roseus

Updating since I don't wear several of these much anymore. Lately I've noticed that Snow White and Morocco have a pretty huge amount of throw on me. When I was on an apple kick recently and thought my nose had gotten too used to the scent to really pick up on it Pure Applesauce and Morana both had very noticeable throw.

I know the collection has been taken down, but my guy loves pine/forest scents and this one might be worth keeping an eye open for: The Forest of the Empress. To me it is just a touch sweet like the vanilla/amber of Golden Priapus but much more foresty. Entirely foresty. Rogue and Sherlock Holmes both have that pine-y rosin going for them. Rogue has some nice smooth leather, and Sherlock has that sweet tobacco.

El Segundo Blue might be good!

In the imp I get light, smoky citrus with something green and vegetal on the edges. Sort of thin and fresh. On my skin this warms up and gets thicker, more golden. The pale citrus is still the heart but I get florals mingling with soft sweet smoke. It gets headier and bit incensy. Dry: It gets more golden, and narcotic. I can't pick out notes too well at this stage but it is sweet, and smoky. Not woodsmoke but a light, sweet smoke. Looking at the notes it must be opium and tobacco. The citrus is also a bit distinguishable (also why have I been avoiding mandarin? this smells amazing) and I wonder if the ginger has been just blending seemlessly with it for a bit of zing. Now I think I can pick out the leather. But everything blends beautifully. Rich, warm, decadent. Fantastic scent.

This is amazing. Much softer and lighter than I had imagined, but in a good way. The red musk is thin and fruity here, melding with the plum and incense to make a mysterious wall of magical incense. The florals (I can particularly pick out tuberose) and beeswax make it very ethereal. Definitely purple-toned. As it dries the beeswax, incense, and musk come out more and the florals fade a bit. This is in incense I feel could be office appropriate in a relaxed setting as the flowers and beeswax keep it from being too heavy and intense.

Sweet, syrupy floral straight on. I got plumeria but none is listed in the notes and I wonder if it is just the combination of florals. As it dries it is easier the distinguish them, the humid orchid stands out the most on me, with a little heady jasmine and sweet daffodil underneath. The plum is quite faint on me, just adding a sweet juiciness. The white musk is light and clean, giving a breezy vibe to the whole thing.

Evil incarnate. Revel in your dark side with this romantically cruel scent. Contains red patchouli and vetivert.  With patchouli scorning me and my general dislike of vetiver I was expecting to hate this. And sniffing the wand I was jarred by intense, smoky vetiver. Though as I sniffed the vetiver seemed a bit grassier. I could detect smooth earthy patchouli underneath. On my skin the patchouli remained true, and the vetiver while still green and smoky was not as sharp and intense as usual. It's gritty and dark. I don't hate it, but it is still definitely not my thing. But hopefully this is a sign that patch and I have smoothed things over.

The first time testing this the initial scent in the bottle and on my skin made my brain scream apple juice, I think it is something about the distinct sweetness of the red apple paired with the honey. On further tests I more distinctly get the honey in the initial sniff. Very sweet but not cloying, the honey has enough depth and I think the tea and tobacco help ground it though I cannot detect them at first. On my skin the apple gets much brighter and a little tart, more green apple-y. I almost get a sense of apple blossom in the background. The tea starts to come out, not anise-y but a very true warm, faintly woody scent. As it further dries I get sweet, dry tobacco. They mingle fairly equally for sometime this one has very good staying power and throw on me. At the very end I am left with mostly tea and tobacco and just the faintest hint of apple.

I would say soft musks such as skin musk or white musk especially when paired with resins like amber and frankincense tend to read as "skin scents" to me. Ambegris, soft sandalwoods, and very light honeys can too. Neutral and Good from the RPG series are good places to start I think. Though not GC Like A Girl l looks like it would fit the bill too though I haven't tried it.

The snow note that I think best matches what you're describing (from what I've tried) is the 2016 Art of Winter scent Tres Riches Heures du duc de Berry . To me it is very crisp and cool but not minty.

In the bottle, coconut and the wispy, fluffy lavender are made murky by the smokiness of cade. On my skin this is very coconut forward, a distinctly creamy coconut. Quite different from Daybreak in that aspect. I get faint touches of creamy jasmine and a bit of brightness from the lemongrass. As it dries I get that smoky cade again, just faintly around the edges. Hypnotic and snuggly.

(2018) I am in LOVE. Sweet almond cakes (not the cherryish almond, warm nutty almond!) I get sweet vanilla but not in intense buttercream way. I swear I also get some white chocolate. The beer is really more of just a warm wheatiness. The incense keeps this from being super foody, the way the incense in All Souls keeps in from being Eat Me. The cake+incense combination is just magical.

Sweet, almost waxy pumpkin. Deep warm honey. Definitely getting a peachy vibe, too. Kinda of musky, maybe peach musk? Maybe honey musk? As it dries the fruitiness backs off and I get more pumpkin and deep honey. Not as dry/powdery as I expected but I am very happy with it.

Very gentle. The musk starts off quite vegetal, mossy in cool, clean way rather than foresty. As it dries it stays quite clean, and powdery (in a good way). As it dries it is less distinctly mossy, but clean, musky, and fresh. I never get rose specifically, but there is a gentle floral element. If I sniff deeply I get a bit of bright lime. But no note stands out, it is very seamless and subtle. Polished and mysterious. This a very office appropriate blend.

Gonna second The Eternal Queen, Morocco, Shub, and Luke bc those are all absolutely gorgeous and complex. I'm going to also suggest Queen Alice- lighter on the spice than some of the others but a layered ruby fruit and apple cider with a bit of spice. Worth looking at.