VioletChaos

…is a house of assignation kept by Mrs. Wilson. It contains nothing of account. Ambivalently bawdy: red sandalwood, benzoin, and cacao. In The Bottle: Dark, sharp wood note. Less what I expect from sandalwood, more like an agar, maybe? Something more acrid. I also get a ring of the cacao. Wet On Skin: The sandalwood starts to bloom a bit, I think with the help of the benzoin, so that it's sweetening up some, which is more what I would think of when it comes to sandalwood. Dry Down: Wow. Okay, that has shifted pretty dramatically, and I LIKE IT. It is, in fact, a touch bawdy, with the benzoin and cacao becoming somewhat sexy for the wear but sandalwood making the scent a bit more...reputable, shall we say In any case, it's a lovely scent going into fall, and I'm anticipating it's going to get even better with age.

I love Snake Oil. I love Vanilla. There was no way I was going to pass this up. In The Bottle: Snake Oil and DELICIOUS DOLLOP OF BUTTERY VANILLA right on top! Wet On Skin: I can see where the "cream soda" vibe would be , but to my nose, it keeps shifting away and more towards a french vanilla- AND I LIKE IT. Dry Down: The vanilla becomes a bit more subtle and integrated. I'm definitely one of the masses that isn't a huge fan of fresh Snake Oil- I like my SO WELL aged (i.e. at least a year, and preferably more) o I will say that I'm super delighted to have snagged some, and I'm *especially* excited to re-visit this scent 12 months from now when it's had a chance to 'cook' a little more!

I really wanted to like Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, but it never worked on me. Variations on the theme, like Happy Baby In A Long Dress and Spirit Board: YES, on the other hand, are amongst my favorite scents, especially during the summer months, so I was willing to risk it on a bottle of this Snake Oil Lemon Bomb. And it does NOT disappoint! In the bottle, I get a sweet citrus note, reminiscent to the old Strawberry Shortcake Lemon Meringue dolls from 30 years ago. Once applied, the citrus shifts and mellows and the scent, as others said, and becomes a perfect, lighter Snake Oil, that I think will be a great summer addition- can't wait to see how it ages!

In The Bottle: Quite sweet and warm and foodie, almost custard-y. Wet On Skin: The leather starts to come out a bit as the scent warms up, but it's relatively mild compared to what leather usually does on my skin. Hopefully it stays put! Also getting a chewy, tobacco-like note, even though that's not listed in the mix. Maybe it's the champaca? Dry Down: Oh, this is goooooood. As it dries, it loses lots of the food aspect that was present in the bottle at first sniff. The rich notes are mingling with each other to create something heady and sweet without being overpowering. It's GORGEOUS. I can't wait to see how it ages! Beautiful scent for an amazing cause. <3

In The Bottle: Rich, swirly dark incense and blackberries. Wet On Skin: The juice from the blackberry is coming out as the oil warmth on my skin. I know it indicates that these are dried berries, but I gotta say, so far, they seem *quite* ripe to me, and I'm into it! Dry Down: Stays true as deep dark incense dribbled with blackberry juice. I *adore* blends with blackberry and am super pleased with how this one has turned out!

Mrs. Cutler, at 140 W. 27th St., lets her rooms to enterprising young ladies. Honeyed oudh, bourbon vanilla, cinnamon, and leather. Usually oudh can be counted on to lend a note of lovely sweet sophistication on me, but this time, it just came across like dirty socks on me. Usually I amp leather and have to be very careful, so I was surprised that none stayed on my skin at all! Instead it was just this dirty laundry vibe. Maybe my skin chemistry is off or changing, because I was quite sure this one was going to be a take-home-for-sure scent for me.

