sarada

Blackened, rotted oak wood blanketed in moss and choked by a cloak of grasping ivy. My reputation precedes me, as a lot of people guessed this one would be in my order! I'm not sure if this is different from the version I smelled at Will Call but it definitely fits the bill for a scorched tree scent. It is different enough from the other woody blends that I've tried so far this year to set it apart in its own perfect little blackened, damp alcove. First, the label: love blue labels! A beautiful dark midnight blue scene complete with bats. Oh how I love twisted trees. It is a different sort of smoky, blackened wood from that which we smell in some other burnt wood blends -- it is not the smoke of Brimstone or Djinn, for example. It is not the smoky gunpowder burn of Agnes Nutter or Bonfire Night. It is more like a trunk where the fire was long ago extinguished, and it is now damp, rotted and caked with moss. It also reminds me of a darker cousin of October, with the crackle of dusty dried leaves and the refreshing blast of autumn air. The ivy is surprisingly strong in this as it dries. A crisp, green almost watery flourish of ivy growing out of the charred trunk. Ivy fans would do well to try this out, and wait for the initial smoky wood to dissipate to get the full effect of ivy. ETA: Fans of the Black Tower take note, this is similar in tone when it dries down, without the wine note. I'm still waiting for the longterm drydown on this, I'm just testing it quickly out of excitement. This year's crop of woody autumn scents is everything I could wish for.

The incense-tinged scent of forbidden tomes and the musk-laden remnants of infernal servants. An incensy library scent?! Are you kidding me?! They didn't even have to ask me to order this, they should have just billed me for it automatically! Don't be afraid though if incense is not your thing, this is a subtle incense, that has long since settled into the dusty volumes. It has soaked into the parchment, beneath layers of dust. A gentle, warm scent that really doesn't display its full lurid set of papery plumage until you put it on. These sort of scents really warm on my skin and become nuzzle-worthy. Put it on your favorite bookworm and then you'll want to distract him/her from their reading as it heats up on their skin. I think I catch a glimpse of the incense I loved in Riding the Goat -- a soft, slightly sweet, slightly tobacco-like note, woody and glossy and rich, but muted and distant in this blend. Faint wisps of smoke, and a breath warming on the back of your neck -- but when you turn to face the sweet-smelling spectre, he has vanished and only a faint outline remains traced in the air. Wear this one when you read at night, or study, or in the library, or a haunted mansion, basement, or haunted forest.

Perhaps he would never have dared to raise his eyes, but that, though the piping was now hushed, the call and the summons seemed still dominant and imperious. He might not refuse, were Death himself waiting to strike him instantly, once he had looked with mortal eye on things rightly kept hidden. Trembling he obeyed, and raised his humble head; and then, in that utter clearness of the imminent dawn, while Nature, flushed with fullness of incredible colour, seemed to hold her breath for the event, he looked in the very eyes of the Friend and Helper; saw the backward sweep of the curved horns, gleaming in the growing daylight; saw the stern, hooked nose between the kindly eyes that were looking down on them humourously, while the bearded mouth broke into a half-smile at the corners; saw the rippling muscles on the arm that lay across the broad chest, the long supple hand still holding the pan-pipes only just fallen away from the parted lips; saw the splendid curves of the shaggy limbs disposed in majestic ease on the sward; saw, last of all, nestling between his very hooves, sleeping soundly in entire peace and contentment, the little, round, podgy, childish form of the baby otter. All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered. Sublime peace, ecstatic joy, and thunderstruck awe: terebinth pine, patchouli, brown musk, linden blossom, honey, mallow, blood orange, heliotrope, and golden amber. Yes yes, I admit I am excited that this is also the name of the first Pink Floyd album. But it is an almost perfect collection of favorite notes for me as well, running the spectrum of the palest hints of dawn to the full golden brilliance. Shimmering dark blue-green pine hovers lowest on the horizon, cool and bracing, refreshing and sparkling with dew. The rich deep earthy patchouli and musk lay low, but keep the other notes balanced. Honey pours like warm golden light over the darker tones, brightened by the songs of bright, fruity heliotrope and crisp linden. The earthen, resinous, honeyed and bright floral notes evoke an almost unbearably beautiful mix of colors in my mind. Sniffing it is almost like watching a landscape painting being created, first with the darker tones at the bottom, then watching the brighter orange and golden colors come drifting in. It's a bit like a basket of many different kinds of incense, as well -- patchouli, pine and amber, but also a mix of mellow florals. I enjoy watching -- I mean smelling -- the different phases of this as it wears, but I imagine I'd also like it all jumbled together at once in a locket. It's not as heavy as I tend to like my scents, but I think this will be a favorite. Now I think I'll listen to the album that is this chapter's namesake, to complete the effect!

