Penance

I'm thinking that tomorrow is a CD023 day. It's fun, sweet and pastel smelling, so it's perfect for Easter.

Origin:

Frimpage!

Preconceived notions:

Leather is hit or miss on me, but it's been hitting the mark lately. Balsam is also hit or miss, but it usually works with leather. I don't think I've ever tried anything with red moss, so I'm not sure what to expect there, but I do love moss scents in general.

I absolutely love The Black Rider and I like The White Rider, so hopefully this one's a winner, too.

First sniff:

When I first smelled this, it smelled like an (extemely strongly scented and extremely realistic) leather shop and not much else. Now, that's great if you like that sort of thing, but I don't. It's just too much leather for me.

I let it set for probably about a month before trying it again and evidently it just needed to settle, because it smells amazing now. I get old, worn-in leather (I'm not sure what red leather would smell like, but I would say this smells more like brown leather than black) and something that smells like a dry, woody red musk even though it's not listed in the notes.

Wet on skin:

So good! No real change in the notes, but everything is sort of warming up and blooming on my skin. I get delicious worn-in leather and woody red musk (which I'm guessing is probably a quirk of the red leather...or maybe red leather is regular leather plus red musk?).

Dry down:

Still the same, although the notes are less distinct now. The Red Rider dries down into a sexy, almost rugged (but still unisex) leather and musk blend. I don't get any moss (unless the moss is what I'm smelling as red musk) and definitely no balsam. This is like the leathery cousin of Tarot: Judgement, which makes me very happy.

The bottom line:

I absolutely love this and I'm going to be needing a bottle (or bottles) immediately. At first, I thought it was going to be one of those eerily realistic scents that I keep around and wear now and then as a sort of novelty, but I was completely wrong. This is gorgeous.

Origin:

Testable sniffy from a generous forumite.

Preconceived notions:

I actually tried Elf v4 before reading the reviews, so I didn't really go into it expecting anything in particular, other than my own mental image of what an elf would smell like. And what would an elf smell like, you ask? Ethereal and delicate. Vanilla, soft musk (probably skin musk), maybe some gentle blonde woods and/or light florals, possibly even some amber. And while that's not my usual style, it sounded awesome in my head.

First sniff:

Similar to Antique Lace, but with stronger vanilla. Yes, I know, it seems like every vanilla proto there is gets compared to Antique Lace, but this really is in the same vein.

Wet on skin:

No change at all. A soft, smooth vanilla. It's not foody, particularly, but it is sweet. There seems to be some sort of super gentle skin musk here, too. This is basically what I imagined Celeste to be based on the initial reviews of the prototype (only vanilla instead of cotton candy). This is so pretty; definitely ethereal and elfin.

Dry down:

Elf v4 is no morpher, that's for sure. Very linear. Once it dries, I get a little wafting cloud of soft, airy vanilla (I don't know enough about vanilla to differentiate between types, so I'll leave that to the other reviewers) and skin musk. Simple and pretty.

I think I would have been a little worried about the fact that most other reviewers are mentioning florals if I'd read the reviews before testing this, but it wouldn't have needed to, because I don't get any florals at all from this. That doesn't mean that they're not there. They could be, but they must be extremely well-blended and light if they're in here.

The bottom line:

Elf v4 is a thing of beauty. I can see why this was the standout of the trunk show protos. This is one of those scents that manage to lure me away from my love of dark woods, resins, dirt and patchouli for a little tryst with something more feminine and delicate.

Origin:

5mL from the Lab.

Preconceived notions:

I passed over this scent for the longest time, even after reading reviews, mainly because of the mention of florals. I hate florals (with very few exceptions), even when they're blended with other notes, and they have the real potential to ruin a scent for me. But Amaterasu v3 gets so many rave reviews that I ended up caving. I figure if it doesn't work for me, I can get rid of it pretty easily. Plus amber and resins/incense are almost always winners and I like leather a lot of the time.

First sniff:

Sweet, sweet golden amber. Everything else is hiding behind the amber, but I'm thinking there's some vanilla and some resins of some sort here. Maybe a touch of some sort of golden wood, possibly even a very light touch of cedar.

Wet on skin:

This goes even sweeter on my skin and then suddenly gets very faint. I have to stick my nose up close to get a good sniff of it. Inez does the same thing, only nowhere near as much as Amaterasu. I think my skin eats amber to a certain degree, because I get a bit of fading with most amber-heavy scents.

