alicia_stardust

This is one of the most amazing dark aquatics I have ever tried. Normally I cannot wear aquatics because they turn very soapy or cologne-like on my skin. This one, however, is gorgeous. There is a murky, groundedness to the aquatics, and I get a sort of calm about me whenever I wear this. I really can't pick out any specific notes but whatever it is, this one is a keeper.

Thunder Moon I was so excited when Beth released this. The description takes me back to when I first left home to go to college. I was living in the red rock desert and they had the most amazing thunderstorms I've ever experienced. I am not disappointed. In the bottle: I get a watery, charged ozone scent. It's not soapy to me. It feels full of that sort of energy and build-up you get in a storm. On my skin: I immediately get a water-soaked floral. There's a very light sweetness and lunar quality there, and it's just amazing. That sits on top of the ozone for a quite a while. After that, the amber starts to kick in and I almost, almost get a melon-mint quality that goes alongside a very subtle wood something. Strong throw, long wear-length. Overall this is beautiful and it captures the essence of a Thunder storm just perfectly.

I was very surprised that I had not reviewed TAL Nocturne yet. I don't have specific sleep troubles, but I do have a tendency to be wound up, wired, and anxious. This makes it hard to settle down for the night. I have found that if I apply TAL Nocturne as the write-up suggests, I can read in bed or sit around for a bit and in no time at all I am very, very drowsy. TAL Nocturne smells like lavender and roses to me. On my skin the rose amps over the lavender and it is just perfect: fresh, cool, slightly green. I love Sleepy Moon (heavy sleep), TKO (out like a light, sleep like a rock), and Quietude (light dreams), but TAL Nocturne is my favorite of them all both for the scent and for its effects. It gives me the most natural, gentle, restful sleep and I find that I reach for it the most.

I smell orange blossom in this the most. There's a slightly herbal, powdery essence to this and I get hints of the mint, cypress (oh so light), and geranium. Overall the wear length is longer than average. It is definitely a floral scent but it's not overly cloying. There's a slight sharpness to the orange blossom, and that note dominates the blend for me. Something in this goes powdery and that sits just underneath the orange blossom. This is pretty and it captures Melpomene perfectly, but the scent is not "me".

In the bottle: cherry smoke, hops. On my skin: Whoa, dried hops! I get a very distinct smell of hops. It's a dry, dusty version of hops to me. After a while this smell becomes slightly bitter but that smell is tempered by the tonka which brings a slightly creamy, comforting aroma to it. I get hints of the cherry tobacco but it sits behind the other two dominant notes. I am very glad I tried this but I don't see myself reaching for it out of my massive collection. I may swap this away.

I can't pinpoint any specific notes in this other than the shea, but it is lovely. My impressions are a sort of refreshing, creamy shea over a dusting of woods and forest, a touch of herbs, and maybe a teeny tiny fruit something in there.

A Bachelor's Dog In the bottle: wet leather. On my skin: Once again my skin chemistry causes the leather to amp until I can barely detect the other notes. Even though I like the smell of leather, when it amps that far I just feel like I smell too masculine. After a while: Earlier when the leather amped I was sure the story was over for this, but as time went by the leather actually mellowed out and I started to get an amazing, soft, dry musk. I really like this phase of the scent. While I'm not sure that the leather phase is going to cut it for me, I may choose to pass this along to my husband.

One to Tie, Two To Win In the bottle: Green grass and a sweet summer breeze. On my skin: Upon application this smells exactly like it did in the bottle: green grass and a summer breeze. It is captured so vividly that it reminds me of lying on the grass, pulling dandelions, getting the dandelion milk on my hands, and later in the afternoon running home with grass stains on my knees. This is the first grass scent (from any brand imaginable) that really works for me. After a while: The grass scent lightens a bit and the yellow, slightly bitter smell of dandelion comes to the forefront. I don't enjoy this phase quite as much as the early phase. It doesn't ruin it for me but it makes me less inclined to hoarde this. Something about this phase acts as an appetite supressant for me, just as cucumber and melon tend to do. Overall this hits dead on, and it's perfect for summer and for anyone that loves the smell of grass.

