Convallaria

The lust incense of a corrupted Astarte. A blend of ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices. While the concept tempted me, the reviews said "gourmand" so I was reluctant to get one of my own. Fortunately, I got a frimp with my Trading Post purchase. It is as the others described, opening with ginger cookies, rather strong sillage. They last for a long while. The drydown after that remains on the intense side for a long time, the scent I get is vanilla and powdered sugar, rather like old school perfumery. Great scent on its own but disappointing to me as a concept scent for Shub-Niggurath. Not getting anything otherworldly from it, none of the resins or greener herbs. Not sure how I feel about the idea of smelling like a cookie. Then again, even people who aren't fans of fragrances seem to like really edible gourmands better than florals, musks, chypres, aldehydes or even more abstract gourmands, so maybe it would be a good everyday choice.

On me, it's rose but I also get that synthetic "fresh" scent quality like a detergent/cheaper air freshener (snowflakes?). Not much of amber. Relatively long lasting with low sillage.

@LizziesLuck Thank you! I'll take LE recs as well, maybe there are some bottles remaining on Etsy. I think already had Priala in mind but was worried about vetiver making it woody, and I considered Antikythera anyway, though it's a relief to hear the woods aren't strong. (I'm not a woods hater, but I'm perpetually worried they'll go too masculine on me.) I think I passed over Ode on Melancholy when browsing by myself because I'm not a fan of "clean" white musk and Blood because I have no idea about what "dragon's blood resin" smells like, but regular dragon's blood note is amped sweet white floral on me. As for specific herb, not really, sorry. The example I own and that inspired me to look for more doesn't actually contain herbs but produces an effect of mint and mothballs somehow (thanks to styrax+clove?). But again, I'm not looking for a double. I guess something like mint or tea or ivy or nettle or sage or chamomile or even galbanum might work? Though I know the combination is rather unlikely because "herbal" perfume isn't that popular to begin with and who wants to drown their flowers in stinky medicine anyway except weirdos like me. Thanks again! ETA: By the way, how boozy is rum in Elegba and Santo Domingo? I know I had issues with Lab's wine and other places' vodka.

Resurrecting to ask for a bit difficult-to-browse combinations: 1)Rose/Lavender? I ordered (not yet shipped)King of Hearts imp with "spark of lavender" but there seems to be a lot more going on in that blend. Misericordia claims "rose otto", whatever it is, and I'm not sure how prominent the notes are in it. 2)White floral/Herbal? With prominent herbs? 3)Incense/resin +spices? Just not a lot of frankincense, please, Nephilim really doesn't work on me. (For reference, one of my favorite non-BPALs is myrrh+copaiba+black pepper, but I'm not looking for duplicate, just something along those lines.) 4)Sweeter tobacco blend - along the lines of amber, honey or vanilla, not woods/herbs/incense or sharp spices.

What I received: Frimp with Lab order. What I expected: Wasabi! And something medicinal. What I got: Fifty Shades of Black Tea. Honey pops up now and then, but Black Tea's domination is unshakable at every stage, even as it fluctuates between different shades. Maybe there's wasabi in there too, but it's too submissive to notice. Surprisingly lovely on skin, but not sure it's full bottle-worthy for me. It might be nice in summer, though.

Aquatics? What aquatics? On me, it's white-green floral (something on lily-lilac-jasmine-muguet spectrum) with some salt sneaking in occasionally, but never enough to stand out without sniffing very closely. Starts on sweeter end, moves towards "green" during drydown.

I'm another one who gets the bitter almond. If you think of it and sniff closely, it's only sharp, thin honey. Still, the overall impression remains "almond" for about first fifteen minutes. Then it softens into a more honey-ish scent, closer to skin. The drydown is almost powdery vanilla. The amber is in the support role here. Not what I'd associate with contemporary sexuality, but it does remind me of old-school French perfumery, which should fit the period and location of the story this scent was named for. It could have been something "O" herself has worn.

On me, it starts as herbs (opponax) with a little bit of dry, "polite" tobacco. ("Polite" meaning not actually smelling like ashtray the way they used to do it in 1920s/30s.) Then the rose spiced with musk comes through and takes over. The drydown is mostly musk.

Well, this one seems to be a shapeshifter (a pair of?). At the opening, I get coffee-flavored hard candy front and center and chocolate-flavored lip balm peeking behind. (Basically, "coffee aroma" and "chocolate aroma", not really that reminiscent of the real thing.) Drydown: Tamed leather takes over, but the sweetness is still there. Very weak, almost goes missing at times. Not getting the cologne vibe at all. To me, it's very middle-of-the-road unisex. Verdict: The gentlemen in question seem more like they just shut down their bookshop for the night than two old scoundrels caught mid-revelry. Not a fan of opening notes on their own, but the complete picture on my skin is not that bad. Will probably wear because it would be hard to pass on to someone, it's so bizarre. Also because I need more perfumes without lethal sillage, I guess.

I tested it on skin and cotton. On cotton: At the opening, woods come out to play. It's smoky and masculine, not sweet at all. Vanilla comes through several hours later, but it's still predominantly sandalwood+vetiver. On skin: At the start I can smell all four quoted notes at the same time, at about same intensity. The impression is from afar is still smoky masculine, but it feels much more complex (and androgynous) when sniffed closely. In drydown, vanilla takes over gradually. Both phases last long. Overall: Will wear on skin, probably won't be using it in aroma jewelry.