oakandloam

In the imp I get cool sharp pine. Wet, the pipe smoke/tobacco note really sweetens things up. There is something a bit ashy and something a bit like berries, which must be the snow/cold note interacting with other notes. Far warmer and much less pine than I was expecting, as well as a very strong throw. As it dries it starts to smell like pomander??? I'm getting orange and clove... I think I can detect the smokey fireplace and I know I can get the pipe, but really there isn't much of the pine/snow thing going on, which is really disappointing because that's why I got this to try in the first place. And more orange and clove as it dries. Not a bad scent, but not me and certainly not what I wanted from this scent.

Wet, all I get is almond, which was the main reason I didn't just buy a bottle straight up. It's medicinal and sharp and not yummy at all. Fortunately the patchouli comes out quickly but I'm still getting a gross medicinal cookie feeling from this. Okay here's the resinous leather I was hoping for. It's honestly surprisingly faint given the notes, and it's kind of soapy and unpleasant, which is tragic because I love leather notes to death. And that gross almond is just lingering and unfortunate. I'm not going to like this if the almond stays arohnd, and none of the notes I like are strong enough to get through it properly. There is so just promise here, but alas...

In the imp, all I could smell was sickly sweet fruit. My very first thought was lychee before I saw the mandarin note. The moment it gets on my skin something magical happens though. Tonka and patchouli jump up, tempering that fruity sweetness. I not familiar with rose geranium, but I think it must be that wonderful spicy floral. I'm definitely getting the pepper, but this is really fruity and floral, much more than I was expecting. I can't stop huffing as it dries. It feels like every breath I take I'm noticing something unexpectedly new and wonderful. As it dries the floral notes definitely take a back seat to all the resin, but it keeps popping unexpected combinations of all the notes on me. The only note I haven't really seen specifically is the vanilla, but I think it's part of the overall sweetness. The blend is perfect and I think it would work on both a man and a woman. The throw is not extreme, but this scent is more on the sultry side of things than an everyday wear to work scent.

Got a tester of this from azurephoenix along with my carbuncle imps and I'm super excited. I didn't think I'd ever get to even try it!! First thing I noticed was the amazing red color. It looks like fresh blood in the imp. In the imp, it's smells heady and resinous and I can really smell the wood. Wet I really get the amber and cedar along with the smoke of incense. It's very sweet and surprisingly flat in terms of the different notes. It's quite nice, but not exciting, and honestly like a lot of other things I've already smelled while exploring. I was really hoping for the parchment and ink to play a stronger role. The dry down is all honeyed resins. Not at all objectionable, but from the notes and reviews, I was expecting a much more complex scent. I'm glad to have a little of it, but I doubt I'll be tracking any more down, considering thee is surely something in the catalog that will fill this profile just fine for me.

Got a tester from the lovely azurephoenix from her decant circle. In the bottle, this is sharp metallic lime and a whiff of clean linen. Wet, this is unreal. The lime is still the main player and still has that sharp metal quality that I loved so much, but now the aftershave really comes through with a lovely warm wooded note to it. It's a crisp and very masculine scent but it's not overwhelming or too in your face. Dry it's more of the same. I'm getting a hint of some thing woolen but really it's that same sharp lime and warm woody cologne. It's sophisticated and mouthwateringly sumptuous, sweet but not foody, woody but not overwhelming. This looks like a seriously likely canidate for a full bottle, especially given its gc.

This was one I was unsure of due to the cream note, but had to try anyway because I love lime and the other notes. In the imp, it's lime vetiver. So juicy and dark that my mouth literally watered. Wet it's more of the same, including some of the richest and chewiest vetiver I've ever smelled. The lime is just sharpening the upper registers, keeping it bright despite the intensity of the vetiver. As it starts to dry down, something a little waxy and a little like honey starts to show up, making me think that candle might have been beeswax. It continues to keep this blend lighter tHan I expected given the notes with a very complimentary sweetness. As it dries, it keeps getting lighter and warmer. That candle smell really comes to the fore without getting too waxy or musty. I have not identified anything resembling cream, though that might be why I smell something like honey. The lime fades away, and what I'm left with is a comforting rich a d very unisex blend of sweet vetiver that is both sultry and rich without being overwhelming. So glad I took a chance and I would love a bottle or partial of this. Edit for spelling

