forspecial_plate

This starts out mainly coffee, and that's coffee with a fair amount of sugar....sweeter than I thought it would be. At first, I can't tell if I'm going to like it enough. I love the smell of coffee, but it doesn't excite me that much as a perfume note. There is one coffee blend that I love and that's Possets' Ribbands, and Pinched does remind me of that at first. The throw is medium, not real strong but I can tell it's there. Later, though, it seems the scent gets stronger, and the woods come out a lot, and the cinnamon a little. I love woods in certain cases and this is a great woody scent. At this point, I'm so glad I put it on today, because it's dreary and a little cool outside, cloudy, and this is a great contemplative scent for this kind of day. The coffee is still there but I think the woods have nearly overcome most of the sweetness that was there in the beginning. I love this now, and this is another that maybe I should have bought a whole bottle. edit: I wore this again yesterday, and my perceptions have changed a little bit. I really like this and I will cherish my decant. What smelled woody to me before, now comes across a little different. It seems to have a sweet cream note that comes forward in the dry-down, very pure and slightly sugary. This lasts and lasts, for hours, and even through a shower. I'm glad a little goes a long way, so I know my decant will last for a long time!

I was expecting this to be sort of faint, based on previous reviews, but it still surprised me just a little, just how subtle it really is. I was also expecting it to be more on the powdery side from the musk, but it’s not powdery in the slightest for me. I think the leather helps with that. Actually I’m not sure I can identify the other 2 notes, but I can tell there’s leather here. So, yeah…..soft, sweet, beautiful, definitely androgynous, this is a real winner and I may regret not getting a whole bottle. It seems to be the more civilized brother or cousin of Doc Constantine, and that's the biggest reason I didn't order a whole bottle, since I already have a bottle of Doc, and like that just a bit more than this. Both are great, though.

A Bold Bluff smells like sweet tobacco, and I forgot it was cherry tobacco until I re-read the notes. Now that I know, I can smell just a faint suggestion of cherry. I’m glad I don’t smell hops because actual dried hops smell a little vomity to me (maybe the hops here are fresher). This is a touch more powdery than I thought it would be. I think the hops combined with tobacco are giving it a sweet, slightly powdery feel. Usually I avoid most things powdery but it doesn't ruin this scent. It's a comforting scent that I do like and will wear again.

Ooh, this rubbed me the wrong way. I could tell immediately that it's not for me. Very soapy and sharp. I wasn't expecting this sharpness, I thought with the wool it would something softer. And I like wood so I had hopes that this might work. I've had it on for almost half an hour now, and there's no need for me to keep it on any longer....I can tell with certainty that it's not my thing. Piercing, soapy and floral.

Right away I can tell this isn't going to work. The lilac is too strong and piercing for me. I can smell the leather, and I was hoping after a bit the musk would soften the blend. After over an hour, it's still not a scent I really like. Just not my kind of floral. Very clean smelling, almost soapy, but not quite. It has a kind of dewy quality. I think maybe I don't like fougeres in general, although I do like Theodosius a whole lot.

This is an absolutely great scent on me.....at first I smell red musk big time, like some other people have already said. Whether or not it's actually in this blend I don't know, but if it's not, that's a great trick! And at first there is just a dash of cinnamon, but the cinnamon gets stronger and stronger, until it's threatening to take over. This bums me out just a little bit because I want more sandalwood, more amber. None of the other notes really stand out, and I never would have picked out patchouli. It's still good, though, and after a while the cinnamon does back off a little and behave itself. The mood of the scent is definitely 'sin', and I bet this will smell even better after a few weeks or even months, so I may add this to my bottle wish list.

For me, Anaconda had a sugary start, but dried down to incense. Other people smelled tobacco, but to me it smelled like sandalwood. BUT....if it is tobacco, Mr. Nancy might be even better than Sugar Skull as far as what to blend or layer with Snake Oil, to get something close to Anaconda. Just a thought!

moonarcana, you're so organized!! I know I've replied here before, but what the heck.... For testing a new oil, I am careful and just apply from the inside of the lid, or the rim of the bottle. I apply pretty lightly if I'm going out, too. If I'm just hanging out at home and I really want to lay it on, I will upend the bottle against my wrist on the inside. I like how olympia301 applies directly on her palms, so sometimes I do that too. Then you can cup your hands over your nose and really get to know a scent. : ) Some scents like Antonino are a little too heavy to wear that much, though. But Snake Oil is great for that. Even with the bottles I'm keeping, I am careful to apply only where I don't have some other scent on my skin already. I don't want to 'contaminate' the bottle.

