artisjok

El Dorado brings to mind an old-fashioned Catholic Spaniard. I recognize the copal resinous and slightly lemony. The gold (?) is bringing a cologne vibe. So, I’m getting the resinous church incense entwined with a masculine cologne. It feels dusty with age and maybe too much condemnation, or just a general wearing away at belief with time and monotonous ritual. 
 

I always think I’m going to love copal, as I do love burning the resin, yet it doesn’t seem to like my skin chemistry too much. It fairs better on my partner. El Dorado doesn’t like me much either.... although I do like the romance of a search and promise of adventure, I’m not so excited about the gold itself. 

The Scales of Deprivation is an upright scent. I feel like a calm, strict, yet compassionate teacher would wear this. It’s a fougere for sure, very refined. I pick out the sage easily, and a bit of the lemon peel in the early stages. The vetiver starts to peek out as it dries. I don’t get a whole lot of resin, maybe a touch of frankincense, yet it’s difficult to discern from the touch of lemon brightness. The sandalwood becomes more apparent with wear, and I agree with the fuzziness. I start to notice the lavender more, and the sage is still prominent.

The longer it wears, the more “me” it feels. I would totally use this in meditation or to keep myself composed through some tedious task. It does defy the description, as starbrow says. 
Definitely keeping my imp, and would consider more!

Cairo is thick lemon sweet on me, and I’m thinking lemongrass or something, because it’s powerfully long-lasting. Honey would fit the sweetness, especially as it conjures the throat lozenge comparison for some. 
I tested blind, and didn’t think wine or grape at all. It reminds me of a lemon-heavy Arcana, so I know there’s frankincense, and others have mentioned rose, and I could see that, or rosemary like Arcana. It starts to become quite powdery after a while. 
 

It’s interesting and I like the strength. I have a bottle of Arcana, though, and I am more connected to it’s theme, so I doubt I will reach for this in the future. Potentially good for oil burner on cleansing days.... 

Mary Shelley is a classy gal. I don’t get much ozone or lightning, I get absinthe and flowers, maybe a touch resinous, that dries down to something like black tea and a sweet floral touch. I like it! Not sure how much I will wear it, as I have other loved black tea scents I only occasionally grab. 
 

If O Love and Time and Sin is the aftermath of sex (sweaty, gritty, dark, and delicious), Spellbound is the phase before the act. It’s got the heavy red musk attraction, yet there’s a lighter tone with the ambers compared to the opoponax. The roses are more present and in form, rather than crushed and strewn about the bed sheets.
I adore both scents. They’re both heavy and sensual. I really have to feel like I’m in my body and power to fully appreciate wearing them. 
Funnily, I accidentally slathered OL&T&S last night before bed, when I thought I was putting another scent on. Then, this morning I grabbed a random GC imp & Spellbound was the first. Talk about serendipity...

With the heavier notes in Queen Alice, I was surprised to find carnation came through the strongest on me. Wet, the cider is entwines with the carnation’s spice. The cider burns off quickly, and it’s fresh carnation petals back by posie and a light touch of the wine. I totally thought the wine was going to drown everything, so this is a treat. It’s mainly the sweet floral and after a while the whole scent winds down to a soft cozy wool.
I do wish the treacle came through, as I like those chewy thick sweet scents, yet I’m more pleased with the scent than expected. 

A lovely experience! 

On 2/8/2020 at 3:52 PM, Fury said:

What's everyone's favorite sweet, almost candy-like lavender blends besides TKO?

Omg The Serpentine! I forgot how beautiful it is until I was soaking in the bath oil the other day. I paired with Frostbitten TKO when I got out, and it was divine. 

Echoing the other reviews... Patchouli! And I could see sandalwood, and even cedar seems present further down the wear. A strong woodsy patchouli that would be right at home in a meditation studio, or dancing at a festival. 

I’m not good with champaca, so I knew I am All in a Sea of Wonders wasn’t going to be the best blend on me. I love the idea of everything else so much I had to try, given the chance to swap for a decant. 
Truly, it’s the loveliest corn tortilla I’ve tried. Haha if the champaca wasn’t present, it would be the most beautiful white amber blend. Like a moon beam, thickly present, yet sheer when you try to grasp it. There’s a slight herbal tinge going on, yet it can’t keep up with the glowing resins. Thankfully, the champaca fades after a while and I can enjoy the remaining notes. I’ll probably keep the decant to try one more time and see if I want to wait for that drydown. Won’t need a bottle, though. 

