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filigree_shadow

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Everything posted by filigree_shadow

  1. filigree_shadow

    Hedylogos

    I wanted to try this because with those notes, it might have worked? Maybe? Worth a shot, but no. Definitely smells like a dry rose incense. If that's what you're looking for, look no further! But it isn't right for me.
  2. filigree_shadow

    Lilith's Tea Party

    This scent is very cute and pink, and is definitely my favorite of the four scents I'm currently testing. It smells strongly of strawberry and cream on me, with a bit of tea. The sweetness of it reminds me a lot of something very familiar -- I think maybe Comforting Plush Companion? There's a little bit of a plastic badness if I get my nose right up close to it, but from normal distance I can't smell that. It's a cute happy strawberry, and I really like it.
  3. filigree_shadow

    Boober

    I feel like everyone who reviewed Boober loved it. Am I the lone voice of dissent? I feel like a traitor. It smells really good when it's wet, but that only lasts for a few minutes, and then it just smells like laundry. I like the linden, but I like The Unicorn better. It's definitely not a bad scent, at all, but it's not knocking my socks off.
  4. filigree_shadow

    Joulumuori

    My little decant is obviously super aged at this point, so I'm sure it's different now than it was when I first got it, but I liked it enough then to keep it, and I still like it now. This smells like a very comforting, kind of nutty, sweet fruit scent. It's that strange little nutty quality about it that gives it the comfort, I think. I used to have a bottle of Hearth back in the day, and when I say "nutty," that's what it reminds me of. That chestnut type of scent from Hearth. But with a distinct sweetness over the top. It's really nice. Definitely a comfort scent, to me.
  5. filigree_shadow

    Maud Ruthyn

    This smells like a very pretty sweet rose scent on me. I like for my roses to smell round and soft, not green and thorny. If you get what I'm saying. This is the nice soft kind. Pretty petals. It's quite feminine, I think, and I like it. Not sure it's my favorite rose scent ever, but it's certainly one of the good ones.
  6. filigree_shadow

    Loosening of the Obi

    I put some on, sniffed it, thought it smelled nice, did something else for 20 minutes... and now I can't really even locate the spot on my arm where I put it. I think it was mostly a sweet rice wine at first, but it settled into a really nice vanilla musk. Except that I can barely smell it. I mean it's super soft. I can only smell it if I have my nose right at my skin. That doesn't really work for me as perfume, because I like for people to be able to smell whiffs of my perfume without putting their noses on me. It is really, really pretty, though.
  7. filigree_shadow

    Bernardino Dotted Blue

    I like copal and it doesn't show up very often, so I always want to try it. I thought it might be good with those notes -- sounds good on paper! But on my skin it smells like a very high-pitched floral. Lily of the valley often smells waaaay over the top on me. High-pitched to the point of almost smelling astringent. So this poor little guy isn't for me.
  8. filigree_shadow

    The Balcony

    Vetiver actually smells good on me, and is totally not a death note for me at all. I often like it. There are a few different kinds -- it can smell dank and musty, reedy and grassy, or kind of smoky dusty. I avoid the first kind but usually like the others. This is the dusty smoky kind, and it smells good with what definitely smells like a dark floral with it. But, red patchouli is a death note for me. It just never smells good on me. It's a weird pungent ick. So, no on this one.
  9. filigree_shadow

    King Solomon's

    Used to bring out King Solomon's virtues in your personality. Grants wealth and power, and the benevolent wisdom necessary to utilize it to your benefit and the benefit of others. I can't speak to the effectiveness of this oil (yet) because I just received it -- I intend to use this before I go to my classes. (I'm a pre-med student, so benevolent wisdom is exactly what I need.) I will update this post later with my experience. I can say that it smells like a beautiful, creamy, almost watery rose. It smells white. Maybe a slight citrus note in there. The scent is gorgeous. ETA: OK, I touched my chakra points with King Solomon's before going to class tonight. (I don't know if that's what I'm supposed to do, but that's what I did.) I took my physics exam, and although I made a couple of mathematical errors, I felt strongly that I understood the material. I also had a wonderful conversation with my professor after class about whether scent exhibits wave properties in addition to particle properties, and he became quite animated and interested in it -- he'd never thought about the physics of scent before. I know this doesn't necessarily qualify as wealth, power, or benevolent wisdom. But I'm using the oil in the context of long-term rather than immediate goals.
  10. filigree_shadow

