alhbooks

In the bottle, a bit spicy, but almost bland at first application; seconds later a ginger/orange/honey blend with subtle floral undertones starts wafting upward from my wrists and I’m in love. The ginger hangs in there and it's aging very well.

It's odd how different it is on us all. For me, this is all rich, warm honey and I can't pick out any of the florals or fruit. Surprisingly, I find it very warm and seductive, where lots of the honeyed flavors turn me off.

For me, the scent is dominated by lavender and the honeyed milk, which happily does not go sour like Milk Moon did on me. As it dries though, it evens out, though I still think the sweet milk is the strongest of a soft lot.

I got a partial bottle of Priala as a forum swap, so it was somewhat aged, which is reassuring, because it ages beautifully. In the bottle and wet, the smoky quality takes the lead, but as it dries it softens to a warm spiciness that wears really well on my skin. I need another bottle to start aging before the Carnival leaves town.

I managed to escape from my booth just long enough to pick up the set from CBLDF at Comic-Con last week, assuming I'd keep the chapbook and swap the scent, but once I tried it on, I couldn't part with it. My take is crisp frozen apple slices with a splash of Aquavit; not too sweet, very subtle, and a bit chilling, in several senses of the word. The label art is a perfect match. Not long-lasting on me, but quite refreshing.

I'd forgotten I hadn't reviewed PP 4 and there's something really lovely about it that I can't quite put my finger on--a crisp, spice cookie quality perhaps, where others of the Pumpkin Patch family are juicier or more fruity. Different enough that I'm delighted to have this separate flavor. I got too long between indulgences, but it's great to find it there when i need a little soothing.

On me, the scent of dried cut woodpile warmed by the sun, pleasant but a fast fade.

I get warm, papery dust and a clear, cool glass of single malt Scotch, the crisper, less peaty kind (this may be what my mind does to the tobacco scent). Not a scent to wear out of an evening (unless you're Rupert Giles), but good for settling in for a quiet night at home. Very evocative and comforting.

Every time I try on Xanthe, I get a slightly different take. Sometimes it's strongly apple, today the orange peel is dominant (and I love orange peel). Definitely I'm going to need a whole bottle soon, since I have just a bottled imp at the moment.

I keep forgetting to review this...got a partial bottle months ago and liked it fine, but today when I put it on I got the spicy vanilla mentioned above after the initial hit of crisp pear. Plain vanilla is usually too sweet for me, but this is great. i was going to swap it away, but I've put it back in the keeper box after all. It's aging really well.

Every now and then I need to resort to Pirate Moon for a lively but relaxed feeling. Red musk, sure, but really well blended on my skin, so I'm not hit by too much of anything...not limey, not too salty, not so masculine I can't feel comfortable...more like borrowing my man's best soft cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Very comforting.

Chaos Theory III: MCIII Swapped for this bottle and it's a challenge to review with no hints, but I smell green weeds and herbs, midway between fresh and dried, faintly medicinal and definitely uni-sex. A hint of spicy undertone, nothing sweet about it, but strengthening. I keep thinking I might let it go and then I try it again and remember how unique it is. Previously reviewed by Jenesis.

Jasmine Cottage was one of the prototypes that I really liked at Will Call, so I was delighted to spring for a bottle...and it's every bit as delicious as the ladies above have noted. Floral and green, not too sweet, and beautifully blended. My short review after application reads "Wildflowers and open fields and cottage gardens. Killer green floral", and as it dries it's settling nicely, no morphing to speak of.

Spicy and smoky and rich, oh yes. On initial application, mostly musk and maybe it's the red patchouli drowning out the other notes. But happily,they all settle down to play nicely. Perhaps a bit more masculine than feminine, but so warming. Still waiting for a hint of the lilac and no sign so far of the lemon rind as distinct notes, but I think I can sense them in the blend. Very nice indeed.

Very light in the bottle, once applied, soft and warm, reminiscent of vanilla, but more interesting to me (vanilla is mostly wasted on me). I get a restrained snake oil, hints of florals and incense, and it doesn't change much, although it has a relatively short wearlength. A comfort scent, nice to catch a whiff on my wrist as I work.

Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage. On first application, pleasant but not very exciting. Soft incense to begin with, rather sweet. After about a hour just at the wrists though, the scent has sneakily wound itself into my consciousness as a wonderful, subtle blend that must be applied to neck, cleavage, earlobes. Not heavily, but luxuriously. The sage has crept in and balanced out the sweetness (and probably those gold and bronze notes are coming to the fore, but I can’t quite pick out any single note). I think this one is just going to get better as it mellows.

yep, I got one in the last couple of months and it was the standard GC label art.

Starts a little bitter, almost wood ash, with an underlying sweetness but softens quickly into something much more pleasant. i do think it's a good unisex blend (and I like those on me) with more herbal/woodsy than floral on my skin. The rose and violet start to come into play after 15 minutes or so, but this is nowhere as woodsy as Clod and Pebble.

The scent of orange blossoms in the grove is one of my favorites, and this is the first scent from the lab that really gives me the full experience. I get the blossom itself with a solid background of green leaves and earth, so it's more interesting than a whiff of orange flower water, which is my best basis for comparison. I sniffed this at January Will Call and promptly had to buy a bottle. I'm so happy I did.

Took a chance on Frederic for the fun of it, since bay rum and patchouli are not my friends. Oddly, the mix with the amber musk and the woods seems to have blended it into something really comfortable. No single note dominates, I can't quite pick out he rose or teh currant, but the overall effect is wholesome and outdoorsy and clean, with the occasional waft of wood smoke (no idea where that's coming from). Not a scent to wear with silk and lace, but when you want to be outdoors and you can't, Frederic could be a comfort.

Fruity in the bottle, no question, but wet on teh skin there's an immediate calming effect of the salt spray and moss which makes it less sweet than I'd otherwise expect. As it dries, the salt gets a little stronger, but the fruit hovers in the background. Delicious.

Just found a bottle on the forum and I have to say it's a lovely soft spring scent on me, clean, not cloyingly sweet, but with random wafts of the different scents...a breath of cucumber, then a drift of sweet pea. I think the moss grounds it somewhat. I don't smell it as a separate note, but that's probably what keeps Annabel from being too sweet and giddy for me, so I'm very happy with my bottle. ETA: Because I only see the typos after I post.

On me this was so thick as to be suffocating, and not a in a good way. For such an apparently simple combination, it's really an extreme, either loved or loathed.

I've been yearning for tangerine and that's what I get, rather like sliced fruit drizzled with honey at the end of a sushi bar repast...I love my bottle. I may need another.

I get honey at first, with a delicate blend of non-specific florals, but after it dries, I do get whiffs of carnation, much softer than Maiden but very comforting. I'm very happy to have a bottle of this one. i think it will age well.