Dusk

In imp: Primarily floral, a bit complicated, with resin. First on: Heady wisteria and a heavy, sweet verbena. Some resin. A few minutes later, the lemony quality of verbena is drawn out and it isn’t quite as sweet. The wisteria gets a bit fresher while the resin deepens and anchors the scent with a strong warmth. Near five minutes it’s not nearly as sweet as it was first on, and strangely, it’s not as feminine as I expected, with the wisteria. Not masculine, certainly, but I think the ambergris and maybe an undercurrent of sandalwood are grounding it and keeping it strong. 6 minutes, there’s smokiness emerging. The wisteria is soft and beautiful. Verbena can get to be way, way too powerful on my skin, but so far it’s doing okay and is really quite pleasant. A little later I decide the smokiness is white sandalwood, and that note verges on powdery without having the unpleasantness that I associate with powdery scents. 15 minutes: Something herbal is present, and definitely sandalwood. Back of my hand is VERBENA, as expected. But back on my wrist there’s definite lemon, pale sandalwood, warm wisteria, and an unfamiliar note which I think is ambergris. This is growing on me. And I’m not really sure why, because the notes alone don’t seem that spectacular. But it definitely works. 30 min: It’s gotten a bit typically perfumey. Something’s reminding me of amber. But there’s also some incense quality to it that I like and that gives a bit of a bite to it. I’m hoping that quality comes out a bit and tones down the “perfume.” 1 hour: Quite a bit of sandalwood, less defined wisteria. Sweet resin. Unisex in a very metrosexual way, but unisex nonetheless. The verbena is present, but subtle, and it hasn’t turned to lemon drops on me. Definitely nice. 2.5 hrs: Sort of generic BPAL “warm” scent at this point. Resinous warmth with light sandalwood and verbena up close. Ends as sandalwood, with a touch of verbena and what I think is ambergris. I don’t know how to categorise this one, really. It starts floral and goes resinous fairly quickly, lots of wood, but it never gets overly dark. It’s split nicely between heavy and light elements. Feels like the sort of scent that could cheer me up without being in-my-face sunshine and unicorns. Applause! Summary: A strange but pleasant and refined blend. Starts with strong, but not overwhelming wisteria, some light lemon and warm resin. White sandalwood adds a smoky touch, and the verbena tends to the herbal side. Not too sweet or too dry. On the feminine side of unisex. Rating: 3.25/5

On imp and first on skin: Root beer! Was surprised to take a look at the notes and not see sarsaparilla. Some other spices too. After a few minutes it loses a little bit of the fizziness and definitely gains spiciness. I wonder if it could be the lotus that’s so sweet. I pick up some cedar and possibly sandalwood. 5 minutes: Incense. Still a bit of whatever made me think root beer, but not as much. Mostly that part's just adding some sweetness. Very nice smell. It keeps improving, gets warm and woodsy as well as spicy. One of those scents that renders me incapable of tearing my nose away from my wrist. 10 minutes: So spicy and delicious. There's a good dose of sandalwood, and I love it. The back of my hand has definite lotus, but it's barely noticeable on my wrist. Still, it gets a bit more of a floral note within a few minutes, making it slightly more feminine. Not much throw, sadly, though it might just be my nose getting tired after sniffing it so much. It doesn't morph terribly much for a while - at least, it keeps going through the same notes. 1 hour: Nice woody incense with plenty of sandalwood. Still wonderful. Stays consistently wonderful, until about 4 hours, when I do notice the back of my hand has a bubblegum-like note from the lotus. My wrist meanwhile, is very faded, with mostly just a touch of saffron and woods remaining. Summary: Woody, incense-y, spicy, warm, calming scent. Sweet, even fizzy start that quickly warms up to a spicy incense, gets more cedar and sandalwood the longer it stays on. Nice touch of lotus. Below average lasting power on me. Completely unisex. Rating: 4/5

