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Lucchesa

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Everything posted by Lucchesa

  1. Lucchesa

    Vigil for the Harvest Suitors

    I am out of Eusapia (Pale lilacs, white tea, and candle wax) and the lilacs near my house are blooming. Enter Vigil for the Harvest Suitors! I had forgotten this was a lilac scent -- I don't associate lilac with harvest time. But Vigil is all about the lilac and beswax. I am not sure what broomcorn smells like, and I'm not getting anything I associate with bone, but I am getting lots of gorgeous sweet lilac and beeswax, and that is exactly what I was hoping for. If you're mourning the fact that Eusapia didn't return with this year's crop of spirits, you need Vigil for the Harvest Suitors in your life. Plus the label art is amazing.
  2. Lucchesa

    Foco

    I'm going to have to use Foco purely for ritual because it doesn't mesh well with my skin chemistry (red ginger is always a problematic note on me). Dry and harsh at first, with none of the sometimes cloying sweetness I usually expect from dragon's blood, Foco eventually mellows down into an herbal blend in which the ginger and chamomile are uppermost. I would happily drink this as a tea!
  3. Lucchesa

    The Robotic Scarab

    I quite like Robotic Scarab. It's never strong on me, a skin scent, but it lasts a long time at that level. I don't get a lot of anise (which I love) or frank from this, or really distinct impressions of any of the notes besides the machine oil, but it's a melange that reminds me of the men of my childhood. Comforting.
  4. Lucchesa

    A Place of Seeing

    This is amazing. I feel like if you missed out on the TAL Rose Tinted Mirror, this would have much the same effect. Better for me as it’s lavender instead of violet, though as usual the lovely lavender doesn’t last long on my skin. Soft sugary pink rose, marshmallow vanilla, just a cloud of lifted spirits.
  5. Lucchesa

    El Dorado

    I have no problem with cologne-type blends, but El Dorado isn’t that interesting on my skin. It’s dry and starts out a little higher pitched than I expected before mellowing down into dusty incense. There’s nothing wrong with it, I just don’t love it.
  6. Lucchesa

    Philopannyx

    Violet and champaca are Notes I Avoid so I wouldn't have tried this if it hadn't been frimped to me. It's actually surprisingly lovely. The violets are more bright than powdery, and while the violet and rose combo is definitely old fashioned, it's not old lady. In fact it's kind of a curious blend of classic floral perfume and headshop incense. LavenderCoffee's description nails the drydown for me: soft violet champaca musk over patch and dark dramatic roses. Which is not my thing, so I'll be passing this decant on, but I can appreciate its beauty!
  7. Lucchesa

    Vaginal Tales of the Nocturnal Palace

    Vaginal Tales is such a luper. Soft, sweet, creamy, with poofy mallow and bubble-gummy lotus. Pink pink pink! OK, maybe there are some other pastel tones here too. It toys with the edge of cloyingly sweet but never teeters over. Pillowy pink powderpuff of a fragrance; wear with a frilly skirt and fluffy kitten-heel slippers.
  8. Lucchesa

    Signum Crucis

    Signum Crucis starts out overwhelmingly rose on me. This is disappointing because I don't believe rose hips actually smell like roses. I was hoping for the tart tang of rosehip with three notes I love. The leather and mushroom did peek out eventually, but they didn't stand a chance against the roses. I never got much in the way of ambrette. This is definitely intended for rose lovers who want something less overtly femme. It makes me want to go out and cut into a rose hip and see if I smell rose.
  9. Lucchesa

    Snekhellden

    Snekhellden is sweet fruity Snake Oil on me. Hellfire disappears within minutes on my skin, so I'm not surprised that it barely shows up for me here. Nor am I getting Maiden's prominent and beloved carnation. (Is there a carnation snake oil of any description? Why not???) I'm jealous that others are getting leather; I get cherry. This reminds me most of Blood Squib Snake Oil.
  10. Lucchesa

    Thunder Moon 2021

    I slathered Thunder Moon on this morning without checking notes. It was obvious it was fruity; the overall vibe seemed like a plummy Event Horizon on me. My friend thought I smelled like incense in a metaphysical shop — she kept saying how good I smelled. The violet was quiet, fortunately, though so were the patchouli and vetiver. It had good throw and wear length, which are rare on my skin
  11. Lucchesa

    Partridges in the Snow

    This was my favorite entry in the Lux Brumalis collection. (OK, I also loved Winter Night Figure on the Bridge, but this one is more "me.") I love the roasted chestnut note, and the other notes form a woody, snuggly backdrop for it. Cozy, nutty, sweet, outdoorsy.
  12. Lucchesa

    Leaf Moon 2021

    Leaf Moon starts out harsh on me, mostly woodsmoke and the dead leaves note and a green leaf note as well. After about an hour it softens considerably, and the dry down is beautiful, sweet patchouli and gentle smoke, with the leaves having transmuted into something perfume-like. I’m really not getting any distinct red musk. On initial application I thought this was headed straight for swaps, but I will keep it around because I love the dry down and think it might age brilliantly.
  13. Lucchesa

    The Empress and the Chariot

    This starts out strong with lavender and motor oil. Lavender never lasts on me, and sure enough it's mostly gone within half an hour or so, while the black leather takes its place. There also seems to be a green note here, but it's mainly motor oil and leather with a little woods, very unisex. It wears close to the skin but for a long time.
  14. Lucchesa

