thebirdofhermes

In bottle: Sharp citrus with bitterness. Like biting into the skin of a citrus fruit. Wet: Still very citrus skin like, but fast fading to a warm, earthy floralish scent. Has just a bit of orange peeking around the flowers. Hmm... op, there's the myrrh. I knew I smelled it somewhere. Dry: Oddly, I think I smell honey. That might be the amber, though. There's still a very dusky, baked earth quality grounding this. Of the florals, the most prominent is the marigold; although that may be because I assosciate marigolds with very pleasant things, so my nose is picking out the happy assosciations. And if I concentrate, I can just detect the smell of a leaf pile... you know, that oddly papery-smoky crisp sort of smell? Just like having to rake up the leaves from our yard. I'm going to stop fussing with notes here and give you some impressions of the scent. First, I really don't get much summery qualities from this. I was expecting more of a late summer/early autumn scent from the name, which for here is September, but it doesn't smell like September. It smells more like late October, possibly even early November if the weather stays warm. Not a complaint, though. It's actually better than I expected. Second, I would consider this to be a decent replacement for The Piper at the Gates of Dawn in a pinch. Given that I have almost four bottles of The Piper, I can't say I'll be needing to stock up on this one. It's a warmer scent than The Piper; the brilliant red of maple leaves to The Piper's pale orange, if you want to know my colour impressions. Not quite as snuzzly, though, and I suspect that it's the lack of musk in this scent that's causing it. This is stepping outside on a warm autumn day in the country and taking a deep breath, just basking in the warmth of the sun as it chases off the slight chill of the breeze. It's a place scent, as opposed to an alive scent. Not that trees and flowers aren't alive but... There's a much more impersonal quality to Summer's Last Will and Testament. I'm trying to judge this one on it's own merits, but in the end, my mind assosciates it with The Piper no matter what. For me, it's a good scent, definitely in my Top 10. Same scent family as The Piper, but it lacks the same feel. Given the choice between more of this or more of The Piper, though... I'd swap my half bottle for a half bottle of The Piper in a heartbeat. However, if you liked The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, but it was just not quite something enough for you, you might find what you were missing in Summer's Last Will and Testament. I will note that Summer's Last Will and Testament seems easier to find than The Piper. That's probably because I'm not buying every bottle and decant of it that I can get my hot little hands on.

If I don't beat you to it, try and find some The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Not quite a hug to me, but more like a wrapped up cozy and snuggling scent. (Um, but like I said, you'd have to find it before I do, otherwise I'm going to buy it.) I find El Dia de los Reyes to be very hug-like during a certain time of month. I think it's the chocolate.

In the imp: ...Herbally plastic play-doh. Rather like the scent of Lush's Dream Cream. For the record, I can't stand that scent. Wet: ......OH GOD IT'S THE SAME SCENT HEAD FOR THE HILLS. ::deep breath and steels self to wait for it to dry:: 15 minutes later: ....Oh hey. Now that's nice. Warm, spicy sort of herbal. Reminds me a bit of the scent of a loose chai tea I've got, only really warm and slightly sweeter. Has medium sort of throw to it; I pick it up about six inches from my wrist. Not quite my cup of tea, but it's very nice and I can definitely see myself holding on to the imp. As to the efficacy of it as a love blend, I wouldn't really know. No one to test it out with, you see. Honestly not too much to say here. Without a list of notes it's kind of difficult for me to analyse what I'm getting. I imagine there's definitely rose in here, possibly carnation but that could also be a spice, and probably High John, given the sort of blend it is. However, I really am not good at interpreting notes without a guide.

In bottle: Pale straw yellow oil. Honey, myrrh, something alcoholic hiding underneath. On skin, wet: Honey with an incensy undertone. Definitely a myrrh based incense, with wisps of soft floral drifting through. Not sure what kind of flowers, but I want to say they are white flowers, possibly lilies of some sort. As it dries, the honey softens into a lovely sweetness, and a slight booziness from the wine peeks through. On skin, dry: Oh. Oh my. Sweet, definitely a honey sort of sweet, over top of a smooth floral incense… or is it the other way around? It's all blended together, crisp and smooth, and sometimes the honey is noticed first but other times, it's the myrrh and flowers. Sitting here typing, I'm getting soft wasps of honey-myrrh. Very golden sort of scent; not gold in sunlight, though. More like gold by the glow of candles in a sacred temple. You step inside for a closer look, and you're just enveloped by holy incense and the scents drifting up from honeyed cakes and sweets offered as gifts to the gods. For a moment, you just pause and take in everything: the air, heady with offerings; the warmth of the candlelight; the flickering gleam of the gold and precious metals used in the devotions. This is going on my bottle list.

