Seismogenic

When this one was posted, it read like a list of notes I know I like the smell of (plus some that I don't know what they smell like, and one I have no clue what it is or how to pronounce it). It sounded awesome from the site alone, and a brief test at last month's Will Call confirmed its awesomeness. I am so glad that it is mine now, for the more extended wearing and reviewing! In the bottle: Frosted herbs and grasses with a hint of tea. Dry, mostly, but there is sweetness back there. Wet on skin: The snow note is prominent, but it's not as if there are several feet of snow on everything. It's really as if the grasses and greenery are frosted over so you can still see the color beneath the ice. The grass is definitely under there, as is the swamp tea (at least, I assume that's what smells like tea). Smells like there's some soft dirt on this forest floor, too. Drydown: Freshly dry is much the same as wet, though the wild grasses (and perhaps the green parts of the other plants) are, if anything, a little more prominent. The pine and the sage are also making themselves more apparent right now. The flowers and berries are adding a little subtle sweetness, but I wouldn't call this a floral at all. At one hour in, it's much the same as freshly dry, though perhaps a little less snowy. The throw is pretty good. Five hours later: Still going strong, and at pretty much the same combination of notes that's been there since it dried. The snow is gone, but it's still winter. End of the day: A faint whiff of sweet dry herbs. Overall: I still love this. A lot. It's absolutely a winter scent, but it's different from the stereotypical evergreens and red berries and mulling spices kind of winter. This is a very wild and natural scent - it has the evergreens, but they're just part of the entire forest, which also is inhabited by annual plants, in the process of fading or drying out when the winter hits. As I said before, the snow note in this blend is more like everything is coated with translucent frost than a thick layer of snow, but the disappearance of this note later on doesn't warm things up. It's just a different stage of winter. The smell of Moon of Small Spirits creates a very specific kind of landscape in my mind, and I think it's wonderful. I'm very glad to have a bottle!

This was a frimp in my Election Day order, and it's honestly one I'd entirely overlooked until it showed up. I think it's really awesome that this is the recreation of a historical blend, so I'm looking forward to seeing how well this works. In the imp: Mostly grape, with some rosemary, something citrus, and maybe a bit of herbal mint. Wet on skin: Still very grape, with sharpness that's probably the citrus. Rosemary's still there, but the mint is hiding again. I have to admit it's borderline grape allergy medicine, but the rosemary's what keeps it out of that territory. Drydown: Freshly dry, it's still mostly grape. True to form, the citrus is backing out pretty quickly. There's still some edge from the rosemary, but it's no longer enough to hold the grape back from allergy medicine land. Eek! There's definitely no rose yet, also. An hour later, we're still in Dimetapp Land, though more softly. Sigh. Five hours later: It's not unlike Cairo now, which is a very welcome change. I rather like this stage. Shame it's so faint, and that it takes this long to get to this point. End of the day: Gone. Overall: I have to wonder if my impression of this would be very different if I hadn't needed to take that crappy grape allergy medicine pretty much daily for years when I was little. That grape is super fake and chemically, but despite the fact that Bess' grape smells much more like real grapes, I can't help but be reminded. The herbal edge from the rosemary and mint is far from a chemical edge, but the hardness it adds to the grape can't help but make it medicinal in my mind. I'm really disappointed; I really wanted to like this one! Curse you, Dimetapp, for ruining grape!

Certain software in my lab has been evil lately. It only works when things are not urgent, and goes all error message when the work is due by the end of the week. It keeps coming up with. I am starting to feel remorseless raging fury at it, with two days left before my presentation and another two after that before the big conference. Just because it knows it's the best software for this application doesn't mean it's allowed days off! If this interferes, vengeance shall be had, and it shall be inescapable, for the computer on which it is installed is parked on my desk. Er, yes. I'm annoyed with the computer, so I'm gonna test Nemesis today. In the imp: Dry, cutting, and herbal, but still slightly sweet. Definitely getting the ginger already, and I think that other thing is the cypress. Wet on skin: There's the patchouli. I couldn't smell it in the imp! The possibly-cypress has diminished, though there's still plenty of ginger. I think the sweetness is from fig rather than tonka, but I can't tell yet. No roses yet. Drydown: Freshly dry, patchouli has calmed down, and cypress is back. It's not quite as sweet now, though I can still detect the fig in the background. Still no tonka or rose, and I haven't a clue what cyclamen smells like. At an hour in, this is definitely one of those scents that has a different smell depending on how close you are to it. On my wrist, it's still dry and herbal, with the cypress in charge, some ginger, and maybe some patchouli. Further away, there's rose and fig and perhaps also tonka; much sweeter, in general. Five hours layer: The sweet layer has pretty much dissipated, and what's left is something very dry, herbal, and perhaps even properly dusty very close to my wrist. End of the day: Gone. Overall: I have to admit, I'm rather indifferent to this one! At no time was it unpleasant, nor was it run-of-the-mill in any form. I'm just not particularly excited by it, but neither am I turned off by it at all. I always think it's cool when scents work in layers, as they do in this one. And hey, the computer problem got fixed, so the threat of justice aspect seems to work!

