sarahmarie

I love lilac and beeswax and generally can't wear white tea because it goes very sharp and soapy on me, so this was a gamble! At first, it's sort of a candied lilac scent to my nose, which is really lovely. Then the white tea amps up, and for a little while I thought it was going south...but now that it has dried down all the way, it's much less sharp than I was expecting. The lilac and the white tea blend so thoroughly I can't really distinguish them separately, and the beeswax grounds it a bit, perhaps keeping it from going full soap on my skin. Overall it's a scent I would wear lightly, because it's quite strong...but I'm pleased that it may work for me! It's really pretty and unique.

Orion, the Hunter, is the Lord of the Winter Skies. At his left shoulder sits orange-hot Betelgeuse, and in the heart of his sword, he holds a nebula that swirls with the birth of new stars. Weathered brown leather, wild fig, Macedonian cedar, fire-red tobacco, pepper, white musk, and cardamom. Oh my goodness this one is amazing. I smelled it at willl call and liked it, but I didn't get a chance to try it on before I had to leave...and then I got it for Christmas! Lucky me! I can pick out the fig, cedar, and pepper the most easily when wet, with a hint of the cardamom... and together those smell a) delicious and remind me a bit of nutmeg. It feels somewhat foody, and really just warm and delicious. As it dries, the leather, tobacco, and musk come out a bit more, grounding it and making it much less of a foody experience. I can still smell warm, slightly sweet cedar goodness, though, with a gentle underlay of leather and white musk. I keep applying it to myself, but also to my husband. It's a great blend of like, comforting yummy and also kinda sexy and masculine - but not in a way where it feels specifically cologne-y or like femme people would feel out of place wearing it. I'm wearing it and loving it. It's soooo gooooood.

So, I do not like florals in general, but I do love Tiki Princess - plumeria works for me. Lily often doesn't, and strong, heady florals can be A Lot, so I was a bit nervous about this one...but I think I like it! It's warm and rich. Definitely floral, but in an unusual way. I can certainly smell the lily, but it doesn't take over and run away with everything like it sometimes can for me. It reminds me of DDLM - perhaps the chrysanthemum? But it wears better on my skin that DDLM tends to, even though I do like DDLM in theory. I'll have to wear it a bit more to decide what kind of mood I will wear it in, but I'm pleased that it's a possibility for me!

How can it be I never reviewed this? I looked through and didn't see, though I know I have tried this before, back in the early days. I got Lampades as a frimp from the Lab, and I remembered that it didn't work well for me - but that was probably 10 years ago, so I decided to try again. And I'm intrigued! It's really interesting. I get cranberry and lily with some spices, rounded out by musk - pretty much what it says it is, but it's surprising to me how well this seems to be playing on my skin given that fruits and lily don't usually. It's like the cranberry is grounded by the musk and sweetened by the lily, and the spices keep it balanced so it's not overbearing or too fruity or floral. In other words, it's well done, which is no surprise. But the magical combo might just work on me! My first tentative test faded quickly, so I'm on my second round to see what happens on the drydown when I apply a little more.

On me this starts out as a delicious chocolate scent, more brownie than bar, if that makes sense...I say that mostly because usually chocolate turns kind of sad on me, but this one remains very warm and rich while it lasts. There's also a note that smells to me like amaretto. It doesn't stick around, but it's there in the beginning. After a while, the chocolate takes a back seat and it smells distinctly of BOOK, which is fascinating and awesome. The candle wax is present in little hints. It's lovely. Once it's dried down it is hard to pick out the chocolate, but when I look for it, it's kind of there, and still very nice. It's a very unique scent. It came with a cool paperback 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which I have never actually read! So that's super cool too. EDITED to reflect more thorough notes on my second wear.

This is an unusual choice for me, and it wears very differently on me than it does on others here, it seems. For me, the lotus (and ylang ylang?) are very prominent, with some sandalwood for grounding...and it remains not foody at all for me. I was hoping for fig but don't smell it. But, the creaminess does keep the florals rich and soft, and I can see this being a very pretty warm winter floral scent. I'll have to wear it again before I decide whether it's for me, but it is very nice.

