LavenderCoffee

So weird! I just got a bottle of this as well but it is SLUDGELESS. Clear as day. I really enjoy this scent, it's unusual in a pleasing way. It has the warm characteristics of cacao scent without being cacao dominant. In fact the agave wine is most prominent, backed by well balanced spices. Maize doesn't smell corny but adds heartiness, rounding out the blend.

Cacao is present in the bottle and when freshly applied, but leather jumps forward and cacao recedes to the background. Then after it dries I get muted black leather and ...champaca incense? The incense ends up having the most throw, but it feels weirdly out of place. I think I have a skin chemistry thing happening with the leather, and mistook that for a mismatched incense note. The leather gets weird and then kinda disappears, and the cacao had already peaced out, so I'm left with an odd incense situation. Hope this one works better for others!

Truly a semi-sweet dark chocolate, with whiskey dominating on the skin. More like the whiskey in my fav Weed and Whiskey duet than say, Mad Sweeney. I like the subtlety of the dark chocolate with a touch of creamy richness, but there's nothing recognizably hazelnut for me. Has decent throw and weartime.

Oh wow I love the magnolia in this. Apricot dominates in the bottle, but on my skin, the apricot, coconut milk, and fig are all blending together with the magnolia blooming on top. Tiptoes right up to tropical and stops just short. Heady but not headachey - gorgeous.

Spicy black rose? Yes, please! This note takes center stage, and I can't quite place the spice. Shadow Games on the opposite wrist says it's not black pepper, and I don't think it's cinnamon either. Perhaps someone else in the pepper family, because it gently tickles my nose and my skin. Black honey and amber oud create a smooth velvet backdrop that gets slightly sweeter with wear. There is an elegant touch of powder to this, without being overly powdery.

This is an incredible but subtle skin scent, even though it is bright and peppery when wet. Shadow Games dries down into a barely there honeyed vanilla oud, with just a breath of pepper. Wasn't sure if my skin was eating the notes, but my experience is basically the same as marared. I imagine this would knock someone's socks off if they leaned in and got a whiff of it on your neck.

I snagged this at the last minute on the off chance it would be anywhere in the neighborhood of Beeswax, Lavender, and Acacia Honey. I know this is wildflower and not acacia honey, and beeswax is not present, AND honey in general does not always agree with me, so it was a stretch! Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I do get an echo of the booming golden sweetness in the aforementioned mènage from the honey at the center of this scent, and I'm tempted to layer it with other beeswax or honey blends for science. The orange is quite subtle on my skin, adding brightness, and the lavender is a very cheerful herbal skewing sweet rather than sharp. It's a delight, and I'm glad I got to check it out.

As Above has been in my collection with its counterpart for a year now, but I have not reviewed either - time to remedy! Although I must confess I usually wear them together, so even though I feel like I know them, smelling them separately feels a bit new. Wet on my skin, this is all white patch, vanilla, and bitter almond, and the vanilla almond combo is decidedly non-gourmand. It's weird re-reading the scent notes now and realizing that all this time I thought it said white leather and not white patchouli, so maybe that is why I am wholly convinced that as it dries, the scent turns into white leather gloves, or a hat - the good guys wear white hats! Worn for awhile longer, the leather and oak ground the scent in a dreamy spot that tips said hat and says "ma'am" to a lovely hint of jasmine on her absolute best behavior. Wearing As Above and So Below together seems to somehow tame and showcase the prominent notes from each: leather sidles up to copal, oak brings both patchoulis to the table in agreement, vanilla/almond/coconut relax alongside amber ...it's tremendous.

Amber and black copal with black coconut, Sumatran red patchouli, green cardamom pod, and golden musk. So Below has been in my collection with its counterpart for a year now, but I have not reviewed either - time to remedy! Although I must confess I usually wear them together, so even though I feel like I know them, smelling them separately feels a bit new. Wet on my skin, SB does have a bit of an unctuous stank to it that I never really noticed when layering, but I kinda like it. Black coconut and red patch, plus copal and musk are all immediately apparent. As it dries, it softens and becomes less "in your face" as I get more of the amber and cardamom. It's darkly enticing and warm. So Below gives me the good kind of "bad guy" vibes where you are not sure if you are gonna like a character, but then you find yourself rooting for them and maybe sketching some fanart. Wearing As Above and So Below together seems to somehow tame and showcase the prominent notes from each: leather sidles up to copal, oak brings both patchoulis to the table in agreement, vanilla/almond/coconut relax alongside amber ...it's tremendous.

