Teamama

On my skin, Aelian's Phoenix is cocoa & resins & just a wee little bit of patchouli. I can smell the cedar in my scent locket, but not on my skin. At the end of the day, all that's left is a lingering hint of sweet amber.

My new favorite tea scent! In the bottle & the initial wet stage are, for lack of a better word, rough. That roughness only lasts for about a minute. Soon, black tea with a hint of lemon & licorice, dry grassy vetiver & wood spread out. It's a subtle, close-to-the-skin scent, with a dry feeling, like Kathmandu or Morocco. Despite that hairy spider-phallus on the label, this is a blend that feels gender-neutral. Love it! 2022 update: I really like this, and snagged a backup bottle. It pairs beautifully with Gloom Meeting HG. Second 2022 update: The roughness is gone. Smooooooth, sweet, dry, & subtle.

Insta-bottle! Rose & oud predominate, backed up with sandalwood & vetiver, sweetened by amber & benzoin. It's basically perfect (sigh...) Like my all-time fave, Entertaining the Heian Court Maiden, the oud in this blend is on the wood/resin end of the spectrum. Butterfly Dancer goes on sweet & rosy. As it dries, the woods & resins bloom. I love it from start to finish, & need to budget for a backup bottle.

I agree with @DiesMali: this is magnificent, & definitely related to my beloved St. Clare. If you love oud, rum & wood, do not miss Leave Her, Jonny!

I took a risk on this because of balsam & cardamom. Both are wonderfully present, so if you like those notes, this is one to try! Wet, the tomato leaf & balsam come on STRONG. After about 10 minutes, the wood & spice come out, & a fabulous balance is struck. The patchouli is subtle & woody. I 100% agree with @ReallyZeb that this is reminiscent of an "expensive woody traditionally men’s cologne," & that it smells "so damn good." Green Man heading out for a hot date, maybe? It's gorgeous. I won't need a bottle. I'm glad I got a decant. It's not something I'll wear, & Teapapa won't go for the green notes at the start.

This is my fave warm, non-armpitty Patchouli, sweetened up with almonds & amber. I don't get a lot of pumpkin. The almonds dominate at first, but after about 20 minutes it mellows into a sweet, smooth patchouli with the other notes as background.

Honey, amber, & resin-y herbs. It reminds me of balsam leaves. I'm at the end of my decant, regretting I didn't buy a bottle.

If you love Wulric the Wolfman, you'll love Armadillo. More rough-and-ready, with an outdoorsy vibe. The unlisted earthy notes include a bitter, grassy one that really makes this special. Cacao & wood for sure. I suspect this will be better on Teapapa than me, but I really like it. Possible bottle.

In the decant: Ti leads, with a bitter bite. Amber & chamomile, but no oud. Wet: I accidentally slathered a bit. Clear oil. On my skin, a chaotic swirl of amber & green & oud. The ti leaf backs off immediately. The blend is almost aquatic for a second. Dry: A subtle & smooth amber-herbal, like I had hoped. The oud is the resin-y, sweet kind, & it harmonizes beautifully with the vetiver. Low throw.

Rosemary is for remembrance: rosemary water with lavender, blackberry, Italian bergamot, and white musk. I'm reviewing my daughter's bottle, which she generously let me sample. She and I were instantly in love with this limited-edition. Snarky jab at the Supreme I love to hate, coupled with support of excellent organizations, AND BPAL? As they say, shut up and take my money! Mummeries is subtle. The Rosemary and blackberry are very well blended, with the sweet warmth of the blackberry surrounding the resinous rosemary. We have both of these plants in our vicinity, and this reminds me of warm, late-summer afternoons in the Northwest. The musk and lavender are in the background, and the bergamot must have rolled into the blackberry note on me, I couldn't find it. Not a lot of throw, this Scalia-inspired scent is safe for work.

Magnificent! Beeswax with just a hint of smoke. The vetiver is subtle, similar to the "sweet vetiver" note in Two Sheep & Two Goats Resting Together In A Field. I need a bottle.

Delightful! I might need a backup bottle before this comes down. I'm a Pacific Nortwesterner, & unfamiliar with yellow jasmine. Turns out Gelsemium sempervirens (thank you, Wikipedia,) is not related to jasmine at all (take note, jasmine-haters!) Its scent is supposed to be reminiscent of honeysuckle, which makes sense, as there's nothing indolic going on in this blend. In the bottle & freshly applied: sweet fresh peaches & dry cedar, with a hint of greenery & flowers. No honey. Drydown: Faint cedar, sweet peaches, a light, floaty floral, & sunshiney amber (sweetgum?) The honey stays hidden on my skin & in a locket.

New review for my 2nd bottle. Wet, Rakshasa comes on very strong. Rose & Patchouli dominate, with a hint of citrus & spice. Once it dries, the Sandalwood, emerges. Rose & Patch are smoothly blended, with dry patchouli as the main note. The throw stays close to the skin. It's lightly spicy, & a little sweet. I really love putting Rakshasa in my hair, & in a scent locket.

