dawndie
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Posts posted by dawndie
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Texas thistle, bluebell, red corn poppy, magnolia, sunflower, cedar sage, and smashed, flaming windmill.
I bought the prototype bottle the Lab offered on eBay, labeled "The Aurora Spacecraft Takes a Dive."
In bottle: clean wildflowers
On skin: still lots of perky wildflowers
Half-hour later: not much change, except the addition of some ozone which acts like a super-clean musk
In conclusion: the "flaming windmill" is ozone-y and reminded me of the old Lunacies, Storm Moon and the beginning of Wolf Moon '04. Not my style per se, but it's perky and fun, a real supernova floral. -
In bottle: citrussy floral
On skin: it's close to Litha '06, orangey fizz
Half-hour later: this has deepened nicely with some dusty resins
In conclusion: a blend that starts out fresh and perky, then gets richer with the incensey resins like a less-spicy Sunbird. I'm so glad this didn't end up too "woody" on me. Not very long-lasting, but worth reapplying throughout the day as I like the beginning through the end.
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The School
in Yules
Wet: sharp wood
On skin: lots of dusty wood
Half-hour later: the wood has deepened, more sticky and resin-y, with some salty air from Pirate Moon
In conclusion: I wanted to try this just for the description -- storytime at school with pirates and adventure! The wood stays out of dry pencil-shaving territory, it's well-worn from years of students doodling and daydreaming.
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Wet: boozy red wine
On skin: delicious spiced red wine
Half-hour later: not much morph, still wine and spices simmering on my stove
In conclusion: I was a bit concerned about the marzipan being too almondy, but no worries -- this is a beautiful dark winey blend, barely sweetened and not too boozy.
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The Soldier
in Yules
Wet: light musky leather
On skin: black licorice
Half-hour later: lots of great red musk with a touch of anise
In conclusion: I love love red musk blends, and in this one the black tea, leather and pepper are obviously combining to make black licorice float above the red musk. Unfortunately I don't like black licorice much
Still fun to try, though. -
Wet: light incense
On skin: sharp dusty frankincense
Half-hour later: more dusty sweetness from the fig
In conclusion: this is the same fig from Miller v. California, sweet but shy and needs a bit of coaxing. This one fades pretty fast too, only lasting a couple of hours on me before disappearing. I'd love for it to hang around more, I enjoy the incense blends.
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Wet: sweet white floral
On skin: creamy vanilla with a citrussy zing
Half-hour later: smooth blend of vanilla, light woods and citrus
In conclusion: this is like a Salon blend, lots of ingredients blending seamlessly with no "star" standing out. The vanilla and light woods combo is luscious. Smooth and sophisticated.
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Wet: tannic red wine
On skin: spicy dark fruit, yum!
Half-hour later: dark fruit with a bit of smoke
In conclusion: I'd love to find a dupe of Hearth '05, fruity sweet tobacco, and this one's close. It's spicy fruit teetering on the edge of potpourri. I liked the beginning a bunch, more than the ending.
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Wet: acetone
On skin: white foofy floral, the wisteria apparently
Half-hour later: warmer and more dusty from the frankincense
In conclusion: I love to find floral incense blends, and this one's almost there. The wisteria is so strong in the beginning; maybe aging will bring out the frankincense and blue musk. Lots of potential for gorgeousness in this one.
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THE LAST OF THE SPIRITS
The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came near him, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery.
It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.
He felt that it was tall and stately when it came beside him, and that its mysterious presence filled him with a solemn dread. He knew no more, for the Spirit neither spoke nor moved.
“I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?” said Scrooge.
The Spirit answered not, but pointed onward with its hand.
“You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us,” Scrooge pursued. “Is that so, Spirit?”
The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds, as if the Spirit had inclined its head. That was the only answer he received.
Although well used to ghostly company by this time, Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him, and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it. The 70 Spirit paused a moment, as observing his condition, and giving him time to recover.
But Scrooge was all the worse for this. It thrilled him with a vague uncertain horror, to know that behind the dusky shroud, there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him, while he, though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black.
“Ghost of the Future!” he exclaimed, “I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?”
It gave him no reply. The hand was pointed straight before them.
“Lead on!” said Scrooge. “Lead on! The night is waning fast, and it is precious time to me, I know. Lead on, Spirit!”
Blackcurrant, myrrh, and vetiver.
Wet: stinky (slightly skunky) vetiver
On skin: dirty vetiver and dusty myrrh are duking it out
Half-hour later: ah, this is much nicer. The blackberry has appeared to sweeten things up a tad
In conclusion: this is a moody and reflective blend, dark and appealing. The vetiver isn't stomping all over everything, and I really like the myrrh in this one, it's assertive and self-righteously wrathful like an evil preacher. I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. -
Wet: bitter leaves
On skin: bright and soapy (but in a good way)
Half-hour later: a little bit darker from the blackberry, but still very crispy & dry
In conclusion: this is another "fresh nature" scent, like Blade of Grass or Halloween: San Francisco. So crisp and light.
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In bottle: woodsy and sweet
On skin: luscious blackberry
Half-hour later: less fruity sweet, more woods and nut meat
In conclusion: woo, I loved the beginning, juicy-bursting dark fruit. The ending reminded me of To Autumn from a couple of years ago, sweet foody woods. Not a top-10 favorite, but a really nice seasonal blend.
