stellans

I really love Wolf Moon 2007, so when I had the chance to score a bottle of the earlier release, I jumped on it like a hen on a june bug! Although the official description of both incarnations is the same, the scents are different...different like a winter and summer version, imo. The 2007 version, the one I first loved, is a much stronger, heavier version - what I am now thinking of as the 'winter' version, as it seems to have more heft, more fur, more pine, and a much colder aquatic note, as in snow. The 2004 version has the same pine and cool aquatic note but it's rain rather than snow, not nearly as much pine, and all in all a much lighter oil. I like it very much, and will forever be grateful to the eBayer who sold it.

I ordered this blend even though the first note listed is the temperamental jasmine because the story behind it was so very appealing...and I knew the label art would be amazing -- and it is, it is! And surprisingly, the jasmine is playing nicely with me this morning! Woo-hoo!

 

True to the description, jasmine is the first note I sniff both in the bottle and on my skin. The vanilla is in there, lending a bit of sultry sweetness, but it’s the lime and margaritas which really sell this blend on me. Oh my, yes -- I’m a lime-a-holic, and that’s probably why the jasmine works for me in this blend That, and the jasmine’s not lingering past the initial 10 minutes or so. The lime, Dorian’s creamy tea goodness and Snake Oil’s sensual goodness help forestall the possibility of jasmine rebellion, and keep it safely (for me) in the background. Yay!

 

Even had this blend not worked well, I would keep the bottle because that happy little baby face just makes me go weak at the knees and all pudding-soft in the heart. I'm so happy I can wear the scent as well as enjoy the label art. Win-win, w00t!

I spent today wandering around in a happy haze of roses, lilies and dirt! No, really...roses, lilies and dirt, and they all played well together on my skin and made me happy. Madeline is a soft, sad scent but it made me happy because I loved how I smelled wearing it. The white rose in this blend is superb, the calla lily is well-done, and the dirt note is just enough for a nice accent, and there's a slight underpinning of wood as well. I really didn't smell any myrrh, which is unusual with a blend in which myrrh is listed as a note because while I don't amp myrrh, I always can tell it's around. The ivy note is also slight, but the green is there and lends itself quite well to the blend. This was a lucky purchase, because I foolishly thought I had enough rose blends. Silly me...what was I thinking?

I bought a bunch of strawberries from a local farm this week, and I was so happy to realize that my first whiff of Strawberry Moon 2009 smells just like that flat of fresh strawberries. Last night was amazing, falling asleep with the luscious scent of a ripe strawberry in my nostrils... the whole berry, stems and leaves, and yes, blossom. I really didn't smell much dandelion at all this time, so maybe that will come out more as the oil ages. The throw is more than sufficient for sleeping, and the stay is as well. I could still smell whiffs of strawberry goodness this morning, not strong but it was there. Glad I have 2 bottles!

that was the cutest photo! "Lilith and the Mask" or "Lilith and Freddie" -- either one FTW!

I love the Lab's mechanized notes, and even the ozone was kind to me in this blend. This particular mechanical type blend doesn't have the 'hot metal' note that some of the Phoenix Steamworks blends do; rather, this metal is cool, maybe a bit shiny but not too much. It dries down to a very nice slightly watery floral/metallic blend which seemed very suitable to the gray rainy day I wore it. I would classify this scent is a gender-neutral.

Soft, gentle but bright floral, perfect for a quiet contemplative day. Too bad today isn’t such a day for me, but it’s not this blend’s fault. However stressed out I may be, this blend is a nice way to calm down, to center myself, to remember “it is as it is” and “what will be, will be.” Yes. This blend is perfect for that, and now I’m going outside to sit in my garden.

2008 release: Lovely bright combination makes me so very happy! As I’ve said in reviews of other blends, amber is not always my friend, but when amber plays nicely the result is amazing. There is a wonderful earthiness in this blend (the tonka, no doubt), and I’m not exactly sure what costus is nor what galbanum brings to the party, but the slight sweetness that is the rockrose makes this a sunny blend for a sunny day.

Amber has reared its ugly plastic head on my skin in this blend. I had to take this off quickly to avoid the dreaded plastic headache, but I'm going to keep the bottle and try again later and hope for a better reaction. It wasn't like this when I used the decant...I hate when this happens!

