mymymai

I  really wanted to love this mulled and spiced apple delight with sweet potato pie musk trailing far behind it, but my skin started swelling and blistering.  If you are reactive to cinnamon, beware. 

Peach Vulva is amazing and worthy of a bottle!  Peach and apricot flesh is fuzzy yet deeply succulent as if the notes were taken from close to the stone. The lightly spiced resin and rice milk come in later, round and warm, settling into a golden deep peachy musk after several hours. 

On 4/25/2013 at 9:40 PM, mymymai said:

ITI: It's a flight of white florals with something sweet - perhaps coconut or white sandalwood.

 

Wet: For me, it smell like faint chocolate, gardenia, coconut meat, and powder (maybe sandalwood, certainly not the honey powder note I get).

 

Dry: This faded too quickly on my skin. After some dry time, I can pick up super faint coconut and vanilla, but I wish it lasted longer.

The floral sweetness with just a whisper of resin once dried is pleasant and well-balanced, making it something that can be worn in an office setting without fear of choking anyone on screechy florals. It's definitely my pick for #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs

Updated Review: While Queen Alice is nice for a sangria-thick wine scent, I missed the carnation in my aged imp, which is what added the interest for me. On top of that, my skin practically ate up the entire scent within two hours. However, Seraphim smelled exactly like the soap with which my mother use to wash my mouth out.  As such, I'm much rather smell Queen Alice.  #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs

The citrus notes are still bright, juicy, and vibrant while the Lab's berried snow notes add a fantastic balance just atop the mild florals in the background.  My mouth is literally watering.  Night Gaunt is an uplifting citrus glory of a scent and gets my vote for the #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

No. 93 Engine is a dear love of mine (one of my first bottles from the Lab, too).  The balsam of peru along with the mastic are just gleaming, glorious tones that few scents could compete with, wet or dry.   #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs

The patchouli takes over much of the scent once dried, so I'm missing the orange blossom and spicy carnation I was picking up wet.  I’m having trouble, in fact, picking up anything other than that.  Granted, it’s a really intense, deep, non soil-laden patchouli that I absolutely adore, so Masquerade gets my vote for the #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

The Red Queen  is maraschino cherries (but a bit darker) and just a hint of round, deep wood with a touch of currant once it dries on my skin. It's appealing, for sure, so it gets my vote in #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

Light wood, strawberries, chocolate, damp soil, and a touch of green on my skin . Strangler Fig is unusual and complex, but still very much a verdant celebration, which makes it a winner for me in the #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

Ugh, absolutely fantastic - the vetiver is stronger against the labdanum and resins, adding a deeply sensual impression of redolent incense to fading citrus tones and a gentlemanly fougere (once dry).  I would follow someone awkwardly to get the name of this scent if I smelled anyone walking by with it.  It gets my vote for the #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

The dark honey here is well blended with the deep musks and bright citrus.  Honey notes and I usually have problems, and while Qandisa toes that line, the other notes are just too lovely to pass up in the  #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

The Coiled Serpent is deeply earthy, chewy, almost tobacco-like in its darkness and I'm here for it.  As a deeply woody, warm patchouli blend, The Coiled Serpent  wins for my nose in #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

Oblivion is round, darkly alluring, resinous, spicy, and just freaking amazing. I absolutely want to slather myself in it. Oblivion gets the win for me in the #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

Viola is a gorgeous floral in all stages with spiced citrus tones.  Before aging, there was some powderiness to it after dry-down, but aging does wonders for the scent as the floral tones, now softened, yield a subdued feminine scent that is reminiscent of solitary tea time in a fragrant garden.  Viola takes the win for me in the #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

It's earthy from the patchouli, but almost subtly candy-like from the rose and sandalwood. It's really a gorgeous scent.  I'd much rather take this over RPD for the #tournamentofunderdogs #underdogs.

After nearly 4 months of settling, this is still a whole lot of leather! I had to let it sit because I couldn't smell much else when I originally bought it, but now I get a bit more dry plum, opium, cognac, dusty clove...and did I mention leather?  It strikes me much less as a Lace and much more as a long-lost Goth. This makes me think of Bat Cave club days - seedy, dark dance clubs filled with leather, lace, dark spilled drinks, clove cigarettes, thudding Siouxsie or Sisters of Mercy, and thick eye liner. 

I have a bottle of Arkham Revised from the Springtime in Arkham collection (2005 I think).  I can't find any scent notes for Arkham Revised.  Is this just an early version of A Picnic in Arkham's Arkham?

• ITI: I was expecting polished wood and absinthe, since those notes tend to dominate, but instead I'm getting fragrant pipe tobacco, sugar, and a hearty dram of rum .  I imagine this would be what a gentleman's reading room from the 1800's would have smelled like.
•  
• Wet:  Wow, this is a bit too sweetly foody on immediate application.  It's like tobacco butterscotch, gobs of caramelized sugar, absinthe candies, and sweet pipe smoke.  I was bowled over just a bit as I was applying this, so I hope that it settles down some because it is rather sweet. 
•  
• Dry:  Now that it has had a chance to settle (an hour), the scent is less cloying and more a reflection of a rich pipe tobacco, fragrant and thick, infused with heavy rum musk and almost caramelized sugar.  Teakwood peaks out from underneath the heavy rum and tobacco notes every now and then, adding a contemplative sophistication and pleasantly faint astringency that keeps the scent from skewing too overbearing. 

