dementia_divine

In the bottle: When this arrived, I was mainly getting the vanilla musk and sandalwood. After it has had a day to settle, I'm getting mostly vanilla musk and grey amber, and it's the same grey amber found in Lyonesse. Wet: Vanilla musk, white sandalwood, and grey amber are the notes that jump out to my nose. I'm getting more of the grey amber note on my skin than the sandalwood. I can't detect the white patchouli or ambrette seed during this phase. The oudh note is lingering in the background, allowing the pale resins to shine with the lovely vanilla musk note. Dry: The vanilla musk and pale resins (though primarily grey amber) reign for a while, and I can't help but thinking of an even more perfume-y Lyonesse (minus the floral notes and with vanilla musk instead of Lyonesse's golden vanilla note). It threatened to go powdery on me at one point, but then the oudh asserts its presence and deepens the scent, and I'm somewhat reminded of Some Strangeness in the Proportion during its later stages (minus the pink pepper and with a different vanilla note). On my wrists, the vanilla musk is far more prominent. In the crooks of my elbows, I get a lot more of the resins (especially the oudh). I prefer the scent I'm getting from my wrists, and I like this stage of the scent the most. I can't stop sniffing my wrists! Verdict: This one is a keeper! It's a bit perfumier than I expected it to be, and I don't like it as much as the scents I've compared it to (at the moment), but I'm sure it will age marvelously.

I think there might still be a problem with the contact form on the website. The best way to get in touch with the goblins is sending an email to tradingpost@papow.net.

I am glad I bought this one. One coat: Two coats: SO MUCH GLITTER. This one is really easy to work with (probably the easiest of any Trading Post polish I've used thus far), and I can see myself using it a lot during the autumn months. I definitely recommend it! The photos don't do it justice. I agree that it would be great for layering as well. I want to try layering it with Blood Countess (from the original BPTP claw polish line).

In the bottle, I get a blast of lime, followed by the mandarin note. The coconut and mint are very faint. I am reviewing this as a moisturizer, and not as a product that I tried in the bath. On my skin, the lime note is quickly overtaken by the mandarin note. It smells like a freshly peeled orange. I specifically smell the white part of the orange. There is only a hint of coconut and mint. If you are afraid of either of those notes, I'm not getting much of them here. It's mainly just orange like whoa. I'm wearing Son of biggerCritter right now, and I can say it contains more coconut and lime than this. I am glad that I ordered a bottle. I really wanted another citrusy bath oil (aside from Baobhan Sith) in my collection. I know it will get a lot of use during the summer months!

Note: I'm not sure what acorn and squill root smell like. In the bottle: When this first arrived, it reminded me of the RPG scent Ranger. There is almost a leatheriness to it, although I know that note isn't present here. Perhaps the clove and moss are giving me that vibe. I think it must be the patchouli and moss that remind me of Ranger, but maybe the acorn and squill root also play a role? I was worried about the strawberry leaf, and while it is present, it really is just the leaf adding a bit of sweetness to the scent (and not full-on strawberry). Wet: Clove reigns, followed by the allspice note, which is stronger on my skin than it was in the bottle. After a little bit, the allspice becomes the dominant note. The patchouli note is rather prominent as well, and an herbiness lingers behind the spice and patchouli notes. The strawberry leaf is very faint, but it is still adding a welcome sweetness to the scent. Dry: Somewhat smoky clove and allspice, along with chamomile, patchouli, moss, and a bit of sweetness from the strawberry leaf. Verdict: Hmm. I'm not sure what to think of this. Lunacies are usually not my thing, but I took a chance on this one because of the reviews describing it as autumn in a bottle. I don't dislike it, but I don't love it either. I enjoy clove scents, so I think I'll hold onto it for now. *edit* Much, much later, I get a bit of what I believe may be the acorn note beneath the spices. *second edit* I enjoyed this scent a lot more on the second wear, and now I'm glad I bought a bottle.

