absinthetics
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Posts posted by absinthetics
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This scent caught me in the bottle. It's a lovely watermelon and sweet pea scent. It's hard for me to pick out the lilac but the oakmoss and sandalwood add a depth to the scent for the entirety of its wear. The scent is young and playful with an earthy tempering that is almost out of place. Cfrancesca says it well, that this scent ends similar to how she started, but somehow not the same. The sweet, watery top notes settle down. But this scent remains bright for as long as it's there.
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It's amazing how you can smell every note in this scent. You can name the note, and pick it out, and name another, and there it is. This is in the realm of The Last Unicorn and Snow White. The white winter luminosity is pushed further by mint. However this is ever more floral than SW. The lilac is beautiful in this scent, it is made bright by the snow and it plays games with you, hiding behind the wisteria. Just when you think you've caught the lilac you catch a whisper of white chocolate. It's a beautifully complex and yet simple scent. Again, exactly as Lady Amalthea should have been. It's beautiful.
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His eyes were the same color as the horns of the Red Bull. He was taller than Schmendrick, and though his face was bitterly lined there was nothing fond or foolish in it. It was a pike's face: the jaws long and cold, the cheeks hard, the lean neck alive with power.
Dry cedar, bitter balsam, and ashes.
Overall this is a startling dry scent. You could almost leave it as its notes-- it smells like ashes and cedar. The cedar isn't sharp like cedar can be. It's the dried, splintery kind that you can't activate with sand paper. There is a bitter quality to it that speaks of something else, un-nameable, in the mix. I can't imagine this being a person, more like the withered, husk of what a person once could have been. In keeping it in mind that this is King Haggard, it makes me kind of sad. If a scent could be lonely, this would be the one. -
HAGSGATE
“When those words were first spoken,” Drinn said, “Haggard had not been long in the country, and all of it was still soft and blooming – all but the town of Hagsgate. Hagsgate was then as this land has become: a scrabbly, bare place where men put great stones on the roofs of their huts to keep them from blowing away.” He grinned bitterly at the older men. “Crops to harvest, stock to tend! You grew cabbages and rutabagas and a few pale potatoes, and in all of Hagsgate there was but one weary cow. Strangers thought the town accursed, having offended some vindictive witch or other.”
Molly felt the unicorn go by in the street, then turn and come back, restless as the torches on the walls, that bowed and wriggled. She wanted to run out to her, but instead she asked quietly, “And afterward, when that had come true?”
Drinn answered, “From that moment, we have known nothing but bounty. Our grim earth has grown so kind that gardensand orchards spring up by themselves – we need neither to plant nor to tend them. Our flocks multiply; our craftsmen become more clever in their sleep; the air we breathe and the water we drink keep us from ever knowing illness. All sorrow parts to go around us – and this has come about while the rest of the realm, once so green, has shriveled to cinders under Haggard’s hand. For fifty years, none but he and we have prospered. It is as though all others had been cursed.”
An accursed bounty: rich black soil and hay, cucumber, tomato, red lettuce, summer squash, black eggplant, arugula, grape vine, artichoke, and a tangle of herbs marred by an undercurrent of vetiver, patchouli, and black moss.
An evil, wooden gate a midst a deeply wooded area. The wood is old, gnarled and worn with time. This scent is woody but green. The lettuce, tomato and eggplant make this a sharp, interesting blend. They come out brightly when worn, but in the bottle they make this a cloying green scent like none I have smelled before. Though there is a dirt/soil note it's not dominant either in the bottle or dry-down. This is much more complex then something like Premature Burial. There is an herbal note like Marshwoman's Beer. The vetiver and patchouli add to the depth of this scent but they are not something that would ruin this for people who dislike those notes. Overall this is a VERY interesting scent! Recommended for RP scent people, you could create an interesting place with this. -
WITCH-CURSED CASTLE
You whom Haggard holds in thrall,
Share his feast and share his fall.
You shall see your fortune flower
Till the torrent takes the tower.
Yet none but one of Hagsgate town
May bring the castle swirling down.
Beyond the town, darker than dark, King Haggard’s castle teetered like a lunatic on stilts, and beyond the castle the sea slid. Drinn stopped him as he raised his glass. “Not that toast, my friend. Will you drink to a woe fifty years old? It is that long since our sorrow fell, when King Haggard built his castle by the sea.”
