GhillieDhu

The Arabian Dance is fantasticakes. At least while it's wet. It's like walking in the city on a damp winter morning, nursing a delicious hazelnut latte and wearing a leather jacket borrowed from your sophisticated older boyfriend (who left one of his expensive cigars in the pocket). Comforting and sexy at the same time. There's something fresh and almost lemony-floral in here that I want to say is nutmeg or mace (the spice), or maaaybe coriander. (Edit: Looking at the previous review, I'm probably smelling cardamom, maybe in combination with one of the others..)

And then, just when I'm thinking, "OMG, is this actually a BPAL leather I can wear?!" - it dries and goes straight to "leather" car freshener with a hint of clove tobacco underneath, and stays that way. *sigh* Might look for a full decant to use in a scent locket, though, just because it's SO gorgeous wet.

Try if you liked: Pinched With Four Aces, Dee.

In the imp and wet on my skin, Phoenix in Spring smelled like airy sweet black cherries. As it dried, the cherry note shifted more toward blossoms, dandelion came out rapidly, and the combination was so perfectly SPRING for a few minutes... and then skin chemistry happened. It turned into bitter crushed dandelion stems under a ridiculously fluffy and flowery pink-and-white cherrysplosion. Neither of those elements is bad, per se, but the combination just didn't work for me as a perfume.

So I passed the decant on to my mother, who said it smelled like perfect fresh-cut carnations, asked how long it was available, and promptly placed her first ever direct Lab order. And we all lived happily ever after.

Disclaimer: This was tested from an exceedingly cold bottle, as my lovely postperson decided the box wouldn't go through my mail slot EVEN THOUGH THE LAST HALF DOZEN FIT JUST FINE. I may have to edit my impressions once the oil's settled - hope not, though!

Ooh, Phoenix in Autumn is lovely. I wasn't quite sure about it wet, as the notes didn't quite seem to meld right, but it's getting nicer and nicer.

Wet: Fresh-cut teak , smooth sweet patchouli, and bitter green ivy.

Drying: The ivy fades into the background and the teak smooths out. Tonka is just starting to make an appearance. Smells like expensive teak furniture with a whisper of patchouli and crumbled leaves.

Dry: This would be great on a man, but it's not so masculine that I feel uncomfortable wearing it. The notes blend so seamlessly now that it's hard to pick out individual scents, but this Phoenix is mostly a teak and tonka bean show with musty dry leaves underneath and a hint of green sweetness around the edges. Surprised the patchouli isn't more prominent on my skin, but I think it's just adding a harmonious middle note to the teak-and-tonka chord. Never did get any coffee.

I like this, and I'm betting it will only get better with age. 4/5

Try if you liked: The Antikythera Mechanism, Falling Leaf Moon, Samhainophobia.

Mostly wet, black, squishy earth with a bit of fungusy edge, very like the dirt note from Zombi. Dead brown grass trodden into the mud and crushed green stems, along with a hint of what's probably an aquatic note but is making me think of rotting cucumber vines. This isn't a frosty cold scent, just chilly and damp.

I don't know whether this is more like turning over the ground for your spring garden, or like tromping through an overgrown field in late fall on the first clear day after a week of rain.

Beautifully done. Not the sort of thing I'd wear as a perfume, but I'd like to have a room spray of this to use in hot, dry summer weather. I know Mom will love this one!

Try if you like: Planting Moon, Graveyard Dirt, Zombi, Destroying Angel.

Purchased at my mother's request and tested on its way to her. This is the sort of scent that I love in theory but know better than to buy for myself, because 99% of watery or airy notes don't work on my skin. With that caveat...

Aquatic cologne. Very nice cologne, though. It reminds me of Love's Rain scent, actually, except more grown-up and with a squeeze of lemon on top. If I wore Cool Water-type scents, I'd probably adore this.

If your skin doesn't explode ozone and aquatics, I'm guessing this might resemble a fall version of Amsterdam - the flowers are gone and the grass is turning brown, but there's still that feeling of clear running water and open space.

This sounded like it could be SO GOOD, but The Russian Dance does weird things on my skin. At first it smells like dry, leafy resinous patchouli, similar to Aureus and Greed. Then it turns into fresh-baked dark rye bread, which I suppose is appropriately Russian, and also is a nice smell, if unexpected. Unfortunately, there's a funky ammonia-ish hint of bathroom smell underneath it that comes out after half an hour. Tea just doesn't like my skin, and I suspect it's inciting one of the resins to bad behavior. Alas.

Wet, Mother Ginger smells like fresh ginger and cake, with just an edge of lemon. As it dries down it becomes more candied, buttery and pastryish, and more and more familiar... animal cookies? Graham crackers? Aha! Walker's Scottish stem ginger shortbread!

