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In the bottle (imp decant), this smells like skin musk, mango, something bitter, perhaps almond, something creamy, and something leafy. (My review probably will not be very useful, cause I really don't know which notes I am smelling). On my hair, the freshness disappears and becomes only a skin musk which feels very weird to me, because it's on my hair. Low throw, not a very strong scent. It's "ok", but I had wished more for a "glam" effect (where suddenly I am young again, for example, or where hair color changes, or any kind of elvish illusion magic). I don't get a forest glen association (which I had hoped for), only this weird "skin musk" association. This fits a rpg/larp context, but I don't need more, as it is too unclear and too weak on my hair.
- Today
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dramyhsturgis: Dark Academia Works Inspired by True Crime Cases? Hello, all! I am looking for recommendations of Dark Academia works (novels, short stories, films, television series) based on true crime. I would be grateful for any suggestions for my list. Thank you! I am intentionally casting my net widely, defining the Dark Academic genre (as opposed to the aesthetic) as one that focuses on an academic setting and educational experience, employs Gothic modes of storytelling, cultivates a dark mood by contemplating the subject of death, and offers critique for interrogating imbalances and abuses of power.* ALT Below the cut is my current list of Dark Academia Works Inspired by True Crime Cases. All suggestions are welcome! Dark Academia Works Inspired/Informed by True Crime Cases Note 1: “True crime” is defined here as a specific case (for example, a murder or missing person’s case), not as a larger historical event (for example, the Salem Witch Trials or the Opium Wars) or an amalgam of cases (for example, general hazing in fraternities). Note 2: This list is in chronological order based on the true crime case. Note 3: Some works that aren’t fully DA but incorporate DA sections are included. TRUE CRIME: 1897 disappearance of student Bertha Mellish from Mount Holyoke College DA novels: The Button Field by Gail Husch (2014) Killingly by Katharine Beutner (2023) TRUE CRIME: 1924 killing of Bobby Franks by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb DA Novels: Compulsion by Meyer Levin (1956) Nothing but the Night by James Yaffe (1957) Little Brother Fate by Mary-Carter Roberts (1957) The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992) These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever (2020) Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed (2022) Jazzed by Jill Dearman (2022) DA films: Rope (1948), Compulsion (1959), and Murder by Numbers (2002) TRUE CRIME: 1932 kidnapping and killing of Charles Lindbergh, Jr.; 1933 kidnapping and killing of Brooke Hart; and 1932-1934 crime spree of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow DA novels: Truly Devious books by Maureen Johnson (especially the first trilogy, 2018-2020) TRUE CRIME: 1944 killing of David Kammerer by Columbia University student Lucien Carr DA film: Kill Your Darlings (2013) TRUE CRIME: 1946 disappearance of student Paula Jean Welden from Bennington College DA novels: Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson (1951) Last Seen Wearing by Hillary Waugh (1952) The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992) Shirley by Susan Scarf Merrell (2014) Quantum Girl Theory by Erin Kate Ryan (2022) DA film: Shirley (2020) TRUE CRIME: 1973 killing of student Cynthia Hellman at Randolph-Macon Women’s College DA novel: Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison (2019) TRUE CRIME: 1978 killing of students Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy and attack of students Kathy Kleiner and Karen Chandler by Ted Bundy at Florida State University DA novel: Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (2023) TRUE CRIME: 1978-2008 fraud by, and 1985 killing of Jonathan Sohus by, imposter Christian Gerhartsreither (“Clark Rockefeller”) and 2007-2009 fraud and larceny against Harvard University by Adam Wheeler DA novel: Lucien by J.R. Thornton (2026) TRUE CRIME: 1985 killing of Derek and Nancy Haysom by University of Virginia students Elizabeth Haysom and Jens Söring DA novel: With a Kiss We Die by L.R. Dorn (2023) TRUE CRIME: 1999 killing of student Hae Min Lee from Woodlawn High School (by Adnan Syed? debated) DA novel: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai (2023) TRUE CRIME: 2022 killing of students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin from the University of Idaho (by Washington State University student Bryan Kohberger) DA novel: This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead (2025) *(I go into this definition in further detail in my segment here on the StarShipSofa podcast, my graduate course on Dark Academia, and my 2023 academic essay “Dark Arts and Secret Histories: Investigating Dark Academia.”) Newly updated in March 2026! View the full post.
