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About this blog

A record of scents I've tried, likes and dislikes. 

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Adventures in layering

Instead of spamming the layering thread, I thought I'd just make a page in my notes...  Envy + Squirting Cucumber: Sometimes you just need some cool greens and a cucumber... or at least I do. Good for hot muggy days when I don't care to be reminded of my sweaty flesh prison. The cucumber prevents any soapy tendencies that Envy's lavender can have on me.    Envy + the Apothecary: Comes out as surprisingly strong lavender and tea leaf, with a faint bed of moss and maybe a ghost of ginger, but the citrus and grass disappear almost entirely. So curious, I thought the mint and green herbs would have jumped out.   Tenochtitlan + the Apothecary: Sharp herbal citrus and ginger with sweet prickly pear flare quickly and then suddenly I can barely smell anything. Maybe a whiff of the potpourri that Tenochtitlan reverts to on its own, but mostly nothing. What?? Apothecary has been pretty versatile for layering on my skin, and normally lasts a decently long time even if the throw is variable. I may need to retest Tenochtitlan to figure out what's up as I haven't worn it since my initial test.    Sjofn + the Apothecary: A cool garden of greens surrounding an apple tree. Lots of tea leaf, ginger, and apple flare at first, then fade to subtle apple peel with a good grass note. Definitely a summer blend I'll wear again.    Sjofn + Ranger: that early stage of fall when leaves are greenish-gold and apples are ripening on the trees. Evergreen and hay notes from Ranger give the impression of apple trees in the midst of a forest instead of an orchard.    Ranger + Coyote: a northern coyote instead of a southwestern one. Excellent, fresh and piney and herbal with a warm amber and musk base.    Robin Goodfellow + Squirting Cucumber: Bright wet green plus golden-brown musky forest equals salad in the woods? I mean, it's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but not really special either.    Robin Goodfellow + Coyote: Sage musk. Starts off greenish and then softens to brown, but a darker and less fuzzy brown than Coyote on its own. Very snuggly, good for a grey day.    Ranger + the Apothecary: Sharp tea leaf and pine when wet, turns slightly ginger and then begins sweetening as it dries. The patchouli blast I usually get with Ranger alone is tamped down a bit. I get a whiff of green when I turn my head, but overall the medley of herbs and faint trees stays close to the skin on me.    Druid + Zombi: Ahh. Glorious garden soil with dry roses and incense and lots of shade. Heady but grounded, dirty and fresh, growing and decaying... I may live in this combination forever.    Zombi + Crossroads: I was hoping the extra soil would calm down the screechy lilies in Crossroads... alas, no dice.    Iago + the Black Rider: Very Leather when wet, as Iago is much more prominent to start with. Dries to a musky, semisweet leather edged with vetiver and tobacco. Adds another dimension to both scents--softer depth to Iago, and higher spikes to Black Rider. Definitely recommend for leather aficionados.    Czernobog + Cthulhu: Don't ask why, just enjoy the salty vetiver/mullein musk. It's freshly herbal, and then slightly threatening, and then finishes musky. I think this is more how I thought Cthulhu would smell on its own before I tested it.    Blood Kiss + Fighter: Have I gone mad? Yes. The tannin-sour leather from Fighter is still dominant as a base. Blood Kiss' cherry wine disappears and I get what must be a clove/vetiver Fighter with just a tiny tinge of vanilla when I get close... and something else? Is it blood and poppy? My nose has completely lost the plot here; I can't stop smelling myself to try and puzzle out this combo. 
Blood Kiss + Nosferatu: spooky scary cherry wine, at least at first. A spiced wine that’s delicious, definitely poisoned, and may contain actual blood. The vanilla/honey from Blood Kiss ends up dominating the end of the dry down to become gourmand, which I find very odd. Might need to weigh this more heavily with Nosferatu for optimum seductive spook.    Strangler Fig + All Night Long: Christmas figgy cinnamon. They complement each other well, but the result isn't really me.    To test...   Robin Goodfellow + Ranger, Rogue + Coyote, 93 Engine + Dee, Bow and Crown of Conquest + Crossroads, Deadly Nightshade Honey + Czernobog, Deadly Nightshade Honey + Sjofn.
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Scents tested and results

