Velvet Lilly

I've loved this scent from the first moment I got to smell some.

It absolutely does it's intended job.... mellowed me out.. a bit of cost, self comfort, a bit of gentle uplift. Heart healing, anxiety softening.
Making everything a bit smoother and easier to handle.

In bottle:
I get tea roses, but also an equal first huff of furry, musk, like there's a familiar peeking up at you from the bottle.
Right away, the violet leaf and benzoin, and frankinsence.
Wet: 
tea rose, violet leaf, and amber and benzoin... everyone's playing so well together in the pool. 

Dry down: 
the amber ramps up and says hello for me, balanced by the honey and benzoin, lingering with the violet and tea rose as she fades.....

Really lovely..... and really mellowing. I love this heart's ease of a scent. 

This is a unique rose scent... not nearly as "rosy" and not at all "red"...
These are pale, wan, wilted roses....leached of color and fervent with melancholy or embalming fluid.....
(it seems like there's a whisper in the middle of the embalming fluid scent in here, tempered with pale honey....)

Funeral roses left on the casket too long....their edges curling in the beginnings of decay...in this sterile, cool room.

 She may have once been a party girl, but now she's gone to dust, her tan long gone....even her roses now, a remnant of what they were in full bloom.


 

This is unexpected and interesting and lovely. 

It's definitely sweet and sour, especially in the bottle on first sniff. But on the skin it's a unique morpher, for me.

Wet: it's like a lovely soft, moon... the blueberries, from Blueberry Picking, are there but not in a gourmand sense, and they blend evenly with the creamy whispers of the lemon and bergamot.

Dry: The white tea is also ephemeral and seems to be the note that morphs the scent on the dry down, as teas can do, into a hint of powder. The blueberries go away and the citrusy floraly notes come through.

This is like....the little girl who went blueberry picking, grew up, came in and away from the grass,  and turned it into a true young ladies perfume. 
So lovely. 
 

Yes all these notes together but also, it blends to make a gorgeous, refined (I know, what?) fougere.

There's a hint of smokiness in the dark musk as well.

I'd say this scent leans to a bit of a masculine slide of the dial, but everyone can wear it. (and should.)

Gorgeously blended, less gourmand, more chic.

In the bottle: I get the leather and smokey-is musk and gingerbread

Wet: fougere... so well blended I don't smelll any notes peeking out in a forward way. It's a wonderful melange.

Dry: The patch has a dry feel to it, the gingerbread has been eaten and the musk melds with the faint spices and leather.

A really fun, delicious hair gloss. I kept smelling it in the air at the yule Bazaar.

Wet I get a bit of smoke. 
The dry down is delicious and sugar s'moresy.

Let the wild Holiday Rumpus start!

In the bottle: Gingerbread in front of you, pumpkin egg nog in that skull next to it.

Wet on skin: Hello holiday spices and moist, cakey ginger spice bread with a whisper of butter! Just a hint of skull.

This is not a heavy throw kinda treat.  Even with the spices, this is close to medium throw

Dry down: Cinnamon spiced pumpkin egg nog in a weathered skull. (my skin amps cinnamon above all else, so others will definitely wear this one differently than I)
I only know the skull/ bone note is there because I'm looking for it. It's there as a wonderful, savvy mellower, balancing out the notes. It's kind of brilliant.

People are going to want to nibble on you, wearing this. 

 

This one is complex! And amazing and several of us had fun trying to suss out the notes as it went from bottle to dry down.

Wet: I get the maple branches and leaves first, the black currants are smushed on the ground within the leaves, and are tempered with the bourbon touched patchy root.
I also get a bit of the green, smashed bud of the leaves, almost fresh mint-like, but not at all "minty" 

On skin, it blooms and the notes separate into a very unique, changing, whiff as you smell it. Not morphing so much as spreading out to tease out the notes.
I think I smell pepper and sweet red pepper in there too.
The geen leaf note peeks out farther and so do the black currants.

Dry down: It fades evenly, not leaving one singular note behind as some scents do.

This one is amazing.... it's Good Weird, in the best way. I'm so glad I got a bottle.

This is such lovely juicy Pomegranate that I bought it just for that great note. 
What I dint' expect, as a happy surprise, was that "Aveda product" note (what is that??) that morphs out and lingers after the dry down and I love it so much.

I don't think it's just vetiver, because normally, vet has a bitter woody note I don't wear well- it can give me a headache.

This is unique and lovely and subtle but present in such a wonderful way.

So glad I bought a bottle.
 

Comfort and cozy, light hearted love. A bit of protection as well and friendship, if it's wanted.

That's how this smells to me. It's always a balm to my heart. 

Creamy, sweet, heady....gentle and light hearted. I get the creamy honey first and florals wrapped around it. 

Like affection is luxury and happiness is its currency.

In the bottle: it's a serious sucker punch to the face of sharp blousy, white florals like honeysuckle/jasmine/gardenia.

Wet: Still strong! Yet, It's a nicer play date....that starts to mellow as it dries.

A little goes a Long way. I bought it for the charity it supports, and figured I'd use it to toughen up the super candy scents like Poppa Monster, or liven up juicy scents like Midwinter's Eve.

The dry down and the way it lingers gets lovelier...,much like gardenia on me... I like it a lot when it's going away and melds more into my skin. 

This flower's got Guns! And pecs... and a six pack..and an attitude.

I think on cold days this would be too straight forward and overpowering for me, but on really hot sweaty days, I think it'll break down on my skin faster and give a tropical air to anything i mixed it with.

This is so elegant and lovely! 

It's' so chic and luxe.... like wandering through the Bellagio lobby and garden topiary displays.

