alterosen

Samhain #14 decant Classic Samhain with extra apple and a glug of booze. But what kind? Not rum, nor wine, nor champagne, nor whiskey. I'm guessing cognac or brandy. The apples are sweet and red, and are enhanced by the booze. This is an excellent version!

Bottle #138 This has a somewhat savory aspect to it, bit of lime, maybe some coriander and possibly some mugwort.

A couple more: Number very faint: appears to be CDXCXV which is nonsense as Roman numerals but works to identify it. Resins, some cedar, then frankincense galore. Dorian has been completely overwhelmed There's maybe a tiny bit of musky vanilla lurking way in the background if I really huff my wrist but it's mostly a resin-fest. (edited to add: tested again & once it's dry I get spiced vanilla) Number mostly rubbed off but there's a V under "self" in the Recursive Self-Similarity V printed on the label. Citrusy tea with tropical flowers. Not a sharp white floral but something creamy & glamorous. Don't think it's gardenia or tuberose because I tend not to like those. Doesn't seem like jasmine either but it could be one of the well-behaved varieties. Gets a bit fruitier as the vanilla warms up but I can't pin it down to a specific fruit. I quite like this blend even though I don't know what's going on Languid warm weather vacation in a bottle!

Dorian CD (400) Not too sure what I'm smelling here but I'll try: starts out with a something evergreen-ish (not pine, cyprus maybe?) could also also have some tobacco, then some nice sweet tea with a bit of a masculine edge. The fougere seems to come out at the end rather than at the beginning like with regular Dorian & is slightly sharp. It's sweet but the vanilla is mostly hidden. Reminds me a bit of Theodosius on the drydown so perhaps there's some bergamot, too. Dorian CDLXXIV (474) Citrusy fougere & fruity vanilla at first, little bit tropical (I want say pineapple, could be a citrus mix), quite sweet, lightly musky, vanilla finish, very pleasant for warm weather eta: Tried it again today & there's also a bit of faint carnation midway through. Hard to believe I didn't notice it previously but it doesn't last long before the musky sugared vanilla covers it up.

I notice the gunpowder quite a bit in this & I thought there was also some vetiver. It seems gritty & industrial at first, but then it smoothes out as the tobacco develops. My dh really likes this beard oil & it has helped with dry skin on his chin.

My decant is rather heavy on the beeswax with a little rosewater so it leans sweet, creamy & musky. Very little woods or leather - I can pick out a tiny bit but they're mostly masked by the beeswax. I'm picturing a plush, golden-cushioned boudoir rather than anything masculine.

Love this! I'm a late convert to the Serpentine - I'm a huge Dorian fan but lavender is hit or miss (can't stand TKO). I tried the Serpentine HG recently, adored it & was delighted to manage to track down some of this spray. After the first blast of lavender & fougere, the most fabulous musky vanilla comes out & lingers nicely. I suspect my kids & dh are getting a little tired of how much I use this but too bad!

My decant is heavy on the dead leaves with the patch second & the bay rum only a background note. It reads a bit dungeon-y to me for some reason. My husband quite likes it but I was hoping for more of the bay note.

I should love this more than I do - I adore Schwartzwald & other evergreen based atmospheres but somehow this just doesn't thrill me. It's nice & piney as advertised, with that hint of lemon mentioned upthread, but would need a bit of stone or wood for it to sing for me. There's a little creaminess or light musk in the background once it dries. It also doesn't linger as much as I would like. I like it fine but don't reach for it that often.

I have Vanilla #167 . Previously reviewed here Agreeing about the caramel & apples and want to add some chamomile to the drydown which goes quite well with the other notes.

#12 decant Sweet cinnamon (not red hots), honey, bit of pastry & a hint of lemon. Reminds me of baklava though there's no nut note. Mmm!

Do you find the tea rose note too bitter or sharp or is there something else about it that you dislike? What have you tried? I find BPAL roses are very dependent on skin chemistry, so you're probably going to have to do a lot of testing! I often suggest London as a nice realistic rose but since it is tea rose that's probably not going to work for you. The Rose is quite fresh & true to life but since you like pink, yellow & peach roses IRL, I would look for those in the notes rather than red rose. Also you might like the roses that have a fruity aspect since I find many modern roses do have a bit of citrus or berry in their scents. Also blends that are reviewed as being sweet might counteract any bitterness or sourness coming from the rose. Hedylogos, Snooty Rose, The Fool's Rose, Sept, Onze, The Best Lies, Hope would all be worth trying. I'm sure people will chime in with others!

