ND¢

Distinctly smoky cinnamon-apple smell.

Before I even open this imp (a generous freebie in a swap) I will just say I've got very high hopes for it, so we'll see how they bear up under testing. I would be prepared to layer this with something gourmand or sweet if it is lacking in balance, but I adore Beth's 'simple' (few notes) blends and... okay okay.

In the imp: Harsh sandalwood, not too spicy, and leather.

On me: I totally get the stable comment for the first second. Then it immediately gains a slight dimension of sandalwood-spice, enough to throw it off a bit from that (thank god.) A sharp or almost 'raw' leather scent with sandalwood layered over it, and a vague spice as I exhale. It wants to tip into 'cologne' but doesn't quite, also thank God. Yeah, there is a little sweetness to it like people have mentioned. You know what, I like it. I tried a little Pandy on over it and, though it wasn't a match, I still think this will be great for a subtle layering.

This is the scent that finally nailed neroli as a no-go for my skin. It's just sharp and very, well, shrill. This is an interesting scent, but the neroli dominates any hope of perceiving it other than through a thick fog. I think the peach would be a sweet, cute note, and I almost get the cocoa absolute too.

It's like the previous reviewer said... something about this just works for me and I don't know why. It's a comfortable, natural scent. I get the odd duality of the cool vs the food note. On me the caramel (and prob. musk and nicotiana) smell terribly familiar. It's another BPAL that I can't pick out (not Hearth, as someone mentioned.) Strange, evocative, and very straightforward, and since I'm not a floral girl I enjoyed this more than I thought I would given the description. A totally non-buttery caramel, BTW, for those like me who overamp and as such avoid like the plague the lab's buttery foodie scents. This is definitely more gourmand, and I don't see it as a masculine fragrance at all so much as a very simple, almost alluring scent. Sometimes I feel like oils with a jillion notes in them are just a screaming mishmash that is more trouble to discern than to enjoy. This is not overly complex, and doesn't have that problem.

Took me a while to appreciate how unusual this scent is (or to appreciate it at all, for that matter... it sat neglected, beautifully aging, in my BPAL box for literally a year and a half if it was a day. Then I dug it out one day when I was bored and stuck at home after surgery and smeared a shitton on my neck and the back of my ear.

Honey was not a scent I thought I liked, but the pepper blends cleanly with it to sharpen it up (I think this is how I avoid the artificial/play-doh smell on me, to some extent, because some floral honeys smell weirdly fake on me.) And this is a strong, dominant honey instead of a girly light honey. I am sure the 'strong dominant' perception comes not only from the, well, dominance of the honey note but also from the slightly muddying oakmoss. And then it dries down to a beautiful perfect sandalwood that's so crisp and simple that it's like brushstrokes on white paper. This reminds me of Mum Moon, which I also love.

One thing I hadn't predicted from reading the previous reviews is how LIGHT this scent is. I had to get right up on my wrist to smell it. So I slathered that arm like no other and... This does smell like Graveyard Dirt and recalls Penny Dreadful as well, but there's a hint of spice as previous reviewers have said instead of the flowers of PD or the 100% freshly turned ground of GD. My boyfriend was reminded of a 'moss' and a quality that I think others have referred to as loam.. it reminds me of my dad's old leather wallet and a ghost of spice all in one. As if this wasn't an unusual and fascinating enough scent (I almost felt compelled to keep sniffing and 'figure it out') as the drydown went on I started to notice what might have been the sandalwood previously mentioned. The combination of loamy dirt and a hint of earthly spice is a bit haunting, as portrayed so gently here. I'll definitely keep and appreciate using this, maybe layered with some delicate and simple sweeter SN that needs the depth this would bring it.

