Czarina

Lab frimp with my last order. In the imp: creme brulee/burnt sugar plus marzipan. Wet: strong burnt sugar (yum!) and almonds, plus rum. Drydown: sugar and almonds. Not as spicy as Cockaigne, but the same vibe. If you like the sweet foody scents, this one is for you.

I googled 'umi'umi-o-dole and learned the following faskinatin' tidbit: Soon after Spanish moss was introduced in Hawaii about 1920, the Hawaiians fashioned a lei from it. Because the plant reminded them of kauna'oa in texture, they used the same techniques to make the lei hinahina as was used for the lei kauna'oa. Another name given to Spanish moss, 'umi'umi o Dole, means "Dole's beard" and received its name from the famous gray beard of Sanford B. Dole, first and only president of the Hawaiian Republic. Amazing the thought that is put into scent design! That having been said, on to the scent. In the bottle: sickly sweet tropical floral. Wet: this settles down quite a bit. Pikake and plumeria are in the forefront, stabilized by the sandalwood and moss. Drydown: growing sweeter. This is back to being sickly sweet to me--and this from a person who practically bathes in Sugar Skull. Good throw, average wearlength.

Received this as a generous gift at a Seattle Meet-n-Sniff. In the imp: wintergreen and cinnamon. Wet: wintergreen and cinnamon. Drydown. Hah. Weird. The wintergreen and cinnamon take a step back and they are met by..florals and bubblegum.

Lab frimp. In the imp: apple. Wet: apple, very tart. Drydown: sweetens...the hemlock comes out. I can get the opium as well. I can't smell the oleander, which has a distinctive smell I remember from my girlhood. Low throw and wearlength but genius while it lasts.

Oh, dear. I tried this Lab frimp twice. In the imp: Lysol. Wet: Lysol. Drydown: Lysol mixed with honey. I wouldn't mind if it smelled like dirt, but it doesn't. Feh. This smells AWFUL on me. Or I suppose I should say it smells dreadful on me.

On me The Phoenix is almost pure lime and sea air. Must depend on body chemistry.

Maybe Bonfire Night.

This oil smells just awful on me--like an antique shop or attic at its worst (I mention this for those who are sensitive). It does mellow some after it has dried down for twenty minutes or so. Used with intent, however, although minimal ritual, it has helped me power through a number of unpleasant tasks today. More so than my ADD medication alone? Perhaps. Perhaps it is because this stuff smells unpleasant to me, it helps remind me of my intent.

In the imp: orange and mango. Wet: dusty orange, mango fades. Drydown: Sandalwood and musk emerge, and orange and mango melt into them. The sandalwood gives this a spicy scent, almost like coriander, although this isn't listed as a note. A nice take on a fruit scent. Low throw.

In the bottle: overripe bananas (!). Wet: bamboo, palm, men's aftershave (?) On drydown this sweetens considerably--the hibiscus leaps to the forefront--and individual notes become much harder to pick out. There's an overripe scent very subtly in the background that actually enhances the scent as a whole. Smells much better on than in the bottle, that's for sure! Good throw, average wearlength.

In the bottle: acrid. Yes, indeed, it actually smells like volcanic ash after a rain. Wet: first, I should note that this stuff is a fairly bright yellow coming out of the bottle. Going on it is harsh, harsh, harsh. I can't smell the palm at all. I am really not sure about this one. Drydown: The acrid note goes away, and this does, in fact, smell like volcanic ash tempered by palm. This is a specialized scent for certain moods, I think, but it is extremely evocative.

In the bottle: pure Monoi tiare. Mmmmm. Wet: orchids and gardenia. Drydown: vanilla incense. This stuff is DA BOMB. The vanilla takes on a faintly maple-sugary scent after a few minutes.

When first applied this scent struck me as having an extremely unpleasant top note like nail polish remover. It took about 10 minutes to dissipate. After the first ten mintues, the remaining scent is a pleasant incense, resin, and cedar scent. I am aware that ritual use is different from the use of a product simply as perfume. I personally would not be able to use this scent to invoke meditative states, my original thought when acquiring this decant, because the first ten minutes were so unpleasant to me (this appears to be a totally ideosyncratic reaction on my part since no one else reviewing this scent has noted an acetone topnote). There may be other ritual uses in which the slow start, as it were, is less troubling.

In the bottle: citrus and cream, almost nauseatingly sweet. Wet: mmmm good. I can smell the grapefruit and cream, cut by the ginger. It's not nearly as sweet outside the bottle. Drydown: I can also pick out the pepper, pear, and candyfloss. The single note I can't discern from this is the blood lily. I'm not even sure what that smells like. That may be why I can't detect it. This really is a fascinating scent--"deranged" is actually not at all a bad description of the combination. A keeper for sure. Seems to have below-average wearlength, average to good throw.

In the bottle: Aqua-Velva of Death (i.e. the chypre and bay rum combined to make cheap men's cologne). Wet: hmm, not quite so bad. The wood notes begin to emerge, the aquatics are not being quite as aggressive. Drydown: the currant and rose notes emerge on top of the woods. There is a mossy note somewhat reminiscent of Saturnalia. I put this on at the beginning of a short car ride. When I got out of the car at my destination, Frederic smelled almost powdery (albeit a faintly smoky powder) when the fresh air hit it. Amazing morpher, and very interesting. Worth additional sniffs for sure.

In the imp: violet. Wet: baby powder. Feh. Drydown: baby powder goes away. Intense violet with musk and iris overtones. I love violets so this one is a keeper for me.

I could have sworn that I had reviewed this before, but I can't find it. This is just an amazing scent on me. The citrus scent, especially the grapefruit, clary sage, and lemon balm, seems to float on the top of the dark musks, leather and spices (caraway! mm!). The overall scent doesn't smell much like the individual notes, just goood, but the notes can be picked out with some effort. Very definitely a keeper. Glad I dared to buy a bottle unsniffed.

I thought Earth Rat smelled a LOT like Yemaya (I think this was the one...must consult notes...)

This is a spectacular scent. It is possible to pick out all five notes--red currant, plum flowers, sake, green tea, and cherry blossom--and it smells extremely clean and fresh. The combination is almost like honey, only a much lighter honey than most Lab formulations. Definitely bottle-worthy. ETA: I've been wondering why the hell I bought a bottle of this and not Glowing Vulva, so I pulled it out of the box and tried it again this morning. Oh. That's why. Mm. The currant note is stronger when this oil is used in a scent locket. <sniffs happily>

In the decant: candle wax. Not beeswax, parafin. Huh? Wet: wax and grapefruit. Drydown: grapefruit and jasmine with a faint waxy air. Also a faint note of ...hyacinth? Not picking up on the rose here, and I'm okay with that because I'm not a big rose (or jasmine) fan. Hm.

In the bottle: apple. Wet: apple with a faint hint of lemon. Drydown: crisp apples with citrus and just a tiny, tiny rose note. This is a spectacularly fresh spring scent, low throw and wearlength on me however.

Amber, musk, and honey. That's all I can smell, but that's all I need.

Hmm. Something about this smells like conventional perfume to me. I think it must be the bay rum. This smells mostly like cinnamon and bay rum to me. Maybe I'm just missing something here but I am simply not able to detect layers of complexity.

Just about all I can smell in this is melon: melon in the decant, melon wet, sweet melon drydown. I can detect the hint of coconut and mandarin, but not the other notes. Very nice, but not different enough from my bottle of Yemaya (BPAL, not TAL) to justify a bottle purchase.

In the decant: Smarties (candy). Wet: orange and violets. Drydown: candy sweet, faintly orange. Extremely pleasant but not much throw or wearlength.