I just got the name of my Switch Witchee! I am feeling all grinny and mischievous as I plot things to send and riddles that don't make me to obvious of a giftgiver, but leave hints at the same time. This seems like a perfect situation for smelling like Cheshire Cat! In the imp: Tangy citrus on top of thick juicy currant jelly. There's also something vaguely tealike, which I assume is the chamomile. Wet on skin: The grapefruit immediately tones down, though the currant stays strong, and the chamomile is also still there. The sweetness of the musk is also coming into play now. Drydown: Freshly dry, this reminds me of sweet fruit/herbal tea, and that's a good thing! The citrus and the current are blending together nicely with the chamomile. and the musk is still staying underneath. I'm not getting any of the other flowers yet. An hour later, it's a curranty chamomiley tea-ish thing with musk warming up below it. The grapefruit is gone, and the whole scent is already fainter. Five hours later: Pretty much gone, except for the littlest bit of musk that only seems to be there if I'm not thinking about it. It's been pretty gone for over an hour, too. End of the day: Gonegonegone. Overall: You'd think I'd get the idea by now that the vast majority of citrus/fruit scents do not last on me! (Well, Fearful Pleasure lasted, and the currant in Frederic lasted, but...) As with many of those other scents, I really like the way this smells when it's freshly dry - it's very cheerful, and perhaps even a little smug at the same time. I just wish it didn't go poof so quickly, though I suppose going poof is fitting of the Cheshire Cat.

I received this as a frimp in a decant circle order, and it definitely seems to have been chosen carefully! Earthy, check. Foresty, check. Possibly resiny, check. I wasn't familiar with the poem, but I went and looked it up, and I liked it as well. I'm much more familiar with German romanticism than with American, but all the nature themes hold across national boundaries, which makes the text, and the scent, appeal to me in concept. In the imp: Dark and resinously piney. Wet on skin: Pine sap and fresh needles, totally natural, no hint of cleaning fluid. The oil is fairly dark colored, even on my wrists. Drydown: More strong fresh pine resin and needles. This is a very fresh evergreen, or a whole forest of them. I'm not really getting any of the other notes yet. By one hour, the other notes have tamed the pine significantly, though it is still prominent in the mix with juniper and musk. Five hours later: The scent is still obvious on my wrists, though the pine has further faded in favor of the musk, which has sweetened the whole blend considerably. The juniper has once again disappeared, after its brief appearance at the one hour mark. End of the day: All the foresty smells are gone, but some sweet musk remains Overall: I really like this one. In the earlier stages, it's like walking into a forest full of huge evergreens on an overcast or dark day, intensely enclosing, but not in a particularly threatening way. As it dries down, it blends into something that is still dark and enclosing, still natural even while no longer smelling like any one natural thing. It's a sort of comforting darkness, which fits the poem in my mind - coming back to the Earth itself after death is a nice thought, rather than a depressing one. The Earth cycles and regenerates, after all! I don't know if there was supposed to be an actual dirt note in there or not, but I have no objection that there wasn't. I'll definitely be keeping this imp, though I don't think it'll get wear on days with temperatures higher than 60.

Granite! It mentions granite specifically! I am so excited! That in and of itself is why I wanted to try this one, though it has the added bonus of being from Stardust, which is a wonderful little book. In the imp: A lot like Lightning - water and ozone, though not quite as electric. Maaaybe something earthy in the background. Wet on skin: Something dusty comes in under the ozone and water. This must be rocks! I hope it will clarify itself as rocks. Drydown: Freshly dry, I'm starting to get some of the vetiver, though not in an overpowering way. There's also something back there that does smell wonderfully like wet rocks. Ozoney rain is still the main element of this scent, though. For about fifteen minutes after this, the wet rock note gets stronger, but by the one hour mark, that's pretty much gone, and what's left is cold ozoney rain. Five hours later: Cold ozoney rain, though less of it than before. End of the day: Ozone, and still quite a bit of it. Overall: Why must rocks be so elusive? The first twenty minutes or so, when the rocks were smellable, were amazing. A perfect mix of rock, cold water, and a bit of electricity. I think that totally nailed the Stormhold as described in the book. Once the rocks faded, this was definitely still the Stormhold's usual weather pattern, but as a geologist, I am stubbornly more interested in rocks than rain. I like the rain scent, but there are other oils I can get it from. In mixing mineral and water, I think Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune nails it better on my skin, even if it is a LE.

