agnusdei

Nemesis starts out mostly woodsy with a unique sort of sharpness that slightly stings my nose to smell. It has a little of that 'wood chips' vibe and a nice dose of ginger, with patchouli peeking out just enough to be noticeable behind them. Only after giving it time to settle do the other notes make themselves known. There’s still that fervent layer of cypress, but within it I keep catching bits of smooth tonka and delicate rose petals, with maybe a hint of fig. It’s a very interesting blend at this stage, soft and refined on one level and hard-edged and fierce on another, without much unity between them. As more time passes the cypress finally succumbs and the whole scent becomes much more gentle. It’s a dry type of blend to be sure, but now there’s a warmth to it as well that definitely wasn’t present in the beginning. The woods have become an inviting and balanced counterpart to the rose and tonka, and the fig and cyclamen have finally gotten over their shyness to help round everything out. The ginger adds just a touch of spice to keep things from getting boring. I think I’ll have to wear it a few more times to determine if it’s really a ‘me’ sort of scent, but one thing is for sure – there’s something beautiful hiding under all that cypress!

I'm a little late to reply, but I completely second the person who suggested Dorian as a sub for Black Lace. My boyfriend just got a bottle of it and we both got that 'this smells like something!' feeling from it when it got to the dry down - turns out it smells like Black Lace! The tea in Dorian makes it a little more fresh than Black Lace's smoky incense tinge, but the vanilla and musk combo in them is definitely very very similar, if not almost identical. The bottle he has is about a year old though, I'm not sure if Dorian is different fresh... but it'd definitely be something to at least give a try, especially layered with a scent that has that sultry tobacco/booze/incense feel.

Black Moon starts out predominantly a delicious crisp pear with something muskier and a little floral beneath it. The motia attar is the most noticeable aside from the pear, though thankfully it completely lacks that sharpness that tends to accompany jasmine in other blends. It's very much soft and delicate here and embodies the very best aspects of a jasmine note while being a beautiful companion to the pear. I can catch hints of the cucumber and a touch of lotus sweetness as well, intermingled with the stronger scents. At this stage Black Moon is very cool and fresh with an almost watery, crystalline quality to it. Only after some wear do the deeper components of Black Moon get their chance to shine. It becomes muskier, more enigmatic, and gets an all around boost in complexity. The pear and moita attar are still present, but they’ve been dragged deeper into the scent to become less light and juicy and more rounded within the other notes. I’m not usually big on picking up color associations with scents, but Black Moon positively screams a bright and peacock-like blend of blues and greens to me at first, gradually becoming less saturated and more immersed in a darkness befitting to it’s name. I’ve taken to wearing Black Moon before bed, as I find it’s clear and glittering wet stage very relaxing and then I can drift off to sleep in a glow of musk-soaked fruits.

Thank you so much tartchef & ivyandpeony for helping me with my question! Looks like I'll have to try Bathsheba for sure (not like I could really pass it up anyway, but reassurance is always good ) I'm happy to hear it's less plum and more carnation than FB, it will be interesting to see those notes together in a different way. You're so right, I think it's time to just go straight to the lab on that one. I always seem to put off making lab orders because I can never make up my mind on what I want, and I always go to that place of 'well, if I'm already going to buy something, might as well take a chunk out of my wishlist while I do it!' Hopefully I'll be able to keep my order to a bottle of Morocco and some more Alice and not do too much damage.