I like woods, aquatics, even some flowers. For whatever reason, I just wasn't sure about the notes in Roux-Ga-Roux, so I didn't take the plunge and order a bottle. Turns out I was right! Honestly, I don't hate this scent. My problem is, I'm starting to think my skin amps sweet notes like nobody's business. In short, this is like cotton candy on me. Or marshmallows. I get the impression it's the milk weed and/or sweet flag causing the trouble. Actually, it reminds me somewhat of Midnight On the Midway, but I like the incense in that a lot more. I have to really use my imagination to pick out any woods or aquatic notes in Roux-Ga-Roux. The moss is there at the beginning but it's quickly drowned out by whatever sweetness is going on here. Nope....I will eventually get a bottle of Midnight On the Midway, and wear that happily. This decant will be finding a new home!

This scent is really wonderful. The Masque is not subtle. I smell heavy, sweet florals, made more sweet by the honey. There is some incense smoke as well, and a slight sense of woods from the patchouli and/or tobacco. I think the tobacco is coming out more strongly as it dries. Reminds me somewhat of Chrysanthemum Moon, but I think I actually like The Masque even more. I think this would be great to wear at a party or in a group, because it seems like it would really stand out. I may have to find more than 1 decant of this.

Envy is green and slithering, indeed....I like herbs, mint, and lime very much. This is mostly herbs with a hint of mint, and the lime is just faintly supporting the rest. Lavender is pretty strong here. The mint fades pretty quickly. This scent has medium throw and duration. I think I've been spoiled by Green Tree Viper, because I loooove that scent, and I wouldn't reach for this as much since I have a bottle of that. Otherwise, I do like Envy on its own merits.

I grabbed this at random from my 'imps to try' box, and thought it appropriate since Rose Moon is coming up so soon. I found Harlot to be a very dry rose scent. It reminded me of dried rose petals in the harlot's jewelry box. The cinnamon is just a hint for me. Over 4 hours later, there is still a faint woody note left on my skin, still very dry. I can't say that it reminded me so much of incense, but more of woody dry rose. I do like woods but this has too much of a 'dusty' feel to it for me to enjoy. I didn't find it really powdery or soapy though, so that's good.

This is quite wonderful....I get along just fine with vetiver, and although I'm not crazy about dragon's blood, this is one of the rare blends where it works for me. For the first half hour/45 minutes, the dragon's blood predictably tries to take over, although I can smell the vetiver and definitely spices (cinnamon, mostly) patiently biding their time. Then, for a long while, Serpent's Kiss becomes a swirling, slithering dance of notes, seeming to show off each one at intervals. I know we talk a lot about scents smelling like incense. This is one scent that really tricked me a couple times into thinking I had lit some incense and forgot. Much later, like 3 hours or more, the scent is still going strong. It's mostly spices now, and cassia is really strong. I don't know if it has both cinnamon and cassia, but now I'm getting mostly cassia with, I swear, a smidge of ginger. I can still sense the vetiver providing a solid base for the other notes. I definitely agree with the Blood Moon comparisons, although this scent seems to last longer, and Blood Moon loses a lot of spice as it dries/fades (the musk comes out stronger), whereas Serpent's Kiss stays very spicy for a long time.

Aah, yes....Absinthe....I've wanted to try this since day 1. I have always stubbornly insisted that I love anise as a perfume note. I've been second guessing myself on that one lately....although I do love the smell of the actual herb. Anyway....yeah, this smells like anise, with lemon and some more herbs. I can almost make out the cardamom if I use my imagination. For whatever reason, this scent isn't exciting me all that much. : ( I'm not sure I like Black Annis much either. Maybe I should give up on anise? I still think I would like a heavily sugared, spicy anise scent with a little citrus. Wait, isn't that what Absinthe is?? Well, maybe not heavily sugared. *sigh* I really should like this much more than I do. As usual, I'll give it a couple more tries before I give up completely. edit: I meant to say that I'm getting the faint rubbery-ness that someone else mentioned....also that I don't get much mint from this scent.

Hmmm, I have to honestly say I don't like The Hamptons. I do like sweet and fruity scents (Sugar Skull, Xanthe, etc...), but something about this is sickly sweet and cloying to me. Maybe it reminds me of my drinking days. It does have a citrus aspect, but generally just smells like a too-sweet drink. I've never had a Cosmopolitan, and I think I would like them if I still drank. But this scent just doesn't do anything for me.

Hmm...this is floral, and that's almost all that I can really tell you. I picked this out of my imp box without reading the label, to see if I could guess a scent. My first guess was Somnus, which is also very floral to me. But Languor had a slightly buttery note at first, that I didn't remember from Somnus. But the point is....both are lazy, heavy-lidded scents, I guess. Langour is sweet and clear to me, not smokey. I also thought it might have honeysuckle, but that just shows how well I know florals, which is not at all. So yeah....to me it's very floral and not something I would choose to wear often, unless I was laying down for a nap maybe.

