marared

Sexed up patchouli that's not quite so dark and planty - the honey is an undertone, not immediately identifiable as such, and the sandalwood dries things up a bit, but it's the labdanum and benzoin that shine here, giving it a lighter, playful, HOW YA DOIN? aspect.

This started out woody smoky grape - for about two minutes - and then it turned into strong syrupy grape, rose, and opium. Wine. Yes. This is sweet musky homemade WINE.

Botanical, herby lavender suspended in a delicate sweet musk. The amber is there, but it's a bottom note that is undetectable in the bottle and only shows up on my skin if I inhale deeply. This might be a good nighttime blend - TKO frequently gives me vivid and weird dreams, and I think this will do the same.

Hot herbal ginger. Definitely the peel rather than the fruit, giving it an earthier aspect, and I think that's what gives it the "mineral" feel. Khus is apparently vetiver (which I love), and I don't smell it at all, or the mandarin, but the cistus is loud and proud. Ginger herbaceous floral. It's pretty strong on the skin, but the throw is mild. Strangely enough, it really does have a Christmassy feel to it, which might be the mandarin and the balsam working together?

Initially: salty musk. Neither the rose nor the amber are distinctive; they meld together to create an impression of beach sand. This is a semi-tropical beach on a cool fall day with the wind driving waves against the rocks. Not much throw. With time, the rose gets a little stronger - but my chemistry also notoriously amps rose. It doesn't *dominate* the blend, but it does slowly become more floral than beach, and I can see this having a "craft store powder" effect on some people.

Orris is, ordinarily, a death note, but this does not go soapy at all on me. It's kind of a vanilla marshmallow with a golden overtone to it - it's kind of a love child of O and Sed Non Satiata - but it's not excessively sweet and it's REALLY good. 5ML PLS.

Fresh on my skin: extremely tart apple and something cool green that is not herbal or planty at all. The leather is waaay down under there if I inhale deeply. It's definitely seasonally appropriate There is a bit of sour playdoh that's similar to what I get from Snake Oil. Not sure what the culprit is, but I suspect it's either the clove or the rum. After about ten minutes, it has definitely gone far too sour for me to enjoy, so it's off to the closet for a few months.

This one morphs a LOT. On my skin, it smells like luxury pencil shavings with the black suede in the background, and it's a little too sharp and fresh for a good ten or fifteen minutes. But then, abruptly, it smooths out into delicious deep rich sandalwood thoroughly blended into the musk. No leather, no bergamot, even the cedar vanishes. I can't believe how *different* it becomes in so short a time.

This suffered badly from travel shock - when I first got it, and even now on first sniff, it was an unappealingly loud jumble of scents. But it calms down after a few minutes, and while it is initially very rich, it becomes cool, smooth, slightly musky and woody labdanum. The fruit and the tuberose are just undertones, the vanilla isn't particularly noticeable, and the neroli fades after the initial blast. It morphs a lot, and I think it's going to get even smoother over a couple of years.

Ooh boy. Filthy is a good word for this. Both notes smell like they have some age on them - they're strong, but they're not sharp, and masterfully blended. The vetiver is by far the dominant note in both the bottle and the skin, and it's rich with slight hint of dark vegetation. The patchouli holds it down and smooths it out. If you don't like vetiver, this won't change your mind - it's not swampy or scorched, but it's still definitive and forceful. It's about as Dirty Hippie as you can get without sandalwood.

18th century Russian lubok, illustrator unknown Red amber, frankincense C02 absolute, green fig, labdanum, King mandarin, Atlas cedar, and bitter almond. I got this because it has some similarities to a long discontinued favorite of mine, Mad Meg. Almond is usually a straight up NOPE before it even gets to my skin, but MM surprised me, and I hoped Boar and Goat would as well. And the almond is very definitely prominent at first. It settles down quickly, though, and then the frankincense/cedar/labdanum peek through just a bit. The fig and the mandarin blend together into a high-pitched, light-fruity note. Juicy, not jammy. The amber is undetectable, which is strange because I usually amp amber like crazy. After it's been on my skin for a while, it starts to remind me of ... Swank, maybe? I don't have an imp anymore to cross-reference, but it has that alcoholic fruity thing going on now, and the almond has disappeared.

Whenever I order decants, I always get one that's outside my comfort zone, because I am regularly surprised by things I shouldn't like. This was my experiment, but unfortunately it didn't work out on my skin. When it's fresh, it's a really juicy and sweet floral, and not even all that much rose. It has almost more of a ... hibiscus tang to it. But once it dries down, it goes through a slightly ammonia phase (like jasmine but not nearly so strong) and then turns to powdery apricot.

Fresh application is bright zingy orange and lime as promised, and the ylang ylang shows up a few minutes later. Aaaaand then the citrus fades away, leaving a slightly resinous floral with only the ghost of fruit beneath it.

