cfrancesca

Dark, fruity, effervescent. Lime, clove, opium, hints of dark amber and soft berries are the standouts for me, they're well-blended but you can still pick them out. I don't like the opium and citrusy fizzy scent combo, it reminds me of Champagne and Opium which also didn't work on me.

I get juicy, very fruity light red musk, with hints of sage and herbs. This reminds me of Ushi without the tomato leaf. It faded pretty quickly on me.

Despite my love for the released Boomslang, I decided not to seek out a bottle of this because I remember testing it and thinking it smelled very similar to the released one. When it was available on etsy, I decided to compare them and I find v2 much softer overall, the Snake Oil is stronger, the cocoa is creamier and softer (similar to Candy Butcher chocolate on my skin) and there's also a warm, nutty note which amps with time. When it dries down it smells like very nutty snake oil and soft chocolate. It doesn't have much throw or longevity on me but I liked it enough to order a bottle.

On me, this smells like sweet syrup, rum and a bright, fresh, tart tropical fruit salad (I get pineapple, starfruit, maraschino cherries, berries, maybe melon and a hint of coconut?). I love the fruits in here, but over time they start smelling artificial and too tart for my tastes. I wouldn't mind the fruits turning on me, but sadly the overall blend is too boozey for me.

This is really rich and strong. I get cassia, dark rich cocoa, buttery cake, plus something that smells burned, it could be a dark coffee note and caramel or brown sugar, I keep getting hints of blueberry too. This is a heavy, cloying, bitter mess on my skin.

Delicious leather (loving this leather note), lots of herbs, some woods and possibly some warm musk on the background? There's also something slightly watery that appears as it dries, not aquatic per say, maybe a hint metallic too. It has the same 'feel' as Antony does on me, though that one is heavier on the musk and Byron v13 is heavier on the leather and herbs on my skin.

In the bottle, I get a minty, chilly, atmospheric sweet pine needle scent. On my skin, it smells like I've stepped into a forest in the chilly winter air surrounded by damp, fresh, snow-covered pine trees, pine cones covered in dirt, hints of leaves, and maybe a bit of wood (like fresh cut pine wood). I'm also getting hints of citrusy amber (maybe a tinge of orange?), and at times soft hints of something like hollyberry. This smells like Christmas in a forest. After a while, I'm also getting something else that smells almost like a hint of dark beer? I find it complex and evocative. I really like this blend, but it sadly doesn't stick around too long. I might try putting some in an oil burner, I think it would make a gorgeous room scent especially come winter.

On me, Lust v7 smells like red musk, soft incense, patchouli and Snake Oil vanilla (which goes slightly powdery as it dries). The Snake Oil vanilla amps with time.

Threnody v3 smells like clean, powdery, pretty sophisticated floral on me. As soon as I smelled this, it invoked images of actresses from the 1930's. I get some beautiful fresh jasmine (not the usual kind that sadly smells like to cat pee on my skin) and maybe other well-blended florals, which thankfully never get too sharp or heady on me. I'm also getting something slightly bitter in the beginning but that fades away quickly. As it dries, it gets very powdery, it could be white amber, but I've never had it become this powdery on me. It makes me wonder if powder is an actual note in here, because it's really one of the most powdery bpal's I've ever tried (if not the most), veering into into Johnson's Baby Powder territory. There's also something almost vanillic that emerges from the powder as it dries, which sadly develops a slight plastic tinge with time. Threnody v3 actually reminds me of a lot of the Chanel No. 5 in the dry-down (which also smells very powdery to me). I really love this.

#567: I get dark vanilla, soft tobacco, resins, nag champa-type incense and woods. The woods and incense amp with time and I also start to get some musk.

 

#627: Vanilla orchid and soft champagne

 

#614: Fresh roses, bright vanilla and very creamy lemon tea

 

#511: Vanilla Buttercream

 

Soft, smokey leather, resins, incense, dusty sandalwood, soft musk, and a hint of champaca maybe? This smells like Dancing Koi! I would definitely purchase a full bottle of this, but I would love it if it were just a little bit stronger scented (it takes quite a few sprays for me to smell it).

The only note I was worried about in Tattered Lace was the 'tea-infused' part, and unfortunately for me, that's the strongest note I'm getting. I was surprised at how tart it smelled in the bottle. On my skin, the scent blossoms into a light, complex, citrusy tea blend with some dry coconut husk, a little bit of smokey frankincense and soft vanilla in the background.

 

As it settles, I start to get the soft, sweet booziness from the cognac, the frankincense gets a little stronger and the blend looses some of it's citrusy tea tartness. At times, I think I'm getting hints of opium, but it's very fleeting. The overall scent is soft and stays close to the skin. If you like complex tea blends, I recommend you look into this one.

