Alia Kaitan

I seem to be one of the lucky ones when it comes to skin chemistry for this blend.. My bottle was bought off the forum here, and so is already aged & settled. Despite not being a huge fan of most florals, I HAD to get this because LAST UNICORN OMG and also that passage for some reason always makes me teary. (why yes, I am a sappy romantic ) In the bottle I got mainly coconut with a lining of vanilla and a waft of florals. Wet, this went on as tropical-coco-flowers; not bad but high on the florals for my taste. I was hoping it would be like Nuit is on me, that the florals would settle down and let the other notes come forward. I could definitely smell some rose, but it was not dominating. Ok, there's this little phase that was kind of scary where I was getting the 'sour' note that some others mentioned. Fortunately that was short lived and the vanilla started coming through. Yaaaay vanilla to the rescue. After about 20 mins on, this had settled to a very romantic, complex scent. The frankinillamusk () really rounded it out and saturated the florals, and the coconut lended more it's creamy, soft texture than a distinct scent. I definitely got the white imagery from this one; a natural and fleeting white, like a meadow of white flowers or a white morning mist, or falling snow. Breathtaking in its beauty, and yet touched with the sorrow of impermanence. Maybe that is just my association with the passage accompanying this, but all the same... I love the scent. It is one of my new favourites.

In the bottle this is very pine, with a sharpness that is almost spicy. Wet, I am immediately getting a lot of pine, but that soon gives way to some more complex scents. There is a sweetness and a richness that very soon has wrangled the pine under control. This is definitely a twilight or night-time foresty smell, and the sweetness makes me think of thick, amber honey. A cooler note comes out on top, keeping this from being too heavy. After just a few minutes of drying, it takes on a base very similar to my beloved Ivanushka... for which I am very glad, since I got this in the hopes to rotate it w/Ivanushka and thus preserve the Precious. The 'honey' smell has transformed into a pine-sap. Still sweet, but not overly so, and is blending beautifully with the musk and that slightly frosty top note that I can't quite place. This is a very atmospheric scent, that also definitely works as a perfume because of the musk quality. It makes me think of walking through a deep, thick forest after dusk in winter. Maybe there is a brush of snow or frost on the trees, but this does not come across as a 'snowy' scent to me. It's warm and comforting, and even a little carnal. I would say this is gender neutral... it is not a 'girly' scent in any way, but has a depth that will suit some women. At the same time... oh my... I would *love* to smell this on a man.

Ooo, this is so fine. I have a new (and unexpected) love. I bought a bottle mainly because I have a friend who is obsessed with selkies, and wanted to make her a little hand creme jar that smelled like Selkie. Well... I'm still making the hand creme for her, but I find myself being a bit stingy and wanting to hoard as much of the bottle as I can! In the bottle this beauty is nearly all honeysuckle and salt to me. Going on, it becomes a burst of sweet, tangy floral; can definitely smell the primrose for a little bit, and the floral is strong yet clean, not thick, overpowering or allergy-inducing. As it dries down the aquatic notes and honeyed grass come forward. I know that's a bit redundant with the official description, but that's what it smells like to me: honey poured on dewy sweetgrass, standing by the ocean. The primrose doesn't so much take a back seat as it mingles seamlessly with the honey. The longer it's on me the better it gets. It is simultaneously warm and light, clear and refreshing; like the sun warming the beach on a slightly crisp day. Yet somewhere in there is something just a little musky, giving it depth. Maybe a skin musk. Or maybe this scent just loves me. It does not have a huge throw on me, but I really like this as a close, comforting, snuggle-sexy scent. And it *is* a sexy scent, but not in a raunchy way. Instead, it is an easy and carefree sexy, as if it takes no effort at all for you to look (or smell ) this good. 5 stars.

I have a decant of this that I bought here on the forums. In the decant and for the first while on, it smells soapy to me. Nice soapy, but soap nonetheless. After about 10 minutes on, though, the character suddenly changes and something bright and sweet and cool comes to the top. I can feel the cool in my nose, but it doesn't smell minty or eucalyptus-y. Just feels like it. Before looking at the notes, I didn't associate it with any florals. It's smooth and sweet, but not candy-sweet, more like honeysuckle. The hemlock is wonderful in this; it's not giving its own scent as much as it is rounding and lending something very fresh here... like the smell of a green twig just snapped. This just keeps getting lovelier by the minute and I really like it. It makes me think more of snow at night than during the day. I can imagine wearing this for work (I'm a massage therapist) as it is soft and light. I can also see wearing it on a fun, light-hearted date (as opposed to a sexy, seductive date ). I reaaally want to slather this on and go ice skating or go to some winter markets. I will probably be getting a bottle; will decide how many after I've worn it a couple more times.

This has done some crazy morphing on me. Bought a bottle unsniffed here on the forums, so not sure exactly how old it is. In the bottle it's all wine with a touch of rose and dust to my nose. Wet, it stays sweet and the wine is really dominating. Somewhere between wet and dry it goes: baby powder. then plastic. then super jasmine. then dusty. It really had me worried! Now that it is completely dry, the wine has returned! yay! And rose is making an appearance, but not super rosy rose... a spicy, almost tart rose. I can't really pick out any of the other notes, which I think is a good thing, as they are making for a lovely deep backdrop to the wine and rose. Love this one, and glad I have a bottle! 4 stars.

