

    I normally can't wear snow notes (or anything 'cold', really), but this is really lovely on me. I think the linen does something to temper the snow, and the soft brush of rose petals is subtle and just gorgeous. This is a very clean, very pretty scent and I can see myself wearing it when I'm in the right mood - probably on a miserably hot, humid day.
  22. OctoberGwen

    Morocco

    I have no idea why it has taken me this long to try Morocco. For some reason, I think it was in the back of my head that I'd already tested it at some point and couldn't remember it because it was a forgettable scent experience for me. Boy, was I wrong! When first applied, this smells extremely familiar to me - like a classic perfume from my younger years, although I'll never recall which one. The top part of Morocco is very sweet, but not in a foody way at all. It's also a tiny bit creamy and very spicy, delicious and exotic. This is not a subtle, cozy, I'll-just-hang-here, don't mind me oil for sure. Morocco is something to wear when you're going out on the town and want to smell like a WOMAN. It has very good throw. I quite like it. Not an everyday scent for me, but I would pull it out for the right mood and occasion.
  23. OctoberGwen

    Ambergris

    Seriously, SmileCat's review from upthread is nearly perfect. The "memory of salt...sunshine, and waves." YES. THIS. I do not like aquatic scents on me, generally, but my skin loves this ambergris accord. Probably because it is not watery in the least, it's clean and slightly powdery and slightly musky. When first applied it's almost citrusy, then it dries into this delicious silvery grey-colored smell that is so distinctive, so evocative of the sea...without smelling of the sea at all. I will treasure every single drop of this bottle.
  24. OctoberGwen

    House of Unquenchable Fire Atmosphere Spray

    I fell in love with this immediately. It just smells...fantastic. Blanket-comfy, yes, but the blanket is cashmere, top of the line. I Big Bottled this baby.
  25. OctoberGwen

    A Sudden Invitation

    I really wish I'd had more time to evaluate my Lupercalia decants properly, because after wearing this a few times I would have gotten a bottle. This is just a lovely, soft, well blended scent. The plum was worrisome for me, because I usually dislike smelling of it. In this case, though, I think "plum incense" is apt and it's actually working very nicely on me. (Note to self: try any plum scent that also has sandalwood!) The mint adds a wonderful freshness to the scent without being overpowering. I like this very much. An awesome Spring or Summer blend: very feminine and pretty, without being floral OR too fruity. Nice.
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