In bottle: Light yellow oil. Sharp, astringent. Mostly perfume-y. On skin, wet: A whole lot of nothing, really. There's something that makes me go, "Eww, bug spray" but otherwise, it smells like I didn't even put much of anything on. On skin, fifteen minutes later: DEET. It smells like DEET. UGH. Get it off me. There's a very nice floral hiding in here, trying to get out, but something is turning this to straight up insect repellent on me. On skin, hours later: The DEET went away. Not much throw to it, I suppose, since no one commented on it and I'm picking up much more from the Aelopile I'm still wearing from twelve hours ago. It's now a really nice tartish floral, with something that reminds me of LUSH's The Olive Branch (the bergamot, I believe). I just can't handle the part where it smells like bug spray; I get a headache just from the mental assosciations of that scent. So, inasmuch as the tartish floral is really quite lovely (and eliminates one of the suspected bad notes), I will not be keeping this. I can't do the wait.

In bottle: Amber with a touch of sweet citrus. On skin, wet: Very citrusy, but not a specific citrus fruit. Grapefruit-lime-lemon citrus, actually. There's a sharpness to it right now, and a somewhat astringent seeming wood note. Obviously the cedar, but it doesn't smell quite like cedar yet. On skin, an hour later: Not fifteen minutes because I wore this to a job interview (also why the notes about the wet scent are rather sparse). It's gone to somewhat powdery amber over sweet cedar. Mostly I'm getting cedar. Not surprising, my skin seems to love the wood notes. Thankfully, I love most wood notes too. If I get up close and personal, there's the breath of something that could be a citrus fruit, but it's very faint. Which is quite surprising since my skin usually holds onto citrus notes for a very long time. I'd have to say that, were it not for the scent in the bottle, I'd probably almost mistake this for a single-note cedar. It's nice, not going to argue, but I think the only reason I'd want a bottle is for the label art. Which is not a good reason to spend $15. If the citrus stuck around, then perhaps I'd consider a 5mL, but as it is, it's just not complex enough for me. Will get another imp when this one goes, however.

In bottle: Light goldenish brown oil. ...Circus peanuts and almond butter? I'm getting a hint of something smoky, but... eeeyeah. What? My nose is weird, and I'm really hoping this one morphs. On skin, wet: Blood and metal, with something that makes me think of hot leather. But mostly blood and metal, very thick and heavy to my nose, like it's slightly congealed blood. Not old and dried at all. The bloodiness is definitely hitting me first, with the metal being a tang in the back of my nose. It's all held together by that heated note. It's almost sickening, but backs away just before it reaches that point. Closing my eyes, I'd swear I'm in a torture chamber just after they're finished with a victim. Very evocative scent. On skin, fifteen minutes later: It's gone softer now. The blood is dried and the torture chamber is empty. Still bloody, metallic, and hot. The smokiness is coming out more, like the wisps from an extinguished candle. I am still smelling something leathery in this blend; probably a combination of the blood and the smoke. Mostly now, though, it's metal. Metal that's been left in a flame to heat up some, but metallic nonetheless. Seems to have a nice throw to it. At usual distance, I'm catching soft, heated iron. The blood seems to be an afterthought from a distance, but is noticeable up close. I actually really love this. It's not something I could wear everywhere, but I may invest in a bottle before the Carnaval comes down. Very glad I took a chance on the decant of this. On skin, an hour later: ...I am swooning over the blood note the longer I wear this. It doesn't throw, but dear Lord I love holding my nose against where I applied the oil and just huffing. It's just that damn good. Guh. (It hasn't changed any in an hour; pretty much once a scent settles on my skin it just fades, but the balance of notes doesn't change. I just forgot I'd not submitted this post and figured I may as well add in just how much I love the blood.) Hnnh. Doesn't seem like this one is getting any love at all lately... EDIT: Okay, so, I had my mother sniff this one on me. She cleans surgical instruments for a living. Her verdict? It smells EXACTLY like blood on metal. It actually made her a little queasy. A real testament to Beth's blending abilities!