I get the metallic edge too.... wet, florals and a base note that reminds me of dirt. Was expecting it to smell more dirt like. Drying: thankfully the florals are mellowing. I got this one, as not-a-floral-lover, because sometimes I do love them-- Mum Moon, Tamamo, Shoggoth, so on and so on. And Penny Dreadful: now that's dirt and flowers. There's a smell that's almost citrusy and gives me an 'Asian' association in the drying down.... the florals are quite well blended and sophisticated. Very intriguing. The edgy metallic note went away gradually.

I'll let this sit a while and see what I think of it, but I'm suspecting that nothing is going to do until I finally get my hands on Planting Moon. I ought to have just gotten a bottle of Graveyard Dirt and dabbed a bit of Tamamo or some such on it.

Huh, and there's something familiar smelling about the florals. I don't get why all I smell is FLOWERS SPICE AND FLOWERS and now basically no dirt. What the heck is this reminding me of?

Sigh, disappointment. On a positive note (ha ha, note, get it? Note?) this might be my favorite label design of all time. Maybe I ought to track down a shirt and swap the bottle.

ETA: So once it's fully dried down the floral has changed into a still-sophisticated, spicy, almost-wood, almost-cologne. For all it's not what I hoped, it IS a very interesting scent. Anyone who enjoys florals would greatly enjoy this, I should think.

I searched this thread for #118 but either no one reviewed it before me or I missed it. This one's been tagging around with me for ages.

Wet it's a very strong, sweet vanilla that's clearly got undertones that haven't come out yet. When it's dry it's got a roundness to the scent that made both my boyfriend and I associate it with cake-- a vanilla cake or pastry with a sweet, lightly spiced vanilla frosting.

Many previous reviews have eloquently captured this evocative scent, so I'll confine myself to saying that it smells exactly, EXACTLY like the herb store I used to go to in Albuquerque, down by the university. A nice fond memory whose comparison doesn't break down with long nasal inspection. It *does* feel like an 'old' oil in the most positive connotation of the word... as if I'm privy to something secret, almost. The slight, light sweetness underneath the almost somber overtone sets it off perfectly. Will definitely keep the imp, and I'm so glad a kind forumite gifted it to me in a sale! This would layer well under a light, gentle, subtle blend, I think; maybe a SN. It works well with Tamamo-no-Mae on me.

This one's definitely not for me. Strong, sharp floral that reminds me of, well, industrial strength bathroom freshener. Feels harsh in my nose as I exhale and.... I'm washing it off.

A few people have mentioned lemon and citrus. That's what I get right out of the bottle, a screaming citrus backed by a green smell that slides into a more manageable floral with the citrus pounding and shouting on the other side of the door. And it's kind of a floor-cleanser citrus. Sigh. But as it dries, it does become more, well, becoming. Floral and more floral. Not a scrap of peach. Not one. And that's why I got it, so that's unfortunate. Maybe a tiny whimper of vanilla in the background. It's a basically pleasant scent and I'll keep it and see if it can grow on me.

Been wanting this one for years, and finally took the plunge. Opened the bottle: underwhelmed. A weird, loud synthetic herb mishmash that is hard to describe. Drying down I didn't think this would work (spoiler: now I think it will)-- the vanilla smelled artificial, the chamomile smelled wrong; I was sad. But now as it's dried, about twenty minutes later maybe, it's a true vanilla with the chamomile adding an authentic layer of complexity to what I feared would smell like generic artificial vanilla flavoring. It isn't an immediate YES on me like it was for so many people because a bad wet stage is hard for me to swallow, but the end product merits more chances. It's reminiscent of Snake Oil some, of a brasher Snow White a tiny bit, like Sachs is Snow White's hard-knocks cousin.

ETA: The smokiness comes out after a while, almost as I need to apply more (eaten by skin like sponge in Sahara Desert.) Mmm. Okay, winner.

My boyfriend likes Nero, Taphophobia v2, Krampus and Aperotos Eros, so far. I think the first three are pretty masculine and that Aperotos Eros is pretty good on me, too.

