sprout

First sniff (lab fresh imp) minty floral Wet: minted rose, floral and citrus like herbal, my guess on notes is sage, a mint-could be catnip, I've never smelled essential oil of catnip, rose and sage Drying: Rose amping but it remains sweet and floral. This would be a freshly bloomed pink rose. No soapy notes or powder. This is a rare rose indeed that stays true on my skin. It does smell like the Victorian rose in Lucy's kiss. Herbal sage note disappears unless that is adding the citrus like lemon note supporting the rose. Drydown: There must be myrrh here. My skin amps it. Its almost cloying in its sweetness. Final squee: a tricky kitty indeed. This is a rose blend that behaves and for that reason alone I may order a bottle. I was having a horrible day and this helped bring some levity to a difficult situation. It is worth having an imp on hand for the mood lifting property but I happen to enjoy how it smells. I have amassed several imps and will keep myself well supplied with this oil.

Yule Cat (source--frimped decant) In vitro: smoky, grassy, VETIVER Wet: Vetiver to the 9th power, "I am Vetiver, hear me ROAR" (think burnt, dry grass that is still smoldering) or a cat rolling in the ashes of a fireplace... Drying: Wafts of Krampus-esque musk, (red and black variety would be my guess) that is strongly dominated by the roaring Vetiver Kitty of Doom. If I try, I get a little moss in there. And a hint of furry musk, like the one in "animalistic blends" Late drydown: Mostly krampus musk with that vetiver note smoking it up--Where's my civet? No cat pee here (I am a wierdo that likes the smell of both civet and eau de skunk--at a distance mind you). The christmas tree (evergreen notes that others smelled) was conspicuously absent on wrist huff but if I let it waft, I get a hint. There is a sweet, almost powdery bit on the drydown also that hints at nonfoody vanilla but isn't quite. If you made me guess, I would wonder if there isn't a smidge of amber in here, but it is probably a resin or my nose interpreting the kitty musk. It is nice, if the vetiver would just allow it some nose space. Final squee: Thankfully, I don't need to hunt down a bottle of this, but if I found one at a reasonable price, I might get grabby for it. For one thing, gotta love the theme: Christmas Kitty <3 I enjoy both black and red musk so this is no exception. I enjoy civet and most "furry" or animalistic musks but they just don't make in as much of a presence as I'd like or I would be obsessing about this. Vetiver amps on me like an evil smoke of doom, but I like the odor, hey, I am one of the few I guess, and so I am comfortable with that but if I wanted single note vetiver, it isn't hard to track down. There is a hint of sweet floral in here as well, not sure if that is the birch or rowan, but I like it as do I like the late hint of powder/amber? whatever resin (orris?, benzoin?)on the drydown. This is well aged, so I cannot expect the vetiver to tame itself much more, but I am still wondering if I should track down some decants of the evil kitty oil. I have a preponderance of sexy, musky, red and black musk type scents so I probably won't drive myself too crazy trying to hunt this down. Or will I? There is still that kute kitty factor. Even though it is an evil kitty.

Rose Cross, a 2nd vote for Thanatos, and Zombi

I really have little to add to bheansidhe's wonderful review. For me, the sandalwood is less incense and more powder. Also, my skin tends to amp rose and I guess rockrose is no exception. I nearly skipped this due to the rose note, but decided to give it a chance and I am so glad I did. I for certain get a non-foody vanilla mixed with fresh laundry--not fabric softner, there is no ozone or detergent/soapiness in this--just like the breeze through freshly laundered clothing or the waft of fresh linens just out of the dryer mixed with a lovely vanilla. It has been too long since I sniffed Antique Lace, so any reference to that would be highly speculative, but I agree this has an Antique Lace "feel" for wont of a word. The benzoin reads as fresh, nonfoody vanilla on me and is a billowy support of the florals which are very subdued and almost minty (rose tends to go minty on me) but the florals are very fleeing and the dry down is cottony vanilla without any cake, floral, or powder. The amber here is very restrained as well, I don't get any incense or golden notes. This is just billowy clouds of translucent vanilla resin with moderate throw. I completely agree with the XYZ Lace family comment and the monikor Psychic Lace works given the transparency, theme of the fragrance, and the bouyancy. This was insta bottle purchase. Since I want to bathe in this, I got an extra, this from a girl who is relatively restrained with getting back ups--only 3 (now 4) in my collection.

