fairnymph

Root beer coloured oil. Dark, intense, and complex. A little spicy, a bit incensey, but shockingly sweet in a really elegant, gourmand (almost but not quite foody) way. I'm pretty sure that's the tobacco absolute, a note that I find sweet and rich and utterly delicious, with tones of vanillic and chocolate. This note reminds me very much of the one in Black Temple Burlesque Troupe, and it leaps out of the bottle above all other notes. Suddenly sour, and much more complex in a muddled way, with the tobacco no longer dominating remotely - thought it's still absolutely in play. I think the sourness is from the pimento, because I'm reminded of the sour phase of the Witch Queen - it's an unpleasant, vegetal and vinegary sour - like pickled peppers, appropriately. I also get a dill pickle note that may or may not be related to the pimento. I get great swathes of oppressive, smoky, bitter and musty-dusty myrrh - it and the pimento are the dominating notes now. I also get the unmistakable almost aquatic cedar-like mandrake (mandrake smells exactly like cedar if it were a clear viscous liquid, to me). I do get some pleasantly salty, dark green seaweed - dried kelp. -wet, continued- And while I can't pick out the moss, usually swampy moss (like Spanish moss) smells very musty, so it's probably blending with the myrrh. The black pepper is surprising light, and faintly dusty - the same note from Ronin? The clove, however, is one of the stronger notes on my skin - as usual - and is the sharp, intense kind that's a bit sickly sweet. I think it's softened a tad by the light but still clearly present opoponax, which is rather smooth and sweetly smoky-woody. There is something else sickly sweet here, too, and a little mentholic - red musk? And sassafras? Yeah, there is a lot going on here and it's very jumbled at this point. Strong throw, this stuff, though I did slop on a bit more than intended. This continues to be overwhelmingly sour, and if anything, the pickle association has strengthened. The myrrh keeps pace with the dominating pimento, but the clove - and this is definitely the type my skin amps. The pepper is amped a bit too, though still dusty - again, as in Ronin, it's like that stale cheap packeted preground stuff. I'm getting the moss clearly now as its own musty greenery, though it's still merging mostly with the heavy myrrh. The kelp has amped and become saltier and beachier, but is not the least bit aquatic or soapy - a fantastic note, somewhat reminiscent of the seaweed in Cthulu in Love. Final drydown is surprisingly nice, with the salty kelp-seaweed note and incense notes (dark, heavy, dusty myrhh and smoky-sweet woody opoponax) dominating. It's almost aquatic but not quite - if you like the idea of oceanics but can't do aquatics, this is definitely the scent for you - no soapiness at all here, not at any stage. The pepper holds well too, though it's unfortunately always stale and dusty, not that I ever like black pepper in perfume, while the clove too is strong, but has actually faded back from its place of amped up dominance- it's a little sharp, but mostly just woody-spicy and lightly sweet. Best of all, the sour pimento so strong at first is almost completely gone, just a bit of vegetal heat now. The mandrake has remained a constant light, dry warm woody note, while the spanish moss is no longer distinct - either gone, or merged with the mustiness of the myrrh. The tobacco absolute has regained some (but not all) of its former rich, almost foody, sweetly, woody, deep glory. In short, this is a dark incensey & spicy blend with salty seaweed and rich, slightly sweet tobacco. Great throw and fantastic longevity, too.

Extremely pale, nearly colourless yellow oil. Surprisingly light, airy and misty, with a faint tinge of herbs - rosemary and marjoram and basil peek out a tiny bit if I sniff really hard - and a suggestion of darker depths which smell suspiciously like frankincense. This reminds me of a more herbal Dunwich. No fungus, thankfully, other than maybe a little dust. Still light and ephemeral - otherworldy indeed - and with a substantial clean, rainy aquaticness on my skin, reminding me even more strongly of Dunwich, especially since the woods have emerged more clearly, and they really smell exactly like the woody notes in Dunwich, smooth and light but a little dry, and sort of reedy and papery - I get the image of reeds growing in a river quite strongly. The rain note has a mild sweetness I find it always does, and likewise this note always smells a little generic to me, like cheap rain-scented incense or other such products. I still don't find any fungus at all. I do get a tiny hint of sweet citrus (orange?) rind, very faintly. The air smells like just after it's rained and its still completely overcast with more rain to come. This stuff has a lot of throw - even though it's light in feel and not potent in the bottle, it is on my skin and I seem to amp it, too. Now 20 minutes later it's calmed down a bit and morphed quite significantly into a light, sweet, hazy & dewy scent with some definite sweet citrus - it's not juicy, and it has a slight bitter edge so I'm guessing it's a rind of some sort, but it feels pink or orange to me - sweet orange seems most likely, but pink grapefruit is also possible, and there could be a blend, since at this point the scent has coalesced so seamlessly I struggle to pick out individual notes. I think I may be interpreting the basil note as citrus, upon further reflection and sniffing. There is a strange, slighty soapy tinge from the 'generic rain' note, which has mostly dissipated thankfully, and now mostly just keeps this blend feeling clean and light. Something here I suppose is meant to be musty and represent fungus, but to my nose, it reminds me exactly of the light green, wet stone note from Julia Stone - or maybe like lichen on granite? This grey-green note, the only note that stands out clearly in this otherwise unified blend, is like an ancient, elemental ether-energy, as if it were itself an entity, surrounded by a softly-sweet, basil/citrus-infused and damply misty aura, contained in a smooth wooden box carved of something like white sandalwood and etched with a simple design without lifting the blade from the wood until the work was complete. Beautifully crafted and something I'd love a partial bottle of to sniff and treasure.

