patina

Starts out as strong, awesome moist gingerbread. It's heavy on the cinnamon and gets a bit plasticy on me after a while. Far less strong than straight Snake Oil (that might be a good thing.) I like cinnamon though it seems to be taking over here, it's almost SN cinnamon with a hint of ginger and snake oil. In general, it's awesome, but probably not so amazing I'd need more than one bottle. On the other hand, I was underwhelmed by regular fresh Snake Oil although I love it aged. Verdict: ???? Will probably get much better.

Preface: I do like some smoky scents like Maladiction, even if they tend to be a bit too close to SN smoke to wear. I also like dirt sometimes, though it tends to disappear quickly on me. Normally dirt reminds me of gardening or springtime, nothing really creepy. I tested this scent on a towel first and the dirt here, well... the smoke and char make the dirt seem damper and darker. I'm getting the idea of a damped fire pit where ghouls squabble. For a two note scent this is really interesting. Actual wear: Artificial bacon bits like whoa. Also like the dirt in Placophobia, I'm getting a weird pickle spice scent. Coriander? Bacon bits and coriander. Not pleasant. After a while the smoke flavoring mellows and the scent's actually wearable. I'm not sure if the drydown is worth it though.

Sugarplum, snow, sparkling grape juice and the occasional hint of cardamom. I don't have much to say about this one except that it smells really delicious. The cardamom keeps it from being too simple and I can tell there's plum in it, not just indeterminate grape flavored sugar. I prefer this over Black Snowballs which threatens to be a bit soapy/floral. This is a possible bottle purchase.

First applied: I get pomegranate and spicy...pimento? It's surprisingly spicy and a little sour. I could see this as sort of the perfume equivalent of a Lovecraftian protagonist having a screaming breakdown. Almost instantly later: Pimento's gone. I can separate the vetiver now, though it doesn't completely dominate the scent. The pomegranate is surprisingly strong. All in all, this smells like tamrind candy. It's sweet, tart, a little sour (not in an objectionable way- and this is coming from someone who can't wear sour things at all), and a bit earthy/smoky. Hours later: still noticeable and delicious. Strong vetiver, but I like it as a base.

Dark, salty, slightly smoky scent with candles. They're very definitely tallow candles, not beeswax. The rose here is not overwhelming, it's deep and lovely though there is a strong "green stems" element that probably comes with the oude. On the drydown the oude comes out more, giving a strong wood powder to the rose and candles. The general effect is like a very romantic writing desk in the dark. I'd probably get this scent if I didn't already have a rose scent I liked and if the thought of wearing a tallow scent didn't disturb me. Not that it smells bad. It doesn't.

This smells like scorched (the red amber?) but smooth vanilla with intense white florals. The florals threaten to go all kinds of soapy and powdery but the vanilla keeps them in place. This smells like someone beautiful but very unpleasant in a ferociously, aggressively perfumy way. Vanilla's supposed to be sort of bland and pretty, right? Same thing with white florals. But this scent has claws. I'm not sure how I feel about this one and whether I'd wear it often enough to warrant a bottle, but it certainly is interesting and I have to commend the Lab on the Fairy Tale Inquisition scents since the ones I've tried have perfectly captured their concepts. Edit: The scent isn't as quite strong as my review makes it seem, but still, those soft white florals have claws. Edit Edit: Okay, I was wrong. It dries down to something very soft and gorgeous. Vain Sorceress could be a sister to Jareth. Not that they smell alike, but they're both extremely pretty pale vanilla scents. (At least I think Jareth has vanilla...) Between the two I think I prefer Jareth though. verdict: Smells pale, beautiful and heartless. Not nearly as harsh as I thought it was initially. The scent doesn't remind me of Malificent really, more like Galadrial from the Lord of the Rings in her "ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR" mood.

I get a light honey and also musk (the tobacco, sage, and hyssop). Also there's something that my brain insists is hazelnut. There's some oak underneath, I do get a tannic/ vanilla-woody smell. This is kind of like getting a big hug in perfume form from an idealized herbalist grandmother. It's a seriously comforting foody scent. (Though it's not all that foody because of the tobacco and acorns.)

I get pine and leather, but they're both subdued and keeping one another in check. The third and equally powerful scent here is a smell like pink pastilles (kind of chalky pink candy.) That must be the carnation. Then some juniper comes out, but it's not the horrible scent ruiner that juniper usually is on me. This is a pink and pretty wild forest scent. Edit: I figured out some of the "candy" effect is actually a medium musk. Musk smells like candy to me, go figure.

