alyelle
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Everything posted by alyelle
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In the imp: Sugared violets, champaca, benzoin and a scattering of rose petals. Wet: Sugar dusted roses over a smooth base of myrrh and patchouli, top notes of champaca Dry: This has such a weirdly amnesiac quality to it - I've worn it about four times and can simply never recall to mind how it behaves the first few minutes of wear. Thank goodness for written testing notes! It settles down into a blend of rose, patchouli, violet, and all things good, and lasts for around 6 hours depending on the weather (it seems to fade more quickly in the heat). Medium throw, at least for the early stages of morph. Stars: ★★★★
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Can't remember the last time I was so overwhelmed with wanting a scent on first sniff. This one was amazing, and I purchased a bottle minutes after sniffing my decant. In the imp: Leather, lavender-smothered engine grease, and dusty fields lined with ghost gums. Wet: Honestly, I LOVE this. There's a sharp, almost citrus-like, note to the motor oil, tempered by oak and dust. I don't read it as masculine at all (far from it, actually, it's a very sexy non-binary scent to my nose) but I know my partner will love it as much as I do. I may require another bottle for him, to be honest. Dry: Not too citrusy on the drydown, just enough to give an astringency. The lavender isn't obvious but does lend a softness to the earthy leather, and the final effect is of gentle sun shining down on hard-packed fields. Medium throw, long-lived, and utterly divine. Stars: ★★★★★
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Aged slightly more than I'd usually start with, as my 2021 Lilith purchases were part of a decant circle that spent several months in limbo due to covid and USPS shutdowns. I was very excited to finally receive them this Valentine's Day In the imp: Grass, dewy lillies, and maple-strewn roses. Wet: A lovely woodsy base with overtones of flower beds and sweet hay. Dry: This settles into something very reminiscent of October, with the tea-soaked overlay I get from Dorian, but nary a hint of lavender to be seen. Medium throw, 8-10 hours of wear. Stars: ★★★★
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In the imp: Another lab freebie. White and green aquatics, laced with bergamot. (Worth noting: I had awful allergies the day I tested this, results might be wonky.) Wet: Eucalypt, river mint, bergamot, and warm ambergris. Dry: Lime and bergamot settling over a resinous seaweed-driven base. Somewhat like having a nice cup of earl grey on the ocean floor. Medium throw, 8ish hour lifespan. Stars: ★★★½
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In the imp: Orange blossom, mint, clove and fir. Everything that was listed in the scent notes, but not at all what I was expecting! Wet: Orange rind rather than blossom, with mint, clove, and cumin, a base of fir trees and a waft of tobacco. Dry: Fir and balsam in equal measure, with a gentle top note of mint. This was a lab freebie and I'll confess, I wasn't particularly fussed on testing it; balsam and I have not got on well in recent times, and orange blossom has always been a tricky customer on my skin. I was pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. It's got a fairly good throw and a long life, upwards of 10 hours wear on my skin. Stars: ★★★★
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In the imp: Moss, ginger, and a dark brooding forest. Wet: Oddly sweet! Yet there are no real "sweet" things here. First on, I get foresty top notes of hay and juniper, followed by buckskin strwen over mossy rocks, and a base of rich green pines. Dry: When I was in high school, I played a lot of D&D and read my way through the entire Dragonlance Chronicles and all the side novels. I never imagined how Tanis Half-Elven might smell, but if I had, I suspect it would have been like this - soft leather shoes, grassy straw, and everywhere the reminder of a pine forest. Short-lived at slightly under 6 hours, but with a strong and comforting throw. Stars: ★★★★½
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In the imp: Very sweet musk topped with bourbon vanilla and a cypress- or mint-infused leather. Wet: Vanilla, frankincense, soft white leather and steel. Dry: This is a morphing mystery! Champaca? Tobacco flower? Something pale and strangely gaseous but viscious simultaneously. The whitest musk, a whiff of leather, and pale frankincense, with a strong throw and long lifespan. Stars: ★★★½:
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The lab went through a phase of giving me new versions of things I'd tried long ago in 2021. I went through a phase of liking them better. My previous review of Sjofn, for a 2014 purchase, is here. In the imp: Apples and cream. Wet: Apples, sugared cream, musk, and the faintest shavings of birch. Dry: Apples for days. Like its older counterpart, this has a light throw (medium when first applied, but it doesn't last) but a generally long wear time - it is still discernable, albeit close to the skin, at the 10 hour mark. I have so many apple scents now, and this one has emerged as a pretty strong contender for a GC fave. Stars: ★★★★