This one made it onto my wish list for one specific word: "volcanic." I figured that today would be an appropriate day to test it, since we had a field trip to the La Brea Tar Pits - musk of dangerous beasts, plus geological gases? Perfect. In the imp: Dark, musky, and with the tang of fresh vegetation. Nothing volcanic yet. Wet on skin: Now something a little smoky is coming out, if not coming to the fore. The musk and the green tang are still back there. Drydown: Freshly dry, it's mostly musk and slightly acrid smoke, though the green isn't completely gone. Within an hour, the musk is the most prominent note, with dark greenery and some smoke still staying in the background. Five hours later: This is pretty much all musk now - dark, slightly sweet, and relatively faint. End of the day: There's a tiny whiff of musk left on my wrists. Overall: This was less geological than I'd hoped, though I still liked it, particularly in the earliest stages of drydown, where all of the major notes were identifiable. The smoke there was definitely pretty volcanic, and I wish it'd lasted longer, but that's mostly my geekery talking. The musk and vague greenness does suggest nasty beasties in a dark jungle, which fits the inspiration well. I'm not sure how often I'd wear this, since there are other musks and volcanoes I like more, but I'm still going to hold onto the imp for now.

Another dirt scent, woohoo! As a geologically-inclined person, the mere concept of dirt scents makes me happy, and the Lab's dirt is very realistic. I like how it combines with other notes in various other blends, and I like moss and the way real yew trees smell (though I haven't tried it in an oil), so I'm curious to see how this blend works on me. In the imp: A sort of sharp, dirty floral. The flowers would probably be white if they didn't have dirt on them. Wet on skin: Less flowers, more dirt, which is what I was hoping. That geranium is still under there, sweetening things, but the soft fresh dirt is coming out on top. Drydown: As soon as it dries, the flowers come back with a vengeance. There's wonderful soft fresh dark dirt under them, but you definitely have to jam your face through the field of geraniums to sniff the earth. At an hour in, the flowers have amped even more, to the point of making me sneeze a little. Where is my dirt?! By two hours, dirt is showing back up a little, but it's still mostly flowery. Five hours later: Faint flowery dirt. End of the day: Faint flowers, sans dirt. Overall: Oh flowers, why must you spoil my lovely lovely dirt?! I think the smell of Graveyard Dirt in and of itself is amazing, and I love the dirt/rock notes in Badger and Kumari Kandam...well, any of that was all covered up here. I wouldn't have objected to dirt with a faint bit of flowers, but this one is the opposite, and the flower smell early on was enough to make me sneezy. I also never got a whiff of the yew or moss, at least not as something heterogeneous enough to ID on its own. I think I'll be passing this one along to someone else.

Though I'd heard the hype about this one, that's not why I was interested in trying it. I have to say that the name is what intrigued me initially; I hadn't heard of the artifact before, but it didn't seem like the kind of name that could be made up, and BPAL prompted me to look it up. The fact that it is an incredibly cool artifact made this blend all the more appealing. Add in the fact that I like wood notes and vanilla, and that the woods-and-vanilla of Tombstone work so well on me, and I knew I had to give The Antikythera Mechanism a shot. In the imp: Rich, dark, slightly sharp, sweet wood. Wet on skin: This smoothes out immediately, and while the previous description still applies, it's harder to ID those as individual notes. Very nicely blended! Drydown: Freshly dry, the tobacco becomes more evident, though it's not dominant at all. It's something that continues to smooth out the wood, and the vanilla is an undercurrent to that. An hour later, it's pretty much the same - wonderfully smooth, dark, and slightly sweet wood. Five hours later: The same seamless blend as at the one hour mark, only slightly fainter. Definitely still very present. End of the day: There's still a good amount of scent on my wrists, though at this point, it's mostly just wood, drier than it was before. Overall: I can totally see why this is so popular - it's wonderful! It is, as others have said, a very refined smell; I agree with the assessment that it smells how polished dark wood looks, and that mental image does make me think of a room with antique furniture, which then plays into the whole steampunk thing. I am absolutely going to make use of this imp, if not more than that.