“When the witch built it, I think.” Schmendrick wagged a finger at him. “Credit where it’s due, after all.”
“Ah, you know that story,” Drinn said. “Then you must also know that Haggard refused to pay the witch when her task was completed.”
The magician nodded. “Aye,” and she cursed him for his greed – cursed the castle, rather. “But what had that to do with Hagsgate? The town had done the witch no wrong.”
“No,” Drinn replied. “But neither had it done her any good. She could not unmake the castle – or would not, for she fancied herself an artistic sort and boasted that her work was years ahead of its time. Anyway, she came to the elders of Hagsgate and demanded that they force Haggard to pay what was due her. ‘Look at me and see yourselves,’ she rasped. ‘That’s the true test of a town, or of a king. A lord who cheats an ugly old witch will cheat his own folk by and by. Stop him while you can, before you grow used to him.’” Drinn sipped his wine and thoughtfully filled Schmendrick’s glass once more.
“Haggard paid her no money,” he went on, “and Hagsgate, alas, paid her no heed. She was treated politely and referred to the proper authorities, whereupon she flew into a fury and screamed that in our eagerness to make no enemies at all, we had now made two.” He paused, covering his eyes with lids so thin that Molly was sure he could see through them, like a bird. With his eyes closed, he said, “It was then that she cursed Haggard’s castle, and cursed our town as well. Thus his greed brought ruin upon us all.”
In the sighing silence, Molly Grue’s voice came down like a hammer on a horseshoe, as though she were again berating poor Captain Cully. “Haggard’s less at fault than you yourselves,” she mocked the folk of Hagsgate, “for he was only one thief, and you were many. You earned your trouble by your own avarice, not your king’s.”
Drinn opened his eyes and gave her an angry look. “We earned nothing,” he protested. “It was our parents and grandparents whom the witch asked for help, and I’ll grant you that they were as much to blame as Haggard, in their way. We would have handled the matter quite differently.” And every middle-aged face in the room scowled at every older face.
One of the old men spoke up in a voice that wheezed and miaowed. “You would have done just as we did. There were crops to harvest and stock to tend, as there still are. There was Haggard to live with, as there still is. We know very well how you would have behaved. You are our children.”
Weed-strewn oak, opoponax, wet stone, creaking redwood, and desolate olibanum.
Wow. I literally said 'wow!' when I smelled this scent in the bottle. It's perfect. It's deep, dark and terrifying without any sort of dirt note in it. It's terrifying, and woody. If you close your eyes and imagine the place and then smell the scent you would be instantly transported there. It's foreboding and heavy. I'd recommend this to anyone who would like to create the scene in an RP session with the RP scents. It calms down when you wear it, but it lurks for a long time. This and Hagsgate are incredibly complex. -
PRINCE LÍR
"Heroes," Prince Lír replied sadly. "Heroes know about order, about happy endings – heroes know that some things are better than others. Carpenters know grains and shingles, and straight lines." He put his hands out to the Lady Amalthea, and took one step toward her. She did not draw back from him, nor turn her face; indeed, she lifted her head higher, and it was the prince who looked away.
"You were the one who taught me," he said. "I never looked at you without seeing the sweetness of the way the world goes together, or without sorrow for its spoiling. I became a hero to serve you, and all that is like you. Also to find some way of starting a conversation."
Chivalry, love, and sacrifice. A noble cologne touched by a sweet sadness: vanilla fougere, bright citrus, juniper berry, ambergris accord, and basil.
What an amazing scent. Mostly I am picking up juniper from this scent, which is made a little harsh by the citrus notes. However, I wouldn't think 'citrus!' when I smelled this bottle. It's almost like a bite at the back of your nose, but not in any way orange or lemon. I'd almost say that this scent smells like leather. I looked for it in the notes but it's not there, and I'm honestly surprised. This smells like a knight going into battle. Like oiled grieves and a hyped up male-ness. There is something soothing and pretty about it, but I mean male-prettiness, grace, glowing.... it's warm in a way that it's well-worn but somehow bright. I think this is the mix of sneaky citrus and the vanilla Fougère. A work of art! I want to cuddle up next to Prince Lir so he can keep me safe at night. -
HARVEST MOON
Harvest Moon is celebrated in almost every culture, and the bounty of the season is marked in a myriad of ways. Harvest Moon touches the Equinox, the festival of Janus, the culmination of Homowo, the “crying of the neck” in Cornwall, and the Women’s Festival of the Moon. This is a day that celebrates abundance and beauty, fertility and progress, and the light of this full moon blesses new undertakings and reunites lost loves.
