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patina

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Everything posted by patina

  1. patina

    Incantation

    I skipped this one in the past, possibly because I used to expect lemon in perfume to automatically be a citrus bomb. Instead this is dark, sweet, crumbly wood with a bit of lemon for illumination. I'd compare it to woody incense or the inside of a terrarium. I don't get a lot of smoke, but there's a faint hit of singe. Not an absolute favorite, but remarkably pleasant and a bit sultry.
  2. patina

    The Haunted Mill

    Sweet opium. It would be perfume opium except for the ton or rugged boot leather, oak, and something that smells like nettles reduced down to a green soup. As it is, the opium smells like a stand-in for a humid dark night. I like it, but it's very creepy woodshed.
  3. patina

    The Serpent in the Carnations

    First wear: very carnation: pink, somewhat powdery floral. Soft clove. The Snake Oil background is not prominent, somehow there's an occasional whiff of suede leather in the background. I think my brain is mistaking the patchouli and musk for leather. I'm reminded of The Bow and Crown of Conquest. Up close I get Snake Oil. The Snake will likely get stronger with time. I'll have to test this one later. As Snake Oil blends go this isn't my favorite so far because I'm neutral on carnation. But Snake Oil blends also intensify with time and I do like clove. Day two, warmer: the vanilla, spice, and amber(?) are really coming out.
  4. Black licorice and rusted musk with tobacco absolute and myrrh. Sniffing, lid shut: Some kind of fusty musk. Not good. Sniffing, lid open: Smooth, vanilla licorice, nothing else. On: Tobacco. Orange and vanilla flavored tobacco. And licorice. It's hard to tell where the tobacco stops and the licorice begins. The orange isn't sharp. Maybe it's the 'rusty musk' in the scent description? I know tobacco isn't supposed to be foody but I get a faint cloud of warm vanilla tobacco wafting around me and I want to eat my arm right now. So. Good. Not recommended for people who hate licorice, but if you really like tobacco and don't mind licorice (or you're actually a licorice fan like me), this is excellent. Edit: on the drydown, I'm starting to think the orange might all have been in my head, but it did smell very much like a light orange note mixed in with the tobacco.
  5. patina

    Darkness

    So, since I haven't done this one narcissius= white floral almost a fruity melon myrrh=snuffed candle opium= latex, a not-quite-rubber that I somehow enjoy even though I dislike rubber Sheer black silk and slightly melony.
  6. patina

    Champagne and Snake Oil

    At first, ginger ale. Just ginger ale and very accurate! Then the Snake Oil comes out and the scent waffles back and forth between champagne and Snake Oil. The ginger threatens to go soapy without quite actually doing it. The ginger is strongly rooty/airy wood to me. This is good because it smells sophisticated and bad because it can go a little bitter. But I think aging might fix that. I still think I'd prefer a more citrus/ floral sparkling vanilla ginger ale or else just plain Snake Oil. It's lovely and probably difficult to achieve this balance but not for me. Edit: Spoke too soon, maybe. It eventually resolves into something that isn't trying to be soapy. I like it.
  7. patina

    Party Toad

    On opening, it smells like a light leather. (Leather's the best comparison to the mushroom note I can make.) Then I get blended green musk and clover. I love the clover here. There's a trickle of flat champagne. It's perfect for the early beginnings of spring here, where flowers haven't started to bloom yet but the grass is turning green. A March/St. Patrick's day kind of feel. This is a nice green scent, but I wish there was something that gave the scent more dimension and the champagne more sparkle. Maybe a grain of frankincense or amber.
  8. patina

    The Harvest Haunt

    Cooked pumpkin smell, popcorn texture underneath with some caramel. Sometimes I could swear there's cumin and mild dry chilies in the mix. But it quickly disappears and the cooked pumpkin caramel comes back. Cozy.
  9. In vial: hazelnuts, surprisingly strong hazelnuts. On: This reminds me strongly of Oak Moon 2011 with a brown, almost caramel tinge and watered down mint. Sweet. Image: A dark grove with a huge oak tree in the middle. It's dimly lit by cool green fire playing around its branches.
  10. patina

