enigmae

Like Samhain, but softened. I can detect the oakmoss and balsam, and the vetiver too, which luckily is not too strong. It’s darker and more subdued than Samhain. In fact I prefer Samhain, but this is a nice alternative for something softer. This is the nighttime counterpart to Samhain’s daytime fruitiness. I really like it, but it stops short of love.

First impression: I love love love this. I get the pine and tomato leaf right away, followed by the cranberry and blackberry leaf. I wasn’t sure what to expect from tomato leaf, but it adds a nice spiciness.

 

This blend is just so HAPPY to me. It’s a tad Christmas-y, so maybe that’s what’s doing it, but not overly so. It’s not a “keep sniffing your wrist” blend, it’s a “hold your wrist to your nose until you have to come up for air” blend. It’s been a long time since I had one of these gorgeous discoveries. Apparently it’s also a cure for a stomachache, since I’ve had one for the past hour or so and now it’s vanished. Probably a Top 10…but I think my top 10 might have to turn into a top 20 pretty soon. The much-later faint drydown is even better than I could have imagined.

Very, very fresh and green, almost like a freshly cut pumpkin stem. That's the apples too. Now it’s becoming a little spicy. It tones down a lot and turns into soft, spicy apples, positively beautiful and cheery, and I can almost taste them! A clear, crisp, clean apple note. But maybe a little candle-y for wear as opposed to a room scent. I’ll have to try it again.

Initially reminds me of the Body Shop Mango perfume, which was pretty much what I wore a decade ago. It is spicier though, more full-bodied and less one-noted. The clove makes it rather autumnal. I like it a lot, but the clove is rather strong so I'm not sure how often I would wear it.

Initially it’s water and woods, with a hint of greenery. Somewhat masculine. It gets greener and greener and more floral, very pungent and almost bitter. Soon enough that goes away though, and it’s just a very fresh, clean outdoors scent that’s very evocative. I'm not sure if it's "me", but I like it enough that I'll try it a few more times before reaching a verdict.

This has the GOOD jasmine (night-blooming). It’s not as cloying or overwhelming as regular jasmine to me. The beginning stage is a soft and sexy floral, but then the ylang-ylang makes it go all generic powder on me.

I get the aquatics and the florals, but there is an overlying smoothness and dirtiness that is almost creamy – it must be the clay. I also get the “spike of frost” which is rather piney. It’s like a floral, darker Snow Moon, which is one of my favorites. I really like the beginning stage. However, after drydown it’s a little too sharply floral so I’ll have to try it again.

I ordered this because of the mouth-watering “fruit salad” description, though I was leery about the banana. This is one of the few blends in which I think I can actually pick out *all* of the notes. The banana is not too overpowering, and the coconut is perfect – gives it a creaminess so it’s not pure fruit salad. It’s wow – gorgeous. It’s blended so well that it smells more like perfume than food. 5 ml for sure.

Fruity and refined at the same time. Definitely lavender and lotus. The colors I’m seeing are purple and green. It is very regal-feeling. I like it, but I’m not a huge lotus fan so it’s not extraordinary enough for me to keep, and it gets a little too “dry” for me. However, in terms of interpreting the concept I think it’s dead-on.

Dragon’s blood plus uncomfortably sharp floral. It softens and gets better, but is ultimately just too floral for me and the other components don't come out enough.

Somewhat salty and aquatic, but toned down by the creaminess of the dragon’s blood. Becomes a little ozoney. I usually like dragon’s blood but can occasionally get tired of it. I don’t know what to think about this one – it starts doing the powdery-ick thing but then it turns into something better – maybe try again.

Berries and snow, with pine. I love this at first, but then the almond creeps in and sweetens it up too much. I’m glad I got to try this, but there are other snow/pine blends I like much better, that aren't so...nutty. Me and almond are just not friends.

For some reason Tenochtitlan is extremely sad to me. Almost too effective to wear it, and it's such a lovely scent.

