ravenscanary

Normally I try to break down my reviews a little, but... The devil's own gingerbread basically sums it up. Rich, real ginger with a little sweetness (more frankincense than sugar) and a dark herbal undertone.

Source: Lab decant In the decant: Woodsy, herbal, a touch medicinal Wet: Wood! Light wood, not heavy dark forest, but a sun-dappled wood made of pale ash, linden and yew. Underneath I smell herbs - sage, I think, and maybe rosemary? Dry: A softer version of above, not much of a change. This is a very pleasant, light, woody scent. I find it calming and quite restful.

Source: Lab decant In the decant: The Nyquil comparison others have mentioned is right on. Herbal with a touch of licorice. Wet: Strongly herbal. Some evergreen, some eucalyptus, a bit of something I process as "dirt" and moss. Dry: There is an undertone of sweet floral here, but it remains, to my nose, a bitter scent overall, even as it dries down and softens. Also, this is the most bright green perfume oil I've ever seen.

Source: Original decant In the decant: Before I open the decant, before I even get the tape off... Nag Champa incense. Heavy duty and strong. I feel like I waltzed into a head shop or too close to my stoner former roommate. Wet: And...Nag Champa incense! Spicy, black, and slinky. Very resinous. The comparisons to Snake Charmer (at least the resurrected version, as that's all I've ever tried) are pretty accurate. Dry: The star anise is making this sweet and with a faint root beer note under the heavy musk/incense top. However, this is a bit too much musk for me. I'm somewhat reminded of the movie Anchorman and the "Sex Panther" cologne joke. This certainly isn't the revolting, room clearing scent from the movie, but it is very powerful, musky and feral to my nose. Notes: The oil is very dark and thick, but I don't see any sediment or residue on the bottom of the decant. It stained my skin slightly on application.

In the bottle: French vanilla and a bit of musk. The vanilla has that almost alcoholic tinge of an extract, but it's very pleasant even so. Wet: Plumeria and honeysuckle come out immediately. Vanilla, where did you go? The musk remains, and this is light, a little sweet but still balanced and not doing anything too unexpected. A little powdery around the edges. Dry: A really lovely, balanced, gentle musky floral. I'm sad the vanilla doesn't come out more, but this is a keeper nonetheless.

Source: My own original bottle In the bottle: Pinkity pink pink musk plus coconut and pomegranate. I get a very "tropical fruits" vibe from this. I almost imagine pineapple for some reason. Wet: Sweet musk and sugar with pomegranate juice and incense. This is gorgeous. I kind of want it to be a desert so I can eat it. Dry: Unfortunately, I get a tiny touch of a plasticky undertone to the coconut. However, overall this remains very sweet, light and young without being *too* innocent. There's a little prickle of cypress and spice to keep things interesting. I like and wear Mme. Moriarty, but this is a much more summery, sweet version.

Source: bottle, secondhand purchase In the bottle: Baby powder with a touch of spicy carnation Wet: I get the creamy milk and rose otto entering the picture. It's almost musky in tone; I think that might be the carnation/rose combo to my nose. It's not very sweet at all, surprisingly. Unlike many other reviewers, I only get a tiny bit of sage. Dry: Soft but earthy. Still giving me a musky floral vibe. Not unpleasant, but not what I was expecting, either.

Source: My own original bottle In the bottle: Cream cheese frosting, frighteningly accurate to the real thing. Wet: Cake and frosting is the top note for sure - cream cheese and that softly chocolate cake scent. This is very evocative of real red velvet cake. I can't pick out Dorian, Snake Oil or Doc Constantine specifically behind it, but they're definitely there. Dry: The cake and frosting are still there, but I'm getting a strong Doc Constantine vibe from this now - the musk, leather and amber in particular, with a touch of that overpowering Snake Oil funk. (Yes, I'm a Snake Oil hater. It does a burnt plastic thing on me.) Here the SO is curbed by the sweetness of the cake and frosting and the musky Doc. Dorian gets totally lost. I just wish this remained mostly the cake and frosting scent on drydown. It's there, but not as prominent as I might wish, alas.