edit: The initial review is from when I first tried this scent, over four months ago. It's not favourable. It was kind of gross, honestly. However, I just tested this again, and it's really lovely. It just needs time to age, I think - and I do think my chemistry had something to do with it, since I remember being really stressed at the time. Now: The cinnamon is strong, and the patchouli is dark and potent, but it's not as earthy, and the cinnamon smells more natural and blends well with the other components. The amber is also GORGEOUS. Very sweet. Some lovely patchouli in there now, too. This is powerful and very, very sexy. On any gender, even though it's a masculine scent. This ranks 4/5 now. Love! Old review, for reference as to how much it changed - I wish I could respond with the enthusiasm of some of these other reviewers, but... this didn't go so well for me. In the imp and first on: It smells... disgusting. Dirt and rotting vegetation. And maybe oats. Cinnamon appears fairly quickly, a very sharp, spicy cinnamon. Red Hots. I take a look at the notes and decide it’s the black patchouli that’s the issue. But I usually love patchouli, so I’m taken aback. Even after 10 minutes, this is mostly dark, dark earth; very aggressive patchouli. It starts to smell a bit normal at this point, but not pretty. The cinnamon is interesting but SHARP, the kind you taste on the back of your tongue. It’s not blended well into the other notes, it’s hanging free and screaming at me. Honestly.... pungent grains, dirt, and Red Hots don't smell so good together. 20 minutes: The “blackness” of the patchouli is a bit more restrained, but not by much. Aggressive patchouli and lots of cinnamon climbing up my nose. Not sure how I feel about it. On some days, I think the blend could feel strong and empowering. At the moment it’s more overpowering and it makes me want to scrub it off and go hug a teddy bear or something for comfort. Not something I’m usually inclined to do. It still smells like grains. Sour gruel. Something weird about the patchouli... it’s not the lovely, warm kind I know. At 30 minutes it’s less unlikeable – at least, there’s still something in it I have a definite aversion to, but my nose keeps going straight to my wrist. It keeps growing on me, very gradually. Another 10 minutes and the patchouli starts to behave itself, the cinnamon is spicy but not painfully, and there’s a touch of sweet amber. Still no sign of sandalwood, at all. Considering I usually amp it.... At 2 and a half hours I finally get the sexy impression that others got, probably from the amber getting stronger and taming the dirty notes. It lasts a very long time, and definitely has throw. Which is unfortunate, because... although I could push my brain into appreciating the blend at times, there’s something about it that I find borderline repulsive. So... it’s not for me. Nearer to 3 hours it's decent, but that's an awfully long time to wait. Summary: Powerful, intense, dirty (not necessarily in a good way), quite masculine. Its name suits it. Very aggressive black patchouli and red hot cinnamon, that eventually calms down into a more manageable patchouli + cinnamon blend with a touch of amber. Unfortunately, there’s something that smells like sour grains that puts me off. But take this with a grain of salt, because I’m really stressed right now and I suspect that could be making my skin chemistry act up. I’m just not sure I’m willing to give it another try to find out. Rating: 1.25/5

Unfortunately no, the cat's just a picture that I found online, but it does remind me of my own cat (who I have little luck photographing). All of my pets came from similar situations - two dogs and a cat from shelters/rescues, one cat who was a stray who arrived on the doorstep with a kitten in her mouth. Ended up bringing four under the guest room bed. Only had room for two of the kittens though, the others ended up with friends. eta: Also just saw your other topic, and Fire Phoenix does have beautiful red musk, so if that's the component you love so much, it's definitely worth hunting down.

Fire Phoenix has a very strong hyacinth component while wet, though it varies how much it lingers when dry. It's a complicated blend, and really nice.

In the imp I’m not sure what I’m smelling, as there are so many notes in it and it’s very pungent. Fresh and even a tad bitter. On my skin it’s herbal, slightly lemony. There’s sage, lavender, and spice. Something seems cinnamony, even though it’s not listed as a note. Despite being fresh and a bit citrusy, there’s a bite to it that reminds me of red hots. Maybe that’s part of the frankincense, because I’m not very familiar with it. By five minutes it’s more like powdery cologne. A little commercial. I can’t comment much on individual notes because there are a few I’m not familiar with – vetiver, labdanum. But in terms of the “feel” of the scent, there’s something very uncomfortable about it, and malicious. There’s also something that starts to appear that I take a dislike to, possibly sage, which can smell sweaty to me. The lavender is behaving itself and remaining very masculine and almost bitter. I do get a bit of sandalwood now, though it’s faint. The lemon is pleasant. At fifteen minutes, it’s blended together well, and I’m having a hard time finding individual notes. Mildly sweet, powdery herbal with a bite from lemon. I’m underwhelmed. The longer it stays on my skin, the more it reminds me of baby powder. So it’s not as malicious smelling any more. A few mild notes are more complicated than that, but the overall impression is pretty bland. It doesn’t change much. Near to an hour, it gets woodier with some incense. At 1 ½ hours, sandalwood gets very strong and rescues the scent from the baby powder curse, though there is still something powdery, or even like air freshener. It does fade after a while. The lemon hangs around a really long time – for over 2 ½ hours, in fact, which is remarkable considering my skin hates citrus and it usually doesn’t last longer than 5 minutes. From the 2 ½ hour mark onwards it’s mainly sandalwood, a sweet resinous note (labdanum?), and a touch of cinnamon. And it definitely ends that way. This isn’t bad, ignoring my personal dislike of powderiness, but it’s a bit boring. Very cologne-y, which isn’t what I’m looking for in BPAL – if I wanted that, I’d just get a traditional cologne. I like the ending, but I can get it from several other blends. Summary: Herbal, lemony, cologne-y blend with a spicy bite, quickly gets powdery. Lemon note is very persistent. Woody and resinous notes get strong around an hour, but don’t save it from being forgettable. Ends as spicy, resinous sandalwood. Very unisex. Rating: 2/5

