galahad

You come to a building that seems to have been hastily erected from splintered wood, stone, and plaster. Flickering light from within sparkles out through blood-tinged chunks of glass that have been wedged into the arch entrance. You push open the thick velvet curtain that covers the mouth of the building and look inside. The chapel is small and cramped, and the air is thick with heavy incense, bitter wine, sulphur, and the coppery scent of blood. A massive stained glass window is set against the back wall, glowing brightly. In the center of the room, a groveling figure is crouched before a woman draped in purple-black clerical robes. The woman's eyes are filled with righteous hellfire, and she extends a hand in benediction to the man who has fallen prostrate at her feet. He murmurs, "Libera Te Ex Caelum", and she gestures for him to rise. As he gets to his knees he winces in pain and moans in a strange expression of ecstasy, and you see small horns growing from his skull. Black incense, bitter wine, brimstone, bile, and blood. In the Vial: Intense sticky sweet wine, incense and the Lab blood note. Gives me chills just smelling it from the vial On the Skin: Insanely intense wine and acrid incense with vetiver. Luciously rich and evocative. Thankfully the wine is not grapey. The sweetness tones down over time (and it is initially very thickly sweet) On the Drydown: I stayed away from this during the last iteration of Carnival Diabolique and I am so sad that I did. This is gorgeous, multilayered and wearable. A new love for me

It freezes - all across a soundless sky The birds go home. The governing dark's begun: The steadfast dark that waits not for a sun; The ultimate dark wherein the race shall die. Death, with his evil finger to his lip, Leers in at human windows, turning spy To learn the country where his rule shall lie When he assumes perpetual generalship. The undefeated enemy, the chill That shall benumb the voiceful earth at last, Is master of our moment, and has bound The viewless wind it-self. There is no sound. It freezes. Every friendly stream is fast. It freezes; and the graven twigs are still. - Hilaire Belloc The steadfast dark that waits not for a sun: opoponax and myrrh, gum Arabic and frankincense, blackened juniper and bitter agarwood. In the Bottle: Juniper, resins and a tinge of agarwood On the Skin: The juniper is forward but pleasant. Eventally the frank and opoponax come forward to merge with the juniper and tame it somewhat On the Drydown: The agarwood adds a rich resinous woodiness. This dries down to a golden resin with a juniper overlay. If juniper isn't your jam you might want to reconsider purchasing this one but I quite like it and some age would benefit

A tribute to Lajos Pap, a spiritualist medium whose specialty was apporting snakes, lizards, rats, and frogs – live and dead – during séance. A pattering of night-creatures: indigo musk and patchouli croaking with oakmoss and a skittering of gleaming black olibanum. In the Bottle: Inky and dry in the bottle. Very intriguing. The oakmoss is apparent On the Skin: That indigo musk is stunning - slinky and velvety dark. Quite resinous, initially but the musk adds a gorgeous elegance. I like the use of the word "skittering" in the description because this is slick, dark and dry reminiscent of an insect carapace. On the Drydown: I almost get a dark purple (indigo?) floral from this. It is truly magnificent and dark as night.

"So. I got to say it, because nobody else here will. We are at the center of this place: a land that has no time for gods, and here at the center it has less time for us than anywhere. It is a no-man's-land, a place of truce, and we observe our truces, here. We have no choice. So. You give us the body of our friend. We accept it. You will pay for this, murder for murder, blood for blood." Black oudh, patchouli, opoponax, black pepper, and blackened cacao. In the Bottle: Rich, dark oudh with a pepper kick On the Skin: Intense oudh and rich resins with an almost fruity sweetness. This does have a bloody quality without going into red musk territory. The black pepper gives a spicy kick. On the Drydown: A somewhat linear drydown, just getting drier as it settles into the skin. I could almost swear that there was jasmine in this. This is a decadent and powerful scent which will be spectacular with some aging.