There's this part in Sondheim's musical Into the Woods where the Witch basically raps about the invasion of her garden, and the words to that rap are, in part, pretty much the notes list for this oil. I've played in the pit orchestra for two separate productions of that musical, and I think the Witch Garden Rap scene is still one of my favorites. That in and of itself was enough to make me want to try this, though I also do love the smell of fresh salad herbs/greens. In the imp: Green green green! Fresh, thickly leafy, and herbal. Wet on skin: Still a very fresh and herbal green. Drydown: Freshly dry, this is still pronouncedly herbal, though it actually smells drier now. An hour in, the herbs are still very strong, and they are dry in the sense of there not being extraneous moisture on the leaves, rather than being desiccated. When the oil was wet, it smelled like there was dew or rain on the leaves. I really can't ID the individual notes, though I can tell there are several distinct things in there. Five hours later: A dusky herby green, fainter than at one hour, but still very much present. End of the day: A faint herbal dust remains. Overall: This is Power Salad, seriously, and I mean it as a complement. This is not unlike walking into a farmer's market herb and veggie stall, or opening a fresh bag of herb salad, but it's much darker than that. There's a heaviness to this scent that makes the fresh herbs seem foreboding and menacing, exactly like the kind of things a witch would choose to grow. The fresh greenness is inviting, definitely, but this salad bites back. I think it nails the concept, and I like it quite a lot.

I don't know what half of the notes in this smell like, but I'm still intrigued by it. I'd expect a small bird to smell dusty and brown, and that's what the suggestion already seems to suggest. There are other dusty and brown scents that I really like, so I'm hoping this is one I can add to that list. In the imp: This manages to be dusty and soapy all at once. Odd! Wet on skin: There's still something distinctly soapy about this, though it is kind of a soft brown soap, if that makes any sense. Drydown: Freshly dry, I'm wheezing a little! No! I wonder if sandalwood is my allergy culprit, since it's in The Coiled Serpent as well. That said, it's still woody dusty liquid soap. At an hour in, it's less soapy and more powdery, but still woody, and it still makes me cough every time I sniff it. Not a dangerous reaction, but not pleasant. Five hours later: Powder. The good thing is that it's not making me sneeze or wheeze anymore. End of the day: Gone. Overall: Well, that didn't work. I didn't know what to expect from seeds and sedge, and while dusty brown makes sense, soap and powder really don't, nor do I like the soapy or powdery edge. I also really really don't like my allergies! It's not fun to wheeze whenever you smell something, that's for sure. On a positive note, I think I've figured out that my mystery allergen is sandalwood, so I know what to look out for.

Out of all the new Märchen scents, this one might be the one that intrigues me most, and the appeal comes as part of a search for a brushfire kind of scent. Don't ask me why I'd want to smell like brushfire, since the seasonal ones scare the crud out of me, but I continue the search anyway. In the imp: Definitely firewood and ash! A little vetiver, too, and I thiiiink I can ID the cardamom if I think about it. Wet on skin: Still thickly smoky and dark. A little less vetiver-y now, but maybe more peppery. Drydown: Freshly dry, more of the spice is starting to come out, which is, oddly, making this seem even more like natural woodsmoke to me. The vetiver is still there, but it's not taking over, which is odd for vetiver. At one hour in, there is more vetiver, but it's still only one component of the smoke. I'm definitely getting some of the nutmeg specifically now, too. Five hours later: Almost entirely gone. A little bit smoky, a little bit nutmeggy and a whole lot faint. End of the day: Long gone. Overall: I'm disappointed and surprised that this faded and disappeared so quickly on me. The other smoky scents I've tried so far (namely, Djinn and Moai, and I guess Fearful Pleasure sort of counts) have lasted pretty long on me, though the smoke in Rumpelstilzchen does strike me as being different from those three. I think this is quite close to that brushfire smell I've been looking for so far, even with all the spices; I'm not gonna wear this when the Santa Anas are blowing, lest I inadvertently worry there's a real fire! I also like that the vetiver didn't get out of control, as it sometimes does on me. Pity, really, that it doesn't last long, because the beginning is great!

