forspecial_plate

This is quite a strange and unsettling scent. I smell the vetiver, dark and herbal, and also the sweetness of fruits, so sweet it's almost like candy. The sweet element of this scent nearly overpowers me in much the same way that Al Azif did. This is more bearable...when I tried that scent (Al Azif), I had to wash it off...but I gave this time to play out on my skin. Eventually some of the sweetness backed off, and the fruitiness became deeper and much nicer. This never struck me as spicy. I think the vetiver and black musk did some weird combining thing that made me think of leather. This somehow fits right in with the other Arkham scents that I've tried....eerie, and not something that I feel drawn to wear, but interesting to try.

Mr. Jacquel is a soft, spicy amber scent. For me, the spices seem heavy with either cassia, cinnamon, ginger, or all three. Reminds me a lot of Saw Scaled Viper. I can just catch hints of patchouli. I think I have yet to figure out what hyssop smells like. Strange...this isn't what I expected at all from this scent! Light to medium throw. I like it, however I am on the fence whether I need more or not. Edit: I have to edit this because, the more I wear it, the more I like it. It's a golden scent with a quiet strength that is really growing on me. I think I'm finding out that amber works for me more often than not. In that case, I should probably embrace it, yes? Anyway, it works well in Mr. Jacquel. Edit again, just to add: This is one of those great scents that took me by surprise in such a sneaky way. I went from 'not sure', to really liking it, to reaching for it more and more often, and on to needing a 5ml bottle. I think it needs to go into my top 10 now.

Three Gorgons is captivating, with a light throw. I was expecting the amber to be stronger than it is. The pepper is much stronger than I was expecting, unless that's the vetiver chipping in to make it seem very spicy and herbal. The citrus is emphatic at first, then backs off quickly as citrus usually does for me. Reminds me of a hazy, hot, dry day...bronze skin glistening with oil. Overall, I do like the smell of this. The pepper is reminiscent of White Rabbit, although I did not like that scent. Other than that, this is very unique.

Orpheus is a lovely crisp green scent. It might fall into the sharp herbal category, but it has some sweeter notes too, a little floral... The citrus notes are not very strong for me.

I had very high expectations of Doc Constantine...maybe I was setting myself up to be disappointed. *[see edit!] Basically...it smells good, but doesn't captivate me like I was expecting it to. I do like woods and smoke, and the other notes sounded wonderful to me. Up close, I can smell cedar strongly, with the other notes lurking behind. The throw is better....musky, woody, a little leather.....smells good. Somehow, though, I was expecting more. I'm still on the fence, so I will let this age and try it again. I think I wanted something more like Geek. It's okay, though....there are already so many CD scents that I love....I'm glad I can let this one go and prioritize the others that I do want so much. *Edit: This is another blend that has grown on me a whole lot since I first reviewed it. As usual, once I got past my expectations, I was able to appreciate this scent for what it is. Also I think setting it aside for a few days helped...the strong cedar has backed off a lot, and I'm picking up more of the other notes. Smokey, woodsy, sexy.....this reminds me a little bit of Dee. It's good stuff.

I'm completely revising my review..... I actually really like this. It smells a little mossy to me for some reason. I love the smokiness. Before, I was confused about the tobacco I think. I thought I was smelling champaca flower. But I think it's just the tobacco. This scent reminds me a little of Midnight on the Midway, a little darker and huskier maybe. I think I'll be wearing this more often and I'm glad I didn't swap it right away!

This is a bracing sea scent that really captures the character it represents (or maybe...the painting and description really capture the scent?). It has a chilly quality...I can really imagine a mermaid's icy, contemptuous stare. The oceanic aspect is strong, and the other notes add depth and some sweetness to the scent. I can't pick out individual notes except maybe ozone. Comparison time: my first thought when I wore this was "Kingsport Light!!". Right now I'm doing a side-by-side comparison, and the two scents do have some similarities. With Kingsport you are standing on a beach in the fog, but with Thalassa you're standing on the prow with the spray in your face, and the sun is shining. A few minutes later (say, within an hour), some of the ozone falls back and the sweeter notes come forward a bit. I think I can smell the resins. It's reminding me of one of the Salon scents at this point (Cloister Graveyard or Death of the Grave Digger). Anyway, enough comparisons....it's a great scent! Aquatic and deep, bright and refreshing.

