VetchVesper

Buttery, rich sandalwood at first. Very Indian. Then it starts to go musty/dusty, and I'm digging it less. The violet I'm getting is sort of mentholy and green? Not really pleasant. ? Ok. Now I'm looking at the notes. I think that "sandalwood" I was picking up on must be the cedar - whiiiich hates my chemistry. So that explains the musty/dusty yuck. Sigh. I'm guessing if cedar works for you, this would be really nice, especially if you like old world incensey smells. The opening had promise. I don't get any p'oud, but I do get something akin to "red" oudh... which is another note that rarely works for me. The violet I detect is far from the floral tone I was expecting and hoping for. This one's not for me. But, if you like cedar, red oudh, and deep woody scents without the alpine feel, this is probably worth a whirl. I'd actually really like to smell it on someone with different chemistry. I think it might work well as a masculine blend too.

Weird. Sort of rubbery and fruity, with overtones of honey and lychee. Those are my 1st impressions, before looking at the notes. There's also a smoky undertone that reminds me of a floral caramel. Ok, looking at the notes after giving this a couple of minutes on my skin, the smoky-sweet aspect is still there, and is becoming recognisable as a dusty candle wax. The floral, fruity, and honey tones are gone, but so is the weird artificial smell. I'm getting a lot more resin, the opopponax, I think. I think I'm also getting a good amount of linden blossom. I haven't had a lot of experience with the note, but I think I recognize it, and I'm suspecting it's not something I really care for. ? It's sort of fresh, bright, and woody. A little green and a little soapy. This one's definitely different. The dusty wax and thick resins don't really gel for me with that brighter linden blossom.

This brings me back to the 80's with memories of citrusy scratch'n sniff stickers and Tang powder. It's sugar orange powder up front, maybe with some pale vanilla in the background. Then something begins to emerge from beneath the bright top notes. Something sort of bitter and woody. I might be getting a hint of strawberry too? I never get bubble gum from this. Candy, yes. The powdery kind with lots of citric acid. The beginning stages make me smile, but whatever is murking things up in the dry down puts a damper on this being a love. This Caroline will have to find her mojo elsewhere.

This smells like it has a smooth, understated cedar to me, but I guess its the sandalwood mixing with something. I do smell the dry orris. The coconut is prominent, dry, and non-tropical. This is sort of a non-foody cousin to Goblin. It's very "brown" smelling, has a nice weight, but could still be worn in the summer. I think guys or girls could pull it off.

This is a bright, clean rose scent at first. It's very pure smelling, sweet, and almost astringent. After a few minutes, a warm spiciness starts to tinge a still very dominant rose. If there's any soapiness, for me it emerges during the dry down, when the other floral comes into play. Muguet, I'm looking at you. O_-- It's still pleasant though, and much less soapy that I usually get from lily of the valley. In fact, this stage settles down pretty quickly, leaving me with a soft, well balanced blending of the two florals. The other notes lend a smoothness and maturity to the fragrance without detracting from its two main player. I get a somber feel from this one. It doesn't smell like an old lady, but neither is it a bright-eyed spring bouquet. Not me, but pretty, and well worth a try to those who like lily of the valley.

I smell cucumber and cold coffee, specifically the cucumbery smell in some of the plasticy perfumes like Polyester Spiderweb. A little later I start to get supple leather, and then the plastic cucumber becomes more of an ink smell. I'm not getting much coffee anymore. Just leather, ink, and something smoky. It's an interesting blend, but not something I'd wear, and once I've got plastic cucumber in my brain, it's hard to think of old books. ETA - After reading all the other reviews, I was thinking I might be insane, but thank you Starbrow. Cucumbers! I swear. O_O

