VetchVesper

So, I wasn't really a fan of Hearth, even though I thought I would be, but all the incensey goodness this one had to offer was too hard to resist, so I ended up with a decant.  

It's definitely got the "Hearth" base going on, which is acrid and sort of cloying on me, but I do like the way the incense tempers the smell.  Hearthflame is better with the incense, a bit more mellow and a touch sweeter, but this is still very much a hearth, campfire, burning wood sort of smell.  I aaaalmost really like it, but it's still a little rough around the edges for me.  I think it would make a very nice candle, but it's just kind of loud on me as a perfume.

Interesting blend!  I get a golden sweetness at first which I think I've smelled in other things with "spikenard," so maybe I'm starting to hone in on that note.    There's also something nutty, but that quickly shifts to a warm fruitiness.  Without looking at the notes, I got a mix of apple, raisins, and undefinable fruit conglomeration.  Looking at the notes, I think the "raisins" are probably a mix of the grape and earthy fig, and I smell a dash of tart pomegranate as well.  It's all seamlessly blended.  This is like a fruit cake without the cake.  It's yummy, but not really me.  It was a treat to try though!

Wow.  This is all kinds of NOPE on me, which is weird b/c it seems like all the notes here should be fine, but I haven't had much luck with the Good Omens line.  This is like... baby powder with something weird, earthy, and sort of funky in the background.  Like, I could swear there's some oudh lurking under the other notes.  Frankincense sometimes goes really powdery on me, so I'm guessing it's doing that here, and then something about the lilac just makes it floral sweet, but kind of in a rotten way?  The only saving grace is it disappears within an hour.  This is just no no bueno on me.    A shame.  

I love this one as a sleep blend.  It's a dark, powdery violet nesting on a bed of dusty fir trees.  I don't detect lily of the valley, which usually goes soapy on me.  All the edges in this are soft.  I'd say it's a unisex blend.  It doesn't last more than a couple hours on my skin, but it's perfect when I want something calming and regal to wear to bed.   

Starts off with a soft brush of powdery anise/ absinthe overlaying something green.  There's a nice depth to it, but it's a bit nose tickling.  Looking at the notes, I realize I'm smelling the lavender in this stage as part of the greenery.  It's dry and herbal.  After it's been on for a few minutes, the lilac begins to emerge, and Pontarlier stays a soft floral on me the rest of it's wear time.  

It's an interesting blend where the sum of it's parts create a unique fragrance.  I'd call it a lilac blend with a lavender bite, but I'm guessing, it changes a lot depending on your chemistry.  It's a bit powdery and perfumey, definitely falls into my "fancy floral" category, but I rather enjoy it on occasion.  

I'm guessing this is the resurrected version, b/c the imp's label is in really good shape.  

Initially, I get an almost green apple tartness with something kind of dark underneath.  It's a little bit bitter, a little bit soapy, and a little bit floral without being sweet.  The soapiness comes out after the green apple bit recedes.  It's not unpleasant to me though.  It's not like - bar of soap soapiness.  There is something darkly clean and green about this that I like.  :) It smells like someone's been rolling around in Grimm forest greenery.  I think it would work for a guy or a girl.

Ok guys.  Grab it while it's still there.  This is good stuff.  

I was pretty heart broken Vampire Lace sold out so quickly.  The notes in Lycan Lace are a bit iffy for my, but I decided to trust the lab.  I haven't smelled a bad lace yet.  This is no exception.  

It's much gentler than I expected, and extremely well blended.  The lace note is right up front with a soft backing of pine, rose, and tobacco that blend seamlessly.  Although I can tell they're each in there, they really come off as one note.  The rose isn't floral.  The pine is very understated, mostly just adding to a bit of dusty nose tingle feel, and the tobacco is soft, dry, and warm.  After it's been on a while, a dry earthiness comes out.  Again... dusty and VERY much like a pleasant spin on moldering cloth.  This isn't a wet, loamy earth note.  It's really kind of fascinating, and I could totally see THIS being the smell of a vampire - clad in old lace and fresh risen from his dusty tomb.  

