sarada

Wow, are there really no reviews for this yet?? I picked this up at will call because Cheshire Cat is one of my old favourites, and one of my first ever bottles. I know that because of all the oils and other ingredients that this will not smell quite like the oil, but it's bound to still be lovely.

And it is! I'm going through the bar very quickly, not from using it a lot but because it seems to wear quickly. It's not quite like the oil, it doesn't have the strong presence of grapefruit and soft, tea-like herbs...I think there's more of a creaminess to it because of the soap ingredients, but I think rosehips might be adding more that gritty texture to it.

Like all of these soaps it has a wonderful soft moisturizing quality, that makes my skin smooth and doesn't dry it out. I think wearing the oil after bathing with it would be a perfect complement, because although it doesn't quite have the sharpness and strength of the perfume it has that same soft lightness with an herbal touch.

Yes, Jersey Devil!

 

Also Golden Priapus and Loup Garou have that bright piney note as well (Priapus has the warmth of vanilla, while Garou has eucalyptus which can put some people off. if you do like eucalyptus, try Jabberwocky as well).

 

Yew-Trees possibly too?

 

If you can find Mistletoe, try that for sure!

I thought the original F54 was a 1/3 oz bottle? Or am I completely making that up? I was not paying attention to special offers at the time so I missed out on it!

I had a bottle of this when it first came out but passed it along because it seemed a little too sour to me. I had an opportunity to get a bottle again recently, thinking I might appreciate it better now. I do!

 

What were slightly sour wine notes to me three years ago have matured and aged into a much deeper, fruitier wine -- I can almost smell the dust that has accumulated on a wine bottle in the cellar for a long time. Dark, dusty greenery like dried ivy is scattered on the dark ground. I can sense some hint of something like black musk in the background -- slightly powdery, a winding spiral of scent that just creeps up the back of your nose and lingers there. The red-purple grapes have turned more sweet than sour.

 

There's a bit of a chill in an early autumn forest, right when the humidity has broken and the first hint of frost hangs in the air.

 

If you didn't like this first time around, seek out some aged, it's done so beautifully!

Vegetables! Seriously, Virgo smells like a crisper full of vegetables to me. Or perhaps a freshly-picked bundle, still dripping wet from a hot summer rain, cooling off in the shade with bits of soil still clinging to the ripe green cucumber and sweet rooty carrot. This smells like roots and leaves and wet succulence. I don't so much smell dirt, but I definitely think of a wet garden.

 

I remember from will call that this faded very quickly and I couldn't smell it after long. It might work well in a locket, but I'm digging it in small doses on my skin. I would love to wear this gardening, it is a very cooling blend quite like some of the cucumbery moons we've had recently.

 

It also smells distinctly like a type of clear, non-greasy sunblock my mom used to use. I wasn't very fond of the smell of that, so I don't like drawing that comparison in my mind (kind of a chemically, perfumey scent) but it is only present for a moment before it goes back to the pile of vegetables. Really unique, not what I expected, but I like it.

When I first smelled this I was surprised that lavender seemed to be jumping to the foreground, but I had forgotten it was one of the notes! I love few things more than a smoky lavender blend, and the presence of cedar and amber deep within the blend serve as a wonderful surface for lavender to play across, graced by accompanying sweet floral and herbal notes that hang in the air around me. Deep, fruity and slightly smoky, highlighted with flourishes of juicy damp flowers -- that's how Emathides plays out on me. It is a happier cousin to the Agony of Loss, in a way, with a strong presence of powdery black amber and a layer of fruity sweetness and sleepy humid blooms.

 

Old Scratch, the Agony of Loss, and Oblation have been some of my favorite lavender blends in the past and this one surely will be added to their ranks.

 

ETA: Forgot to add, that after about an hour, the drydown really smells like vanilla to me for some reason. I can't figure out where that's coming from but there it is. Definitely adds a strange touch of creamy sweetness at the end that I wasn't expecting, that adds yet another dimension of delight to this complex, ever-morphing blend.

