artisjok

I had a similar issue as Lucchesa. Svarta Fonix Bokaflod starts out with a wisp of smoke, one I’m not particularly fond of, which gets better in a few minutes. Unfortunately, that’s the only impression I get, and it stays so close to my skin, I have to scrap it off with my nose hairs to get a whiff! I can see this might get stronger with aging, but I don’t know if I would get the glorious scent I imagined from it. Book: A Murder on the Orient Express! I read very few murder mysteries, so I’m excited. Update: I tested another bottle that had rested longer and I did get a stronger scent! Mostly mahogany, a touch of paper and fur and a whisp of smokiness. Like an abandoned home library, mostly filled with empty shelves and the remnants of the past occupants (books & cats). I feel like this will be like Scholar’s Tower, which disappeared on me at first, but now is lovely.

When I first put on Picture Books in Winter, I thought, “Cool, not something I need to search for a bottle.” Now, I’m looking at my half decant and thinking it won’t be enough! Starts off pretty light leather, flower, and light butterscotch or caramel. The longer I wear it the warmth of my skin makes it bloom into a yummy vanillic paper flower, next to a piece of caramel. I get the references to Miskatonic U, but I’m also getting a similar vibe as Snow White. I wonder if the flowers are the same... The leather doesn’t stick around for me, but despite my usual love of leather, I’m so pleased with this scent’s result! I’m excited to find more~

Caldarium starts off with a big sweet berry blast, almost candy-like. As it drys down, there’s a warmth that emerges. I’m contributing this to the flax seed. I like the drydown well enough, but I’m not much of a berry person. I wish I got a huge blast of rosemary! On a side note, I read that honey myrtle can help with calming the nerves.

The cardamom is so glorious in My Little Grotesque! The sadness, though! It stays for a few minutes and fades to a slightly fake dry vanilla cake scent on my skin. I smeared some through my hair ends, and the cardamom stayed! Yay for that. I also put it in my scent locket, and it works fine, of course. More buttercream from the locket than any of the other applications. I really want want to keep this, but kinda bummed that it doesn’t work on my skin. I’ll hold on to it a while longer to see how often I wear the locket, or a bit in my hair.

The combination of the notes in Round Dance somehow smells like mild, tasty chocolate on me. I can pick out the individual threads of hay, Amber, strawberry, vanilla cream, & carnation if I concentrate. The lavender seems to be missing for me (bummer!), but the overall effect is quite yummy and well-blended. Started out a bit perfumey, but so smooth after a couple hours. I took a nap and was surprised to smell the scent still wafting about once I got up! Yay I’m gonna enjoy my decant, for sure. I’d consider a swap for a bottle, too! *flounces off, prettily*

My partner has This is Your Wilderness, from the OLLA line, and we both love it! https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/only-lovers-left-alive/wilderness/ I feel feel like The Antikythera Mechanism would be good, if you want a diversion from the pine. Also, it’s nice that it’s GC, so less expensive and regularly available. https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/steamworks/the-antikythera-mechanism/

Depart pour le Sabbat is such a cozy yummy scent. My first encounter with goat’s milk and the creamy gourmand paired with the sweet woody patch is great! The honey and vanilla amp the sweetness, but I think the oud is helping to keep them from taking over completely. The patchouli woodiness stays strong throughout. My partner says I smell like a delicious New Age shop. Mmmmm... my new favorite for the chilly winter days.

Unfortunately, The Cat is doing the baby wipe act on me. 😕 When wet, I got an awesome sweet mouthwatering cedar (like Tombstone sans sassafras), and I loved it! Then the dry down comes in quick and cedar flees, never to re-emerge. The idea of musky honey benzoin sounds awesome, but doesn’t work out on my skin. Boo. Really wanted this kitty to like me! Seems to have good staying power though. Haha

Picture this: Walking out the front door, you look around at the cold landscape. The wind blows, ruffling your hair. Leaves shifting and re-settling all around you, lightly touched by frost... wait.. Something is off. Too warm for frost today. You pick up a leaf, bringing it close to your face to examine. Is that... sugar?? Yes. Not frost. The leaves are all lightly sugared on the edges! Confused, you look around and notice there are small balls of white mixed in with the leaves. Crouching down and investigating, you find these balls are cookie dough.... Huh? What dimension is this?! That’s how I feel wearing DL & Warm Sugar Cookies. The cookie scent seems more like the pre-cooked dough to me, which takes this scent from a yes, definitely, to a hmmm, I can probably pass this on... Gonna spend a little while longer huffing my arm and deciding. I feel there’s just too many other smells I want to sniff to warrant keeping a whole bottle.

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.