Lethran

Absurd! Green mango, fig, patchouli and green tea with white chocolate and white hazelnut cream. In bottle: I’m surprised this has no liquor. I think it’s an accidental accord with the white chocolate dominant in it, but it smells like whiskey to me. I’m having trouble parsing it back into the listed components. I love the way it smells to me, but that is likely no help to people with more standard sensoriums. So call it whiskey with a strong white chocolate component supported by hazelnut cream and hints of patchouli and fruit. Omnomnom! Wet: It still smells like whiskey, but I’m now reading the mango as the dominant element of the accidental accord. If I concentrate, I can now disentangle the listed components from the accidental accord. As it wears, the accord collapses and you get a strongly mango dominant scent, with green tea support, a hazelnut cream second with white chocolate support, over a canvass of fig, with hints of patchouli. I still like it and it still reminds me of whiskey. It is delightfully strange. Wet: Fast Fading, alas to a soft patchouli.

Ozone, lavender, tobacco flower, and camphor. In bottle: Lavender dominant with tobacco in support. The camphor is second and I’m not sure I like it. The ozone is understated, but pervasive. Wet: Lavender dominant, but the camphor is creeping up on it. They are working together better on my skin than I expected from the bottle. I like the woodiness of the camphor with the lavender and tobacco, but I think the medicinal edge may still be a little overwhelming. As it warms, the camphor takes over, with the lavender becoming strong support and the tobacco and ozone fading into the background. It’s a clever design to show off the camphor and well blended, but it may be too intense for me. Dry: Weakened camphor with the ghost of lavender. Not for me, but easily for someone else.

In bottle: Marshmallow, sweetened with sugar. This is practically a marshmallow single note. Wet: Delicious marshmallow, softened and sweetened with sugar. Slightly nutty on the skin. Dry: Sugaty marshmallow.

In bottle: Contains orris, so no skin test. Very floral, which brings out the violet in the orris. The vanilla blends well with the flowers and the coconut is understated, but well suited to the over all design.

In bottle: This is lighter and sweeter than I imagined, the amber being strong and the pale fougere not being as heavy as one would expect. It startles, but it suits. Wet: Mostly amber with the pale, light fougere underneath. It is more feminine than I expected and would likely do as well on a woman as a man. it is more Thomas at the end than during. Dry: Very Ambery cologne.

In bottle: The licorice and tar combination is dominant. These are not scents I would have imagined go together but they do. The leather grounds and supports, the salt and pepper are an understated edge. Wet: The licorice is more distinct and the pepper helps it pop. The tar softens and blends into the leather that is now the second strongest element. Dry: Smells like leather and the sea.

In bottle: Ink dominant. It really does smell like ink on paper. The leather blends well with the pages. This is the perfect old book scent. Wet: Richer and more nuanced on the skin, still ink and paper dominant. Dry: Leather and the ghost of ink.

In bottle: Strangely sweet. I'd swear there were berries in this cologne. The sharpness of the copper and the grounding by the wood work beautifully here. Wet: It is more richly traditional men's cologne on the skin. The copper retains it's sharpness, but the wood comes into it's own, doing lovely things with the cologne. it's more androgynous than one would think. Dry: Woody cologne.

In bottle: Smells like pine needle loam, with musk second and a touch of blood. Wet: Still very pine loam, though it is gentler on the skin. The blood is stronger and sweeter. the musk warms up a bit, but really this is all about the pine loam and that's just fine with me. Dry: Loam and a hint of sweet.

In bottle: This makes me think of absinthe and dragon's blood. It's got a red berry element that is very dragon blood like and a strong licorice or anise element. I'd call it licorice dominant. Wet: Much greener on the skin. It's got a green tea and lemongrass feel to it, and the red berries are a soft background element. the licorice note is softened as well. It is lovely, but completely different on my skin. Dry: Hard to describe. It's soft and dragon's blood adjacent.

In bottle: The cypress, moss, and labdanum combine to a very strong and sharp effect. Tobacco flower supports the cypress and moss. Bergamot supports labdanum. This is compelling, but too intense for me, so no skin test.

In bottle: Surprisingly sharp, with the snow note with the softer mint dominant, it blends very well with the wood. Clay accord is a subtle thing and works well in support of the wood here. The blood is subtle but pervasive, which makes beautiful sense given the concept. The design is perfect for what it is. This is too intense for me, so I'm not skin testing.

In bottle: Pear and tonka dominant, beautifully supported by the coconut. The honey smooths the edges. the musk and leather accords are understated, but add a sexy edge to it. This is lovely. Wet: Very like in the bottle, with the Pear/tonka/coconut grouping dominant. The honey particularly, out also leather and musk are more distinct. I love this. Dry: Mostly Leather, musk, and a touch of coconut and honey.

Vicomte Valmote, classic cologne. Mimics pheremones.