The Harvest Moon, by definition, is the Full Moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox, and thus, it shares some of that Sabbat’s characteristics. This Full Moon was thus named because it rises within half an hour of the sun’s setting, in the Northern Hemisphere, and at this time farmers are able to work longer into the night by the light of this Moon. As the year draws to a close, the Full Moon rises an average of fifty minutes later each night, with the exception of a few nights surrounding the Harvest Moon, which only rises 10-30 minutes later. This moon is also, to the human eye, the fullest and largest of the year’s Moons, hanging gloriously huge, yellow and low in the night sky, and many lunar illusions play tricks our eyes at this time.
The Harvest ushers in many celebrations, including the Equinox and the Festival of Janus, God of Doors. Janus is the Roman Lord of Gateways, beginnings and endings, and transitions. Thus, the Harvest Moon is a time for blessing new ventures, the onset of new and progressive phases in one’s life, and rites of passage into adulthood. This time of year also marks one of the Festivals of Dionysus, Lord of Ecstasy and the Vine.
This Harvest lunacy combines the autumnal scents of dry leaves, warm, brown spices, white oak, Himalayan cedar, Russian sage, red apple, sweet black plum, juniper berry, clove, saffron, verbena, and yarrow with Dionysus’ sacred grapes and ivy, the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, and a gentle breath of Harvest Festival woodsmoke and sweet red wine.
Wow! What an amazing Lunacy. This is an example of why Lunacies can really surprise and amaze me still. In the bottle it is glowing warm, the dry leaves, saffron and brown spices are really amazing. There's this buttery wonderfulness that is not foodie per se, and nowhere plasticy. The fruits I was hoping to come out the most were apple and plum. Though apple isn't your typical apple note the plum is there. But it slowly settles down as it dries. On the skin, the clove comes out a bit but mostly as a heat in the background. This is not a boozie scent, nor an overwhelming wine. It's almost like a halloweenie that got lost. In the end, the hay and woodsmoke creep up, taming the fruits. -
DONNA CON VENTAGLIO
Donna Con Ventaglio, Gustav Klimt.
A white chypre with bergamot, rose otto, ylang ylang, tonka absolute, lotus root, blood orange, white fig, rock rose, mate, and violet leaf.
A deep, dark scent actually, for something with such bright notes. The liquid is blonde but there is a sort of darkness to this scent. Other than that, it smells exactly the way one would expect with the notes listed. The rose is tempered by the violet, fig and blood orange. After it dries a bit, the blood orange really comes out, along with the lotus. This is a dark, citrus scent that is very mature. -
Pallas Athene is the patronne of my alma mater so I had to try this scent no matter what. I was excited to see that amber was involved with her scent. This is a very rich smelling scent, very golden but in a glowing way. The cedar is very tame and I'd have to say the myrrh is the second most vibrant note. I haven't let her rest since she got here, so this may not be completely accurate. The cinnamon and mandarin are late players and are very subtle and not over powering.
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I can't add much to all of the current reviews, other than the fact that something that is in Elephantine Colossus is in here as well. It's almost a little of that popcorny note.
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Morpher and a half. In the bottle, spicy chocolate lemons. Wet on skin, it's like lemons draped over Storyville. No... Really. But Storyville always turned into baby powder on me. This isn't.
Currently she is sitting there, lemony. But the sharpness of that lemon is drifting away. The warm spiciness of Storyville is dying down a little. Will edit when she's dry.
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In the bottle it's sweet. I was hopping for cinnamon but I don't get any. (this is straight from the mail box so after it settles I may add opinions). On, this becomes more masculine, almost a complete turn around. The olive leaf comes out. This reminds me of a lot of the roman inspired scents. There's something ausi-hairstyle products about this. Something in there that is reminiscent of Deathrock too ..maybe?
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In the bottle: Wintery pine from Talvikku and Skadi.
Wet: Still piney with something sharp and almost citrisy. If you were looking for the honeycomb or amber it's overpowered by the rest.
This is your woodelf; Kagenesti, Lothlorien, etc. Definitely not your grey elf, Silvanesti, Rivendell. And most certainly not your drow or dark elf.
