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Argentwolf

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Blog Entries posted by Argentwolf

  1. Argentwolf

    Aglaea

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Excolo
     
    In the imp: Oh my goodness, this was a beautiful scent. It actually brought tears to my eyes for a moment because it was so lovely. Very sweet, definitely redolant with peach, though I could also smell the warm tones of the musk and, I am assuming, amber around it as well.
     
    Wet: Very sweet and peachy. The fruitiness and sweetness predominated.
     
    Dry: The muskier tones come back, but the peach is definitely not to be undermined, and conquers all. It is *almost* a little cloying.
     
    Verdict: I really like this scent, though I am almost thinking that it would be better as a room scent, as unfortunately I think it tends to get a little sour and cloying on me. I'll be willing to try more of it, though.
     
    What I liked: The peach, and I think I liked the amber.
     
    What I didn't like: The fact that yes, I think musk likes to misbehave a little on me. Though thankfully it's just a little.
     
    Overall, I can live with this scent, I just don't feel like it's *perfect* on me. It's so gorgeous, though, that I can't give up on it. I wonder if it would work in a locket, where it is warmed by me but not in contact with my skin. I'll keep the imp around but hold off on getting a bottle for a while, I think.
  2. Argentwolf
    Vanilla with sweet palm date, with the oakmoss and ginger giving it sort of a warm undercurrent. If this would have had any throw at all, it would totally have been on my MUST BUY NAO list. However, it is really, really lovely, and those who prefer to keep their perfumey pleasures all to themselves, to be sniffed discreetly from their wrist throughout the day, are really in for a treat with this one.
  4. Argentwolf
    Hm, odd. The first time I tried this, I got all clove and spices and balsam and a hint of orange punch. Not wicked at all, but certainly yummy. Over the day, it morphed into something woody, and by the end of the day was getting a bit soapy...but it behaved so nicely for the majority of its stay that I was willing to forgive that.
     
    Now that I'm sniffing it again, I get primarily bitter mandarin orange, with some balsam or cypress...something sweet but woody. That's a bit more...wicked, I guess. Perhaps things had settled -- I didn't really bother with rolling the imp or anything, this time around.
     
    In both cases, however, I very much like it. I'll need a bottle.
  5. Argentwolf

    My First Order

    By Argentwolf,

    My very first BPAL order came today! I brought in the mail just a few minutes ago. I was excited, but made myself linger over the box, because I love to do so when opening any kind of present.
     
    I had ordered six imps: Absinthe, Aeval, Aglaea, Agnes Nutter, Aizen-Myoo, and Akuma. (Yes, I meant to do that.) Agnes is not available as an imp, as I found out soon after I had placed the order, but whoever had packed my box had kindly substituted Al-Azif for it instead. Hee! Thanks for understanding my wacky system, whoever you are!
     
    I received 3 frimps as well: Fruitcake (I have heard much talk of this scent), Tushnamatay, and Wrath. I love how Wrath is so cutely furious inside its vial, bright cherry red compared to the others.
     
    Mmm, and the very sweet, faint scent that caressed the packing materials, as if to reassure me that these were not going to be like any perfume I had yet smelled. Lovely...
     
    Thank you, oh BPAL dieties. I can't wait to embark on my explorations...what a wonderful way to celebrate the Solstice...
  6. Argentwolf

    Angeronalia

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Limited Edition: Yule
     
    In the bottle: It's hard to describe...I'm wanting to say it's an 'herbal' smell at first, because the light, fluffy notes that I would normally associate with florals aren't there. It's a very down-to-earth scent, instead, though as I huff deeper and longer, that sweet note does rise to the surface; I'm assuming that's the gardenia.
     
