ladymeag

I was excited to try this - a cinnamon and ginger scent would be amazing and pepper, clove, and musk are all on my favorites list. One problem, though, the honey note. In the bottle, this is exactly what I wanted it to be - ginger spiced musk. On Me: Wet and through dry-down this smells like red hots melted with an apple Jolly Rancher. Sticky-sweet, looses all spice but cinnamon, and adds a plastic-and-powder background. I think I might actually hunt down a scent locket for this one. On Spouse: Spouse says, "black cherry cordial with pie spice." I smell honey and peppered spices. No musk, though, and certainly no ginger. I still hunt for a good ginger but not ginger ale scent.

For saddle leather or something close, I recommend Captain Cully and The Red Rider (this might edge toward your rough suede.) For book-ish scents, you have options. There's The Book (Old, yellowed parchment paper, tattered leather bindings,) which I think will get you closest. There's also Philologus (ancient books, crackled parchment, faded incense, and candle wax,) Trevor Bruttenholm (classic men's cologne mixed with the scent of old, yellowed books, a splash of bay rum, and summoning incense) Miskatonic University (Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls,) The Buggre Alle This Bible (Crumbling paper and ancient cracked leather with a touch of tobacco leaf and incense.) I have a sad about book-scents - my skin turns them all into a terrible scent.

I can't believe I haven't written this review yet. This is my go-to scent - it's just dark enough for me to feel comfortable, just light enough for others to not be overwhelmed with my dark, heavy perfume. In the botttle: Teakwood, tobacco, and aftershave On Me: Wet this has a general sharp men's aftershave kind of scent - the tobacco keeps it from sweetening up too much in the beginning before the woods can come out some. As it dries down, it picks up more of the warm, deep, non-food vanilla - I don't know what black vanilla is but I'd love a single-note bottle of it. As it gets to full dry-down, it gets warmer with the woods and I can start to pick up the teakwood and oak finally. Additionally, it kind of seems to pick up a leather note. At full dry-down, it's a warm, woody vanilla. On Spouse: Wet, it's green Gillette after shave, according to spouse. It gets sweeter as it dries and goes full-sweet vanilla with a little oak in the end. Not quite as complex.

I've been bathing in Sin long enough that I have two reviews, really, wrapped into one - fresh bottle and aged bottle. Fresh bottle: smells like amber and cinnamon. Aged bottle: sandalwood and cinnamon On Me, fresh: There is definitely sandalwood but it takes a little bit of dry-down to really reach full power, cinnamon fades instead of amplifies. Patchouli definitely present but not annoying. Definitely strong, a little masculine. Spouse says: smells like honeycomb and amber. On Me, aged: Wet to dry, there's a lot of sandalwood here. However, it's a rich, full sandalwood rather than the pencil shavings variety I usually find. The patchouli gets bolder and richer with time so it's more present but also creamier, if that makes sense. The amber seems to have gone but the cinnamon stays constant - it still fades rather than amplifying into cinnamon red-hots immediately. This one gets better as it ages, I think.

From what I gather online, Slice of Heaven smells like sweet yellow/vanilla cakes. In that case, you may want to try Eat Me (notes: Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants.) I couldn't find any notes or info on Sagittarius. Looking at Millenium Hope for Women Jivago, I might suggest Dracul (Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom) or Great Sword of War (Mandarin, tonka, saffron, black tea, cocoa, tobacco leaf, sanguine red musk and five classical herbs of conflict,) depending on the feel you get from either.

A scent celebrating Sir Francis Dashwood's Order of the Knights of St. Francis of Wycombe, also known as the Hellfire Club. A swirl of pipe tobacco, hot leather, ambergris, dark musk and the lingering incense smoke from their Black Mass. This scent in the bottle isn't very evocative for me but it sure is once it's on. In the bottle: Booze and a general incense smell. On Me: Wet, this is lots of tobacco and I have a sudden fear it's going to go soapy or bug-spray, as tobacco scents sometimes do. As it dries down though, it's suddenly a haze of tobacco smoke mixed with incense and musk in a leather chair still warm from the musk-wearer sitting in it. On Spouse: MUSK! and tobacco. Super-strong musk here, barreling over everything. Leather is completely lost. Spouse says: smells like a boozy men's club.

