absinthetics

Soft wings fluttering erratically – ceaselessly – in a trembling, slate-blue gloom. This blue is powdery but not periwinkle. I don't get violet at all, but there is a dark blue that is muted by a dark but powdery grey tone to it, It is very true to the picture you see. So far the staying power has been decent!

I LOVE this colour. It stays for quite some time. Mine came off a bit darker than the picture above. I had to get this because, well, you know... Dream.

This is a sugary lemon blend that really doesn't last very long. It's not a biting lemon, it's somewhat warm.

What zank said! The cognac is very present in this. I love it.

Unfortunately this snow note has some of that pine in it that I really just don't like. It is cold and earthy.

Yes, Velvet Bandito is a great comment for this. But add in something a little cold to that, somehow it is cold and spicey at the same time.

Wow, I really can't add anything better than what Lycanthrope wrote. This is a glimmering ambergris focused floral. But it's not overly floral. The dry down can become a little powdery but it also becomes more sweet. There is something hard to grasp about the scent, and though it doesn't really morph, it's hard to catch a distinct impression of. It is a very cool scent!

Dark, smokey vetiver that is tempered by fruits. The rose fits in here so perfectly that all it does is make this feel slightly like a floral even though it doesn't really smell like one.

This scent is surprisingly dusty, papery, dark and cold. But there is that strange earthy scent that beetles have, or lightning bugs.

This gloom of dark resin has a fog of sleepy poppy over it. It very much sets a tone, which is exactly the point of the scent. Poppy lovers will like this if they are more inclined for dark scents.

I want this to stay pretty and night-time floraly but the moss really changes it to something dark.

I don't get too much leather from this, it smells of old clothes and something...empty.

This scent is everything it says. It feels like two ideas trading back and forth. There is a warm and cozy hut in the woods, and a deep lurking darkness that stalks it.

This is a deep, beautiful incarnation of the word Crimson. The scent is red. It is a smooth flowing (saffron) silken scent of red. I love it and it is a must smell!

Incense, sweetness and something spectral. This scent is not cold because of the amber, but there is a duskiness to it that is just lovely.

This is a very strange scent. It is bright and shiny, it's like a buttery, vanilla champagne. I imagine this will age very well.

A feminine floral, however the plum and the "garnet" note shine out to me. I can't really explain what a garnet smells like, but somehow Beth managed to capture it. I'm partial to this strange capture because it's my birth stone. I love this scent, it's like... a floral laced stone grape.

The bitter is there and very strong in this, but it is like the bitter of a very dry tea or a red current. It's lovely.

I must second everything that Little Bird says, however I must add that there is a beautiful etherealness to this scent that can not be explained by the notes.

A comforting, warm wooden scent that as per my sister, "smells like your boyfriend's worn shirt."

This is a beautiful, heart warming but delicate scent that is like a warm play on the other scent called Ghosts. This scent needs to be tried by everyone, it is not like anything you would expect. The tea note really comes out after a while on the skin.

A beautiful, classic and elegant shiny bright rose. It is bright ans smooth at the same time. It is a beautiful rose scent though the rose can be a bit too much for me in this one.

Honestly, I don't get much rose out of this at all. It's like a shiny warm vanilla with some old books thrown in. It's beautiful and bright.

The leather is soft and feminine. I do smell the india ink note in this and it adds a slightly plasticine effect to this scent. Over time, after dry down, it goes away and the overall impression is sweet and papery and the leather goes into the background.

LOLA Lola Montez was born Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert to a British soldier and an Irish beauty in Grange, County Sligo, Ireland. When she was just a toddler, the family followed her father's regiment to India. He died from cholera shortly after their arrival, and her mother married another British officer. Montez, then called Eliza, was sent back to England for schooling, and there she blossomed into a willful and wild little girl with a reputation for mischief. At 16, Eliza eloped with a British officer and moved to Calcutta. They separated five years later, whereupon she took up the name Lola Montez and embarked on a career as a dancer. Unfortunately, dancing was not her strong suit. However, she gathered friends and lovers in her travels, and gained both popularity and notoriety because of her extraordinary exotic beauty, tempestuous charm, and fearsome temper. During this time, she took on the mantle of courtesan, and cultivated relationships with artists, aristocrats, and politicians, enmeshing herself in Europe's fashionable Bohemian literary circles. Lola was no shrinking violet: she would crack unwelcome suitors across the face with her whip, and once fired her pistol at a disappointing lover, sending him fleeing down the street with his pants around his ankles. When her lover, Franz Liszt, grew exhausted by her passion and fury, she smashed their hotel room to pieces. Lola Montez was very, very Rock Star. In 1846, she became the mistress of Ludwig I of Bavaria and was made Countess of Landsfield in 1847. She wielded a tremendous amount of power behind the throne, until Ludwig abdicated in 1848. In 1851, Lola moved to the United States, where she reinvented herself once again and became an actress. Some years later, she moved to Australia and resumed work as a dancer, entertaining Gold Rush miners. After trotting the globe her whole life, she ultimately settled down in New York, where she spent her final days doing charitable rescue work for underprivileged women. Pomegranate, red carnation, pimento berry, red plum, patchouli, heather, tuberose, thyme-moss, foxglove, Easter lily, Scottish moss, Tunisian jasmine, and Indonesian clove. In the bottle Lola is a sweet floral. I'm not a jasmine fan so I took the risk on her for that but the jasmine is very soft and in the background. As is the clove, which I would have liked to have more of. But that's just me! On the skin Lola is long lasting and even sweeter. The plum and pomegranate accentuate the florals in a way I personally really like, like in Snow White and other juicy florals. The unassuming herbs, lily, moss and thyme make this a timeless floral... but she is not common or subtle in any way. As time passes, the fruits start coming out and she's a bit of a morpher. I look forward to seeing exactly how she ends.