WarShe finished the drink, hefted the sword over one shoulder, and looked around at the puzzled factions, who now encircled her completely. 'Sorry to run out on you, chaps,' she said. 'Would love to stay and get to know you better.'
The men in the room suddenly realized they didn't want to know her better. She was beautiful, but she was beautiful in the way a forest fire was beautiful: something to be admired from a distance, but not up close.
And she held her sword, and she smiled like a knife.
Red ginger, black spices, patchouli, honeysuckle, and three blood-soaked red musks.
This smells very strongly of pepper and ginger in the bottle. On, it starts to soften once it dries. Give it a few minutes, and I still smell the pepper and ginger topnotes, but there's an underlying sweetness. It's a little bit almondy, maybe. It's very nice once it chills out a bit on my skin. I actually like it quite a lot. It's very complex and interesting.
Queen AliceAt this moment the door was flung open, and a shrill voice was heard singing:
'To the Looking-Glass world it was Alice that said
"I've a sceptre in hand, I've a crown on my head.
Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be
Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!"'
And hundreds of voices joined in the chorus:
'Then fill up the glasses as quick as you can,
And sprinkle the table with buttons and bran:
Put cats in the coffee, and mice in the tea —
And welcome Queen Alice with thirty-times-three!'
Then followed a confused noise of cheering, and Alice thought to herself `Thirty times three makes ninety. I wonder if any one's counting?' In a minute there was silence again, and the same shrill voice sang another verse:
'"O Looking-Glass creatures," quoth Alice, "draw near!
'Tis an honour to see me, a favour to hear:
'Tis a privilege high to have dinner and tea
Along with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!"'
Then came the chorus again:
'Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink,
Or anything else that is pleasant to drink:
Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine —
And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine!'
Carnation, posies, and white amber with a hint of inky treacle, sandy cider, and wooly wine.
In the bottle, I get a strong (pleasant) apple scent. On, it's apples and mint. Once it dries, this very nice, musky sort of undertone develops. Very feminine and nice. I like this one.
ShoggothIt was a terrible, indescribable thing vaster than any subway train – a shapeless congerie of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of greenish light all over the tunnel-filling front that bore down upon us, crushing the frantic penguins and slithering over the glistening floor that it and its kind had swept so evilly free of all litter.
An amorphous, radiant, incandescent scent. Ever changing, protoplasmic and primordial: white amber, green coconut meat, iris, palmarosa, Chinese peony, lime, water lily, snowdrop, muguet, lemongrass, osmanthus, wisteria, glassy musk, and hinoki.
In the bottle, it has a licorice-y smell, but on me, it smells musky and complex, with a pleasant citrus note. Nice.
Miskatonic UniversityA venerable New England university, whose vast library holds many rare, diabolical and obscure arcane works, including one of the few surviving legitimate copies of the Necronomicon. Home to innumerable scholars of the esoteric and the occult, and the notorious Dr. Herbert West.
The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls.
I was really looking forward to this one, and it didn't disappoint. In the bottle, it's complete and total Irish coffee. My hubby also got a caramel popcorn sort of scent. On my skin wet, I can also begin to smell some nice tobacco notes. Once it dries, the whiskey softens and I get this nice, tobacco-whiskey-coffee combination that sort of reminds you of a nice cigar shop. It's complex and interesting. I think the hubby and I will both be able to wear this one. I love it.
WhipAgony and ecstasy: black leather and damp red rose.
Exactly as advertised right out of the bottle. Leather and roses. I like it. On my skin, however, you can mostly just smell the roses, and I'm not sure I really want to smell like roses. Unsure about this one. Will try again and see how it does over the course of the day.
BordelloA decadent, deep perfume, lusty and luxuriant. The scent evokes images of velvet-lined Old West cathouses, tightly laced corsets, rustling petticoats and coquettish snarls of pleasure. Bawdy plum with amaretto, burgundy wine and black currant.
Very fruity in the bottle and wet on skin. First thoughts: wow, this is a fun scent. As it dries, I start to get a bubblegum smell. Once it dries, however, there's more of an underlying musk, but it's still really fruity. This is a fun scent. I like it.
Black CatA very tricky kitty, indeed. Used most often as a key to bringing back the joy one needs to have in life in order for living to feel worthwhile. Brings back a sense of delight in simple pleasures, and creates a surge of childlike curiosity and a youthful sense of fun. This blend can also be used to reverse troublesome lesser crossings, create a playful air of catlike sexuality, and, because cats will be cats, it can also be used to throw minor, irritating or bothersome hexes, causing small amounts of chaos and disruption to your foes.
