alterosen

I almost put this in my trade pile because I didn't find it all that interesting when I first got it. Nice enough but a bit light & I have Fae & Philommeides for the rare times I feel like wearing something peachy/apricot-ish. Then I thought I'd try it one last time before listing it & wow, is it ever great now! The vanilla is much more pronounced & it just smells fabulous in the heat we're having at the moment. So I'm keeping it after all & doing some slathering!

I had a very similar experience to theseagrows. This scent ended up super woody on me - I thought for sure there was cedar in here & not just as a supporting player. Sometimes patchouli & sandalwood do that to me. I was looking forward to a rosy vanilla tobacco fest but it was not to be. For the record, I tend to like rose & resin blends but this just didn't work.

I like fruity florals so my apologies if you find some of these a bit on the sweet side but try Sjofn, Titania, Elf, Fae, Zephyr, Phantom Wooer, Baobhan Sith, Sea of Glass, Amsterdam. From the un-impable section (but you should be able to find decants in the Sales/Swaps): Door, Lady Una, The East, Jasmine Cottage, Coraline Jones, The Ghost Children, Blithe Hollow, Lady Amalthea, The Last Unicorn.

I was concerned about this because smoky scents rarely appeal to me but I took a gamble & I'm glad I did! My nose gets sweetly smoky wax with a hint of maple rather than roasted chestnuts (but it's not cloying or overly foody). This is what I was expecting Candlelight to be like but that wasn't nearly as appealing. I use this often, especially in cooler weather.

Awesome pictures, nathanielhebert! At first, I was just focussing on the labels & then I noticed all the great stuff you included in the background - so fun!

This reminds me of Snow White plus lots of honey. It was fun to try but not really for me.

My husband likes to wear some foresty ones: Dawn: Cernunnos, (Terebinth pine, basil, green sandalwood, fig leaf, armoise, lemon balm, cypress, myrrh, black cedar, and juniper) and Nemesis (Cypress, ginger, fig, dried rose, red patchouli, tonka bean and cyclamen) in particular. He smells really good in many scents that have cypress, pine & juniper notes. I also like Wolf Moon though that has a fair bit of brown musk along with the evergreens (various years have different notes but all seem to have Terebinth pine, juniper berry, & blue cedar). Knecht Ruprecht (The snow-covered foliage of the Black Forest and the fruit and woods of apple and almond trees) might be worth trying, too.

I tried this one & thought: "Now this is the Devil's Bake Sale!". Even more so than Sugar Cookie, this scent with all its smoldering deep spices brings to mind demonic cookies. Love it!

What about Lady Death Savage? To me it feels cool, blue & unearthly - I could totally see a starry night goddess smelling this way. Though it lists white musk, which may give you pause, it's definitely tempered by the other notes: White musk, grey amber, Calabrian bergamot, vanilla absolute, French labdanum, styrax, wormwood, caraway, and bois de jasmin.

Rose Red, all the way (the Rose might do, as well, since they are similar). You might like The Rose, from the Marchen collection. It's very lifelike and smells just like a rose from a garden. I was going to say the same thing! I also find London to be a very realistic tea rose.

For sweet rose & marshmallow, I recommend Love: Marshmallows and rose sugar with whipped vanilla cream and a hint of strawberry. You might like White Rose, too. It's a bit coconutty: White rose buds, with vanilla tea, benzoin, orris, coconut meat, and frankincense. An awesome peach that deserves more love is Philommeides: Peach wine, carnation, lemon peel, osmanthus, blood orange, wood violet, and tuberose.

The description sounds so beautiful & evocative & I love sandalwood so I had to snap up this spray when I saw a decant for sale. Unfortunately, all I got was dry spices & woods without the sandalwood being prominent. I did like it somewhat but ultimately it just wasn't sweet enough for me.

This is all ginger, fruit & fizz on me. Maybe a hint of molasses that melds well with the ginger. Fun & just the thing for a rainy day!

Rather than the candied spicier Samhain I was expecting, my decant was actually less sweet than my Samhain spray. I think I got the dark, dank forest variation, with extra vetiver. Bummer! I love Samhain & was looking forward to a candied cinnamon version.

Mostly pomegranate & a bit of rose, with a hint of bitterness, followed by what my nose is reading as opium. On late drydown, I get some dusky vanilla which is my favorite part but the bitterness still lingers. Not really noticing any apple, sandalwood or red musk. Interesting, but I'm more a Crypt Queen kind of gal.

Some of the Laces from Dark Delicacies have a lovely vanilla musk base to them. I especially like Tattered Lace & Black Lace, and I get a bit from Beautiful Death, too. They're a bit hard to come by but do turn up for Sale occasionally.

Gobo from the Fraggles: Tangerine, lemon peel, sugared pink grapefruit, and vanilla cream. So yummy!

Black Taffeta - it takes a while to sweeten up but it's rather nice once dry.

I, too, get the Tootsie Rolls comparison but a lot of the chocolate scents do that on me so I'm not worried. It is pretty strong with a hint of pinkness, raspberry rather than cherry to my nose. No dragon's blood, fortunately, because that usually smells like lilac on me & as adventurous as I am with my edible chocolate, I really dislike lilac & wouldn't want it mixed in here. On drydown, something familiar emerges - honey with a hint of vanilla. I don't notice any incense & any wood is smoothly mixed in with the Tootsie Rolls note, if it is there. This is a rather yummy scent with pretty good staying power. I suspect my kids are going to nab it

Brimstone!

Yum! Starts out boozy, spicy apple, then the cake appears with all its vanilla goodness & the drydown is sugary vanilla & sandalwood with just a hint of fruitiness. I wish the apples lasted longer but I have other scents I can wear when I'm in the mood for fruit. This is for when I want cake!

Marshmallow root, coconut, macadamia milk, cream accord, and a drop of golden amber. Not sure what made me order this one since I don't like coconut that much nor amber. Perhaps I was intrigued by the marshmallow...? Anyway, this ended up working really well on me. Rich, warm, creamy, coconut vanilla (no butter fortunately) followed by spice that I'm reading as cardamom. That's probably what's reminding some people of chai. Delicious & long lasting!

Musky strawberry candy! Nicer & less juvenile than it sounds. If I concentrate, I get an occasional whiff of cherry & vanilla/heliotrope. I like it, though the throw is rather lighter than I expected. Again, no worries about wearing it to work!

Perhaps La Befana (Yule '07 & '13: Candy charcoal, winter lilies, parma violet, a sprig of cypress, a poof of chimney dust, and holiday sweets.)? Some of the reviews mention getting licorice from the charcoal candy. On me it's mostly candied violet with a hint of berries/jam. This & Faith are my favorite violet scents, though sometimes I like Le Serpent Qui Danse, too.

On me, Dawn: Mother has a woody aspect that isn't present in Rose Cross. I think it's a very rich & lovely blend. If you like the resiny roses, give Parlement of Foules a try & you might also like Ossa Arida & Ecclesiastical Excesses (I'll also second Saint Foutin). Other strong rose blends that appeal to me are All Saints (another rich & resiny one) & Symmakhia (fruity, woody roses - not as light as you'd think from the notes).