    Snooty Bat

    This seemingly has more leather than Snootier Bat, considering that it doesn't get lost in incense or musk. I don't think most people would find the clove overwhelming, unless they simply dislike clove altogether. It's not sharp, more just slightly peppery. Pimento as Lilacea said. The Nag Champa is certainly there, adding its floral backdrop. I think I like this one better than its snootier cousin, simply because the clove and noticeable leather adds some balance to the sweetness. I'll have to test more, though.
  11. patina

    Elizabeth’s Imps

    In bottle: Buttery waffles? You don't put molasses on waffles but that's what I smell. Skin: I've been making gingerbread, so along with the super real molasses I sort of expect a ginger. But no, this isn't that kind of perfume. Gourmet haters might still want to stay away, but this isn't a pure foody scent either. The amber helps with that. Sometimes the cinnamon is nearly edible spice. Sometimes it's a cinnamon wood. Sometimes it's smouldering against the dark molasses. I guess "seductive" does work for this one. It's almost like it's flirting as it turns weaker and stronger, more molasses or more cinnamon. Not a huge throw and with the morphing, no notes overstay their welcome or become obnoxious.
  12. patina

    By Day She Made Herself into a Cat

    This is a spicy black musk, at first in the bottle I got straight amber and black peppercorns. This accounts for the fuzziness. I'm finding this more congenial than Death: My Irony. Of course it would be sweeter because of the amber. A sticky sweet fur, definitely a cat rolled in incense. I don't get red musk like some reviewers have but a lemony note has come out on top of everything and the amber is smoothing out. I can see the comparison with Streets of Detroit. They both have rounded oily resins and both are simple. This is less industrial. A bit spicier though I wouldn't call it fully spicy. Again, a cat rolling around in amber. Edit This is developing a strong grape tinge.
  13. patina

    Death: My Irony Surpasses All Others!

    I guess I have to compare this to Streets of Detroit. There's also the sense of something industrial in this one. Toner ink? I get the sense of a dark, dull burgandy mixed into the black. I've tried Siberian Musk SN before. If I remember it correctly, Death My Irony is less sweet, drier and flatter. "Desolate musk" might fit it well enough. Aging sometimes changes scents a bit though. In general: Dry-ish, matte, inky.
  14. patina

    Witch in the Woods

    In the bottle this is quite a lot of blackberry, but I also smell brown roots, bitter and poisonous. That's got to be the cypress and mandrake. For a moment on my skin, I smell dusty roots, like a storeroom. Then blackberry takes over on my skin, initially a subdued and watered down version of Blackberry Moon (of course it would be without the musk). Blackberry can turn sharp, but I think the myrrh may be keeping it sweet. This is good and bad because it both isn't turning sour and is a little artificial (is that vanilla in there? Are these blackberries cooked?). I guess it depends on your point of view. There's almost some depth but those blackberries are just so strong now. I don't mind smelling like a pie so I may be keeping this.
  15. patina

    Snootier Bat

    Nag champa can sometimes get unpleasantly powdery or soapy on me, but there's so much black musk and sugary incense that it smooths the whole thing over. Don't get me wrong, this is primarily a champa perfume. I get leather, but I can't really separate it from the rest of the scent. Then again my skin eats leather rather than amping it. This is a scent about swanning into a head shop in a big black cape. It's not bad on me, it's super smooth but I'm not entirely sure about it either. This may be too cloying for me and I'm someone who likes sweet scents and musks. Maybe I'd like Snooty Bat better, but then that doesn't have the musk to smooth out the champa.
  16. I don't know if you're still selling, but is Hooligan Frogs available if so?