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Very much what I wanted this to be, but for my preferences, it could have more depth. In the bottle (imp size decant), I get oak. In its wet stage, this is only sweet hazelnut pudding to my nose - but no wood. Once dried, this is cream pudding - but no hazelnut. As wood scent lover, I would have appreciated more oak, as the butterscotch tends to dominate the situation. However, the hazelnut is an interesting note, and at least in its wet stage it is so beautifully combined with the butterscotch that this could be a beverage. And I usually am not sure whether I'd like to smell like a beverage, but I think this is a good situational / mood scent for the dark season. Cozy and sweet.
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Liberty: In the Form of the Goddess of Youth, Giving Support to the Bald Eagle
roseus replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
Lots of neroli on my skin initially with a gorgeous airy vanilla following. As it dries I get a touch of herbal green I attribute to the olive leaf and a bit of carnation. With the vanilla and carnations it feels like a cousin to Morocco, the neroli adding an elegant edge. -
Gorgeous soft golden resins. Amber is the most prominent to my nose. It's rich, but delicate somehow. There's a glittering citrus-lile facet. Very pretty!
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Initially I get a deep ambery beeswax, lightly sweet and golden. I'd swear there was a bit of vanilla as well. As it settles on my skin I get soft touches of cedar, hay, and frankincense. It's golden, slightly woody (the cedar is very gentle and restrained), resiny sweet. Beautiful.
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Starts off unexpectedly nutty, like opening a bag of warm roasted hazelnuts. But then it turns into a glorious earthy fig with a beautiful dusty vanilla dancing on top. I wouldn’t say this is “foody”, nor is it particularly sweet – it’s like the fig and the vanilla bean have agreed to merge together perfectly so that neither really stands out, but you know they’re both there. Lovely.
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My Country perfectly captures the scent of my beautiful country, Australia. It’s the smell of sitting on the beach and soaking in the last warmth of a summer’s day, watching the sun set over the sparkling ocean as the sky turns the most beautiful pinks and oranges you have ever seen, and a gentle breeze passes across your face – carrying with it the salty, musky breath of the sea.
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A really pretty amber skin scent. It's clean-smelling but not soapy; a little sweet, but not at all gourmand. There's maybe a hint of ozone to it, but it isn't sharp. Overall, it's subtle but pleasant (although note that I rarely slather, so maybe it would be stronger on someone who does).
- Yesterday
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This is as named. Testing it as a body spray to get the full experience. This isn't as sweet as I expected! Not as sugary as the brown sugar I get from Eat Me. The woody oak tempers it. Glad I have this decant but I wouldn't wear it often enough for a full bottle. Will test in hair at a later date.
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Weird, I get laundry first, then snowhite lavender. My mental image becomes a blanket shortly interrupted by fizzy champagne stains (careful with that glass, when you move to a more comfy seating position). But then .. nothing happens. It becomes and then stays a mental image of a shirt with lavender softener from washing. Good for bedtime, like TKO, but maybe I miss some unique aspect of this, I was expecting more. But it makes me sleepy and is nice and safe, and clearly laundry / fabrics related, to my nose / skin. PS I relate it to Puppet Kitty, but without the baby saliva and skin of a child, so this works way better for me, but is a bit boring, but "nice".
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Pumpkin Spice Eggnog Latte yeah, that’s exactly it. I can smell cinnamon - that’s a bit strong, plus some kind of dark honey, but I’m probably mistaking that for the eggnog. It’s literally that: you take some of that store-bought pumpkin spice mix, stir it into warm milk, then sprinkle cinnamon on top—lots of it. Then you go crazy and throw in some egg yolk with lots of sugar and nutmeg, and some vanilla, because you want that, and maybe some rum—good rum, not cheap stuff—and then you top it with whipped cream. And because you crave coffee, you stumble and a bit of your just brewed espresso spills just a bit on top of it. So, this is true to its name. Well-balanced and safe. I associate it more with Christmas than with Halloween (oh it is a yule, why did I think it was a weenie). It is sweet, spicy, cozy.
