OctoberGwen

Snake Charmer Resurrected

 

I really dig this type of blend. I'm not a plum fan but I don't smell it here, just a gorgeous sweetly spiced vanilla (the kind that works on me), and incensey deliciousness.

 

Fades really fast from my wrists but sticks around pretty nicely in the cleavage. Weird.

 

I can see why this one is so coveted. Thank you, arlith, for gifting me a decant!!

Oh sweet baby Jesus.

 

This is just....gaaaaaaaaaah. Not catch-in-your-throat filthy patch, but a chewy, earthy, spicy patch. So rich and redolent and red. The patchouli from my beloved Tricksy, along with every other of Beth's patch blends that I love.

 

Patchouli connoisseurs, rejoice. And order seventy-seven bottles.

I bought this off the etsy site (thank you SO much, Lab, for offering it there.) I actually love all these notes. I'm also a TAL devotee, so no stranger to oils with a purpose. That said, this baby is really potent smell-wise!

 

I arrived home today hot and exhausted from work and too little sleep last night. I pulled this out of my mailbox and immediately put it on...and I really did feel better almost instantly. It really cleared the cobwebs!

 

This is definitely a workhorse oil, not a perfume: the menthol is strong, as is the bergamot, giving it a very medicinal edge. After several minutes the citrus does come through more. I think I will find this very, very useful, and it will be a great partner to my TAL Energy oil.

 

A note of caution: don't apply this to your temples. It will make your eyes sting.

I adore this. It is blended magnificently. I definitely get strong coffee, I think a hint of the cardamom, and a lovely sort of rose that I don't recall smelling before. It's an exotic, slightly sweet, slightly spicy gorgeousness of a scent.

 

Win!

This is beautiful.

 

A sweet, honeyed floral note. There is absolutely nothing "high pitched" or green about this. It lasts a good long while, too.

 

Not a scent I will wear all the time, but I am happy to have it nonetheless.

Oh. I am so happy I bought a bottle of this.

 

This starts off sort of fresh, with the white tea note very dominant (and it's fecking lovely; I adore tea notes.) The florals are lending a soft and very pretty waft of support to the tea.

 

As it dries, the darker aspects of the scent become apparent but never overpower the soft freshness of the other elements. The result is a complex and very nicely blended scent, with none of the strange undertone that my skin usually brings out of the lunar oils.

 

This is unique; I have nothing like this in my collection. Also, the label art is awesome.

 

I was gifted a bottle of this (thank you, thank you - you know who you are ), and I am so happy to have it! I never would have bought Coraline Jones for myself, and she smells wonderful.

 

Clean but not soapy, fresh and slightly grassy but not too green, with a hint of juicy sweetness from the red berries. This is a completely inoffensive scent for when you want to smell good but not 'dressed up' or sexy. It will be perfect for sweltering, muggy Summer days, too.

I like this very much, perhaps I love it, even on my skin. (Hungarian Caraway is an oil that I felt certain was destined for the oil burner only.)

 

This is the reason why I love single notes from Beth. It is such an interesting scent, and has such fascinating associations and properties. I will almost certainly add it to any protective charms I make for my sons.

 

Anyway, freshly applied it has a musty quality to it, like a potting shed where there are dried bunches of herbs hanging from the ceiling. It smells homey, and ancient and magical all at once.

 

The far drydown is just a soft hint of spiciness that sticks very close to my skin. I can't stop smelling myself when I have it on, and it definitely has a calming influence.

 

I'm very pleased to have found a bottle. Thank you, Ashmedai!

Oh God, I adore this. It does have an initial blast that is almost mentholated (I attribute that to the bourbon geranium, which once it calms down smells diviiiiine), and then almost right away it smells exactly like the New Age shop I used to frequent in my youth. The far drydown is a lovely, softly sweet and spicy skin scent. It lasts forever.

Like all the Salons, this is very complex and sophisticated. It reminds me a bit of both Third Charm and Lips Full of Lust and Laughter - it's in the same family, I would say.

Totally brilliant. I hope I can find a bottle.

ETA: This has rocketed into my Top Ten. It's long lasting and smells wonderful on me, and is also nice in the scent locket. I now own two bottles and counting...thank God for the forum sales!

Oh, goodness.

 

I finally found a strawberry scent that I love, and I think it's the extremely realistic berry here. It's not a candy smell, which can go plastic on me, and it's not mixed with anything sugary at all. I love it.

 

I'm getting lots of sun-warmed strawberry and an equal amount of clover and grass. It just smells like being in the strawberry patch of my childhood on a warm June day, with the scent of my mom's wild roses being carried on the breeze. I don't know what the orris butter is doing; perhaps it is lending a nice, smooth base to the whole thing to keep it from being too green.