I got a sniffle of this from azurephoenix along with my carbuncle imps and am super happy to finally get a chance to try it In the imp, this is honestly kind of rancid and fresh on the skin doesn't change that. It's a lot of grease paint and honey sweet stale tobacco. I'm literally making faces at my hand for the first few minutes. However, once it gets a chance to warm on my skin a little, some redeeming things start happening. I get the rosin and leather, and the chemical tang that was so repugnant for the first few minutes and in the bottle backs off. I'm also getting something clean and almost like the fresh linen candle scent that's so common in cheap candles. Thus really comes into its own as it dries. The notes settle and it develops a lot more sophistication. It's still hard to parse individual notes, but this feels like an expensive gentleman's coat, infused with soap and pipe smoke as well as the tooL's of his trade. It's stately and very masculine to my nose, and there is still something cloying and stick to the throat about it that I don't love, and I certainly would struggle to wear this regularly due to the spectacularly terrible first ten minutes or so. My tiny partial decant will probably be enough, though I'm glad to have tried it. Maybe a bit of aging will bring something out, who knows. It sure is a tremendous testament to perfume creation, even if it isn't my favorite. Edit I take it back this is awful on me. Now that it's continued to dry, something starts going horriday sticky sweet and rotten, like sour spoiled fruit covered in suntan lotion. I had to wash it off.

I could only afford half a bottle, but seriously this is stunning. In the bottle, I get the sage and something almost lemony. It's sharp, herbal and has everything I love about Pinesol with none of the cleaner fluid feeling. On I'm still really getting the dusty herbal sage, this time with oakmoss really coming to the fore. It has a lot of pine sharpness, but there is a deep grounding to it that also gives this a mysterious feeling that I really love. As it dries, it keeps a lot of that dry mysterious feeling that I love so much. It's also very strong on my skin, even after my small test application. This has a very cool overall feeling good to me, but as it dries, something a little sweet and almost wildflower like shows up that I really like. This is extremely evocative of high summer in Vermont where last year's pine needles crunch underfoot while the tree sap releases fragrance into the warm air. I can't stop huffing myself and I think I'm going to need to hunt down some more of this because I think I'll wear this a lot.

First off, this oil looks stunning. It's a deep reddish golden brown that makes me want to put it on right away. On first sniff, I'm very much getting the dusty soft amber and just a hint of other things surrounding it. More of the same on first test, but the leather and honey quickly bloom. This has deceptively little throw for a scent with such aggressive notes as leather and patchouli (disclaimer my house is kept pretty cold due to heating costs), but it means I catch the occasional sultry whiff and fall in love all over again. The leather note I'm getting is not chemical, but prominent, like a brand new leather wallet or belt. The honey is the second main player, and the resins give it just a bit of smokey powdery depth without being obvious or even clearly distinguished from each other. Thee is nothing my nose clearly identifies as patchouli at this stage. This does an odd thing as it dries down further. Somehow it's both sweeter but more masculine. It feels a lot more smokey, and I think I can pick out the amber again specifically. The leather is still the main player, and it keeps its seductive and mature feeling. I think this is a unisex but leaning somewhat feminine scent. The bottom line is that I can't stop huffing my wrists and I need to get as many imps of this as I can get my grubby paws on.

In Spanish it's pronounced yooka, if you're curious.

Of all the Halloween line, this one had to come home with me. At first sniff, it's all sappy freshly fallen leaves. Like raking up a leaf pile. They aren't fresh off the tree, but they aren't crunchy and dissipated yet either. On my skin, the tobacco really blooms. It retains that faint sappy quality, but it really takes over the blend. This is deep, rich and chewy and really wonderful when the faint soapy feeling keeps in check. As it dries, it feels a little soapy on me, which is very disappointing. There is just something a little artificial feeling about this that I'm not sure about. There is a green feeling about it that I'm sure is from the leaves that isn't quite working. The feeling comes and goes, and I expect a little time will even this out. There's a lot of promise that this will age into a really lovely tobacco perfume, but it's not quite wowing me yet.

I confess I jumped on this pretty much exclusively because I thought it sounded like the total opposite of something I'd like and figured it would be good enough for a laugh before trying to move it along to a more fitting home. At first sniff however, this is not at all what I expected. In stead of an overwhelming blast of foody sweetness, this is attractively powdery and musky, like unrefined baking chocolate powder. On my skin, there is something almost herby about it that smells a bit like chocolate oranges like another reviewer mentioned earlier. It's still not evolved into some thing that feels foody obviously to me even though there are clear food notes that I can pick out. I was expecting this to feel girly and childish like many of the candy lip glosses I'm familiar with aimed at kids, but this is very sophisticated and deep. As it dries, the scent lightens a great deal and the herbal orange note fades away, leaving g something that smells a lot like sweetened cocoa butter. I think I can pick out bourbon vanilla now, and maybe a note that's more obviously honey rather than just sweetness. Honestly this perfume is a lot more subtle than I was expecting, and is going to be well worth sitting on and seeing how it wears before making any choices on if it's staying.