Lots of dry, dusty wood - like being in an unfinished wood store or a woodworker's workshop - lots of sawdust in particular. I'm guessing the dry & dusty sort of sandalwood, a bit of cedar and oude. I also get a bit of a sort of grassy wood-pulp note, almost certainly one of the balsams from Ü. There is a slight sharp solvent smell, a little like paint thinner, acetone and gasoline with a slight chemical sweetness - this must be the shellack - it reminds me a lot of that note in Erik, and actually the dustiness of this scent further likens it to that blend. It's definitely masculine. The privet ( a green shrub used as hedging that has white blossoms) note is clear, too, and familiar - as a real life scent, but not as something I recall smelling in any perfume before - it's like fresh cut greenery, a little bitter and grassy, but there's a slight soft white floral overtone and a delicate, fresh airiness to it - very complex and lovely! Sweeter, softer, and more cohesive with a burst of sweet, fresh floral privet (I assume) emerging after a few seconds on my skin. Much less sawdust, though there's still a dry and woody based with significant warmth, but the amped privet has a cooling effect. I think the sandalwood is red, I'm pretty sure about the oude (which is smooth and green and more distinct now, and reminds me exactly of Holiday Moon's oude note). The sap - I'm less sure about this, it could be part of the enhanced sweetness - but I think it's the same 'moon tree sap' note from the Enchanted Wood Florist. It's definitely sweet, and a little dewy and fruity, and very slightly green - Springlike and fresh. I get more grassiness now, I think from both the privet and the balsam. Much more complex on my skin and unisex to feminine - quite a sudden and dramatic, yet surprisingly not too disjointed morphing. This is really lovely! It's becoming sweeter, more floral (though still in a delicate and Springlike fashion, no heady bullying florals like jasmine or gardenia, or even rose), almost honeyed. Could there perhaps be a touch of honeysuckle here? Or something that smells very much like true honeysuckle, sweet and fresh and dewy, but not at all like the lab's typical note which inevitably goes to slightly soapy powder on me. I also suspect linden and maybe a little plumeria - the florals a very clean and light, pale pinkish white in feel and remind me of Dirty - though the blend overall reminds me more of EWF with the greenery, though this scent is less green. I'm shocked by how much the wood has faded - it's still there, but much lighter and completely smooth, no rough edges, with barely any warmth or dryness left. The balsam has faded too, though the sort of papery wood-pulp aspect holds best, even if I have to hunt for it. I don't think there is or was cedar, but I stand by sandalwood or some sort, most likely red as I mentioned above. I also still get the oude,. The sap actually smells sticky and I think is contributing to the significant increase in sweetness - it too has a honeyed aspect, and also a touch of resin - almost like white copal (not at all smoky at all, but very lightly piney, like white pine-ish). The final drydown is very balanced, and in a way this comes full circle with the wood reasserting itself to balance the other notes. It's a sweet honeysuckle-like feminine floral with fresh greenery accented by some faintly grassy, paper balsam, balanced by a slightly piney and sticky-sweet sap note and a blend of smooth, slightly dry and warm woods that definitely include oude and a sandalwood. Similar to other blends, yet unique enough in its own right to be very much bottleworthy. I wish it were sweeter throughout rather than just in the brief period in the middle dry stage, but it's still lovely and the being less sweet, it's more unisex leaning to feminine. Good throw and excellent longevity. Another winner amongst the new GCs!