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Another imp I have multiples of; this review is for one I received in 2021. In the imp: An overall aquatic impression, with distinct notes of tea leaf, champaca, and vanilla sugar. Wet: Tea leaves morphing slowly to rose, backed by vanilla-infused sandalwood and leather, bay, balsam, and a touch of opium spice. I think the last version of this I wore dated from about 2009, and was very resin heavy. This is lighter, and more floral despite being predominantly a sandalwood base on me. Dry: Sandalwood, balsam (very balsam, in fact), roses, and a touch of smoke. I do like it more than the aged versions I have, though if I like it quite enough to keep in permanent rotation - it's not quite "me" enough. Medium throw, and a long 8-10 hour lifespan. Stars: ★★★½
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I've got multiple imps of this scent dating back to 2012; this review is for a 2021 purchase. Imp: Leather, amber, and tobacco smoke. Wet: A burnished, smoky leather rich with oil and a hint of incense. Dry: Whiffs of leather, smoke, and resin borne away on a desert breeze. Medium throw, comparatively short life (just under 6 hours). Stars: ★★★½
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In the bottle: Elderberry and plum. Wet: First on, heavy wafts of elderberry but very quickly tempered by the sweet fruit and woody pit of the plum. I honestly can't remember if I've tested a blend with elderberry in the past but on me, it's not dissimilar to night-blooming jasmine or lily of the valley. Dry: Very pleasant with a slightly quaint olde worlde feel to it; neother too floral nor too fruity. Quite glad I went for a blind bottle here, it's not something I'd normally do. Mild throw, with a pretty standard lifespan. Stars: ★★★★
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In the bottle: The classic dead leaves frm the October blends, underscored by a slightly sickly plum and cherry, and a sweet alcoholic note. Wet: A cornucopia of fruit! Plum and peach at first, tempered by a slowly-emerging apricot (more blossom than fruit) and an almost-spicy note that hints at star anise and cherry wood but never quite becomes either. I love it. This is exactly what I was after with Kyoto (and Kitsune-Tsuki, for that matter). No oudh and no pear - which I'm very thankful for, as I don't like either. Dry: Almost chypre-like - a leafy base, but laden with remnants of sugary fruit pulp. Strong-ish throw. Stars: ★★★★★
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Fuzzy Peach Sweater and A Mug of London Fog
alyelle replied to Seajewel's topic in Event Exclusive Oils
In the bottle: Peach, bergamot, and laundry-powder musk. Wet: Musk and gardenia (weirdly?) with a top note of peach, one of the aquatic white flowers I can never pick until someone else points it out - narcissus I think, but I could be way off - and fresh linen. A lot more floral than fruit, which I wasn't expecting, but isn't unpleasant. Dry: Super light musk, which lingers very close to the skin, topped with the pale white blossoms of riverbank flowers. Not a peach in sight. Mild throw, tending short-lived at around 4-6 hours. Stars: ★★★★ -
Georgia Peach, Oakmoss, Sage, and Vetiver
alyelle replied to Seajewel's topic in Event Exclusive Oils
I rarely buy bottles blind anymore, but made an exception for these - partly because I've never yet managed to get into a DragonCon buying circle (and will never get to Atlanta) so was THRILLED when it went virtual, and partly because it happened in the middle of a protracted second lockdown where I was slowly losing my mind (I think by the time they went up on site, I'd been under stay at home orders for about eight weeks). My order then got caught up in the super fun USPS shipping bans, aha, so it like a blessing from all the gods when I did finally get the shipping notification - the best email I received for the whole of last year tbh. In the bottle: Peach, sage, and a wee helping of oakmoss. Wet: Incredibly similar - peach dominant with a lovely pale sage, so fresh it could still be on the bush. That's topped off with a faint trace of moss and a gentle undertone of woody peach pit. I'm astonished that there's vetiver in here; typically I am it, but I'm getting none at all. Dry: A fruity, blossomy peach, beautifully tempered by sage and sweet oakmoss. No vetiver for the entire duration of wear, fascinating. Medium wear-length with a similarly medium throw, and for a blind purchase, a real winner. Stars: ★★★★½ -
In the imp: Snow-covered roses. Wet: Hard greenwood stems with a slow ooze of sap, melting snowflakes, and barely-open red rosebuds. Dry: A blink-and-you'll-miss-it dewy rose; perfectly red, perfectly soft. Mild throw, with barely a 3 hour lifespan on me. Stars: ★★★★
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2020 version. In the imp: Jasmine cream, vanilla, amber. Wet: A lovely moist rose, mallow and jasmine, and rich gold amber, thick like toffee. Dry: I tested this three times to try and get a review of the drydown, and every time I failed. It's incredibly short-lived: a burst of jasmine, a waft of rose, and then... nothing. It's delicate and beautiful, very mild, and probably the perfect scent to wear when you don't want to be wearing anything much at all. Stars: ★★★½
