dimensia

Bottle: Sweet, creamy spicyness. Vanilla, a bit of musk, and a touch of ginger. Wet: Oh my. This one reminds me of bits and pieces of several different blends - it's lighter on the ginger than Shub, easier on the musk than Smut, and minus the sandalwood in Underpants. It's, at once, foody and spicy and musky and boozy. Dry: That creamy vanilla note is more prominent, though it doesn't make the overall blend more foody at all, just enriches the rest of the notes. It morphs and morphs back again - just when I think I've hallucinated the ginger, I get a prominent waft of it. The musk underneath feels similar to Smut, but in conjunction with everything else in the blend, I get a lighter feel overall. Storyville is sweet without being cloying and musky without going overboard, with just the right hint of booze. Great staying power and above average throw. Of the three, Voodoo Queen is still my favorite, but Storyville is something very very special.

Bottle: Very masculine, slightly woodsy - it's a dark, green scent. Wet: Not getting any of the sweetness some others have mentioned. It's pretty in a masculine way, like Oisin, though it goes earthy and incense-y where Oisin goes slightly aquatic. It's surprinsingly clean on the drydown, until... Dry: Hello, trees! There's a forest on the back of my hand, and this forest holds every kind of wooded vegetation imaginable. It reminds me a bit of Umbra, though it's nowhere near as dark - Umbra is a spot deep in some forgotten wood where the sun doesn't shine and marshland rules, and Doc is a cluster of trees outside that spot, in a clearing on its own, where fresh air is still abundant. There's a resinous note underneath, trying to peek out... the trees keep lashing at it and forcing it back into hiding. Like the other C12 blends, Doc Buzzard is complex and well-blended. Unlike them, it's also fleeting (Storyville stuck around through a load of dishes, and Voodoo Queen lasts for hours) and a bit too heavily wooded for me. I'll try it on the boy, and probably will keep an imp, but this one is my least-favorite of the bunch. Not bad, just not for me.

Finally, time for a few more reviews. Bottle: It's a light scent, but faintly bitter. It's in this stage that I can detect traces of the "pickles" that I heard about. Wet: Not light anymore! This one was meant to be heavy and decadent, even in the smallest drops. It's warmed almost the instant it touches skin, and loses the bitterness entirely - it's sweet, spicy, slightly smoky and resinous underneath. There's definitely amber in this one, but it's hard to make out any other notes clearly. Reminds me of about half a dozen different blends, and I think it's fair to say that it's a strange, intoxicating mix of everything that came to mind. Venom, F54, Blood Amber, Snake Charmer... Pieces of them are all in there. Dry: It dries down very true to the wet scent, but creamier, as if all the notes, having realized that battling to the forefront is a futile endeavor, have called a truce and decided to get along for the greater good. There is something vaguely floral that peeks its head out along the way, but it's pretty far in the background. It's a complex blend, and dry, it's perfectly happy to be complex. Wonderful throw and heavy-duty staying power (after a 14-hour shift, I was still getting little waftlets). Of the C12 blends, Voodoo Queen is, hands-down, my favorite. It's nostalgia in a new bottle, and not only reminds me of the best parts of some of my favorite blends, but brings them together. Gorgeous.

In the bottle: Peony. Fresh, blossoming peony. Wet: There's a sharp note that comes through when it first hits my skin, but it's not unpleasant. The peony is there, a very warm and full floral, but there's something creamy underneath that grounds it. Drydown: The peony softens as the other notes build up around it - the plum has peeked out, and something faintly deep and woody - the reeds, perhaps? The overall blend reminds me of something very familiar, but I can't put my finger on exactly what. Throw: Average. Score: 4/5. I've never been a floral person, but peonies have long been an exception. This is a beautiful, complex floral - rich without being overkill. Perfect for spring, and I'm sorry that I only ordered one bottle. Bravo, Beth.