fairnymph

Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Teeth-achingly sweet and rich (almost buttery) brown sugar-caramel and slightly artificial/candyish strawberry jelly.

 

Wet: More strawberry jelly, but it's also more fake and candyish, and actually, it takes an almost artificial cherry hint as well. Still extremely foody, but now with an odd mentholic undertone, like artificial sweetener. The brown sugar-caramel thing is identical to Sugar Skull, of which I am not a fan.

 

Dry: Strawberry amping, but it's definitely that fake strawberry note that used to be de rigueur for the lab. Still very oddly mentholic, which I guess must be the fake cherry? But it still reminds me of artificial sweetener, and it's very unpleasant. This smells more buttery and cakelike too, more foody as it dries. Still very brown sugar-caramel.

 

Summary: Fake mentholic strawberry and cherry candy over light brown sugar. Extremely sweet, artificial and...disgusting. Even a little putrescent. Insanely strong throw & great longevity.

 

 

Sniffed: Rich yellow oil. Sour green herbs (spikenard?) and sour green wood, a bit astringent (oud), with evergreen-fresh balsam and a bite of spicy clove and heavily smoky incense. Masculine and very astringent.

 

Wet: Oddly powdery almost the moment it hits my skin (?? from what ??); sweeter (clearly the benzoin, but it combines sickeningly with the other notes here), less sour and sharply green. Mustier with apparent myrrh, almost dusty - maybe that's the powder. It smells old and decrepit and slightly evil, appropriately. An unpleasantly soapy edge. Less spice, less balsam, more woody oud.

 

Dry: More and more musty/dusty/powdery, more bitter, and with loads of myrrh and more smoky incense. Even a little sweeter as the benzoin amps as well, and the clove has returned a bit. No more greenness, other than a little oud, which almost has a cedar-like edge.

 

Summary: Sweet, very smoky, slightly bitter, spicy, and woody INCENSE with a sour tang. Not horrible, but absolutely not my thing and not an odour I remotely like. Low throw but good longevity.

Sniffed: Rich golden oil. Sweet and foody - caramel? With maybe something musty underneath. A little bit plastic & dusty-musty as some bakery scents can be.

 

Wet: Sweeter, richer, almost buttery, with a slight spice note of some sort. It reminds me a lot of the cake note from Heusos de Santo, and a little like PX117 also, There's a hint of something bright that could be some type of citrus or fruit, but I can't pin it down. I get something nutty, maybe coconutty?

 

Dry: The roommate says: smells like curry. And I have to agree - it has some sort of Indian spice that makes the whole blend oddly savoury-sweet & exotic/spicy the way that Red Lantern is. I also get some of the Buck Moon musk, which is that coconut note I note...and call me crazy, but maybe cashew?

 

Later: Still a weird sharp (sort of almost citrusy-sour) note I can't quite place, though it's not unpleasant, just odd and striking despite being kind of faint. And I know what the spice is - fenugreek! Definitely, for sure, without a doubt. The fenugreek could be responsible for both the sharpness and the curry feel.

 

Summary: After a while it goes oddly soapy - like the taste of soap in your mouth, not the actual smell of soap. Then there's a sort of dirty, BO-like coconutty musk (also reminds me much of the musk in Devil's Night) and that weird astringent & exotic fenugreek., all over a brown sugar-cake base. A very bizarre scent! Strong throw & longevity.

 

 

 

Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Sweet, soapy baby powder with an edge of dark bitterness. It reminds me of the new plastic of dolls, dipped in talcum powder and floral soap.

 

Wet: Sweeter, less soapy and powdery, almost fruity? I get a powdered sugar note, and maybe some violet/orris, and I think some freesia!

 

Dry: Dries quickly and becomes more floral, more complex, less soapy and powdery. It's becoming quite lovely, actually. There's another bright floral I can't pinpoint, maybe a lily or daffodil, something Spring-y with the mildest edge of powder.

 

Later: The brimstone (barely there to begin with) is long gone and this is not much of a morpher after the first few minutes. It's a soft, mildly sweet, gently powdery delicate floral. Almost honeyed or waxy in a beeswax way after a while, maybe a soft amber.

 

Summary: Makes me think of little flower girls clutching dolls. There are many scents similar in the catalog, but none just like this one. Reminds me a little of Pediophobia. Very subtle and pleasant final drydown. Great throw, though it fades a fair bit.

