bellumed

The primary note here is ginger, though a softened and sweetened one. There's some weird note that smells off on my skin, possibly whatever is in the "ambrosia." Fortunately, that burns off on drydown and leaves behind milky, spicy-sweet ginger. Really nice.

Very cucumber. Herbal without being astringent. Not my usual kind of perfume, but I dig it! I found that it worked well as a mood-lifter, too.

That dark-and-sexy incense that makes the forest deep and mysterious disappears on my skin. Do I amp oakmoss? I think I must. Because this is nearly single-note oakmoss, with just a little juniper. On me this is a very natural woodsy scent, nothing ominous or portentous about it.

The metallic notes in this somehow smell shiny. It's like they captured the "chemical" scent that some perfumes accidentally take on and twisted it, creating an intentional (and less intrusive) version. Kinda neat! Also very strong. Slowly, after it dries, the metallic notes start giving way to the others, mostly musk and tobacco flower. I can get a bit of balsam only with my nose right at my wrist. Eventually the metal fades off entirely and leaves the rest.

Dusty-fuzzy amber in the imp, then a light grass and fur scent on skin, very cozy. The fur note reminds me of the one in Granite Hair Gloss. Good staying power.

White musk can be very "dryer sheet," and I do get that here. But in combination with the poppy and patchouli, there is something unusual about this that adds some interest. It develops a little hint of extra sweetness on skin. Really strong, too, much more than I'm used to from BPAL. I guess I can see the comparison to commercial perfumes, which often have the same "airy" feeling, but I didn't get that sense, personally.

Divine drunken rabbit orgy friends! Neat. I don't normally go for alcohol scents, but this is beautiful. Very reminiscent of real chocolate and red wine to my nose, which is not my usual experience with red wine notes in perfume. On skin, the chocolate becomes more bitter, even sour, as well as powdery. It makes me think of the bittersweet cocoa note in Ein Kuss von Krampus. Recovers some of the chocolatey-ness as it dries. Still good!

The one-two punch of superstrong jasmine combined with rose, which I tend to amp. The effect is... large. Mostly jasmine. Jasmine fans, line up here. I will say Nyx grew on me a lot once it was dry. The jasmine eased up, and it turned into a pretty, floral incense. Not worth the early stages for me, but fairly nice in the end.

A mature kind of fruity perfume, plum-forward with a base of amber. More flowery orris on drydown, then grapefruit peeking out. Settles into a gentle plum scent with good staying power. This is an instant favorite for me!

Rose and patchouli and tree, melded together into a cloud of scent, hard to distinguish anything. Strong without being sharp.

Not much to say on this one, I'm mostly getting straight-up dragon's blood. The sandalwood is... there. I'm not a big DB fan, so this does nothing for me.

Dragon's blood is one of my worst notes, so the whole Ars Draconis category is tough for me. However, Dragon's Hide is by far the best I've tried, particularly impressive in that I am not a smoke-and-leather lover, either. The notes are blended into perfect smoothness, so none of them stand out as overpowering or piercing as I have often experienced. Though this style remains "not my cup of tea," I enjoyed this, and it exceeded expectations.

Heavy on the rosemary with some orange blossom present. Very herbal, different from any modern perfume I've tried. I get more of a suggestion of rose as it starts to dry. The combination creates a sort of tingly "spiciness" in my nose. The longer it's dry on my skin, the more prominent the rose is among these notes. Interesting experiment but I'm not sure how much practical use I would get out of this.

I don't care for any of these notes so I was expecting "hate at first sniff." I am pleasantly surprised! The coconut note here is not the one that I associate with suntan lotion, nor a big, sweet foodie one, but instead a mild coconut cream. Also lots of pipe smoke, especially when wet - and reading through the previous reviews, I guess this is actually the licorice note? The smoke goes "flat" and gives way to soot (and a tiny bit of licorice). The end result on drydown is a subtle, masculine-to-unisex smoke scent with a bit of cream that cuts through any harshness. Very little throw, no sign of rum to my nose. More wearable and comfortable than anticipated, if still not quite for me.

