LavenderCoffee

This one starts in a very promising place for me. The chestnut/russet vibes are great and well balanced with the sweetness from the fig, but then the myrrh really amps up on me and brings out more powder in the musk. Very minimal clove in this.

This is a lovely pink sandalwood, but that white chocolate/mallow flower combo is creating a big ol poufy sweet cloud around it. It feels very flouncy and silly and fun.

Freshly applied the chocolate is most evident, but it recedes quickly. The blend is chocolate flavored, not chocolate forward. The champa orchid has less of an incensey character and less throw here but it still blooms up into prominence. I think the vetiver is keeping the volume down on the champa without becoming too loud itself. This is an interesting, velvety-quiet combination on my skin.

I get a big hit of white sage at first, then as it dries the strawberry and currant are coming through - quite a shift! I am regrettably unfamiliar with the carnaval characters in the mix. Curious to see how this develops over time. ETA: as this is wearing it is reminding me of the strawberry/may rose/red musk trio, but less juicy and with an herbal backdrop ETA again: more aspects of the carnaval characters emerge later in the dry phase for me, here are the notes to save you some clicking: Mlle.: Coconut and a bit of sugar with pomegranate, pink musk, orange blossom, cypress, honey myrtle, and incense. Mme.: Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, black currant, patchouli leaf and wild plum. Theodosius: Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean.

Wow, this is stunning. Of the Roy G Biv spectrum of scent notes, the red/orange/yellow end goes on brightest when freshly applied, especially king mandarin and dragon's blood. As it warms and dries on my skin I get more of the moss and musk lurking behind Frank(incense) and Roy, adding a cologne-like dimension to this golden amber-hearted scent composition. Not getting much plum, but if it has any acidic sourness to it, it's probably hiding out with mandarin.

I really dig this. I passed on it initially because amber/coconut/tuberose are all iffy for me, but those notes don't come across very strongly on my skin. I get smoked vanilla/honey/orange blossom and it is divine. The smoked vanilla is so gorgeous, I just cannot stop sniffing myself. Plus the musk seems to anchor the other notes really well to give the scent some staying power. It doesn't have a ton of throw, but you don't have to go nose to skin to pick it up. Also agree this has a tobacco sort of vibe to it.

Heloise really does smell like a charming haunted witch puppet - stranger than the sum of her scent notes. Her scent is a bit sour and green, like she was working on a potion with eye of newt, etc. Maybe she was in the vicinity when Witches' Lace 2019 was being brewed. I suppose the polished aspect of the polished limewood (broomstick?) is what's coming forward, but it's not as prominent as other polish/lacquer notes I've smelled. There is much less of a dusty aspect than with Abelard, although the hint of smoke and spice suggest some age - myrrh has been burnt and only smoke remains, the blackened bits of spices served their purpose. I am also testing Abelard and A&H together. Together, they smell happier and less haunted, more like a pair of well-loved old puppets you might keep in a drawer. The sourness of Heloise and the stale dusty aspect of Abelard are tempered when they are combined. It's not quite like putting the lime with the coconut, but they clearly belong together. I think I'd be more inclined to wear Heloise as a standalone scent because of the witchy-ness. Edited to clarify the A&H combined scent - it's kinda cozy.

Abelard really does smell like a charming haunted clown puppet - stranger than the sum of his scent notes. It's almost like he lived with a puppeteer that smoked cigars 100 years ago, even though he no longer smells like any kind of tobacco. There is an overall dusty old wood type of effect, although there is also a bit of sweetness that I suspect is coconut husk with frankincense, and something sortof sharp that might be pearwood. It's maddening and wonderful to try to pick out the notes in this unfamiliar context. I am also testing Heloise and A&H together. Together, they smell happier and less haunted, more like a pair of well-loved old puppets you might keep in a drawer. The sourness of Heloise and the stale dusty aspect of Abelard are tempered when they are combined. It's not quite like putting the lime with the coconut, but they clearly belong together. Edited to clarify the A&H combined scent - it's kinda cozy.

