Aldercy

When I sniffed The Nymphae Avernales right out of the mailbox yesterday I was skeptical-- it was screaming sharp, all pomegranate and high-pitched floral. However, testing it this morning is turning out to be a lot better experience.

Pomegranate and lilac are still the strongest notes at first, but then honey quickly leaps in. It makes a sudden appearance and kind of drenches everything in delicious, sunlit warmth. It actually rather drowns out the lilac (which is okay with me), but the fruity tartness of the pomegranate is still there. It's a pretty yummy combination and is kind of making me want to drizzle honey over pomegranate seeds now and see how it tastes.

I'm getting the tiniest hint of the soft sandalwood, which keeps this from becoming too foody. I also smell something else a little earthy, but it doesn't strike me as frankincense. More like oakmoss and/or fig, if I had to put words to it? I don't know what's giving me that impression, but it's very subtle.

The rose is subdued to the point of disappearance, though it is there. It's a velvety dark red rose, maybe a bit dry and crumbly. Not fresh, not cloying. In any case, it's pretty slight so those who are wary of rose could probably still take a chance with this, though of course YMMV.

I quite like this-- it's different from my other pomegranate scents and, as it dries, it really doesn't even seem like "a pomegranate scent" anymore... everything blends together on the drydown so individual notes aren't very apparent anymore. It's sweet, definitely, but "grown-up" at the same time. It's a keeper for me.

In the bottle, Sonnet d'Automne is all leaves all the time. Dark browning leaves with a bit of dampness to them, but nice. Different from my other autumn leaf scents (Falling Leaf Moon and A Blade of Grass)-- thicker and stranger than either.

 

Once on the skin, it kind of starts to dance around and do crazy things. The mushy sweet leaf note is still there at the base of the scent, but there's also something very light and silky and silvery. Like moonlight. I can see how lookingglass is getting mint from this stage of the scent development because there is a certain something to it that reminds me of the Lab's snow/slush note. It settles down though... I think maybe it's the combination of the musk and white chocolate? It's eerie but kind of mouthwatering at the same time. The amber incense makes an appearance on the drydown and bridges these two extremely different sides of the scent... it's warm, golden, sticky and smoky, but it doesn't overwhelm the other notes.

 

Overall, this is a very pleasant scent. I think it could be interpreted as a more "traditional" perfume from that light fresh musk/white cocoa thing going on, but the other notes produce a really interesting contrast and keep it from going too far in that direction. It's not a warm, spicy autumn scent, but I still think it suggests "Halloween." It's a bit weird and ghostly in a good way. I'll hang on to this one. Understated enough for work, but still really good.

 

ETA 10/2/12: This only gets better and more mellow with age.

A LOT of reviews for Elephantine Colussus mention popcorn. I don't know how easy it is to find, but I was surprised by how many people mentioned it!

 

I searched reviews for mentions of popcorn, so here are some unexpected scents that were mentioned in reviews: Young Pine Saplings, Bogle, Gollettes, Huesos de Santos, The Snack Hut, Drink Me, Miskatonic University, Feeding The Dead, Cockaigne, Boo.

 

I think it was probably me who mentioned "popcorn" in the Miskatonic U review thread. It smells like Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn jelly beans to me, but that's probably not a normal kind of reaction. It doesn't smell like that in the bottle, just on my skin, so YMMV.

Crypt King has a slightly fizzy feeling to it at first-- like a carbonated pomegranate drink-- but it quickly settles down in that respect. The patchouli begins to come out, and its advanced age is definitely apparent... it’s very thick, mellow, and sensual without the sharp dirty tang that it can sometimes have when really fresh. If it were always so mild and rich I'd probably buy a lot more patchouli scents. I love the juxtaposition of pomegranate/patchouli, and the overall feel of Crypt King reminds me a little of Mme. Moriarty.

