MCS4096

With such similar notes to La Lugubre Gondola I hoped this blend would smell similar, but stronger, as I found the other to be nearly invisible on my skin-- I knew it would be wonderful if only I could smell it! And yes, this is very similar. It's exactly the same amber and oudh, but with a sweeter touch from the vanilla, whereas La Lugubre Gondola was dry dry dry. I still find it to be quite light, but definitely more noticeable and longer wearing thankfully. It's still a mystery how something with such resinous notes could be so light, but this stuff is divine so I'll slather away! Edited to add: I think it smells somewhat similar to Hope and Fear Set Free, especially when wet-- kinda sharp, kinda sweet.

ummmmmm YES I can't remember the last time red musk behaved in a blend for me. I took a chance on this one because the notes sounded simply wonderful and the reviews seemed to indicate the red musk was well balanced. Besides, I like to throw a wildcard in with an order for fun every now and then! Usually, on me, red musk amps to high heavens and drowns everything else out (Krampus is a perfect example) BUT THIS... yes there is red musk, but it's beautifully muddied with dark musk, and is tantalizingly laid over a bed of black leather and sprinkled with equally well behaved sugary roses. I smell every note through the duration of wear, no one takes over, and the effect is just divine. Feminine, sexy, but also classy.

Mmmmmmm this is fabulous. When wet I get the pine (but a well balanced and well behaved pine) with spicy carnation and a hint of leather and musk. Then the pine starts to leave and it's warm red carnation over a more obvious musk with a hint of leather. Then finally, after several hours, I'm left with only musk-- but the wonderfully snuggly animal musk of Ivanushka. Good throw for the duration of the wearing, even as the notes come and go. I only ordered one bottle but I may have to find another, because this is a pretty flawless blend!

Juicy purpleness-- mostly currant to my nose, with the lab's snow note there underneath. I'd describe it as a "youthful floral berry" blend because it definitely has the feeling of a somewhat traditional perfume aimed at younger ladies. I totally forgot this had licorice as a note so I'm sorry to say I never smelled it at all, because it's a favorite note of mine. This is pleasant; sweet and fun, unoffensive for those more traditional perfume days.. but it isnt as awesome as I'd imagined it unfortunately. I was thinking more licorice and a smuttier fruit.. something actually gothic and black feeling

This is my first hair gloss! I dont love the spray bottle.. it only sprays maybe once in five tries, but the product itself is awesome and very similar to other -cone based treatments I've used. The smell isnt love at first sniff, but I thiiiink I like it? I wasnt really expecting the citrusy note. That definitely smells like a cleaning product, but thankfully it seems to die back a bit over time and to me this is mostly just a light patch with a hint of dirt (like really, the lab's dirt note). I don't get sugar per se, but the blend isnt bitter.. I do wish I got big billows of cotton candy with my patch but this is still pleasant for those earthier days. Edit: Ok, so about 5 full hours after application this got a lot sweeter somehow, and now I get the "sugary". It's still wafting the next morning too, which is fantastic.

Be good, or Krampus will toss you in a river! Sinister red musk, black leather, dusty rags, and wooden switches. (2012) This is dusty red musk and nothing else. I have found that red musk completely overwhelms pretty much everything on me unfortunately. I kept this for awhile, hoping age would bring out the leather, but it hasnt. If I try to smell leather, I think I can get a hint of it, but the throw is straight red musk and dust-- which I don't care for at all: I like my red musk lush and juicy. To be honest I dont really smell much leather from the bottle either.. Real shame because leather is a favorite note of mine. Also fades really fast on me, leaving a lingering scent of dusty plastic. Woe is me! Edited to add scent description

MMmmmm The Golgothan Myrrh SN is deep, rosey, and sweet, with an almost candied-fruit aspect, while Herodotus' Phoenix is brighter, from the addition of a frankincense that's related to the Olibanum SN-- green and sappy. The "chewy" (that is such a perfect term for it!) myrrh bottom note is glorious, but it's the other two, lighter resins, that fill this blend out. It's like a glowing, golden-brown orb of resin warming in your palm. Just beautiful!

I cant do most honey perfumes from the lab-- they smell sour and a bit body odory to me But this is really lovely. The sourness of the honey is nicely tempered by the floral spikenard, giving it, as the first reviewer said, a green quality. It's juicy and organic and slightly heady. I think the cassia bark is lending a hint of dustiness to the blend, and I cant really distinguish any myrrh. I would call it a floral blend, and it feels quite springy to me, as the spikenard reminds me of spring blooms like jonquils. PS. Wikipedia says the scent of spikenard attracts cats..... Mine appear to be less than enthusiastic about smelling this blend though.

Very strong plum and incense, with a definite ashy or dusty-stone quality (limonite.. how rad!). Voluptuous, hazy, purple. Similar in feel to Penumbra (purple musk, amber, pom), but I find it most like Mlle. Lilith Fortune Teller (pom and incense)-- they dry down to be more alike than not for me. This Phoenix a bit more purple, Mlle. Lilith a bit more pink, but definitely the same incense. This is a gorgeous blend, my favorite of the decants I got. It's fresh, but still deep, attractive, but still a bit innocent.