    Klosterruine Im Winter Mit Blick Auf Heisterbach

    Cool snow and smoky incense. I'm not getting any frankincense specifically. Ice, stone, smoke. It's really evocative and perfect for the painting, but for me would be better as an atmo than a perfume.
  15. Lucchesa

    A Chocolate Cat

    A Chocolate Cat is very sweet on me, with honeyed cacao as its most prominent component. It sits at the cusp between gourmand and dark resins, or as if traditional perfume notes have been gourmandized -- toasted amber, carmelized musk. This is a territory I quite like, and the honey gives this great staying power on me. The one disappointment here is the vetiver, which is too well-behaved for my liking. I think this may age into a 2S&2G type drydown where the sweet vetiver dominates, but for now it's overpowered by the honey. 8/13 update: My first slonk of A Chocolate Cat flew out of my hands and I couldn't figure out where it had gone until I found it resting upside down in the folds of my scarf. My scarf still smells amazing. Fortunately, @Teamama gifted me another one, which is not nearly so sweet - the vetiver is indeed coming into its own, the honey is more flavoring than sweetness. This is aging beautifully.
  16. Lucchesa

    Vial of Holy Water

    I'm not sure I've ever tried Vial of Holy Water before -- I just filed it with my RPG scents. It's surprisingly nice on me, just flirting with dryer sheet territory. It reminds me of the water dispensers in fancy places with cucumber slices and citrus slices floating among the ice cubes. Soft, white and cool and lasting surprisingly well.
  17. Lucchesa

    Chibi Skull With Last Will and Testament

    OK, I just need to stop buying anything with the word "cream" in the descriptor. It's going to go sour milk on my skin, and all the beauties of bourbon vanilla and red patchouli, which this scent starts out with, can't save it.
  18. Lucchesa

    Pontifex Pontificum

    Pontifex Pontificum is mostly verbena and neroli on me. I'm not getting the rose, which I wasn't hoping for anyway, and just a bit of frankincense anchoring it. But mainly lemony verbena and orange blossom. Bright and summery and upbeat.
  19. Lucchesa

    Dead Leaves, Blackcurrant, and Golden Champa

    I can't wear nag champa. It almost turns my stomach. Champaca can be just as bad, though not always. So I would never have tried this had it not been generously gifted to me in a swap this autumn with a bunch of other wonderful DL blends. Funny thing, though -- I can't smell any nag champa in the decant. Is golden champa a whole different thing? I get the dead leaves and a bright tartness that's not specifically blackcurrant. I tested this a couple hours before bedtime and need to try it again for wear length and drydown but my initial impression is very positive.
  20. Lucchesa

    PSL: Pumpkin Snake Latte

    OK, this is bizarre. PSL hits me as a blast of red musk. Are my decants mislabeled? No, my Pumpkinville is definitely not a snake. In no other snake oil blend I have tried has red musk come out swinging like this. I get a little coffee, a hint of spice, and RED MUSK. After about an hour I can start to suss out the general contours of snake oil though with hardly any vanilla or sweetness. Weird. I wonder if this is the Crowley experience @theredkilt is describing.
  21. Lucchesa

    Dead Leaves, Roasted Almonds, and Bourbon Cream

    I was hoping for a kissing cousin to DL & Scotch from a couple years back. No such luck. Here the DL are much less prominent, so that Dead Leaves, Roasted Almonds and Bourbon Cream is foodier than the DL & Molasses Pumpkin Cookie on my other wrist, surprisingly. Kind of a bourbon and almond flavored dessert vibe. Unless the leaves kick it up a notch, this one won't be a keeper for me.
  22. Lucchesa

    Dead Leaves and Molasses Pumpkin Cookies

    In the slonk, i mostly smell the dead leaves portion of Dead Leaves and Molasses Pumpkin Cookies, but once I apply it the two substances battle it out so that I get one and then the other sequentially. The cookies seem to have lemon peel -- they're brighter than I expected and less obviously pumpkiny. This ends up a lovely balance of the autumn leaves and the molasses cookie. Really nice.
  23. Lucchesa

    The Woman at the Edge of the Woods

    I keep wearing Woman at the Edge of the Woods and forgetting to review it. It is definitely brambles. Patchouli, woods, thorns, ivy, witchy herbs, maybe a touch of soil still attached to those mandrake roots. (I have no clue what mandrake smells like.) I adored this the first couple times I wore it, and I still love when it's wet -- I'm a sucker for patchouli, forest scents, sage. I put it on my bottle list. But the last time I wore it, the rose thorns took over and a rose note dominated, which some people might appreciate, but not me. I will keep trying as I decide whether or not I need a bottle.
  24. Lucchesa

    Pyramid of Skulls

    Pyramid of Skulls might have some grey sandalwood -- I tested it alongside Innocent Souls Turned Carrion Birds, and there are definitely similarities in the two scents, which are both beautiful and restrained. The tobacco is quite light on me. But neither seems to have the staying power I was hoping for. I'll keep the decant around to see if it gets any stronger with some aging.
  25. Lucchesa

    The Hierophant and The Empress

    H&E 2021. This was given to me and was never likely to work. I love mallow flower and often gardenia, but I avoid violet whenever possible. And this is pretty much all rose and violet on me. Any frankincense is very subtle. The gardenia and mallow are overpowered by the rose and violet. If floofy old fashioned florals are your thing, you should love this. ETA that it's pretty darned strong on me.
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