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This smells like velvet. Earthy but in a much different way than I am used to, it's like Fancy Earth. Normally vetiver doesn't play too well on my skin. It often goes very smoky (almost bbq meat sometimes). Here it is rather gentle, and melds with the cacao and the musk. It's a decadent perfumed dark chocolate, with the creamy, heady white florals dancing over the top.

In the imp: super gnarly patchouli and sweet fig. On my skin the fig gets even more syrupy, and a deep deep red musk (no DBR that I can detect) overtake the patch, which smooths out underneath. It and the oudh give this an almost woody base. Inky is a good word, and I agree with DiesMali that it is almost leathery. Dark and delicious.

In the imp I get fresh SO and powdered sugar. On my skin some delicious fried dough comes out as well. An absolutely delicious combination. Truly almost makes me forget why I'm screaming.

In the imp I immediately recognize that wonderful, strange green bloom from Odic Force. Eerie and glowing with just the tiniest camphorous edge, not enough to read medicinal but just gives a sort of jolt. It contrasts with the sweet pomegranate underneath beautifully. On my skin other notes start to join in, particularly the lilac and the myrrh. They deepen the scent, making it more heady. It's very much a cool-toned purple scent. Delightful.

In the imp and freshly applied I get mostly leather and steel with a bit of cedar and a little of what smells like lubricant to me, very much like a Steamworks blend. I wonder if that is just a chemical edge from the leather, as this dries down the leather gets softer and more worn. Still rather woody, but I get more fir than cedar in the end, with a pineyness from the rosin. I don't get much amber, but it's there if I sniff really deeply. This is right between a gorgeous forest scent and a cozy study to me. But it also evokes grand halls (man I miss things like concerts and the theater).

In the imp I just get dry rye flour and salt. On my skin I get a more yeasty bread scent with the nutty-anisey carway. In the end I get just a breath of rosemary. No butter, which is fine by me. A really fun, soft blend.

Absolutely delicious. Sweet, creamy peppermint chocolate, rather light, being ya know, white chocolate. Once on my skin I get more of a light vanilla cake note. Tempted to eat.

This smells like a very sexy vampire lair to me. The deep red fruits (a bit of biting tartness from the pomegranate), with heady tuberose and I specifically get candle-smoke in the imp. On my skin I get a bit more of the tobacco leaf, rich and warm. It gets a bit less fruity on my skin, but all the elements sort of swirl around. This is very addicting to sniff.

A bit nervous to put this on as about half the notes are good on me, the other half not so much. In the imp pretty much all I get is mango and strawberry, so juicy and sweet. There's that deep rich nectar sweetness of mango (god I really want one now) and it's sort of cut by than thinner, slightly tarter strawberry juice. Tempted to sip it. On my skin, the juiciness gets dialled all the way down and it smells almost floral now. I can't pick any one note, except maybe the ginger at this point. It's like a fruity floral with something spiced beneath it. Sort of tropical. As dries the floral aspect goes away, and it's more softly fruity, and I'm pretty sure I can get the eucalyptus and mint. A really interesting combination with the fruit, it's like a tropical garden.

Amber to me just tends to be a sweeter note, but paired with the right notes I think it could be tempered for you! I think Coyote could potentially be what you're after. Amber-centered scents that don't go sweet (at least on me!) off the top of my head: Haunted, Aelian's Phoenix, Scholar's Tower. So I'd say wood and incense does a good job of tempering it. I'd say keep your eye on the reviews of the new Dead Leaves, Tunisian Amber, and Smoked Balsam scent, if dead leaves work on you as I think that would be a fairly unsweet. I tend to like a fair bit of sweetness, so hopefully others will have more ideas for you!

In the imp I get just a gorgeous amber and leather combo. So many lovely words apply: deep, rich, warm, spiced, sweet. On my skin it is all these things, but with some dry, wispy herbal notes floating about it. The musk comes out and makes the scent more snuggly. Dry it is much the same, but with a silvery, minerally undercurrent that is so beautiful. I also agree with z_z that there might be a bit of coconut. Gorgeous scent!

In the imp I get a bright, almost sparkling, creamy honeysuckle. On my skin it gets warmer, muskier. I get more wispy florals, I think the plum isn't the fruit but plum blossom. Underneath is a warm bed of amber. This smells like walking through a garden in full bloom, just dizzy with beautiful heady honeysuckle and breezy blossoms.

In the imp this smells very fruity-musky, threatening to go artificial, to me it smells like blueberry. On my skin it gets juicier and more realistic, and firmly blackberry. The woods and oudh come out and add a very soft depth, wrapped in a soft blue musk. Dry it is much the same, with a whiff of really pretty, iris. A beautiful nostalgic powdery floral. But the musk and blackberry wine keep this very fresh, not so much a old-fashioned powder scent. Stunning! Especially since iris can be so iffy on me.

So glad I got my hands on a decant, I was so obsessed with this and sad I had to sit out on Lupers this year. In the imp I get a very cinnamon-y creamy chai tea, or like maybe a cinnamon bun. Idk, I've been baking a lot. On it is still a very fiery cinnamon, with a sweetness behind it but the sweetness is more green than it was in the imp. As it dries I get that distinct green-sweet-spicyness of cardamom, and the cassia dials it down a notch. I definitely get the resins, and the blend gets more dry. There's is a hot sand toastiness to it, and it's so cool. Eventually some soft watery florals start to peak out underneath everything. Like an oasis. Such a stunning blend.

