tartchef

I knew this'd be a gamble, and I was right - the lilac & ambergris conspire to drown out what is a lovely combination of smoky amber & blood orange... it's thisclose to working, but ultimately, the citrus & super-clean floral clash & I end up smelling like a very posh urinal cake

I agree completely - both are fantastic, and on my skin are nearly impossible to tell apart...

Now that Anactoria's aged another few months, I'm really feeling the Black Lace similarity - the tobacco is more prominent now, the currant's subsided, and the musk is almost a perfect match... a tiny dab of something boozy & vanilla (a dot of Snake Oil? Am I crazy? Dorian? Antikythera? Aged Love's Philosophy?) just might seal the deal.

I lunged for a bottle of the Ifrit as soon as it was released - ginger, pepper, tobacco, red musk?! It wasn't until my bottle was shipping that I started worrying about the dread Dragon's Blood - it is a very hard note for me to wear, tending to amp to high heaven & morph into a horrible lilac-scented bathroom cleanser. I tested it as soon as it arrived, and WHAMMO - industrial soapy disaster Meanwhile, all these reviews of "dusty/dry/hot/muskyYUM" start rolling in, and dammit, I just couldn't give up. So I've aged my bottle for nearly 3 months, and I think we may have something here... Today's testing is revealing all the lovely sweet-hot ginger that was missing, and a tantalising whiff of pepper & musk. The dragon's blood is putting up a good fight, but I think given another few months of aging, the Ifrit will finally be what I had imagined.

The label was so very PINK! that I hesitated slightly, fearing some sort of girly froufrou explosion... Well. I got an explosion alright, but it is heavenly I can see how the Oblation could go horribly wrong for a lot of testers - there's that same juicy, tannic blackberry note from Agony of Heartache & Lady Una that can go cat's pee without much prodding... I'm in the fortunate few that can wear it happily, thank heavens, and combined with a beautiful, soft lavender & a bit of spicy dianthus (pinks, one of my favorite flowers), it is glorious... Fruity but puckery, with a nice herbal astringence & the barest trace of almost-carnation-spiciness. Then there's the honey. O! The honey! Clear & fragrant, like creamed honey spread on my arms, it sweetens & concentrates the blackberry... gah! I want to eat this! I want to craft a dessert that tastes as good as this smells! It's deep, deep, glossy purple, with a gorgeous dab of sparkling creamy gold... I am in no way a pink, foody scent kind of girl - give me smoky resins & funky herbs... the Oblation was an enormous gamble that has paid off in lovely purple spades! I won't wear this often, if only because I'm finding it deliciously distracting & am having a hard time not licking my arms...

Phoo. appleappleappleapplecinnamonapplecinnaminnyappleapplePOOF. L'Autunno takes a quick post-coital puff on a clove ciggy & bolts for the door. Feh.

I cannot recommend Kumiho enough - clean, crisp & light, with no problematic ozone or florals... I wore Sudha Segara a lot pre- & post-partum - it's warmer, but still very light & easy to manage. Citrus made me squicky, so I can't really recommend anything there - mint & green tea could help ease the quease, as it were... perhaps Gennivre, Shanghai, Green Tree Viper, maybe the Apothecary. F5 would be fantastic - it's easy enough to find in the swaps pages. A really dry, light incense might - MIGHT - be wearable for you - I'm thinking Cathedral or Sri Lanka, just a dab. I wore both after the first trimester, and they were light enough to be doable, but made a welcome change from the really fresh & clean stuff I'd been wearing. Congratulations!

Diwali had been on my NO WAY list when the Yules came out - all that foody stuff? Bleh. But then cranberry had the sense to include a decant in a swap package, and I was very pleasantly surprised - yes, mango & sweet stuff, but not too thick & cloying... kind of festive, really Then, when I pushed a bottle on Wwindy, it occured to me that I should probably wear it more often... and oh my, what a few more months of aging has done! The cashew is the leading note, rich & toasty without being in the least bit "nutty", and the mango underscores it with a lovely heady fruitiness. The tamarind cuts through any chance of cloying sweetness, and the incenses waft through & ground the lot. There's a trace of floral, just enough to pretty things up a bit - don't fear the mogra, aka sambac jasmine... it's incredibly well-blended & delicate. A lovely scent, long-lasting & really interesting - absolutely worth tracking down a bottle!