This might very well be my new favorite lunacy, and not just because of the amazing imagery and inspiration behind it.

 

Completely unique, it combines some of my favorite qualities: mossy, green, damp, mineralistic, stormy, herbal. My initial impression when I sniff this is: wet rocks, steaming with mist, damp with greenery and moss. There's something cavernous about it, like a glittering submerged cave. There is also something faintly menthol in the background, like the scent of rain steaming off of hot rocks in Jezirat al Tennyn, but instead of having a humid, tropical jungle in the background, this is a remote Celtic cliff.

 

Moss and dirt, like the fragrant sweet greenery of The Premature Burial grounded in cold soil, blend in with the damp stones. I imagine clear water running over slick stones.

 

As it dries, a sweet faintly smoky scent like the wisps coming off of Devil's Night emerges.

 

Few scents have such a rich array of imagery and depth to them. This is a masterpiece, and I am at a loss for words.

 

eta: I agree with cranberry's review below as well that the first thing I thought of when I smelled this was Shanghai Tunnel!

Here's another for Black Opal!! If you think about glittering geodes and veins of opalescent shimmer coursing through quartz when you sniff it, it really really smells like all that good stuff!

 

If you can get a hold of any Shanghai Tunnel or Fortunato those have a nice mineral note as well.

 

'Dirt' smells in the general catalogue like Death Cap or Destroying Angel might work as well but perhaps those would be best for a mycological exhibit!

I admit I was really hoping for the old Leo to make a comeback, but I love frankincense and amber so this was definitely worth trying. And the initial nutty scent I get in the bottle disappears almost instantly when I wear it. That's where things go weird, because the first time I tried this it became a deep, burning frankincense on my skin, a dry and dark chamber of sweet incense smoke -- and this time I'm trying it, it's got much more of the sweet frosting scent.

 

Amber actually does weird frosting things on me from time to time, so that's not too surprising, but I really wish I got more of the refreshing herbal chamomile, and a bit more of the smoky incense. I really didn't expect this to be so sweet. But, it's nice, and I think it will age well so I'll keep it. I can detect that deep, churchy frankincense just beneath the surface and if I bide my time maybe it will come out stronger.

 

In the meantime, people who enjoy the nutty/frosting aspect will certainly like this, I think, but that element is not overly strong...so don't let it put you off if that's not your thing!

I don't know what went wrong with me and this blend, since I like everything in it except possibly almond flower, but this is a rare instance where something disagreed with my skin chemistry to the point where I pretty much had to part with it immediately. Though it has a faint, slightly sweet, ambery scent in the bottle with a hint of dusty almond, it becomes a very strong baby powder/skin-so-soft/moistened baby-wipe smell on me instantly.

 

It is not disagreeable, but I don't really want to have that particular scent hovering around me, since I prefer to cultivate a smoky, woody incense cloud. It's just not me, alas. I've never had amber turn 'powdery' on me before, and I love cedar, heliotope, etc. but everything just conspires to turn into a vast baby-wipe when it hits my skin. This could just have something to do with the time of year or various chemistry issues that might change with time, but I don't have the patience to wait and see if it changes!

I can't believe I am finally wearing Crowley! I was so excited for whatever this blend might turn out to be, and I am very pleased with the form that he has taken. Just sniffing it from the bottle I smile from ear to ear, fangs and all.

 

It reminds me very much of Dee, first of all. Dee with shades of some of the other dark masculine floral/musk/leather scents...Old Scratch perhaps and a hint of the lilac from His Station and Four Aces.

 

But overall it's that amazing smoky, musky leather wreathed in a dusty floral and soaked deep into the glossy wood of an old-fashioned study or library. I haven't worn it long enough to get the drydown but it just makes me so happy in that dark musky floral leather wood kind of way. And did I mention how much like Dee it is? It is, to me. And it makes me think of fall.

 

I'm not particularly helpful today. Just buy it, it's awesome.