I just recently got to try Et Lux Fuit, and when I first smelled it (before reading the notes) I could definitely pick out carnation. To me the honeycomb, amber, carnation, and vanilla musk are the dominant notes. I wish I could get carnation out of The Oval Portrait, all I seem to be able to smell is the rice flower. To weigh in on the other carnation blends, I definitely agree with all the recommendations of Alice and Maiden as wonderful GC carnations. Each are very much CARNATION! on me while remaining quite different from each other. Maiden's carnation is more green and has that freshly cut feel to it with the tea adding to the crispness and the rose giving a breath of sweet in the dry down. Alice is carnation and milk with drips of honey, very creamy and soft. Pink Moon 07 is of course amazing for that spicy floral as well, I get a touch of phlox in the bottle but once it's on it's completely sugar dusted carnations. I also absolutely love Frumious Bandersnatch. I've noticed some people seem to get a 'craft store' vibe from it, but on me it's carnations and plums with chrysanthemums blooming behind them. It's definitely more spicy than the others, which is a good thing if you're like me and enjoy lettin' the spice flow. My boyfriend wears The Bow & Crown of Conquest all the time and I can only pick out the carnation in it if I'm really searching. I have yet to try Morocco (blasphemous, I know - everyone seems to love it too much to sell any to me ), and I can only hope I'll get to try Hod some day. And here's a quick question - I know there's been some discussion about Bathsheba in here before, but I was wondering specifically if it (and its carnation) are similar to Frumious Bandersnatch at all? Both have carnation and plum with very few others notes, so I'm curious if they'd be alike.

Oh Alice, you’d been on the short list of things I’m positively dying to try for as long as I can remember, and in and out of my BPAL cart so many times I’ve probably made you dizzy, yet we still hadn’t met. Just when I had given up all hope of getting to make your acquaintance without having to make a lab order, and you show up unexpectedly as a frimp! I think I may have made some sort of high pitched squeal. When wet, the first thing I can smell is a crisp floral under layers of milky softness and streaks of honey. Gentle and creamy without being too sweet, with just a slight hint of playful grassy green. Much to my complete delight carnation makes itself known as the dominant note quite quickly, and the floral component morphs into its pleasantly fresh and spicy scent. I don’t really smell much rose in miss Alice, which is a nice surprise despite the fact that I love roses and their scent – the less that comes between me and my carnations the better. The bergamot never seems to show up either, or perhaps it’s just integrated so deeply into the blend that it doesn’t read in the usual way for me. After hours of wear Alice has settled into a wash of velvety smooth milk with a kick of carnation. The rose comes out just a touch more with time, but it just adds a bit of a dried petal sort of vibe rather that being the full bodied rose that seems to bloom on me from most blends. Surprisingly I can still catch wafts of Alice here and there, despite being such a translucent and dainty scent. This blend is absolutely representative of Alice herself, it’s the epitome of a mischievous yet dignified young lady. It’s feminine and curious but manages to not come off as too young or immature, and reminds me of all the good things about childhood.

In the imp Sagittarius is a little spicy, a little sage-y, and a lot of dandelion. It's a bright and fresh sort of smell, not at all sharp or too strongly herbal. After some wear the fig comes out; a very soft, ripe fig rather than one of the more earthy kinds. I'm not sure if I'm too familiar with balm of gilead, but I have the feeling it's working with the fig to create the smooth and slightly buttery backing to the other notes that is making itself known now. The chamomile seems to be what is unifying everything and making it work so nicely together, there's a wonderful sense of roundness and harmony within this blend that I wouldn't have necessarily been able to imagine from just the scent description alone. The balance of the notes shifts again after about an hour or so, the creaminess tones down and the dandelion and clove are back, just as green and spicy as before. I was really hoping Sagittarius would turn into some sort of magical dandelion single note on me since some of the other reviewers got strong dandelion from it, but instead of being as bitter and grassy as real dandelion this is a much rounder and more comprehensive version of it. While Sag doesn't quite fill the niche I was expecting it to, it's a striking and distinctive blend that I'm sure will see a lot of wear from me, especially in the coming spring.

I had been curious about Et Lux Fuit for a while, but for some reason it never seemed to make it onto my wishlist... so I was very pleasantly surprised when a BPAL purchase from ebay showed up and it was graciously added as a frimp. It couldn't have been a better time for this kind of scent either, it's been freezing and raining like crazy for days so something sunny and happy is more than welcomed right now. In the imp Et Lux Fuit smells sharp like chemicals, in fact it smells almost exactly like acetone nail polish remover. Thankfully as soon as it hits my skin it becomes what it should be, a completely cheerful and radiant blend. I recognize the carnation immediantly, backed by honeycomb and smooth amber. I don't know if I would have been able to pick out the lemon peel if I didn't know it was there from the scent description, it's not sharp at all and only adds the barest edge of fizz. The heliotrope and ylang-ylang are noticable as well, but the rest of the notes are so well integrated that they simply unify into a warm golden glow. After some wear the lemon burns off and the vanilla musk starts to come forward. The blend has become lighter and creamier now, almost translucent yet still substantial. The longer I wear it the more it reminds me of Judith & Holofernes, which was honeyed carnations and skin musk on me while Et Lux Fuit is honey and carnations with vanilla musk and a base of amber. They both evoke the same kind of feel, luscious and powdery and strongly golden. I don't know how Et Lux Fuit slipped under my radar for so long, but I'm so happy to have it now and be able to use it in this tempermental weather. When I wear it I'm taken to a place where a beaming yellow sun blazes above fields of flowers, away from the sound of the rain pounding outside.

