ramblingrambler

Oh, wow. I had been eyeing this one on the second market every time it popped up, thinking it could go either way without listed notes. I’m glad I took a chance on it with the re-release because this is soooooo nice. On me, clove seems to be the star of the show tempered with some sort of light red musk and maybe resinous incense. Maybe some frankincense and a drop of vetiver in it too? Honestly, I can’t tell. It is a high pitch blend that remains totally grounded by just a hint of dark, deep notes, whatever they are. This is exceptionally good. I’m getting a backup before they’re all sold out, and you should too.

Hmmmm. I let this age since I got it from the Lab early after release, hoping it would start to mellow... but after testing today, only seven months in, it still isn’t quite where I want it to be. The sharp, acrid note I often get with a super fresh bottle of SO is still very much present. I’m going to put this aside for another couple of years before I even come back to it, tbh, and hope at that point the SO I love will be there accompanying the lovely pumpkin spice notes already shining.

I let this sit for a year before I came back to it because it was much, much too heavy on me when I tested it upon its release. Today, over a year later, it is still very heavy, but it has calmed down some. On me, I am hit with a fuzzy fur scent, large and in your face, for about three hours. This reminds me of BTBT and others in some ways with the extremely heavy muskiness and depth. After three or so hours, it finally relaxes into what I love about Blood or Sin, two of my favorites. It’s more subdued with a certain sexy “come hither” vibe you get with those scent profiles. Honestly, I want to let this age more and try to wear it for the drydown stage, but I think I’m going to put it in my boyfriend’s box of goodies to see what he thinks/if he finds it more wearable from the get go.

Fruity, spiced bubblegum. I quite like this, but it is such a light scent—I much prefer my perfumes to announce my presence.

Bought this bottle off eBay maybe four years ago, and it hasn’t changed much—used to remind me a little more of MB: Bloody Mary, but now it’s like MB: Bloody Mary and Bitches Love Unicorns had a baby. This is extremely sweet—very much a candy scent—and very much a hot, summer fragrance.

I knew this one would be lovely with some aging, and I am so glad I set it aside upon its release and retested it today. New, it smelled somewhat similar to the Wiley Gasser’s immediate gasoline scent, which I attribute to the predominant pine. It settled down to a sweet cherry almond with no patchouli at all. I wasn’t impressed, but I knew the notes would work for me if the pine would recede and behave itself. (Almost as a rule I can’t do pine. I hoped I was right about this one, that the pine would fade, and something beautiful would emerge.) Almost eight months later, I was right. It is on its way to being glorious. The pine is (unfortunately) still there, particularly in the first ten or twenty seconds, but it begins to dry into a scent reminiscent of Banshee Beat. The patchouli has finally decided to come out and play, and it is so lovely with the addition of vanilla (again, of Banshee Beat), fig, and almond. I am going to set this aside for another eight months to a year to see what happens, but if it keeps this up, I believe it has the potential to be just as incredible as my beloved Banshee Beat/Revenant Rhythm.

Quite lovely. This is an extremely crisp, candied citrus, perfect for late-spring through high-summer. It reminds me of sitting on the porch and drinking mimosas over brunch—the ruffle of breeze through orange blossom leaves and sun beating down on my legs feels very real with every inhale of this scent.

I wish it didn’t, but to me French Tickler smells exactly like that pink Amoxicillin goop I always had to take for strep throat or ear infections or any other weird thing a kid picks up in their hey-day on the playground with other germ-infested munchkins. Poo. I was super excited for this one.

From the recent 2001 Private Stock release, mentioned to be a quite potent blend: This is sex in a bottle. Deep, sexy patchouli with a spicy kick—gave me a head-rush immediately after smelling. I had been waiting patiently for this. My partner and I have been very stressed and very busy with work recently, and we haven’t had time to connect or get physical in what seems like weeks; it seemed like every time we had a chance to get intimate, the moment wasn’t right for some reason, whether unexpected house guests or an emotionally hard day at work. After using today, literally ten minutes later we were all over each other having a *very* passionate time! Whether or not you’re purchasing for intent, the smell is glorious, and that alone is worth every penny. This is a definite buy if you’re a patchouli person, and it’s an even more absolute if you’ve been wanting to connect with your partner in a bit of a dry spell.

Snake’s Kiss is the love-child of Womb Furie and Snake Oil on me. I get a LOT of honey from this blend, and the sharp, high notes from a fresh bottle of Snake Oil. That said, I love both of these blends, especially once I’ve let them age for a few months (to a few years for the glory that is a well-aged bottle). I feel like maybe there’s an addition of Honey Myrtle here. My boyfriend asked if I had just done a honey myrtle hair treatment when I was wearing this, so perhaps that’s the warmth that’s peeking out.

2018: Very fruity, creamy, and sweet. Pretty linear throughout wear. I get no leather at all but instead get an almost... smokey, incense note from something. I like this a lot, but the incense is not agreeing with my nose and makes me sneeze every few minutes (this has been happening for hours at this point, hah!). Sadly, I might have to pass this on. Boo!

