tharsei-thanate

Oooh, I wanna try that. I'm really interested in how different coconuts smell, now. Raw black coconut looks intriguing! I think I'd like to maybe try Death Adder, too, since captnklaus brought it up and it had black coconut, but Snake Oil doesn't work on me at all and vanilla's iffy (and if it's at all like the vanilla in Snake Oil it's guaranteed to be plastic on me) so I'm pretty sure it'd be a waste, haha. Maybe a little tester at the most. Anyway, to steer away from coconuts for a moment, I should mention that for a while I had a bad streak with patchouli until I tried a frimp of Vespillo I had. I bought a bottle about five minutes later. Seriously, most well-behaved patch I've ever tried. On me it's loud, but it's not dirty or powdery at all. If any of y'all have problems with patchouli, I totally recommend Vespillo. (:

YOU GUYS I JUST TESTED AND REVIEWED WOLF SPIDER AND IT WORKS ON ME AND I AM ACTUALLY CRYING A LITTLE IRL Omg I hope the coconut and vanilla in Wolf Spider behave forever and ever and ever and ever. Also, this gives me hope for Elegba. Wolf Spider is one sweet booze and tobacco and coconut blend that works, Elegba might very well be another!

Purchased an imp from a forumite! I have been dying to try this because of these lines from the song Go Long by Joanna Newsom: Wolf spider, crouch in your funnel nest If I knew you once, now I know you less In the sinking sand, where we've come to rest, have I had a hand in your loneliness? The problem, however, is that patchouli is sometimes weird, vanilla in any form can go either way, and coconut is an established note of doom on me. I was too afraid to touch it when it was live, or even test it at NYCC. But I figured I should finally face my fears and give this a whirl. Even if it doesn't work, I'm still keeping the imp because of the song association. Speaking of, lemme get my iPod. Ok, here goes nothing! In the imp: Tobacco and chamomile are front and center! Pretty interesting combo, I gotta say. Wee bit of coconut way in the background, and a touch of tonka. I'm getting a lot of white and beige color associations, to be honest. Absolutely no green from the galbanum, and no swirl of patchouli brown. It's pretty nice. Let's see what it does on my skin. Wet: Rich tobacco and warm tonka and patchouli! Patch is sitting quietly like a good boy, and tonka and tobacco are dancing together. Oh, and there's a sweetness from the bourbon vanilla that is adding gorgeous depth without the plastic that sometimes likes to accompany vanilla. Omg is that the musk now, too? Yes, there's a light, lovely layer of musk. Coconut is either too faint to notice or not here at all. Can I be completely honest and say that smelling this while listening to Go Long is actually making me cry a little? Drydown: It very briefly headed toward the dread plastic precipice but then it took a sharp right turn, thank goodness. Oh, this is so good. While it smells like much of the same as the wet stage, the scent is deepening overall. I also think I can smell the coconut now, but it's still very light. What's important though is that it's not sour or Play-Doh. Well, not entirely Play-Doh, there's some sort of weird quality to the faint coconut smell, but it's not overpowering or distracting. Definitely not something I'd notice if I weren't concentrating so hard! Dry: Patch is getting a liiittle bit powdery but that's ok. There's a suggestion of chamomile and it's making me think of tea. Overall? Still tobacco/tonka/patch dominant (in that order), with bourbon vanilla sweetness, vague coconut, and light musk. Nnngh I can't stop sniffing myself and tearing up whenever I sniff myself because oh my god this works on my skin and fits the song and I just!!!!! :heart:

Yes, looking at the other notes they might keep the coconut in check. I'll add this to my wishlist, too.

You know, I didn't get a decant of that in the circle I had joined because of the coconut, but looking at the notes again, it could work. I do love cinnamon and musk, and occasionally rose. Now I'm wondering if the type of coconut in a blend changes the scent? Some blends just say "coconut" but then there's coconut husk, coconut milk, coconut flesh... this might be worth looking into! I'm putting Raptures and Roses on my wishlist. (: Oooh, tobacco and tonka. <3 A lot of reviewers are catching coconut. It might be worth a try!

