VioletChaos

O Jove much-honor'd, Jove supremely great, to thee our holy rites we consecrate, Our pray'rs and expiations, king divine, for all things round thy head exalted shine. A smooth vanilla myrrh, streaked with cracks of java vetiver, styrax, and coffee absolute. In The Bottle: A lovely soft coffee candy scent. A mix of the coffee and vanilla-myrrh, obviously. It's a goof start- the myrrh isn't doing the baby-powder thing thus far that it usually does in my presence. *fingers crossed* Wet On Skin: Same, but with the java vetiver creeping in and a range non-food sweetness? Is this the styrax or the myrrh doing something unexpected? Dry Down: Coffee and baby powder In All: Well, I gave it a shot, but this is what myrrh does with my skin. I keep hoping and the rest of the notes in this gave me good reason to hope but my chemistry just won't allow it. To the rest of you, the hints that I got before all hope was lost would indicate that this scent is otherwise a lovely, yummy coffee scent. My loss is your gain- off to the swaps I go!

The black tea, sweetened by the cream - but only slightly - is the first impression to greet my nose. The rose is subtle, but a fresh, just-cut rose, not a stuffy-lady kind of rose. The whole impression is delicately sweet and light and very refreshing! Yes, I will surely use this in my own front sitting room, but I can see using it for sure in my linens closet and bath as well. Just lovely!

In the Bottle: a sweet and beguiling swirl of resins. Wet On Skin: the frankincense, wood and sugared honey all start to assert themselves as individuals now. So far, the myrrh is behaving admirably- I pray that continues! Dry Down: Someone else mentioned this scent being "chewy" and I concur! Although it's different, there IS a chewy aspect similar to french tobacco notes. The frankincense and polished wood are coming together beautifully and it's all very rich and good for cold, blustery days!

In the bottle, behind a healthy bit of the same red wine note found in my beloved Glühwein, I, too, pick up on the odd undertone of coffee. It's rich, like a turkish coffee note, but far more subtle. Once it's wet and warming up on my skin, it shifts, the coffee essence disappears and is replaces by the sweet oudh. Oudhs are shape-shifters on my skin, morphing differently depending on the supporting players. In this blend, the oudh gives a kind of rich support that brings to mind myrrh, without the terrible baby-powder that afflicts me with that unfortunate note. The end result is a decidedly sophisticated scent that's somewhere between a debauched night involving sherry spilled on a crisp linen nightdress and a nod to a no-longer-available perfume that Betsey Johnson debuted in the mid-90s. I'm hoping the oudh will age as well as the wine, and something might transform to become a little more heady and perhaps incense-y. Right now, I like it enough to keep, but not enough to start wearing in regular rotation. :/

At first sniff, I mostly get a spicy plum. Though others mentioned cinnamon specifically, that's not what I'm getting. More of a spice *mix* as one might find in spice cake. As it begins to bloom, wet, on my skin, it's becoming more and more spicy, sultry. It reminds me a little of Kyphi incense with a bit of plum wine dashed in for good measure. In all, it's a strong, sweet, rich spice scent. I sadly get no rice pudding, which I was very much looking forward to. However, I think this has the potential for loads of sexy wearings and am hopeful a bit of aging will do it some good.

In the Bottle: Straight up Dorian. No footsie-ing around about it! Wet On Skin: the fougere aspect is particularly strong in this version, at least at this stage. Unlike Frostbitten Bliss, which I got equal measure of Snow White and Bliss, this, at least for now, is ONLY the strongest, most cologne aspect of Dorian and nothing more. Dry Down: Alas, it's stayed the same. In All: I've enjoyed the recent forays into Dorian exploration that have come out this year that I've tried (Spinning on Graves, Paper Phoenix) but the frost note in this has had the effect of taking the delicate balance of Dorian's components and, unfortunately, amping the ones that make me smell like a dude-bro out at a bar on a Saturday night I'll give it a chance to age, but I have a feeling this will go off to the swap pile in the end...