This is a really interesting atmospheric, and I would never expect to enjoy the smell of wet green, butter, and old cigarette smoke, but I do. When I got my decant of this a little bit had seeped out into the package and everything smelled like buttery sugar cookies with a faint hint of cigarette. Sort of like a smoker with freshly washed hands had given me a cookie. Now that's its had time to settle, Mr. Nancy's House is all greenery and cigarette when it's first sprayed with no cookie in sniff. Which makes it really odd when those cookies reappear in dry down. They are still a faint whiff though behind the verdant greenery. As a Texan, I am QUITE familiar with palmetto bugs and am VERY GLAD I don't know what they smell like and do not smell them in this! But the greenery that's present does remind me of the humid, wet kind you would find things scuttling in. I'll enjoy my decant of this when I want something different and somewhat masculine. I also wonder if it might help mask the odor of real cigarette smoke, or at least make it more pleasant. I'm not a smoker, but I know some people have a certain nostalgia for the smell, and I could see how this could be a nice, non-carcinogenic way to get it.

Frankincense and rock-rose is what I primarily get. If you're looking for a rose blend, you might be disappointed. This is a dark, resinous blend in the vein of Ecclesiophobia and other "churchy" incenses. I don't really get any kind of cool, stone vibe, but this works nicely with the Gothic gargoyle image. I prefer my incenses to be more of the hippy and opium den variety though. ?

For me this is all about the black currant, which is interesting b/c it's definitely a juicy, berryish black currant, and that's usually not how the note smells on me. I'm used to getting a dark huskiness that I enjoy but has never struck me as fruity. Here, it's fruity. I'm also getting some nice sandalwood and amber balancing and grounding things. This is a sensible fruitiness, more fall than summer. I get a bit of vanilla sweetening things up, but it remains in the background and is not the foody variety. Check this one out if you're a black currant fan, or like darker fruit blends with a hint of incense.

This starts out with a kick of clove and an almost bubble-gummy sugariness, but it evolves into a creamy carnation scent. The sandalwood stays in the background but smooths things out, and the clove and more spicy aspects of the carnation are subdued. I get very little vanilla and no detectable muguet. Pretty, but I have other carnations scents I like better.

It's lasting on my skin. Haven't tried it in my hair yet. Creamy, sweet strawberry similar to the one in Rope Pulley but less in your face confection. The amber and chypre make this a bit more complex, but it's still very pink and sweet. It's soft and creamy in the dry down, but more like a mossy smoothness than a foodie "creme." Lovely.

Bubblegum. So much creamy, pink bubblegum. All I can smell at first. Then peach bubblegum. In the water, I think this might become more peachy, and yes, it's more of a firm fleshed, cleanly sweet nectarine vs. a super fruity, ripe and russet peach. Oddly, when I go back to smelling the oil strait from the bottle, I get nothing but sweet vanilla cream. I guess my nose is full up on peach. This would pair beautifully with Egoyomi, and if you're a fan of one, you should try the other.

Yet another shunga I'm adoring from this years Luper release. Beautiful, smooth sandalwood and a rich, verging on foody vanilla at first. The opening stages smell almost nutty to me. As it dries down, the copal and patch come through, the foodiness subsides, and this becomes more of an earthy incense. Finally, the sandalwood and smooth patchouli take center stage. An unusual incense blend that smells very Asian to me. If you are a fan of copal or sandalwood, try this one. This will age gloriously, and a bottle goes on my list.

This is GLORIOUS! I do LOVE me some incense though. ? I get plenty of carnation from this. A big blast of the spicy, clovey kind right up front. It's a bit much for the first 15 mins, but then the spicy aspect calms down, and carnation's creamier, sweeter aspects come into play. The incense plays back up singer, making the whole thing hazy and smoky, creamy and clovey. I think there's some copal in here. I don't smell any nag champa. Actually, the incense in this (though the overall blend is quite different) reminds me of a Possets perfume, Sacred Smoke, which mentions incense with sandalwood, fragrant burning oude, a hiss of clove essence, and a bit of burning green bamboo. So maybe some sandalwood and non-funky oude? If you are wanting a demure, sweet, floral carnation, this is not her. This is a ball-stomping, bra-burning, clove cigarette smoking carnation who will NOT shut up, and I love her. Just give her a little dry down time to grow on you. Back up bottle for sure. ETA - Something about this also reminds me of Crimson, which would support the sandalwood and oude suspicion. Mmmmm.....