Dry down:

As Amaterasu v3 dries, the scent strengthens a bit again, but it's not a strong scent by any means (on me, anyway).

I get sweet amber (so sweet and rich that it smells almost like vanilla, but not foody), a light touch of what seems to be some sort of ultra-soft, supple golden leather and some light musk (skin musk, probably, but maybe even honey musk). There could be some very faint, gentle florals here, but if they're here, they're so well-blended that they don't stand out to my nose (which is what usually happens with florals, no matter how subtle they are).

The bottom line:

This is really pretty and beautifully feminine. It's a golden, almost glowing scent; soft, sweet and warm. It borders on being too sweet for me at some stages, but it settles into something really lovely as it dries.

Origin:

5mL from the Lab.

Preconceived notions:

I really like Madame Moriarty. It has a tendency to go through a slightly funky stage on me before settling into something amazing, though, so I'm kind of hoping that this version might avoid that issue. Everything about v3 sounds great from the reviews, so I've got pretty high hopes.

First sniff:

Lovely. This reminds me of Snake Charmer mixed with Madame Moriarty, which is good because I love both. It's sweet but not in a foody way. I get rich, sweet amber, smoky vanilla and dark plum.

Wet on skin:

Basically the same as in the bottle, but with some musk now. It's probably red musk, but it's not as strong as the musk in the released version.

Dry down:

Sweet, resinous amber, smoked vanilla, black plum and dark, mysterious musk (it's hard to say what kind exactly, but I'm thinking it's a mixture). This is lighter than Madame Moriarty and sweeter, too, without the deep patchouli. It also doesn't go through the funky phase that the released version does on my skin.

This is like Madame Moriarty's younger sister who's just getting started in the fortune telling business, building up her mysterious image along with her collection of velvet dresses and smoky eyeliners.

The bottom line:

If you find Mme. Moriarty too heavy or intense, this will probably be right up your alley. Likewise if you're a fan of Snake Charmer.

I really like Misfortune Teller v3 and I'm very glad I got a bottle, although if I had to pick either the released version or V3, I'd go with the released version. I tend to wear darker, stronger scents and I love the patchouli in the released version. Both are beautiful, though, and both will be staying in my collection.

Origin:

5mL from Scrappy.

Preconceived notions:

I had to try one when I saw it being described as vanilla musk. Something about that combination is really appealing to me, plus I love weird bugs.

I'm not sure about the other notes being mentioned. Sassafras is generally okay and amber and sandalwood are good, but balsam is hit or miss. And I hate powdery scents. But I have a feeling this was going to work for some reason, so I splurged on a bottle unsniffed. Hopefully it was the right decision.

First sniff:

Vanilla musk and sassafras with something almost herbal. That could just be the sassafras doing strange things in combination with everything else, though. I don't get any balsam from this at all.

Wet on skin:

Same as in the bottle. It's not bad, but it's not great, either.

Dry down:

Now I like this. I can see why people are calling this powdery, because it leaning in that direction, but for me it's more creamy than powdery. I haven't tried The Anti-Saloon League to compare this to, but I can see the resemblance based on the review I've read of ASL.

Dried, Phyllocrania Paradoxa v1 is creamy, non-foody vanilla, slightly powdery musk (not a dark musk and definitely not red...I'm leaning more towards either skin or white, probably skin musk), a very slight hint of sassafras and a tiny bit of something herbal (that, again, could just be the sassafras).

In some ways, it's a cousin to Celeste, but with sassafras instead of saffron and without the sugariness.

The bottom line:

This is lovely. It's feminine and soft and gentle and doesn't smell at all like I would think something named after the ghost mantis would smell like (I'm not sure what it would smell like in my mind, but I think it would be something more woodsy and brown, although I can see this being a "ghost" sort of scent). From what I've heard, the other versions of Phyllocrania are very different than this, so maybe I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

Origin:

Tester from a lovely forumite.

Preconceived notions:

I'm curious about Gothabilly (and I'm glad I get to try it) but I don't really expect it to work for me. Cherry is one of those notes that essentially never works for me. I like the smell of cherries, I just don't generally want to wear them as perfume, plus they can smell like almond to me. I hate almond. I'm also not overly fond of black vanilla in spite of liking most other types. About the only "safe" thing here is Egyptian musk.

First sniff:

Sweet, dark, almost velvety cherry and dark vanilla. It's sweet but not quite syrupy. This really shouldn't appeal to me, but I'm kind of liking it, strangely enough.