    Wet: This scent has warm tones to it; it speaks to me of a candlelit ritual or gathering, one that centers around radiance and joy, where wreaths of olive leaves and pure white flowers adorn everything. It is verdant without being excessively flowery; all of those thicker, heavier notes blend together and come to me; while I can't pick out olive blossom, honey, lemongrass or patchouli exclusively, I can definitely tell that they're *there*, based on the 'texture' that the scent gives off. I'm afraid this really isn't doing a very good job of saying what it *smells* like, other than that it's warm and earthy and OMG so nice.
     
    Dry: Unfortunately, after a while it wears off and gets very faint, with just a hint of sweet floral remaining. I'm sort of surprised that I couldn't detect the citrus notes at all, but that's okay.
     
    Verdict: This scent is divine! I'm so glad that I got a bottle of it; the very down-to-earth quality of it is what makes it beautiful to me. This is another one that I would recommend for people who do not like traditional 'sweet' florals, who like a bit of solidity to their scent.
     
    What I liked: I'm definitely a fan of scents that have 'body' to them, which this one does. To me, it's a nice mix of sweet flowers and warm, crisp herbs; it completely makes up for the disappointment that was Alecto. I'm also pleased that the patchouli behaved itself; years of being around people who over-apply patchouli has made me wary of it, so I'm absolutely happy that it's worked out in this blend.
     
    What I didn't like: Though it would have been nice to have smelled the nectarines and oranges, it probably would have made it a completely different scent. I'm happy with this as it is, really.
  8. Argentwolf

    Burial

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Bewitching Brews
     
    Piney dirt, mostly. Not a rose (or any other flower for that matter) in sight. Not bad, but it doesn't linger long, and I don't think it would be a 'me' scent, anyway.
  9. Argentwolf
    Category: Ars Amatoria
     
    In the imp I could smell musk and a hint of lemon. It was a very elegant mix.
     
    As it joined with my body chemistry, the lemon grew a little bit stronger. Unfortunately, it grew faint and wore off really quickly. Just not for me.
  10. Argentwolf

    Devil's Claw

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Rappacini's Garden
     
    Like many of the Garden scents, I find this one a very green, viney sort of scent. Up close on my skin, there's a more pungeant, earthy scent -- I can see where some people were getting the 'burnt tires' vibe! This doesn't have very much throw; it hugs my skin throughout the day. I actually sort of wanted to like this simply because so many people seem not to. It's decent, but not awesome enough for me to need to keep.
  11. Argentwolf

    The Gaoler's Daughter

    By Argentwolf,

    Peachy flowers. While the peach note is really pretty, on me the notes just all meld together into a very generic sort of sweet-fruity-floral scent. It's a bit like a girl who is very pretty and sweet and demure, but also very vapid, and easily-forgotten. I'm sure the character this is based on is *nothing* like that, but it's the personality that seems to be put forth by this blend, to me at least.
  12. Argentwolf

    Himerus

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Excolo
     
    This is lovely.
     
    The juniper adds a very nice, grounding effect for the other woods, because for some reason sandalwood seems to do odd things on me that are not always pleasant. Together, the woods form a nice base, and there is a bit of spiciness from the juniper, I think, that creeps up every now and then, as well as bergamot. The florals lurk in the background; I can detect just a hint of lilac, just enough to make it especially sweet and pretty.
     
    A very pleasant, romantic scent, in my opinion.
  13. Argentwolf

    Blood

    By Argentwolf,

    Category -- Bewitching Brews
     
    This is pretty much the sweetness of dragon's blood. Early on, the cherry and clove make for a tart note that can be detected close to my skin, but the dragon's blood pretty much takes everything over and is the most easily-smelled. It's a durable scent with a nice amount of throw. It reminds me a lot of my first love, Wrath. I think that a side-by-side comparison of both Blood and Wrath are in order.
  14. Argentwolf

    Bordello

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Ars Amatoria
     
    I had a hard time envisioning plum as an appropriate scent, but this fits the bill entirely. It really does seem like the sort of perfume that a five-dollar whore would wear (in 1880 dollars). It's sweet and feminine but definitely not innocent; it's one of those ladies that makes a point of putting a roll in her hips to make sure you keep following her up the stairs. Lasts all day, like a working girl should. Another winner!
  15. Argentwolf

    Absinthe

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Bewitching Brews
     
    I could not wait to try Absinthe today. I was worried that I would either not wear enough to scent it beyond initial application, or slather it on and overwhelm everyone around me. But I think I did okay.
     
