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- Yesterday
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Le sigh. I wanted this to work so badly. I can't get through the saffron rubber opening. I tried twice, scrubbed both. But! I did like the residual creamy vanilla left over. I just can't risk a migraine on the opening and waiting.
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I'm fascinated by all of these reviews getting really different impressions. The power of scent! Wet, I get equal parts cacao and humid tea. Not tea in the bag, the wet cuppa. Wild! It mainly keeps a fairly even balance throughout wear, alternating what notes I pick up. Really surprising amount of projection. I agree it's an easy one to like if this sounds like your thing.
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I didn't even know a prototype of Candy Butcher existed until a dear forumite showed me the light, and I am over the moon that she did! At first sniff the proto and the OG Butcher seem more or less the same. But when I compared the two side by side, even in the bottle, I, too, noticed that the prototype has the same notes but is somehow...MORE. This continued to prove true, both upon application, through drydown and a solid ten hours later. In each part of the process, the scent was quite recognizable to the original, but as if it was concentrated or distilled, into a denser version of itself. And I am SMITTEN. I rediscovered the original CB last summer during a heat wave when it melded with my skin to make me a sultry, dry-cocoa'ed poof of myself. This summer, with the help of this here prototype? I can only hypothesize the dead-sexy poof-of-it-all that awaits me. In all: I applied the smallest drop possible and though the scent has a lower-medium throw, this one stays PUT. Everything I adore about the original, concentrated and dispensed to 11.
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This is also for the original unreleased version which I was able to procure with the help of the very lovely @sunshinedaisybliss (a million, billion thanks!!!) In the bottle I get a rich, deep, plummy orchid. It's vaguely reminiscent of the note as it shows up in the recent Black Orchid and Crushed Berries hair gloss release, but this is definitely rich and deeper. (The notes could be cousins, or it literally could be the same note but one has aged for two decades and one has note. Who knows? 🤷♀️ Wet on skin, and for a while after application it gets very strong, almost overwhelming (I put a small drop on, which is worth noting, given how intense it became.) I agree with the assessments that this is floral...but also NOT a floral. That "plummy" aspect stays the course, and it definitely is an element that stops this from being anything that could be read as a single note. I don't get anything approaching a dirt or earth note in here, nor do I get any patchouli that others picked up on. Although I love those notes, I'm not mad about their absence here, because this scent has all it needs, all on its own. Dry down: After coming on like gangbusters, this Orchid finally hunkers down, and settles in for the long haul. It travels in an arc, fading with incredible slowness over the course of many hours, and it stays the course the whole time. A deep, sultry noir-ish (both in a "Femme Fatale" sense and also in that the vibe reminds me of that other precious, long-discontinued Lab creation of the same name) floral that reads initially as an ancient perfume-y sort of scent, only to reveal later the depths of that sultriness. This is -and I say this as a person who is often verrrrrry floral averse- a sexy, dark, floral dream. In All: Medium to high throw (*definitely* test sparingly until you see how this will interact with your personal chemistry). A dark plum-and-deepest-orchid with a dusting of powder at the finish, this is a "white whale" scent for me that took years to obtain and was so. so. SOOOOO worth the wait. I die!
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This faded on me after a minute or two, but what I got was some generic floral soap. So sad!
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Second live online discussion section added for The Hunger Games!
eldritchhobbit posted a blog entry in Eldritchhobbit's Blog
Our Hunger Games series went so well the first time, we’re doing it again! And it’s perfect timing, too, given that the film adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping will be coming this autumn. You’re invited to join me in SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University to talk about all five books in The Hunger Games series! The first module has been confirmed to run in June 2026. The first live online discussion section is full, but we’ve added a second. If you enroll now, you can be a part of the scheduling to make sure it’s convenient for you! What lessons do the Capitol and Districts have to teach us? What warnings should we heed? What road leads from here to Panem? Over the course of five months, participants in these SPACE modules will read and discuss a modern classic of dystopian storytelling, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. In this hybrid series, each week will include one lecture and one live discussion. The lectures will examine the inspirations behind, allusions in, and questions posed by that month’s novel. In live discussions, participants will share their insights on, interpretations of, and reactions to the story. Together we will consider why this series has spoken to so many readers and explore how its messages remain relevant today. Here is more information. View the full post. -
I wish I had frizzlechicken's skin chemistry! I get an almost single note of aldehyde. Fizzy champagne, bubbly indeed, though I'm not getting an alcohol scent. The bubbly is dry enough to have a bit of a parchment note. My skin always does me wrong with aldehyde but I was hopeful on this one because all the other notes are wins. Glad I got to try it, now it's off to a more fortunate home.
