ramblingrambler

Yule 2017

In bottle - woods

Wet - woody woody woody woods

Drydown - woods.

If you're a fan of woods (but not the foresty kind), this will be right up your alley. I can smell almost nothing else unless I'm practically touching my nose to my skin, and then there's a lovely smokey muskiness (likely hemp) that hits me.

Nice but extremely linear and not what I was expecting.

Hmmm. I get nothing else but carnation from application through drydown. Not one hint of any other notes. I was really looking forward to this one, too. Short wear. Off to swap.

Very much a Luper/Shunga as mentioned above–sexy, close to the skin, and very much a scene out of Ghost. There's a fuzzy warmth to it, almost musky, like some of the "fur" scents have to them... but this isn't that alone. There's a touch of sweetness to it somehow, at least on me, that makes it complex and forces me to keep sniffing to figure out just what is going on here. Lovely!

On me, this is quite the masculine fragrance, but it works so well as a refreshing wake-up scent to get my day going. This is more a scent locket bottle for me, but it's staying in my collection as a pick-me-up for those mornings I'm dragging at work. Minty (eucalyptus-y, I suppose!), fresh, and green.

I got this for the patchouli, but I'm not in love. Letting it age to see if the cedar and tobacco calm down some and the oakmoss stops screaming "look at me!"—the patch is nice and tries hard for the spotlight, but it doesn't quite succeed in being the starring role. This is fresh out of the mail, so YMMV. I'll probably come back to it in six or eight months.

Extremely woodsy and herbal: stopping by the woods on a snowy evening. Evocative of stillness—moves from a snow blanketed woods to an evening inside by the fireplace (no smokiness, just cozy).

Very much a sleep scent; lavender and gardenia, for sure, but very "fluffy," like down blankets. Pretty linear, lending itself to a nice wind-down fragrance.

I get no cardamom from this, which is fine by me since I tend to amp spices. To me, this is a dark night standing at the neck of the woods beckoning for exploration. Patchouli heavy, as I like my blends to be... Amber and vetiver follow, giving it almost a wispy, hazy smokiness. Similar to Owl Moon and Lydia, but more mellow. I love all my BloodMilk blends patch-forward, so if you're not a fan of deep, earthy patchouli, it's probably not for you.

Mmmm. Though I love Peacock Queen, I cannot wear it because it goes sharp on my skin. This is a supremely wearable rose, remniscient of the regal Peacock Queen, but tempered with the addition of ambrette, I believe. Gorgeous, gorgeous.

Damnedest thing, y'all: Aluminum Phoenix smells like Trix sans milk (thank the lawd! Every "cereal scent" I was stoked about was ruined by the creamy notes). I am ALL about it. Buy this if you wanted to love Liliths with "junk food" but they didn't work out for you!

Mmmmm, this is delectable—even freshly out of the mail. Wet, it smelled like perfume and a night out drinking good wine. As it began to dry, it morphed into almost a honeyed tobacco and merlot... and continued to morph into some darkly delicious scent I simply cannot place. It is gorgeous–so rich and deep—and I can't imagine letting this one go. I think with aging, like fine wine, it will only get better.

Predominantly a masculine snow note like Nuclear Winter—wears linearly and offers a nice frosty crispness. May use for layering or offer to my boyfriend.

I was certainly intrigued by the name of this scent and took a chance despite knowing rose geranium stinks to high heavens on me. Alas, that's all I get with this one...loads and loads of rose geranium with a tart, bitter background.

Oddly, this reads slightly masculine on me with sharp, high notes from application through drydown but very feminine and delicate on my boyfriend. I think on the right person, as mentioned above, this would be a beautiful, happy springtime blend. I might tuck away for some aging, but for now, I don't see it working for me .

This has been in my swap box for a couple of years, but I took it out yesterday to reorganize my storage areas, and after re-testing it fell in love. I usually amp tobacco to high heavens, which is why I probably put this aside, but whatever tobacco in this melds deliciously with everything else. It's truly difficult to pick apart the notes because this is a luscious, indulgent blend that reminds me of glamorous femme fatales hellbent on vengeance. I love it wet and all the way through drydown (and on drydown, it is straddles high-end perfume and high-end indie on me). Wear is loud and long and strong. I'm keeping this. Sorry, folks.

I waited and waited to finally get a chance at this beauty, but my wait was well worth it. It's like Snake Oil meets any of the Sufs (or beignets with framboise) for HOURS. It's pretty linear and strong until it basically disappears entirely from the skin, one moment there and the next gone. Good lord, I want a million bottles of this.

NYC snowball fight sounded delish.

BUT

Ragamuffin nailed it with B.O. as an unlisted note. I was put off immediately on application because it smelled like what I remember P.E. in fourth and fifth grade to smell like... a time before young boys discovered that deodorant and showers made them much more pleasant to be around, especially while sweating.

To lessen the ick factor, there's a perfume-y undercurrent which made me hopeful, as anything would have been better than staaaaank.

As it dries, the B.O. wears off but becomes a pine-sol scent with a tinge of sweetness. I imagine this is supposed to evoke a chilly, Christmassy feeling, but it makes me want to scrub off since pine usually triggers terrible migraines.

Dry down, its pine-sol remains until about hour three or four, at which point the sweet, not-quite Vanilla (a semblance, perhaps, but its resemblance is skewed by the strong pine-sol scent) comes out.