    In the imp: Very lemony. Oddly enough, when I sniffed the applicator, it had that very strong "Lemon Pledge" scent, while in the imp itself the lemon was more subdued and woody...it reminded me of the inside of a wooden cabinet that had been maintained with, perhaps, lemon oil.
     
    Wet: When first applied, it was still quite lemony, though not in an obnoxious way; it quickly toned down to more of a lemon-drop sort of smell -- sweet and sugary. As it dried, the anise hints came through, in a very soft, sweet way; and very quickly, these two scents blended together into a very pleasant amalgam.
     
    Dry: The scent was delightfully subtle, and yet deceptively strong; I couldn't necessarily smell it on myself, but I would find myself scenting just the faintest hint of it if I would walk back over an area I'd just covered. It lasted all day. I would say that the scent was more 'woody' than herbal -- perhaps that's the wormwood? And around the edges, there was that faint, sweet snap of citrus from the lemon.
     
    I really, really like this scent. I'm trying not to make it my favorite just because it was my first, but hey...shouldn't your first time be a sweet, wonderful experience that you *want* to repeat? Preferably, yes. I'll consider buying a bottle of it later on.
     
    Notes that I liked: The lemon. This may mean that I like citrus scents.
     
    No notes that I particularly disliked. I was afraid about the anise, but it was subtle and behaved itself quite well.
     
    Qualities that I liked: The faint woodiness of it, definitely the citrus snap around the edges, the subtle strength and lasting power.
  16. Argentwolf

    Arkham

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Picnic In Arkham
     
    In the imp: Wow. It really does smell like an old person's house. Like...cleanser and very artificial air fresheners trying to cover...something gross. Eeek.
     
    This scent morphs quite a bit. When first applied, the florals are predominant, in an almost sickly-sweet way, though having them in open air on the skin does wonders for the geriatric-home smell. Then, there's pine, trees, woodsy scents...perhaps the moss as well. Definitely a sense of earth and loam and undergrowth there.
     
    When dry...it actually smells a lot as if you'd come to a halt on a forest path, and were scenting the trees and ferns around you. I'm not familiar with Eastern US trees, but there's definitely a pine smell like Douglas Fir, cedar, redwoods...that's what it reminds me of.
     
    I don't believe it's for me (and it didn't last long on me at any rate), but if you like nature scents perhaps you should give this a try.
     
    I rather like the way that it morphs around, as it's an interesting phenomena. However, the florals are just too...artificial-seeming, to me. I compare them to something like Aeval or even Amsterdam, and they just don't stack up.
  17. Argentwolf

    Black Pearl

    By Argentwolf,

    Category -- Bewitching Brews
     
    On me this is mainly iris with a sweet, creamy undertone of coconut, though every now and then they trade places in predominance. It's a really light scent on me that seems to fade all too quickly.
  18. Argentwolf

    Kabuki

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Ars Amatoria
     
    Initially, I got lots of syrupy cherry with a hint of cinnamon; subsequent uses brought out the licorice. Now, it's blended (in that very mysterious way that a lot of scents seem to have gotten their shit together a month after I originally tested them) into a nice mix of cherry and anise, with the licorice smell diabolically present and tempting. I was on the fence about getting rid of it, but now that I've read the reviews again, I think I'll hang onto it. :love!: It stays and throws decently.
  19. Argentwolf

    Mourning Moon

    By Argentwolf,

    October 2008 Lunacy
     
    This was actually the first lunacy that I ever purchased, and it was a really great choice.
     
