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BPAL Madness!

DoktorDandy

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Everything posted by DoktorDandy

  1. DoktorDandy

    Laudanum

    In the Imp: Medicinal, herby, a little spice. Wet: Not... sure... how I feel about this. Amping up sassafrass I think. There's something no good here, something that's making me pull this sneering, wincing face- I can't help it. Eek. Dry: Dry indeed! Dusty, cry scent- not unpleasant, not my favorite. The end result is not worth the hours to get here. Medicinal sassafras is gone?- that's probably fine by me in this blend. Wondering what is triggering the "no" for me? Once it's on, there's no more spice so it can't be that. Can't tell if it's the poppy? Or the combination? I think I like some of these notes separately but together... maybe not. Sad, because I really want to wear something called Laudanum. Tried again: Unfortunately no. It just goes to powdery, dry and sickly on me! It's almost okay! Something is just throwing it so it becomes unsettling. Glad I gave it another go, though.
  2. DoktorDandy

    Highwayman

    In the Imp: Leather! Straight up leather! Not too dark though. Wet: Momentarily after the leather clears up there's a funny sort of greenhouse smell, like fresh cut rose stems- not the roses, just the stems. Family members who tried this retched and washed it off or recoiled at the smell. I'm really puzzled by that as I'm just getting a yo-yo-ing inoffensive leather and greenish stem of roses thing. They say it has a bathroom cleaner smell, rather strong, and I have to admit it smells weirdly sour on them, but I smell something completely different on me- and they claim it's the same. To me, it's just sort of a single note of leather again, and the momentary green whiff is gone. Dry: I'm wondering if it's the vertiver they were reacting to? I don't know vertiver by itself enough to be able to locate it, if that's really the culprit, but they are accusing the gardenia of being the troublemaker. I am disappointed in that I can't detect the gardenia at all because I adore gardenia! I don't really get any floral notes on me, sadly. It's become warm and soft, sort of like a soft, well-worn brown leather. Maybe the florals are causing the fuzzy, warm edges? Undecided. On another try: Didn't even get the green stems this time! Where are my gardenias? Boo! I'm keeping the imp though.. and I'm sort of curious to try a different batch sometime to be sure that I didn't just get a leather-heavy one. At least the warm, soft leathery note is really reminiscent of one of the notes in Dzing! in a way that no other BPAL scent has gotten to yet.. We will see! P.s. Both family members who were disgusted by Highwayman last time found it disgusting on themselves again, though less so, and thought that this time it was ok on me. Quite a mystery.
  3. DoktorDandy

    Magus

    In the Imp: Weird crooked aftershave scent with a hint of something like.. bubblegum? What the...? I'm going to stop smelling the imps one of these days- they're always so odd... Wet: Another one that seems to stay wetter on the skin longer than other oils. Gentle poof of pencil shavings. Hamster cage. Very, very cedar with nothing else so far to speak of. Good thing I like cedar! Dry: Slow to change. Something sweeter, less of that greenish-blonde pencily cedar note as it turns. Sap-like, and the greens fall darker and darker. Now it's a creamy, creamy sandalwood soap? Heading to a sweeter place, a sweet, unburnt incense place. Overall Impression: Cedar then creamy sandalwood soap, yep. Faded pretty quickly, and that's sort of a pity as I liked where it was going. The end is a little too far in the sweet/creamy direction for me, and too faint. I'm undecided on this one as to whether I should keep the imp or not, even.
  4. DoktorDandy