This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus. Review: Mmm… that is definitely the Dia de Los Muertos I remember from before I got too allergic to wear it on my skin. At atmospheric spray is the ideal solution and I am ridiculously happy it now exists. The incense, candsies, sweet cakes, and flowers form an indescribable combination unique to this blend, sweet, rich, and purple, over a soft base of leaves. I’ve never figured out how to describe this scent, and likely never will, but oh, do I love it.

In bottle: Lavender dominent with oudh in support. the leather is a soft counterpoint. The bay leaf gives it a hint of edge. Wet: The leather and the dominant lavender are gorgeous together. the oudh forms a lovely bridge between the two. The bay leaf remains understated. Dry: Very powdery on the dry down. I think the leather accord separated a bit as it wore. Mostly leather accord components and oudh.

In bottle: Very very apple cider with a hint of fizz. Wet: More nuanced on the skin. I'd swear there is a subtle wood note suggesting the aging barrel. It is still strongly apple dominant. I often have trouble with the lab fizz note, but here it is delicate enough for me to wear. This is perfect. Dry: The perfect apple cider

In bottle: Very nuanced and complicated incense. The sandalwood, cypress, and leather work together to ground the other notes. It's cypress dominant with sandalwood support. The leather is a strong second, playing well with it's musk support. The insense is familiar, but I'm not placing it. There is a hint of burning about it. The Cardamom and cin namon complicate it. I think the incense is a little too strong for me, though I really love the way this is structured.

In bottle: Strongly neroli dominant with tea support. The musk blends well with the neroli. the tobacco flower is distinct, but plays very well with the tea. The leather is understated. This blend should be safe if you love neroli, but are not much fond of leather. The neroli is too strong for me, alas, so no skin test.

In bottle: Cocoa powder sweetened by marshmallow. The chocolate reminds me rather of Sue's Great Old Puppet Show. Wet: strongly cocoa dominant, but the marshmalow comes out a littl more on the skin. There's also a touch of something herbal that may have tracked in from the puddles. This is a perfectly nice cocoa scent, but I would have liked more marshmallow personally, though time and warmth soon rectify that. Dry: Chocolate and marshmallow.

In bottle: This one is really interesting. It's green and sharp and subtly floral. The mosses in this do not smell standard. They dance around the central wood note that grounds the scent, attracting all the attention. It's like a West coast, Wintery May pole, if the mosses are the dancers. Wet: It is stormier and muddier on the skin. The sharpness of the ozone enhances the qualities of the moss, while the kiss of salt lends a piquant. The oak is not showy, but an ubiquitous underpining to moss and sea and sky. This really does beautifully capture its concept. It really is a scent poem about a stormy day on the coast in that sort of forest in Winter. My skin can be difficult with sea and ozones, and this still just manages to work. Dry: Delightful woods and sea spray.

#99 In bottle: Very sharply green. I'm guessing cedar dominant, with mixed forest around it, since there is a richness to the woods suggesting multiple trees. There is a cool softness underneath that makes me think of stone in winter. Wet: More pine to it than in the bottle and the whole thing is gentler and smoother. It really does smell like mixed forest in winter, as there are deciduous woods in there but no hint of leaves. The sublt cold granite feel lingers also and a hint of something herbal tangles with the hint of camphor. I like this much better on the skin than in the bottle, but the camphor still troubles me. Dry: Alas! Mostly camphorous wood.

In bottle: Honey sweetened milk dominant with strong musk. The rice flower gives it a gentle floral touch and plays very well with the milk. Luckily not goaty. It's more young girl, clean and fresh and innocent. It's truly lovely and a vaguely floral cousin to Boo. Wet: Less milky and more musk and honey, but milk remains a strong presence. I like it, but it is too young on me. Dry: I'd swear there was tonka in there, possibly in the milk accord. Musk dominent with with the tonka like thing second strongest, with a bit of honey.

In bottle: Very sweet. Dorian dominant, but Snake Oil is strong and they turn out to play really well together. I'd call honey a close third, with vanilla and cotton candy support. The carnation is delicate, but distinct and plays well with others. Wet: much as in bottle, though the balance shifts a little more towards Dorian and Snake Oil. Also, the carnation is stronger. It's gorgeous, and remains very foodie. It's likely a bit too pink for me, but would be lovely on a woman. Dry: Fresh Snake Oil comingled with Dorian, haunted by a kiss of sweetness.

In bottle: Leather and suede dominant with amber support. Almond with tonka support lends it an unexpected sweetness. Wet: Leather dominant, but almond and tonka give it stiff competition. The amber forms a bridge. This may be too sharp a leather for me, but we'll see. Dry: the leather accord breaks down a bit, but the scent reatains some leather. the sharpness softens so it's more suede than fresh leather. The amber lends a kiss of sexuality. The sweetness lingers but loses it's distinctness.