WoolyBee

I don’t have too many snake oil variants, but this one is the most snake oil forward (to me). It’s snake oil, plus yeasty/bready & warm/fresh baked goods. The scent straight outta the bottle smells more sugary sweet (almost almondy, but not quite). But I don’t get a crazy amount of sweetness on application. This one is my first sufganiyot, so I can’t compare it to anything else. I’m not a typical foodie/gourmand lover, but this one is soooo good since it’s snake oil dominant.

This smells like lemon pez candy. I can tell the snake oil is there, somewhere. But I primarily get lemon pez. After a couple of minutes the snake oil comes forward. To me, it’s still a background, grounding note while the lemon takes center stage. (Full disclosure: I don’t have Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, so I can’t make a direct comparison).

Mmm she’s spicy! I cannot say enough good things about this one. I’m in love. Like proper love. Not simply infatuation. Long haul, spend my lifetime with, love. Okay onto the review. Definitely spicy, warm, and woody. I’m attributing that to the palo santo and sandalwood for sure. But to me it’s not necessarily identifiable. It’s a little creamy/milky, but not in a literal way. It’s more of a feeling than an actual scent note, if that makes sense. I don’t get sour notes at all. And I’m not getting a lot of citrus notes either. The spice and wood notes really are the shining stars, in my opinion. All in all, I think this is wonderfully balanced. 1000000000 out of 10. It was an instant “omg I need a backup bottle immediately” for me.

While I like the taste of licorice and have 100% bought (on purpose), and loved, black licorice taffy. I wasn’t positive I’d want to smell like it. But the notes were so dang intriguing, I couldn’t help myself. And I’m so glad I did. Upon first application you get a rich licorice taffy. At first I assumed I wouldn’t know what taffy would smell like in a perfume, but it smells sweet, chewy, almost a tad waxy, and old fashioned. Like old fashioned candy shop vibes. As it settles the sweetness fades ever so slightly and a warm oud pops out. I don’t get a ton of patchouli, but I think it rounds out the scent notes in a well blended way. After it’s been on your skin for a while it morphs even further into this amazing, deep oud-y patch goodness and the sugary taffy all but disappears. It’s even a tad… sexy?! I don’t think I’ve smelled a perfume quite like it. I’ve had people smell the bottle with a bit of hesitation, then smell my wrists after it’s settled and I wish I could fully describe the looks on their faces. I think you might have to like licorice to fully get this one, but if you do you’re in for a treat.

I feel like after reading the reviews, my perception of this scent has completely changed. Before reading the reviews I would have said that I pick up the musk, pepper, and “snow” notes if I look for them. But I mainly get a clean smell (not soapy). After reading the reviews, I totally get that smokey note!! But as others said it’s not a bbq smoke at all. And now it’s the most dominant of notes that I can pick out. And I can also pick out the evergreen/piney notes that others mentioned as well. I think this just reaffirms that I can’t trust my nose (or that I’m easily influenced haha). But all in all, I like it. I don’t know if it’s necessarily something I’m going to reach for a lot, but it’s nice. A like it, don’t love it situation. But let’s be honest, the artwork and name alone were too good to pass up…

This is also one of my favorite scents of last year. To me, it’s sexy without anything obvious. And it’s confirmation that I’m really liking cognac notes. I feel sexy, powerful, aloof, and maybe mysterious whilst wearing this one. And after wearing this many times throughout the year, I can say that without fail every time I wear it someone says “ooh… what **is** that??” It good. Also, from buying this I learned that “wanton” and “wonton” are indeed NOT pronounced the same way 🤦‍♀️

This one is so puzzling to me. I know I won’t do this justice in review form… to me this smells like an unidentified bubble bath of years past. Or… something? I just can’t put my finger on it. It doesn’t smell soapy, more bubble bathy. And not it a bad way. I’m guessing that the bubble bath vibe comes from the aldehyde. It also smells slightly floral, but I don’t even know if I could identify a real-life chrysanthemum if it bopped me on the nose. As it dries down, it morphs into a beautiful, ethereal vanilla. Not a foody, deep, vanilla, but a light, airy, and dare I say, effervescent (as the scent description says) vanilla. I really like this one, but it confuses the hell outta me.

Okay. Don’t trust anything I say. My nose lives by it’s own rules. Upon first application the two things I get immediately are almond extract and sweet tarts. And just like many perfumes with almond, the almond fairly quickly calms the eff down. As it dries down the oud, agarwood, and spice notes come out to play. I like it. I think I might need more time with it to really collect my thoughts (and maybe for the perfume to settle). But so far, so good.

Oh boy… the first review 😬 I was a little nervous about the honey in this one. I love honey, but it’s not my favorite as a scent note on me. But this was too good to pass up and I’m so so SO glad I bought this one. My first impression is that this is very reminiscent of Pallid Bat. Pallid Bat is one of my favorites because it reminds me of a gingery Dorian. Now I’m not saying Pazuru smells like Dorian, but it gives off very subtle Dorian vibes (which I’m attributing to the ti leaf). The honey is definitely present, as an easy detectable scent note. But I don’t find it abrasive or domineering at all. If you have ever wanted to get your hands on Pallid Bat, I would definitely take this as a sign to buy Pazuru. And just so everyone doesn’t hate me, I’ll say it again: this is not a Dorian dupe. But it does give me a similar feeling to Dorian (which is my all time fave).

If I could describe this in one word, it would be: accurate. This smells just like the clove cigarettes from years past. Like others, I even get the papery quality of an unlit clove cigarette. Pure nostalgia for me. On the skin it deepens a little, with clove being the dominate note throughout. I get a hint of tobacco and maybe the slightest (and I mean slight) sense of black leather. But those notes are much more subtle. I don’t wear this one super often, but when I do… it takes me back!