On wet, this is mostly lavender violet tears. Tears are coming across as a nice salty wet smell that goes well with lavender. (Paging fans of the lavender/sea salt/rain trio.) Drying down the pumpkin and sandalwood start to come through, and it is just the puree, no pumpkin spice to be found. I can't say I've smelled purple sandalwood before, but it provides a nice sturdy base here for the other notes. Lavender and tears hang out in the top range, while violets hang out with the pumpkin in the middle. The tears are not capital A aquatic, but they're not Not aquatic, and they provide a nice contrast to the spoopy purple pumpkin. Nothing soapy happening - just atmospheric and a bit salty. This could be the sad cousin of Every Day is Halloween. Instead of the booming warmth of toasted pumpkin and sandalwood, this is a subtle, cool salty pumpkin sandalwood with a handful of crushed flowers. Definitely an unusual pumpkin blend. It doesn't have a ton of throw but I keep wanting to sniff this, I think it's the violet/sandalwood combo. Really nice.

My skin loves apples, but I don't always love apples on my skin. Lucky for me, even though I'm getting mostly bourbon apples and then pumpkin stuff, I must confess that bourbon apples with pumpkin stuff smells delish. Fully dry there is a suggestion of candy corn in the form of a light vanillic sweetness. Was hoping to get more candy and coffee from this - my two favorite food groups! In my head this is Prairie Witch goes to Target. I like Prairie Witch on the prairie better, but I still wanna hang onto this one because I also like distorting time and hoarding BPAL. ?

Freshly applied, Sheut smells like a faceful of the lemon balm growing in (taking over) my front garden beds. Then in short order, there is something pleasantly sinus tickling, like camphor, as mentioned above. It's lemony, sweet, resinous, camphorous. After a few minutes, the Vicks aspect calms down and I get frankincense more clearly. It's not incredibly long lived on my skin but it is rather pleasant while it's there. A morning pick-me-up sort of scent.

I love this muffin! It's perfect: warm, muffiny, comforting. Pumpkin spice behaving itself on my skin, and I get chocolate chips more after the oil has dried. I kinda want to put a dab of Pinched w/Four Pumpkins with it, or Pumpkin Snake Latte. A delightful muffin on its own, and also an option for layering!

This is one of the DL blends that works well for me. I didn't jump on it right away, but I'm glad I was able to find some. A year of mellowing has probably worked some magic here, since I don't get knocked over with a mountain of leaves right away, but the honeyed vanilla butter is immediately, richly present. Everything settles in cozily together, and I agree with artisjok that this and Snake's Kiss share a similar vibe. The leaves add an almost nutty, apple-y quality to the honey sweetened vanilla, which is the star of the show.

Well, this is positively delightful! One hundred percent as advertised, does exactly what it says. In the bottle and fresh on, there's a bit more of a Kool-aid type thing going on, but given a moment to open up on the skin, it's all gorgeous ripe strawberries luxuriously covered in honey. A rich, sweet, red and gold scent.

I'm not sure if I love everything with ambrette seed in it or not, but I'm batting a thousand for everything I've tried so far. This is an exquisite pool of dark fruits when freshly applied, and then it just gets better. Guiaic and ambrette add layers of warmth over the sandalwood, and pink pepper pops out as a top note. Gorgeous interpretation of "a red room, a rich, deep, glowing red, where the shadows glistened as if they were soaked with wine." I could spend a season in this room.

I absolutely adore the wet phase of Descent. Inky pom, spicy rose, myrrh! I can pick up on the pink pepper, the lily, the champaca, and even a touch of honey while the oil is still fresh on my skin. But as it starts to dry, the black musk slowly takes over. It's not too bad at first, but after 30 minutes it's all black musk with a dash of pom. I know my skin chemistry well enough to know I'm gambling every time I pick up a blend with black musk in it. Anyway sometimes it works out, but sadly this is not de-scent for me (ha ha). If you love a black musk though, and it loves you back, this is real good stuff.