RIDING THE GOAT In the bottle: Incense, sweetness, tobacco. On my skin: The sweet tobacco really comes to the forefront for the first minute or two, then as it starts to dry I get an amazing wash of deep, beautiful incense. It makes me think of a den that's full of incense smoke, pipe smoke, with the entire room being warm and hazy. After a while: About 30 minutes after application I get the mahogany wood. (At this point the scent reminds me of the wine barrel smell I get from Montresor). The wood sits on top for the remainder of the time, but the incense and sweet pipe smoke are not far behind.

In the bottle: Caramel, pepper, aquatic moss. On my skin: Whoa moss! Then I get a touch of the sage, cypress, and caramel. There is a mishmash of the other notes in there, but the ones I listed are the most distinct. After a while: Crazy mad caramel + Spanish moss which is a really interesting combo. It confuses my brain into thinking foody, no murky water and moss, no foody. It's so very interesting. I like this, but don't love it. You should try it if you like moss scents, because that part of it is gorgeous.

In the imp: Roses, gardenia or something similar, touch of honey. On my skin: I get rose and a touch of honey. The honey and rose is a very interesting combination. It sort of stays on top at first, but then the benzoin comes out. I don't really get any of the iris at any point in this, but I do think it's there. Perhaps I'm just not familiar enough with iris to pinpoint it. After a while: The rose and resin aspect melds together and sort of amps over the rest of the notes. I like this, but I don't love it. I'm definitely glad I was able to experience it.

In the bottle: Sweetened vanillas. On my skin: Incredible! I get this cloud of vanilla surrounding me with a soft and bright note of grapefruit, and a subdued jasmine. The grapefruit and jasmine don't fight with the vanilla; rather, they blend. It's just lovely. It's comforting and cute and soft and fun. Drydown: This scent stays true on my skin for about 2 hours, then it softly fades off. After about 4 hours I am left with remnants of jasmine and only the slightest hint of vanillas. Amazing scent. I only wish I had more of it.

In the bottle: Sharp, bitter wood and patchouli. On my skin: Whoa, there's a reason I can't wear strong patchouli. My skin amps the patchouli and the wood and I get absolutely nothing else from this. I was hoping to catch at least some of the butterscotch. The wood is very distinct in that it reminds me of wood shop where I'd be cutting or sanding something and the wood dust would get blown in my face. I'd feel it, smell it, and taste it. When I smell Ventriloquist Dummy I can literally taste it. I have a skin chemistry that doesn't get along with patchouli except in rare cases. This is an oil that I would recommend to anyone that likes patchouli, woods, and heavier scents. I will pass this on to someone that will love it.

This is a scent that I wanted to try but that wasn't at the top of my list. I happened to get it as a frimp and WOW! It's so very different from anything I have tried. It is not a straight up floral and there aren't any notes in there that distinctly remind me of another scent. In the imp: Something exotic, almost juicy, and only a bare hint of floral. On my skin: Immediately this ends up as a very spicy (not spices, like cinnamon but spices like... juicy carnation or something similar) and very sultry, dusky, dark, creamy exotic flower. It is very intoxicating and sexy. I wish I could pinpoint what else is in this because it seems to mock me for not being able to figure it out. I'm so close, I know it! After a while: This one sort of stays true and doesn't continue to morph as time passes. It gradually lightens until it's gone. For me it lasted about 3 or more hours on my skin before it had faded to a light scent memory.

Pinched With Four Aces, C.M. Coolidge. Colorado Maduro tobacco wrappers, cinnamon bark, coffee bean husk, and dry woods. Yup, I was stupid for only getting a decant and not a full bottle. I was sure that the cinnamon would burn my skin and the coffee/tobacco would be overpowering. Misk U was not my friend. HOWEVER, Pinched with Four Aces is this amazingly creamy, heady, spicy coffee with a touch of cinnamon and a warm comforting scent. For a while it smells a bit like vanilla cake but then that smooths out and I again get the creamy, heady, tobacco and coffee scent. Lovely!

