Little Bird

The Teapot turns very sour smelling on my skin. The jasmine is yellowy, sour, humid floral and the bergamot & mate are tart and lemony. It's a bit too sharp, tart and sour for my tastes.

Very citrusy on my skin, almost like a fizzy grapefruit and lemon-berry candy with hints of green tea. Citrus, sweet, and doesn't last very long on me.

This kind of reminds me of Y'ha-nthlei. It's a cold, smooth aquatic that smells like water themed cologne and doesn't go as intensely soapy as most aquatics tend to, though it's definitely still very much a clean fragrance. The bamboo is a gentle, green presence. This does make me think of getting caught in a chilly spring rain, with wafts of clean laundry getting soaked on the line.

I was hoping for more cherry blossom from this scent, but I don't smell any floral at all from this blend. On me, The Instructional Manual is all fake, candy-sweet strawberry and red musk. It smells kind of like a cheap strawberry scented incense stick on my skin, which isn't entirely bad. I was just hoping for more of a fresh, true strawberry and cherry blossom fragrance.

Anteros is one of those fragrances that I wish I could reach into and take out some of the notes (mainly the sour red currant and bergamot in this case). The vanilla-d red musk is wonderful and sensual... dark, warm, sweet musk. There's a mossy patchouli here as well, that reminds me of dry pine needles and forest floor with a whisp of tobacco smoke. It's earthy, sexy, and sort of musky-earthy-smoky-ambery in the drydown. Except for the red currant and bergamot, which add a really cheap, fruity, sour, tween at Bath & Body Works feel into the mix. The two sides don't mesh well for me.

The 'silk' thing is a note that I keep having pop up in indie perfumes and it's a very dry, stiffly starched, scratchy, slightly soapy fabric smell. I find it really unpleasant and reminiscent of dryer sheets. I definitely get that scent as the core of Floating World, surrounded by a nutty patchouli and dry vanilla. I like the other notes, but that scratchy, soapy, dry fabric smell really ruins this for me.

This is like a grownup version of Miskatonic University, and kind of similar to Pinched with Four Aces on my skin. It smells like a coffee shop in an old book store. The leather is sweet, slightly dusty and slightly vanilla-ish (the old books part), and the coffee & teakwood smells like different, dry coffee beans stored in an old wooden case. I don't really smell any cocoa, but it is a little spicy on my skin for some reason. Coffee beans and books.

A sickly, cheap, waxy strawberry lipsmackers and artificial 'vanilla flavoring.' The ylang ylang here is sharp and perfumey, white musk-like, and gives me a headache. Bergamot makes the strawberries smell sour and unripe in the drydown, covered in cheap white musk and sugar, with a waxy, dusty, cheap overlay. It just goes all wrong on me. 15 minutes in, it smells like a plasticy potpourri with a vaguely waxy berry smell to it. Fades away quickly, but I wasn't really sad to see it go.

Faint, blackened, ashy vetiver with the vanilla and powdery white sandalwood giving it a delicately sweet scent that's reminding me of coconut husk. Woody, warm and lightly sweet. For a vetiver scent, this is surprisingly light. After 5 minutes, this smells like a lighter, watered down version of the GC blend The White Rider. Powdery white sandalwood and buttery suede leather with vanillic tones. After 15 minutes, it has disappeared entirely, even from the points where I slathered. Absolutely no throw or staying power. Half a year later, this is even lighter and heading to my swap pile.

The Contrast is a pleasant, light, golden frankincense scent. It only lasts about two hours on my skin, and is just a sheer, golden, pretty resin. Simple and calming. Lightly sweet.

Something in this (the magnolia, I think) has a soapy, sour, lemony quality to it. It goes on intensely soapy and I wanted to scrub it off, but the drydown is much prettier. It's very wispy and ethereal... like a cold breeze and white florals at a garden party with gauzy, light streamers and light-as-air, tiny lemon cakes... It's dainty and clean with a delicate sweetness and a sour, lemony, natural floral smell. The honey musk and vanilla are barely there, just adding a slight suggestion of sweetness. I enjoy The Bride as the soapiness fades, but the whole thing lasts under three hours on my skin.