Wet on skin:

Same as in the tester, with maybe a little more vanilla.

Dry down:

Apparently Gothabilly is one of those rule-breaker BPAL scents, the ones that shouldn't work but do anyway, because I'm really liking this.

Once it dries, I end up with black cherry liquer (it doesn't smell boozy exactly, but it has that almost syrupy quality that liquers tend to have, without being cloying), smooth, dark vanilla and a touch of musk. I smell edible in a sexy way. This isn't an innnocent, fun gourmand scent. It's grown-up and a little dark and more sensual than it is foody.

This is a strong scent on me. I put on a little dab and went outside to get the mail and could smell it wafting up from my wrist when a breeze hit it. Which is good since it means that my tester will last longer than it would otherwise.

The bottom line:

A surprise winner. I've never encountered a cherry scent that worked on me before. Combine that with the fact that there's black vanilla here and there's plenty of reasons why I should dislike Gothabilly. But it works. It's not something I'd wear every day, but I feel sexy in this and there's definitely a place in my collection for something like that.

Origin:

5mL bought on LiveJournal.

Preconceived notions:

I've been thinking about trying Creature Feature for quite a while now. There was a point where I didn't like musk scents at all. Sometime during my BPAL hiatus, that changed drastically and now I love musk scents, as long as they don't go powdery or pungent on me.

I've seen comparisons of Creature Feature to Ivanushka (which I love), so I'm I get something similar. I'd also love to get the resins that other people have mentioned. But the idea of there being lime in this scares me a bit. I don't like citrus scents at all and lime heads the list of "do not want" citrus notes. So I'm not sure which way this one's going to go, hence the reason I've been putting off trying it.

First sniff:

Creamy musk (it does remind me of Ivanushka; Raven Moon, too, for some reason) with...lime. Definitely lime to my nose. It's got an green juiciness to it on top of all that beautiful musk. This isn't a good start.

Wet on skin:

A bit of lime, but mainly creamy musk. I also get a little bit of what could very well be resins. They're soft and subtle but I love the effect they add to the musk. Now if the lime would just disappear everything would be great.

Dry down:

The lime's gone! It takes a while, but it does disappear on me and I'm left with gorgeous Ivanushka-esque musk mixed with what definitely seems to be smooth resins of some sort. It's almost velvety smelling, like Ivanushka and Raven Moon, and I'm loving it.

The bottom line:

If I had more space in my favorites box or didn't already have Ivanushka and Raven Moon in it, Creature Feature would be finding a new home in it. I love this one in spite of the touch-and-go lime stage. The drydown is beautiful.

Origin:

5mL of #47 bought on LJ.

Preconceived notions:

This was described to me as pear. Nothing else, just pear. But since everyone's nose and skin chemistry is unique, I'm sure there'll be more to it than that once I actually try this.

First sniff:

Pear for sure. And gummy bears? It has a sweet, candy fruitiness that makes me think of the smell of cherry/pineapple gummy worms. Kind of strange, but that's what I'm getting.

Wet on skin:

No gummy bears. Just intense, juicy, candy-like pear. This isn't the delicate pear of Juliet or Quincy Morris. It's mega pear. In-your-face pear.

Dry down:

This is really nice. It reminds me a little bit of The Perilous Parlor, only nowhere near as sweet and vanillic. Instead it's as if someone took some of the vanilla out of The Perilous Parlor, amped up the pear and then added a little bit of some sort of creamy, fluffy musk to it.

The bottom line:

Love this! The wet stage isn't really for me (too intensely fruity), but the drydown is very pretty. Glad I took a chance on this one. Chaos blends tend to be hit or miss with me and I've never had one that I really loved everything about, so this is a first.

Origin:

5mL bought on LiveJournal.

Preconceived notions:

I was attracted to Trachelophorus Giraffe from the get-go just because of the name, plus I love strange bugs, so I had to try this no matter what it smelled like. But it sounds good to me. I like green scents. Not sure what type of green to expect, but I'm expecting to like this.

First sniff:

What a weird scent. Definitely sweet (not in a candy sort of way, more like nectar of some sort) and green (a bit like fresh-cut grass, a bit like the way tree leaves taste (if that makes sense to anyone but me). It almost has a hint of sweet fruitiness like peach juice to it, too, but that could be the mysterious sweet note playing tricks with me.

Wet on skin:

Whoa, bitter! This goes from sweet and green to pungently bitter with a soapy cleanness to it, which I don't like.