... The scent is one of unadulterated spiritual purity, with a taste of the world's eternal pathos, and the joy of suffering with grace: frankincense, olive, spikenard, hyssop and galangal. A happy, gentle, non-traditional floral scent. Really hard to describe on skin (I can pick out something like olive oil, but that's it) except to say that the concept is captured very well: the scent is simply light and subtle and good. Fittingly, this is a hidden gem of the GC. I had no idea how beautiful this would be.

Even though it's not my style, this is an impressive perfume. I've never tried a vetiver that was so prominent without being too strong and masculine-musky. It fits in perfectly, a smooth blend with the violet and sandalwood. Elegant and mature, subtler than I expected. Definitely unisex.

First impression: spicy clove candy and dragon's blood. Cinnamon candy on skin, better and more nuanced than a standard Red Hots scent and not overpowering at all. The cloves give it a cozy base. But I keep getting wafts of dragon's blood, which is really not my note, and that will probably relegate it to my swap box. Every note is well-represented, but I'd say the result is more "impish and playful" than wrathful! I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this.

Base and earthy, yet glittering with golden notes: patchouli, heliotrope, copal and oakmoss.  Greed! It's the sin of the season! A very brown scent, warm incense and dark vegetation. There's an almost sickly-sweet note piercing through. On skin, I got the more powdery side of heliotrope and incense. I like it more on drydown, comfy patchouli dominating over sweet-and-powdery heliotrope. I sense no greed here. Friendliness and cuddliness, maybe. Nice.

Very clean lily is the dominant note. I actually thought the word "sour," and then second-guessed myself only to later see that other reviews described it that way as well! So yes, it smells a little sour at first. On skin, the rose is stronger than lily. Rose soap. More incense shows up on drydown. It's all clean and a little sharp. Not chemically, but otherwise it's more like something I'd use to clean my house than something I'd wear. I don't think the floral/incense combo works for me.

This is just a really nice, unobtrusive scent. Soft and brown musky hay. The leather and fig are more obvious on skin. On drydown, there's a bit of cinnamon kick, nothing overpowering. Unisex but tbh I bet this would smell amazing on a man.

White musk and pomegranate are two scents about which I have very clear impressions. Any blend with prominent white musk tends to come off laundry-clean and borderline sharp. And pomegranate is very round and juicy and as dark as a fruit can possibly be. Neither are bad, neither are favorites. Having said that... I'm impressed by this perfume. Apparently these notes can combine and dovetail in way that so nicely balances both. The florals add a surprising creaminess that really elevates the experience. Seems weird to say, but I felt moved, smelling this. Effronterie is a quietly dignified fragrance, and it is greater than the sum of its parts.

So few reviews! I guess this one wasn't too popular... Not sure why, smells lovely to me. Honeyed apple is the strongest note upfront. It remains that way while it is wet on my skin, though patchouli starts to open up in the background. Figgier the drier it gets. This perfume is simple, pleasant, and likable. Foodie but doesn't hit you over the head.

I've held onto this imp for a long time. I keep opening it, sniffing, and saying "eh" before throwing it back in my tester box. Foodies are generally a BIG YES for me, but something about this particular combination of sweet-spicy and apricot (not bad but, IMO, peach's inferior cousin) just... fails to interest me. It's sweet in a flat, uninspiring way, with the cayenne pepper adding a weird tickly factor in my sinuses. There was a minute, while this was wet on my skin, that I actually perked up a bit and enjoyed it. Very bright and cheerful! Then the drydown kicked in, and it's worse than the imp scent: generically sweet and Play-Doh-like. Not a win for me.

In the imp: a sweetly herbal tree. Smells more like a tea than a perfume. Comforting but otherwise nondescript. Rose emerges more on skin, then the drydown is a very quiet herbal rose scent.

I am testing this to wear to my OB/GYN appointment. Once the idea struck me, I was physically unable to choose any other perfume. The scent in the imp is clean, maybe even soapy skin with coconut and a soft floral note of ylang ylang. As I apply, there's an immediate, bright pop of orange blossom that passes quickly. On drydown, the effect is a a breezy, coconutty, beachy perfume. Not exciting but sometimes you just want to feel like a lady sitting on a quiet beach with a big sunhat, and this is a good one for that. I concur with the above review that this smells like an expensive coconut-scented lotion; there is a distinctly creamy tone to the scent.