Alice: bergamot, carnation, honey and rose Preconceived notions: this is so wildly popular, I expect a somewhat foody floral with vanilla tones In Vitro (well aged bottle): slight citrus, sweet and creamy Wet: Minty tea (wonder where that is coming from!, likely the rose + bergamot), a floral note that smells to me like carnations, and a linen note--wonder if that is the honey variant? Drying: Spicy carnation amps in a good way, the rose note is a no show (thank goodness as my skin usually amps it) and the honey is subdued, not at all like the one in O, this is honey without the sexy Drydown: This is a near to skin scent, that is a creamy carnation predominant floral with some spice coming from what I think is the carnation. They often smell spicy on me, like a whisper of clove gets mixed in there. The "mint note" is gone, not sure what that was--maybe my nose misinterpreting the rose note. There is little morphing after the drydown, it stays close to skin with little throw and doesn't last too long for me. The honey is slightly sweet and well melded with the creamy note. There is a hint of linen like the one in White Rabbit, and it makes me think of a child's hankerchief and I don't know where that is coming from, maybe the honey or the cream being misinterpreted by my wonky nose. Final impressions: Well, this was quite different from what I expected, as I thought it would be more citrus, more honey, more sweet, and more throw. I see the popularity as an innocent, sweet, very close to the skin fragrance that is a whimsical, creamy floral. My bottle is well aged, so I am wondering if the rose did not amp because it was aged out, but also if that is why the honey is so light and the bergamot is not aggressive. I will treasure my bottle and use it on days when I need a comforting skin scent that is innocent and uplifting. I want to compare my aged bottle to a newer imps, as I wonder if the newer oil will have more citrus and the honey more presence. That could also mean the rose will be more pushy, so it could be aging improves Alice for my skin chemistry issues. I was hoping for more sweet honey, but I could see layering it with Mouse's Tale to get vanilla to add sweet, which is what I may do soon.

Preconceived notions were this would be similar to 51, Vampire X, or maybe Kingsport based on based on teh notes, reviews and description theme. Never judge an imp by its description is the take home lesson here. In vitro (decant): aquatic notes, which to my nose hint at honeydew melon, and a hint of ozone (man 'fume = generic "man sport cologne") Wet: As above, the sweetness of the fruit component (no note listed other than ozone, which is actually quite mild here) amps a tiny bit. The "melon" is akin to the one in 51 (as mentioned above) Drying: Initially wet melon, fruit with a sweet and aquatic feel, ozone is curiously missing, unless that is the soap bubbles, which are starting to make their presence known Later drydown: OH HAI SOAPY BUBBLES OF DOOM. NICE TO MEETCHA. As you may have surmised, my skin is amping whatever accord/s are the "clean" and aquatic component here. It could be a skin musk, it could be some type of floral, or it could be aquatic notes but my skin chemistry turns it into a nice albeit ubiquitous and nonspecific clean soap smell. It smells like expensive liquid soap bubbles. Since most of those are scented with musk, I am guessing that is what we are getting here. The lovely melon note fades into the sunset. About a half hour later: Still faintly soapy, with fair throw, and a wood note, which I am guessing is a faint hint of sandalwood, but I am not sophisticated at sniffing out notes so please take my guesses all with a whole shaker of salt, not just a grain. Final impressions: I had no idea that the afterlife was so clean! This does not by any means smell like the philosophy grace series, but it has that feel, of the clean skin, just showered soapy musk without being a ringer for those fragrances. It is perfect for the just showered clean feeling, however, that is not what I am usually looking for in a perfume. I think it would be nice scenting a hair product. As this is a clean scent that doesn't go dryer sheet on me, which oft happens with ozone, and the aquatics are not aggressive, it may fill that niche in my perfume wardrobe, however, hunting down a bottle is not high on my priority list. Should I develop an urge for such a clean fragrance, or should this age so that the lovely honeydew melon develops to last longer, that scentiment may change. I will be swapping the decant most likely. Too many others to love. Durrty and musky is more my thang.