In the imp, it’s strong juniper, sharp and, oddly enough, citrusy. Maybe a hint of patchouli. First on, it’s juniper and patchouli. Something very fresh as well as earthy, but not the sharp kind of fresh that goes straight up my nose and makes me wince. Also a bit fizzy, like root beer. I was concerned about juniper’s similarities to pine, but it’s working well so far. A few minutes in, it turns a bit soapy. An all-natural, hippie soap, but soap nevertheless. But as it dries, the impression lessens. It’s slow morphing and pleasant. There’s some of what I think is oakmoss, and definitely patchouli. Lovely patchouli, earthy without being dirty. There’s also myrrh. Over time, the myrrh and juniper intensify, and it becomes heavy and almost heady by ten minutes. At 15 minutes, it’s herbal juniper, earthy oakmoss, spicy patchouli, and smooth, sweet myrrh. I’m really liking it. Very deep, fairly masculine, but it would definitely work well on a woman. The juniper is a bit like pine, which is a note I don’t like, but it’s not bad. I switch between noticing the reappearing soapiness or just not liking the pine impression, and actually really liking this. At 45 minutes, the juniper has calmed down a bit, the myrrh is silky smooth, and although I’m not finding the oakmoss directly at this point, I suspect it’s adding to the overall earthiness of the blend. Someone else mentioned that it smelled like musty books – it’s odd, but I can see the similarity, and I love it! A good library scent. If the bottle scent smelled like it does on my wrist, I’d love to rub this into my bookshelves. At an hour, I’m having the same problems as earlier with juniper, as it occasionally jumps out and becomes astringent, but I do think I like the blend. It keeps changing very gradually, until I can smell the oakmoss again – maybe the myrrh has subsided enough. At two hours there are no unpleasant notes at all, just good, sweet earthiness. Sadly, after another hour, myrrh has drowned out every other note. With the exceptions of a few moments when juniper attacks my nose, it’s a very subtle blend with mild throw. It’s subtle. Comforting, too – though probably only to people who feel at home in the woods. Summary: Starts fresh and earthy, with juniper and patchouli, mellows to an earthy and resinous scent, heavy on the myrrh. Occasional soapiness and astringency from juniper, but mostly pleasant. Quiet, grounded, comforting. Unisex. Rating: 3.25/5 – this might get higher if I have less problems with juniper next time.

In the imp, it's sugary ylang ylang. Everything about it is screaming feminine, and I want to run away, but I've been promised patchouli and myrrh. First on, it's not as cloying. A greener, fresher ylang ylang, with a hint of myrrh. A pleasant surprise. It's elegant and sweet, in a soft way. A little bit of patchouli creeps out in the first few minutes, but it's mostly botanical. At 5 minutes, there's more spice. It smells warmer, and a rather perfumey aspect emerges. Fairly mellow, though a sharp sugariness is determinedly sticking to the back of my hand. At this point, it's not my style, but it's still quite pleasant. Unfortunately, as it dries, it takes a turn for the worse. The ylang ylang stops smelling so fresh - fallen petals instead of fresh blooms. It's a bit unpleasant, and the effect strengthens when clove does. I suspect there's a link. At 15-30 minutes, the myrrh and patchouli are prominent, and it's a bit like incense. Definitely more resinous than I expected. The clove isn't endearing itself to me in this blend, but at least the ylang ylang has dried out enough that it's practically gone. But, as it turns out, that isn't really the case. At an hour, something strikes me again as rotting flowers, and the clove is switching between being sugary and sharp. There is something I like about the blend, but that one note is ruining it. It has good throw until around 2 hours in, at which point it's powerful, but not wafting far. Sharpness and weird ylang ylang remains until I next check in at 4 hours, when both are gone, thankfully. I'm getting clove, myrrh, and a warm perfumey vibe. It's alright at this point, but not worth waiting through the initial stages. It's strange. It's possible something doesn't sit right with my chemistry, but I wonder if the blend of notes just strikes the wrong chord with me. There are good qualities in it - the initial freshness, the warmth, the myrrh. But overall... no. I will give it some time to age though, and see if the clove chills out a bit. Hopefully that won't backfire completely. And here I thought clove was my friend. Summary: Warm and resinous, a bit perfumey. Fresh ylang ylang with myrrh while wet, getting spicier as it dries. The spicier it gets, the more the ylang ylang smells like it's dying (not in a horrible way, but it's disconcerting), and the cloves are too sugary. A blend with good potential and some nice qualities that goes awry on my skin. Rating: 2/5