Ambergris accord, benzoin, teakwood, frankincense, myrrh, Mysore sandalwood, and incense. You want to see me weep? Open a bottle of this near me. Seriously, this is the perfume I would have designed for myself if I had unlimited resources at my disposal. I will have to have someone else upload a picture of the beautiful artwork by Giovanni Baglione but I know a lot of people will be curious about these Salon scents so I'm going to try to describe the ones I have. In the bottle, this is fistfuls of glittering beads of resin, pouring through aged hands onto a polished wood table. Deep, dark polished teakwood. A thin layer of incense dust coats the thick glossy varnish. Dark, sweet, crystalline wood. Sacred, holy resins. Not smoky, just clear and glistening. More stately even than Cathedral or Penitence, layer upon layer deepened and darkened with age. A darker Schwarzer Mond, even. I can smell every perfect note in this, they chime together like a chord on an ancient church organ, an absolute hymn of scent. So yeah, I kind of like this one!

'Abuiro' has been burned into the leather straps. My, they took such care in crafting these horrible instruments. Coppery dried blood, metal, vetiver, and bonfire smoke. I was just thinking...that I need more vetiver blends. For all the time I spend championing the great cause of vetiver, I really need more bottles that represent my love of that most dark and earth, gritty, sweetly scorched scent. If you love vetiver, and I know there are others like me out there...or you love smoke, you need a good poking of the heretic's fork! It's not entirely like the other burny smoky woody ones out there though it bears some resemblance to them. Malediction in the GC, or perhaps Agnes Nutter from the Good Omens collection, can give you an idea of the sort of burnt wood smell that lies beneath this, but there is also a cold glittering slightly rusted note that I take to be the metal and dried blood. It comes out more as it's drying, and really lifts the scent out of the realm of the purely burnt and smoking. If you wear it around the right people they might just say "Pardon, but is that the smell of blood drying on a rusted metal fork of some sort amidst the charred remains of a heretic's bonfire?" To which you may answer, well, whatever seems appropriate for the situation. I'm getting some of the more glistening vetiver notes as this dries, as I always think of it as a smooth and polished woody surface blackened by age and soot. Mmmm.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!" Bandersnatch musk, redolent of spicy carnations, wild plums and chrysanthemum. This is SO GOOD! Plum lovers rejoice! This is the richest, sweetest, darkest plum -- brought to life with spicy carnation. The spiciness makes me think for a moment of a sort of craft store candle smell but that dark juicy plum twists it and instead of standing in a store of little old ladies buying candles and yarn, they peer up at you with twinkling eyes and you realize they are witches in disguise. I love plum and this is the sort of vivacious, bloody, deep dark jeweled plum that I love in Blood Countess...maybe even a little like Queen of Spades... I'm not sure if musk is an ingredient but I don't really smell anything musky...maybe a little bit dusty, but there is something throbbing beneath this that helps to keep all of the elements warm and alive. This is going to be a 5 ml so fast it won't know what hit it. I should have just ordered one at first based on the name!

Dark musk, star anise, agarwood, styrax, vetiver, gaiacwood, King mandarin, violet leaf, and black vanilla. I took a chance with this one, since I don't like vanilla, but I thought the many woods might be worth it. So far, I think it's worth it for me. To those who don't care for woods: I don't think they are so strong and pronounced as to dominate. The soft sweetness overlays them like a caress -- beneath that smooth sweet surface, a core of the glossy woody notes glisten and sparkle. None of the other notes push forward into the foreground: I don't smell anise, I don't get a strong sense of mandarin or violet, there is just a general soft, purring sweetness with a dark core. In the bottle I do smell the mandarin as a top note -- bright and glossy, sunlight reflecting on dark fur. It may be a feline cousin of Hellhound, without whatever notes in that one smelled like chemicals and burning hair to me. Strong, muscular purring softness. Not an overly masculine blend, I think it would work fine on either gender (though personally I favor masculine blends myself).

