Invidiana

This is like the best buttery yellow cake ever with mounds and mounds of creamy vanilla frosting and a shower of sprinkles. There actually is something bit rainbow-ish about the sprinkle note, something like pink sugar that comes out on the drydown. What more can I say than I want to eat it?

This really is a feral brown musk reminiscent of that in Whoso List to Hunt; wild, untamed, with something of an incisive bite. The musk is the dominant player at first but settles down a bit on the drydown and allows some earthy woody patchouli and the sweeter elements to come through. It's that musk along iwth the patchouli and olibanum that really pull together the feral character of the incubus. Though the magnolia and ylang ylang actually aren't very obvious I can still sense them in the background, and as it keeps dryingdown the vanilla and honey sweeten it more and tame the wildness. I can definitely also get some of that lovely slightly smoky beeswax there as well. I am liking where this is going and want to let it age a bit because I have a feeling it's going to get richer and sweeter with time.

At first I get lots of heady white florals with shadowy musk and a dark fruity shot of blackcurrant backed by sweet vanilla. The jasmine here is thankfully the non-cat-pee variety of jasmine. No blasting dry rose either, just the barest hint which adds a surprising sensuality to the blend. As it keeps drying down the musk and blackcurrant get stronger and I can also smell the dark resinous undercurrant of opium tar and oppoponax. The white flowers are still there, but they are soft and sheer like a bath of moonlight. Beautiful.

Ah, dusky woody evil. There is a lot of dark patchouli and sandalwood with a thick resinous balsam that gradually sweetens as it keeps drying down. The fact that this is red sandalwood accounts for some additional warmth and a shot of sensuality that penetrates the darkness. No vetiver death here! The vetiver just anchors everything in the background like an all-encompassing veil of shadow, and the black musk also contributes to that ominous feeling. There is a deep smokiness from the vetiver for sure but it's sexy and smoldering rather than overpowering. This scent is very evocative of the colors and images of the painting without actually smelling like a scorched battlefield but rather evilly alluring. If you're a fan of Samhain, The Hell-Gate of Ireland, Samhainophobia et al like I am you will love this one too.

This is unusually yummy. You'd think these notes would be discordant, but everything just ties in so well. The cacao absolute and patchouli are the main players on my skin, both thick and deep and and lovely. It's like that Schwarzer Mond-type patchouli covered in bittersweet chocolate. Supporting this dusky deliciousness is just a hint of black pepper which gives it a bit of extra zing but doesn't go so far to be a piercing sneezeworthy pepper like Ebeneezer Scrooge. They hay note adds a certain cozy autumnal warmth which actually blends very smoothly with the other elements, and there is also some sweet resiny incense at the finish. I almost didn't chance this one because of the pepper, but so glad I did!

The Pumpkin Princess label is adorable....is that Lilith?

I'm surprised that I actually like this. I thought it would end up being some screeching floral to pierce my nostrils in all its wrath but it's actually pretty gentle. Greener in the beginning, it dries down to ethereal white florals with what I'm taking to be white musk. There is a powdery and soapy quality to it but in a pleasant way, like just having stepped out of the shower. There might be a bit of orris hiding in here as well and contributing to the downy feel. I won't be going rabid seeking more of this out but may spring for the released version.

Holy Old Spice on steroids. This is heavy, spicy and incredibly manly. There are lots of dark resins in here, but of the more masculine variety that tends to be more cologney than the thick and sweet type I tend to lean toward. Lots of spice is in here as well but not the baking type, more the I-am-man-and-I-will-smite-you type. CLOVE and lots of it. All these are backed up by masculine woods, some type of smoky sandalwood and possibly black cedar since I'm not getting the hamstercage cedar chips I got from Sacrifice. There could possibly be some chypre or something in the background adding to the cologney feel. It reminds me of my uncle. I'm glad to have tried this but could never pull it off.

This is a really odd and discordant scent on me. It's dominated by something heavily syrupy--almost cloying--with an undercurrent of lilac and jasmine and possibly carnation. There is what I'm taking to be a tiny bit of burnt sugar in there somewhere too. Something about this reminds me of the Lab's Dragon's Blood blend (as opposed to the actual daemonorops resin) which doesn't do too well on my skin to begin with. I was expecting to love this but the heavy candylike qualiy and the florals just keep clashing to no avail.

As I slowly catch up on a rather embarrassing amount of scents I've had for a while but never bothered to review, I came across this gem again. I like the smell of licorice markedly better than the taste, and this smells like the gooey insides of Good & Plentys with an added highlight of bittersweet earthy cacao. Not an herbal anise at all. Yum.

This is one of those scents that's just very strangely addictive for me. It could be that it has a good deal of the nostalgia factor of walking through Harmon as a kid and inhaling the scents of half a million hair products, but there's something more here. Wet it's very much like hair gloop but it dries down into something much softer and pleasantly powdery, odd but really intriguing in its oddness, very difficult to describe. It still retains that nostalgic whiff of Harmon all the way through but manages to be very wearable at the same time. A surprise winner!

Upon sniffing this wet I actually got more of a floral citrus than the in-your-face floral I was expecting. It starts off as more of a juicy citrus with a gentle floral background, and as it dries down the citrus calms and the soft creamy white lily emerges along with its green stems and leaves and a swirl of red musk. There is no questioning that this is exquisitely blended, and I do like the combination of lily and citrus, but unfortunately the light lily/green notes facing off against the red musk--which amps with time--on my skin end up somewhat discordant. For that reason it's not something I'm going to go rabidly hunting but I will try it again.