This really doesn't work on me. Starts out super smoky as expected, then goes badly funky. Mildewy pine or wet dog? Mugwort? Something sour, murky & kind of rank. The funk fades as the smoke amplifies & takes on a bitter, inky tone which means a certain leather note has arrived. I asked my son if he wanted to sniff my wrist at this point & he fled across the room, fast. And I had only dabbed it on, not slathered! After about an hour of harsh, smoky leather, a whisp of vanilla musk arrives. It steadily gets stronger while the leather fades until we get the nice Lace base with a smoke accent. There seems to be a bit of extra musk, too. I do like the drydown but am not going to deal with the wet phases again. I was hoping for some spiced plum but never got any opium, clove or fruit. People who wear smoke & leather well might have better luck with this scent than me.

This is lovely! I get an ethereal sweet vanilla right from the start, then it becomes reminiscent of some Japanese incense I have, so perhaps there's a little dry sandalwood involved (or maybe it's the tobacco?). A fizzy aspect comes out, more subdued than in Champagne Lace, but definitely related. The fizz takes on a hint of bitterness which I realize must be the rose but it's only ever a minor player for me. The fizzy note fades and the scent ends up being a dry elegant vanilla on my skin, lacking soil, pine, viscera or anything disturbing. I'm upgrading my decant to a bottle, first chance I get!

Port Royal! My husband was wearing some yesterday & it's very rawr Warm, spicy wood with a smidgen of leather

I am so enamoured of this gloss! Sweet creamy pumpkin with a breath of spices. I'm getting a bit of orange peel, too, and the creamy vanilla reminds me of white chocolate. Yummy!

#9 decant My impression is of a lightly spiced apple cider. No overpowering spices here! Nice, work appropriate. #10 decant Red roses, front & centre. Strong, deep, slightly fruity, regal - wear to make a statement. Any spices are overwhelmed by the rose. Probably not work friendly, but glorious if roses are your thing!

Like Lunameth, l get lots of orange with a champagne-like note. The honey comes & goes. Very fun & perky.

This is nice - it's primarily cooked apple and spices with a bit of buttery baking in the background. Very comforting. I don't get any cold notes. I agee that the frost is more likely icing on the gingerbread than actual frost. Great on a cold wet day making my house smell warm & cozy!

This is pretty but the roses & other flowers are a little soapy & high-pitched for me. I get a tiny bit of bitterness in the greenery, too, that I don't enjoy in the way I do the Queen's Croquet Ground where the grass & roses are richer/deeper notes than these.

#135 Samhain with a black cherry note, very sweet, sugary & strong. It actually overpowers the Samhain base while occasionally letting elements peek through. This is a dark & mysterious fruit scent. As it dries, the cherry becomes less defined & takes on a whiff of wine or sugar plum. It reminds me somewhat of Hearth '04. Though it teeters on the verge of being too sweet for me & doesn't last quite as long as regular Samhain, I'm totally enjoying it!

Incense swirling through a winter forest. Nice frankincense with just a hint of pine pitch. In truth, I was expecting some smoke & hoping for a lot more winter forest than I'm sensing here. But if you really like frankincense, grab this one.

A widows orchard: black, wilted roses, sagging oak, skeletal yew bushes, threads of saffron, and pads of black moss. The moss is strong in this one, combined with a spicy rose. I don't really get the oak, yew or saffron but they're probably contributing to what I'm noting as spice. It feels more like a Victorian parlour than a haunted garden/orchard to me but I do really like it. If you're a fan of moss & rose together, you definitely should try it! I suspect that this combo of notes may have potpourri associations for some people but for others (like me) it will suit just fine.

This has a really golden, creamy feel to me. It's so rich & sweet it seems like I'm surrounded by the filling of an orange cream chocolate (without there actually being any chocolate in the scent). I think I would like it better as a perfume - it's one of the few atmospheres that I like the smell of but don't want to spray around my home for some reason.