In the bottle: An explosion of flower petals, indeed! Something in this reminds me of Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending and Ava. I think it may contain tuberose. When it first arrived, I thought it may contain freesia as well, but I don't have any Butterflies, Jewels, and Flowers Attending or 51 around to compare these and know for sure. Wet: It's hard to pinpoint which florals this contains. I think I am getting some orange blossom, and possibly some honeysuckle. The floral notes in this one are bright, and I am reminded more of Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending than anything else. Dry: This is like Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending without the vanilla musk. But the floral notes in this are brighter, and I can definitely see the comparison to fizzy candy. I am even less certain about which floral notes are in this now. The sugared aspect is stronger during this stage of the scent, but it really is just a dusting of sugar. Verdict: Sugary florals are my jam, so I will be keeping this, though it is more perfume-y and not as sweet as I was hoping it would be.

In the bottle: When this first arrived, this was somewhat off-putting. There was a blast of bog-moist greenery, and it wasn't very pleasant. I'm not sure how to describe it, except to say that it smelled like a really stinky green plant in the summer heat? The cotton candy note lingered in the background. After settling for a week, the greenery is still quite prominent, but it has calmed down significantly. The cotton candy, sugar, and mint notes are a lot stronger now. The green aspects of the scent (greenery and mint) are stronger than the sugary notes, but the sugary notes aren't far behind in prominence. Wet: A rush of sugar, followed by the greenery and mint. Despite the presence of the green notes, this is very a syrupy, sweet scent. The mint is a soft mint, and it is not as intense as the peppermint found in scents like Lick It. Meanwhile, the greenery note really does have a moist quality to it, and fortunately, it doesn't remind me of a stinky plant on a hot day. I'm really enjoying the sugary mint in this scent thus far. Dry: The scent is a lot softer now. The scent is staying close to the skin. The honeyed cotton candy dominates, followed by what is a very light, smooth mint. Verdict: I am SO glad that I took a chance on this one. Don't let the greenery scare you away if you are interested in this! The sweet notes steal the show. I feel like I'm smelling a cloud of sweet cotton candy gloriousness with a bit of mint. I think I will reach for this one a lot during the spring and summer months.

In the bottle: I get more cheesecake than cupcake. The carrot note from the Trading Post's Pumpkin Cheesecake bath oil is present. This is more carrot-y than pumpkin-y to my nose. Wet: I'm definitely getting more carrot than pumpkin. I feel like this is more like a carrot cheesecake cupcake than a pumpkin one at the moment. The cheesecake part of it is stronger than the cake-y bit. The cake and spice notes are coming out more the longer this sits on my skin. As the scent begins to dry down, I start getting a syrupy pumpkin note. Dry: Sweet cheesecake cupcakes. Verdict: I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I don't dislike it, but I just can't see myself reaching for this over some of the other pumpkin or cake scents that I own. I'll let it settle some more and retest it, but I will probably end up putting this one up for swap. *edit* After settling for over a week, this scent is more pumpkin-y than carrot-y. At first, it's kind of a fleshy pumpkin, and then more syrupy. It really does smell like a moist pumpkin spice cupcake with chunks of cheesecake in it (or a cream cheese frosting). But it is still not a love for me.

In the bottle: This cookie is heavier on the spice than the pumpkin. It's not as heavy as gingerbread, but it's similar to that kind of cookie as opposed to a spiced pumpkin sugar cookie. The cream cheese frosting note smells amazing. I also can smell a bit of the browned butter. I hope the spices in this don't burn my skin! Wet: I'm getting a lot more of the cream cheese icing note on my skin. The spices in this are quite prominent, but they aren't burning my hand. The area on my upper arm where I applied this turned red (but I didn't feel like it burned), so I guess this will have to be a wrist-only scent. After a little bit, the browned butter note emerges a more. Dry: This is a soft, frosted pumpkin spice cookie, with just the right amount of browned butter and icing. Verdict: DELICIOUS. I will be keeping my bottle, but this scent will have to go in a scent locket or only be worn on my wrists because of the cinnamon in it.