In the (well-aged) imp: green floral, hint of sweet Wet: wrists and inside the elbows: smells like grass. It's slightly sweet, a faint grainy note (I'm guessing sweet grass but I've not sure as I've never smelled it as a single note.) There is a faint floral note also, reminded me of lily but greener and fortunately never became soapy or sharp Drying: Smells like drying grass\hay. Interesting how it seems to dry as the minutes pass, becoming dryer and more acrid. About half an hour into the drydown this morphed considerably and smelled like hay burning then it morphed again and the note compared to brimstone by another review emerged...it definitely smelled burnt, like burning grass I poured through these reviews to try and figure out if anyone else had been able to tell what it is, as there are no notes listed and I wavers between juniper and cedar...with smoky vetiver Final thoughts: I enjoyed this in both the wet and drying phases. I wish the wet phase had more sillage. Juniper is one of my favorite notes. I will certainly hoard imps of this and contemplate a bottle.

Ice from the Kabuki series is a perfect winter air note to this nose.

My best: Fenris wolf, Jersey Devil, Tombstone, Lear, Odin and my personal fave=Loup Garou

Maybe Nyx? Similar notes... . Perhaps Depraved or Ravenous? They smell similar. You may have to layer to get the clove...

preconceived notions: I really wanted to skin test this as I know rose can be a problem note for me, expecting it to be really good (I like myrrh usually) or really overpowering rose imp: mostly myrrh wet: and HELLO rose, very perfumey resinous myrrh in support drying: ROSE, diva that she is, starts on a high note and continues on an ascending scale. Myrrh, usually no wall flower on me, takes a back seat and pretty much just adds powder to the rose drydown: ROSE amping like a MOFO. I may have to scrub this. I really cannot tell this "black rose" from other rose and my nose is not savvy enough to distinguish between types of roses, except I am pretty sure this is a tea rose variant, as it smells of SN tea rose with a powderous resin background, just really smelling more like rose scented talc powder to my (relatively unsophisticated) nose Late drydown: I have no comment, I am going to scrub it off before I get the chance to find out, I cannot stand the overwhelming floral tea rose note and it is giving me a prescription strength headache. Final thoughts: Just, NO. Not for me. If you rightly fear the rose because your skin amps it, well I strongly recommend a decant before you commit to a bottle purchase, because my skin amp'd it like gangbusters. It was ROSE!!! in extremis for me. Which is fine if you like rose single note, however, I really have found I need more complexity for me to like the rose--like some spice or foody accord (Rose Red has worked for me, likely due to the "green" note, Whip works due to the leather, and Othello works, due to the spice, so I don't hate ALL rose blends, promise, but I am very wary of them because of this amp thing that happens, more oft than not. I have to face facts and Rose is usually my KILL note). I was hoping the myrrh would temper things a bit, but this rose is too diva-esque to share the spotlight. This is going to be a scrubber for me. I won't even bother to layer or try to make it work. To be fair, this has not aged at all and maybe the myrrh would develop it some and reading through other reviews, I am the only one who got the extreme rose powder, so it could just be my skin chemistry and YMMV. I am not sure I am brave enough to re-test and I don't have enough in my decant to retry at a later date, so maybe other reviewers can chime in after their oil has aged somewhat. My plan was to test before the bottles became unavailable on teh Lab's site, and as is, I will not be ordering any more of this one. More for you rose lovers, I expect you folks will be tickled pink.

preconceived notions: (did not look at the notes) heavy on the wood, maybe some nuts? Vial: predominantly wood notes, I am guessing pine as it is slightly evergreenish, but mostly newly carved wood Wet (wrists): wood, hamster cage (cedar?), and a hint of evergreen needles, no nuts Drying: I would have guessed this is pine and cedar, which I am guessing is the combo of the frankincense and galbanum notes, it smells like nonfinished wood planks with a fruit back up, looking at the notes I recognize this now as fig, it is a green fig, not overly ripe Final thoughts: I love fig, and I love wood, and I love frankincense, so this was all made of WIN. Drat, this little decant will make me hunt down a bottle. I REALLY love this. (but I am surprised no actual wood notes, like cedar, pine or sandalwood and NO NUTS--what up with that?) I can see this being read as masculine, due to the predominant wood vibe, but I think it could be unisex. This type of blend is right up in my happy zone. Although I wish it had a hint of the dry coconut base that is in Black Pearl--maybe I can layer?