I've been using Rose Red soap to wash my face for the last couple of days and it's quite wonderful. The scent of it is the exact same crisp green rose as the oil, nothing has been toned down or changed. The soap lathers nicely (not a ton of bubbles, but definitely enough), and is quite creamy and gentle while still leaving everything squeaky clean and very fresh feeling. I've got an oily T zone while my cheeks are dry from the cold weather, and the bar has been equally kind to both areas. The scent lingers close to my skin for a few minutes after washing, though it's very light (RR the oil doesn't last super long on me either, so that could have something to do with it). The soap's scent is totally bold and luxurious while washing though and that's really what counts!

The Fruit of Paradise starts out a deep and rich pomegranate, ripe and glistening and juicy and all that good stuff the other reviews have said. Tart without becoming too bitter and fruity without being super-sweet and cloying, with something else underneath that gives it a sultry little oomph. As time passes the pomegranate settles into that darker part of the blend; I totally second (third? fifth?) the likening of The Fruit of Paradise to mulled pomegranate cider because that's exactly what it turns into on me. I swear there's some clove or maybe anise that gives it a kick of dry spice to balance the juiciness of the pom. I think there may be something else here as well, just a touch of some sort of resin or possibly musk that lends an added depth to the blend. The throw is good, but it started to weaken somewhere between hours one and two of wear and then faded away faster than I would have liked. I can't hold that against it though, it just makes me glad I grabbed two decants instead of one!

The first time I tried Saw-Scaled Viper I was disappointed because I got... pumpkin?? Not pumpkin spices or anything, but straight up super raw to the point of being 'green' pumpkin. So I set it aside for a while, hoping that with time Snake Oil's Legendary Aging Powers would rescue it. I don't know what kind of magic went on in the imp since then, but I'm wearing Saw-Scaled Viper again now and... wow. Now THIS is what I was hoping for. Blow-your-nose-off-your-face-strong cinnamon and cassia with fresh red ginger lurking underneath. As it dries the ginger is the first to settle, it loses that almost citrus-y bite and becomes a lovely smooth compliment to the spices. Once more time passes (I think I'm an hour or two in at this point) I can finally pick up the Snake Oil as a creamy, slightly sweet backdrop that adds a wonderful warmness to this otherwise dry blend. The staying power and throw on this snake are great, the spices have mellowed a bit since first applying but haven't gone anywhere since. I'm so glad I gave Saw-Scaled Viper a second chance because it's exactly the kind of bold and spicy blend I love the most.

In the imp Aquarius smells to me like sweet candied pomegranate. Yum! I think the wisteria is what makes it seems sweet, but it's not so strong as to turn this blend over to the floral side - the pom is very much in charge. After a bit of wear I can pick up the most delicious bite of spicy anise, I immediately though 'cinnamon!' before I remembered what it actually was. I get a touch of herbs behind all the spice, but speaking as someone who is wary of heavy herbals it's very well behaved and only adds to the roundness of the blend rather than making it too sharp. I know the myrrh is there as well, adding a warm glow deep beneath the other notes. I was expecting to like Aquarius, but not absolutely love it - but I do! I don't think I've smelled anything quite like this before, it's such a unique combination of juicy pom and spice with a touch of sweet herbs and resin.