To me, this smells exactly like a local natural foods market called Harvest Moon. It has a sort of minty/menthol scent, combined with patchouli and maybe a little licorice and/or eucalytus.
Snake OilBy far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.
Oh, wow. I think we have a new favorite here. This scent is pure sex. It's very complicated, difficult to say exactly what it smells like, but it is hot. Smells even better on than it does in the bottle. The hubby definitely approves. Excellent.
BewitchedDeep, luscious green and berry scents that evoke images of woodland witchcraft and the raw power of nature: blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk.
In the bottle, this smells like musk and licorice. On me, at first the licorice is a little strong. As it dries, the musk comes back, and it smells just like absinthe. Once it's been on for a few minutes, it's very nice. I like this one.
MasabakesMasabakes is a Cantabrian demoness that governs lustfulness and lechery. In order to tempt virgins to corruption she employs the aid of her lackey, the imp Tentirujo. Under the cover of magickal invisibility, the imp caresses maidens with mandrake root, instilling uncontrollable passion and wantonness in the unsuspecting girls. Thick black currant with the darkest, deepest myrrh, a drop of bitter mimosa and the slightest touch of mandrake dust.
Pepper, smoke and menthol. This smells way too much like Hall's cough drops or Vick's Vapo Rub to me. This one is definitely not for me.
DorianThe only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself. Inspired by and created for my beloved Tedwin: my eternal, beautiful, wicked Dorian Gray. Refined, elegant, and lovely, with a noble bearing and seemingly gentle air. This blend is an artful deception: a sweet gilded blossom lying over a twisted and corrupted core. A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.
In the bottle, I get pepper, musk and something sweet (the sugared vanilla). This one is soft and feminine. On me, it's musk, pepper and spice, with that soft, underlying sweetness. I really like this one.
That's all I've tried for now. More reviews to come.
Last few scent reviews from my 7/9 order from the lab.
The High Priest Not To Be Described...and there... sat a lumpish figure robed in yellow silk with red and having a yellow silken mask over its face. To this being the slant-eyed man made certain signs with his hands, and the lurker in the dark replied by raising a disgustingly carven flute of ivory in silk covered paws and blowing certain loathesome sounds from beneath its flowing silken mask.
Monastic incense, blood musk, black leather, cypress, pimento, white pepper, and Roman chamomile.
In the bottle, this has a complex, musky aroma. You can definitely smell the white pepper, and a sharp herbal scent from the chamomile. On wet, it's definitely very sharp and loud. Once it's dried for a few minutes, it's MUCH softer. You definitely get more of the musk and incense, and the pepper's nowhere near as strong. The chamomile also comes through, which is interesting and light with all the heavier scents. I really like this one a lot.
NephilimDark children conceived from the union of Fallen Angels and the Daughters of Men. According to lore, the angel Shemhazai led a group of his angels to earth to instruct mankind in the ways of piety and righteousness. After a time, the angels became prey to earthly desires and began to lust after the daughters of man, and thus they fell. They instructed their mortal mates in the arts of conjuration, summoning, necromancy and other magickal arts. The fruits of their union are the Nephilim: possessed of superhuman strength, cunning, and infinite capacity, and hunger for, sin. Venerated as heroes by some, vilified by most, the Nephilim eventually annihilated one another in a cataclysmic civil war instigated by the angel Gabriel as punishment for their transgressions. Holy frankincense and hyssop in union with earthy fig, defiled by black patchouli and vetiver, with a chaotic infusion of lavender, cardamom, tamarind, rosemary, oakmoss and cypress.
Out of the bottle, I get a strong aroma of bitter chocolate, fig and a bit of cardamom. I definitely get the "earthiness" on this one. On my skin, the chocolate aroma softens (but isn't gone), and the fig is a bit stronger. I also get the cardamom and tamarind, and maybe a tiny hint of rosemary. This is one is very complex. It's interesting and I like it.
LanguorAn opiate torpor, soporific, trancelike, and sublimely languid. A poet's morphine dream, a listless journey into a gentle dream and the precipice of intoxicated madness. Paperwhite and black narcissus, three lilies, black poppy and tuberose and a hint of hypnotic opium den haze.
In the bottle, this one smells very sweet and floral. I definitely get the narcissus and lilies. On, it gets very heavy. Way too floral and perfume-y for my taste. Oh well, it was a frimp.
Tomorrow (or sometime or the next few days): reviews from an eBay order I got today. Vampire Tears, Bitch, Nocturne and Salome.
