DiZZysTARdust

This is very colognesque to my nose. In the bottle it's like spiced powder. Can def tell that black musk is in there. Silken is an apt description as it's not heavy or cloying, it's like a dark, sinuous, spicy skin musk. The clove comes out strongly when freshly applied. The powdery edge is still there, and its like it's trying to take over but everything else is keeping it in check. This scent is a little discordant to me as when it's freshly applied, when i sniff the test patch directly there's like a weird sour, flattish edge first, and then the scent unfolds itself. It's like two distinct layers. However, after a few minutes of dry time that edge has disappeared. This is still cologney but def more in the head shop vein. I almost get like a cocoa vibe from all the warm spices. Really nice bedtime scent, it's like a thick blanket and warm mug all rolled up in one.

Opens up heavy on the sugar and pink musk. Very sweet and feminine and definitely well blended and perfumey. As it dries the fruitiness comes out more. The pomegranate is def there with a bit of tartness, and also i think the coconut cause i get a bit of a vanillic layer, and then there is the piney cypress underneath both of those adding a deeper, darker, mysterious layer. Decent throw. As it dries further, over an hour in, the sharpness from the pom and cypress fade beautifully into the overall scent. The throw lessens somewhat but is still very present and sweet on the skin

There is something syrupy about calaveras that is explained when i looked up cajeta, which seems fo be similar to dulche de leche. In the bottle it's like v strong, foodie, and vanilla-centric. A neutral vanilla bordering on almost dry and masculine but with a sweetness that keeps it in neutral territory imo. When it goes on the sweet syrupness is amplified in the throw which seems decently strong. Sniffing my wrist up close this is a little spiced, i'm guessing from the chilis. It closely resembles, although not exactly, the cinnamon scented stuff from christmas time. In a very elegant way as you can tell there is other stuff mingling in there. Like maybe, the remains of a christmas party with some scented decorations lying around and spilled food and drink everywhere. That spiciness isn't as present in the throw for me, that's more of the vanilla blanket, but again with some of the darker elements threading through. V nice

i must say first that i was never big on dragon's blood, and while i can appreciate what figs and blackcurrants do to some perfumes they also have a tendency to go masculine and/or soapy on me. so this scent was like super intimidating to try on, but red musk is red musk. in the bottle this was omg! dragon's blood. very sweet and incensey and bloody. but i can def smell the red musk underneath so that's cool. on the dragon's blood and musks are becoming some kind of super power. i'm not too familiar with black musk yet so it's difficult to pick out but something is holding together the dragon's blood and red musk. the fig and blackcurrant seem to be a layer of sweetness underneath but both behave impeccably. no high pitched blackcurrant, not really any of the chewiness of fig, but like an underlying fruit direction without becoming fruit, fruit candy, or industrial cleaning products. as it dries, the dragon's blood seems to be the major player (as one might expect of a scent called dragon's heart) but in a beautifully blended way, not sickly sweet at all. all in all, GORGEOUS. i'm going to have to track down more imps. this lasted a good long time with decent throw. after like, maybe fourish hours into the drydown this took on a baby powder scent. not just powdery but full on baby powder. this took me a bit by surprise as this doesn't often happen to me so i'm wondering what caused it. i'm guessing either the black musk or dragon's blood, since i don't wear them too much, or maybe the combo of the musks and dragon's blood. there was still a bit of a reddish tone so i liked it but def was surprised based on how rich and syrupy it is when wet.

I'm on a red musk kick so this needs testing. In the bottle i smell the patchouli. Going on it's a battle for who wants to be more prominent, the musk or the patchouli. I agree with the candy comparisons. There's a sweetness to this from i'm guessing the ylang ylang and myrrh that grounds the scent without being specifically identifiable to my nose at the same time. As the scent is drying the red musk wins out over the patchouli, with the result of a sweet piney musk without the grape cough syrup vibe i usually get (in a good way). Stays sweet but veers toward the delicate powdery side as it dries

omg this is hella gorgeous. very light and perfumey. not fruity at all in the sense that i can't pick out the plum and blackcurrant. wet reminds me of a bathsheba somewhat, but much lighter and more girlish. the blackcurrant makes itself known a little more as it dries, lightening the scent even more. decent throw ETA: this doesn't remind me of metal at all, nor of the golden powderiness of amber. to me it seems very much like a posh, office to the night club type of scent.