In the imp, this is a swirling incense, I definitely get the frankincense. It's almost woody. On my skin the other notes come out a bit, but not in a identifiable way. Just the blend opening up, more smoky-sweetness an herbal tinge. Looking at the notes I can now pin the lavender, it's quite dry and subdued. I'm surprised to see dragon's blood, as that usually goes very sweet, almost cherry cough syrup like on my skin, but I'm getting none of that. All the notes blend very well and dry it's just a super mysterious swirly incense scent. It's quite unique and I'm doing a poor job of describing it.

Hi there @Laughing Seagull! Here's a few I think could work you for you: As you're a news reporter I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Media from American Gods: A news anchors cologne, a soap stars perfume: perfect, pixelated, and glamorous; aglow with cathodes and anodes, coated with phosphor. With such a plethora of piercings The Torture Queen from the Carnaval came to mind: White amber, vanilla musk, white tea, ambergris, gardenia, and chrome. Liking cold things, the rain, being quiet but not being able to sit still all made me think of you like a body of water. Like a river, a quiet force, but uncontained. This made me think of something like There's Water Here from OLLA: the wild glory of nature bursting through cement, metal and urban despair, purified by the waters of Lake St. Clair.

In the imp I get something bright and sort of zappy, like a soft, green Lightning. On my skin this sweet ozone-y scent fades and it becomes even greener, and mossy. A nice clean moss scent. As it dries I get some very soft wood underneath. After a bit I get a tiny edge of whisky. Much more understated than I anticipated, but very nice! A sophisticated, woodsy cologne. On my husband it is more woody, almost spicy, and more herbal.

In the imp this smells familiar, a classic BPAL sinister white floral. It has some sweetness, but not in a sunny, warm way. It's cool toned. On my skin I get lily up front, and some watery-florals, and something just a touch bitter. As it dries I'm fairly sure I'm getting some poppy, and looking at the notes the opium. It's almost incensy as it dries. Sadly I get no tuberose on me, which is one of my favorites. In the end this doesn't scream floral, on me anyway, despite so many listed. They mingle in that opium-haze, and it's all very sultry and smoky.

In the botte this smelled like fresh sweet cream, with just a hint of vanilla. Fresh on it was still creamy, but with a brighter, almost floral quality to it. Looking at the notes I think it was the fig and hay combination. Dry it gets much softer and snuggly. I get soft, sweet fig-scented milky tea with a bit of honey sweetness over the top. There's just a bit of that sweet, dusty hay scent around the edges of it. Gorgeous.

Hi there! I did some thinking and found a few that I think could work for you ☺️ As you're a Leo I must recommend The Lion from the Mad Tea Party: A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious. I think Diana from the Independent Shakespeare collection would suit you well, having strong (maybe intimidating at first) leather but warm and a bit softer at the heart with the musks and amber. And it has wildlife connotations: leather, gleaming golden amber, red amaranth, cypress, asphodel accord, a gleam of silver, and soft brown musk. In a similar vein, Heroine: Nepalese amber, East African patchouli, dark musk, apple blossom, petitgrain, aged leather, skin musk, and rhubarb. A feline scent for the black house cat in you, Bast: A desert wind alight with myrrh and golden amber, cardamom and honey, bourbon vanilla and cacao.

Imp: sweetness and bitterness. Mostly orange and vanilla and plumeria. Wet: more about orange and plumeria. Distinct incense. Smoky and ashy in a really unique way. Dry: The notes, besides that beautiful smoke, are very indistinct now. It's a very sweet smoke, with a humid floral undertone. So unique and beautiful.

In the imp: clean, glinting metal. A lightly chemical edge. There's something mineraly-aquatic about it. Wet: the same but more cologne-y. I definitely get the star anise now, but not too liquoricey. I get some frankincense, which is bringing some warmth and keeping this from pulling too fresh/green/aquatic. Dry: Spices and metal. Much more pleasant than that sounds. Golden rather than silver, there's a gently whirring life to it.

I was shocked I hadn't reviewed this, it smells so familiar I must have tested before. In the imp: a blast of warm cedar, with a bit of a camphorus edge. Wet: deep warm frankincense, sweet powdery sandalwood, and cedar, but quieter and smoother. Still a bit of an almost medicinal edge (probably the High John and/or galangal?) Dry: I think this is just so familiar because of that magical frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood combo. Once dry those are the main elements on me. Sweet, softly woody and powdery (in a good way), and warm. So comforting.

In the imp: super sweet, syrupy strawberry with some florals I can't identify at the edges. Wet: Strawberry syrup and bubblegum Dry: strawberry bubblegum with a bit of spicy carnation

In the imp: bright, bitter grapefruit, ginger, and honeysuckle. Very fresh. Wet: more jasmine over the grapefruit and ginger. It adds a sultry depth to those bright, zingy notes. Dry: a deep jasmine green tea-earthy greeness with just a touch of heady jasmine floating over it. There is a light edge of ginger and grapefruit around it now, adding just a touch of bitter zing.