Faiza is deliciously dark and sultry. Actually there seems to be one note in here that's disagreeing with me just a little bit, but not enough to put me off the scent as a whole. Maybe the caraway or ti leaf? I'm not sure. She is a dark, green and black, slithery scent....rich and humid. It could be the moss that makes it humid, but I don't worry about individual notes when I wear this so much as just enjoying the whole scent. It's more fruity than floral to me, and a little herbal and spicy. Faiza could be Antonino's sultry, dangerous cousin. I bet this will get better and better with some aging. And I love the idea of wearing something with green sandalwood in it, even if I can't really pick out the sandalwood. How I would love to sniff that on its own!

Bow and Crown seems multi-layered. Very close to my skin, the cedar is strong, crowding out most of the other components. But the throw is different....still woody but also sweet, herbal vanilla with sage, somewhat musky. Overall the impression is one of the more 'traditional' and masculine bpal scents, IMO. It does smell good, but I usually get more excited about the more odd and unusual scents. I really can't complain about this. It fits right in with the other Come and See scents that I tried....complex, but the different notes work together as a whole. I've never worn Tombstone but I kept thinking 'This is what Tombstone must smell like'.

... His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods. Dee is very close to love at first sniff for me. I smell woods, a bit of leather, and the parchment, which reminds me a bit of sawdust. But it all comes together. This scent reminds me a lot of a myrrh fragrance oil I used to get from Scentiments in Cincinnati. Never found another myrrh that smelled like that. For some reason it's here in Dee. After a few hours, the wood has become much stronger and almost smells like cedar. There's just a little sweetness/incense still swirling around, maybe the rosewood. I don't know for sure what rosewood smells like. Anyway, I like this a lot. edit: When I wore this again, it lasted for hours and hours, to the point that I got kind of sick of it. It was almost overwhelmingly heavy and masculine to me. Next time I wear it I'll apply very lightly.

Hmmm.....I tried Oborot twice, and got some odd impressions. Mostly it's much sweeter and more floral than I was expecting, and also very light and subtle. I think there's some ozone, giving it a little bit of a laundry breezy smell, maybe that's part of the sea spray. There's very little pine and almost no earth that I can smell. The tea flower is strong on my skin. And something fruity, that I took for juniper or pine, but maybe it's one of the notes I'm not familiar with that maribouquet mentioned. So, yeah....sweet, floral, fruity, ozone....a little underlying darkness from the other notes....I am totally on the fence about this scent. It's so faint on my skin, and after a while disappears almost completely....although this may not always be a bad quality. There could be times that I want a quieter scent. I like it just enough to try again a few times, see where it takes me....

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun is a great scent....I gave up on dragon's blood resin a few months ago, but the other notes listed made me want to give this one a go. And I'm really glad I did! This smells warm, sweet, woody, just a little spicy, a little floral, and resinous....all at once....it's so well balanced. For a while, the dragon's blood does threaten to take over. But it eventually backs off and the other notes seem to just glow. There is something faintly nutty that may be hazelwood. I'm somewhere around the third hour of wearing it now, and it has faded somewhat, but is still pretty strong. I think I really like it.

This is more floral than I was expecting, with something gritty and nearly dusty behind it. Seems like a grey scent to me. I think I recognize all the notes, and I think the poppy and lilies are most prominent. The currant is coming out more as time passes. The patchouli isn't strong for me, but I can tell that it's there, lending an herbal aspect to the scent. This one probably isn't for me although it may do well with some aging...not out of the question. edit: Eek...I thought I gave this enough time to morph but apparently not...now the musks and patchouli are becoming stronger, and possibly the nicotania too. Now it's less floral, still kind of gritty, musky, appealing....I'm on the fence, honestly.

