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SimplySyra

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Everything posted by SimplySyra

  1. SimplySyra

    Mourning Lace

    On me this is spicy clove backed by peppery wood. There is a definitely dry bitterness to it at first (perhaps where "Mourning" comes from) but over time I'm getting a gentle vanilla peeking out from under the rest of the scent. On dry-down it contents itself to be a soft almost powdery spicy vanilla. Definitely strikes me as an autumnal and winter scent. It's pretty enough, but I think I will wear it better as the leaves turn and the days turn cold and dark.
  2. SimplySyra

    Cleric

    Imp: Incense! Wet: Sweet incense. The familiar typical "holy" church incense so I'm guessing myrrh and frankincense. Dry: The rose and florals are coming forward now and really sweetening this up. It's now red roses backed by incense. I would have preferred the opposite, I think. Verdict: A nice enough rosy incense scent.This leans toward the typical feminine floral for me. I would have preferred more incense. I like it enough to keep the imp and think it would layer quite well which is the intention.
  3. SimplySyra

    Fighter

    This is a musky brown leather. Oiled, polished. Quite realistic to my nose. For me, it brought back memories of horseback riding in the summer. Hot dust, creaking polished leather saddles, a hint of warm horse musk. If I'm not delving too deeply, this come across as a leather SN. I can't imagine wearing this alone; this one is begging to be layered.
  4. SimplySyra

    What do bottles and labels look like?

    I got the new Dragon's Milk bottle, too, tallan! I think it's adorable! Nathaniel, so beautiful as always! Oborot has such a cool label!
  5. SimplySyra

    Black Lace

    In the bottle: Smooth and strong. Both slightly sweet and slightly bitter. Perhaps the cognac. Wet: Yikes! Sharp and bitter tobacco and cognac to the point that I can taste it and it tastes like I'm sucking on an aspirin. Dry: What a complete turnaround! A couple minutes into the wet stage just as I'm starting to worry this much sought-after scent is going to go horribly wrong on me, it dries down into a soft, clean, powdery vanilla cotton blossom. Slightly sweet with a touch of dry incense and warm musk to add some elegance. This vanilla is almost foody but not quite. Verdict: Not blowing the doors off, but I don't regret tracking down a bottle and suspect this will get plenty of wear. It's delicate but also warm and sultry enough (the musk I suppose) to be a bit sexy, too. Very nice!
  6. SimplySyra

    The Scales of Deprivation

    Imp: Sharp herbs and a hint of citrus. Wet: Sandal wood has come to play. Very dry and woody! Dry: Sandalwood and frankincense are definitely here overlaid by a fresh herbal blend. The lemon is peeking but isn't defined. It's more of a fresh edge to the herbs. This scent sticks very close and is muted, soft, woody, and warm. It is both a tiny bit sweet and a bit sharp and bitter. I find it a bit brooding. Verdict: A pretty but nondescript wood and herb blend that is nearly imperceptible on my skin. The vetiver which can be a death note on my skin doesn't appear here. Pleasant but not notable.
  7. During summer days I've been going for clean, light scents like: Kumiho Embalming Fluid Shanghai 51 Sea of Glass White Rabbit Eldrich Drunken Constellations During summer nights if I'm going to be out and about I look for something a bit more sultry. Lately it's been: Snake Charmer Dorian Red Lantern I've also had Jareth, The Last Unicorn, and Snow White fairly well used in my summer rotation. Mainly for when I'm not sure what I want to wear.
  8. SimplySyra

    House of Mirrors Atmosphere Spray

    I was lucky enough to snag this from Etsy and it lives up to the hype. It's definitely primarily vanilla with a smooth rich amber. I do also get a fresh silvery wisp as well. It's almost floral almost airy almost watery to me. I find it almost impossible to describe. Overall the scent is very smooth and rich. It's a lovely scent.
  9. SimplySyra

    Thieves' Rosin

    Imp: Cloyingly sweet and sappy. Wet: An incredibly sweet piney rosin with a backing of dry wood. There is a sharp masculine note for me that disappears as it dries. Dry: Sweet powdery musky wood. It still has maintained an incredible sweetness. I also think there is a bit of beeswax in these. It's sweet and smooth over the powdery musk-wood combo. Verdict: I like the warmth of the musk and wood in this but the sweetness is perhaps a bit too cloying on my skin. This would work very well for those who want a warm smooth sweet wood scent. I'll keep the imp around and see if I ever find it less cloying.
  10. SimplySyra