I do get the impression of the classic cherry-almond scent briefly on initial application, but that subsides for me. Weirdly I think I'm getting the macadamia during that part. Then it goes very vanilla cream for a bit, and finally I get some pistachio nuttiness. I'm not getting soap or powder in the drydown, but I prefer the pistachio cream in the 2020 Dead Leaves blend.

For some reason I keep erasing the honey dust note from this blend when I try to think of the notes, and I'm surprised every time I test it at how sweet it is! ? It's such a lovely blend tho, and it's definitely not overly sweet or foodie sweet - it's dryly sweet. Ambered driftwood is also a prominent note to my nose, but there's so much supporting it. Honey dust and lavender floating over the top, funky beeswax and patch sticking it all together. Very happy to have this.

Oh my heart, I'm so relieved. My grabby hands mailbox test was not good for this one: acrid burnt snek. Haunt has improved significantly after some good resting time. Fresh on the skin, it's a gust of leaves, and then a pleasant smoky snake and sweet lavender! Which is more likely lavender and Dorian getting mixed up together. What a lovely Fall night for the fam.

In the bottle it's a peppery vaguely rose muddle, hard to pin down, but the rose definitely comes to the forefront when I apply. As the rose calms down, the pepperberry amps up and goes a bit spicy, but that settles down too. Dry, this is reminiscent of All While Dreaming from last year's release, with a pepperberry kick instead of a fruity red currant. The labdanum does smooth things out considerably, providing a resinous complement to the rose, and contrast to the perfect patch/pepperberry combo. I really like this one!

I'm definitely getting the carnations in this, but in combination with strawberry and labdanum, they almost come across as bubblegummy, and not in a bad way. I'm getting more of the labdanum than the patch, and while the strawberry certainly sings out when freshly applied, it fades on my skin fairly quickly. It goes from straight up strawberry to strawberry scented carnation. This is a perfect scent for the story attached to it, a somewhat bittersweet memory of dad and kiddo time.

Oh hello popcorn! It smells like it could be either caramel popcorn or kettle corn or both. Sweet popcorn but not a ton of caramel to my nose. In the bottle I get a suggestion of the cola, but not while wearing it. The popcorn is so glorious for the first hour or so but it fades pretty fast, giving way to a cotton candy skin scent. The early phase of the scent is more like being near the snack food stands at a fair/festival/carnival, the later phase is what you smell like when you get home

This is almost all chocolate donut icing to me. In the bottle, wet on my skin, dry on my skin. More of the donut itself peeks out after it's been fully dry for awhile, but it is really like wearing the smell of the inside of a box or case of donuts. It is delicious. There may be a hint of maple to it, but it's mostly chocolate donut icing to me - very specifically donut icing. Spot on. It's really wafting around me from just a dot on my wrist, I'm alarmed/excited to see what happens when I give it the SOTD treatment.

In the bottle, it smells like a bit like painter's palette. The turpentine has a moment of prominence when freshly applied, but it recedes into the blend fairly quickly. What I think is the smoky umber is playing nicely with the frankincense after 15 minutes or so, and there's a bit of something metallic in the mix. I agree that it smells a bit like an antique shop! It's not as unsettling as I thought it would be, and definitely not unwearable, but I bet it was a lot more daunting when it was first released. A pleasantly unusual atmospheric scent.

What a cozy little mandrake this is! I imagine this is what the witch's home smells like after the mandrake has been invited inside. I enjoy how the apple blossom fits into the scent without make it overtly floral or fruity. Sniffing the bottle you might think it would smell like shampoo, but not so. It does overlap with the coconut milk and sandalwood quite a bit, it's hard to pick those three apart without bumping into the others. The sharper mandrake note contrasts really well with this bundle of familiar notes. There is definitely a gently dusty feel to the blend that fits right into the woodmusk/leather backdrop. It's a faint, soft book cover type of leather. Would be curious to try other perfumes with this woodmusk.