Initial impression: expecting an aquatic with floral component based on notes In vitro: aqueous accord, smells like artificial cucumber or melon (my nose's interpretation you see) plus a hint of ozone, white floral? Wet on wrist: More aquatic note, intensifying (cucumberish, melonish, like body wash or shampoo) plus a floral of some sort Drying: It goes high pitched on me, headache inducing floral, like Hyacinth, which is in the same species as Bluebells per Wikipedia... Dry down: Tons of throw, unfortunately, almost all floral note now, which I am guessing is the Bluebell. On my skin, this is cloying and slightly sweet, reminiscent of early summer blooms Final thoughts: I wanted to love it, but it just did not work on me. For a floral to work it must have some better grounding notes (like sandalwood, moss, or resin) or a spice, like ginger, to temper the sweet of the floral notes. Unfortunately, this smell just evoked the impression of generic floral type body wash scents and was too headache inducing. I must chalk up Bluebell to a note that may be incompatible with my skin chemistry. Well, it is probably for the best, as this has been discontinued, so it is one less rare for me to have to hunt down. (For the record, I am not a floral hater, I do like jasmine, lily, some rose blends, and I love carnation, peonies and orchid generally. Violet is my favorite, and I am fond of daisies, dandelions, daffodils, and, evidently, lilac, wisteria and others. But this floral was not for me. I like some aquatics, but I tend to gravitate towards more foody, resinous, or wood based blends. I am always on the hunt for some nice florals to wear in the Spring, on very hot days, or when I feel like being girly, but this was not the one.) I would consider this as a nice room or bathwater scent, it if hadn't given me a headache, as it did, then I must allow this discontinued precious to be swapped to someone who will love it...

Preconceived notions: I expected this to smell like all of the Rapiccini's Garden of imps in a box, you know the disgusting cacophony of notes when a bunch of imps are together? The decay part has me nervous, I don't want to smell like a bog or swamp. In vitro (imp): sharp ivy dominating a green herbal background (we used to have a wall covered with Boston ivy and I recognize the smell, just like the ivy used to smell in the summers--shady and cool, refreshing and comforting) Wet: Various green, botanical notes which I suck at differentiating, and are well blended, nonspecific (but maybe my untrained nose just lacks the ability to distinguish) Drying: a hint of herbal mint (very ephemeral), an evergreen note that is sharp and almost peppery, that reminds me of the Baneberry from the GC. It is sharp and aggressive and almost evergreenish, but thankfully is also short-lived. I had a headache that lasted a few minutes, before I could go and take a Tylenol, it was gone. The ivy remains, cool, lush, green. Drydown: Smells like botanical skin creams, very nonspecific, but not floral, not evergreen, not sharp, not woody or herbal. Just a background of plants. Cypress note is a no show. Final thoughts: I really liked the late dry down, the wet phase was almost too much and the headache inducing "baneberry" note was almost a deal breaker. I did not get anything like decaying plants, bog, swamp, or floral. If you like the smell of botanical without floral, this is your blend and the cacophony of notes I expected did not happen. I am hoping aging will bring out the Cypress, if so, this would be great. As it smells today, it is like, not love. If I get a bottle or partial, it would not be my priority, but this is because I have quite a few and have to limit my bottles at this point to blends I really love, not just like. Even without the problematic baneberry note, I have to concede that I like it a lot, but it isn't love. The ivy part was really nice and if I could find an ivy predominant blend, I would go for that! If the cypress came out and the ivy continues to predominate, I may change my mind.

Preconceived notions: Expected it to be hazy, resinous, medicinal, and herbal. All these notes are win for me so I don't see it being a "scrubber" (you know the one where you must scrub off right away or feel the urge to anyway) In vitro (imp): Lavender, more herbal than medicinal or floral (lavender can be any of those on me). Dreamy but not hazy. Wet: Lavender overpowers all the other notes initially, but if I huff close to the skin, I think I get the black tea note, and a sweetness which is likely the orange blossom (it is a sweet, non high pitched floral on my skin usually). Still herbal and almost completely dominated by the lavender. Early dry: I can pick up more of the tea and a note that is almost like mint, perhaps the green tea note, mostly lavender becoming slightly less dominant and more tea. Orange blossom still contributing a hint of sweetness to the tea, almost like citrus rind, but it really isn't that strong. It is more floral hint and sweet than acidic or fruit. Drydown: Same as the wet, with slightly less lavender dominance and more black tea. No more mint/green tea. Lavender is relaxing and dreamy, but not hazy or inducing light headedness. Throw is very light and this did not last past 4 hours. Sad face, because I love the scent, wanted it to last. Final thoughts: The "inky resins" are conspicuously absent for me, and my skin usually amps them. No musk notes, no patchouli, no resin of any kind. The herbal lavender with minimal floral note from the orange blossom and the astringency of the black and green tea blend very well and are indeed dreamy and soothing--I wanted to smell this all day and felt it could be used to help with sleep induction. I tried to extend the drydown by layering with unscented lotion, but no dice. I am getting a bottle anyway because this may be my favorite lavender blend to date and I love almost any blend with tea (Bakeneko, White Rabbit, Dorian). I want to figure out how to make it last longer, but I am not opposed to slathering every 3 hours or so if needed. Wondering if a scent locket would help. I wonder if I need more than one bottle? This will be a great comfort scent at night or mixed with lotion. I don't think it would be apparent to anyone else unless they are right next to the spot where the oil was applied, however, so that may be a consideration for some. I expected more bewilderment, befuddlement, or haze and disappointed with no resin, but maybe those will age later? If so, I will definitely multiple bottles! If that happens, this may become HG.