Toward hour six, pine-sol begins to fade, and more of a sugared mintiness comes forward, but it not like the sugared mint we see in the Lick It series.

I, too, was hoping more for a Snow Blind, Snow White, or other soft snow scent. This trends more toward a Nuclear Winter (total blast) profile, which makes me think it might be a great masculine fragrance, as my partner wears Nuclear Winter very, very well.

I'll age it to see what happens because I really want to love it. I mostly think it's "just okay" at the moment. If I come back to it in six months and it still smells at all the same, it has to go to my partner... or maybe to one of you.

(P.S. I got a headache over the course of the first few hours of wearing, but I can't be sure it was attributed to this scent in particular, and it wasn't a migraine, per se, as coniferous notes tend to give me—so I'm not sure if there is pine or fir or other notes in the perfume or if it was "just an everyday headache" totally coincidentally )

I'm not sure what's going on here, whether I received a mislabeled bottle or my skin chemistry is skewing it OR my nose is just borked, but Little Photojournalist smells like an herbal, sugared tea until about an hour into wear. Then it becomes a slightly incensed fragrance, more perfume-y smelling than anything. I was really wanting a sweet, fruity incense blend. Still, this is lovely.

I don't know how to describe this scent even now, but I knew I had to have it and paid a pretty penny for it. Many of my friends have remarked that if I were a tarot card, I would be the Queen of Pentacles... and I think this scent perfectly captures both the card and my personality. This is a sweet, edgy fragrance: fruity, earthy, resinous, slightly spicy—but tempered by a demur creaminess. This is both a woman down-to-earth and demanding recognition simply for existing and making life easier for everyone she knows.

YMMV with this one though. I get a lot of compliments from women when I wear this, but men have told me I smell like potpourri (which makes sense re: Queen of Pentacles, I guess!).

WILF is beautiful, but it makes me sneeze nonstop... so I might have to sell it off.

This reminds me of Black Temple Burlesque Troupe meets Hag Musk meets Snake Oil meets... something wispy and fragrant. It is like I'm snuggling with a hottie lycanthrope, fuzz not only soft and warm, but also tickling my nose.

Legit friggin' gorgeous, but I want it to plz stahp making me sneeze.

I see why this fragrance is so sought after and incredibly popularit is downright superb. Expertly blended and glorious, L'Estate strikes me as something that could be sold as mainstream perfume but is just enough off the beaten path to be sneered at as niche. And that's not a disrespectful comment on my end... people don't know what they're missing on the niche, indie, e-tail market until they're actively buying it (and then never going back ).

To be sure, this bottle is everything golden and warm. Sniffed, I can parse it two ways: one in which all notes are inextricably linked to create one overarching impression, and the other in harmonious parts to a perfect whole. I smell it both ways as it wafts toward me... it is a blend of components, a true masterpiece, that together sings just the right song, perfectly tuned and attuned to body chemistry.

I can't say anything about it except it is elegant, sophisticated, and exceptional. It smells like high-end perfume that isn't trying to be perfume.

Edit: I use this sparingly, so five months later Ive come back to revisit my post. It is still glorious, beautiful enough to move me to pick up this post again, if you know what I mean. This time, I wear it as we approach spring through what the groundhog said would be a long winter, and I am reminded of early April, the apex of blooming and blossoming flowers before the rainy months set in. The warmth is really present today on my skin, so this smells like the sun beating down on fragrant yellow, orange, and white gardens - something we dont usually see here until the late spring and early summer months. I am, however, also reminded of the intense humidity present under willowy tree shade where the soil remains slightly damp in the morning, before the sun has fully dried it all. I guess this is like taking a stroll around ten or eleven in the morning and feeling the day go into full swing.

This is not something I would typically wear or even like, but my goodness is this lovely. I don't know if I can pick out the notes one by one, but it, all together, captures the scent of light penetrating death. I have no idea how I know that–didn't read the scent description until after I started my review, but that was my first thought upon application... "This is light and energy!" and as it started to dry, "It's slightly somber but intensely energetic still." Indeed, light penetrating death. I would wear this at the first remnants of spring and then all summer long.

Typically vetiver destroys a fragrance for me not because I dislike it but because my chemistry does not play well with it. HOWEVER, in Fallen, it works well. I don't know if it is because my imp is very aged or if the ratio of vetiver to other components is extremely small, but whatever the reason, I'm glad.

Fallen is an understated floral resting on the foundation of soft resinous and woody notes. Balanced and well done.

This is a sweet but not juicy, dry but not brittle, woody but not pencil shavings CLEAN fragrance. On me, its linear, retaining the same fragrance profile throughout wear. As above mentioned, it is a low-key, pleasant scent.

I got a frimp from the Lab with my last order and really loved this even though there's a clean, crisp, almost soapy undertone to it (maybe the orris on me?).

After reading one of the first reviews about it smelling like Mr Bubble, I layered it with Cthulhu, and REALLY got a bubble bath smell. My partner didn't like it as a day-wear scent.

After hitting the gym, I thought it would be a good "need a shower so I'm going to slather and run some errands and hope for the best because I'm waiting until I'm home to get clean" scent, haha. He thought I actually smelled good when I came in... So I guess it worked.

Alone, it is powdery, fruity, and soft. Throw is medium, wear is medium. With Cthulhu, it's quite a "big," "long" scent.