In The Bottle: lots of creamy, light almond milk and some Snake Oil. YUM! Wet On Skin: GOODNESS! A yummy mix of faint Snake Oil, the almond milk holding its own, and now the addition of the cotton blossom I recognize (and ADORE) from Kwamie Cotton with a little marshmallowy goodness tossed in to add a sweet finish. Dry Down: This might be my favorite scent, ever. Ahead, even, perhaps (just perhaps), of my all-time favorite beloved, Dragon's Milk. It's all the notes I already mentioned, but settling into proper proportions to each other, so that nothing overpowers anything else. It all gets acknowledged for how gorgeous it is- both as individual components, and more importantly, for the exquisite way they all play together. I am head over heels in love.

In The Bottle: A warm almond scent, with a slight backdrop of indiscernible spices. Wet On Skin: The almond disappears entirely, which I'm sad about. The warmth of the scent continues, and as it warms on my skin, I'm able to pick out strands of lotus, amber and saffron. The myrrh, to my relief, seems to be behaving- a rarity, as it usually amps and turns to terrible baby powder on me. So far, so good! Dry Down: This...wow. I can't believe I went ten years of BPAL without this. I feel like Bastet is a cousin to Morocco. Both scents share that warm, spiced, sultry aspect, and considering both are influenced by a related culture and continent, its no wonder. The more she settles into my skin, the more enamored I become. This scent is heady, though sticks surprisingly close to the skin. (I wouldn't start out by altering this, though- definitely see how she does with you before diving into the eep end of the pool, as it were.) In All: I was interested in obtaining a bottle of this because I've been doing some workings with Bast lately and it seemed appropriate. And she is! I will certainly wear this scent, and also anoint candles meant for her with this scent as well. I can't wait to see how this ages!

In The Bottle: Warm, buttery salty popcorn and juicy blue raspberry slush, in equal measure. Wet On Skin: The popcorn starts to pull slightly into the lead, which I'm personally grateful for, because I love popcorn scents and that's why I took a chance on this. Dry Down: Popcorn and sweet tarts! This scent is the perfect companion piece to last year's Vampire Night At The Movies. They both share a surprisingly subtle foodie aspect, making them both good "introductory" food scents for those less familiar with that genre and also are both eminently wearable for daytime use -including a good slather- by those of us that are more foodie-obsessive. This dries to a warm, slightly sweet, extremely cozy scent. Instant favorite!

Apple, marshmallow, apricot, and sugar cane. In The Bottle: Fresh apple, apricot and a little fresh sugar cane. Wet On Skin: Hi, marshmallow! The fluffy stuff shows itself and dives into the mix, making this a sweet and fruity confection! Dry Down: The sugar cane is giving this scent a bit of roughness- it reads almost like spice, like cinnamon, but it's not cinnamon. It's something the cane note does that standard sugar doesn't do, and its giving the scent some depth it didn't have before. The marshmallow is reminding me of 2010 Boo!, which is a nice feature. In All: light throw, sweet and lovely autumnal daytime scent. If you're partial to sugar and fruit notes, you'll want to hoard this one.

I am SO thankful for the full decant gifted to me because I have been *dying* to try this scent since it originally emerged. In the vial, and when first applied it was almost all fresh Snake Oil, all the time, with a slight juicy-fruity edge under all the Indonesian spices. Within short order warming up on my skin, though, it bloomed, gloriously, into super-yummy-fried-dough-and-juicy-raspberry-jam-goodness. This is everything I'd been hoping it would be. It's basically like a cross between Raspberry Sfyugiot, Australian Copperhead and straight up Snake Oil. I really, really, absolutely NEED to find a bottle.

Raspberry pulp with orange blossom, patchouli, and a pfffffft of red musk. First, the illustration is GREAT! Really love the kitchy comic book art style, very Johnson and Smith Catalogue- so perfect!!! In The Bottle: Very candy-like raspberry. This isn't juicy, this is a sugary fruit for sure. Wet On Skin: The patchouli is showing up a little and appears to be the "red" variety, expect no "dirty" hippy patch, that's not what's happening here. Dry Down: Okay, dry down changes this a bit. The raspberry has lost some of it's sugar, and I think the emerging orange blossom is helping the cause. This is still a very bright, sweet fruity scent, which is what I was hoping for- something to herald in springtime, and the scent does not disappoint in that regard. It's definitely foodie, but not gourmand. This is a scent for daytime, and those of you with little ones, this is a fragrance you can absolutely share with them.

