dawndie

Wet: bubblegum!

 

Initially on skin: super-sweet candy apples

 

Half-hour later: this has softened and darkened nicely with musk and incense

 

In conclusion: I don't go for most apple scents, as they're too sweet and foody, but this one's great -- very autumnal and dark. My favorite 'Weenie so far.

Wet: light rose

 

Initially on skin: lots of pomegranate and rose, nice!

 

Half-hour later: a bit more dark & dusty from the opoponax

 

In conclusion: I really liked this one, the pom and roses are great together. Light and pretty without being old-lady perfumey.

Wet: green vegetation

 

Initially on skin: lots of brown crunchy leaves

 

Half-hour later: mishmash of dry flowers

 

In conclusion: I really liked the beginning, Beth does the best "dry leaves in fall" blends. Something in the flowers wasn't coming out right on my skin, however -- maybe chamomile was causing a slight plastic smell. Oh well.

Wet: chemicals

 

Initially on skin: light rose and dusty frankincense

 

Half-hour later: lilac musk has appeared, powdery and fancypants, with the rose and frankincense

 

In conclusion: this one was quite a morpher -- it seemed every sniff was something different. Light rose, a bit of honey, watery pom, then the dusty wafting of musk. Fades quickly too, like it's snooty and fickle.

Wet: watery floral

 

Initially on skin: lots of "clean dirt" and light flowers

 

Half-hour later: pom has finally appeared, a little bit of sweet fruit among the watery flowers

 

In conclusion: this is very pretty, lots of florals without giving me a headache. Worth waiting a bit for the pom to show up.

In bottle: sugared red musk

 

On skin: slightly sweet red musk

 

Half-hour later: more dusty from the amber and incense

 

In conclusion: I liked the beginning, that aggressive red musk which is more prominently featured in Marianne and Spawn of the She-Demon. The ending is mellow, sweetened dry incense. It's demure and shy instead of its bawdy and loud red musk sisters.

In bottle: sweet red wine

 

On skin: cream cheese frosting

 

Half-hour later: the wine has reappeared, that and the frosting over a base of resins

 

In conclusion: I knew I needed to order this as we got married in Vegas also, but I was unsure I'd like "frosting" as the first ingredient. I don't like foody scents in general and didn't want to smell like wedding cake. This one, however, is like the original Beaver Moon with red wine and a light Snake Oil base. A foody scent that's more enjoyable for me to wear.

In bottle: funky wood

 

On skin: dry-dusty incense

 

Half-hour later: the dry incense is a bit sweeter, but not overpowering

 

In conclusion: I liked the wet stage, it reminded me strongly of shopping for incense in a good store that has a whole aisle of it. This ends up with lots of tonka and tobacco, with just a bit of honey and brown sugar. Very light, but great to slather.

In bottle: vinegary berries

 

On skin: giant dark cherries and berries bopping around

 

Half-hour later: musk has warmed up in the background of the cherry-berry explosion

 

In conclusion: I had a blast of BPAL nostalgia, as this ends up similar to Perversion on me (my very first bottle, ordered way back in October '04 and still a top-10 favorite). Lots of sweet darkness, with musk swapped in for the tobacco & leather of Perv.

In bottle: slightly sweetened rubbing alcohol

 

On skin: lots and lots of musk, red and black

 

Half-hour later: delicious dark fruit sugaring up the musk

 

In conclusion: I love the combo of aggressive musks and dark fruit, and with the amber ends up reminding me of a dustier Corazon. Less staying power than Corazon, but a great backup. I'm glad I splurged on this one.

In bottle: peppery floral

 

On skin: orchid straight out, with a bit of dirt from the patchouli

 

Half-hour later: flowers juiced up with pear, yum!

 

In conclusion: I didn't order the previous Black Moon, as I was afraid the thick heady florals would be too much. However, this is bright and juicy, and the patchouli adds a nice touch of gritty earth to the bottom. Delicious and not too heavy, even in this obnoxious heat wave we're having.

In bottle: busty plum

 

On skin: smack of red musk

 

Half-hour later: lots of Bordello plum with mellower musky base

 

In conclusion: I'm so glad the Lab is releasing these prototypes, it's interesting to see the evolution of a blend to a finished product. I love the final Madame Moriarty and this is a great variation with that extra bump of luscious plum. Juicy, dark and delicious

In bottle: strawberry gum

On skin: Bubblicious fruity gum

Half-hour later: more dusty from the frankincense and rose

In conclusion: I was a bit concerned about violet and star anise, not favorite notes, but they aren't strong compared to lots and lots of strawberry. I like the frankincense base -- it's like the wooden crate full of strawberries right out of the patch. A fun fruity blend.