This is definitely a baked goods, booze and fruit foody type scent with fruit and butter leaping out. I get quite a bit of plum (black plum), as well as a more jammy prune-plum note, tart grapey raisin (not at all fake like candy or cough syrup, and much subtler than those overpowering grape notes and a general mixture of sweet, christmassy dried fruits . There is a little bit of greasy richness which smells mostly like buttery tonka to me, but has a slick oiliness that really does suggest suet - either way the 'fat' here is the strongest note in the bottle. It hink this merges with the almost nutty, slightly creamy & custard grain porridge (frumenty). I also get quite a bit of sweet, golden-warm, boozy brandy - but it's not at all harsh, and tends more towards fruity and complex. A tiny hint of piney-evergreen holly that I probably wouldn't pick out blind is lightest of al, rather overwhelmed. Smoother and more cohesive, with a lot more of the frumenty, and the brighter boozy aspects of the brandy nearly instantly gone, leaving rich golden fruity warmth. The frumenty is now richly creamy, but not in a cloying way, and still has a hint of nuttiness that all the BPAL grain notes do - there could be a little almond, the soft creamy sort from Snow White, not the benzaldehyde/almond extract sort. But it's almost like there's whole almonds that have been ground - I can smell the brown husk of the almond, the fruit has definitely taken a back step in a dramatic and sudden fashion, with really on the brandy's fruit distinct. This now has a very creamy, golden and creamy ivory hued-feel. Still very foody with plenty of fat, but it's better integrated with the other notes. This is a very warm, hearth/kitchen scent; like the scent in the air during the cooler half of pastries baking in the oven - I do believe that's a touch of the mince pie, particularly the crust, coming through. As this dries, the furmenty fades a bit and the fruit amps back up, though the pie crust remains amped, and literally smells flaky - amazing! It's so flaky and realistically buttery it reminds me of homemade croissants baking - a smell I'll never forget. The black plum is still true and a little juicy but mostly deep and sort of plump and rounded - it reminds me a bit of Hellion, and Purple Phoenix - actually, the overall fruitiness at this stage reminds me a lot of the fruity melance of PP, and also a teensy bit of Black Heart - more sweetness now, a hint of almost floral powdery like the sweet pea in BH & the blossom in PP, a little bit of grape candy Pez - though this really does steer clear of the grape candy effect, and is much more realistic, tarter and deeper and subtler, like slightly dried grapes that aren't quite raisins, though there is more raisin tone now than there was initially. This reminds me of a sort of cross between Joulumuori & The Witch's Repast - quite significantly in fact. The booziness and creamy-nutty porridge are very reminiscent of Joulumuori & the greasiness of the suet is DEFINITELY the same as in tWR. Beth has definitely branched out into a unique new sub-niche with these scents, of sort of rustic, warming, foody, intriguing and comforting effect. It's not my style, but I'm impressed by how well blended, balanced, and wearable these scents are while still being so incredible evocative and emotionally appealing. The late appearance of some golden baked apple and golden sultanas (golden raisins) only furthers this effect. In the end, I do think it's more like tWR, but there are still some significant notes shared with J. On me this has moderate throw and good-to-great lasting power.

Disclaimer: I am a great lover of honey, whether to eat or to wear, and I love all the various honey notes the lab uses. This blend has a 'BPAL feel', but this particular honey note smells new to me, unique relative to any other honey note used in other blends, and would thus probably be a great thing for those who don't do well with honey to try. Opening the bottle, I'm hit by a bright waft of juicy pink grapefruit, a Springlike and softly sweet, gentle girlish floral, with a bit of slightly, very pleasantly bitter fresh greenery in the distance, and then all wrapped up in a golden, warm, and delicately sweet honey note. This scent feels angelic, divine, and fantastical - but in an attainable way, like lying on a perfect late Spring's day in a lush green meadow, soaking up the sun and inhaling the sweet, fresh air. The initial wetness on my skin is shockingly tart-sweet, citrusy-fruity, juicy pink grapefruit and some delicate sweet floral, that upon closer inspection and comparison to absolute EO I have on hand, is absolutely, definitely, without a doubt linden. Those are my two favourite fruit and floral notes in perfume OF ALL TIME. And then there's honey, which is really just icing on the cake, or more accurately, a subtle glaze that allows the fruity and floral notes to shine, too. Unfortunately, as is nearly always the case with citrus, the grapefruit fades my skin once this dries, and the linden even more so - this allows the honey to take centre stage without overly dominating. It's a very subtle, soft, and almost 'fluffy' sort of honey - it's most like white honey, but I find white honey is a bit brighter and fresher, almost a little astringent - this honey note is similar in that it's not syrupy, or boozy, or powdery and it's only lightly sweet and it's delicate. I'd almost say ephemeral - and the honey note itself might be - but this blend has mildly a grounded feel - sort of rustic, close to the earth, naturalist vibe. Something a nymph or an elf would wear. Sniffing with great effort and all cerebral cylinders firing, I DO get a wisp of something that could be considered 'ashy' - but it's EXTREMELY faint and I'd bet that 90% of people wouldn't be able to pick it out at all. This vague hint of ash, combined with the honey, reminds of the Witch's Repast to a small degree, but this is a much simpler and more elegant blend. What is most surprising to me - and overall, I am very (pleasantly!) surprised by this blend since the short note list and presence of ash had me on edge - is the greenery. There is something clearly, definitely a little green and stemmy, perhaps a light dandelion note - it's not grassy, but it's almost verging that way. I don't get it until a while into the drydown when the other notes (all, but honey the least) have faded a bit to reveal it. I also get what I can only describe as a pollen scent - I think it's related to the 'greenness' I'm getting, or it merges with that note - either way, it's fantastic, intriguing and unique. The evanescent qualities of the earlier stages solidify into a blend of golden honey wafting over greenery, with a very faint musky-earthy note (oakmoss?) and that hint of ceremonial, almost magical-feeling ash. There are faint wisps of the earlier fruity and floral notes if I huff and strain, but they burn off on my skin in less than half an hour, sadly. Still, the drydown is gorgeous and it's so warm and glowing that I almost suspect heliotrope - actually, I think it's very likely there IS some here, as that's a note that tends to sneak up on me. Also, I'm positive that one of the balsam notes from Ü is present here, though MUCH more faintly - as I get the same faintly papery, wood-pulpy grassiness. I liked it in Ü, and I like it here too, though it makes the blend firmly unisex. A very interesting scent that morphs gradually but significantly on my skin. It is the simplest honey blend other than the SN, so I would value it for that alone, but this is definitely a bottle purchase; the versatility means I could wear it in my hair or a locket for one sort of effect or slather it on my skin for another. I think this blend would also layer very well with others because while in the end it's quite complex, it's a very unified scent that could be a good base for fruity or floral blends that need a bit more to round them out. Beth, you've been producing some stunning blends lately!

