Follow My Nose

This is a deliciously creamy coconut-vanilla scent. The sandalwood and orris are a soft, powdery backup for the main players. It kind of reminds me of Mexican coconut candy, which I love. Like VetchVesper said above, this is light enough to pair with a wide variety of scent combos. Just delicious-smelling and perfect for summer coming up for those of us in the Northern hemisphere.

I'm not familiar with most of these plant scents, but this is exactly what I imagine a perfect desert perfume would be. Wet on my skin, this start out as slightly floral and green, but dusty herbal notes and dry woods quickly come to the front and make this a deeper and more complex scent. Everything comes together in a smooth, warm balance when it's dry. Colemanite is the dry sands and rocks of the desert, but also the green life that thrives there. It is quite lovely and unique, and brings a different note to the foreground every time I sniff it.

This is really lovely and unique! At first, it's just a nice strong ambergris, which may be where some folks' skin chemistry brings out a ghost of corn chips, but it settles down into a fresh, salty, sandy scent that doesn't separate into individual notes. It's aquatic but sunny, clean but strangely earthy, like opposites joined so smoothly they form something new and strangely comforting. I've only visited the desert once, and it was in the winter, but this scent definitely makes me think of warm sand and golden sunshine, and an aquatic saltiness without the "aqua" part.

First impression out of the decant: a beautiful deep blue musk, soft, clean, and cool, but not chilly As it dries, a subtle, pretty white floral note pops up, and something tickling in the background that reminds me of a sweet oud, maybe?, but not strong; then a sheer powdery overlay mists around the edges Overall impression: just as the description says, a clean, sweet, musk that reads as a pure deep blue A perfectly lovely representation of this rare and gorgeous blue gemstone! (seriously, look up some pictures of this stone)

Lavender and Snake Oil are absolutely lovely together! I can smell light sugary cotton candy and rosewater (one of the rose-based notes that usually works on me), and a hint of powdery honey that all come out during drydown. Those three serve as backup dancers for the Snake Oil/lavender duet. This is so gorgeous, I think I need to gather funds for a full bottle, even though I'm trying to limit myself to only decants for a while.

This is exactly as described and I'm so tickled with it. Crusty, fresh-baked bread with honey, yum! The scent stays true on my skin through the drydown and has medium throw and wear length. I don't always go for straight-up foodie scents, but this one is unique, warm, and lovely!

My skin reacted differently to this scent than other folks & went through a few interesting stages. On first application, it was buttery popcorn with smooth, warm oak and an undefined sweetness underneath. As it dried, the Dorian, lavender, and vanilla came out right away, reminding me of The Serpentine. Beeswax and Snake Oil immediately followed but remained in the background. It quickly all blended together into a lovely sweet blend of all the notes with Dorian most prominent. Sadly, after it dried completely, the lavender and popcorn faded away on my skin. It's still gorgeous, but I did love the popcorn! Apparently, so did my skin, since it ate it all up. Although I'm still smelling a faint buttery note which compliments the rest of the scent. Leftover popcorn, maybe?

My favorite peach-forward scent! On first application, it's a pop of juicy, golden peach, then the soft chypre notes start to come out immediately as it dries. After it's dry, the soft mosses and woods ground the fresh peach, while it still remains a strong note, and it's complimented by subtle citrus. I can't claim to recognize all the notes of a typical chypre, but I think they turn a sweet fruity scent into something much more sophisticated and subtle. It's soft & fresh, but has great staying power on my skin, which tends to eat most lighter perfumes. Definitely a lovely scent for a great cause!

I'm usually cautious about peach blends, since it amps slightly on my skin, but this peach is well-behaved on me & I'm so glad I took a chance on it! Wet, I notice the soft peach/apricot, softly smoky incense, and a faint sweet rose at first. During and after drydown, all the notes come out and blend perfectly together: the oud is soft and grounding, and slightly smoky; the amber and frankincense add some warm, soft powderiness; musk is sweet and fairly light; peach and rose stay present, but the peach is well-blended and the rose is light; the honey is rich and sweet, but not overpowering. Overall, it is sweet and creamy with a touch of powder & smoke, a bright, hopeful blend with soft strength underneath. Makes me think of a warm, golden-peach color with amber-brown at the base, like a late sunset (appropriate for the concept, I think 😉 ). This is an absolutely gorgeous honeyed incense with a serving of peach on the top, and very joyful, as others have said.