A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa. Doesn't this sound incredible? It is! The color is a pale and slightly rosy amber, and the scent of this oil immediately perks me up. It's like walking into a store that sells all kinds of incenses and oils...just lovely! I really wish I had a better idea of how to describe the individual notes in this, because I love it -- but I have no idea to describe it! But in the interest of contributing a review, I'll do my best. This is like a light, spicy incense -- the spices are subdued, and although I have a full spice cabinet at home and a good idea of what smells like what, I have no idea what is in this! Slightly woody, extremely complex, I don't get a strong sense of cinnamon but I think I can smell it in there somewhere...not a foody spice scent, and not overwhelmingly strong like Scherezade, which was something I was wondering, about this scent. Subtle, but compelling. I will definitely be ordering a full bottle of this, though I don't think I will ever figure out exactly what's into it! I can't think of any other BPAL blend that this is similar to. It is not extremely floral or extremely herby but you can catch a glimpse of some sort of exotic bouquet or spice kitchen. I imagine it is like walking into an ancient Eastern or Middle-Eastern market, and the swirl of scents (just the good scents...not the other smells that might have been circulating in ancient times!) in the sun, with a swirl of incense smoke.

Cold, cold forever more. A winter storm roaring through empty stone halls, bearing echoes of despair, desolation, and death on its winds. The scent of frozen, dormant vineyards, bitter sleet, and piercing ozone, hurled through labdanum, benzoin, and olibanum. When I sniffed this at will call the main impression I got was a snowy scent with a hint of cold grape or wine and perhaps a touch of ivy or greenery. Testing it now that I have a bottle, it is even more complex and varied than I expected. There is a sharp, cold feeling to this -- that wonderful BPAL snow note that we've seen over the years (in this, I'd say it's closest to the snow in Snow Moon or Death of a Gravedigger) but it's a little more piercing and "perfumey" because of a blast of ozone wafting over a snow-encrusted stone tower. There is an interesting effect produced by ozone and resins like labdanum and olibanum that creates a staticky aura of "perfume" over the other notes. The vineyard aroma comes out as it dries and the crackle and fizz of that sleet and snow starts to fade a little. It's a pale, frozen grape wine, just barely there, to give a slight blush to the blend. I'm imagining frosted, frozen bundles of grapes lost in the snow in a stone courtyard. Very evocative. The image and story surrounding it really make it for me -- if this had been given a more generic name I might find it too perfumey but looking at the picture of the stone tower on the label and thinking about a ghost and a snow storm, make me very eager to wear this out on a bleak winter day. Hopefully it will be a few more weeks before we have one of those in these parts though!

Pound well together sandal-wood, Kunku, costus, Krishnaguru, Suvasika-puspha, white vala and the bark of the Deodaru pine; and, after reducing them to fine powder, mix it with honey and thoroughly dry. It is now known as Chintamani-Dhupa, the "thought-mastering incense". If a little of this be used according to the ceremonies prescribed, he who employs it will make all the world submissive to him. A fumigation for fascination! A strangely sensual blend, exotic, compelling, and commanding, adapted from an incense recipe found in the venerable sex manual, the Ananga Ranga. The softest, sweet, pale dusty sandalwood, sprinkled with flower petals and warmed with honey. Powdered incense at first, but it grows in strength in minutes as soon as it hits my skin. For a little while it reminds me of Lotus Moon without the lotus -- in other words, that faintly sweet dry woody pine and amber with a touch of a sandalwoody rose. But then the powdered honey note kicks in and sends this into the stratosphere. It becomes a gorgeous, pale woody honey incense, shot through with a hint of incensy floral. Very pure, quiet and calming -- I would think soft incense was burning in the room if I walked past someone wearing this. I don't know what the individual notes are, from reading the description, but I imagine pale and fragrant woods, with sandalwood taking the center stage, and maybe a touch of resin (I thought I smelled something like frankincense for a moment). With just a few minutes' wear I can already see this heading for my favorites list! eta: Drydown hours later, sandalwood and resins seem to be lingering beautifully...I would swear one of my favorite resins is in there, maybe frankincense but a little lighter. I keep getting wafts of it and it just keeps getting better!