When I first tried Count Dracula a few years ago, I found it way too sharp and heavy for my liking. I decided to try it again a few months ago and it was instant love. I was amazed how wonderfully it had aged, I didn't get any sharpness this time, everything had smoothed out and blended beautifully.

 

I get a well-blended, softly spicy blend of cinammon, clove, ginger (the spices smell slightly foody to my nose), an almost citrusy edge from the neroli, soft leather and patchouli with a background of woods and a hint of black musk. Everything is smooth and soft, I don't get anything sharp this time. This is aging wonderfully and it's truly one of my favorite masculine leather scents.

I get fresh, clean and musky gentleman's lilac cologne with a wonderful leather note in the background. Masculine, sexy, gorgeous.

This one starts off as boozey apricot brandy with a backdrop of red musk, it really does remind me of Snake Charmer or Mme. Moriarty, but with boozey apricot and stronger on the red musk (maybe a little Arabian musk too). As it dries, I also start to get some patchouli and woods (not sure which kind), and some dark plum emerges. It settles into a blend of red musk, fruits, patchouli, woods and booze.

On me, this starts off like a slightly creamy, soft melon sugar (maybe watermelon?) with a hint of vanilla, it's very well-blended. I also get a little of lemon, but it doesn't amp on me. Quickly I also start to get some florals (sweet pea!), with a little bit of greenery and maybe a bit of berry, there's also something watery? This is sweet and pretty. It settles into a soft, well-blended, sugary melon/berry floral (sweet pea and maybe a little bit of lily) on my skin. I get a medium throw.

This starts off pretty much like Dorian, but I find it heavier on the lemon and musk, almost sharp. There's a pretty slightly creamy coconut note that emerges. So, it's the heavy Dorian lemony tea (strong on the lemon) creamy vanilla musk with the soft coconut. It's like a tropical version of Dorian. Dorian visits the Bahamas, lol. Too heavy overall for me, but if Dorian is your thing you might want to seek it out.

Complex and evocative, I get a distinct scent of salty breeze and zesty lime over lush, tropical blooming flowers, that amp with time. I also get a little bit of watery cucumber but it's soft and stays in the background for the most part. It settles into a complex, somewhat strong tropical flower scent.

Creamy vanilla musk (maybe a bit of tonka too?), with a little bit of lemony tea and soft lavender cologne? This smells masculine, smooth, soft and snuggly to my nose, like a creamy, soft, lavender fougère. Sadly, it starts to fade a little too quickly for me and becomes more of a skin scent. I really wish it was stronger and had better throw.

Since I just spilled some allover myself, I thought it would be a good time to write a review. Without reading the notes, I thought this was sugary bubble gum, a little grass and soft florals with a slight smokey haze in the background. So I was surprised to read this has sugared incense and night-blooming flowers as notes. I think this has lotus because I get a soft pink bubble gum scent, it does have a clean feel with time, not exactly soapy but more like the scent of fresh, clean clothes with soft floral detergent feel plus the smokey haze and bubble gum, it's so interesting. I wish I'd tested this before it got discontinued, but thankfully I was able to find some. I just love it.

On me, this smells like creamy, sugary, spicy floral, metal and a bit of bubble gum. As it dries there's also a soft grass scent that emerges. After a while it sadly gets little soapy on my skin and I start to get a kind of a handcream-like scent. I wonder if there were different batches of this one because I'm sadly not getting any cotton candy.

 

ETA 10/08/13 I think I might have found the cotton candy 'version', or at least this smells a lot more like the other reviews describe. I have a hard time getting a distinct note but the over all scent is like very sweet orange-d cotton candy, vanilla, and floral blossoms. It gets a little waxy on my skin and as it settles I think Invidiana is right that there might be dragon's blood in this, something about it reminds me of Dragon's Milk. It's pretty and very sweet!

This smells like nice, clean, smooth metallic brass with some aftershave and a hint of herbs and spice. It's settles into a smooth cologne scent. I like this but I think my decant will be enough.

 

eta: Sadly for me, I'm amping the herbs and brass in here, the aftershave cologne is still very present but not as strong as I hoped it would remain.

On my skin, all I get a sharp, chemical-like, cheap detergent and hair dye scent. I find this too heavy on the chemical-like smells and I really can't get past that.

This one starts off like a mix of Hearth 05 and black musk on me, it's a browned, slightly roasted, sugary nutty scent with a hint of spice. As it dries, I start to get the creamy buttered bourbon, it smells like salted toffee caramel to me, which sounds good but goes all wrong on my skin. There's something brown sugary here that's not working for me at all. Though this doesn't have much throw on me, I find the overall scent cloying and too rich and foody for taste.

This is very evocative, I find myself transported to a dark, misty forest. I'm getting the scent of dark green plants, leaves, smoke, woods, and damp pine and spruce trees.