Lucchesa

The Lion is a lovely, warm amber on me, like a beam of autumn sunshine.  I don't get any particular spices, just the way a good amber can harbor its own spiciness somehow.  It's spicy amber, not amber plus cinnamon or clove or whatever.  It's not a strong scent, and the wear length is only average on me, but it's something I often choose for unfamiliar work situations because it feels professional but not impersonal or generic.  It projects the warm glowing confidence I want as my own. 

There’s a lot of good stuff in Calico Jack, but there’s also a lot of aquatic, and that’s what’s makes this a pass for me. Lovely spicy musky woody salty leather and laundry detergent. 

I tried this once before and it went into my swap pile without my reviewing it.  Another sample has come my way, so I tried again, thinking it sounded just the thing for a bright September day.  I love the tangy flavor of tamarind and am not sure I have any other scents with it, but it's not very prominent here.  Forever is more of a sweet amber and fig blend on me, with almost no patchouli.  Like some of my older decants, this one has lost all its sharp edges and some of its distinctiveness.  No throw and fairly short wear length.  Not a standout.

I love all of these notes, and the combination does not disappoint.  Toasty, nutty, warm and glowy, this is perfect for late summer/early autumn.  Very satisfying, and the throw and wear length are good on me. 

The only note that gave me pause here was the hazelnut cream because cream notes have been doing abominable things on my skin lately.  This, however, is not hazelnut cream but just a lovely toasted hazelnut.  Caramelized, even.  With lovely roasted chestnut and that beautiful, beautiful sweet vetiver of Two Sheep and Two Goats.  It goes on sweet and even foodie but quickly becomes something more as the vetiver develops.  Maybe a little amber, maybe a little cashmere, no cedar that I can detect.  I love toasty nut notes and the vetiver lasts all day and this is just a beauty. 

The soil is strong in this one (2022).  For the first hour or more, it's all dirty leather, primarily the dirt, not the leather.  In the vial I can smell a much more balanced set of ingredients, but the soil note takes over on my skin, which is unfortunate because every other note here I adore.  Even in later drydown I never get tonka or ambrette, and not nearly as much tobacco or vetiver as I'd like.  Leather and dirt, yup.  I'm going to try aging this for a year or so to see if the other notes emerge, but right now my skin chemistry is ruining it.

I am totally delighted by everything about the Light Betwixt the Horns except for the fact that I didn't spring for a bottle.  Red musk predominates as it always does on me, but the supporting players are so great here.  I don't get the sense of specific fruits, just a fruity red musk, and it's spicy from the clove.  There's a background of deep rich amber and patchouli, two of my favorite notes.  I honestly don't get any juniper, which is fine, it can go awry on me.  Despite the "scorched" and "blackened" of the description, I'm not getting any kind of charred vetiver, just  a rich, slightly smoky depth.  This has been going strong for eight hours, very rare on my dry middle-aged skin.  Why did I only get a decant?  Why?  TLDR: spicy red musk, eminently wearable, sexy as hell.  Totally hoardworthy.

Horn of Benediction doesn't have nearly as much vetiver present on my skin as I would have liked.  It's definitely a white vetiver -- everything here is light and bright.  The sandalwood, sage and incense are hard to pick apart -- it's similar to the white incense note in some blends.  The overall vibe is of a clean, summery incense, with a whiff of ambergris. 

I posted the Tiny Art Swap -- waiting for mod approval. 

On 8/25/2022 at 5:26 AM, twilighteyes said:

totally too restrictive!!  You can squish a lot of yarn into a 7x7!!     (although I have some teeny tiny canvas, so there's that.)

So what would be a meaningful restriction for a knitted tiny art project? One skein? Squishable into a 7 x 7 cube?

Crafting something with only materials on hands is not exactly a challenge for me. I suspect that’s true for a lot of us… 

And the Samhain tiny art swap will be posted within the week! We’re ironing out the details for fiber artists — I’m not one, and @Missanneshirleyofgg thinks they’re too restrictive. 

One of my favorite scents is that of sheets hanging out to dry in the sun, and Traditional Sheet Ghost comes near to catching that vibe.  There's a sunny lemon I wouldn't have pegged as frankincense and that clean cotton smell with a hint of vanilla.  I'm not getting a lot of marshmallow, though it is mildly sweet.  It has hardly any throw on me but lasted longer than I expected it to.  Very work appropriate and a fun summery scent.

11 hours ago, twilighteyes said:

I'm up for doing 13 days of Halloween again (beginning of September after swap sprite closes) and also a wolfenoot swap due the day before thanksgiving, so starting end of September?  I'll have to re read the rules about how many swaps one can run.  And maybe Krampusnacht again starting end of October?  
 

i love the samhain swap (four - five items) but I think I'll be running too many to do that too.  I'm not on computer or I would be looking things up. 

