OctoberGwen

I was hoping for more almond husk, oak leaf, and aged patchouli. On me, all I'm getting is ! LEATHER ! and my too- sweet frenemy, bourbon vanilla. Not for me.

I hesitated to try Imp for a long time because peach and I are not on speaking terms. Peach likes to go all nauseating, cloying sweetness on my skin and most of the time I simply dislike smelling of fruit. Imagine my surprise when Imp turned out to be gorgeous on me! First off, I think white peach is a much lighter, less syrupy version of this note. The other thing working in my favor here is the fact that the amber, patchouli, and wonderful, wonderful golden musk sit on the peach, keeping it from being too...peachy. That earthy trio keeps the sweet fruit in check, so that it's lending just a hint of sweetness and a slightly fresh quality to the scent. This is lovely, and it is on my list of General Catalogue Bottles I'd Like To Get Some Day.

I normally can't wear snow notes (or anything 'cold', really), but this is really lovely on me. I think the linen does something to temper the snow, and the soft brush of rose petals is subtle and just gorgeous. This is a very clean, very pretty scent and I can see myself wearing it when I'm in the right mood - probably on a miserably hot, humid day.

I have no idea why it has taken me this long to try Morocco. For some reason, I think it was in the back of my head that I'd already tested it at some point and couldn't remember it because it was a forgettable scent experience for me. Boy, was I wrong! When first applied, this smells extremely familiar to me - like a classic perfume from my younger years, although I'll never recall which one. The top part of Morocco is very sweet, but not in a foody way at all. It's also a tiny bit creamy and very spicy, delicious and exotic. This is not a subtle, cozy, I'll-just-hang-here, don't mind me oil for sure. Morocco is something to wear when you're going out on the town and want to smell like a WOMAN. It has very good throw. I quite like it. Not an everyday scent for me, but I would pull it out for the right mood and occasion.

Seriously, SmileCat's review from upthread is nearly perfect. The "memory of salt...sunshine, and waves." YES. THIS. I do not like aquatic scents on me, generally, but my skin loves this ambergris accord. Probably because it is not watery in the least, it's clean and slightly powdery and slightly musky. When first applied it's almost citrusy, then it dries into this delicious silvery grey-colored smell that is so distinctive, so evocative of the sea...without smelling of the sea at all. I will treasure every single drop of this bottle.

I fell in love with this immediately. It just smells...fantastic. Blanket-comfy, yes, but the blanket is cashmere, top of the line. I Big Bottled this baby.

I really wish I'd had more time to evaluate my Lupercalia decants properly, because after wearing this a few times I would have gotten a bottle. This is just a lovely, soft, well blended scent. The plum was worrisome for me, because I usually dislike smelling of it. In this case, though, I think "plum incense" is apt and it's actually working very nicely on me. (Note to self: try any plum scent that also has sandalwood!) The mint adds a wonderful freshness to the scent without being overpowering. I like this very much. An awesome Spring or Summer blend: very feminine and pretty, without being floral OR too fruity. Nice.

2013 This is a fascinating scent! Initially it's very astringent, and that quality does soften after a few minutes but continues to sit on top. Right underneath that is something that smells like apples. If I stop actively sniffing my wrist and just sort of ignore it, I get a lovely, soft-feeling but powerful waft of incensey sweetness mixed with a woody smell. I can't decide if this is something I'd wear or not, and I don't even know if I like it, but I can't stop waving my arms around in an effort to catch that intriguing waft.

FYI: My decant's got a bit of sludge. This starts off okay, with mostly cocoa and white rose with a hint of lemon blossom. I can tell it's probably going to be too sweet, though. Sure enough, after several minutes it begins to veer into nauseating, cloying, must-wash-it-off sweetness. Something about the bourbon vanilla (which almost never agrees with me), the custard smell, and the skin musk combined is just not working on my skin at all. Faugh. This is almost a combination of perfumey and foody sweet. Not for me!

All I get from Corinna is jasmine. It's the nice kind, not the stinky cat pee one, but still...just jasmine. I don't usually amp jasmine, but...yup....still just jasmine. On someone else, this is probably very pretty. On me...let me check... Yeah. Jasmine.

I love scented geraniums, and bourbon is not one I've encountered IRL. In Sic Erit, it is what keeps this scent from being too dry and woodsy or too red musky - but it's by no means all geranium, all the time. I definitely get the wonderfully aged patchouli, just a hint, and I bet this note will come out as the scent ages. I like the red amber, too; it's a bit deeper in tone and goes very nicely with the musk and wood notes. The geranium sort of swirls through it all and lifts it up a bit. I'm contemplating a bottle, despite my limited last-minute Luper budget. I think this blend will age magnificently.

2013 This almost works for me, but the grape makes it much too fruity for my taste. It is a very light, bright scent and lovers of fruity blends will really appreciate it. A pity, because I love lemon balm and don't see it often.

This smells very generic on my skin: it's not unpleasant (although I have discovered that I'm not a fan of Moroccan jasmine), it's just sort of 'meh' to my nose. I'm getting a very perfumey quality, a little neroli and rose, and quite a bit of the jasmine. No musk per se, although it's probably combining with the bourbon vanilla (another not-so-fave) to create this strong generic "perfume" impression. No tobacco whatsoever. Surely a classic on some, but sadly...not for me.

This is lovely: warm and soft and powdery, very comforting. It dries down into a quiet skin scent, and would be great for days or situations where one just wants to unobtrusively smell good without overpowering anyone. I will probably keep and enjoy my decant, but I don't need a bottle.