I really like the blood orange in this. It's zesty and tart, and the darker notes ground it nicely at first. Unfortunately, the vetiver starts to take over once I'm out of the water, and it smells harsh. I often like vetiver, but here it's too bitter and up front for me. I ended up slathering on some Eclipse, and so far I'm liking the combo. Might be fun to try it with Bliss too.

This is all about the honey. It's warm and wonderful, drizzled over fuzzy warm musk and earthy wood. There's something thar smells a tad bit menthol in the background. I'm guessing it's the hay note. It's unusual, but I really like the effect. Very comforting. These are the most cheerful, cuddly, Walt Disney oxen ever, and if you're a sucker for dark, rich, wild honey (like me) check this one out, stat.

Piquant. Very citrus, but more like the oil found in the peels than the juice. To me, this has more of an aromatherapy feel than something I'd wear as a perfume, but Artisjok's description is very apt. I was languishing at night in a ho-hum mood wondering how I'd wile away the hours before bed. I took a bath with this, got out, and got my sh*t done. If you want something more brightly citrus, (and you're ok with jasmine) I'd check out Invidia. They're both nice, but very different.

A milky sugar scent with tinges of vanilla. Delicate is a good word. I get a ghostly whisper of the citrus I've gotten from other sugar blends like Sugar Skull and March 2020's 13 at first, but it fades and is overwhelmed by vanilla. Rendezvous grows more pronounced as it warms up, but still stays very close to the skin. If you wanted Castitas to be sweeter, are a fan of Bath and Body Work's Warm Vanilla Sugar, or want a comforting, sugar skin scent, try this. This has a universal appeal and will probably be popular. This doesn't really remind me of A Vision of the Courtesan, though I suppose it shares a subtle, creamy tone. I would agree that they're different enough, they're both worth having.

This smells unabashedly girly to me, like Barbie's boudoir. The rose is perfumey, the kind I think of when I think of pink, fancy, rose-scented soaps. The cherry smells bright, candy red. This is not for me, but I can see how it would be a fun scent for rose lovers.

Do they still make those creme lifesavers? They came in orange (creamsicle) and strawberry (strawberrysicle?). This smells like those. Creamy, candy strawberry. Pink and girly, but enticing in an innocent way. I too have issues with strawberry going plasticy, and this one behaves itself. It's not really the kind of perfume I like to wear, but I see the allure.

2020 Version I would never have risked grabbing this one for myself. It triggered my p'oudephoboia. However, I'm happy to report, the oude is well behaved and lovely in this, a reminder of why I don't always scream and run when I see the note. Elizabeth of Bohemia has a very true rose with a rich, gently woody backdrop. It's perfumey and velvety, womanly and classic. While the Peacock Queen smells powerful and haughty, this one smells elegant and regal and lacks any fruity tones. If you love roses, fear not the p'oude. You need to give this one a try.

Extremely smooth and sleek. It's reminding me a little of Lace Phoenix. Very mellow patch. Definitely getting that champaca, and I get whiffs of a very nice oudh and black tea. Black tea with champaca usually smells odd to me, but I'm liking it here. Reminds me of the combo in Blacker Than the Raven Wings of Midnight and Sluagh too. I like this a lot, but I think I have several comparable blends, so I'll probably pass on a bottle.

I gambled on a bottle of this because it should age divinely, and all those notes are win - as long as the oudh decides to behave. ... And it does. Dry, rich, woody incense. Glorious. I will be stowing this one away, like a fine wine, to revel in later.

Watery without being aquatic. Gentle and luminous with the soft quality often found in lunar blends. Very pretty and serene. Definitely violet LEAF as opposed to the flower. Not sure what I would add this too, but it's beautiful by itself.

Oude no. I got it distinctly upon first whiff. Also, the dried leaf note is very pronounced and cologney on me, semi soapy. So yeah, soapy poop cologne. Not a win. ? That said, my chemistry makes dead leaves meh, skin musk smell funky (warm skin?), and leather - though I love it - soften to a background note. So maybe I'm not the best judge of this one. In the very least, those rustley leaves stand out a whole lot more than those other notes, which I love. Very curious to see how this works on others.