I sniffed Agnes at Will Call and enjoyed sniffing it throughout the night on my skin, where it lingered the longest and strongest of all, changing slightly as it dried down.

At first it is a strong smoky burning wood like Malediction or Brimstone, very rich and gritty, sooty and ashy, woody and a bit like charcoal. I get a hint of that scent that fills the air after the end of a large fireworks display (a scent I was reacquainted with last week, on July 4!).

The gunpowder and burning scent calms down to a rich dark burnt wood, a strong vetiver (sorry, folks, but I love vetiver!) and some other strong woody scents. The faint metallic note of rusty nails does make a brief appearance early on, but it is fleeting. I can almost taste it when I smell it.

If you like your scents smoky and burny this is the way to go. I LOVE it. This is a new favorite for sure, and it combines what I love from scents like Djinn, Malediction and Brimstone in a new and exciting way.

I avoided Beaver Moon when it was released, I remember ordering the Yule scents and wanting nothing to do whatsoever with cheesecake or cupcakes. I never looked back and never regretted my decision... Until recently, as I've found that not all foody scents are objectionable on me. In fact, if there's no "butter" note, and no nuts, it can work quite well.

 

So after sniffing this a couple of times one thing became clear to me: whenever I smelled it, I'd smile. It just made me happy. I hate cheesecake, but I don't smell it at all in here. I do however love cupcakes, and frosting. And I'm quite OK with smelling like that. For one thing, it warms in a lovely way on my skin but stays true to that initial scent of pure, sweet, white cupcake frosting. Never sticky, never buttery. And it still makes me smile all the time.

 

There's a stage, after wearing it a short while, where I get a hint of something like cinnamon and I can also imagine that there is a hint of something berrylike (currant?) that is a known smile-inducer for me.

 

So there you have it. A renowned foody scent-hater, smiling like crazy and delighted as hell to have a bottle of the One That Got Away...the best darned cupcake smellin' scent you'll ever lay hands on. And that'll learn me again to never pass up a lunacy.

Dance of Death is spot-on for Tramp! I have a giant bottle of Tramp, and a bottle of Dance of Death, and they are practically identical. Melissa is not an ingredient in Dance of Death, but the feeling overall is very similar.

What they said, plus from The Salon:

 

The Great He-Goat

Mad Meg

The Smiling Spider

Two Monsters

 

all of those would be fantastic for those tastes! (which are also, coincidentally, my tastes)

 

My favorite earthy scent is Death Cap and my favorite vetiver that's currently available...hmm...Blood Kiss and Umbra probably, and Malediction, Death Adder too...

 

Typhon is definitely worth seeking out though!

My first thought when sniffing this was "Enraged Bunny Musk!" Now that I can test it, it does still remind me of it, with a bit more of a sparkling clean scent and I can see the comparisons to a Snow Angel-like lemony tea as well with extra sugar. I feel so clean I almost don't think I need to take a bath! But I probably do...

I don't know what whiskey smells like, but I know rubbing alcohol and whoa, this is unbelievably strong in the imp. I feel like I'm going to pass out from it. I have my doubts at first as to whether this can even make it onto my wrist. Turning my nose away, I put a tiny dab on my wrist...and wait.

 

The horrific strong alcohol smell fades almost immediately and there's a boozy, slightly fruity, woody smoke scent for a bit, which is more promising. I have an absolute horror of alcohol but I like many wine-tinged scents, go figure.

 

Very quickly, this turns into burning autumn leaves -- a scent I've long wished for in the BPAL catalogue. Still a whiff of something distant in the background that recalls wine-soaked wood but the rich scent of burning autumn leaves on a chill wind is foremost. This is just perfect!

 

Absolut bonfire! I will have to try the imp out some more in the fall, autumn breezes might sway me in a bottle direction despite my misgivings about the rubbing alcohol phase. Considering that I am a devout teetotaller it might amuse people that I smell like a wino when first wearing this!