This feels like an unusual red musk blend, with the sleet and lemon notes taking it to a wet, chilly day. The sleet "melts" as the scent dries, and the hearthsmoke and amber cozy things up. I don't get anywhere near enough whiskey to call this boozy, but the oak barrel note isn't bashful. A lovely scent composition of a tavern.

This scent is pungent when first applied, a slick labdanum funk of transgression. Once it dries, the red fruit and honey add welcome balance and usher in the softer seductive phase. Darkly resinous and complex.

I was hesitant to try this since my skin tends to turn apple and spice notes into craft store/candle nonsense, but I wanted to try it anyway because of pumpkin, bourbon, anise, and smoked vetiver - turns out I may get a full size! On the wand I get bourbon apples, soft smoke, and clove. Freshly applied, this smells like a packet of mulling spice, but thankfully not like candle nonsense. There is a gently smoky grass component, and pumpkin rind is soaking up some of the bourbon and overlapping with the apple. There is definitely fruit at the center of this scent, but it's not "fruity." Clove becomes the most prominent spice for a moment, but then surprisingly allows the anise and peppercorn to peek through. The peppercorn is tickling my nose, but not my skin. Prairie Witch absolutely smells like it could live in the Halloween collection, somewhere between Winds of Autumn and Every Day is Halloween. On my skin it has a moderate throw and weartime, and the last note standing is pumpkin.

This is a very sweet scent for a vigil! Freshly applied, it is very beeswax and lilac forward. It's a fresh, lovely lilac that holds throughout weartime, but the broomcorn adds a prominent grassy sweetness that takes center stage, making this blend overly sweet to my nose. The bone note is smooth and cool like a clay tile on the periphery.

Water Tiger is a lively, complex floral scent. There's an effervescent burst of bright citrus and peony up front, and as it dries, dragon's blood and pine resin begin roiling up beneath it - not unlike powerful muscles moving under vivid orange fur! I'm not finding the sticky rice, and there is definitely something lightly aquatic to this scent, maybe from plum blossom/kumquat/cypress? On my skin, the scent has low throw, moderate wear time, and the last note standing is peony.

The Seesaw is so good! I don't get any rum from it, but I don't miss it. Wet, there is a hit of strawberry, then the patchouli opens up. I can't quite pick out pink pepper but I think it is tied up in the strawberry, skewing it slightly in a candy direction, and I suspect the same is happening with benzoin - giving the patchouli root a hint of sweet resin support. Plus the strawberry hangs around! I keep getting whiffs of it here and there, and it's perfect with the earthy patch. It's not exactly a strawberry incense vibe, but it's not far off. Makes me want to wear clove cigarette alongside it.

The first word that comes to mind smelling this scent is bright, then optimism. The scent notes that are apparent to me are citrus, citrus, and sage. Oh how I love this blend! The lemon, lemon verbena, lime, lemongrass, and probably catnip are all up front creating a peppy, effervescent effect. The sage sticks around after the sparkly lemon subsides, and overall it is a clean, happy, light-filled sort of scent. I have probably worn this one most since I received the quintet of oils, because I was having a lot of anxiety and frustration at work, and more anxiety about changing jobs. I feel like these thoughts about abundance are helping me through: recognizing and releasing fear of scarcity, and being receptive to unexpected opportunities from existing connections - I don't have to figure everything out on my own.

The first word that comes to mind smelling this oil is reverence, then sensual. The scent notes that are most apparent are incense, rose, red musk, and bit of pepper. Her Eyes That Were Full of Shining has a predominantly incense-y quality that brings to mind a temple or an altar, where the rose and red musk pay tribute to beauty, confidence, and pleasure. I made a note when I was testing this that the phrase "your body is a temple" is often used to shame people with prescriptive "advice," but if you are able to take it out of that context, that feels like the right intention here: Your body is worthy of pleasure and reverence.

