artisjok

This 13 was created by Brian Constantine. Voluptuous and somber: a Thirteen created as a reflection on the capricious nature of Tyche - bittersweet cacao and dragon's blood resin sweetened by honey and vanilla bean, brightened by saffron, and touched by the contemplative depths of oak leaf, solemn opoponax, frankincense, myrrh, black amber, hiba wood, aged patchouli, burgundy pitch, and Balm of Gilead. 13 July 2012 starts out like many have said- juicy lucious raspberryish chocolate. I like it alright, but as it dries down, I like it even more! The berry juiciness tones down and becomes more obviously dragon’s blood resin. I can pick out the vanilla now and the chocolate has gone down to a supporting note. In the background, I can tell the other resinous components are making the blend more complex, but can’t pick them out individually. This reminds me of a softer, darker, more complex Dragon’s Milk, since the vanilla is making a show and the DBR is the main dry down player. Good wear length and decent throw. It’s floating around me gently. I was a little nervous when swapping for this thirteen, wanting all the beautiful notes to come through. Glad I took the chance! Yum... Edit: I wore this today after deciding to swap, but my little one tore the label, so what the heck, I’m keeping it.... and it had a smoky edge I didn’t remember the first time. The chocolate note seemed to last stronger and longer, too. I think the slight skin chem shifts throughout the month really effect the blends that have so many notes, a la Thirteens. Makes the experience fun! Yay for torn labels!

I reeeeallly want to like this scent, I love the story and the idea of the notes, but I just... Ugh. Can't do it! Starts off off with a sharp soap note that quickly gives way to a drrrrrrrrry animalic musk. I tend to like thick sweet musks with resins. This one is making me want to gag :/ I think there might be my new arch nemesis champaca in the spice blend, making this extra blek on my skin. *sigh* Already washed off and covered with a comfort scent to ease my sadness.

Family Reseblence starts out sugary cinnamon (weird, but no mistaking, that taste it leaves). As the cinnamon fades out during drying process, I'm definitely getting a velvet cakiness with musk and a touch of sugary red licorice. Not really getting much Tombstone :/ I'm wearing the HG to compare. There's a slight something that matches between them, but it's a barely-there whiff that I can't tease out.

Soooo good!!! like others have mentioned, the sugar aspect starts out a bit citrusy, but it's delectable with the earthy patchouli. The citrus goes away pretty quickly. The sweet patchouli that remains makes me so happy. Close to Ask the Nearest Hippie, but fancier- a refined hippie. After i I had been wearing it for a while, I did some saging of the house and now I want a sugared patchouli and sage smoke scent... omnomnom *drools*

Of course you do, Lucchesa I love this one so much! It's classic Snake Oil with a luscious leather note slathered all over it. I have 2017, so I think it's aged just enough to be particularly yum. I had my partner smell my wrist when I first applied, and he asked "saffron?" I smelled, and the leather note does smell like saffron. Maybe that's the chemical sense others have gotten, but for me it's that point when you get just the right amount where the mouth salivates. Decedent! I feel like such a sexy queen wearing Snake Skin. Only need a little for big throw and long wear length, too. Glad it will last.

& Lilith Nightingale! Very comforting, creamy Indian spices. I didn't get much of the date or fig, but a touch of sweetness. Not very sweet though.

I wish Truth Will Prevail worked on my skin as it does for all the previous reviews! All I get is cheap vanilla candle, not even a spicy cheap vanilla candle. It's not a bad smell, but it's not interesting enough for me to keep my decant. Merr..

Tokyo Stomp smells so delicious in the vial! chocolate minty yum Wet, it's still nice. Minty and sweet vanilla, but the drydown just turns into a dusty cheap vanilla candle that has a slight hint of mint. Meh... If only my skin liked this vanilla note!

Unicorn & Ram is so cozy. I detect all the notes, except oude. Soft leather wrapped in wool and cashmere, slightly spiced up by the cardamom, and a sweet touch of musk that comes out more as time goes by. It's got low throw, but I'm still managing to get whiffs of it from the dabs I put on my neck. I keep returning to sniff my wrists. It's a little chilly outside and this scent is so perfect for curling up with tea and a book. Glad to have found a bottle!

In my quest of converting friends and family to BPAL, I've been given the task to find a sutible replacement to Clinique Aromatics Elixir. It seems to have so many notes to it, I don't know where to start! Plus, I can't recall if I've ever smelled it. So, I'm coming to you, community. Help a girl out! Here's a note list I found: "Top notes: Bergamot, green notes, coriander, rosewood, aldehyde, palmarosa (a rose-scented species of lemongrass also called Indian geranium) Heart notes: Rose de Mai, jasmine, carnation, ylang-ylang, tuberose, orris Base notes: Patchouli, vetiver, civet, sandalwood, oakmoss, cistus, musk"

Got this scent to pair with my Tombstone HG. It's the perfect for pairing, but I also love it for a yummy take on the lab's cozy brown musk (Canis Major is also a fav). Starts out strong on the dry cedar, spiced up with cardamom. The sweet vanilla and musks start to come to the forefront as the oil dries down. The final product is mainly these two notes, with a tiny hint of cedar woodiness and a tinge of spice. Very fuzzy, cuddly kitty vibe! I do wish the cedar stayed a bit stronger for longer on my skin, but I put a drop on my shirt and that helps fulfill the wish.