Retested this after it settled some and really glad I did, because I would have given up on it if it hadn't developed, now it is divine and I need a bottle. Preconceived notions: Read description and thought the notes sounded like the other Lace variants, so really excited, and red musk is usually a win. All these notes are made of win, except tobacco which can be either icky or neutral. In vitro: Musk, "perfumey" like a Lancome dept store perfume, maybe Tresor??? Wet on skin (antecubital areas, wrists): Vanilla, wrist huffing musk (guessing red musk as it always induces the urge to huff wrist) with red fruit (checking notes--that would be the currant. Doesn't smell like berries or cherry). I can see the Mme Moriarty comparisons at this point. Drying: A woody scent like celery stalks versus wood chips tries to dominate, I am guess that is the tobacco note/accord, but it is somewhat off putting to my nose. There is an ick factor if I huff up close, but it isn't too bad and smells like generic wood notes at a distance. Waffs at a greater distance than huffing give off a nice musky, red currant, and slightly vanilla odor. Later Drydown: Celery, ick note doesn't last long, thank goodness and may age into a note that is more woody and less like "celery." This is a lovely musky, curranty, vanilla resin. Very good throw for me and lasts hours, at least 8. The patchouli blends in very well with the dark musk and the currant and I can't differentiate it. It does not give the heavy floral vibe or the dirty hippy vibe. FInal thoughts: Very nice blend, minimal problematic notes which I think will age well. I tend to like musky, resinous blends and this is a very good one. I am trying to score a partial bottle and hope it will age to smell like a relative of Mme Moriarty. It isn't a sibling, but maybe a kissing cousin and definitely has the same "Vibe". This is what I expected much of the Ligeia blends to smell like, gothic & dark in extremis, plus sexy and twisted somewhat. In case you wondered, it is more musky, dark, and sexy than sweet, but the vanilla and currant sweeten it some. This may be my favorite of the series although Tumultous Vultures is a close contender and I have not yet tested Strangeness in the Proportion...

Preconceived notions: I expected something ambery, based on the "radiance" in the name, with something opium like, maybe similar to the Laudanum from the GC In vitro: white florals (checking the notes, ah, this is going to be very floral with jasmine, tuberose AND lily). Perhaps I should have paid a bit more attention to the notes rather than the theme... Wet on wrist and antecubital area (the inside crook of the elbow for the non-medical peeps): white florals, green and fresh smelling, I can pick out jasmine most prominently, the tuberose develops later, then last the lily Drying: these florals work for me, I don't get any high pitched notes, soap, or shrieking notes, which is good. I can make out the individual components of all the florals as I am familiar from other blends. I really enjoy lily and the note here is similar to the one in Tumultuous Vultures, very green, fresh and almost buttery. I do not detect anything resembling smoke, opium, or related notes. It lasted at least 8 hours on me, fading slightly but unchanging and was still sniffable if I huffed the application points > 8 hours later, then I showered...low throw/sillage for me Final thoughts: this was fairly one dimensional on my skin and lacking complexity, and the dry down late did not morph or change and was close to the smell wet. this is my skin chemistry, mind you, but these florals are working, and are lovely if lacking depth. I wish I got the opium tar note, perhaps it is a resin that needs curing or ageing to develop? I could layer this with Laudanum to get that effect if not. I don't see me buying a bottle unless this changes with age, simply because I have many florals and they are not really my thing, but if you love white florals, this is superb. I am going to keep this imp and hoard any that come my way for layering purposes as I do think the blend is lovely and it works for my skin. If the opium tar note develops later, I will edit my review and rethink the bottle thing. please don't think my saying I am not going to buy a bottle now means this isn't lovely, it is very pretty and I think I would like to mix my imp in with some unscented hand lotion or use it for layering. I think layered with Yggdrasil or a single note of wood would work very well, or perhaps an incense themed scent. I am just on bottle overload at present and have to save bottle purchases for scents I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and I only Love this a little bit If you find jasmine to be iffy on you, this may be one you pass, but these florals are well behaved for me. slight disappointment for me as this did not suggest radiance, dream, or opium to me, I guess I need to let go of my expectations and just enjoy it for it own loveliness