At long last- my own bottle of Loli Dragon! Woot! In The Bottle: A light, slightly tart strawberry. Wet On Skin: More of the same. Like a lighter version of 2009's Strawberry Moon, dandelion sap and all. Dry Down: Strawberry candy sugar eaten inside a LUSH store. Which is to say, it's sweet, lightly candy-ish, but also an element of something non-edible, like a strawberry shampoo or bubble bath or glycerine soap. I'm going to revisit this on a warmer day, I suspect it'll be more what I need when it's hot outside

HAI, CAKE! I don't get frosting with this, but honestly, I'm not minding- sometimes frosting goes plastic with my skin and I become rather morose about the whole thing. Here instead we have a lovely, fresh-baked cake with a soft, moist crumb. It's a good skin scent- low throw, stays very close, and isn't terribly sweet or overly foodie. It's so light it's almost like an angel food cake. Adore!

I'm a fan of the Lab's goats milk, so I was happy to see what was going on with this scent based on that one note alone, and it's a good one! The goats milk is creamy and warm and there's the slightest rind of honey to sweeten it up, but it's really subtle- don't think this is O mixed with goats milk, or you will be sadly disappointed. However, the second in command would be the nectar. I've only smelled this note in one other item, which was the Nectar Hair Gloss. In the HG, Nectar was front and center. Here it's less obvious but still rather present. If you adored Nectar HG, get thee to a place to procure a bottle of this here Jupiter Nourished, as you will not be sad about it! Low to medium throw, but test before slathering because this has some very dense, very rich notes in the mix that might require a light touch for some folks. I sometimes need scents that feel like the equivalent of curling up in a thick, soft blanket, and I'm delighted to have this one to add to that mix for the long winter that lies ahead.

I knew nothing of the "secret" notes when I grabbed a bottle at Comic Con the other day, so I thought initially that the sharp lavender and the coconut were doing all the lifting. But even knowing about the cade, jasmine and lemongrass doesn't change the puzzle of this scent for me, because Once the scent warms on my skin and dries down, the lavender turns soft and light, the coconut fades into the background and what I'm left with are breezes of gardenia and tiare. It's not tropical as that might sound. It's gorgeous, though, a great floral for those that don't like florals (such as myself) because it doesn't really read that way. It's sweet and lovely and comforting, but not like cuddling into warm blankets, more like basking in partial sun under some palm trees near crystalline waters singing lullabies.

I thought this was going to be more of a cacophony of food smells, and for that, I was leery. But whilst at NYCC the other day, I tested Theaomai and found that in the bottle, on my skin freshly applied and all the the way through dry down and beyond, that this scent stayed rather consistent and was pretty much very chocolatey chocolate chip cookie. The yummy, buttery kind that leave a light sheen of grease on your fingers after you've eaten them. The chocolate is rich and milky and the cookie is a light underscore- definitely second fiddle, not star of the show. I'd delighted to add this to my rotation of chocolate scents!

Muse of Fire O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels, Leash’d in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire Crouch for employment. But pardon, and gentles all, The flat unraised spirits that have dared On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth So great an object: can this cockpit hold The vasty fields of France? or may we cram Within this wooden O the very casques That did affright the air at Agincourt? O, pardon! since a crooked figure may Attest in little place a million; And let us, ciphers to this great accompt, On your imaginary forces work. Suppose within the girdle of these walls Are now confined two mighty monarchies, Whose high upreared and abutting fronts The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder: Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts; Into a thousand parts divide on man, And make imaginary puissance; Think when we talk of horses, that you see them Printing their proud hoofs i’ the receiving earth; For ’tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings, Carry them here and there; jumping o’er times, Turning the accomplishment of many years Into an hour-glass: for the which supply, Admit me Chorus to this history; Who prologue-like your humble patience pray, Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play. Lilith performed this prologue with her Shakespeare camp this summer. It gave me chills every time I heard her practice her lines, and forevermore she will be my Muse of Fire. The image accompanying this scent is from the morning of her performance. Lilith, you inspire me every day. Your love of Shakespeare has reinvigorated my own, and it means the world to me that we have this to share with one another. My little Muse of Fire: an explosion of rainbow-hued flower petals dusted in sugar. In The Bottle: woah. That was something else. It was effervescent and colorful and sweet and sharp all at once. The "exploding" is accurate! (Pssst this is one of those "how does Beth DO that?!" moments for sure!) Wet On Skin: I honestly can't pull out a single type of flower. And it's not "floral" in the traditional sense (scents!). It honestly reminds of Hawaian Punch! Dry Down: This is making me think of :something: from childhood and I can't place what. It's like fizzy candy and magnolia trees in spring time and lemon lime soda and pixie stix all rolled into one. In All: Nostalgia, bottled. Beth, sometimes you break my heart. ❤️