I have to admit, when I sniffed this one at Will Call, my initial reaction was along the lines of, "Yikes, cleaning fluid!" I am not going to let that sway my nose now that I get to do a proper test, though! In the imp: Uhh. This sits somewhere between fizzy citrus soda and...yeah, lemon cleaning fluid. Wet on skin: This sweetens immediately, fortunately pushing it more toward soda and away from Pledge, even though the fizzy aspect also seems to have disappeared. Drydown: Freshly dry, something more cola-like has shown up, likely as the lemon fades. It's rather like that diet lemon pepsi they used to sell. At one hour in, the lemon has faded even further, and the cola smell is less cola-y, though I honestly can't quite figure out what it does smell like. Five hours later: Oddly - extremely oddly - this now smells like something that is partially burnt, but was extinguished before completely being reduced to ash. No, I don't know where that's coming from! It is perhaps also faintly lemony still, but it sure ain't cola anymore. End of the day: Gone. Overall: Well, that as certainly the weirdest progression of smells to ever come out of a BPAL oil on my wrist! I'm rather baffled by it, and I certainly wouldn't have expected that from my impression at Will Call. That said, I'm still not a fan. If it'd stayed in the fizzy citrus cola stage, that would've been good, but that stage went away far too quickly to be considered the dominant blend here. As it was, the bizarre burned smell lasted the longest, and I could do without that. I'll probably try to swap this for another one of the political party imps.

When this update went live, reading the notes for Tabella was rather like reading a shopping list of things I think smell good. (There are a couple of notes that I don't know what they smell like at all, but the things that smell awesome camp totally wins out.) I also get to say that I bought this on the day that Obama was elected, which wins even more. It's more lasting than the I Voted sticker which they failed to give me at the poll! In the bottle: Soft and extremely well-blended; I'm not really picking out many individual notes yet. I'd say "smooth" and "lightly spiced" are good words right now. Wet on skin: Many of the other notes immediately come into play, though it's still fantastically well-blended. I think I'm getting some of the fig now, and I think I can pick out the benzoin and sage. It's sweetening, but still rather dry. Drydown: Freshly dry, it continues to sweeten - mostly from fig and benzoin, I thiiiink, but that could also be some of the flowers I didn't know about - and more of the spices are rounding it out as well. I'm definitely getting sage, and if I concentrate, I think I can pick up the bergamot and ginger now. At an hour in, it's at pretty much this same point - a wonderful blend of smooth, spicy, and sweet. Five hours later: It's faded quite a bit, or at least the sweet stuff is. There's still quite a bit of dry herbal left, with the sage the most persistent of the lot. I'm even picking up something that could almost be called earthy, but that might just be my brain associating sage with rocks, since my entire fieldwork experience has been in the desert of southern California, which has plenty of sage. End of the day: Gone unless I sniff my wrist really hard. This may not be the fairest test, though, since I did go on a nine mile hike today. I suspect the wearlength would be longer on a less active day. Overall: I agree with the previous posters who said this is a serious scent, though not somber or solemn. It has a definite presence and sense of importance about it, which suits the whole voting process, if you ask me. If this is the essence of voting, it really stresses the importance! Tabella turned out to be a much lighter scent than I expected, but that doesn't do anything to bring it away from the "things I think smell awesome" description, even though I can't necessarily identify the individual things, since it's blended so well. This isn't one I'll wear for day-to-day things, due to the seriousness of it, but it's a definite keeper and go-to for special/major occasions.

I still got frimps and a postcard when I bought something at Will Call, and it wasn't even an order that I'd placed in advance.

I have to admit, the name of this one makes me think of Weird Al's song "Christmas at Ground Zero" a whole lot. I know I actually ordered the decant because I like the smell of snow and the smell of mint, but I'd be lying to say that song wasn't a factor at all. In the imp: Cold, slushy, and minty. Wet on skin: This is another one of those oils that actually makes the air in my nose feel cold when I sniff it! It's cold and sharply minty right now. Drydown; Freshly dry, it's still slushy and minty, with the mint fusing into the snow note. I'm amazed at how snowy this really smells. At one hour in, the mint has faded entirely into the snow, and I'm left with a soft slushy cold smell. There's nothing sweet in here whatsoever. Five hours later: All that's left is a little ozone. It faded to this point between the two and three hour mark, in fact. End of the day: Gone. Overall: For the two hours or so that this maintained its smell, it was amazingly convincingly wintery. I was sitting in my apartment catching whiffs and feeling utterly convinced that I was keeping warm inside, and that the bright air outside was bitterly cold and the occasional sparkling through the window was from ice and snow. Sure, opening the door reminded me that I'm in southern California and it was 70 today and the sparkling was light reflecting off the swimming pool, and that we don't get that kind of winter here - but for a little while, this scent brought winter home. Problem is, it was too little of a while. All the mint and slush was gone by three hours in, and the ozone that was left could have been from any number of other ozone blends. I guess it's also a far departure from real life that I'd be wanting the snow and ice to stick around longer, but that's how it goes!