I used to drink sparkling apple cider on New Year's Eve as a teenager in lieu of real champagne and I have to say the scent is DEAD ON. I'm glad the apple note here is not too sweet but has a tart edge coupled with that glorious fizz that Beth does so well. This is not only yummy but also nostalgic for me.

Iiiiiiinteresting. I expected this to be more cologney than it actually was; it's really more balsamic than cologney. What I'm taking to be the balsam resin in this really reminds me of U, but with an herbal background instead of the raw vanilla and leather in U. I'm glad I got to try it, but I have to say I prefer my U.

This is really fizzy wet; as it dries down the smoky-sweet cigar smoke note starts to come through the dry champagne. The cigar smoke in this one is like that in Havana, not overly manly or eau du fireplace. It's dead on and really evocative, but I'd personally rather have it as an atmo spray than a perfume.

If you're looking for Irish Spring, find thee a bottle of Eanach Dhuin! It was a dead ringer for Irish Spring on me.

Eanach Dhuin: Unutterable grief expressed through the scent of balsam, frankincense, blackberry leaf, oud, white rose, driftwood, zdravetz, and bitter clove, beneath the cold waters of the River Corrib.

I was really hoping this would be like the Looking Glass bath oil and really let the vanilla musk (and in this case coconut) shine through in equal proportion with the rose. While they're definitely evident, along with soft florals and woods in the background, the rose turns out to be the star. It was really the gardenia and frangipani I wanted to be the prominent florals. The rose here is feminine and not sharp or dry, but I'd still been crossing my fingers for more creamy vanilla and coconut. I don't believe it's the same type of rose (damask rose) in Looking Glass that turns out so sexy on me either. Really pretty, but the rose is stronger than I'd hoped so I can justify keeping one bottle, but not two.

This one is very fizzy, citrusy and refreshing. Wet I get primarily orange ginger ale, and as it dries down the fizzy aspect still remains but with more white rum coming out. The white rum isn't really a very boozy note per se, just hinting at booze but not stealing the show from the other two notes. This is a great effervescent scent for those disgustingly hot summer days.

How could I pass this up when I live with a screeching parrot?

(That's Lestat chewing a packing peanut from the box my TAL bath oils arrived in. But I digress.)

This is a tart, boozy and fruit-punchy scent perfect for summer! Whatever pink lime is, I like it, and I definitely get the zingy tartness from it. Sometimes pineapple can go cloying on me but here it's kept in check by the citrus. There is a delicious rum note reminiscent of Grog but more "golden" and bright. I get plenty of juicy apricot as well, and just a hint of ginger but nothing sharp. I think if my parrot were human he'd approve.

I was initially terrified of the Ouzo in this--being Greek I've been exposed to that nasty stuff one too many times. In real life I honestly think Ouzo smells like nail polish remover infused with licorice. However, there is only the slightest suggestion of anise liquor (no nail polish remover overtones at all but more in the realm of an absinthe note) on my skin, which only adds a unique twist to the delicious blackberry rum I get instead. I think that along with the Ouzo note the black tea keeps it from getting too sweet. Overall it's a wonderfully sticky boozy blackberry and I'm so glad to have a bottle.

This starts out as a really sharp and medicinal lemony lavender but gradually mellows out to mostly lavender with a hint of lemon. It's not really something I wear but I think I'll keep my imp around with good reason; it seems to help calm nausea. The night I got this imp at the Meet the Lady show in Tribeca, I also got awfully sick from a restaurant we'd gone to earlier. Taking deep whiffs of this on my wrist actually helped me feel better and drift off to sleep eventually.

I knew what I was doing when I bought two bottles of this unsniffed. It is SEX.

I am a red musk maven and the gorgeous red musk in this doens't disappoint and remains at the fore with the raspberry and patchouli which are a really senual combo in themselves. I also love how the raspberry is true and juicy and not cloying candy like BBW's Sun Ripened Raspberry which still haunts me with memories of junior high. Besides the raspberry note being delicious on its own I think the pomegranate is balancing it out in terms of tartness as well. The vanilla is prominent as well, adding a sweet creaminess to the blend. As it dries down it takes on a smoky aspect from the frankincense and tobacco, and the sandalwood warms it up for even more sexiness. Absolute LOVE.

This is such a blatantly sexual scent, just sniffing it it makes me want to do really reprehensible things. Lush ylang ylang and fierce red musk are definitely at the fore and given even more potency by the patchouli and grounded by a thick sweet myrrh that gives it a resinous depth. If this is what it is now I can't imagine what it will be aged.

To my nose this is very similar to Dark Chocolate and Cherry with the addition of orange blossom, which gives it a slightly floral and slightly citrusy undertone. It is a little cough-syrupy in the beginning but dries down to a rich sticky cherry backed by bittersweet chocolate and orange blossom. I already have a bottle of DC& C so I'm going to have to deathmatch them side by side with to see if this one warrants a bottle of its own.

I am thoroughly in love with red patchouli. It's warm and sensual, fiery without being spicy, passion encapsulated in scent, just hot. The orange blossom here is not sharp but gently citrusy, creamy and even a bit vanillic though that may be my skin. There is a bit of a creamsicle tinge to this scent though it's not foody. I'm so glad I finally sprang for a bottle.