In bottle: Very pale straw-like colour. Sharp, almost smells like there's alcohol in this. Mostly a pungent sort of rosemary, with a hint of something else. On skin, wet: Ah, there's something almost citrusy sweet floral. Hello orange blossom. Oh yes, you're beautiful on me, aren't you? Oh yes you are! I love youuuuu. Not a lot of rose, but it's just kickin back in the base of the scent with rosemary, chillin. It's playing a lot nicer on my skin than I anticipated from the bottle. Very lovely. Light throw, however. Not sure if it's worth a bottle, yet, but maybe another imp... On skin, fifteen minutes later: ...Where'd it go?! I'm putting my nose to my wrist and getting maybe a breath of orange blossom and a smidge of rosemary. It's gone. Absolutely gone! Did my skin eat it? Do I need to apply more? On skin, wet, take two: Right. Applied unscented lotion and slathered. Let's see.... oh good Lord it smells like pungent rosemary and alcohol now. Well, while I appreciate it doing the usual thing of smell the same on my skin as it does in the bottle, I liked the morphing better. Oh, wait, it's drying now and slowly taking on the orange blossom. On skin, fifteen minutes later, take two: Hey, it's sticking around this time. Nice. Still no throw, which is a bit disappointing to me, but at least it's not disappearing. Don't like that I apparently need lotion with this one despite my not at all dry skin, though. It's nice enough that I think I'll hang on to the imp and maybe try it at another time of month to see if it changes (although if my track record with other scents is anything, it won't), but I don't need a bottle.

In bottle: Peachy-orange oil. Very sweet and honeylike, with hints of something deeper. Mmpfh. I like so far. ::crosses fingers and hopes nothing goes a-morphing:: On skin, wet: Smells... Just like it does in the bottle, but a bit muskier. That somewhat concerns me, since I cannot say I'm overly fond of musk. Still nice, though. Very wearable, and if it doesn't go extremely musky, it's one I think I'll love. It's a very snuzzly sort of scent thus far. On skin, fifteen minutes later: I think it's completely dry, and.... OMG. Just. O. M. G. It's not gotten muskier, but there's a smoky richness that's developed up against my skin, which I suspect may be the patchouli. Interesting, since patchouli tends to go clean-smelling on my skin. Still has an overlay of honey and soft, warm, just barely powdery sweetness which I suspect is the amber. I am really liking that warmth, and am surprised if it is amber since I recall being a bit put off by the idea of amber (most ambers give me headaches). It's clean and soft and warm and golden. Or pale orange, I'm not quite sure which colour it smells like just yet. It's kind of vascillating between the two. I'm leaning more towards the orange the more I think on it, but the first impression was gold. From a bit of a distance, the honey is easily discerned, with a bit of something softly floral. I'm not really feeling overpowered by the floral, which is quite nice as I don't tend to think of florals as snuzzly, and I was hoping for snuzzly. I'm not getting any sort of imagery that directly relates to the name, but it's pretty much everything I hoped it would be when I saw the name and made it my personal mission to hunt down as much as I could. I really just want to cuddle up under a blanket and snuzzle my wrists and bliss out right about now. It's just... omaogjagrgurhtsnkjcneoa. If I could only smell like one thing for the rest of my life, I think this would be it. WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE AN LE?! Oh, yes, the throw seems pretty good to me. With my wrists about a foot from my nose, I can catch little hints of something here and there, but it's not over-powering. Keep in mind, though, that I prefer a lighter throw because strong scents give me headaches.

