absinthetics

This gloom of dark resin has a fog of sleepy poppy over it. It very much sets a tone, which is exactly the point of the scent. Poppy lovers will like this if they are more inclined for dark scents.

I want this to stay pretty and night-time floraly but the moss really changes it to something dark.

I don't get too much leather from this, it smells of old clothes and something...empty.

This scent is everything it says. It feels like two ideas trading back and forth. There is a warm and cozy hut in the woods, and a deep lurking darkness that stalks it.

This is a deep, beautiful incarnation of the word Crimson. The scent is red. It is a smooth flowing (saffron) silken scent of red. I love it and it is a must smell!

Incense, sweetness and something spectral. This scent is not cold because of the amber, but there is a duskiness to it that is just lovely.

This is a very strange scent. It is bright and shiny, it's like a buttery, vanilla champagne. I imagine this will age very well.

A feminine floral, however the plum and the "garnet" note shine out to me. I can't really explain what a garnet smells like, but somehow Beth managed to capture it. I'm partial to this strange capture because it's my birth stone. I love this scent, it's like... a floral laced stone grape.

The bitter is there and very strong in this, but it is like the bitter of a very dry tea or a red current. It's lovely.

I must second everything that Little Bird says, however I must add that there is a beautiful etherealness to this scent that can not be explained by the notes.

A comforting, warm wooden scent that as per my sister, "smells like your boyfriend's worn shirt."

This is a beautiful, heart warming but delicate scent that is like a warm play on the other scent called Ghosts. This scent needs to be tried by everyone, it is not like anything you would expect. The tea note really comes out after a while on the skin.

A beautiful, classic and elegant shiny bright rose. It is bright ans smooth at the same time. It is a beautiful rose scent though the rose can be a bit too much for me in this one.

Honestly, I don't get much rose out of this at all. It's like a shiny warm vanilla with some old books thrown in. It's beautiful and bright.

The leather is soft and feminine. I do smell the india ink note in this and it adds a slightly plasticine effect to this scent. Over time, after dry down, it goes away and the overall impression is sweet and papery and the leather goes into the background.

LOLA Lola Montez was born Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert to a British soldier and an Irish beauty in Grange, County Sligo, Ireland. When she was just a toddler, the family followed her father's regiment to India. He died from cholera shortly after their arrival, and her mother married another British officer. Montez, then called Eliza, was sent back to England for schooling, and there she blossomed into a willful and wild little girl with a reputation for mischief. At 16, Eliza eloped with a British officer and moved to Calcutta. They separated five years later, whereupon she took up the name Lola Montez and embarked on a career as a dancer. Unfortunately, dancing was not her strong suit. However, she gathered friends and lovers in her travels, and gained both popularity and notoriety because of her extraordinary exotic beauty, tempestuous charm, and fearsome temper. During this time, she took on the mantle of courtesan, and cultivated relationships with artists, aristocrats, and politicians, enmeshing herself in Europe's fashionable Bohemian literary circles. Lola was no shrinking violet: she would crack unwelcome suitors across the face with her whip, and once fired her pistol at a disappointing lover, sending him fleeing down the street with his pants around his ankles. When her lover, Franz Liszt, grew exhausted by her passion and fury, she smashed their hotel room to pieces. Lola Montez was very, very Rock Star. In 1846, she became the mistress of Ludwig I of Bavaria and was made Countess of Landsfield in 1847. She wielded a tremendous amount of power behind the throne, until Ludwig abdicated in 1848. In 1851, Lola moved to the United States, where she reinvented herself once again and became an actress. Some years later, she moved to Australia and resumed work as a dancer, entertaining Gold Rush miners. After trotting the globe her whole life, she ultimately settled down in New York, where she spent her final days doing charitable rescue work for underprivileged women. Pomegranate, red carnation, pimento berry, red plum, patchouli, heather, tuberose, thyme-moss, foxglove, Easter lily, Scottish moss, Tunisian jasmine, and Indonesian clove. In the bottle Lola is a sweet floral. I'm not a jasmine fan so I took the risk on her for that but the jasmine is very soft and in the background. As is the clove, which I would have liked to have more of. But that's just me! On the skin Lola is long lasting and even sweeter. The plum and pomegranate accentuate the florals in a way I personally really like, like in Snow White and other juicy florals. The unassuming herbs, lily, moss and thyme make this a timeless floral... but she is not common or subtle in any way. As time passes, the fruits start coming out and she's a bit of a morpher. I look forward to seeing exactly how she ends.

A brew for the dead: dried chrysanthemum petals, black tea leaf, and black poisonwood bark sweetened with honey. A swirling, almost dusty blend. There's something leafy about it, I think it may be the bark. This is floral with a hint of sweet.