This is very pine heavy. I detect a masculine cologne-like note which is the stone. I don't think this snow is very minty, but then again, it could be the spruce and pine covering the mint up. I occasionally get a whiff of pretty, chilly snow through all the pine and stone. Verdict: Pretty, but very heavy on pine. Edit: On the drydown, this turns into soft spruce and snow. I'm getting a very faint smoky scent which might be the wood. This is a beautiful snow and mountains scent.

At first this is leather that reminds me of RPG scents, plus honey. It's okay. As it warms up this becomes sweet, rugged, and sexy. Whoof. The rose blends into the leather and musks so I have to make an effort to pick it out. The leather turns a bit chemical on the drydown and the rose is probably making that worse, but the throw still smells gorgeous. I have a suspicion the musks will mellow and become better with time. This is probably not for everyday wear, in fact I may have to scrub it off before heading out. Otherwise I'd be tempted to get another bottle. Edit: Lovely as the musk is, sometimes the honey goes a bit sour on the drydown. Besides, I already have Totentanz for my dark musk and leather needs. Off to swaps!

This seems like Iago's smirking, more relaxed, and far more diplomatic cousin. Of course it doesn't smell like Iago since leather is much, much less prominent. The coffee note comes and goes. The bergamot and pepper get a lot stronger on the drydown and then it's a bit disturbing. For one thing the rest of the scent is a toasty dark brown and it makes the bergamot seem almost soapy for a moment there. Also, bergamot seems like such a bright, fresh men's cologne scent to me. The contrast is a little offputting, like an otherwise normal guy at the office who has dark designs. Ladymeag nailed it, this is a bit of a sleazeball scent. The bergamot and pepper eventually fade a bit and I get more vetiver and a little black coffee. I'm a fan of the warm-brown-darkness-and-coffee stages of the scent. Not so much of the sandalwood and bergamot colonge stage.

Berries and slush! I don't get the licorice very much but that might be contributing to the sweetness. If aquatic notes turn to soap on you I'd be a little cautious. It starts heading in that direction on me, but it never becomes offensive. I can see the comparison to grape juice. I think it's the licorice's effect on the fruit. Anyhow, sweet, pretty non-tart berries with a little snowy slurry. Sort of perfumy, but a simple pretty fruit perfume for a young person. This reminds me of eating frozen figs. I love this.

This is gingerbread. Perfect, soft chewy gingerbread with almond frosting. Edit: This seems to have a black tea note somewhere in it unless my nose deceives me. Sometimes an almost perfumy edge appears, but mostly this is bread-y ginger. Delicious.

Spicy dirt, moss, incense...this smells dry to me though other people might get the impression of dampness from the moss. I recognize the mushroom note from Destroying Angel and The Steeple. This feels like a very close relative of Lich Lab. Very cozy. I don't get kerosene, luckily. . Edit: Okay, I do get kerosene, but it's not too unpleasant. This smells sort of like an old garage or an underground lab lit by gaslight.

I could swear this had jasmine, but it's only doing the floral thing that honey sometimes does. I could almost swear there was leather as well. The only problem is that there's a bit of a sour note to this, like very sour orange. This has a bit of a sunny/ glowing feel that would be wonderful on dark winter days, but I already have A Wonderful Light for that.

So disappointing. I just can't wear juniper at all. The first note I get is the leather from Fighter, followed by a cleaning fluid like juniper and some light honey. Nope.

Nice. Imagine Old Demons of the First Class, but with the Neroli removed and replaced with red musk. This is something along the lines of Sin but a bit smoother. Sin in a leather jacket. On first application, I get something nasty, almost fecal for a moment, but it only lasts a moment and I know from experience that it'll disappear entirely when the scent ages.

Pine pitch. PIIIINNNE PIIIIITCH. But don't worry, this isn't a Pine Sol pine tree scent. Neither is it derived from a tame Christmas tree such as you might find at a farm. Nor is it a pretty little thing that gets coated with sparkling icicles and snow like sugar. No, this is what you get when you journey to the heart of the deepest darkest old growth forest to do battle with a moss bearded behemoth, a monster who devours lumberjacks whole, and you rip out its sweet black resinous heart wherein dwells a thousand winters. If, after nestling the tree's pitchy heart in a box full of moss, you built a cozy little chapel in the middle of the forest to house the dark tree heart and then randomly scattered EVEN MORE MOSS around you'd have a pretty good approximation of what this smells like. I don't know, something about this scent just says "dark, cozy little chapel in the woods" to me. Translation for those not fluent in nonsense: Resins, moss, a bit smoky smelling and edging towards cologne. The pine pitch becomes far less SERIOUS DEEP PITCH on drydown and the violet leaf shows up making it smoother and a little green. Good for moss lovers, myrrh lovers, and any druids on your holiday list.