Oh golly. If there was only one thing I could smell like for the rest of my life, it'd be Beth's frankincense. Thanks to some craftiness by ifinena & Wwindy, I'm lucky enough to have a bit to call my own. I own so many frankincense-based oils, it's really interesting to smell it totally unadulterated. Wet, there's that almost cedary-pickle feel, a bit prickly & sharp. At this stage, I'm reminded of Heavenly Love & Earthly Love, and of Cathedral - it almost feels like sandalwood. After a bit, out blooms this fantastic white resin note, almost a high white floral - this is what the original Aries does on my skin. It's almost gardenia, but with a grounding of crumbly resin & sticky sap. I get bits of sharp woodsmoke, too... Finally, there's the dry-down... all the sharpness & woodiness smooths out, and what's left is a stunning resin-&-skin scent. Sweet, but not sugary, silky smooth like a piece of worn rosin gliding over my wrists, ultimately warm & comforting. This, this is what I was meant to smell like. Thankfully, I amp the bejeezus out of frankincense, so blends like Aries, Heavenly Love, Valentine of Rome & Faustus all dry down to nearly frankincense-single-note, meaning my little dribble of the real thing is all I really need. I will cherish it, though, as much for the scent as for the spirit in which it was given

Cinnamony-vanilla, but not too cloying, thankfully. I get just a trace of pine sap in the crooks of my elbows, none at all on my wrists. It does, however, burn baby burn - looks like I'm getting a bit sensitive to either pine or heavy spices To my nose, it's very similar to Three Witches Revisited - not an exact match, but most definitely in that vein. The drydown is very nice - the medicinal quality of the clove & pine really cut through the sugary sweetness, and the end result is a strangely fresh spice-&-deep-woods feel... a little cottage deep in the forest, a fire in the hearth & the scent of cinnamon cookies wafting through the trees

The prototype bottle I tried at Shelldoo's a few months ago was a dead ringer for Scherezade, but with a trace of fruitiness. I'm finding the actual release formulation a bit different - the red musk acts more like Smut on me than Scherezade...

Ayup - Troll, Stormhold, Djinn, Brimstone... all dirty, gritty, dark scents that would turn heads, for sure. Hurricane, Oblivion, Titus Andronicus, Delphi & Devil's Claw all come to mind, too... If you do decide to venture into LEs, Bonfire Night & Pumpkin Smash are must-trys.

I was ever so slightly nervous about the black musk in Aeronwen - turns out, I needn't have been! For all the heavy, sticky notes in there, Aeronwen is surprisingly fresh & green - the tarragon & fig are most prominent, a beautiful bitter-sweet combination. The orange is pithy, not cloying, and the redwood & resins combine to form a warm, quiet bassline. It's reminding me of a much more wearable Omen or Intrigue - that same black-brown-green feel, minus all the funky masculine notes. (It does burn a tiny bit in the crooks of my elbows - the orange, perhaps?) I'd expected Aeronwen to be sticky & sweet, like my favorite Dalmation fig & orange jam... naturally, I was totally wrong, but what a nice surprise! I don't know that I"ll need a bottle, but I'll enjoy my decant.

I was all ready to slather on Dionysia with wild abandon, but when I opened the imp, there was a note buried in there that made me hesitate... something faintly soapy & woody. Even on my skin, that funky something dominates - where are all the lovely fruits? I'm left with a strangely muddy scent - bone-dry pomegranate, something almost chocolately, and what must be the mahogany driving things into soap territory. Eventually, a trace of spice emerges from the benzoin, & the plum & raspberry peek out, but not enough to banish the overall feeling of weird murkiness. What a disappointment I'm not much for fruity scents, but I was looking forward to a rich, decadent scent for special occasions... instead, I got a very mouldy jar of pomegranate tea. ETA: Something about this felt familiar, but slightly wrong... Dionysia is really similar to Lunar Eclipse on my skin, but missing the rich base notes that made it so yummy.

White sandalwood, patchouli, white amber, orris, bourbon vanilla, champaca flower, and kush. An odd combination on me, largely because I tend to amp orris & champaca - on my skin, Cytherea is a mouth full of violet pastilles & a whiff of pipesmoke. The white sandalwood is pretty aggressive, too, sharp & needly. And yes, it's an incredibly light oil, with very little throw. This would be stunning on the right woman - I can sense the potential for an incredibly sophisticated, 1920s-era scent... it evokes an ivory silk slip dress & marcasite chandelier earrings, a white fox stole & Loius-heeled pumps... Alas, nothing that I'd ever pull off gracefully, much like Cytherea

Mm. Wet, Daiyu reminds me very much of Lady Una - that same sweet berry/fresh musky tea feel. As she dries, though, Daiyu reveals a sharp, tart edge - the contrast is beautiful! I can definitely see the Dorian comparisons - in my mind, Daiyu's what I'd hoped Zephyr would be. Later on, the spicy chrysanthemum peeks out, one of the few florals I can happily wear. If there's jasmine in here, it's very well-disguised - at most, I get a faintly perfumed element to the tea note. I'll have to test Lady Una & Daiyu side by side to determine if I need both in my collection - both are glorious, but tread very similar paths... If the blackberry in Lady Una was a deal-breaker, or if you found it too sweet, definitely try Daiyu... ETA that yes, I decided that I DO need both Daiyu & Lady Una. Repeated wearings have revealed Daiyu's deeper tea notes, and I think a bit of aging has helped them blend more with the acai & white musk. I've reached for this over & over this summer, and it is perfect for September - the days are still very hot, but the nights have a nice chill snap to them. And the chrysanthemums are blooming

Cross-posted from the GC & Disc thread

I was a bit concerned that Eisheth would go super-fruity & sweet, but she's amazingly light on my skin... just a lovely trace of peachy nectar, grounded by the barest hints of cocoa & patchouli. The ambergris & neroli give things just a bit of sparkle. Wow, a total surprise win! I don't think I'll need a bottle, but this is the first in today's Grindhouse testing that I've wanted to keep, so that's saying something

Ummm... yeah, hi, Hyssop. Yeah, it's great to see you too... Hey, do you think you & Lilac could maybe, um, I dunno, keep it down a little? Please? No? OK, OK, no need to drag coconut into this, too. I get the message. Sheesh.