Once dry, the buttery note intensifies and is joined by heaps of vanilla sugar. Now it's graham cracker pie crust and a big slab of ginger shortbread slathered in buttercream frosting. Not a bad smell, but I don't think I could even eat something this rich, let alone wear it. Oh well, someone else will love my bottle more.

2/5

Wow! ITA with those who said this smells like the best part of Samhain! The "rain" note is lovely and un-soapy, but unfortunately disappears within five minutes of hitting my skin. After that it's all smoky crisp leaf-pile (yes, apple and maple leaves!) shifting aside to reveal sweet, spicy resins. A neat midpoint between Beth's "perfumey" blends and her ultra-realistic nature scents. The resin/wood combination in this reminds me very much of Schwarzer Mond '08 without the sexified musk, and the rainy burning leaves note is what I hoped to get from October.

Final word: OM NOM. One bottle might be enough... but then again, it might not be.

This is the more naturalistic Autumn to Passionate Shepherd's stylized Spring. (Looking at the notes, no surprise there... must be the ivy and heather.) A dark murky ivy green, a touch metallic from the sage, with bits of fresh-cut grass and snapped branches, and something dark and just a bit acrid. I can't quite place it... could be smoldering peat or wet leather. Can't pick out the anise, which is a relief. It smells like Scotland. Or at least how I imagine the Scottish Highlands would smell, anyway, on a misty still morning getting on toward winter. This is surprisingly wearable! I love "planty" scents, but often they don't love my skin...whatever the dark note is, it's grounding the fragrance just enough to keep it from going soapy. It should be nice in the oil burner as well, though.

Dole of the King's Daughter (Red roses, blood-flecked lilies, upturned earth, yew branches, and blood mingled with river sand) sounds like a perfect match for Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue's "Where the Wild Roses Grow", especially the video.

I got serious "lady musk" from Skuld. Even more so than O. I think it's the combination of honey and ylang, but I would not feel comfortable wearing it out of the house!

October. Dead leaves, smoke, sap, and cool breezes... it's a 2007 LE, but worth tracking down if that's what you're looking for. I think it's still pretty easy to find. One of last year's Halloweenies, Ichabod Crane, might be worth a sniff if you like White Rabbit and lilies.

For GC, I strongly recommend Nemesis. it doesn't get a lot of love, but it's a gorgeous complex scent, rich without being heavy, and the combination of fig with herbal and spicy resin notes is pretty autumnal. Verdandi is a nice crisp herbal apple. Second Yggdrasil as well, or Alecto if you can wear cedar. Penny Dreadful is very "fall" to my nose, like dirty baking spices with a bit of floral.

Have you seen the new LEs? Some of those look good.

I have to say this isn't at all my usual type of scent, but I like it! The combination of rose, musk, and amber is old-fashioned in the way that, say, a vintage Guerlain is old-fashioned - goes straight past "grandma perfume" into "classic". Immediately upon applying, I get ROSE! tempered by something dry and powdery and barklike. The rose in this is rich and incensey like the one in Thanatos. The brown musk is a soft, "furry" musk, no trace of skank here. In the drydown, this is an inviting woodsy, dusty amber sweetened by just a hint of rose. Reminds me of the famous center panel of the Bayeux tapestry for some reason.

This was a lab frimp, and I was terrified of it. I've had things turn to motor oil and metal on me that weren't supposed to, and don't like it at all. But the Robotic Scarab is lovely! It's mostly bright, volatile red-gold frankincense, with fiery spices (oddly, I smell more cinnamon than anise) and a touch of black leather. There's a hint of something that might almost be red wine in the background. This feels almost more like a ritual oil than a perfume to me. Not sure whom it would invoke... some bright, dangerous god of fire, artifice and sensuality.

Another perspective: my mother tried this and gets mint and eucalyptus. ?!

On me, this is dirt for a few moments, then goes to freshly snapped delicious pole beans, just like the ones in my yard every summer. After 15 minutes or so, the beans fade and I'm left with soft wildflowers and misty rain. It's quite a lovely gentle floral, but not my style.

This bottle was actually ordered for my mother, and on her it's long-lasting garden soil with green overtones of beans and tomato leaf, and no flowers whatsoever. We were both a little surprised, but she loves it, so that's good!

Skin chemistry for the fail, yet again. :/ In the bottle, I smell mostly tobacco leaves and sweet caramelly whiskey. On skin, it smells like... well... "old people" was my first thought. Like a dark closed-up house, ancient tobacco, and that sweetish nursing home/hospital smell. I'm sad... I really wanted to like this.

Um... woah. Hi, vetiver! This is a very sharp, smoky, marshy vetiver note - if you've smelled Santa Muerte, it's that same overwhelming blast that quickly dies down to a vague scorched and blackened background presence. I basically get vetiver and Constant Comment from this in the drydown... nice, but not worth smelling like a burning swamp during the wet phase, at least to me.