In the bottle: Black clove and red apple, followed by the blackcurrant. Wet: Apple and clove reign. The blackcurrant is next in prominence, and I'm still not smelling any of the vanilla. The clove becomes a lot stronger as the scent sits on my skin, but that's something that clove tends to do on me (and I don't mind – I like clove!). The blackcurrant note has also gained strength over time. Dry: Clove dominant, with the fruit notes lingering in the background. There's still no vanilla to be found. The clove in this one isn't the dusty clove found in Arachne of Lydia (which also features blackcurrant). After a while, I can smell more of the blackcurrant than the apple. Verdict: I am keeping this because I like clove scents, but I would have enjoyed this scent more if it had just been apple and clove (or perhaps if the vanilla bourbon appeared – maybe aging will bring that note out).

In the bottle: Pumpkin cream and vanilla awesomeness. The vanilla was the strongest note when this first arrived, but the pumpkin cream note is stronger now that it has had some time to settle. I smell more of the vanilla sugar than the smoked vanilla bean in the bottle. Wet: Vanilla sugar reigns, and it is glorious. The pumpkin cream, honey, and smoked vanilla bean begin to emerge after the scent has sat on my skin for a little bit. The pumpkin cream note is the same note found in last year's Pumpkin I, and it ends up becoming the dominant note on my skin. Dry: Mostly vanilla sugar and pumpkin cream. The honey and smoked vanilla bean are stronger during this stage, but they aren't nearly as strong as the other two notes. Verdict: I love this! I'm so happy to have a pumpkin Weenie without any spice in my collection, and I'm sure I will reach for this one often. I may end up needing another bottle of this before it goes away.

In the bottle: Very creamy. I mainly smell red apple, vanilla cream, goat's milk, and honey. The hay and oat notes are lingering in the background. Wet: A soft, red apple, vanilla cream, and goat's milk reign. I'm getting more creaminess than apple from this. The apple note gains a little strength after the scent has sat on my skin for a bit, and the honey note is beginning to emerge, as well as the hay note. At the moment, the goat's milk is the most prominent note. Dry: The goat's milk remains as the dominant note. I'm still getting the soft apple note, but it is even softer now. The hay and oat notes are stronger during the dry phase, adding some more warmth. It's actually a rather clean scent. After a while, the vanilla cream note starts coming out more, but it is staying rather close to the skin. Verdict: The apple note isn't very strong on my skin, so this is primarily a creamy scent. I will be hanging onto my bottle, because I don't have any other scents like this, and I'm curious to see how it will age.

In the decant: This smells awfully leafy to me. Perhaps it is the combination of the green musk with the tobacco and/or dry white sandalwood note? Wet: Yes, this reminds me of fallen leaves that are turning, but aren't dry yet. It doesn't take long for the scent to calm down in its leafiness, but it is still quite leafy to me. I'm getting the green musk, tobacco, and sandalwood, but the vanilla note hasn't emerged yet. Dry: Green musk, tobacco, and dry sandalwood, with a hint of the smoky vanilla. This one reads as masculine to my nose. After a while, the smoky vanilla note emerges more, and it becomes mostly smoky vanilla, sandalwood, and tobacco on me. Verdict: This one is too reminiscent of leaves for me. I'm giving the decant to my brother, who really enjoys the scent.

In the decant: Mostly peach blossom and rose musk, with the vanilla cream note is lingering in the background. Wet: Peach blossom and rose musk are the first notes to greet my nose, with the peach blossom being the dominant note (though the rose musk isn't far behind). The rose musk feels like more rose than musk on my skin. I don't know if it is the same kind of musk (plus rose) found in Aglaea, or if the combination of peach + musk just makes me think of that scent, although they are really different peach scents. The vanilla is starting to peek out more the longer this sits on my skin. As the scent starts to dry down, I start getting more rose musk than peach, though both notes are still pretty strong, and the vanilla cream is a lot more prominent now. Dry: Heady rose musk and peach blossom with a fair amount of vanilla cream. Verdict: I was worried that this would be too cloying on me, and I was right. I'm glad that I went for a bottle of Peach XII instead of this one.

