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"Scorched paper" is barely a thing here, but the opening is characterized by a realistic burst of damp plaster, like you've been working on a paper maché for hours. Alongside that is the citron and grapefruit, tangy and a touch bitter, and eventually a hint of woody cedar. This one has decent throw but not much longevity; it does not overcome the transience typical of citrus notes, the plaster fades out quickly, and it's overall soft. It's mostly an academic interest now, but I wonder whether this will work well in the summer, when the damp citrus might be refreshing.
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I was expecting a slam-dunk out of this one, but after testing twice I'm not sure how I feel about it. I get a light, airy, kinda sweet anise-y licorice mostly, on top of a definitely not sweet pepper and a touch of amber. I like licorice, but can be picky about its presentation, and something about this combo plays a little "plastic" for me. I might end up sticking to my old reliable: Portrait of an Unidentified Man Dressed as a Skeleton -- or try layering them? My other skin tester had a very evocative description that was even more off-book. "Formaldehyde. Plus something else, because this is a heavier smell than just formaldehyde should be." ["The notes are licorice, black pepper, and grey amber."] "No licorice on here at all -- I am getting the pepper, and grey amber makes sense. But it does still seem more chemical-y... and kind of dusty? Moldy? Oh, I know. It's like this: you enter an unheated, damp storage shed full of props. You go through the totes until you find the one with the plastic rats in it, and when you pop the lid, this is the smell that puffs out at you."
- Today
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Felt like a chill and relaxed day, so I went on to try a couple of my Lavender Kitchen in comparisons. With Lavender Semlor, I can make out all of the notes, which create the sweet and spicy concoction that doesn’t scream bakery, but it’s still very lovely in these notes. With the Lavender Kitchen series I do seem to have a lot of really good luck with these scents. Only qualm would be the scent is very close to skin and I wish it had just a little bit more throw. Kind of wish the almond and the cardamom the “queen of spices” would throw itself a little bit more weight into it. Still very wearable, but oddly subtle on my skin.
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I had to get a bottle of this because I enjoy these festive robins so much, AND because I'm a slut for cherry. I am happy to say that blind bottling this scent paid off! The cherry is a main player during both the wet and dry phases of the scent, although it is most prominent early on in wear. It's very much a fruit-infused mulled wine scent to me, but aside from the cherry, I'm not very good at picking out the winter berries (there might be some pom here???). There was a darker note in the background that I wasn't able to pinpoint, but I'm not sure if that was the fruit itself, whatever comprises the russet feathers, or if it is part of the brandy. My partner, who also loves cherry scents and birds, but didn't know this contained cherry until it arrived, was thrilled that the cherry note is so prominent and was glad that the scent is just as amazing as the artwork. We will both enjoy applying this one for a boozy cherry fix during the winter months!
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First Noel, First Base is a blast of apple at first, backed by the beeswax, but it doesn't take long for the beeswax to take the center stage and become the dominant note, sweetened up further by whatever remains of the apple. I've tested this myself and slathered it on my partner, and it has great throw. I typically say I have too many beeswax scents, or too many apple scents, but this is the first scent I've had featuring both notes, and it did not disappoint. I'm excited to have another Yuletide apple scent in my collection.
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This is amazing. I get lots of lavender, cardamom, and an airy cream that smells like a homemade vanilla-infused whipped cream, with a smattering of almond paste that's most noticeable during the first few hours of wear. Then it mostly becomes all about that cream, which I am delighted to say is not a butter bomb in this case. This is the least bread-y of the lavender bread scents -- I didn't get any yeast-y baked bun scent, but that could come out more as it has had more time to settle, or maybe my skin ran away with the other notes (I don't mind). My partner doesn't even care for baked good scents and thought this smelled delectable. One bottle will not be enough! I like this more than Lights, Camera, Something, a scent from a Lilith update of yore which also featured lavender and cardamom notes. This features way more lavender with the cardamom, and the cream makes this scent more floofy.
