artisjok

I have a decant of this peachy delight, and slathered it on today in celebration/anticipation of the new Dragon Con scents. It is a great peach incense, though I don’t enjoy the scent up close for the first hour, as saffron & Oud combo goes a little plastic (eventually they start harmonizing better). The cloud that wafts around me doesn’t have any of that effect and remains a slightly sweetened woodsy meditation of peach. The honey isn’t very prominent at all, letting the peach shine, which I am grateful of. Don’t know if I would ever use enough for a whole bottle, though another decant or partial I’d jump for to have this soothing fruit present a little longer in my life.

I’m getting a dry marshmallow cake scent slightly touched by cardamom. Cardamom fades quickly on me, much to my disappointment, and that’s definitely happening here. I’m thinking it would be a good layering scent for when I want to make another more gourmand (patchouli sounds so good with marshmallow cake!), and doing so might extend the life of cardamom, too. I have a partial bottle of My Little Grotesque that I often open & sniff to improve my mood (aromatherapy can be delicious!), so I’ll have to see if the marshmallow addition makes this worth keeping, as well. To wear, instead of just huff lol

#135 decant from alterosen~ I definitely smell the cherry in the vial, and it’s strong while wet on my skin. The scent becomes kind of tart and powdery upon drying, not as juicy as I hoped and definitely less sweet than the wet phase. Reminds me of candy, the powdery tablet-shaped ones. I can also see the it being plummy, like alterosen mentioned. I can detect a little bit of Samhain hiding beneath, specifically on my right hand. I’ll have to try this out after I mosturize, because I love a yummy cherry scent, and hope that it’s just my dry skin that makes it flee so fast! Glad to try this Chaos scent~~🌟

Mmmm yes this is a good one. The woolly scents are great comfort. I’ve been turning to White Sandalwood, Sage & Bourbon Vanilla for my comfort recently. Another probably hard to find.

Are You Digging on My Grave is snuggly in a sweet puppy musk way 💗 I really loved the cozy combo of musk with forestry & amber of Kommt Mit Zacken Und Mit Gabeln. Canis Major is a really classy/starry warm musk & vanilla. I imagine Wulric, the Wolfman gives a cozy vibe, though I haven’t tried it yet.

Sweet almond cream and a strong hairspray smell, which I’m sad to say is the hay note. *cries* Hay has been great on me before, and then I got Rendezvous with Her Lover last year and had that go weird on me, like Fracas is doing now. There is a touch of mimosa, but the scent is primarily the creaminess with a chemical twang. I wonder if it will age away, or not... I can tell this is a pretty scent, otherwise!

You will probably love Metal Twins, if you haven’t already tried it.

The Mountebank is so good! I forgot how much I enjoy it, and I was hesitant to wear, as I’ve been avoiding lavender blends recently. The scent is heavy on the thieves’ rosin, almost all that on me, which is waxy and almost vanilla sweet. The lavender is very present and I’m finding it doesn’t bother me (My senses are in a weird phase...). I don’t get much leather or sandalwood or balsam, though I think there are touches of them all that keep this from being straight up RPG Thieves’ Rosin. The sandalwood gives it a little road worn feel, for sure, and the leather a touch of the rugged charm expected of the Magician. I wore this to a doctor appt. today, and was content and comfy feeling in my scent cloud, despite generally abhorring the medical industry & all the sterile spaces associated with it. Thanks, BPAL.

Oooh! I’ve been contemplating The Divine Scientist in the new Hierophant line for my partner. I bet it’s a killer in a sharp suit~ I also think of Jareth, Monk, Rogue, Sherlock Holmes, Paladin, and Villain right away... There’s also a thread in existence that might answer your question~

Foodies are tricky on me, especially the bready ones. I’m getting the artificial banana blast right away, then it skips away, leaving me with subtle spiced sweetness, a hint of the bread that I wish to smell like. Maybe someday I’ll find a blend that gives me the dense chewy sensation I’m craving... it’s not this one

Kimi Da is a Mysore sandalwood feature. The saffron and amber make it more upscale than just the creamy wood of the sandalwood, yet remain supporting characters for the entire wear. It is cozy, sexy, and yet could pull of glamorous with ease, if it wanted.

All I Have to Bring Today is a lovely breath of Spring time vibes. A beautifully balanced dance between the flowers, honey/amber, and fresh breeze. I’m so glad the honey and the breeze are both light, as either dominating would be such an easy feat. Excellent blending! I agree that this is a sibling to Venus Verticordia. The honey turns pretty waxy into the drydown, maybe in conjunction with the amber. I like it. The breeze also relaxes some, blending more and more. Pollen and sunshine on a windy hilltop~ I would totally get a bottle of this. Gotta test the rest of my Luper decant hoard first.... I’m so glad I got to try it, as it wasn’t in my initial decant order!

Shadow Moon is a beaut! I’m wary of darker iridescent shades, possibly from overdoing it in my preteens hah. The shimmer and flecks may be what eve lates this one away from my usual avoidance. I tried to take a picture that showed how dramatic the shift from purple to green is, but my phone didn’t want to comply. I got a touch, the pic above is better.