This is what I call a discordant scent. I always find them fairly interesting to smell, but dont always find them wearable. This is a bizarre mix of deep smoky vetiver and high-pitched tea and lemon. The high notes do seem red, and juicy, and they are fascinating paired with the vetiver.. but in a kind of nauseating way. The throw is ok-- as someone else mentioned its a bit like an import store: incense and fruit and dry wood/grasses. I couldnt stop sniffing my wrist, but that was out of fascination, not pure love

I was really excited when I started seeing reviews of this blend describing it as a "realistic pumpkin", or fresh pumpkin complete with lit candle. But... this was one more blend that just smelled like a generic pumpkin and spice candle on me I did really bad with all the pumpkin blends this year, but this is the one that broke my heart most-- I thought for sure I'd love it. I dont get any realistic pumpkin flesh, and in the imp there is *maybe* a hint of beeswax and smoke, but the minute it hits my skin it's butter and plastic pumpkin and spices up the wazoo. So sad!

The 2013 version is much much more masculine-cologney than the original, which is one of my favorite blends. The note list hasnt changed, but something in the blend has.

I really had a fail-party with this year's Weenies I'm afraid Anything with a pumpkin note went cheap-holiday-candle on me. This is no exception. There is also a very strong melted butter thing going on. I guess I've learned my lesson re: pumpkin! edit: typos

I get a lot of the skin musk note from this, which in the Lilith blends (this was also the case with Werepuppy for example) winds up being a sweet baby product smell. Not quite baby power, but maybe a shampoo or something. If I think "ice cream" I can sort of smell it as a general sweet creaminess, and yes there's a hint of soft lavender (not astringent), but mostly it's that skin musk. It's lovely, but not as amazing as I'd hoped.

Quite a bit of pine pitch upon application, but it fades out quite quickly. I agree with the above review that this is a soft mossy blend. I think it's very very similar, upon dry down, to Cykranoshian Catnip. That blend lacks the pine pitch but if you're like me and that note doesnt amp in this blend, you'll probably find the two similar as well.

Oh I had high hopes for this blend! Unfortunately I'm finding more often than not that if a blend has red musk in it, it completely overwhelms any other notes. Even leather, which is very strong on my skin. This quickly becomes straight red musk and nothing else.

I really loved this until the sandalwood began to amp and, although I have never had this problem with it before, smell a lot like pencil shavings. Typically I've heard of that happening with a cedar notes, but whatever-- it's there and unfortunately it's a bit too discordant with the other (gorgeous) notes for my liking. Darn

I am so confused. I can barely smell this. When I first apply it I can jam my nose right up to my wrist and smell a dusty, dry-grass and amber scent that actually reminds me of an "amber" oil I have from a company in Seattle.. Very brown smelling. And then *bam* it's totally gone, not a trace.. absolutely gone. I've never had a resinous scent be so light and fleeting on my skin. This should be amazing, but I cant really afford to get a bottle to see if aging helps at all.

When this dries down all I can smell is peach.. straight peach. I was so confused until I read ladymaeg's description of unroasted coffee. I really love this wet, but it dries down to be so completely different

Oh this is amazing! I'd overlooked it really, but Mellifluous was kind enough to include a tester in his decant circle, so I tried it and Mostly myrrh, frankincense, and beeswax to start, then the rosewood really comes out, along with the sweeter notes, and a bit of the dragon's blood and this is a gorgeous rosey incense. Has a nice level of throw and medium lasting power. I'm really surprised and am hoping to get a bottle! (PS I love the label!)

I waited for reviews of this one anxiously. Until it became available and I was made aware of it, I didnt realize how many blends I own have oakmoss as a component. Once I read a few reviews I knew I had to order it. So glad I did! This is one beautifully complex SN.. Sweet, salty, floral, leathery, green, almost citrusy at times... just amazing.

For me, Graveyard Dirt dries down to smell very similar to sandalwood, whereas this blend becomes almost straight moss eventually. Moss becomes fairly "perfumey" on me, not in a bad way, but in a way that completely changes the vibe of this blend. This moss smells like an unidentifiable floral, almost rose-like as someone else mentioned. I also agree there is a bit of a salty kick. Not as much as in the recent Oakmoss SN, but yes this moss is a little salty too.

Rose, rose, and more rose. I love vanilla, frankincense, red licorice.. I love champaca.. but I dont know what "rose champaca" really is. Within minutes of hitting my skin all subtleties of this blend disappear and it is (rather old ladyish) rose. I'll keep her a bit and see if that frankincense can get an upper hand, but I think this might be a skin issue. I was most excited about this blend of all the Liliths this time around too.

Very well balanced-- I'm happy that I dont amp any one floral component here. Having said that, I dont think I get any patchouli at all, so this doesnt have a lot of grounding and it approaches high-pitched at times. But that musk is a saving grace; it makes the blend feel comfy rather than up-tight. I'll wear this when I want to feel feminine and soft.

I was hoping for Ivanushka style musk "fur" but what I think is the fur note here is a lovely spice. This blend goes on sweet and snowy, reminding me most of Waltz of the Snowflakes (of the various snow blends I've tried). I dont ever really get a mud or dirt note, or any kind of wet leaf note, but I get some pale, sweet woods. The floral aspect quickly begins to amp on my skin and for most of the wear-time it's a spicy sweet floral.. at this point it is reminiscent of Snow Bunny. I wish I got more of the mud, and I still wish it had some musk in it (maybe I'll try layering it with Ivanushka), but it IS lovely and I'm so glad to have a chance at a Beaver Moon without having to subject myself to cheesecake haha