patina

My rule: In order for aquatics to work on me, they must be combined with something sweet. This fits here. Oh, wow, this is exotic. I can smell the Indian musk from Galvanic Goggles. Only it's sweetened by the chocolate and reisens and doesn't turn into pure essence of man. (May be too manly for some women though.) Oh, the kelp is good too. The chocolate dies down quickly but never disappears. Exotic sweetness from the depths of the ocean. My only problem with this is that it gets faint very quickly. Aww.

I bought a half-decant of this from a forum user. It had leaked a little in the package, so as I was picking it up, I wondered what the wonderful smell was. (Fair warning: this wasn't used in any workings, since I haven't done any, but I figured gardening could count as earthly meditation. Oil-use purists, you may faint now.) I got some on my finger and felt suddenly very, very grounded. As if I had been given a big hug. My mind still raced and chattered, but I think this could help a lot with my meditation. There was the urge to slow down, not just to slop the dirt from one pot to another, but to do it carefully. Thing is, I don't know how much personal scent association had to do with this. It smells exactly like a pagan shop surrounded by pine forests. I get amber, pine, patcholi, the faintest possibility of civet (no, the store didn't smell like civet), there could be some white sage or mugwort in here too- that could account for what other reviewers have called the "musky eucalyptus" smell. Perhaps it wouldn't be good to operate heavy machinery while using this, because I'm getting very sleepy even after having a good night of sleep. I have a feeling I'll be refreshed later, though. Restful place, the underworld. EDIT: The two times I tried this for dreamwork, I had a horrible time falling asleep and felt filled with energy. Maybe it says something about the oil, maybe it's just coincidence, but yeah. No, this is not for everyday, but next time I want to induce ritual consciousness, I know where to turn.

This reminds me of Shanghai only lighter. There's definately tea here, some oakmoss, kelp, sandalwood, probably honeysuckle, possibly citrus... It's hard to know what to think of this one. May be good for summer, but it's a little too sharp.

Oh. Mmm. If boot polish was made of creamy licorice... Now to try this with my imp of De Sade...

Can someone reccomend a scent for those who missed Count Dracula and are unlikely to ever get their hands on any? (Specifically a Clove + Leather scent.) I've tried layering The Smiling Spider with the last bit of a (precioussss) De Sade imp and it's I know about Perversion. I like Perversion, but that's actually more of a wine scent to me. Something just dark and leather-clovey is what I'm looking for. (tobacco, black musk, or reisens are welcome to appear too.)

Can anyone tell me if the bay in Port-au-Prince is strong? I've read the reviews but I want to know more. I think it was bay that made Delphi smell like nachos to me. Otherwise, I'd buy it for the clove and rum. I'd like to buy Obatala for the sweet coconut and the name but I'm worried about the sunscreen factor too. I've disliked all the Orisha blends I've tried so far. Pft. Maybe I'll just donate to the Heifer Project or Doctors Without Borders or something.

The one I've smelled that reminds me of this isn't a fragrance, sadly, it's the Winter Maiden bath oil. Very cold berries, white rose, and wood. It's exactly what I think the White Witch would smell like, though...

The imp smell is uninviting, but applied, it turns sweet. Ginger comes out and predominates. I'm reminded of Bloody Marys (the drink, not the scent.) That is, if you made bloody marys with dragon's blood and basil instead of tomato juice and myrrh in place of woustershire. (Yes, I may be crazy.) It's warm, but I'd have to try it a while to see if I want a bottle of this.

OMG. Hah, I think that says it all. I was never a big fan of Alice and I don't like Snake Oil. The Girl (vanilla and amber) didn't work on me either, but somehow I love this one. The carnations keep the vanilla from going all doughy or candle-y. And yeah...it is goood. Edit: As this dries and gets muskier, it becomes somewhat less awesome to me. Still good, though

The tobacco and hemlock came out first. It smelled a bit like Belladonna. Then the plums stepped out a little more. Finally it turned into a dull, slightly sweet metallic. (I've heard lead is sweet- that's why kids eat lead paint chips and get poisoned.) The throw seems about average, and, yeah. This is hard to describe. I don't think I'll get a bottle, though. Not with all the other anniversaries and Yules competing for my attention.

The pine does indeed smell lovely and delicate. Everything else does indeed smell dark and dusty. I get old velvet theater curtains. However, in warm temperatures, this scent resembles the mildew from an air-conditoning filter. I wanted to love this one based on name alone, but for me it works only in cold weather and my skin EATS it until there's almost nothing left.

Compared to White Light, I feel little immediate emotional effect. There is some feeling of warmth and security, but not the "whoa!" effect. (understandable, since White Light's one of the purification blends and this is more for joy.) I do feel strong and radiant, however, like there's energy coming off me. I also suggest this one for anyone who does Reiki. I feel better able to focus, and have been told my treatments are stronger when I use this. The smell doesn't hurt at all- orange, reisen (frankinscence?), cloves. I don't know about anyone else, but those scents cheer me up. Solar love.

Misketonic U. has failed me. Whatever was buttery in it turned it into pure butter. I amp roses, so Mata Hari's probably out. Centozen Tenochitlan turned into a jelly sandwich. Bizarre. It would be nice to find a dark coffee, without too much milk. Maybe even with non-foody notes like musk.