The first word that comes to mind smelling this oil is joyful. The scent notes that are most apparent to me are strawberry and passionflower. While A Distant Song contains fruit compounds as well, Laughter-Loving smells the fruitiest. Is there a more joyful fruit scent than a strawberry? Nothing easier than laughter, like sharing a bowl of fresh berries and wearing a tropical flower in your hair. I cannot help but smile while wearing this.

First word that comes to mind for this blend is floral, then regal. Scentwise, here is the floral star of the set: I get cascades of fresh flowers over amber. All of the Venus' Aerial Delight oils feature rose, but this one really features the rose! My nose feels more naïve to florals than to other scents, but with a court of crocus, narcissus, hyacinth, lily and violet, the rose still stands out most to me. It brings to mind the kind of flowing garment that makes you want to put your shoulders back and stride confidently.

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." I used to be obsessed with Moulin Rouge, so this phrase popped into my head right away when reading the description. This oil is my very favorite right now, and I did not know how much I needed to be reminded of this lesson. The first word that comes to my mind when smelling this is richness, then warmth. The scent notes that I recognize are resins, roses, dark fruits, and honey. The benzoin is so deep and vanillic is seems almost chewy and chocolatey, but of course this is likely due to the cherry, fig and honey alongside it. I have to admit I can't pick out cherry and fig specifically, but these are not fresh fruits: it's as though they have also been reduced to a dark fruit resin themselves, and even the honey is a darker note. The rose wrapped up in the warm embrace of these notes adds yet another layer of depth without its usual floral quality. Embrace is probably the best overall description of A Distant Song. A warm, rich, resinous embrace.

I'm not sure what to make of Luperci 2021. When first applied, it is alarmingly sweet and creamy (objection! opposite of down and dirty!) in a very loud way that is all treble with very little bass. This must be balsam boosted all the way up to 11 by beeswax and honey or just my weird hormones, because as I wiped a bunch of it off it dries down I can finally pick out patch, beeswax and other notes, but with powdery sweet balsam lingering on top to spite me. My skin did not like the balsam in Ü either, which was also unbearably sweet on my skin, so ymmv!

Had written a review in my head about this scent being the plum thunderstorm to Asleep in the Deep's plum ocean, but reading the notes again, there is no plum! Glad to see I wasn't the only one with that impression at least. The lychee certainly strikes right at the beginning like a bolt of lightning, but seems to disappear just as quickly into the dark. Maybe it's working in cahoots with another note to smell like plum. Either way, bruise-purple is absolutely happening, in a murky inky slightly fruity way. I can't quite tell what all is going on in there between the labdanum oakmoss base and the volatile ozone on top, but it's a lovely storm. It's like an incoherent jumble forming a very coherent whole, and I like it.

I don't know Eve from Adam (🥁) but I got a decant of Eve with Sage and I love it. My experience seems to be similar to others - it leads with sage and settles into sagey honeyed incense. There's more depth to it than those three notes imply, however I'm not able to pick out anything else specifically, which is good - sometimes my skin does ugly things with saffron. This scent stays close to the skin for me, but I can't stop sniffing myself.

In keeping with the theme of most of the reviews, I had overlooked Cleric and not expected much from it. I have had issues amping frankincense before, so that was my excuse. Anyway I just got a frimp from the lab, so I looked up the notes again, and was intrigued by champaca and narcissus, and here we are. Thanks to gothteacup for pointing out that palisander is rosewood, that's another winner for me. Frank and myrrh together form the comforting center of the scent, and there is a lovely haze of champaca around it, with a boost of warmth from amber and rosewood. Rose makes a brief appearance, then takes its place in the ensemble rather nicely. The florals seem to be rather subtle in general for me, it's quite a lovely blend!

These honeys can go all day! Seriously, the weartime does not disappoint. I was surprised at how much I love Womb Furie, given that SO doesn't do much for me, and honey can be fickle on my skin. Of course I do have a bottle from 2016, so it's possible the aged version is treating me better than a fresh bottle would. Maybe I will snag a 2022 for comparison. This is not an everyday scent for me, but sometimes I want a sexy honey bomb, and WF has me covered.