Lavender-a-mundo! It’s obvious that lavender is going to be the major note in this blend because that’s pretty much all I smell...until it mellows a bit and the frankincense (and maybe a leeeetle bit of orchid) shows up. There is a certain depth to this that isn’t in some of the other blends claiming lavender as the top note, and I think it’s thanks to the frankincense. I like this very much, and I really need to wear it more often than just in May. However, I do think that age has made this a much better blend, as I remember an off-putting sharpness when I first tried this back in 2007 that has given way to a lovely, smooth blend that I enjoy wearing. It has great throw and good stay, so this blend receives a 4 of 5 stars from me.

The lemon flower is very much in evidence on first application, but it doesn’t amp up unbearably on me, as citrus (especially anything lemon) is apt to do. The musk vanilla and the various floral notes all combine nicely to make this a very bright and happy blend, and while I was hoping for a smoky or incense-y blend, this is nice on me. It smells like a Saturday one spends outside in the yard, or at the farmers market, or at a...carnival! The outside part, though, not any of the tent shows...

Good throw, medium stay...3 of 5 stars for this nice blend.

Aquatic/ozone notes are not always kind to me, as they mostly end up smelling like men's aftershave. There are a few exceptions, and I'm very happy that The Phoenix is evidently one. The salt water, lime, blood, wood and Snake Oil (gunpowder is a no-show on me) add up to something which smells amazing on me. It's fresh, slightly citrus-y, and just a little sinister. Yum! Bring me Johnny Depp and make it snappy!

 

ETA: Sadly, with the change in medication, like so many other once-favorite blends this one no longer works for me. Now it's all aftershave, all the time. And when it dries? It's dry aftershave. Hold the Johnny Depp. No, never mind: let him console me!

For whatever reason, today my skin chemistry firmly rejected wearing this blend. I bought a bottle after falling in love with a decant (and it was a fresh decant from a fresh bottle, so no aging was in play), but I think once again my change in medication is wreaking havoc with which blends work on me and which do not. The florals turn a horrid plastic-y, headache-inducing miasma on me...and that is so not how it used to be! I hate that this is happening, and that there seems to be not a lot of rhyme nor reason to which or why. *sigh*

I get no discernible florals in this blend, but rather a plethora of different greens: grasses, stems, leaves... everything green! There's even the slightest undernote of something dryer, like bark maybe? I like this blend very much, too much to relegate it to the specials box, to be worn only on Election Day. In my Triple Dagger locket, the greens are more pronounced than on my skin, and have a sharper edge. A blade of grass can cut too...

This blend starts with a bit of sourness which almost calls to mind a bad jasmine reaction, but it passes quickly, thank goodness. The opium may not be a favorite note, but in this blend it seems to work quite nicely with the narcissus (this I do like) and the myrrh (and this I like as well). The sourness I mentioned before gives way to a very nice resin (the myrhh) which is not in the least spoiled by the narcissus; rather, the light floral note serves to lighten the myrrh just a bit, which in this case was needed, IMO. This blend definitely lives up to its name, as it definitely calls gloom to mind, but it’s a lovely blend for any season.

 

Oh, and mine is a cobalt bottle, at least as old as 2005... I don't know how I'd react to a newer version.

This scent was instant love for me, because it called forth all the wonderful memories of my babies: soft powder, milk and honey with a light overtone of lavender and a couple of other herbs. It's just perfect...as a lovely memory. As a perfume, it is softly sweet, barely there at all and then it disappears quickly. The honey does not overpower, the milk does not curdle, and the powder does not go all dry: it is a lovely, lovely blend. It just doesn't last very long. But it's so pretty while it does last that it's a keeper for me. Well, that and the part about it reminding me of when I had little ones still.

Oh, yes! Lovely, lovely grapefruit: my 2nd-only-to-lime favorite citrus note, and this note doesn't sting your nose with the bitterness of the rind, oh no, just the tastiness of the tender fruit. The white tea (no tannin here!) and very light, sweet appleblossom are wonderful additional notes in this blend, each lending a particular smoothing sweetness. I don’t smell any ginger, but that’s my own personal skin chemistry: either it dominates or it disappears. This blend is light and refreshing; perfect for a warm spring or hot summer day, with moderate throw and stay; this rates a 4 of 5 stars to me.

