Little Bird

I normally love all of the notes in Libra, so I'm not sure why this isn't awesome on me. In the vial and at first on my skin this is a sharp, heavy rose (almost sour, but not unpleasant to me) and thick cherry cough syrup. After 15 minutes or so the medicinal twist wears off and I'm hit with a strangely tart, sharp something that smells just like lemonhead candies on me. The rose stays dominant and reminds me a bit of the bold, spicy sort of rose that is in Whip, but then the whole blend just goes to a sharp soap after about a half hour. I can pick out the heavy rose, an awful cherry note, and something that smells lemony before I'm left with nothing but heavy rose soap.

I wanted this for the red leaves and sap, hoping that it would be a true scent of fall trees with the dead leaves and the sweetness of real sap. This is green, grassy, and smoky on me though. It brings to mind a meadow with grass that is just starting to die, but it has a sharp sourness to it that also makes me think of sweat and freshly cut lawns. It's a pale, odd green on me. The 'touch of smoke' dominates the drydown and I smell like I've wandered through a bonfire. I don't like smoky scents or the way this goes sour on me, so October is one for my swap pile.

In the bottle I get a definite punch of vetiver, and it's the kind of vetiver that I hate. It smells smoky and off, like charred mesquite bbq. On me, this is like a bad mixture of the mesquite vetiver in Azathoth and the wet ash of Brimstone. I suppose that this could be evocative of a campfire setting with the bbq and rained out bonfire smell it has on my skin, but I really don't like this one. I was hoping that one of the autumn blends would smell like actual fall to me with the true scent of dead leaves, but this doesn't do that for me.

In the decant vial this is high pitched and sharply herbal with a cold mix of medicinal menthol. On my skin, The Twisted Oak Tree reminds me a bit of Hurricane at first. It has a bit of powdery-sweet earthiness mixed with something like fruity berries as the undertone. The drydown of this is really strange on me though. I love woodsy scents and ivy and I can find neither of those things in this blend. I find myself wondering if I've got the same blend everyone else does. I accidentally rubbed some menthol-vaseline-lip balm on my hands a while ago (thought it was my cuticle butter) and this smells just like that unpleasant experience before going oddly smoky to my nose. After 5 minutes on my skin I thought that this smelled like menthol and a dirty ash tray (smoky, dirty, and not-good). My boy said he didn't get the ash tray comparison, but that it just smelled like "vaporub" to him. This will be making its way to the swap pile for me, it definitely doesn't agree with my skin or my nose.

It's almost not really fair for me to review this. I hate tobacco, leather, jasmine, BPAL's opium, and most of the amber notes that the lab uses. They're notes that just don't work on my skin or with my nose. I hate smoky scents, powdery scents, sharp florals... There was no real way that I was going to like Kubla Khan. I think that my friend just gave it to me as some sort of evil joke. The jasmine definitely goes soapy on me in this blend. Opium is as bad on me as it always is, an incredibly sharp, stinging, burning sort of chemical-ness that reminds me of cheap hairspray, but worse. I also catch hints of a sharp citrus in this, but everything about this blend on my skin is sharp and cutting. Soap, hairspray, and a splash of orange citrus. Tea leaf, sugared lily, hay, and dark vanilla would be amazing on me, but I can't find any of those notes in here. To be fair, I only wore this for 45 minutes and it still hadn't mellowed out enough for me. This was starting to get a bit sweeter, perhaps thanks to the vanilla notes, but not enough to save Kubla Khan. I just can't wear the opium.

I was most excited about the Cat because I love chocolate-lavender pairings, but I honestly don't get any chocolate or lavender from this blend at all. Once I got over that initial disappointment, though, this is a fantastic, cheery little citrus blend. My first thought was that this reminds me of Croquet (probably because of the lime and pink grapefruit that they share), but Croquet went soapy on me and Schrodinger's Cat stays citrus and lovely. This smells a lot like some sort of juice that I'd love to drink. Citrus has a tendency to go sharp on my skin, but this blend stays juicy and sweet on me. I get mostly the sugary lime and sweet pink grapefruit. The sweet grapefruit reminds me of Cheshire Cat, but where Cheshire is smoothed out with lavender and chamomile, Schrodinger's Cat is smoothed out with a soft, green moss giving it a more grounded, earthy, herbal-green feel. I get a hint of cool mint every once in a while if I try to pick it out, but it smells almost watery and subdued. Mostly this is tart, juicy, sweet citrus on me that actually doesn't go sharp or soapy. Hints of a fuzzy, green moss and watery mint lurk around in the background. Like Cheshire Cat, this kitty is another citrus blend that I can actually pull off. Plus, I think I need a full bottle of this one just for the adorable label .

