bambi

8/30: Nocturne Alchemy just dropped part one of their Halloween Update! Anything look good to you? Maybe The Witch's Forest, but I'm not sure. I don't have much experience with this company, and the note lists are a bit intimidating! What are your preferred Halloween colors? I prefer a more muted color palette, but generally black, muted purples, and muted oranges. I've got an autumn/Halloween moodboard linked in my signature! Would you like washcloths or a scarf?? Possibly a hat?? if so what color(s) and do you have any fibers you can’t work with? I mostly use wool but also yak, camel, nylon, cotton, silk, and acrylic. No, thank you! I have some texture aversions, so it's difficult for me to know if i will like, use, or actually wear something without touching it first. (these are my questions, but I will still answer them) 1. How do you feel about seasonal Japanese kitkat flavors provided they stay away from your "least favorite flavors" mentioned in the questionnaire? No need! 2. Do you use any sort of stationery? Japan is the land of cute stationery, so please let me know if any of the following sound fun to you: a 2027 planner washi tape stickers I love stationery such as washi tape and stickers, but I don't need a new planner! 3. Are you a black coffee or coffee with milk type of person? I drink my coffee with both milk and sugar! 4. What is your makeup color palette? Do you prefer neutral, warm, or cool colors? Bold or toned-down? I generally prefer toned-down over bold, but no preference when it comes to warm vs. neutral. vs. cool. 5. What's your relationship to tarot? Do you want/need a deck? How would you feel about an opened but never used deck? I have a tarot deck that I love and use frequently, so no, thank you! Is there anything specifically from Japan you would be interested in? No need since I live there, too! If you drink tea, are there any specific types you like/don't like and do you prefer loose leaf or bagged? I do enjoy tea! I mostly drink black tea, and I love a good chai. I don't like matcha, most green teas, or tea where apple is an inclusion. No preference for loose leaf or bagged! I'll absolutely be snagging a few things from the Dragon Con online update- see anything you'd like? Milk-and-Water Dragon sounds amazing, and I think I'd really enjoy Lusty Gallant Dragon, too! Anything you want from the Autumn Haus of Gloi update? (https://www.hausofgloi.com/collections/fall-1) Blue Roan sounds like something I'd enjoy in a perfume, butter, or exfoliant! Anything from the Paintbox Soapworks fall updates look interesting? Ooooh, What the Moon Brings sounds like an interesting scent, and so does Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground. Cathedral of Pumpkins, too. I wouldn't use the perfumes or wax melts, but would use the other types of products. How do we feel about shortbread? Any flavors you particularly interested in (I've done pumpkin, lavender, spicy, rose, chocolate, orange...)? It sounds delicious, but it probably wouldn't travel internationally very well. Everything except spicy or rose sounds good, though! Chocolate or orange especially. How about graphic novels (physical copies)? No, thank you! I don't read graphic novels. Are you a reader? Books, magazines, comics?? Have a favorite genre?? Link a wishlist!! Absolutely! A huge reader, but exclusively books. My goodreads with a wishlist of books I'd like to own is linked in my signature! Do you burn candles and or wax melts? I burn candles, but not wax melts! I have an extensive Halloween decor collection and could stand to rehome some things including Bath and Bodyworks wall plug-ins and Johanna Parker linens. Would you like to receive some items from this collection? If so what types of items would you like to recieve? (kitchenware, linens, home decor) No home decor for me, thanks! How would you feel about The Cure Merch? No, thank you! Do you want Halloween Ornaments? These would be wasted on me, unfortunately.

In the bottle, this smells oddly fruity and sweet. On the skin, there's still a fruity smell, but the birch bark definitely becomes the strongest with a hint of something dry, and almost smoky. Maybe the smoky note is coming from the "smoldering" beeswax? It does stay quite sweet, and I don't get anything I would describe as frozen or snow-dusted, but it does smell fresh and becomes less sweet over time. It is quite subtle on my skin, so I can see myself wearing this one fairly often in my day to day.

I bought this fully not knowing what to expect, but I'm pleasantly surprised. In the bottle, this is sweet, and I'm definitely getting both the cacao and bourbon. On the skin, it becomes beautifully warm and creamy. It actually smells somewhat fruity, as well, and I'm wondering if that's coming from the raw cacao. I'm grateful that the bourbon doesn't take over, as that was the only note here I was feeling intimidated by. Overall, it's a very rich smell, so I can see myself not using it as an every-day wear, but it will likely be in heavy rotation.

In the bottle, I'm getting exactly what I expected from this: leather and amber. It does go weirdly soapy at first on the skin, but then the leather makes a comeback, and it's back to exactly what I expected. I don't wear leather often, and it's maybe a bit too masculine of center for me to wear myself, but I really enjoy this perfume and would love to smell it on others. It's quite subtle and unobtrusive, but it lasts for forever.

