quikslvr
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Everything posted by quikslvr
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Absolutely ylang ylang at first. Sneeze-inducing for me, unfortunately. It's sweet with a bit of an edge once the patchouli darkens it a bit. It goes progressively darker for awhile due to the patchouli. When it all balances out, it's lovely. Really hard to describe, but perfectly balanced dark and light, sweet and bite. I'm surprised at how much I like this, considering how it started (floral, and florals aren't my thing, generally). Occasionally one whiff will bring a tone that's too patchouli or too floral, but generally, this works very well.
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Definite cinnamon at first, with its accompanying tingle. Dries to a light touch of chai, touch of floral, touch of herbs. Very nice, but I'm not crazy about it.
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Eee! Spicy-strange at first. The skin-musk is a bit strong on me, I think. Or maybe it's the honey-musk interaction. It does dry down to a bit of a chai scent, but it's a chai that's awfully strong--very little milk in there. It settles down more and adds a little vanilla into the mix, but I'm not sure it's enough. I was surprised not to be sold immediately on this scent, but it may yet be one that grows on me.
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Haughty rose. Sophisticated and sneering. Way heavy on the rose. Not really my thing, unfortunately.
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Soft, wispy, sweet, pleasant flowers. Then the blackberry comes out, beautiful, soft and sweet. It's distant, light, but doesn't seem to be fading too fast. It's very pretty, but not my favorite.
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Perfumed burning firs. Dead-on. Awesome. There's ginger or juniper in there, which stings my nose. It's very commercial cologne-y, thus not something I'd wear regularly. It's a bit sharper than I think I'd like on a guy, too. I'll be passing this one by, but it's still an amazing scent because of how it brings to life this concept.
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Iago and I aren't getting along already, I can tell. Too dark, too vetiver (very masculine). Settles into some very nice leather, but it's also very dark. This isn't the pleasant, soft leather I've gotten out of some other blends--this has been aged hard. The black musk joins the leather at one point in a very sexy way. A very evocative scent, but totally not me in the day-to-day. Special events, perhaps, but that's about it. Now, this on a boy, on the other hand . . . maybe I'll save it for just such an occasion. Mmm.
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Soft, subtle, dry floral. Very soft. Mostly lily, and a touch of sandalwood. Then it goes into a more "perfume-y" phase, though it stays dry and soft in the process. After that, it sticks very close to the skin, and takes on a bit of a sour tone on me--I suspect the sandalwood's doing something weird (it normally amps on me) with one of the other bits of the blend. Like so many other BPAL blends, whether I love them or not, this is very, very neat conceptually. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work on me in practice.
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Soft rose pops first--might be the rosewood. So wispy at first as to be a bit astringent. Strongly floral, but very neat--soft, even. Sweet, as well. Unfortunately, since my skin likes to amp rose, that's overpowering this blend for me. It's all rose and sweetness, and reminds me of a more mainstream commercial perfume I'm forgetting the name of. I like it, surprisingly (as one who doesn't generally like florals), but I don't think I'll be getting more.
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Warm, inviting, spices. Headily spicy, but not offensive. Gets spicier as it dries. Mostly cinnamon/clove: I don't get much of the orange, nor patchouli, which is fine with me. I can catch a hint of sweetness, but it's overwhelmed by the aggressiveness of the spices. Strangely, I like.
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Honeysuckle? Syrupy, which darkens. It's a little--unnerving-smelling. Definitely not a perfume oil, rather being more of a workhorse, I would think. Very floral, but it seems to fade fast (or I just get immune to it fast). The only effect I noticed was that my commute downtown and then home around 5:30 was a breeze (no red lights, I don't think), despite me thinking it would be a bear.
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The first stage of this is gorgeous wondrousness of vanilla (or tonka) and earth, with a tinge of white musk. The earth (mineral?) tones are just a tad spicy, but in a flat way, not an exotic way. The powdery notes are very similar to cracked rocks. Limestone, by memory, back from my geology major days. Spot-on, though. Early on, there's also a fleeting aquatic note. Unfortunately, it dries down fast to mostly the earthy tones, not the vanilla/tonka. I wish the vanilla/tonka had decided to stick around longer. It's soft, sticks tight to the skin, mostly. And it's changeable (much like opal)--on one sniff, it's mostly earthy, on another you get the tonka tones.
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(2005 version) Over-spiced cider turns to spiced pumpkin really swiftly. It's got a harsh edge to it that I can't blame on any of the notes in the description. After the foody bit, it goes a bit floral. Then it's back to cider. And it's lovely. This is definitely a keeper.
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Oh, this seems far more complex than the maple-y sugar I got from '04. This is deep and boozy. Much darker than Trick or Treat. It's as if Trick or Treat took over the old sweet spot, and the Sugar Skull went dark. Oh, yes. There is tobacco in there, too. And maple, and brown sugar or molasses. No fruits here that I can tell--at least, none that are bright and sweet. There's a dark sweetness here, like dates, perhaps, but that's all. Very nice evolution.
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Musk first, and a very nice musk. Really hard to describe, though. Very autumn, very skin scent. I love it, but it's really, really hard to put into words. I'm not getting sugar, per se, nor booziness. Maybe a touch of both, but it's mostly this other thing--this dark, smooth, skin musk, and sweet smoke. I am so in love with this. I'm hoping it doesn't turn on me later into the drydown.