- Yesterday
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On first applications, I'm getting my beloved slushy snow and lavender, which pair perfectly. The bubbly champagne shows up next, and the gentle musk remains softly in the background on my skin. Combined with the lavender and champagne, this reminds me of the sparkly crunchy type of snow that you want to make into a snow-woman. With le tits. Now. This is a light but sexy snow scent and a perfect addition to the Yules.
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On my latest “Looking Back on Genre History” segment on the StarShipSofa podcast (Episode 772), I discuss early feminist science fictional utopias and focus on A Few Hours in a Far-Off Age (1883) by Henrietta Dugdale. Listen here! ALTALT View the full post.
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The Donkey's Tail
wilhelmscream replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
Like Gloomily, Gloomily, this really lives up to its color palette scent translation. Purply-pinkish-grey. A little sweeter and more fabric-focused than it's companion, but having some parallel notes of thistle, lavender and grey musk. It has a very clean but lived in cozy feel to it. A kind of dreamy familiarity to it. Your favorite hoodie or fleece blanket kind of feeling. That thing that brings you great comfort no matter what. -
In the bottle, I smell mostly sweet, chewy oats, crisp lemon verbena, with a bit of carrot, white tea and vetiver. Herbal, earthy and very tidy. It smells very of the earth, or of the garden. Like you're having a cup of tea in the garden. But there is a sense of urgency in there. Don't get too comfortable in the garden and outstay your welcome. After about an hour, what remains is a sort of herbaceous oat-milk-honey musk.
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Lines Written by a Bear of Very Little Brain
wilhelmscream replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Yules
I like the pointed notes of hot, sunny cardamom amber and snowy slush. The hot/cold dynamic is really interesting in this fragrance. Very appropriate for the Yule collection. The honeyed rice and milky musk really create a close to the skin body smell. Like a worn t-shirt of a loved one. Something warm and a little spicy. The snowy slush comes into play as almost like a frosted window pane of glass, just a suggesting of cool around this radiant warmth. -
Wild clover smells almost a little more floral to me than like, a regular sticky sweet honey. The mead fizz is especially interesting, very airborne tingly note, but with that chewy, heart, meady stank. A little smoky and powdery. When first applied, the mead fizz is rather confrontational! I don't know if that's a note I'd normally go for, so at first it was a bit alienating. As it settled in with the other notes, becoming this gorgeous wash of golden amber light, I really found myself accepting the charm of the mead fizz. Because of the smoke and fizz, there's a sense of energy and chaos to this one.
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Well, that's pink. In the bottle, it smells... pink. A wash of pink. I smell the vanilla and caramelized almonds, a bit of the apple. When first applied to the skin, the red bean paste takes the stage. This adds a lot of grit to it! I feel like this really represents Piglet's sense of yearning to be brave. Along with the acorn and almond, you really get a sense of strength and depth beneath the airy pink vanilla, apple, strawberry-ness of it all. A very earnest and sweet fragrance. Encouraging! Comforting! When I first put it on, I got a little teary eyed and thought "Come on Piglet, you can do it!"
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This has a very wistful, introspective sadness to it, like Angela Chase of My So-Called Life. I love that it's referred to as the goth kid scent, very appropriate. Soft goth. Grey goth. In the bottle, it is a truly amazing synesthesia experience of thick, rain-filled clouds of pale purply-grey. A heavy sigh of sadness as you linger in a doorway waiting for someone to take note that you're there, asking you what's wrong. "Oh nothing..." The lavender, iris and lilac all team up together to form this gentle purple floral swirl. The grey musk is cozy, softly sweet. The thistle, tea and moss give it an earthiness and texture. The tail pairs wonderfully with it, bringing in the fabric component of silk and cotton, sweetening it up with the vanilla and adding a little more purple with a French Lavender. Honestly reminds me a lot of my sweet grey cat I had through most of my 20 named Zooey. Tiny little thing, looked like an ash grey cloud with big green eyes. She even smelled grey, kinda dusty.
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In the bottle, it's a pretty immediate hit of warm, buttery toast. Beneath that, you can really get the honey, milk and roasted vanilla. On the skin, I really amped the buttery toast upon application and knew I'd have to get it some time to settle down. About twenty minutes later, the amber and vanilla took focus, moving into a more perfume-y territory. It's so incredibly cozy and warm. After about an hour, it faded into a milky honeyed amber with a hint of cotton. Very gentle, creamy, a little powdery.