Late reply but iirc aromatic elixir is a chypre. If you searched review thread with the word chypre it could stimulate some ideas of imps to try...

Hetairae source (lab fresh imp) in the vial: fruity honey (this is fig and honey, but it just smells fruity to me) wet on wrists: patchouli, with a high pitched floral (ylang ylang) which is sweet and cloying drying: spicy clove with ylang ylang and powdery, resinous honey--very well blended late dry down: very resinous, powdery, I would swear it is myrrh but I guess this is the patchouli plus the clove? very sweet with great throw and lasted > 10 hours on me verdict: very lovely, wondering if aging will bring out more of the fig and patchouli. I am contemplating a bottle, but the hoard is growing and I have many honey scents. if this was figgier, there really would be no question, but I will probably end up with a bottle eventually

Urania source (personal bottle) in vitro: Windex? definitely smells like window cleaner fluid, high pitched ozone wet on wrists: green leaves/moss, floral notes (jasmine or lily) and a citrus note which is not listed, so maybe it is part of the "crystal musk" accord? and ozone (unlike other ozone accords, this does not go dryer sheet on me or powdery, it is just clear, cool and crisp) early dry phase: jasmine and crystal musk (forgive my synesthesia but it really does smell chilly and evokes the cold space between stars and a clear night). it is hard to describe how this smells, but it is one of my favorite notes that Beth has created and evokes celestial bodies and a clear night sky... later in the drydown: moonflower and jasmine, a well blended floral with a musk cloud surrounding.. a bit of powder from the orris, but it is faint very little throw and disappears within 4 hours to my sad face, but, an excuse to slather more and get more ozone and clear, crisp musk and jasmine! verdict: this one is quite difficult to describe but just beautiful. i am not big on florals, but I do like jasmine and I do not seem to amp it or get the bad notes mentioned by others. I love the smell of single note moonflower which I can clearly smell here and the "crystal musk" is sublime--must get more of this. Urania captures the muse of the spheres very, very well.

Lurid: source (well aged imp) found it rolling around in my imp box in vitro: Lavendah! herbal lavender, not floral, not too medicinal, somewhat green and calming wet on wrist: soft floral lavender note, woody resin (just a hint) and soil note ( pure speculation on my part, I think the resin here was likely balm of Gilead or something similar, it smelled like fresh evergreen boughs and soil) drying: musky notes, herbal lavender, starting to go slightly soapy, the ozone is missing here, perhaps it has aged out of my ancient imp, a sweet currant note that is just a hint of berry or fruit (I had to look at the notes to see it was currant, I would have guessed berry, but it is faint) late drydown: musk and herbal lavender--no floral notes, no ozone, no haze verdict: I like this imp and want to see if testing other imps gives a different variety. it may well be that the aging process has mellowed out the ozone notes and the fruit (currant). the throw was slight and it did not last long. this will be in my retest group. I don't want to count it out, but it did not wow me. I find the lavender very comforting and this would be a good skin scent to fall asleep whilst sniffing. Edit: since I wrote this review, Lurid has become a favorite of mine. This oil is quite different depending on the age. Whether or not you'll like it probably depends on how you feel about the Lab's white musk. Fresh, I find Lurid too soapy. Very aged, it loses its berry sweet black currant component somewhat. About 12 to 24 months old, Lurid hits a sweet spot and comes together. Lavender and currant combine for a berry sweet lavender herbal heart with flashes of white musk, trust me it isn't as soapy when aged, it's soft and snugly. The ozone mellows out. The resin becomes softer and less evergreen. I've purchased three bottles of this from the forum, as I like it so much.

