tacey

I have this in a scent locket now -- it's ALL autumn herbs. I think it's one particular herb, actually, but not one I'm familiar with -- very sharp and clear, almost astringent. No hay or patch, no leathery sweetness. Not sure what to make of it, really.

Definitely anise/licorice, but on the herbal side. I didn't get much sweetness at all. Also, I frankly HATE licorice, and this was...not bad. Clearly there's something in there besides straight licorice, but I couldn't identify what. Very interesting.

Just to throw out something a little different, what about The Lion? The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious. It's not cool, but it's very femme and elegant -- it always says 'power' to me. The dryness might imply the distance you're looking for, while staying clearly on the 'beautiful and dreadful' end of the spectrum. OTOH, I love the Yvaine suggestion and I hope you wind up liking that one. Perhaps one of the tea-based blends? I'm thinking of The Apothecary (Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig.) or even The Dormouse (A dizzying eddy of four teas brushed with light herbs and a breath of peony.) (don't let the peony scare you -- I didn't find it floral at all). The herbal/grassy notes seem to be heading in the direction I'm thinking you want. Which brings Coyote to mind (The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk.) -- less 'perfumey' than The Lion, but still in the same family of warm, dry amber.

Frankincense. Not sure where all the other notes are! This is pretty much straight frank on me. Oh, well.

Nobility and haughtiness befitting the Antichrist: sage, carnation and cedar with lavender, vanilla, white musk and leather. I revisited this imp as part of my new-found interest in lavender blends. First, I should say this is NOT a lavender-prominent scent, although I think it does affect the blend, it's not clearly identifiable to me. Initially, it was very vanilla, with a faint, higher edge that I think was the contribution of the lavender and carnation. Pretty! Later into the dry scent, the cedar came out and generally took over. Booo! So, in the end, it didn't work for me, but I definitely enjoyed the initial stages.

A confused muddle initially, the florals gradually cleared up and let the jasmine take focus. And maybe star jasmine is nicer than the other kinds I've encountered, but this actually didn't take over the blend at all. I didn't love it -- it stayed a bit vague, but it didn't do what I was afraid it would, either. I gave this imp to a work colleague who I think will enjoy it much, much more. Enjoy, Kitty!

I was so hoping this would be on the pinot/myrrh/sandalwood side of things...but on me, it's all rose & jasmine. They were strong enough that I didn't even bother waiting for the rest of the blend to show up -- I know better, once QUEEN JASMINE is in control. So I washed this off and tried a different imp from my untried pile. All's good, right? Well, a few hours later, Sri Lanka (my replacement imp) is starting to fade, but I'm getting wafts of JASMINE again! After a soap-and-water scrub and several hours! I really should just give up on that note...it takes over on me. So, I don't think that will help many people, but if you're one of the jasmine-cursed tribe, beware!

That's one of my favorite oils and I realized that way too late to buy any straight from the lab. I have one wee bottle, but I'm also always comparing oils against the sexy lusciousness that is On Darkness. This may just be my skin, but I get a hazy, dusty, dark purple, almost plummy feeling from it and though I don't think they have similar notes, I've gotten "purple" and plummy from Bensiabel and Dionysia since they have a plum note that works for me better than Bordello's or something like that. the problem is they don't have the dusty richness I get from the opium in OD. I thought Dr. John Seward had a similar vibe with the opium poppy notes in that one. Since that's an LE too, maybe layering Opium Poppy and Bensiabel? Oooooo! I just saw Dionysia (Wild plum, pomegranate, raspberry, Siamese benzoin, plum blossom, patchouli, frankincense, and mahogany) mentioned in another thread today and thought it sounded much more tempting than whenever I last looked at the Ladies. Since the opium-heavy possibilities I've tried haven't really emulated On Darkness very well, maybe the purple/plummy relatives are the way to go... I do love Bensiabel, although I hadn't especially connected him to On Darkness. Definitely a useful direction to explore -- thank you!