    Looking for a BPAL that Resembles a Favorite Perfume

    Alright, this is a tricky one. I have not personally smelled this, so that makes this trickier- but I was wondering if there is anything that is reminiscent of the original (not the reformulated) "Narcisse Noir" by Caron? The one who's formula was developed around 1910 and stayed that way until I think around the 70s or 80s? I would not know. It was my mother's childhood scent, and some of Beth's works seem to be hitting a bit of that dark note that she really really misses. The notes are usually officially Narcissus, orange flower, sandalwood, jasmine, orange, musk, vertiver and rose. The way people talk about it though, they speak of the narcissus and big dark florals, the sandalwood and incense as being heavy and the feral civet/musk. Mom and her sisters speak about it fondly and talk about it's "Piano Bench" smell (due to the family keeping dark Indian incense in the fragrant wooden piano bench while they were growing up). She's not big into jasmine or orange flower so it would be something with those not in the foreground. I'd be curious what scents, hopefully GC might have some resemblance to the original Narcisse Noir. I just wish I was able to smell the original so I could help.
  5. Well I haven't smelled the gentlemen, but how about Spider, the convocation or vicomte de valmont? Another scent that should be hoarded but alas appears frequently on the sales pages is aubin grandpied bunmanchi. It's amazing in hot summer weather and nice when it gets colder, too. Thank you, I haven't tried any of those, and they all sound interesting! This perked my ears up! Vicomte de Valmont is my favorite so I am watching everything suggested to you with a lot of interest, haha- a bunch of things being suggested are sounding interesting to me- though your description of Jareth is scaring me- I've been wanting to try that one really badly. I was hoping it wouldn't be as sweet as Dorian. Obviously skin chemistry varies from person to person, but I didn't find Jareth to be anywhere near as sweet as Dorian. The leather and oude probably help out quite a bit with that. I actually can't wear Dorian (I think I have a mild allergic reaction to it, my eyes get puffy if I wear it), though I do like it on my husband... but Jareth is one of my favorite BPAL scents. Oh! this is good to hear! Though not that you are allergic to Dorian- I'm sorry to hear that! Do you know what note might be giving you an issue? I'm going to be trying Dorian again, though last time, all I smelled, and I mean, all I smelled was vanilla cookies and not a hint of the other notes. Jareth sounds more like what I wanted Dorian to be. I'm hunting down a decant if I can because I am new therefore not gutsy enough to just go for a bottle of something unknown. My skin has done some really interesting stuff with BPAL, but it's been picky. I wasn't expecting that. Thanks for the explanation of the differences for you between Jareth and Dorian- I love hearing how scents compare and change from person to person.
  6. DoktorDandy

    Sell me on patchouli?

    Ah, yes, I saw those, but the suggestions were hard to comb through because of all the patchouli fandom. I need people to realize how gunshy I am about patchouli. But I will probably take another look through the main patchouli thread to try to figure out the differences between the different types. I think Beth uses black patchouli in her 'dirt' note. It would make sense that Count Dracula would need dirt Why not seek out some dirt? Like Graveyard Dirt or Burial for example. Haha, true, Dirt was an important element in the lore! I have tried Nosferatu- I really loved it, excepting the last odd powdery thing it did towards the end. Going to be trying it again sometime to see if it was a fluke or not. I have tried deep in earth and liked it well enough but I have not looked into graveyard dirt or burial and I will remedy this! Have you tried Nosferatu? Patchouli is not a listed note but it has a Count Dracula vibe and smells ungghhhffff. Al-Sharain and Blood Countess are in the same vein. VILF evokes the vampire from the grave too. A sexy vampire from the grave. Also, I find the patchouli in At the Mid Hour of Night to be less headshop and more "pure." Maybe because its white patchouli? If you like leather, I'd suggest the White Rider. Final long shot suggestions are Malediction, Vixen, and Carnal. I find these blends to temper the patchouli so its less hippie and more vampiric. I like patchouli in most of it's incarnations, be i5 woody, dirty, or my favorite, floral! Don't get me wrong, sometimes I want to smell like a tree hugging hippie but I feel patchouli can smell good without that "vibe" I did like Nosferatu- way cleaner than I thought, though it did go a little odd on me, and I am hoping that was travel shock or something. Going to be letting him sit around a bit before trying again. I'll look into some of these... patchouli is just so puzzling to me. Again, don't know why Count Dracula would be so so pretty and Baba Yaga would have that tang I dislike. I really don't know all the tricks patchouli can pull- or so I suspect.
  7. DoktorDandy

    What BPAL would this fictional character wear?

    It's a really fantastic book! It took me completely by surprise! I'm loving it, though pretty sure like most of my favorite characters, that the Gentleman won't be surviving. We'll see, ah well! I do have that book of short stories on my list as well, thank you for reminding me! I also LOVE the Raven King and Childermass! Haha, what do your think would match them? Also, I may or may not be looking into some of the scents you used for the Gentleman- some of them have slipped my notice and sound rather lovely. Huuummm!
  8. Still looking for GC scents that could act as substitutes for Count Dracula! I've gotten some nice suggestions, but looking for others as well. Tried Nosferatu- I'm on the fence about it- on me it was very different, and was great until the very last stage where I think it went a little powdery- though I am going to try it again, to make sure it wasn't a fluke or that it wasn't still in travel shock. I also have some Dracul on the way, hopefully. Well I haven't smelled the gentlemen, but how about Spider, the convocation or vicomte de valmont? Another scent that should be hoarded but alas appears frequently on the sales pages is aubin grandpied bunmanchi. It's amazing in hot summer weather and nice when it gets colder, too. Thank you, I haven't tried any of those, and they all sound interesting! This perked my ears up! Vicomte de Valmont is my favorite so I am watching everything suggested to you with a lot of interest, haha- a bunch of things being suggested are sounding interesting to me- though your description of Jareth is scaring me- I've been wanting to try that one really badly. I was hoping it wouldn't be as sweet as Dorian.
  9. DoktorDandy

    If your top 5 scents are... Then try these!

