naeelah

The retail only blend Wezwanie/Hold might be worth investigating: Hazelnut, vanilla bean, red sandalwood, amber, myrrh, and honey. It has a LOT of hazelnut, but it calms down as it dries (on me), and if you're looking for something more skin-strength rather than perfume-strength, diluting it might make the hazelnut less in your face. You could also try the original MVJBA, which smells like peanut brittle.

Hmm, that's interesting. For me, it's the other way around, so I guess for once my skin is working with the majority. AM is very similar to GV but without the glowing amber. Fairy light and smooth. Hand of Glory is a totally different animal -- very deep, dark, gritty, and smoky. (I'm trying to think of a good DCLE point of comparison and I can't think of anything. It's a cousin to Hanerot Halalu but not an exact match...)

This is a very simple, innocent, peaches-and-cream type scent. The vanilla musk here is almost definitely a white musk (not the same vanilla musk that's in Black Lace). Unfortunately, white musk often means soap for me. Many people try rose blends and think "soap." I am not one of those people, but this is honestly what Victoria smelled like on me. Rose soap. If white musk and tea rose agree with your skin, though, this is a perfect light, youthful pink rose scent. Excellent for anyone who tends to regard rose as too mature. The lily is present but I never really guessed it was there. It blends well with the other notes. Wet, this is mainly rose and lily with white musk. As it wears, some of the bright, soapy edge burns away and it becomes a little richer and creamier. The vanilla is light and not very sweet, very much like fresh cream. And that's really it. Airy pink rose with a dollop of cream. Wear life and sillage are both good. Compared to similar blends, this is very much less sweet and rich than the Gaoler's Daughter, and brighter than Katrina van Tassel.

I tried to test it again to answer your question, but it looks like I have Bensiabel, not Prunella. (But I plan to try Prunella again at will call tomorrow, so I'll let you know.) My general experience with plum is the same -- very ripe, juicy, and sweet, not very tart. -- P.S. Bensiabel was a little dry and non-plummy for my tastes but I like the idea of it, so I layered it with a little Bordello and.... I'm in love. I have a new favorite layering combo now. Works way better for me than layering Bordello with De Sade.

Ooh and I forgot about the East for a summer scent. The herbs and flowers have a cool, breezy quality but the red currant adds slight sweetness and anchors the scent. I think it's really lovely and refreshing.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Prunella! (I tried Bensiabel too, and my impression was 'masculine plum.' Most plums are rich and juicy, Bensiabel is more dry and cool from the leather and lilac, so it's a nice alternative.) For me, Morgause was not very plummy. It has three aspects -- flowers, incense, and purple fruit. I got a LOT of flowers, with some incense and fruit. If you like Morgause -- or if it isn't exactly what you want -- also try the Witch Queen. It's very similar, but for me, the fruit and incense are stronger. Very purple and rich. Bordello is my favorite plum, and my next favorite is Prospero. (Also, Prospero was VERY much like Makhanitis, on my skin.) Prospero is dry red wine, plum, champaca, amber, and white musk IIRC, so it is a richer, classier sort of plum.

I was surprised that Lovers in a Ricefield had so much plum! I saw "plum blossom" and I know that the flower itself has no plum scent, so I figured it would only be floral. If you like Ricefield, try Kitsune-Tsuki. It's the same yummy plum with light florals, so it's sorta like Ricefield sans-vanilla sandalwood. I adore plum but there aren't a lot of blends where the plum stands out to me. Hmm... If you like the Chinese zodiac scents, try Earth Ox. It definitely had an earthy quality, so it didn't work for me, but it did settle down to a nice, complex plum scent.

No problem hijacking someone's thread. One big Gaiman thread could be useful. Do you have any notes you love or hate? There are a lot of scents that are good for summer. I think Fairy Market would be a great choice! It's sugared incense, some flowers, and a little grass. So it's a little sweet, the flowers make it light and fresh, and the grass adds a little bit of tangy greenery. Perfect for hot weather. I like Lady Una for summer, but it is very sweet, so sometimes it's a little too sticky in hot weather. Tristan is fresh, cool, outdoorsy, so it's good for summer. But it is masculine (if you care). Fairy Wine is also nice for a sweet scent. It's sweet but fruity and a little tangy, and I think it's refreshing. I'm also really fond of Pepper in summer. It's rich flowers, honeyed vanilla, with a little pine and pepper. It's rich and a little sweet, with a little bit of tang. Do you like floral, garden blends? Jasmine Cottage is very pretty for something with sweet flowers and greenery. It's light and fresh. I haven't tried Mr. Ibis but it sounds summer appropriate.