Three is the max, I believe! 

I’m avoiding oudh these days, but this decant was gifted to me, and it’s really lovely. Everything is understated on me — the pepper and oudh balance out the honey and vanilla, and nothing stands out, like a perfect ensemble cast where no one is showboating and everyone shines. Utterly unisex. I think this would be appropriate for work because it is understated, but yes, it’s sexy too. 

This was a gift from a lovely forumite, and when it hit my skin I thought for sure there must be a goats milk component. It had that kind of barnyard twang along with the sweet florals. Cream notes have been disastrous on me lately.  It settles down into something wearable (I actually enjoy the goats milk note) although more floral than my usual jam. Lots of pink roses and pink peonies, and not much in the way of identifiable amber or sandalwood. So creamy pink florals and goats milk. 

This was frottled to @Teamama who generously passed it on to me.  Sadly, I don't do orange blossom either.  And this is a lot of honeyed orange blossom on me.  The amber adds a powdery feel to the orange blossom rather than appearing in its own right, and after half an hour or so I do get the smoky frankincense, though it's overpowered by the orange blossom.  If orange blossom is your jam, it's hard to see how this could miss. 

I want LavenderCoffee's skin chemistry!  I got peonies.  Big peonies.  With some honeyed goat's milk.  I'm still hoping the carnation and vetiver will show up on my skin.  Peony is actually one of the few florals I enjoy, but this is really a faceful of them. 

Despite the cacao as the first listed note, this is not a foodie blend.  It's in the same family as #occupywallstreet, but this is the more respectable cousin who doesn't sport dreadlocks and bathes regularly.  This patch is smooth, not filthy, with a little sweetness from the tonka, some rich woods from the mahogany (I get no smoke whatsoever, if that note is of concern) and a bit of that incensy sandalwood.  And of course the deep dark cacao holding it all together.  I don't see any sludge in my bottle, and it doesn't stain my wrist.  I bought the two Roe v. Wade scents I thought would work on me, the two with patchouli, and they're both pretty perfect. 

This is already one of my favorite cardamoms.  Earthy patchouli sweetened by brown sugar and vanilla with lots of spicy cardamom -- what's not to love?  This is an instant classic.  The throw and wear length are nothing to write home about, but hopefully that will improve with a little aging. 

Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry was extremely unlikely to work on me, but I love the woodcut so much I had to give it a try.  Plus I was interested in the woad note.  Like doomsday_disco, I get mostly cherry blossom dryer sheets.  Unfortunately, I also get tuberose, which I dislike.  I can't make out any smokiness, any black plum, or anything I could possibly identify as woad.  Swaps. 

I nearly wrote this off when I first applied Bugbear Doula.  I was getting a slightly high-pitched lemony tea note, and I couldn't imagine ever really wearing it.  But over the next half hour, it softened into something cozy, with the fur note adding a hint of musk and something sweetening it (a drop of honey in that chamomile tea?).  It's not really what I would consider herbal, just golden and comforting. 

Lots of campfire here, and not much gingerbread -- just the spices, if anything, and they're pretty charred.  It's a lovely campfire scent if you're into that sort of thing -- in the same family as Chestnuts and Hearth Smoke or Dead Leaves on Fire.  I think it would make a good layering scent for weenies that don't have quite enough bonfire going on.  BPAL wood smoke fans know who they are, and this is for them. 

Queen reminds me a little of Against Idleness and Mischief -- honey and herbs, a little sharp at first but they settle down quickly.  There is also definitely something floral as well, maybe a pale musk.  There may be pepper but that's often a note I can't smell or that doesn't emerge on me.  This is nice enough, but it's not a goddess or major power scent for me.  I'll keep one imp around and give away the other. 

No worries, @spookygrrrly!!!  @Missanneshirleyofgg reached out to me saying that she'd like to co-mod a tiny art swap with me -- I think tiny? -- and we decided it will be a Samhain themed one with sign-ups in late August.  You're off the hook!

Stuffing a small flat rate box sounds like a lot of fun.  @doomsday_disco would that satisfy your desire for a small Halloween swap?

Hi, @clockworkcrypt! I’ve flown with both imps and bottles in checked luggage and in the liquids ziplock of my carry on (and since getting TSA precheck, just randomly in my toiletries and even in my purse) and I have never had any problem. I usually travel with only GC imps because I’d hate to lose something irreplaceable, but recently I’ve been more adventurous. It’s fun to plan perfume for where you’re going and what you’re doing.  Bon voyage!