source: lab fresh imp in vitro: almond and perhaps the moss (I jot down impressions before looking at the notes, my nose read this note as herbal but its the moss) wet on wrists: bitter almond which smells much like fresh almonds to me (my nose often confounds sweet almond oil with cherry, that does not happen here) and a bit of the jasmine and musk early dry phase: soapy musk (unfortunately, it may be that Arabian musk is soap to my nose on my skin chemistry) and a hint of jasmine, the almonds fade pretty quickly drydown: buttery jasmine with soapy musk late drydown: single note jasmine, which is lovely but faint throw average to slight, did not last more than 4-5 hours for me, although the faint dry down was there if I "huffed" my wrist 8 hours later, very faint floral jasmine, slightly buttery verdict: this was not complex enough for me to love it, I would have liked more support of the sandalwood and oakmoss to give weight to the floral jasmine. I am not a jasmine hater, I don't think I amp it as much as others, and I do not think it is the note that has gone "soapy" on me, I believe it is one of the florals constituting the "arabian musk," but not sure. I am going to age the imp a bit to see if the sandalwood and oakmoss develop better as it marinates. If not, I will keep Salome imp for layering purposes, but it needs complexity to intrigue me into buying a bottle. I am a bit disappointed, as I like all these notes, but it really became single note jasmine for me, which was lovely, but not deep or "sexy" as I wanted the scent to be. If the almond note had persisted longer it would have been more interesting or if the moss and sandalwood had made more of a show. Not sure, if the musk is going to go all soapy on me, I am not sure if other notes can save this. I loved the wet phase and the late dry down but the majority of the time it was just too soapy to suit.

in the vial: lab snow note (mint + fruity note (citrus/grapefruit/cucumber) and/ O3/ozone note plus evergreen note (spruce/fir/pine?) similar to Cold Moon wet on wrists: snow note, spruce?, faint ozone? (no fabric softner sheet, thankfully), a hint of violet early dry phase: spruce (or other evergreen note) with violets (no soapiness, no high pitch floral, no dryer sheet) it evokes snow in an evergreen forest with violets peeking through the snow drifts drying: lovely, powdery, slightly sweet orris late drydown: warmth of amber, slightly sweetened by the orris, warm and almost vanilla like, but not foody or floral, powdery and sweet like the bird's feathers..the evergreen and "snow" note are absent Bottleworthy for a certainty. of all the Yules over the years, the Thrush remains my favorite. It could be the poem, as the scent captures it very well I have a thing for birds, and the imagery of the thrush song stirring the hope of Spring through the Winter gloom is certainly romantic so it obviously colors my passion for the creation I may have to get back up bottles so that I may slather

source: an imp from a lovely forumite in the vial: sweet fruit, my nose cannot tell what type, my best guess is honeydew melon (my nose interprets many of the lab snow notes as a blend of melon, or perhaps pineapple, with mint) wet: slight hint of cedar, that was very brief, then powdery, vanilla-esque mint drydown: lovely, minty powder which has a hint of vanilla with an occasional waft of the ?cedar or wood note (my best guess is cedar or sandalwood, but my nose is not very sophisticated at distinguishing) this was not overpowering at all and just a hint. If I had to guess, I would wonder if there isn't some benzoin in here as it was powdery, sweet, and vanilla like, without being foody or floral (no ozone notes either) I thought the throw was light, but I received compliments on the scent, over 8 hours after I had applied, so it lasts and lasts and has good throw verdict: captures the olfactory experience of the loveliness, and fragility of snowflakes. this inspired me to get a bottle

in the bottle: smells a bit like baby oil, good old Johnson and Johnson brand baby oil wet on skin: baby powder mixed with a sweet, slightly vanilla note, recalls to mind Valentine heart candies, powdery, sweet (probably a mix of carnation note, angelica and powder accord) drying phase: lavender with a honey note, mostly sweet baby smell with creamy honey and a lavender note that blends in with the carnation, which on me smells almost citrus like, rather than spicy as it usually does but this could also be the orris, it sometimes smells a bit citrus like with my skin chemistry. Orris is one of my favorite notes on a dry down and this is no exception, it carries the baby powder vibe very well very light throw and lasted about 4-5 hours sage never made an appearance for me ;( and the rose never amped, thank goodness this was a very lovely smell, bottle worthy but it would need better throw to be HG status for me, still I will treasure the bottle and save it for days when I want a soft, sweet, comforting skin scent