MisterShrapnel

This is the first time I've seen a recommendations thread and knew exactly what to suggest in the same second. O_o Sounds to me like Night-Gaunt (from A Picnic in Arkham) would be pretty refreshing for a workout: Their scent of their slick, rubbery hides is bittersweet, ticklish, and skin-creeping: something akin to yuzu, white grapefruit, and kumquat mixed with the snow-dusted flowers of Mount Ngranek. It's mostly delicious fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice to me, with a light floral emerging later on. Even seems a little chilly ("snow-dusted"?) in the first few seconds. I love it!

Embarrassing superficial reason for loving Death on a Pale Horse: I have a teeny teeny crush on the Death/The Grim Reaper--Not because he's dead, but because he's tall. (At least, he is in Good Omens, which is how I've always pictured him anyway. I think I have a thing for tall. And dead.) Apparently the Reaper smells really nice. =D The yuzu brings Aizen-Myoo to mind, but whereas Aizen-Myoo is a cheerful pink and orange citrus-fruity-floral with tea, Death has a gorgeous bitter solemnity from the sandalwood as well as just the right dose of vetiver/patchouli, and yet remains very civil overall. Mainly yuzu, lime, and the mint (less green than Envy, more "sparkly" than Mourning Moon), with a base of sheer white musk and some grounding from the other notes. Not as much lavender+manly musk as in, say, Villain. I was expecting the calla lily and geranium bourbon to be high and keening or else soapy as florals can sometimes go, but they're very gentle here too. They add a hint of that fougere tone, which is a plus in my book. The Bow and Crown of Conquest was a little too... cowboy (?) for me to really enjoy wearing, but this is excellent. I'm pretty impulsive with my scent choices, but this could be a new favorite. Actually this shares a lot of notes and thus a teeny bit of resemblance to the Trading Post's Holiday Stress Relief Bath Oil. Ironic? Or not: I'm pretty sure Death doesn't stress about his job too much. D: Part of me really wants to see what man-chemistry does to this.

Goodness, I wasn't expecting to actually fall in love with this! Not nearly as sharp as I was predicting, and thankfully my skin spoils none of the notes. This doesn't really smell cold to me like a snow blend does--more immaculately clean, gleaming white, but still with a gentle, almost steamy warmth (like post-morning-shower dampness, the best feeling ever amirite). I love the chrome for just adding this... indescribable... reflective shine without giving any real color and without of being bitter/steely. The Torture Queen is a little bit sweet (like a very subtle upturn of the corners of the mouth--a thin smile) and has a gorgeous clean musk, just sensual enough to give the scent an intriguing dimension. The gardenia isn't GARDENIAAA; blends very well with the general tone of the scent but I can still tell it's in there... and I love it. Lends a certain femininity without frill. I'm guessing the vanilla is also what adds the sweetness, but by no means is this a very vanillic or foody blend (thank goodness). I'm falling fast in love with the Lab's white amber note, too! More transparent/clean than the other ambers, but it still has body and a certain sweetness. I feel so clean and happy when I wear this. It's fantastic in the recent spring-y weather (even on a gray day), and I can't really think of a situation where it wouldn't fit. Classy, subtle, and modern, yet still kind of sexy? I think this is perfect. I'll be coveting a bottle, I think. Or two.

I'll admit that I jumped on this because the slew of witchy herbs made me think immediately of Hellhound on My Trail (which I enjoy), and this Thirteen does indeed carry a glorious and strange "dried herb" quality. Both voodoo-y (to my novice nose) and cookie-ish. With maybe some function thrown in, hopefully. And I love that. I love the dark label on this one, and I love the inspiration behind this particular addition (especially that "Devil's Shoestring" and "Lucky Hand Root"! How awesome!). The irony is that the very first two notes, of which some reviewers were left wanting MORE, kind of overpower the herbs and I can't decide whether I really like this scent for wear, or whether I just want to like it. It's so perfect, really, and if my tastes remained as they were four months ago this would have been my new obsession, but the brown sugar and smoky hint of dark chocolate are... almost too much for me. Herbal, spicy, dark, and brown-sugar sweet--fascinating, but perhaps not for me. EDIT: Okay, I lied. Or I take back what I said. I tried it on again after letting it sit for a couple weeks, and it's absolutely delicious now--deep, rich, herbal, sweet but not cloying, and the chocolate has dropped that initial "burn-y" quality that I disliked. The brown sugar stays far back enough for me to enjoy the other notes, too. This, I will be keeping, 'cause it wins. It wins hard.