Wow, would you believe that for my entire life I thought this was a Bosch painting? When I was a child I would stare at Bosch paintings for HOURS in my mom's art books, and I guess that because this is similar in style, it imprinted on me as such. And to think that despite 12 college credits in art history and a lifetime as an art-lover it took a perfume to shock me into realization with that!

 

Embarassment aside, this contains a lot of my favorite things: earth, vetiver, sage and I do believe that I like balsam of peru. Not such a fan of the cinnamon, though bark seems okay (c.f. Geek, which I love). Bitter almond also was my friend in King of Clubs even though I normally hate almond. Mandarin...is okay. What we get here is largely a deep, earthy, rich vetiver scent, with a sweetness that borders on being chocolatey. I think bitter almond confuses my nose.

 

It is almost too strong, with almond and mandarin trying to distract me with hints of sweetness, and the dry sage and cinnamon bark emphasizing the blasted, dry, chaotic hotness. This is a scent that would work similarly well for a Bosch painting, come to think of it.

 

Cinnamon bark and bitter almond are a little too strong in this in the middle stage, and I just want to get back to earth and vetiver and other deep dark scents. I wore this to bed and fell asleep before I could tell what the drydown was...and in retesting it, I'm still waiting to find out what happens after a couple of hours.

 

As a scent, it's definitely something I'd consider a bottle of because I like rich earthy scents, though it is fairly similar to The Great He-Goat in terms of being a strong vetiver...the strength of almond and cinnamon in this might be too much for me to wait through though. As an interpretation for this incredible work of art, it's spot-on, with all of the colors of burning earth, the chaos and contrast and surreality.

This was such an obvious one for me I didn't hurry to order a bottle and I didn't rush to try on my imp. I knew what it would smell like and I knew I'd love it! What I didn't know was whether it would be too much like Count Dracula to warrant bottles of both.

 

Oh hell everything always warrants its own bottle who am I kidding?!

 

Just as I expected this is a nearly perfect clove scent. At first I thought it was a particularly sweet clove, but I think that sparkling sweetness might be coming in a little from the wood and the musk. Dark musks sparkle just a bit. What a lovely woody spice. I don't like cinnamon-spice, I like clove-spice. And the natural pure clove scent is perfectly grounded by the dirt-like patchouli and smooth woods.

 

It's like a long lost clove incense I've been pining for, for years. Now I can wrap myself in it again. It's similar to Count Dracula, sure, but if you like clove and woody/patchouli scents, the more the merrier. I only have an imp right now, but I suspect that will be remedied at some point in the future.

 

Oh, and the funniest thing is, it really does smell like this scent is smiling. The wicked twists of soft black musk, spiking the sweetness around the edges, curls it up in a dark little smile.

Cancer '07 reminds me at first of Blue Moon '07, which I also haven't written a review for yet because I don't know how to describe it. Both are watery -- glassy, even, with a sense of clarity and vivid blue-green blooms or leaves swaying in rain or ponds.

 

This also has the succulent wet vegetable smell that is also in Blue Moon, a crisp leaf drenched in dew, an oddly neutral scent, not sweet, not herbal, just...wet and vegetable-like. It lifts up on my skin a little, with some vaguely floral notes swaying underwater. A misty garden soaked in dew with the first leafy greens of spring. Dreamlike, a fainy herbal-fruity scent (which come to think of it reminds me of a few shampoos)...fades very quickly though. I think this would work best in a locket for me, but I do enjoy the early stages on my skin. It's always overcast, unseasonably cool and rainy this week and I am just loving these odd watery scents I've been trying all week. Perfect for this time of year (a cool, rainy June, spent in the garden).

 

Oh yes and I don't really smell sweet pea, which is good, because that note can tend to completely take over a blend on me.

It's taken me a couple of days to get around to seriously testing this one, which really jumped out at me in the imp but I knew I had to test it without anything else confusing my nose. Pink pepper is the only kind of pepper I think I like, because it's not super hot and doesn't burn my skin. It's just sort of spicy and warm, and really smells very gingery. Perhaps the honeysuckle is encouraging that, but it's just got a great, ginger-spice kind of thing going on, a very sunny fresh smell. Amber as always is warm and beautiful, giving this tremendous throw and staying power.