  17. patina

    It Jittered Out of the Woods

    it is indeed buttery pumpkin guts splattered over a dark/ozone/slinky wood background. I don't know what I expected. It reminds me of Jack, except the peach/spice glow has gone out. Still a bit spicy from the oak leaves though. Pumpkin massacre aftermath would be a good alternate name.
  18. patina

    Grasshopper Pie

    Chocolate graham crackers, chocolate mint pudding, whipped cream. This is not strong and it's very much like the actual grasshopper pie I've tried. However, I can understand why some people would smell plastic. The whipped cream and chocolate part does smell a bit weak or waxy.
  19. patina

    Gingerbread Snek

    Oh no The first comparison that comes to mind is Gingerbread Sin. Same dry but decadent red musk and patchouli with gingerbread. But this has a sweet molasses edge with vanilla frosting. It's a bit cola like, which I'm absolutely a sucker for. Like rootbeer but deeper, more complex. And there are cookies. Candied ginger. This is the dark foodie blend of my dreams. I want to snuggle under a blanket with this. A cold weather blend for sure. This is amazing. This is the best Snake Oil blend I've tried in a while. It might be too strong for some situations but otherwise I love it.
  20. patina

    Gingerbread Oud

    This is not foodie on me. The gingerbread (really more like sweet ginger) mixes with the nice medium oud. This oud smells just like a sandalwood and patchouli soap I had once. Maybe the soap had oud in it? Who knows? But my brain is stuck on "sandalwood soap" when I smell it. It is a very dry blend and sweet. The best other scent I can compare it to is Plunder from the GC. Dry spice in this one, not hot, not overwhelming. This seems like it would deepen and get richer with aging. Despite the comparison to sandalwood, this is very much an oud with oud habits of lingering sultrily in the background. It's not loud but it's very much There and vamping it up. (At least that's how it works on my skin.)
  21. patina

    Pomegranate Ink

    This one opens with a blast of powdered pomegranate flavored drink. I swear, it's just like something I've tried before. Occasionally it shifts to exactly the smell of Xerox copy ink. Pom is always dominant. Occasionally my brain also thinks the mix of the two scents is pineapple. It gets less powdered drink mix and more juice as it dries but it is powerfully fruity. The ink never dominates. It's faintly metallic, coal-like. I'd love to smell this ink note in other blends. Low throw on drydown. Edit: after resting, this is more juicy less drink mix or "granular" I guess.
  22. patina

    Snow Snake 2023

    Maybe it's a bit early to be testing a Snake Oil blend, but here it is. Right away I can pick out the extra patchouli, though it blends. The patchouli may be stopping the red musk from stomping the snow. Frostbitten Snake seemed slushy, but this one has cold notes that are drier and fluffy white. It's at least similar to Snow White's snow. It's very nice, but then of course it would be if you like Snake Oil. My decant needs to sit a bit and age, but this seems promising. Edit: there's the slightest edge of clean fluffy laundry to this one. I'm liking it even more
  23. patina

    Skogtroll

    Troll is an odd scent on me, like watered-down basil and wet clove charcoal with cumin. I wanted to like it and it wasn't unpleasant but it just smelled off to me somehow. In Skogtroll the "freezing and snow packed" bit along with the camphor, elemi, and eucalyptus add some pleasant bite and some softness too. It's a bit cologne-y. The clove is clearly present. The eucalyptus is also noticeable but doesn't take over. I'll have to test this again but I think I'll be at least keeping the decant. Probably getting a bottle.
  24. patina

    Thunder Moon 2023

    This comes on as a lot of powdery cacao, like sticking my nose in a box of unsweetened cocoa. Sweet resins appear around the edge. Somehow this does make me think of thunderstorms. Maybe it's partly the violets giving a clean shower feel against the dark resins and patchouli. The throw is quite sweet but not overwhelming and I'm interested to see how this will age. Similar to Scattered Gloom.
  25. patina

    Rose Moon 2023

    I didn't find the resins here as stompy and headshoppy as those in Blood Rose. Also this one is more balanced during the drydown, while Blood Rose turns to soft rose powder. But the comparison between the two is pretty fair. This is well blended to me, with the resins turning this into something sweet with my skin chemistry. This reminds me there's a violently pink summertime drink made of rose syrup. The scent also really reminds me of those old Rose Petal Place scented dolls from the 80's. I can't pick out clove.
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