Fresh, green, almost effervescent/citrus. Very zingy. Not very strong, nor much throw, but it lingers for quite a while. It gets a little darker and more resiny with time, but still retains that green freshness.

This is a less obnoxious Boomslang. Boomslang, at least the original, is LOUD. Waving the bottle in the general direction of your skin is almost too much, and when it warms up on your skin, people can smell you for an entire city block. (or maybe that's just me.) Snake's Shadow has that same rich tone to it, minus the cocoa, but it's so much calmer. Snake Oil has never worked for me in any form, but this might be the one that finally cooperates on my skin.

Had pretty much the same reaction as patina, except I cannot smell any of the labda... oh wait there it is now. Oudh really dominates this blend. It's a lot like jasmine in that the initial sniff is like "whoa wtf gross," but it settles down very quickly as it melds with the other notes. BUT, the "ick" still reaches out and slaps me in the face every so often, which means I am not going to wear this again. *adds oudh to the "not a death note but probably should avoid" list* Update a bit over a year later: tried this without remember what the notes were, and said "ugh, poopy oudh."

Yep, this is a total blast of rich, sweet labdanum. It's slightly fizzy, almost like a honey cream soda. It's very strong on the skin, but it doesn't have a lot of throw. And yes, this will age like a monster.

Dry spiced cacao, and - shockingly - it does NOT go sour like most spiced scents do! This is not especially *chocolatey*, but I definitely get the chili pepper and the clove. I am NOT sorry I got a bottle.

Leafy vetiver. It's not as sharp and smoky as fresh vetiver can be, nor as rich and gooey as the aged sort, more like what I would expect a vetiver *plant* to smell like. I would never have known there was any vanilla in this, but I think maybe that's what's softening the vetiver and the dead leaves, both of which can be a little harsh, especially fresh.

One day, I will find my perfect dark, not-too-sweet vanilla, but this isn't quite it. It's a nice dusty sweetness (I actually kinda sorta get that bell pepper impression someone else mentioned, although I wouldn't have thought of it that way) and it's got medium throw that doesn't announce itself, but it doesn't really have a whole lot of personality, either.

Smoky sage. Nothing identifiably oakmoss, and I don't know what chaparral smells like on its own. Mellow, slightly sweet, easily masculine if someone leans that way.

I have barely tested any of my decants, but this is almost a guaranteed bottle purchase. It reminds me a lot of Unicorn & Ram without the leather, and the sweetness of the cardamom is replaced by the vanilla here. If you aren't a fan of vetiver but it isn't an instant death note, this is a good one to try - while it is pretty strong when freshly applied, it eventually fades into the background and doesn't dominate the scent. The vanilla peeks out after a while and the whole thing morphs into a much gentler scent.

A celebratory scent, spicy and joyful. This is the nation flower of Spain. It symbolizes the suffering of Christ, the passion of lovers, and the laurels of victory. Bottle: sweet, slightly spicy, cool. Definitively floral, of course, but not heady. Not a strong scent. It's almost like smelling the real petals. On my skin: not all that different from the bottle. I think there's some kind of wood underpinning this scent, but it's very smooth, maybe ho wood? Again, there's not much throw; it sticks pretty close to the skin and fades after a couple of hours. I bet this would layer fabulously with patchouli. This reminds me of Copper Phoenix. Not similar scents, but in the same family. SRC is more wood and CP is more metal, but they both have that same cool, smooth presentation. Edit to say that with some body heat and sweat, the scent gets a lot louder and spicier, almost on par with Chrysanthemum Moon...

Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work? Blackened oudh, leather, labdanum, and oakmoss. While obviously this is a blend that will benefit from a few months or even a couple years in the closet, obviously I wanted to investigate it immediately upon arrival. And this is a lot .... *fresher* than I expected from the notes. At a distance, there's an ammoniac funk that I am almost certain is the leather note, and it's very similar to what I get from jasmine. But held close to my nose, the funk is almost not noticeable and it's fresh and airy. I cannot particularly smell the oakmoss or the labdanum, but the woody-incense oudh is definitely there at the bottom layer - it's the last note my nose picks up. There is a decent amount of throw, and you don't need much. Will have to review again at a later date, because this almost definitely is going to change with age.

2017 review: not at ALL like the original. Dionysia was My Girl - everyone loved it on me, from famous musicians to bus drivers. Fierce and obnoxious with a ton of throw when fresh, smooth and mellow but still salacious with some age on it. I went through a LOOOT of bottles. This? Is some faded reminiscence of what she used to be. The scent is so faint it's barely detectable in the bottle, never mind on the skin. Even with six months of age, there's still no personality to this new version of the scent. It's not a bad scent, but it's now a generic low-key fruity-patchouli-wood that has no layers or depth. I have a sad.