Lightly spiced pumpkin ice cream! The description fits perfectly: it really smells like lightly spiced pumpkin ice cream! It smells delicious. It isn't like any pumpkin ice cream that I have ever tried because it is lightly spiced. The various kinds of pumpkin ice cream I have devoured are more heavily spiced than this... this is a creamy, vanilla pumpkin scent. The pumpkin and vanilla notes smell wonderful together! I normally use bath oils as after-shower moisturizers, but it was cold today, so I decided to try this one out in the bath as well. I used this with half of a Christmas Kisses bubble bar from Lush and a Jacko bath bomb from Lush. This bath oil was stronger than both of those scents, and it scented the whole bathroom. I didn't even use very much of it! It also made my skin feel more moisturized than it normally would after a bubble bath. As an after shower moisturizer, I get a bit more of the spices on my skin, but it still smells like soft, slightly melted creamy pumpkin ice cream. 'Tis amazing!

2015 version. In the decant: Of course, I end up smelling two notes I was worried about: jasmine and violet. Wet: Violet and jasmine are the first notes to greet my nose. I'm also getting some of the mimosa. This is a sweet, heady floral scent. I am still getting the violet and jasmine more than anything else, with the violet being stronger than the jasmine on me. Dry: Violet reigns, followed by the jasmine. There is more mimosa during this stage, but the vanilla bean and dark musk are still nowhere to be found... unless the musk is just making the violet stronger. Verdict: I am not fond of violet, and jasmine can be iffy on me. There's just too much of both of those notes in this blend for me to enjoy it... especially the violet, which is really strong on me.

In the decant: Musky tree (I'm getting more cedar than fir), amber, and a bit of leather. Wet: Same. The musk adds a sweetness to this scent so that it isn't nearly as masculine as I thought it would be, though the leather is stronger on my skin than it was in the vial. However, the cedar smoke and fir are still stronger than the leather. I'm not familiar with what chaparral smells like, so I can't pick it out of this scent. Dry: I feel like this one is familiar, although I can't think of what it reminds me of... but I'm enjoying the wafts I get of the scent from time to time. I'm getting more of the musk and cedar smoke than anything else. The fir note is still present, as well as the leather, and the scent feels more masculine than it was during the wet phase. It also has more of a dry feel to it during this stage. Verdict: This is nice. I plan on keeping my imp, but I don't think I need a whole bottle of this one.

In the decant: Lots of cherry, cardamom, and cinnamon, with just a bit of verbana. The spices in this one are heavy and make the scent smell dark. Wet: Cherry and cardamom reign. The spices grow stronger as they sit on my skin, and my skin is starting to tingle in the area where this was applied. I hope this doesn't end up burning and leaving a welt. Dry: Yep, it's burning and has left a big red spot on my arm. I can't smell anything but spices now. Verdict: My sensitive skin cannot tolerate the spices in this one. I won't be hanging onto my decant.

In the decant: I'm getting the almond that reminds me of cherry almond things. It's a soft, sweet almond note. Wet: Yes, this definitely reminds of cherry and almond or red Starbursts. No incense at this point, though I'm getting a bit more of a fortune cookie vibe the longer this sits on my skin. Dry: Now I'm getting the almond fortune cookies and incense, but this is more fortune cookie than incense on me. I prefer this phase of the scent. Verdict: This one is okay, but I don't feel like I need more of it.

In the bottle: Snow-touched, sugared peach. This is a bright snow note, like the kind of snow found in one of the snowball scents (save for Pink Snowballs). The grapefruit note is next in prominence, making the scent even brighter. Wet: The sweet, snowy peach note reigns, and it's marvelous. The grapefruit note is also pretty strong, and I'm also getting a fair amount of the green tea absolute, which isn't like the green tea note found in scents like Embalming Fluid and Shanghai. It has a bitter quality to it. The white musk note is becoming more prominent as the scent begins to dry down. Dry: All of the notes are still present, but the snow and white musk notes are more prominent now, the peach isn't as sweet anymore (and I feel like I can smell a lot of the fresh peach skin), and I'm getting a lot more of the green tea during this phase. The grapefruit note isn't a main player after a few hours of wear. Verdict: I'm not usually a fan of peach notes in perfume. There are a few that I like on occasion (like Aglaea and Tamora), but usually they are too sweet for me. I took a chance on this one because of the snow, sugar, grapefruit, and green tea, and I am so glad that I did. The peach note is lovely, and the combination of the snow, peach, and grapefruit make this a really refreshing scent. I think I will reach for this one often during the warmer months.