Black leather, white sandalwood, jasmine sambac, bourbon vanilla, narcissus, tonka absolute, and ylang ylang. A beautiful, sweet white/amber scent. The leather mixes with the jasmine in such a way that the jasmine is almost non-existent while wet. I am not a jasmine fan, though I learned to like it in Miss Ida. If I had to say which jasmine is in here, it is more like the one found in Miss Ida. But I still can't really smell it, even as it dries. The tonka also mixes with the leather note in a way that smoothes out the scent. Though there is a little bit of that leather-whip like in De Sade, it is a whip smoothed in subtle tonka/sandalwood. In a way, these almost turn into an amber note, with a sandalwood undertone. As this continues to dry, jasmine is really nowhere to be seen. This is a creamy tonka over a little bit of leather, wrapped around a core sandalwood heart. The vanilla makes the tonka pretty and almost foodie, but the ylang ylang and narcissus add something beautifully, maybe dangerously feminine in such a way that the scent is not really foodie. I would identify myself as a foodie, but I also love those creamy faux-foodie scents like Black Lace. I'd say that the sweetness in here is kind of that perfect tobacco sweetness type. Not saying it smells like tobacco, but rather that it goes "foodie" like tonka and tobacco can feel foodie to me. Honestly, the scent is damn gorgeous, and I am bummed that I put it on at 7am before I go take a shower. I'm going to have to wear it through the day. For now, the scent stays close to the skin but it is still going rather strong. (Ugh, and as I edit this post, the vanilla is starting to slink out. <3) I'll update this post with just how long it goes strong later today. If you close your eyes and think of a pretty, lethal, ninja-girl, this probably smells like the crook of her neck or her hair after completing her mission. ... As I finished this .. I realized something. In early 2011, I was asked to dream up signature scents for myself. When I finished this review, I went to look them up in the email I sent to a friend. This is what I sent: "Those are some ideas. ...Though, I have always wanted to do a scent that would work for a (now bare with me) a pretty, seductive, Elven ninja assassin girl. I was a bit disappointed with the how much super-leather and pine were in the RPG scents. That's just not my thing. I realize this girl would wear leather..but I didn't want to smell it much! This would be dark, incensy but with something underneath that was warm, infused with heat and old books (dust, church incense, oak, tonka), but something effervescent and timeless and glowing (vanilla, white sandalwood, white ginger, amber). A skin musk, with maybe some teak, something bright and etheral (no citrus though) but also herbal and rich, but this has to have something sharp in it, maybe a dark chocolate note or dirt. Maybe some fig and/or apricot here." Other than the last part... Beth made my dream scent. Damnit.

Crisp linen, a smudge of ballpoint pen ink, soap-touched skin, apple shampoo, and effervescent science fair experiment residue. Considering the fact that I always do science experiments, I'm excited to review this one. This scent is very...generic though. It smells like a few different shampoos that we all know, combined. It seems that the ballpoint pen ink (i love writing things!) and the science fair experiment kind of tame this bright apple/fruity shampoo aspect. The linen and soap do the same, in much the way that you would expect, but unfortunately they both add to the "generic" aspect of this. There is a touch of "perfumey" edge, but for the most part it is a nice, clean soapy apple. Wear this if you need someone to absolutely know that you use great hair products and just took a shower =D After it dries down a bit the tame/linen...somewhat dry/husky background do come out a bit.

Smoky brown musk, cucumber, green-tinged ozone, cypress, white mint, jungle orchid, and juniper berry. I will say that I am not a mint or juniper fan. I was not looking forward to this one at all. But wow! It is something totally unique. I can't really explain it, and it really is just kind of a ghost-flash of it, but there's almost something watermellony in here. The mint is barely there, for anyone who doesn't like mint I would not rule this one out because of it. I think there is a cucumbery-ness (look at all the words I am making up haha) that adds that fresh splash that makes it all smell a little like watermelon. And I really do mean just a little. Yet, as bright and green as this is, there is an earthiness to it that is really amazing. I recommend everyone sniff this one at some point.

Lily of the valley, patchouli, copal, violet leaf, ambrette seed, Cyprian bergamot, chocolate peppermint, and tobacco absolute. Ooh! There's the bergamot! Bam! Next come patchouli and violet leaf. After this assaults your nose with citrus, you get the ghost of lily in the valley, fluttering haphazardly by just like a ...Bernardino dotted blue butterfly. The chocolate and tobacco may round this out to give it a slightly earthy-etheral feel to it, but that original tang in the bottle really gets you. I'll post a wet review for this one because I really want to know where it goes next.

And I looked, and behold a pale gourd: green patchouli and white pumpkin with yew berry, black cypress, white sandalwood, spectral niaouli, eucalyptus petal, and dry white mint. The white pumpkin is a touch sweet and bright. It is only further brightened by the eucalyptus and mint. This Death is certainly aglow with green licking flames, as the label implies.

A furious scent, powerful and scorching, running red with fire and blood: pumpkin with red musk, pimento, red pepper absolute, red vetiver, rose geranium, and crushed red poppies. This is more red musk and pepper than rose or vetiver. I am delighted by that. The pimento and poppies add a bit of green and a bit of mellowness at the same time. But that is only a background to the dark spiceyness.

Our therapeutic, anti-inflammatory blend of lavender, gingergrass, clary sage, eucalyptus, turmeric root, ashwagandha and peppermint will help relieve muscle strain, cramps, and fatigue! Rub it out and get yer ass back into that ‘Con! You can clearly make out almost all the notes in this scent. This will grab you very fast with bright eucalyptus and lavender. I would say that Lavender and the mints are what show up the most. It is rather antiseptic smelling and medicinal.

Oiled leather, a splash of bay rum and Italian bergamot, rose water, patchouli, and black tea. Very leathery. The rum and rose and patchouli make it a sort of herbal and sweet old brown leather, but for the most part I can not smell the black tea and bergamot. There is something dark and herby about it too.