Source: My own original bottle In the bottle: Spicy Dorian with vanilla and lavender. Oooh. Wet: HI SNAKE OIL. Ouch. I am not a fan of original Snake Oil at all, but I have had some luck with it in blends in the past. Not on immediate application with this one. I can sense a little Dorian under there, but the Snake Oil wagon ran him over and then backed up over him, to boot. Dry: Snake Oil and fennel. What? The herbal undertone kills some of my normal Snake Oil Gag Reflex, but it's still not going to work for me. I sniff the bottle again. Still mostly Dorian in the bottle. But as soon as it hits my skin it is gone, baby, gone. I think this may be a skin chemistry thing - I need to slather Dorian to get it to stick around, so it's just not working for me. Tragic.

Source: my own original bottle In the bottle: creamy, fuzzy, almost softly spicy musk Wet: This is the brown/fuzzy musk note of Hunter Moon 2007, but instead of being combined with woods and blood, it's the same critter tamed and drinking a bowl of cream. Dry: The scent takes on a cinnamon-like note for me, very lightly, on drydown, along with a baby powder dustiness.

Source: My own original bottle In the bottle: red wine and a fairly light musky undertone. an ominous scent. Wet: Musk, dry herbs and leaves, and smoke. Not at all sharp, this is smoothly blended. Dry: My skin eats the wine note, which happens fairly often. Musky, spicy and rich. This smells like darkness, brown/gray musk, cookfires and herbal brews. Sexy and feral.

This Harvest lunacy combines the autumnal scents of balsam fir, cedar, juniper berry, clove, saffron, damson plum, sage, black cherry, and fennel with the crushed wine grapes of Dionysus and Janus' lingum aloes. Source: My own from-the-lab bottle In the bottle: Wine and cedarwood mixed with herbs. Strong, almost astringent, but heady and compelling. Wet: Wine remains prominent, and the woods - cedar and fir - as well as the juniper really jump out. There is a rich undertone of fruit, and a sweet, green background that is the aloe. This is incredibly well-balanced on me. I can pick out so many of the notes, and they all smell like win. Dry: The fruit and wine notes soften on the drydown, and the woods and herbs remain in the fore. This is a little spicy, all autumn/winter richness, like mulled wine in a rustic cabin. Delicious.

In the bottle: light woods, floral soap, a little medicinal on the edge Wet: light woods and floral soap. It smells a bit like I might imagine a classic, turn-of-the-previous-century wood paneled powder room. Dry: An elderly, elegant lady's powder room. Wood, light rose, an almost creamy undertone. This isn't at all what I expected, but it's very light and elegant. Kind of turns powdery on the further drydown; still not unpleasant, but very bland.

The Glorious Grand Dame of the Pumpkin Patch! Regal Egyptian Amber, red ginger, orange peel, mandarin, cardamom, fig leaf and warm pumpkin. Source: Full to neck backup bottle, secondhand purchase In the bottle: buttery, foody spiced pumpkin Wet: spicy, dry amber base muting the pumpkin, with a potpourri-like dryness Dry: Autumnal potpourri. I think it's the citrus and ginger combination that evokes that dry, craft-store spice smell. It is not at all unpleasant or fake smelling, just very generic autumn spice without the pumpkin I wanted. This one is pretty disappointing. I am usually very weak for pumpkin scents, but this isn't really working for me.

Source: Fresh decant In the decant: CAKE. Hi cake. Very sweet. A tiny hint of cucumber. Wet: Oh, there's the tea, too. Still, it's mostly a very sweet, buttery cake/cookie scent with a hint of green cucumber. I have a feeling the tea will come out more as it dries, which is what happens with most tea scents on me... Dry: Oh, yeah, the sweet treats are fading and the tea and cucumber are coming to the fore. It's still, overall, a sweet scent, though. I do like the Earl Grey note here, it's very recognizable, but I'm not loving it overmuch with the cucumber.

Source: Fresh decant In the decant: Sharpish ambergris and rose. It's already reminding me of Ren Faire perfumed roses. Wet: Ambergris and rose still predominate, with a musky green undertone and aloe present as well. Dry: This scent alternates for me between feeling historically proper herbal sweetness and a bit too medicinal for my tastes. It's just not working quite right as perfume for me.

Source: Fresh decant In the decant: Green swamp. Musty, wet woods. Wet: Bitterness and evergreen. Lots of pine and vine, almost no sense of florals. Dry: A manly evergreen scent with the very sharp cypress note dominant. Not my thing.

Source: Fresh imp In the imp: Aquatic cologne Wet: Still a pleasant, sweet aquatic cologne, with a touch of vibrancy that's almost electric. I can pick out lime for sure, possibly some other citrus here. Dry: A manly but light citrus cologne with remarkable wear and throw.