Another frimp from the wonderful dpoulsen21.

Light, golden-green and summery. Beautiful grassy dandelions, the same green notes as in Roadhouse without the beer and tobacco. I love this! It vanishes after about 20 minutes, else I'd be hunting down a bottle.

o_O My nose must be broken, because in the imp this smells EXACTLY like Dots gummi candies. You know, that sticky, sugary, slightly starchy fruit scent that wafts up from a freshly-opened box. I can't bring myself to skin-test it.

Edit: Never underestimate the BPAL. Tried this one over the weekend and while it went on fruity-sweet, there's something underneath that stops it from being unapologetically candy. I went to do something else and forgot about it for an hour, and then caught a waft of something and thought "Oh, wow, what is that delicious smell?" Yup, 'twas the Panther. Slinky, velvety anise-vanilla-musk buoyed by sweet orange tea and fruit gums. It's not "me" enough to need a whole bottle, but I may track down another decant.

A moist, green melange of scents. I got a lot of the clover and heather from Passionate Shepherd, along with a gorgeous slightly smoky, slightly dirty note that must be the peat. Very little floral. Unfortunately, I amp berries and wine quite badly, and this was no exception. Cloudberry is a really interesting note... it smells a great deal like the salmonberries that are native where I grew up. Sadly, that's really not something I care to wear. Swapped.

CXXXVII (137)

Bottle: Soft. watery pale green scent. Cucumber? Very light, I can hardly smell the resins. The oil is thin and pale orange-yellow.

Wet: Cucumber or not-too-sweet honeydew. Skin musk? Just a hint of something tart and savory... green tea or maybe lemongrass?

Drying: The frankincense is starting to come out more. Still cucumber and a delicate creamy floral I can't identify... might be honeysuckle. It reminds me of something in Schlafende Baigneuse. (Edit: I think the floral is orchid. It's gone metallic on me in other blends, so I try to avoid it.) There's a little bit of a bitter edge that I'm pretty sure is green tea.

Dry: More frankincense, and a little myrrh underneath. The resins are combining with the floral to produce a bit of a beeswaxy edge. The throw is soft, vegetal frankincense. This is an oxymoronic clean, crisp resin blend. Unfortunately, as the myrrh creeps out, it combines with the greenery to smell a bit metallic/rotten at one point. (Edit: Pretty sure the metallic note is orchid, collaborating with something in the Penitence base. It's strongest close to the skin, barely present in the throw.) Hopefully this will pass.

Overall: I like this! It's unique! I was hoping for a richer, incensey CT, but this should be great for spring and summer. Don't know if I like it enough to keep yet, though.

Flowering Chrysanthemums is definitely in the same family as L'Estate, but reminds me of Schlafende Baigneuse as well. It has the same fresh, clear, slightly green chrysanthemum note.

Wet: At first it's all fresh early-morning flowers, but then VANILLA jumps in to sweeten things up. It seems like the vanilla Beth used for the Shungas is a little more dessert-y than the vanilla in other blends I've tried. It doesn't go plastic on me, which is good, but on the other hand, I don't much fancy smelling like a birthday cake.

Drydown: Sandalwood eventually chimes in to help ground the mums and bring out their earthy side, and amber is lurking shyly around the edges. Cinnamon is a no-show, which I don't mind. Rather pleasant, but nothing special.

Dry: What's this? Almost gone, but for a faint aura of ambery green and the clinging scent of hot oiled metal. Alas. Flowering Chrysanthemums, you sounded so promising, but you are FAIL. I'll stick with the Baigneuse for my 'mum fix, thanks.

This is mostly vanilla and juicy red plums, with a light, perfumey floral tinge. The sandalwood is lurking underneath, keeping things grounded. Sadly I don't smell any nutmeg, but the rice may be adding the sort of nutty feeling. This is really a pretty scent, but I can't shake the feeling that I've smelled something very similar at Yankee Candle. More for the rest of you, I guess.

Peculiar skin chemistry strikes again! First thing on my skin, this smells like freshly crushed Thai basil. Maybe it's the sake - I don't know what that's supposed to smell like. As it dries, I get that crisp herbal note plus more and more of a true, just-ripe and not too sweet apricot. Which is thrilling, because I adore fresh apricots but my skin usually turns stone fruits to candy DOOM. I do kind of get the shampoo association, but not in a bad way - it's just because it's such a light, clean smell. I can see wearing this a LOT in the spring and summer. If this were a normal LE, I'd absolutely get a bottle. As it is, I'll try my best to come up with the cash!

I actually got STRONG used motor oil from Dragon's Hide. Well, it was mixed with Hawaiian Punch, but my skin has issues with dragon's blood. Good luck!