Hey, look at me, getting all my holidays crossed! It might be Thanksgiving, but I'm up for a little Hanukkah anyway. It's always better when Hanukkah comes earlier, anyway, since it gets swamped by the Christmas stuff if it's at the end of December, like this year. Bleh. Anyway, I'm interested in this one both for the fact that I am, technically, Jewish (not that I've done anything about it in years), and that the notes in this one all appeal to me individually. I can't say I ever sniffed the Hanukkah candles when we celebrated when I was little, but I'm also kind of hoping for this to bring up some memories. In the imp: Smooth, vaguely (and surprisingly) orangey beeswax. Wet on skin: I think the smoothness might be the olive oil. It's coming out more relative to the beeswax, and the sharper citrus impression is fading. Drydown: Freshly dry, it's still sweet beeswax and olive oil. No smoke yet, but no more orange either. It's a very warm and comforting scent so far. One hour later, I was driving back from a last second Thanksgiving grocery store run, and had a definitely, "Whoa, it smells good in my car!" moment. This has a surprising amount of throw for something meant to represent a candle without added scent, and this is a good thing! I'm still not really getting smoke, but the combination of sweet beeswax and olive oil is lovely. Five hours later: Still going very strong, with the same wonderful warm combination of beeswax and olive oil. If I think about it, that might be smoke at the back of my nose, but I'm not entirely sure. End of the day: And it's still going! Not even terribly much fainter than at the five hour mark, also. Overall: This is one that lasts and lasts -- which makes absolute perfect sense considering the whole Hanukkah legend involves a very small amount of oil being effective for eight days. It also captures the candle extraordinary well, with its warm sweet wax. The scent practically does glow warmly, and I think it would be an extremely comforting scent on a cold and dark winter day. This is also definitely one of the more unusual BPALs I've tried so far, and I like it very much for that as well. EDIT: I didn't wash it off before bed, and I can still smell it now, a full 24 hours after putting it on. Whoa.

Pirates? Small fuzzy critters? Being from a storybook I loved when I was little? Also reminding me of Redwall, never mind that the sea rats in those books are the bad guys? Yes plz! In the imp: Rather cologney, but also sweet. I can't tell what's contributing to the sweet yet. It's not unlike how Frederic smells in the bottle. Wet on skin: This immediately gets more complex and less overtly cologney. I'm getting wood, something berryish, and a few herbs. Drydown: Freshly dry, it's spiced incensey wood with berries and musk. No seaweed yet, and I'm not sure if I'd know ambergris if it punched me in the nose; it could also be in there. After about an hour, it's pretty much the same combination/balance of notes, though perhaps more seamlessly blended. Five hours later: Seems like there's more musk and less of the berrylike smell now, but the overall effect of sweetened spiced wood remains. The throw has faded somewhat, but the scent is still quite present. End of the day: A faint bit of muskiness remains, if I sniff for it. This faded pretty quickly past the five hour mark. Overall: I think this nails the character: piratical but refined, not to mention furry. However, without thinking of the inspiration and only comparing to other smells I have sniffed, The Sea Rat really reminds me a whole lot of Frederic. The specific things that make Sea Rat sweet are different from what make Frederic sweet, but they're close enough, and the other notes are also quite close, which makes them very comparable on my skin. The Sea Rat is what you'd get if you went to a staging of Pirates of Penzance in a world populated by anthropomorphic animals! This said, I like Frederic a lot, which means I also like The Sea Rat a lot, but since I already have a bottle of Frederic, there's no urgency in upgrading Sea Rat.

