crystaltongue

Unfortunately, this smells EXACTLY like sugar snap peas to me. I don't dislike sugar snap peas, but I don't think I want to smell like them. I wish I could give a more nuanced and complex review, but it is just all peas all the time to me.

We were lucky enough to snag the blue bottle of Yuki-Onna that went up on ebay recently, and WOW I am in love. The jasmine is sweet and doesn't go at all cat pee on me (unlike some). The lemon verbena, though, is the real star for me. Citrusy and herbal in all the right ways. The sandlewood is just the slightest whiff giving it complexity and interest. I am absolutely thrilled and look forward to wearing this.

This is fourth lunar new year I have had the privilege to smell, and it is possibly the most delightful yet. The citrus is DEFINITELY forward in this one, but it is a candied citrus rather than a fresh one. It has all the usual lunar new years notes, and its commonalities with the authors can definitely be smelled on the skin as well as the bottle. It is really too bad that we collectively only managed to source one bottle, because I would wear this more often if I had the opportunity.

I love plum and carnation, and unlike every other musk I have tried this one did not immediate trigger asthma when I sniffed the imp, so I actually tried this on. When wet on the skin, it is DELIGHTFUL. Rich plum and spicy carnation with just a little spicy warmth. As it dries, though...well. Upside: I am not allergic to this musk! Downside: Once it dries, the musk is about all I can smell. And it turns out I just don't like musk at all So, if you like musk but have been allergic to others, maybe give it a try? But if musk is not your jam, this won't be either.

In the imp, it is all cake to me - lots of butter and baking notes, not much else. There is a super brief period when it's wet on the skin where the ginger is strong, but that immediately dies down. Dry on the skin, it is mostly quince and butter with just a little ginger and orange. Not much throw all on this one once dry, so this might be good to wear on days that you want perfume but don't want it to be very notable to others.

The tragedy of falling in love with a scent that is long gone. Moon rose, from the old half full imp a friend passed on to me, definitely loves my body chemistry. The moonflower starts out the stronger scent in the imp, but as it dries down on my skin the rose blooms into a lovely, soft rose (cultivated, not wild, but still delicious all the same). The balance of the two is dreamy and lush in a way that pleases my brain. I will continue to hunt for anyone getting rid of an old supply.

Reviewing the 2022 version: Peacock queen is a far more civilized rose than Rose Red. It is an expensive hothouse cultivar, and opposed to the wild deep forest fairytale rose. But it is lovely all the same. Classic, sophisticated, and just a little wicked. I love using it as a layering scent with other things, to turn all scents into rose scents.

Rose Cross was a frimp in my Lupercalia order, and it definitely pleases! In the bottle the rose and frankincense are pretty evenly balanced, in a way that honestly made me think it might be too much incense for me, but on the skin that lovely fresh rose amps and amps until it is mostly rose with just a whiff of ecclesiastical dignity. I don't know how often all I will reach for this over my favorite Rose Red, but I am glad to have it in the collection of roses for variety.

Night Gaunt is one of my brother's favorites, so I tried it out today to see what the fuss was all about. A deliciously juicy citrus, overall. I don't get the flowers when wet, but there is a hint when dry on the skin. Very little throw compared to other citruses (the kumquat in this doesn't have NEARLY the power of the kumquat in, say, tweedledee) but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. A good perfume to wear when you just want scent for yourself, and not to share with the people around you.

A surprise - this is a chocolate scent I actually like! In the bottle, it is just a rich dark chocolate scent with a hint of soapy rosewater. On the skin wet, the rose and apricot notably amp on me (though the currant never made an appearance at any stage, as far as I could detect). It is still primarily a chocolate scent on dry down, but it unlike other dark chocolates it doesn't go plasticky or smell like a tootsie roll. The apricot and rose continue to be detectable, and give the chocolate note an interesting complexity. I got this bottle to share with a friend, and I wouldn't want more than the half bottle I have, but it is a pleasing surprise all the same.

Goblin cider, my beloved. This was one of the very first full bottles I obtained, and it continues to please. Wet on the skin, it is spices, especially ginger, with just a little apple sweetness. On the skin, it the apples bloom. The apple note is the exact smell of apple picking very late in the season, when rotten apple strew the ground and ferment. The spices are very much still present when dry, but they seem to get deeper and spicier. It is a very autumnal sent, but not a bad choice for something cozy and just a LITTLE sinister for winter.

So, we received a bottle of this as a freebie with our group lupercalia order this year. From the description, I thought it would totally be my jam. Honey and jasmine? Heck yeah, sign me up. Unfortunately, on my skin, it smells like hydrocortisone and cream cheese. No, I don't understand either. Definitely not for me, regardless.

For folks saying this invokes Snow, Glass, Apples - they are 100% correct. The pine is far stronger in the bottle than on the skin. It is apple first, with snow and pine a distant second. I got a lot of lemon peel while it was wet on the skin, but almost none on drydown. I haven't done a side by side test with my tiny decant of SGA, but plan to do so eventually.

Baobhan Sith is such an interesting combination of fresh and dreamy. The bright, fresh grapefruit is definitely the main note, but the tea and apple blossom give it a lovely, slightly ethereal floral sweetness. I only get a hint of the ginger, but that tiny bit of spice keeps it from going too sweet overall. Definitely glad to have a full bottle of this one.

Maybe I just got an odd batch, but the frimp I got of this with my order (shipped last week and arrived yesterday) is CHERRIES!!! All cherry all the time, with a candied sweetness I honestly find kind of off-putting. The cherry scent was so strong that I couldn't even bring myself to put it on, so I have no idea how it evolves, but I am going to put it away for a while and see if the cherries calm down.