In the summer, this is exactly the sweet-and-light scent I want. I wore it a lot on hot days and even though I usually only drink ginger ale when sick, I somehow didn't make that association here. I think it's a better-smelling ginger ale. In the bottle: Ginger Ale, bubbles and all. On Me: Wet, this is pretty light and bubbly smelling. At dry down it's a nicely peppery ginger ale. On Spouse: Wet, it's very sweet - like orange soda candied ginger. At dry down it's a slightly citrus, very sweet ginger.

In the summer, this is exactly the sweet-and-light scent I want. I wore it a lot on hot days and even though I usually only drink ginger ale when sick, I somehow didn't make that association here. I think it's a better-smelling ginger ale. In the bottle: Ginger Ale, bubbles and all. On Me: Wet, this is pretty light and bubbly smelling. At dry down it's a nicely peppery ginger ale. On Spouse: Wet, it's very sweet - like orange soda candied ginger. At dry down it's a slightly citrus, very sweet ginger.

I can't believe I haven't left a review for this yet. In the bottle: Leather, straight-up but not the buttery leather of Red Rider or the saddle-shop of Captain Cully. This is something else. More like a well-loved leatherbound book. On Me: Wet, slightly sweaty, salty leather. At dry down, the rosin comes in a little more and it develops an incense-and-smoke smell to go with the leather. As the oil ages, the rosin becomes more prominent. On Spouse: Wet to dry down, all sweet leather - like sugar-dipped leather.

This does exactly what the description says - it's a flawless skin musk. In the bottle: This is totally bizarre, I can't smell anything at all. On Me: Honestly, it smells like I just stepped out of a great, hot shower. Completely clean but just... that fresh skin smell. On Spouse: Wet, it's that same clean-from-the-shower smell but slightly different (of course.) However, dry, it's a slightly musky leather. How my spouse turns non-leather scents into leather and loses the leather in leather scents is beyond me.

I was sure this was going to be one of my favorite scents - turns out I was wrong, it's too foody for me. I think I was hoping for something more coffee-beans-and-oak. In the bottle: Coffee, very sweet with a pile of whipped cream on top On Me: This doesn't morph at all. Wet to dry it's, a slightly nutty coffee with a little brandy. On Spouse: Wet, this smells just like... chocolate popcorn. What? I know other folks have gotten corn notes but this is just weird. Dry down adds coffee and brandy but the chocolate popcorn is still there. There's a hint of a White Russian in the background, too.

This is everything I wanted DeSade or Dead Man's Hand to be. It smells like a great leather working shop or a new high-quality buttery-soft leather purse with a little bit of musk. In the bottle: Saddle shop. No, really - all memories of being in saddle shops as a kid and teen in the south came flooding back. On Me: Wet, I can smell the red musk a little more. As it dries down, the leather warms up and makes an appearance. By dry-down it's buttery soft leather with a little musk. On My Spouse: Oh! There's the balsam. This is also very, very sweet when dry and otherwise just plain leather.

This has become one of my go-to scents. When I want a sexy-dirty, manly leather, this is where I go. In the bottle: VETIVER! and musk On Me: Wet, there's the smoky, woodsy smell of vetiver with something lingering in the background. As it dries down, the leather comes out quite a bit and it picks up a musky smell. This is incredibly masculine and very woodsy. On My Spouse: Wet, the vetiver isn't as strong as it is for me and it's a little muskier. This develops on my spouse into an almost vetiver-less musky leather. Less woodsy, less smoky, more sweaty leather.