I was excited about this one for a couple of reasons. The notes themselves are intriguing, and also the concept, even aside from the place in the Wind in the WIllows story. I've done a lot of driving around to small places that might not be anywhere in particular, but are still very meaningful in some way (for me, that way is usually geological, sometimes musical); I'm hoping Nowhere In Particular will nail the beauty of small places, even if they're different small places from the ones I know. In the imp: Ozone and faint fresh greenness. Wet on skin: Mostly ozone. The green is there if I think about it. Drydown: Freshly dry, the ozone has receded a lot already, though it's still there at the back of my nose, along with something faintly sweet and fruity. Dust is definitely coming into the foreground now, though it is also subtle; it's not taking over from anything. At one hour in, the vague greenness has really turned into a proper orchard - a mix of warm fruit and foliage. It's still definitely distant, though. It's obscured by dust, and by something else I can't quite figure out. There's not really any ozone anymore. Five hours later: This is barely perceptible anymore; the whiffs that I do get still are of the orchard smell. End of the day: Gone. Overall:When this is fresh, it reminds me a bit of several somewheres in particular, though it evades being any one of them dead on. I am so very sad, however, that this doesn't last longer! It's unique and beautifully evocative in the early stages of wear - there's definitely dust and definitely fruit retaining residual heat from the day but definitely not actual atmospheric heat anymore! - but it's gone so fast that it's like speeding past this spot, rather than enjoying a slow trip down that road.

I was very intrigued by this one, though more for the rain and dust than for the incense. Rain is not something we get much where I live, and yet it's a nice smell when it happens. We do, however, have plenty of dust, and that's geological enough to tickle my fancy even more. In the imp: A cold and wet smell with a bit of citrusy bite. Wet on skin: Still cold and wet, to the point where my nose feels cold when I sniff, but the citrus aspect goes byebye the second it hits my skin. Drydown: Freshly dry, the smell has already faded, though I still definitely get the wetness of the rain, and now also the dryness of the dust. No incense yet, though. At the one hour mark, it's still cold fresh rain on the dusty ground, or possibly even the dirty pavement. It's not citrusy anymore, and it's only incensey if I really think about it hard. Five hours later: Cold rain on dusty pavement, still. One would expect the dust would be mud if it had been raining for that five hours, but this still smells like the drizzle started recently enough to still be able to find some dry dust. End of the day: The slightest hint of something ozoney. Overall: I didn't get any of the temple incense mentioned in this blend, but what I did get was an incredibly evocative temperate winter scent. This is "chilled" in the parts of the world that don't actually get enough chill for snow. If anything, this could be winter in Riverside, when rain finally comes late in the year and clears all the dust off of everything. It may be a little desolate, but it's also purifying. While I'm curious what the incense would have added to this blend, I also think it's fantastic as it is on my skin.

This was a generous frimp from septima_pica, and I was pretty excited to try it, since I'm a fan of the Wanderlust category in general, and since it's such a historic blend. In the imp: Largely sweet, but with a tangy, maybe alcoholic, bite to it that sort of manifests at the back of my nose. If that makes any sense. Wet on skin: Pretty much the same as in the imp, though it becomes clearer that the sweetness is honey specifically, and that the tartness could be lemongrass. Not getting anything that reminds me of incense yet, though. Drydown: Freshly dry, this is already developing quite a throw! I think I am getting some wine in there now, though it's subtle, rather than drowning in booze. I'm also still getting a lot of the probably-lemongrass, and still some honey. An hour later, it's essentially the same - sweet and tart at once, with something deeper under there. Five hours later[/b]: Pretty much the same state of blendedness as at one hour, just with slightly less intensity. The citrusy aspect that's making this tart is still there, which is impressive, since I usually make citrus die. End of the day: That same bright sharpness is still there, though somewhat fainter. It may be a little less sweet now, but on the whole, it's far from faded away. Overall: I really really like this. It's a sharp and unique scent, and while I'm not getting any of the typical incense that the description seems to imply, I still like what's in there very much. I'm also amazed that something even vaguely citrusy managed to stay that way on me for so long. This seems like the kind of scent that would go well with hot weather, which means it should get plenty of use from me!

Well now, here's something I never expected to get a chance to try! Many thanks to Persephone76 for the testable sniffie! I enjoy Gaiman's work, I've had good luck with BPAL's apple note so far, and SGA is just plain infamous already, so I'm excited to get to test it. In the imp: Frigidly cold tart green apples. It's a smooth smell - I guess that's the glass! Wet on skin: Less sharply cold now, though these are still very freshly-cut Granny Smiths. It is still incredibly glassy smooth, though I couldn't begin to tell you what's making it that way. Drydown: Freshly dry, I get a little more of the snow note again, but the apple is sweeting up some. It's still very smooth. I'm getting a little of something darker that I can't for the life of me identify, but it's not dominant. After an hour, this is smooth cold ozoney apple, with perhaps a bit of musk lurking in the background. Five hours later: Faintly apple-y ozone. It's still pretty present, though the balance of notes has changed significantly over time. End of the day: Ozone. Overall: The name of this oil hits the nail square on the head, particularly early on. It's cold, glassy smooth, and apple-y all at once. Even if I'd never read the story, I'd say the name and the smell match perfectly. And having read the story, the faint darker/musky stuff that showed up earlier on also fits the tale. I wish, though, that the apple stuck around longer! The ozone is the dominant player in later stages of wear, which is fine, but that's not what makes this blend work so well. I wish the namesake combination of notes persisted the entire time! Even though the fact that they don't means I won't be needing to shell out the cash for a larger quantity of this.

