bookandbroom

Dust and daffodils, indeed - the both of them amping each other's mistier, vaguer qualities until The Owens' Tomb smells mostly of greyness and coolness, sunbeams catching dustmotes and footprints in years' worth of settled dirt. There's a greenness underneath, but it's not sturdy; it's losing out to the grey and the cold. (The boyfriend, with his shorthand comments, says, "It's very ... gardeny.")

Out of curiosity, I looked up burdock and knotweed - thistles and invasive species! For some reason I find this funny. And I like it. The Owens' Tomb isn't exactly my kind of scent — it's wispy and delicate, despite all that stiff coolness - but it captures a scene and an atmosphere beautifully.

This, so far, is the great shock of the '08 Halloweenies for me, for lo! It has honey, and yet does not smell of cat pee when applied to my skin! I was cautious with it, but it's a thing of beauty and grace, not too sweet nor too buttery, with the notes mostly in balance, the vanilla not going into a sugared-plastic haze, the cherry tobacco and sage providing an odd impression of coolness, somehow.

I'm absolutely delighted with this one; it's warm and comforting, but also subtle and grounded. It's like drinking a pumpkin latte from an organic gourmet coffee shop after only having had those sugared monstrosities (which I admit to a weakness for) from the Seattle Coffee Empire: all of a sudden you realize there are layers and possibilities beyond your taste buds' (or nose's) wildest dreams.

Now all that's left to do is cross my fingers that in a hour, the honey doesn't come out and wag her finger in my face, taunting me with I-told-you-so chants...

Is there anything at all that smells like Tiki King?

The King reminded me of Havana and Intrigue, but I have a weird nose.

Earthy, damp, murky, fiery, smoked, black, green, brown. Like a dragon's cave on the edge of a swamp. Alluring and warning at the same time. I assume dragon's blood; I smell some kind of moss, earth, maybe cinnamon, a strange floral, like some flower that blooms only at great temperatures. It smells as if I ought to be sweating when I smell it. It's thoroughly fascinating as a vivid image evoker, but I don't think I'd wear it as a perfume, though something about it reminds me of the shock of cold water on hot, dry ground — and I love that. There's a hint of aquatic as it dries, and the florals emerge a bit more; the two suggestions are twined for me, and I like them less than the scent's beginning, but it's still an interesting one.

Thank you, AEris, for the pix! Just what I needed.

I kinda stumped myself wondering where to post this - LE or discontinueds thread? Because it's an unreleased blend Anyway, if you've tried the gorgeous BPAL prototype called Decadence that made the rounds as a frimp a few years ago, you're probably in the majority that hopes it's going to make an appearance at Yule each year or better yet, leap into the GC at some point. It's a delicious spicy, baked-goods-that-non-foodies-can-enjoy kind of scent with a hint of fruit. I was sorting through bottles and dabbling with things this weekend and was struck once again by how similar the TAL Amor is to Decadence on my skin. Amor seems to lack the orange note of Decadence but after you've hung onto an imp of Decadence since early 2005 chances are the orange note has faded a good bit anyway.

 

Decadence is also a wee bit similar to Fruitcake, yet another unreleased delight - less foodily intense. So if you're one of those Fruitcake fans, Amor could fill a niche for you too. Amor is one of the TALs that's intended for perfume use, so no worries unless you're trying to repel the advances of Pepe Le Pew.

Ivyandpeony, after giving Amor a try after wikkidraven made the same comparison, I totally agree about Decadence and Amor - though to me Amor is a little less spicy than Decadence. It's fantastic in its own right, though, so it's like a double-awesome bonus that it also smells like Decadence!

... anyone got pix of the new labels? I see a CTIV review, so I know boxes are landing!

At first, this is HOT. Fiery, pulsing, burning hot; it seems to emanate heat when I get my face close to my wrist to sniff. At first, I think dragon's blood, resins, pine pitch and something hotter - maybe something like juniper, as initially I'm reminded of Wildfire. There's a touch of antiseptic around the edges, but it's not the usual suspects - or it could be mint. Something reminds me of soap but is pungent at the same time, and I suspect violets. Violets and I never get along.