Source: Fresh decant In the decant: Resiny incense. Wet: Frankincense and lavender, somewhat musky. I don't really get the dragon's blood in this. The lavender and golden musk smell like a really awesome man's cologne. Dry: Resinous, manly musk, fairly light. Notes: I don't care for this perfume much on its own, nor its partner Thisbe, but the two together balance out pleasantly when layered. As a pair, the musky incense of Pyramus remains dominant, but Thisbe's floral sandalwood sweetens and lightens it. It's kind of the pleasantly perverse meeting between a pagan priestess and a Catholic priest.

Source: Fresh decant In the decant: Lemon, berry and sweet rose. Smells a little like fruity berry gum. Wet: The lemon is very reminiscent of lemon Pledge, unfortunately. There's a lot of sweet going on here under the surface, and the rose is prominent as well. Dry: The sandalwood comes out to play, and thank heaven for that. Normally sandalwood is not a favorite of mine, but here it tempers the overwhelming fruity sweetness. Unfortunately, the lemon and berry notes get squashed a lot more than the rose, so what I end up with is a dry, light, sandalwood and rose blend without much hint of anything else. Notes: I don't care for this perfume much on its own, nor its partner Pyramus, but the two together balance out pleasantly when layered. As a pair, the musky incense of Pyramus remains dominant, but Thisbe's floral sandalwood sweetens and lightens it. It's kind of the pleasantly perverse meeting between a pagan priestess and a Catholic priest.

Source: Fresh decant In the decant: Lavender, jasmine and the bitter tobacco smell of the nicotiana over herbal tea. Surprisingly floral. It does give a "poisoned tea" vibe, to me. Wet: Herbal lavender. The tobacco steps back and plays nicer, but overall the impression is a light, musky floral with a bitter herbal undertone. Dry: For some reason my nose is picking out vanilla here. I think the amber might be getting powdery sweet on me, and I'm interpreting it as vanilla, which is odd. Overall, it's still a lavender scent, primarily. This is quite nice, the first lavender blend I've really enjoyed, and I'll be keeping the decant and possibly seeking a bottle.

Source: Fresh decant In the decant: Fruity wine and woods. I would call this a dark red fruit wine, not "black" to my nose. (Though, honestly, I'm not sure what "black wine" would be.) Must be the pomegranate. Wet: A deep, earthy scent underlying the wine, which is still the prominent note. Spicy. Rich. Kind of manly. Dry: Like many wine blends of the lab's, my skin eats the wine note after a time, and I'm left with a woods-and-earth scent with a hint of bitter fruit. It's quite pleasant and evocative. I actually prefer this scent with the wine so-eaten by my skin, it's somehow much more a mystery this way.

Source: fresh decant In the decant: Herbal, bitter, tobacco and dry, dry, dry sandalwood. Sharp. Wet: Still mostly sandalwood and herbal/green tobacco, but now the florals come out as it gets on my skin. I smell juniper, a note that I particularly enjoy, and within a minute or so this balances much nicer on my skin. It is still intense and herbal, but much less sharp. Dry: Wow. I thought I was going to loathe this when I sniffed it in the imp, but on the drydown the sandalwood and nicotiana play very nicely with the floral notes, and it's pleasant. I get an impression of an imperious, queen-like woman who would wear something like this.

Source: Fresh decant In the decant: Frankincense mostly, with a little green and the rose otto. Wet: A hint of opium, still predominantly about the frankincense with lotus and rose otto under the incense-y frankincense Dry: the sweet lotus comes out a little more as it dries, but I still consider frankincense the dominant note, here. I pick out the rose otto strongly because it's my favorite in a few other blends. I don't get any amber out of this, a note that normally goes powdery on my skin but that doesn't seem to be making an appearance. The longer this wears, I do get some sandalwood, but very little.

Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. Version: Sugar Skull 05 Source: Nearly full decant of unknown provenance, received as a freebie on a purchase In the decant: Caramelized, burnt brown sugar Wet: Caramelized, burnt brown sugar...and cinnamon Dry: This takes on an incense-like vibe to my nose underneath the cinnamon-sugar. I don't get much fruit, maybe a hint of something like cherry, but very much in the background. I don't normally dig sweet scents, but this is interesting. However, I don't think this would see much wear from me. I like to eat caramelized sugar, not wear it.