Deliciousness

I just got my 1/2 bottle yesterday. Ley me tell you, I should have sprung for a full, plus a back up ( ... and I don't have backups). For those familiar with Arana (from the BPAL Lilith Exhibition), this is similar - but sweeter and lower pitched. Fulvous Snow is like a marshmallow cloud of airy oudh, hay and oak, topped with a light drizzle of sweet, golden honey, sprinkled with patchouli dust. It sounds very sweet, but this isn't. This is a very androgynous scent (at least for me), stemming from the woody aspects of the perfume: patchouli and oak. The sweetness tempers the woody aspect of this scent quite nicely and makes it totally wearable for those who oftentimes turn patchouli and other "wood" notes into pencil shavings (raises hand). The perfume goes on strong, but dissipates to a wonderful resinous cloud that stays close to the body. This is seductive gorgeousness in a bottle, a must try.

The enemy of God, also named Iblis, He Who Despaired of the Mercy of God. Al-Shairan is the leader of the Jinn, a tempter who whispers false suggestions to men enticing them into evil and perfidious acts, and is the sworn enemy of all of Adam’s children. His scent is fiery, bright and thick with sweet sinfulness: clove, peach and orange with cinnamon, patchouli and dark incense notes. Imp: Sweet cinnamon and spices Wet on skin: Cinnamon with a background of undetermined spices. There is an undercurrent of something that makes me think of sour, or perhaps more along the lines of savory ... like turmeric. It's okay, but a little jarring, since most of the other notes seem to lean toward sweet/foody. Drydown: This little guy is a morpher. He starts out as cinnamon and eastern spices with a slightly "off" note somewhere. It's that "sour" I was talking about in the wet stage. Anyway, that part fades, thankfully, and the sweet spices and a touch of musk peek through, which is really quite nice. But then theres a bit of a chemical note that starts to rear it's ugly head. Again, this chemical scent dies sown again toward the end of wear and I'm left with a soft, warm scent made up predominantly of cinnamon and other, unknown spices. In conclusion: Not a bad scent, but not really my cup of tea. It seems to change so much on my skin ... from one moment of liking, to another moment of "ehh, I think I may need to was this off" ... it sure keeps me busy contemplating the morphing "scentsation" going on my wrist. Looking at the scent description, I didn't smell the orange, peach or patchouli in this blend. I think this would have been so much more awesome orange made an appearance, but alas, my chemistry was all about the cinnamon and clove (and other unknown spices).

I just received this in a swap and I must say ... it is wonderful! It's candy, fruity sweet with a great grounding backbone of dark musk. There is only a touch of smoke that I can detect, which is fine with me, as my skin amps smoke into SMOKE! (yes, shouty capitals included). I think this is a beautiful blend, sexy adult candy and musk.

Though not what I would call olfactory pleasing (at least to me), Gore-Shock blew me away. It was truly terrifying. It was like smelling a rancid meat factory with pools of sticky blood on the dirt floor. Ugh. I couldn't bring myself try it on, it was just too scary for me. On the flip side, I find Samhainophobia to be a dark , cold and haunting scent, yet totally wearable. It's one of my favorites from last years Weenies release.

In the imp: Sweet almonds and spices ... yum! Wet on skin: Smells like bitter almond mixed with the wonderful aroma of baking spices, like cardamon and cinnamon, allspice, etc. Dry down: The spices fade giving way to a sweet, almost boozy honeyed almond. After a few hours: Sweet, fake plastic smell. Hecate reminds me very much of Hellcat - with the boozy, honey quality both seem to share. It may be my skin chemistry in play here, so I don't know how much these two blends really smell alike - say on someone else; as always, ymmv. I really liked this bend at the beginning of wear and would consider this bottle worthy - a beautiful slightly food-y almond blend. But alas, the longer it sits on my skin (say after the second hour), the more "plastic" it seem to smell. I'm not liking the fake plastic tinge. I'll probably test this again and update as necessary, but as it stands now, I'm not loving this.