I don't get any booziness from this at all. A sweet, somehow very well-rounded scent. I agree with the posters who mentioned HGM, it's very similar to me (don't have a bottle anymore, so can't compare.) It also reminds me somewhat of Tamamo-no-Mae. Light and conveys a very fresh, innocent quality. Will be hunting down more of this to stockpile.

Simply put, my all-time favorite incense scent. This is well-blended in the way characteristic of Beth's best blends, gentle and comforting. Reminds me of being plunked down in a friendly little head shop, and my boyfriend and I both love it. Good thing it's a GC-- we are going to stock up and start these aging, because if they smell this good now, I can't wait to enjoy them a couple years down the road.

it reminded me of satan's talcum powder drying down. Down, I'd wear this at a leather masquerade, but nowhere else. Sharp and lingering, promising... but not my type.

Oh, no, yeccccch. No. *sniffs* Nooooo. It really is sort of like I smell like a zombie or someone's evil laundry pile with rose scent sprayed on top. Ohhhhh. I made such a face.

This reminds me a lot of a stronger Herr Drosselmeyer. Much gentler than most sandalwood blends I have tried. A bit more sweet pungency from beeswax, but as the effect did not work on me in the one, it sadly also does not work in the other.

Wow. Perfect. This is what I always hoped for from Samhain-- a scent that brings me right back 'there.' I grew up some in Boston and remembering the apple picking, the holiday parties... Yes, I did all that. Anyway, there is just this feel that autumn has for me, and this scent is a credible reminder. Stewed apples-- not an artificially pert apple scent, but a real, sweet & sour boiling smell. Also, am I alone in not recognizing smoke as much as leather? To me it smells a little like sharp leather, which gives the name a whole 'nother meaning.

The previous reviewer described this as a well worn, ornately carved chest of precious spices & I think that is just spot on. I keep my imps for swap in a wooden box and this has a sweet, spicy unity that really calls my imp box to mind in the best of all possible ways. I find myself thinking of cozy parties, exotic places I've never been... The copal is clearly dominant on me, the agave nectar (not that I'd necessarily know) seems not apparent, and the tiny hint of rose is just a peep of freshness that cuts all the spiciness really handily while complimenting it perfectly. And I am not a huge fan of the way rose smells on me normally. I didn't like the plain spiciness of this in the bottle so I'm glad I really gave it a chance.

Grass. For real. It's got that somehow pleasant, dark planty odor, even. I think the darkness I smell is a perfect recreation of very faint autumn leaves, and I also think I am going to buy a grip of these.

So I said to myself, 'Self, why is it that you think everything smells like Lemon Pledge on you.'

Self: 'Everything does'

No, really. I don't know why I smell neither tea nor honey nor wasabi but... there you have it. A lemony-candy scent, if I want to forget Pledge ever existed.

on me, this is a very understated fresh bay/clove herbal scent. not too sharp or astringent like some people are getting. I do like it, though it'll be a while before I can justify a bottle of something so outside my normal preferences.

Lemon verbena and red hots... a not-too-pleasant combination with a sharp, gritty clash where the two scents meet.

DCCXXVII

Bottle: green tea and bamboo? This smells akin to some of the Asian moons--Holiday, especially, though not as lemony (IIRC). It has a green tea sort of vibe.

Wet: Very juicy green, sort of like cut grass. So incredibly fresh, and one of the sweetest, greenest bpals I've tried. I smell freshly cut, wet, bamboo, grasses, maybe a hint of cucumber, and crushed stems? Very spring-time.

Dry: Less wet green scent now, its definitely drier. Still green, but not nearly like in the wet stages. There is a bit of something in here that reminds me of Night's Pavilion. Osmanthus maybe? Though it could actually be frankincense. I dunno what it is, but I'm not liking the dry stage of this nearly as much as the wet. The drydown reminds me a wee bit of what selkie did on me, though I swapped my selkie so i can't confirm...

Overall: This one isn't for me really. The Asian moons weren't my thing, and this green fresh type of scent, while lovely, just isn't my preferred scent genre.