windbourne

I had to wash this one off. Which is really weird -- plum is often fine on me, and while cream usually isn't good, it doesn't usually offend my nose like that. I'm guessing something in the unspecified 'wildflowers' is responsible. Very mysterious. Either way, I thought it was a really lovely, plummy-pretty scent until it hit my skin. I think I'll keep it and maybe try it in a scent locket or as a room scent.

Cream and milk tend to turn to dusty wuck on me, and this one is no exception. This time it's salty dust, but that doesn't make it any better. No love for this one from me.

I'm a pretty recent convert to the wearing of aquatics, and they still make me a little nervous when I pull them out for the first time. This one, unfortunately, is not one I will be pulling out again, I think. The fir amps out HARD on me, followed by the jasmine, then the salty water, and finally the hyacinth, and it all blends together into one sharp-edged floral-rific scent that I kind of want to wash off, not because it's really offensive, but because, on me, it smells like an expensive fir-scented handsoap. I rather wish the hyacinth were stronger -- they're such heady flowers! -- but they just vaporize under the fir. :/ I really love the way it smells in the imp, however, and it might make a really lovely summertime oil burner scent. I'll probably trade it, though. In a tiny side note, I think this is the fullest imp I've ever gotten from the Lab. It's right up to the very top of the vial. O_O! Kind of scary when opening it...

Veeeery interesting. BPAL rose and I do not always get along, and this one is one that I am not likely to be good friends with. It's a very lovely rose, as many have said, highly reminiscent of Rose Red, but with a sharper, tangier air that I presume comes from the sap. On me, this translates as a peppery feistiness that I just can't quite bring myself to love in an otherwise perfect rosy scent. I'll be sticking with Rose Red, but I'm happy that this exists as a fresh-rose-style GC. !

This, on me, is very light, mellow, and golden with a HEFTY floral throw that I assume belongs to the osmanthus. The peach just hovers gently in the background, letting the sandalwood (which frequently amps on me) and vanilla simmer under a ridiculous haze of FLOWER. The rosewood is very strong in the imp, but absolute nothing on my skin, which is kind of refreshing. ^-^ Woods often essay hostile takeovers, but this one is quite absent. I do wonder, however, if a different batch would say otherwise... On the whole, the imp is pretty lovely, and I'll probably use it up, but I don't think I need a bottle.

*melts into puddle of goo* It's Winter Maiden bath oil, as a perfume! (well. Really more along the lines of the way the Four Seasons Inquisition bath oils & perfumes were similar, but not quite identical.) Think I'm joking? Here's the scent list for Winter Maiden: Snow-laden woods, iced blackberry and bergamot, white rose, and crystallized amber. See what I mean? It's a bit muskier, and I can definitely tell the sandalwood is in there, but it makes a gorgeous match. Layering for the win~! This is the first cedar scent that I (remember) trying that's really worked on me, perhaps because the cedar finally gives way under the assault of the amber, rose, and sandalwood. It's pretty strong, and lasts for hours and hours (I took a bath and scrubbed pretty good, and it was still sending whiffs up from my wrists. I'm totally in love, and will buy a bottle.

In the imp, I was almost too scared to put it on my skin. Huge hempy papery herby BLEG. After reading the reviews, I dared. And I'm really glad that I did. It's very complex and, yes, herbal, but with a spicy kick and dark frankincense waft. I'm a little bit hooked. The hemp and paper vaporize under the weight of the incense and anise. It's not at all what I'd expected, but I'm really glad to have it. It'll be perfect for autumn. Must buy. /zombie

GRRAH. This one tops my list of 'things I tried because I -wanted- to love them, even though the notes made me sigh heavily'. Things I can't seem to wear: cream (turns to dust), teak (takes over and beats up everything else in the room), apple blossom (sickeningly sweet fake apple almost every time), and most caramel. The initial whiff on my arm gave me an unreasonable amount of hope -- it was lovely, sweet, but not excessively so, with a light apple-y tone over caramel and sugar, with just enough muskiness to keep it from being pure dessert. I gave it five minutes, and she showed me the face I feared -- and now, after an hour and a half, it's become uber-sweet dusty, woody Horrible. I'm not expecting it to change much after this point. Long story short -- if these notes like you, then bless your chemistry. ^-^ I wish I could wear them, but I still can't. Phooey.

Fascinating. For such a comparatively simple scent, it certainly gives me quite the range of reactions. It's not dissimilar, as some have mentioned, to Gingerbread Poppet, but less sweet and buttery. It's quite spicy, just as I had expected, and has everything I want in a spicy/woody/sweet scent, but something about it makes me think 'air freshener'. I love it, but really not at all on my skin. It's not that it does anything awful, it's smells quite nice, but something (I suspect the pine sap) sends it off into a place that I'd be happy to have in an oil burner to make my house smell lovely, but can't imagine wearing at all. I'm considering buying a bottle, because it would be so lovely as a room scent, but as a perfume, I'm not inclined.