Sniffed: Light golden oil. Foul burnt things and rust. Omg. Utterly nauseating. I cannot bear to skin test this.

 

 

These reviews mystify me, truly. Either my bottle or my skin is broken or I'm on crack, cause my experience with this scent is very different, and I paid a lot of my bottle, too.

 

Sniffed: Lime! Very tart but also a bit candy-sweet - I can totally see the lime skittles thing. I also get a slightly darker, bitter edge - maybe just really realistic lime zest and pith, or else something more mentholic/sharp/masculine. It reminds me of Mr. Nancy, too.

 

Wet: Harsher, more medicinal - that lime skittles but with what I'm pretty sure is bay leaf on top of it. It's bitter and sharp and herbal and pretty masculine - right now it's overpowering the lime. I also get vanilla note (really!) which must contribute the sweet/candied effect.

 

Dry: BAYYYYYY. Like sucking on a fresh bay leaf, or a soaked dried one. A hint of lime & vanilla below, but it's 80% bay, and thus very much a manly scent to my nose.

 

Later: Lime is fading more. It's about 85% bay. 10% vanilla, and 5% lime at this point. Also, while this had pretty strong throw at first, it's faded quite a bit in less than half an hour.

 

Summary: After 45 minutes, almost nothing remains despite heavy slathering. A faint whisper of sweet-tart bay leaf, perhaps.

 

Sniffed: Brown oil. Soil and sweet, boozy, medicinal herbs. It reminds me of Echinacea syrup (or similar herbal sweetened syrups) with a whole bunch of dirt thrown in. Not my sort of thing.

Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Rich vanilla yellow cake with lemon buttercream! Deliciously foody.

 

Wet: Same, very white and fluffy, not too sweet or rich or buttery. A nice light scent of lemon oil. It also reminds me of lemon sugar cookies.

 

Dry: A little powdery? Also, the lemon has amped up a bit, yay!

 

Later: Sort of nutty/powdery cake? Not bad, but it turns on my skin, and fades rapidly.

Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Buttery and nutty! Walnuts, and maybe some sort of pastry? Sort of autumnal and very foody. A strong honey note.

 

Wet: Even more honeyed, and less buttery, though this is still very richly foody. This reminds me so much of baklava! The nutty note has that edge of bitterness that walnuts have, very realistic. Honey is dominating, though.

 

Dry: Soooo sweet, almost makes my teeth ache. Sugar-honey syrup, heavy and cloying, with rich toasted walnuts and a hint of buttery pastry. This really IS baklava! I even get the hint of woody-sweet clove that baklava has.

 

Later: Almost goes sort of boozy? Or it develops a sort of mead note, or perhaps some type of sweet syrupy liqueur. It reminds me a lot of the way Mead Moon dries down,with some Noceto walnut liqueur thrown in.

 

The roommate says it smells like mulled cider; I disagree.

Sniffed: Colourless oil. Ginger! Fresh, delicious, juicy ginger. With a little sparkling lemon-lime soapiness below.

 

Wet: A little spicier and a little soapier, but still very delicious. A bit like ginger beer but nowhere near that sweet. So refreshing and zingy! Maybe a little ozone?

 

Dry: Dries down to a whisper of powder in no time at all.

 

Sniffed: Golden oil with a peachy tinge. Spicy and sour - cinnamon, clove, and pickles? This one scares me and I'm not trying it on my skin.

Sniffed: Yellow oil. Metal (chrome), cologne, and smoky incense. Rather masculine, and sort of deep but still fresh.

 

Wet: More incense and resins, something piney - balsam, and maybe some frankincense as well. Sweeter and spicier; warmer. Almost a hint of licorice or anise?

 

Dry: Eek, turning bitter on my skin, and some vetiver has emerged along with the amped frankincense. Spicier, drier, dustier. I'm reminded of smelling old spices that have lost their potency - 5-10 years old, that sort of powdery faintly spicy dryness. Peppery?

 

Summary: Spicy, dusty cedar. Almost a little salty. Low throw and fades greatly.

 

Sniffed: Bright yellow oil. Bananas and slightly sharp/herbal greenery, almost a little soapy/grassy. I'd guess there's palm in this.

