thekittenkat

In the decant: Very dark, very smokey tea, not sweet at all. Wet: A hint of lilac brightening things up. The dry-down: Back to the smokey tea. Nice.

In the decant: Powerful blue peppermint, indeed! Wet: Now being tempered and sweetened by the berry. The dry-down: The berry and the peppermint are dancing around each other. The myrrh, tobacco, and ambergris are present but faint, and are keeping this from being too sweet. I like this and may spring for a bottle. Quite a morpher, but in a gentle fashion.

I would recommend White Chocolate, Marshmallow, and Coconut is a fave. It's from the 2009 Box o' Chocolates (Lupercalia). Not as much coconut as Tiki Princess, and white chocolate is a sweet sugary but not vanilla note, but nothing like milk/dark chococlate at all. If you get even a tester of Boo '09, I would still urge you give a whirl in a scent locket, maybe. Marshmallow Poof, though, is really good; I just like WC&M&C better, and it is easier to find.

In the decant: An aquatic fruity-floral blend. Wet: The narcissus coming trampling through all the other notes, and something sharp and metallic, too. The dry-down: Still a bit metallic, and I suspect that the narcissus and mandarin combining. Most of the Asian-inspired don't work well on me, alas.

This is for the 2013 version. In the decant: Some combination of light fruits and florals. Wet: The lemon balm is trying to over-ride the other notes, but they are still there. The dry-down: I was hoping for more of the white rose note. A nice gentle floral, but not really my thing.

In the decant: Honey and apricot, and a hint of pepper. Wet: Alas, more pepper, but some sweetness. The dry-down: Sort of sweet, sort of peppery. Not sure what to think.

In the imp: A melange of notes, fighting a bit to be dominate. Wet: The floral/ozone/rain combination is still in competition with the resins--very strange. The dry-down: This might benefit from some aging. Right now it's just a bunch of notes in a struggle that's not very pleasant, but is trying to be.

In the decant: Mildly sweet chocolate with a hint of peppers and cinnamon. Wet: Wow! Lot more pepper now, on top of the chocolate. The dry-down: The mayan chocolate has transformed into cocoa powder. There's also a kind of strange note, must be the annatto seed, that's not quite a funky B.O. and not quite a good healthy sweat, and not quite a seed note. I'm not really sure that I like this at all.

In the decant: It's as though white honey had been sprinkled all over roses and figs. Wet: The chamomile and hay notes are rather obvious. The dry-down: In the end, it's not as sweet as the cold sniff. but indeed it does feel like that first morning in some mythical garden, where two soon-to-be lovers are shyly meeting for the first time amongst ripening fruits and dew-covered grasses, with the scent of honey wafting on the breeze from some near-by bees' hive, in a hollowed-out old tree. (No wood or ozone notes, mind you.)

This is for the 2013 release. In the decant: All the florals and plants blending together so beautifully. Wet: The moss and the ivy are very very green and high and bright. The dry-down: The florals have moved somewhat forward to soften the moss and ivy, so much more lovely now. I had to try this because of Marlowe's poem, and because most all the notes usually work on me. Since it's been several years since the first release, am debating a bottle.

In the decant: I think that's the sweet flag and sugar. Wet: The other plants start to appear. Note: the dark chocolate is sluggy, so be sure and shake a little right beforehand. The dry-down: Has gotten somewhat herbal in feeling, not to mention the lemon verbena rearing it's unwanted head. Again, the cold sniff was best. My wonky chemistry at work, alas.

In the decant: Chocolate of some sort and souring cherries. Wet: That's better! The merlot arrives to sweeten the cherries. Do shake gently--the chocolate settles to the bottom. The dry-down: The chocolate, the merlot, and the cherries have all blended together--lovely! The anise does that undercurrent thing by not being obvious present, but keeps the scent from being too sweet. I might spring for a bottle. This could be my LBD scent.

In the decant: Banana cream & white chocolate. Wet: The sharpness of the hazelnut starts to come through. The dry-down: I like the Lab's white chocolate note, so decided to try this. But, eek, there is the mate, which I don't like, because it stomps all over the other notes. Had this stayed at the cold sniff, it would have been lovely. However, it's an evil morpher. Disappointing. Much later: A bit more like the cold sniff. The SO likes it, so I'll keep my decant. Btw, the oil is yellow, like bananas.

Wait... tobacco and honey? How did I miss that...? *goes off to drool* I'm totally into Horse Chestnut Honey. Along w/ Falling Leaf Moon and Samhain, it is one of my autumn go-to scents.

In the decant: Green and sweet and fresh. Wet: More of the fresh green note(s), which I'm suspecting is mostly the honey myrtle in the spring when it has the new growth. The dry-down: Not really picking up the black rose, as a note, but it could be the reason for why the scent is getting a little powdery and a little sour. The yew, cypress, lily, and ivy are all notes associated with cemeteries, and they too might be the cause of the sourness. I liked this on cold sniff, and fresh on the skin, but it seems that my dry and somewhat acidic skin has ruined this for me. I'll keep the decant for the scent locket.