Like most food-smells, this smells better on my spouse than it does on me simply because I seem to amplify sweet notes. In the bottle: Fruity coconut. It's pretty sweet, very juicy smelling, if that makes any sense. On Me: Wet, it's a nice tobacco coconut without being too sweet. Slightly masculine, picks up a slight coffee aroma that adds kind of a toasted note, I think the rum might be behind this. As it dries, it sweetens up and kind of smells like a macaroon and a wafflecone. On My Spouse: Wet, it's a boozy macaroon. As it dries down it kind of picks up a bourbon vanilla and molasses, with rum. Spouse says "smells like the process of making rum."

I could have sworn I posted this review last year. I so wanted to love Hot Buttered Rum. After all, hot buttered rum is delicious. Unfortunately, something simply didn't work here for me or my spouse. In the bottle: Sticky sweet, like children's Motrin or something. Very syrupy but kind of in an unpleasant way rather than the rich way, say a maple syrup smells. On Me: Did you ever get an ear infection as a child and have them prescribe that awful bubblegum-flavored Clavamox (antibiotic) to help out? It smells just. like. that. On My Spouse: Well, as the spouse said, "Like someone threw a box of Splenda on a car tire fire" and "like when my radiator burst and the antifreeze burned on the engine." Something went terribly wrong and there was a burning rubber smell added. Not good.

This scent morphed a bit on me and turned into something I would have never expected with the notes listed. Once I gave it a try (because someone suggested it, repeatedly and heavily) I was in love! In the bottle: Fir! Is there even anything else in this bottle? On me: Wet, smells like a nice, rich shaving soap - I think the mint and orange blossom are playing tricks a bit and making me think of lavender. It's not too sharp or soapy, just a little more pungent than expected. Then something wonderful happens and on dry down smells like exactly what I hoped Midnight Mass would be - it smells like High Mass at Latin Rite churches when I was growing up. The only thing is, it seems to include the men lined up on kneelers with their aftershave and hair tonic. A lovely scent, all told. On my spouse: Wet, there's that shaving soap smell again. Where's the soap coming from? As it dries down there's wood smoke, incense, molasses cookies, and orange. Spouse says: It's like orange pekoe tea and molasses cookies by a wood fire.

Better late than never, huh? I know that Snake Oil is beloved by most but I, most unfortunately, get a slight powder note out of it. In the bottle: Musky vanilla. This is exactly what I want. On my spouse: Slightly sweet (sugared feels about right, it's not very sweet but there's just an outer edge of sweetness) spicy vanilla. Spouse says: brown sugar, bay rum, spicy vanilla. On my child (an accidental spill caused a scent-test for my three year old ) Smells like a sweet spice market - the vanilla seems to be lost but it's a wonderful smell anyhow. On me: Nearly all powdery light musk, with a sweet vanilla in the background - from application to dry down it doesn't morph much for me.

This is one sexy scent. Anytime I'm needing a boost to my self-esteem? Out comes the Satyr. In the bottle: Red musk, patchouli, and a stronger, spicier version of Sin. On Me: Wet, this is mostly musk and spice. As it dries down the patchouli and maybe sandalwood come out to play. At full dry down, it's an incredible heady blend of spices and musk and primal drive. I get compliments every time I wear this - no matter how little or how much I put on. Shop keepers that lean across counters to ask me what perfume I'm wearing, baristas with an extra shot for my mocha, strangers in elevators. It's almost a little unnerving.

This was far sweeter than I expected. I'm not sure where all of that sweetness comes from but it's a little overwhelming on me. In the bottle: I can definitely smell the rum and a sweeter booze-related scent, I'm guessing that's the chardonnay. Where's the leather and tobacco? On me: Wet, this is very heavy on the tonka and booze, with a light tobacco chaser. As it dries down the tonka continues to come forward and the tobacco makes a little more of an appearance. Some more leather and rich "smoky" rum would be nice but is no where to be found. On my spouse: This winds up almost smelling like a dessert - very, very sweet boozy vanilla. Almost food-y in sweetness and vanilla, has a "cupcakes for grown-ups" feel to it. Spouse says: Leather and bourbon and tobacco and fig (I'm supposing the fig comes from the sweet rum.)

