blacksh33pboi

I agree with the above reviewer in that it's a bit tough to pick out specific notes. It's a fragrance with broad appeal because of how inoffensive it is. Not too floral, not too green, not too anything. Just a nice, light, dewy floral. While it might not be too complex and some might not like its simplicity, it's definitely a perfect perfume to wear if you're going to be around family, at work, or around anybody else whose perfume tastes aren't known yet. It's a great 'safe' scent to fall back on. I do wish the 'herbs' part was more noticeable, as I like herbal scents, but beyond that, it's hard not to like.

Right off the bat, it's sweet hazelnut coffee and cream. Which is eerie because i decided to have hazelnut coffee (synthetically flavored so my tree-nut-allergy-having-self don't cough up a lung ;p) this morning. So it's, uh, a perfect match! But I'm not having any adverse reaction so far so that's good. :v Definitely does smell nutty, though. Unless that's the oakwood mixing with the coffee? After about fifteen minutes the hazelnut coffee and cream overture takes a step back to harmonize more with the woody/nutty scents. And half an hour in, it's mostly woody/nutty with a hint of coffee. The nuttiness is fading now and it's getting a lot more blatantly woody after 45 minutes. The throw is still pretty damn coffee-smelling, though. After an hour and a half, the throw is starting to match the up-close wrist sniffs more, which are now an interesting mix of darker and lighter woods. I would assume the lighter woods represent the 'dusty tomes'. All in all, this does right what it says in the description for me. Coffee, check. Wood, check. If the lighter wood smells = 'dusty tomes', then check. I'd have to be in the mood for something gourmand in order to wear it because of the opening, but when I am in the mood for that, it's definitely one I'll very quickly turn to!

First off is something piney and bitter with a tinge of smokiness. I have no idea what opium is supposed to smell like (poppies... ? :v) but the smoke is definitely there. Looking it up on fragrantica, it's apparently dry and a little powdery with 'balsam touches'. Perhaps that's where the pine is coming from then? Along with the trees in the forest, that is. ;p Thankfully I can't smell anything powdery on me, though it was a little bit present in the imp. About five minutes in, something a little sweeter pops up. And then, 10 minutes later, the flowers and grapes are beginning to come through. The grape, as others have said, is not sickeningly sweet or fake and just provides a nice fruity sweetness to the smokey piney mix. The pine eventually dissipates quite a bit and it is, as others have said, 'smoky grape', with a hint of floral in the background. This is definitely a journey of a fragrance! The name is definitely apt. There's something ancient and mysterious and magical about it. Anywho. At the half hour mark the pine is sometimes making some surprise cameos and I'm catching a little bit of the dry/powdery aspect of the opium. After about an hour, I'm catching whiffs of cypress. Eventually, the scent transforms completely from heady, smokey and mysterious to calm and slightly sweet (cypress and a hint of floral with a teeny bit of the grape and smoke still there). Coming down from a high. I'm a fan of forest smells anyway, and this was a really cool twist on that genre, so I think I'm gonna need a bottle of this one!

Got this one as a bonus sample! Which is interesting, because I wouldn't have picked this one out on my own. Smells a lot like fruit candy sitting in an old wooden drawer. A little powdery, with a tiny touch of the cocoa. The fruit is really what jumps out at me, but the powder and cocoa make it a somewhat artificial-feeling fruit. Oh man, you know what it reminds me of?? Those Wonka Bottlecap candies. Grape soda-flavored bottlecaps with a background of cocoa and wood. That isn't a bad thing, though. For me, it's really nostalgic (I looooooved those bottlecaps as a kid). ...Oh wow, an hour later, the cocoa's taking over. An hour and a half in, cedar's coming through. and two hours in, the fruitiness has died down considerably. I think I would have preferred another wood in this instead of cedar, as it is quite the pencil-shavings type of cedar. Thankfully though, it begins to die down and blend better with everything else shortly after it makes a screeching appearance. Like the reviewer above, I sometimes get an odd buttery note as well. All in all, this definitely isn't my favorite and I wouldn't ever really feel the need to wear it, but I don't hate it either. I can definitely wear it. It's just not something I'd ever immediately grab for.

When I first applied this, it was PIIIIIIINE with a teeny bit of something sort of minty/up-my-nose which I assume is the eucalyptus (while eucalyptus and menthol are different, I always thought they smelled pretty damn similar). There's also something a little earthy in there, buried under the pine and eucalyptus. I was a little nervous about trying this one on because in the imp it's just SO loud and sharp. While it is still those things, it's like that in a way i'm ok with. So far, it reminds me of shopping for a Christmas tree as a kid, and running around with my little brother through all the aisles of trees. It looked like a forest to a five-year-old. [10 minutes later] Musk wasn't listed as a note in the official description, but there's something musky going on whenever I turn my head/catch an accidental whiff of it. But yeah, this fragrance is kind of awesome because I think I'm getting a cold and it is de-stuffin' my nose pretty nicely. Ha ha. Half an hour later, the sweeter wood smell of cypress is beginning to appear-- and then five minutes after that, it becomes far more noticeable and lingers with the pine in an equal amount. --Oh wow. After smelling cypress in a few things, I can state with 100% confidence that it smells like old, creaky floors in a fancy old library. Oddly specific? Yes. True? Also yes. It's a really comforting smell for me. At the four-hour mark, it's just pure slightly sweet, clean wood. Quite an interesting course of changes this one goes through! It starts out bold and intimidating, than finishes as comforting. A very nice winter fragrance if you can pull it off-- which thankfully, I can.