I’m not big on cream notes (Chaste Moon is one of the few exceptions), but in this blend the cream accord doesn’t slap me in the face like, say, Milk Moon does. Instead, it provides a smooth base from which the rose and orchid can play nicely with the musk, all to make me feel cherished and loved. Nothing strident, nothing forceful...just soft and gentle loveliness. Absolutely perfect for a slow, lazy Sunday with Mr. Stellans...

To me, this smells of a spring breeze blowing through freshly washed curtains and stirring the lovely bouquet on recently polished table. I don’t smell much floral at all, and there is a definite aquatic note, but there is something deeper underneath which only really comes out as the oil settles in with my skin chemistry.

From reading prior reviews, I was afraid this would turn all men’s cologne/aftershave on me, but it didn’t! The aquatic note was just enough to keep it fresh; the very slight citrusy tang (verbena, I think) is only there to brighten the woody notes, and lastly, the deeper part ...I can’t quite identify it (sandalwood? Maybe.) but it’s very, very nice. This is something I will wear again, especially on hot days -- it’s that refreshing, and I love it.

I opened the bottle, and was overwhelmed with the strong medicinal smell. I almost closed it right then and there without even dabbing a bit on my skin, but persevered. It stayed medicinal for what seemed a lifetime; finally, it tamed down to a very nice sweetly herbal blend that I actually like, but man! I don't know if I can make it through the medicine phase every time I wear this Bat! I'm thinking that maybe the Juniper/Juniper Berry notes listed are mixing in a not-too-good way with the sassafrass to make that medicinal smell; if so, it's not likely to get better with age. However, the loveliness of the herbs and fig notes as it blends with my personal chemistry is very nice indeed, and the throw is moderately good, plus the staying power is good -- so I am hanging on to this bottle. It doesn't do too well in my Forbidden Brides locket, where there is no skin contact to help it morph, however.

WHOA! I'm slapped hard with <i>green</i> (???) lavender and citrus! The two herbal giants of this blend are fighting it out on my skin while the other notes seem content to remain as spectators only. And unfortunately for me, verbena seems the most likely to come out on top in this grudge match, because while I am a huge fan of lavender, verbena (like most citrus notes) amps up on me to an unbearablely serrated edge to my nose. As the oil melded with my skin chemistry, I kept sniffing and hoping for...what? I don't know but I got it: the amber (which doesn't always behave on my skin) and the peach sneaked up and took over! Yes...as the oil dried down, both the lavender and verbena took themselves off in a...snit? Who knows?... and let the amber and peach play gently together, then fade into nothingness. And this all happens within a 2-hour span. So far in my Wufu experience, only Bat of Wealth has exhibited any long staying power, but this Longevity is second, at least, and it smells good on me. 3 of 5 stars for this Bat.

Bright strawberry immediately makes me smile when I open the bottle, and that alone makes me glad I have this particular Bat. Even when applied, the strawberry continues, only now the slightly smoky incense note of frankincense comes out to play, and it is even better than just the plain strawberry note. Unfortunately, though the throw is moderately good the staying power is totally nil. As in, it doesn't last beyond the first 30 minutes of application on me. Darn it.

When opening the bottle, I got a strong blast of...berry??? Hey, I was expecting pomegranate! Then I dabbed some on, and was immediately calmed down, because there was my longed-for pomegranate -- along with lovely patchouli and a bit of bergamot as well! Yum, yum, yum! As my good friend, The_Witching_Hour said, this is what Agony of Heartache should have been, but just missed the mark (imo, the citrus notes did something strange in that blend).

 

The throw is medium, not overpowering but not gone, the stay (so far) is quite good. It's been a couple of hours since first application, and so far no diminishing in its lovely scent. The patchouli and bergamot keep the pomegranate from being too sweet, and the pomegranate keep the others from being too 'earthy,' and will make this blend acceptable to many who might otherwise dislike it. And upon drydown, a bit of the heliotrope mentioned peeks out, thereby completing this scent experience in a wholly delightful way. 5 of 5 stars!

 

(Please excuse the slight dip into formality; I'm reading Pride and Prejudice again.)

This light resinous blend is pretty indicative of its name, IMO: the cedar could be that of a casket; the coconut, sweet peace of release; and the spices sound like those once used in wrapping cloths. All together they make for a really nice scent...which unfortunately has practically no throw and doesn't last beyond its first hour following application. Not much scent escapes even my White Rabbit scent locket, though it does last longer there than on my skin, and the cedar is a bit more prominent. 1 out of 5 stars