I'm sorry you got the same lemon-scented bathroom cleaner smell I got out of Port-au-Prince. I had such hopes, too! If you're worried about too sweet, be careful with Perversion - it's very sweet for me even though I like it very much. Depraved (apricots and patchouli) wound up being super-sweet for me. Likewise, Bien Loin D'Ici (red musk, benzoin, caramel accord, golden honey, and spiced Moroccan unguents) can be very sweet, as one might imagine with caramel accord. Shub-Niggurath ( A blend of ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices) was too sweet for me but has a nice ginger bite. Vice (a deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom) was my last hope, I thought, for a chocolate scent (turns out I prefer cocoa in non-food, dry blends like The Seekim) and my notes say cherry orange candy. Debauchery (civet and red Egyptian musk, thickened with opium) smelled like a really floral White Diamonds for me, which was really disappointing. You said you wanted to avoid smelling "too much like incense" (is there really such a thing? I'm doing it wrong then ) - you might want to be careful with Anne Bonney - it's a heavy incense scent to most folks (Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense) and Heretic (Nagdi frankincense, bois de cade, beeswax, Somalian myrrh, and Laotian oudh) which for me was kind of like a heavy incense (and sweet powder, thanks beeswax) Sin. It sounds like you amplify roses, which I also do - everything with rose in it becomes all roses all the time. I have to avoid rose blends, even though I love the scent of roses (and it's one of the few florals that doesn't immediately trigger a migraine.) So, Whip was all roses with no leather (and I other wise kind of amplify leather but I don't mind that so much.) Along the lines of Grave Pig and Death Cap, if you like the earthy smell (think dirt and mushrooms,) you might try Destroying Angel (papery white notes evoke the grace of this fungi, grounded by thin, crisp soil.) I'll second Sin (amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon.) If you're looking for animalistic powerful (you mentioned "like a tiger") you might want to try Satyr - Sin's spicier, racier cousin. Sin does have sandalwood so it some have some incense smell. Bengal (skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger) can be a little sweet but also has a powerful feel. Fenris Wolf is also a kind of powerful, animalistic blend - in fact, the scent description includes "the raw, untamable power of chaos" and lists rosewood, amber, red musk and a dribble of red sandalwood. You might also, if dragon's blood doesn't go sweet on you like it does for many people, look at the Ars Draconis line - Dragon's Musk, for instance, is Dragon’s blood and five deep musks. From the RPG line, there's Chaotic which lists, a whirling mélange of multicolored musks with wasabi, rooibos, heliotrope, and mastic. Like Black Rider, I'd suggest Red Rider (Red leather, red moss, and balsam) - for me, it's a little more seductive than Black Rider promised to be. Sorry for the novel-length post. I just, uh, may have gone on the same hunt.

I'm terrible with rose suggestions - rose is a death-note for me. Others here adore rose, though, so I'm sure you'll get some great suggestions. I do have other suggestions, though: SIN (amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon) - this is remarkably sexy. AUREUS has no notes listed but is a slightly spicy, very bright sandalwood scent. ANNE BONNY (Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense) - for me, this was slightly salty sandalwood, for other folks this is a really sexy incense-y blend. RUMPELSTILZCHEN (Firewood and ash with an oddly otherworldly blend of patchouli, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, tonka, vetiver, and myrrh.) - smoky and spicy. Something that was not good for me but that you might like is Namaste (sandalwood, jasmine, rose, patchouli, cedarwood and lemongrass.) Another is Croquet (pink lime, pink grapefruit, white nectarine, wild rose, sage, woody patchouli, bergamot, and ornery hedgehog musk.) If you haven't tried BPAL before, don't write off certain scents just yet - things that work for my skin in other blends/brands don't work with BPAL and things that work with BPAL don't work with anything else. Give one or two a try before you say it's a no-go. Also, be prepared for BPAL's version of something you love to not work for you (I about milk and honey - all soap for me.) For your partner/roommate: If you're fine hunting down decants or bottles of old Limited Editions (LEs): October. For me, this smells like burning leaves in the best kind of woods (no pine.) Some of my favorite "woods" scents are Dee, Antikythera Mechanism, Dracul, and Captain Cully. Another smoky blend to try is Hellfire. What additional combinations would your partner/roommate be looking for?