Oh, Tristran, you heartbreaker......... This scent was so close! It went on for about the first 10-15 mins like the most natural match... Ever had the experience of a perfume just suiting you? It didn't smell 'like me', but it just seemed right -- almost familiar, and exactly what it should have been. Lovely sweet woods and a hint of spices and vanilla...love it! But after about 20 mins, something new was added to the mix: a very masculine, almost aquatic note that I don't see in the notes list. At first, this note was at a distance, almost like someone wrapping their arms around me, while wearing it. That was pretty nice, actually. It didn't take long, though, for the manly note to take over everything. After half an hour or so, all I can smell is this one note -- very cologny, masculine, and totally out of place. Nothing else is even detectable. Unless I can talk my husband into wearing this, and it works better on him, this one is too /fail. Very sad... ETA 2/8/2010: Ok, I'm coming back to this one, because the notes just sound so beautiful, and I WANT it to work. It's been long enough that I think I've moved past the part where I whine that it's not what I expected. The question is, do I like what it IS? This is such a well-blended scent, I really cannot identify any single note. It's very outdoorsy, so perhaps that's the woods and patchouli? But light and ... sunlit. Not a gloomy woods, but a warm afternoon hike with lots of sunbeams coming through the branches above. A bit cool at first, like a mountain breeze, but not enough to chill the day - just a breath. It's lovely. I'd still consider it a bit on the masculine side, but not cologney or harsh in any way. There's an innocence to Tristran in Stardust that I think is captured here. ETA 3/1/2010: I give up! I'll never make up my mind on Tristran. Wearing today, it's gorgeous, but very cologney (no, still can't work out the notes). I'm a bit self-conscious, actually, thinking people are going to notice and find it very odd on me. Nice throw, which is unusual for me. Sorry to be so utterly unhelpful, everyone!

Sigh. Started out very interesting -- warm but not spicy, lots of depth. No notes I recognized, but I was enjoying it. As it warmed up and matured on my skin (generally takes the first 20 mins or so), it went all cinnamon. LOTS of cinnamon, and really nothing else anymore. <img src="http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mecry.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="mecry.gif" /> ETA: Aaaaannnndddd it's causing a bit of a skin reaction -- not on my wrists, but on my throat. Even the spots under my jaw where I rub off the excess bit of oil from my finger/thumbtips from opening the imp (really, a tiny amount of oil). Bright red patches -- so attractive... ETA (11/2013): Ha! So glad I wrote this. I was just browsing the Etsy store and thought this one sounded wonderful. LOL. Completely forgot I'd ever tried it...

Oooooo, what a dangerous bad-boy, and I've got a new crush! Wulric is dark cocoa -- not chocolate to my nose, but cocoa backed up by so much more! A bit of the sage and lavendar, that birch tar note late in the drydown, plenty of vanilla and something that might even be bourbon. Strong and sexy! I don't see this as masculine at all, but I go for the darker scents, so YMMV. Lots of throw, decent lasting power.

I love this! It's bright and sparkly, reminding me of Croquet, but with a deeper grounding from the herbs or snakeskin, perhaps? Definitely some light musk. Lime for sure, but nothing I can identify as currants. Not sweet at all -- just bright. Amazing blend!

[]How did I not review this?? I was sooo excited to buy my first LE, too!]] Beautiful, soft, feminine scent with many many moods! So perfect for the baby Lily to grow into. This is a tea based scent, and on me it has a strong presence of mandarin -- some days that's the main note, some days not. The rose is occasionally detectable, but never a strong note; vanilla also occasionally appears, but never strongly. Some depth that I attribute to the musk + opoponax. I very much enjoy this one, despite it being not at all what I had expected. It's improving with age, I think, as more notes come out. Still a very light scent.

Not as similar to the On Darkness (Yule 2008) as I had hoped. I get a LOT of narcissus out of this -- very perfumey. If the 'darkest opium' is present it's very different from the other opiums I've learned to identify. Myrrh may be present underneath, but it's not contributing much, yet. Would likely work better with skin that kept the narcissus more in the background...

Maybe Coyote? The Native American Creator / Trickster God of Chaos and Change. The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk.

Second the Haunted suggestion! I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head (the dark ones I love are more purple than black -- and they would clash with the red lipstick! ). Haunted has an eerie, elegant suggestion to it that would be perfect.