Ok... NOW the rose is becoming more pronounced and floral.  It's lovely, like desiccated petals.  I was worried this might be like Zombie, which I don't like, but it's not.  It's more like La Pierreuse got dried out as a bouquet and wrapped with old lace.  

I'm hoarding this.  LOVE 

This is mostly coconut and musky milk on me.  It's not sugary or almondy.  It's an almond milk specifically.  It smells like a complex Obatala.  I'm not getting any honeysuckle.  Pleasant, but not ringing my bells.  If you like unsweetened coconut though, you'd probably dig this.

A very nice spice scent with a resiny depth and no cinnamon.  😊  It does have a certain holiday vibe, but I think you could get away with it off season too.  There's a nice, smoky/sexy edge to it, but it's understated and very comfortable.  If you like spice scents, this one's definable worth checking out.  It's different and very wearable.

This is pretty tasty.  More heavy on the "blueberry" than the sufganiyot, and the blueberry is definitely blooping.  It smells sugary and kinda fake, but in the best jelly filling sort of way.  After it's been on a while, I almost get something floral mixed in there.  I haven't been huge on the sufganiyots, b/c they've been a bit too foody for my tastes.  This one is tempting me though b/c it's just so darn fun.  Like, that blue candy smell but very smooth and wearable, with a hint of sugary donut softening the edges.

Nice, calm, misty lavender up front, with soft white musk.  Kind of reminds me of the Lillith, Waiting, at first, and it's pleasant, but I could take it or leave it.  Lavender's not really my thing.  

THEN the oakmoss, and earthier notes come out, turning this into a very nice, gender-neutral chypre on my skin.  It's still light, wispy, and unobtrusive.  This phase lasts for hours, finally drying down into the lab's soft white musk. 

I could see this being a great work scent for a man or woman.  I don't know that I would get enough wear out of this one to justify a bottle, but I wouldn't mind another decant.  Very pretty.  

WOW.  That is some musty, musky pine and cat.  O_O 

Ok.... it's kinda starting to settle down now.  Pretty quickly too.  I'm getting a hint of vetiver and the pine is become more complex and woody.  Not QUITE pine.  And now the vetiver and musk are melding into this lovely warmth.  AHAHAHAHA.  This smells to me like Aperotos Eros, which I kinda love, but it smells a little funky.  But this has got that same sort of pseudo cat pee thing up front, and then that sort of feral, sexy, warm body thing going on with the dark forest notes.  It's more comforting here though and less incensey.  I like it, and I LOVE the label art.  I don't need a bottle, but I'm glad to get a little Yule Cat this year. 

This smells like manly butterscotch at first!  Or perhaps like Hot Buttered Whiskey and Tag Upon Avon had a love child.  It's a very warm scent, and the tobacco and rum mix to create a sweet, chewy, butteriness.  I don't really get much absinthe except maybe when I first put it on, but that's probably part of what's reminding me of Tag Upon Avon.  The teakwood is subtle at first, but comes out more in the dry down and grounds the fragrance, keeping the sweetness from turning syrupy, like it is (IMHO) in Hot Buttered Whiskey.    This is boozy, but gentler than HBW.  I think it could be a cousin of Perversion actually.  Very nice.

I would totally want to nibble on a guy who smelled like this, but I think it would equally well for a woman.

On a lark, I  swapped for an imp of this recently and fell instantly in love.  Happily, I managed to find a bottle, and let me say, all those people who said this would age divinely....oooooh you were right.  This is just smooooooth, slinky, vamp seduction in a bottle.  Dirty sex in the best way, and all night long.  12 hours plus and Callidora's still at it.

I smell dark, unsweetened chocolate, blood musk, and red patchouli at first, along with a sort of funk that I associate with oudh, but then everything just blends together seamlessly, and my brain stops trying to make sense of it and just enjoys the ride. 

