thekittenkat

In the bottle: Ozone, sandalwood, clary sage, and some sweetness, probably from the Gum Arabic.

Wet: Ozone, with the citrus rind and the powder of the amber becoming apparent.

The dry-down: This has dried down to a delicate, almost spring-like scent. The coolness of the ozone keeps it grounded n that transitional state between winter and spring. All the other notes are blending together, w/ the exception of the amber, which goes always powdery on my skin. Those other notes are a pretty herbal mix kept in check by the Gum Arabic. The verbena and citrus seem to be behaving themselves, so far. I like this and will be wearing it a lot in March.

This is for the 2013 version.

In the bottle: Sweet snow.

Wet: Brighter and sharper. That's the ozone and florals.

The dry-down: A light version this year, more abt the wind and the flowers, and less abt that coconut note that I've found in some past years' versions. Still sweet, though.

In the bottle: A blast of mint, and a hint of sugar.

Wet: Still minty-fresh, but the almond note from the marzipan is trying to fight its way through.

The dry-down: Mint-flavored marzipan, if you like that sort of thing.

In the bottle: Cranberry cider, oh boy!

Wet: Even more cidery! (Is that a word? Well, it is now. *grins*)

The dry-down: If this was a real cranberry cider, I'd be drinking it! Good job, Beth!

This for the 2013 version.

In the bottle: Pines in the snow.

Wet: It's the minty snow note, lingering in the pine trees.

The dry-down: Skadi dries to a soft pine note, w/ hints of the snow, and just a little sweetness from the berries, which I wish I got more of. I've hoarded my old partial like forever, so will do a death-match at some point.

I must admit that I never dreamt that this would return!

In the bottle: Mostly treacle.

Wet: Treacle w/ something nutty underneath, deep in the mix, but I wouldn't say it's pecan. For part of my growing-up years, once we moved from the West back home, my parents loved to buy houses with pecan trees in the yard--easy if you live in the right parts of the Deep South. We would pick up the pecans, my dad would shell them, and my mother would bake the best pecan pies ever.

The dry-down: The pale treacle is also known as golden syrup. The scent is pretty much that golden syrup, with just a hint of something like a pie crust, and the aforementioned nut note, which is not pecan. This is pleasant enough, but I'll let it age awhile. Just not my mother's pecan pie. Oh, yes, I forgot: not a jot of pumpkin to be found any where.

In the bottle: Lots of that salled air that you get at the beach when it's low tide, there's tidal pools, and the wind's blowing inland.

Wet: Still the salty air, but blowing along w/ it something nutty, like I'm near a bakery.

The dry-down: This is more like the sea salt caramels (but w/o chocolate) than like cookies. Keeping my bottle for the scent locket, as I love that blast of salt air.

In the bottle: A white tea w/ eucalyptus and ambergris.

Wet: More like the lemony tea note in Dorian.

The dry-down: That lemon note is blending back into what I 1st sniffed. This is a cousin to Dorian and will be a perfect spring and summer scent, whether at a garden party or at work--times and places that you want to have a delicate scent.

In the decant: Lots of that powerful ozone mint combo. Maybe a hint of moth balls?

Wet: Much as on cold sniff.

The dry-down: Perhaps a crunch of stone -- a wall w/ icicles hanging from its sides. This reminds of Moon of Ice, and like that elegant ozone and mint scent, this lovely doesn't hang around long, either. I'll keep the decant, but MoI covers this niche very well, already. If you like MoI and your bottle is used up, or you always wanted to try it, give this a whirl. Still not sure what the fire note was.

ETA: abt 1/2 hr after the early dry-down, the crook of my elbow where I was testing this became very red and sensitive, so I had to wash it off. I do wish that I knew exactly what notes were in this, so I could avoid it in the future.

This is for the 2013 version.

In the decant: A boozey cream beverage in one of those plastic to-go cups.

Wet: Same as on cold sniff. *wrinkles nose*

The dry-down: Just not like the various brands of egg nog that we get at the store. And that plastic note is a really turn-off.

This is for the 2013 version.

In the decant: Very strongly resinous, lots of frank only mildly tempered by myrrh.

Wet: Now a little bit more myrrh amongst the frank.

The dry-down: Frank and myrrh--very nice as always. If you keep skipping over Midnight Mass, do try it this year.

In the decant: The celery seed is very strong!