My most remarkable experience has been with Dr. H. Slade of New York, for whom I have formed a high regard. I first met him at his residence last November, when, without announcing my name, in three consecutive sittings, at eleven o’clock in the morning, seated at a small, bare table in the centre of a light room, there written on the under side of a slate placed on the table, several communications addressed to me, purporting to come from my deceased friends. I pass over the other manifestations – such as the movement of heavy articles of furniture in plain view, without visible contact – and confine myself to the writing on the slate, which I regarded with most interest… – Thos. W. Waterman, Binghamton, NY, July 14, 1873 The result of a physical law which is not yet understood, and the existence of which has hitherto scarcely been suspected: beeswax candles, chalk, and dust. In the Bottle: Rich beewax and a little bit of a dusty background On the Skin: The beautiful lab beeswax note, rich and sweet. The dry chalky note and dust emerges quite quickly to dry out the blend and tone down the sweetness of the beeswax. I am loving the chalkiness. On the Drydown: Stays fairly consistent through the drydown as a dusty beeswax but the beeswax amps up every now and then. I love it.

In the Bottle: Sweet coconut and champaca On the Skin: The champaca is actually quite strong with a backing of coconut and quite sweet, I assume from the sugar cane note. The initial blast softens quite quickly On the Drydown: The champaca is a little overbearing for a while but once it settles into the rest of the blend this is sweet and bone dry. The extreme drydown is really nice. Age will serve this one well.

In the Bottle: Very sweet vanilla marshmallow and pulpy strawberry On the Skin: Juicy strawberry to start, backed by vanilla. The strawberry is tart and realistic. The strawberry backs off a little, becomes jammy and then candyish. The references to strawberry icecream in other reviews is appropriate On the Drydown: Creamy strawberry candy. I actually really like this especially since I am all out of Sticky Pillowcase.

In the Bottle: Cream, amber and lotus. Definitely a cool pink On the Skin: Creamy pink. Sweet and a little musky. All of the vulvas I have tried work on me and they all have the same vibe. This one is just as elegant and refined but is a little more playful. On the Drydown: This dries down to a sparkly, powdery pink. The ambers give depth and lasting power. This is really special.

In the Bottle: Salt and sappy greenery On the Skin: A salty aquatic and green leaves. As it warms, the lotus sweetens the blend up slightly (blue or white lotus, not pink). It doesn't take long for this to smooth out and become a light floral aquatic. Perfect for summer. On the Drydown: On the drydown, this goes through a stage of pure salty aquatic and then onto blue lotus with the briny water in the background. There remains a fairly robust greenness. Nice

In the Bottle: A creamy very nice tobacco On the Skin: The rice milk is immediately evident, slightly creamy and sweet. The tobacco is a very fine one adding to the sweetness. On the Drydown: A simple blend but this has depth and sophistication. The edges of the frankincense can be detected but it is a subtle supporting note. Overall, a lovely scent.

In the Bottle: Musky with hay absolute and vanilla On the Skin: Another quite green scent at the start and quite a rough green. The floral quickly come to the surface to sweeten up the blend, making the whole more like a fresh water aquatic. On the Drydown: As this dries down, the jonquil and carnation take hold to give a gentle but persistent floral note underpinned by the greenness and the spiciness of the clove.

In the Bottle: A little green, slightly floral and cassia On the Skin: Definitely some cardamom in there but restrained. After a little warming, a dry dustiness creeps in and the herbal note of the southernwood. More herbal and resinous than floral but the lily is there. On the Drydown: The lily amps up in drydown, but isn't too high pitched, controlled by the resins and cardamom giving a background spiciness. Still quite green

In the Bottle: Very floral, most noticeable is the lilac, with a juicy and fruity background. On the Skin: Jammy strawberry and lilac with a little vanilla to keep it smooth. The other florals keep it from being too lilac-centric. Pretty but heavier than expected. On the Drydown: This is less a spring floral and more summer. As it dries it becomes greener under the blanket of pretty floral notes with the strawberry not really asserting much more than a subtle fruitiness. Nice

In the Bottle: Copal and sandalwood with a faint whiff of vanilla On the Skin: Mostly dry copal and sandalwood to start but the vanilla emerges as it warms on the skin to tone down the woody notes. No obvious patchouli. The vanilla is buttery and thick, not my favourite form. On the Drydown: The patchouli rears it's head further into the drydown, adding an earthiness needed to calm the vanilla down. Nice but not my favourite of the Lupers so far.