I'm getting mostly custard and a powdery vanilla scent. In the wet stage, there's a good waft of cacao, but it flees with the dry down. I wish I was getting more rose & lemon blossom! Like Lucchesa says, pleasant, but not all I expected it to be. Will use up the decant for a comfy goody vanilla scent, though.

Right out of the bottle there's a strong whif of almond, this immediately retreats to a strong perfumery oudh. There is something golden about it, but I can't put my finger on what it reminds me of. The drydown brings more of the nuttiness back out, and the oudh smooths out a lot. Still quite perfumey, but pleasantly so. The longer I have this on, the more I like it! Almond peaks out more and mingles seamlessly with the oudh. Wear length & throw are quite good on my skin. Editing to say I'm getting the sesame sense now. It's yummy cozy.

This pretty lil one goes on all sandalwood, but quickly quickly that fades away. A cacao-dusted benzoin is left in the wake of the initial sandalwood blast. I do love benzoin, that's why I purchased this scent, but I was hoping it would be a continuous blend of the three notes through the entire wear time. Also, very low throw for me. I am going to age this bottle some, suspecting that the notes will grow in strength. Hopefully, sandalwood will feel more at home in time and stick around longer! Similar feel to the Initiatrix benzoin, one of my favorite scents! update: already the sandalwood is lasting longer! Yay! Now that the weather turned cold, the cacao is seperating. Had to roll and roll and roll the bottle to get it merged back with the rest of oils.

Yes, a huge hit of butterscotch, making my stomach ache and my mouth water, simultaneously. To my surprise and delight, this reminds me of a stickier, warmer Miskatonic U on my skin! The scholars are enjoying Irish coffee in the common area, but I've managed to smuggle some rich decadent cake into the stacks, munching down while I research. Oh no, I think I hear the librarian approaching! *huddles behind a paper to cover sticky hands and face* I think I want a bottle.... Especially if the sweetness tones down some after time, then I might feel less guilty.

I almost blind bottled this one, but now I'm glad I could refrain. I wanted this to be the lavender scent of my dreams, but the lavender was barely there for me! In the beginning wet stage, I get a super soft lav & cotton scent. As it dries, the lavender fades, being swiftly replaced by skin musk- the same as Neutral. Then it's just cotton-covered sweet musk until I fell asleep. If there had been lavender throughout the experience, I would've gotten a bottle. I'll just stick with the decant and see if anything changes, or even use it for layering. Could be fun.

Starts off a creamy spiced vanilla, but with an odd perfumery/hairspray-like effect to my nose. I can tell it's the anise/cardamom combo, and the more I consider it, the less it bothers me. Even so, this stage isn't my cup of tea. After a few hours, the spices mellow out and I do enjoy it. Lasts through the next day in the tamer yum version.

This scent is so rich. When Infirst apply, it's such a strong intense wave of sweet tobacco & smoky vetiver, it makes me nauseous. (Might just be too much applied....) On the drydown though, I'm smitten. The dark chocolate comes forth to join the party and, oh man, so smooth, dark, and sexy! The staying power and throw are big. I feel like I need to dim the lights to wear this beauty. Edit: I wore this today, and it’s allll about the vetiver! The chocolate and tobacco support and make it super dense rich lush, but the grassy yet smokiness of the vetiver reigns. I love it. My partner less so he says it’s very masculine, but that’s my jam! Chocolate isn’t a scent he enjoys, either. Also, I’ve been finding that I’m not much of a tobacco fan, but here I’m not bothered at all. Yahoo! This is making the rainy gloom of today cozy, indeed.

I love Death Cap! Wet, it's very earthy, dirt with a hint of perfumery sweetness. Then, on the drydown, it transforms into a beautiful light incense on me. Yum! I get the references to coconut, but it's got something resiny going on, as well, that I really appreciate. Longer lasting than I'd expect and lovely wafts to my nose throughout. Update: I now get a really lovely smoky note for the first hour of wear. Delicious. I wonder if it’s my skin chem that shifted (likely) or the aging.... I love this in the cooler months, yet works for all year. I tend to pick this for my travel scent.

Never thought I was interested in rose scents until I started trying the lab's sweet interpretations! Initiatrix is like benzoin was soaking in a rose oil bath and then I slathered it on my skin once it came out of the steamy rose room. With the humidity we're experiencing here, the scent wafted around me so beautifully. The sweet resiny creaminess of the benzoin is so beautiful with rose. I'm in love~ *gives in to the romantic=rose stereotype*

Gaeuko starts off a strong masculine lavender, but, as it dries, the scents softens dramatically, seemingly disappearing for the most part. Yet wait! I get wafts of gentle lavender incense clouds floating about my head. There's a slight scent on my skin, maybe a little lab & tobacco, but the wispy aura around me is great. A trickster scent- can't smell it when I try, fabulous in its own moments. Used as a sleepy time and a yoga perfume recently, and I enjoyed the effect for both purposes!

I ordered this Queen to test how some florals work on me. In the bottle it smells rich, heady golden flowers, and soap... Oh no. On my skin it smells exactly the same, but even stronger on the soap note. Sadness! The drydown does bring the amber out some, but the soapiness lingers on. I hope that aging can remedy this... I hope! Might just decide to trade for another of the Empress series.