caseys

This blend reminds me a bit of Zombi. Rose is definitely the dominant note, but the vetiver provides just enough dark earthiness to smooth those sharp edges. I actually like this one, which is surprising since vetiver is a death note for me, but it's probably not bottle-worthy.

Honey is usually stunning on my skin, so I was very excited to try Amiable and Lovely Creatures. However, the honey note in this blend feels like it never fully blossoms, and I don't get any of the fig, patchouli, or jasmine at all. At drydown, this one smells like generic sugared rose.

 

Pretty, but disappointingly one-dimensional.

The Last Evening of the Year smells like clean clothes. Interestingly, the blend feels very warm despite the snow note. It reminds me of standing in my laundry room while the dryer is running - when the air is full of that warm, floral linen smell. LOVE IT. This is definitely a comfort scent, and I'll probably be picking up a bottle to use at bedtime.

I would be all over a swap like this.

Samhain 2011 for today!

I wore The Host of the Air today.

 

I thought about wearing Dublin, but I only have one more application left in my imp, and I just couldn't bring myself to use it all up.

I'm wearing The Clock Strikes Midnight today.

 

Tomorrow will be Vampire Tarot: The Fool, which I also wore last year on New Year's Day, and always seems appropriate for new beginnings.

I'm almost finished testing my decants, so I'll chime in!

 

Which one embodies Christmas/Yule the most?

The Second of the Three Spirits. I really wanted the answer to be Whoop, but it smelled absolutely vile on me.

 

Best foody scent from this year's Yules?

A World of Fools

 

Best snowy/wintry scent?

Waltz of the Snowflakes

 

Best scent that you'll enjoy wearing in warmer weather?

A Cold, Clear Winter Day

 

What is this year's sleeper scent?

Waltz of the Snowflakes or The Nutcraker. I think Arabian Dance is going to be the runaway hit.

 

Overall favorite?

The Arabian Dance

I wore a dab from my precious 1/2 decant of original Black Lace today. I wore Antique Lace last Thanksgiving, and I wanted to continue the tradition!

Decants from a circle run by the lovely Edens Sixth Day!

 

Eris' Tilt-A-Whirl #20 - This is a very light scent in the vial and wet on the skin, and it's a little tough to pick anything out at all. A little bit of wildflower and some kind of light musk, perhaps? As it dries down, I actually recognize this as High John the Conqueror root, and it reminds me a lot of Hellhound on My Trail without the bourbon vanilla. Yep, this smells like a non-sweet version of Hellhound. It's nice, but not overly remarkable on my skin.

 

Eris' Tilt-A-Whirl #136 - Wet and dry, this is all dark, honeyed fruit. I suspect that the fruitiness comes from one of the BPAL wine notes, based on the way it behaves on my skin (I amp wine to a crazy extreme). There is also a little bit of peppery spice on the drydown. It's intriguing, and I'm looking forward to retesting it again in a few months.

CT Amber #128 - In the bottle this is Myrrh! with a tiny bit of amber lurking in the background. Wet on my skin, I get myrrh, amber, and some emerging patchouli. It is smoky and delicious for a while, and then it goes through a worrisome BO stage for about 30 minutes (which is how patchouli usually behaves on my skin). The final drydown is amazing though! I think there might be some sandalwood in here too, because I can detect a hint of sweet woodiness after an hour or so. Thankfully, the BO phase is relatively short-lived.

 

Overall, this isn't incredibly amber-heavy. It's mostly myrrh and patchouli with just a little warmth added by the amber and sandalwood. I'm going to hang on to this for a while, because I'll bet it's going to age really, really well!

Eris' Tilt-a-Whirl #134 - In the bottle and wet, this smells like Prosperity of a Country in a candy store. Initially there is a strong herbal (orris?) note mixed with sweet watermelon jolly ranchers. As it dries, the herbal scent fades and is replaced by some type of lily. Weird. In the end, this smells like candied lilies on my skin. I actually really like it, but sadly it only lasts about an hour before it fades away completely.

The Girl

 

Wet: Initially this blend is very faint on my skin. I get a little of the florals and amber, but The Girl is definitely shy at first.

 

Dry: As this warms up, a lovely honey-vanilla musk emerges, with the floral and amber still lingering in the background. Honestly, I would never have been able to identify the smell of birch, but somehow I know it when I smell it in this oil. It contributes just a touch of darkness to the blend without adding any heaviness.

 

Overall: I often associate scent with color, and The Girl is definitely silver. It also has a very ethereal quality, and actually makes me think of mercury vapor. Like liquid mercury, it feels slinky, slippery, dangerous - but in vapor form it has an elusive, misty quality as well. Absolutely beautiful! It makes me feel very feminine, and more than a bit mysterious...

CT Vanilla #106 - Lots of vanilla with clove and vetiver. In the bottle it smells just like Snickerdoodles, and then the vetiver emerges on the drydown. Normally, clove and vetiver are notes of doom for me, but this actually dries down to an amazing spicy-smoky vanilla. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really love this one.

 

CT Vanilla #164 - Cucumber, white musk, and maybe a hint of tea. In the bottle this actually smells like honeydew melon with a hint of vanilla, but the vanilla completely disappears on the drydown. I was pretty disappointed with this one, but I'll probably retest it tomorrow after it's had a little more time out of the mailbox.

A Blade of Grass

 

Wet: Wow, this really does smell like freshly-cut grass! It's not overly complex, just grass all day long.