I wrote this review last year and never posted it - just got out my bottle since we had our first snow of the season this week.

 

First I should probably say that the pine/fir notes are possibly my favorite. Snow Moon goes on a sharp pine with a touch of cold sweetness (the flowers), and dries down into the most lovely floral/pine scent that is almost more fruity than floral. The floral aspect is perfect because it's not "traditionally" floral, not cloying or powdery at all. I can detect the white rose, which is the only one that works for me and one of my favorites (think Dublin).

 

It's a great substitute for Skadi – in fact I like it better as it’s missing the touch of bitterness Skadi had. The flowers also have a similar vibe to Arkham. Just gorgeous, and makes me happy. Top 10.

I find Aegis does exactly what it says - gives peace of mind. I'm not sure about the protection or guidance part of the description, but I used it last night after a particularly anxious day and was immediately calmed. I put a dab on each wrist before going to sleep, and it felt very powerful, like it was radiating soothing energy.

Midnight Mass is freaking gorgeous and I can't believe I only have one bottle. It's woody (woodsy?) but soft. There is almost a fruitiness that comes out too that really sweetens it up. Maybe pine? The more I smell it the more I love it. It's meditational. Might be a top 10. I really hope this comes back next year.

Oh, how I love this. It is piney, woody (more like the green smell of everything in the woods than actual wood itself), with a touch of berries or other fruit. Reminds me just a little of Arkham Revisited, though AR is brighter and this is darker and more night-time mysteriousness. It has a deep woods/wilderness feel. The drydown brings out some florals, but not overwhelmingly. Lorajc mentioned this scent was recommended for “inner peace” and that’s exactly the feeling I get from it. This is one of my favorite blends.

With my latest order I got a postcard with artwork that looks like it could be Harry Clarke, but I can't be sure. A man and a woman wearing long dark robes and then two other groups of people in the background dressed similarly. It captured my attention so I was curious if anyone knows the name.

Could be due to browser compatibility also, if you're not using IE. Firefox gives me trouble with shopping carts sometimes.

In the bottle, it's pure hazelnhut coffee. On my skin, the Irish creme scent comes out, followed by the "old books" scent that others have mentioned, and they all blend together and become gorgeous. When I was in college there was a coffee shop inside the main library, and this takes me back to that place.

 

It makes me feel grounded, and a bit...studious, perhaps? (Not necessarily a bad thing, I feel like I can concentrate more easily - maybe the caffeine associations!)

 

A winner.

I don't know how similar it is, but I was wearing Vixen and someone thought it was Shalimar. May be worth a try.

I liked this in the imp - lovely almonds and something exotic. But as soon as it hit my skin it turned powdery/soapy with a little rose. It does the same thing that Follow Me Boy and Desire did on my skin. Must be the rose.

Scarecrow is one interesting blend. It started out with the nail polish scent others have mentioned, with an almost watery quality. Not bad though. Then it turned into green apples (nice) and then became more floral. And then BAM - the grass and hay scent completely took over. And I like that. The more "nature-y" the scent, the better.

 

With time it dries down and becomes a little more perfumey, and there is a hint of something I recognize from Follow Me Boy. FMB didn't work on me at all, but this does so I'm intrigued by the similary between them.

 

This is something I like to smell, but I'm not sure if I want to smell like it. I'll be pondering that before I give it a final verdict.

I really like Wolf Moon. It starts out a kind of buttery, herbal, outdoorsy aquatic (but light on the aquatic) and dries down to a nice floral. Then later the initial scent makes a reappearance. I agree with the Dublin comparison - it is very similar, but is more night-oriented, with an edge, while Dublin is brighter and more of a daytime scent to me.

 

It's also very evocative in terms of imagery.

 

I am a fan but not sure whether I'll try to get more, since I like Dublin so much.

Follow Me Boy turned to powdery diapers on me in the drydown. Must be something in it that's just no good with my skin chemistry. I think whatever it is is also in Desire, because I'm getting the same vibe from Desire after drydown.