schackjj
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Posts posted by schackjj
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Mechanical Phoenix = distinctly metallic (fun but not wearable, IMO)
Dead Man's Hand = dirt on me, but I think most people get leather?
Pickled Imp = smells like your mother's spices spilled all over you
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Phobos is the truest lemon I've ever tried
So you might try layering it with something else? -
Skin musk, smoky vanilla, pine pitch, patchouli, Indian resins, golden honey, and tobacco.
Interviewer: Have a seat, Skin Chemistry. Ms., is it?
Skin Chemistry: Yes. What is this about, exactly?
I: Got your report on Illustrated Woman here. Headquarters has a few questions. Sure you won't mind answering 'em. *looks down at clipboard*
SC: Is there some kind of problem? My work's always b--
I: I'm sure. Let's just get through these questions and you can be on your way. Says here you wrote "Early impressions of overwhelming pine and menthol." Are you aware that no one else in the company has noticed menthol?
SC: Well, no, but I--
I: Are you always such a free spirit, Ms. Chemistry?
SC: I'm sure I don't know what you mean! (indignantly)
I: Uh huh. *flips papers* Next impression: "straight to menthol, with hints of patchouli and tobacco." Menthol again, Ms. C. *raises eyebrows expectantly*
SC: Well, that's how it smelled to me. (nervously)
I: Right. *makes notes*
SC: What are you writing?
I: It all goes in my report. Moving on. *refers to clipboard again* Nothing in your report about vanilla or honey. Care to explain?
SC: I only report what's there.
I: That's what they all say, lady. (bored) According to 96% of company employees, vanilla and honey are there and menthol isn't. But I'm just a company drone. Whadda I know? I'll write it up and send it back to HQ.
SC: What'll happen to me?
I: Like I said, lady, not up to me. I just investigate. But if I wuz you, I'd keep my nose clean. Har har. -
Today we've got somethin' special for ya, folks, here at the BPAL Auditorium - mud wrestling! That's right - good clean, sloppy fun brought to you by our sponsors, Kebechet and Puddin. Let's give 'em a big round of applause! (holds up applause sign) First up is Faeu Boulanger! Getting in the ring are MG, Play Misty for Me, Deadly Violet, and Minty Fresh. It looks like we've got an unscheduled visitor right out of the bottle early in the round. Fruit? That's a real headscratcher. She's not even on the scorecard.
Anyhoo, in no time at all, MG and Misty are sidelined. Looks like it's gonna be a matchup between Violet and Minty and what a match it is. Violet's got Minty in a nasty headlock, and it doesn't look good. Minty is turning a lovely shade of purple - now there's a role reversal (heh heh). And Minty is down for the count! She isn't moving. The ref is nudging her with his foot. Looks like she didn't make it. Oh, too bad. It's a clear victory for Deadly Violet. Keep your betting tickets, folks. Odds were 9-to-1.
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"Lookit the cool bottle- Oy! Watch where you point that!"
She jabbed the trident in my direction again, drifting easily in the current. "The riddle in the bottle. Answer it."
"Rotting seaweed first?" I guessed.
Her eyes narrowed.
"No? Dead clams?"
"How did your kind ever evolve?" She said scathingly, swimming several paces away.
"Wait, resemblance to Black Lace in the end!" I shouted after her. "That's it, right?" Too late. All I saw was her silvery tail as she flipped into the slipstream and disappeared.
"Can too evolve." I mumbled, as I sat on the seafloor stuffing my new bottle with unwilling shrimp. "I can twirl in circles better'n any ol' mermaid."
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Me: Who's in there?
Clove:
Meee!Cinnamon: Me too!
Me: Aren't there any more of you?
Clove: Nope. (innocently)
Cinnamon: But you're standing on Pi-mmph!! (gets sharp elbow to the ribs)
Me: What about Vanilla? She's supposed to be in there too. She's definitely listed.
Clove: Haven't seen her. (holding Vanilla under the surface in a headlock)
Me: It's eerie how the other notes are missing.
Clove: (smiling widely) Isn't it?
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Lydia is jasmine, but not the sweet little Jasmine who crawls into bed with you in her cute li'l flowered nightie during a thunderstorm in the middle of the night cuz she's scared kind of Jasmine. Noooooo. This is great big ol' fat Mama Jasmine in the ugly housedress you hope to god she's never ever wearing out in public. This is 'Slap you upside the HEAD' Jasmine. "You listenin' to me, boy?" Whompp!! "I SAID I'm TALKIN' to you, BOY!" Whomp-whomp!! *hands on big ol' lumpy hips*
THAT kind of jasmine.
p.s. I detest jasmine. YMMV
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Spiced rum, coconut, pineapple, and vanilla.