I'm thinking that there's a very good chance that this either has dandelion in it or something very similar (which would make more sense since I don't think dandelions would really go with a scent named after a weevil from Madagascar). I'm assuming that because the same thing (sudden, overwhelming bitterness in a green scent) happens when I put on One to Tie, Two to Win. It seems to be a skin chemistry thing and it usually goes away.

Dry down:

Just like One to Tie, Trachelophorus Giraffe (I love the name, so fun to say) calms down after a little while, so it's definitely a skin chemistry thing. In the end, I get a really unique sweet green scent. It's not as sweet as in the bottle, but it's pretty close. It makes me think of sweetgrass more than nectar at this point. It's a fairly soft scent, too, once it dries.

The bottom line:

Honestly, I'm not sure what's in this, but it's one of the most unique BPAL scents I've tried. All I know, coming out of testing this is that:

(1) It's a sweet, green scent that's not quite like any other BPAL blend I can think of.

(2) There's something in here that my skin chemistry reacts to the way it does the dandelion in One to Tie, Two to Win, but the time for the Evil Bitterness of Doom to disappear is much shorter in Trachelophorus, so I can (thankfully) wear it on my skin instead of relegating it to a locket.

(3) I love the name and the inspiration for this one (who wouldn't love a freaky looking weevil with a giraffe neck?) and for that reason alone I'm glad I ended up with a bottle.

I wasn't sure this was going to work when I smelled it out of the bottle, and I really didn't think it was going to work during the wet stage, but the drydown is actually really nice.

Origin:

5mL from the Lab.

Preconceived notions:

I originally bought this with only the first review to go by, so I was just expecting a soft leather scent. Now that I've seen cfrancesca's review, I'm expecting something even more awesome, because I love red musk and patchouli.

First sniff:

Very strong red musk. I have a feeling that CBBOB1 didn't smell so strongly of red musk when it was available at the trunk show (I'm basing that on my experience with red musk getting much stronger as it ages), hence the reason it wasn't mentioned in the first review. I also get a hint of leather here, but it's mainly a red musk blend. It reminds me in some ways of Lust v7 and Tarot: Judgement (both favorites of mine), but CBBOB1 is definitely not a dupe for either, more like a distant relative.

Wet on skin:

Red musk and soft leather with just a touch of what could be patchouli. It's very slightly earthy and smoky, but mainly CBBOB1 is red musk with a soft backing of leather. And it smells really good.

Dry down:

This one's a hard one to pin down. On one hand, it reminds me somewhat of Krampus without the rags and switches. On the other hand, it is somewhat like Spanked + red musk. They're very different scents, but somehow this reminds me of both (Krampus in the early drydown and Spanked in the late drydown).

There's an awkward stage during the drydown where CBBOB1 goes a bit harsh and chemically (oddly, Krampus has started doing the same thing after the first few times I wore it, which makes me think that it's a skin chemistry thing reacting with a certain kind of red musk) before settling back down. It takes a while for the leather note to finally soften up and settle down but it does, given enough time, although it never quite reaches the softness of the leather note in Spanked.

In the end, I wind up with the soft scent of (broken-in) black leather, red musk (somewhat masculine rather than the round, rich version I get from most BPAL red musk blends) and a touch of something smoky. There could be some patchouli hiding in here, because I get a touch of the musty, slightly earthiness that makes me think of black patchouli, but it's definitely not a major player. At least not on me.

The bottom line:

I wish that the drydown was the same as either the bottle scent or the wet stage. Or that I could avoid the awkward stage in the middle), because I like the actual "final scent" quite a bit. It's just not the amazing, instant favorite scent that it has the potential to be thanks to my skin chemistry.

I'll be keeping mine, but I may wear it in one of my scent lockets or only wear it on days where I've got plenty of time to let it work out the kinks in the drydown (and try to avoid smelling myself in the meantime).

Origin:

5mL from the Lab.

Preconceived notions:

I've never tried the released version of Cake Smash. I was on my BPAL hiatus when it was released and I'm not sure I would have tried it anyway. Somehow the idea of food + other BPAL scents combined doesn't sound particularly awesome to me, plus I don't really like Doc Constantine. I may have tried it, though. Hard to say either way.

Anyway, I'm not a huge foody scent fan. There are some that I genuinely love and there are some that I absolutely despise and can't get far enough away from. But cake scents tend to work fairly well for me (MB: Closet is a favorite of mine and so is Eat Me), so I'm hopeful that Cake Smash v6 will follow the same pattern.