The orange blossom is tempered by the violet leaf, and seems almost aquatic, but not exactly, just, lush. 
The pine needles are there, but gently, and not at all in a pine tree way. Just an awareness there are trees outside or the tatami mats beneath you. 

This is high end, airy, chic, indoor -outdoor elegance. Yum.

What a Fun gorgeous scent!

This is a juicy, tropical party in a bottle, under stormy skies. 

Three of my favorite scent notes in one bottle is all kinds of yes and they play so well together!

The coconut and blossoms lead the way to the bar, while the dead leaves linger overhead like storm clouds, but not too strong....
 

Still, it's sheer on with a medium throw and lingers close to my skin. 
I love it. 

One of the sweetest, light and lovely scents I've ever put my nose to.

She's Graceful and young, but not naive. She's strong and feminine.

I admit, I love this more than Antique Lace.

Soft dainty sandalwood, vanilla and knowing musk.

I love this princess that can save herself. 

Ahh Cotton Phoenix, my beloved sweet dream of a scent. 

All lovely and in a white dress.... sweet snake oil and almond milk with a kiss of Snow White and maybe coconut husk giving it a playful happy air. 

Along with the cotton musk... I just want to twirl with this scent in the sun on a clean wood floor......... 

Ahhhhh there she is... my favorite leather rawhide note from the lab ever. 
So sexy and real.

The Leather puts it's hand on the small of your back, and gently leads you into a dry saloon, wafting you with dry wood and spices, well oiled gun metal and the promise of adventure and protection.

A strong lover in a black hat and a true heart. 

My favorite of the Anniversary Phoenixes. 

 

Bamboo and Walnut surrounded by juicy clove spiced figs framed in sheer lace curtains.....(the chamomile I think) 

Gentle and deep, soft and enigmatic while still being tender. 

So much love in these scents. 

I love the story of this collection and reading all of them made me misty. 

 

I love this and love that it paints a picture of the man and the whole room.

In the bottle: The wood bar, a bit of dust on shelves, musk, the faint barrel and nutty scent of bread &  beer,  

There's a sweetness in here as well... vanilla 

It's light yet the light through mullioned windows gives this a clear picture in scent. 
It SMELLS like golden hour..... amazing. Like Kvothe is sitting, as Follis says, quietly in the empty Inn. 

So gorgeous.

A living summer day in a bottle.

In the bottle:  fresh green grass crushed by happy feet after dewy sprinkler spray, and a 3D smelling apple pie in  your face.
It's amazing how she can do that.

Wet: Apple pie and dewy grass in the back ground.

Dry down: apple notes don't love me.... but the spices come up a wee bit which is lovely. (I rarely amp sweetness)

An amazing creation that I'll happily huff if I can't wear. 

In the bottle: Cherries, almond and metal something... a hint clove way down in there  somewhere.

Wet: A bit more spice on top of the cherry almond. And something else I can't place. The metal goes away or morphs.

Dry down: The rose comes out and tempers the softer cherry and almond.

It's wonderful with Come To Me Boy. 

In the bottle: Hello civet! and shades of dirty diaper with honey and florals...

On: Whew! <3 Civet goes away and so do the diapers..... a honey, creamy-ish floral with a whisper of citrus that leaves a trail for others to follow as it beckons..... 

I can see how this works... 

This is gorgeous and wonderfully nostalgic to me. 

A big merry bowl of lemon verbena, almond and twizzlers (the pomegranate, hibiscus and poppy) and the lovely dried herbs. But it's also more than that.

It's the smell of comforting family and tradition and almost ancestral memory, that I didn't even know I remembered until I smelled this. 
Food and home and sweet things.... like walking through the living room at the holidays. The whole story is in there.

It's lovely, warm and welcoming.  

The dry down brings up the almond and herbs a bit more (but I tend not to pull sugar notes) 


 

I didn't buy this for years, thinking all I could smell was Champaca.

But ON, she's a different story.
Wet: Sweet, softly glimmering starlight through space.... it blooms so beautifully on skin and the rest of the story comes into play. 

Dry down: Simple Champaca, yet a bit more rounded and serene.... softened by the musk and elevated by the Davana. 

I love to pair it with Broadway to soften that one, or with Trois to brighten that one  up. 

Celestial hippy is me. 

I can't tell if I have 2010 or 2016.... it's the parchment looking label.

I adore this sweet, tart, juicy berry scent. It reminds me of European molded hard berry candies. But these berries have just come in from the snow.
That barely there hint of wintery mint cools this down to make it a winter's ball, more than a weekend berry picking.

She's soft and refined, and yet still fun and merry. (and she dances well with spice scents.) 

Exactly what Sophie Cedar said.

I couldn't stop huffing this before I bought it. 

The glitter is softly glimmering, it's not fizzy or bubbly, but in that same champagne note vein.
The leather is the base note. I wouldn't have found it, if I didn't know to look for it in there. 

I love how Fluidly masculine/ feminine this is..... The Duke is  a switch <3 
The spices make the king mandarin stay true and resonant throughout the notes in a luscious gorgeous way.
The florals just dance around the party, flirting but never staying in place for long as the glitter spirits them away.

I love it. 

The best part of Washington Square Park in Summer.... I feel like the chicest hippy in New York.

Languid, warm days patchouli and sultry red musk wrapped in sunny day bodega flowers and darkened vanilla whispers.

I love it so much. It's so nostalgic for me, and on days when it's just a bit too, in my face patchouli, I pair it with Trois or Peach 3 and 
people stop me on the street asking what that amazing scent is. (also paired with Lobster!) 

The dry down goes gorgeous incense, head shop poppy, lilac and vanilla....I just love it.