In the Bottle: A little spice and some fruit, must be the pineapple.
Wet: Mildly spicy fruit, not detecting the alcohol.
Drydown: As it dries down, I'm not getting much fruit. There's a tetch of sourness from something, must be the pineapple? In the end, it's all spiced rum. No coconut, no vanilla. Not for me. -
In the Bottle: Pretty! Almond and ??
Wet: Still almond - yay! I hope it lasts.
Drydown: This has a bit of throw, for now anyway. It's starting to morph, the alcohol is coming out. The almond disappears. *sniffle* When all is said and done, I'm left with spicy alcohol, no fruit. Not exactly what I was hoping for
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In the Bottle: Palm? It smells of dampness too.
Wet: I'm getting a slight floral note.
Drydown: The floral (the hibiscus) amps and takes over, bludgeoning the other notes into submission. I get a hint of soapiness too, which is unusual. This one is soo not a winner for me.
Disclaimer: I can't wear florals at all, but I keep trying, thinking I'll find one where the floral plays nicely in the background. Maybe someday.
ETA: I scrubbed my wrists 2 hours after I applied this, but the hibiscus is STILL going strong. Will have to try rubbing alcohol, or maybe steel wool. . .
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In the Bottle: Sour. Old wood?
Wet: Wet smoke? This one is really hard to describe.
Drydown: I don't know firsthand what volcanic ash smells like, but I'll bet this is it. One of the strangest blends I've ever tried
Perfect for, I don't know, Halloween, Day of the Dead parties, bonfires. . .
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In the Bottle: Tropical fruit.
Wet: Fruity with a booze note.
Drydown: The fruit smells artificial on me, not like real fruit, and I can't pick out the individual fruit notes. I'm not getting any bubblegum out of it either. And to me, this is a much heavier scent than Fire Pig, which was so light and sparkling I cellared it, hoping it would acquire some depth (never did, BTW).
Not a winner for me, but I'll definitely retest it.
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In Bottle: The alcohol is strong! The fruit is a background player.
Wet: The alcohol tames down quickly, and this becomes really pretty. What is that fruit?? Mmmm.
Drydown: The alcohol comes and goes on me. An hour in, the scent is getting fainter, and an odd dusty note* appears. Two hours in, not much is left. I have to practically put my nose on my wrist. There's also a strange sharp note I can't identify.
I had high hopes for this one that didn't pan out. I also did all my Tiki reviews cold (without reading notes first); now I see that the sharpness was probably from the lemongrass.
* could be from leftover anaesthesia in my system - I noticed it when I test a couple of other blends, and I usually don't
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In the bottle: Candied fruit
Wet: Tropical fruit - yum!
Drydown: A hint of alcohol comes out to join the fruit. After a while, maybe half an hour, it begins to smell like a tropical fruit bowl, and the alcohol scent is mostly gone. I stick my wrist under my son's nose, demanding he sniff it. He pronounces it "Weird." Hmm, not exactly what I was going for.
This is the one that seemed most promising on first sniff, so I may cellar it for a few months to see what it does. I might try layering it with another blend too, just not sure what.
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Wet: Murky, mossy.
Wet: Yuck, what IS that floral?! It keeps getting stronger. Eep.
Drydown: The floral just keeps taking over whatever else is in the blend, and I detest it. Only after I've written my review scribbles do I look at the notes. Aack - jasmine! No wonder. My nemesisss! So please read this review through my Anti-Floral Filter.
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When I first got this, it was a failure, but now I've heard reports that aging has brought out the amber and musk, greatly improving it. So, with anticipation, I dig out my dusty bottle and try it again
It still smells like I passed out on the floor of a wine bar and my friends just left me there, spilling drinks on me the rest of the night.
More cellaring? Ah, no pun intended
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In the bottle: Fabulous!
Wet: Yummy, all vanilla, well almost all, plus a little of what must be the ginger blossom.
Drydown: It's beautiful for a bit, almost all vanilla, which I LOVE, but then it acquires this weird dusty note. Bleah. And finally it goes generic on me with...ye gods, is that floral??! Aw, I had really high hopes for this one, too.
Disclaimer: I may still have anaesthesia in my system, making my chemistry even wonkier than usual, so YMMV
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In bottle/Wet: This is teasing me. It smells like something from my childhood, but I can't remember exactly what.
On skin: Woody with something faintly sour in the background. Eek. This doesn't bode well.
Drydown: Sigh. Didn't improve much. The woodiness was obviously the ironwood bark, but to my nose it was more like pencil shavings. That sourness just never went away. Definitely not a winner for me.