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My experience was a mix of the two previous reviews! Near the end of the day of wear, it was a nice lactonic creamy haze. It's incredibly pretty and so accurate to the description. For me, I'm debating if I love the smell of this, and/or do I want to smell like this?
- Last week
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Wet, this is all syrupy fig, warm and soft. I have never tried fig syrup but this smells the way Bonne Maman Fig Preserve tastes. The vanilla comes out and for an hour and a half or so I get the vanilla and fig together. The fig recedes a little and the vanilla takes over, it smells cool and sugary. Vanilla doesn’t usually work on me but this is not at all play dough-y. If I look for it I can detect a little cacao along with the vanilla. This is a light and unobtrusive scent except when first applied. i absolutely love this and am considering a back up bottle.
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A surprising win for me. I get right away the praline and some hints of cacao. As soon it hits my skin, Caramel Vulva warms up and becomes so comforting and gives way to this subtle spicy peppery aura. The caramel part is never in your face, but i can tell that it's very well blended together with the praline milk and hazelnut. There must be an unlisted spice note in there, because i smell some kind of pepper ot something else.
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An interesting apricot bergamot crossing. The apricot is dominated by the bergamot and never leans the sweet fruity way. After some time the apricot is merely a shadow, leaving way for a bright musky bergamot haze.
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A citrus neroli with hint of bitter lemon peel. Neroli kind of hovers above and dominates everything.
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imp from 2017. wet I get the mossy licorice smell and when it first dries down it really is evocative of sitting down in a wet mossy hole 😂, but I think either the age of the imp or my skin makes this one disappear quickly so it's probably going in the to-go pile.
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I’ve never tried a cardamom forward perfume before, and it is such a lovely way to smell. In the bottle it’s a little more creamy/gourmand blueberry but as it wears it becomes a dry, warm smell. It reads as mostly cardamom to me, throw is pretty big and it also lasts throughout the day. I really loved catching whiffs throughout the day.
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Beaver Moon: Green Tea & Cookie Dough
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
When I first tested this, I couldn't smell the green tea at all. I get a very strong almond note from this that's giving me cherry almond vibes. I haven't tried it in a while, but I think it's kind of reminiscent of the cherry/almond cookie scent I got from Lilith the Explorer. Some days later, I tried it layered with its moon, and I could smell the green tea in the layering combo. And now that the scent has had plenty of time to settle, I get both the intense almond-y cookie dough note and the green tea, with more of almondy dough than tea. Maybe this is supposed to be like sugar cookie dough, but the baker's hand slipped and they added way more almond extract than they had intended. I was really hoping that this would feature the cookie dough note from Pandemic Vanitas. I don't dislike it and will probably keep my bottle, but it's not my favorite duet from the Beaver Moon 2025 collection. (That award goes to Lime Blossom & Amber Sugar.) -
When I grabbed a decant of With Care and With Joy, I had hoped that it would smell like the milk and honey note from Alice. Alas, it did not! But I think this one does! It has amazing throw and staying power, even lasting between a few hand washes before reapplication. I tested it against Alice by applying that further down my arm, and my bottle is super aged and more about the carnation, but I do believe they share the same milk and honey notes. It also reminds me of a milk and honey liquid soap -- maybe Softsoap? -- but I haven't smelled that in ages and cannot be sure. The combination of the two notes is heavenly -- no funkiness from the milk or the honey! I'm going to need a bottle.