 

Wet: Tarter and more fruity, more tropical - passionfruit! Oooh, it's zesty and bright. The banana is light and sort of green, not a foody note at all, more like unripe banana or raw plantain. The greenery has gone a bit bitter, but not soapy as I feared.

 

Dry: Tart passionfruit, unripe banana, bitter-sharp palm and other greenery. It's too astringent for me, and almost a little cologney - definitely manly. Strong throw.

Sniffed: Peach coloured oil. Dusty, perfumey, benzaldehyde-y (almond extract/fake cherry).

 

Wet: Powdery amber and almond extract, maybe some red musk? It's pretty mentholic.

 

Dry: Way more foody and nutty, full-blown almond now. Still something oddly mentholic. Some amber and something incensey or maybe woody - but this is making me feel ill, so off to sink.

 

Sniffed: Rich yellow oil. Cologne, metal, and incense. A bit floral in a cologne-y way.

 

Wet: Softer, less sharply cologney, but still fresh, clean and yet...hazy incense-y. A little sweeter - definitely some frankincense, and I think maybe some copal? I get that sort of ashy-piney scent.

 

Dry: Sweet, slightly spicy incense - now it reminds me of high-quality wooden-boxed incense. I get a dry woody note, I think rosewood?

Sniffed: Extremely pale nearly colourless oil. Slightly soapy, generic smelling floral. Traditional feminine perfume, but sort of clean and fresh - it reminds me of June Gloom.

 

Wet: Nicer, and I think I get the freesia people have mentioned. I'm also pretty sure there is some green musk in here. Very low throw, unusually low. I think there is a tart citrus note, something sort of zesty, maybe grapefruit? I get a distant dusting of talcum power.

 

Dry: Very slow to dry. There's a harshness or sharpness to this that isn't abating.

 

Summary: Finally a bit softer when it finally dries - like June Gloom and 51 it dries down very musky - I feel like there's skin musk in here too, and some of the 'light smashed woods' from 51. It's kinda sexy, actually, and I like it lots once it finally dries. Great longevity.

v7

 

Sniffed: Deep golden oil. Juicy, tart, citrusy fruit and something floral/green and a little fresh.

 

Wet: Some sort of orange-skinned citrus, maybe mandarin, and some bergamot too? I also get some orange blossom and neroli, the latter being a little sharp, the former a little soapy. A little powdery, and a hint of a rotten floral like iris.

 

Dry: Going to Pez, so maybe there was some actual orange in there. I do think there are multiple varieties of citrus. Definitely both orange blossom and neroli, though so far both are behaving pretty well on my skin.

 

Summary: Floral powder-soap after a few hours. Fades quickly and dramatically.

Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Sweet, sugary, foody. I get lots of sugar, caramel, cotton candy, and something that really does smell like salt water taffy, salt water and all. Maybe a little bit of a cakey note.

 

Wet: It's already a little plasticky/playdoh/powdery in that weird way some foody scents go on me; this is definitely turning on my skin. It reminds me of the P013/CD023 prototypes in that way. I also swear I get a bit of coconut. Definitely loads and loads of candy and sugar. Still no apple.

 

Dry: More salty - it's really amazing how distinct the taffy note is! Still a bit play-doh-y and coconutty, but less sweet, and much less caramely and strong overall.

 

Summary: Very faint playdoh and coconut. It fades to almost nothing within a couple hours despite slathering.

Light gold oil. Sweet, rich, and spicy-tart. Exactly as the description says, with a boozy but not heavy or buttery rum. It's not quite foody, but almost. Mmmm quince!

 

Sweeter and richer; much more prune and ginger. The prune is almost like a concentrated plum scent, or like stewed plums, with a cooked/baked fruit note. It goes really well with the tart quince and dark, slightly medicinal (in a good way) cassis. The ginger has a dry, hot-spice sort of edge, but I can handle it for now. The rum makes me think more of brandy or fruit liqueur.

 

As others have noted it's very much a warm Autumnal scent of spiced fall fruits, baked and spiked with some liquor. Autumn is my favourite season but I tend to poorly with Autumnal-smelling scents because I don't like to wear spice. Unfortunately, this IS going more and more spicy hot on me - sort like, intense ginger candy, those ginger chews. Or the ginger version of red hots.