I’m in the same boat at annemathematics, Magic Circle is all patchouli, woodsy soft, with perhaps hints of a floral. It sounds like a beautiful blend, and I wish I was getting all those other stellar notes! I do like Patchouli, yet have other blends that suit me more. 

Arkham is primarily sweet powdery florals on me. There’s a touch of freshness and an atmospheric sensation that does remind me of wandering about the wild. At one point it develops a grape smell, though it’s a fleeting phase. 
I wish it were mainly woods with a touch of floral, yet it’s lovely in its way. Not something I’ll reach for to wear. I might keep it for my oil burner on a bright happy day. 

Like others have confirmed, Western Bonneted Bat is definitely a butterscotch & definitely a tobacco scent.  I’m also getting a fruity vibe from it. The tobacco gives it a perfumey vibe. The scent is lighter feeling than I expected, and I’d wear it in the Spring more easily than my other tobacco scents or butterscotch/caramel scents. An upscale candy, yet not too rich. 
Glad to have the decant! 

Magnetite Phoenix is in the same niche as Schwarzer Mond for me. 

The iron is a strong hollow and sharp sensation right off the bat, but then it backs off and I get primarily a labdanum-heavy dark resin + patchouli, with vetiver emerging more with wear time. It’s masculine-leaning, and I tend to like the heavier scents like this.

Luckily, I own a bottle of SM, so I’m not going to need more than the one decant. 

When this trio arrived, it was A dry scent, almost made me cough. Luckily, after only a couple weeks resting it’s developed more into what I had hoped...

I’m a big fan of vetiver, and I thought that rum would be thick and sweet, so in my head it was heavenly. I hoped the cinnamon bark was a welcome spice, not overload. 
 

First applying, I can detect all components. Very quickly, the vetiver and cinnamon bark claim dominance and it’s that dryness I first feared. Thank goodness, after about ten minutes, rum comes back, warm and glowing. It’s not boozy one me at all. It’s more there to smooth out the edges, and lending a slightly sweet golden aura to the other two notes. The vetiver outlasts the cinnamon (it’s always outlasting others on my skin), yet the rum keeps up. I’m surprised & pleased by this. 
 

I enjoy the scent, yet it’s not a favorite. If the rum continues to grow in strength, and I hope it does, I think it’ll make me happier. 
my partner likes it, even straight from the mail. He says he felt like putting on a suit to fit the scent. 

I’m gonna age it some more and see what happens~~~~~~ maybe by the Fall, it’ll be right where I hoped, and just in time! 

I’m wearing an aged Old Demon today. He comes on strong and heavy with syrupy sweet musk and opoponax, brightened by the neroli and pepper. I’m guessing the tonka lends some of the sweetness. Clove stays hidden, maybe because it’s aged and is tired of dealing with this feisty old timer. The neroli takes its exit pretty fast, off to take a nap, and the pepper takes a chair, dozing. Siberian musk and opoponax are going on strong, they’ll rage until the last young demon has spent their fire and gone back to their hell hole. 
I like the blend well enough, especially for wear length and throw (I like ‘em strong!). I already have a bottle of Love and Time and Sun to cover my musk/opoponax niche, though this demon is fuzzier, cuddlier than that one. (Time is a harsh master. Aka Saturn) 

I’ll probably slather it on my partner when I’m wearing L&T&S, so we can be a sexy resin bomb together. 

Uruk is a soft scent, almond forward in the beginning, touched by jasmine and cinnamon. I detect the incense wafting in the background. The almond quickly dissipates, as I tend to experience, and the soft spice is the main attraction. Jasmine fades off on some meandering trail. The patchouli emerges more in time and lends some grounding, the saffron, too. I can imagine some lily or fig leaf if I try, yet they aren’t strong at all for me. 
This is one of those rare scents that starts off very soft, and over time begins to create a fragrant cloud around me. I have company over, and it’s kept me calm as I do last minute tidying while managing children and keeping in the conversation. Somehow, I also manage to feel some sophistication wearing Uruk, despite the multi-tasking, lol. 
 

Lovely, I’ll keep an imp of it, yet probably won’t use it too often. 
 

Edit to mention, mostly faded in throw after a few hours (totally normal on me), yet lingered as a faint sweetness most of the day (less normal)!