Alphabetical... After the Winter: smells like the flora of Hawaii. I am deceased. All Night Long: turns into red hot candies on me, no thanks. A Moonlit Winter Landscape: moody snow-soaked soil and fragments of iris. Very mysterious. An Open Grave Underneath the Heavy Leaves: sharp herbal fall grasses, so invigorating.  Antikythera Mechanism: delicious and comforting, perfect for snuggling with a book and glass of whisky. Apothecary: nice on it's own, layers very well with other green scents.  Athens: wasn't expecting to like this a lot, but I think it's growing on me. Myrrh and honey are * chef's kiss *   Baobhan Sith: like embalming fluid, but more grapefruit than lime. refreshing.  Black Rider: like this a lot and was very pleasantly surprised at how it mellows on my skin. Black Tower: melancholy, pensive, mysterious. In my daily wear rotation.  Blood Kiss: not for me. I recognize that this is purely because I dislike cherries and the rest of the scent is perfectly decent. Bookcase Passage: yaaasss woods and books! Not sweet like other wood blends on me. Bow and Crown of Conquest: an elegant scent to me, subtle enough florals that I'll actually wear it. Brown Jenkin: effing orris doesn't always play nice with my skin. Such a shame... nice in my hair tho!   Coyote: soft suede and fur. I miss having a dog in the house. Crossroads: I wanted to like it. I do not, in fact, like it. Jasmine/lilies are not for me. Cthulhu: kind of soapy and non-perfumey, but the cat didn't hate it like he does other aquatics. *shrug * Czernobog: a hell of a smell, requires a definite mood from me. I have worn it solo, though, and the dry down is very intriguing.   Dana O'Shee: goes plasticky and weird. Nope. Darkness: a big mood, as the youths say. Hoping the narcissus mellows some with age.  Deadly Nightshade Honey: turns to mostly honey and not much nightshade, but I'm not mad at it.  Dee: also very comforting, classy and very wearable. Competes with Druid as my favorite BPAL scent. Deep in Earth: ahhh, yes. Zombi without the big ass rose.  Djinn: goes cold? sort of cinnamon? idk man. Druid: I'm in love. Will eventually order a real bottle and hoard this until the end of time.   Embalming Fluid: super clean and cool, not soapy but reminiscent of very expensive soap.  Enkindled Spring: if Samhain is FALL, this is SPRING.  Envy: a good scent if I need something refreshing, very chill. Fighter: I waffle on whether or not I actually like this, depends on how I feel about the blood/steel note and what my skin chemistry does on that day.  Frog Moon: so green, I love. Late spring/summer feel.   Hecate: nah, can't handle the almonds. Iago: usually a touch cologne-y for me, works nicely when layered with Black Rider.  Lady Macbeth: very fruit? and a tiny bit of thyme.  Liquid Gold is in the Air: magical airy gold, settles down into something sweet and soft. Beautiful, ethereal. Kabuki: no, cherries and red musk are not good.   Monk: much better on the skin when the sandalwood warms up. Nosferatu: wine tasting in a vampire's dungeon. I'm gonna drench myself in this for Halloween. No. 93 Engine: so unique and well blended, the sort of oddity I didn't know I needed in my life. Partridges in Snow: lil brown maple chestnut birb. Adorable.  Queen: confusing. Too sweetish musty for me to wear.  Ranger: depending on monthly skin chemistry can give a patchouli blast when first in contact with my skin.  Robin Goodfellow: love, probably will order a bottle eventually. Really I just want to smell like a forest. Rogue: nice, plan to test layering with other leather or green scents. Roses, Pearls, and Diamonds: goes horribly cloying on me. Sad, because I kind of liked this in the imp despite my aversion to florals.   Samhain: FALL, decent throw and long wear. Shell Box: Gram's perfume at the beach, transformed.  Sherlock Holmes: I.. don't know. What the fuck is up with that greasepaint note?     Sjofn: so good, I loved picking apples in the orchard as a kid and this is definitely a basket of golden delicious apples. Sloth: like Czernobog, not an everyday scent and sort of harsh to my nose.  Strangler Fig: sweeter than I really like. Not so much a green scent as soft brown for me. Squirting Cucumber: less "refreshing" than Envy, but sometimes you just need some grass and cucumber in your life.  Tenochtitlan: prickly pear potpourri. Not for my skin, apparently. Theoi Nomioi: mountain pine forest.  They Shut Me Up in Prose: decadent vanilla/sandalwood. This is my vanilla now.  Wheat Stacks, Snow Effect: delicate peach and rooibos finishes with hay. Unlike any other scent I have.  Zombi: a good rose for someone who loves the smell of fresh earth. I wish the rose was less forward in the dry down, but hey.     To test... Delight.  
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Notes

Like. Actively looking for scents with these notes: Leather Moss Herbs Woods Vanilla Musks Tonka Soil/earth Myrrh Frankincense Grass Amber Ginger Apple Parchment/paper/books Wine Honey Tea Beeswax Pine Hay Saffron Cardamom Allspice Nutmeg Pumpkin Ambivalent. Could go either way, depends on the rest of the blend:  Fig Vetiver Tobacco Ambergris Cinnamon Lavender Carnation Coconut Steel Clove Narcissus Opium Orange blossom Oud?  Orris?? Dislike. Will probably not wear a scent dominated by these notes, but willing to be persuaded:  Rose Cherry Anise Blood Lemon Nope. Skin chemistry just doesn't play nice with these notes:   Almond (?) Lily (all the time) Patchouli (sometimes) Jasmine (all the time)
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