In the bottle and wet on my skin it's mostly straight up fresh Snake Oil. As it dries, the spices start to come out to play. Even at full dry-down, the SO overpowers most everything else. HOWEVER, I know the importance of aging SO, and my bottle of Gingerbread Snake from4 years ago started off very much like this- I've no doubt that given some aging, this scent will be a classic in its own right, eventually.

In The Bottle: Hi cardamom! I've been waiting for you!!! Wet On Skin: Lordy. This might prove to be the cardamom scent I've been searching for all my life! Sweet, spicy, with a slight hint of chai spice- I hope it stays this way! Dry Down: Yep: pumpkin cake with cardamom dusted on top. I get NO cinnamon from this, but it's a nice addition to the cake / cupcake scents that have popped up this year.

In The Bottle: Pumpkin spice and gooey chocolate! Swoooooon. Wet On Skin: More of the same. Dry Down: Oh, HAI PUMPKIN! The buttery pumpkin note we all love hath finally made its appearance and it's great! This is a well-balanced blend of pumpkin, pie spice, and a light dusting of dry cocoa. The Lab has really perfect the dry cacao note, it's shown up a lot in the last year or so, and I couldn't be happier, because Beth just keeps making scents that I adore and the dry chocolate note is a great base to use when we get tired of woods and resins. I wish the cocoa was a little heavier on me (it IS supposed to be brownies, after all...) but I can layer it with Bliss if need be, and be just delighted by the whole thing!

In The Bottle: All (very) lightly spiced cupcake, all the time. Wet On Skin: The cupcake aspect is reading more like raw cookie dough, and it's all but overshadowed the rest of the notes. Dry Down: The cupcake note reminds me of the pancakes in Brunch Witches- just a nice, clean simple sweet batter scent. Don't underestimate that- it's comforting and warm and lovely for crispy sun-bright autumnal days. There's a sliver of vanilla extract in the mix, too. I'm sadly not getting any of the chai- I keep searching for cardamom scents and they keep hiding from me! So, I'm a little sad at that.

In The Bottle: Yummy, yummy espresso and dry cocoa. Nomnomnom Wet On Skin: The espresso has downgraded to coffee, but you'll hear no complaints from me about it. Also, I detect a hard-tack crust, which might be the caramel? Dry Down: An amazing dry cocoa / coffee bean combination. I sadly don't seem to be getting any of the cheesecake aspect, but I'm not complaining: it might come out later through aging, but even if it doesn't I am pleased as punch to have another chocolate-coffee scent in my roster.

Owls are important to me as well, and Athena has been a goddess of comfort for me on numerous occasions. I, too am glad that I was able to support this worthy cause! In The Bottle: The soft powder of myrrh, the sweet resin of benzoin and lavender in the background lending a top note to the mix, but not in a floral way. Wet On Skin: The sage starts to come out as the oil wars on my skin, bringing the scent out of its heavy-resin vibe it started out with. Dry Down: It's definitely a soft scent. Not to say it's not strong- this has a decent throw, so apply lightly at first- but the champaca, sage and myrrh definitely combine to make a scent that make me think of crawling under thorny desert plants, only to discover the underbrush is lined in fur.

I am *seriously* in love with this scent. For me it's like a close cousin of Dragon's Milk, which is only my most favorite perfume in the world of all timer and forever. So, you know, no big. Anyway, as mentioned, it's soft and sweet and cuddly and just...comforting. It's really, really comforting. I hope that Kwamie is an actual type of cotton, because that's what I am picturing, just wrapping myself up in the biggest, softest smushiest blanket and taking a long nap. This won Con for me, hands down.