I will say, there is a gritty incense quality to this that must be the red patch.  I love patchouli, but usually RED patchouli goes powdery grandma on me.  (I'm looking at YOU Anne Bonny)  This almost smells like good sandalwood though, but deeper, and mixed with the blood musk, that smells like red musk, but richer and less sweet, is just gorgeous.  I also wondered if I detected cinnamon in this as something warm, dry, and a bit gritty, but it didn't quite fit.  After looking up Mayan cocoa, I'm wondering if it's a red chili note.  That could certainly account for that certain something that's just blowing my mind.

Gift of beauty most definitely, and one that keeps giving.      This is def top 20 if not top 10.

Huh... those are not the notes I was expecting for this one.  What I get is a soft, wispy, skin scent, more ozoney than aquatic, with a gentle floral sweetness.  I smell the white musk note that's in a lot of other GC scents like Fae and King of Hearts.  As this dries down, the neroli becomes more defined.  Lorelei remains demure and pretty on me, but doesn't' last very long and occasionally reminds me of a pleasant hair spray.  Fae is more my speed.

This is a review for the 2017 version.

The "frostbitten" note hasn't worked well for me with any of the releases I've tried.  It comes across as a minty ozone musk, and there's just a chemical vibe I get that isn't terrible, but isn't really appealing.  That said, Frostbitten Snake Oil was the one I like the best out of the other 2017 releases.  The Snake Oil is light in the blend and the vanilla is a lot more prominent to my nose, especially in the dry down, when it reads more like a rich vanilla grounding the minty sweet ozone. 

But overall, FSO just doesn't sing on my chemistry, (either does Snow White, btw) so I'll see if I can find a better home for it.  

On 1/10/2019 at 3:12 PM, Lucchesa said:

Thanks! I’ve never tried Pink Fuzzy Handcuffs so I will be on the lookout for a decant. 

 

apparently, Edie Sedgwick’s signature scent was something called Fracas. It was a dirty tuberose, perhaps my worst floral, so I doubt I could wear it. 

I was about to say - Torture Queen?  It's an over the top gardenia with a backing of shiny metal.  Seems like it would work for a fembot, but maybe for Edie Sedgwick since it 's also a white floral?  
 

I wanna know what sharks with laaaazers would smell like. 

I tried this without reading the notes first.  My initial impression was sweet cinnamon, but it was so smooth, I thought maybe it was sugary clove or carnations.  I amp the HAAAYLE out of cinnamon, (clove to a lesser extent) and sure enough, the spice exploded on my skin but in a very pleasant way.  The cinnamon in this still makes me think cloves, but that's probably just b/c it's behaving so well and not going red hots.  I'm not really getting any complexity, (maybe a teeeensy bit of soft leather?)  but it's nice.  Reminds me of smoother, tamer Hunter.

ETA:  Ok, as the hours are wearing on, I'm kinda of falling in love with this one.  The cinnamon has calmed down quite a bit, and now it's a lovely, warm skin scent, with a hint of sweetness and leather.  Really lovely.

Hi again!  I Be the Witch of the Wood had a really nice, atmospheric, earthy smell to me.  You might try some of BPAL's earthier scents, like Penny Dreadful, Zombie, or Deep in Earth if that's a vibe you like.  I saw that Crossroads, Burial, and Jazz Funeral were mentioned, and they also have a nice atmospheric feel.  I Also... loved that movie!    Poisoned Apple is a nice slightly spiced apple.  Sorry, I haven't checked out Sixteen92's Christmas stuff yet. 

You might like Boomslang and I don't think it would be too hard to find a sample off the forum. (Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk.)  Snake Oil isn't my favorite, but I'd still recommend trying it.  It's a BPAL classic and it's got some nice patchouli in there, which I am also a fan of.    The Coiled Serpent is like... strait up patch and sandalwood on me.  It's nice and simple.  You might try Baba Yaga in this line.  Greed and Goblin are my two GC patchouli heavy favorites.    Snap Dragon Fly is an interesting foodie one w/no vanilla.  Shubniggerath is also popular and smells liked evil baked goods.  

