Gwydion

In bottle: peculiar. Flowers and cedar and bone powder. The herbs have an effect reminding me of niter and dead things. Wet: Sweeter. The flowers are a bit of a relief, floating over the scent of old tomb. The effect is striking, if a touch unnerving, fresh flowers over the long, long dead. Dry: Sweet herbs. I can't decide how i feel about this really. It may be just a little too odd for my skin chemistry.

In bottle: sickly sweet candied fruit. Wet: Still too sweet, but less cloying, thankfully. Surprisingly floral in effect. This is very woman’s perfume, overpoweringly so. Dry: An improvement. Some of the more delicate elements come out, but it’s still very sweet and fruity. Not my thing, so I’m glad I only got a decant.

I'm in love with Western Diamondback, Banded Sea Snake, and Boomslang, in no particular order. Habu and Temple Viper are both reasonably pleasing.

I second the swaps/sales threads, but ebay is where I get a lot of mine. Bengal is awfully intense and White Rabbit is too linen on me, but results bay vary. I second Kumiho and plunder though.

In Bottle: Heady, rich and sweet and sea salty all at once. It is also a little shampoolike. Wet: Candy. Asian candy. This is very plum and lychee smelling, with a bit of ocean underneath. It is almost too sweet. Dry: Wow. Apparently this is one that needs a little time to settle in and mingle with skin scents. Given time, it gets more aquatic, until they reach a stage where either aquatics or florals are on top, but different notes take prevalence at a given time. This is still a touch too fruit/floral on me, but where I originally thought I wouldn’t be able to wear it at all, now, I’m not sure. It’s growing on me, but I’m not sure it’ll ever be quite right on me. I think this’d be fascinating on the right woman. It has an elegance formed of contradiction and a surprising lightness. As it ages on the skin, the florals and fruit grow richer even as they gentle.

In bottle: Lilac and lavender honey mostly. It smells like something I’d enjoy eating and drinking, if I didn’t know better. Wet: Still quite sweet and now more complexly floral, but the musk of my skin seems to bring out the sandlewood. This is a pleasant enough floral, but I’m not really a floral person. Dry: It does retain it’s richness even as it begins to fade. It remains a pretty purple floral scent. Not my thing, but not it’s fault.

In bottle: oddly familiar. Under the strong florals, the spices lurck, reminding me of an herbal remedy shop I used to frequent. The musks are present, but muted. The delphiniums are a fascinating touch. Wet: chemical. Too much for me. Is that cinnamon in there? It smells like cough syrup on me. I also burns a bit, so I shan’t be able to leave it on for a better test. Did I mention the rash? Clearly for Wisdom there must be pain.

I’d heard nice things about this one, so I was curious to see. In bottle: Green tea with lemon. It’s very like embalming fluid, though the honeysuckle turns it sweeter. Wet: Not as much intensity as I expected from the bottle. It’s not bad, but if I was planning to smell like this I’d be more likely to get embalming fluid, because this isn’t quite as interesting. Dry: fades to nothing super fast, so I can’t make any good observations.

I was not sanguine going in as my skin is really amping dark musks lately. In bottle: Grapefruit concentrate. Wet: surprisingly compelling. The grapefruit sweetens on my skin and the musk gives it needed depth. The other element blend smoothly, creating a vaguely sweet but edgy effect. Dry: This rather won me over. It isn’t me by a long shot, but it could be really carefree in a sexy kind of way on the right woman. As it ages, the current comes out, creating womanly depths.

Thank you, Sheyona for the decant. In bottle: Lots of lavender, a very intense spring smell. I suspect the balsam is making that oddish scent when mingled with lavender. Wet; it is easier to pick out the narcissus now. My Mother liked them, but until I smelled this, I’d forgotten their scent. It is still very lavender, with the balsam to give the whole thing weight. The violet is very gentle here. I keep thinking of toolsheds and crushed flowers and newly turned earth. Not quite my thing, but fascinating. Dry: Mostly violet floral perfume. It’s still more complex than a GV would be , but don’t bother unless violet is your thing.

Thank you, Sheyona for the decant. In bottle: Mmmm…. I’m not a big foody fan, but this smells amazing. I think the guava and grapefruit are part of it, but odds on it’s the banyan too, though I’ve never smelled banyan before. This is so rich and creamny and sharp all at once that it simply stunned me. It reminds me a little of Monsterbait; Bigger Critters, which I also loved contrary to my usual tastses, but this is even more pleasantly complex. Wet: Definitely very like Bigger Critters. I don’t normally like foods or florals much, but now I’m sorry I missed this one. It’s so intense and sweet and comforting all at once. I’ll be looking for this one on the boards, I think. Dry: fades faster than I like, but stays fairly proportional.

I wanted to thank people for this post as it made me realize I've never liked anything I've smelled with labdanum in it. Sometimes it's as much help to know what you don't like as it is to know what you do.