I wanted to love this so much, but I must have the skin chemistry that makes it smell much too clean. This is pure soap on me, sadly. In the bottle, it smells like smoke and high-florals; quite simply, it smells wonderful. On my mother, it is much less soapy and much more a smokey, plummy floral. She tends to wear these types of scents quite well, so it was no surprise.

This is my second favorite Roses release from this Luper, beaten out by Sept by only just a smidge. On me, this reads as a sweet, spicy, romantic fragrance, absolutely begging to be worn out for date night at a fancy restaurant and then chic wine bar later. And then home for a sultry evening. This is “lady in the streets, freak in the sheets” in a bottle.

Sept is beautiful—warm and glowing with a comfort and casualness of a good, close friend. This exquisite blend smells first of frankincense and rose immediately applied and begins to dry into a softly sweetened, creamy rose. I think this is my favorite of the Roses in this year’s release.

This is lovely, but I am surprised over how delicate this smells as it dries down. The citrus is bright and fresh and juicy, and the rose is fully present, but as the day wears on, it begins to smell like a garden tea party in spring, sans the tea, of course. It’s almost as if the tree fruits and rosebushes are waving at you from afar, wafting their scent through the breeze, but never full-on attacking with obvious “rose” and “orange” in your face. Quite delectable. (This does not remind me of Lilith’s Tea Party regardless if my review makes it sound akin to that fragrance image )

Tobacco and bourbon vanilla stand out to me as most present and forward. In fact, they seem to be all I smell. This makes sense to me if Ted is mentioned in the description—this is a cousin to Perversion.

This is an extremely sweet, apple-forward floral. I thought the sweet apple would have faded as the scent continued to wear on, but it almost felt like it got stronger somehow. I tend not to wear apple fragrances, but this one is quite nice. I’m giving my sister my imp, and I will probably buy her a bottle for her birthday since apple fragrances are her favorite. It’s bottle worthy for you apple types.

I got this Saturday and couldn’t wait for it to rest so am reviewing straight from the mailbox Saturday evening and onto my skin. In bottle, it smells mostly of dragon’s blood. I am okay with this and fully on board. Wet, the heavier elements of Snake Oil are tinged with some honeyed dragon’s blood. Also okay with this and even more on board. I’m getting excited to see the scent reveal itself over the next few hours. Dry and into drydown, there’s a sharp note that comes and goes—this happens with fresh bottles of Snake Oil on me, so I am unsurprised—but it is otherwise a sweeter, spicier, more earthy Snake Oil. I could see this “Oops!” flying off the shelf at, say, Urban Outfitters . It’s a little too witchy-enchantress for something like Sephora or Ulta, but it would be a definite best seller among the indie, pro-sumer (professional consumer ) crowd. This is all sorts of yes, and it isn’t even rested. I can’t wait to see what it becomes as it ages.

This is very much like OG Hope—sugared roses. Roses are front and center. Let me reiterate: this is a rose forward scent. Anyone hoping for the cotton candy will probably find that it’s only a supporting note to the “sugared rose” (adding sugar to the rose, but not by much). If you’re looking for a contemporary, playful rose scent, this should be it.

This is a fruity white tea for me. I can’t place the currant as the fruity element, however—it’s just ambiguously fruity rather than a scent of a particular fruit .

This is delicious. Candies and smut. What else to say? Strawberry/cherry dies down into a smutty red musk. Yum.

Very floral—light but huge throw. I could see myself wearing this to a wedding or two this season, so I’ll probably use up my imp, but it isn’t my usual fragrance profile. Beautifully crafted though, and a must if you’re into florals.

I wanted to like this and kept trying to convince myself that it smelled good all day, but finally I had to wash it off because all I could think about was hospitals, doctors offices, and sterile rooms. It smells very much like the scent of a doctor’s office... I have NO idea why. I just kept thinking that I really need to go get my women’s yearly—so it was a great reminder, but not what I want to be reminded of daily .

I was a little surprised that this was one of my favorite Lupers of the bunch since the Lab’s “suckers” and “lollipops” usually stand out on my skin as very artificial. However, this was a sweet, tart surprise. It is very much a cousin to LSSB (Sticky Bat) mentioned above. If you’re into candy-sweet, tart citrus scents, this one is absolutely a must.

Oh god is this good. I cannot put words to this scent because it is glorious... but I will try. This is sugared rose perfection. Upon first application, it’s a cherry candy. It stays like this for about five to ten minutes and moves into a tempered, jammy rose... rose notes here are reminiscent of Rose Red and Peacock Queen, but they’re taken down a notch because of the touch of sweetness. As it fades, it becomes a soft whisper of fresh cut rose. I’m left with almost a rose water scent by the end of it, as it becomes nothing but skin. Beautiful.