yakiguri

Interesting and complex. Luckily the note I worried about the most, peach, only flits in just enough to keep things interesting as it's kept grounded by the vetiver and myrrh. Oudh can also be worrisome but luckily there's not enough of it in here to turn the whole blend to band-aids. The coconut reminds me of the raw coconut oil I put in my hair--juicy and meaty without going suntan lotion-coconut. The florals are so well woven with the rest of the notes I can't pick them apart.

Coconut can give me a headache so while I won't buy a bottle I'll definitely keep my decant, maybe pick up a partial if I see one.

I feared the violet would go high-pitched on me, but all I get is soft rose soap. Fancy smelling soap, but soap nonetheless.

Thanks so much to the lovely chinkee21 for a bottle of one of my most sought-after scents!

A Bachelor's Dog starts off super powdery, and I feared it would be like Hellfire--no smoke, all powder. After half an hour or so the tobacco deepens and the leather and musk unfurl, making this a deep, smoky, yet snuggly scent. The musk reminds me of the "fuzzy" kind in Miss Lupescu but much more tame, and the leather is the brown, worn-in gloves/bomber jacket kind rather than the sharp chemical biker leather that dominates a lot of BPAL leather blends. The cigar tobacco is beautifully sweet yet deep, and having run my company's cigar tent during our recent golf tourney it's most certainly evocative of a South American cigar.

If bottles of this didn't go for horrendous amounts on eBay I'd buy eleventy billion bottles. I might just buy a backup anyway, it's THAT worth it. If you love tobacco, and you love leather, A Bachelor's Dog MUST be in your collection.

I'm...not sure what to think of Zmey Gorynych. My first try I smelled absolutely nothing. When I retried later using a bit more, I got primarily red musk mixed with vanilla, and the tiniest hint of galbanum. No snow, no leather, no amber. Odd, and I blame red musk since I tend to amp it. Dammit.

Of course, on Mr. WhiteElf it's everything the description evokes--powerful and warm, yet chilling at the same time, like an ancient red dragon stepping into the snow. Can't complain though since I got Bakunawa for myself being Filipino, and for Mr. WhiteElf since he's Russian. Fitting, I guess.

I never thought myself an aquatics person, but Bakunawa changed my mind. On my skin this dragon's mostly lush, wet orchids with something dark lurking in the background keeping it from going too high-pitched--I think it might be the midnight musk and oakmoss. In fact I think it's mostly the oakmoss as I recognize the note from a lot of my pre-oakmoss-ban vintage perfumes, and it gets stronger as more of the florals swim off. As I absolutely LURV oakmoss this is awesome. Throw and longevity are surprisingly strong for an aquatic.

Bakunawa is officially now my favorite orchid blend, and I wish I had picked up two. :/

Now that I have both I can definitely smell the strong similarity between the Antikythera Mechanism and White Peacock. So similar in fact I'd say they're fraternal twins. Both share the same sweet tobacco woods heart but where White Peacock has a syrupy, thick quality to it The Antikythera Mechanism is much drier, with tobacco much further in the forefront. I wouldn't dare say one is a dupe for the other, but unless you're a hardcore collector I don't think you need both. If you missed out on White Peacock though, The Antikythera Mechanism has a similar enough base that it works as a decent replacement.

I'll keep my imp of The Antikythera Mechanism but I'll wait until my bottle of White Peacock runs low to upgrade to a bottle.

Mmm, spicy dark but non-dirty patchouli with a dash of sweetness. Raven Moon '12 is definitely dark, but more of a glossy dark rather than no-light-shall-enter dark. Lasts all day too! I can't wait to see what this is like aged. So glad I took a risk on this.

I love jasmine, but not when it's drowning out the other notes. Unfortunately currently on my skin Iole is THE JASMINE SHOW with her way way WAAAAY in the back backup singers! >_< About an hour later I get whiffs of fig, oak, and vanilla, but sandalwood and leather have yet to come out. I'm wondering if night blooming jasmine might be a "bad" jasmine on me after all since Iole has the same funk in the background as Ceanothus Silkmoth had.

I'll put Iole in the marinating box and hope she gets more studious with age.

EDIT 9/30: After a month the jasmine has calmed down significantly, and more of the other notes have bloomed to the surface. Iole is sweet, sweeter than I expected. I still fail to see how this is serious and studious as it strikes me as more like a flirtatious social butterfly rather than a bookworm. There's not as much leather as I'd like, so while I'll keep my decant I'll refrain from a bottle.

Thanks to the always wonderful and amazing chinkee21 for letting me sniff her goodies.