There's something of burning herbs, singed seeds to this as it dries; herbal notes spring to the foreground and yet I can't pin down what it smells like to me. Not cinnamon, not clove, not just pepper, but something about it does tickle my nose. After that initial flare, it's starting to mellow a touch, but it feels coiled, like it could strike at any second. A creamy trickiness is spreading out over the fire, but it's still there, turning things to dust and dried petals.

Scorpio is hard to pin down, for me, and harder to imagine wearing, though it's very intriguing. The cusp baby in me suspects I'd fall more on the Sagittarius side of things, scent-wise.

Um, has anyone else noticed that Paypal now only lets you put 300 characters in? For bigger orders, it will be impossible to get them all into the comments field.

 

Am I the only one experiencing this?

It's driving me CRAZY. I have no idea what I'll do with the next CD update, since I do decant circles and ... they take a lot of characters!

Paypal. Bastards. *sigh*

Added Carnval Diabolique Act I, II, and IV. Some various other additions: Black Opal, Dragon's Milk, Pink Phoenix, Dyan Moon, Ecstasy of True Love, and the labels and progress for my Carnaval decant circle that I'm doing right now.

Thanks so much, TwilightEyes!

Do you have the ladies? Do they have the same circus font?

Sorry, I'm a total pain in the ass. *grin*

Bordello is my FAVORITE fruity scent, always. I wish I could find a drink in the same flavor as this blend

(hijack) Oooh, I bet you could invent one! Amaretto and burgundy wine are easy enough; creme de cassis is black currant; and you could make a plum liqueur or use plum wine or some plum brandy ... the question is, would it taste as good as it smells? (end hijack)

To make this relatively on topic, er, I love fruity blends. I thought it was just a citrus thing, but oh, was I wrong ...

I wonder if any of our Grindhouse ladies would be able/willing to post pix of their labels in the gallery? I'm making labels for a decant circle and am curious what the font looks like.

Thanks!

On me, this smells precisely like Throat Coat tea - definitely licorice/fennel, and something that makes me think ginger. But mostly Throat Coat. I adore it.

It took me two tries to figure out that the weird, rough-edged, not-entirely-citrus scent I was getting from this was, in fact, the smell of a bowl of Froot Loops. Every so often the lemongrass/lemon verbena stage a minor coup and take over the cereal, but mostly I smell like Saturday morning and watching cartoons!

Oh, skin chemistry. Such a wacky thing.

When I first smelled this in the bottle, I ... kind of wanted to drink it. It smelled like butterscotch schnapps or something — something sugary and sticky which really I would never drink in reality but still: Delicious! Sippable! Smells! Were coming out of this bottle.

As it starts to dry, the immediate boozy-sweet note shifts into something precisely accurate: there's the salt, and the caramel, and the nuttiness, and even the poofy, airy, starchiness of popcorn. Melted butter and caramelized sugar? Yes. I've had bad luck with a lot of sugary notes — they turn to a plasticky funk — but this one is staying true. It evokes sticky shoes and damp soda cups, crumpled cardboard and wooden benches, but also the sugar overload of a carnival midway, all spinning rides, flashing signs and rigged games.

But now it's drier still, and it's taking on a hint of burnt sugar, a touch crisped around the edges, like the caramel corn balls at the elementary school Halloween carnival which have an unavoidable tang of school gym stuck to their sides. But I chalk this up to the trouble my chemistry has with sugar notes. I suspect the rest of you will get deeelishus caramel corn accuracy like nobody's business. And I envy you.

A total surprise hit for me; I love the way Te Po smells, when it's dry on my skin, like tropical Fruitcake! Though a lot of the fruitiness disappears once it's really settled, which would be a bummer were it not so deeelishus anyway. Here's what I wrote while I tested and sniffed and waited for it to dry...

Cherry-almond INSANITY, in the bottle. Sticky and strong! But now I'm getting a fizzy lime-cherry kick that I absolutely LOVE. Mint creeps 'round the edges, giving the sugar and fruits a grownup edge; every so often a hit of almond and booze almost burns my nose. How does it smell fizzy? I don't understand, but it's fantastic.