To me, the milk in Lamb's Wool was hard to detect underneath the cider, orange and spice scents. (I know the description doesn't list oranges, but it smelled like it had them to me.)

I was looking forward to something dark and licorice-y, fearing that it might smell of cats or worse. On smelling it- Oh, anise heaven. The civet seems to be behaving itself as well. Then oakmoss comes out and I can sort of see the cave-floor thing. My only problem is that I'd really prefer a cooler anise blend. On me this is brownish (the vetiver?) and the civet warms it up a lot. This works much better in the winter or in cold weather on me. Funny story, I wore this to bed once, thinking "wow, this smells good, I can't imagine anyone thinking it's scary." That night I had a Dawn of the Dead-style nightmare (the new one with fast zombies). I never have bad dreams. I think my subconscious picked up on the canabalistic associations of the name and ran with it. It's still a good smell, though.

This is a zoo. Yep. Exactly the smell of the bottom of a cage. I'm almost afraid to apply this, but when I do, I get zoo, with the occasional whiff of cherries. I've tried a blend with civet before (Hi, Black Annis), but I didn't get a fecal scent from it. On me, this is worse than Satyr, (which at least had lovely ginger and mud notes.) Edit: Apparently this is an acquired taste. On trying it again, two years later I actually like it. The opium is smooth and black and sheer and the musk is very red. It still smells feral, but not actually horrible. I'm not about to slather this (the throw's too strong and I'm afraid other people won't like it) but it's really starting to smell good to me.

First of all, when I read the name, I keep thinking "Dead Morose." This is wet and minty, almost melony, but there's amber and wood to back it up. This smells pale-green to me. If it is a forest, it's a winter forest in the morning, after a rain (is that the snow note I smell?). This may be better in the summer- I'm just not sure how I feel about this one.

If you're looking for mulling spices, that makes me think of Lamb's Wool or Fearful Pleasure- which are actually Halloween scents, but they have cider. Unfortunately, they're LE, but you might be able to find them on the forum sales. I second looking into Tintingel.

Mangos? For a second I thought I smelled mangos, but really this is a very soft pine and clove. No other way to describe it. I recognize the clove from the Hell-Gate of Ireland, but to me, the Hell-Gate's reisens and musk do something to sweeten it. This is just dry and manly. Too much so for me. I'll have to come back and test this again later.

It's the red musk from Mircalla! Hello, red musk from Mircalla. This Diable is in fact female. Very female. Inside the redwood and teak box, she has red skin, currant-black eyes and hair and she smells strongly of peach-blossoms. This is lovely, but far too perfumy and sweet for me. EDIT: I must have been having an off chemistry day. The next time I tried it, it was much more woody and smoky. Might be good on a guy.

Strawberries? Why do I smell strawberries? Must be pimento mixed with vanilla. Such a surprise- I expected something darker, like Melainis. Not that this isn't dark, but it's somewhat red-tinged in my mind. The patcholi shows itself too, and the labdanum. This will probably get better with age, but right now I'm not a fan of the "hippie air-freshener" effect. Edit: This is insanely long lasting, even after a bath and two days it's still there. The labdanum, patcholi and ginger have become more prominent, but it still smells too much like strawberries for my liking.

Yes, like most people have commented, I get a rootbeer/cola from this. Maybe sassafrass? I know there's none in here, unless it's substituting for the mandragora. Hmm. It reminds me of a non-beery, lost-in-the-woods version of Devil's Night. Which might not be the best comparison, but there's the musk and spice, maybe? It's like Coyote too, as others have mentioned, but darker. This is how I'd hoped German Expressionist Horror would smell. On drydown, it becomes somewhat more fusty, though the "spice" and pine keep if from being overbearingly so, at least to me.

Freshly applied: Oh, my. This smells like lemon dishwashing soap. I bet one of Mr. Ackerman's toys involves bubbles. Ginger slowly becomes apparent. Dried: This isn't soap at all. In fact it's a lemony honeydew melon. There's some ginger and just possibly wood-shavings below, but this is overwhelmingly HONEYDEW. (Or possibly canteloupe.) I'm just not sure about this one. (Edit: Occasionally, I do get something that could be lemon pledge, but this still smells more melony than lemony to me. And then it turns glassy, shiny, cologny...hmm?)

I have a sample of this from '08. I'm a little sad that this is a bath oil, not a regular oil. Don't bath oils have a sleightly shorter life-span? Anyhow, this has got to be one of my favorites. This blackberry is just beautiful. Iced, with white roses, wood and amber. Somehow I'm reminded of The Girl, but this has no vanilla. Pleeease, Lab, make this a perfume. I will hoaaard.

People keep saying "mint." I don't get that. True, there's some deep herbal funkiness, but mostly this smells of roses to me. Very perfumy roses, with maybe patcholi at the bottom? Also: I've found it's not a good idea to put this in an oil diffuser- allergies! I've been wearing this with a focus on getting unstuck in my life. The first two times I've tried this, I got a friend of mine calling me to suggest I come for a visit. Both times fell through though. Being asked on a trip was a little more literal than I had in mind- perhaps this is a sign I need to do more work before I can get unstuck. But it's a pleasant enough scent, even though it's more perfumy than my normal choices.