In The Bottle: Oh. My. G-ddess. Take everything delicious and creamy about Love's Philosophy, and add some spiced chai latte into it. THAT is the smell emanating from this bottle. Wet On Skin: The milk has shifted, becoming less cream-like but more like the milk note found in some other beloved Lab creations, such as My Baby and a Baby Goat. The spice notes are holding firm, which is lovely. Dry Down: Soft, sweet and comforting. As Ina mentioned above, a good bedtime scent! It has low throw, stays close to the skin and because it's full of unobtrusive mid-notes, I'm betting this is going to layer brilliantly with many other scents- SO glad I got a bottle!

In The Bottle: I get a hint of the red musk found in Smut and Red Lace. I also get wafts of neroli, which I love. Wet On Skin: Neroli is taking the lead, which I'm not at all objecting to, since it was the primary reason I was interested in trying this scent. Dry Down: The amber is coming out a bit now, acting as a sweet base note, but it also seems to be going powdery, like myrrh, which is making me nervous. The neroli and orange blossom are hanging on, but went from being front and center to being something of a background whisper. The musk has becoming a little sharp on me, reminding me of some of the very early BPAL scents, like Chokmah or one of the Enraged animal Musk scents. I'm going to give it more time to settle, because I can't decide yet if this is a scent for me or not...

In The Bottle: The apricot is sweet without being overly fruity. The vanilla bean and coconut milk give it a nice base that stops it from smelling like hard candy. Off to a great start! Wet On Skin: I'm getting an edge of the peach now in the mix, but the coconut milk and vanilla bean are still in the forefront, which is a relief, because sometimes I amp peach like nobody's business! Dry Down: The marshmallow finally comes out a bit to add to the party. Overall, this scent is low throw, mildly sweet and extremely wearable. I can see layering this with a number of other things because it's just so delicate and pretty. For those that are unsure about food scents, this could be a good one to help you dip your toe in the water for!

The Mahogany Tree Christmas is here; Winds whistle shrill, Icy and chill, Little care we; Little we fear Weather without, Shelter'd about The Mahogany Tree. Once on the boughs Birds of rare plume Sang, in its bloom; Night birds are we; Here we carouse, Singing, like them, Perch'd round the stem Of the jolly old tree. Here let us sport, Boys, as we sit- Laughter and wit Flashing so free. Life is but short- When we are gone, Let them sing on, Round the old tree. Evenings we knew, Happy as this; Faces we miss, Pleasant to see. Kind hearts and true, Gentle and just, Peace to your dust! We sing round the tree. Care, like a dun, Lurks at the gate: Let the dog wait; Happy we 'll be! Drink every one; Pile up the coals, Fill the red bowls, Round the old tree. Drain we the cup.- Friend, art afraid? Spirits are laid In the Red Sea. Mantle it up; Empty it yet; Let us forget, Round the old tree. Sorrows, begone! Life and its ills, Duns and their bills, Bid we to flee. Come with the dawn, Blue-devil sprite, Leave us to-night, Round the old tree. - William Makepeace Thackeray Sorrows, begone! Sweet wine, sparkling laughter, warm companionship, and the song of night-birds under a canopy of rustling mahogany: robin-red currants, soft nightingale-brown tonka, glossy starling-black labdanum, hearth-warm amber, mahogany sap, winter woods, a splash of Muscat, and gentle Christmas snow. In The bottle: The Mahogany note from Glowing Vulva plus some distant red wine. Wet On Skin: Same, but with the mahogany note even stronger and the wine receding into almost an afterthought. Dry Down: A little touch of ozone has shown up- which I'm imagining to be the snow note this time out, but mostly this reads like a Mahogany Single Note. Sadly, I'm not getting any tonk a or amber at all and the wine note seems to have vanished entirely. In All: Low throw and a little seems to be going a long way on my skin. Since I really like the Mahogany note, I'm happy to have a bottle, though I wasn't kidding about this behaving like a single note on my skin- I'll let it age and revisit to see if anything pops out in a few months but for now, I shall treat it as a single note and use appropriately