Ok, I'll give Elegba a shot. I do like tobacco, so it might work! And yeah, from what I've seen, 2010 was a pretty bad year for Snow White. I was extra bummed because it was my second BPAL ever and it very nearly turned me off BPAL altogether. It didn't even age well, it just kept smelling like Play-Doh. But maybe I'll look around for a few partial decants of the other years. I'd be nice if Snow White wasn't a total lost cause. (:

Got this as a frimp in a forums purchase! Super excited, as this was a wishlist item. In the imp: Wow, this is very smooth and perfumey. It has that almost vintage perfume thing going on that Lurid Library '12 did. I'm thinking this a musk and sandalwood combo? Because I'm not catching a lick of spice. Wet: Still vintage, but with stronger sandalwood and added carnation. I can't get over how smooth this is. It's like silk. Drydown: Less strong than it was, and not quite as silky smooth, but the smell is still similar. I feel like I can smell the cassia, though I don't know if I'm *actually* smelling it. Dry: It's sweetened a little. It almost smells like vanilla (and luckily not a plastic vanilla) and it's a tad powdery. Not what I was expecting at all, but still pretty nice all the same! I'm gonna keep the imp but I won't pursue a bottle unless spices start coming out with subsequent tests.

Purchased an imp from the fabulous MuskWitch! The Music of Erich Zahn is my favorite Lovecraft story, so I had to snag an imp even though the notes are iffy. I mean, the two blends that I've tried with vetiver and black musk (namely Hurricane and Black Temple Burlesque Troupe) worked on me, and I don't ever recall having problems with opoponax, but I'm not familiar with ajowan at all and I have no idea what the heck mimosa and tamarind might do on my skin. Hopefully it all works! In the imp: Oooh, that's dark. Definitely catching the vetiver and black musk, but there's also a sort of sweetness. I guess I can pin that on the tamarind? It's also cold. I can imagine it smelling like this outside of Zahn's window. It's certainly an unsettling scent, and unlike any bpal I've ever sniffed. Wet: Vetiver and black musk dominant, but then the other notes emerge and encircle the vetimusk (I'm calling it vetimusk for as long as they stay combined) like a belt. My understanding is that ajowan has an herbal smell, which I'm catching a bit of. I'm also getting the incense from the opoponax. The tamarind is faint, and I'm honestly not sure if there's any mimosa in here. The colors I'm getting are blacks and greys. Drydown: Similar, but there's more of a sweetness (tamarind??), though it doesn't smell like straight-up sweetness- it's like sweetness obscured by a cloud or a sheer dark cloth, if that makes any sense. Vetimusk is still reigning supreme. This is surprisingly wearable for such a strange scent. Dry: This smells better now, but it's hard to articulate how. I think the black musk and vetiver have separated and the vetiver took a step back. Vetimusk as a unit was fairly strong, but separate the blend becomes more reasonable. Other than that, it's still much of the same. There's still that obscured sweetness from the tamarind and the opoponax incense is still wafting. Still no mimosa as far as I can tell, and the ajowan is very vaguely lingering far in the background. This is a good blend. Is it a great blend? Well, I'm not sure. I like it very much, but I can't say I love it, at least not yet. Though I can say for sure that I'm super glad I have an imp. (:

Got a frimp of this from a darling forumite. My skin and spice are pretty much best friends and amber hasn't given me many problems yet besides a somewhat powdery drydown, so this should be A+ on me. In the imp: Hmm. This is pretty light. It's amber and vague spice. Smells more like nutmeg than anything else. Wet: This really blooms on my skin! Spiced amber, with something like sandalwood. Cinnamon is definitely at the forefront of the spices, and it is indeed a bit like Red Hots, but it's not as strong as Inferno or anything. There's also that barn or zoo quality others have noted. It's sooort of coming off as sawdust, or maybe pellets? It's dry, at the very least, and a bit dusty. Drydown: It's very similar to the wet, but it's smoother now. Dry: Still much of the same, but lighter. Also, the spice is more of a blend of spices rather than just cinnamon now, and the barn-smell has risen just a bit above the spice. I'm a bit on the fence about this! Spice is good, Red Hots are meh. Barn-smell is good, but only if there are animals in there, not just sawdust and pellet feed. At the same time, the spice does become more rounded as it dries and the amber, at least, is steadfast. Hmmmm. I think I need to do more tests before I pass a verdict on this one.

