MischiefofRats

Every leaf tells a story. Oh god it's so good. Okay so I've actually done the maple syrup thing. I've collected buckets of sap from tapped maple trees and dumped them in a sleigh and taken it all down to the sugar house. Actual maple sap has such a light, sweet smell, but this.... THIS smells like boiling that sap in the sugar house, all the rich, gorgeous steam filling the rafters with mesmerising patterns in the sunlight streaming through the board slats. The dead leaves note is strong at first but this is a scent that's primarily about the maple. This isn't pancakes, folks. This is maple magic.

UNF. That plum. So gorgeous. This one is alllllllll about that stunning, dusty purple plum, blended with that smooth, sweet antique vanilla lace. The patchouli is very light and incredibly inoffensive, but adds a note of rooty woody richness. This is not an incense scent; this is plum lace with some deepening complementary notes to add complexity.

I'm definitely getting the tobacco note VioletChaos noticed. There's no tobacco listed in this one, so maybe it's a trick of the oudh and saffron, or maybe blonde tobacco is the 'golden' element and just isn't named. Either way, this is pretty loud and punchy on that note first on. It reminds me of a lot of the various tobacco blends I own. I too don't get strong amber, but this is really, REALLY nice once it dries down and those punchy top notes burn off. It's smooth and sweet and golden and warm, spiced and resinous and creamy. I like it about a thousand percent more after about an hour; that said, it's not bad in the start. It's just going to be one of those scents that's difficult to put on in the morning because it's so loud and heavy. It doesn't seem to have great throw once it settles down, but my bottle also hasn't rested at all. The throw and staying power might ramp up as it settles in.

100% Pageant Queen.

So I have a ton of tobacco blends. I love them a lot. That said, I deathmatched about four of them that were coming across too similar to me, and this one won--HANDILY. The richness of the birch tar and resins makes this just exquisite. An absolute favorite.

Well hot-diggity-damn, look at that. Finally, a Snake Oil that works on my skin.I never thought this day would come. This is... elegant. This is the dry, smooth, woody patch that aaaaalllmost worked on me in Fake News, with that nice honey note that worked so beautifully in Krampus Lace. The Snake Oil itself is a bunch of not much, the way it usually is, but this is smooth and woody and spicy and sweet with a sophisticated dragon's blood twist and I think I actually like this enough to keep it. What a surprise!

The Cacophony of Madness Pink pepper, black pepper, clove, myrrh, dark chocolate, labdanum, and Daemonorops draco. Spicy chocolate with myrrh, like a sophisticated Mexican hot chocolate. It's dry and incensey and rich, with a sandalwood kind of smoothness to it. I really like this one, and my only complaint is it isn't especially strong. Hoping that improves with age!

(Just as an fyi, Horrible Error is not a Lilith-made perfume, as far as I'm aware.) Also, this one smells very much like roses and apples to me. I like it very much.

It is, in a word, perfect. Antique Lace and Dorian. How much more do I really have to say? If you've tried them and you liked them, you'll like this. This is a top ten for me. Instantly. Boom.

Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. A watch’s minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers — of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard me; for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. Now you may think that I drew back — but no. His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily. Thick darkness, black as pitch: opoponax, oily labdanum, and birch tar disrupted by a bubbling carnation chuckle. I can't believe no one has reviewed this! This is honestly my new favorite. I'm hoarding this like crazy. This GORGEOUS, rich and spicy end resinous and sweet. This is the scent I've been looking for with scents like Lydia and Midnight Mass. The carnation is the perfect addition to all these luscious resins, and there's no stage of this I don't love. It lasts ages and it's already gotten me a ton of compliments. Beautiful. Can't rave enough!

This is yummy! It's French tobacco warmed with grey amber. Definitely a winner. The smoke and resins are gentle, and the whole scent is like a warmer, sweeter, softer French Tobacco SN. Bottle for me. I don't really miss my bottle of French, but this is nicer, IMO. More wearable. Plus, on me, I get a bit of brown sugar once this is dry. Throw is about medium, decent longevity.

Hello, Hag Grey. You've added a little rose and a touch of golden warmth, but that's definitely you, in perfume form. Honestly, my only regret is only buying two bottles. I wish I'd bought a third. This is beyond lovely--Hag Grey was my hands-down favorite last year and I was ready to beg for it in perfume form. I'm so glad I got this!

This blend is so weird. It really, really is. I've got two bottles of this and wear it fairly regularly because I love it, but no one else's reviews seem to really line up with my experience. There's rose to it, yes, quite a bit, but it doesn't smell dusty nor exactly fresh, and it's decidedly a bit green, but take all that and bundle it up into incense and THAT'S what this smells like to me. I keep buying church incense blends hoping to find that 'holy' feeling incense smoke scent, but none exactly hit that button for me. This one does. This one smells like a reverent, quiet moment, roses and incense burning and clean sweet candles. There's no wax in this, but I still think about it--glossy cream colored unscented tapers burning cleanly. This isn't a heavy, resin-dark blend. I get zero coconut. It isn't acridly smokey. This is kneeling in a patch of morning sunlight in a huge empty cathedral, doors open and a clean breeze coming in from the garden, wearing a crown of roses, burning rose incense and white tapers.

I managed to score a bottle of this on a pure whim--Snake Oil and Snake Oil blends don't work on me, so I avoid it. The hype around this one got me though, and when I saw one for sale, I pounced. This. Is. Delicious. It's a jelly doughnut. Jelly first, fried dough second, and maybe a little SO loitering in the back. It's sweet and foody, but settled into something that's just yummy, not exactly reminiscent of food. Super glad I took the chance, and it looks likely I'll be hanging on to this one.

I sniffed this at Will Call but did not skin test--all I could smell was coffee. I'm very sensitive to it, and any blend with even a little coffee in it is going to scream nothing else to my nose. Not a super useful review for y'all as far as how it wears, but just a counterpoint to those who might be sensitive to coffee like me.