    Satan And Death With Sin Intervening

    Satan and Death with Sin Intervening, John Henry Fuseli.Opoponax, benzoin, orange blossom, mahogany, karakarounde, white tea and vetiver. In the bottle: Orange blossom. Initially: Orange and tea. When drying: The initial blast of orange blossom fades out to just a vaguely sweet aura, and it starts to smell deeper and richer. When dry: It smells exotic, dry, and rather dark. Not heavily dark, liltingly dark. I had some incense that smelled a bit like this. On me the throw is not very strong at all, but that's what I expected from a blend with opoponax and vetiver in it. OK, to be honest, I don't know what mahogany smells like, and I had to look up karakarounde because I'd never heard of it before. (Apparently it's supposed to smell similar to jasmine... but I can't smell anything like jasmine here.) But I'm not having a lot of luck picking out individual notes anyway because it smells complex. Also, it wears very close to the skin, and I'm glad because it's exactly the sort of scent that would make people want to lean in a little. It's enticing. edited to add image - clover
  11. filigree_shadow

    Dr. John Seward

    Well, my dear, number One came just before lunch. I told you of him, Dr. John Seward, the lunatic asylum man, with the strong jaw and the good forehead. He was very cool outwardly, but was nervous all the same. He had evidently been schooling himself as to all sorts of little things, and remembered them, but he almost managed to sit down on his silk hat, which men don't generally do when they are cool, and then when he wanted to appear at ease he kept playing with a lancet in a way that made me nearly scream. He spoke to me, Mina, very straightforwardly. He told me how dear I was to him, though he had known me so little, and what his life would be with me to help and cheer him. He was going to tell me how unhappy he would be if I did not care for him, but when he saw me cry he said he was a brute and would not add to my present trouble. Then he broke off and asked if I could love him in time, and when I shook my head his hands trembled, and then with some hesitation he asked me if I cared already for any one else. He put it very nicely, saying that he did not want to wring my confidence from me, but only to know, because if a woman's heart was free a man might have hope. And then, Mina, I felt a sort of duty to tell him that there was some one. I only told him that much, and then he stood up, and he looked very strong and very grave as he took both my hands in his and said he hoped I would be happy, and that If I ever wanted a friend I must count him one of my best. Penetrating and gifted, vulnerable, with just a hint of opium-blurred delirium: poppy smoke, champaca flower, tonka, sandalwood, ginger, white pepper. In the bottle, it smells surprisingly softly floral. On, it smells sweet and hazy, and not really floral at all. I can smell the tonka pretty clearly when it's wet, but not as much any more after it's dry. It's definitely smoky, but it's a sweet smoke, and it becomes more floral as it dries. This is the kind of sweetness that I usually associate with fruity notes, though, and I don't know where that's coming from. I wish I could say what that sweetness is, because it sticks around when the oil is dry. (It reminds me a little bit of bubblegum, to be honest.) This is not quite what I expected because it's more feminine than I had imagined it would be. Which is not to say that the right guy couldn't pull it off, of course. I thought the champaca flower would give it more of a nag champa feel like in Two Monsters, but that's not how this scent is working. When it's dry, my overall impression is that it's a sweet softly smoky floral with a little bit of sandalwood and an interesting edge from... is that pepper? (I don't know, usually cedar smells peppery to me, and this doesn't smell like cedar at all.) It really does have a kind of blurry, hazy quality to it, too. I think I'm doing a really sucky job with this review because I'm having a hard time picking out the notes. But I can say that even though this is not what I thought it would be, I do like it.
  12. filigree_shadow

    Yürei

    Weird. From the reviews, it sounds like some people got mostly tea and some got mostly vetiver. Mine appears to be the mostly tea kind. This is a fairly bright, definitely tea scent -- almost watery, actually. Very pretty and light. The sort of scent you could wear anywhere, for any occasion. I have only a barely-there tester, but I definitely wouldn't turn down more of it, based on my slight sniffing.
  13. filigree_shadow