Blackberry pulp, Bordeaux wine, grape leaves, and wild patchouli. In The Bottle: Heavy on the blackberry, as I'd hoped for. The wine is the grape-y variety of note. At this stage, it's much more fruit-heavy as opposed to booze heavy. The blackberry note is the same one from WKAP's Blackberry Jam and Scones. Wet On Skin: Rich purple grape and blackberry in harmony. At this stage, no green leaves or patchouli to be found. Dry Down: A slight boozy quality at last emerges. Still, this is not the rich, heady one from, say, Glüwein or anything. This is more like a fruity purple sangria. While it might've been interesting to have the patch in the mix, I'm just delighted to have another blackberry-heavy scent in the rotation. In All: Medium throw and just full of juicy purple fruitiness!

This scent is kind of amazing. I intentionally blind-bought a bottle straight away because of all the Lil's this year, this was the one I suspected might require a backup bottle, and I was RIGHT. In the bottle the sugared clove is front and center, and is SO disconcerting that it reminded me of magic marker. But...in a compelling way. Wetly applied to my skin, the magic marker fades, the vanilla starts to peek out and the clove warms up, making this scent immediately something that I want to keep sniffing. Upon dry down, the vanilla comes out slightly more, the sugar note doesn't amp as it sometimes doe on me but adds a little "crunch" the way Sugar-Crusted Marshmallow Chick did. I'm not getting any of the patchouli, the clove/vanilla combination is the star of this show. As with all heady notes, I anticipate this only getting better with age. DEFINITELY need a backup bottle!

Fancy salted Snake Oil with a hint of mixed nuts. In the Bottle: OH HAI SALT!!! This is SO salt-note-heavy that it's reading like salt water or brine. I hope that levels out because water notes are *terrible* on me, but the pure salt tends to ho okay. *fingers crossed* Wet On Skin: *whew!* it seems to be calming out, with a definite nut note stepping forward. Right now it's like very salty nut brittle, since the Snake Oil is actually farther in the background than I anticipated. Dry Down: Wow. This is pretty special, and sort of exactly what I was hoping for: all the sweet, spicy complexity of Snake Oil with salty nuts tossed in! This just came today, and we all know how Snake Oil improves with age. Therefore, I'm not going to leave it alone for at least a month but if it goes as well as it's already promising, a backup bottle to age for a year minimum might well be called for!

In The Bottle: I get a sweet and soft lavender, like a softer variation of the lavender in TKO, without the sugared aspect. Wet On Skin: It starts to warm up and a sweetness is beginning to emerge- I believe this is the vanilla, as it's kind of a soft, sweet, creaminess that's coming with it. Dry Down: Vanilla lavender gentle sweet cloud of niceness! I really like lavender, but the scents are usually things I want to wear at night, to fall asleep in. And while I will certainly put this in a nighttime rotation, I am really happy to say I will get plenty of daytime wear out of this scent as well. So much so, that a backup bottle might be in order! This is a really pretty, unassuming scent. I couldn't be happier with it.

I get the mulled spices, first thing, right when I open the bottle, and it's a primary note all the way through. It's astounding, because I thought I was getting some apple at first, which doesn't do so well for m,e, but no- it really is *just* the spices, sans apple. I also get the coniferous trees in there and the pumpkin, fresh off the vine, warming it all up, but not in a foodie, or pumpkin-spicey kind of way. This scent is pure autumn, but ALL of autumn, from the first crunchy leaves through to the soft envelopment of the first early snow. I assume this is going to age magnificently, and I suspect I will wear this quite a bit in the next 4-7 months!

It's a "green" sweet wet floral in the bottle and when first applied. A little goes a long way- even before fully dried, this stuff has some THROW to it! It's lush and beautiful, though. I am picky in my florals, but I knew I needed to invest in a bottle and I was right. It's definitely got some green vine in the mix, but the flower essence is holding its own. I honestly don't know how much I'll wear this on my skin, but I can see using this in an oil burner in the dead of winter to bring summer's warmth close to me for sure.