 

After patchouli and pomegranate, oakmoss is the strongest note for me. The accompanying coffin (which is lovely) is packed with some fragrant dried oakmoss, so I’ve gotten a much better idea of what it’s like as an individual note. It’s sweetly earthy and musky and a little ominous. I think it’s what really sets the “crypt” mood for this scent. There’s a bit of spice in there as well-- more pepper than anything else, but it's still very subtle. There’s also something that reminds me a bit of cedar though I know that’s not a listed note.

 

I don’t personally smell any dragon’s blood (assuming dracaena is similar or the same as dragon’s blood) or lilac. If anything, there’s just a tiny, almost imperceptible hint of floral cream in there. I don’t even normally like lilac as a note, but if that is the lilac peeking out, it’s unusually nice.

 

While Crypt King is very dry, dusky and serious (though I don’t think it’s set-in-stone masculine or remotely cologney), it’s pretty unassuming. I applied about my normal amount of oil, but it doesn’t have a strong throw. It’s a shy, gentle, almost bookish scent with a drop of sexiness and a slightly larger drop of death. Really masterfully blended.

 

Love it!

Yep, smokey resins (and no lilac, really, except maybe a hint of sweetness on the edges). But it's not a gritty sort of smoke, it's very smooth, almost polished. Like soft waves of liquid resin rather than burning incense. It's mostly frankincense and styrax to me. Even the musk is pretty subdued. It's a little strong, but definitely pleasant.

OMG, this scent. I've had this half decant lying around forever and I've ever sniffed it in the vial without testing, though "Oh, that's kind of nice," and put it away again. But something made me skin test it today and... wow.

 

Chocolate almost never works for me. It turns to plastic or waxy Tootsie Rolls. The only cocoa scent I've really ever liked is Gelt, and I can occasionally like Velvet. But otherwise, they're blegh. Wulric, however, is delicious.

 

The chocoalate does not get weird, it stays true to a dry, bittersweet cocoa, earthy and warm without being too foody. The vanilla is not very apparent, actually, but the other supporting notes are. I am confounded by how good lavender is with cocoa-- they don't seem to go together at all, but the herbal blue astringency of the lavender actually compliments the chocolate perfectly. The clary sage is working the same way. I get just a little bit of vetiver/musk/citus but it provides a nice resinous smoky backdrop for the soft floral chocolate thing going on in the foreground. I love this!

I'm so glad this thread has been resurrected! It's always been one of my favorite places on the forum.

 

Well, we certainly are an interesting group of people. I love how the longest scent lists per character are for Bellatrix Lestrange, Luna Lovegood, and Severus Snape. Shows what we care about.

That cracked me up, too, especially in comparison to how many there are for Harry himself - and that there were none for Ron until I brought it up a few weeks ago!

 

I was a bit saddened to find there weren't many suggestions for Dumbledore, who is my favorite character. No. 93 Engine is, so far, my favorite blend for him, but I'd love to try more. Anyone have any other ideas for Dumbledore? ETA: I love that Aureus was recommended for him, too, because it's such a sexy scent to me, and I've always said that I would be all over a younger Dumbledore, despite his proclivities.

 

Dumbledore... let's see... I totally agree with No. 93 Engine, Aureus and Odin (this last speaks to his extreme power and his more warlike moments).

 

Ded Moroz (Golden amber, white amber, redwood, teak, rosewood, sage, tree moss and snow) reminds me most distinctly of Dumbledore. To me, it's a warm but distant scent that has a sort of wise, stately sadness to it. It's gentle but solid. Something about it makes me think of silvery robes and golden books.

 

Croquet (Pink lime, pink grapefruit, white nectarine, wild rose, sage, woody patchouli, bergamot and hedgehog musk) brings to mind the silly Dumbledore, the Dumbledore of the early books. The Dumbledore who eats Every Flavor Beans and walks around humming to himself, wearing purple hats and joking about chamberpots and stuff. There's a certain English ridiculousness to that scent, in my mind.