First sniff:

Big blast of cream cheese frosting. Sniffing the bottle is like sticking my nose right into a tub of frosting and taking a bit snoot-full. Very sweet, very sugary and very foody. I like the smell of frosting, but I don't want to smell like it. At least not on its own. Give me some cake to go with it and it should be fine.

Wet on skin:

Now the cake is coming out. I can see the comparisons to cake mix, but it seems somewhere in between cake mix and actual cake (yellow cake, to be exact) to my nose. I still get frosting, but it's toned down and it seems to be a mix of cream cheese and buttercream. Could just be particularly sweet cream cheese frosting, though, since I'm not sure that two types of frosting notes would be mixed in a scent like this.

Dry down:

Very slightly spicy cake (like a yellow cake and a spice cake had a baby), with sugary frosting (buttercream now that it's dry). Very foody and very sweet. It's in the same vein as MB: Closet and I'm actually really enjoying it in spite of my hit or miss record with gourmand scents.

The bottom line:

I'm glad I got a bottle of this. It's not the sort of scent I'd wear every day, but it's going to be fun to wear when I'm in the mood for something fun and foody.

Origin:

5mL from the Lab.

Preconceived notions:

Full disclosure: I hate lemon scents. And I'm not too fond of blueberry scents, either. Pie crust and hemlock can go either way. This is one of those scents that really shouldn't work for me but that I just had to buy anyway, this time because I love the label art. I hate clowns and so, of course (thanks to my twisted attitude towards things like this), I'm drawn to the idea of the Coulrophobia line and this one in particular, with its creepy, man-eating clown label.

First sniff:

Lemon pie filling and graham cracker crust. Maybe a touch of whipped cream and meringue. Very foody and I'm kind of enjoying the lemon note, amazingly enough. I wouldn't say I love it, but it's certainly not bad. I think that maybe it's the fact that it's a sweet, sugary lemon that's keeping me from being repelled by it.

Wet on skin:

As soon as Bones Trombone hits my skin, the lemon goes momentarily crazy and amps up, getting more sour and more fruity as it goes. Then it calms back down, although it's got a tiny bit of a lemon Pledge sort of vibe to it at this point. I don't really smell anything other than lemon at this stage.

Dry down:

Aaaaaand, we're back. Once Bones Trombone dries, it reverts back to something almost identical to the bottle scent. I get sugary lemon pie filling, pie crust that smells somewhere between a graham cracker crust and a standard pastry crust and a light, fluffy touch of meringue. The hemlock and blueberry never put in an appearance, which is fine by me, because I could take or leave either one.

The bottom line:

Bones Trombone isn't my favorite scent. It's not even my favorite Monster Bait scent (Closet gets that honor). But it is one that's probably going to stick around in my collection, although I don't know how often I'll end up wearing it.

Origin:

5mL bought on LJ.

Preconceived notions:

I've only seen the Will Call reviews for Chaotic, which mention musk, resins and fruit, so I'm not sure whether to expect something similar or something totally different from v3.

First sniff:

Mint and some sort of musk. It reminds me in a way of Helping Hand (the TAL blend) without the chocolate.

Wet on skin:

More of the same, but now with a bit of something that smells almost like lime or some other tart fruit. It's very faint, but it adds a tiny tang to the scent.

Dry down:

The mysterious lime/fruit note is gone (it could have been a skin chemistry thing, since my skin's been known to create odd scents during the wet stage of some scents) and I'm getting anise or licorice, musk, mint and soft spices of some sort.

The bottom line:

This is a nice scent, but it's not for me. I don't do anise or licorice or fennel or anything similar. Glad I got to try this, though.

Silas Ruthyn. It's dark, sweet and intense. Very mysterious smelling.

Origin:

5mL swapped for on LJ.

Preconceived notions:

Everything about this one sounds wonderful. I'm a big fan of masculine, woodsy, resinous scents and I like leather, vetiver and essentially every other note listed in the previous reviews. I'm going to be very disappointed if this one doesn't work for me, although maybe I should be happy since it wasn't easy to track down a bottle to begin with and I'll need more if I love it.

First sniff:

Intense, astringent pine, maybe some juniper. It reminds me of Loup Garou, which isn't a good thing for me in spite of my love of woodsy scents. I used to really like Loup Garou, but my nose has decided that it's not a fan of sharp pine anymore.

I get the impression that there are more things going on in here, but the pine and juniper are almost completely overwhelming to the point where I can't pick out anything else.