First, I get a strong green scent, which gives way to honey-sweetness, with some underlying note that I can't place. The sweetness seems almost like artificial lemon. Looking at reviews, I'm guessing that's the verbena. After 5 minutes, the grass emerges again, briefly, and I think I smell a bit of ginger. Which is nice, but it's faint and sweeter than I like ginger to be. There's also a very familiar scent that I can't place, but it reminds me of my mom's bathroom cabinet of soaps and body washes, so I suspect she has something with the same scent in it. There's something mildly aquatic about it, and dewy, but that smell hides under the verbena cover, so I need to take a deep whiff of it to uncover it. Over time, it really doesn't morph much. It seems a simple blend; I'm just getting sweet lemon, dew, and some ginger candy if I really search for it. It smells sweet, but not so cloying that I feel uncomfortable wearing it. Not much to say, really. As I said, it’s simple. After an hour, there's some amber appearing and the aquatic has faded a bit. Two hours: it's lemony amber. Five hours: it's clear it lasts well, and it still has a lot of throw. (I later realise that this is one of the rare scents that hangs around 24 hours on me.) At this point it's a reasonably pleasant amber, but unremarkable. Not a huge fan. I suspect it could work better on others. I'd definitely categorise it as a summer scent; it doesn't quite have the freshness I'd like for spring, which was really more what I was hoping for. Fans of verbena should look no further - unfortunately, I don't think it's quite working for me. But I am pleased that the amber doesn't seem to be turning to powder on me like it does on many people. Summary: Warm, sweet, and lemony, with fleeting aquatic notes, and amber as it mellows. Simple. Nice enough, but overwhelmed by verbena. Rating: 2.5/5

Scherezade went very powdery on me, I think it was the saffron.

Thanks, those look interesting. Event Horizon was already on my list, Body, Remember is definitely joining it - maybe Medea, too.

Bump. I'm also interested in scents reminiscent of night, or dusk. I'm going to investigate Nocnitsa, but I'm hesitant about most evergreen blends... is there anything more deciduous? Also a bit scared of florals, which a lot of the recommended blends seem to be.

I was hesitant to get this because so many reviews described it as "feminine" or "womanly," but I love incense and musk, and I didn't see how the listed notes could throw it too far from unisex territory. I don't regret trying it, especially as I got the imp at a good price, but I probably should have trusted the other reviewers more with their assertion of its femininity. First on, it's mostly floral, though not in a typically sweet way. More garden floral than fake floral. I'm very bad at identifying florals, but maybe lilies? I'm surprised no flowers are listed, it has a definite greenness not explained by the spices. I smell what might be saffron, and the warmth of musk. The spices hang in the background, but emerge more as time passes. These aren't notes I'm familiar with, and they all blend together so it's difficult to distinguish between them. After the initial impression, it turns to more of a light incense - still something floral about it, but not as green, more like the floral you'd get from certain incense sticks. I'm getting vanilla, too, as a deep, sweet note beneath the spicier incense. It's very pleasant, though not as musky and spicy as I was hoping. Definitely appropriate for Scheherezade - a womanly, mysterious Middle Eastern scent. Early drydown, and I start smelling what I initially read as raisins, but is more likely dates. There's still the incense smell, but there's something decidedly sugary and mildly fruity beneath it. I don't see any other reviewers mentioning this, so I've no clue where it's coming from. I'd doubt my nose, but it's really prominent - maybe there's a spice I'm unfamiliar with. If there's a really sweet anise or clove note, it might be blending with something else to create the fruit impression. Unlike many blends that merge into fewer notes as time passes, this one gains more dimension - there are layers of sweet, floral, spicy, and musk. It remains basically the same for the rest of the hour, though the fruit note dries out a bit. It has decent throw... might stay a bit close, but it's powerful in range. It's also not fading as quickly as most do. After two hours, it gets a bit like powdery Nag Champa and dried flowers. The powder is turning it into old lady perfume, which seems strange. After reviewing the notes of my other imps, I'm pretty sure it's the saffron that's at fault, because I had exactly the same thing happen with The Great Sword of War, and red musk (the only listed note that I can imagine they share) usually works on me. Which is unfortunate, because I have two imps on the way that I had high hopes for that also list saffron notes. Oh well. Maybe the other components will cover it. This is the most feminine incense I've ever smelled. Even after an hour the floral notes are lingering, and there's the hint of vanilla and the sweet, borderline fruit note that I just can't place. It's all very sweet, and remains as such, rather than fading to spiciness or wood like most blends do on me. All in all, until it gets powdery, it's very nice and rather sensual, but veeeery far from unisex, and I don't think I can wear it. 4/5 on the right woman (whose chemistry likes saffron more), 2/5 on me. ETA: This stuff is STRONG. I've tried washing it off twice now and it's still here loud and clear nearly 7 hours later. The powder has eased a bit so it's just sweet incense, but holy crap! I'm glad I only tested lightly.