I can understand how Othello is supposed to be a more masculine scent, even if it doesn't smell that way on me. The rose is soft, but not overly sweet or too heavily floral with a base of musk backing and deepening it. The spices are there as well but I feel like I have to search for them a bit, they're a little too well mannered (for my taste, at least). Once into the dry down it gets a distinctly 'clean' feeling, my boyfriend said it smelled a bit like shampoo and I am inclined to agree, I think I'm smelling what other people picked up as laundry detergent. Thankfully the powdery clean feeling fades after a while and I'm left again with a light musky rose barely dusted with spices. Othello is lovely, I just wish I could find a rose-and-spice blend with a little more presence to it.

Treat #1 smells like my absolute favorite candies all rolled up and smooshed into a bottle for my olfactory pleasure. Watermelon and strawberry Jolly Ranchers and gummi worms with a generous helping of sugar crystals and a touch of that sour citric acid tinge. This scent seems to hover rather than sticking to where I applied it, I couldn't smell it very well on my wrists but I kept catching hints of sweet candy yummyness all around me. Sadly though, I have to echo what others said about it not lasting very long. It hung around for an hour or so before fading into the exact smell of Smarties, complete with that bit of powdery chalk. Not necessarily a bad smell, just a shame that perfect candy from the imp didn't hang around longer.

Pink Moon 07 is the next best thing to a carnation IV directly into the bloodstream. It's a perfect representation of everything that makes carnation my most favorite of favorite notes, a mischievous and fresh floral with peppery spice and more than enough personality. The sugar is sweet but not overpoweringly so, and fades into the rest of the scent as if it's just a part of the floral itself. I can't really comment on the phlox because this is the first blend I've smelled containing it, so I'm not really sure what it's supposed to smell like. However, as long as it's not interrupting my sugared carnation experience then I think ignorance is bliss.

I was hoping Carceri d'Invenzione wouldn't be too sharp or 'masculine'; I love every note listed but the boy wears all the woodsy blends as I am way too much of a frou frou girly ladypants to suit them usually. Thankfully, Carceri does wonderful things on my skin - I wouldn't call it traditionally feminine, but it has a quality to it that's very soft and gentle. It's easy for me to feel comfortable wearing it. I get the same lovely, rich scent of redwood bark from Carceri as I remember from when I would go to the redwood forests near my home when I was younger, it's a grounded and inviting base for the other notes to build on. There's a glowing smoky sweetness winding through the trees from the tobacco, and the sandalwood adds it's own version of sweet creaminess to the blend. The frankincense is deep and resinous without being heavy, it has that sparkling, 'cola' quality which intensifies over the hours of wear. I can sense the pepper as well, it mixes fabulously with the frankincense to throw a sprinkle of spice into the mix. Overall a very warm, slightly spicy blend of woods and resin that I can't help but think is 'just right'.

In the imp/wet, Queen of Clubs is prominently the ripest pomegranate ever, juicy and sweet with something darker and almost spicy underneath. The 'deep earth notes' are there, though what I'm getting is blended so well with the fruitiness that it doesn't have an edge like some of the other dirt notes I've smelled. Raw, but not intimidating. As everything settles this whole other part comes out - vanilla, rose, and red currant add a beautifully smooth and creamy touch to the pom that's unexpected but totally marvelous. I can now pick out the 'almost spicy' note from before as the incense, which adds a little fizz to the end of each sniff. The amber and myrrh are noticeable as well at the very heart of it all. Queen of Clubs ended up rather different than it started, but I very much enjoyed experiencing all of the notes dominate in their own way before setting. It's now a soft and deeply resinous vanilla with fruit and floral tones and a touch of earth, definitely my favorite kind of blend because it has a little of everything I love but it's balanced perfectly.

I first tried White Rabbit a few months ago, at which time the linen stood out way more than I expected and the whole scent seemed to be very faint and watery. With that said, I don't know if it's aging, a change in skin chemistry, a more trained nose, or a mix of all of those, but I'm wearing White Rabbit again now and it seems to have really blossomed. In the imp I still get that crisp bite of freshly washed cloth, but once on my skin it's as if the volume has been turned up on all of the notes. There's a base of freshly brewed black tea with smooth milk and honey swirling in it, and a dash of pepper that sneaks in and tickles your nose. I can sort of 'feel' the ginger, even if I can't smell it directly, and I know the vanilla is there as well, adding a tiny drop of sweetness. White Rabbit is so much lighter than other creamy scents I've tried, there's a very airy and carefree quality to it that's quite delightful. It's also one of those blends that makes the scent-to-image connection so easily, tea spilled over linen indeed! I can just imagine wearing this in the spring while going on a picnic or doing some other cozy outdoors activity, I sure better have a bottle by then.

