Caper

This is beautiful.

I felt like it was a little dicey because of the mix between citrus and caramel, but it is amazing. In the Imp it is strongly bergamot and mimosa, which I love. Once applied the caramel and clove add a depth and sweetness to the citrus that reminds me of an Italian bakery in San Francisco that I used to go to. It is sort of foody, but not overly sweet and more nuanced than foody blends usually are. If you were thinking about trying the one at all, you should buy a bottle, it is better than I thought it could be.

This is bottle worthy for sure.

I expected to love love love this and I actually had to wash it off.

 

There is something very chemically about it and it just gets sharper and more acrid as it wears. Something in here is not for me, and I have no idea what it is, maybe turmeric? Because all of the other notes are ones that i generally like a lot.

Imp: dark amber oil that smells like opium tar and myrrh maybe? I feel like I know what most of the notes should smell like but I can't pick them out here. It smells enticing though and I'm excited to see what it does on my skin.

Wet: definitely myrrh and opium tar. There is something slightly sweet and woody hanging around the edges, maybe the musk and bamboo? My dh says it is slightly medicinal and I think it smells like the woody herbs my acupuncturist had me drink when I was pregnant.

Dry: this mellows into a dry woodsy sort of scent. I can definitely make out the opium tar, possibly because it is one of my favorites, and I feel like the blue musk is kind of settling the blend like musk usually does. Throw is moderate.

All in all, I really like this. It is very different from any other blends that I have and the only thing holding me back from a bottle is if it would be work appropriate. It might be a touch masculine for work.

This is a really beautiful aquatic. I'm having trouble describing it, there is a bit of floral and a hint of stone. I don't get much musk but there is something softening it. It is comforting like a foody scent, but it is not foody at all.

 

I really think the hypnotic and narcotic description above is right on. I'll test another time or two before I decide on a bottle, but this isn't like anything else that I have so I'm thinking it is likely.

 

ETA- I finally put my finger on it. If you have ever been swimming and dove under the water holding your breath and turned around to look up at the surface and just relaxed and let the water move your body, that is how this is relaxing. I can picture the surface of the water and remembering wishing I could hold my breath forever.

I love this so much. It is like Light of Men's Lives and Midnight Mass had a love child in the jungle. It is amazing.

 

The floral, and I hesitate to use floral because I hate florals but I like this (maybe because it is more of a jungle leaf impression than a floral) is present in the imp and then this fades into beeswax and incense. I tried it last year and waffled, then tried it again this fall and loved it and grabbed a partial bottle of it.

 

Into my top ten for fall.

Cognac is strong in the decant, and the rotten woods come out when it first dries. It has been about an hour and it has mellowed into something wearable. I really really like woods and I think this might be night aged. I don't mind the cognac hit at first, but the rot is a touch strong for me to buy a bottle.

This is beautiful.

 

I was concerned it might be too rotten to be wearable but it is amazingly light and lovely. There is a hint of oak moon, but instead of being strongly woody it has a greener, lighter finish. I feel like they are two sides of the same scent and this one is a damp morning and Oak Moon is a dark moonlit night.

 

This is a bottle for me for sure.

This one starts off all pumpkin on me, like Jack, and ends all mango. The mango finish is really beautiful. I didn't get any over ripeness at all, just sweet soft mango. The sweetness is at odds with the pumpkin for me for some reason. I love Pumpkin Princess, and Shatted Pumpkin but the fruity seems better with another pairing.

 

I love pumpkin masala rooibos from last year, and I'm wondering if I layer them if I'll the spicyness will blend well with the sweetness.

I had a slight cold when I first tried this one, and it was RED MUSK ELEVENTY!!!!1!!!!!1

 

so, I was going to come here and complain about it. I read the reviews first and everyone seemed to get some really nice woods and honey, so I thought I should try again.

 

Yes, it starts off with RED MUSK! but within maybe ten minutes I started to get this amazing woodsiness and incense. The only other blends I tried with ho wood was strong woods, and I think that is what is holding the red musk in place.

 

It is beautiful. I'm going to deathmatch it against Chrysanthemum Moon today to see if I need another red musk bottle, but I'm thinking the answer is going to be yes.

I was so excited to see this one come back since I know it is well loved.

It has the same pear as The Vine, but the vanilla gives it a different base. Unfortunately I started to get hints of the vanilla/plastic that other people have mentioned in Snow White. The pear is really beautiful, but probably because I had The Vine first, I prefer it.

I really think vanilla might not be for me.

ETA: I don't know what I was thinking, but there is no plastic in this at all. It might have needed time to settle down before I tried it, but the vanilla is gorgeous and complements the pear nicely.