I agree with @Lucchesa that Birdsong has an incense vibe. The blossoms are pretty subdued. On me, this is an amber/patchouli/tobacco blend, which makes me really happy!

I kick myself for not buying a bottle. On me, this is Sugar Skull, with the candied fruit dialed up to 11. I will be a sad puppy when my decant is gone.

Wet, I'm getting sweet apple flesh with a hint of jasmine & apple peel. I hope the cedar & honey will emerge as it dries. Dry: 8 hours later, both on my skin & in a locket, #2 Pencil is sweet apple flesh, with a light hint of flowers. If I huff, I imagine I can smell cedar, but I may be trying too hard. I'm glad I got a decant. I'll definitely re-test. Right now, I don't think I need a bottle.

I got Isychia for Teadaughter, but she strongly dislikes the scent, so it's mine now. Scent: When it's wet, it's a sharp, herby floral. It's a little soapy. Dries down to a mild, skin scent, reminiscent of a floral soap. Purpose: The way this blend smells to me is lavender-adjacent, which gives me a nudge toward relaxation. The scent makes me aware that I want protection and anti-anxiety, which is a very strong nudge toward mindfulness and self-care. Overall, I'm finding Isychia a good addition to the 2020 self-care bag of tricks. I'm dabbing a smidgin on my mask before my public transit commute, and my work mask.

My son (19,) prefers sweet/boozy blends like Grog & Lick It With Consent over the spicy/woody blends his dad wears. If you want a variety of rum/spice/wood blends, including Grog, check out the Imp Pack: Pirate Perfume Oil.

These long-dead scents are back for a limited time in a slightly tweaked form! A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa. My initial swipe of the wand from my imp wasn't generous enough to reveal what's going on in Silk Road Resurrected. I slathered, with much better results. Silk Road is delightfully dry, spicy, & smooth. I think the sweet spiciness at the start is mainly cassia or cinnamon. No burn on me. I smell saffron, sandalwood, & tea, plus that note that I can't identify in Love's Philosophy (the one that sometimes seems like wintergreen & sometimes like root beer.) Lots going on in here--those are only the notes I felt confident about. It comes together in a well-rounded, great-smelling whole, that's not easy to tease apart. I can easily imagine this blend evoking scent memories. Medium throw, not especially long-lasting on unmoisturized skin. If I weren't already devoted to Morocco, I would need a bottle. It's not the same, but it's similar. Try it while it's available, it's good stuff. Edited to add: I needed a bottle. And then another bottle when it was available on Etsy. I reach for Silk Road Resurrected more often than Morocco, but about the same frequency as Bengal.

And maybe a little labdanum?

Forum purchase. On application, Teapapa said it was wood with chocolate. I noticed the figs & dates, too. I can't detect the bitter almond, surprisingly. Dry & in a locket, the atlas cedar & white sandalwood are the dominant notes. The sweet orange & benzoin were a little unruly on my skin yesterday, right out of the mailbox, but today they're well melded into the whole. I like it a lot.

I just used up a recently found decant from 2016 that had rolled to the back of the downstairs bathroom closet. After all this time, it's an oudh-forward scent with faint aquatic & floral hints. Still wearable!

I have a few to add to @VetchVesper & @Lucchesa's recommendations for complex blends. I tend to like the sweet stuff, my guy does not. Here are a few that I know are complex but not (very) sweet. Aelopile: Citrus & resins & vetiver. Starts out with a citrus bang, ends with a vetiver purr. Al-Shairan: Spicy incense & fruit. This gets mixed reviews for sweetness, so worth testing. Aureus: A golden resin-fest. The Coiled Serpent: Mysterious resins unfolding over time. Earthy. Tsadikim Nistarim: OK, this is a little sweet, but it's so complex! All the herbs & resins tell a story. Tushnamatay: Dry, woody incense with a bittersweet heart. Wulric, the Wolfman: Musk blend with a lavish background of notes that change over hours of wear. STRONG. I endorse Aperotos Eros as a complex, morphing scent. On me, it's on the sweet side, but my skin tends that way. Ditto Kubla Khan, Oblivion, & The Carousel.

I love Bengal. It took me a few years to get around to trying it, because I amp clove like nobody's business. A frimp came my way, & I was instantly blown away. The honey, musk, & spices blend into a delicious whole, resulting in a spicy skin musk that lifts my mood like nothing else. The honey is restrained & delicate on my skin. I think the musk in Bengal is similar to Morocco's "warm musk." Clove (which usually amps on my skin & wrecks the balance,) stays a faint note, letting the cinnamon bark & ginger take the spotlight. After trying Silk Road resurrected, I think of Bengal as halfway between Silk Road & Morocco. Bengal is definitely in my top 10.

So delicate! This is a dreamy, creamy scent, sweet & uplifting. The milk note is subordinate to the fig, honey & olive leaf. Something about the fruit, honey & leaves creates a slightly floral impression. It's wonderfully comforting. If you loved Poor Monkey, grab this!