I wanted to try Crumpet Rebellion so badly that, even though I was part of the Phoenix Parade, I was sure I would miss getting an embossed ticket for the scent. Clearly, that was unfounded worry. Crumpet Rebellion is so much fun! The name makes me giggle. The label artwork is my favorite of all of the C13 scents. In the bottle: I get a very clearly tart/blackberry/dessert impression from this. On my skin: Immediately my impression turns into a crusty sweet cookie, underneath piles of juicy red and purple fruits. I get a sense of tartness that's almost strong enough to give my jaw a sharp wince. I can almost taste it. I get no butter in this, thank you skin chemistry. At this point, my husband told me I smelled like "dark red frosting". He liked it. After a while: The impressions remain the same, though this amps like crazy. I could get away with wearing less if I chose to. After about an hour my skin starts to give the tart/berries notes a slightly resinous edge to it. After another hour I start to get a dusty, sugary spin on things. Beautiful! It is a wonderful, wearable souvenir!

In the bottle: I get a cool, damp, mossy smell that is almost fresh but also has a sinister quality. I smell something wood-like (sandalwood? a dustier, dry wood of some sort?) as well. On my skin: Wet, dark cement! I really do smell wet cement! Something almost spicy comes out, but it's brief and is overshadowed by the stone, wood, dust, earth, moss, and aquatics. I guess all of those impressions sum this scent up. Murky, dark. A bit masculine. I *almost* want to add the word patchouli to my impressions but I am not sure if that would be correct. Overall impressions: I can't believe how dead on this is. I am personally terrified of the Shanghai Tunnels mostly because many years ago I had a dream about touring the tunnels, getting lost, and being trapped by ghosts so I could never leave. That was *before* I had ever seen pictures of the tunnels, and the images from my dream matched. Beth has captured some of the dark history of Portland in a way that evokes ghostly images, trapped souls, and a dark city history. This scent is very, very different than the ones that usually end up being my favorites. I normally cannot wear earth, damp, mossy, slightly masculine aquatics, especially with all that stone/cement in there. But this is very nice. I love the throw much more than up close to my skin. It's worth checking out if you get the chance, even if this isn't something you'd normally expect to like.

In the bottle: I smell lavender that's a bit sharp, a touch of resins, and an overall "something" that strongly reminds me of Sylph. Whatever it is, it's very effective as an "air" scent. On my skin: Lavender, lavender, lavender, something resinous, more lavender. After a while: The lavender suddenly, and I mean suddenly, goes to the back of the line to allow other scents to come forth. I believe it's the benzoin that is adding a sweet, resinous touch to this. When that combines with the sensual, dusky qualities of the orchid it is simply magical. Behind those the lavender is lending itself as the base of the blend without distracting from the sweet, air-like magic that has just come forth. Later yet, I do detect franckincense as part of this, and very shortly after that the scent has mostly faded but a slight scent memory remains for another 2-3 hours. The most amazing part of this blend, to me, is that sudden change that happens where the lavender takes a back seat and the other notes come forth. At that point in the blend the throw is one of the most hypnotic spring-like things I've smelled. It's a keeper!

Lydia is a clean, fresh, bright floral that is very soft and feminine. It is sweet and ethereal. In the bottle I smell jasmine right off, then florals, and something that's sort of green and springy. On my skin it softens and melds into a not-quite-aquatic floral. There is also something sweet in there, and it *almost* makes me think of honeysuckle but I don't think that's exactly it. Taking this scent as a whole: think of a smattering of white and pale flowers, cool air, a touch of grass, something ghostly, something sweet. Those are all things that come to mind when I wear this. I have to add one last thing that I think is particularly interesting. I think jasmine smells quite pretty and sensual. The problem is that it is my skin's nemesis. With my skin chemistry it amps, then after an hour it takes over everything, turns a sour/bitter, and peppery. HOWEVER, in Lydia it just so happens to be PERFECT on me when I have my period. And when I don't, the jasmine curse is there but it's less noticeable than any other jasmine scent I have ever tried. Overall, it's just beautiful.