 

 

P.S. Regarding poor, neglected Ron:

 

I agree with the suggestions of The Lion and A Howl in the Darkness (the description sounds pretty animalistic and dark, but I remember it being "happier" and a little lighter than expected). While the description for The Ring actually sounds really perfect and appropriate, I find that scent so feminine and traditionally "pretty" on me that I have a hard time thinking of it for Ron.

 

Other suggestions: I know it was put forth for Harry, but I really love Tristran for Ron (Dust on your trousers, mud on your boots, and stars in your eyes: redwood, tonka bean, white sandalwood, lemon peel, patchouli, rosewood, coriander, and crushed mint). I haven't actually tested this one, but I just feel like dusty trousers, redwood, tonka, lemon, patchouli and mint all scream Ron. That's the best scent I could think of for him.

 

March Hare and Huesos de Santo also kind of make me think of him-- they're strong, humorous, foody, "orange" scents to me (ever since Snape referred to "[Harry] and his orange friend" in Potter Puppet Pals, I think of Ron as "orange").

I have dark rose blends, red rose blends, white rose blends... but I can't say that I've ever liked any rose scents that struck me as "pink" until now. Hope definitely has a rich velvet pinkness about it, but it's lovely-- not fake or girly or watered-down. There's a raw, white sugar glaze over the rose base that's just gorgeous. The "texture" of the sugar note is really interesting to me-- crystallized and gritty, but a little melty and scorched, too, like it's been briefly blow-torched for creme brulee. Overall, it's a beautiful scent.

 

I love the simplicity of this. You know exactly what you're getting, yet it's not flat or one-dimensional. If you have even a little affection for rose, you've got to try Hope.

I too find that Tattered Lace does fade more quickly than the average scent and has a light throw, but it's not so weak that wearing it isn't worthwhile. I just had to apply more heavily than I normally would.

 

The main body of this scent is definitely a woodsy vanilla coconut. As someone who doesn't care for coconut that much, I think this is something that could please coconut-lovers and non-coconut-lovers alike-- the coconut isn't very strong, and it's not a straightfoward, fruity white coconut note either... it's a light, tempered, smoky-sweet coconut that blends really well with the other notes. The vanilla is a little foody, but not overwhelming or cupcake-batter-y. The frankincense keeps it all grounded, keeps it from getting too gourmand.

 

I also get a bit of sugar-kissed weak tea, but I don't think I'd know it was there if it wasn't listed. The silk note slithers around in the background, just lending some smoothness to the scent's texture-- it does seem related to Black Lace's linen. I don't get any cognac, per se, and the opium is definitely subdued if it's there at all. Every once in awhile I think I get a hint of its sticky blackness, but then it's gone just as fast.

 

It's a very quiet, comforting scent. Maybe even a good bedtime oil. It has a kind of poofy, feathery, marshmallow (I don't actually get marshmallow as a note, but it brings that image to mind) quality about it. It's kind of a blurry scent... like a dream or a watercolor. If I think of it in terms of color, I think of ivory and sepia tones.

 

Not like anything else I have, and I definitely like it well enough to keep it.

I didn't like this at all in the imp-- just smelled like weird chemical smoke-- but it does better things on the skin, which is good because I was really looking forward to Evil.

 

I love opium as a note and this definitely delivers it. A surprising amount of juicy red plum gets through the haze as well. I also gets bits of the green tea (very clear, clean and almost floral against the sticky darkness of the opium) and murky ambergris. Only a hint of-- almost honeyed-- tobacco. It combines into a very rich, deep scent (deeper than any of the other RPGs I've tried-- I was beginning to wonder if they were all deliberately light to make for better layering) with a lot of different scent families combined into one warm, enticing whole. It is not actually particularly wicked-smelling, but it is dark and powerful. I really, really like it.