This was a gamble for me, but it turns out I really love it. It's much like Gingerbread Poppet, but with some morphing - gingerbread with spicy cinnamon candy, gingerbread with a fruitiness, gingerbread with vanilla. For me the gingerbread is a warm and delicious constant, close to the skin but with great staying power. The various accompaniments come and go and are delightful the whole time. I really enjoyed wearing this one on Christmas Day, and I anticipate enjoying it throughout the winter for its cheerful, comforting qualities. EDITED to add that once it's completely dry it smells very distinctly of gingerbread with vanilla icing - it's really perfect and I love it. It's long lasting too. I think I prefer this to my beloved Gingerbread Poppet even! I'm in love.

So, my skin amps and does weird things to tea. It gets kind of soapy or something, and sort of sharp. I know this - Dorian fails on me, for example, because of it - but I keep trying. I should maybe stop. This is actually a really great, clove smokey smell on me, with just a hint of the cake. I was so hoping for that, basically, and I got hopeful. But then the tea...the tea blooms into a super strong amped up thing that overpowers everything else. If you are someone who likes these notes and can play well with tea, I think you should try this. It comes so close for me, and I think it's just my chemistry that sinks it.

This was such a surprise for me! I tested it at VT WC. Caramel is a note that I often try for and often fail with, and this one starts to go the way of the badness - but after a while, it settled down and was straight up delicious. With the cookie and apple, it's delectable - not cloying, just a really yummy perfect balance of slightly buttery, browned, sweet, apple. So good.

This is so great in the bottle and initially on my skin - that sparkley strawberry smell with cotton candy underpinnings, bright and sweet. But several of the notes in this are iffy on me - strawberry, though I love it and keep trying, and cream, which I also want to have success with but tend to turn a bit flat and strange. Those things happened here, sadly, and it just doesn't work. But, if these are notes you do well with, you will adore this. I am tempted to keep it based on the bottle photo alone, buuuut many scents call to me...

I love this painting and I love some of these notes, while others were a super questionable decision...but I'm glad I went for it, as this one is quite nice on me! The jasmine doesn't run away with me, it's just pretty and sort of a nice, round, deep note. I get a lot of clary sage and I am really pleased with that! Those are the primary notes on my skin - the oudh is present but just the most stand-out of a nice, grounding base that's really nicely blended. I'm really digging this one, and I love that it's very unique and a departure from some of my other seasonal choices.

I really love this in theory, but in practice it may be too strong for me - it triggered a migraine. I want to try it again, because I definitely see the beauty of it, but it is Very Powerful and something in it may not agree with me! My impressions, though, are of an incensey brown-red scent, very musky and resiny with major depth. I bet it will age beautifully, too!

I love both strawberry and beeswax, and have had mixed success with them in various blends - but I was really hopeful about this! I am not disappointed. For me, fruit notes often go really high and sharp, or else plasticky. But this one doesn't do that, and I think it's because it has such a nice grounding in the beeswax. It balances it and keeps it from running wild. The candy is there too, sort of vaguely - it sweetens up what otherwise might be a sharper strawberry on my skin. It's a surprisingly powerful scent with staying power - I can still smell it on one of my wrists almost 24 hours after applying! I am so happy that this one worked for me. If you like strawberry or beeswax, I think it is a must-try!

So, I often cannot wear chocolate perfumes even though I love the idea in theory. I was nervous about this, but I'm glad I gave it a try! This wears well on me. The chocolate stays chocolate, without going weirdly plastic, though it is a drier, more cocoa-like smell than a richer kind. I'm okay with that though, it makes it feel more wearable and versatile. The cinnamon is very subtle, just warming things up a little, and the dry down is lovely - close to the skin, with a warm feel that smells a bit like it has amber in it on me. Very nice.

I tried this when I got it at will call, but I somehow never wore it again and forgot about its existence! But I'm glad I discovered it again. This is a nice one! In the bottle it's very strong and throws a lot, but it settles right down as it dries. On me it's warm and sweet, a nice blended pear-wine hybrid that wears pretty close to the skin but doesn't go all weird the way both of those notes have done for me in the past. It's grounded by a warm, dry quality that keeps it from being too cloying. So glad I hung on to this and didn't overlook it forever!