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In bottle: spicy musk
On skin: smutty musk, muted and fuzzy around the edges
Half-hour later: still lots of musk with some dark rosey incense
In conclusion: the first wearing it reminded me a lot of Panther Moon -- all dark musk. It seems to have calmed down, however, and dark rose and incense appear eventually. I passed on the first two Blood Moons ('05 and '08), they sounded so feral and aggressive. It's moody and interesting, and I'm glad I finally tried it.
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In bottle: woody patchouli
On skin: lots of prickly earthy patchouli
Half-hour later: creamy vanilla has appeared with the brown/green of the patch
In conclusion: the vanilla in this blend is the strongest I've experienced in a long time, luscious and delicious. However, I'm not 100% on board with the patchouli, it's so earthy-smelling on me. A discordant blend, one I'm going to have to think about.
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Wet: spiced plums
On skin: total dupe of Trick #2, dark fruit with a bit of spice
Half-hour later: more "bread-y" with grains and bird-feeder-suet
In conclusion: the spiced plums in this are delicious, and I really like the heartier grains appearing later. I don't go for many foody blends but this one is interesting, it's like an instant meal! I want to go on a picnic lunch with this one.
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THE HERAEON OF ARGOS
Argive Hera. The temple in the Argolid that was dedicated to Hera, the Queen of Heaven, in her aspect as the Great Triple Goddess. Pomegranate, apple blossom, fig, willow bark, and almond.
Wet: sweet almonds
On skin: acidic pom juice, great for a cocktail!
Half-hour later: the pom juice has disappeared, leaving me with dusty sweet figs
In conclusion: I had to scroll through previous reviews to find what this reminded me of: Miller v. California! I think it's the figs and the willow bark turning "brown paper bag" dusty. -
Wet: sweet amber
On skin: slightly spicy pom juice
Half-hour later: the spicy carnation and pepper are strongest
In conclusion: this had the most pom juice at first, then the carnation took over. Interestingly, this blend is the most like a "pomegranate patch" with the short scrubby pomegranate bush growing out of the dark spicy earth.
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Wet: bitter cocoa
On skin: slightly sweetened red musk
Half-hour later: the star anise and thyme has appeared, dusty and herbal
In conclusion: I really like the combo of red musk and cocoa, similar to Black Temple Burlesque Troupe -- this decant even had little floaty bits of cocoa! I'm unsure about the end though, a little too herbal. This was my favorite of the 5 poms though.
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Wet: acrid wood
On skin: fragrant sweet wood
Half-hour later: more clove and lavender with the sweet woods
In conclusion: this was a pleasant combo of fragrant woods and lavender, sweetened slightly by the pom. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, especially since a few of these ingredients can be overwhelming blend-killers on me.
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Wet: fizzy citrus
On skin: bitter citrus from the grapefruit and lime
Half-hour later: mmm, I like this white musk! It's keeping the citrus close by
In conclusion: a fizzy sparkling musk. White musk makes me think of the '70s (like Jean Nate!) but this is more wearable and quite refreshing. Groovy!
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Wet: jasmine
On skin: lots of jasmine and nothing else
Half-hour later: a little bit resiny from the benzoin, but still lots of jasmine
In conclusion: is it possible to be punched in the face by a flower? Jasmine punches me in the face (and I was light in applying). I'm hearing Lou Reed sing "Vicious / You hit me with a flower." Wish the pomegranate showed up in this one.
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Wet: icy cologne
On skin: greenery with a bit of smoke
Half-hour later: green cologne
In conclusion: I also grew up in southern California, and since we were close to the beach and not the foothills we had a lower threat of wildfires. I remember at least a couple of occasions as a kid, though, where fires were close enough that we'd get ash covering our cars and stinging our eyes. This blend is very green -- I expected brown burning things. It's almost clean-smelling, like the smoke is hitting the wall of fog and sea air that is sitting a half-mile onshore.
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Wet: rum
On skin: is there such a thing as green musk? Green musk with a bit of sweetness
Half-hour later: oof, there's the vetiver, sharp astringent and overpowering
In conclusion: I liked the beginning, the "green musk" was dark, jungle-like and intriguing. Then the vetiver comes swooping in and claws everything up. Not as strong as in other blends, though. Interesting dark blend, just not my thing.
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Wet: incensey red musk
On skin: faint Snake Charmer-esque resins
Half-hour later: hanging around and getting a bit stronger, but more spicy like Sunbird
In conclusion: I was looking forward to this one, the description was so lovely. But I wish this was 100X stronger on me, it seemed to vanish away. Reminds me of Sunbird more than anything else, slightly spicy red musk.
WILF
in Limited Editions
Posted · Report reply
In bottle: minty cocoa
On skin: musky and sweet, yum!
Half-hour later: sweetened Snake Oil/Charmer musk
In conclusion: I love the dark musk blends, black & red musk sweetened with a touch of vanilla and sandalwood. This turns out great on me, but it seems almost duplicative of Snake Charmer/Mme. Moriarty. I'm sure it will age gloriously though.