 

Hmmm. Not really a lot of morphing, but the notes - which all balance each other very well, thought perhaps the ginger leads by a bit - have merged more fully. It's a very well-blended scent, very harmonious although you can smell each note distinctly. It does, unfortunately, smell a bit like potpourri - I'm reminded of the Christmas Tree Shop.

 

Yeah. It's potpourri. Stewed plum, citrusy-quince, and dsry spicy ginger, that almost has aspects of other spices - clove, cinnamon. It's a very spicy blend, with almost no booze or cassis remaining in the final stages. Great throw and decent longevity.

 

Light golden oil. Chocolate (sort of milky-creamy), vanilla, peppermint, pennyroyal (), cedar (smells pretty non-green to me), along with yes, some pistachio! Quite rich and foody.

 

CEDAR, amping as usual, very dry and saunaesque. Lots of nutty pistachio, which is surprisingly nice. This *is* a little bit like ice cream as some anticipated. Less pepperminty on my skin, still loads of vanilla and chocolate. It's totally the chocolate from Bliss, not a note I enjoy. It's too milky/rich/cloying.

 

I am being beaten to death by a ginormous cedar club that's been dipped in artificially flavoured poor-quality milk chocolate. Almost all of the mint has gone. The vanilla's going cloying. I do still sort of love the pistachio note though I'm not sure I like it in perfume.

 

Hot, dry CEDAR with thick milk chocolate and fake vanilla, and a hint of harsh pennyroyal. Pistachio is virtually gone, and the peppermint is completely gone. I never got any oakmoss, a note I amp and adore. Sigh. Insanely strong throw and great longevity.

Light yellow oil. Juicy, delicious cantelope melon! I get a little of the herbal feel and some light citrus. A little bit of dry sparkle from the grape, which is thankfully NOT the syrupy sweet type. Much more fruity than I expected, much less green/herbal.

 

Some truly awesome lime and lemon balm, these sort of combine with the sparkle of the champagne grape to produce a lemon-lime soda feel. More lime than lemon, and still loads of melon. I get the herbs now, which add a sort of subtle complexity and slightly 'outdoorsy' feel, almost grassy. The green tea is apparent too, also sort of grassy, a little astringent.

 

Going more and more herbal/green, and almost a little sharp from the green tea - much less fruity-feminine overall. The melon is fading quite rapidly, although the fizzy grape holds as do the citrusy/zesty notes. Actually, it might be even fizzier now.

 

Green tea, herbs, and light fruit. Still pretty sparkly, but much tarter and less juicy-sweet. The green tea is quite dominating at this point, and overall I'm sad about the evolution towards 'herbal green tea' . I also get more lemon balm (almost minty) than lime at this point.

 

After slathering and doing some yoga, it's held up very well and is still surprisingly fruity, with plenty of lemon, lime, and melon to balance the herbs and green tea. It also seems a little musky! Great throw and longevity - bottleworthy!

 

Sniffed: Light yellow oil. Tart, fruity, fresh, with a sort of spicy/musky base. I get LOADS of mandarin, a little tart melon and strawberry, some feminine gardenia and definitely the wood/musk based. The blackberry preserves are unlike BPAL's typical blackberry note, and are not super strong.

 

Wet: Sweeter, spicier, less tart. Much less mandarin, ALREADY. Sigh! Watermelon, though, is very front-and-center. Lighter strawberry and blackberry (very much a 'cooked berry' subtle scent). Gardenia has amped up almost immediately, but so far it seems to be a well-behaved, non-headache-inducing varietal. The woody base is stronger too, and a little dry as well as spicy. Maybe some type of sandalwood and maybe even a little teak?

 

Dry: Very strong throw! The spicy wood and musk have majorly amped - this is much more serious/dark/mature/complex than I expected - and it's somehow gotten tarter, the mandarin has returned and the watermelon is very strong. Gardenia is also very strong, almost too much so, but still bearable. The blackberry has amped a tiny bit and reminds me of blackberry pie filling.

 

Later: I swear there is something like cardamom in this, maybe coriander? Yeah, I'm going with coriander. A dry, woody sort of spice, but without the bite of cardamom. I still get the sandalwood and musk, more lightly than the spice, and I can't place the musk. I would say the fruits (other than the watermelon) have faded, while the gardenia holds and those wood/spice/musk notes have amped.