Lavender-lovers, grab a bottle of this! In the bottle and on first application, it's pure lavender, as if I smushed my face into a handful of fresh-blooming stalks from my mom's garden. As it dries, the brightness of the lavender smooths out and blends seamlessly with the other notes. The pale woods come in first, and they are soft, light wood notes, no strong pine or oak, just a pleasant grounding base for the more herbal and floral notes. I don't know if my nose is good enough to recognize rockrose specifically, but there's definitely a warm golden floral that comes in and makes this into an incredibly lovely blend. I think this scent is neither "feminine" nor "masculine," but reads as gender-neutral. No Coward Soul Is Mine is a soft, soothing scent that stays fairly close to the skin, but has great lasting power (my skin usually "eats" softer scents within an hour or two). I'm definitely glad I blind-bottled this one to add to my lavender-based scents!

[No additional description provided.] I don't think I've ever been first before, but this atmo is so perfect for the fall season, I wanted to give it some love here. On first spritzing, this starts out mostly cinnamon, not too sharp or overpowering, just nice warm spice. The cocoa comes out quickly, not a chocolate-heavy scent, but dry cocoa powder in the background. As it dries, the dead leaves make their appearance, but stay behind the cinnamon with the cocoa, filling out the scent with a warm, soft woodsiness. This is perfect for evoking crisp autumn days, having a cup of spiced cocoa after a walk through the woods, fallen leaves still stuck to your sweater.

It may just be the way my skin chemistry interacts with this scent, but I totally get Streets of Detroit mixed with pumpkin pie filling. It's gorgeous and unusual! The pumpkin and spice pops up right away, but softens as this dries, giving more focus to the dark musk and oudh notes. The scent stays really well-blended, and has good throw & staying power. If you are a fan of Streets and pumpkin, you need to try this one!

[No additional description given.] Wow, I've never been first to review before, but this one definitely deserves some love! It smells exactly like the description, a perfect blend of dark chocolate and sweet orange, slightly heavier on the chocolate. It is so rich and delicious-smelling, it reminds me of those chocolate oranges I always drool over at Christmas time. Just like the other Post bath oils I've tried (I usually use them as lotions), this is super-softening and soaks in to the skin quickly, leaving no greasy residue. I just slathered this all over me after my shower and am happily swathed in a cloud of moisturizing yumminess, craving sweets. Chocolate lovers, grab some of this!

This sounded like such an interesting combination - icy/frosty notes with ambergris? - that I had to try a decant. It was instant love. In imp and wet on skin: icy notes with the animalic scents, pine & a hint of mint Drydown: I keep getting a whiff of something lovely and shoving my nose into my arm where I tested this; this is turning into something gorgeous! Dry: This ends up as a minty, slightly sweet snow note over a warm blend of ambergris, musk, cypress, and amber. A great translation of concept into scent, smells wild and powerful, sexy and slightly masculine. I would love to smell this on a sexy guy, right before I get him into bed. I still can't stop huffing my arm!

As a diehard jasmine lover, I am in heaven. In the bottle and wet on skin - Straight up jasmine! Yes, this was exactly what I was hoping for. During drydown - more jasmine (does happy jasmine dance, it's very sensuous, there are veils involved) When dry - Jasmine, vivant! This scent stays true from start to finish, and it's such a lovely pure jasmine single note without being too heavy. It reminds me of the overgrown jasmine vines my mother has growing on her back porch. So glad I blind-bottled this, now I want to bathe in it. Winter Jasmine bath oil? Anyone?

This is my ultimate autumn scent! Seriously, I need October Dusk perfume oil, hair gloss, and atmo spray, as well. Maybe next year? Maple is the predominant note, but is nicely balanced by the dry wood and a touch of honey. I'm not sure my nose recognizes saffron, but if it's in this, it must be lovely. The whole is such a cozy, golden-brown scent. This reminds me of growing up in Michigan and helping my aunt harvest sap from the maple trees in her woods and smell the rich brown sweetness come out as it got boiled down into syrup.

This perfume is true to the description and doesn't change much at all in the drydown on my skin. Juicy, tart pomegranate with a soft, light incense adding a slightly smoky veil over the top. Sweet, rich, and sexy - brings to mind the image of dark red pom seeds in an antique silver dish. If you are a pomegranate fan, you'll want a bottle of this for your collection. Delicious!