In bottle: sparkly lemon

 

On skin: lots of bright lemon with a sprinkling of white flowers

 

Half-hour later: mellowed into more of a lemon-tea scent, like Crib Girls

 

In conclusion: this lasts all day on me, no need to reapply, and smells clean and sparky. I've worn this all week as work's been weird -- lots of people are leaving or moving, making my desk seem adrift. I've been using this for a semblance of calm and a jolt of confidence. I'm really glad I got a bottle of this, I predict a lot of wear.

In bottle: green veggies (?)

 

On skin: supercharged purple plum

 

Half-hour later: melding of Shubby ginger, plum and cocoa musk

 

In conclusion: like others, this reminds me a lot of Bordello (one of my top 5 GC favorites), it's that delicious amaretto and plum. The big difference is the chocolate musk, which veers between dark & delicious and plastic & fake on me. Not a replacement for Bordello, but a pretty good variation.

Before spraying: green powder

 

Initial spray: super-unripe green tomato

 

After drying: sweeter greenery

 

In conclusion: I was unsure about trying a room spray called "Swamp," thinking it would be stagnant water and rotting plants. This is a springy green, though, really refreshing. Like Disneyland's version of a swamp, clean and meticulously maintained.

In bottle: light winey grapes

 

On skin: peppy fizzy white grapes

 

Half-hour later: still nice and sweet with some light honey

 

In conclusion: these are the grapes from Glitter making another cheery appearance. It took me a couple of outings, but I realized this smells like Pink Phoenix on me, swapping out the strawberry for the grapes. Light, fresh and perky.

In bottle: light mango

 

On skin: yummy blast of mango, then a bit earthier from the tomato

 

Half-hour later: mellowed out mango with fig

 

In conclusion: I love red musk and was very interested in the mango/tomato combination, but was slightly disappointed that the fig turned out to be the strongest note. It's the dusty fig, like in Miller v. California. It's pleasant enough, but I wanted something bawdy and assertive from the other luscious ingredients.

In bottle: dusky sandalwood

 

On skin: not much different than wet in the bottle, lots of sandalwood

 

Half-hour later: a bit more floral from the champaca

 

In conclusion: dry incensey sandalwood with champaca (which I love in most blends). Not too musky or woody, and no clove appearing to overpower everything else. This turns out very pleasant and wearable on me.

In bottle: sweetened powder

 

On skin: lots of cherry, yum!

 

Half-hour later: cherry and dragon's blood, with soft and powdery rose

 

In conclusion: fruity cherry roses that doesn't hang around for long. I'd love some red musk with this, but pretty and wearable nonetheless.

How nice to get a "vintage" blend on Etsy!

 

In bottle: light perfume-y alcohol

 

On skin: musky brown leather

 

Half-hour later: sweetened up just a tad with something powdery

 

In conclusion: this was a "maybe" when released back in '07, but ultimately I didn't buy as I was afraid I would smell too much like a bachelor. But this is quite sweet, which must be the tobacco. I've been wearing this all week, enjoyable light musk.

In bottle: sweet coffee

 

On skin: light spicy leather

 

Half-hour later: a little more coffee to go with the light leather

 

In conclusion: I was a bit unsure about the coffee note -- I bought the original Miskatonic U when it came out, thinking it sounded perfect, but my husband said it smelled like an "old office" on me. So I figured another coffee blend wouldn't work, but the coffee in this one becomes almost like a dark musk, deep and slightly sweet. I do love the leather blends, however, and this one has the great Eastern spices to go along for the ride.

In bottle: smutty musk

 

On skin: that peanut-butter musk from Smut with some Snake Oil resin

 

Half-hour later: sweetened up just a tad, but still lots of musk and resins

 

In conclusion: this is the classic Snake Oil sticky resins with extra musk, giving it an aggressive "oomph." Like Monsieur Moriarty instead of Madame. In this cold weather I'm in the mood for something dark and assertive.

In bottle: sweet red vinegar

 

On skin: light red wine

 

Half-hour later: wine with lots of green/brown from the moss and earth

 

In conclusion: I'm eternally tempted by red wine blends -- I love them so much, but obviously not every one is going to work. The woods & earth make this just a touch too dude, even when it's chilly outside and I should enjoy it more. This is like Fortunato, a more masculine wine blend better on my husband.

Love Black & Antique Laces, so now trying the Red!

 

In bottle: sharp vanilla

 

On skin: yum, creamy vanilla with that sharp-ish "linen" note

 

Half-hour later: I can recognize red musk, but it's not nearly as strong as in other blends (boo on that). Still lots of smooth dreamy vanilla and linen

 

In conclusion: this has the same Black Lace linen-cotton note -- not too sharp, not too dry or crisp -- with extra red musk. Black Lace will last all day on me, though, and this Red one wants to saunter away. Oh well, I like it enough to keep reapplying, and maybe it'll get stronger as it ages.