An ancient blend, swollen with arcane power: galangal, high john essence, frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood. In the imp: Soft woody scent with a hint of sweetness. Wet on skin: Why does this smell like dry patchouli? It's turning very wood shavings-esque on my skin. Dry: Wood shavings with a cord of wood thrown in for good measure. My skin tends to amp wood type of scents, so I need to be careful with cedar/sandalwood/patchouli combo's. I'm not surprised this scent went straight to wood shavings on my skin, I'm sure those with different chemistry would find this blend a bit more nuanced. I would say, if you like frankincense and or woody blends, give this a try!

As if the name didn’t spell it out for you. This blend relieves all sexual inhibitions by simultaneously relaxing and arousing. In the imp: Sweet, light and cinnamon-y Wet on skin: Hey, that's cinnamon alright. Lucky for me, it's not too strong - but smells pretty none-the less. Dry down: I can start to detect other components of this blend - like a sweet grain, perhaps a vanilla or a white amber. It may also be my crazy chemistry, but ... am I detecting a touch of frankincense in here? Some type of light and slightly sweet resin/incense note. All in all, this is a nice blend - somewhat relaxing, and laid back with soft spices and a touch of resin. It almost reminds me of oatmeal cookies - but not so food-y. This is an okay scent, but it's not something I can see myself reaching for very often.

In the imp: I can tell there is red musk in this one ... I'm off to look up notes ... Yup! Red musk. Wet on skin: The damp scent of skin peeks thru the red musk, dirtying things up a bit. There is a sweetness not associated with the red musk that is making itself known, but is a bit cloying. It's hitting the back of my throat in a ticklish way. Not too sure I really like that part. Dry down: This scent seems to settle into a slightly powdery floral musk scent, but with a slightly off putting high pitched sweet note. I don't know where that sweet note is coming from, tobacco maybe? Alas, this scent isn't really working for me.

In the imp: Sweet floral - with an airy quality - it's not heavy. Wet on skin: For some this scent reminds me of a high end commercial perfume - but this is so much better! It's sweet, fruity and floral. I can pick out the honeydew and freesia and it's a wonderful combination. Dry down: I think the white amber is coming to the front, warming this blend up a bit and lends a nice depth to the top fruity notes. This was a surprise hit! I want to give a great big thank you to the Lab for frimping this blend to me. I'm in love!

In the imp: Lemony herbs Wet on skin: Wow, this goes on and is all lemon. Dry down: Still lemon, but with a bit of something fresh and green lurking beneath. An hour and half later: the lemon is gone and is replaced by a dry woody cedar/sandalwood combo. It's a little too "wood" smelling for my tastes. Intersting blend, although not for me. It's too lemon, then "wood", at least on my skin. I was hoping the jasmine and rose would have come out more, but with my chemistry, my skin just amps "wood" notes.

Dark and sweet, yet spicy and a little aquatic. The is an interesting mixture of scents! When first applied, I get spices ... mostly myrrh and clove. After a little bit, the tobacco starts to peek thru, which lends a nice sweet complexity to this blend. I think I'm also smelling the "swampy moss" note which may be coming off as the aquatic I think I'm smelling. This is a nice blend, although it reminds me a bit of Medea (which, oddly enough already tested today). I should do side by side comparison and see how these two compare. If you like myrrh and or slightly spiced blends, I'd say to give this one a try.

In the vial: A warm sassafras, with hints of wood - must be the cedar. Wet on my skin: Root beer with something a little sweet lurking in the shadows. There is also a "dry" note which I equate to dust. Dry down: Um, why am I smelling down? It's like I've got duck butt in my face. That and a touch of B.O. Oh yeah, and root beer. So it's dusty duck butt, a touch of body oder and sweet root beer. I wish this worked on my skin, but something just didn't translate well with my chemistry. I'd say give this a try if you like slightly sweet food, or even woody blends.

On application, Anne is all about the patchouli. This isn't too surprising since I amp "woody" notes. On my second sniff, I getting something akin to Vicks - a eucalyptus/menthol feel. Luckily, the menthol dissipates on dry down, and I can smell the sandalwood and frankincense coming thru the initial patch blast. Truth be told, I was somewhat afraid to test this one out because of the patch and other really resin/wood heavy scents. It's surprisingly wearable - even for this sugar/foody/floral loving girl.