This is an unusual scent that doessn't quite work on my skin, but I knew it was a long shot. In the vial it smells like scratch 'n sniff stickers from when I was little, sugary caramel. When it touches my skin, right away there seems to be a hazelnutty aspect to it. It's still caramel with an herbal backdrop. After that it slowly becomes more herbal, and the caramel becomes just a little 'off' on my skin. Basically it's big on caramel and the other notes aren't enhancing the blend for me...the whole thing turns to a plastic-like smell. About an hour later, I can smell the cinnamon leaf and patchouli fighting to come out, but they are not helping the cause much.

The ghostly White Women of the Scottish highlands. They seduce unwary travelers by night with their unearthly beauty and mesmerizing dancing. They engage their victims in a wild, hypnotic dance, and once they reach exhaustion, the demonesses exsanguinate their partners with their vampiric kiss. Talk about a quick courtship. Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger. This strikes me as a refreshing breeze of a scent, mostly grapefruit but my imp is brand new. There was just a little sweetness of other notes backing it up, but mostly it was grapefruit spray from the peel. Kind of bracing. It didn't change on me over time. I like this but I already have F5 and I don't wear that much. Baobhan Sith is roughly in the same category in my opinion, so I wouldn't really need more of this and may not keep the imp. However, I think over time some of the other notes might come out and the citrus might back off a little bit.

Then I believe this is what you want. I've not ordered any yet, but having just read through the entire topic, I can warn you of this and also this. So it might be a good idea to look around for other sellers (try froogle for starters). Edit: Whoops, just realized the age of the post I was replying to... oh well, maybe this will be a convenient summary for some. lol....it's okay! I appreciate the link. What I've been doing is this: roll the bottle between my palms a couple times, then take off the cap and press it against my wrist. The little knob inside the cap puts just the right amount of oil on my skin in a little dot. Repeat in a couple different spots, schmear, and I'm all set. This actually works so well that I don't think I want wand caps any more. But thanks for posting that....I'm sure other people will want some.

I tried this and for the first half hour or so, I was so excited because I loved it so much! This scent is fiery and full of vitality, warm and spicey, a very orange-red scent. I smell the amber, moss, and spices...but really the notes blend to become something more than their sum. Something hot! After a few minutes there is a sweetness emerging which I think is the vanilla flower. All is well until about 30-45 minutes....then the scent goes a little flat on me. It doesn't turn bad, it just loses a lot of spice and heat, and what's left is the sweetness of the amber and vanilla blossom. Kind of disappointing but I'm not giving up on it...maybe it was just my skin on that particular day, or maybe it would work in a scent locket. Definitely worth playing around with to try to find a way to make it work.

I tried this and right away, knew that I could have skipped the decant and gone for a bottle of it. Really beautiful. Reminds me of expensive herbal liqueur in the vial, maybe Benedictine and Brandy or something like that (although I haven't tasted that in years). There is an astringent quality that reminds me of an alcoholic beverage, with a lot of complexity. On my skin, I can smell the moss and the leather, but no one note here is standing out with a lot of power. Just blended really smoothly, and the astringent quality fades as it warms up and becomes even more smooth. Can't say that I smell much currant, at least not the way I'm used to smelling it. This is very much my kind of scent and I need a larger amount! edit: I agree that it has a somewhat clean and soapy quality.

Sweet, spicy myrrh....simple, uncomplicated, beautiful. Thankfully the myrrh doesn't turn to powder. I can never tell if it will or not. The cinnamon is great, it weaves in and out of the three myrrhs (I'd love to smell them separately, one at a time!). Not quite blending in, the cinnamon seems to remain separate on my skin, which suits it well. Just a nice, simple scent to me, warm, sweet and spicy.