I've been looking for a perfect summer blend recently, so I was super glad to get an imp of this from a forumite. Coconut, however, is one of those notes that does not like my skin. While I haven't tried a lot of blends with coconut, in all the ones I did try the coconut turned into Play-Doh. I'm really hoping Obatala's coconut note is wearable! In the imp: Beautiful, gorgeous, fantastic milk and shea butter and coconut. Oh, why are you so pretty? I'm so worried this will be ruined once it hits my skin. Wet: It's milky, but rather dark and a bit thick overall, almost like there's a deep, dark honey in here, but not quite. The coconut isn't too strong, but it's sour. Not really Play-Doh, but still not delicious and creamy like it was in the imp. I feel like I'm trapped in a dark, dank cave filled with old, smashed coconuts. Dry-down: The sourness is developing a plastic quality, and it's stronger than it was in the wet stage. There are only the faintest suggestions of milk and shea butter behind the sour plastic. This is almost making me queasy. Dry: Much of the same. I feel like the coconut is trying not to smell so bad but my skin just won't allow it. Eugh, I have to wash this off. It's too much. I'll save the imp for one last test (I always test at least twice before making a final decision), but I'm pretty sure this'll be heading to the swaps pile. Sigh.

Oh boy. Finally got my hands on an imp of this. I'm worried because while I adore sweet pea, vanilla is one of those notes that has a tumultuous relationship with my skin. But I might as well just dive in and get it over with! In the imp: Mmm, vanilla and amber. The vanilla is very sweet and delicious and goes quite well with the amber notes. It's a very bright and cheerful combo. I'm not getting sweet pea or sandalwood but wow, if the vanilla ends up smelling like this on my skin I certainly won't mind! Wet: Initially it's a huge blast of sandalwood, and then the ambers come out to mingle. The vanilla sweetness starts to emerge not long after, but it smells like the frosting on a grocery store cake. Y'know, the sort of cheap frosting that has way too much sugar and you can tell just by sniffing it that your teeth are going to ache like hell if you eat it. Even the scent texture is like frosting. But it's not Play-Doh so I'm not gonna write it off yet. Dry-Down: That heavy, sugary frosting smell starts to calm down a bit, but now the vanilla's on the precipice of plastic. It's still not plummeting off the edge so that's a good sign. The sandalwood and amber are just kinda hanging out and quietly observing the vanilla. What I wanna know is, where's the sweet pea? Dry: The sweet pea's arriving! Poor thing is trying to push its way past the amber and sandalwood and get to the vanilla (perhaps to drag it away from Play-Doh death and give it a good talking to) but amber and sandalwood are not having it. Well, at least it's there. Actually, it seems vanilla took a step back from the plastic precipice, maybe to get a better look at sweet pea struggling with amber and sandalwood. But it smells like poor sweet pea isn't strong enough. She won't stop trying though, bless her. This could be a good blend, but that almost-plastic smell and cheap frosting texture from the vanilla aren't doing it any favors. I wish sweet pea would just give everyone a good kick to the knees and bring them down a level. Still, I'm gonna do more tests. Maybe sweet pea is still tired from her trip with the USPS. If anything changes I'll add on to this review. (:

Got this in a decant circle! Time to give it a whirl. In the imp: Ginger dominant, with floral sweetness from the dragon's blood and a little herbal kick from the rosemary. Nice! Wet: Dragon's blood is the dominant note when it hits my skin. There's certainly a sting in here, not exactly sure what it's from, though. Dry-down: Still mostly dragon's blood, but, like others have said, it's dry. There's also something green and almost flavorless here which I feel is the coffee bean. There's also very light rosemary. Dry: The barest hint of sandalwood appears. I might be catching geranium now, too? But for the most part there's just bland greenness with the dragon's blood at the forefront while other more defined notes peak their heads out for only a split a second before retreating. Overall? Not impressed. I was hoping for much more spice. I'll do some more tests, though, before I definitely put it in my swap pile. I just want some ginger and pepper and sandalwood!

Got a tester of this in a forums purchase! In the imp: Lacquer, sharp and chemical, with the barest hint of old book. Wet: This smooths out quite nicely! This is woody and sweet and a tad papery. Sometimes book blends don't work on me (even though I desperately want them to) because they're too dusty or musty, so this is a really good start! Dry-down: Similar to the wet stage, but with less wood and no paper. And I think I'm catching very faint florals? It's actually a rather light, non-descript sort of blend overall. The sweet wood and faint florals are pleasant, though they don't really come off as bookshelves filled with old books at all. Dry: This really hasn't morphed much, except the wood is bit quieter. I do like how this smells, but it's different from what I expected. It's more generic than I thought it would be- I own other blends that smell similar to this. Still, glad I could give it a try!