Elf is a spring-like, refreshing scent-- kind of airy and ghostly but cheery at the same time. I get fuzzy green leaves, cool and dewy pink violet, and genteel musk. It's light, herbal and a little fruity. I also seem to get some notes that are not at all listed: hints of citrus (bergamot? or grapefruit? but not overly tart) and a touch of salty-sweet sea foam. Surprisingly, I don't really get any amber or honey. No pine or evergreen either.

 

I think this would layer really well with a lot of the Classes and Alignments. It's not overwhelming in any way.

Good is aptly named, because it is fantastic. It's not my usual type of scent, but I love it. I actually don't smell a single floral note in the imp or on skin, nor any trace of vanilla. Luckily, nothing goes powdery.

 

I get a lot of honey, but it's an unusually complex honey-- it's both clear/crisp/crystalline and delicately foody/herbal. The musk is positively glittery-- a bit of pale musk, a bit of skin musk, a bit of sparkle. I get some blonde wood notes as well, but not polished, cologney wood... natural, sweetly green, sap-filled wood. Everything's got a dusting of raw sugar over it, but it's somehow still not overly sweet. The overall effect pretty much smells like heaven, which is appropriate. I could definitely layer this and happily make all my characters good. Definite bottle.

Yep, very "white knight" with the soft ivory leather note and bits of ethereal ozoney metal and distant musk. I get no vanilla at all, and only a hint of "dust" from the frankincense. It's extremely light despite a heavy application-- kind of feathery and translucent. It's a shiny, bright, clean scent, but I don't find it boring or overly generic. I think it will probably be better if layered with another RPG or three because it's just so, so light, but it is still a nice scent.

Does anybody else think there's an enormous difference between coconut and black coconut? I love the latter to pieces (Red Lantern, Death Adder, Antonio the Carny Talker... YUM), but am picky about the former and tend to amp it to the point where it's no longer enjoyable. The only "regular" coconut scents I've liked are Black Pearl, Beanman & Beanwoman Prepare to Attack the Vagina and White Rose. The first two were probably just luck and I actually can't smell any coconut in White Rose.

Dark resins, lots of musk, a faint aquatic note and hints of medicinal herbs. It's a slightly odd combination-- the olibanum, myrrh and blue musk form this dry, rich base, but the top notes are thin, cool and bitter. I keep waiting for one layer or the other to ultimately take over, but neither ever does-- one just sort of floats on top of the other. The overall result is like dusty, rather severe incense. A little astringent. Not a warm or comforting scent. It's not exactly what I was expecting, but I don't dislike it.

My favorites were The Ring and Standing Female Nude. Just AMAZING.

 

As for returning scents, I love Red Lantern, Valentine of Rome and Parliament of Foules.

 

It was actually a really good update for me. I never THINK I'm going to be into the Lupers, but I do end up having a high success rate with them.

Indeed, the oil is completely opaque... milky, almost. I've seen dark oils or oils with chocolate sediment, but never something just full of clouds like this.

 

The scent is shockingly weird, at least at first. From all the Will Call and prototype reviews, I was expecting something slinky and instantly, recognizably sexy. But in the bottle and wet on my skin, it's... baby powder? grape? ass? and watery red musk? Whaaa? No one ever mentioned the "South Asian" musk as being a red musk or related to a red musk.

 

As it dries, it does improve. The musk (still... reddish) kind of melts into the sandalwood and frankincense and loses its fake grapey edge. Other notes start to appear, but they're all kind of muddled together, too, and I don't get anything of the tobacco, tonka or juniper. It's resinous and perfumey with lashings of oddly herbal caramel. It's wearable now-- and kind of interesting-- but I'm having a hard time knowing what the hell I think of it.

 

Maybe it needs some time to settle down. I'm really interested to see further reviews of this.

I feel like this must have more elements than vanilla and chamomile! Under the SUPER SWEET herbal vanilla (not at all plasticky, by the way), I feel like there's a citrus note, a white floral note and a kind of spiced ozone note. Lots going on, but it's hard to get a good grasp on it. It's warm, but wispy and magical. Girly and traditional, but with an undercurrent of strangeness to it.