In the bottle, this is very fresh and green. I'm getting a bubbly, nose-tingly ginger, lemon, and green tea. On the skin, the ginger is less ginger ale and more ginger, but still the strongest note. I often lose lemon as a note the longer I wear a perfume, but the lemon in this one sticks around for a shockingly long time. The cedar was almost invisible in this for the initial stages of wear, but it did join the party eventually. It does give a lemon ginger tea vibe, but I enjoy how fresh it is.

In the bottle, I'm getting very strong jasmine and bright, juicy lemon. On the skin, I get smooth sandalwood and a touch of more earthy frankincense. The lemon smell disappears fairly quickly, and I'm not getting much of the hinoki. The jasmine tea doesn't read as a jasmine tea so much as just jasmine flowers (a similar situation to a Shunga from last year with a jasmine tea note), but while my skin generally amps jasmine, this is much more lowkey. I have a feeling that the frankincense, sandalwood, and hinoki are doing a lot of work to ground this on my skin, and I'm left with a smooth, sweet, earthy jasmine fragrance.

In the bottle, I can smell soil, stone, and camphorous wood. On the skin, this sweetens a bit and goes more powdery with some herbs and that same camphorous note. There's also something bright and almost citrusy going on here. Wet, this really reads as a deep forest. Damp, dark soil and stones, herbs and woods. Much further into the wear, the camphor fades and the scent overall fades into a sweet, powdery herbal scent that reads as unisex and sticks close to my skin.

In the bottle, this is very heavy on the smoke with a realistic soil note. There's a brightness brought on by the aquatic/rain note, and this stays pretty consistent on the skin. I feel like I can smell each of the notes while also being able to pinpoint almost none of them individually on my skin. The scent and painting match amazingly well, and I would compare the vibe of this perfume to standing outside right before a big storm hits when you can smell the rain coming.

This was one of my "surprise" buys this release, and boy was I surprised. In the bottle, I get more almond than cherry, and it's heady and thick, almost overwhelming. It smells like amaretto, which could be expected based on the notes. I did not like this in the bottle and was very hesitant to skin test it. On the skin, the cherry starts to come out immediately, and this softens significantly, morphing into a sweet gardenia scent with a breath of soft, deep cherry. I don't get much white tea or carnation, but with scent powerhouses like gardenia, cherries, and tonka, I'm not particularly surprised at that part. It's shockingly warm and almost *sexy* to wear. I'm not sure how often this will show up in my perfume rotation, but I'm happy to have chosen it.

In the bottle, this is musky and very herbaceous. On the skin, there's something almost menthol-y about it, which I'm assuming is the juniper. It does sweeten up a bit on the skin, but this firmly remains in animalic forest territory. This is a musky, herbal, dark winter scent. The musk is too overwhelming for me personally.

I absolutely love this. In the bottle, this is all juicy, almost bubblegum-y pear, but it changes pretty quickly on the skin. The pear is definitely still present, but I'm finding the white tea to be the dominant note, and the floral notes of both that and the eucalyptus blossom give the vibe of that bath product that you adore but is prohibitively expensive, so you ration it only for the most special of occasions. Perfect for a "bathhouse" perfume. My only complaint is that I don't get much cedar, which is a shame, as it's one of my favorite notes, but I suspect it's hanging around with the white tea, lending a sort of "dryness" to the scent.

In the bottle, it's much fruitier than expected. Wet on the skin, it smells a bit like fig jam. Drying down, a note that isn't particularly woodsy, but certainly much drier, starts to come out. You know those children's books that always have woodland animals in cozy scenes? This smells like a mouse in a tree making fig jam whilst wearing a cute little apron.

Immediately in the bottle and on the skin, this smells fizzy, bubbly, and playful. Like when a carbonated drink tickles your nose. I'm actually shocked there isn't a listed note of champagne, aldehydes, something. Regardless, this is wonderful. I don't get much mandarin, but the melon is quite strong, especially in the bottle and first upon application. Later, it dries down into a creamy tuberose scent with melon layered on top. It's wonderful as a spring and summer scent, and I'm very glad I have a bottle.

This is my ultimate cozy scent. My skin gets along with both vanilla and cedar very well, but I wasn't expecting the beeswax to be so beautiful. Each note is strong, but at the same time this is incredibly soft, creamy, and harmonious in its entirety. It starts out strong on the skin, but after a bit, it becomes a soft, sweet scent that stays close to my skin. Absolutely perfect.

In the bottle, this is very honey forward, and I swear I smell jasmine, but that must be the ylang ylang. On wet, there's a lovely citrus from the lemon blossom and the neroli. It's quite floral, but no longer as cloying as it was in the bottle. A bit musky, and I can see why the description says "fuzzy." Dry, it reads a bit foody due to the honey making an appearance again. The lovely floral citrus is layered over that, but I'm not getting any cedar at all, which is unfortunate for me. The honey is very strong, probably deepened by the frankincense and amber. It's a very lovely scent, but not something I would buy a bottle of for myself.