a_bear

The rose smells fresh-cut and, indeed, a bit damp - similar to The Rose from the Märchen collection. Sadly, the leather smells plasticky on me.

Freshly applied, this reminds me of some fruity/powdery deodorant I had as a teenager. The fig comes out more over weartime and begins to pull it out of teen-spirit territory, but it never turns into a love for me. As much as I like both fig and plum, overall, I think I prefer Drow Yoga Instructor.

Sweeter and with more vanilla than Fuck It, Might as Well Lick It. A good one if you want a gentler peppermint.

Sugar Skull 2020: more or less as expected based on listed notes. A mix of dark, syrupy sugars that smell almost honeyed with a bit of something fruity and a tiny hint of spice. Sugar Skull 2021: smells like the dead leaves accord - vegetal, almost green peppery. honestly wondering if I got a mislabled decant. (eta: after conferring with some other BPALers, I think I may have received a decant of Dead Leaves on House Plants that was mislabeled)

MUSHROOM MUSHROOM. Ok, so I was expecting mostly rose with a bit of the other notes, but the mushroom is suprisingly prominent. Very earthy and reminds me a bit of Etienne de Boray Oak (probably because that's the only other scent with a mushroom note I've tried). I do get the rose initially, but it fades into the background. There's a bit of sharp leather as well, and I'm still not really sure what ambrette seed smells like, but there is a sweet musky perfumey-ness happening. The art for this scent is so pretty and soft, but the actual scent is giving me bouquet mouldering in the graveyard vibes.

For some reason I didn't think I liked mint in perfumes, but I was very wrong. This is the first Lick It variant I've tried. This goes on as an AGGRESSIVE non-sweet peppermint, but that eventually mellows to a more friendly vanilla mint/candycane scent. I had heard a rumor that this had a bit of coconut in it, but I'm happy to report I'm not smelling any.

I love this. Aggressive peppermint similar to the one in F It, Might as Well Lick It accompanied by a bit of candy-sweet lemon. I don't really get marshmallow. eta: I do get a bit of the weirdness mentioned by other reviewers, but only well into wear and only if I stick my nose right where I originally applied.

Dominated by the cassia/cinnamon and sandalwood on me. The tobacco here must be a dry one rather than a heavy, syrupy one. I think the tea helps keep the scent kind of light. I like this on its own, but it's also good for layering.

2020 version: I mostly smell the skin musk with a bit of fir and herbs. Even though it is described as skin warmed by dance, the scent is very cool to me. I don't smell incense/smoke really at all. The straw may add a bit of sharpness, but I can't really pick it out.

Spice lovers, this one's for you. Skin musk is one of the few musks that generally work for me, and the honey in this one behaves - adding a hint of sweetness to help tie everything together without getting cloying or weird. After initial application the throw pretty much disappears so you have to get close to smell it. The initial blast of heat from the peppers settles down as well, and the scent is dominated by the cinnamon. It is very dry, verging on powdery, but in the way that actual spices have a dryness to them. Very spicy, a little sweet, I kind of wish my skin could just smell like this all the time.

The apple and mint combo up front is kind of weird. The mint wins out, though, and it is quite bracing. Overall, it settles into a general green scent, where I can't really pick out the notes. The coconut seems to be more frond than coconut meat or milk. I have a couple other fumes with neroli where it dominates, but it plays nicely in this scent.

If you can find it, you might like Our Little Crypt Ghoul. Samhain would be worth trying, too.

Dark rose and syrupy tobacco with a faint hint of clove. The rose is more prominent when freshly applied, then the tobacco really takes over. I expected it to be a dry scent, but it's the opposite.

I haven't smelled Smut or Snake Oil independently, but having tried another Snake Oil variant, I know there's something about SO that smells kind of medicinal to me. This has that medicinal edge but also smells a bit like rootbeer. Contains my nemesis, aged patchouli, but if I hadn't seen the notes list, I wouldn't have guessed. I can't really pick out leather or cardamom either. This is probably the only Snake Oil I need, but I would be curious to try Smut on its own or in another variant.

Rum notes can smell syrupy and cloying on me, particularly in warmer weather, but there's something sort of lemony - not sure if it's the tea or the sugar or something unlisted - that helps with this one. I like this but it's definitely a cold weather only scent for me. Makes me want to drink a hot toddy.