Very pale yellow oil. Sweet, smooth, and spicy with a lot of resinous & woody depth. The tonka is more creamy and vanillic - the light sort - and not BUTTER SN, and the black sandalwood smells like a red sandalwood mixed with a little light vetiver. The nutmeg is surprisingly pleasant - not too strong, and the benzoin is a golden sweetness. A little less sweet, more musk with definitely more sandalwood and overall deeper - more benzoin, too, though it's a resinous sort that's not as honey-sweet and benzoin often is on me. The tonka is heavy, but still not buttery or cloying - just rich, lightly sweet - it's the 'masculine' sort of tonka that reminds me of the note in Dee. The nutmeg is even less apparent on my skin, overwhelmed a bit by the amped notes. And while that vetiver tinge in the imp was a bit sharp, it's smooth and sexy and lightly cologney but still adds depth, on my skin. A much softer and more affable blend than I expected. The final drydown is light, warm and faintly sweet - all warm sandalwood and golden, softly honeyed benzoin with a faint trace of vanillic tonka and woody but barely spicy nutmeg. My roommate think it smells like a bathroom (not like waste products, but like cleaning products or toilet paper), and I can sort of see that...maybe. Most it's a very soft skin-scent with low throw that fades rather rapidly. I find it unremarkable, but at least not viciously unpleasant like most of the other Ares blends.

Bright yellow oil. VETIVER like crazy, and it's the fathomlessly, dark, gritty, sooty, rooty and filthy and STRONG sort - the note I most feared in this blend, gah. Some black, rooty, soil-covered patchouli closely behind, and nary a hint of white pepper or grapefruit. Okay, here comes a little grapefruit - and it's LOVELY! - juicy, bright, a little tart but more sweet - the same note from Croquet. Why oh why must it be tarnished by the dark evil notes of doom? I get a little kick from the white pepper, which is sort of 'peppy' and also bright, not too spicy, no heat or sharpness. But the VETIVER and PATCHOULI are still very much dominating this blend - though the patchouli has amped up to be on par with the vetiver, and the rooty aspect in particular has amped. I like certain vetiver and patchouli notes, but the two here are the absolute worst in their class, the types I abhor the most. Dark, dirty, gritty Djinn-esesque vetiver and dirty, unpleasantly earthy, extremely rooty black patchouli smother a beautiful glimmer of sweet and juicy pink grapefruit with little dash of sassy white pepper. This scent would be like wearing a sheer, silk chiffon pink top perked up by darling little ruffles, in combination with grossly baggy, torn, stained, unwashed shit-brown polyester cargo pants, then rolling the poor girl in an open cesspool of sewage and mud. It's a fucking travesty. Once again, grapefruit - and a lovely grapefruit that holds! - utterly overwhelmed, raped, beaten and brutalized by evil, filthy, nasty notes. I feel both violently angry and desperately devastated.

Slightly greenish/chartreuse pale oil. Shockingly perfumey - in a traditional, classic, department store sense. Loads of very ROSY rose geranium, very fresh and bright, but so floral I suspect there's actual true rose in here as well. There's a bit of slightly astringent-herbal, cologney, masculine tobacco, and some smooth light wood from the wenge - but thankfully, I don't get a whisper of the myrrh! Also, this is much sweeter than I anticipated. Instantly more complex on my skin, with the tobacco and wenge wood amping significantly; it also goes a bit soapy from some mysterious source, as none of the listed notes turn soapy on my skin. It could very well be the 'actual' rose I suspected, or another floral or typical cologne component, since this smells so traditional. But definitely deeper and richer on my skin, while also being more cologney and obviously masculine. I get more greenery from the geranium, which is lovely, fresh and bright, and the tobacco is definitely the herbal, leafy sort - not the more gourmand absolute. Unfortunately the myrrh emerges quickly and adds a significantly dusty, musty, old stale incense aspect totally at odds with the rest of the blend. Slow to dry, but becoming soapier and soapier as it does. Why, why, WHY are all the blends with geranium of any sort always paired with such horrible notes? It's such an underused note, and when Beth DOES use it, she pairs if with notes that are always dreadful. *whine* The actual rose note here has also gone sour, or something has - I'm reminded very much of the 'rose-infused amber' of the Miller's Daughter, or the rose note in the Empress - sour, soapy, musty, and overall unpleasant so much that I don't even consider it rose, personally. The tobacco has amped up a little bit and I think is adding slightly to the sourness, and has a dry herbal quality, almost like sage - this is not a tobacco note I like very much. The wenge is really nice - extremely smooth, in fact creamy, rich and little musky - unisexily sexy. Final drydown is just intolerably soapy, from most likely some type of rose - and there's definitely that unpleasant sourness from the rose-amber note, the tobacco never smooths out but remains roughly, drily herbal and a little medicinal, and the dark, dusty myrrh amps and amps into a malicious black cloud. Only the geranium (lovely and green, but clashing terribly with the other notes) and the wenge, faintest of all, but so interesting, smooth and sexy - are at all appealing, but not nearly enough to redeem this dreadful blend. I agree with z_z's 'dryer sheets' assessment - EVIL dryer sheets with very strong throw and longevity, of course! Off to sink. Yet another huge geranium disappointment. I honestly think Beth must hate geranium the vehement way I hate wisteria & pennyroyal and ruin it purposefully by making horrible blends with it.