Bourbon vanilla comes out first, it's a very rich vanilla, creamy and generally amazing. Green coffee bean almost smells like coffee, but it is more nutty, almost fruity, like a banana before it's fully ripened. I can't pick out particular spices at first and the patchouli stays in the background initially. I'm amazed at how bashful this patchouli is. Either that or I have a scent blind spot. Here's how the scent smells at first: Picture some whipped cream flavored with very expensive vanilla. It's all very lush, but has no sugar added. Blend in a banana just before it gets ripe and a spoonful of bitter cocoa powder with a sprinkle of cardamom or maybe nutmeg. I'm a little hungry now. Later: The scent gets darker, more woody, much less foody though the vanilla is still definitely there. The green coffee beans get stronger and no longer smell so much like a banana. Verdict: This is very nice, but I think I prefer Banshee Beat which is a lot darker and a bit sweeter.

at first this is a little faint. I get a pale olibanum with a slightly toasted smell. Then the blackcurrant comes out. It's fruity and sweet and never gets too sharp. I think I can smell non-powdery amber even though there isn't any. Must be the opoponax. The toasted/spicy smell is still there underneath preventing the sweetness from being oppressive, though it still might be too much for some people. Verdict: Perfect

I was afraid to try this because of the bay leaf note. I thought it might turn out to smell like Old Spice. While it has a bit of a male cologne vibe, I'm happy to report that this is far more tolerable to me. First of all, there's vetiver. I like some vetiver scents that smell burnt, like Maladiction, but they're usually too simple and harsh and I get tired of them after a while. It helps that the opoponax sweetens and smooths this a bit. This scent is strong and I'd expected it to be, but it's not as heavy as I'd feared. Probably because leather doesn't stick around long on my skin. Initially the bay leaves are a bit like pickles, but the effect isn't offensive and doesn't last that long anyway. After some wear the clove becomes more prominent. I love The Hellgate of Ireland, The Smiling Spider, and Count Dracula and this falls right into the pantheon of awesome dark clove stuff. Sadly I will probably never find a bottle for sale. 2024 Aged decants So the original was more gleaming black notes including leather. Now, with aging most of what I get is clove and oakmoss. I may not need a bottle after all. Edit: Tested a second aged decant. While dimmed, this one has retained some smoky vetiver and leather. Maybe a pouring issue with the decanters? it does seem like aging has softened both decants.

Freshly applied: Cherry musk or dragon's blood, celery-like leather, and faint stone. The leather rapidly becomes less celery-like. There's probably not supposed to be leather in this, but I smell it anyway. A lot of the RPG line smell similar to me and this would fit right in, except it's a complete perfume and it's better blended than anything I layered on myself. In particular the red stuff reminds me of that note from Chaotic and the leather note reminds me of Rogue and Fighter. I do get a sense of a dungeon from this, but it's a theme park dungeon, lit by lurid red light bulbs. HOURS LATER: A while ago the dragonsblood/whatever stopped being bright cherry red all over everything. It's calmed down to a nice dark resin and there's something else. Pine tar? I think I can detect the faintest whiff of the lab's brimstone note. Beeswax has also come out to play. Verdict: Nice resins. This is in the same family as Blood and the RPG line.

I really want to try Callidora from BPTP, Totentanz, and Csardas Macabre.

This is unpleasant in the vial, sort of cleaningfluid-esque. It softens up on my skin, turning into the softer, maybe slightly floral relative of Night's Bridge. Am I crazy? No one else has mentioned that scent, but to me it's almost entirely alike. Edit: okay, so other people already mentioned Night's Bridge. I fail reading comprehension. Also I get champa from this rather than lavender.

Yep, that's dirt and moss alright. There's also a strong stone note on my skin. It's sort of airy and damp, if that makes any sense. I can see the resemblance to Zombi,except Zombi always smells desiccated to me and this is damp. Nice but a bit basic. I prefer Worm Moon for dirt.