dawndie

In bottle: light mango On skin: yummy blast of mango, then a bit earthier from the tomato Half-hour later: mellowed out mango with fig In conclusion: I love red musk and was very interested in the mango/tomato combination, but was slightly disappointed that the fig turned out to be the strongest note. It's the dusty fig, like in Miller v. California. It's pleasant enough, but I wanted something bawdy and assertive from the other luscious ingredients.

In bottle: dusky sandalwood On skin: not much different than wet in the bottle, lots of sandalwood Half-hour later: a bit more floral from the champaca In conclusion: dry incensey sandalwood with champaca (which I love in most blends). Not too musky or woody, and no clove appearing to overpower everything else. This turns out very pleasant and wearable on me.

In bottle: sweetened powder On skin: lots of cherry, yum! Half-hour later: cherry and dragon's blood, with soft and powdery rose In conclusion: fruity cherry roses that doesn't hang around for long. I'd love some red musk with this, but pretty and wearable nonetheless.

How nice to get a "vintage" blend on Etsy! In bottle: light perfume-y alcohol On skin: musky brown leather Half-hour later: sweetened up just a tad with something powdery In conclusion: this was a "maybe" when released back in '07, but ultimately I didn't buy as I was afraid I would smell too much like a bachelor. But this is quite sweet, which must be the tobacco. I've been wearing this all week, enjoyable light musk.

In bottle: sweet coffee On skin: light spicy leather Half-hour later: a little more coffee to go with the light leather In conclusion: I was a bit unsure about the coffee note -- I bought the original Miskatonic U when it came out, thinking it sounded perfect, but my husband said it smelled like an "old office" on me. So I figured another coffee blend wouldn't work, but the coffee in this one becomes almost like a dark musk, deep and slightly sweet. I do love the leather blends, however, and this one has the great Eastern spices to go along for the ride.

In bottle: smutty musk On skin: that peanut-butter musk from Smut with some Snake Oil resin Half-hour later: sweetened up just a tad, but still lots of musk and resins In conclusion: this is the classic Snake Oil sticky resins with extra musk, giving it an aggressive "oomph." Like Monsieur Moriarty instead of Madame. In this cold weather I'm in the mood for something dark and assertive.

In bottle: sweet red vinegar On skin: light red wine Half-hour later: wine with lots of green/brown from the moss and earth In conclusion: I'm eternally tempted by red wine blends -- I love them so much, but obviously not every one is going to work. The woods & earth make this just a touch too dude, even when it's chilly outside and I should enjoy it more. This is like Fortunato, a more masculine wine blend better on my husband.

Love Black & Antique Laces, so now trying the Red! In bottle: sharp vanilla On skin: yum, creamy vanilla with that sharp-ish "linen" note Half-hour later: I can recognize red musk, but it's not nearly as strong as in other blends (boo on that). Still lots of smooth dreamy vanilla and linen In conclusion: this has the same Black Lace linen-cotton note -- not too sharp, not too dry or crisp -- with extra red musk. Black Lace will last all day on me, though, and this Red one wants to saunter away. Oh well, I like it enough to keep reapplying, and maybe it'll get stronger as it ages.

In bottle: minty cocoa On skin: musky and sweet, yum! Half-hour later: sweetened Snake Oil/Charmer musk In conclusion: I love the dark musk blends, black & red musk sweetened with a touch of vanilla and sandalwood. This turns out great on me, but it seems almost duplicative of Snake Charmer/Mme. Moriarty. I'm sure it will age gloriously though.

Texas thistle, bluebell, red corn poppy, magnolia, sunflower, cedar sage, and smashed, flaming windmill. I bought the prototype bottle the Lab offered on eBay, labeled "The Aurora Spacecraft Takes a Dive." In bottle: clean wildflowers On skin: still lots of perky wildflowers Half-hour later: not much change, except the addition of some ozone which acts like a super-clean musk In conclusion: the "flaming windmill" is ozone-y and reminded me of the old Lunacies, Storm Moon and the beginning of Wolf Moon '04. Not my style per se, but it's perky and fun, a real supernova floral.

In bottle: citrussy floral On skin: it's close to Litha '06, orangey fizz Half-hour later: this has deepened nicely with some dusty resins In conclusion: a blend that starts out fresh and perky, then gets richer with the incensey resins like a less-spicy Sunbird. I'm so glad this didn't end up too "woody" on me. Not very long-lasting, but worth reapplying throughout the day as I like the beginning through the end.