Amber coloured oil. Sweet, warm, woody and spicy. It's exactly what you'd expect from the notes; I can smell each on the clearly, though the cedar is dominating - it's VERY warm and sauna-esque, but the saffron is just behind, spicy and a little sharp, but NOT weirdly mintergreeny as it can be. The black currant is the lightest, a bit herbal and masculine, but still obviously fruity. STRONG - it was in the imp too, but it's not pulling any punches on my skin. The saffron amps up to overtake the cedar and now does take on that unfortunate mentholic wintergreen aspect - but it's also VERY spicy-hot, almost peppery - I strongly suspect another spice, something a bit green - coriander or cardamom almost definitely. I get much more of the black currant now too, and it's a very nice note - it's subtle, and very slightly medicinal in a good way - it reminds me of European black currant lozenges, of which I'm very fond, and also a little of the black currant note in Montresor. This is coalescing well, with each note coming into balance such that none strongly dominates - the black currant has amped up and the saffron has softened to accomplish this. Still getting some wintergreen from the latter note, but it's less overt. The cedar here is not the typical dry, pencil-shavings & sawdust type - it does have a dryness to it, but it much more about warmth and it's much more aromatic - it's much like (or the same as) the note in Lovers in a Carp Steamer. It really packs an incredible amount of sensual heat! I think the other spice note here - the one that's peppery - is cardamom, because this blend is just SO warm and that's another note that when it's the peppery spicy-hot type, adds a lot of heat. It works really well here, too, enhancing the other notes. This sweetens up on my skin over time, either due to unlisted notes, or the saffron and cardamom softening and evolving - and definitely in large part to the morphing of the black currant, which loses its medicinal edge and really becomes just like the note I love in Montresor - rich, dark, sweet fruit. The cedar backs off a bit but remains warm and rich with a dry edge, and a good backdrop for the calmed spices - almost no trace of wintergreen from the saffron, and only faint pepperiness from the cardamom. This is much nicer than I expect and evolves nicely on my skin into a warm, spicy, woody unisex scent with good throw and great longevity. Still, I don't like warm or spicy in my perfume, so not for me. But cedar haters - this is worth trying, if you like this sort of blend.

Very pale yellow oil. Sweet, creamy and SPICY - lots of kick. I get lots of both cardamom and ginger, lots of very creamy milk chocolate, and lighter coconut and not really any rum at all - unless it's in the sweet, foody, rich sense - I don't get BOOZE. Okay, more booze and more coconut - and this rum is definitely the sweetened and spiced Cap'n Morgan's type. But the milk chocolate and spices are still in command by a bit, with the spices amped a little to be at the very top - both the cardamom are so spicy-hot and strong I can't tell if one is dominating, and they also meld a little bit. This is definitely the 'powdery' dry spicy ginger from Shub and Gingerbread Poppet, and the cardamom is the intense, green-fresh but dry-woody and spicy-hot (very complex!) note from Lamia. This dries rapidly on my skin - it appears to devour it. As this happens, the spices amp and become drier and woodier and almost dusty, but still very spicy-hot - and the sweetness fades. i barely get any coconut, but I still get a little dark boozy rum. The milk chocolate, though still somewhat creamy, is less so and has started to do that 'rancid nutty' thing that the lab's note does on my skin. I don't like *any* of the notes in this blend, but so far, it's not horrible. I'm not running for the sink. Racid nutty milk chocolate fail taking over - in combo with the still very commanding spices, I'm finding it almost nauseating - and the coconut has amped up a bit more, only a little - but adds an extra layer of cloying richness to this already far too rich blend. I think most of the rum that remains is having a similar 'adding some buttery richness' effect. Still, I'm not yet horrified - but then it's been maybe half an hour. This never goes as rancid or horrible as other milk chocolate blends do, and I'm amazed by the incredible amount of creaminess this blend retains - the coconut definitely supports that, but the MC is mostly providing the cream. The Shub-like spices are never enjoyable for me and I don't find they meld particularly well with the other notes here - this is NOT a seamless blend on my skin. It is however exactly what the notes suggest, without being as cloying sweet and richly foody as I feared. Good throw and great longevity.

This is a very delicate scent which vanished completely after less than an hour the first time I (lightly) applied it. Re-eapplying more heavily, it holds with moderate throw, though it retains an extremely ephemeral feel. It's wispy white florals - with one that stands out most, and is a well-behaved traditional floral that I THINK is magnolia, but COULD be gardenia - but there is some sort of blend here. Though the scent feels simple and is completely unified and seamlessly blended, I can tell there are more notes than I can pick out. On my skin, after it fully dries down a lot of sexy musk comes out. Skin musk and white musk. As said - a very 'white', but light, feminine blend. There could be a bit of white tea and a hint of fresh white ginger in here, too. Overall, this feels like a sheer silky veil or mist. It's lovely and evocative, innocent but a bit coy.