This is my new favorite 13 -- on me it's quite warm, with more spice and cocoa and less fruitiness than the previous incarnations have tended towards. The drydown is mellow and sweet, and it ends up a dry sandalwoody cocoa. This was exactly what I wanted in a 13. I will wear it often and with glee. I'm so happy I bought a bottle on the strength of the listed notes. I almost wish I'd gotten two. I will say, though -- I didn't find it a particularly foody scent. It doesn't have the 'sticky' feeling I usually associate with, say, Miskatonic University or El Dia de Reyes, being lighter and more herbal (though not as much as the version with catnip). I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one ages, too.

I didn't find Harlot particularly evocative of the name, which is practically unheard of from the Lab. It's a pretty light rose with a rather gorgeous cinnamon afterburn that reminds me more of a vague flirtation with a stranger than a willing or wanton woman. It's not strong, it's not serious, and, while I liked it, I have other rose blends I like better (though the cinnamon is really good). It smells nice on me, and I might experiment with layering to find something similar but stronger. A lovely scent, but much fainter than I would have liked. I slathered it on quite heavily, and it was still nearly gone within a half hour. Throw was moderate and inoffensive. This is a scent I wouldn't mind wearing if I were likely to be able to apply it over and over again throughout the day.

Mmm. This scent, on me, is dust-dry and hot, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, and sand. So much sand, almost a simoom in a bottle. The muskiness comes out quite a bit at first, with the resin and tobacco lending it a warmer air, but it dries out -fast-, within five minutes, until it reaches a point of pure sandy cinnamon, then the pepper and ginger leap in. It's sneezy for a short time, in the way that I find pepper often is, but that fades quickly. I tested this with Priala, my other favorite cinnamon blend, and it's much lighter, almost pale, and far less sweet and smoky. This would be a fantastic scent to wear either on a very hot day which you wanted to really feel in your bones, or on a very cold day when you wanted a reminder that warmth still existed. It's got a pretty good wearlength, settling in without fading excessively for a couple of hours, and a nicely minimal throw, making it totally safe for days when I want to be the only one who knows that I'm wearing perfume. Definite bottle. I love it.

Seaweed, honey, white mint, and ambergris. Uncommonly sexy. One might even say unexpectedly so. Extremely unexpectedly so. ...really. I got an imp of this more out of a sense of wanting to be able to say I'd tested out all the Shunga scents. I have no particular draw towards aquatics, but I do like honey, so it was with a sense of novelty that I popped the lid open. I didn't like it at first. Too greenly oceanic, too salty, too sour -- but I kept huffing it, as the honey slowly crept forth, and the ambergris oozed out of hiding. (I have never gotten mint directly from this blend. It's there, but it's entirely to keep the rest of it from getting too saucy. It sharpens it a little, like rocks at the beach.) Dry on my skin, it amps to high heaven, throwing its weight around like few other scents do on my skin. It's slow and sexy and really...um...almost inappropriate? I'd really hesitate to wear this to, say, an office party. (Unless my intention were to find someone to pull into a closet and -- yeah. Inappropriate.) As it dries, the it's all salt and honey and dark, grim amber -- it's a very murky scent, the sort that drags you under without asking first. It lasts approximately forever and a half hour, throws like a major league pitcher, and is completely distracting. I'm keeping the imp, and will be heavily tempted to seek out a bottle. Not too tempted, though, despite its best attempts to lure me in. There aren't too many places I'd want to wear this to. It also opened my mind to the idea that aquatics could be good.

Graceful vanilla musk, tea rose, and stargazer lily. Wet, I could barely smell it at all. As it dried, it became more pronounced -- a sweet white floral that very neatly encompassed the sum of its parts. It's soft, pretty, feminine, and only the vanilla saves it from being a mere whisper. My skin ate it up in two bites, and it was gone in ten minutes, leaving behind only a hint of sweetness and lilies. It's quite a lovely scent, and vehemently not a 'me' scent at all. I'll pass my imp on to someone who will love it more.

I'm beginning to think that this one is one of my Scent Grails, as it were. Beeswax + herbal notes + warm golden tones = magic! In the imp, it doesn't smell particularly lovely to the nose, being somewhat sour and waxy, but as soon as it touches my skin, the beeswax and frankincense and everything else blend together into a super-gorgeous whole -- incense and candles and dried spices. To me it smells like night in the kitchen of an abbey with one lone candle left burning to keep the night away. It's beautiful, golden and mysteriously pure. The throw varies considerably depending on how much I've applied, but even the tiniest amount lasts for quite a long time -- at least four hours before it starts fading to obscurity. It remains quite consistent in tone from start to finish, though on me (as you may be able to tell) the beeswax and frankincense are the strongest notes. The lemon balm seems much stronger wet, but fades out almost entirely. This scent is definitely bottle worthy. I've already transfered my imp into a mini rollerball vial for easier slathering, and I can tell it won't last long.