I love love love snake oil. And I’m recently getting more into milky creamy notes, so this was an instant purchase. Right from the mailbox, I was a little worried that it would be too gourmand for my liking. It was definitely sweet and I couldn’t track the snake oil, just from sniffing the bottle. So I waited and I tried this on the day after receiving it in the mail. When first applied, it smelled so much like sweetened condensed milk, with a hint of butter. I couldn’t find a ton of snake oil, but when it dried down I could find it. I actually mostly found it when I wasn’t sticking my wrist directly under my nose, and instead as wafts when I want searching for it. It was almost addicting, I couldn’t stop smelling my wrists. After a few days I applied again and was surprised at how much the snake oil came through, compared to the first application. It definitely smells like condensed milk and has a strong and steady base of sexy snake oil. Am I in love? Yes, yes I am. It’s not too gourmand for me, it’s balanced absolutely perfectly. My partner also doesn’t really like gourmands, but even he likes this one (on me). He said it definitely smells like scorched milk. And he also brought up that it sorta smells like milk oolong (IYKYK… but seriously, tea lovers should try milk oolong. It’s one of my favorites). All in all, this one is a keeper. Especially if you love snake oil and milky scents.

Trying a frimp of this..! Okay call me crazy, but this instantly smells like a fat ream of fresh printer paper, with a hint of something peppery. As it dries down, I really get the rosewood and musk, but it still maintains that printer paper smell. It’s a super warm scent, with a kind of a aftershavey feel. All that being said, I really like it! It works really well on myself as well as my partner. I understand why some say it leans masculine, but honestly I think it is pretty unisex and anyone could pull it off. Really wishing it was back in stock, so I could order a full bottle.

I can’t believe it’s my first time, in all these years, trying Black Phoenix. In the imp I get mostly almond, with a hint of carnation or rose, and maybe anise. On the skin the almond fades quickly and I get a beautiful soft rose, with anise and a tinge of myrrh. As it fades, the rose is the dominant note and the myrrh and anise linger in the back. It’s soft and maybe slightly powdery, but not in a bad way. Overall, I really like it!

I was also a little worried, since I too don’t favor gourmands. At first sniff, this almost has a gingerbread quality, but not quite. I definitely get the rich molasses of brown sugar, but the bergamot in the earl grey shines on through. There’s definitely a creamy roundness to this blend, but I don’t necessarily smell cream or milk. As it fades, the earl grey is more dominant, with a slight whisper of brown sugar. Overall, I think this is really well blended. It’s not **too** gourmand, for those who aren’t fans. But it’s also not too perfumey, and I think would satisfy foodie lovers too.

The first note that hits me right away is jasmine, then a soft neroli and bergamot, and finally earthy patchouli. I love this scent. It reminds me of lazy, slow summer days that drift into summer nights. It’s definitely floral, but the incense and patchouli are really grounding. I can’t wait to wear this in the summer!

I looooove this one! Grapefruit is definitely in the forefront, but the black tea comes through a little bit as it dries down. I think the black tea adds a little bit of that comfort feeling, which means I think this would work well for any season.

I looove this! I typically don’t go for the gourmand, but cannot resist a black tea note. First impressions: warm gingerbread with a vetiver backdrop. I cannot stop smelling this. After a little while the black tea surfaces and blends perfectly to the vetiver and gingerbread. I think it adds a slight creaminess to it as well. Overall, I love this! It’s warm and comforting (perfect for Yule). And it’s not too foody for me to wear! I like wearing before bed and hibernating into the covers.

I bought this for my partner for the holidays, but just now tried it on myself. When I first apply I get very strong vetiver notes. As it dries down the vetiver is still very present, but the warming notes of black pepper come through. After a few hours of wear, it’s soft and smokey with a touch of leather and a whisper of the black pepper and vetiver. This is so soooo good. I can imagine it would layer really nicely with a lot of other blends. And I think it would suit a multitude of people!

Okay, y’all are going to think I’m crazy. But it’s unavoidable at this point... this one gave me instant scent memory to a bath and body works fragrance for kids in the 90s/early 00s. I looked it up and it’s called Art Stuff in the blazin’ blueberry scent. I don’t know what it is about it. That being said, I definitely get those shimmering, sparkly notes that everyone else has been saying. And I pick up on the amber and cypress/balsam. But I think maybe the fig note is leading me into fruit territory. Actually now that I think about it, I bet it’s the ambergris that’s reminding me of the BBW scent. Overall, I think I like this one. I don’t think it’s too “masculine” at all. And if I get over the scent memory, quite sophisticated. 🥴

I was a little worried about this one, because of my aversion of leaf scents (I know, I know.. I’m in the minority here). But the tea and wool notes drew me in. I definitely get that leafy scent, but it’s not nauseating to me. As it drys down I get creamy, warm black tea. I’m really glad I bought this! Perfect for the fall.

Definitely a salty aquatic. Although I don’t tend to go for aquatics, I loooove this one. It weirdly reminds me of Clinique happy, but don’t let that throw you off... it’s a much better version. Super long lasting on me :)

I don’t know what’s wrong with my nose but the notes I’m getting from this is exactly of those freezie pops/ice pops popsicles. Grape or blue flavor!

I just received a frimp of this with my latest order. I never typically gravitate to foodie scents (I love the scents, I just don’t prefer to wear them). But I cannot resist almond extract, which is what hits my nose first. Immediately after applying I get almond and a bubblegum note that fades fast. Then it morphs into the warm, lovely clove. I adore this and am really glad I got to try it out!