In the name of SCIENCE! you should also try Wensleydale. It's just soap and cotton fabric, so it might answer your "do I hate linen?" query in a hurry. (Dirty is probably a better choice, but Wensleydale is on Gaiman theme, so I have to suggest that one. )

Hmm, could be! And the Dormouse has multiple teas, so it could just be one or two of them that's going icky. There are very few blends with straight, true black tea, and to my nose, the tea in Famine and Eros is really different from the tea party blends -- so who knows, maybe you'll have better luck. It's always worth testing something to see how it goes. Honey never worked for me, and then last year, all of a sudden, I started having good luck with it. Maybe the aloe smells a little aquatic too, since it's a watery green sort of note.

LE to LE: Velvet Clown, when wet, reminds me a lot of Diary of a Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal. It settles into something much smokier, though, and then it reminds me a lot of Dia de los Muertos. (Someone also compared it to La Pere Fouettard.)

This one basically smells like barbecue. I know it will vary from nose to nose, obviously, but if you don't like smoke notes and will not like smoke notes, don't try this one. It is NOT subtle. And it has vetiver like WOAH. It's a red musk. I think she usually means red musk by words like "infernal", and black musk is usually keywords like "swarthy". This one is masculine but very well-rounded and bordering on unisex. Lots of ladies love to wear it. It's not dark and cologne-like, it's light and sophisticated with a hint of earthy vanilla. There is no cream or hint of creaminess in Famine, so it's pretty dissimilar from White Rabbit. If you've tried Eros (I guess not, since you don't like honey) it's the same tea note. Light, crisp, fragrant, clear, smooth. Like sniffing a canister of darjeeling leaves. (Famine is a little masculine but less masculine, by my standards, than Crowley. It's bright and a bit prim with a hint of smokiness.) From what I recall of the reviews, Jasmine Cottage seems to appeal to a lot of jasmine haters. I think it must be a different jasmine note than is normally used. It's fresh and dewy. It's definitely noticeable in the blend, but it is a cottage garden blend, so it's not mega strong. This blend has a lot of greenery. For me, I really didn't smell honey at all. Honey is just a coloring note in this, I think. The flowers, amber, leather, and wood are much stronger. So it doesn't have the sweet stickiness of many honey blends. If you don't like aquatics, you'll want to avoid Shadwell. It was VERY aquatic for me (and I didn't like it). Also, the condensed milk and tea combination recalls White Rabbit. This one is VERY musky with a whole lot of hot spice. It's worth trying an aged imp if you want to experience the muskiness at its best. Fresh red musk can be a little plastic, and IMO red ginger is best after being aged. If you've tried Krampus, imagine that but made even more powerful. War means business. I thought it was a bit masculine, but again, red musk is a fairly bright and clean musk. It's not animalistic (and not manly in a 70s way), but it does have a bit of a wild power. It feels very flush to me. You know when you're so mad seeing red? Imagine that turned into a scent. Don't be! It does have a faintly dusty edge but this is actually very effervescent and almost fruity. It's very golden and shimmering. I haven't tried this one but I wouldn't expect it to be aquatic. It sound like a dry, light blend, with a hint of vanilla and musk. In white rabbit, I wonder if you're smelling the linen note. It has a crisp, clean quality like aquatics, so perhaps they smell very similar on your skin. (For me, personally, white rabbit isn't aquatic, but the linen note is very strong.) The lab's paper note is a bit like the linen, so it might be a little iffy for you.