This one is a rather bizarre morpher on me -- it starts out the fizzy delirium that most people describe, very soda poppy (cherry cola, Dr. Pepper, a hint of lime) and boozy with rum, but as it dries it completely transforms into a rather dark incensey smell. A very specific incense to me -- the kind they sometimes burned at weddings at my grandparent's church. This may be the translation that my nose is giving the almond and citrus, but it's very mysterious! It's got a mild-to-medium throw, and pretty decent wear-time. I could wear it to work and not affront anyone, I think. I don't like the initial blast much, but the drydown makes it worth it. I'll be very curious to wear this one out and see what my friends think, too.

This one (08) initially smells rather unpleasant on me, and I'm not sure what causes it. It's got a rather decided 'cathouse' scent, not in the more raunchy connotation, but as in 'where tigers live', but this time (Bengal had the same effect on my skin), they've decided to grow wicked and sour flowers. As it fades it settles into a more graceful vanilla with a tropical bent, but still, that undertone of 'big cat musk' just sits there and vexes me. Not a keeper.

I love the Lab's apricot note, and I'm pretty fond of boozy notes, and brandy is a nice charming sort of booze, so this one is basically a winner for me, but for the fact that it completely disappears within minutes. Like March Hare, if I don't reapply this scent every fifteen minutes or so, I might as well not be wearing perfume. I like this one, but I like March Hare more -- I find them extremely comparable. MH is spicier and this one is quite alcoholic in nature, but both are quite fruity and lush, with a true apricot sweetness to them that reminds me of summer. The down point here is that they have no strength to them at all on me, and so I will bid this one a longing adieu and hope it will find a more loving home.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I didn't try this while the Lupercalias were still live, and I'm kicking myself over that now. It's got the same luscious beeswax that Her Voice does, but in a warm, sensual base instead of a brilliantly floral one. I was really expecting a much cooler scent from that description, but this is cool on me the same way Snow White is -- which is to say, not at all! The rose lends a very mellow floral aspect to the overall perfume, and the white amber is probably what I'm reading as warm and musky. Actually, I think that's how I'd describe the overall color that this makes me think of -- it's very white, and very amber, somehow at the same time, like a chunk of amber in moonlight. I love this one, and am going to have to find a bottle, which is faintly disgruntling, but not entirely.

Uff. This was my second wash-off scent. I'm not sure what's in both this and Black Lace (maybe it's the Indian varieties in specific of sandalwood and Musk?) that do this, but like my first wash-off, it gave me an instant headache. Otherwise, it smelled very lightly of rose, and extremely violently of cedar. I'm learning to avoid cedar -- on me it's almost always rodent cage shavings and sadness. I think it would smell lovely on someone who can wear this sort of sweet woody scent, and I think I might like smelling it on someone (provided that it didn't give me an achy head on someone else!), but it's really not for me.

I've tried this one twice since the imp arrived at my house, and each time I have to shrug hopelessly and sigh. In the imp it smells pretty lovely -- a bit of black tea, some milk, some linen -- but as soon as it touches my skin, it turns into a big mess of pepper and laundry detergent. Milky laundry detergent. I'm sad! I love tea scents, but apparently, I like green tea scents, or at least they like me better than black ones do. Ah, well. It was definitely worth a try, and someone else will probably love it.

A most unfortunate blend on me -- something about the peach and patchouli and musk swirling together smells very much like sweaty boys. And not the good, spicy kind of sweaty, either. More like post-football and rowdy, possibly with a drink or two already in hand. I tested this twice, and it gave me the same answer twice. Hence, I will be removing this from my collection post-haste. Someone else will get pure lovely dark spicy peaches, but that someone is not me.

No mint for me, sadly. This was a overpowering muddle of flowers and greenery that faded to a berserk ivy and jasmine. Somewhat evocative of the season, in some ways, but not clear and bright enough for my tastes. I think I'll pass this one on to someone who will love it a little more.

Initially, this had a very sweet and bitter scent. There is a touch of the maple/caramel that many others have found, but primarily burnt incense. As it fades, it goes almost entirely nag champa -- heavy sandalwood and dust. It smells not unlike a mystical-type bookstore, the kind with heavy curtains and a lot of Indian imports and books on tarot and previous lives. It's not an offensive smell on my skin, but not one I want to wear, either. This is one imp that is heading straight for the trade box. I'm not sad to have tried it, but I've never been that fond of nag champa, and this isn't going to change my mind.

This one... I was in a super-foody phase and swapped for a number of very sweet scents. This was one I was hoping would bring me great joy, and instead I found myself less-than-savoring a rather waxy chocolate bar. :/ I was terribly disappointed when the gorgeous, pure milk chocolate scent from the vial turned cheap and plastic-y on my wrists. This one is definitely a room, bath, or layering scent on me. I like it, but it just doesn't have quite enough depth for me to want to wear it as a perfume. Long-lasting, light throw, inoffensive, but not very interesting, either. I'll keep my imp for experimentation purposes, but I don't think I'll ever need a bottle.