Marcilla, if you aren't one to over-amp the nectarine...

All the references to Red Lantern & Gluttony had me - I abhor that sticky burnt caramel note, as it amps to high heaven on me. But, sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone, so against my better judgement I'm skin-testing Agrat... Argh. SO maddening. The caramel & teak are putting up a thick veil of smoke & scorched sugar - I smell like that day I put a gallon of apple cider on the stove to reduce & promptly forgot about it, returning an hour later to a pot of this bizarre smoking cider charcoal What kills me is that underneath all that horror, I can smell Beth's glorious apple blossom note, and I WANTS IT.

Marcilla's a hyoooge gamble, given my floral-amping chemistry, but she's working surprisingly well. I'm reminded of Her Voice, another floral blend that broke the rules & works for me - there's that same florist's-shop-bouquet element, and the beeswax underscores things nicely. I get just a trace of the nectarine - it's blended so well with the tea & bergamot that it's barely distinguishable... Overall very pretty - much like Angeronalia (another lovely nectarine/floral blend), Marcilla would make a good transitional scent for someone wanting to move away from commercial perfumes. Ultimately, though, she's not quite my cup of tea...

In the bottle, Mead Moon is alarmingly... powdery. And on the wrong week, that powder could go FOOM with my chemistry, I bet. But right now, having applied liberally, I'm sitting in a glorious cloud of HUNNEH. There's a warm sticky element up close, a dead ringer for this hard honey candy I remember from childhood trips to England. The throw, though, is highly perfumed - I'm betting it's the gruit, a lovely mishmash of herby florals with a hint of resinous rosemary. Oh ho, and that must be the sweet-briar, rose-but-not-rose.... I'm getting next to nothing in the spice division, perhaps just a trace of the nutmeg, but only because I know to look for it. No lemon, either. (ETA: Ah, wait, there it is - in the crooks of my elbows only, a tart, zippy lemon with very little throw... wow. It's a totally different scent here compared to on my wrists...) I am on the fence about Mead Moon - it is a lovely, very nostaligic & old-fashioned scent, like some Universal Grandma's scented powder. It is strangely similar to Bastet on me, a heady combination of naive honey & womanly perfume... not my usual fare, but I can see reaching for this on very special occasions, when I want to broadcast an air of languid yet slightly innocent femininity. ETA: Whoa. Several hours & a good bit of physical activity later, Mead Moon has shifted into a decidedly musky scent - honey musk, all sensual & dirty-like... the spices are starting to emerge, too, just a haze of ginger & nutmeg. I keep getting whiffs of it as I move, and it is deliciously distracting.... iiinterstate is right in comparing it to O - Mead Moon's drydown is what O aspires to be

To my nose & with my chemistry, Hay Moon, Bezoar & No. 93 Engine are very similar... all riff on the lemony resin & hay fields theme. Hay Moon's the lightest of the 3, with a slightly sharp lemon/cardamon note while it's wet & very golden, dry hay. Then Bezoar, with sweeter cardamon & a greener hay - there's a slightly creamy back note, too. No. 93 is the heaviest & least grassy, more a whiff of charred fields after a burn-off, with a lot of resins & a good whallop of lemon balm & sage & thick honey. You know what? Throw Mag Mell in here, too - lemon verbena & resins, but wet green grass instead of hay fields.

Hay absolute, tall grasses, dry honey, mallow, cardamom, amber, and wheat. Exactly! Luckily for me, once Hay Moon hits my skin, the aerosol chemical-scent shifts towards a spiced, lemony amber. Still a bit sharp, but it's warming up fast.. a slightly greener, lighter Bezoar/No 93 Engine. The cardamon is what's giving things that almost-soapy edge - it's very much like the flavour you get if you use too much of it in a recipe, and without any other warmer spices to help ground it, it gets a bit overwhelming in the crooks of my elbows. On my wrists, though, I'm getting a better balance, with the hay, grass & wheat the prominent players & just a trace of honey & spice. I'm very happy I didn't get the Amber Powder of DOOM from this, and I feel like there's so much potentially gorgeous about Hay Moon... it's just not there yet. I'll let my bottle rest for a few days & try it again before I make a final decision. ETA: Nope. My nose keeps wanting this to be Bezoar, & gets all disappointed.