In the Bottle: The lab's glorious amber cream note and a subtle citrus muskiness On the Skin: As above but with the amber cream much stronger. The bergamot emerges to give a really beautiful fresh and creamy combination the the amber cream. This is a beauty! More brassy than gold On the Drydown: Drydown is a musky ambrette supported by the amber cream and still a waft of bergamot. Beautiful and multiple bottle worthy.

In the Bottle: Milky musk On the Skin: Dry and slightly green hay. I still think there is a refined musk in this. This mellows fairly quickly with the rice milk note to a smooth and sweet almost mahogany scent. On the drydown: On the drydown, this is sweetish and creamy with a sharp edged muskiness. The hay is more prominent and bone dry. Lovely

In the Bottle: Green and tart fig with a backing of musky vanilla On the Skin: As in the bottle but very tart which I like. The vanilla picks up fairly quickly and it's a perfumey vanilla as opposed to foody. On the Drydown: Drydown is linear, remaining zingy with a backing of vanilla musk. Overall, the blend is quite perfumey. I love it.

In the Bottle: Softly rosy, salty and ozonic. On the Skin: initially, quite muted. Dusty-dry, very subtle rose and amber with that interesting musk, which is full and deep. On the Drydown: While the power of this never really ramps up, remaining understated, it is a real beauty and has lasts longer than expected. The rose never overpowers and the salt note is awesome, adding an edge.

In the Bottle: Nutty cinnamon and grass. Nice On the Skin: While the nut note was, initially, alarming, it melds in with the dry grass note and the lemon myrtle emerges. Lovely, smelly very dry and toasted. perfect for the theme. On the Drydown: Almost bakery foody. The lemon myrtle takes a front seat as it does, underpinned by the other elements. Gorgeous, unique and masterful.

In the Bottle: Salty musk. I get the corn chip vibe but after a couple of weeks this is less noticeable. On the Skin: Surprisingly warm and very salty. Somewhat savoury. On the Drydown: This remains warm and toasted, intensely salty and delightful.

In the Bottle: Creosote and sage. Herbal, dry and a little nectar-sweet. On the Skin: Beautiful dusty herbal. Extremely dry and wild. If you missed out on The She-Goat this is a very similar especially as it sweetens on drydown. On the Drydown: I'm so glad I blind bought 2 bottles of it. It is dry desert scrub in a bottle with a touch of nectar sweetness.

In the Bottle: A deep musk with a herbal edge On the Skin: intensely musky, bit it's a round edged musk with no sharp edges. There a a slightly foody element to this adding creaminess and a berry note (?). On the Drydown: Indigo musk with dark flowers. Complex and beautiful, a little unsettling as well

In the Bottle: Very salty and cold in the bottle. Musky On the Skin: Deep and dark. Cold. The salty/ozonic qualities amplify with the warmth of the skin. The florals are lovely, just on the verge of screechy but never getting there. On the Drydown: As this dries down, it amalgamates into a salty aquatic jasmine. Jasmine is not a note that I normally enjoy but I am really liking this. It goes through a short phase where it smells gritty and tarry and then back midnight florals.

Tassili NAjjer, 4000-1500BC Tonka bean, red clay, rose tobacco, and oudh. In the Bottle: Rosy tobacco and dust On the Skin: Definitely a dusty clay note, which I love, tobacco with a subtle rosiness and a little woody oudh in the background. On the Drydown: Seems like there might be a bit of whiskey in this. Overall reminds me of a cross between The Writing on the Slate and Flickering Lantern. It has low throw but is tenacious on the skin. Pretty - softly dusty rose tobacco

Kumiho is a good stayer on me. Also Cthulu for an aquatic