 

I do like this, but I'm not sure it's really my kind of scent.

Liz is lovely. I can't think of anything else just like it, but here's a few smoky sweet things off the top of my head. Maybe you've already tried some of these, but...

 

Mommy Fortuna is sweet floral honey on me with a veil of smoke. Might be a little dark for you, but it is definitely sweet/smoky and not too heavy.

 

I don't know how you feel about dragon's blood resin, but Dragon's Hide is bright red fruity sweet with a spike of smoke and leather.

 

Velvet is foody chocolate-vanilla, but the myrrh gives it a slightly smoky base.

 

I have a hard time describing Inez but it's musky/floral/smoky/sweet, and very pretty.

In the decant, I mostly got sweet screaming violet from Time Does Not Bring Relief, but it really develops on the skin. I'm getting a lot of natural, rustic beeswax and smooth Egyptian musk with a hint of flower-sprinkled resins. The leather is almost absent to my nose. It turns out to be very pretty, but mild and subtle. Nothing about it is in-your-face or powerful.

 

It reminds me a little of a warmer, more down-to-earth version of Giant Vulva with the beeswax, musk, copal and light blossoms in common.

Decidedly manly, but honestly delicious. Why don't I have a man on whom to slather this?

 

Highly musky, bittersweetly resinous, woodsy... but there is a bit of mossy citrus and stiff white linen in there lightening things up. It's an unusual, rich, warm, layered scent. I don't really think I can wear it often or in large quantities because it has considerable throw (it's lovely, but does really does come off as "traditionally" masculine to me), but I'd like to have it around to sniff every once in awhile.

The wood is coming off as a bit cologney, but in a pretty light and inoffensive way. They're sweet, cool, well-blended wood notes, and I actually don't get any rosewood (which I can usually pick out easily) specifically. The apple is, to me, a mixture of blossom and fruit, but more the former. It ends up a pretty, clean floral with thin woodsy undertones. I like it, though not as much as I'd hoped. The decant is definitely enough.

Richly fruity, resinous rose-- it's a very red, juicy, almost hot rose, somehow. The blood orange is not a distinct note (a good thing, I can kind of amp orange), but there's a bite of citrus that really adds a sparkling depth. The myrrh (which gets stronger and stronger as it dries) keeps everything in check and serves to darken what might otherwise be something a little too girly for my taste. I'm not actually getting a lot of musk, but that's okay, because this is already very fine and complex.

 

The decant will definitely be making a home with me.

Mangoes, mangoes everywhere! It is grounded by the duller, heartier tomato note (it's a hint of tomato leaf, but also actual tomato, I think), but I don't really get any red musk (shocking! usually it's kind of a show-stealer) or fig. Very interesting.

 

As it dries, however, the fruitiness does start to go powdery and artificial on me, and ends up smelling a bit like perfumey tropical air freshener. I'm certain that's just my skin chemistry though-- I have a hard time with fruit notes-- because it's amazingly true and unique when wet.

 

Well. I'll hang on to my decant for awhile, but it's not looking promising.

*SLATHER*

 

Oh, wow. The Ring is heart-breakingly beautiful.

 

I think I can pick out every single note... the thick amber, mild spicy patchouli and cool skin musk are probably the most prominent, but they're all there, every single one of them. I'm surprised by how well-behaved the patchouli is-- it's just a very delicate earthiness, really-- and how good the hay turned out. Hay can go kind of nasty and dusty on me, but not here... it's like a sun-baked golden field (the note is a little reminiscent of Pa-Pow, though the scent as a whole is different). Weirdly, it's got a faintly foody sweetness to it, but it's not actually gourmand. It's something of a mix between herbal, gourmand and a sexy skin scent. I don't even know how that works, but it does.

 

Instant hit in my book. I MUST have a bottle.