It begins with a distinct earth note, but a rich, red rose quickly emerges as the most prominent note. It is underlain with blood (a little metallic, a little fruity, a hint of aquatics, and slightly spicy earth. I think the Yew is responsible for the warm, almost spicy quality and it also lends a lightly green edge. After about 10 minutes the lily finally comes out, adding another rich floral aspect but not taking over the rose. The earth is much less prominent. You can still smell the dark graveyard earth but there is also a lighter sand note, just as in the Ifrit. (On the whole, imagine the Ifrit in the shade with a rose garden.) This is rich, strong, dark, and very evocative of the poem. Perhaps because of the aquatics, this is a more strongly perfume quality than I expected. Once totally dry, after about 15 minutes, it's really lovely but not for me. In short, it's: strong red rose, strong lily, light, rich earth and aquatics

These are my decant circle bottles: CXLVIII: noticeable Penitence + green tea, bergamot, rice flower? clover? linen? My best description of this is "springtime incense". The frankincense and myrrh are there but soft, and the added notes are very light, a bit green and lemony, with a softly creamy floral. At first I thought there was a drop of lemon verbena, but once the blend settles, I think I'm smelling a combination of notes. Bergamot for sure, probably green and/or white tea, and maybe a soft green plant such as clover. The flower is a little bit creamy, and it could be vanilla flower but my better guess is rice flower. There is also something that reminds me of the lab's fresh linen note. Compared to XLIII this is softer, smoother, more girly, and less like Irish Springs soap. CXLIV: light Penitence + white musk, white rose, white amber (Like a cross between Dia and White Rose.) The note I smell first is definitely white musk. It takes a while, but eventually the while musk stops hogging the blend and lets some other light notes through. There is a pale, soft floral that I'm mostly sure is white rose. There is another smooth and rounded note with a slight sweetness, and I'm becoming convinced it's white amber. The Penitence just gives it a tiny of of foundation and warmth, and as resins always do, it gets a little bit darker and warmer as it wears. I don't smell any base notes, this is all gossamer whiteness. This is actually pretty similar to Dia, on my skin, but it gets darker as it wears. I thought this was a total dud when it was wet, but as it wears, it becomes really pretty. I like it better than Dia because it's not like a dryer sheet. Throw is soft.

Essentially, this smells like a blend of Dia de los Muertos and Midway. (Someone also said it's like John Barleycorn and L'Heure verte, which is an excellent description.) When wet, it reminds me first and foremost of Diary of a Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal. It smells like bubble gum and cotton candy with a hint of a savory center (red ginger in cannibal, scorched marshmallow and peanuts here) and something astringent (the lemon in cannibal, the booze in this). As it dries it loses the bubblegum and becomes smokier and smokier. In the second phase, you can really smell the scorched marshmallow and the corn whiskey. The licorice becomes stronger little by little, but if I didn't know licorice was here, I don't know if I'd immediately pick it out. Although a sharp note is impossible to miss, it doesn't scream anise or licorice jellybean. (Definitely a similar effect to the absinthe in l'Heure Verte.) Eventually, the sweetness hovers just around the periphery, with a core of burnt popcorn leftovers and fresh licorice snaps, washed down with a shot of whiskey. It is dark and almost incense-like. Carnival scented incense, ha! The grease paint and combination of odd notes lends a vaguely plastic quality that actually works well to round things out. So it starts out as bubblegum but turns into the flaming wreckage of a circus. LOVE IT. Try it if you like: blends mentioned in review, Al-Azif, Bonfire Night

I could have sworn I'd reviewed this but apparently I'm mistaken. It's probably for the best that I held off reviewing, because this has morphed through several stages. New, it smelled like any other resin blend. After a month or so, the black currant became quite strong but I couldn't smell the opium or mandrake. Now, I can smell everything and it's just what I hoped it would be. It starts out with deep, round resins, but as it dries it develops a dry, twiggy top layer. Little by little, the rich brown amber quality is replaced entirely by this dryness. The resins are deep but not overly smoky, and they're adjacent to a crisp, dried, somewhat green note, which must be the mandrake. The opium here doesn't smell as it often does in other blends. It's dry and smoky, with no hint of sweetness (similar to the note in L'Heure Verte). Throughout the life of the scent, the dryness is underlain with sweet, jammy black currant. It never overwhelms the resins, just provides some respite. The dryness feels more in the vein of dried twigs and leaves, rather than like brittle amber. It has none of that stickiness. In short, it's a dark, lightly smoky, dry resin blend with a hint of jammy currant. It's perfect for the sense of gloom -- it's dim and gray, rather than dark black like other dark incense/resin blends (such as Pit and the Pendulum or Al-Azif). It lacks the gritty brimstone smokiness of those blends. The throw is decent but for me it fades rather quickly. If it sounds like something you'd like, it probably is. Someone compared it to On Darkness in another review. I think that's the most similar blend, but imagine a desaturated version.

