VioletChaos

On 2/25/2025 at 12:33 PM, artisjok said:

The box landed with me yesterday!! I’m excited to go through everything properly, but I thought I’d mention how when I opened the box to have a little peek, the peppermint leaves on the top of the pile was so fortuitous. I kept meaning to buy some recently to restock my herb stash, but forgot and forgot. 

Box tetris is always mostly chance, but I'm glad it worked out in your favor!  

14 hours ago, Greenwoodtree said:

 

I've been feeling that life in general is a major struggle and growing by leaps and bounds.....

I relate to that assessment on ALL the levels.

14 hours ago, AbbyNormal said:

Oh that sucks! Hopefully they get it fixed soon and you can go back to regular water service 

The water was tested and deemed safe to drink, finally, YESTERDAY. It was *not* an amazing week. 😕 

The box is off and running, winging its way toward @artisjok at breakneck speed (well, decent speed: according to the PO, you should get it around Tuesday!  ) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!  

 

1 hour ago, AbbyNormal said:

By caffeinated bean from the Olympic peninsula do you mean the Rainshadow coffee? If so it’s my favorite! I tried it last year when I went to Sequim for a knitting/fiber retreat and have been ordering it ever since I got home. 

Yes, that's the one!
We had a water main break here 3 days ago, so brewing coffee has been hard, but I'm hoping to make it in the next few days once we're off a boil order! 

The swap box hath landed, repeat, the swap box hath landed!

Wife and I spent a lovely hour picking, sorting and sniffing all the goodies, and whoever put the VERRRRY strong-smelling wintergreen tea in there, we thank you- it's my partner's favorite flavor, and she is over the moon with this fresh acquisition! As for myself, I took a few one-cup-wonders, mostly stuff to try on cold, sleepy winter evenings. The "big" items we've taken under our wing are the bag of AH.maze.ing smelling french roast decaf (which we will try tomorrow morning!), the caffeinated bean from the Olympic Peninsula, and the blackberry Celestial Seasonings tea. 

The offerings I'll be putting in the box include a FULL tin of dark chocolate hot cocoa mix, a cat-shaped tea strainer and about a dozen stuffed-full packages of tea from all my travels around France, primarily from the big tea houses in Paris (Damman Freres; Mariage Freres) and offerings from a sweet little teashop in the tiny southern town of Nérac. I'm including SO many things that the box has to get an upgrade from Medium to Large size (I'm moving soon, so I definitely went a little overboard  )

Anyway, I anticipate sending the box back on its merry way in a few days 💝

On 2/13/2025 at 10:40 PM, The_Garnet said:

I mailed the box today! And the wood-fired decaf is still in there safely!

I admit unabashedly that I am SO excited the decaf shall make it to me after all!  

Hello everyone!
I am back at home and ready to receive whenever it comes 'round to my turn!

15 hours ago, Gwydion said:

If it's any comfort, i'm a tea person, so it will survive to the next person at least.

fingers crossed! ❤️ 

On 1/11/2025 at 5:43 PM, Greenwoodtree said:

The box is packed full, mostly new tea. Added the final package of local small-batch wood-fire roasted decaf coffee from Cafe Pacori - the best french roast decaf. drip grind.

Will be mailing moonday as planned.

Oh man, I know it's a long shot since I'll be going last but that wood-fired decaf sounds ah-maze-ing and I sure hope I get to try some!!!

Here's my time update, everyone- I'll be leaving town on the 18th of this month and will be gone approximately a month, so go ahead and move me to the very bottom of the list to be on the safe side! 

On 1/2/2025 at 8:45 PM, AbbyNormal said:

@VioletChaos, I’m number 3 but willing to switch with you if that makes it easier. It might even work better for me as well since we are in the throes of inventory chaos at work for the next few weeks. @Greenwoodtree, feel free to swap us if everyone is ok with it. 

@AbbyNormal and @Greenwoodtree I guess we can all just keep checking in about it and if I'm available I shall let that be known, otherwise I can go to the bottom of the list if needed.

I'm listed as fifth on the list but was hoping for early january. I maaaay be traveling later in this month or in February, so if it's not immediately, then please just ping me and I'll confirm I'm set to receive in whatever order I wind up in  

A frottle from the Lab- thanks, Goblins! ❤️ 

In The Bottle: Quite berry-forward because of the cranberry, and I think the lemongrass is doing that thing of lending kind of a "fruit loops" vibe to the state of affairs.

Wet On Skin: As the scent warms up, it begins to open and shift, going from the above to something definitely more complex.  I'm getting some combination of those deeper musks and the coconut husk and probably also that sandalwood in the mix for good measure. The berry and lemongrass is still in there, but now they're gently sweetening a much more grounded, deep scent. 

Dry Down: Wow. I really wasn't anticipating this would work out for me, based on some of the notes, and certainly on some of the reviews above. Perhaps it's literally just the fact that this scent has had well over a decade to age, or maybe I'm just lucky. Either way, I am incredibly excited about where this has landed. The wisteria lends the faintest powdery whiff, but this scent is mostly about those musks interplaying with each other and with the coconut husk and a bit of that sandalwood. It's soft and warm and cuddly but also verrrrrry sexy.