 

At any rate, this is absolutely beautiful and I'm quite sure I need a whole bottle of it.

Sniffing from the imp, I get a perfect embodiment of an "I love you Daddy" picture drawn by a little girl: innocent and sweet, fluffy-pink vanilla marshmallow, strawberry, and soft rose. It's quite divine, actually.

 

My skin, however, is not nice to sugary scents and strawberry is often problematic, too. Here it develops a distinct plasticky edge that taints the innocent perfection of the smell from the imp. I still get that prettiness underneath, but I dislike the overtone when I'm wearing it.

 

Phooey to you, skin chemistry.

 

I'd bet my life this is fantastic on lots of people...just not me, sadly.

Oh, my skin loves Aperotos Eros. This is definitely my kind of scent!

 

Indian is one of my favourite musks, as it turns out. It has a deep, sweetish quality that hints at civet but isn't quite as animal- smelling. That is mostly what I get here, after the first minute. (Freshly applied, there is sharp weirdness happening on my stained-yellowish wrists.) Thankfully, this dissipates quickly and I am left with just a dusky, musky deliciousness. I don't really pick out the fir as a separate note, but it's probably lending a nice woodsy quality to the resin/musk party.

 

This is for certain turning into a big bottle for me. I fucking love it.

Jesus, maybe it's all psychological, but this one gives me the CREEPS.

 

It smells like a dirty lollipop. I just...can't.

 

 

My Mom With the Sun in Her Hands

Just a side note here that I love the artwork and title for this one SO MUCH.

This smells beautiful and has a 'classic perfume' feel to it. It's very well blended and I'm not picking out any individual notes thus far, but if I close my eyes and concentrate I can smell the influence of the sandalwood, bergamot and magnolia for sure.

It smells (dare I say?) a bit magical, almost in a TAL-like way, which is fitting, I think, given the imagery.


ETA: This has smoothed out considerably and I am really loving it. I'm definitely getting bergamot now, as well as sandalwood and magnolia (I freaking love magnolia) with just a hint of lemon. I'm not sure about the champaca, though clearly it's adding something to the mix.

"classic" = yes, "old lady" = no, at least not to me.

When first applied, I quite love this.

 

I'm not generally a fan of smelling like a man, but the lemony quality of this one is just fabulous on me. If it stayed the way it smells when wet, I would totally wear this on hot summer days: it smells clean but not soapy, fresh but not sharp, and is just complex enough to please my nose and avoid boredom.

 

Unfortunately, the longer I wear it, the more cologney it becomes. The pretty lemon is eventually overtaken by whatever that undercurrent smell is (the aftershave, I suppose.)

 

Bummer.

 

Still, I'm glad that Puddin' included this in my last Post order as a frimp, as I never would have tried it otherwise.

My Mommy in a Boat

Oh man, fresh out of the mailbox and this is already such an intriguing blend of smells!

I am not usually a fan of the hay note, and I definitely smell it here, but it is offset in a really interesting way by the other elements. I get a hint of salty wood, a whiff of lemon verbena, and playing a supporting role underneath is my beloved Snake Oil.

When immediately applied, it smells rich and almost foody. That quickly dissipates as it dries and the blend then develops a more perfumey quality.

This does not smell like any of the other seafaring/pirate ship blends I have tried. It smells like a giant log of driftwood in a seaside garden, where the salty breeze carries the smell of seaweed. It definitely takes on more of an aquatic feel as it sits on my skin.

I will be very interested to see how this settles and ages.


ETA on 6/12/13:
After a couple of initial tries, I put this up on my sales page because it was just too weird for me, LOL. Last night I decided to try it again and man! I'm glad I did. It has smoothed out considerably and, while still unusual, it really smells good to me now. And I love the fact that nothing else in my collection smells remotely like it.

I've removed it from my sales page.

Humpback Whale

I remember seeing the artwork that inspired this scent when Beth originally posted it on Facebook, so this was the first of the Tremulous Songs that I knew I needed a bottle of. I love humpback whales, and I loved Lilith's picture, and I really didn't care what the oil smelled like. Happily, it is so beautiful!

I definitely smell the peppermint (I am a mint fan, btw), and it really does smell blue instead of sharp and green. This note is softened and made rounder by the ambergris and probably the white myrhh; I'm not getting the usual distinctly "myrhh" note. This is absolutely gorgeous, soft and pale blue and misty smelling, with no problematic aquatic notes. It is sweet but not nauseatingly so. I don't get the tobacco leaf specifically, but hopefully it will peek out with age.

I love this blend.


ETA: During far drydown this aquires a really clean vibe while still remaining soft. Some people are probably going to find it soapy, but I absolutely love it. Win, win, win.

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.