AbbyNormal

Started on the smoky side and I didn’t think much of it. While I was making my coffee I kept getting whiffs of something amazing, yet familiar, sniffed my wrist and got a nose full of a gorgeous sweetness that reminds me a lot of the dry down of Haunt 2021. I have Haunt so I’m not sure I need a bottle of this one but it really is stunning after the smoke dissipates. 

I added this into my decant order as a last minute decision, thinking it sounded interesting but might not entirely be up my alley. I got my package yesterday and this one was by far my favorite of everything I sampled. I’ve already added it to my cart and am just waiting until I decide on a few weenies before I order a full bottle. 
 

I mainly get a tropical papaya/mango, but I do pick up a hint of tobacco and leather that fill in the gaps and make a very well rounded scent. I don’t know if it was somehow a trace of Dorian that didn’t wash out of my shirt or if this really does dry down to Dorian, but I slathered again earlier for science and should find out in a few hours if my skin chemistry really does morph this into almost an exact Dorian replica somehow. I will report back with my findings…

**edit**
a few hours later and this definitely dries down to something very Dorian adjacent. I don’t know how, but it’s incredible!

**edit number 2**
the weirdest thing, it’s Dorian on my chest, but nothing like Dorian on my arm. I may need to test more..:

Granted, my bottle just arrived today so I should probably give it a couple of days to get past the mail shock, but I could not wait. This manages to somehow be the love child of Lust, Krampus, and Black Phoenix, Now with Added Cinnamon!™️ It doesn’t make any sense but that’s what I’m getting. The clove is pretty strong upfront, enough to make the skin on my chest tingle more than a little, but after it dries down it throws Black Phoenix a ton, mixed with the dusty/woody notes from Krampus, and sweetened by the red musk and myrrh of Lust. I adore all of those scents alone, and together it’s definitely an interesting mix that I wasn’t expecting. I really like this one and I’m glad I bought it, but it’s hasn’t progressed to full on love yet. I’m sure it will once it’s rested, and especially after some aging. 

I tried my decant this morning and couldn’t stop huffing myself all day. I thought it smelled familiar (I mean, it’s Snake Oil so of course it does, but like a Snek variant I knew) and it wasn’t until this evening that it hit me, this is the same Snek as Bobbing for Snake Oil! There’s no apple, but otherwise it’s very similar to my nose. I do adore this one, and ended up slathering when I got home from work, but now that I’ve figured out what it reminds me of I don’t think I need a full bottle since I already have Bobbing. 
 

*edit*
jokes on me, I have a full bottle now! 😂

When I first got this it was almost overpowering carnation so I sniffed it a put it aside. Every so often I’d sniff it again and still “BAM CARNATION” so I never really got around to testing it. Tonight I gave it a good shake before finally trying it on and now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long. The carnation is definitely still there, but the ginger and cassis are making their presence known. I can pick up a hint of red musk and I’m hoping it becomes more prominent as it dries because the lab’s red musk is one of my favorite notes. 
 

Its much spicier than I ever thought it would be from sniffing the bottle, and I will definitely be wearing it now. 

Cranberry, faint spice, and wet metal. Like I sniffed the inside of the cocktail shaker after making a cranberry cocktail and served it with dry, hard spice cookies. 

In the decant this was a delicious blackberry herbal tea, but when I applied it I got plastic and fruit. I knew the smell but couldn’t place it at first and then it hit me. A Strawberry Shortcake doll!!! I even had my partner confirm that I wasn’t losing it and he very enthusiastically agreed. This is the smell of my childhood! It’s kind of unnerving how spot on it is, if I closed my eyes I’d swear it was a doll. 

I tried an imp of the original Perversion earlier this year a promptly added it to my wishlist, and then when Batty Perversion came out I blind bought a bottle. I honestly don’t remember what the OG smelled like, only that I liked it enough to want to upgrade, and I absolutely adore BP. I mainly get the Chardonnay (which in wine I’m not really a fan) and an overall sweetness. I loved it enough to pick it as the scent I wore when I saw Hozier so now it has all of those good association woven in with it. I do get a hint of leather, but nowhere near as strong as in Snooty Bat (my other bat comparison), and combined with the tonka and tobacco it just blends into a sweet amazingness.  

When I first got this from the mail it smelled exactly as expected, a literal pumpkin spice hot buttered rum. But when I waited a bit and tried it I’m not getting any sort of beverage. It’s much smokier than I expected, almost scorched. When I first put it on I get a strong blast of cinnamon and the smoke stepped back a lot, but as it’s dried the smoke has come forward again. It’s not quite in the Thanks Marie Callender’s territory, but close. At first I wasn’t sure about a singed pumpkin smell but the longer I’m wearing it the more it’s growing on me. I don’t think I need a full bottle but I’m glad I tried it. 

In the decant I also get a blast of buttery popcorn, but once it’s on it becomes the bastard love child of Pumpkin Rum Cake and Sin in the Pumpkin Patch. The buttery, pumpkiny kettle corn of PRC mixed with the spicy (although in this case it’s more incensey) dryness of SitPP. I haven’t waited for this to fully dry yet to see if it does any other changing. 

When I first got this I wore it a few times and really enjoyed it but then it kept getting skipped over for some of my favorites. When deciding what to wear I’d open the bottle, sniff, and pick something else because it just wasn’t calling to me. Tonight I put it on again despite being a bit meh when I sniffed the bottle again and I love it! I think it might be one of those that doesn’t smell like something I’m super into in the bottle but then blooms into something gorgeous when it’s on my skin. I have to remember this in the future so it gets some much deserved love. It’s rich, creamy vanilla and musk and super comforting. I don’t get lemon but I do get something that reminds me of the feel/essence of lemon. 