Sorry you have some rough times heading your way, hun. I personally like using tea blends for stress relief- the Apothecary, White Rabbit, Nostrum Remedium, etc- but I also like using blends with... associative qualities? If that's the right word? For example, I see you have Crowley on your bottles list. Personally, if I'm going through a day where I feel like I need to get out of my own mind for a bit, I'll wear Crowley and try to channel him or draw on his character for comfort or focus. You actually have quite a few Gaiman blends, so perhaps pick one of your favorites of those? Instead of letting these people you have to deal with get to you, draw on Crowley or Spider or the Floating Market for strength. I know my advice is a bit weird, but I hope it helps! Hang in there!

About two years ago, I purchased a bottle of Miskatonic University from the lab unsniffed, assuming it would be the perfect blend for me. I mean, hello, coffee? Books? Oak halls? Yes please! However, there was this awful, jarring plastic smell when I tried it that persisted with subsequent tries. I put MU to the side for ages. I believe it's been a year or longer since my last test, so since my nose is much better trained now and MU had aged, I figured it's time to give it a proper review and decide once and for all if this is a keeper. In the bottle: Wow, this is sweet! Hold on, lemme concentrate... I'm getting sugar and whiskey... there's this almost nutty smell... and there's coffee but it smells like candy. Like one of those espresso flavored candies with a chewy center. Interesting. Wet: Hm. The scents dulls. It's not sugary sweet like in the bottle. It's a bit dusty, and I think I'm kinda getting oak, but the coffee, while present, is fairly nondescript. Actually, it's a tad stale. Dry-Down: That plastic note is rearing its ugly head. It's either stemming from the coffee or the whiskey- prob the coffee, since Halloween in Misk U had a similar plastic and I don't think there was whiskey in that one. Yeah, I think it's the coffee; the plastic is now registering as staleness. Mix of stale coffee and stale corn chips. Eugh. Dry: Much of the same, but less corn chip-y. Just plastic, plastic, plastic. I'm just gonna have to face facts: this blend doesn't and is never going to work on me. I'm really sad about this, Misk U was a blend I had coveted for ages before I bought it and it's one of the worst-smelling perfumes I've ever worn on my skin. Off to the swap pile, love. I wish things could be different.

Purchased an imp of this from the fabulous Dedee. I've been super curious about the lab's veggie blends, so I'm very excited to try this! In the imp: Green! Very green, with a bite to it- think a leafy salad with radishes. Yum. Wet: Oh wow. The green mellows out quite a bit, and there's a slight earthy quality. I can't quite pick out particular veggies except the radishes, which still have a bite, but this is certainly a more rounded veggie garden smell. It's really unique and interesting and it smells really good! Also, like others have said, it's fairly wet and cool overall. Dry-down: Much of the same, but there's an almost perfumey quality to it. It's still pretty much veggies, but it's very wearable. There's less bite from the radish, too, but I can still pick it out over all the other veggies listed. Dry: Not much morph at all, but I'm sensing that sun-warmed quality that was mentioned in the description. The scent itself is still cool, but I'm getting some yellow color associations now along with the green, which is just perfect. Further on: The radish is getting a bit bitey again. It's to be expected, my skin amps anything spicy. I don't mind, though, I love radishes. I can sort of pick out the other individual veggies, too. Or, at the very least, I'm getting their colors. I really love this! I can see myself wearing it quite often this summer.

Last summer I mostly wore: Swank The Hamptons Twenty One Strawberry Moon 2012 Rocking-Horse-Fly White Rabbit But I've acquired a ton more perfume since then, so I'm excited to find new summer faves! I'll probably be wearing Boober a lot this summer, since it's so fresh and clean. Maybe Last Evening of the Year will get a lot of use, too, since it's clean and chilly.

Bought an imp from a lovely forumite! Now, I'm not really familiar with Dragon's Blood. I remember trying a dab at NYCC last year and it was surprisingly sweet and floral. I wasn't expecting it to smell like that and I had thought it had mingled with one of the many other oils that glistened all over my arms, but sniffing Dragon's Musk, I can say for sure that it's certainly floral. I can't quite place what kind of florals are in here (I think there's lilac maybe?), but it's gorgeous. But what's even better is that the musks go so well with the florals. Together they create an amazingly sweet-yet-sultry scent. This is like a floral, non-boozy Smut, and considering the booze in Smut sometimes goes a bit sour on me, this is perfect. It gets a tiny bit powdery the longer it stays on, but it's not really noticeable unless I really concentrate. I really like this! Not sure about getting a bottle (this isn't quite a *me* blend, even if it is lovely), but I'll gladly keep the imp.