In the imp: pie and a light floral cologne. Wet: Buttery pastry, which is starting to smell a little stale. There is also a background of a man's cologne - but it's ever so light, with a nice handful of berries. Dry down: The cologne becomes a very light rose fragrance, with a fresh bunch of blackberries. And then there's the pastry which is ruining an otherwise great blend. I was hoping the "stale" scent was gong to dissipate, but it didn't. I would love this scent, if the "pastry" part of this blend cooperated with my skin. The blackberry and rose portion of Knave is just lovely, but the somewhat fake and stale pastry is just ruining it for me. Low throw, but this scent has staying power. It's gone on strong for more than four hours - and for me that's good

In the imp: Deep and dark, with a touch of spiciness. Wet on skin: Sweet resins with a hint of floral in the background. The throw is very light at this stage - I don't know if this is going to last. Dry down: And the scent is blooming and becoming bolder and more complex. Incense starts to come to the forefront, backed by a spicy, almost honey like note; it reminds me of honey mead. The sticky floral is sill present, lending a bit of greenery and freshness to an otherwise hefty scent. This is an interesting scent. I'm having a difficult time describing it as it reminds me of honey mead mixed with some Eastern Spices and a sweet, heady floral - like magnolia. This is still a darker scent, almost reminding me of Hellcat - it's sweet, resinous with a bit of spice and a touch of floral.

In the vial: A man's cologne, heavy on the lavender and ambergris. It's makes my nose scrunch up when I smell it as it's pungent. Wet on skin: The lavender starts to calm down a bit, while letting some of the other notes become detectable. I can smell a touch of the tobacco flower as well as the whiskey, which makes this blend quite masculine smelling combined with the lavender "cologne". Dry down: This scent has morphed into sweet smelling gardenia blend, with a touch of the aforementioned scents. It's quite lovely! This isn't nearly as masculine smelling as it was on application, and I would considerate the dry down to lean more toward the feminine side. I really like this blend. It's a beautiful fresh floral which is grounded by the lavender and ambergris ... so good.

On my skin, this is an eye watering, smokey blend - it starts to come close to liquid smoke on my skin. On application, I detect the scent of scorched earth and molten hot rocks. Then I start to get a touch of salinity emerging thru the dry smoke. After this, the scent of burning meat comes to the foreground with wisps of campfire coming thru here and there. I'm mot really enjoying this scent as it's overwhelmingly "burning" smelling on my arm and is making me slightly queasy. In concept, I give this a 10. It's a dark, smoky and viscous blend - very fitting for it's namesake. But I don't want to wear this - it's disconcerting - too close to burning flesh for my tastes.

I find this blend is extremely variable and changing. It's constantly morphing into something slightly different than it was when you last smelled it. The Dodo starts off very cinnamon-y. It's like I have a single note of Red-Hots on my skin - but without any skin burn. After a few minutes, I find the cinnamon dies down and the red musk comes forward. Then, after a little more time, the lemon starts to come out, along with the other fruits. I find that this is almost like apple/orange blossom. It has characteristics of the fruit, but without being too fruity, it's very much a sweet juicy floral. Weird right? But it smells divine! After a few more minutes, the fruitiness subsides a bit and starts to mingles with the slightly cinnamon spiced red musk. This may not sound like the best description, but it really does smell quite nice. The ending of this fragrance is a lightly spiced, musk-y citrus. For some reason, this blend is reminiscent of Coral Snake at the very end of wear (prior to fading away). I'm not too sure what components are making me think of the similarities, perhaps the red musk and lemon peel combo? While I do enjoy The Dodo, he's very fickle and ever changing. By the time The Dodo decides on his scent personality, he starts to fade away. I do think this is a fun little scent, but it's not on my bottle list, as I already have a bottle of Coral Snake, which smells similar to my nose.

