crystaltongue

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.

This was my first hair gloss, so I really wasn't sure what to expect. It turned out to not be moisturizing enough to use in place of my normal hair oil, and so had to be layered with it. Since my normal hair oil has a slight fragrance, that may impact how this smells on me, so my experience should be taken with a grain of salt. In general, this reads as a hair gloss version of Shanghai. The green tea is definitely the dominant note, and the combination of that and citrus gives it a clean, slightly soapy smell. I described Shanghai as expensive hotel soap (complementary) - that is true of Teahouse on Nakanocho in Yoshiwara as well. The scent js definitely still detectable in my hair 12 hours after application (applied to wet, clean hair) but doesn't have much throw - exactly what I want in a hair product. Overall, I am well pleased. EDIT: put some on again today, on dry hair, and WOW that makes a difference. Way more of the amber comes through this way. It is notably harder to spread evenly through my hair when hair is dry, but the scent is much more complex and interesting this way, and it soothes my frizz some, so definitely warrants further experiments.

A sweet and delicious honeyed rose. Right away, this gives me some of the same good honey/rose balance as Jezebel, but with an added sweetness. The combination of vanilla, ambergris, and coconut milk reads as cotton candy to me. I am going to give this one a full day's wear tomorrow to see how it performs long term, but for now I have hope it will fill the hole in my heart left by Jezebel being out of stock.

This definitely plum and currant before champagne. I think I expected something a bit more fizzy and bright, which in retrospect seems silly for something called "femdom". Instead it is dark fruits with just a little sparkle to set them off. I think this, like many of the Lupercalia scents I recieved today, is going to need more time to open up in order to reveal all it's mysteries, but I am pleased and intrigued with what I smell so far.

I still can't decide what I think of Brisingamen. It is definitely rich ambers, but there is something almost medicinal about it that lingers more than any other note. I love the hint of carnation, but the apple blossom is lost to me entirely. Truly, a mysterious scent.

I always love an olive blossom scent, and a Little Piece of Eternity does not disappoint kn that front. There is something slightly acrid about it in the bottle, but on the skin that immediately disappears into green and olive goodness. The rain note is also very apparent, which is perfect for a wet and drippy Seattle day.

Shanghai is best described as expensive hotel soap (complementary). The green tea and lemon verbena give a fresh clean loveliness both in the bottle and on the skin. The soapiness is definitely a strong element, but pleasantly so. It isn't going to be what I reach for often, but when I do, it is bound to please.

A very sweet and light floral. Wet out of the bottle, I would never have known rose was even there. It is mostly frangipani and jasmine. As it dries down, I get a slight hint of rose, but even on me (who amps rose like no ones business) it's still very subtle in comparison. There is nothing unpleasant about delight, but there is also nothing about it that particularly stands out compared to other florals. Possibly something I will keep an imp of, but not full bottle worthy.

Out of the bottle, it is rum rum rum, with a bit of pineapple. As it dries down, though, the other fruits make themselves known. Definitely a fun and boozy sort of party scent. It has less throw than others from the collection I've had the privilege to smell, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Somehow both sweeter and fresher than White Rabbit, Snow White Rabbit is definitely a winner for me. Ginger and snow are definitely the dominant notes, with linen still notable. I do get a bit of boba tea sweetness, and a whiff of Snow White's flowers (which delights me - but then, I love Snow White). There is a brown sugar note to it that gets stronger after a half hour or so.

A friend gave me an imp of the 2008 version at our last swap and sniff in November because of how much I love Maiden, and I finally got around to wearing it today. Fresh, bright, and hopeful. I agree with others' assessment that it starts out super green and gets more floral as it dries down, but it's delightful at every stage. If carnation is a winner for you, then this one is definitely worth a try if you can get your hands on it.

I was fortunate enough to get ahold of a bottle of this when it came up on Etsy, and it arrived last night! Even a decade later, the scent smells exactly as described: a bright and fizzy ginger with a bit of orange. I only barely detect the rum, but I am not mad about that, because the scent is so delicious and cheerful as it is. And my goodness, this one has a LOT of throw. Delightful all around - I am so glad I got the chance to experience it.

A beautiful rose with an undertone of jammy plum and enough wood to keep it from going insipid. In the tube, the rose is pretty much all that I get, but on the skin the plum slowly amps. It's an intriguing balance suitable for all occassions, and surprisingly ungendered as rose scents go.

This was the scent that made me realize I love olive notes. It is, as others have said, someone warm and atmospheric. Sun warmed stone is definitely the dominant note, with the grasses coming second. The longer I wear it, though, the stronger the olive leaves become. There is something oddly almost aquatic about the combination, that puts me in mind of Sea Foams Milk in spite of not actually having any notes in common. Fitting, I think, for the temple of Neptune.

I was so sad when there was no lunar new year scent this year. But then a few bottles of Wooden Goat came available on the etsy shop, now I at least have this to enjoy! Maybe it is just that it has aged differently, but I don't get the huge throw and high fruitiness that folks have described from when it was new. Instead, it is a beautiful balance of fruit, flower, and wood. In the bottle, the pine and cyprus are surprisingly forward, though the citrus fruits and lychee do come forward more once it has dried down on the skin. On the whole, an utter delight. So glad I got the opportunity to add this to my collection!

It has been a cold, rainy, and gray February so far, and I wanted a scent that would remind me that spring WILL come again. Vase de Lilas a la Fenetre was there for me in exactlt the way I needed. It is exactly the smell of walking out on a sunny spring day and stopping to smell the blooming lilacs. The vanilla and amber do come through a little more for me on drydown than it seems to do for other folks, and the muguet is certainly detectable, but the lilac is absolutely the star. Absolute floral bliss!

Rose red is pure magic. I have an imp of 2007, and a bottle of 2022, and both read about the same on me - the most perfect blood red rose, growing wild rather than in a hot house, with just the barest hint of snow. It is very green when first applied, but in moments the rose blooms on my skin. The only difference between the two versions seems to be how long it lasts on me - 2007 will last 4 to 6 hours, but 2022 seems to go 8 to 9. Mind, rose always seems to amp on my, so your mileage may vary, but for me Rose Red is a winner. For a fun experiment - try layering with snow white, and smell like an entire fairytale.

This goes bizarrely minty on me and stays that way. In the bottle there is plenty goingn on, but on the skin get no snow white, no rose - just dirt and mint. Definitely not my jam, alas.

Short version: it's snow white, the purple berry jam and butter. Long version: knave of snowflakes lives on that interesting borderland of being ALMOST too foody, but staying just shy of it. The berries and butter of the tarts are strong in the bottle, but are quickly overtaken by Snow White in strength once dry on the skin. Like others, I don't get much rose here (surprising, since rose usually amps on me like no one's business), but I am not made about, since it balances fine without it.

I am in love with this scent. Cheerful lemon effervescence indeed! The blackberry and black current notes are still present, and it definitely doesn't go to lemon cleaner like some citruses. It almost reminds me of Unarmed and Laughing, not because it shares notes, but because it has the same almost fizzy quality. It makes me want to invent a mixed drink that tastes like this smells.

This tragically did not work on any of us. It was absolutely cat pee on my roommate, me, and by brother. It's a pity, because in the bottle I can smell how the woods and peaches might be nice. Will definitely be passing or selling this on.

Every time I put on Maiden, I love it more. A lovely fresh rose scent, in dreamy combination with tea and carnation. There is something romantic and Edwardian about it, in a way that is ABSOLUTELY my jam. This is probably going to become a full bottle scent for me in the near future.