zankoku_zen

Frankincense, saffron and oak. Resinous, a hint of bergamot, but in general sort of masculine and resinous.

Berries, rose and frankincense. This is a warm, resinous berry-rose blend. There's joy, and yes brightness, and sweetness. The berry is definitely 'jammy'.

So Oak Moon suffers from a super bi-polar personality on me. On wet, its this uber-strong and masculine OAK note. It's like Oak King on steroids. And dries down to a woody vanilla. Which moves from masculine to almost feminine. Still too woody for me overall, but deliciously beautiful.

O plus vanilla and orange. It's the same honey note from O that occasionally does funky things on my skin, and ends up smelling sort of 'musty' on the drydown. Boo. I can see this being wicked popular though.

Banana nut bread and incense. That's what it reminds me of. Incense, smoke and wisps of nuts and bananas. Tropical, smoky, exotic.

Extra spicy pumpkin bread. i get the brown sugar, clove, cinnamon and maple sugar. This is sweet, sticky and spicy. I find it more masculine, given the spices involved than say something gender neutral or girly. Uhhh.... I totally want some pumpkin pie now. Not for the hungry.

Fizzy champagne, grapefruit, and hints of tobacco and orange blossom. This one is fun, energetic, and I'm surprised at how much the citrus lasts on my skin. It's a very clean, zippy scent.

Lavender, white musk, and tinges of purple fruit. This is a very PURPLE blend.

Dark chocolate, wood and that furry bat musk. On the drydown I get some of the cassia, and the light cologne note. Slightly masculine, playful and debonair.

Pom and clean dirt. It smells like soap and pom on me. PASS.

Dark, heady white florals. I get the jasmine and ylang ylang with a base of ozone and soap. It's sort of darkly sophisticated, with a clean edge. White, floral, powerful.

Red velvet cake and wine. I get hints of Dorian and incense. This is cake on a debauched night out. You know the kind of night. A lot of bump and grind, fueled by sugar and alcohol. Smoky, sexy, sweet.

SGR4 is a light green blend, with a hint of citrus fizz. My guess it has some juniper in it, green grass, and I think some green musk.

Dry lilac and smoky resins. It's a very masculine, musky sort of blend. It has a very odd appeal. Rough, dangerous, and kinda sexy.

Pomegranate, mulberry and myrrh. The mulberry sweetens and dulls the pom note which is always problematic with me, and the myrrh adds a resinous blend. I actually enjoy this a fair amount. I may need more.

Unsteady Governess with hints of red musk and saffron. If the Unsteady Governess was a light, citrusy blend, the Vampire Bride retains that same cool, citrus edge, but underneath you can feel the pulsating blood underneath the skin. The contrast is interesting, and the juxtaposition of cold/warm works well. Ultimately, not my kind of blend but definitely one of the more interesting blends of 2011. Icy, pulsating, cold.

Loads of dark patchouli, sweetened slightly cocoa and vanilla. This is dark, rooty patchouli. PASS.

Woodsmoke, patchouli and sandalwood. Scorched earth, fire with a touch of green. Evocative of the painting, and it veers into slightly masculine territory for me. Powerful, green, smoke.

Scorched vetiver and pepper. The pepper mellows out and the clove comes out, but it ends up masculine and aggressive on me. Spicy, peppery, dark.

Earthy, dirty white florals. I get musky white florals that have been doing horribly salacious things. With honey. Think about. *PAUSE* ... Yup, that's it. Dirty, floral, honey.

I get fir, patchouli and leaves. Along the lines of Samhain, but more of the fall leaves variety. It turns sort of dusty toward the end, which means that its the type of patchouli that doesn't work for me. Fall, leaves, chilly.

I get whiffs of pumpkin on wet, but then it dries down to a sweet vanilla, chocolate and fruity combination. Light, girly, sweet.

Red musk, dark nutmeg, gritty tobacco. On the drydown, I get more of the amber. This has a dark, and almost wild edge to it. Dark, sexy, warm.

Mildly soapy white florals drydown to mildly soapy roses. I have to just resign myself that I am going to amp up every single rose note ever in a blend. Rosy, white, clean.

Tenebrous Love: a shivering white musk with vanilla-infused white cocoa, amber incense, and dead, dry leaves. Oh man, this one may be a winner in my book. It has a strong leafy note but dries to a vanilla/amber blend. It's sweet on the drydown, cozy and reminds me to a cross of Blade of Grass and Tattered Lace. Warm, cozy, vanilla.