Bought a decant of the 2010 version from a forumite! In the imp: Mmmm, crisp apple cider spiked with cream. Wet: The blend becomes less crisp and the apples smell mashed. It sounds weird but the overall texture does change! The spices are also less prominent but that's fine. It's basically mashed apples with a hint of milk and spice and ale. Very yummy! Drydown: The cinnamon is stepping forward and it smells powdery- not like the actual smell of it is powdery, it smells truly like cinnamon, but the texture is cinnamon powder, sprinkled right on top of the creamy, somewhat boozy, spiced apple mash. Dry: I'm able to pick out the ginger, clove, and nutmeg now. The scent overall hasn't changed much, but it's nice that the spices amp more as it goes on. My skin loves spice. I smell so delicious right now! :love!: This blend is fantastic! I need more for sure!

Oh, hello Ops, why haven't I tested you yet? I actually got this as a frimp with a BPTP purchase back in December, so thank you to Puddin and his goblins, haha. I love spiced foody blends so this sounds like it's right up my alley. In the imp: Mmmm spice and bread! Not quite sweet, maybe a little buttery, a tad nutty, and overall very yummy. Wet: Mmmm creamy bread pudding, bursting with nutmeg and clove and... hm, there's something else in here I can't really identify that's making my mouth water. I just want to nom on my wrist! Dry-down: I think that mystery note was some sort of vanilla, because now it smells like it could turn into plastic. No wait, there something else here now that's aaaaaalmost... burnt? Actually, that might be a sugar note. Yeah, I'm seeing glaze in my mind. It's not bad but like with the vanilla, it smells like it could very well veer into deathville. Dry: Everyone chills out and stops threatening to throw themselves off the cliff of goodsmells into the valley of badsmells. It's super spicy and somewhat dense bread with a vanilla glaze. Oh yum, if someone baked something that smelled like this I would pounce on it and gobble it up. Verdict: Delicious! I'm very happy the vanilla and the sugar behaved in the end. It's actually reminding me of Pickled Imp if it had a bread note instead of pine sap. Glad I have an imp! [Edit] Haha, I click post, get a glass of water, sit down again, take another sniff, and now it smells like someone took a slice of the bread and spread butter on it. And it just smells richer in general. Wowww, I really love this blend.

Wait, I haven't tested this? I got O from a forumite months ago (maybe as long ago as autumn of last year, I can't quite remember!) and I guess I put it aside and forgot about it, haha. Let's see how this smells... OMG This is the same honey in the Hair Loosened and Soiled in Mid Orgies hair gloss! I looooove that honey, it's so delicious and sweet. But while that honey has musk to keep it sultry, there's something making this sweeter. The vanilla? If that's the case, then this is a super well-behaved vanilla. No plastic here like in Snake Oil! The amber is coming out to play now, too, and it's making the blend more sophisticated as a whole. But my darling, sweet honey is still dominating, which is absolutely perfect. Oh wowwww, this is a definite bottle purchase when I have the cash for it! O, you and I are going to be the best of friends.

This is interesting! I can smell the blackberry and the watermelon, an almost salty aquatic something, and that musky-weird base. The base is a bit of a turn off, to be honest. The blend doesn't smell bad or anything overall but there's too much of a contrast between the weird, dark musk and the bright, delciously sweet fruits that doesn't quite jive with me. Still, this is a unique blend and I glad I have an imp, but I'm not getting a bottle.

I received a partial decant of this from a forumite a few months ago. I put it aside to maybe use in a bath someday but I just found it in my purse with some other imps. I did a quick skin test and oh my god, this is gorgeous. It's predominately cream on me. Yummy, warm, delicious cream with just enough teak to make it interesting. The oil itself is super smooth and it even smells smooth. I really like this. I want more!

Happy Easter! Ended up not wearing any perfume today, but I put a ton of Hair Loosened and Soiled in Mid Orgies in my hair, haha. Maybe the name wasn't appropriate for church and Easter dinner but it smells so sweet and nice.

Today, I'm wearing The Vine. Tomorrow we're going to the Polish church with my grandparents and getting our Easter baskets blessed, and then we're going to the cemetery afterward. I'm thinking something floral. Perhaps the Lilies and Languors of Virtue? For Easter Sunday, I'm still not quite sure! Maybe Titania, because sweet pea and fruit. But I could also do Black Temple Burlesque Troupe or Velvet, because chocolate. Even if both of them are a bit too sultry for a Catholic holiday. Though I am, as my mom likes to say, a hippie liberal commie heathen, so I guess it doesn't matter. [edited a typo!]