[No additional description provided.] Oh. Good. G-ds. I cannot believe I almost didn't bother trying this scent, even whilst I was there at the booth. (I have a bit of a hair gloss problem and figured, you know, I didn't need a *ninth* bottle. But I was wrong.) Dead wrong. I was leery because apple can turn on me, and wind up smelling like air freshener my dad used in the 70s in his bachelor pad. But no worries, because the apple is light and minimal and what actually comes through is gorgeous sheet after sheet of marshmallow. It's glorious and fluffy and vanilla-y and I am going to make excuses to use this everyday, somewhere, on some part of my body. Walking around Con today, it was just the perfect thing.

Dressed in her witchy best for brunch with the fam! Pumpkin pancakes and berries in cream. In The Bottle: The subtle dough of the pancakes mixed with a light, sweet berry. Yummmmm Wet On Skin: Same, maybe with a *tiny* dusting of powdered sugar? Or perhaps that's just the sweet aspect of the berries peeking in a little bit more! Dry Down: Same. Low throw, foodie- but in a very light, very subtle way. Pancake Breakfast was a scent that proved too heavy for me to wear repeatedly. But this, this is the pancake scent of my dreams. SO glad I got a bottle! <3

In The Bottle: the saffron note that I recall all-too-well from MB: Underpants is front and center Also, oddly, I get a blond tobacco from this, which is puzzling, since there is NO tobacco! I am going to assume it must be the golden musk. Odd! Wet On Skin: Ah- THERE'S the resin! The resin is just starting to come out. It's warm and reminds me strongly of violin rosin, which wa frankly the best part of being forced to play violin in junior high school Dry Down: Light throw on me, this is another fine Lace for the collection. I don't get amber in the petrified-tree-sap sense, but this scent is full of gorgeous resins and saffron to lend a little spice. I cannot WAIT to see how this ages!

In The Bottle: As other mentioned, a dark, bitter-sweet chocolate is front and center. But the vetiver is present too, taking this scent away from being strictly gourmand and making it earthy, root-y and smoky. Wet On Skin: The cacao and vetiver are now neck and neck. I was hoping that one wouldn't overpower the other. Hopefully, that stays consistent through to the end. Dry Down: The smoke of the vetiver has been largely tamed by the cacao and the bitterness of the cacao has been smoothed down by the vetiver. I knew that chances were excellent that this combination would work well for me, since I favor both of these notes. In combination, they are magical love. The only thing better is to see what happens after some aging!

In The Bottle: SweetTarts lemon and lime candies! Wet On Skin: The sugar settles down a bit, which I frankly hope continues, because as much as I like candy scents, I definitely get more mileage out of not-candy scents, usually because I amp sugar notes like crazy. Dry Down: Lovely, LOVELY lemon-lime summer scent. This isn't a Sprite or 7up soda scent, this is like if the lemon from Happy Baby In A Long Dress married the lime in the original release of Tarot: The Star. Which is *precisely* what I was hoping for. If you love citrus for hot summer days, see if you can snag some of this, it will NOT disappoint!