 

Fans of Shub might enjoy this if they've ever wanted their spices playing in the garden wearing a pink bonnet. Just barely floral, a tad nectar-sweet, a golden bath of amber light, but overall the feeling is one of alert, bright spices. This one's gonna be huuuuuuge. You have to try this is you like spicy scents and even though there's no ginger listed, I'd say if you like gingery scents you will like this.

I remember looking at the notes for this and thinking...."lavender monofloral honey?!" and screaming with delight. Honey and lavender are uniquely beautiful together (c.f. The Oblation) and the idea of a honey note buzzed out of lavender really piqued my interest. I forgot all of that when I was sniffing imps of course and my only note on this blend after first sniff was "lilac/apple blossom?" because of the strong scent of powder.

 

It is, in fact, the lilac that is strongest here. In nature it's my favorite flower to sniff in the spring, but in oil form it is a little too powdery most of the time. Cherry blossom might also be contributing to that. It becomes almost unbearably powdery after a short while, but it settles down as honey and sandalwood join forces to rein it in and provide a sort of dry stability (sandalwood) and enduring sweetness (honey). I am apparently blind to pear because I don't smell it in this blend and I don't seem to ever smell it in any blend where it is present.

 

Overall though it is a bit too much on the powder scale...but when it dries down a good bit it really does remind me of the fresh lilac that I love so much.

I'm having an oddly aquatic week -- after getting bottles of all the new Thunder Moon scents as well as rounding up some older watery things in this week of nonstop June rain, I feel like I might drown!

 

It's hard to place what this smells like in the imp, but when I apply it, it reminds me of honeysuckle, actually. Although it does not smell like Selkie, I again get a sort of "water and honeysuckle" feeling. Green stems, rain-drenched honeysuckle. I think that must be the lychee providing that sweet nectar scent. Then it takes a turn away from sweetness, while black plum (my beloved black plum, one of my favorite notes) adds a touch of fruity sourness. Above it all is the aroma of freshly brewed jasmine tea.

 

I imagine being in a teahouse in the rain, while outside bamboo bends in the wind and the sea churns, throwing moss and foam on the shore. Inside the teahouse we are warm, sipping our jasmine tea and eating tiny tart-sweet fruits that drip with nectar.

 

Gorgeous in really unexpected ways. I was not expected to be so transported by this scent, but I'm thousands of miles away. The sudden transformation from that sweet rain-soaked nectar to a warm, comforting jasmine tea might be a trick of my skin, but it's one I'm very happy with. The fact that a musk is present in this blend (green musk) is probably the reason why it has such a strong presence and throw, and comes to life, revealing new layers, once I apply it.

I can't take close-up pictures with my cheap-ass camera (hey, it was free) but if there aren't any photos up later I'll scan them.

I sniffed this on my wrist for hours throughout the day as it just seemed to get better and better, and then I'd refresh it with another swipe to enjoy it from the beginning all over again, like putting a favorite song on repeat.

 

There are so many "yay me!" notes in this, that have tremendous throw and staying power on me, even if they don't jump out on the initial sniff. Honey and frankincense, primarily, can keep a scent going all day, constantly glistening and sweet and sensual. But the dominant scent through all of it is a gentle peach. It reminds me mainly of the peach blossom note I've come to love in many many scents recently. After that, the hint of bitter almond, which I recognize from King of Clubs. They are gentle and natural and never smell like pie or anything like that. However I DO get a hint of that "chocolate" scent that others have described. Faint but definitely present.

 

In the later stages, honey and frankincense reach their most soft and golden glow, warm and throbbing, gently nudging the last remnants of peach into the air. Languid and haughty, sensual and decadent. I have way too much perfume right now to contemplate a bottle, but this is one of my favorites from this Salon installment, and a bit of a surprise since I wasn't sure how these ingredients would all play together.