Calico Jack is a manly man. He uses manly cologne with his sea salt air. He washes with a brisk manly soap, standing on his wooden planks. He dries down to a manly, salty musk-touched wood with a faint touch of leather.

He’s not my type of manly smell, yet I’d wager he smells manly delish on my man. 

This is a really lovely dead leaves blend. It’s primarily the DL warmed by tonka to my nose, yet I know the balsam and olibanum are making it more upscale. Definitely one to share with your mister, ladies. I feel like I should go out and have that scotch mentioned above, yet keep it relaxed in a robe (probably a embroidered silk one), also mentioned above. 
It’s stronger than I was expecting, yet not overbearing. I want to hug myself. *hugs*

Lilith Nightingale is so comforting. It’s all about the cream, with sprinkles of herbs and a smear of date & fig.

Turmeric and possibly ginger, maybe a spice/herb I just don’t recognize. Dates bring a dark sweetness, reminding me of vanilla. Fig adds to the complexity and it took me a while to tease it out, yet I know it’s the perfect touch. There is a bit of something clean. Maybe a thread of linen? 
 

I wear this at night when I want to be nurtured and cuddled. I love that I have a partial bottle! 

I seem to really enjoy fig! Not sure if I’m an always-fig, I think it depends on the supporting notes!

I’ve been loving it in Miller vs. California, and now can pick it out in Lilith Nightingale.
I like how it has an almost bitter edge. 

Salzburg Krampuslauf is a hit on me. 
As much as I love Dorian, it tends to be faint and fade quickly on me. Here it shines and lingers! 
I love the Lab’s snow note recently, and it’s mainly a masculine lavender version of that to begin with, then everything smooths over and it’s Dorian with a touch of musky wood. Not super strong *dreams*, but enough I kept getting delicious wafts as I went about my day. 
I agree with zankoku_zen, this scent conjours happy memories and a feeling of joy. 

I would totally upgrade to a bottle, given the chance. Maybe the leather will increase with more aging, too! 

If a golden cake was turned into a drop of amber and dipped in beeswax, this is how it smells. It’s the best version of the Lab’s cake on my skin, because it’s only barely a cake. I get very little incense vibe, yet there is the warmth of amber. The honey is more of a beeswax to me. The whole experience is very warm and cozy, as a hug is comforting.
The scent stays close to my skin. I see myself wearing it as I read a book at night- the rest of the family sleeps peacefully and I sip some tea and contentedly sniff my wrist between pages. 

I’m not really drawn to floral perfumes, unless it’s focused on a single flower, but I got this as a frimp, and today is a warm golden day.

Pleasant surprise, this is a bouquet of soft feminine flowers, sweetened delicately. It doesn’t go soapy in the slightest. A bit of powder. 
Yes, pollen-faced joy wells up inside of me. I’m transported to a meadow in summer, a gentle breeze picks me up and dances me across the tops of every flowers bursting open in bloom. Maybe I’m a bee, maybe I’m a fairy. Everything is bright and soft and ethereal. The sun shines in my eyes, and then I’m back in my body, aroused to blushing and contentedly sighing at the window. 
 

Definitely keeping my decant. 
 

Update: the wear length on this beauty is huge compared to most on my skin, and it has acquired a chewiness that is delicious. I watered the garden with my arm glued to my nose. 

The wet stage of Crowley, I get most of the components, except mahogany (normal for me) & I don’t remember the oakmoss. As it dries, I get the comparisons to Snake Oil, less powdery than SO. The leather fades (boo!) and everything starts to meld into a muddled musk scent, like Upstart Crow’s experience, with vanilla. A twist of the lemon rind magically remains, entwined with the vanilla, and wrapped around reddish musk. The blend remains this way until it fades away. Good wear length, as musks tend to be. 
 

When I initially tried Crowley, I think I was disappointed because I wanted the leather & patchouli to shine. Now, I’m enjoying him a lot more as a red musk scent that works well for me. 
 

1 hour ago, Lill said:

Any new "perfumey" (whatever that means) recs? I am deeply in love with Ava (although it is a very assertive scent, so I don't wear it as often as I might otherwise), and I also love Zorya P, Beautiful Death, and Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending so curious to hear if there are any new discoveries out there?

You might love Silver Lace! I found it a bit perfumey and bright, and the drydown is such a beautiful vanilla. Also, Colemanite Phoenix from the most recent anniversaries is really beautiful desert scent that has a high-class vibe.