Wet: sharp wood On skin: lots of dusty wood Half-hour later: the wood has deepened, more sticky and resin-y, with some salty air from Pirate Moon In conclusion: I wanted to try this just for the description -- storytime at school with pirates and adventure! The wood stays out of dry pencil-shaving territory, it's well-worn from years of students doodling and daydreaming.

Wet: boozy red wine On skin: delicious spiced red wine Half-hour later: not much morph, still wine and spices simmering on my stove In conclusion: I was a bit concerned about the marzipan being too almondy, but no worries -- this is a beautiful dark winey blend, barely sweetened and not too boozy.

Wet: light musky leather On skin: black licorice Half-hour later: lots of great red musk with a touch of anise In conclusion: I love love red musk blends, and in this one the black tea, leather and pepper are obviously combining to make black licorice float above the red musk. Unfortunately I don't like black licorice much Still fun to try, though.

Wet: light incense On skin: sharp dusty frankincense Half-hour later: more dusty sweetness from the fig In conclusion: this is the same fig from Miller v. California, sweet but shy and needs a bit of coaxing. This one fades pretty fast too, only lasting a couple of hours on me before disappearing. I'd love for it to hang around more, I enjoy the incense blends.

Wet: sweet white floral On skin: creamy vanilla with a citrussy zing Half-hour later: smooth blend of vanilla, light woods and citrus In conclusion: this is like a Salon blend, lots of ingredients blending seamlessly with no "star" standing out. The vanilla and light woods combo is luscious. Smooth and sophisticated.

Wet: tannic red wine On skin: spicy dark fruit, yum! Half-hour later: dark fruit with a bit of smoke In conclusion: I'd love to find a dupe of Hearth '05, fruity sweet tobacco, and this one's close. It's spicy fruit teetering on the edge of potpourri. I liked the beginning a bunch, more than the ending.

Wet: acetone On skin: white foofy floral, the wisteria apparently Half-hour later: warmer and more dusty from the frankincense In conclusion: I love to find floral incense blends, and this one's almost there. The wisteria is so strong in the beginning; maybe aging will bring out the frankincense and blue musk. Lots of potential for gorgeousness in this one.

Wet: bitter leaves On skin: bright and soapy (but in a good way) Half-hour later: a little bit darker from the blackberry, but still very crispy & dry In conclusion: this is another "fresh nature" scent, like Blade of Grass or Halloween: San Francisco. So crisp and light.

In bottle: woodsy and sweet On skin: luscious blackberry Half-hour later: less fruity sweet, more woods and nut meat In conclusion: woo, I loved the beginning, juicy-bursting dark fruit. The ending reminded me of To Autumn from a couple of years ago, sweet foody woods. Not a top-10 favorite, but a really nice seasonal blend.

In bottle: spicy musk On skin: smutty musk, muted and fuzzy around the edges Half-hour later: still lots of musk with some dark rosey incense In conclusion: the first wearing it reminded me a lot of Panther Moon -- all dark musk. It seems to have calmed down, however, and dark rose and incense appear eventually. I passed on the first two Blood Moons ('05 and '08), they sounded so feral and aggressive. It's moody and interesting, and I'm glad I finally tried it.

In bottle: woody patchouli On skin: lots of prickly earthy patchouli Half-hour later: creamy vanilla has appeared with the brown/green of the patch In conclusion: the vanilla in this blend is the strongest I've experienced in a long time, luscious and delicious. However, I'm not 100% on board with the patchouli, it's so earthy-smelling on me. A discordant blend, one I'm going to have to think about.

Wet: spiced plums On skin: total dupe of Trick #2, dark fruit with a bit of spice Half-hour later: more "bread-y" with grains and bird-feeder-suet In conclusion: the spiced plums in this are delicious, and I really like the heartier grains appearing later. I don't go for many foody blends but this one is interesting, it's like an instant meal! I want to go on a picnic lunch with this one.

Wet: sweet amber On skin: slightly spicy pom juice Half-hour later: the spicy carnation and pepper are strongest In conclusion: this had the most pom juice at first, then the carnation took over. Interestingly, this blend is the most like a "pomegranate patch" with the short scrubby pomegranate bush growing out of the dark spicy earth.

Wet: bitter cocoa On skin: slightly sweetened red musk Half-hour later: the star anise and thyme has appeared, dusty and herbal In conclusion: I really like the combo of red musk and cocoa, similar to Black Temple Burlesque Troupe -- this decant even had little floaty bits of cocoa! I'm unsure about the end though, a little too herbal. This was my favorite of the 5 poms though.