 

Summary: The spice and wood settle as more musk emerges, so that all are on par with the gardenia. The fruit is, sadly, an afterthought, though all notes do hold distinctly with watermelon in the lead. It is not nearly as fruity as I'd hope and the gardenia is predictably domineering, though still wearable. To retest. It is definitely the best watermelon scent I've tried. Great throw and longevity.

Sniffed: Light golden oil. TOBACCO, very fizzy seltzer, slightly soapy and green wildflowers, with soft golden/tropical fruits. Much less fruity than I expected, although it is delightfully tart and a little juicy.

 

Wet: Similar, maybe a little more floral? But it's a rather fresh, light, Spring-y sort of floral, which I will enjoy if it doesn't turn to soap. I get a bit more apricot and pineapple but the tangerine is still the strongest fruit note. It's a tad sweeter as a result. The tobacco is a lovely dark but sort of astringent counter note. Hint of amber.

 

Dry: I'm trying to place one of the floral notes, which I recognise - it's almost like jasmine, but not quite - it has the soapy/sharp/heady quality - the florals have amped greatly, but are not turning too much on my skin. Jury's still out. The fruits are glorious and the tangerine is holding! I only wish the pineapple were stronger. Still very light amber, still fizzy, still delicious tobacco.

 

Later: Eek. One of the florals has gone rotten, which makes me suspect iris, and, I have decided it IS jasmine. This has gone far too floral in a bad sharp/pungent way. Sad, too, because I love the tobacco note (much like in Mr. Nancy), the glorious tangerine that HOLDS ON MY SKIN (a first for ANY citrus), the light spirtz of seltzer and the sweet tropicalness of the other fruit. And the amber is no where to be seen.

 

Summary: Nauseating, rotten, acrid, urine-y floral; jasmine and iris. I had to wash it off, or at least attempt to - it has evil longevity. Very, very strong throw, too. This evolved horribly on my skin.

 

 

Sniffed: Sweet milky baby powder. It really does smell astonishingly like clean baby skin. A bit ambery, maybe? Not overly sweet, and the milk note is quite pleasant and light, not sour.

 

Wet: Much more honey, and berries (?!) - this is super fruity, which I assume must be the honey. Maybe Berry Moon got put in this bottle. The powder is a little perfumey the way that amber is, but overall, fairly nice (and I generally hate powdery scents). The milk note reminds me of the one in The Sea Foam's MIlk, light and refreshing.

 

Dry: Eek. Going a bit to plastic/playdoh. However, I am definitely getting some skin musk, and I still really like the (sadly, very faint) milk and honey notes, so this is not that bad. And it's so soft on my skin that it would be hard for it to be offensive.

 

Later: The powdery playdoh is amping and overwhelming the other notes - it's becoming quite unpleasant.

 

Summary: Fades back down to playdoh powder and skin musk. I don't actually have to wash it off, because it's low throw and it seems like it will wear off rather quickly.

Sniffed: Sweet fruits and ambery musk! The honey and orange blossom are there but light, the blueberries are pretty realistic, and the raspberries are juicy and tart. I do get a little ripe/intense fig, as in Carnal.

 

Wet: Huh, I see how people say this is much more green and herbal on the skin - it's oddly sharp, with almost none of the berries or honey. It's all about the orange blossom and I get some neroli too; sharp, green, a little piercing and masculine. It's overall a bit acrid. I am sad.

 

Dry: Orange blossom going a little soapy, but I am getting wisps of the honey and raspberry now and the amber (which is amber, not musk, I've decided. I have yet to detect any musk in this blend.) The blueberries are just gone. Fig amping as it does on my skin, but it's still behaving.

 

Later: Much tarter, much more raspberry - it's really amping on me, actually, and it's much nicer than BPAL's raspberry note typically is. Less cloying, more realistic. The neroli/orange blossom is still a bit harsh, but bearable at this point. The amber has gone powder and is indeed very warm and golden, light enough to not bother me. Fig's still being very figgy.

 

Summary: Now I'm getting a load of musk - maybe the coconutty one from Buck Moon, not quite that, but similar to BM's musk. It's very strong in the final drydown, even dominating. Fig is in second place, and it's a strong presence though still not too bossy. The amber is powdery but lightly so; it's more of a golden warmth, although I don't like its perfumey edge. Blueberry's a bit plastic, but raspberry is still deliciously tart. Strong throw & longevity.

 

Ehh. It's not bad, but it's not quite working for me.