I threw a decant of Travelers in with my order on a whim, and then it became the one I was most excited to try over the wait time.... Starts out delightfully fresh from the white tea, yet also sweet and creamy. The tea disappeared quickly on me and the remaining coconut and rice milk was a too subtle sheen, almost watered-down for me to fully appreciate. If the white tea had lasted, I feel like it would have been a perfect summertime scent! The notes are really lovely together, so I’m sure plenty of people will enjoy this blend. Maybe I’ll age the decant and revisit.

A Lady Tall and White and Monastery in the Mountains come to mind. Both lovely snow & sandalwood scents. ALT&W dries down much sweeter with the vanilla.

Sweet thick chewy gingerbread! And for a good while, it’s strong and consistent. The clove waits until later in the drydown to dominate, and the scent becomes somewhat dryer. There’s still gingerbread, but it’s less dense, less sticky. Oddly, the vetiver doesn’t show up for me, and I enjoy the note. I think it would go well with this sweet and spicy concoction, so hopefully it decides to show up.... Yummy!

Piney snow note dominates at first, which I’m a fan of, yet find it to dominate in most blends featuring. After a half hour or so, the vanilla gains dominance and it’s a slightly chilled vanilla. I’m glad to have a partial decant of this, and am testing it to see if I want to risk a bottle of Marshmallow Snow, or seek out a bottle of this. I think I might go with MS, as the drydown of this is pleasant, yet not strong enough on me to need a full bottle

Very chilly, yet also... some furniture polish on me. I’m not sure what’s doing the lemon, probably the tea. Bergamot usually doesn’t show up much on me, so I’m not suspecting it. It then gets a distinct male cologne vibe after a while, so polish and cologne with a bit of an icy breeze in the background. I’m glad it’s only in one arm, because the throw is pretty massive! That’s impressive. I was hoping for something akin to Odic Force, yet Icy Drafts didn’t work for me.

If blood musk fits the red musk bill, Illimitable Dominion Over All is pretty delicious! Le Lethe has both notes, yet can’t remember how strong the tobacco is... Now that you have me thinking, I’m gonna have to layer Patchouli Tobacco with A Demon and Her Unholy Basketball.....

Door is golden and viscous herbal, sunbeams and florals. I only got a tester, and at first it was a little funky, like it had aged oddly. Thankfully, after a bit, everything melded and amped just right. Lovely! I would adore this on a Summer night celebration.

The Temptation of St Nick is both warm and dry. The cacao isn’t blaring, and the clove and chili pepper are delightful in combination with it. The nuts aren’t particularly obvious, yet I do sense them when I search. The vanilla peeks out a bit after some wear, also not obvious, though. Later on, there’s a little smokiness to the scent, now a snuggly skin-close scent. I like this final stage most, and wish it were stronger so I could stop huffing my wrist and get some work done.

Glad to get a chance to try this trip, as I really love the lavender/ambrette seed combo in Thought Photography. The lavender is real strong and herbal, definitely different from the lavender in Lilith blends (which tends to disappear on me). The muskiness of the ambrette does pair well with the lavender. I agree the clove does create some dissonance, like a sharp buzzing sound amongst more soothing tones. The lavender and clove become more compatible as they dry down, the clove outlasting it’s companion with a wisp of ambrette seed still peacefully holding space. I can see this being useful when one wants to catch the attention of a scattered brain, both harmonizing with it and soothing it simultaneously, hopefully to be more focused and together.

After reading the reviews above, I was really keen to smell Etienne. Right off I get strong oak and something a little soapy. Then it turns real earthy and a funk comes in, like a touch of stinky oudh. The soapy aspect is still faintly in the background. There is a golden sheen to the scent, just taunting me from the edges of possibility. I’m missing the good impressions of outside sunny time, and somehow getting an odd stinky and clean mix... just weird skin time.

I got doomsday’s decant and totally conquer with her review. Silky champaca, the kindest iteration of the note I’ve ever had grace my skin. It’s a death note for me, so to be bearable is pretty cool. I jumped at the decant after reading comparison to oudh smoke (yum!), but I don’t get that at all. Ah well... glad I didn’t blind bottle, and glad to find champaca isn’t all raging corn tortilla rampage, even if most are.

Hunter Moon ‘19 is a feral beauty. Musky woods and herbal wine, a brush of those lunar oils and the winter chill give the scent a slight lift. The cuddly musk is featured, similar to Buck Moon, yet with a much different tone of supporting colors. The leaves have changed into their red and orange tones, and are drifting about in the wind. A few chugs from a wine skin keeps one warm enough, while gathering herbs and fallen branches in preparation for dinner over a campfire. I’ve been loving wine scents recently, and while sniffing my wrists I don’t sense it’s presence, I keep getting tasty wafts of that fruity tang coming up from my neck. Happy to have a bottle of this cozy atmospheric experience!