In the decant: I'm actually getting more of the red musk and patchouli leaf than any other note. I do smell some of the pomegranate and vanilla bean notes, but this isn't as fruity as the notes made me believe it would be. Wet: Red musk, patchouli leaf, and pomegranate. This one is quite heady on me. I thought the scent would be sweeter, due to the plum, currant, and vanilla bean notes, but it kind of reminds me of Snake Oil with the presence of a tart pomegranate note (and without the spices). When I inhale really deeply, I get the vanilla bean note, which is lovely, but it isn't as strong as the other notes I've mentioned. Dry: I'm still getting lots of red musk and patchouli leaf. The vanilla bean note has come out more, so the scent is sweeter than before. It's hard to pick out the different fruit notes, but I still feel like I'm getting more of the tart pomegranate note than any of the other fruit notes. Verdict: I'm going to hang onto my imp to see how this ages, but I don't really think it is my cup of tea (red musk, pomegranate, patchouli, and plum are not notes that I love). Maybe I will understand the hype once this ages?

In the decant: Lots of guava, some orange peel, and sugar... but mostly guava. Wet: Sweet, juicy guava and spun sugar. Then, the orange peel note starts coming out more. Dry: The spun sugar note comes out a lot more during the dry phase. I'm still getting a lot of guava from this, but it isn't as strong as it was previously. I can smell the white pepper and apple blossom, but they aren't main players. I have to inhale really deeply to smell those notes. Verdict: I like this (especially the dry phase of the scent), so I'm going to hang onto my decant. However, I don't think that I will need a bottle of this, unless I end up going through it really quickly or it ages well.

In the imp: Intense jasmine and myrrh. I am not looking forward to this, but I want to try this one because of its inspiration. Wet: The jasmine and myrrh notes are very strong. There is a bit of rose present, but it cannot compete with the other two notes. The scent is rather sharp to my nose. Dry: The myrrh and jasmine have calmed down, but they still reign, with the myrrh note being the stronger of the two. I can smell the rose a bit more in this stage, though. Verdict: I'll stick with Vain Sorceress for my fairytale villain scent.

In the imp: Lots of violet, followed by the gardenia note. I'm not getting any vanilla from the imp. Wet: Same. A sweet violet note, with a gardenia note that is stronger on my skin than it was in the imp. Violet is not a floral note that I'm fond of, so if the gardenia ends up overtaking the violet note, I will be happy about it. There is only a hint of the vanilla in the background. Dry: The violet is still the main player here, but it has calmed down a little bit. The gardenia is still second in prominence, and the vanilla note, while stronger during this stage, continues to linger in the background. Verdict: This one is just too much violet for me.

In the imp: A deep, chewy patch, clove, lime, and almond, with a bit of vanilla in the background. Wet: Almond, lime, clove, and patchouli are the first notes to appear on my skin. The clove and patch are the quite prominent, and so is the lime, although I expect the lime's presence to be short-lived. The vetiver note peeks out as the scent begins its dry down. Vetiver and I are not friends, so I hope that it doesn't end up playing a major role in this scent once it is dry. Dry: The vanilla note has emerged now, but it is playing a background role. Clove reigns, and I'm getting some pine now, as well as a bit of smokiness from the vetiver. There is just a hint of the lime note now, and I think the almond note has faded away. If the patchouli is still present, then it is hiding behind the clove note, which is very strong. After a while, the myrrh note makes its presence known and settles in behind the clove note. Verdict: I'm going to keep my imp. I really like the clove note in this, and this is the first scent featuring a vetiver note that didn't disagree with me or stomp all over the other notes. I'm also curious to see if the vanilla note will come out more as this ages.