I think my imp of Ah'Duno is my favorite souvenir from Convergence 13. The stories that came from both Beth and Ted as they were passing the imps out were adorable and it tickled me to no end. I was actually touched that they decided to share their fun mistake with the Meet n' Sniff attendees. In the imp I smell a creamy root beer + cinnamon. The oil is red. On my skin it smells about the same as in the imp, for the first while at least. I get a creamy root beer + cinnamon, but it's more of a warm cinnamon and not a fiery hot cinnamon. It doesn't even make my skin go red. After a while the cinnamon and root beer smell softens and I start to get more of a comforting, gentle scent that almost reminds me of Sybaris. I think it's actually the vanilla that's making me think of it as comforting. I am not sure but I think I smell a touch of clove or something pepperish, and I think there are some florals in there? Whatever it is, it's marvelously fun!

The original Blue Moon deserves its hype, and so does Blue Moon 2007. To me there is only a slight difference between the old and new Blue Moons and I believe it's just from the age difference. Blue Moon 2007 - In the bottle I get a crystalline "blue" smell with a slight bit of herbs and dusty woods. This is fresh and aquatic and truly lunar smelling. I love that I can detect some cucumber in there. On drydown I suddenly get more coolness, more herbs, and then... flowers! And within an hour it has softened up and I can finally detect the juniper. The best part of the entire experience? That overall cool, blue, lunar, fresh quality. I just love it. This one is worth checking out even if you're a bit on the fence about it!

In the bottle: Roses, roses, and more roses. There's also an element in there that reminds me of the slightly sharp resinous quality in Parlement of Foules even though I do not exactly see a matching note that would cause that. On my skin: Immediate amping of the opium poppy. This sort of takes it over for me, even though the roses are still hiding out there. After a while: The scent stays true with the exception of the appearance of my jasmine curse. I love jasmine but NOT on my skin. I'm on the fence about this one. It's gorgeous in its own right but on my skin it's a different story. I will probably retest this again in a week to see what I think of it then.

Portland was my home for the past seven years and I am beyond thrilled with the blends that Beth created for Convergence 13. The Unheavenly City In the bottle I smell creamy, juicy florals and a somewhat musky, dirty note underneath that gives just the right amount of discord to the florals. On my skin I get more of the florals, and I peeked above to find out that it is indeed gardenia that I'm detecting. So I smell the gardenia at the forefront of the florals. There is a sultry, almost skin musk scent that comes into play. Beneath that, my guess was red musk though for some reason the red musk in this behaves very differently on my skin. Normally red musk amps and it makes red musk blends smell nearly the same no matter what else is with it. The Unheavenly City is different. It's as if all of the notes blend together and the lines between them are more blurred than usual. Overall this is an earthy, flowery, creamy, musky scent. So far it's my favorite of the C13 blends!

I thought that Minoutaur would not be for me but I bought a bottle of it anyway. I am so glad I did. I agree with some who say it reminds them of Schwarzer Mond, but only because they're in a similar "family". The drydown is very different and I don't get a headache from Minoutaur like I do with Schwarzer. The resins in this are the most gorgeous combination and it wears so well on my skin. It stays true, too. The myrrh doesn't even go wonky on my skin like it does in other myrrh blends. This one is going to age beautifully. I will definitely keep my bottle.

I kept thinking that even if this was nice, it wasn't worth shelling out massive quantities of $$ for. I eat my words. I got a half imp of this and it is gorgeous. I get a fruity, juicy, red quality that's almost candy-like. That floats on top and from there I notice booze and cherry and musk or clove. I've seen a few reviews that say it fades quickly but on me the throw is strong and it lasted on my skin for hours upon hours. While I doubt I'll be lucky enough to get my hands on more than my half imp, I'll cherish what I have.