As soon as it goes on my wrist, it's a complete surprise. In the bottle, it smelled like wood with something sweet mixed in. On my skin, it's green, grassy, and somewhat aquatic. That I'm smelling grass is especially bizarre to me - I completely forgot about the pandanus grass that was listed. It really is pure green for a moment, with some dry wood. Then I smell something tropical emerging, coconut, I think. I also think I smell apple and banana, but that doesn't sound right, I think one of the notes is just eliciting a memory association. There's a vague suntan lotion air about it, but it's not bad. After a few minutes, the grassy notes fade back, though they're still definitely present, and it smells more like I thought it would. There's a wood I can't identify and a sweet fruit note. I know there's coconut and lime, but checking the notes, I think it's mostly date. I think that's what I interpreted as banana earlier - which is really, really odd, because they're nothing alike - I think there was banana flavoured/scented something that wasn't actually banana, and the kind of sweet that I remember from that is the same kind of sweet I remember from when I had a dessert with dates. Or maybe I was just thinking tropical, and bananas came to mind. I'm not sure what I could be smelling as apple, but that's still there. I'm starting to smell leather, too. Balsam. It's a surprisingly subtle blend - I saw "pirate" and expected madness. But it's not. It's complex, low key, and surprisingly sexy. I think some of that is due to the red musk. Dry, there's still a grassiness, mostly a woodiness. Still some leather and date, I think, but it's really difficult to pick apart the notes. It's blended together nearly seamlessly. Occasionally, I smell soap, but it disappears quickly. This one keeps changing in subtle ways, constantly. Really interesting. Overall, although there is something markedly tropical about it, it's a mature and masculine tropical scent, not bursting with sweetness like I would assume from something tropical. It's possibly more masculine than unisex, even, and I'm not sure what makes me say that. The leather is probably part of it. And there are very strong wood notes with very little sweetness, even the fruit doesn't smell feminine to me. Usually I dislike aquatics, and that's probably what I'd categorise this as, because of the overall feel and airiness of it, and there is something there that smells like salt water. But it's also woody, and very complex. I find myself liking it. I'm still not sure how "me" it is, but I'm definitely willing to give it a shot. The only problem is that the scent isn't wafting as much as I'd like, and it's actually a bit weak. I'm going to give this one a try another day and see how it goes... I think my skin chemistry is just a bit off at the moment, because few scents have had as much throw as they should lately. edit: an hour or two after writing this, the sandalwood and leather started amping and got some serious throw. Odd thing to have happen, but nice! Summary: Very complex, unexpected, and exotic. Sexy and masculine. Morphs a lot- starts very green and ends very woody, but spends most time as a woody aquatic. 4/5 ETA: It was my skin chemistry. Got lots of throw this time, especially sandalwood, and some balsam and date decided to stay til the end too. Going strong 6 hours later. Missed some of the aquatic stage, though.

The first BPAL I'm really loving is LE - Fire Phoenix (anniversary '08). Just in case I have a hard time getting ahold of it in the future, and also on the off chance I come across something even better, I was wondering if anyone knew of similar scents. In vibe, if not exact notes, since they look fairly unique to me. Notes are: Chinese musk and red musk with hyacinth, cactus flower, cubeb berry, galangal, tobacco, pink pepper, and sarsaparilla. I especially liked the way rich fruit notes gave dimension to the strong peppery and musky base. Something like incense in there too. Thoughts?