I'm not sure what the deal is, but on my skin Midnight Kiss isn't a blast of cherries or grapes or any kind of fruit like a lot of other reviewers have mentioned. There's almost the 'feel' of fruit, but it doesn't register as juicy, it's all dry, dry, dry... but oh-so-good! At first I get mostly cocoa, sandalwood and patchouli, a mix that manages to be both warm and dry at once. I love the smell of cocoa but it's not something I think suits me very well, as it tends to be with other ingredients that showcase it's foody side. MK is a lovely surprise in that regard, this cocoa makes me think of unsweetened cocoa powder, not a creamy chocolate cake. A cocoa that I feel comfortable in! After a bit of wear the amber and musk really start to round out the blend, keeping everything grounded and smouldering. I swear I get a hint of spice or something 'fizzy' as well. There's so much depth to this scent, every time I sniff it a different note will jump out at me. Sometimes it's the blood wine, sometimes it's the sandalwood, sometimes it's the cocoa... but mostly it's just yummy! I've had an imp of Midnight Kiss sitting around for a while, and while I've always liked it I never really thought I'd need to get a bottle. The more I wear it however, the more sad I think I'll be if I ever run out... oh no, this can't be good...

Well, I'm very much in love with the idea of Snow White. A lot of the winter blends sound like they may be too heavy on the pine for me (I don't mind pine, but it's not really something I could imagine myself smelling like), so snow, wind, and a touch of flowers sounded positively lovely. However, Snow White smells nothing like that! It doesn't come as a surprise considering the reviews, but it's still strange to me to read the scent description and then smell my wrist because it's blowin' mah mind trying to see both as the same thing. Snow White is sweet, sweet, sweet when wet... one of the other reviewers mentioned 'chilled sugar cookie dough' and I think that's a very accurate description. The main note seems to be an almost overwhelming bite of almond. I usually enjoy the scent of almonds, but these almonds are so buttery sweet, like creamy almond cake frosting. It might be a little much for me! Aside from that there is definitely something cold about this scent, though it's not a total outdoorsy vibe, more like a chilly blast of air from an open window rushing into a kitchen filled with the scent of baking. A touch of snow, but without anything green and alive (at this stage of wear, at least). Oddly though, Snow White isn't really too foody, either. Weird! On to the dry-down. After giving it maybe a half hour to settle, the volume finally gets turned down on the almonds - they're still there but it's more of a waft than a blast. A lot of reviews mentioned coconut and I'm getting some of that as well, and the flowers have come out now too. I have no idea what kind of flowers these could be, it's more of a general light and airy floral with nothing specific jumping out at me. It's a little powdery now as well, but not in a bad way. Overall, I think it will take a few more wears for me to really determine how much I like Snow White. For now I'm just glad I made it through the crazy sweet dry-down because there's a light and soft winter floral waiting underneath all those almonds that's just lovely.

The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is what made me realize how much I love gardenias. Back when I first smelled this blend I knew it was quite unique, but even knowing what the components were didn't help me place it. Now that I'm more familiar with the fragrance of gardenias I can confidently say that this blend is allllll about them, in the very best way. This floral is so smooth and creamy that it's positively buttery and oh-so-lush. The combination of gardenia and iris just oozes sweetness, they're drizzled over the other notes like a candied topping. There's a resinous and woody base and a touch of sharpness underneath, which comes out more as the blend dries until it's just a whisper of warm woods. Gardenia seems to be a love it or hate it kind of floral, despite being so creamy there's a boldness with them that tends to overwhelm, so I understand why The Ecstasy of St. Theresa didn't seem to work for some of the other reviewers. However, if you're a big fan of gardenias like myself, this blend couldn't be better. It absolutely glows with an aura of warmth and comfort with grounding woods and the barest touch of spice. I'd also like to add that the first few times I tried this blend it didn't last as long as I hoped, but I've got it on now after bathing with Bath & Body Works Gardenia shower cream and that has definitely helped it's staying power.