(My chemistry could be even wonkier than usual because I've still got remnants of anaesthesia in my system - YMMV)
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The epitome of an earthy/dirt scent. I put it on and put my wrist up to my DH's nose. "Here, smell this," I demanded. The poor, unsuspecting guy did. "It smells like must!" He wrinkled his nose. I laughed in delight. Sheer genius! I wouldn't wear it, of course. I mean, when would a person want to smell musty? Well, maybe on Halloween. . .
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In the bottle: a delicate incense.
Wet: much, much stronger incense, to the exclusion of pretty much everything else in the blend.
Drydown: It settles down and the other notes start to come out. It feels a little like a cousin of Crowley to me. At first I didn't think this one would be a keeper, as incense and I are not best friends, but it became absolutely lovely when the notes came into their own. I think it's a candidate to stash for a while, because it's likely to age wonderfully well
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"She was a maiden of rarest beauty, and not more lovely than full of glee. And evil was the hour when she saw, and loved, and wedded the painter. He, passionate, studious, austere, and having already a bride in his Art; she a maiden of rarest beauty, and not more lovely than full of glee; all light and smiles, and frolicsome as the young fawn; loving and cherishing all things; hating only the Art which was her rival; dreading only the pallet and brushes and other untoward instruments which deprived her of the countenance of her lover. It was thus a terrible thing for this lady to hear the painter speak of his desire to pourtray even his young bride. But she was humble and obedient, and sat meekly for many weeks in the dark, high turret-chamber where the light dripped upon the pale canvas only from overhead. But he, the painter, took glory in his work, which went on from hour to hour, and from day to day. And be was a passionate, and wild, and moody man, who became lost in reveries; so that he would not see that the light which fell so ghastly in that lone turret withered the health and the spirits of his bride, who pined visibly to all but him. Yet she smiled on and still on, uncomplainingly, because she saw that the painter (who had high renown) took a fervid and burning pleasure in his task, and wrought day and night to depict her who so loved him, yet who grew daily more dispirited and weak. And in sooth some who beheld the portrait spoke of its resemblance in low words, as of a mighty marvel, and a proof not less of the power of the painter than of his deep love for her whom he depicted so surpassingly well. But at length, as the labor drew nearer to its conclusion, there were admitted none into the turret; for the painter had grown wild with the ardor of his work, and turned his eyes from canvas merely, even to regard the countenance of his wife. And he would not see that the tints which he spread upon the canvas were drawn from the cheeks of her who sate beside him. And when many weeks bad passed, and but little remained to do, save one brush upon the mouth and one tint upon the eye, the spirit of the lady again flickered up as the flame within the socket of the lamp. And then the brush was given, and then the tint was placed; and, for one moment, the painter stood entranced before the work which he had wrought; but in the next, while he yet gazed, he grew tremulous and very pallid, and aghast, and crying with a loud voice, 'This is indeed Life itself!' turned suddenly to regard his beloved: -- She was dead!
Evil was the hour that she saw, and loved, the painter. Gentle beauty and innocent devotion: honeysuckle, carnation, stargazer lily, bluebonnet, vanilla musk, and rice flower.
Eek, I've never posted the first review before and I'm not as eloquent as some. Ah well. The first sniff was just a hint of floral. Upon application, all 5 florals came out in strength. As it dried, the scent stayed true, but I never did get a whiff of the vanilla musk, unfortunately. It may not go this way for everyone, as my skin amps florals, and this one has a lot
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This one was a surprise for me, and not in a good way
The previous versions were lovely, but this one smells like I got in my mother's baking cabinet and spilled peppermint extract on myself. It's just pure peppermint on me. Probably just my picky skin chemistry again. *#(*(&^%! -
In the imp: Uber-masculine. Yeesh. I didn't have high hopes for this one. In fact, I cringed a bit applying it.
Wet: Pretty much the same, and it stayed that way til it dried. And then. . .
Oh. My. God. This is WONDERFUL.
Must have mooore.Note to self: Never assume! Really should know better by now
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I've read a lot of this thread but not the entire 6 pages so maybe my answer is in here somewhere & I just can't find it. I placed my first order directly through paypal 10-17, but I never got any sort of confirmation from the lab. Do they confirm? Or is your CnS your first indication that they got your order via the paypal comments?
June Gloom 2004
in Limited Editions
Posted · Report reply
I finally scored a bit of this!
In the Bottle: Big hit of lemon. My husband said lemon and "something else."
Wet: Lemon overtaking everything.
Drydown: The lemon softens and recedes into the background. The "something else" dusky comes out but I can't put my finger on it. Slightly musky-dusky and very delicate. Any florals are long gone from this blend (trust me, if they were here, my skin would have announced them).
Within an hour, I have to put my nose practically on my wrist to smell anything at all. Really disappointing. June Gloom hasn't held up that well, but she's 4 years old. I wonder what that is in perfumer's years. . .