Light yellow oil. Surprisingly sweet in a way I can't pinpoint, powdery-floral, and a little sour. I think there is the same rose note from The Empress and The Miller's Daughter - one I dislike. Not all that woody and I wouldn't have known there was wool in this. Surprisingly rich, and I think that element and the sweetness must come from the teak - reminds me of the teak note in Glowing Vulva. I do now a get bit of a 'lineny' note but it honestly does smell sort of like worsted wool, like thick, slightly rough, a little dank fabric. Still a hint of sour rose and powdery rosewood. Not much morphing, perhaps a little amping of the rose and rosewood, while the teak fades and the wooly note holds. It's not bad, but smells 'old ladyish' to me. This really just becomes more and more feminine, more and more elderly and almost 'frail' feeling. Definitely more powdery. I get the sense of sorting through a grandmother's old clothing in the attic, with remnants of her scent and her rose talcum powder wafting through the air. Interesting, but not something I would ever wear. Moderate throw and good longevity.

Orangey-amber oil. Harsh and sharp - plasticky-style De Sade leather jumps out most of all, followed closely by high-proof booze. I don't really get the patchouli, but I do get a creamy, green-fresh warmth from the cardamom - lightly and distantly. LEATHER whoa, and booze still strong too, but I get more of the cardamom, which actually has a spicy edge now. The patchouli is so smooth that it's more like a warm earthy background - definitely the subtle type, not a dirty or rooty or hippiesh type, but a refined note The leather continues to utterly dominate and it's really that De-Sade chemical-plastic-powder type that I abhor. Very strong throw, and it's so unpleasant to me that I might have to wash this off. Even with my nose to my arm I can barely detect the other notes because leather's got such a tight reign on this blend. This makes me feel ill, much like De Sade, to it which honestly, on the drydown at least, is nearly identical. I'm not sure how a woman would pull this off, as I find it extremely masculine although also simply just revolting. Intense throw & very long-lived on me.

Root beer coloured oil. Sweet, spicy, fresh, exotic, woody, musky, a little salty...incredibly complex! Overwhelmingly so. Ambergris, balsam, the woods, red musk, tobacco and lime stand out for me. The latter two remind me vaguely of Mr. Nancy. Other than it being heavy on the red musk (which I detest), I quite like it. Tarter, sharper (and greener, though not from notes I can pinpoint), woodier. Less sweet and heavy and thankfully less red musk. Maybe a little drier, the red sandalwood making itself known. The lime is holding! I'm getting a bit of leather, and it's a NICE leather, not a powdery-plasticky-slick kind, but actually warm. The tobacco is gorgeous, and overall this is really a wonderfully fitting and totally sexy masculine scent, so far. Eeep. The other notes have faded or red musk has amped - either way it's way heavier on the red musk now. Also, coconut has made an unpleasant appearance, and the grass/palm notes have become unpleasantly bitter. Lime is mostly gone, but the ambergris, leather and tobacco are holding nicely. Still, not enough to save this blend for me. Strong throw and great longevity. Definitely masculine and I have trouble imagining a woman pulling this off.

Deep amber oil, almost orangey. Sweet, warm, and a touchy spicy and floral. I can smell all the notes, but the berries hit first and most strongly. Almost candy-sweet or jammy from the berries - I get raspberry first and foremost, with a little strawberry and maybe a bit of blackberry? Sort of like 'fruits of the forest' jam but heavy on the rasberry. More iris now, a little powdery but not heavily so. The amber remains light and more warm than powdery. I get a bit of clove now, slowly emerging. Sweet berries and powdery iris & amber with a touch of light (and actually rather pleasant) clove. One of the simpler BPAL blends, it strikes me as something an older woman would wear - 'old lady'. A fake cherry note has joined the fruits, and the raspberry has gone sickly sweet and plasticky on me. Soft powder lightly sweetened with berries after several hours. It's not horrible in the final drydown, but not at all my sort of thing. Low throw and decent longevity.

Light and faint in the imp - cologney. White amber, classic white florals, clean sandalwood. Extremely pleasant, but hard to tell when it's so, so faint. Dry, woody, resiny. Heavy. A little powdery and a little sweet. Surprisingly unisex. I can pick out all the notes, but the woods and resins are dominating, not the florals. The vanilla, white amber and champaca make this possibly worthwhile. ORRIS ORRIS DOOM. Oh how I hate you. I turn my back for 5 minutes and you are beating me with talcum powder, you evil whore. Um, I'm really not sure what else is going on, and I may have to run to the sink. Orris simply overwhelms me. It also goes a little sickly sweet. Really intensely strong throw and lasting power, as usual with terrible orris blends. Ughhh. It's like a rotting old lady smoked some incense, spilled cheap fake vanilla perfume and talcum powder on herself, and then decided to smother me.

2009 version Light yellow oil. Sweet and foody! I get something almost buttery, like caramel-rum, and lots of a Sugar Skull-like brown sugar note. A little bit of heavy musk in the distance and a hint of spice, too. Much more boozy, like rum and cognac, reminding me a lot more of the 2005 version now. Still extremely sweet, rich, and foody. I think maybe I'm confusing spice with smoke, but I swear there is a touch of cinnamon here, and maybe some light vetiver. More musk, and more complex overall on my skin. Much more vetiver & musk - almost a little soapy/cologney. Still brown sugary sweet but the overall foody effect has faded along with most of the booze. This is also going a bit bitter, like dried oak leaves - I get the autumn night/woodsmoke feel MUCH more now, and more strongly in this version than the original, which was much more musky/sweet on drydown. Still that hint of spice. I also swear there is some leather in here, the nasty plastic chemical kind a la De Sade, maybe to convey the 'thuggish'ness? It also makes what started out as such a foody/sweet and thus in my mind not very masculine scent MUCH more unisex, leaning eventually towards masculine a bit.