Oh Bastet. Enthralling, luxurious, feline desire. I got my imp straight from the lab... and. oh. my. god. Let me just say I had high expectations, Bastet being one of my personal deities-of-choice. I was not disappointed. In the imp: Berry-sweet with a touch of spice. Seriously, I get the image of dripping red berries. O.o Wet: Still very sweet, a deep and well rounded juicy sweet. Ah, there are some of the other notes... this had some fierce throw while wet! But am starting to get the spiciness and am starting to fall in love... there is something sharper and dry coming out that balances the sweetness... Drydown: Can I have a bath in this? Everyday? Please? Its drier now, hard to describe... dry and sweet like a dessert wine, and is definitely evoking feline for me. It's very full bodied, with something almost incense-like floating in the background. And there is some kind of floral, but it is so well blended that I can't pick it out. The throw is moderate; it definitely surrounds me but I don't think much further than that. Overall, I'm in LOVE with this and upon my next paycheck will be stocking up on a few bottles. It's unique to me and absolutely sensual and stunning. For me, this is definitely a warm 'come hither' smell. 5 stars!

I got my imp of Morocco straight from the Lab, and it was the first one I tried: In the imp: Sharp spice. Can definitely smell the carnation. Wet:Hellloooo vanilla! What? It smells amazing, a warm, spicy vanilla... but not what I was expecting! Very good though. Not really foody; there's definitely some other scents in the background, but I can't pick them out. The throw at this point is really good, as in, it's definitely throwing far but not overwhelming. Drydown: Throw has settled down a bit, and now I can smell the carnation again. Red musk is coming through, too, in a vanilla-y way. It's definitely a dry vanilla. The sandalwood is in the background and giving a nice base, but not really distinct as a note. Overall this is a fabulous scent that is, on me, sensual without being overwhelming. It almost has that 'second skin' now that its been on me for a while, in that it doesn't shout 'I'm wearing perfume!' but rather 'I just naturally ooze deliciousness from my pores'. It's a little elusive, yet definitely present. I don't mind at all that somehow it had a vanilla note on me. 4 stars! Will definitely wear regularly, subtle enough for daytime, sensual enough for night.

Bottles ** = incoming GC Bastet Blood Lotus Centzon Totochtin Kali Morocco Ranger The Lights of Men's Lives Salon And There Was A Great Cry in Egypt Bat Cloister Graveyard in the Snow Death of the Grave Digger Heavenly Love and Earthly Love Philosopher in Meditation The Great He-Goat The Isle of the Dead The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa LE/Discontinued Abhisarika (Faces of the Heroine 2007) A Demonstration of Affectionate Excitement (Shungas 2014) Ambergris Accord SN Bakeneko (Lunacy) Blossoms in Springtime (Shungas 2012) Blood Moon 2008 (Lunacy) Body, Remember (Love Poems 2012) Butterscotch Balls and Black Beetles Chaos Theory: Vanilla #537 (Chaos Theory VI) Ceanothus Silkmoth (Metamorphosis 2012) (x2) Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit (Shungas 2014) Dyan Moon (Lunacy) Eight Petaled Lotus SN Entangled (Shungas 2012) Epomophorus Monstrosus (Bat's Day 2012) Faiza, the Black Mamba (Carnaval Diabolique) Faunalia 2009 (Yule) (60%) Faunalia 2015 (Yule) Frau Holle (Yule 2015) Gold Phoenix Haloa 2011 (Yule) In the Forest Ivanushka (Lunacy) (x5) Ketkrokur (Yule 2015) King Cobra Liaison (Lupers '12) Little Metalmark (Metamorphosis 2014) Lovers with Rutting Cats (Shungas 2009) Luperci 2014 (Luper) Mabon 2010 Midnight Kiss Nepthys v11 Nuit (x2) Orgy with Nine Women (Shungas 2014) Osiris v4 (x2) Palmyra Panther Moon (Lunacy) Paysage (Yule 2015) Playful Wooden Mallets (Shungas 2012) Pteropus Leucopterus (Bat's Day 2012) Rose Red 2007 (Yule) Saturn Sekhmet v5 Set v3 Shamisen (Shungas 2014) Siberian Musk SN Singing Moon 2012 (Luncacy) Sjöfn (Lupers 2014) Smoky Moon 2012 (Lunacy) (x3) Smut 2007 (Lupercalia) Snake Charmer Ressurected (Carnaval Noir) The Arabian Dance (Yule '10) (x2) The Black Temple Burlesque Troupe (Yule '09) The Maltese Cross The Snow at Midnight (Yule 2015) Tlazolteotl (Lupers 2014) Touched Twice (x2) Variety of Pleasing Amusements (Shungas 2012) Velvet Panther (Velvet Paintings) (x3) Velvet Tiger (Velvet Paintings) Vespertilio Proterus (Bat's Day 2012) Visions of Autumn III (Halloween 2014) Winter Heavens (Yule 2011) WILF Yucca Giant-Skipper (Metamorphosis 2014) Yule Cat (Yule) BPTP L'Essence de la Passion (Inquisition 2012) Sylvia The She-Wolf Twilight Alchemy Lab Bastet's Laughter Charisma Confusion Crown of Success Fiery Wall of Protection French Creole Leo Stellium Lionheart Mantle of Venus Perpetuum Bonum Power Queen of the Nile Senelion 2011 Servare Temple: Egyptian Temple: Norse Temple of the Mother White Light Swapped/Sold/Gifted/Gone... Beaver Moon 2007 Dia De Los Muertos (testable empty) L'Essence du Chagrin (Inquisition 2012) Luperci 2006 Milk Moon 2007 (Lunacy) Selkie (Lunacy) The Elephantine Colossus (Event Exclusive 10/10) The Sea Foams Blood Queen of Sheba my mom's <3 Heavenly Love and Earthly Love Cairo Goblin Cider Jareth White Peacock (Metamorphosis 2012) Coxcomb (Le Mat 2009)