Oceany aquatics tend to turn soapy on me, but I've had good luck with Lady of Shalott, which is beautifully floral.  Bayou is also floral, but more of a swampy, lush sort of vibe.  Both are more fresh water smelling to me.  The Sea Foams MIlk was nice and smelled like a clean spa to me, and the rest are more classic "oceany" aquatic and went to soap on me.  My favorite "ocean" blend is actually Santa Eularia Des Riu, but I'm not sure it's still available. 😕

Dark and plush right up front.  Definitely getting that velvet.  It's not heavy though.  There's a coolness from the anise and it blends with the musk seamlessly.  I do get a bit of the mandarin, but it's kind of odd in the mix at first.  i don't think it's playing well on my skin.  There's enough going on though, that I can wait for it to calm down, and eventually it does, blending with the woody backing of the other notes.  I can smell the vanilla late in the dry down, but it's subtle, and very much the dry, not foody smelling kind.  This is very nice.  I think it would smell fantastic on a man, but would go great with a slinky black dress as well.  Happy i snagged a bottle.

Cool, dusky, and ethereal, like soft shadows in a room with fluttering curtains and an open window.  This is definitely floral, but there's so much going on with my nose that I'm not sure exactly what I'm smelling.  There's a gentle sweetness to it and it evokes muted shades of lavander and blue.  I haven't looked at the notes in a while, but under the florals I think I might detect the faaaaintest whiff of cedar.  I remember it having lilac in it, but this doesn't scream lilac to me, even though it's floral.  

Ok.  Looking at the notes - I think the sweetness I'm getting is from the lily and the oak moss and amber givesit the depth and soft, dusty plushness that i'm detecting.  It's really beautiful, elegant, and very different from what I was expecting.  This kinda makes me want to go crazy and buy all the CP room spray.  For a room that needs a splash of subdued, feminine elegance this is perfect.  

Well shit.  My first impression is I kind of love this, and it was no where on my radar.  It smells green, tropical, and lush at first.  Vaguely aquatic, without turning to soap.  There's some sort of floral in here, but I'm not sure what.  Then brimstone and coal notes starts working their way in, overlaying everything with a raspy, acrid texture.   It's a  surprisingly different fragrance now.  Sort of Machu Pichu to Brimstone.  The smoky scent gradually over takes the sweet, green lushness.  5 stars for the scent journey.  I went from an exotic jungle garden to the edge of that volcano in less than 5 minutes.  I think I'm going to have to investigate this one more thoroughly!

The strong apple in this makes me think immediately of more generic apple cinnamon sprays, but this smells high end.  There's something brown and crunchy mixed with the apples and something a bit creamy and woody.  I'm not actually getting cinnamon, but I think the dead leave note gives this a spicy feel.  It's very autumnal, a bit craft store, but again, in a high end way, and mostly b/c it's sooooo representative of fall.   I was honestly hoping for a bit more herbal greenness, but this is still very nice, and will be perfect for late summer and early fall next year.    If you are an apple lover, this is sort of an upgraded spin on a classic combo.

Odd and herbal.  Mugwort is the note I get initially, though there's probably some lavender at play as well and possibly some bay.  It smells very green and medicinal.  After a bit, something oddly foody creeps in, not sweet, but almost like an undertone of cooking grease?  Perhaps the CO2 Butter?  There's a powdery depth to that emerges and grows stronger with time.  I'm guessing it's coming from the frankincense or the orris.  Further along the dry down, the fragrance becomes less green and more softly woody.  I get more of a forest quality from this than water.  It's a very odd blend of notes.  It's pleasant, but not really something I'd wear as a perfume.  I'm glad I got to try a sample of it though. 

Is it odd that I actually rather like this one? 

I have in one hand some handy, dandy, oh so trendy, charcoal cleansing face scrub, and on the other hand's wrist, I have a drop of this lovely single note.  They are very much the same smell, though the perfume is grittier, more industrial.  It's really interesting, and I think I shall enjoy layering it with different things for intriguing effects.  This might be especially nice layered with men's fragrances for a sort of "rugged" vibe.