In the bottle this is very green, and freshly on i am immediately reminded of witch bride. I was positive narcissus or something related was in this. This is an interesting blend, it's like a layer of sweet green floral with the powderiness detectable yet distinct beneath it. After a little time to dry the green floral element kind of sharpened, and i think it must be the eucalyptus and tea mixing with maybe the sweetness of the frankincense/myrrh? The eucalyptus def becomes distinct but does not dominate at all. More like, it makes itself known then melts gradually back into the blend. I don't get red musk at all, not the sweet fruity kind nor the dry bitter one. After this is well and truly dried it does get a touch drier, as if the green and powdery elements are combining, but it stays sweet overall. This is a very perfumey scent to me, i could totally see an undead bride walking down the aisle in this

Reviving this post with a question for sandalwood vets: As a sandalwood newb, i'm trying to track down a sandalwood sn with which to layer my scents and i see at least three: austrailian, red mysore, and white. Is there any opinions on which is the best option for layering?

In the bottle this is sweetish. Fresh on the skin was a blast of sweet flowers. It's a thick dark oil with strong throw, my favorite. Freshly on i got a strong whiff of roses actually. Not like actual roses or even rosewood or rose geranium, more like a general reddish rosiness as if these notes combined just happen to mimic the scent of a rose bouquet. They pick themselves apart pretty quickly tho, and leave behind a lovely floral scent that i would definitely call white flowers, even though the scent is to my nose quite warm. Hard to explain but it's like a clean floral. I agree with some previous reviewers calling it perfumey in an elegant way, although i disagree personally with the soap comparisons. Looking at some of the reviews, i am guessing that the strong floral blast when wet is the orange blossom. I'm not really familiar with orange blossom, or neroli, as i'm not a citrus fan. I've always wanted to smell some straight EOs as i've heard it said they smell nothing like citrus but the comparison is made in my head and i can't undo it. However, i was curious about this blend and decided to try it, and now i love it. There is a sharp fruitiness (NOT in a citrusy way) that i think must be the tea combining with the orange blossom, which fades as the scent dries and is replaced by more vanillic undertones. The carnation is also i think more noticeable as it dries, making the scent even warmer and redder than before. Gorgeous blend ETA the throw definitely decreases as it dries but is still p strong

So this morning i picked up vital fluid and decided why not as my sotd for work today. I put this on and got the surprise of my life when it was not as i thought i remembered, sweet cherry wine, but rather dry and almost salty and extremely strong. My first thought was that it had since gone flat, but going through my old posts it was actually a brilliant and ruby colored fluid that i was thinking of, so this was my first official test of vital fluid off to a roaring start. I'm guessing i never tested it because of the strong herbal bitterness in the vial, and wet on the skin this stuff is like whoa. Salty, dry, bitter, and very very evocative of a vital fluid. Almost like blood, but not at all in a dragon's blood type incensey way. It's just like very earthy, musty, organic, very unique. Very off putting tbh. I was like shit i have to go to work with this on. So i'm sitting there, looking through my old posts cause at the time i swore i had favorably reviewed this, and all of the sudden i smelled this amazing, sweet, sort of clean scent. It was like a switch flipped. Vital fluid became this amazingly beautiful resinous musk. Strooooong throw. I normally work scents off in the first hourish but this shit lingered, soaked into my clothes and everything. I kept catching little phantom whiffs of it at work and going all starry eyed. It's well blended and feminine enough that i would say it has a classic perfume tone to it. It is very classy and beautiful, i could see wearing this out or to an important event. I'm very happy my bpal-newb self picked this up because looking at the note list i would have had no clue what i was purchasing at the time and i can't imagine why i did, but very glad to have the chance to try such a lovely, intriguing scent.

Omg i am in love with this. I randomly choose my perfumes in the morning and i happened to pick this up twice, which lead to the realization that i accidentally picked this up from two different decant circles during it's release and also that it was obviously meant to be worn (this having happened yesterday). So based on the note list i was expecting an overwhelming powderiness and this is basically true, but in a totally fabulous, rich, golden way. In the decant the myrrh is p strong, and both in the imp and right freshly on there is almost a cocoa-y tone to it. Very sweet and warm. I assume that's the myrrh and the cardamom combining. I love cardamom so i was hoping it would be a strong player over the others but it's very understated. If i had to compare it i would use cave of treasures, where it's more noticeable on the skin but in the sillage it blends pleasantly. Except in this it blends even better and i would think is probably in a lesser amount cause it is definitely not standing out to me. The myrrh stays pretty dominant and sweet at first and then the powderiness emerges in a very comforting way. This is definitely golden and powdery in the throw, although not in a hard metallic way that is reminiscent of a scepter. Up close on the skin as it dries more there is the vaguest hint of green reediness which i think is the calamus coming through. That stays very distant but gives the scent a pleasant almost clean feeling. I'm so glad i have the 2 decants of this although i foresee myself using them up fairly quickly. I'm contemplating leaving one to age for a good loooong time before trying it again just to see what happens.