Wet: That celery seed calms down, and the lime rind is front-and-center.

The dry-down: A fresh green scent emerges, sort of like a cucumber or a green unripe melon. There might be a hint of the frank keeping this from being too veggie. This would be perfect for early spring.

In the decant: Some mint, but mostly that butter note from Jack that dislikes me so.

Wet : Buttery mint, dusted w/ the powder sugar. I'm being brave to try this, since I had to wash off Jack.

The dry-down: Mint cookie, drizzled w/ butter and the sugar. The Pom cream was never obvious. Okay, but not my bag.

In the decant: The mahogany wood softened by sweet and resinous goodies.

Wet: A touch more woody, a tad bit less sweet.

The dry-down: A lovely woody scent that's tempered by most all the other notes: the currants and tonka are floating in the Muscat and it's being poured all over the wood, to soak in and just make the mahogany even more resinous.

In the decant: Buttery rum with some spices.

Wet: Warm butter cookies, fresh from the oven.

The dry-down: Turning a bit dusty (the almond) as it dries, with chunks of orange rind in the mix. A yummy morpher that goes full circle back to the spicy butter rum. Nice!

In the decant: Gingerbread next to an open bottle of aged Snake Oil.

Wet: Now the fumes of the gingerbread and Snake Oil start to co-mingle.

The dry-down: A nice gingerbread and Snake Oil combo--this is like aged Snake Oil, only better.

In the decant: It's like camping in the winter-time, and the fire's just gone out.

Wet: The frozen river and a gentle but chilly wind.

The dry-down: The cold woods and the ashy and cold remains of a campfire. It's a gray day, with the promise of more snow on the way, so time to hike out back home.

Mellifluous, thanks for the testable bit.

In the decant: Myrrh and frank: sweet resins.

Wet: Just like the cold sniff.

The dry-down: This doesn't morph. If you like these two resins, this is it.

In the decant: Vick's Vapor rub and moth balls. What the heck? Sinus-clearing, to be sure!

Wet: An incredibly mint-soaked apple, buried in some dusty ole burlap sacks.

The dry-down: Someone ate the apple, and then shut the cellar doors, so I'm left holding the bag. A dusty ole burlap sack. *drops it* I was hoping for a funky version of SGA, but this? This is the Mighty Morphing Bpal Power Ranger. Seriously, don't D&D rangers wear this stuff? And here I was worried about a steel broom.

In the decant: A mish-mash of the dark notes poured over dark leather.

Wet: Tonka-scented papery fabric.

The dry-down: Didn't really change much in the drying process, just with an occasional hint of the leather binding of the book. There's a dish somewhere of figs. I really liked this in the decant and didn't expect to do such crazy changes--it just was dark and then Booom! it was sweet. Strange how that happens.

In the decant: Cool vanilla sugar.

Wet: The vanilla is amphing a bit, but that's alright.

The dry-down: Sweet vanilla snow. Swoon-worthy. This should return each Yule, IMHO.

In the decant: Salt, patch, and the rose.

Wet: Sweeter now--suspect that the beeswax is breaking through.

The dry-down: The salt and oudh combine to give both the rose and the wood an almost incense feeling; rather interesting, but not something that I would wear on a regular basis.

In the decant: Musky heather growing near the hard wood forest.

Wet: An earthy note, which must be the peat.

The dry-down: And now, the two musks embracing and then fading away. I'm just stunned by this result. I'll do a re-test, but to have it just go away after half-an-hour is just not my traditional result w/ musks of any kind.

Eta: grammar fail.

In the decant: The Mother's notes of hazelnut, myrtle, and honey are very present.

Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but w/ traces of rose and bergamot. rising to the top.

The dry-down: Most of the notes have blended together, deep in the mix. Honeyed rose sprinkled with the sandalwood growing in a hard woods forest seems to be the ending of this somewhat morphing scent. I like it, but the decant is plenty.

In the decant: A men's aquatic cologne w/ a kind of unpleasant incense.

Wet: Now the incense is even stranger, and not in a good way. Fishy?

The dry-down: Even the cat, who loves all things fish, wrinkled his nose at this and backed away. That seals the deal for this fishy scent that is past its shelf-life. Sprinkling w/ weird incense won't help, either. Bizarre--now it's turning sweet! Just a really different men's aquatic cologne. Not for me, but a perfect evocation of the concept.