Cocoa Mad Hatter! Okay, it's more complex than that. But that was my first impression and it's persistent. Right out of the vial, the lavender is strong. As it warms up the cocoa comes out with emphasis. After a while, the vanilla really warms things up. Not getting much in the way of vetiver, bark, or the herbs. Musk? Yeah, it's there. Those other notes are providing the hint of complexity to the scent. Great stuff. Very unique and hard to categorize. I'll have fun with Wulric, for sure. Edit: over an hour later, the lavender has faded, and the scent has settled and become a darker animal. Now I can almost detect the vetiver, I think. Still loving it.

I know this isn't meant to be a fall scent, but that's what it brings to mind. This is what I wanted Samhain to smell like...although I love that scent for its own qualities, this is what I really expected it to smell like. I think I can smell all the notes listed, blended very smoothly. Up close the scent is faint, but it's the throw that I love here. Fir, herbs, incense...very mysterious. Just a little sweet. Did I mention I'm in love with this? : ) May have to find more.... Edit: I didn't wear this for a long time, and tried it again today. It's almost a totally different scent. Still reminds me of Samhain, but I also get....strong floral? Where did that come from? And the very sweet honey-ish note that reminds me of Samhain. Sticks around for hours, and tons of throw. Also, not much smoke when I wore it today, and very little in the way of woods. (edited 8/26/07)

Anne Bonny is sharp woods with a little sweetness. I love the hint of warmth and resins behind the sharpness. This is very much like Aureus, but stronger. If Aureus is yellow light, Anne Bonny is deep red wood. I like this a lot. Can't pick out the patchouli very much, but that's okay. I think it adds depth and earthiness to the wood. Great scent that I'll enjoy wearing from time to time. I'd like to do a side by side comparison with Aureus just to see which I like better. Edit How funny! Today when I got home from work, I put Anne Bonny on one arm and Aureus on the other, totally forgetting that that's exactly what I wrote in this review. Anyway.... Anne Bonny has aged fabulously. In fact, it has barely changed from what I remember (I tested from the same imp). I'm almost positive this has a little red musk even though it's not listed in the notes. Compared to Aureus, it's stronger, more full-bodied, and...well, more red. Aureus is fainter, a little dusty in comparison, and much more dry. Why am I comparing them? Because I still think they're very close as far as how they behave on my skin. Aureus has much less throw, which can be a good thing every now and then, if I'm not in the mood for a strong scent. Anne Bonny has that big red 'kick', and I honestly won't wear it much, but I won't give up my imp.

Yep, that's patchouli and vetiver, all right. Smells just like those two essential oils. I happen to like both so it's okay. But honestly, I've come to expect more from a bpal blend. For example....Typhon has strong patchouli and vetiver, but the addition of musk and sandalwood make it something sweeter, more complex, more smokey, and very appealing. Perhaps I've been spoiled? I'm not even sure I want to keep this, because I've really stocked up on the dark, earthy, smokey blends, like Typhon, The Great He-Goat, Lycaon, Azathoth, and even Djinn in a way. I don't see myself reaching for this before Typhon or Lycaon very often. But for anyone curious about what patchouli and vetiver smell like, this is it. This is about as straightforward as those notes can get. There may be other notes here but I can't smell them.

When I wear this, I smell a sharp, sweet, slightly woody incense scent with a little bit of citrus in the beginning. The citrus fades and sometimes a powdery note comes out. It's not too powdery though, so far. I was very surprised when I read the notes. This isn't how I would expect it to smell, from the notes listed. It's good though. Amber is so weird...sometimes I can wear it, and sometimes I can't. It's doing well in this scent. I wouldn't have picked out rose in this blend at all. I think it's combining with the saffon and amber, contributing to the sharpness of the scent. Overall, it's good stuff. I'll keep it around for a while, see how it ages.

This is rich and regal...voluptuous. It makes me think of deep red velvet with ornate gold trim. It smells floral to me, but I was also expecting to see amber in the notes, or some resin....that's probably the opium; if so, it's the strongest note I think. Also I thought I smelled patchouli. This scent smells deep, dark and fruity, with a core of corruption. Something softly decaying hiding in the middle of the scent. I don't smell much rose. Blood Countess smells good to me, although I don't know if I would actually wear it on a regular basis.