In the bottle: I get a strong "green" scent, with slight hints of floral and dirt, probably from the poppies and patchouli. Wet on skin: Vetiver is definitely the main note, the green variety with minimal smokiness. I can see where people are getting an aquatic feel from this, sort of fresh and watery. During drydown: Aha, there are the earthy notes coming out to play, especially sandalwood and a hint of something cedar-ish. I'm not very familiar with oudh, I wonder if it could be that. I also smell a faint hint of something like black pepper, could be the patch or maybe the ivy. When dry: The sandalwood blends all of the other notes together to make a smooth, lovely perfume that is green and aquatic on top with an earthy base, like a reverse of the sea-goat. It is almost an early spring woods feeling for this winter sign, like the first melt in a forest. This was a blind buy for me, since it's my zodiac scent. Naturally, I was hoping to like it, and vetiver and sandalwood are both great notes for me, but I was pleasantly surprised to really fall in love with it! Capricorn 2016 is quite unisex and uniquely sexy. It has nice depth while remaining soft, and there are many subtle layers to this scent, much like us Capricorns.

This bath oil smells sooo delicious, I'm glad I blind-bought a bottle! I tested this as a moisturizer, since that's how I use bath oils most of the time. To my nose, the main note is sweet, buttery shortbread cookies, with rich hot cocoa as a backup player. The two compliment each other beautifully! Now I want to learn how to make homemade shortbread, so that sweet, buttery smell can waft through my whole house.

Ahh, this is the perfect winter atmo I was hoping for! It smells like a fresh, snowy pine forest with a strong sweetness to it, probably from the sugar cookie. I don't pick up any cinnamon, but there is a light, almost fruity, floral note that I think is the heliotrope. The scent remains true as it dries on fabric. This has been on my pillows for the entire holiday - like BetteNoire said, it reminds me of childhood Christmases.

With my bottle of Jólabókaflóðið, I got a paperback copy of First Rider's Call by Kristen Britain, a new fantasy author for me. I look forward to checking her out! In the bottle: I smell all chocolate and, interestingly, a light floral Wet on skin: the floral becomes stronger than the chocolate; it's a dry, papery, white floral, the candlewax makes an appearance, too During drydown: the mysterious floral note gets lighter and reminds me of perfumed paper, like a love letter; soft leather bindings make their appearance, making the scent warmer and deeper; the chocolate backs down a bit and the hearth smoke pops in When dry: I can pick up an even blend of smoke, candlewax, old leather-bound books, and chocolate This is so lovely, and a perfect scent representation of reading books by the fireplace while eating chocolate cake. I've found a new book scent to fall in love with!

Immediately on my skin, I get cocoa-powder-dusted pine, a somewhat unusual combo but quite pleasant. Then the warm, sweet hazelnut comes out and starts blending and smoothing the other notes together. Like others have said, it's kind of like nutella, but the pine keeps it from being a straight-up foody scent. It's still yummy, though! Now I think the tonka is coming out and that can be unpredictable on my skin. We'll see what it does. After drydown, the tonka stays subtle, but adds some spice to the sweet hazelnut. This is a warm, yummy blend, great if you like sweet scents that are more complex than a straight gourmand.

In the imp and when I first apply it, I mostly get straight-up rose. It's a powdery, light rose with a faint hint of something almost citrusy on the edges. After a minute, I detect a faint whiff of incense in the background, I think it's predominantly the frankincense. As it dries, I'm picking up a smooth, warm leather note hovering, but it's still fairly faint, while the incense is picking up strength. The citrus edge I smelled at first has disappeared. The rose note reminds me of a rose-scented powder I used to wear, soft and light and kind of old-fashioned, like a proper Victorian lady would wear. I was sad that the candlewax never showed up on my skin. There's a faint, "dusty book" feeling to it, but the leather just doesn't show up much on my skin either. After an hour, this is mostly a pretty, powdery rose on me, with light incense backing it up.

Wet, this one is a slightly spicy, light sandalwood. The musk and vanilla come out very early and are noticeable supporting cast for the main sandalwood note, which gains in strength and depth. The musk is soft and "white," and the vanilla is dry and spicy rather than warm and juicy. After an hour, this is a steady scent from start to finish, no morphing on me, and is a lovely dry sandalwood. It has good throw and longevity and a nice strength to the blend, very appropriate for the Reaper. I am definitely reminded of ancient bones shrouded in shadowy robes. If you are a sandalwood lover, grab this one now!

I had a similar scent experience as LiberAmoris above, a well-balanced pairing of rich chocolate and jasmine, with marshmallow and orange blossom as supporting players. The background notes made it sweeter and added a faint citrusy spice. This scent stayed true to the wet phase as it dried on me, and while it lessened in strength, it still lingered for a few hours and had a medium throw. I think this one may be my surprise favorite of the Lupers, since I adore both chocolate and jasmine and never thought of combining the two in one lovely, yummy scent! Definitely a bottle buy for me! <3