 

Dry: The leaves definitely emerge as this blend dries down, and add an earthiness and distinct 'crunchiness' to the grass. It actually smells a little peppery to my nose at this point.

 

Overall: This blend is really quite beautiful in its simplicity. It is completely true to the concept, and makes me think of the scent of the breeze on a sunny day in early fall, when the chill is just starting to creep into the air. Sadly, it is just a little too bitter for my tastes, so I don't see myself wearing it a lot.

For New Year's Eve I wore Blue Moon 2009 during the day and Champagne, Chocolate, and Cheap Sex in the evening.

 

For New Year's Day I'm going to wear The Fool. Seems like a good choice on a day of beginnings!

Noisome Clockwork Tin Locomotive

 

Snap Judgements: I love peppermint scents. I love star anise and vanilla and smoke. This contains so many of my notes-of-win, I couldn't pass it up.

 

In the Bottle: Vanilla mint. It seems similar to the Lick It collection, but maybe a tiny bit sweeter. I don't get a lot of the other notes yet.

 

Wet: This smells very much the same as it did in the bottle. There is a lot of really sweet peppermint with maybe just a hint of the star anise.

 

Dry: Now the green tea pushes forward, lending a slight citrusy undertone to the blend. I can also detect a faint whisper of smoke and what I assume is the lubricant note (it smells oily-metallic), but it's all very subtle. The vanilla and mint are still the dominant notes here. I would like to have gotten a little more of the star anise, but overall I really like it! The throw is very close to the skin on me, but it does get a little stronger as it warms up.

 

Final Thoughts: What an intriguing scent! I love this for the same reason that I love the newest version of The Fool - mint used in combination with weird notes is apparently the way to my heart. I'm hoping that some of the shy notes darken a little with age, because I do think that this would be really outstanding with a little more depth.

Wow, those labels are amazing! I love how the alchemical symbol for each metal is incorporated.

 

Well, that pretty much guarantees that I'm going to have to track down some partial bottles of these!

For Thanksgiving I wore Antique Lace. It's not particularly foody, but I only have an imp and it makes me think of a fancy tablecloth or nice china.

 

I wore Hollyberry & Mistletoe on Black Friday to kick off the holiday season!

Screaming Mandragora

 

Snap Judgements: I got a testable sniffie of this from a decant circle, which is cool because I wasn't sure if I'd ever get to try it! I have no initial judgements, since the notes are a complete mystery.

 

In the Bottle: Okay yeah, this blend does its name proud. Yikes, it nearly knocked me over when I opened it! It's intense, slap-you-in-the-face fruit. Very, very sharp.

 

Wet: I get mostly coconut here. It smells really tropical to me, like a very rich pina colada. It's also wafting a little BO-ish, which is usually what happens with my chemistry when a scent has a cedar in it.

 

Dry: This blend becomes very warm and creamy on the drydown, and I can finally appreciate the earthiness. I agree with previous reviewers: it now smells like some coconut husk has been mixed in with the fruit.

 

Final Thoughts: This one takes you on a wild ride! It makes me laugh, because it really feels like the imp is screaming and screaming at first, and then runs out of steam and settles down. Screaming Mandragora isn't overly complex, but it captures the intended concept very well. I won't be seeking this one out, as I'm not a fan of tropical scents or cedar, but I'm glad I got the opportunity to try it!

You know, sometimes you don't need a complicated review...

 

Candy cane in a bottle.

 

Yum.

 

That is all.

I love the snake pit! Honestly, they're all so great that it's tough to chose favorites.

 

Top 5

1. Habu

2. Green Tree Viper

3. Temple Viper

4. Banded Sea Snake

5. Death Adder

 

The only ones I don't like are King Cobra (mildew!) and Australian Copperhead.

 

I've never had a chance to try Anaconda, but I just don't know if I could justify buying the whole pit. Snake Oil is so strong on me that most of the snakes only require about an imp wand swipe per application. I doubt I'll ever be able to use up my partial bottles!

Glowing Vulva at Ryogoku Bridge

 

Snap Judgements: I was gifted a partial decant of this by my very generous switch witch. I put it on my wishlist because of its popularity, but I never really actively tried to find it, mostly because the lotus note is a little scary and teak often goes horribly wrong on me. I’m excited to get to try such a sought-after blend though!

 

In the Bottle: Rich, thick cream. I can detect a little bit of sharpness coming from the teak.

 

Wet: Initially, this threatens to go the way of Love’s Philosophy on me – fakey plastic. It also has very little throw in the wet stage. However, as it dries down it smooths out and intensifies in throw, with the teak really warming up and deepening the cream.

 

Dry: The cream adds smoothness, the teak adds depth, the amber adds warmth, and the lotus adds a touch of sweetness. The end result is a perfect, harmonious balance between the four listed notes. It has good throw, but isn't overpowering at all.

 

Final Thoughts: Oh wow. This is completely amazing on me! It is a very very sexy in a down-to-earth sort of way, and if I had a whole bottle, it would probably become a staple work scent. It actually brings up a childhood memory of the bedroom set my grandmother used to keep for me at her house. It was made of polished blonde wood, and I loved the feel of the smooth surface as I ran my hands over it. This scent reminds me of that wood – creamy and glowing, but sturdy. Now I just have to figure out how to get more…

 

Yeah, The Light of Men's Lives is probably as close to single note beeswax as it gets.

 

Serious love.

I wore Samhain 2009!

 

I like it better than the 2008 version, which I wore yesterday.