This imp has been sitting in my to-try stack for a while, and I think I understand why it hasn't gotten the thumbs up/down decision. I've tried it a couple of times already, and somehow it's just not very memorable. Today, however, it's growing on me. The first hour or so was pretty 'meh' -- just nothing there to notice. Now (in my toasty warm office), it's finally getting somewhere. Very few notes that I can pick out -- nothing like my other opium notes, though. A touch sweet, and some smoke coming out gradually. Dark, but ... not a substitute for On Darkness. Just not very exciting on my skin -- very little depth.

So, I was a belated convert to 'On Darkness' from the 2008 Yules, and I only recently acquired a bottle. Now, of course, I'm completely in love and must must must have more like this. Rather than stalk everyone who admits to having a bottle, I thought the GC would be the socially (and financially!) acceptable way to go. An embrace: black poppy, lavender, thick black incense, black amber, rose geranium, Brazilian rosewood, and benzoin. Does anyone have suggestions for GCs that might be close to this? Or even in the same family, if not really close? Many thanks! tacey

Lovers with Rutting Cats, despite the vivid name, somehow slides to the back of my mind. I'm always somehow surprised to find it in my drawer, but I do love it. Could easily become a favorite, if I could just remember to wear it... It's clearly a vanilla scent, but not sweet or foodie at all -- very soft and touchable. I'd say furry, but you'd assume I was just being influenced by the title. Well, of course I am! <img src="http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/magtongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="magtongue.gif" /> Vanilla and oud -- that gorgeous, velvety, glowing oud -- with perhaps a touch of the palm date beneath everything. No ginger on my skin, which is fine by me. Oakmoss I'm less sure of. I think I would recognize that note, and once in a while there's a hint of something...sleeker than the rest. Not cool, but a different texture. Oakmoss? You decide. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="icon_smile.gif" /> This is super-wearable, almost comforting with a hint of sexy. I feel pettable! ETA: after about a year, this started going to playdough on me. I waited several months, but as of Jan-2011 I've decided it's permanently unwearable.

Um, no. This doesn't work on me at all. I'm assuming that's the vetiver taking over? Never met Mr Vetiver before, but it's quite unpleasant. To the swaps with ye!

I notice the red musk and sandalwood. Sharpish scent -- appropriate for something with claws. It might even be described as furry. (Yes, my imagination is easily led -- that's the point.) It's a nice scent, but definitely not sexy. Later, it's turning woody -- amber and sandalwood. Nice! This stage didn't last, but it was wonderful. Overall, I think this blend might be a touch masculine on me. I don't think it's really complementing my chemistry, somehow. Nothing wrong, exactly, but nothing special. Too bad.

Wow, now I get why lavender is a common element in so many more masculine blends. This is rather masculine for me, and much more so than the notes suggested to my imagination. Starts out lavender, but a very changeable lavender -- from the purple-y floral type to the herbal and greenish scent to the dusty aged form. Then a sweet blast and a bitter bite, all one after the other. Can't pick out which notes are contributing, but the overall impression I formed was very negative. Not for me.

Just what I'd hoped -- light and sparkly, with a deeper grounding. The grapefruit is the only note I can identify for sure, but I'm having seriously weird chemistry issues this week, so I'll come back to it later and see what I can pull out. For now, it's just a light, fun, not-very-sweet sparkle.

Not quite what I'd hoped for, but an evocative blend, somehow. Started off with the violets, which somehow suggest a sense of loss and emptiness. I'm not sure where that's coming from, but it makes perfect sense with the character of Faustus, anyway. Changed to all frankincense later, and the cinnamon never appeared for me. I might try this one again, but right now it's not really speaking to me.

Oooooooo! This is a good one! I haven't decided yet how often I'll be wearing it, but it's lovely for the right occasion! (Fridays, maybe!) There's an initial blast of dark chocolate -- very strong, but not the overwheming wash-it-off sweetness of milk chocolate I got from Bliss. This is a very nice dark chocolate, quickly tempered by the vanilla and myrrh, both of which I can sniff clearly, but they blend beautifully with the chocolate, creating something new. A bit later the sandalwood comes out to play, promoting this blend into a new favorite. So smooth and dark!