I like Incubus at first. I get a sticky-sweet, warm, gooey caramel beaten down by a chill of mint and a hint of an herbal sage note. The other notes cut the sweetness of the caramel very well. I normally hate the smell of sage, but it's a pleasant addition to the caramel and mint here. Then this dries down to exactly what I was afraid of, a scent dominated by tobacco. The tobacco just smells dirty to me, not like something I would want to personally smell like. Mix tobacco with the caramel and I get an overpowering, sickly sweet, caramelized, dirty tobacco smell. It reminds me of the chewing tobacco my father used to have laying around constantly. The black musk pops out in the drydown as well and strengthens over time, giving off that chilly, smoky, men's cologne musk that I'm not fond of either. I think that Incubus could be really sexy on the right guy. It has potential to be a great gourmand, masculine blend. My boy doesn't like the tobacco smell either though, so I'll be swapping this one.

I opted for a decant of Aeaea (which I cannot pronounce at all, lol) because of my history of having trouble wearing ozone or aquatic blends, and my fear of snowdrop as a perfumey, sharp, white floral note. I loved the thought of the aloe and woods though. On me, this is fruity dryer sheets. It reminds me of those tropical breeze laundry soap items. Aeaea goes softer and a bit more powdery for a bit, almost subtle enough to just be a clean skin scent, but then snowdrop rears its perfumey little head and the blend takes a sharp turn. Over time this takes on more of that musky, sharp, nondescript floral perfume scent that I hate. I might recommend this to someone who likes clean, white floral blends.

Hunter Moon 2007 worried me at first. I have a hard time wearing wine notes, and there was a definite snap of wine at first, sort of metallic and sharp and reminiscent of rotting berries. There is also a light hint of something spiced. Spiced wine, only the wine isn't working well for me. After a few minutes, though, the wine completely vanishes and, as other reviewers have said, this goes very musky with a touch of smoke. The light, sweet, creamy musk was unexpected, but I actually rather liked it. Hunter Moon continues to morph steadily into Total Baby Powder stage on me though, which is when I start hating it. Powdery scents and dry scents really don't work for me. The musk was lovely if this didn't turn to fullout baby powder...

This sounded so beautiful from the description. So why do the funeral blends hate me so? I'm a big fan of moonflower, and the thought of a mossy moonflower is what made me Have to Have this blend. Then, on my skin, I get an immediate stab of sharp, soapy lemons. As it dries down this is oddly herbal and sharp. The Phantom Wooer isn't at all the soft, cool, sweet, night time floral blend I was expecting. The floral aspects do make an appearance after about a half hour on my skin, but then it's a dry, sharp, thin little floral essence. Perhaps the dust, buttonweed, and honey myrtle ruin this for me...

Temple: Elemental is a really beautiful blend. It smells like a lot of things to me at once, and paints a very vivid mental picture. This is the smell of thick, dark green ferns, black soil with mushrooms popping through it, a misty-cold waterfall, and smooth, wet stones. It's a chilly, clean forest blend. Watery and earthy at the same time. This actually reminds me of the forests in Missouri where I grew up. It always floods in the springtime and everything feels clean and cool and brimming with life. This is the wet forest during springtime, during the floods. I always loved those times. And I love this blend, and the wonderful feelings, memories, and sensations that it conjures up for me.

This is going to be a scent-based review, as I actually wear a lot of my temple blend oils. Temple: Druidic smells like a mixture of juniper, juniper berry, and mints. At first it smells very green, like smashing juniper greens and their dark blue little berries between my hands. My grandmother has juniper planted all along her walkway, and I immediately thought of that. Then there is a burst of sweet mint that makes me think of wintermint chewing gum. The drydown smells exactly like juniper bushes as the mint disappears. Lovely and pleasant, but I'm not sure how I would use this one, because the scent association makes me think of nothing but my grandmother's house and going there during the summer.

I thought that this would be a fruity rose perfume scent from the notes, but the concept made me think it might be more dark and earthy. On me, it's not really any of those things though. It's strange. Crypt Queen probably has the potential to be awesome on someone, but that someone is not me. My skin amps up the fruity notes and the pomegranate, but pomegranate tends to smell very tart and dry on my skin. I wind up smelling like sweet tarts with hints of musk and dry floral notes that fade in and out. It's not at all a dark or earthy scent on me, which surprised me given its name & theme, though the floral notes seem to turn to full out dust on my skin over time. I amp up the Crypt Queen into unbearably dry sweet tarts and dust :|

I was excited to get this because some people have mentioned that it smelled rose-like to them. This is an awful, headache inducing floral on me though . It has a smell of sharp flowers and heavy musk with a drydown of heavy, dirty powder on my skin. The Queen's Salon is another floral blend that makes me think of the cheap drugstore perfume that I try to stay far away from.

Cold, crisp, ozone & citrus. It's sharp and soapy on me and then dries down to soft, lemony dryer sheets. I think that this would be better on my boy, but he's favoring warmer, spicier scents as the weather gets cooler. This strikes me as an everday, not remarkable or unique sort of men's cologne. Not bad, but not really interesting me.

