roseus

In the imp: peach blossom and cherry-ish almond

Wet: cherry-almond cream with amber and a little peach blossom.

Dry: bitter musky cherries and a bit of beautiful peach blossom. Well, they can't all be winners!

In the imp: bright, zingy, juicy green

Wet: now distinctly ginger, fresh ginger not baked goods.Still a healthy amount of green underneath. Something steamy about this.

Dry: Still lots of bright fresh ginger and greens. Underneath I get a bit of creaminess and a little bit of sweet cardamom. Lovely and energizing.

In the imp: rich sweet woods.

Wet: the amber and vanilla come out and blend so well with the woods. I get the sweet almost floral tone of rosewood distinctly.

Dry: Similar to wet, but with a little more of the musky ambrette seed coming out. The vanilla is a dry one, absolutely beautiful with the woods. Fantastic and may need an upgrade to a bottle!

Okay I wanted to try this because something about the blue musk and fresh florals made me think of Bestiaire du Moyen Age from the Unicorns but a Shunga version.

In the imp: dark heady orange blossom and a little bit of smooth wood. Smells a bit like Rub Rub Rub from Lush which I love.

Wet: similar to in the imp but with a touch more wood (but still quite soft) it doesn't really scream cedar at me, just faintly outdoorsy. A little bit of jasmine mingles with the orange blossom. The blue musk is sweet and crisp and wafts about very breezy like.

Dry is very similar to wet. The blue musk comes to the fore a bit more, making it a bit more fresh and a aquatic and just a touch salty. The heady blooms are gentle. The wood just supports. It is strong yet delicate. While conceptually it is very similar to Bestiaire they do not smell the same at all. Bestiaire is sitting in the grassy banks of a river in a blooming apple orchard at noon. Visiting the Sumida River is laying on a river bank at dusk smelling the rich perfumey breeze from a nearby garden. I love it!

A beautiful grassy, juicy green lace. The rue and tobacco give a little warmth and depth. But overall very bright and springy. Smells like laying on sun-soaked grass with fruity blooms on the breeze.

At first I might have argued that there was lotus in this, because it smelled like a soft, sweet bubblegum at first. But orris tends to be candy sweet on me and the butter must go further in that territory rather than dusty. However as this dries the bubblegum lets up and I am left with a silky vanilla with dark narcissus and bergamot. Surprisingly lovely.

Starts off with mostly crisp white tea, but as it dries it gets sweeteer with the honey comb and a little more warmth. The vanilla orchid comes in as a soft, cool floral. Beautiful, and would probably need a bottle if it were a little stronger on me.

In the imp: sweet waxy lotus blossom, honey, and vanilla. Glorious.

Wet: creamy golden floral, sweet and springy.

Dry: I wonder if this has champaca in it? The beautiful creamy sweetness gets covered up by sharp powdery incense that I get with champaca.

Such a lovely fizzy gin scent, with a twist of lemon. Fun enough for a night out, but also refreshing enough for sweltering summer days.

In the bottle: I think something about the rum is making me think of cocoa.

Wet: heady florals, rum, and spices all clamoring for attention. Still getting a cocoa vibe.

Dry: this settles down considerably. It's hard to discern individual notes but there is certainly a smooth warm base of plush vanilla and amber, with rum. The spices meld with this really well and just give the scent a 'heated' feel, which is fantastic. I worried the clove and rum combo if too strong would give me holiday associations. This reminds me of sultry summer heat. The florals are gorgeuos here, and I definitely pick up waxy tuberose and the pikaki. Gives it a subtle summer tropics vibe.

Worried that I would not like this because of the orris, which usually goes dusty and weird on me, but it is not a problem with this one. I got whiffs of wonderful coconut during the dry down, but am left with a dry, woody incense scent. Nice but I was hoping for more coconut!

In the imp: smooth, dark, and cool. Like what I would think midnight smells like.

Wet: definitely getting black musk. It's almost asphalt-y and industrial, but in a good way.

Dry: weird and flat and sad on me. Almost sweaty. Reminds me of how badly So Below failed on me.

Syrupy sweet vanilla root beer! As it dries it gets a bit rich and buttery, and initially has a cool herbal tinge.

That you Sprout that really is an amazing list! I definitely saw a few to pique my curiosity

And thanks as well Ziggy.

 

Last night I layered Antique Lace and TKO and while TKO dominated as I fell to sleep when I woke up all bleary eyed at 6am I swore my husband was baking vanilla cookies. When I woke up again at 8 I realized that was what 10 hours of faded AL/TKO was. Delicious vanilla cookies. So now I'm on the hunt for a basic Vanilla cookies/Pure vanilla extract scent.

For a pure vanilla extract/baked goods scent I would recommend Detestable Putrescence if you haven't tried it, I have seen it recommended upthread. It was just basic, creamy, foody vanilla on me.

Worried this might be a little heavy on me, but no need. The sweetness of the benzoin and vanilla lift up the chewy tobacco and resins enough. Badass yet comforting. Definitely a cooler weather scent for me.

Starts off as a dewy, chilly red rose with watery green sap almost identical to Rose Red. As this dries it gets much less chilly and green however, and is the summery fresh flower equivalent.

Wet and in the imp this is a sweet syrupy apple. Very bright with the apple and the bergamot. It stays pretty bright on me for awhile, a nice crisp apple rose scent. As it dries further it gets a little darker and more velvety. This is a love!

In the imp: intense, dry, woody oak and intensely herbal chamomile.

Wet: Woody, boozy, and a little sweet. There's something pine-y too.

Dry: Smells like bad gin. Boozy and sharp, with pine-y cool edge. Giving me a headache which is rare!

I love all of these notes. The ambergris really takes the center stage, warm and musky with a tinge of salt. The lavender is standing its ground, and a little more on the herbal side. This is a lovely, no-fuss, scent. Very natural and effortless feeling.

Glad I finally bought this. Snake Oil made richer and sweeter by honey. What's not to love?

At first I was only mildly interested in this scent, I love apple but I had other priorities among the Phoenixes. But my mind finally made the connection between apple and wine to Solstice Lace and I had to try it. While it is definitely not the same, this is much less autumn harvest-y, I love the apple and sweet wine combination. On my skin this has a fresh, almost clean (but not soapy) aspect. Maybe that is the SGA aspect (I have never smelled it though), but I am also thinking it is the muskiness of Dorian and the lemony note combining with the others. I get the rich sweetness of Snake Oil underneath all of this. The salted wood grounds everything and gives it a nice body, and the salt keeps the sweetness in check. But it all melds together quite beautifully. This will be a beloved autumn scent for me.

Starts off as sweet tropical coconut made more sweet with cane sugar. As it dries the ambergris comes in and warms up the scent, making it more musky and sensual and the coconut softens a bit and gets creamier. I get just a touch of the sexy, incensy champaca which is okay since it can be sharp on me. Here it just adds a little intrigue. This is perfect for summer.

Normally I am not a big fan of DBR, it tends to go a bit screechy cherry-floral on me. However in this scent the amber grounds it quite nicely! Warm and musky, and just a touch fruity. Quite addictive to sniff.

On my skin this is a dark, indistinct fruity-floral. I could pick out the gardenia and rose, and upon reading the notes the plum. They meld together for a sweet and not too heady scent. Reminds me of a sweet, light wine.

The start of this is a bright white clean scent, primarily the tobacco flower and white musk. The coolness of these notes contrasts beautifully with the warmth of the amber. As it wears these fade leaving a glorious white amber tinged with coconut and just a breath of the tobacco flower.