Chrysanthemum Moon is just heavenly, one of those rare blends that smells exactly how you imagined it would, if not even better. If this is what opium is like all the time I have no idea why everything I buy doesn't positively reek of it, the smokiness it adds is so unique and absolutely intoxicating. Mixed with the musks and ginger it creates a thick and spicy haze that swirls around the perfume and mums and turns something that could have been a typical floral into anything but. This blend made me realize how much chrysanthemums remind me of carnations (my favorite!) with their smoothness and perfect mix of floral with green and spice, it's just marvelous. A little floral, a little spicy, a little sweet, a little dark and smoky... Mum Moon is everything that I love.

Carnations have been a favorite of mine from the day I smelled Frumious Bandersnatch in my very first order. Ever since then I've been searching for the blend with the most pronounced carnation note, and I think Maiden may well be the winner thus far. This is carnation at it's finest, the perfect mix of spicy and sweet floral. There's a touch of green, the kind that makes you think of fresh cut stems, and the tea adds just a bit of something fresh and clean. I seem to be getting a twist of that citrus smell that others have mentioned as well, though it may just be a facet of the lovely spiciness. The longer it dries the more I notice a lingering sugary sweetness that I'm guessing is the rose. It doesn't seem to mix with the carnation as much as hover in the air around it, it's quite a unique effect that I'm not sure I've smelled before in a blend. Basically, Maiden is a perfectly spicy carnation with just the right amount of sharp and sweet, and I'm very happy to have finally found a blend that spotlights this fabulous floral!

Shub starts out a smouldering spicy ginger with a killer bite. There's nothing light here, this ginger will destroy you. I can see where people are getting a lemon note, but to my nose that seems to just be a component of the ginger; I get the same citrus-y element when smelling ginger root. However, there also seems to be something here that's... pumpkin-y? Like the inside of a pumpkin still growing in the patch, very raw and not-quite-ripe. This happened to me with Saw-Scaled Viper as well, so I'm guessing it's the work of red ginger. The hint of pumpkin isn't my favorite so I'm thankful that it fades quicker here than with SSV, and I'm more than willing to put up with it to get to the delicious sultry core of this blend. The spices come to life as it has a chance to dry, I can pick up cinnamon and something like clove over a base of herbs and resins. I don't get anything foody from Shub, it's pure hot hot spicy ginger sexiness. I've been searching for the perfect spicy cinnamon/ginger scent for a while and now that I've smelled Shub I fear all the other smellies will have their work cut out for them trying to compete with it. This is some good stuff. edit: My boyfriend recently decided he wanted his own bottle of Shub and when the new bottle arrived from the lab I had one of those 'oh, so THAT'S how this is supposed to smell!' moments. I never really got the 'evil gingerbread' vibe from my old bottle of Shub, it was all crisp ginger with absolutely nothing 'foody' about it. But this new, magical bottle smells like the most diabolical gingerbread to ever crawl its way out of an oven. It's a thicker, deeper, sweeter scent than my other bottle, and has no trace of that weird pumpkin scent I was getting either. I liked Shub a lot before, but now? Good lord this is the most amazing smelling thing ever!

Wet and freshly applied, Black Hellebore is a floral that is both sharp and sweet at once. I can smell an earthy green that conjures up images of roots twisting through fresh soil, accented by a herbal bitterness. The peony/rose scent is there, but it's deep and wet and a bit unfamiliar. Once given time to dry, the florals take over and this blend seems softer and more inviting. The peony becomes the strongest note, morphing Black Hellebore into something sweet and almost perfume-y while still holding that earthy edge from the wet stage. My skin might as well be made of roses considering how much I usually amp them, but surprisingly in this blend the 'rose-ness' takes on a supporting role. After a while everything went rather soapy on me, but it was a lovely kind of soapy that I actually didn't mind smelling like.