This is a bit of a type-as-it-happens sort of review as I literally typed it right after I put it on, but hey. Here it is: Oh wow! Very piney. Piney and powdery with a hint of sweetness with the powdery note mostly occurring on my neck and the pine being the most present on my wrists. Very odd. Now the powderiness is going away a little and the pine smell and the honey smell are beginning to intermingle with a sort of menthol/eucalyptus-like note that goes straight up my nose. Great for clearing sinuses, and not too obnoxious as a perfume either. :v This is a good winter aromatherapy-type fragrance so far. ...Okay WOW now it smells exactly like baby powder on my neck. On my wrists, it smells like honey and pine. So weird! Also, this is DEFINITELY the culprit of the weird baby powder smell that appeared on my blankets a few weeks ago. Must've spilled a drop of it. it's also the second culprit behind the soapy smell of my perfume drawer alongside Wrath. Heh. Man, this is an odd one. I really like it on the wrists but do not dig it on my neck. So weird. [about 15 minutes later...] ...Ok yeah no I really can't do this one. It just keeps smelling more and more like baby powder to the point where I want to sneeze. Even if it moves on past that, my nose can't take it.

My experience: VERY resinous and herbaceous to start out with! Most def the frankincense/hyssop/lavender/rosemary. Smelling a bit of sweetness five minutes later, which I would think would be the fig and cardamom, as the sweetness, while a little fruity, also has a tinge of warm spiciness to it that cardamom would likely be the 'culprit' of. Has a pretty nice 'throw'! Don't have to keep sniffing my wrists; every turn of the head or every time I reach for something I get a whiff. Yay! Anywho. The herbaceous-ness has died down a lot half an hour in (but is still noticeable close to the skin), and it's mainly the resin/wood/fruit. An hour later and it's wood/fruit. 3 hours in and it's woods with a touch of patchouli and a teeny bit of the fruit left. And now, 4 hours in, it's sweet woods with a touch of vetiver and patchouli. Rather subtle on my wrists, but still has a pretty decent throw surprisingly. I really like this one! It's quite the morpher and doesn't *exactly* follow the common pyramid construction of perfumes because at times, I catch the herbaceous-ness of the top notes even now... and then they disappear. Rather fitting considering the 'fallen angels' sort of ghostly/spirit motif. I definitely need to grab a full bottle of this once I have money again.

[The Lab's description of this scent]...i think that is the most sexual and dirty description of something i've ever heard without it getting into actual sexual dirtiness. Anywho. My experience: I was nervous that this was the soapy one that I was smelling in my imp pack, but that was Wrath! This one is AWESOME so far. I can smell the vetiver, something a little herbaceous but also sweet in an odd way... a teeny bit of the vanilla now. And also the wine, oh wow. It really does smell sort of dangerous yet attractive... like a vampire! heh. Fifteen minutes later, the cherry pops out and the vanilla is a little more noticeable. Gah I love this one. Ooooh yay half an hour to 45 minutes in and i can catch the cloves (Clove is one of my favorite smells)! And an hour later now the cherry has died down a bit on my wrists and it's all about the vetiver and spices. The cherry/wine is still noticeable on my neck, however. ...And now, four hours in, it's pretty much spiced wood. Somewhat of an incense-like note! And still quite noticeable, too. Subtle and discreet, this ain't (but it isn't obnoxious or over the top either). It's so tasty. Definitely one of my faves and definitely need a full-sized bottle of it.

My experience: Light floral with a sharp whiff of pine and a slight woody note. Eventually, the pine dies down and its main focus is on the light floral with a soft, sweet woody base. After quite a long time, the sweet woodiness becomes more pronounced but remains sweet wood as opposed to more sharp or dry. Very nice daytime scent, not too complex. But certainly a very forest/wild floral (as opposed to more stuffy/fancy) with a decent amount of sillage/throw!

My experience: Oh wow. this is probably the most oceanic aquatic perfume I've tried yet (disclaimer: I have not tried too many so far). Which is good! It's what I'm looking for. See, I live right near the coast, so I'm rather discerning when it comes to ocean scents. I know what the ocean smells like! With that said... this comes pretty close! Definitely get the sea air and some of the pine/herb notes right off the bat; then it settles down into more of the more neutral woods, violet, and kelp. Interesting stuff! I do wish it was a *teeny* bit stronger. And by that I mean, stronger for longer. I've had it on for about an hour and a half and it's rather weak now. It eventually dies down into sweet woods with a slight bit of ozone/water about 4 hours in. --Oh wow. And now the cedar really kicked in. That was a surprising switch! And bonus points-- my brother likes this one. :v ha ha. ...But then he also said it reminded him of 'fresh laundry sheets' (this was after I had had it on for a few hours), so take that as you will. I still like it though, despite the fact that it's not as long-lasting as I'd like.

This was an unfortunate one for me because every single scent listed here sound awesome to me (and I personally LOVE the smell of clove) but on me... well. Here are the notes I typed after I applied it: Smelling cinnamon and black pepper with an odd soapy note. I would assume this is the dragon's blood, because it did the same thing to me in another dragon's blood-centric perfume I have. If it's the same as that, it'll fade after a bit though. Thankfully. ...Yeah it's like 5 minutes in and the cinnamon is defeating the soap hooray. ...meh, damn. Back to soap. ...And now the soap is slightly morphing into something a little woody. Yeah nah I just can't get into this. It smells like Ivory soap with spices wafting through now and again. So yes. In essence, it is a battle between cinnamon and Ivory soap, and the Ivory soap unfortunately wins out. It is definitely the dragon's blood's fault-- that's a really funky scent on me. Sometimes it smells like the stuffy Indian curio shop in Providence I sometimes visit (which is not the most pleasant smell in the world either; makes me wanna sneeze!); other times it smells like straight-up soap. This, unfortunately, is the latter.