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RPG Combos
in RPG
Just got my RPGs. The first thing I've done was try Elf. Now, I got to try Elf before it was released. Probably like 6 months ago. But what was eventually released was not what I got to try. It seems as though I will forever be chasing that Elf. =/ (Typical!)
So my combination I have been dying to try has been:
Lawful Evil Elf Rogue -- Unfortunately, there's nothing feminine about it. My concept of a lithe, sexy, elf ninja/assassin doesn't smell like this. So sad! For the most part leather kind of overpowers everything. Which I was afraid of. But it just amps up and makes the pine scent in this Elf just go crazy. I smell like some sort of cleaning product. Medicinal at best.
I guess I'll have to wait for there to be a 'drow' scent.
I will say though, it's getting better as it dries down, a little more feminine. The combination may have dragged out some of the ambers. Though there is a babypowderyness something sweet is coming out. I think Lawful is starting to poke out of the blend.
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Spicy, cardamom rose. Very lovely as I adore spicy. The rose is certainly still there but, like her sister, if I had to wear any rose scents, these would be them. She does go babypowdery on me though, in the way that Storyville did ; ;, something similar about them in the background in the spices and babypowder morph.
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I just finally decided to let this one and her sister go. From both of these blends I do get rose. I'm relatively sure my skin amps rose in general, which is one of the reasons I rarely purchase blends with it (and thus can't remember exactly why haha). This blend is very interesting, and the coconut is there in a Tiki Princess way. Similarly you can smell the vanilla as she peeks out on dry down. This is one of the best Rose blends I have ever smelled, but.. she's still rose!
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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. -
I'm not an original Spanked person. In fact, it's one of the only super rare loves I've never hunted a bottle down for. All I remember was being a little confused and unsure as to why she was so loved. Honestly, I'm there all over again. I figured it was my young-nose back then... but now... mmm. I don't know where anyone gets cinnamon in this at all. In fact, I think cinnamon would have made her better! I do love spicy things and cardamom is a favorite...but it's totally overpowered by the leather. I also wish that I could smell the bourbon more.
She's also disappearing on my skin and she's only been on for a few minutes. The patchouli is going to be the last scent left and though she may last long, that's not what I would have liked to smell like. Very faint at this point though, especially for patchouli.
So my review is that if you like an organically (and not foodie) spicy leather, than she's all for you. My chemistry doesn't amp her in the ways I would like, but she's a sophisticated and strong blend in the bottle.
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Celeste is the vanilla of XCDL13 and Elf, but it does have something in it that winds it down and makes it a bit more unisex, as said above. There is indeed some leather to her, and the vanilla is not as strong and powerful (and long lasting) as XCDL13. She is delightfully sugary though, and foody enough for this foodie!
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I do get a dash of piney-ness from this, but it doesn't stay long when you put it on. (I hatez teh pine!) So that's great. I do get a dandelion-ness from it though, and this may be a huge hit. It has something similar to Creeping Mist and the Shadowy and the Sublime in there. And there is a celery scent in it like Beer from the Marsh Woman's Brewery. A lovely scent!
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Sprayable Midway, yes... but there is a spicy-cakeness in this that literally, for me, is to utterly die for.
Not sure if it is gingery or cinamony. Maybe both! Not sure if that is what the 'wood' did to it. But I'll take it! I will be hoarding this, and am so so so happy that an east coast event got this one and I can rub it all over and roll around in it =D!!!
Utter love for this, as a foodie. I would have bought a life time supply if the boyfriend wasn't there! ha! -
A green, salty aquatic. Turn your room into an underwater treasure trove! Love this scent. I love the comment above about standing on a pier, at night. That's a perfect image.
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A beautiful vanilla and orchid. It smells totally antiseptic in the bottle, but once you spray it is an amazingly sophisticated vanilla... Think a more golden version of Antique Lace. Love it!
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Definitely a morpher. It's very aquatic, but there is something under there that turns... very strange on my skin. Something I've never smelled before. It does start out peppery as stated above.
A Wonderful Light
in Yules
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Vanilla and beeswaxy honey (as said above) that isn't the plasticy kind. This scent caused a co-worker to follow me into a different room and say "don't think I'm weird but what are you wearing?". He said I smelled like wonderful cookies.