    Initially, I get a light, sort of tart citrus scent -- definitely grapefruit, there. As it dries, it quickly picks up...a sort of body and depth, from the violet leaf and other, darker notes, while the citrus notes keep it sweet and feminine. This is a beautiful, rich, classy perfume, not entirely woeful to me; more like the air of a mourning widow who is determined to keep her head held high and keep carrying on. There's a sort of sad determination to it, as well as a hopeful appreciation for the beauty of life in the here and now. Truly gorgeous.
  20. Argentwolf

    Iron Phoenix

    By Argentwolf,

    Limited Edition -- Anniversary Scents
     
    To me, this is a smokey scent -- like smokey musk. There is a bit of herbalness...the sweet basil lurking just beneath -- but for the most part I seem to get black pepper, smoke, and dust, and if the dragon's blood is there it's acting like incense for once, instead of being ultra-sweet as it usually manifests for me. This is a manly scent, but one that I don't mind wearing...I think I can decently rock it. Smoke, stone, and iron -- very fitting for this phoenix!
  21. Argentwolf
    Category -- Bewitching Brews -- The Conjure Bag
     
    This is a bright, intriguing blend that, yes, is full of courage and hope. Like many of my favorite plant scents, this one seems to come from the roots and stems and leaves of plants, rather than all the pretty frou-frou petaled parts. It's like sunlight and glowing sap. Really nice.
  22. Argentwolf

    Bensiabel

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Marchen
     
    Initially, this is plum, leather and musk like woah. After a bit, it softens, and the lilac comes out. Believe it or not, this is a fairly manly sort of floral. I am discovering that plum is one of my favorite notes, and this perfume does not disappoint. It has good staying power and some pretty decent throw from time to time.
  23. Argentwolf

    Amsterdam

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Wanderlust
     
    In the imp: It's like sinking your nose into a bouquet of tulips, literally -- that light scent, with an almost peppery air to it, like pollen, all dappled with drops of water.
     
    Wet: The light tulip scent is predominant, though the scary pollen edge to it is gone. It's very evocative of lush green grass in the morning hours, laden with dew. I don't get a 'crisp' note so much as a 'juicy' one: plump tulip heads, thick blades of grass, fat drops of dew sliding down the sides of them all.
     
    Dry: It's as if the sun has come out and dried the grass; now it has a sort of moist, healthy air to it, the tulip scent almost ethereal, with a more traditional 'perfumey' note to it..perhaps that's the peony.
     
    Verdict: Oh, if only this had more throw, and lasted longer! It's beautiful! Once again I am in awe of the perfumist's art of being able to capture such imagery in a bottle. I would highly recommend this to people who like unadulterated (non-perfumey) florals, nature scents, and possibly to those who like aquatic scents. I hate to discard it anytime soon, so I will probably hang onto the imp for a while at least.
     
    What I liked: The light floral scent, and the fact that it smells like a grassy yard in springtime. Mmmmm.
     
    What I didn't like: That it's so shy! It just sort of pokes its head out to show me that it's pretty, and then evaporates. Wahhh!!
  24. Argentwolf

    Black Annis

    By Argentwolf,

    Category -- Diabolus
     
    The licorice/anise component stands out the most for me -- which is great, because I love that scent! It is framed subtley by faintly-woody tones...so I can sort of see how one could get that 'witch in the woods' imagery. As time passes, it turns extremely creamy -- as if I had put on some anise-scented lotion. Which would be great, if I actually had lotion that smelled like this...but is sort of disappointing from just the oil.
     
    I would have loved for this to have more throw. It has very decent staying power -- I could still smell it, on my wrist, at night when I went to bed -- but it is too subdued for me to really desire a bottle of it.
  25. Argentwolf

    Loup Garou

    By Argentwolf,

    Category: Diabolus
     
    I really wanted to like this one, both for the name and ingredients! All I get is pine trees and eucalyptus, though, and it's not even that awesome. It could have been the heat and sweat, but even with trying to slather it, the scent just disappears. So sad.
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