Casablanca
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Buttery almond fortune cookies with an incense close to that in Midnight on the Midway. This is the scent of roadside-stand fortunes told... about futures that involve almonds.
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Autumn Landscape with a Flock of Turkeys
Casablanca replied to Silvertree's topic in Limited Editions
At first, this offers mostly a burst of lemony citrus, stronger than the hints from some hay notes. But soon the citrus fades and there emerges a soft, hay-flecked linen. Later, some patchouli and woods ground the linen somewhat, but even so, it grows powdery on my skin. I've enjoyed this decant, but I happen to have a Traditional Sheet Ghost bottle for lemony linens. -
Complex, multi-layered boot-leather blast from the second of application. This is the soul (and sole) of a boot.
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Sweet toasted sandalwood. If sandalwood could behave as a marshmallow does when toasted over a fire, it would smell like this. Oak and tobacco blend in well with this first impression --- interesting how I notice oak more in the front of the inhale, and tobacco on the back end --- and there's a soft, complex woodiness even behind all these leaves and wood. Yet there is nothing wild or forested about this blend; it's entirely cultivated, sophisticated, and intentional. Well-crafted.
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Powdery violet and iris against a marshy-green swamp, its background cypress boughs draped in moss. This blend smells like images that have come up when I've searched for swamp cypress roots, with the addition of chalky, blue-purple flowers. In dry-down, I also find a pine dry enough that it smells ready to immerse in flames at the slightest spark. Overall, this blend is like a swamp in an off season, a driest season of the year, when the water is lowest and exposes the pale bones of the roots and any vulnerabilities.
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Sour rice milk with sort of an odd little cheek-pinch of bergamot on a backdrop of grainy sandalwood and palo santo. Sourness isn't a usual milk effect on my skin, but there it is. It's working strangely with the citrus of bergamot and the slight lemony note common to palo santo. The creaminess grows as this matures on my skin, and loses some sourness... but overall, this one is an oddball on my skin, and not in a way that draws me.
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Red Musk, Sugared Amber, and Red Berries
Casablanca replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Dark and red fruitiness against a sultry backdrop of sugar and red musk. The fruits bring to mind red and black currants, raspberries, and blackberries. The predominant color of the blend is red, and a lot of it against the red musk... but there is some lush fruit-juicy darkness to be had here, as well. To my delight, the sugar stands out. Ung, sugar. This is a strong blend, which I'm enjoying in its early phase... but I'm also kind of waiting for the red musk to turn to stinky midday Pennsic tent sweat on my skin (if you know, you know). But these sugared fruits make me happy. -
I remember that when a friend and I first sampled this, it was unexpected for the listed notes... but nothing else about it. It has rested longer now and flies closer to what one might guess. It goes on my skin downy-quiet at first, a barely there scent that sometimes happens when a blend has lots of notes and mostly of the middle and base variety. Freshly applied, I just catch a breath-soft smoky patch and that's about it. The smoky patchouli grows and develops a little vanilla as this dries and matures, but it never becomes potent. There are hints of myrrh and dust. Surprisingly, though, I never find a trace of spice or black musk. I'm not sure if further aging will bring them out, and may never know, as this decant will probably go back to my friend tonight.
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Soft, brown, fuzzy-powdery, and a bit feather-down fluffy. Tonka is most prominent for me, smelling pale and a little vanillic and cloud-like, but the other notes lean brown and grounding. Sandalwood and oak suggest their woods, but I don't notice vetiver adding its own. Beeswax comes into its own later on. The almond is present throughout, but mild on my skin. The Little Owl is a quiet scent, suitable anywhere, though a little too powdery for me.
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Tea, amber, dried leaves, and maple. This blend is a moment of watching outer seasons change and reflect shifts in the inner world. Really lovely. Autumn Sun I reminds me of October 32, with their shared autumnal vibes of dried leaves, amber, and tea. Autumn Sun lacks October 32's prominent wool, but it does give off just a breath of its vanilla, possibly from the amber. They are both Autumn as a Mood --- a few quiet moments taken for oneself, gazing across a sun-stained field of dying grasses and dead, blowing leaves, anticipating the coming withdrawal of the land's life into winter.
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Portrait of an Unidentified Man Dressed as a Skeleton
Casablanca replied to Silvertree's topic in Limited Editions
Here is one for licorice lovers! Freshly applied, Portrait is sweet black licorice candy on my arm --- brash and unapologetic. The sweet black licorice brings Black Licorice Smut to mind, a blend I still wear on some fall and winter nights. Touches of soft taffy waft in and out, adding to the candy vibe. The twin darknesses of patch and oud add some wooden stability to the mad licorice whimsy. This is primarily sweet and candied, so dark it blackens my tongue to smell it. I don't think I need bottles of both it and Black Licorice Smut, but I'll enjoy this decant. -
Die Pest begins with a soft, dusty, black-peppery cedar and patchouli on my skin. It's an opening that leaves me curious how it will develop --- until it's obscured by a soft cloud of cologne. I didn't anticipate cologne from the published notes list. Not my thing, and I do wish I'd known.
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A smooth, chewy patchouli sweetened and made nommy with vanilla marshmallow and a bit of caramelized sugar. Light hint of pepper fading in and out, nothing intrusive. This is in the sweet vanilla patchouli family and I love it.
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Smoked Caramel, Himalayan Cedar, and Patchouli
Casablanca replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I was just writing about notes I experience as "homey" in a review of Chocolate, Cinnamon Bark, and Chipotle Honey. Here's another one for that topic... cedar and patch (and sometimes smoke) are my other main homey players, so I figured this one would be as cozy as can be. But this isn't a specific cedar note that really takes me there. This one smells a little more rough-edged and rustic to me --- more the rugged wilderness than the rugged homestead. A fuzzy, earthy patchouli dirties it up a bit and leaves me with an earthy, woodsy camping impression. The patch and Himalayan cedar are the stronger notes on my skin. I've had a few wearings of this where I can smell the smoke and caramel, but this morning they're not showing up for me. They guest at this camp but aren't always around. This blend differs from my hope for it, but I like it regardless. -
Chocolate, Cinnamon Bark, and Chipotle Honey
Casablanca replied to Silvertree's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
CCBandCH could be a delight for lovers of all its notes; each of them is present and accounted for. Out of the gate, I'd say the cinnamon bark (which is quite barky) may be the most potent on my skin. There's also plenty of honeyed cocoa to sip here, however. The trio is cozy and evocative. Cinnamon bark is one of the notes that can feel very homey to me, and this blend is bringing the hominess, well, home. After a moment, the chipotle comes into its own. I very much loved the especially-limited-run Temptation of St. Nick, with its chili-peppered and spiced cacao --- my perfume boxes have been missing something vital since I ran out of it and had no other blend with Central or South American peppers. I'm thrilled to have this one and have been wearing it often.