Deep amber oil. Complex, but sweet, ripe, autumnal fruits hit first - the apple, grapes/wine and berries. Next I get bit of sage and ivy, a little harsh and sharp but pleasantly so, cutting the heavy fruits. The 'mum and sunflower stand out strongly, and I get faint hints of grain and smoke and woods. Sweet! Very grapey/winey/berryish especially. More sunflower, more sage and ivy - sharper, greener and drier now, and the wood undertone is stronger too. I'm not really getting any pumpkin, clematis, or lily. The mum is holding nicely, adding a certain smoothness that rounds out this very complex blend. More woodsmoke, more wood, more nutty-grainy amaranth. It's a warmer, deeper, richer scent now, though still quite herbal with sage and 'mum holding very strongly. I get a bit of bite from narcissus that I dislike, but it's tempered by everything else. Settles down into softly smoky, slightly fruit-sweet (in a dark, way) woods, grains and herbs with a strong dry sunflower note and a bit of harsh finish upon close sniffing. Fades greatly from initial application, and has only decent throw. Not so great longevity overall, either.

Light yellow oil. Surprisingly sweet, almost foody! Lots of rum (not bay rum but FOODY rum), a bit of bourbon, and overall quite, quite boozy. Maybe part of that is the 'sleazy cologne'. Cause this definitely smells sort of cheap and tawdry and tacky. Tobacco and a sort of dustiness underneath the booze. Still very sweet, but less harshly boozy, and less overwhelmingly cologney. Overall a lot smoother and more pleasant. Much more tobacco, a really rich, toasted, almost chocolatey, verging on foody sort of note - it reminds me greatly CBIHP's 'Rich Tobacco' accord. A bit drier, in a slightly powdery floral way, maybe some orris? And I do finally get a bit of actually bay rum, an amount which balances the other notes nicely. More powdery, almost in a black-leather, De Sade-like way. Lots of orris. Most of the booze has gone but this is still mildly sweet. The tobacco is holding, but overshadowing by the nasty powder. Powdery, chemically, leathery sleazy cologne. Strong throw and longevity. Absolutely masculine and totally fitting (frankly it's both creepy and foul), but definitely not something I would wear.

Amber-coloured oil. Deep, dark, a touch spicy. A little smoky. Definitely getting the tobacco and opium foremost, with balsam and elemi (a little sour) just behind. The ginger and rosewood are not distinct. Sweeter, fresher, lighter. Much more elemi, balsam and ginger. The tobacco is less smoky and more astringent. I have no idea where the sweetness is coming from - it's almost sugary or syrupy! Still some hazy opium, but more distant now. The ginger note is juicy, fresh, and absolutely stunning. Becoming more sour and more bitter; the elemi is amping, and so is the balsam, and these two are not interacting well. It's sour-sharp-piney, like an evil sort of cleaning product, with now a powdery (rosewood appeared, I see) note, over a smoky, sickly-sweet opium base (definitely the source of bitterness also). I can still smell the lovely ginger and tobacco but they can't make up for the other unpleasantness. It really seems that I cannot wear elemi - it's a dealbreaker note, I fear.

Golden oil/. Iris and sandalwood really jump out, a rather traditional perfumey blend that feels very white and little dry. Definitely floral with potential for soap/powder. I also get some herbal sharpness in the distance along with a hint of darker things. Darker and sharper. Much more olibanum and now the myrrh, quite bitter, a little musty. Very warm feeling, appropriately arid, from the red sandalwood. The iris is still bright, very in-you-face feminine and classic in feel. Too heady for me, but it's not turning on my skin like iris often does. I get a certain grassiness now from the mysterious herbs that's quite pleasant. Deeper,headier, overall more powerful. Throw is insane and has really amped up. Still very white, almost too white - blindingly - in feel; uber-feminine, and quite classic in feel but with that dry warmth and resin base. No longer grassy - I don't detect any herbal/green notes anymore. The myrrh has softened, lost its bitter edge, and is just dark, dusty faint incense. Huh...the herbs sort of come back and the iris fades a bit so that to me this is mostly warm perfumey SANDALWOOD over a light incense/resin base. It becomes very subtle, very much a skin-like scent, almost musky even, and actually pretty unisex on final drydown. Also, that initial blast of throw has faded greatly and shockingly. Evolves nicely, but still not my sort of scent.