    Okay, I finally have a top five (though this could change!).... 1. Vicomte de Valmont 2. Langour 3. Count Dracula 4. Dragon's Blood 5. The Lady of Shalott I wonder if these show a trend or have anything in common? But yeah, I would be thrilled for more recommendations! I have a wishlist that could sink a ship, but I'm sure that there are some out there that I haven't run across.
  10. DoktorDandy

    Sell me on patchouli?

    Reviving this- read through, and wrote down a couple of less scary suggestions... I'm not a big patchouli fan. My papermaking teacher's supplies always smelled so strongly of it, and my mother loves Lush's Karma Kream (I loathe it!), and in general most patchouli seems to drive me away. I do however, trust the variety the lab seems to have. What made me start wondering is the TINY half full imp of Count Dracula I was lucky enough to get. It's supposed to have black patchouli in it, but I ADORE it (and mourn that I can't get a bottle) and I do not smell what I think of as patchouli at all. I tried baba yaga today- not bad, but it had some of the patchouli note that I'm not overly fond of, but not terrible either? Certainly not as gaggy as Karma kream but eehh Just not what I wanted. Any suggestions? Count Dracula really threw me with how wonderful it was. Maybe there's some patchouli out there that I won't loathe?
  11. DoktorDandy

    What BPAL would this fictional character wear?

    Listening to the audiobook version of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell at the moment, and really liking it. Wishing there was a scent based on the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair, or wishing I knew what would be the closest, haha. I do think the title characters would make fun scents as well, but I'm mostly interested in the Gentleman's options.
  12. DoktorDandy

    Languor

    In the Imp: Floral! Dark, murky, with a ticklish effect to those at the end of every sniff. Wet: Goodness! Floral immediately! Sharp! Everything clambors for attention immediately and it's hard to know who to pay attention to first. Yes, you're pretty! No, I noticed you too! You're very pretty! YOU ARE ALL VERY PRETTY NOTES PLEASE CALM DOWN. They do calm down a little, becoming something fresh and floral, big and blooming. Dry: Languor continues to evolve, it's green stems dropping off, the huge, dark, heavy blossoms continue to bloom without their stems. It feels more cheerful than dour or lazy. It has the best throw of anything I've tried to so far on me. It starts to get a skin salt slinky thing going on that I can't place. I wish the smoke showed up more- I can't tell if I'm making it up or not. Wish I could tell the florals apart, but I can't. With any heat or exertion, the scent gets revived- a lovely surprise! A warm, smoky smell is still slightly detectable on the next day. This is my kind of floral! Languor joins the very slim ranks of my favorites, no question. I think I'll want a bottle of this.
  13. DoktorDandy

    Siren

    In the Vial: Faint, Fruity, Floral. Hum! Wet: OVERWHELMING impression of Neco Wafers, followed by going sweet & sour. I feel like... it's missing both a top note and a bass note?? Feels like somebody didn't know up/ isn't pulling their weight. Eventually it's going low, sticky and weird- an almost bitter fruit reminding me of something I had once with the flavor of cherry pits. Is this the apricot? What is it doing? Dry: YECH! ACK! PUMPKIN GUTS! It dries into the smell of carving pumpkins or preparing zucchini. I don't like this! It's vegetable and bratty in a sour-saccharine way and makes me gag. Completely not for me- something is becoming really, really weird. This does not feel like Siren's intended behavior. After an hour and a half or so, this demanded to be washed off- something I try to avoid doing usually when reviewing a sent. I don't think anything could be worth what it was doing.
  14. DoktorDandy