MMMMMMM! Lovely, bright citrus; delicious black tea (how I love you); and a tart pop of ginger with a splash of juicy red currant. A soft but refreshing blend, this would be a perfectly inoffensive scent for everyday in warm weather. It would also be nice for relieving the Winter doldrums, I would imagine. It stays close to the skin. The tea really keeps this from being too fruity or ho-hum. I knew I would like this, as the Lab's tea note is a favorite of mine and I enjoy all of the other notes here as well. My "last minute Lupercalia" budget is pretty tight, but I'm contemplating a bottle of this.

2013 I was looking forward to this one, but wow...it does not work on my skin at all. It smells like a shitload of apples steeped in gasoline! It is literally making my eyes water, from just a swipe from the imp wand on each wrist. Not for me, I'm afraid.

I am so, so grateful that I had a chance to try this. Come on: a scent based on a traditional Sumerian perfume! What! When first applied I get distinct almond, but after a few minutes it blends seamlessly with the other notes instead of choosing to amp on me. There's a lovely waft coming from my wrists...if I concentrate, I can smell what has to be lavender honey and rose, but really everything just blends together in a seriously gorgeous way. I agree with the reviewer who said this is an ancient fragrance: it feels timeless to me. I can completely imagine the wealthy women of an ancient civilization smelling of this. It's quite beautiful, and I will treasure my decant.

This starts off fresh and lemony, with coconut. Love it, but I was close to dismissing it as a pretty but ultimately forgettable fragrance. Then when the anise began to show itself, I thought it was all over...I dislike anise, as a rule, and it tends to amp on me. Here it does remain in check, and I get a bit of the very lovely florals, too. (I adore orchids and mimosa.) These elements all combine to make this a light but still complex and very refreshing scent. The longer Rigorous Love sits on my skin, the more I'm liking it. This would be wonderful for sweltering summer days, I think.

This opens with a very strong blast of opium and dries to a gorgeous floral/opium/tobacco with a definite presence of cypress tar. Like Alethia, I'm relieved the plum doesn't become apparent here because that's not a favorite of mine. Perhaps wild plum smells a bit more tame? I'm hoping the opium takes more of a back seat as this ages, too, because the middle part of the scent, with the florals mixing and wafting with these other notes is just amazing. It's a wildly feminine and intriguing scent; a fascinating mix. Yet another win for Our Lady Of Pain! ETA: This is aging magnificently. The opium has smoothed out beautifully and this is now one well-blended, sexy beast.

What! A unisex blend I can wear? A unisex blend I absolutely love on my skin? Yes!! On me, Knucklebones has a fabulous fizzy gin/lime and sweet orange blossom top over a gorgeous black musk/tobacco base. I freaking love it. This will get heavy rotation in the Summer months.

Oh, Our Lady of Pain. Like every other scent in this collection, it is beautifully blended and quite sophisticated. Initially I can pick out the lavender and the patchouli; after several minutes I am definitely able to smell the gorgeous, gorgeous orchid. The blood musk is lending a slightly dangerous edge. This is sultry and intimidating; a very adult scent. I love it. It just smells fantastic.

Mirror of Spring Pleasures starts off fresh and sort of grassy on me. It's very pretty. I'm getting the beeswax, for sure, which gives a slightly creamy and almost chewy quality to the scent. The grassy note is not fresh-mown, it is more like grass that is recently uncovered from Winter's snows, still brownish in places and flattened. There's no wetness here, though. I completely agree with boomtownrat: it is actually very reminiscent of Entangled, without any of the smokiness. They definitely share a quality that I'm having a hard time defining right now. Entangled is uncut hay in high Summer, and this is that same long grass earlier in the season. Later Mirror of Spring Pleasures becomes a bit more perfumey, which I assume is when the black currant and honeysuckle make an appearance though I don't necessarily identify those notes singularly. This stays close to the skin and is very different from things I usually wear, but it has a place in my collection when I want something similar to Entangled but a bit more fresh and Spring-like. I do not find this resembling Banshee Beat at all.

I just have to say: whaaaaaaaaaaat. This is my very favorite of the Our Lady of Pain scents thus far. It is absolutely gorgeous. Heady, feminine, lush, complex. Perfect. A perfect blend.

This is....so lovely. A gorgeous, musky white floral. Very feminine with some definite depth; this is not a simple fragrance, nor is it as innocent as the listed notes would imply. I detect a faint corruption under all those blossoms... Another stunner from Our Lady Of Pain.

I'm getting a lot of the fabulous geranium (I spent my childhood smelling scented geraniums, because my mother always grew them. I think they all smell wonderful.) I also detect a hint of a very tame ginger - not "in your face" at all - and some rosemary (another favorite herb of mine.) The sandalwood is giving it a bit of roundness, and the pink pepper adds a pop which becomes more pronounced after a couple of minutes on my skin. I was actually worried about the dragon's blood here, because that often amps into nauseatingly sweet territory on me, but it's really just providing a smooth, sweetish base for these sharper notes. What a brilliant scent. It's unique but oh so wearable. Another giant win for Our Lady of Pain...probably my favorite update ever. ETA: I do have to add that the dragon's blood did indeed become just a tad too strong for me. I wish the geranium and rosemary had stayed more dominant, though they don't disappear entirely and the pink pepper stays present, too. People who love dragon's blood resin should try this, though be warned that it's not your typical note takeover. ETA 2/19/14 A year later, this blend has really smoothed out into a unique, treasured part of my collection. The sharp and spicy herbal elements are balanced quite well by the usually too-sweet DBR. It suits that portion of the poem beautifully.