In the imp: Slightly sweet, fresh coconut. Wet on skin: Watery coconut. Not a lot of depth in this stage. Dry down: This hasn't changed to much from the wet stage, except for maybe a feeling of warmth coming thru - perhaps from the milk? IDK. It's still mostly fresh and watery coconut. I find this blend is okay. It's not something I would reach for too often as it doesn't have a lot of throw or complexity on my skin. It's mostly just a watered down coconut. It's not bad, but I'm still searching for my "coconut" blend.

In the imp: Sweet and yet slightly bitter almonds. Wet on skin: The almond dissipates and the florals start to come out. I can detect jasmine (not stinky), a touch of citrice-y bergamot and something what must be river lilies. Dry down: The florals do fade into the background a bit and are replaced with a light vaporous incense. Whenever I sniff my wrist, I think of water lilies floating in ponds with gently rippling water - like Monet's famous paintings. It's a light airy, almost watery scent. Although, pretty, this wears close to the skin. I think this would make a lovely spring/summer scent.

The Spirit of the Divine Messenger, the Lord of the Crossroads, He Who Owns All Doors and Roads in this World. He is the intermediary between the Orishas and mankind, and stands at the intersection of humanity and the Divine. He opens all paths of communication, both mundane and Heavenly. His ofrenda contains coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum. In the imp: Sweet and almost buttery ... Yankee Candle? Wet on skin: The tobacco comes forward with a backdrop rum. The creamy sweet base of this scent must be the coconut, but it smells a little more like vanilla - at least to me. Dry down: Wow, this is like Perversion, minus the smoke - which is just fine with me. I wish I was getting more of a coconut smell rather than "vanilla candle", but it does at least keep the tobacco note, which can go a little sharp on my skin, in check. The rum stays in the background, lending a bit of complexity to an otherwise sweet and waxy scent.

In the imp: Fresh florals. They're blended just so, I'm having a hard time discerning specific notes. Wet on skin: Sweeter floral, but with a fresh, almost watery feeling. Drydown: Fresh green florals, with a touch of powdery sweetness. Sorry this review is so generic. Only if I look up the scent description can I identify wisteria, jasmine, and roses the notes that I'm smelling. On the dry down the Florentine orris root seems to come forward more with a watery sweetness. It's a pretty scent, but for me, somewhat forgettable.

In the imp: my impressions are a fresh floral with a bit of sharpness underneath. Wet on skin: This is a fresh floral, but with a powdery sweetness which reminds me of amber. Drydown: Why am I smelling sharp, biting cotton/linen; yet there and no such notes in the is blend. Maybe it's the red sandalwood which comes across as sharp? I"m not too sure. I'm not liking this stage so far. An hour later: well the sharpness is still there, but it's not nearly as prominent as it was. There is a soft sweetness which somehow reminds me of amber, but must be the vanilla in the blend rounding out the bite of red sandalwood. Wish I could smell the peach and vanilla, but all I got was spiky sandalwood and floral (osmanthus?), perhaps smoothed out by the vanilla. This isn't a blend I'd reach for as it's too pungent in the wet and most of the dry down.

In the imp: Bubbly and slightly dry - almost like Schweppes Ginger Ale, but with a citrus kick. Wet on skin: Oh, this reminds me of Bon Vivant. I think these two blends share the same effervescent quality. I can really smell the lime and touch of lemon. Drydown: Dry, and lightly sweet lemon-lime scent. I really like this one, although it disappears quite fast - my skin just drinks it up. It's a really great scent for a hot summer day, as it's not too sweet - in fact it's more dry and slightly refreshing (a contradiction in and of itself - but there you go). I didn't really get the melon and green tea, but the champagne grape and lemon rind really make this one a nice stand out scent.

In the imp: Lilies? No, it's a floral with a background of spices. Hummm, this is promising! Wet on skin: The floral comes forward more,followed by a soft spice in the background. Drydown: The musk makes an appearance and this blend is now a musky floral with a very delicate spice, although I cannot tell which type of spice. I had preconceived ideas about this blend and it sadly fell a little short. I actually liked the carnation aspect of this fragrance, it's a little sweet and spicy. But I had hoped the plum would make more of an appearance and I wished the spices were a little more pronounced. I think this perfume is pretty, but it is understated and wears very close to skin.