    Nosferatu

    In the Imp: Huh! Interesting! An herby, slightly sour, deep green smell. Familiar, but I can't put my finger on what I recognize. Wet: Right away, Nosferatu goes high, sharp, green and both bitter and sweet on me. Immediate change and reaction- very rapid. Goes very clean and a little floral before the earthy smell shows up. Reminds me of Demeter's dirt scent, though it's been years since I last smelled that. This one is a little more complex, and it is harder to pinpoint what is happening. The Dirt note is clean- quite the reverse of the name- one expects it to have a muddy or musty spin to it, but no. To my nose it's complex, multi layered, and there's so much going on here that I am not certain as to what to focus on. My impulse is to say that I love it. Dry: Oh no, now it's a little disappointing. It has that soft powdery/soapy thing that was happening on 51 that I didn't like. Smells better than 51 did on me, but hasn't changed enough, bleh. Most of those dark, deep notes are gone, and now it's just directionless. Verdict: I have to try this again, at least twice. I really want this one to work- I love the dang name, and I love it's wet stage.
  15. DoktorDandy

    Absinthe

    The Imp: Alright- this will sounds stupid, but this smells.. perfume-y. As in, a stereotypical perfume smell- bright, slight alcohol tinge with a bit of a nose-tingle. Not sweet, but not bitter either. Something between a floral and a citrus. Wet: Went bitter, sticky, dark and the tingly quality increased. It's soapy and reminiscent of fennel. In a matter of minutes, an anise flavor arrives and stays. This is closer to an anise or aniseed soap smell than a liquorice candy smell. Pale green, rather than black liquorice. It's going extremely light and pretty clean. Dry: Feels like it would be great to help keep cool on a warm spring day or a hot summer day. Snappy, cheerful, plucky smell. Not the longest life though. I'll keep the imp! Ah, also, do not wear it around anyone who can't take the smell of fennel/liquorice/anise- they will hate it because of how spot on it is, really. At least, that's how it acts on me. Also, I've had Absinthe before, albeit an American variety, as well as absinthe pastilles- and this is very reminiscent of both of them.
  16. DoktorDandy

    Hades

    In the Imp: Oddly fruity or sweet? Almost medicinal. Floral, woody, hint of sandalwood. Wet: As soon as Hades touched me he turned into the exact smell of those overly-scented pinecones in red net bags, guh! Ugh! Drydown: Slightly better for a time, more balanced, but I am still having trouble picking through the muddle of smells. Steadily becomes ... gross. Yep. I smell exactly like a Michael's craft store on a breezy day. I am disappointed and confused. Dry: This has COMPLETELY disappeared, eaten by my skin. Inoffensive but unexciting. I may try it again sometime, but nope probably not for me. Note!- This worked well on my mom, at least twice, and I think she will be keeping the imp. She says when it starts out it reminds her of the perfume Nuit de Noel. On her it ends up smelling like a very gentle, vaguely floral sandalwood with a kind of fuzzy, violet-like quality.
  17. DoktorDandy

    Tombstone

    In the vial: Slight mint tang with a tingle. A weird almost alcohol breathyness- like something that's left at the bottom of a glass bottle after everything else has evaporated. Wet: My Immediate thought was old horehound lozenges. Straight up. Puts me in mind of tinctures, poultices and snake oil salesmen selling things out of wooden carts with their names painted on them and lots of words like PATENTED and RESTORATIVE. This smells like a cure for dropsy or brain fever or the vapors. Smells like I rolled around in an old Victorian chest that had a mysterious stain in it, and the chest has been sitting in an old west museum for about a century. Dry: Okay, once I stopped going WHAT IS THIS it's very interesting. Sassafras/Sarsaparilla and vanilla were almost overpowering with bubblegum or root beer candy present when it was first on me for about an hour, and as it dried is morphed more and more herbal, less bright, darker and sweeter. It was always old fashioned and medicinal, something you'd find in an oak and glass case. Wood started to come out, very pleasant old oaky cedar, and settled contentedly with the vanilla for a long while. The next day, the scent was still there, and quite a warm, bustling vanilla, though almost all other notes had departed. Note: Left a distinctive stain on my arm, viewable in sunlight the next day. Most visible in sunlight or florescent light, less so in incandescent light. Looked like a greeny-yellow healing bruise. This is the longest lasting oil so far, by quite a long shot. Final Thoughts: Not the prettiest scent, and not one that makes me think of perfume, but it is hands down the most INTERESTING thing I have tried from BPAL so far. Makes me wish people would gather to smell things, like how people gather to indulge other senses like taste and sight. This would be a real centerpiece of a party like that. It really invokes.
  18. Ambergris is 'fresh', white musk is 'clean'. Moss, geranium and orange blossom are common notes in some modern 'fougeres'. Mint helps with the fresh as well. I think you should begin with those as a place to start. I think you might like The Black Tower (GC) "A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine." Put yourself on the waiting list for Spider and pick up a bottle of aubin grandpied bunmanchi from the sales page while you wait. I think bluestblood had a couple on her sales page... Vicomte is amazing, as is his associate, the marquise de merteuil (sp) Ahh some great recommendations and some lovely advice! I will have to check these out! The black tower was scaring me with it's list of ingredients, but man, yeah, it is on my wishlist. I also think this is the third time someone is saying I should try spider?...
  19. DoktorDandy

