nightwing

Dragon's Blood and I rarely get along, hence why I got a half decant of this, but if I full bottle upgrade on any of my lupers, it will be this. Wet: Floral but not traditional. There is sweetness from the daemonorops and honey, but the leather and musk are strong and powerful, keeping this from being super girly. Drying: The leather and musk are coming right to the front, right where I want them to be. The sweetness and floral notes are still there, but are secondary to the lush, potent leather and spicy musk. Dry: Leather and sweet musk. There is nothing I particularly pick out of this that shouts honey, but it's playing with that rich sweetness to great effect. Cream never showed up, which is great because it never works on me. I am currently wearing this with my Eldritch Dark Hair Gloss and they are a match made in heaven. I feel feminine and aggressive and smell amazing.

The moment I smelled this at Will Call I knew I needed to have it. In the bottle, I get deep blackened vanilla and tobacco with a hint of spice playing in the background. The cardamom came out a lot clearer on my hand and in my hair, reminding me a lot of Cafe Mille Nuits minus the strange coffee and scones issue that made me pass that along. The throw is subtler than the initial blast of scent suggested, which I think is a plus overall, given that I like wearing hair gloss that doesn't totally overwhelm other scents. The only trouble is it smells like NOTHING I wear, so I'll have to hunt for a good perfume pairing.

Wet: This is the most in your face chocolate of any of the bonbons I tried. I am getting musk for sure, and I think I can just pick out the warmth of the amber. The notes mean it is not foody at all to my nose despite the obvious chocolate. Drying: Much less obviously chocolate, and a little more peppery. I've never tried Haunted, but I would expect this is pretty close. Dry: The chocolate is back, and the spice is much more subdued. But it stayed pretty true to it's ingredients on me, and I'm looking forward to trying the GC Haunted after this was so good. I have to be in a particular mood for anything with any foodie feeling, but of all the bonbons, this is my favorite and I'm glad I have a full decant.

Wet: That's Embalming Fluid alright. And way stronger than the normal stuff is. The chocolate is there, but is not overtly foodie. I also never amped a true citrus from EF, and that's still the case here, which is probably why it's not reading as foody to me. Drying: This slight whiff of chocolate is hanging around to great effect. For the most part, this is a deeper EF, but there is a chewy texture that is very different from EF straight on me, which seemed to just up and vanish. Dry: The chocolate is much more even and evident now, but it's still not doing the awful chocolate powder that usually happens, which is a win. There is also something almost fake green tea about this. I personally love the scent, but there is a particular green tea feeling that gives a slippery vibe fitting of its namesake. This is an acquired taste for particular occasions, but I am happy to have my half decant and can see this getting play if it ever warms up.

Wet: There is orange and chocolate at first, but quickly the patchouli and I think the apple coming through changes this from a true foody scent. The apple gets strong for a moment and is very green, but pulls back to let the chocolate come back through. Drying: Chocolate covered apples! I get musky apples with a backdrop of chocolate. It still doesn't feel foody, even though the main notes I'm picking up clearly are food notes. Dry: The vanilla is now noticable, but is grounded in the musky non-foody chocolate. I get something a little wooden which I think is the teak? I never picked up neroli or bergamot, nor the rose. And I am stunned by how mild the usually aggressive black patch is on me. I'm on the fence on this one. It's a strong devation from what I normally wear, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It certainly didn't do any of the things I feared from the notes, but I certainly won't be needing more than my half decant.

I got a half bottle at Will Call and had my first bath with it tonight and boy it was a good purchase. I can't wear Beth's chocolate note on my skin, and when I skin tested this, I ran into the same problems I usually do, but in the bath it bloomed beautifully and what lingers on my skin is a subtle rich sweetness under light oudh. Bathing in brownies was just amazing, and my skin feels light and well loved as is the usual with the Post bath oils.

I was going through my imps for a purge and I had to review this when I smelled it in the imp. Because in the imp, it smells like cheese. Sharp blu cheese with a little bit of musk. Wet: The cheese feeling goes away, blooming into musky amber with a hint of something orange. The vanilla also quickly makes itself known and while not overtly plasticky the way it sometimes can get, it does feel a little off. At this stage, it's very cloying and a bit powdery. Drying: The wax must be what I'm smelling, because there is something waxy about the way it smells, a bit like waxed cooking paper. I'm getting none of the notes I was hoping for (leather, ginger, pepper, oakmoss or balsam), and just something odd and a bit stale. Dry: The notes I love are finally showing their faces, but this blend is crazy mild for something with so much spice. It doesn't have a ton of throw and is very close to the skin. It like it enough to keep it, but only just.