The course of true love never did run smooth. Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin. Sniffing this, I could not remember any of the notes except tonka, which is strong and sweet in this blend with its peculiar smoky vanilla tones. It has a slightly roasted quality to it -- but tonka is foremost. That, and a powdery note that I had thought might be apple blossom but now I see: it is lilac musk. Yes, that's definitely the sweet, powdery scent of lilac, but it is strengthened a bit by musk, that amplifies and disperses it a little higher and stronger. It does remind me of the lilac note in His Station and Four Aces, though overall this blend is more dominated by the roasted smoky vanilla-like scent of tonka. Some dark green notes emerge later, which must be the myrtle and blackberry leaf -- and I'm guessing benzoin adds a little to the smoky feel while adding some of the staying power and sweetness of a lovely resin. There is an underlying fruity sweetness as well that never quite makes it foody, but does create an appetizing blend of sweet, tart and smoky scents. If I had wound up with a full bottle of this instead of just an imp I'd have been perfectly happy to keep it. Fans of the Dogs Playing Poker series might enjoy this because it combines some of the elements from those, in a less tobacco-filled setting. I'm really digging the idea of smoke and lilac playing together, but the tart fruits and sweet tonka really ground this in almost edible tones.

Two Monsters, Heironymous Bosch.Oakmoss, vetiver, black musk, champaca flower, leather, patchouli, ginger, Japanese pittosporum, ambergris and white pepper. This fragrance is a who's who of everything that I like, with the exception of leather, so I had to get it, whatever the cost! This is a mellow, soft, leathery wooden scent with a gentle dusting of moss and a scattering of incense ash. Initially I think of what leather would smell like if it had been soaking up nag champa incense for decades, but there is also a breath of something very earthy and dark green, wafting in from outside. This doesn't smell like anything else I've tried BPAL-wise...I thought it would wind up being a bit like the King of Clubs, but it's not at all. That was very earthy-sweet and this is sort of leathery-green-incense, morphing from dark green to amber as it wears. Ginger and white pepper prop it up slightly and keep the darker notes from closing in on themselves. The dark green moss, earthy brown notes, vivid champaca and soft leather all hang suspended around those high, lighter notes of pale amber and dusty white. The overall effect when I step back from it, is the scent that comes off of one of my giant boxes of mixed packs of incense. There's the champa, strong and soft as always, and gritty hints of the other earthy fragrances but it's such a well-blended melange of soft, wild, appealing scents. I'd say it's a cousin of Geek, but other than that it's quite unique and I'm so glad that I took a chance on a whole bottle! edited to add image - clover

Patchouli, golden amber, deep woods, fig, and vetiver. "Lucifer" by Franz von Stuck -- his grey-brown form and piercing gaze are paralyzing. This glossy, golden-brown scent has me stuck in place like a bug in amber, I'm completely hypnotized. At first I think it is somewhat like the other glossy wood-resin scent I just tried (Heavenly Love and Earthly Love) but there is an additional element of sweetness in this, and it lacks the churchy resin and replaces it with the wild incenses of the woods. Something propels this blend forward and makes it completely wreath me in scent when I put it on my skin. I would have sworn there was a honey or skin musk in this, the way it comes to life on me. But the scent is all sweet amber and dark, incensy woods. The fig adds the extra bite of sweetness. It dries down to a lovely amber-patchouli-wood, the golden afterglow of dawn lighting up the wood where dark passions reigned the night before. What can I say but....Hail Lucifer!

Asian pear, white musk, bamboo pulp, violet, ambergris, sugar cane, night-blooming jasmine, plum, freesia, and moss. I was so attracted to the art on this bottle, with the gorgeous, ghostly white peacocks glowing among dark greenery. And it's called Peacocks! I pretty much had to have it. The scent grabbed me even though I didn't know what was in it when I first sniffed it -- it's sweet, but the impression I get is vivid green and blue. I absolutely can't stop sniffing this. The sweet fruitiness of the pear is wrapped in the distinctive fresh pale green crunch of bamboo. If you liked Holiday Moon or Dragon Moon or any of the other blends that have bamboo in them, this has that same note -- but the bright glowing green sweetness reminds me of something otherworldly like Shoggoth as well. The strongest similarity I would say though is to Black Moon. If Black Moon had a stronger pear note, and was slightly sweeter and layered with bamboo, I think it would come close to Peacocks. Even though night-blooming jasmine and freesia have been headache culprits around here, I'm just completely digging this with all of its eerie ghostlike glowing. I think that the white musk and ambergris make all of those lighter elements behave themselves. So glad I got this one, since looking at the notes I might have passed on it if I hadn't been so captivated by the artwork.