    Count Dracula

    In the Imp: Very dark! A little acrid, almost rosy, something pleasantly chemical, as if gasoline could smell nice? A little worrisome. Here goes nothing. Wet: NO! So beautiful! Count Dracula blooms and morphs and spreads his wings as soon as he hits your skin. Pine notes and leather and dark, dark bitter clove. Painfully pretty. There's something heavy and romantic and floral- more like a dark dried floral rather than a fresh or green note. A dead bouquet of piercing, poignant memory. This is all purple, red, brown, black. I love it. Dry: Woody now. Sandalwood? The rosy warm note makes it's return. Dangerously christmasy at times but I can deal, oohh how I can deal for the sake of this velvety, enveloping comfort. He goes darker and darker the longer I wear him- is this a patchouli I can wear? Blasphemy- I smell no hippy head shop- Normally patchouli is the bane of my life. Count Dracula is supremely warm and comforting, almost painfully so. It's very gently spiced, and luscious in it's dark masculine qualities, and very well balanced. I want a bottle of this so badly, and it kills me that this half full little decant may be all I will ever have. I need to hunt down a bottle- he's too Beautiful to not have. I am floored by this- it's certainly my 2nd favorite so far, and I am afraid I won't be able to hunt him down and keep him. I thought I had to try this out of curiosity, because I usually must have everything Dracula- and I hadn't expected to like it so much. Maybe the community can recommend a poor substitute... I will mourn him when he's gone. How is that any different from how He's ever been?
  20. DoktorDandy

    Horreur Sympathique

    In the Imp: Frankly, worried that it is off! But no, the oils often smell odd on their own, I need to keep that in mind. Funky, unpleasant. Feminine urine sort of hint- wooaahh I do not want to put this on. Wet: Overbearingly feminine in a heavy, mature way, right off the bat. Speaks of desperation and slinky spangled evening gowns that don't quite fit. Cloying is a good word for this. There's a fermenting wild grape coming through here that I almost like, but it's mostly an armload of indistinguishable overblooming sweet florals and a heady honey mead. Dry: Bath and Body Works gone ugly. It's not terrible but it fails to work on me. I wish there was something here to make the scrubby, grubby honey note sit down and behave and stop making a boozy fool of itself at the lounge. This has a diabetic tinge to it. Sad because I normally like honey and florals. Doesn't work on me- so I'm going to swap it out and hope it finds a happy home with somebody else sometime.
  21. DoktorDandy

    The White Rider

    Wet: A burst of cedar? Warm and dry, the leather follows, close, right on it's heels. The two stay there, and once they settle, aside from an odd, almost celery scent there for a moment, they are in a happy, stable relationship. Dry: Like the Red Rider, this oil takes it's sweet time to decide to dry. So far, I'm happy with this once. They have not changed aside from a few wet-cedar-mulch moments- and even those weren't entirely unpleasant, reminding me of public school playground days. I don't know why this sandalwood is reminding me far more of a fresh cedar, but that's just what my nose is telling me. May be a sandalwood I am less familiar with? Reminds me very happily of the way the leather and wood notes play together in Bvlgari Black- one of my BPAL missions is to create a substitute for that, and this may send me on the right path, though it's perfectly fine in it's own right. It might even grow on me more on it's own merit when the weather turns colder. Keepin' this imp!
  22. DoktorDandy