When I first received this I adored it straight out of the mailbox and then decided to let it rest a few days to recover from the shock. When I opened the bottle again it just smelled musty, and plasticky, and generally unpleasant with just a hint of Snake Oil underneath and I was super disappointed. Tonight I decided to give it another shot based off of how much I loved it in the beginning and I wasn’t disappointed! The smell in the bottle still isn’t the best but on my skin it blooms into a very vanilla-y Snake Oil with just a touch of soft suedey leather. Along with something almost nutty, but more like the leftover skins from nuts in the bottom of the bag after you’ve eaten them all if that makes any sense. 

This is my newest obsession! In the bottle it is very strong dirt and moss with an undercurrent of something sweet and delicious, mainly the incense, myrrh and leather.  I never picked up on the balsam or parchment. Wet it is very, very dirty, like I’ve been digging in fresh soil. But when it dries? That’s when the magic happens. It does a complete 180 and all of that deliciousness that was hiding behind the dirt comes forward and takes over and the soil steps way back and just adds little pops of earthiness every now and then. I absolutely adore this and I’m so glad I blind bought a full sized bottle!

Rose is my absolute nemesis (only rose scents, I do love fresh cut roses, go figure). I almost didn’t want to even open the imp when I drew it today for the daily test, but I did and it was instant regret, just as I suspected. I didn’t even try it on because it would have been a waste of soap and scrubbing. I wish I could tolerate rose notes, and weirdly enough there actually is rose in my beloved Snekhellden, but this is just too much damned rose. Blurgh 😖 

Love me absolutely did not. For me it was the most boner-killer of scents. I never got anything remotely cinnamon like, it was straight bubble gum, mothballs and halitosis for me. I tried it on anyway and the bubble gum disappeared and it was straight mothballs. I loathe mothballs. I scrubbed it off so fast my arm is now red 😖

This isn’t pumpkin rum cake, it’s straight up pumpkin kettle corn! I want to eat my arm now. Granted, I just put it on so it may morph into something more cake-like but for now it’s pure seasonal kettle corn. Not what I was expecting but I like it!

Thanks so much! I missed that in my various searches. 

I haven’t done a swap since a Ravelry one years ago and would love to join in! Being newer to the forums, could someone explain Switch Witch like I’m 5? I’ve done a bit of searching but so far nothing I’ve found has really spelled it out. 

I know this smell. I don’t know why or how, but I know this smell. I’m guessing someone I knew at some point wore this and I’m remembering that, but I KNOW THIS SMELL. 

I ordered it just because of all of the hype and because the notes sounded right up my alley, and I’m so happy I did. All of the notes are present and however good you think this may smell, up that by at least a factor of 10 and you’ll be in the ballpark. I adore the gentle tea in this and I do pick up a hint of lemon in the tea as well, along with the vanilla, sugar and musk. Perfectly blended, powerful yet not overpowering. 
 

BUT WHY DO I KNOW THIS SMELL??? It’s going to drive me bonkers trying to figure it out. 

Very green and gold smelling, and exactly like a warm summer hike. It throws a sage that’s very reminiscent of Western Diamondback, but when I go in for a closer sniff the sage is very faint and I mainly get eucalyptus, oak, and an overall wilderness scent that’s lightly sweetened by the elderberry and lilac. It’s a very California smell and I couldn’t resist blind buying a bottle just for that reason and I’m glad I did. 

I don’t get anything even remotely masculine with this, it’s very strong violet with a whisper of frankincense. No cinnamon to be found anywhere. It was very overpowering both in the imp and wet, but once dried it settled down into something I don’t desperately need to scrub off. It was close there for a bit but I think I can keep this on now. 

When I opened the imp it was almost pure booze, with a hint of chocolate and creaminess. But once applied it was spot on tiramisu. I still haven’t gotten any funnel cake from this, and while I’m really loving how it smells I don’t know if I can wear it again. I normally don’t have an issue with cinnamon but my arm is burning quite a bit from the small amount I swiped on, and I’m grateful that I didn’t slather more and on my neck. It smells absolutely delicious but not sure it’s worth the fire skin. 

In the imp this was very sharp jasmine with the barest hint of honey and vanilla. I got a tiny bit on my finger when opening the imp and swiped that on my wrist before actually truly testing, and on my skin it turned to mothballs. It’s so mothbally that my mouth is doing that whole bitter watering, and that was after I washed it off. Normally I don’t have an issue with jasmine, but this combination just did NOT work for me. 

Straight from the mailbox (I couldn’t wait)

Somehow I missed this one when it first came out and it wasn’t until the Liliths were about to be pulled down that I noticed it while doing one last “do I need anything???” check. 
 

I’m so happy I was able to grab this. I was also at the Rhys Darby stand up at the Largo, and am a massive OFMD fan so an orange/velvet combo was a no brainer. 
 

I was a little concerned seeing the reviews on how harsh this is, but so far I adore it. Yes, it is very orangey, but I’m now getting flashbacks to making my 40 orange cake. I’ll update this with a proper review once it’s had time to settle from the mail shock. But I now have the perfect scent to wear with my Old Navy uniform shirt and to the SDCC meetup!

I’m not the biggest fan of florals and I loathe rose so reading the scent nots I was already apprehensive. I know there are several florals in this but to my nose it was rose, with more rose, followed by some rose, and for fun, a touch of baby powder. This is the fastest I’ve ever washed off an oil and I put on the tiniest spot possible with the imp cap. Even that tiny dot and it was throwing like it was playing for the big leagues.