cfrancesca

This one started out very promising, with lots of dark chocolate and the slightly tart tamarind, but on my skin it the fig amped and I'm usually not a fan of fig scents.

I find this one a bit cloying, most likely due to the white chocolate, the sweet mango is there (though it’s softer than I’d imagined) with a touch of buttercream. The mango in here smells artificial to me, similar to mango candy.

I get the cassia (I really love it in here), milk chocolate and the bacon is softer than I was expecting and a little salty and smoky. Definitely not for me, but it wasn’t as scary as I’d thought it would be.

I find this one heavy on the raw ginger but the milk chocolate and butterscotch soften it up a bit. Personally, I find it too cloying and I’m not a fan of raw ginger so it’s definite no for me.

This reminds me of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. I was worried about the lime, but I find it stays soft and works well in here, giving the blend a very refreshing feel. This is my favorite amongst the chocolates, but it sadly didn't last very long on my skin.

I'm getting teakwood, dark vanilla, a little bit of resins and tobacco. This reminded me a lot of The Antikythera Mechanism, but stronger.

On me, WILF is a mix of Smut, Snake Oil and Black Temple Burlesque Troupe with a hint of mint. It starts off a little too sharp for my tastes but quickly develops this wonderful throw that is all warm, sexy, furry and musky cocoa. I think it will age wonderfully.

This yummy. In the bottle and wet, this smells like a really good, heavy on the coconut, Piña Colada. As it dries, I start getting some anise (a note I was worried about) but it blends really well with the other notes and I think it might be what's making me think of booze? The white amber amps the longer it's on my skin (love white amber), the hazelnut is also well-blended and turns the coconut scent into a drier, husky-type. I find this one a mainly coconut scent, if the notes listed weren't listed I'd have thought this was fresh, creamy, meaty coconut husk with a dash of booze. Sadly, it's on the verge of turning plasticky on me, coconut does this sometimes on my skin.

No the best pic, but here's some of this year's Shungas - Burning Vulva, Young Pine Saplings, Loosening the Obi, Time Does Not Bring Relief (I love the cherub angels on that one), Dancing Koi and Harigata II.

Creamy spicy ginger, definitely the same ginger I got from Mother Ginger and Playing with a Loaded Gun. As it dries it gets almost foody, and makes me think of a wonderfully creamy and spicy honey chai, I also get a biscotti-type scent. The clove doesn't stand out (might be well-blended and just making the blend spicier). I find it really beautifully unique, creamy, spicy and comforting. However, this type of ginger just doesn't work on me, it's too fresh smelling (it reminds me of freshly grated ginger), zingy and almost citrusy.

Wet, I get beeswax, a hint of vanilla, red ginger and oakmoss. It strongly reminds me of Lovers with Rutting Cats in this stage. However, once it dried, it changed almost dramatically. I start getting lots of orange blossom (which often amps on me and gets very sweet), vanilla and light leather. The final dry-down is again, orange blossom (which thankfully gets softer and blends in nicely with time), soft vanilla, and hints of light leather, oakmoss, and red ginger. I didn't find this to be a "burning" or "fiery" scent at all (at any stage), which is perfectly fine in my opinion, because who would want to smell like a burning vulva? I find this blend very wearable but I fear it might be too sweet for me (orange blossom almost always does this on me). ETA: After about an hr. this became slightly powdery vanilla and soft leather on my skin.

I get soft rice wine and a little white sandalwood. I find it simple, but really pretty, it actually reminds me a lot of Hungry Ghost Moon.

I get lots of lavender (smells like essential oil) and some eucalyptus. It reminds me of spa aromatherapy.

Hmm..I'm getting lots of mimosa and just a hint of lily. As it dries I get a hint of a slightly tart green fruit, it could be green apple or pear?

I get creamy red musk, honey, and soft, slightly sweet florals. It dries to mostly creamy red musk on me...this actually reminds me of a more feminine version of The Infernal Lover.

The lotus completely ruins this scent for me, it turns the blend sharp and almost sickly sweet. It's a shame because I love the all the other notes in here, without the lotus it would've been wonderful for me.

I find this one very complex, mostly fruity, tart and dark, with a touch of herbs and pepper and I'm getting some citrus-like sharpness from the chypre. After a few minutes I start to amp the patchouli, the fruits remain tart and are berry-like. Strangely, I don't get any red musk.

This starts out as mostly soft, golden amber and bright, citrusy bergamot, eventually the "fuzzy", warm tonka comes out and really develops beautifully on my skin and makes it almost smells like creamy vanilla. It reminds me of fresh Haunted, with the golden amber and the musky, powdery, citrusy feel. I like The Butterfly much better, though!

I find this very complex and resiny. I get slightly sweet, smokey myrrh and other resins, narcissus, a hint of cocoa and patchouli. As it dries I get something like black musk to my nose and tiny touch of fruitiness. Unfortunately, with time it turns slightly bitter and perfumey.

Lots of dusty clove and some fruity, slightly tart black currant.

I really like this one, and I'm glad I got a bottle! It's a beautiful, evocative scenery of fresh blooming lilacs and grasses. As it dries I get a touch of soft musk. I know I will be wearing this one a lot come Spring.

I get smokey vetiver and honey (which softens the blend a little), it's got a slightly sharp, charred feel to it with some green plantiness and I'm also getting something metallic. The honey comes out more as it dries.

Oak and lots of metal, which often turns sharp and cologney on me, but I find the over-all blend to be surprisingly soft.

ivyandpeony, I think we have similar tastes! I was able to try everything from the first round Yules but none from the second, here's my list so far: Which one embodies Christmas/Yule the most? Whoop Best foody scent from this year's Yules? , I want to say Großvater Tanz, but it was ultimately too dry on me. I will stick with Gingerbread Poppet 2010. Best snowy/wintery scent? Waltz of the Snowflakes Best scent that you'll enjoy wearing in warmer weather? The First of the Three Spirits, Changing the Shadows and Chained Phantoms is really refreshing to me. What's this year's sleeper scent? It's hard to say...last year I think it was Black Temple Burlesque Troupe, this year it might be Arabian Dance (though this might have been a hit from the get-go, so I don't know if it qualifies as a "sleeper") or Klara. And do you have an overall favorite yet? Klara and I'm hoping Arabian Dance, which I should be getting soon!

I get sweet peaches, pears and sweet pea. I'm not a fan of these types of fruity scents, I find them a too cloying and they often remind me of generic, fruity body sprays.