The God of Sexual Desire, Longing and Yearning; an attendant of Eros and Aphrodite. A passion-rousing blend of juniper, sandalwood, rosewood, red musk, orchid, bergamot and lilac. In bottle: Honey-coloured oil. Cheap perfume. Very cheap perfume. The kind that makes you glad there's no one at the local drugstore to assault you with perfume that claims to smell just like your favourite designer brand but for less. On skin: It's… not getting any better. Really, it's not. If anything, it now smells like someone poured cheap aftershave in there with the perfume. If I back off a little, it's almost decent, like a lemony cough drop or hot lemon herbal tea. Key word being almost. Nothing is fixing the fact that it won't stop smelling like the secret love child of Channel #6 and Lectric Shave, who constantly has a cold and thus owns stock in Halls so they never lose their source of honey lemon mentholated cough drops. Picking it apart, I'm definitely getting something like mentholated lemon. Past that, maybe a little musk. With a bit of drying, I do pick up a woody note that is actually the pleasantest part to my nose. Mostly it's just really sharp, unpleasant cheap perfume. I think I need to go scrub my hands now. Yeurgh. After looking over the notes, I am going to hazard a guess that it's either the juniper or the musk that's ruining this for me. Will bear further lookings into.

The Spirit of the Divine Messenger, the Lord of the Crossroads, He Who Owns All Doors and Roads in this World. He is the intermediary between the Orishas and mankind, and stands at the intersection of humanity and the Divine. He opens all paths of communication, both mundane and Heavenly. His ofrenda contains coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum. In bottle: Pale yellow oil. One of those liquer-filled chocolates. Very strong; I can smell it through the stopper. Pretty delicious. And now I know what had me worried that something in my package had broken. (Huh, looking at the notes, I do wonder where I get chocolate from. I assume the coconut, as I also got something cocoa-scented out of Obatala; another coconut blend.) On skin: Excuse me while I resist the urge to eat my arm off. My God, this is delicious. Liquer-filled chocolate heaven. Not one of those cheap ones that come in the huge two-pound boxes you get from Boscov's for $12 either. You know the ones. The amaretto cream ones that taste like amaretto… if amaretto is straight up rubbing alcohol with a bit of cream flavour on the side. Oh no, this is not that. This is going to a distillery and finding out that there is a local chocolatier who uses their bourbon to make liquer-filled chocolates, and they just so happen to have a box for sampling purposes in front of this nice display, and even though you're only 18 it's a candy so of course you may have one as well. You bite into it, and all at once praise whatever it is you choose that you are allowed to eat this; rage at aforementioned whatever for not being old enough to drink because if the chocolate is any indication, the bourbon is fucking awesome and you need it in your life; and begin digging through your pockets, trying to find money, because damn you need more of those in your life RIGHT NOW. You're not getting any breakdown of the scent, because I really can't break it down past liquer-filled chocolates. That's all I'm getting. No hidden subtleties with this to my nose. Which is fine with me. I am in love with this just the way it is. Bottleworthy, definitely. EDIT: Just want to note that I did get a bottle, and the bottle is every bit as awesome as that first imp was. Actually, I want to say it's even better, because what I have noted in my files is that I was getting an ashtray vibe from the late drydown, and with the shiny new bottle (well, shiny and new being relative terms), there is none of that.

... Obatala’s ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water. In bottle: Clear oil. Coconut and cocoa butter and suntan lotion and a weird note. Like what all those beach scented candles smell like. Hmm. I don't know about this one. On skin: Slightly less perfumey version of Palmer's Cocoa Butter formula. Quickly turns more towards a sweet coconut. Buttery, honey-like. Makes me think of cupcakes, actually. Huh. Actually, wait, try a little closer to bakery in general. There we are. Bit of a burnt sugar note to it at the bottom of the scent. Has pretty good throw to it, actually, but at a distance it is definitely more a cross between a suntan lotion and the Palmer's lotion. Which I honestly don't mind the scent of either and actually sometimes want to smell like. I do not need a bottle, but I shall keep the imp. This is getting ready to go to the pool or the beach. Slathering yourself in suntan lotion so you don't burn to a crisp, and I do mean slathering. We are talking you are so white you make snow look brown, and you will turn redder than a lobster faster than you can say cheddar biscuit if you step outside without half a warehouse club sized bottle of SPF 80+ on you. Maybe when you get there, you have yourself a piña colada. Since it's the only thing you think you'll be able to drink that the sheer coconutty scent wafting up from you won't interfere with. Then you get home, and it turns out you burned after all, so you go take a nice cool shower and then apply a very generous coat of cocoa butter lotion so hopefully your skin doesn't peel off this time.