In All:  I'm delighted to have received this in mid-December because I gotta say, this scent seems like a *perfect* deep-winter accessory, both for a day snuggling up in a big sweater and a good book, or snuggling in the sheets with a friend  

In The Bottle- A dark, gorgeous lavender cologne. Something that a devious gent might wear whilst walking through Whitechapel after a suspiciously close shave at the barber's.

Wet On Skin: Much the same, but as it warms there's...something lurking underneath. I wish I could be more specific. It's something to do with the tar, I think, because it does register as thick and syrupy, but NOT the lavender itself.

Dry Down: There's a vague aquatic hidden in the depths (no pun...) of the scent that reveals itself only in this final transformation. It's exceptionally salty, and I think THIS is both the "lurking" I sensed earlier in the process and also the thing that shadow-blackens the fougere. It's briny salt, and gentlemen's lavender cologne and a lavender resin. This is what it's boiled down to on me.

In All: medium throw. I am cautiously optimistic ('cautious' because aquatics usually go horribly awry with my skin chemistry, alas) - there's enough that's absolutely in the GOOD category, that it's (at least for now?) balancing out the question of the murky brine.

I will keep my bottle and see what happens in the aging!

SMITTEN.

Smitten smitten smitten!

If you take the rich, dusty, vanilla of ORIGINAL Antique Lace - not the 2017 reboot, we are talking OG, mid-Aughts- and you replaced the faded florals with a powdery violet, you get this gorgeous specimen right here. I know we like to talk a big game 'round these parts, things getting compared in such and such manner to Antique Lace- I know. I KNOW. 

But I'm telling you, if you are even a LITTLE perked up by my assessment, you NEED to try this. You will be deeply saddened and have only yourself to blame when I hoard all existing bottles and won't share

Kidding aside, this perfume is a standout. Don't be fooled by the idea of "just" two listed notes. This is an absolute keeper. ?  ? ?? ?

This scent is...bizarre. I don't know WHAT I'm picking up on but this perfume gives me very similar unsettling vibes that I get from Laura, another scent that deals in the afterlife, though in a very different way. It morphed dramatically and continuously for about 20 minutes after application. I was getting random occurrences, like fresh cucumber (?!?) and other things that had nothing whatsoever to do with the listed notes. 
 It reminded me, during this stage, of stuff that's not unpleasant, but that I don't necessarily want to smell like, like herbal shampoos from the 80's, for example. But every time I would be ready to write it off as a failed experiment, it would shift again- always dramatically- so that I kept questioning what was happening.

When it did, finally settle down, it became another of the complex, stand-outs from this crop of Spirits. I still get none of the primary notes except maybe -MAYBE- a hint of orris. But even *that* is questionable, as it smells like no prior orris scent I've tried. 

But it keeps me coming back for more. 

As with other Evening With The Spirits fragrances, the scent has something intensely ephemeral and translucent about it: it's not heavy on the skin, it snaps clean when any type of categorization tries to get too close. It's otherworldly, though not in a "distant planet" way, but rather exactly as intended: the Other World to which we all must go, sooner or later, and what such a World- and its inhabitants- might smell like.

Very low throw, delicate, vaguely floral but n a funerary capacity and also vaguely scented with death, not in an earthy way but rather how we encounter the freshly deceased when we pay final respects.

I will DEFINITELY wear this the next time I visit departed loved ones. ❤️ 

I had NO inkling of what to expect from this scent, but it was too compelling to pass up!

In The Bottle: I get hints of the aldehydes, the pith and a thin rind of that ambergris. But it's all incredibly ephemeral and fleeting somehow, which is ENTIRELY the point, so we're off to a great start!

Wet On Skin: The mineralic musk really starts to show itself (I recognize the "mineralic" aspect specifically from the Mineralic Amber note in the Hair Gloss from earlier this year and paired with the musk is just as compelling! The metallic aspects are also showing up more at this stage than in the bottle. It can go either way, but so far I'm enjoying the inclusion.

Dry Down: Another of the 2024 Yules that has surprisingly low throw. I had to test-apply twice just to get a decent scent sample! I'm not complaining, merely stating that it's been my experience that the winter-released scents tend to be dense and rich- stuff that can be smelled over heavy clothes. Then again, the Evening With The Spirits are all about a light ghostly touch, so maybe it's right on the money just the same!

In All: Fabulous addition to the Spirit collection and the Yules more generally. I got this one because I was sad about the non-return of the Air and the Ether and while this scent is very different in composition, the essence of it is quite similar, and for that, I am grateful. ❤️ 

In The Bottle: Blueberry-pie-filling blueberries. Definitely not the fresh kind, but these are YUMMY for sure!

Wet On Skin: hints of the limoncello start to emerge, as does little whisps of the buttery crepe. The pie filling is still present but much fainter at this stage.

