puellacaerulea
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I was expecting to like this one less than As Above due to the coconut/patch/musk combo, but this is a surprise hit for me. This is amber and copal on me first and foremost -- the cardamom is there and is a little discordant upon application, but it blends in better on drydown. I have a hard time detecting the coconut -- my overall impression is a lightly resinous, slightly mineralic, almost effervescent amber/copal scent.
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In the decant and on the skin, the bitter almond is the predominant note. After application, the jasmine also comes out more. The leather is there, but it's subtle, and the patch and oak seem to blend pretty seamlessly with it -- they're mainly grounding the almond and jasmine and keeping them from getting overly sweet or screechy. To me, it's a bit like the darker, gothier cousin of Ava from the OLLAs (it's probably the almond/white floral combo leading me to that comparison).
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In the decant and immediately on application, the iris, mallow, and white tea are most prominent -- subtle and pale, but a little astringent. The scorched milk comes out more after application. The scorched milk note isn't as overtly gourmand as it is in scents like Snake's Milk -- it's mostly serving to smooth out the astringency of some of the other notes. Eventually settles to a subtle skin scent.
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In the decant, this starts off reading "green" to me, between the floral, slightly bitter neroli and fresh mandarin and tangerine peel. The musk is detectable, but it's a background player and is sort of smoothing out those fresher notes. On my skin, the musk explodes and becomes the dominant note, while the neroli and citrus notes are adding a slightly bright, fresh counterpoint to the heavier musk (and at this point, my impression of the scent shifts from green to emphatically orange). I'm enjoying the way the musk blends with the neroli and citrus notes, so I'll hang onto my decant, but this is the kind of musk I find too heavy for everyday wear.
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Based on the tobacco flower and grey amber, I was also expecting something in the general neighborhood of To A Wreath of Snow. It's not *unlike* that scent, but it is a somewhat floral-forward, creamy tobacco flower with fairly astringent black tea in the background. My skin may just amp the black tea note too much, but the florals and tea astringency end up a bit screechy on my skin.
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I love the heady, indolic smell of fresh tuberose (a flower vendor at my local farmers market always has it in late summer, and the smell of tuberose in my house is one of the only things that can redeem swampy midwestern Augusts for me). In the bottle, I get that particular kind of tuberose (and without gardenia butting in, as mentioned above), while the sweet amber isn't much of a presence. Unfortunately, on my skin the sweet amber takes over and does some very weird things, going vaguely plasticky and dusty while the tuberose retreats into the background. Going to chalk this one up to a skin chemistry fail and continue the search for my perfect tuberose 'fume.
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Definitely an aquatic, but not in a stereotypically beachy way -- a little mossy, woody, and musky, and I notice that the fresh salt note recedes a bit after application. Reminds me a bit of the Teakwood, Moss, & Salt trio, but it's not as bracing and cool as that trio -- this is warmer and more conventionally summery. I wish that fresh, clean salt note hung around longer, but I'm still likely to get a full size of this for warm-weather wear.
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This one doesn't morph much from the decant to my hair -- there's amber, but the mineralic notes have a light, effervescent quality (while still being obviously mineralic -- is pretty, sparkly sand a thing? Because that's where my brain is going) that lighten up the amber. I can sometimes find amber scents a little too heavy, especially for everyday wear, but this hits a happy medium.
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In the decant and immediately upon spraying, this is straight-up bright lemon. Once it's applied and had a chance to mellow, the softer floral notes come out. It's a white floral, but a bit softer and more white musk-adjacent to my nose than, say, orange blossom. The lemon notes are still there, but they're much quieter and mainly brighten up the floral notes. Overall impression is a soft, fresh floral-citrus. I'll probably want a full size of this.
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In the imp and upon application, this is cool, herbaceous lavender and citrus that reminds me a bit of Fuck This Heat. As it dries down, the ylang ylang starts to come out more, but is never a loud presence; it's mostly adding a subtle, creamy floral back note to the citrus and lavender. Well after drydown, the lavender fades to the background and the citrus and ylang become more dominant. The sandalwood is there, but it's very subtle and just adds a bit of grounding to the citrus and creamy floral. Unusually good wear time for a lavender/citrus scent -- this was still present on my skin about 12 hours later.
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In the decant and immediately after applying, this is a warm, autumnal gourmand -- even though oats aren't listed in the notes, it reads like honey and oats (which could be the hay) to my nose. If anything, it reminds me of a local soap shop's oatmeal stout soap (in a good way). As it dries down, the leaves and vetiver come out more, giving the scent an ever-so-slightly cologney (again, in a good way) backbone and taking it out of strictly gourmand or fall-craft-store territory. Warm, autumnal, and earthy-sweet -- like Corn Riggs but with some pleasant oomph from the vetiver.
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This is one of those exceptionally well-blended DL scents where the notes mesh so well it's hard to easily discern one from the other. In the decant and on, the citrus stands out first and is complemented by the neroli. The DL note is in the background, but it's there -- it's more of a light, crunchy dry leaf note that lends itself well to the citrus and neroli. Overall impression is a autumnal, dry, slightly vegetal and bitter take on summery citrus-and-neroli blends. Folks who like citrus blends but are hesitant about the DL note should give this one a try, as the DL note is subtle and works surprisingly well alongside the blood orange note. The only real downside is the short wear time (was gone after a few hours on me), but I haven't ruled out a full bottle of this one.
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Bergamot, Himalayan Cedar, and Lemon Peel
puellacaerulea replied to Jenjin's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Starting off, the cedar is definitely dominant in this scent -- combined with the very bright and pithy lemon peel, it does give strong natural-cleaning-product vibes immediately after application and as it's drying down. After drydown, the cedar and lemon peel soften quite a bit and the bergamot peeks out more -- at this stage, it's more of a soft, slightly sweet citrus with soft woods in the background. It can come across as too loud and harsh in the early stages, but I do like it once it's calmed down on my skin. -
On application, this is primarily a dry cacao, with the coconut and musk notes adding richness. The sandalwood note comes out more after drydown, complementing the dryness of the cacao note. This is definitely one for the gourmand lovers, though the sandalwood and musk keep this from strictly foody territory.
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This one starts out promising, with soft lemon blossom backed with slightly more green and astringent lemon leaf. There's something a bit powdery and vintage-perfume about it, but still bright and appealing. As it wears, the anise slowly takes over -- after drydown, this is predominantly anise with faint greens and citrus lurking in the background. This one's a like, but not love for me.