No. 156 East Twenty-Second Street

[VioletChaos]

…is a house of assignation kept by Mrs. Wilson. It contains nothing of account.

Ambivalently bawdy: red sandalwood, benzoin, and cacao.

In The Bottle: Dark, sharp wood note. Less what I expect from sandalwood, more like an agar, maybe? Something more acrid. I also get a ring of the cacao.
Wet On Skin: The sandalwood starts to bloom a bit, I think with the help of the benzoin, so that it's sweetening up some, which is more what I would think of when it comes to sandalwood.

 

Dry Down: Wow. Okay, that has shifted pretty dramatically, and I LIKE IT. It is, in fact, a touch bawdy, with the benzoin and cacao becoming somewhat sexy for the wear but sandalwood making the scent a bit more...reputable, shall we say In any case, it's a lovely scent going into fall, and I'm anticipating it's going to get even better with age.

[artisjok]

This pretty lil one goes on all sandalwood, but quickly quickly that fades away. A cacao-dusted benzoin is left in the wake of the initial sandalwood blast. I do love benzoin, that's why I purchased this scent, but I was hoping it would be a continuous blend of the three notes through the entire wear time.

Also, very low throw for me. I am going to age this bottle some, suspecting that the notes will grow in strength. Hopefully, sandalwood will feel more at home in time and stick around longer!

Similar feel to the Initiatrix benzoin, one of my favorite scents!

 

update: already the sandalwood is lasting longer! Yay! Now that the weather turned cold, the cacao is seperating. Had to roll and roll and roll the bottle to get it merged back with the rest of oils.

Edited November 15, 2018 by artisjok

[zankoku_zen]

Dark red sandalwood, sort of earthy as if has patchouli in it with a hint of cacao. Medium throw and wear length.

[Bluestblood]

As it goes on, I get benzoin and - weirdly enough - vetiver with a hint of rich cacao. Cacao usually goes weird on my skin (it kinda smells like poop), but this stays true and blossoms into a dark chocolate in smoldering benzoin.

 

As it dries, the sandalwood emerges, but I still swear there is vetiver in this broad! There is a distinct, yet subtle, acrid wood note that is characteristic of vetiver. The main note remains that gorgeous, smoldering benzoin and, frankly, that rocks since it is one of my favorite single notes.

 

Something about this scent reminds me of Canis Major. It's similar only in the sense that it draws you in to reach a greater depth, as if it's saying "there's more to me, come closer."

 

The sillage is not impressive, but there is a time and place for everything. This lady's time and place is in the bedroom, when skin is close and clothes are off.