For the first hour, the sandalwood in this is very present, clean and creamy. It reminds me of generic white lotion (just that clean, creamy smell) and a hint of baby powder. The lotus root has a tart fruitiness (almost sour cherry-like) and Volcano is reminiscent of bptp's Castitas bath oil on my skin. The first couple hours are pretty, but I love this more and more as it dries down. By about the three hour mark, I'm left with nothing but a rich, sweet vanilla cream and hint of warm woodiness. I don't love Volcano quite as much as my favorite bpal vanilla (Monster Bait: Underpants), but this is a wonderful, long lasting vanilla that actually feels similar to Underpants. It's like MB: Underpants, but with a clean undertone... (sorry for the odd sentence). I'm really glad that I purchased a bottle of this. Fans of vanilla should love this one.

Pencil shavings, woody fig and womething like burning, rubbery pencil erasers (like when you use a pencil eraser really vigorously). The caramelized part of the caramelized patchouli is sickly sweet and starts to remind me of caramel flavored chewing tobacco. Intensely sweet, caramel flavored chewing tobacco with the burning, sour overtone of used pencil erasers and some pencil shavings... too sweet and just weird, burnt, and strangely soured on my skin.

This is just as advertised on my skin - a waxy honey and strawberry hard candy smell. Together, the beeswax and strawberry candy kind of remind me of strawberry flavored chapstick.

I'm not a big fan of herbal blends. This one is inoffensive, but still not for me. Kind of a savory, lemony rosemary type of smell over dry wood. Very light and fades quickly on my skin.

On me, The Bear Prince is a soft, dewy rose and fuzzy, snuggly, warm vanilla musk type of scent. After an hour, there's a slightly soapy, clean, dryer sheet type smell underneath that sweet rose musk, that I'm guessing is the snow coming through. Overall, it's light and pretty on my skin, lasting about six hours before it starts disappearing entirely. I like this well enough, but there are vanilla & rose scents that I enjoy more (that are creamier and sweeter than this one).

I don't get any cake from this blend. I get lots of sharp, bright, slightly sour red currant and a drizzle of honey that turns a little powdery in the drydown. It's very fruity.

A strawberry slushie, all syrupy and sweet, with a strong scent of strawberry scented doll heads, which is a powdery, vanillic, strawberry sweet scent. Dusted in powdered sugar. It's intensely sugary, very pink, and a bit too much for me.

Sweet, herbal lemon. I don't smell any incense. It's a happy, energizing, light fragrance. Lucan's Phoenix is simple and pleasant enough. I don't need a bottle, but I'll probably hold on to my decant.

Musky lemon, powdery amber, and a soft, spicy incense. I probably wouldn't wear this one again (not a big fan of lemon, musk or powder), but it does smell warm, sunny & golden, and it isn't unpleasant at all.

Walking the Prime Meridian turns intensely soapy and dry smelling on my skin. Sort of like salt and floral scented dryer sheets.

A scent of kindness and devotion, friendship and loyalty: soft brown leather and brushed suede with bourbon vanilla, toasted almond, tonka bean, and amber. The almond kills this scent for me. It's like a sickly-sweet cherry cough syrup smell. A little bit of powdery amber comes in during the drydown, but I can't really smell the leather at all.

Herbal greenery and sharp mint with a sweet, powdery, honey pollen sort of undertone.

I expected this to be a super-sweet Snake Oil, but it's actually rather sharp and powdery on my skin. I don't smell any cotton candy or vanilla. Powdery Snake Oil, a sharp muskiness that I find in the newer versions of Dorian, honey and a spiciness that I'm guessing is coming from the carnation. It's jumbled and strange on me, but I'm one of the people who doesn't even really like regular Snake Oil (no matter how long it's been aged).

This kind of has a generic men's cologne feel. Watery, cool, almost musky and sharp. Isn't turning to straightup soap on my skin, though.