Drydown: I get little whiffs of powdered sugar- not directly listed as a note, but not a surprise that such a thing would be in the mix. The blueberry peeks out a little bit more than during the wet stage, but not the HEY Blueberry! that was happening in the bottle, either. 

In All: low throw, a surprising "skin scent", a term I generally reserve for light musks. In this case, it's by no means an over-the-top gourmand as the description might suggest. It's incredibly delicate- which in itself conveys the spirit of the scent, in my humble opinion. That said, you might just want to slather this confection, just for the yum of it! 

This is EVERYTHING I hoped it would be.
I had tested - and foolishly! - discarded last year's Lavender Rosemary Baguette, and spent the better part of this year lamenting my missed opportunity to get a bread-forward scent when I had the chance. So I was ecstatic when I saw another iteration of bread made it into this year's Lavender Kitchen!

In the Bottle, it's all bread, all the time. Just fresh-baked yummy, drool-worthy, fresh-baked bread. 

When first applied and throughout the initial dry-down process the lavender in the blend LEAPS forward dramatically, to the point where I briefly worried that the scent would be HEY LAVENDER! (oh, hi, bread) but it didn't stay in that place for long. 

Upon full dry-down, the scent finds its real footing just as the description promises: a beautiful warm-fresh loaf into which lavender has been lovingly baked.

Medium throw, and a perfect daytime winter scent. I am over the moon that I grabbed this so soon after the release: now the question is merely how many backup bottles to grab! 

 

My tea collection is full to bursting and I always enjoy this swap. I'd like to join, with a preference for January as well, please!

I got a bottle of this on a lark to travel along with my Griezzell Greedigutt bottles- I hadn't even tested it at NYCC when I had the opportunity but I suspected, based on notes alone, that this would be a keeper, and it sure is!

In the bottle, the butter, sugar and cream are all up close and personal and the richness of the blend are practically mouth-watering.

HOWEVER, that changed pretty quickly on application, so if you're not a fan of gourmand scents, do not just write this off- you want to skin test before making up your mind.

After warming and through full dry-down, the scent morphed a few times in subtle ways until the end result was quite a bit different than where we started, and now I've got a lovely vanilla skin musk that reminds me more of the blossom and less the bean. There's quite a bit of warmth with this scent and I imagine I'll get alot of daytime wear out of this over the next 4 or 5 months of winter weather. This is the scent equivalent of curling up in a soft oversized sweater and reading a book on a snowy day. It's really one of those "comfort in a bottle" kinds of scents.

Mid-throw, so dab sparingly until you know how it'll go with your personal chemistry. I anticipate wearing this also to bed, and likely layering this with any scent that feels like it needs more grounding or more sweet warmth.

?

I had the chance to test this at NYCC last month so I knew going in that I'd need two bottles! 

In the bottle, there's the rich, loamy scent that I associate with both Graveyard Dirt and also Penny Dreadful. But there's also something with a bit of spice to it, which I think is the combination of the oakmoss and the tonka, which can smell vaguely vanilla-foodie. 

As it warms and dries, the tonka steps back as more of a supporting player and the freshness of the lichen steps forward in its place. It's not overpowering- earth/dirt/soil fans, rejoice, the scent remains quite earthy-forward, so if that's your jam (as it is mine) then this is definitely for you. 

I will say, though, this is not the pure dirt experience of Graveyard Dirt, which is, of course, a single note. If you require your earthy scents be tempered with something else, this achieves that same balance as Penny Dreadful- the earth is an unmistakeable star, but there's definitely more going on.

In the full dry down, the scent gains a further complexity, and I'm picking up on a slight hint of a dark floral that reminds me, just a little, of Laura, from American Gods.  Perhaps there's just the *slightest* edge of something reminiscent of the formaldehyde note, but it's not intense or off-kilter in this blend. I've NO idea what I might be picking up on, but it just makes me like this scent all the more (maybe it's the bog aspect?!)

Anyway, the scent has a low throw as earthy scents tend to, and I both like it as it is, and can also see myself layering this with either Graveyard dirt to amp up that aspect or maybe with a violet-forward scent, like Serpent Qui Dance or Random Brothel, to lend another layer of sweet/freshness to the mix.

DEFINTELY as good as I recalled!  

23 hours ago, Liquid Sword said:

This fragrance sounds right up my alley. How is the throw and lasting power? 

The throw is surprisingly low given the profile. Still, I always personally recommend starting with a drop- you can always go up from there if you want it to be stronger, but if you amp it, it's hard to come back from that in the initial application  

The lasting power for me is several hours. But it depends on 1. how much I've applied 2. if my activities make me sweat and 3. how dry my skin is on a given day. If I had to round it out, I'd estimate about 4 hours, give or take.

16 hours ago, goddessrobyn said:

any of the other (post Halloween) holiday swaps coming?? Thinkin' of Wolfie, Krampus, etc but really... it seems like this round of 13 nights FLEW and I am already missing having something to sceme over 

Seconding these feels!