    Dwarven Ale

    Imp: Powerful cloying butterscotch. Wet: Buttery sweet foodie pumpkin with plenty of cinnamon and some other autumnal spices. This definitely smells like a typical autumn foodie scent to me. Dry: The sweetness recedes a bit bringing out some honey to mingle with buttery pumpkin and cinnamon is still lingering. But now there is a base that is both woody and earthy. This is, perhaps, the mushrooms. Every so often in passing I can catch a whiff of what smells like fermented apples or apple cider at the very top of the scent. Verdict: I like it quite a bit more than expected even though it is what I'd consider a "traditional" scent. This is going to be a perfect autumn scent and I will definitely wear my imp once the temperatures start to drop. If it continues to please me in cooler weather, there is a good chance I might snag a bottle.
  11. SimplySyra

    Ethereal Scents?

    I haven't tried a ton of scents yet, but I did find The Ghost (white iris, osmanthus, Calla lily, tomb-crawling ivy and a coffin spray of gladiolus, lisianthus and delphinium) to be somewhat ethereal. Experiences may vary of course, but on me it was a soft white powdery floral with a touch of rainwater. Raindrops on flower petals. I didn't find it at all sinister despite the description.
  12. Shoggoth? Duly noted! I think a lot of the Arkham scents might be worth trying in this regard. Thanks!
  13. SimplySyra

    What do bottles and labels look like?

    Have a little Snake Charmer HG and Snake Charmer Res action.
  14. You could try Shanghai (little staying power though) or Embalming Fluid Thanks, theredkilt! I do have Embalming Fluid lying around as a frimp so I'll try that and Shanghai once I can get my hands on it. Appreciate it!
  15. So does anyone have any recommendations for something similar to Eldritch Drunken Constellations? On me it starts as a pale pulpy white-green that dries into this amazing green musky spicy ambergris that almost hearkens to the dry-down of my Mikado Saloon HG. I bought it on whim for the name and now I LOVE IT. I've tried Kumiho and while it starts very similar it dries down to a dry astringent ginger which is nothing like my beloved EDC. I've also tried Yha'Nthlei which I figured should have been almost a dead-ringer given the similar notes but it goes straight up floral soapy on me. Is there another GC scent I'm missing? I can't imagine anything could be closer than Yha but could be wrong. Does anyone have more experience with Yha'Nthlei? Does it lose the soapiness as it ages and allow the ambergris to come out?
  16. SimplySyra

    Shoggoth

    Imp: Incandescent is right. Out of the bottle this is straight up garish. STRONG lemongrass and lime. Wet: Mostly a super sweet almost candied lemongrass. Lime is there but it's overwhelmed by this lemongrass bonanza. It reminds me strongly of Lush's Avobath. Dry: Phew. Things are starting to calm down. This still basically the sweet lemongrass story, but at least it's not blaring in my face anymore.There's a tiny bit of clear musk and what I think might be florals starting to go ominously soapy underneath all the lemony freshness. I really can't detect any coconut although a lot of people are. Verdict: I wanted to love this but it's just too much. All I get is sickly sweet lemongrass and soapy florals. A shame. I bet if it had worked, it'd be an amazingly refreshing summer scent.
  17. SimplySyra

    Y'ha-nthlei

    Imp: Fresh citrus ozone. VERY ozone-y. Wet: Light citrus and SOAP. Uh oh. Dry: The soap has receded, thank goodness. It's now mostly ambergris. The Lab's ambergris does this thing where it becomes a skin scent on me. It's a soft, musky scent with a latent sweetness. There is a tinge of the juicy white-green I associate with eucalyptus but fades in and out almost imperceptibly. Unfortunately, it's still lingering on the edge of soap. It's like the way your hands smell after you wash them with a mild scentless soap. The soap doesn't have a scent on you skin, per se, but your skin has a particular newly clean scent that's different from your normal skin scent. Verdict: I like this but I'm not sure I'll go for more than an imp.
  18. SimplySyra

    What do bottles and labels look like?

    These are all great, kajacana! I especially love the misspelled Hesiod. I bought Harvest Moon 06 for the label as well. The scent is all right but it's the cool deer skull that I'm really digging.
  19. SimplySyra

    If your top 5 scents are... Then try these!