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(2005 version) Much more perfumey than I remember '04 being. And a perfume I recognize, too. Cactus flower at the top, I'd say, reminiscent of Santa Muerte. After the intial perfumey-ness burns off, the incense note emerges. It's nice, but it's very unlike last year's. It's much softer, and less dark. The tobacco is light, even, here. Way into the drydown, I want to say that I smell just a smidgen of chocolate, but I could be totally wrong about that (it may also be the overlap from other scents I'm testing). I have to say that I like this much better than last year's, but given the florals, I don't think this'll be one I reach for much.
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(2005 version) Oh, this seems far more complex than the maple-y sugar I got from '04. This is deep and boozy. Much darker than Trick or Treat. It's as if Trick or Treat took over the old sweet spot, and the Sugar Skull went dark. Oh, yes. There is tobacco in there, too. And maple, and brown sugar or molasses. No fruits here that I can tell--at least, none that are bright and sweet. There's a dark sweetness here, like dates, perhaps, but that's all. Very nice evolution.
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Sugar, honey. Sweet, resinous, and slightly grainy. I wish I had some candy corn on hand to compare it. I can say that it's not evoking that scent memory for me. Butterscotchy, almost. Or maple syrup. It reminds me of Sugar Skull, Hellcat, and Grog. It's like Sugar Skull, Midway style, if that makes sense. I don't know if candy corn is ever homemade, but if so, this might be it. The spices come out as it dries: sweet clove, mostly, which is lovely. As it changed over, I was afraid it might go burnt on me, but it didn't. The clove might be caramel, now that I'm checking more closely. I'm also catching some vanilla: just a touch, which is also lovely. It's an incredibly young scent, but it's not too young on me, like Midway was. The way the spices take over is fantastic. I was skeptical when I put it on, but the drydown is convincing that I can wear this as perfume, and not just use it as a room scent.
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Woods first, then soft leather and incense. Very subtle, somewhat sweet, sophisticated masculine blend. I think it's the woods and tonka that pop most for me, but if this soft leather is a new note, then that may be at the forefront too. But screw the notes. This is perfect for its inspiration. Soft, romanticized (but still masculine!) libraries, with a touch of the outdoorsishness in the leather. Gorgeous.
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Courtesy of the random LE swap circle. Soft fir. Very holiday-esque, like going to one of those holiday fairs that sells beautiful wreaths, both dried and live. Some pine, eucalyptus, a touch of dried berries. Sweet, fresh, snowy pines and firs, mostly. A touch of sap and cider/mulling spices in the background, which gets sweeter and overtakes the pine after less than an hour into the drydown. Two hours later, it's a beautifully light, only vaguely pine-y floral, so soft as to remind me of Antique Lace.
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Courtesy of the random LE swap circle. Amazing start, full of citrus and dark masculinity. It's wonderfully blended, intensely complex, and very much a men's cologne. Thus, not something I can wear on a regular basis, though tempting to save an imp for when I feel like really attempting to cross-dress. The tangerine stays barely recognizable at the top, then the vetiver, slightly mollified by the black amber, hits your nose. I don't really catch the saffron as such. I'll bet after this the cedarwood will come out, since my skin usually amps that. Since I'm at work, though, I don't have the patience or inclination to wait it out--I don't want someone to object to the scent, so I'm heading to wash it off some now. Later: Ha. Mr. Azathoth laughed at my puny attempt to wash him off me. But at least he granted me a tiny more citrus, rather than his usual kick of vetiver.
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Courtesy of the random LE swap circle. Very yellow floral at first. Syrupy, bright. Jasmine? Ylang ylang? Honeysuckle? I'm so bad at identifying florals. A bit later, a tinge of spice appears. Carnation or sweet pea, mayhaps? Hmm. Those are notes that don't always like me--we'll see how this turns out. At this point, it's lightened up from the syrupy start, and gone much more green. The spice is pretty stable, though, so I don't think it'll turn on me. It's pretty, but much too bright and floral for me personally.
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... This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus. Courtesy of the random LE swap circle. I can barely smell this one at first. Subtle incense. Then the florals emerge from beneath the dryness of the leaves and a touch of smoke. But not heavily. It's mostly incense and tobacco for me right now. The dry leaves become distinct later. That's what sticks: the dry leaves and a bit of smoke. Very evocative, but not really my thing. Makes me debate my decision to get a bottle of the 2005 version, but we'll see what changes, of course.
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Courtesy of the random LE swap circle. The plums here are beautiful, and as always, I love the way they're softened by the wintry-ness of the blend. This blend stays pretty steady throughout, sweet and light.
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Courtesy of the random LE swap circle. Ooooh frankincense. And then the myrrh. I don't get the buttery or the florals others have. Pure high ritual Christendom here, and that's it. As it dries, it becomes a bit sweeter. The rose comes out, and now I understand why people think this is foody. It has a touch of spiked cider to me at this stage, but I don't find it incredibly foody. On the other hand, it isn't incredibly floral, which is a good thing to me. The rose and florals blend beautifully with the other notes involved. It's a lovely blend, and one I could see myself wearing.