Def agree with the comparison to spellbound. Right out of the gate this is strong musky rose. The red musk is most obvious, to me it's slightly grapey or cherry or wineline or somehow a combo of that. There are threads of the evergreens peeking through in an absolutely gorgeous way that reminds me of brangwy somewhat. The greens are more present in the imp and freshly on. They are first to go, then the rose loses its body, and what's left is slightly powdery. But in a very lovely, sweet, red, floral way. The incense is more present in the throw than sniffed directly on the skin. The scent of the drydown is more akin to what i would imagine the gc lucy's kiss to smell like based on it description, although not so much a "rose" scent after the first half hourish (and i amp rose). A spicy floral. Definitely reads dark to me

Definitely a green scent. As i remove the stopper from the imp my first impression was actually of lettuce. Very crisp and green, not really herbal or grassy just watery. As it goes on wet the green kind of deepens, gets a little murky. The floral comes out, and it's almost rosy but maybe that's just wishful thinking. It definitely wouldn't be a red rose. More like a white floral in the vein of water lily or lotus. As that settles the citrus notes come out to give this a little golden fleshiness. I don't really get the peel notes, definitely more of the blossom components. The bright green- citrusy floral phase burns off pretty quickly, within the first hour of application on me, and the dry remainder is a little powdery, a little more unisex, and back to the dark green. This is a very beautiful scent and an interesting morpher. Light throw.

i LOOOOVE this omg. i'm not a red musk person per se as it tends to amp on me. here everything is so well blended it doesn't have the chance to amp. this scent is like really comforting somehow. it may be because it's a rainy fall day here and a little redness was needed. in the bottle this is super sweet, like a cherry red musk with almond undertones. spicy cherry candy. i was surprised by the almond and a little unnerved by it but i don't detect any at all on the skin. this is the ultimate new age-head shop scent to me. a spicy, woodsy scent. i feel there is a little bit of a vanillic undertone to it. definitely sexy and also p unisex. which is kind of funny. i think this must need some rolling because on one wrist i get more of the saffron which is a bit more masculine, and on the other more of the vanilla-sandalwood. as it dries there is the faintest touch of powdery soapiness when huffing my wrist, i wonder what that's from. my guess is the sandalwood but not sure. this is SO strong, i actually didn't even apply this i just rubbed what was on the rim of the bottle on one wrist and applied that to the other and both inner arms and i can smell myself. as a full disclaimer, this just arrived today so i can only imagine what it will be like after settling. the envelope is in my room and it's like walking into the local witchery shop every time i step inside. i would love to try this as a drawer sachet for my delicates. ETA the spiciness in this lasted THROUGH a shower! Very faint but still distinctive just from the dabbed test patch. I shudder to think what a full strength application of this could do

Gorgeous scent. This is another scent wheee the amber and beeswax combine to strongly remind me of cave of treasures. Except in this scent, instead of turning up at the end and becoming a light, white floral, feminine perfume, this sort of turns down and becomes instead a sort of darker scent, definitely appropriate for midnight gambols a la the description. Almost a bit woody from the olive blossom in fact. I wouldn't classify this as a masculine scent though, just not overly floral. Definitely unisex at the very least. The violet leaf takes a few minutes to come out, and when the powderiness finally comes out there's something almost metallic about it. Not in a cool or sharp way. Literally as if this amber is like the gold coin variety, rather than the warm molten gold, toothsome caramel variety. It kind of lightens everything up and brings it more in the cologne direction without making this a cologne. Still very much a spicy amber blend. Good throw on me.

In the imp this smells very powdery and floral and clean. Going on fresh it still smells a little soapy and i swear i smell roses. On my skin the rosiness mostly disappears but i feel like it's still present in the sillage and i am wondering if it may be one of the unlisted ingredients. I mean how can you have a victorian nocturnal reverie without roses? This is a very lovely scent on the skin, with the violet musk and amber giving it a powderiness while the fig and blackcurrant lend some sweetness without making it fruity. Actually, i just tested emathides and i feel like these two scents have much in common. This is also a dark, smooth, well blended scent. If i had to call a difference, it would be that while emathides was pretty unisex to my nose, nocturnal reverie is definitely tipping the scales into the more feminine, perfumey category. As it's drying i can detect more lavender in the throw, which is really not that strong. The lavender is pretty muted tho, definitely not screaming at me, and closer to the skin it's def a more musky, powdery scent without lavender coming out individually.