The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head. It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the revolutionary war; and who is ever and anon seen by the country folk hurrying along in the gloom of night, as if on the wings of the wind. His haunts are not confined to the valley, but extend at times to the adjacent roads, and especially to the vicinity of a church at no great distance. Indeed, certain of the most authentic historians of those parts, who have been careful in collecting and collating the floating facts concerning this spectre, allege that the body of the trooper, having been buried in the church-yard, the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head; and that the rushing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow, like a midnight blast, is owing to his being belated, and in a hurry to get back to the church-yard before daybreak. Such is the general purport of this legendary superstition, which has furnished materials for many a wild story in that region of shadows; and the spectre is known, at all the country firesides, by the name of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. Grave moss and bone-white sandalwood, with vetiver, gunpowder, artillery shrapnel, and blood. Few things are more lovely to me, in autumn or any time, than vetiver and sandalwood. The slightly burnt, sweetly earthy quality of vetiver and the dry, fragrant sandalwood are a perfect match. They are also the most prominent notes in this blend, which initially reminds me of the smoky wood qualities of last year's Death of Autumn. A few tufts of powdery, dry moss make this a blend you might want to nuzzle, on the right person. Smoky burnt earthen vetiver with layers of dry moss and wood, and perhaps just the slightest metallic hint lilting over these earthy-brown notes of blasted earth and ominous smoke. I worried that there would be much more prominent, cologne-like metallic notes, but nope, it's all lovely earthy burntness! Add another to the magnificent vetiver ensemble. Distinctly autumnal in the family of Death of Autumn and Samhainophobia.

This is the scent of a summer storm: thick black clouds pass over this full moon, the Goddess roars, and Her Beloved hurls his forked bolts of lightning in the distant sky. Ozone deepened by liquid amber, and a spray of hot nighttime rain mingled with the scent of lightning-struck wood, water-soaked summer blooms, and sun-scorched grass. Aquatics usually don't work for me -- I tried to like Storm Moon a couple of years ago but it was too fleeting, too perfumey. I went into Thunder Moon hoping that it would capture that wonderful after-rain scent in the summer, when mist rises from the hot earth, and the smell of damp vegetation hangs in the air. This is not murky, but it is certainly wet and refreshing -- yes, there's that summer ozone scent, but it is not as perfumey/cologney as most aquatics are. The scent of dry, toasty straw and parched grass lingers, somewhat like that in Scarecrow, and a faint wisp of smoke -- over it all a succulent wet damp floral (but not an aquatic floral, it's not lotus...just something faintly green and fragrant). But it's undeniably a rainy scent, those other notes never drown it out. Time will tell if this is something I can wear in the longterm but I'm enjoying the early stages and there is a promise of a thunderstorm here today and every day this week, so I'll try this a lot over the next few days. Not generally being an aquatic/ozone fan though, I still really like this so far, probably because of the "sun-scorched grass" and the hint of warm amber that keeps it from dissipating on my skin instantly. It's a little like Szepasszony in the summer, to be honest. Instead of being white-blue in a cloud of hailstones, riding atop a sheet of ice, she comes in on a beam of summer light, drenching the parched land. Drydown (several hours later): Wow, check out that amber coming out! Incredibly, after it dries down there is a distinct resiny odor, like amber resin that was burned and is now extinguished. A really lovely surprise. Keep in mind that my skin lives to emit resinous odors. This is the perfect finish for my tastes.

The Bull of Minos, guardian of the Labyrinth in Knossos. A deep, swarthy black musk dusted by a dark, resinous blend of sacred bisabol myrrh, atramentous benzoin, tsori, balsam, and galbanum. It's a resin bonanza for me this month! I have no idea what most of these resins are, but bring it on! The bottle is gorgeous, with a straight-on portrait of Mr. Minotaur flaring his nostrils at me. He means business. In the bottle, reminds me very much of Schwarzer Mond, but a little darker and spicier. It has that wonderful quality that incensy-resins sometimes have, where it takes me back to a childhood in the 70s when mom was burning frankincense and doing yoga. Deep, thick, dark, spicy resinous smoky incense. The amber-colored globules of hardened resins are collected in little wooden boxes with lattice patterns cut into them. A little light filters in through stained-glass windows. Not a religious incense like Cathedral though, this is for darker rituals. A circle of people gathered in a darkened room tracing a circle on the floor, ringing bells and wielding wands. It is very much a resiny incense blend that one might expect to find in a high quality occult shoppe, and therefore it is one of the best things EVER for my tastes! It is considerably different from Schwarzer Mond as it dries -- much darker and deeper, stronger myrrh and more burnt-smelling resins than crystalline ones. You absolutely have to have this if you like resins. You must.