    L’Essence du Chagrin

    I got this because with those notes, it either could have been great or it could have been pee-yoo, and I gave it a 50-50 shot either way. Well, it's not exactly pee-yoo, but the lavender is too strong for me. That's my least favorite note in the line-up, so of course that's what I smell most strongly. It's kind of a harsh herby lavender on me, and that's not the kind I like.
  14. filigree_shadow

    Midnight Mass

    I had a bottle of the 2005 version of this many years ago -- I didn't wear it so I swapped the bottle, but my husband liked it so I kept a decant. I don't think I ever got around to writing a review of it, so I stuck it in the back of my BPAL box until I could write a review and then send it on its swappy way. ...Aaaaand that was 6 years ago. Been sittin' there ever since. So here's my review: Smells like a sweet, high-pitched incense scent. A little bit powdery, a little bit woody (like balsam? a sacred sort of wood scent), and very lightly floral. It's nice, but not my thing.
  15. filigree_shadow

    Time Does Not Bring Relief

    I have the 2011 version, so it's a bit aged at this point. It smells to me like a soft, powdery musk. The beeswax seems to make it just a little bit creamy, but none of the notes are particularly loud. I might maybe be able to pick out violet, but not really. This seems like one of those good skin scents, when you don't want a strong perfume, but you want to smell good when someone's close.
  16. filigree_shadow

    Metal Phoenix

    I expected something called Metal Phoenix to be sharp and pointy, but this isn't. Very soft, rather feminine, almost aquatic floral. Pretty. Not what I expected at all. I like it.
  17. filigree_shadow

    Old Demons of the First Class

    This is very nice -- reminds me a bit of Smut, if it were smokier and drier. The clove is a little bit powdery on me, oddly. But if it weren't for that, I'd really like this a lot.
  18. filigree_shadow

    Snap-Dragon-Fly

    Definitely plum and buttery bread -- it smells delicious! Love it.
  19. filigree_shadow

    Persephone

    Very pretty, light rose scent. Not complicated -- just a simple, sweet rose. The pom isn't strong, which for me is a plus.
  20. filigree_shadow

    Imperious Tiger-Lily

    I smell no lily or neroli or ginger. I smell purple fruit and frankincense. I feel like maybe I got a tiny whiff of lily in the beginning, but when it's dry it kinda just smells like purple fruit. It's not a bad scent, but it's not knocking my socks off. I have other purple fruit scents I like better.
  21. filigree_shadow

    The Death-Horse

    This kinda smells like a lily of the valley single note on me. ??? Seriously, that's all I smell. That's a pretty flower, but not my favorite floral note. Guess I'll pass this one along.
  22. filigree_shadow

    Moonshine and Mist

    Oooo, a winner. I've had this sitting around in my BPAL box for a long time and haven't tested it because of the name. It has "moonshine" in it, which makes me think of a ceramic jug with XXXX written on it, and I'm not crazy about boozey scents. Duh, dork, not that kind of moonshine. More like moonlight. I wish I had known that and had tried this sooner, because now it's discontinued and I'm sad. It smells very nice. A little high-pitched for my usual type of scent, but I don't object to that in this one. It's a very soft, musky sandalwood scent with some pretty light florals circling over the top. "Delicate" is a good word for this. It's one of those scents you could wear anywhere and never worry that anyone would object to your perfume. Very pretty.
  23. filigree_shadow

    The Witch's Garden

    LOL, why the hell did I try this? There's nothing in there that sounds good to me. I just don't like this sort of vegetal gardeny scent. Smells like weeds and plants, plus some sort of harsh floral scent. And it's strong. Well, the plus is that it doesn't have any dirt in it, which would put me straight into a scrub off situation. The minus is that it smells exactly like the description promises that it will.
  24. filigree_shadow

    Spare Change

    I only have a sniffie of this so I didn't have a whole lot of oil to test, but it mostly smells minty and metallic to me. It's interesting, but not something I'd wear as a fragrance.
  25. filigree_shadow

    Hellboy

    Odd scent. It does smell like a rather brimstoney aftershave. Is that lavender in there? Smells a little blue. And slightly powdery. It doesn't smell bad or funky to me, it just smells kind of like lavender to me, and I'm not a fan of that note.
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