I was excited to try this one because recently i've been wanting to try blends containing oudh to see if i could learn to id it. Right off the bat, fresh on the skin, i thought i detected a slight fecal note that i think must have been the oudh (or so i've heard), but thankfully it didn't linger. Other than that nothing stood out. This is a very beautifully blended scent. Red musk can amp on me but the musks are not dominant here, i think they just add to the staying power. This is a very red, slightly spicy, resiny scent. The labdanum is most identifiable both fresh and dry as a syrupy sweetness. The frankincense and saffron cut it down a bit. This doesn't change much from the skin to the throw. Stays pretty consistent for a while, having lasted for about 4 hours on me with a strong throw and still detectable 6 hours after application. The red musk came out more towards the end

I'm not sure what i had this confused with, but i was expecting like a peachy-apricot scent. Definitely not that. In the bottle i distinctly smell the rose, which really confused me but that was what was there. Freshly on the rose disappears. This is sweet but to my nose i would call this more unisex. If i had to label it, it would be slightly more on the side of cologne only because, despite the bouquet listed in the notes this is not a very floral perfume. The lavender and rose are very tame. I feel that the only very present floral is the olive blossom cause there is a smooth, clean, creaminess that i definitely associate with olive, it's the same from defututa. I think that and the cedar dominate the florals, although the cedar is also not distinct to me. It sort of is freshly on but more of a tone than a note and it fades quickly. I've been on an amber kick recently i guess which is funny cause i actually choose randomly. The amber is definitely noticeable as an overall powdery base and also i think as part of the sweetness that prevents this from becoming totally masculine. Long lasting with a stronger throw on me, staying pretty consistent for like 3 hours before the top notes started to go. Interestingly, as the florals and sweetness faded the blackcurrant came out. I didn't really pick it up before that. It was faint, especially cause i wore it to work and probs sweated most off, but there was the distinct, sweet, none specific fruitiness coming out over the powderiness.

Mead moon is another excellent honey dominant blend. This is basically straight honey on me. In the bottle is pretty similar to wet on the skin, just a little more concentrated and sweet. As other reviewers have noted this is a really well-blended scent. I was a little concerned by the cinnamon-ginger-clove combo but there is no trace of pumpkin pie spice. The citrus and herbs gives it a bit of an astringent edge that i think work with the spices to take the edge off the sweetness of the honey. definitely doesn't do the plastic thing that honies can do. this is also very long lasting. at the time of typing i've been wearing this for five hours and it's still pretty strong on me (scents tend to fade fast on me so this is lengthy). at one point the throw had a very comforting almost cocoa-y edge. at this point the honey has faded a little more and i think it's a bit greener but still sweet on the edges when sniffed up close. very comforting fall type scent, or for a snow day such as the one outside today.

this is an excellent honey scent. i have often had honey do the plasticky thing, and beeswax is lovely but can be faint, but together they tempered each other perfectly. this blend is like a soft fruity honey. in the bottle it's very sweet and fruity, i'm guessing that's the blackcurrant roaring to the front. on the skin the fruitiness fades to a level of being noticeable without making this into a fruity perfume. this is a sweet, girly, light scent that i think would be perfect for warm weather. the greenness comes out more on the skin. not leafy or herbal, just kind of a sparkling greenness, which must be the honeysuckle. i don't get much of the amber, i think it's just a really well-blended scent. the throw is a pleasant sweet fruitiness, while up close on the skin the honey is more distinct. the throw stays pretty strong for a good amount of time. as the fruitiness faded out i distinctly caught a whiff of cannabisy goodness in the crook of my arm, like weed infused honey. yum. that didn't last long on me but was fun while it lasted.