In the decant: A very rich and powerful scent! The blood musk has been been poured all over the other notes, but they are still there. Wet: The opium tar has burst through the musk and is driving the whole perfume car now. The dry-down: Okay, things have settled down, thank goodness! The patch, the musk, and the opium tar are the more obvious notes, but the two floral notes of lavender & orchid add a flowery sweetness that is not really obvious, but keeps the first three notes from being too dark. A lovely scent, but perhaps too sophisticated for me. It's a scent for that woman in the elegant black dress who's out for a wonderful night on the town--perhaps this time she's at some party of the rich and famous in Manhattan.

In the decant: The opium tempered by all the other notes, esp. the rose and orchid. Wet: Now a bit sweeter, probably the plum (it adds some sweetness in a general way, not as an obvious fruit note). The dry-down: I would say that this is mainly an opium perfume, that is kept from being an SN because of all the other notes, the plum, cypress tar, rose, olibanum, orchid, and tobacco have all blended into an almost bouquet-like mix of notes wherein the opium just nestles. I can see this being worn by a woman who is very sure of herself. She's wearing an elegant black dress, not showing a lot of skin. She wears stiletto heels and hose with a seam up the back, because she can. She checks her diamond studs, glances at her expensive but simple watch, and tucks her clutch under her arm, along with her chiffon stole that she flings around her shoulders on her way out the door. As a taxi pulls up in the early evening, she smiles to herself since she knows she's on-time to meet that certain someone at the best restaurant in the city, with cocktails in the posh bar next-door beforehand. Alas, I am not that woman, and this perfume, as elegant as it is, is not for the likes of me.

In the decant: Lots of patch, very heavy and almost bitter. Wet: The honey calms the patch down the moment it hits my skin. That's good! The dry-down: This is a lovely blend -- all three notes mix well together. For me, this is autumnal in feel and I will save the decant for that season. Still debating on a bottle.

This is for the 2013 version. The 2011 version really didn't work, but am willing to try again. In the decant: Hmm, the roses have turned, not quite dry, but they've lost their sweetness. This doesn't bode well. Wet: Getting a hint of the musk and the vanilla flower. The dry-down: And now the rose and carnation come forth. Quite a morpher! I like it much better than the 2011 version, but I think that the decant is plenty.

In the bottle: Sweet green woods heading for the drying season of late summer/early autumn. Wet: That's lovely! A bit more fresh and green, but with a touch of spiciness from the clove. The dry-down: Not much of a morpher. I have a half bottle from my decanter, and may spring for a full bottle before the Lupers go away. This will go in rotation for August and September.

In the decant: Chocolate-honey with the fruits, with an edge. Wet: Wow, and not in a good way, as the cubeb slams to the front! The dry-down: The cubeb is backing off, but there's still too much of it. My fear of the cubeb was what kept me from ordering a bottle right off, and that seems to have been justified. I'll check on it in another hour and see how things are doing. If it would get back to the cold sniff. Otherwise, I'll save this for the scent locket. A little later: The cubeb did die down, but not enough, and the chocolate is turning into dry cocoa powder (not at all sweetened). Blast my wonky skin chemistry! ETA: Did a re-test. Got a little more of the avocado this time around, but otherwise, much the same.

In the bottle: Herbal plants waving and tossing in the salty breeze coming inland from the ocean. Wet: On me the berry is making its way to the top. On the SO, very salt ocean winds. The dry down: On me it's now more those salty ocean breezes, but tempered by all the plants. (I keep thinking there's ozone in here.) On him, just the salty winds from the beach. I like it, but one bottle is good.

I know that it has been already mentioned, but the honey musk note in Lady Una is just brilliant!

In the decant: Red roses drenched in all the other notes. Wet: The lobelia and the tobacco tar are really coming up through the mix, and crowning the rose. The dry-down: This is in the same family as Red Rose from the Trading Post Lupers of 2009. And I think I prefer that scent, but this is lovely in its own fashion, although the musk and lobelia and tobacco tar keep it from being as sweet as Red Rose. If one can't obtain Red Rose, The Raptures and Roses of Vice will do nicely as a similar scent.

In the decant: Okay, that's strange. I smelt the vetiver before I popped the cap, and once I sniffed the decant, I got a faint pom note where the pom had gone off, and something bitter was wafting up behind it. Not liking that at all, frankly. Wet: Btw, very dark brown oil in colouring, reminding me of the big wooden box filled with compost and black dirt that my grandfather raised his fishing worms in. Now, sharp, sour, and bitter on the skin, with the sourness probably from that spoiled pom. Icky. The dry-down: Well, it takes a while, but the pom reversed course, and became unspoilt, but is rapidly being buried by the vetiver, as in SN Vetiver. Not my thing.