lapetiteflower

Testing fresh from the mailbox...at first it has an almost aquatic-ness to it that made me go oh noooooo...but it quickly dried down to a glorious scent...spicy, warm, dry, and perfectly Fall-ish! I may be getting more bottles of this one, it is that good.

Wet and several hours out of the mailbox: It's something dry and biting... After a few days of settling: Wet, it's still got that dry bite, but as it dries down it's all heeeeey Dark Queen of the Night! A blend of almost-wet-fresh-but bordering of drying rose with a delicious layer of clove against a backdrop of sweetened tobacco. Glorious!

The red of an open artery, the red of congealing blood, the red of a scarlet tomb: burgundy musk, bitter clove, crushed saffron, red sandalwood, and red oudh. First to review! This one is lovely, everything in it is evenly blended together into a sweet, warm, incensy scent. If you are a red musk aficionado, or are looking for a new scent in the same vein as Scherezade or Third Charm, you need to grab a bottle of this one!

crisp, almost green leaves...it's the same leaf note I get in Noh Mask with Maple Leaves. Drying down to something warmer, less wet and green smelling.

I've got White Witch on now, post shower....initial thoughts, it's in the same vein as Third Charm (which I adore!), it's a fruity incense...like the corner of your favorite head shop where they have the Gonesh stashed, and the strawberry and the more resiny incense smells are all mingling together? If you aren't into fruit scents, though, don't let this scare you...I'd categorize it more as leaning towards an incense blend with a lightly sweet fruitiness.

This one is beautiful...soft incense, just a hint of spice. Stays close to the skin, so I keep raising wrist to nose to inhale. This one may well be backup bottle-worthy.

Wet: Very aqueous and leafy. Drydown: lovely Japanese incense! This is light, and sweet, Japanese incense...it will make a wonderful hot-weather alternative my usual dark, heavy resin-y favorites.

when first applied it is teak and woods...it brings to mind ouija. as it dries it goes through a soft caramel/tobacco phase, reminiscent of aged red lantern and finally it settles into a gorgeous spiced labdanum scent.

very sweet ...like vanilla jellybeans and cotton candy, but perfumey, not foodie. a very white, creamy scent. i'd like to let this age and see how the benzoin and frankincense develop. like the red rose this is very well blended and no single note really stands out.

it's very well blended so you can't pick out any single notes so much (for those who fear musk, fir and tobacco!), but it is clearly a spiced rose scent...soft rose oils blended with incense. not a wet rose or a fresh rose, but the smell of rose perfume oil. a dark and decadent rose. my daughter walked past me just a bit ago and asked if i had incense burning...she sniffed both my arms and said it was the red rose that she smelled!

this one is my favorite out of my decants i got, and the one i will definately get a bottle of. wet it is reminiscent of O, upon drydown it is a lovely blend of beeswax candles, warm sweet sandalwood (not the dry pencil shaving sort...this is smelling more and more like a sandalwood blend i wore about 17 years ago that the guy i was dating at the time said smelled like trouble...in a good way) and something (saltpeter?) strange lurking in the background that teases my nose. plus the concept of the hand of glory is cool, in an oogy sort of way. i've been thinking of how to make a faux one to add to my home decor...

this smells like hell. kick-you-in-the-head death-by-vetiver with rot and something medicinal lurking underneath. once it dries down (for a long, long time) you get more of the incense...a dark, infernal incense tinged with brimstone...that isn't entirely unpleasant. but would i really want to suffer through that i've-rolled-in-wet-dead-things smell to get there? i think not...

*nods* good stuff, isn't it? i generally put the snake oil on first and then the spider on top...that seems to give a bit more clovey goodness. it's become my default my boyfriend is coming to spend the night scent (that or scherezade...)

as a longtime lover of the clove ciggies (alas i don't smoke them as often anymore...but i adore the scent!) i have to cast my vote for smiling spider....when i first tried it the first thought in my head was ooooh!sexy goth bois and clove ciggies! and right now my favorite layering combo is the spider with snake oil.

embargo + smiling spider embargo +sin embargo + scherezade embargo + 3 year old snake oil can you tell what my favorite villainess is?