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As a black licorice FIEND, I've had my beady eyes on this one since it came out, and I finally indulged. And yes, it's VERY licorice, though, not my favorite version of the scent. With the grey amber and black pepper notes, I was expecting something with a gritty or powdery bite. Something a bit more sophisticated or avant-garde than the typical licorice offering. Surprisingly, this is just the opposite. This is a sweet, thin, shiny, (plasticy, one might say 🤔) and simple. This makes me think of rootbeer barrel hard candies.... if the were black licorice flavored. ( I would be all over these.) This is NOT a bad thing, but just not what I was hoping for. However, it's a fun scent and definitely fitting of the perfume's title, and if you want to smell like shiny licorice whips or hard candy, this will sure do it for you! It also strikes me as a fun note for blending. I could totally see mixing this with patchouli or vanilla or even a popcorn scent to great effect. I tried it last night with Snowy Circus Peanut to my delight and possible contraction of diabetes.
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On my first encounter, I thought Drowsy Voyeur was just "ok." A dark plummy poppy + patchouli blend that felt a bit familiar after trying other darkly fruity patchoulis over the years. But then I kept going back for more... and the decant has rested a bit... and it really has gotten under my skin, to the point that now a bottle is an absolute must have! The guava is much more perceptible to me now, and it's not reading as overly tropical exactly, but it's twisting and warping the plum into something a little less familiar. The indigo musk, opium poppy, and patchouli all swirl together hypnotically and taking a deep whiff from the vial feels like the scent gets "stuck" and echoes of the scent reverberate and linger. On the skin, a black tea note comes out and makes it feel surprisingly clean and clear-eyed for such a nocturnal scent. Not getting much tobacco, but I wouldn't be surprised if this continues to come into its own as it ages.
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This is not about the cacao or black tea. I kid you not. It's about the steam, but the steam of oolong tea and what's even more interesting is that upon further development this morphs into the scent of a body lotion/ face cream/ hand cream. I'm still can't get over this peculiar transition. I smell hand lotion/ body lotion on the spot where i applied the tiny dabs. I get the smell of light floral body beauty product. Some teas can give off a light floral profile and this is IT in body/ hand lotion / face cream format.
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This is a woody spicy take on oud. On y skin i get no honey. The oud isn't indolic or poopy. BUT, the drydown reminds me a GREAT DEAL of Ponophobia from the Yule 2019 collection.
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Soft, clean, pretty floral, very similar to Hanami to me. This goes on largely plum blossom and white musk, with a little hint of sharpness that I could see reading soapy but doesn't strike me in that way. The lilac and cherry blossom both come out on drydown, and it's a very balanced blend of the notes. Distinctly floral but at a little bit of a remove, like a painting of the flowers rather than the flowers themselves. After a while it turns mostly into cherry blossom, and it's a really lovely, pink, pretty cherry blossom. I like this, and will definitely keep and wear my decant, but I don't think I'm in love enough to get a bottle.
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Ohhh, I was hoping I'd like this one. No cream to bring things down! Plum blossoms! Clean white musk! But all I got was cherry blossom-tinged generic soap, which was just boring. Scrubbed it off and put on Cluster of Cherry Blossoms instead.
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This apricot is pleasant but subdued, kinda jammy with a touch of smoke. did not get much soil. the hay blends in gorgeously with the amber and fruit, and there is a subtle mentholated chill to the scent.
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I got a bit more of the orchid the first time I tested this, but on 2nd test, it lurks in the periphery with the earthy tobacco flower while the vetiver and oud take center stage. it's not a barnyard oud, the vetiver is a grassier one, and although the composition does lean toward a standard vetiver fragrance, I think the orchid keeps it interesting.
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This scent is so delicate that in the bottle I don't get much impression. However, on my skin it has incredible throw & opens up to a light floral with a slight skin musk moment. I really need 3 more bottles. Haha! Right up in my top 5 favorites. Deeply in love.
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