ITI: Yum, sweet and exotic, like a lush jungle right after the rain, berries dripping onto upturned, fresh florals. There's a cleanliness to this scent which is strangely soothing next to the very light resins. Over the last hour, I've been trying to put my finger on the quality of the berry note. It doesn't remind me of strawberries or raspberries for that matter. Finally, it struck me: Dewberry! If you've ever smelled The Body Shop's Dewberry perfume, the berry note in venom is a slightly lighter version of it.

Wet: Clean, fresh, dark berries swirl around heady jasmine and bits of lime while galbanum undulates from the base notes to support the berried floral. It's sensuous, dark, feminine, and almost deceptive in its progression. I would say that this certainly lives up to its name.

Dry: Slightly soapy but resinous round black berries, both extremely alluring but equally poisonous. The resin certainly does bloom after it has had a chance to settle, making this a lovely scent for those who enjoy fruity orientals. Even after the initial dry-down, this scent has a decent throw - roughly 3.5" from my wrist 2 hours after application.

ITI: Round, golden resins and woods delight my nose.

Wet: Delightful reins surge forth, followed by a sweet polished gold tone that wraps itself around the regal wood tones, specifically elder and rowan. It reminds me Ellie's Song, but sweeter and slightly more resinous.

Dry: Musky myrrh and frankincense bedeck polished woods that glow under the evening lights. There's almost a vanilla'd tone to scent as well, but my gosh, this is a gorgeous scent if you are a fan of woods and resins.

ITI: Interesting. On first sniff, I'm met with a lovely, creamy wood with a very subtle and subdued floral musk and a touch of cashmere.

Wet: Ah, there's the slightly more forceful cedar, flanked by almost a fuzzy musk (which must be the auburn and perhaps a touch of the clove bud). The labdanum emerges, swathed in gauzy cashmere and a touch of warmed patchouli. Faint honey weaves itself around the heavier notes, yet it isn't sickly sweet but more of a beeswax note, which is genius with these woods.

Dry: This reminds me of BPAL's Scholar's Tower now that it's dry, but less resinous and more creamy and musky. It's less resinous, though. On its own, the scent is deliciously warm, musky, and woodsy with very soft beeswax patchouli, and a faint sprinkle of hazy clove and cashmere. Lovely!

ITI: It’s sweet and crisp, definitely reminiscent of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s other delicious Snowball Yule scents and snow notes. There’s almost a faint bubblegum undertone, which develops into the salty umami of ume. A hint of soft floral adds to the ephemeral cool and serene nature of this scent.

Wet: Hmm, there’s that bubblegum now, but that starts to melt into snow and pine while the ume unfolds underneath. There is a gentle softness surrounding the core of these notes that is absolutely lovely.

Dry: I keep having to reapply it since the scent vanishes from my skin before I can get back home. Finally, after 5 hours, I’m home and there’s enough left on my skin to review. I get a very subtle snow-like creaminess and the faintest hint of soft, delicate floral musk. It’s really lovely, but I do wish this had more staying power.

ITI: It smells like disinfectant and wood polish.

Wet: On my skin, there’s a little bit of a pine and lemon tone to the disinfectant, like Pine Sol. Along with the wood polish note, soapy tones with a hint of bleach burst through the unified exterior of cleanliness.

Dry: The chemical tone from what reads as disinfectant has resolved into just a “clean” note alongside the remnants of lemon floor polish and soap.

2016 Version:

ITB: The scent is murky in its resinous tones, inky from the labdanum and somewhat sharply floral from the hyssop, pulling for attention, directing away from the more subtle notes.
Wet: I get less Snake Oil out of this one than the previous Snake Pit oils. It's more of a smoky minty chocolate, which I think might be from the combination of cane sugar, vanilla, and labdanum, although the floral tone still adds a touch of sharpness to the overall feel of the scent. Just under those notes is the serpentine, resinous tones of frankincense and opoponax, which reminds me of the temples hidden away in the mountains of Japan.
Dry: Gentle Indonesian oils and vanilla are evident, but it doesn't have much throw and stays very close to the skin. I think I can still detect a little bit of the resin, but it's so faint that I can't narrow it down to a single note.

Re-released version:

ITB: Strong sugared vanilla, tonka bean, Indonesian oils, and sage.
Wet: Sugared Indonesian oils, a sensuous musk, rich tonka bean, gobs of sandalwood smoke create a scent that is vaguely foody, but more sensuous and slightly dangerous. Leather exists deep below, only detectable when I inhale very deeply. It strengthens as it starts to dry down, and sage slowly emerges, but the other notes are still dominant.
Dry: It's soft sugared vanilla and faint tonka bean, a hint of dusky leather well off in the distance, while sweet sandalwood and Indonesian oils perfumes the air. I didn't get any sage from the scent and the leather as a while was not as pronounced as I had hoped. However, I adore the Snake Pit, so it's still going to be used frequently. I'll be interested to see how it ages.