...but I kinda wish I hadn't sniffed this, because it'll be next to impossible--at least on *my* budget--to get a bottle of this. DAMN, this is nice. Reading the actual notes list I would've been completely written it off as it's chock full of death and meh notes. But on the skin Crypt Queen is a beautiful fruit-floral with a spice kick. It's as if Mme. Moriarty has a pet Bakeneko and its scent has permeated her wardrobe. Yum.

Dammit, this is why I strive to not even try super LEs as I'll just get my heart broken. Please re-release it, Labbies?

Thanks to the always wonderful and amazing chinkee21 for letting me sniff her goodies.

At first, I got it. I smelt yes, this is definitely the backbone to Snake Oil, minus the waiting 2+ years for me to find SO enjoyable. I hovered over the purchase button...

...and then it turned into ALL RED MUSK, ALL THE TIME. Dammit. >_< Ah well.

Thanks to the always wonderful and amazing chinkee21 for letting me sniff her goodies.

Alas, I also get primarily beetles. >_> I like earthy scents, mind you, but not by themselves. When butterscotch does deign to show up it goes into a ZOMG SNIFF ME NAO screaming fest on my skin before being shunted aside by the dirt note. *sigh* I can't have these two fighting for attention on my skin so I'm glad I didn't risk a bottle myself.

Thanks to the always wonderful and amazing chinkee21 for letting me sniff her goodies.

I admit I was reeeaaaallllyyy hesitant to try this. As much as I love my foody scents, popcorn is definitely not one of my faves, and is prone to making me feel sick. Just thinking of buttered popcorn Jelly Bellies makes my stomach churn, and since Jelly Bellies are local they're EVERYWHERE.

But Mouse Circus...I don't know how Beth does it, but I've found a popcorn scent that immediately makes me go YUM! Mouse Circus is definitely sweet, and could be a cousin to Boo with its soft "fluttery" vanilla, but it's not as sickly sweet as I'd feared it'd be. Not even in the slightest. The popcorn note is nutty, almost smoky on my skin, so that's probably what's keeping it all grounded. I'm wondering if it's the same nut note used in Tanuki no Kanban as I knew I'd smelt it before and finally figured out where. I don't get cotton candy (though that might be the "fluttery" note I also get in Boo) and no woods, but I imagine the latter will deepen and grow more prominent with aging. I certainly hope so since the scent is fleeting in its current state.

I'm so glad this is perm so I can add a bottle to my stash, but take my time doing so.

Mmm, soft, warm, fuzzy, spicy almondy goodness. I agree the musky powderiness is reminiscent of that found in Ozymandias and Baghdad, but it's not as dry as Ozymandias and doesn't have the rose of Baghdad. What a throw too! Not sure if I'd wear it enough to warrant a bottle but I'll definitely keep my decant, and snatch up a partial if I see one.

*sigh*

Hunter seemed like it'd be nothing but win on me. Unfortunately she doesn't even deign to show up in the first 10-15 minutes, even after slathering the inside of my elbow. When she does it's nothing but all sage, all the time. After half an hour or so I finally get hints of the clove and amber, and only the most ephemeral appearance of leather. In fact if I didn't already know leather was listed as a note I wouldn't think it was there.

All in all, a watered down Bow & Crown of Conquest. Glad I found a decant and didn't buy a bottle blindly or else I would've been sorely disappointed.

*sigh* Proof again that I generally can't wear citrus, and bergamot is an especially nefarious skin nemesis. All I get from Moscow is pretty florals thrown into an ash tray with some funky, sour citrus thrown on top...like a heavy smoker who douses herself in gallons of floral perfume to cover the smoke upchucking the orange juice she just drank. Ick.

Muse of the Night starts off with a sour, almost wet dog-like funk that grabs at my nose and refuses to let go for the first minute or so. Then what I could only describe as electrified florals sweep in, elevating the scent from the funky base. As the blend dries the funk finally recedes, the florals expand, and I'm getting hints of the black currant and vanilla now and then. There's a cleanliness to the background that I believe is the indigo musk. The reviewer who said this was a silvery midnight broomstick ride couldn't have been more spot-on.

Very pretty and ethereal once dry, but I wish I knew what note was causing the funk at the beginning stages so I can avoid it in other blends. I think it might be the opoponax. Pretty, but I'll stick with just my decant unless I spot a partial some day.

The Orchard is an interesting scent, not the type that I would normally gravitate towards due to the chocolate note but as a plum and reformed rose lover I had to try it. Like other reviewers have said it's surprisingly light and sweet. I get whiffs of chocolate in the bottle but for some reason it doesn't really translate on my skin, which may be a good thing as me and the lab's chocolate note aren't the best of buds. I primarily get rose and plum, and a sweet "pink" floral note that must be the tulip. I honestly could do without it as it gets a bit too high-pitched for my liking, and personally would've preferred a stronger woods backdrop as I barely get any. Funny, since it's usually rose that gets to screaming.