Fixed Earth: the essence of possession. Rose, daisy, apple blossom, violet, poppy, columbine, thyme, and mint. I've been yearning for some spring floral scents that agree with my peculiar tastes and I couldn't have wished for anything more lovely than what we got this month. Although apple blossom can be very powdery, violet can have kind of a "make-up" smell to me, and poppy has been known to smell kind of chemical and unpleasant in other combinations, this blend of flowers and herbs is an absolute dream for that tender, early spring scent I was hoping for. It puts me in the mind of gardening on a misty morning, lovingly urging the tender flower buds and herbs to poke their green leaves through the soil. Some of my favorite lab blends happen to have thyme in them (Honey Moon, anyone?) and I really love mint when it doesn't dominate a blend. This incorporates those gentle herbal notes seamlessly. Like its cousin Poisson d'Avril, which I also just sniffed, this is in the vein of a Flower Moon/Phantom Queen, slightly more gentle than Poisson, a slumbering bull in a bed of flowers. A misty morning walk in the garden, pale blooms shrouded in sleepy fog, with the aromatic herbs urging you on down the path. I can't wait to wear this one outside, since right now I'm just sniffing it at my desk, but it is a transporting blend. Even if you're not generally a fan of florals (and I'm not), this is fantastic for early spring.

The voting tablet. Herbs and flowers that represent democracy, justice, leadership, and power: olive blossom, frankincense, tobacco flower, benzoin, Little John, bergamot, galangal, angelica, fig, sage, and ginger. I'm going to suspend my usual calm descriptive manner to just say very quickly OMG SO GOOD!!!!!! In wearing this I would swear there was beeswax or honey in it, as there is a soft glowing golden honeyed sweetness just pouring off of it, suspended in a resinous, woody haze. The image that comes to mind is a little green sandalwood box with a lump of beeswax and a big, crumbly chunk of frankincense inside. I can imagine holding it close and prying it open for a blissful sniff. The herbal notes give this a bright, vibrant green top layer, riding over that voluptuous, natural sweetness. Sage happens to be one of my favorite notes, but the combination of soft herbal greens and the earthy sweetness of fig remind me of elements in last year's wonderful Sagittarius blend, minus the dandelion. Fans of Luperci might enjoy the combination of golden sweet, crumbly resin and pungent herbal notes in particular. It really stands alone in my mind as a beautiful golden scent that make me want to go out and vote all over again! ETA: After having this in a locket for a long time today I can also compare it to Faiza -- that must be why 'green sandalwood' came to mind. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes Faiza.

The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. Antiqued sandalwood, patchouli, and soft mosses. Moles are special for me...in addition to having loved WitW when I was a child, I also love a serious of books called Duncton Wood which were for moles what Watership Down was for rabbits. Anyway, I like moles. Though earthy and mossy, this scent makes me think of a scholarly mole with a pair of glasses perched on its snout, as it reads through parchments in a dusty library. The soft mosses are the dominant note, with sandalwood giving it a dusty feeling. Patchouli is not prominent, but anchors the scent in a dry, crumbly earth. I immediately thought of Two-Headed Goat, as it may share some similar mossiness, but there is no musk here in Mole. I also thought of Carfax Abbey, my go-to scent for dusty mosses in the woods. I don't know how long it will stay on my skin, since moss can be a fleeting note, but I can imagine in a locket it would warm nicely. It's a nuzzling, familiar scent, dusty and scholarly with the lore of the ancient woods. And as I wear it, the mosses are brushed away a bit and the glowing, warm woods become more prominent.