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2025 version. I'm not often saying this but this was bit a disappointment for me. I was expecting spicier Snake Oil but I got a lot of the same sharpish red musk that's dominating new Snake Oil iterations. My experience is quite similar to Liquid Sword's above: heat from the ginger, sharpness, cinnamon, vanilla isn't showing up much. I like Gingerbread Glory Hole over this, but I'll let my Snek rest for a year at least. I hope it would get softer with time.
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I fell in love with this. Gingerbread in this is definitely gingerbread dough, sweet and spicy. I've learnt that I really like brown musk, it often feels soft and cozy and it blends beautifully with spices and patchouli. Patchouli is beautiful in this scent and it's not screaming for attention. I like this over Gingerbread Snek as this is softer and more balanced.
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Beautiful incense, soft and sheer. But the lotus turns super to sweet bubblegum me and doesn't settle down.
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A gorgeous rich, nutty scent. Earthy sweet. As it dries I feel like I'll get a whiff of something in particular, a bit of cacao or chestnut or coffee. But nothing leaps out in particular for long. Cozy, refined.
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Poofy sweet lavender in the imp, with a hint of sweet fruity almond underneath and a breath of cardamom. On my skin I get a soft, slightly buttery bread note, followed by a more mellowed nuttier almond, and the lavender which is slightly less sweet. As it dries I get a bit more cardamom again. I really like how it settles out, a soft lavender tamping down the sweetness of a nutty, lightly spiced bun. Comforting and cozy.
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In the imp this smells like a cold, wet day in early winter before it is cold enough to actually freeze. It's green and chilly, and then I get a smudgy cloud of ambergris following. On my skin I get the woody oud and oppononax which round it out. A freezing rain in the forest.
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I picked up a half decant for funsies, partly because I'm still on the hunt for a non-sweet coffee perfume, mostly because the copy mentioned The King In Yellow. This smells like sticky rice shou/ripe puer and joss stick ash, with the latter taking over as time goes on. I'm surprisingly into it.
- Last week
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Coyote Moon: Cacao Dust and Ashes
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
The ash in this duet makes me think of standing next to a campfire as the ashes flit through the air and make their way toward the ground. The cacao note cozies up to it, but the ash is definitely stronger on my skin. There's no sludgy cacao here (which I would have loved), if anyone is curious, and the scent itself has great throw and can be smelled without me even having to hold my arm up to my nose (although I still did that for testing purposes). I like this, but I don't think I need more of this duet. (I think I prefer Baby's First Krampuslauf.) But I'm looking forward to layering this with its moon to see how that goes. -
Les Pleurs is mostly about the myrrh on me, and it's a dark myrrh, not the soft, powdery, cuddly variety from scents like Bastet. The stone note is next in prominence, making the scent seem even darker. It takes a long time for the beeswax note to show up on me, and although it eventually emerges and adds a bit of welcome sweetness to those very bold notes, there's not enough of it here to think of this as a beeswax scent. There's no acrid smoke note or vetiver in the blackened amber accord, so I wouldn't let that descriptor put you off of trying this if the other notes appeal. This isn't something I need more of, but if you are looking for a dark resin and stone scent, this might be up your alley.
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I concur with the above review! This is Creamsicle perfection and my favorite of the rarities and b-sides that have been released over the past year. The mandarin isn't bitter, medicinal, soapy, etc. -- anything that could go wrong with a mandarin note is not present here. The vanilla really is like a billowy cloud that just floofs out over time, complementing the mandarin perfectly. It's already in the 90 degree range here in March (UGH), so I've already taken it upon myself to order a bottle. I couldn't risk this orange and vanilla goodness selling out!
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Mpfh, as much as i am having difficulty adding to a description of this - as i get all the notes in there - it is not overly simple and quite sexy. Gots ta find myself a man to smear this on (...but until then my own locks will do). This is a grown-up , soft and slightly masculine leaning spicy scent. The vanilla bean making this an indeed "approachable" scent, friendly. The myrrh and sandalwood working hard to make this something i deem quite sexy indeed.
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Slightly soapy from the imp to indeed a more ritual-apt scent; warm berries, soft dusty fir and an ashy natural note (the bark) incense. If i could get my house to smell like this in winter I Know I've Made It!
