radioaction

Wet - wet autumn leaves single note. Very strong at first. Dry - leaves fade to the background, leaving a gorgeous, almost vintage feeling cologne. It recalls beautiful black and white photographs of glamorous women in the 1920's and 30's with dark eyes and flirty skirts. I don't get red current particularly, but there's a subtle sweetness that I think it lends to the soft, ever so slightly salty ambergris. As soon as I tested my decant I knew I needed a bottle!

There's something so comforting about this scent. It starts out a little harsh (in the cleaner kind of way) but quickly evolves into a complex, creamy blend of earthy patchouli and tobacco and juicy, slightly bitter orange. It's warm and lush with moderate throw. Didn't expect to love this but it proved decidedly bottle worthy!

Wet: Fruity, citrusy bubblegum Dry: Everything blends together into a gorgeous, shimmery scent. The citrus is bright and juicy with a touch of bitterness. I can sometimes pick out the almond, and the rosewater comes out more with time, but everything mostly blends together in an ever so slightly sweet, pick with a green center backdrop. Rose normally does bad things on me, but the rosewater is playing nicely here, not taking over or going sickly. It does seem to have the most throw, I can define it more distinctly from further away, whereas it blends in nicely close up. This is kind of an enigmatic scent, swirling and evolving with each sniff. Verdict: lovely! I'm not sure it feels completely like "me" but I think come spring/summer it might be just the light, refreshing scent I'm looking for.

Wet: Delicious, bright citrus with a bit of a bitter edge. Entirely my jam. Dry: I guess this is what opium smoke smells like? Citrus is gone, or at least has lost it's bright juiciness, and a slightly sweet smokiness remains. I maybe get a touch of star anise under all the smoke. Verdict: This isn't really wowing me. I think the opium notes in a few of the Ligeias I've tried have taken over and turned into a kind of flat, bitter scent that I don't like.

Be still my beating heart, Frosty Silkybat is gorgeous! There's a bright green freshness that jumps out, almost minty but not quite. It reminds me a little of how florist shops smell, that fresh green scent of cut stems. The patch and vanilla aren't identifiable independently to my nose, but form a creamy, slightly earthy sweetness to underpin that cool green top note. On top of all the great smells, the gloss makes my hair so freaking smooth and soft and shiny. Pure magic.

A haze of tuberose, pale jasmine, vanilla orchid, and lily, with a faint jagged edge of opium tar. Decant: Something piney/bitter that must be the opium tar over light florals On: Flowers are strong and beautiful at first but then something turns really soapy. I don't have a lot of scents with tuberose or lily, so I'm not sure how they behave on me. Jasmine is one of my favorite notes, and it's playing nicely here, though quickly overwhelmed by everything else. I'm not sure I get any vanilla orchid. Sadly, it's getting to be just bitter, strong soap. Verdict: I'll try this again and see if it's still super soapy, but I'm guessing my skin just doesn't do tuberose and/or lily nicely.

In the decant this is a very sweet, sticky spiced honey with some foodiness. On, it goes straight up sweaty curry. Pumpkin I did the same thing on me, so I'm guessing it's the pumpkin note in this year's patch. *sad trombone*

Bottle: slimy green note with almond, doesn't smell the most appealing! Wet: Almond and a fresh green note are most predominant. Tea is definitely there with a slight menthol sharpness. This phase is difficult to catch as it seems to dry down pretty quickly (could just be my dry winter skin at the moment). Dry: Tea and cake! There almost a floral quality to it. The cucumber is mild and almost aquatic. Very verdant and fresh, just barely foody. Verdict: LOVE! Only issue is that it seems to fade down quickly. I'll have to experiment with applying unscented lotion first and see if that helps keep my skin from slurping it up.

Avunculus is pretty much dry honey scented talcum powder for me in all stages - in the decant, wet, dry... I get no pear or coconut. I haven't tried any other blends with pear so I'm not sure if my skin just eats it or what. The blends with coconut I've tried have definitely been discernible. The golden amber must be what's so powdery. O has a similar powderiness on me, but the honey (and vanilla) save it there, whereas here the honey's not doing enough to keep it interesting. I've tested this a few times with the same result, so I'm chalking this one up to incompatible skinestry.

A Moment in Time is absolutely gorgeous. It's not much of a morpher on me, though the woods are a bit stronger when wet and it starts a little sharp. It quickly dries down into a slightly sweet vanilla lavender, with a touch of dry earthiness underneath. I love wearing this to bed, everything blends together so nicely into a soothing scent. So glad I gambled on a blind bottle!

I got this as a frimp in my last Lab order. Leather is not my jam, but I'm hoping there's enough other stuff in here to temper it. Wet: Minty? Some kind of fresh, menthol smell. Very peculiar. Definitely get a "sunlit caves of ice" vibe. I think there's a peak of vanilla underneath. Dry: Smoother and warmer. I'm not familiar with a lot of these notes specifically, so it's hard to pick out who is making an appearance. Something slightly smokey (opium smoke, I'm guessing), something dusty (vanilla or hay probably), and a bit of leather. I don't get any flowers. Verdict: Intriguing, but I don't think this is to my liking.

Received as a frimp in my last Lab order. Rose is iffy, but the other notes I like a lot. Wet: Lemongrass single note. Dry: The woods and the rose come out a bit; lemongrass is still strong. The rose is verging on sickly/old person, which it tends to do on me. No jasmine or patchouli that I can detect. Verdict: I wish the jasmine came out more and the rose less! It's still a very nice, soothing blend. I will likely keep it and use it in bath products or a room spray to see if the rose less gross not directly on my skin.

It’s snowing here (sob) a woody, resiny, spicy scent was in order. The throw is fresh evergreen, like walking through a tree lot to find the perfect christmas tree. Up close, it’s like an ancient magicks shop - mysterious spices and resins with unknown possibilities. I don’t think I would have ever picked this out as something I would like, but so far it’s really wonderful!

Sjöfn doesn't really morph much on me, smelling the same in the imp, wet, and dry. She's all apples all the time - real apples, nothing artificial. Very evocative of peeling apples for pie, of orchard fresh cider, of picking apples in the cool fall air. It's ever so slightly sweet, perhaps that's the birch keeping things from going too tart. It's very light, with a subtle throw. I love it!

Wet: Dry, salty air blowing over aged wood with something fresh and green, and something sort of slimy sweet. Dry: Freesia starts to come out, carried on the same salty, woody breeze. I think the fruits are keeping it round and juicy instead of straight floral, without being identifiable in and of themselves. It's the smell of stumbling through the desert brush to find a well worn wooden shack harboring a foreboding green luminescence. You can't quite see through the cracks in the walls, but as the harsh light falls upon your face, you're greeted with the smell of something decidedly otherworldly.