Right, so I never realized until recently that I do in fact have trouble sleeping. Normally I procrastinate and do schoolwork/whatever until the wee hours of the morning (i.e. 4 AM) so I was so shocked during one week when I resolved to get to sleep at 10 PM every evening so I wouldn't be a zombie at school. It was nigh impossible to drift off for a good 90 minutes and I usually have to FORCE myself to stay in the bed, because my mind wanders off and wants to do other things. The first night I sniffed TKO in the bottle, it was love. As in, "Oh man, I actually get to smell this every night?!" The scent itself is phenomenal--a few months ago zankoku_zen likened it to marshmallows and it truly does smell like delectable lavender marshmallows. Kind of vanilla-y in a way that reminds me of Dorian. And it also smells a lot like the Earl Grey Creme tea sold at Teavana (to which I am addicted, so TKO is pure heaven). As for effectiveness, there is no question. I have trouble getting up in the early morning if I've slathered this (as to be expected with a sleep aid) and haven't had much time to sleep, but given a reasonable amount of time to rest I wake up uncommonly refreshed--perhaps I used to wake up several times in the night without knowing it? I'm going to be buying this over and over again for as long as possible. It's like a nightly treat (other than the getting to sleep part... maybe it's got a long-term Pavlovian effect. )

Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage. No. 93 Engine wins the prize for "most bizarre scent that I still enjoy wearing." The note list is a generally intimidating medley of "OMG WHAT IS THAT"s, and together they are no less strange. This is a very bright scent--gleams like hot bronze-toned metal and glows like candlelight. Has woodsy tones, some herbal elements, a kind of peppery kick, along with the sweetness of frankincense+beeswax and a tang that can only come from citrus (lemon balm?). It really does smell industrious, mechanical and yet heated, quiet/calm despite all that activity. I have no real adequate words to describe this... very atmospheric and evocative. Be glad it's a GC, and go try it for yourself.

Of course I had to jump on this one within my first week of discovering the Lab, and of course it had to become unavailable soon afterward. D: This blend seems to be composed more of that delectable heavy cream than of dark chocolate, as the latter tends to smell burnt on my skin, and this seems lighter than that. Like with many chocolate scents, CB has a tinge of nuttiness. There's also a light, vaguely perfumey quality about this (cream?) and unlike many rich and buttery/caramel food blends I get a very smooth, smooth texture (it feels almost "cool" instead of warm, if that makes any sense). Not sickeningly sweet, and because of it's level of intensity(/subtlety?) it would be great to wear (so many foodies feel more like in-bottle delights in my book). It does match the description--the skin of pretty lady in the illustration probably would smell this way! Admirers will think your very pores leak a creamy chocolate-ish scent. Unfortunately, my skin gives this a slight bitter/plastic edge, and these days I don't have as much interest in smelling like food. Despite enjoying this lovely lady's company in my home for several months, I've NEVER really felt like wearing her, so tomorrow I'm sending her to someone who'll pay her more attention.

This is almost alarmingly different from what I normally prefer (wheeere are my tastes going these days?), but I still have the uncontrollable urge to wear it out at night in mild weather. In a dress? Everything about this is almost too beautiful. Black Moon has that quiet, almost funereal mood--but more, er... goth-chic, really, as it's not so mournful; pretty, pale, and shadowed. The first thing I notice is the PEAR, a note both juicy/fruity and delicate, blending seamlessly with pearly white flowers (or maybe it's the "black orchid"? A previous reviewer mentioned a "fleshiness," and I completely agree), the slightest fresh touch of cucumber, and that ethereal and luminous crystal musk. Very gently sweet overall, and calm. I'm not as familiar with the Lunacy blends, but this smells like the moon. Cool rather than cold; glassy like a smooth, organic-shaped sculpture rather than a mirrored sheet that's been broken into jagged and biting shards... and despite its perfect elegance, the scent melds well with the skin. The pear keeps this blend from becoming too piercing, but at the same time my mind keeps bouncing back to those glass armonica things, or maybe a scene involving elves from the recent Lord of the Rings films (I am living with a permanent and terminal Lord of the Rings obsession, I apologize). This is a beautiful fraternal twin to Schwarzer Mond. I should try layering the two...