Virgo is an interesting scent. It's herbal, slightly bitter but not unpleasant, green, vegetal, and somehow both clean and earthy smelling on my skin. I start to lean more towards not liking this scent in the drydown though, as a slightly soapy, sweet, warm floral note (guess it's the honeysuckle, though it doesn't smell like true honeysuckle to me at all) pops out. I like the opening stages of this, but it doesn't seem suitable to me as a personal scent. Perhaps I'll try the rest of my decant in the oil burner.

I know what you mean about looking for a catch; I always do that too, especially after the horrible attempt my boy and I had crossing the border at Sarnia. That attempt was so bad that we ended up hiring a lawyer. Of course, then we later found out that we just had the misfortune of getting an officer who was having a bad day and there wasn't really much of a problem with us crossing originally. But oh well. I think that hiring a lawyer is probably a waste of money now (which is why we didn't re-hire a lawyer for processing my study permit applications, so I'm hoping that all goes through okay with what we did on our own). My boy keeps reassuring me that it all really is straightforward and that they make it simple and straightforward so that your average person can fill it out by themselves. He is less cynical than I am Again, congrats on getting married

I hope you don't mind that I just sent you a PM about all of this, since my boy and I are going through such a similar issue right now. We ended up paying a lawyer $2,000 to advise us on how to fill out a lot of the immigrations paperwork because it was so overwhelming to us, so I thought I would try to share some of that advice with you, lol. Of course, it is 1 AM here and I might be slightly incoherent. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. Or, you know, I'm also here if you just need someone to complain to about all of the paperwork

The Emathides is nowhere near as bad as I thought that it would be. My skin turns amber notes to dust or baby powder and amps it up like mad, but I actually don't smell any amber at all in this. The Emathides starts off rather sweet and pleasant on me. I do get that caramelized lavender that other people have mentioned, but this turns into more of a candied violet on my skin after a while with hints of dark, fruity, sweet currant and herbal-esque wood notes. Unfortunately, this gets a little too perfumey and sharp on me in the drydown, perhaps thanks to the other floral notes. Still, there is a sweetness and a woodiness underneath the perfume that I do like. I'll probably keep my decant of this for aging, but I don't need a full bottle.

I thought that I would hate Crowley because of the red patchouli. I normally love patchouli, but the lab's red patchouli smells so dirty and awful on me. I actually don't smell any patchouli in this at all though. It's a pleasant surprise, because my skin usually amps up and does awful things to the red patch. Unfortunately, my skin amps up my other problem note in this blend (leather). First on this is a classic men's cologne feel (which I like) with hints of zesty citrus freshening everything up. In the drydown, I get more woods and then suddenly this morphs into a very heavy on the leather scent. Smoky, warm leather. There's a sweetness to this along with a warm muskiness, but Crowley is mostly smoky leather on my skin. Drat. My boy seems to have trouble pulling off strong leather scents as well, so I'll probably be swapping away my decant of this'n.

I'm rather fond of The Gibbous Moon. I adore the lab's moonflower for its sweet and chilly qualities, I love the watery-fresh cucumber, and I love the green edge that the moss adds to this scent. At times it seems like this wants to go perfumey on me (hyacinth?) or soapy (lily?) but it never actually turns on my skin. It's like the wonderful moonflower is keeping the bad notes from misbehaving. On me this is a chilly, watery, green, fresh scent with sweet florals swirling about. The moonflower smells musky-sweet and ethereal on me. Lovely. My boy loves this on me too.

The Sportive Sun has two notes in it which go to baby powder on me - amber and calamus. This starts off a little bit spicy and a lot powdery, and then dries down to a little bit of dry woods and a lot of baby powder. The floral aspects of this don't survive at all on my skin. It's a light, dry, powdery scent on me.

Singing Moon is very sharp and herbal on me, with sprigs of mint thrown about in the drydown. I'm also getting a damp earth and sharp ozone twang from this. My brain seems to have a hard time actually wrapping itself around this scent. It's perfumey, sharp, and then every once in a while I catch an actual hint of something I know (dirt, mint, ozone). Singing Moon is a combination of a lot of smells that I don't really care for or get along with, all wrapped up in a sharp, perfumey bow. It's worth a try because it's so unusual, but it's not something I'll personally hold on to.

I seem to be in the minority for not loving this scent. Aziraphale is far too dry of a scent for my tastes. It really does have a dusty, dry smell to it along with some dry woods. It turns to dusty cedar shavings on me after a while and makes me think of hamster cages. I even kinda like that smell, but there's something far too dry about this one, like it's going to suck the moisture out of my wrists, lol. Thankfully, I find this to be rather light. It's just very much not-for-me.

I love lavender, so I was excited to try Yvaine. It starts off a sort of sharp, astringent lavender that I'm not fond of, but it quickly mellows into a calming, sweet, smooth, cool lavender. I do get a hint of something perfumey in the background that I'm guessing is the magnolia. In the drydown, what I think might be a sharp ozone note starts to dominate. It's a cool and airy scent that's not really unpleasant, but I think it goes a bit too sharp with my skin chemistry. I probably will swap away my decant of this one.