I thought an atmo spray would be the way to tame the cinnamon red hots monster. I was wrong. On my thick heavy towels I get a hint of something else, but everywhere else it's just a cloud of red hots, certainly nothing I want to smell like.

I am so unhappy. This is all honey and dark rose. No leather, no musk. Just honey with a note of faintly powdery rose. I hope this is just like what happened with my Tree Roots, Fallen Leaves and Tomb Moss atmo, which needed a few days rest before coming into it's own, because where is my beautiful, sexy leather??? -edit- Turns out that all that beautiful leather got all separated out in travel. I had these dark globs in the bottom, and a skin test revealed that they were the leathers and musks. With a little shaking and a little resting, I'm sure this will blend back together.

Mist-shrouded woods: Siberian fir needles, white pine bark, aspen leaf, wild lily, bergamot, wood violet, thimbleberry, sun-star, golden bell, snowdrop, heartsease, and bloodroot. So I got a free goblin squirt of this in an order, and am not sure how I feel. On the one hand, it's not a me scent at all. It's sweet and very floral and I get almost no pine. There's almost a 'fresh woods' laundry detergent feeling about this. On the other, I can't stop huffing the little corner of my sheet that I sprayed with it, and it is extremely relaxing and soothing. I'm going to spray my pillows with it tonight, because if it helps me sleep, it's worth considering a bottle.

ITI: There is no listed booze note, but in the imp, I swear this smells like straight up boxed red wine. Grapey and sharp and gross. Wet: The wine note seems to have resolved into the musk and incense. It's not boozy anymore, but it still has an odd grape feel. Drying: The leather and tobacco are raising their heads, much more vanilla and soft than I would have expected. This is less bondage and chains and more smoldering seduction. This one is very sexy and it has a lot of throw, but it's sophisticated rather than dirty. Dry: I finally have the ambergris, and it's really wonderful. It's mostly the musks and incense, but the other notes round it out wonderfully and it has a great blend. This scent belongs to an attractive sophisticate with a cigar in one hand as they rake their eyes across your body. It'd say it trends masculine, but I think this would be stunning on the right sort of lady as well.

An imp of this showed up as a frimp (!!) so I'm very excited to try it. ITI: Buttery warm hay. Not the usual overwhelming pumpkin. Wet: The hay note seems to be cutting the pumpkin's tendency to go buttered popcorn on me, and this is really delightful. There is a sweetness thanks to the pumpkin's foody vibe, but it's cut well by dry hay and something a bit green from the vines. Drying: I'm really getting the metal note as this starts to dry. It adds a really interesting mineral sharpness that really keeps the pumpkin from going fake food on me like it usually does. Dry: This is a beautiful pumpkin note. It has rich creamy smoke to it and the buttery richness of cooked pumpkin, but the hay, which is the strongest note, and that metallic note are really in the front. I'm pumped to find a pumpkin note I can wear, but am bummed that I will probably never find any more of this. It's really a smooth, wonderful pumpkin.

Thanks to BPAL I have discovered that what I always thought was a general allergy to perfume was actually an allergy to perfume alcohol. There are still many notes that give me the spitting headaches, but it's transformed the way I look at perfumes.

The current Yule Hans Trapp is basically Tattie Boggle plus leather to me, so you might want to check it out. It's not that lovely black leather from Adam, but it's still pretty great. How was Hans Trapp not on my list??? Hopefully they'll have it at the Salem Willcall so I can take a sniff, because the sound of Tattie Boggle +Leather is amazing to me. It seems like you enjoy earthy dirt scents, so I would definitely give both Yorick and Penny Dreadful a try. Also, if you like the maple in 1914 you might like the Shunga Noh Mask and Maple Leaves. For Black Rider I would suggest either Hans Trapp or Liz. I steered clear of Yorick because I can't do floral at all, but Penny Dreadful has amazing reviews, so I'll see about throwing an imp of that into my next order. I'm a bit worried about Liz because of the floral and the vanilla. Vanilla can be super hit or miss for me, and if the floral is white, I am destined for a headache.

Because I gave some recs but didn't ask for any. Top 5, in no order: Adam (OLLA) Placopobia Hallowee'en 1914 Tattie Boggle Black Rider