This is the year that we first presented our Labyrinth and Fraggle Rock lines! Visiting Henson Studios was one of the greatest thrills of my life. How often do you get to meet a Skeksi in person? In 2012, we made our first pilgrimage to DragonCon. While so many incredible memories stand out, the one that is most vivid is us watching in horror as a full-to-capacity elevator (including a Transformer in full-transform) at the Marriott took over two hours to descend 30 floors. Its a fantastic convention, and we are thrilled to make it our Labor Day weekend home every year. A fraggle-shaggy bright scent with a sinister goblin shadow: red currant and King mandarin with a white musk fougere, sweet dried fruits, and smoky myrrh-infused oudh. In the Bottle: Bright and fruity! But there's also an unsettling undercurrent that I can't quite name, like...ammonia? Wet On Skin: Yay, the ammonia has left the building! At this stage, mostly I'm getting sweet, dried sugary fruits and the slightest age of the white musk fougere in the background, which prevents this from just being a silly-kids-games kind of scent. Dry Down: It's funny, I like having fruit notes in things, but I don't like when it's the *only* thing. I need my scents to have some kind of depth, something to hang on to, and this scent DOES that, but not ion any way I've encountered before. If one were to layer Kingdom of Sweets with Red from the Fraggle Rock series, and then tossed in a little of Jareth, minus the leather...you would get Aluminum Phoenix. This isn't one I was sure about, but I'm really, really happy I got a bottle now.

In The Bottle: A light, very sweet, slightly dusty chocolate followed by a hint of rich buttercream. Wet On Skin: The chocolate is quite light here. Mostly I'm getting a sugary vanilla with a dusting of cocoa powder on top. Dry Down: The chocolate vanishes entirely and I'm left with a very light, sweet buttercream. On my skin, it is a very close cousin to Egg Nog, without any nutmeg. In All: For me, chocolate scents are always hit (Bliss; Cacao Pod) or terribly miss (Candy Butcher, I'm looking at you). Unfortunately, in spite of three types of chocolate being present in this blend, my skin gives me not a one well, of to the swaps it goes!

How marvellously lie our anxieties, in filmy layers, one over the other! Take away that which has lain on the upper surface for so long—the care of cares—the only one, as it seemed to you, between your soul and the radiance of Heaven—and straight you find a new stratum there. Opium smoke, opium tar, mandarin, dark musk, patchouli, tonka, vetiver, and frankincense. in the bottle: dark, thick opium in its various beguiling forms, a hint of deep musk and the vanilla-rich undertone of tonka bean. wet on skin: the vetiver is coming out, but so far is staying put in the mix, unlike usual on my skin. the opium is still really heavy, sweet and rich. dry down: everything is mingling and blending so beautifully that at the dry point, there is no way to really tell one note from the next. hints of all the above coming in and out in a glorious haze of sex, seduction and possibly lust-driven murder (or at least madness ) in all: good god- this is SO heady, sexy and rich that, shipping charged be damned, i may have to get a second bottle. total. love. :heart:

His flight was like the flashing of light, his plumage was beauteous, and his song ravishing: fire-yellow amber, neroli, frangipani, king mandarin, white honey, and saffron vanilla. In The Bottle: King Mandarin, reporting for duty! This has LOADS of King Mandarin and I LIKE IT. Wet On Skin: The honey is coming through now, lending a balance of top sweet and middle sweet. The amber is bringing up the rear, but not intensely. Dry Down: THERE'S the saffron vanilla! I was wondering when she'd show up to the party! Her inclusion has mellowed the edges of the king and now it's become like an adult version of a Creamsicle, the scratch of the frangipani making this scent mature, not in teeny-bopper territory. In All: this sweet scent is light and fun and joyous, perfect for daily day time use, but if layered with, say, "O" or another honey-heavy scent, I think the whole vibe would change and the scent would become waaaay more nighttime ready