I opened the bottle and applied before reading the note section, and my immediate thought was PINE!! freshly on, my first guesses were pine, patchouli, and vanilla. by the time i read the notes the pinieness had faded to a vanillic woodiness. I think it must have been the leather note, possibly some birch tar, that had me going in that evergreen direction, but this is by no means a christmas tree-air freshener type greenness. The patchouli kind of slinks in and out of the woodiness, going to an from sexy hippie to baking lumberjack in an entirely good way. I would definitely classify this as a masculine scent but not in a cologne way, more just the aesthetic of it and lack of flowers. After about an hour of drying the patchouli sounds off for me and leaves behind straight woodiness, still pretty vanillic and warm, and the cardamom peeks out without ever really making itself known. I wore this to work and considering I work in a bakery and scents tend to disappear pretty quickly it held up pretty well, I'll have to retest it again to see if i can get that cardamom to lose its shyness.

After having worn this for a few moments and letting it dry out, I am strongly reminded of cave of treasures by this. It's missing the honey and lilacs but the creamy, warm amber is most definitely the same. I was a little surprised at how warm and red this is tbh. I was expecting a cooler, more soapy floral based on the "blue swaths" in the description but in the bottle this is a lovely strong powdery amber. The powderiness of what i assume is the iris is cutting down the sweetness of both amber and sugar, and I feel that the other flowers, while not being distinctly identifiable to my nose, keep the amber from totally dominating this blend.

So i was really excited about this because that note list is like hot damn. In the bottle it's hard to describe. Sort of flattish, but with a sweet tinge. Not quite medicinal. Maybe just literally rooty from the angelica and orris? Not bad tho. Freshly on i swear i sniffed a trace of peanut butter, stronger on the right wrist then the left, and honestly not much else. I was slightly alarmed but that dissipated fairly quickly as the scent warmed up. Looking at the notes, i'd guess that may be the french vanilla settling in? At first this is very very subtle but it seems to blossom as it dries into a very perfumey perfume. I've definitely smelled some classy bpals before but this is most definitely boardroom, ballroom, penthouse chic stuff imho. Top of the list. Very well blended. I don't get rose as a distinct note at all and i tend to amp that. Must be the white variety doesn't overtake as much. I feel i do get a bit of headiness from the frangipani and the bubbliness of the honeysuckle, but neither come out strong. As it dries further the sweetness kind of dissipates. It's now still perfumey but more of a skin scent i guess you could say. I know angelica and ambrette are used as musks so it must be the melange of musks coming together. There is still a pleasant floral throw around me but up close it's slightly cleaner, but like really sexy skin clean if that makes sense. Pretty good throw as my mom can smell me from across the living room

So i was super excited to try this. Not only because the carpathian mountains are tied for number one on my travel destination wishlist, but also for the rhododendron note, among the cornucopia of grasses and flowers. So i was like zomggggg to pick up a bottle second hand, and i absolutely could not restrain myself and skin tested the day i got it. This happened about a month ago. And i know about aging of bottles but i couldn't help it. in the bottle and freshly on for the inital application this was unquestionably BIRCH. I just learned to id this tree by scent and black birch is a characteristic wintergreen. So it was cool, but very strong. But whatever i've been pleasantly surprised by stuff that smells pretty strange in the bottle. So i confidentally slather it on and sit there waiting for the morph that never comes. It's straight mintiness. Decent throw, too, and it fades into basically nothingness fairly quickly aftet that. Not too impressive. I checked the reviews and it seemed like that was the MO for this blend, except for one review with an ETA to let this rest and test again. With nothing to lose, i set this aside to play the waiting game. I've seen it a few times since then but haven't felt confident enough to try again until today. And i must say, lesson learned about the rest period. At first it was the same in the bottle, and after application still very powerful wintergreen. But as it was drying there was an immediately noticeable difference. The mint was less intense, somewhat sweeter. After a few minutes on my skin it actually almost completely faded from the throw and was only detectable as a faint thread close to the skin, much like the spring thaw. The wildflowers actually began to peek out! They weren't distinct from one another, even the lily of the valley and any potential rosiness from that "rose bay" were tamed. Overall it was just a sweet, green (though not grassy), cool herbal scent. VERY evocative of the transistion from winter into spring with that crisp mountain snow note.

Def agree with leopard403 that the name is a bit of a turn off lol. I was not able to get to the trunk show so i had no expectations of trying to obtain this or any of the cool sounding formulas. I happened to catch it on etsy tho which was sick! Gardenias need to be in more bpal blends imo. Freshly on it's a big bathtub full of soapy white flowers. Gardenia and jasmine right out of the gate. The jasmine is strong but the gardenia is like supporting it? They stay pretty heady for a while, then the lily of the valley eventually starts to become more present. The peony i think adds a sweetness that keeps this from going dish soapy. Very lovely. Medium throw when fresh but gets closer to the skin as it dries