CVII - smells a bit like Lupanar when wet. Soft, waxy honey and ylang ylang? As it dries I get the sense of dragon's blood and rose. The oil is a very pale orange, so that supports the notion of a dribble of dragon's blood. It is not too strong, but since the other notes are note so assertive, it's noticeable. It adds a very faint cherry note and a sticky, brittle resin quality to balance the honey. A little while later it smells more like regular O, in the sense of baby powder with vanilla. Still debating whether there's a tea rose present. (It's light, and it feels distinctly pink, whatever it is. Definitely not red rose, nor does it remind me of the lab's white rose. It might not even be rose.) No longer get any sense of ylang ylang, but there is definitely some kind of smooth floral present. Maybe a hint of lily. There's something else, a bit sweet and grounding. I initially thought almond, but it definitely ISN'T. I think it's hazelnut, but faint. A bit similar to Democrat, but less obviously floral. Still reminds me of Lupanar. So in conclusion: regular O + dragon's blood, hazelnut and a few faint, smooth florals. Very nice, very light and springy.

Wow, this is another one that perfectly realizes the concept. Sniffing it without knowing the notes, I got the sense of coconut and sea shells or damp pebbles. It is cool and shady. A fresh, watery, waxy coconut is the strongest note start to finish. It is sweet but it isn't foody. This is countered by cool, sleek iris, primarily, which combines with the white musk to create the sense of shells or stone. White musk is sometimes like a singular bright light, but here it has a noisier, staticy quality. The iris is smooth and the musk is textured. I didn't recognize the hazelnut at all, so the nuttiness is very faint. If anything, it just serves as a foundation note, adding an earthy edge to the coconut's sweetness. The blend as a whole is lightly sweet, but certainly not food. I wouldn't really call it gourmand, either. So, in short: fresh coconut juxtaposed with cool iris and white musk. Try it if you like: Black Opal, Blood Pearl, Intrigue, Dia

I got this because I'm constantly on the hunt for a meadow-like scent to use in an oil burner. Unfortunately, this is very true to the name and the primary quality is air. This is very fresh, ozoney outdoors. It's the spring counterpart to Wind Moon. Where that had dry leaves and an icy edge, this has fresh clover and meadow flowers. The air is very fresh and true, it doesn't have a metallic, storm ozone quality. I am unable to pick apart all of the green notes here. The juniper berries don't stand out to me, and the peat doesn't smell mossy. This is just fresh, fresh green, like plant stems (as someone else mentioned). There is a buttery softness from the dandelion flowers and a coolness from the heather. I think the flowers are stronger than the green notes, in the end. So, in short: fresh, smooth greenery and soft, airy wildflowers, carried on a wind billowing through the hillside. Compared to other meadow scents, I think the best comparison is the Passionate Shepherd, but if you took that blend and diluted it in a whole lot of air. I find it less strongly green and grassy than the Passionate Shepherd, less lushly floral than the Perfumed Garden, less woodsy than the Ragged Wood, and certainly less herbal than the Witches Garden or erm, that other witch one that was a lunacy companion. In general, because the air quality is so pronounced, this is less GREEN! than other meadow blends.

Fresh out of the imp, I really smell the whiskey. On skin, the booziness blends right in and it quickly develops into a gorgeous golden autumn blend. All of the notes blend quite well. I can smell the whiskey, the beer, golden grass (the barley), and something like cherries (the blood). Together, though, it smells like the harvest. First and foremost, this smells like barley. Golden and hay-like. I hate grassy notes, but I think this is fabulous. It's not weedy or dusty at all, just brilliant gold with a crisp undertone. The beer provides a sweet, boozy, slightly malty edge and a hint of sourness. It goes through a treacly stage, but as it wears, for me, the malt and sourness wear off and it blends seamlessly with the barley. Behind the warm goldenness is a slightly cherry-like and slightly tangy blood note. I don't find it nearly as strong as in other blood blends, but I do smell the slightly metallic quality, which may be vetiver. Grassy vetiver, not barbecue vetiver. The blood note fades away slightly as the scent wears, for me, and leave barley and beer primarily. The initial fruitiness is long gone. So, in short: golden grass with a beery edge and undertone of violence.