Wet on skin:

Getting better. Once Ranger hits my skin, I start to get some resins (hard to say what they are, but it has a distinct resinous vibe to it...more church than headshop), a bit of sweetness (could be vanilla, tonka or benzoin) and the lightest touch of leather.

I still get distinct pine and juniper, but they're nowhere near as strong as in the bottle and they've stepped back to where I can smell the other notes.

Dry down:

Yum! The astringent evil has disappeared! Now I've got a complex unisex sort of scent that's really nice. I'm getting woods (think forest, not lumber), resins, slightly creamy sweetness (it's vanillic smelling, but I'm not convinced it's actually vanilla...I'm thinking it's more likely that it's benzoin) and an extremely light touch of leather. Maybe some musk (the kind that sticks close to the skin, although it doesn't seem to actually be skin musk).

It's not as intensely masculine as you might expect, although it's on the masculine end of the gender neutral spectrum. Very smooth and well-blended.

The bottom line:

I really like the drydown on this. Luckily, the pine/juniper stage doesn't last long, because it would probably keep me from wearing Ranger very often if it lingered. I think this is definitely a candidate for inclusion in my favorites box.

ETA: Skin chemistry is evidently going to play a big part in how this one smells. I say that because, even on me, it smells different when I apply it in different spots.

The back of my hands result in a lot of benzoin and less woods, my forearms give me a super strong peppery note (which could be actual pepper, but I think it's more likely to be some type of wood since I got the same note from Vespers atmo spray) and pine and my wrists give me something in between the two (no pepper, but fairly strong woods and light benzoin).

Skin chemistry is a funny thing!

I've now got 2 of the stronger red musk and the 1 medium musk plus the no musk, too.

My medium musk one dries down to something much closer to the no musk version than the "super musk" version. There's red musk there for sure, but it's relatively light, especially compared to the other bottles. I don't get any cola, but that could be a skin chemistry thing.

I'm guessing the "super musk" is the intended formula, but I'm just guessing that based on the fact that I have two of them and only one of the lighter musk (and so do you!). Very unscientific, but I'm sticking to it unless evidence points to the contrary or I hear otherwise from someone in the know.

ETA: A bit late on this, but I've now got two of the lighter musk (just received another lighter musk a week or so ago), so I'm still not sure which one of the two red musk intensities was the intended formulation. I love all three, so it's all good, but it's confusing, to say the least.

Could anyone suggest the closest scent to Gluttony? I adore the heavy, sweet foodiness of it!

Hellcat is pretty close to my nose.

Definitely Bliss if you like milk chocolate. It's very rich, sweet and chocolatey. Simple, too, so you can wear it alone or layer it with another scent for some variation.

The Box of Chocolates and Sugared She-Goat limited editions are great, too. I'm not a huge chocolate fan, but my personal favorites are Dark Chocolate, Whiskey and Cognac Truffle and White Chocolate, Black Raspberry and Apricot Cordial Truffle.

Calaveras is good, too if you like something a little more complex. It has a really nice dried chili note to it that makes it stand out from most other chocolate scents.

Origin:

Partial 5mL from a generous forumite.

Preconceived notions:

I've been thinking about trying this one for quite a while. I love all things piratical and most of the notes are ones that appeal to me (red musk, red sandalwood, tobacco, ebony and ambergris in particular), but there are some things here that have me worried. Balsam and leather can go either way on me and I don't think I've ever tried a scent with coconut palm, lignum vitae or pandanus grass before, although all of them sound like they could work for me. Dates aren't something I enjoy the smell of, but I doubt they'll be an issue combined with the other notes. Lime is the most worrying note here for me. I don't like citrus blends and lime in particular is a nemesis of mine.

So we'll see how this goes.

First sniff:

Cologney and aquatic smelling, which is appropriate for a pirate scent, but strange since the notes don't list aquatics. It smells fairly fresh and somehow clean without being soapy in the slightest.

Not loving it at this point, but it's not bad.

Wet on skin:

Basically the same as is in the bottle, but with the added addition of slight touches of red sandalwood (which always smells more than a bit like cedar to my nose) and red musk.

Dry down:

This one's a morpher, apparently. Just when I was resigning myself to Pirate Moon smelling like (nice) aquatic cologne, everything changes on the dry down. Once this dries, it actually reminds me a bit of my beloved Tarot: Judgement, which is both awesome and appropriate since Pirate Moon hitched a ride in a package with a bottle of Judgement. It also reminds me a bit of another favorite of mine, Anne Bonny (which shares red sandalwood as a note).