The myrrh just seems to overpower everything. Where is my patchouli and moss? *cries* Much later, it has faded to almost nothing...except faint moss. (finally). I'll try this again but looks like it's not going to work. That myrrh note is nearly powdery and won't let anything else play. edit: Oh, and I can't smell juniper at all which is odd for me.

Amber is what I smell mostly in the Haunted Palace, but that could be the power of suggestion. See, moonarcana gave me a decant of this, and as I was sniffing it for the first time, she said "It has amber!" (we were on an amber kick that day), so immediately that's what I smelled! Anyway, it's a beautiful scent that I really enjoy. Before I knew what notes were in it, I just thought it had a characteristic bpal-incensey feel to it. I didn't guess that it had that many floral notes. Whatever, I love it, and I know I can get away with wearing this somewhere, at some time. Right now it's reminding me a bit of Snake Charmer, maybe because of the amber, musk, and/or vanilla. I have to say, I can almost imagine how this would have smelled brand-new. I bet the orange was stronger (I can barely smell it now), and the notes may have stood out more from each other, whereas now they are all blended together seamlessly. That's just a guess, though...for all I know, it smelled pretty much the same! But I do think the citrus has faded, and the scent really hasn't suffered for that (not that I don't like orange, because I do). I will cherish my decant, but I doubt that I need a whole bottle of it.

From a male perspective.... I like almond a lot too, and Baron Samedi is one of my favorite GC blends. It replaced Demeter's Almond for me. It's a deep, dark, spicy almond scent that I love and it lasts for hours on me. On the other hand, avoid it if you don't like bay rum.

How weird...what I'm smelling doesn't match the notes in the description, at all! And for a long time I thought I must have a mis-labelled imp of Bow and Crown of Conquest. The throw here smells like sweet vanilla to me. If I sniff up close, I can smell something herbal, which must be the patchouli and/or vetiver. Overall, this is a faint, sweet scent, not powdery, but reminds me of vanilla, and without the cedar of Bow and Crown. It smells good, but doesn't have a lot of throw at all. Not at all what I was expecting, and a lot of the notes in the description are nowhere to be found, so I guess they are just supporting. But there's nothing tart like I would expect from yuzu and lime, and I would think I could pick up on the sandalwood, but I can't. So I guess the sweetness is the musk. It does smell good, don't get me wrong, and I have enjoyed wearing it. I think for a 5ml bottle I would pick Bow and Crown over this, and I really don't think I would need both.

Schwarzer Mond has a note of Pimenta racemosa which is bay rum.

I happened upon a decant of this, and even though I have no desire to smell like whiskey, some of the reviews made it sound so good..... Yup, that's whiskey! I couldn't pick up the subtleties, it does smell like good whiskey, but definitely whiskey. After drying a bit, it's a sweet woody smell, and still not something I want to smell like, even though I like a lot of woods. This one just wasn't for me!

This is a very pleasant, slightly fruity floral at first, and I don't really get a sense of 'banana'. It reminds me a little of lotus, maybe a little lighter, but definitely a bit fruity. This doesn't last long....a lot of the floral part fades and then I can smell the woods. Very nice overall, not a whole lot of throw, but my skin is dry this weekend and I've been doing a lot of dishes today, so maybe it just sucked up the scent. It has that characteristic 'bpal scent' for sure, and I do like it a lot. Maybe a little too floral for me to keep but we'll see.

Not to bring the thread down, but....I just read that the original painting was destroyed in a fire in 1945! : ( Okay, on to the review.... This is all about green. On first try, I really thought it was too sharp, and I almost sensed an ammonia aspect. I have tried it a couple more times and have grown to really like it. I don't smell any gardenia, rose, phlox or verbena. All I can smell is grass, leaves, and sharp herbs. I'm sure the other notes are supporting here. I bought this for my mom for mother's day (of course I had to try it, to make sure she'll like it! ....), because she does a lot of gardening, and I thought this would appeal to her. I think she'll like it, and I may have to get some for myself one of these days, too. The other reviews here describe the scent really well.

I was excited to try a discontinued blend, and I tried it without reading the description first. Right away I knew there was civet, and I could smell just a touch of the grape. Pretty soon the civet just took over....and civet is just not for me, I'm afraid. I think I can handle it in Black Annis, but not here....I had to wash this one off and that doesn't happen a lot! Hopefully I will find a happier home for Puck.