Thank you so much, LJ decant circle person who sent me an empty 5ml of this. I LOVED the prototype and I was all set to order, but the final product, oddly enough, doesn't wow me. The prototype was unexpected, the finished one smells like what I thought it would smell like. It is still a beautiful scent, just not the one I wanted. The prototype was extremely bright and zesty, very lemony but in a beautiful way. Instead of being cane sugar (as I misread the notes), it smelled truly like sugar CANE, the raw plant snapped open, sweet and green. Under that was skin musk, and I never smelled florals. I've never sniffed another BPAL like it. The finished version is predominately floral. I thought by the sound that it would be like a lighter version of Giant Vulva-- without the thick waxes. The light, airy florals and sugar cane (which now smells like regular cane sugar, soft, fuzzy, lightly sweet) do indeed recall Giant Vulva. Anchoring it all is skin musk, which is less perceptible here. It does still have a lemony edge, but it fades away as it dries. Totally dry, this is very much an "I'm not wearing perfume" perfume. Airy, barely sweet flowers like a spring breeze, anchored by clean skin.

These are the Snake Oils from my decant circle: CDXIX - Snake Oil + a tart berry and a sweet berry (cranberry or huckleberry and cherry?), black incense and brimstone, black poppy, black amber... the love child of Lampades and Al-Azif (without the maple syrup overtone). Strong cranberry note while wet, and a dark incense note. Not sure of everything that's going on here, but that's the effect. As is typical of my skin chemistry, the incense note gets stronger and stronger as it wears, and the cranberry recedes. The incense is pretty pitch black and has a brimstone-like residual quality. But, it's well balanced by the cranberry and snake oil, so while a dark scent, it doesn't scream ash and oblivion. The Snake Oil is present but not in such a way that it calls attention to itself. So, rather than smelling like Snake Oil with some stuff added to it, this smells like a wholly new blend. It's really quite nice, if you like dark incense blends. I like it way better than Al-Azif. After an hour or so the Snake Oil becomes a little more noticeable and hours and hours later only a gritty, smoky note remains. UPDATED 5/5: This is much the same, but now I get the sense of black poppy in the mix (there is definitely a floral note), and perhaps black amber. It smells like cough syrup when wet, goes through a cola-like phase, and settles into something that resembles On Darkness. CCCXCIX: This is a weird one. I can't place everything. My best guesses so far are: Snake Oil + tangerine, lotus, maybe apple blossom, maybe red musk There's definitely mandarin (or perhaps tangerine). There's some kind of lush floral. The floral and non-citrus notes get stronger as it dries, because of course the citrus begins to evaporate. Snake Oil is present, but as a base note. I feel like something is warming my nose and throat, and it reminds me of the wasabi note in Nostrom Remedium. It goes through a funky, dry musty period at first, but after about 15-20 minutes that goes away, and it's a nice, sweet orange floral snake oil. It reminds me alternately of orange sherbet and of fresh Coral Snake. The lightly spicy note seems to go away, or maybe I just don't detect it when I'm not sitting around huffing my arm. UPDATED 5/5: I still smell tangerine, still smell a lush floral that I now think may be lotus, because there is a bubblegum-like quality present. I think there might be red musk, but in small amount. The mystery sharp, warming note reminds me less of wasabi now, because the prickliness is totally gone once dry, and that's why I'm starting to turn to red musks. Once dry, after about 20 minutes, it's not spicy at all, the weird mustiness goes away, and it still smells very similar to fresh Coral Snake. So I'm sticking with my conclusion, warm sweet orange Snake Oil.