    The Red Rider

    Wow, this one made me snuffle and sneeze and gasp when I got the first whiff of it. Blasted it's way into my sinuses. HI LEATHER, HOW ARE YOU? HI WOOD, HOW ARE YOU DOING. No, no, come right in, no need to take off your coats or boots, that's fine. What's mine is yours. Man they're pushy. Dry: This is very tingly and interestingly, the oil takes longer to dry than most others I have tried. Also I thought I might be having a slight reaction at first- my skin felt weirdly hot where it was applied, though this effect faded. The Red Rider is spot on for the almost mildewed scent of my Grandparent's house in Oklahoma, all built out of cedar and redwood. That house would cling to you and everything in your suitcase and your hair for quite a while after you got back from it. This does the same, though is less mothball-y and more pleasant, but I can't shake the association. I don't like the mildew, sour sort of note. I wish there was a floral, or maybe a sweet, resinous note like Dragon's Blood (layering idea?...) to change the dynamic up a little from the dog and pony show that is WOOD and LEATHER. I may end up swapping this if a layering experiment doesn't work. I think there are leathers out there that are more complex or more pleasing.
  23. DoktorDandy

    Blood Kiss

    Hoo boy, another disappointingly weird one. In the Imp: Red, vegetable-y tang that reminds me of rhubarb and sour liqueur (Chambord or Creme de Cassis, anyone?) Wet: UGH WHAT HAPPENED? It hit my skin and immediately turned to slightly rancid dark chocolate bonbons filled with soured red liqueur, and the cherries suspended in their centers have gone bad. Old rancid florals. Puts me in mind of standing in a dark second hand store on a sticky humid summer day- somewhere in the back somebody spilled a cherry coke days ago, didn't clean it up and now the wasps are getting to it, wherever it is. A dark, sticky stain on a musty polished cement floor, speckled with clumps dead ants. This is a sour smell, and caused me to gag on first sniff. It conjured up profoundly creepy mental associations. Who might this work on?: I feel like this isn't the oil's fault- this probably lies in my own skin's chemistry. My guess is that this could be a special kind of lovely if someone tends to amp up chocolate or dark cherry notes or if dark notes go sweet and languid on one's skin. I seriously doubt that this would be this gross on everyone. Glad I at least tried it.
  24. DoktorDandy

    Wanton

    This is going to be a short one! No, no, no! Had to wash this off after not being able to stand it's weirdness anymore! Turpenoid, turpentine, old nailpolish remover, acetone, Windsor Newton brush cleaner. Not the most unpleasant chemical smells to my nose, but still, deep weird chemical smells that cause you to reel back and go NOPE STOP SMELLING THAT because your brain tries to protect you from losing brain cells and what not. Really confused by this. Nothing else is coming through. Then boom, eugh, a single fainting rose dissolving, no melting in a rancid pool of something glossy. There's an ugly note here that reminds me of the lip curling smell of durian and maybe the more challenging days with lychee. Worrisome, nauseating, maybe a little dead or decaying. Not for me. Something here HATED my chemistry. I can't tell what this was supposed to smell like. Can I blame the patchouli? To the swap it goes. I'm going to imagine that this could be big, busty, and darkly lush on somebody but that somebody certainly isn't me.
  25. DoktorDandy

    Alice's Evidence

    In the imp: Uh-oh. Another foodie one. These go very weird on me so far. I need a little grounding when it comes to sweet, too. Maybe this dark note I'm picking up will help. Scared to try this rummy-scented thing on, ack. But I'm going to put on every single imp that comes through the house. Wet: Rum cake? No, rum raisin. Spiced, dark, fruity tarts or sticky stale/dried jam, smelling thick on their 2nd say sitting out. Spiced raisin now. For a moment there's a high note of red currant that lowers into black currant and goes more and more bass-y as if the black currants are dried and mingling with dried prunes and rolling about in spice. This curious spice note is becoming more present- can't identify it- it's not cinnamon, it's closer to clove or allspice or nutmeg than cinnamon. What in the world is that? Looking at the listed notes now for the first time- I've been surprisingly on track! That spice must be the black ginger? I don't have experience with that- it's like a more aggressive, almost bitter or liquor-y dried ginger smell. Raisin bread toast and chai spice tea steeped too long. Did I mention RAISIN? Because yeah, raisin, dried out sticky rum and spicy spice with a side of dried currants. That's the jist of it, whouf! Too foody for me. Would be nauseating in a small space for a long period of time. Dry: Okay, it's gone all cheap yankee candle on me! Nope, nope, nope. It keeps wafting at me. It's got a good throwing arm, let me tell you. I would consider trying this again, but the thing is, if I wanted a sweet, spicy blend I think I might have better choices that wouldn't give people the impression that I'd been scoffing raisins and hitting up the rum and cooking sherry. Yeah there are other spicy, craft-store-smelling ones out there, so I'll probably swap this. This should go to somebody to complete their cheery bakery smells and they can break this one out for Christmas dinner to go with the fruitcake. Not for me!
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