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2020 version. In the imp: Thick, dew-covered, velvet-petalled red tea roses. Heaven. Wet: My mother had roses the colour of blood growing under her bedroom window when I was a child. This smells exactly like those did. Big, heart-shaped petals, tiny water droplets gathering amongst the sepals, and the merest suggestion of an old wood stem. I'm praying this doesn't turn powdery on me - rose scents have behaved so well on me for the last four or five years, but I'm always afraid they're going to suddenly go back to that horrible baby powder, pot pourri morph they used to do. Dry: !! It doesn't turn to powder!! HUZZAH. That may honestly just be because there's no time for it to do so; my skin eats this up. Medium throw, but it barely lasts 4 hours before it's completely vanished. That said, I can always reapply, and I will absolutely buy bottles of this the next time it's released. Stars: ★★★★★
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In the imp: Cherries, berries, amber, and a slightly woody frankincense. Wet: Rose and cherrywood, amber and incense. A very gentle and beautiful scent. Dry: Cherrywood, amber, myrhh, and dried roses. Generally I amp rose, but was very pleased to find it didn't dominate in this blend like some other reviewers have mentioned; the myrrh and woods kept it in check. Mild throw, average lifespan. Stars: ★★★★
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In the imp: Lavender, tea, and smoky pine. Wet: Soapy and smoke-laden lavender, aquatic drifts of snow. Dry: Lavender, bitter pine, smoky tea. A very short-lived scent, though medium to strong throw before it fades off. Stars: ★★★★
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In the imp: Amber, a boozy honey, and soft sticky rice. Wet: Not smoky at all, but there is a definite "warmth from the hearth" happening, along with a honeyed prune and plum note. Dry: Eventually this fades off to a lovely pale scent that doesn't smell like amber, but does feel like it. Very mild throw for the duration of wear, and relatively short lived - or at least when tested during the height of a southern hemisphere summer. I would like to try it again on a snow day. Stars: ★★★★
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2020 version. In the imp: classic October - sap, dry leaves, and smoke. Wet: moist October air, almost damp, laden with soke and dying wildflowers. This is a lot more floral than my 2011 version, and sweeter than what I remember of my 2015 version, though I would like to do a direct comparison of all three one day soon. Dry: Little morph, but settling to a more amber-driven leaf with a top swirl of smoke. Pending re-wear for a final verdict. This eventually settles to dried wildflowers, soft October sunshine on hay and slightly crackling leaves. It has a real warmth that the other two years did not, and a surprising amount of floral - a proper October for the southern hemisphere! Fairly short-lived (6hrs tops) with a mild throw. Stars: ★★★★½
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For the 2020 version. In the imp: Autumn leaves, a big bunch of flowers, and slightly dried chamomile, as though its partway on its way to being tea. Wet: Rose, sweet vanilla bourbon, freshly-cut chrysanthemums. Dry: Florals, very delicately blended, with a slightly leafy undertone, fading off to a rose-tinted vanilla. Medium throw to start tending mild as it wears, but a very long life (10+ hours). Stars: ★★★★
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In the imp: Hay, sweet grass, basil, and thyme. Wet: Identical, but somehow sunnier. Dry: This is one of those amazing "does what it says on the tin" scents; there's almost no morph at any stage. The final notes are a sweet and slightly herbal hay, with a lovely overlay of sunny florals. Delicate and bright, medium throw, long wear time. Stars: ★★★★½
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In the imp: oudh, vetiver, and sickly honeysuckle. Wet: Vetiver, thankfully, climbing roses, a pale musk, and the typically faecal note of oudh. Dry: I trusted my general good luck with vetiver and recent good luck with rose to carry this, and it didn't let me down. The honeysuckle burns off almost instantly, and the vetiver strangles pretty much every other note into submission. In the end, it's a harmonious dark blend of soft vetiver and gentle florals, warm and comforting. Medium throw, tending longer lifespan. Stars: ★★★½
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In the imp: Heavy amber and apple, with little else presenting. Wet: A base of cedar as the top notes of apple settle; a sweet oudh (no baby poop!), honey and saffron capped with musk. Dry: Almost a hint of mandarin at one point, that was weird. Musk-dominant with a wash of apple and a nicely balanced oudh/saffron earthiness, wrapped in clouds of vanilla-cedar. Mild to medium throw, relatively short lifespan. Stars: ★★★★½ (sucker for apple)