In Bottle: Lemony flowers. Wet: The musk comes out on my skin as musks tend to do. This actually works remarkably well on me for a floral. My skin loves the carnation/musk combo, and for once the lemon isn’t painfully amped by my skin. This is that rare surprise, a floral I like on me. Dry: fades to musk with a spicey carnation overtone. Very cool.

In bottle; Rather soapy, nut the musk/leather tobacco combination is pleasing. Wet: Mostly leather, yummy, yummy leather. The cigar tobacco turns it slightly sour. I am thinking old leather chair in a gentleman’s club. Dry; I’m really liking this. The musk balances the harsher scents into something nigh perfect on me.

In bottle: Violet. Oh the violet. Add in iris and it may be the purplest scent ever. It’s smells like something that would taste wonderful, but on me? Not so much. Wet: The musk comes out a little on my skin. Add in the sandlewood and the effect is inauspicious. It is a little like rotting or burnt flowers. I don’t do well with dark musk, likely because my skin is already musky and together it is too much of a good thing. Here it gives the impression of corruption under the flowers. It well suits the concept of a carrion eating bird at the funeral though. Dry; Violet pastilles.

In bottle; Very strong incense smell, with a definite Middle Eastern feel. Wet: Grapes. Incensey grapes. Dry: Lots of throw. It settles down into a strong, pleasant incense. I’m actually really liking this, even though it’s initial smell was so unpromising.

In bottle: Women’s perfume and men’s cologne. I am surprised it hasn’t musk. Heady, more sex than horror. Wet: it really comes out on the skin. I do pick up the metallic edge and the faint tang of blood. It is mostly incense, and there is a smoky edge. It is a definite improvement. Dry: This really grew on me. It smells rather like mechanical phoenix without it’s dryness.

I second Port Royal and Plunder. You might also want to try Wrath, though it is slightly less butch than the others. WRATH (Lab says: A scent aflame with rage, swirling in the red haze of hatred: dragon's blood spiked with black pepper, clove, and cinnamon.) Also, if you can catch Count Dracula on ebay, that is the king of sexy spicey masculine/androgenous scents. Trust me on this. (Company says: The essence of nobility, brutality and true Will made flesh and propelled through the eons by an ever-burning hatred: black patchouli, neroli, tonka, cinnamon, bitter clove, leather, black musk, coffin wood and fiery ginger.)

In bottle; Black cherry soda. Wet: Cherry soda and mahogany. They don’t blend well, the wood scent being sharp and as insistent as the cherries. Dry: Sawdust with a hint of over ripe fruit. It’s reminding me a little of Ventriloquist dummy. It’s not bad dry, really, if you like wood scents.

In bottle: Exactly like the description. Lether, sage, and the snake oil tree oils are on top, but it is all there, rich and intense and very… well, American West. This is rather how one imagines Jesse James smelling, or Quincey Morris. (I know the Quincey Morris Bpal smells a little like this, but isn’t nearly as... cowboy outlaw). Wet: Smells a little like wet paint, but settles rapidly into a very cowboy butch version of snake oil. The vanilla and tonka compliment each other nicely and that wood/leather/resin complex is stunning. I think I’m in love. Dry: It gets a hint of that pear eau de vie scent that the Qm scent gets too. For me this is not a negative, and the blend evolves into something less aggressive, but with a dangerous edge to it. I’m really liking the way the Western stuff blends with the snake oil. Clearly this is going to be a long tern favorite.

In bottle: Men’s shoe store, leather and cologne. Wet. Shoe polish on leather shoes. Dry: It grew on me a bit. The effect is weirdly comforting, and the shoe polish scent softens with wear. I am guessing the lime is making the shoe polish scent. I agree with the other. This smells mostly of thick harsh leather, like in shoes and horse tack. I’ll need to play with some more to decide if I want to keep it.

In bottle: Ozone over pine and something that smells vaguely like sweet citrus. The effect is a bit like someone has just washed the floor and polished the wood furniture. Wet: Much better mixed with my natural musk. Sweet and fresh and outdoorsy. It is reminding me a little of the sun coming out after a storm. I think I like hunger moon better, but they have fairly similar scents. Dry: Much the same, only softer.

I admit to curiosity about treacle, having heard about it all my life and never tasted it. In bottle: Very soft carnation, hint of cider. Wet: Almost disappears on my skin. I think that faint touch of amber and cider is were I put it. I think. Maybe…. Yes. What’s there is quite pleasant. I can pick out the wine/cider/carnation combo if I put my nose close. I was expecting this to be cloying, but it’s oddly pleasing, but impossible on my skin. Dry: fades to nothing so fast there is no dry.

In bottle: The sugared plums smell like they are soaked in liquer. The flowers are too faint to really pick out of the extremely intense plums. Wet: Sweet, sweet sugar plums. Did I mention the candied plums? Boy this is full of plums. Dry, less aggressive, but really, the same thing only not as intense, with a light floral edge.

In bottle: chalk and crushed herbs. Wet: Very soft. Less chalk, more crushed herbs and earth. This is clearly for magic, not for smelling. Dry: back to how it smells in the bottle really. EDIT: Apparently this not only terrifies my cat, but I am allergic to it.