elissamay

This is certainly a more floral-leaning scent, based on the notes, than I would usually choose, but the benzoin and musk (and the concept) caught me. I'm glad they did! "Blanket of benzoin" is apt, because this dries down into a sweet, vannilic, cozy musky cloud, with blooms in the background. I don't really use sleep scents, but this would be one if I did. That's not to say the floral notes aren't here: while wet this is more floral than sweet and cozy. But if you're like me and don't reach for floral, this one may still appeal to you once you get to the drydown.

Musky dead leaves, rich raw honey, and a squeeze of juicy blackberry. I get a hit of maple sugar as it dries down. Cozy.

This is incredible. I can't say more than what's already been said. Snake Oil's impossibly sexier older sister. She left the vanilla and ran away from home with that one guy with the motorcycle.

So, "serpent scale accord" is in A Sorceress, and I wasn't a fan of it there, full disclosure. This isn't what I expected. First applied, I get wet leather and red berries. The lemony frankincense comes in behind those notes, and the sweet myrrh as it warms and dries. It's very close to the skin, and a little unsettling. I want to keep sniffing it to see what happens next. I don't know the scent of spikenard, but after a quick look-up, yes it's here. It's a little bit barnyard, a little off-putting. BUT, wrapped up in the leathery scales, berries, and frank & myrrh, it's not the star of the show. It's there like a warning, but you're taking a deeper look anyway. This is weird and somehow wonderful blend. It sweetens as it dries completely. Sacred and definitely profane. Note: I'm testing this fresh from the mail since these are only available for a limited time, so ymmv!

Beautifully grassy while wet. There's a sweetness below, and the vaguest impression of distant blooms. A gentle and fleeting blend while wet on the skin. As it dries, it gets sweeter and a little fuzzier. Like fur that's been running through dew-kissed grass. The stones come through as it dries, a little mineralic quality. This hare is popping in and out of its lair, checking for danger, bringing the earth below and the grass above together on its paws. A really lovely, gentle blend. Deceptively fragile with lots more to offer under the surface. Note: I'm testing this fresh from the mail since these are only available for a limited time, so ymmv !

This is wet and juicy, like the smell of the sensation of squishing wet grass beneath your feet. Cool, earthy, but infused with this luscious green muskiness. There's an element of cologne-ish vibe here, but darkened. A little sinister with the oud. This toad looks harmless enough, but get too handy and it packs a wallop. As it dries down the cologne elements settle, letting the green musk and mosses shine. Note: I'm testing this one day fresh from the mail since these are only available for a limited time, so ymmv!

A feral burnt offering take on Satyr, with an almost metallic crackle of red labdanum, deep vetiver, and just a hint of herbaceousness from the rosemary while wet. The amber comes to frolic during the dry down, entwined with the musk. If you love, love that primal, animal musk vibe, you'll enjoy this, especially because it takes something you love and elevates it with offerings of other notes. It's sex musk, but make it witchy. Later in the drydown, that charred sandalwood makes itself known. Paired with the musk and amber, it almost reads as sweet leather. Sex on four legs! (Four hooves?) Note: I'm testing this one day from the mail since these are only available for a limited time, so ymmv!

Licorice but drier, maybe more akin to fennel in that it's licorice without being cloying, sugary sweet or candy-like. Root, not confection. A realistic sweetness from the earth. Wet it's a blast of this beautiful anise-y sweetness with dark amber unfurling from the middle. I don't find the patch or the incense while it's wet. It's intoxicating. I keep coming back to this shiny, shiny spot on my wrist, coveting it. Drying down, the resinous incense comes through. It's deeper down, below the amber. The patch begins to appear, a whisper on wings in the background. It's a sweet patch, perfectly paired with the licorice root. This is like nothing I've ever smelled. Enigmatic and endlessly fascinating, like the familiar that inspired it. I can't stop going back for another inhalation. I couldn't wear this regularly, but when I do wear it it, I will embody it. Late stages, the licorice root soars away into a sweet cloud of incense. Almost vanillic. Note: I'm testing this literally fresh from the mail since these are only available for a limited time, so ymmv!

Must. Love. Clove! From the moment you open this bottle, Cinderpaw is no shy kitty. Bold, smoked clove with a sort of rooty, mildly medicinal undercurrent while wet. It's all about the smoked clove here, though. It's so potent as to give that incredible almost numbing quality when you give it a nice, deep inhalation. As it warms and settles in, the smoked clove is still the dark and slinky star, but a fuzzy muskiness shows up to sort of blur the edges. Not a strong musk; just enough to add some softness. The rootiness of the patch comes through more as it dries down, too. Not a brash or hippie headshop patch. It's just enough to notice, and like the musk, just enough to help tame this fierce and ferocious smoked clove familiar. Note: I'm testing this literally fresh from the mail since these are only available for a limited time, so ymmv! This is a big HELL YES from me, an admitted dark and smoky clove fiend. I'm gonna need some coffee to allow my nose to smell ANYTHING else after this one! 🤣

This myrrh reminded me of Streets of Detroit immediately. Sort of if you took that myrrh and lit it on fire with the kick of the red peppercorn. Really sexy and perfectly spicy.

Candy corn and boozy apples. Almost a little pipe tobacco.

Like realistic and straight-no-chaser buttered popcorn at first, but when dry it goes to buttery, spicy, coconutty pumpkin cake.

Triggered a scent memory of vintage, bright-green Palmolive dish soap in grandma's kitchen. Way more floral in the opening than expected with two kinds of musk in the blend, but it settles down to a flowery skin musk that lasts for hours and hours.

Big, bold, jammy berry and candied violets or, more accurately, violet hard candy. The indigo musk comes through up close, but the throw is all purple candy. Very fun.

Fresh from the mail, this is a warm blend of smoky-sweet spice, grounded by sacred woods and resins. Utterly beautiful and wearable, but certainly too precious to waste, much like time itself.