It's getting more well-rounded as it dries, the spiced rum and a bit of citrus calming down the crazy fizzies, turning it into a playful cousin to something like Port-au-Prince — one wearing a big Carmen Miranda hat. Tiny hint of something gingerbready, too. So much variation, so much deliciousness. Loads of clove (I think) and related things coming out of the rum. I want to stick a wand cap in this and wear it ALL the TIME.

This is ... really quite strange. Not so much the scent, which, if I'm trying to pick out notes, has to my nose a hint of mint, maybe a touch of chamomile and a bucket of rose geranium, as everyone else has already, er, noted. No, what's freaking me out is the scent memory it calls up. I slathered this on in a desperate bid to rid myself of some frustrating financial troubles, and as soon as I took a deep whiff ... I was back at summer camp. YMCA horse camp, to be specific, wrapped in a sleeping bag on a cot somewhere east of Portland, reading The Riddlemaster of Hed and worrying about getting along with my cabinmates, with campfire songs going through my head. It's the scent of bugspray and nylon and a small room full of 13-year-old girls, with all their associated odors, natural and otherwise.

It's so strong I can remember the sand on the path on the way to the fire, the owl in the tree behind where the counselors sat, the occasional bat in the night breeze, the grey dapples on one of the horses and the fact that I felt my first earthquake there while sitting on a pile of hay bales.

Sorry, getting off target here. In short, it's a really, really evocative scent, at least for me - though not so much of stress relieving times! (Oh, middle school.) I just keep smelling it, despite the fact that I think it might, as rose geranium often does, be trying to give me a headache. If I ever want to write a novel for teens about summer camp, I've got the scented accompaniment!

Anybody want to post pics of Suagr Moon and Mort de Cesar? I got my bottles today and I love the artwork, especially the Sugar Moon. I tried to get a picture, but my camera is really old and I can't seem to get a decent close up shot.

And Hanami! I'd like to see all the new ones.

If anyone is desperate to see Sugar Moon, someone's got a bottle on eBay. (Not me! I just noticed the cool label. )

It's not the best but it's nighttime here and my best pics are taken in the daylight.

 

I hope this is not to large, if it is (Mods) please let me know and I will provide a link instead.

 

ETA: BaB ... the background has a very very faint light gray poem on the label.

Thank you so much, BBA! That is totally not what I expected ... good thing I didn't go down the script-romantic font path I was thinking about. It looks like the scent name is in a sort of typewritery font ... interesting!

THANK YOU!

This is me begging and pleading for a pic of a Love Poems label - any of 'em! All of 'em! Whatever you've got!

I'd really like to see Parentalia, too.

Pretty pleeeeeease with smellies on top?

Now if someone would just post the Lupercalias and Love Poems ...

 

I know how to take a hint!

 

I tried to upload it to the community gallery, but it says I've used all of my disk space... um, okay. So if anyone wants to save this and upload it to the forum, please feel free.

YAY! Thank you! (I wanted to see the font so I could look for something similar for my decants. )

At one point Snake Oil bottles came with Carnaval Diabolique special labels but that's over. Rapaccini's Garden scents all come with stilized labels, different from the rest of the GC's, but no pictures per se other than botanical motifs.

I think Snake Oil does still - or maybe once again - have that Carnaval Diabolique label, or at least the last two bottles I've seen from the Lab did!

Does anyone have Lupercalia or B Movies labels yet?

 

Your wish is my command; I just posted the B Movies in the label gallery.

 

Thank you!

 

And those are awesome. *drools* Too bad I can only convince myself to get decants.

You're welcome! Now if someone would just post the Lupercalias and Love Poems ...

Does anyone have Lupercalia or B Movies labels yet?

Your wish is my command; I just posted the B Movies in the label gallery.

In the bottle, this smelled like a foodie dream, and the first thing that hit me was the buttery cake note from Crumpet Rebellion, of all things, followed by something fruity and rich that reminded me of, well, all the other popular foodie blends at once!

On my wrist, it did a little dance between the notes, a decadent, sticky sweet confection with the slight dustiness of Sweet Tarts (I think this might be pear). The pink pepper crops up, reminding me of Hermia, followed by bright, sparkling citrus and - there! The ginger!

To me, this starts out a babbling, sticky-fingered teenager and grows up over the course of 15 minutes into something gingery and spicy and red and warm, but still with a creamy-fruity undertone. It's simply fantastic.