Deep golden oil. Warm - definitely that amber, and a sense of desert heat - as well as softly sweet and lightly spicy. The patchouli is a little dusty, appropriately, but light and earthy and not at all a hippy-ish/rooty/dirty type of patchouli. The hyssop adds an interesting minty sort of cooling herbal contrast to the other notes. Sweeter, and distinctly MUSKY (black musk, I'd bet my life on it). The amber here is just lovely - not too strong, not powdery or perfumey, just warm and golden and sunny. I'm sure it's the same note from L'Estate. The hyssop is softer, less minty and no longer mentholic - it kind of reminds me of hops now, a slightly sour-bitter note that keeps the warmth, musk, and spices and in check. I do get the spices a tad more on my skin, but not by much. They're subtle and well-behaved. I get maybe cardamom and cassia, and I'd swear there is some red sandalwood here. This sort of reminds me of unisex Morocco, actually! Sweeter and sweeter, I am definitely getting that benzoin/embalming base from Anubis and it's very nice. The spices remain light and really just give this a warm, exotic feel - it's just like in Morocco - they are there, but they are soft not remotely hot/burning or in your face. Refined, smoothed. The hyssop has amped up a little but I'm still liking it and it works with the notes here in a way that makes it almost seem like a different note from other scents I've tested that share it. I get more of a woody/dry base now which I'm sure is the red sandalwood and blends really well with the musk. Overall, like Morocco, this is a seamless blend. Like something with perfect, lightly oiled golden skin. - you want to stroke it and sink into it. Drier, darker in feel and more strongly resiny over time, making it less like Morocco than it was in the earlier stages, and also, this is sweeter than Morocco, almost sugary, without being a foody type of scent at all. I find Morocco creamier, softer, and closer to foody. I definitely consider this the masculine counterpart to Morocco, though both scents are relatively unisex. Sweet, warm, musky spices over amber and woodsy resin.The latter note only appears distinctly to me in the final drydown - balsam perhaps? There could be frankincense in here too, contributing to a sense of darkness/smokiness. A lot more manly in the end though ultimately still probably unisex. Good throw and fantastic longevity - in fact, it amps over time! Manly, drier Morocco, if I had to sum it up briefly. Nicely done, though not my sort of thing,

Deep golden/light amber oil. Deep. Woodsy, smoky, musky. The fir needle is definitely 'woodsy/evergreen' but not like any other evergreen note I've smelled in BPAL. I get a bit of chemically/cologney leather and the musk is light. The cedar is well behaved - interesting and pleasant and not too strong or smoky. A little bit of perfumey sweetness from the amber. More distinctly woodsy; I get a slightly refined lumberjack feel. This is a sexy man who spends a lot of time in the forest. Muskier, and sharper from the leather. Smokier. Overall stronger, though I find this almost a touch sour (in a nice way, pleaseantly astringent), and it's definitely less sweet/ambery. The elements here work together beautifully and while this scent has potency, it's not overwhelming and it's both simple and yet not at all simplistic - it has that high-quality, well-blended, luxe feel. Drier, smokier - that smoked cedar has amped and is taking the fore, though it's not overwhelming. The leather, which to me smells like De Sade-style, has amped as well and I'm not totally crazy about that. It's definitely a sharper, almost sour scent now - it's not that hazy, comforting manliness, now it's like a little bit of nastiness has come out - I'm seeing the dark side of Doc C. Smoky musk and woods with a dangerous of edge of leather. I think this would be stunning on a man, and this is absolutely a manly scent. It smells nice on me, but I couldn't 'wear' it. Low throw and it fades quite a bit, but then holds nicely after the initial fading. A pleasantly sexy surprise!

Nutty, sweet, fruity. The nutty-grainy notes lend a sort of richness that makes this quite foody. It smells like overripe fruits, stewed or baked, not fresh/juicy/crisp notes. I wish it were tarter. I do get a little apple blossom which lightens the scent in a lovely manner. I also get a lot of booziness, like a thick cherry liqueur. I get hazelnut note, which smells almost chocolatey. Still really really boozy, very sharply so, with a very strong top note of hazelnut liqueur. I totally see the 'nail polish remover' thing. I can pick out a bit of (cooked) apple and a tiny bit of jammy blackberry (agree that it's the same note from BJ&S), but really this strikes me as more cherry than any other fruit or berry. I can't really detect the mulberry or pomegranate. Still some apple blossom, faintly soapy now. Boozy hazelnut calming down a bit, but apple blossom has gone more soapy. I get a little mulberry and pomegranate now which add a nicely tart edge, but honestly the fruit is very muted in this, and utterly overshadowed. It's a very faint backdrop. This had really strong throw at first, but has faded a lot since in a relatively short time. The hazelnut/cherry thing is making me nauseated. That's what I get from a distant, but when I shove my nose to my wrist I do get the other fruits/notes and it's much nicer, but still not that great. This actually still has good throw, and while it continues to fade over time the longevity is decent. Not at all what I'd hoped for.

Dark resiny floral. It really does feel black, and quite heavy and nocturnal. Feminine, but only barely. There's also strong woody and spicy notes that could work on a man, I'd imagine. Wow, sweeter, much more benzoin and fruitier, too, from the currant. Also more floral and a touch soapy. A lot lighter in feel though it's still a very dark scent. Much more gardenia and lily and orchid. Heady. The ambergris adds a nice sort of oily muskiness and the mosses are earthier now. But the resins and spice and wood - much less apparent. Sweeter and headier, but less soapy - the florals are still intense but much more pleasant. This feels very mature, like something a slightly older woman would wear to a black tie evening event. It definitely sweetens (the currant/benzoin works really well, it's berry-currant not the cat-urine type) and deepens over time, and all the notes meld together quite well. It's a nice, with powerful throw and longevity, but not my style.