Not a very strong scent, but I like this anyway. Has both characteristics of Dorian and the warmer red musk-based scents, and is not terribly sweet. But you'd have to force someone's nose next to your skin to get him/her to really smell it. Starts out as a tea and bright mandarin with an undercurrent of this extremely thick cream (not really dairy-"milky," just... "cream"? Not helpful, I know), and rounds out very quickly into a voluptuous musk. I get occasional wafts of that Dorian-esque tea, but the addition of the red musk at the base makes this much warmer (almost Smut-like, minus that... latex thing), not as thin as Dorian can occasionally go on my skin when dry. There's a slight powdery edge, which I suspect is the opium poppy trying to appear, but that's the only part of the scent that I ever have qualms about. I don't smell any rose, but that's fine. If I get vanilla, it's definitely not plasticine. Still trying to find the violets. Lady-like indeed. I'm enjoying my bottle.

Indeed, this is a very strong and buttery rum. Delicious but difficult for me to wear. It smells exactly like the TAL Block Buster to me.

Fairy Market (from the Stardust series) smells like sugared dew and cool green grass to me. And the name is very fitting!

Bah, I think my skin doesn't like berry. As with Australian Copperhead, my arm now smells (to me, anyway) like shampoo. All the other notes are hiding underneath, since Miller vs. California turns out to be chock-full of berries. Fans of Australian Copperhead may love this!

I basically would have wanted this regardless of the notes, 'cause I get a huge kick out of the bizarre picture. I still have no idea of what the hell those guys are doing. Much lighter than I predicted! I was expecting a more ooey-gooey, viscous golden honey scent like O, but instead this bears the character of the artwork's predominant color--that light parchment hue. I can smell some very light honey in the early stages and pale sweetness, and not so much beeswax. As time goes by the copal moves toward the center stage, with the lovely skin musk slinking around underneath. Oddly copal seems to remind me of that "Angel" perfume and gives a cologne-ish feel to blends that contain it. The floral adds to that more conventional perfume feeling, but it's quite nice. I don't know how much I'd wear it, actually, but I'm curious to see what happens as time passes by, and I'm definitely going to hold on to the bottle itself. 8D

Intriguing! In the first several minutes Tiresias truly seems to change from one sniff to the next, pacing back and forth between a more woody, slightly drier scent containing more tobacco and one that is more predominantly caramel (not too sticky, thankfully!) and a very gentle floral. Eventually the two things appear side by side more smoothly integrated, and the effect feels gender-neutral indeed. Both rich and dry. Despite the notes it doesn't resemble Red Lantern on my skin, and I will note that the cinnamon is very soft. It's definitely not bright, juicy, or energetic--this is moody and a bit dark, and fits very well with the character's description. At first I wasn't sure of how easy to like this was as a smell in itself, but I imagine that I'd enjoy wearing it as a perfume--it's quickly growing on me.

Grassy perfection. Lush green grass on a warm afternoon. It's not sharp like a freshly-mown lawn (I actually detest that smell, to tell the truth...), just... grass with the sunlight shining through it just so to illuminate it. The little bit of this that makes it even better is the slight "salty" hint of crispy brown autumn leaves--it's so dead on and a friend of mine keeps asking to sniff the bottle because of that leaf note. I wore this as a scent for the first time today, not really expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I've been missing out. Because really, I could wear this all the time. Fresh, natural, and cheering without being sharp or soapy, and the oil lasted for a surprisingly long time on the spots behind my ears. I'm stuck inside for most of the day and I enjoy sitting outside in my backyard as relaxation when I have the time--A Blade of Grass very much reminds me of a pleasant afternoon lazing about barefoot on the lawn. This is so simple and happy. I'll be rethinking clean scents from now on.