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I'm in agreement with @feyofthefellwood that this reminds me of a classic "feminine" perfume. It's a very soft, crumbly-powdery vanilla orris, and it's a sweet vanilla. I was surprised I never got lavender from this, or rose. Ambergris is very prominent on me when first applied but it recedes to the background after about the first hour. The Woman behind It reminds me a bit of Porcelain Bat, which is not surprising considering the number of notes the two blends have in common (orris, ambergris, vanilla, even the "plaster dust"), but I don't think it comes together quite as well on me. If The Woman had *any* sharpness (like, say, lavender...), or a bit of an edge of any kind, I think it would be beautiful on me, but unfortunately it's so entirely soft and sweet it feels kind of flat and one-note. It's possible that aging may bring out the individual notes a little more clearly, but for now I'm finding this blend a little too powder-room for me. That said, as an interpretation of some pieces of The Yellow Wallpaper, The Woman behind It is perfect. The too-soft-and-sweet, too-powdery, too traditionally feminine (for me anyway!) quality encapsulates the feel of a woman with postpartum depression trapped in a disused nursery, infantilized and dismissed by her husband, whose authority she lives under. It's brilliant as a work of art, if not a scent I think I actually want to wear.
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2025 version: Spicy red musk! I tend to amp red musk and spices, so I don't get the floral that other reviews talked about. Maybe this year is different? This is so smooth and smells amazing. I kind of can't wait for it to age and the red musk to get even deeper. This is my perfect Halloween/Fall scent.
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My husband and his whole family are Filipino, and we couldn't resist getting this one! (Though he says he'd spell it differently...maybe dialect variation...?) Big tropical flowers + sticky sweet desserts! This is a loud cheerful scent with a lot going on. I'm not typically a florals person but I was hoping the desserts would balance it out, and they kind of do, though it seems like everything's shouting! It's hard to pick out individual gourmand notes, but I do get banana (the cooked caramelized turon kind) and a sweet sticky rice like when my mother-in-law is making bibingka. It actually really does smell like we walked into her kitchen while she was making desserts for a party, and we happened to bring a big bouquet of tropical flowers with us. So if that sounds good to you, this is exactly that!
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Agreed that it's similar to PS Hot Buttered Rum, except this version is lighter on the spice and more about brandy butter and creamy pumpkin. Not too boozy, just warm and golden. Good throw, and long-lasting!
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Fried dough (just like at a fair!), cinnamon sugar, buttery pumpkin! Good throw, too. Perfect late-summer-carnival-into-autumn vibes!
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Warm pumpkin bread - definitely a bread, not a cake! Plus, as everyone says above, a very clearly chocolate sprinkles note - super-realistic, down to the not-very-sweet kind of powdery quality! It's so nostalgic - childhood treats. This is a warm cozy domestic autumn scent, not too spiced or too sweet.
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Malty, cozy, crumbly shortbread, cocoa (not super-sweet), and coffee, in that order. Good for cool weather!
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Golden Peach and Butterscotch Soda
splendidissima replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Event Exclusive Oils
Sweet caramelized butterscotch + syrupy peaches! A dark orange-brown-sugar sort of scent, dripping and molten. I like it! -
Besides the label having an embarrassingly creepy resemblance to a sweatshirt I wore as a kid in the '90s, this is a delightful answer to howling winds and driveways slick with ice. Snow bubbles over with champagne and lands softly on musks that cling close to the skin and are flushed like cheeks that were just out in the biting cold. There is just a whisper of lavender, the last glimpse of winter twilight before darkness freezes everything over.
- Last week
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chrisann changed their profile photo
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2023 release: i bottled it sometime in 2024 before Weenies went down and let the bottle rest. I look it out of my stash and put a dab of it on the back of my wrist. I'm getting a beautiful burnt caramel musk with a hint of grit. I kept getting wafts of caramel brulée throughout the day with a touch of the linen note. The long wait (or aging) paid off.