    Perversion has been on my wish list for a while so I'll definitely give it a go! I have a couple imps of Snake Oil. One is only about a week old and one is about 3 years old. I like the older one a lot better but Snake Charmer still takes the cake. Thanks for the recommendations!
  20. SimplySyra

    Wolf's Heart

    I received this as a frimp and I'm glad I did because I don't think I'd have ever thought to try it on my own. Imp: Herbal and floral. A bit bittersweet. Wet: The bitterness immediately softens into a warm, spicy floral. The spicy roundness is the dragon's blood, I'm guessing. Dry: A very skin-hugging soft, warm scent. The floral is fading and rounding out into a powdery soft musk. It's gentle on the nose. A tiny bit sweet, a tiny bit floral, a tiny bit wood. I can't speak as to its properties as liquid courage, but it does strike me as a warm, comforting scent. I think it'd make a good bedtime scent for sure. I do like this a lot! I wish it had a bit more throw so I could wear it effectively as a perfume, but this is really just a cozy self-satisfaction scent. At least on me. I'm going to treasure this imp and see if I might want a bottle after some more testing.
  21. SimplySyra

    If your top 5 scents are... Then try these!

    I'm still quite new as well and only now have I managed to build up anything resembling a favorites list. Would love some recommendations! 1. Snake Charmer Res (haven't tried the original) 2. Red Lantern 3. Bakeneko 4. Eldritch Drunken Constellations (the odd one out here, I think) 5. Panther Moon Special mentions: Dorian, Sea of Glass, Chimera, Revenant Rhythm. Wish I could recommend some to those above but unfortunately lack the depth of experience necessary to suggest anything yet.
  22. SimplySyra

    Chaos Theory VII: Oriental

    I received what might be bottle 5 of oriental. This is just my theory based on the order notice I received in which it was labeled "CHAOSVII-05." I'm going to be absolutely up front on this---I'm a bit of a scent armature and I don't know my notes very well but I'll give it my best shot. In the bottle: A rich earthy fruity foody scent. I'm not an expert, but I think this smells like dates. That's it. Just dates. Wet: Still dates. Dry: Again, the dates but there is a round spicy powdery scent coming through at the bottom if I really huff. Verdict: All dates every date. Date date date. It's not bad but there's nothing much to it, at least on my skin. I was hoping for more warm, exotic spices but this is almost just a single-note on me. I can tell there's something more lurking at the bottom but it never comes out fully. Unfortunately, this is a miss for me, but that's the game you play with CT.
  23. SimplySyra

    Mikado Saloon Hair Gloss

    This is very different from anything I have so I'm really excited. Tested in mostly dry,slightly damp hair this is a soft pale leather with the Lab's ambergris making itself known as a kiss of salt. I agree with Anita's man tester; I think this does have a clean vibe which is unexpected! It's a very light airy scent There is a sense of very, very subtle sweetness but I don't get a vanilla vibe from it at all. For me, it's basically a clean, wispy leather with a touch of ambergris and perhaps a latent sweetness. There's not a lot of throw that I can tell. It seems very unobtrusive and unisex. It's not my favorite HG but I quite like it and have no qualms adding it to my rotation! -----Editing because this scent changed for me after it had time to settle! Now I'm getting a lot more caramel-ish bourbon vanilla which I didn't detect at all when I first tried this. Instead of being just clean leather and salt, it's now soft brown leather and salt with a rich, sweet vanilla. The more I wear it, the more I love it! So glad I sprang for a bottle.
  24. SimplySyra

    What do bottles and labels look like?

    The Goblin King himself: Jareth.
  25. SimplySyra

    Sherlock Holmes

    Got this in a lovely little frimp. It surprised me a lot because I wasn't expecting such a nice scent based on the description. Although it's not completely feminine, it's more feminine than I expected! It actually reminds me a bit of Erik. It has something of the same clean unisex scent underscored by resin/wood but I think I might prefer this scent. I'll have to check them out side by side again. I feel Erik was sharper (the kerosene) and faded to must rather than clean leather. Imp: Sweet, clean, and bright with a tiny hint of resin. Something about it is almost citrus but clearly not. People are right in saying it's very hard to pin this scent down. It's just "generally pleasing" yet you don't know why. Wet: More of the same clean scent. It's very unisex but leans towards a sweeter scent on my skin making it perfectly comfortable there as a feminine scent. Drying: A smooth leather with a hint of resin is coming forward. It's warming up a scent that initially felt cool and clean. The sweetness lingers but not as bright as before. The scent stays close to me and is quite subtle. It does turn a bit soapy after dry down which is a shame. I was really hoping to keep those warm leather resins. Verdict: A lovely scent! I'm not sure if I'll spring for a bottle given how it dries down but it's very pleasing while it lasts. If I could figure out a way to keep that drying but not quite dry stage with a bit more throw, I'd be all in!
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