Lots of chocolate. Mandarin and chocolate. And... jelly beans, according to my mom. Definitely a candy sweet scent. I can smell some tonka, and some of what I think might be saffron - but none of the classic herbs and no musk, the top notes are overwhelming. So far, I'm not impressed. A bit later, there's lemon. Sweet lemon, mandarin, and hot chocolate. Vey foody. Where's the musk? The sexy, dark notes? Drying, I think I can smell something herbal. Bay leaf, maybe. Juniper? Before I can get a handle on them, the baby powder emerges. After about 3 hours, I can smell chocolate, tonka, musk (finally), and baby powder. And it remains baby powder. From candy to powder, with no happy in-between. Not what I hoped for at all, sadly.

At first sniff, there's definitely pepper! Something like smoke, and maybe some kind of resin. And something unexpectedly fruity, even floral. Warm citrus, like mandarin orange. It doesn't strike me as lemon, it's not light/sharp enough for that... unless it's sweet, diluted lemon, like in lemon curd. I can't identify the floral yet. As the initial notes calm down, I get resin and something reminding me of Christmas - cinnamon? Some ginger, too. Still wasn't quite able to identify the floral, until I looked at the notes, and it's definitely hyacinth. But there's also something a bit too ripe for that, a bit like hibiscus or rosehips. There are strong, underlying notes of incense and musk, but it's not really a dark scent, it has too much brightness from the fruity notes. But not fruity in a girly way, it's more mature and indulgent. A forbidden fruit vibe, even. I'm not really finding the tobacco note it claims to have. I do sense some sarsaparilla hovering over the rest, especially at the end of a sniff. As it dries, I'm finding the ginger (galangal, I suppose) emerge more. Overall, it smells drier- for a while it smelled quite ripe, with rich, damp hyacinth and lively citrus. But again, it's not a zesty citrus, just vibrant. But it's like the hyacinth dries out... still very present, just less watery and sweet, if that makes sense. After about an hour, hour and a half, it dries out even more, and I'm having a hard time picking out the fruit notes. There's still some hyacinth, though it's dark. I can blame my skin for that, it tends to ditch top notes fairly quickly. But though it's blended together and doesn't have the same dynamic it did earlier, it's still beautiful. There's something very intriguing about it. It's a bit intoxicating, honestly - maybe it's the grounding of musk and spice, which feels very warm - less like fire than like smoldering coals. The fruit notes keep it interesting and a bit more feminine than a typical spicy scent, though I think it can work on a guy, if he's okay with the more androgynous vibe when it's wet. I love this, I can't get my nose away from my wrist. It also lasts - wrote most of my review last night, and over 12 hours later it's still there. Mostly the pepper, ginger, and incense/resin that I'm having a hard time separating. But maybe a hint of the floral is still alive. Shame it's limited edition.

I have to say, this one scared me a bit at first because it had much more sweetness than I expected - I was hit in the face with tonka. Luckily, that dissipated significantly and was replaced with a more softly sweet resin, woods, and something that reminds me of patchouli. My skin has a love affair with cedar (there must be some in here, or maybe sandalwood?), so that and a general headshop incense-y scent are the dominant notes for me. The spices are strong but smooth, I really had to dig for the sharpness of pepper. Neroli surfaced early on and added an interesting extra level, a sort of brightness among the deep, heavy scents, but disappeared after half an hour or so. Perhaps because of that and the tonka (of which I still think there's a bit too much), it started out as a more feminine scent, but though it's not overtly masculine now, it's definitely settled into unisex territory. It's a lovely scent and I really wish it had more throw - as it is, it's wearing very close to my skin. It's also fading rather quickly. ETA: A week later, and this has completely changed on me. Oh, wow. The minute it touched my skin, neroli was the predominant note, sharp and clear. A touch of tonka, but nothing like what there had been before. After a few minutes, pepper (the same pepper I could barely even find before) rapidly rose up and took over, ditching the citrus entirely and leading to an almost powdery stage until the other spices emerged. A very, very strong note of clove, almost cloying. A touch of woodiness, but it's almost pure spice now. Lots of black pepper. Maybe a hint of the bitterness of neroli. Fascinating. It's powerful, too. It smells like demons this time - angry, bitter, restless demons longing to devour the innocent. This is more like what I expected. I like it.