At this point, I get an intense musky, resinous, woody, dry, warm scent. It seems to be a mix of red musk, red sandalwood, tobacco, leather, wood (I don't smell the balsam here; it's more of a dry, dark wood scent) and the very lightest touch of sweetness from the date and possibly the lignum vitae. No lime to be had, thankfully.

The bottom line:

I really like this once it has a chance to dry down. Just like Anne Bonny, it's a very "me" pirate-inspired scent. I don't particularly like aquatics, so things like Jolly Roger aren't my style, but a nice dry, woody/musky blend like this is always welcome in my collection.

Definitely a winner, although I never would have guessed that I was going to love it based on the scent in the bottle.

Origin:

Tester from Scrappy.

Preconceived notions:

I love the idea of a ghost ship scent. And I love the teaser reviews that people have posted suggesting that Mary Celeste v4 is an "old wood" sort of scent. That's the kind of thing that perks my ears up. I'm really looking forward to this one.

First sniff:

Dry, old wood. It's not aquatic (not even a hint of sea spray to my nose, although it could be there) and it doesn't smell weatherbeaten. It just smells old, like sun-baked wood that's been sitting abandoned in the heat of the sun.

Wet on skin:

Same as in the imp. I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty linear scent.

Dry down:

I love this. It's still very similar to the scent in the tester (a very dry wood), but as it dries, it develops a very, very slight peppery note on my skin. That could be actual pepper or it could just be the wood. It's very faint and not really noticeable unless I put my nose right up close.

I can't identify what kind of wood is in this, although it smells vaguely like redwood to me. I really don't think that's it, though. I did some searching to see if I could find out what kind of wood the Marie Celeste was made of and came up with oak, birch, beech, spruce and pine. All I can say for sure is that I'm definitely not smelling spruce or pine (it's not an evergreen/balsam type scent at all). I've read that white oak has a peppery smell, so that's a possibility.

The bottom line:

Mary Celeste v4 isn't an eerie scent, in spite of the name, but that's probably to be expected when it comes to a scent based on something that's not inherently scary (a ship) but gets its eeriness from the circumstances of the story that goes along with it (the ship being completely inexplicably abandoned and crewless in the middle of the ocean).

This is a real winner for a wood lover like me. I'm particularly fond of dry wood scents and Mary Celeste definitely falls into that category. I'm actually glad that there's no aquatics or salt/sea spray here because it would have ruined the scent for me (I'm not a fan of salty aquatics or aquatics in general), although it might have made it a more appealing to people who want something more than dry wood in their perfume.

Definitely Dancing Koi.

I also really like Manilus Hurled From the Rock, although it smells very chemically in the bottle.

Dark Chocolate, Fig and Tamarind is good, too, although I'm nowhere near as big a fan of it as I am of Dark Chocolate, Whiskey and Cognac Truffle and White Chocolate, Black Raspberry and Apricot Cordial Truffle.

The Arbor wasn't bad, either, but it was slightly more floral than I would ideally like. It was close to being a real winner for me, but it fell just a little short.

Origin:

5mL bought on LJ.

Preconceived notions:

I'm not sure if I was on my BPAL hiatus when this came out or if I was just an idiot and didn't buy it. I can't imagine that I would have passed it up, though, so I must not have been around (especially since I don't have bottles of any of the other scents from the line, either). So anyway...when I finally read the notes in Quincy Morris, I had to have it.

I love tobacco, cedar, musk and the Lab's pear note (although I don't particularly love pear-scented things in general) and I like everything else. I've got high hopes for this one, although it's one of those scents I almost hope that I hate because it was so hard to track down even this one bottle and Quincy is expensive.

First sniff:

Soft, smooth leather, a touch of vanilla and pear. The combination is unusual to say the least. I never would have thought to put those three things together (the vanilla and pear, sure...maybe even the vanilla and leather), but they work. For me, it's a gender neutral scent. Most of it's leaning towards the masculine side, but the vanilla and pear soften it up. I like this!

Wet on skin:

Leather, vanilla, tobacco and pear with a bit of musk. I'm not smelling cedar here (although I would have welcomed it because it's one of my favorite notes), but it could be mixing with the leather.

Dry down:

Gorgeous. Seriously, this is amazing. As Quincy dries, the leather settles into the background and I get smooth tobacco, soft vanilla and juicy pear with an overlay of musk (not quite skin musk and definitely not one of the super manly, intense musks either...somewhat like Ivanushka, but not quite). It's a softer scent than you might think from the notes. Not light exactly, but worn-in smelling and comfortable.