Not at all fishy; rather, quite Springy! Innocence spiked with a little bit of foolishness: Lenten rose, crested iris, Virginia bluebell, primrose, moss phlox, blue crocus, daffodil, and dewy tulip with a touch of sugar blossom and honey. First of all: Oh my word, the bottle label!! I wish I could take a picture of it right now but I don't have the capability. One of my favorite kind of sea creatures is featured on it! I don't like many florals, but in early spring and on summer nights I like a certain kind of floral that I think is best represented by Phantom Queen, Flower Moon and Black Moon. This is very much in that vein! I am not skin testing it yet because I have heavy resins all over me, but I can tell from sniffing it that it is exactly what I was hoping for. A slightly green floral, with a pungent sweet underlayer of swirling, honeyed heady blooms. Vaguely reminiscent of the jasminey note in Black Moon, but much much softer. Just the right touch of sparkling sweetness over a trampled bed of misty, dew-kissed tender flowers in shades of pale blue, pink, white, gold and lavender, and a hazy veil of green. A perfect spring floral! Not as powdery as Phantom Queen, a little stronger than Flower Moon but not as strong as Black, it combines all of the things that I like in a floral, under one umbrella. If it ever warms up and stops raining it will truly come to life on my skin as I walk outside, and I can imagine the florals intermingling with the scents of real flowers in the air.

THAT! THE TERROR FROM OVER THERE! A swarm of chittering greens, smooshy kiwi, and wasabi. Yes, I'm a fan of green scents! Chittering greens? That makes me think of a glowing glob of protoplasmic green goo, which tastes faintly of sour apple and kiwi when I lick a glob that has fallen on my spacesuit. And yes, this smells quite like I imagined it would! Take the glowing, crisp, slightly sour melon/green fruit notes from thingsl ike 51 or Green Phoenix, but this is very crisp, plant-like, aloe-like with the round, squishy green fruit. I don't smell anything that resembles wasabi but there's a bit of a zing to this that I quite enjoy. A perfect green scent -- a fruit-bearing, man-eating monster plant; a glowing glob of alien goo; the lime green backdrop of an alien sky in an old Star Trek episode.

Although my tastes do not run toward the sweet side of the scent spectrum, this is a sugar-dusted, not-too-sweet cake scent that really appeals to me, as a person who likes my sweets to have a touch of the savory. I do not smell strawberry as strongly as many other reviewers do, but there is a mixture of floral and fruit that I would best express by recalling that scent when you open a tin of sugar-powdered fruit pastilles. There is a cloud of faintly sweet dry sugar dust with the colorful fruits just beneath. The cake itself seems to have a touch of anise, to my nose, and the tartness of the strawberry blends nicely with the faint dusty sweetness of the other notes. I think the only way I can take cake scents is when they are like this -- dry and without a hint of butter; and the way I prefer floral scents is when they are blended with something sweet that gives them a little extra body. But the idea of "flower cakes" is wonderful and I can imagine candied flowers or whorls of chalky frosting made to look like petals, and this makes me quite happy. I happen to be testing this later in the day after applying the Mlle Lilith Fortune Teller scent and this happy accident works out very nicely, giving a hint of incense to the blend as well.

This is my favorite of the honeys that I have tried. It has just right mix of notes -- there is the dry wooden evergreen scent of sun-warmed pine needles and warm tree resins, and a faint kick of fruitiness that lingers as a hint of golden honey. I wouldn't think "honey" if I smelled it without knowing the notes, but there is a lingering sweetness that catches those other dry evergreen notes and makes them sing. The slight tart fruity splash of a berry scent when it is first applies, mellows quickly, but the dry boughs and glossy sweetness linger on and on. Ever after bathing it stays strong on my wrist. You don't need to apply a lot of it, but it is marvelous. I don't associate it with any particular time of year, because I don't remember when I obtained it, but it really works well in these warm southern autumns where the sun is stlil bright and warm in the forests of cypress and evergreen and I am really enjoying it in that context! It is not overwhelmingly evergreen to me in the traditional sense, but another reviewer remarked on the astringent, sap-like quality and that is what strikes me as well. As a person who likes to rub tree sap on my wrists, I approve!

I got this about a year ago in a swap and it is one of my favorites in the past three or four years that I have tried -- it manages to be unlike any other wood scents I can recall. Glossy with resins and infused with a deep tangy smokiness, I wouldn't think there was honey in it except for the faint sweetness and shimmer that suspends the other notes in a golden haze. The impression I get of this scent is of a man in a smoking jacket in a wood-paneled room, years of pipe smoke staining the rich wood, with prints of Japanese art in the walls and interesting curios on ornate tabletops. It is both natural and refined, and although it is definitely masculine, it has that glowing halo of sweetness about it that lifts it from being a purely brown, wooden scent. I'm very glad I was able to obtain some since I have so many wood scents I might not have otherwise tried to go out of my way to get another.