I'm a female-type-person but I typically wear masculine scents and have a more typically "masculine" skin chemistry. Onward! Rogue is one of my favorite scents. The notes for it are: Soft, well-worn black leather, hemp, and rosin. No patchouli here. My personal wearing notes read: Slightly sweaty, salty leather. As it ages, more rosin! Almost incense-y. I have not skin-tested Druid because the fabric notes are all powdery death on me. If you're looking for patchouli and masculine, I might try: SIN - amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon. This one is very spicy, though; my own wearing notes read: Definitely has sandalwood, cinnamon fades instead of amplifies. Patchouli definitely clearly present but not sharp or annoying. Definitely strong, sexy, masculine. If you're fine with hunting down last year's LEs: THE SEEKIM - Cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash. My own notes for this read: Definitely hay, a little incense-y, black pepper interesting and mellow, cacao definitely dry rather than sweet or foody, developed with a little bit more warmth, a little more earthy. Or just full-on discontinued: THE SMILING SPIDER - Bitter clove, black musk, mahogany wood, and patchouli. My own notes read: Smells like the early stages of smoking a clove. Better still, it dries down to smelling like the paper that comes in a box of cloves. I know a lot of folks like GOBLIN - Black coconut, gnarly patchouli, and sweet benzoin - but it smells like a patchouli-dirtied macaroon to me. A common masculine patchouli rec is RUMPELSTILZCHEN - Firewood and ash with an oddly otherworldly blend of patchouli, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, tonka, vetiver, and myrrh. Likewise UMBRA - East African black patchouli, cedarwood, vetiver and a dribble of cinnamon. For earthy - what kind are you looking for? I know GRAVE PIG is often suggested. I wear a lot of woods, so I can't really make a lot of good recommendations for earthy, as the scents that make that possible usually are terrible on me (mushrooms, dirt, dust, decay, etc.) The earthiest scent I wear is Mutter Museum - Ü (balsams, leathers, and raw vanilla) which smells a little like leather and that decaying leaves smell in late fall. (Sorry for all of the caps - it's hard to find the actual perfumes in my teal deer here. Edited for a missing 'and.')

I adore U Mutter Museum but don't get any vanilla from it at all - it's all decaying leaves and curio cabinets on me and my spouse.

I'm working through my backlog of reviews. I keep meaning to post them and then I don't. In the Bottle: Cologne-y books - really like a very well dressed gentleman's library. So much hope! On Me: Wet, I can smell the books and incense but as it dries down the parchment and candlewax come up to take this to dust and soap. I have noted issues with both wax and honey scents, so it's not a surprise, it's just a little sad. Without the candlewax? I think it might have been my sought-after book scent. Spouse smells: sweat and candied orange peel. I have no idea how but this was the description I got when I asked.

I had a similar hope and dashing as witchling - I was hoping for patchouli vanilla coconut in kind of a creamy way. In the bottle: OMG patchouli. However, that's true of most patchouli BPAL for me. On Me: Wet, it's definitely patchouli - very dirty. Coconut starts coming forward some but doesn't make it very far. The benzoin is completely missing but that happens with me. The patchouli/coconut combination doesn't quite work for me without what I'd hoped would be the balancing effect of the benzoin. Spouse says: Dirty macaroon with cocoa.