I think I've just added yet another bottle to my weenie order.

This is my favorite of all the first round weenies I've tried. I love the herbal green quality (similar to Hagsgate and Witch's Garden) and the hint of rosemary adds a unique touch. I was worried the rosemary might be overwhelming, but it really isn't. If you like green growing scents, get a bottle of this one, it is green but not soapy at all.

 

This one is very similar to Autumn Cider to me. Punkie Night is a bit more tart, which must be the cranberries. I think it is a touch too potpourri for me to wear, but I'll use it in my oil burner for a room scent for sure.

I love this one.

 

It is my go-to scent when I don't want to fit into any category (woodsy, foody, sweet, incense, citrus) because it just seems like an expensive, sophisticated, grown-up scent.

 

I actually get tea, even though I know that ti leaf is different, and frankincense and myrrh.

Hagsgate.

 

I can't even tell you how much I love this one. It is close to witch's garden, but the finish is nicer on me .less floral than garden path with chickens too.

Moon of Horses is my favorite so far.

 

Grape vines, cinnamon, frankincense, olive leaf, red wine, saffron, stacte, galbanum, costus root, smoke, and brimstone.

Aelopile! citrus and amber and verbena and oudh.

 

Also Water Dragon had a great citrus fruit mix.

I decided to put this one on today because it is a beautiful summer day. It is so amazing, I needed to write a review!

 

I wanted to love the snake pit oils, because I really like snakes and I love the labels! That didn't work out since every single one I've tried ends up powdery. I finally tried Snake Oil itself and realized that is the base that turns to powder on me.

 

However! Green Tree Viper doesn't! It is minty vanilla perfection with a light edge of green tea to keep it fresh and bright. I think it must be the SO keeping it from being too harsh, but the overall scent is bright and mellow.

 

I love this one.

I really loved this one except that I got some on my sleeve. While it morphs into something nice on my skin the bit on my shirt never gets past the tobacco and I smell like an ashtray.

 

I think my decant will be enough for short-sleeved summer days because the coffee/orange is amazing.

I really like this one wet and thought it might be my fav, but the drydown changed that. It's just a tad too sharp for me.

 

I think the tomato leaf was what I liked wet, and I think the geranium is what makes the drydown too sharp. Must.stay.away.from.geranium.

I'm surprised that this is my favorite Meta blend since it was the decant I decided to tack on at the last minute.

 

I honestly can't pick out any of the notes. Dry I guess there might be a hint of coconut (which I usually dislike but not here) and frankincense (which I love) and maybe a hint of cedar.

 

It is warm and light at the same time and really just lovely. There will definitely be a bottle in my next order.

 

ETA- ZOMG! This has turned out amazing. It is warm and incense-y, but not bitter or dry. It is lush and full and I don't even know what but this is the first bottle that I am going to get two of these in my next order and skip some of the unsniffed salon blends. Top ten. Hell, top three.

There is something here that reminds me of Expressive Head, maybe the teak? Either way I tried them both on after I realized it and while the wet stage is different the dry down is almost identical. Which is a good thing as I liked Expressive Head a lot but didn't get a bottle.

I was in love when I first put this one on. The apple is crisp and sweet and the tomato leaf (my favorite!) added a nice edge.

 

As it's dried it has softened into an apple only scent. Which is nice, but vaguely reminds me of shampoo.

 

No bottle, but I'll keep the decant for warm summer months.

There is a warm woodsiness to this oil, I have a hard time picking out the almond after a few minutes, though I can identify it fresh.

 

It really reminds me of The Changeling (which I love) and The Antikythera Mechanism. It is similar enough that I don't need a bottle of it, but if I'd tried it first I would definitely get one.

i am curious! i've sent boomslang, australian copperhead, and saw-scaled viper on their way because the so was too much.

 

green tree viper is the only one i've kept and i LOVE citrus. we'll see if i can find a tester of coral snake somewhere.

 

thank you!

I love this! it is a fresh spring scent that starts off with a lot of citrus (YUM!) and ends with a delicate light spice and hint of asian florals.

 

I definitely get the blossoms and chrysanthemum and LOVE that it isn't taken over by the dragons blood.

 

I was hesitating because of the coconut and I am so glad I got this, it is a good reminder for me that the reviews are often very different than what I experience. I suspect this will be a favorite during the summer.

 

ETA- I just bought my second bottle of this because out had become my summer go to scent. I love love love it! I normally hate florals, but this never goes too flowery for me. Citrus and juicy exotic fruits that lighten into a sweet spice. Amazing. A really good reminder to look for scent twins in the reviews section.