This was a frimp from septima_pica, a dirt scent handed from one geologist to another. Hehhehheh! I'd been considering trying this one at some point anyway, precisely because of the dirt note, but it hadn't made wishlist status yet because I was a little wary of "perfume evocative of noir heroines." I am glad the opportunity presented itself for trying this without me having to make a decision! In the imp: Though none of the notes describe it that way, it honestly smells kind of spiced-cakey to me right now, with some vague sweet florals. Wet on skin: There is still something oddly sweet about this that I really can't figure out. It's maybe a little gingery and a little dusty. I'm not really getting loam. Drydown: Freshly dry, it's getting a little more distinctly earthy, but there's still an iced spice cake kind of thing going on that doesn't make much sense to me. Someone left the cake out in the dust, oh noooooo! An hour later, it's definitely still spice cake in the dirt. Smells like good cake, and good dirt. Five hours later: Still going strong with the sweet spice cake in the dirt. This hasn't morphed since the one hour mark, nor has it faded much. End of the day: It's still there! It's still dusty cake: maybe a little more dusty than cake at this point. It's faded some since the five hour mark, but it's still very far from gone. Overall: This was very much not what I expected. I thought it would be something more along the lines of Kumari Kandam, with the earthy notes most prominent and carrying the faintest bit of noir heroine perfume. I did not expect the balance to go the other way, nor did I expect noir heroine perfume to smell like spice cake. Penny Dreadful is pretty darn weird in that way! Being the geology geek that I am, I was hoping for more dirt all along. I'm not really sure how I feel about the cake. I like to eat cake, but the jury is still out on how I feel about smelling like it.

Thanks to septima_pica for the frimp! I have to admit that I know next to nothing about Lovecraft's work, and nothing at all about the story that Brown Jenkins comes from. I'm afraid I'm no good for evaluating how true to the concept of a small freaky rat-thing with flowery wordy sentences this scent may or may not be. I can be more generally descriptive, though, even if Lovecraft would not approve! In the imp: Coconutty cologne. Wet on skin: More coconutty, less cologney. It definitely does register as "brown" to me. Freshly dry: Freshly dry, it's a sort of dusty, fuzzy, musky, coconut. I can't really differentiate the other stuff yet. One hour later, the coconut is still in charge, with a musky backdrop and some slightly spicy dust. Five hours later: Very faint dusty coconut. End of the day: Maybe the slightest whiff of musk. Overall: Brown Jenkins is an odd scent, and I think it does capture "brown and fuzzy" accurately. There's enough other stuff in there to keep the coconut from going all creamy white, even though the coconut is the most prominent note in this for me. It also fits with "small," in that it's never a very strong smell, and doesn't last particularly long. It's not creepy in the least, though; as others have said, it's warm, rather comforting, and nice.

Many thanks to Persephone76 for this testable sniffie she gave me a few weeks ago at a MnS! I probably wouldn't have thought to test a scent that has tobacco and cookies together on my own, but at the same time, I really liked the character of Mr. Nancy in Anansi Boys, and I certainly wasn't about to turn down an offered opportunity for testing! In the imp: Sweet and citrus-tart at the same time. I'm guessing that's the cookies part of this! Wet on skin: Still mostly limey cookies, though with a little bit of the darker spicier stuff starting to peek out. Drydown: Freshly dry, I'm definitely getting more of the bay rum. It's making the cookies less overwhelmingly sweet, which is nice. The lime is, true to citrus form, already disappearing on me. An hour later, the tobacco and bay rum fill out the scent, which is still sweet but less sugary. It's comfortable and lively at once. Five hours later: Not much left, but it's at the same state of blending as at one hour, minus any trace of lime. End of the day: Gone. Overall: This is a scent that is both quirky and comfortable at the same time. That, to my mind, describes the character of Mr. Nancy as well! Tobacco and cookies work surprisingly well together, and with the bay rum, become something complex and roundly spicy-sweet. The lime was never really a factor on me (unsurprisingly, since I make citrus disappear), but I like this a lot as is.