The O bottles from my decant circle: CCXLVI: a tiny amount of O + leather, red musk Smells like leather with a hint of cherry and just a little O. As in the other O chaoses so far, it has been much softer, waxier, and less sweet for me than pure O. Once dry it's almost a leather single note. It's a cool leather just like in Western Diamondback. In the bottle it smells a little like cough medicine because of the cherry, but the cherry vanishes into the ether as soon as I put it on. (It has taken me several tries to even guess that it's there.) It's actually pretty cool, if you like leather. Since the O isn't very strong, it just adds a faintly sweet, waxy edge to the leather note. A warmer, rounder De Sade. Or, a version of Western Diamondback for people who don't like Snake Oil. ETA 5/6: I no longer feel like there's cherry in this. But I do get a suggestion of red musk, so this is rather like Krampus crossed with O. CCLVIII - O + white musk, dust? white linen? the ghost of frankincense I really can't place much in this. It has white musk for sure. On the whole it has a bright, dusty quality, and it's very white. There may be some kind of white floral, but the blend isn't floral. There's a slightly smoky note in the background. This one sounds like it would be vile, but somehow, it works. I think it's kind of musty and awful for about 10 minutes but it settles into a lighter, clean smelling O. The O-ness actually gets stronger as it dries, now, so the longer I wear it, the better I like it. Reminds me of Eshe.

These are from my decant circle, so I really hope that those of you participating will review them too! CCCXXXI -Dorian + extra lemon, resins (benzoin, amber, frankincense?), teak or sandalwood For like 10 minutes I couldn't tell how this was different from regular Dorian, except that I liked it better. I've tried Dorian fresh and aged, many times, and although I liked it better aged (it was less spiky and gritty), it just wasn't for me. This is like regular Dorian, but darker and richer. I'm not sure what IS in it, but perhaps things like benzoin, olibanum, maybe a little frankincense. Soft, round resins. It's smooth and subtle, just with a hint of fuzzy smoke. There might be a dry wood note like teak also. I've tried a lot of CTVs and although I've liked many, very few have worked for my skin. I think I've finally found a keeper, though. I always wanted to like Dorian and I keep looking for ways to make it wearable. Here it is! ETA 5/6: It goes through a No. 93 Engine-like phase, but a little bit darker. Once dry it settles into a darker, very slightly resinous Dorian with pronounced vanilla. I don't know if it has added vanilla or if that's just the natural Dorian shining through. It's a little lighter now, more steamworks, less Heavenly Love. CCXCVII - Dorian + patchouli (a fresh one like in the grindhouse), bitter clove, vanilla orchid? The added notes are stronger in this one, but the Dorian base is still distinctive. As a whole, this blend is STRONG. I think there's some kind of floral but it's blending well. This seems creamier than regular Dorian so I'm going to guess vanilla orchid. There's a light edge but it also has a smooth, rich center. This definitely contains bitter clove. It's a soft, warm, woody fuzziness and as luck would have it, the proportion here is PERFECT. There may be a separate wood note as well (maybe cedar or red sandalwood), but it doesn't stand out. It reminds me of Calico Jack minus the water, or of Mort de Cesar, especially in that both scents blend well and the notes create an effect that's different from just the sum of the individual notes. Rich, dark, warm, with hints of fougere and creamy, lemony tea in the background. ETA 5/6: With some age, it's apparent that the maybe-wood note is actually patchouli. It's the fresh, green sort of patchouli that's in the grindhouse ladies. Now it reminds me more of Clemence than Mort de Cesar, because the clove seems softer. The floral aspect is less pronounced.

XLIII - I accidentally reviewed this one twice, so here is my second impression from 5/5: notes: only a little Penitence + clover, heather, lemon balm, ozone, etc This is similar to Host of the Air, because it has a distinct air quality, but it is notably different for containing a lemony herb. Otherwise, it has the same fresh green clover and cool, breezy wild flowers. I can smell just a little Penitence acting as a base, lightly smoky, but this is all fresh meadows. I'm not getting much of the Penitence in this. It's a very light, clean, refreshing, outdoor kind of scent. and this was my first impression from 4/9: The strongest note is a salty aquatic. Next there's a fresh, bright, green quality (this is probably several notes) that has a light lemon edge. I think it has lemon verbena, but it isn't like sniffing verbena directly. Imagine standing downwind of a patch of it. It's extremely subtle. There are probably some light florals. After 30 minutes or so, some light resins emerge as base notes (there's Penitence!). Sort of smells like a combination of Kumari Kandam and Embalming Fluid. (As of 5/5 I no longer smell salty aquatics.)