The combination really works. It's unusual, but there's nothing that seems out of place here, either.

The bottom line:

I love Quincy Morris. There's nothing here that I would change. Everything melds together as the oil dries and the end result is more than the sum of its parts. It's musky and leathery, but it also has a soft sweetness from the vanilla and pear.

Definitely the sort of scent I would wear every day. I wish I had a few more bottles since I'm a slatherer and this is an instant favorite.

Origin:

5mL from Dark Alice.

Preconceived notions:

This is one of those scents that flew under my radar and then suddenly jumped out at me as "OMG, why haven't you tried this?!". I missed its release during my hiatus, otherwise I probably would have ordered it when it came out instead of waiting so long to discover it.

Pretty much everything here sounds awesome. I love resins, I love patchouli, I'm turning into a big musk fan and I really like the chili in Calaveras, so it should work here, too. Nutmeg should be fine, too, although I haven't had much experience with it in perfume, other than in foody blends. I'm expecting something dark and smooth and slightly sinister.

First sniff:

Lots of musk (dark and deep), a slightly bitter resinous scent from the myrrh and just a touch of patchouli. I'm not really getting the other notes, but the vanilla and benzoin are probably adding a slight sweetness to the musk.

Wet on skin:

Still predominately musk (it makes me think of fur rather than feathers), with a background of patchouli and soft, smoky resins. There's a hint of sweetness here from the vanilla and benzoin. Not getting any chili yet. So far I'm really liking this.

Dry down:

So good! Raven Moon is one of those scents that keeps developing long after the oil has dried. At first, it's very similar to the wet stage and then, a couple hours later, it turns into something utterly beautiful. Soft, dark, almost creamy musk, smoky vanilla, smooth resins, a light touch of patchouli and the barest hint of spiciness from the chili.

The bottom line:

My second favorite Lunacy blend, after Panther Moon. Gorgeous and dark, but somehow soft and smooth. Beautiful.

Origin:

5mL from Alicia_Stardust

Preconceived notions:

I'm completely fascinated by the idea of this one. I love masculine and gender neutral scents. And I'm very attracted to dirty, dark scents. I'm not the kind of girl who does feminine, delicate scents (or at least not 98% of the time), so something like Rivet.Goth is screaming my name. I'm especially intrigued by the idea of rust and oil in a perfume. I can't say that I've ever tried a scent with either of those notes before, but they sound potentially awesome.

But the thing is...leather is hit or miss with me. Sometimes it turns my stomach, sometimes it doesn't. It really seems to depend on the type of leather scent (worn-in, soft leather scents are generally okay, but "new" leather often makes me queasy). I have been doing well with the Lab's leather scents lately, though, so I'm hopeful that Rivet.Goth won't break the pattern.

First sniff:

Honestly, this smells exactly like you would think from the notes.

In the bottle, Rivet.Goth is leather (soft and black), a touch of tobacco and oil. This is the kind of scent that's either going to intrigue you or repulse you, without much in between, I think. I'm in the intrigued camp, personally.

Wet on skin:

If you took a hot mechanic, who's been working on cars all day long except for a couple of quick cigarettes, took away the BO, and put him in a leather jacket, you'd have Rivet.Goth.

The Lab does atmospheric scents very well, and this is no exception. If a scent can paint a picture, this one's painting it in hyperrealistic style. Even if you don't want to smell like Rivet.Goth (or even enjoy the scent in the bottle), you have to appreciate the uncanny realism of the scent.

Dry down:

Sexy. And I mean sexy in a down and dirty way. This smells like a hot, grimy, sweaty guy (minus the BO) in the best possible way.

Rivet.Goth settles down quite a bit as it dries and the end result is a fairly soft scent that sort of melds with my skin rather than wafting around me. I like it that way, though. I get soft black leather (not old and cracked, but broken in...it reminds me a bit of what I remember Dead Man's Hand smelling like, but where DMH smelled brown, Rivet.Goth smells black), musk and oil with just the tiniest touch of tobacco.

The bottom line:

I really like this. I've never come across another scent quite like it, which I'm sure is because of the oil. It adds a griminess to the scent (in a good way) and makes it more than "just another leather scent." I love atmospheric scents and this one's another winner to add to my collection, although I find it more everyday wear-appropriate than several of the others I own.