The Orchard is quite pretty, but a bit strong for the 100+ degree heat here. I'm sure this will be lovely in the colder months and just get better with age.

When I first heard of Abhisarika it sounded like pure win...and then I saw the rose. I love roses, and use rosewater constantly, but for some reason I amp BPAL's rose note crazy strong. After reading so many reviews on this blend actually being orchid-dominant I just had to give it a try, even if the rose utterly ruined it...

...I'm glad to see it doesn't. The orchid is definitely right at the forefront with its tropical wetness (yay!), but rose is still there, lingering in the background and giving occasional soft puffs of its stronger floral notes. Maybe it's the soft, languid bed of cream and musk the florals reside in, but for once rose isn't competing with and shunting aside the other notes. I also thought that Kashmir musk would've been a bit deeper, but I'm fine with it being the "clean" kind, like a softer Egyptian musk. I don't get much of the cream note but I'm perfectly fine with that as too much of a cream note can make me nauseous.

My only gripes are that Abhisarika does veer close to soapiness as it dries, and has very little throw. The staying power could be better as well. Even so, it's an expensive kind of soapiness, like having just bathed with ludicrously expensive French soap. I usually love my thick and heady leathers but in California's triple-digit heat sometimes you just want something light and clean. Abhisarika definitely fulfills that need, and I'm glad to have a bottle. I agree that if you love orchid, you should grab a bottle ASAP.

For Noir de Noir, maybe The Orchard?

Crap. Noir de Noir's my favorite Tom Ford blend (and rose blend for that matter) and the only one I'd gladly cough up the money for. Since I haven't yet (thankfully) I'll need to hunt down a bottle of The Orchard...thanks for the new lemming!

The Bow and Crown of Conquest is a dead ringer for Tobacco Vanille to my nose...no, scratch that, it's a better Tobacco Vanille (or TV's a worse BCC).

I just found my proof that black musk is a death note.

On me: Musky baby powder. No leather, no tobacco, no ambergris.

On Mr. Whiteelf: OMG. Sweet, smoky, musky leather and tobacco. Why can't you be like this on ME?

I'll get a bottle for the guy, because seriously it makes me want to hump his arm, but I'm sorely disappointed by Hellfire's performance on my own skin.

When I bought the original Byron, I remember thinking "this is nice, but it's too feminine / I wish it had leather." It was a bit too floral for my tastes, spicy and bright. While I love my Byronic antiheroes (being married to one), to me The Byronic Antihero wasn't very evocative of one...it was too "safe."

Then I smelled this proto. This is what I had wished the original had been. While still a rather sweet and spicy blend, the leather adds a smoky depth that keeps it from going too high pitched. I get an interesting cold note every once in a while, the chilling baleful stare of a brooding dark man. The leather is the smooth, soft type, so worry not about your jaded hero turning into a Draco in Leather Pants.

Yum! If this is what it's like fresh out of the box, I can't wait to sniff it aged...and on Mr. whiteelf.

Sweet masculines are pretty much all I wear, and I'm female. I definitely agree with Bow and Crown of Conquest and Dee. You might want to try these as well:

GC

VILF (smoky leather, patchouli, teeny bit of vanilla)

Tombeur (sandalwood, Snake Oil, patchouli lavender--an absolute FAVE of mine)

Jareth (lilac, leather, vanilla--it's often called Dorian + leather)

Kubla Khan (leather + florals and grasses)

LE

Variety of Pleasing Amusements (honey, tobacco, leather)

White Peacock (patchouli, dark woods, vanilla)

This reminds me, I need to add a bottle of Crowley to my next order.

Grapefruit dominates yet another blend, and not in a good way. The combo of it and the plum turns Megaera into Lip Smacker-esque plasticky fruit. Not for me.

I was worried most about the honeysuckle in this blend, since I love the scent from a distance but up close and in strong quantities honeysuckle aggravates my allergies. Luckily I don't have that problem with Anathema. The dark, smoky richness of the vetiver and the thick spice of the opium drown out just enough of the honeysuckle to keep the blend from being tickling my nose. However, there's juuuust enough of the honeysuckle peeking through to keep Anathema from going utterly pitch black. Sweet, sweet blackness is an apt description. Throw is moderate, but I think I'll enjoy this more in the fall/winter than now in the 105+ degree dry heat. Will add to the bottle list!