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Lilith’s guide at the Louvre was attempting to explain the difference in perspective between Medieval and Renaissance art by utilizing paintings of the Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds from both periods, and it fell a little flat when he assumed that she knew what the paintings depicted and she hadn’t a clue beyond the fact that they were paintings of a lady holding some baby. Oops? Sorry, mom! The scent of failing to pass on a Catholic education to the next generation: spilled sacramental wine, a splatter of vermillion paint, Bible leather, and a puzzled cherry chypre.  Boozey wine, hints of leather and chypre (I couldn't tell if it was cherry or not!). It dried down to a smokier booze, and the whiff of leather intensified. Deep, somewhat masculine, booze. Great throw (because that's how my skin chemistry rolls), and wear length.

There is nothing mysterious or enigmatic about my kiddo’s smile. Her joy, laughter, and good cheer radiate delight and are impossible to eclipse, even when she’s jetlagged and exhausted. Bright Italian bergamot, pink grapefruit, sweet California sage, and glittery white musk.  I got zesty grapefruit, a touch of bergamot and sage over white musk. This one however my skin ate up in an hour.

Moving is 1000% stressful. This to me smells like star anise, lemongrass, ginger, and a whiff of clove. This is both a refreshing slap and a resounding shake to ground yourself. It's a jolt to the system. I used this after feeling frazzled from a weekend of packing. It left me feeling better about where we are in the process as opposed to feeling defeated and overwhelmed by it. ETA: I sort of grabbed this as an impulse, debating between this and St. Albert's. I was dreading going into work today, but I managed to be very productive, and just get my shit done. So yes, super effective.

Dark red in color. I get lavender, labdanum, palo santo and sandalwood. This one is a mix of a sleepy lavender type blend and something like Power which actually seems to be amplifying the curative properties in this blend. It's not a lavender sleep time blend, but more akin to the rituals you have before you go to bed to get you ready to go to sleep. It's not knock you out to sleep, but more like slow down, breathe, and let sleep come to you. I used this after feeling frazzled from a weekend of packing.

Peppermint, whiff of lavender, touch of chamomile and jasmine. This sort of reminds me to Cooling, but it's more soothing. While Cooling works on anger, Cool It works on anxiety. The effect is very similar though. I used this after feeling frazzled from a weekend of packing. ETA: I chose to wear Cool It today, remembering it was a very calming blend. Ok, this is Xanax as a perfume. On my way walking to work, its literally as things melted away. It's not that I wasn't conscious of them, but it was as if there was a literal barrier between those things and where I was. I walked down and admired the sunlight through the trees, the smell of coffee, and just breathed. This helps wash away some of the anxiety/stress that you feel and keep it at bay.

These three are far braver than I am. It was snowing buckets and the wind was whipping across the Fuschlsee, but these maniacs still went into the outdoor hot tub. A wintry spa scent: green tea, aloe, eucalyptus, icy lemon, and French sage.  Minty, snowy lemon, with a whiff of green tea and sage. This one is a lemony green tea blend with sage and mint. Medium throw, low wear length.

Stony contempt and blossoming darkness: vetiver trickling through sickly roses. Damp, red roses and a touch of vetiver. The smell sticky, deeply red rosey, and very cloying. It's a heavy oppressive red rose.

Cool stone, frankincense, and a whiff of rose. This one is a cool frankincense blend. Medium throw, low wear length.

Clove smoke, cotton candy, and bloody musk. It's a smoky cotton candy blend. Also known as cotton candy goes goth, picks up black and red as a palette instead of her custom pink, and wears some clove lipstick. Good throw and wear length.

Crisp ginger, lemon and apples. This is citrusy fruit, with a hint of creaminess, and its light, refreshing, and fruity. Good throw and wear length.

Light creamy honey, milk, and soft warm grasses. This one is a very light and creamy blend. Good throw and wear length.

Cito smells like honey cakes. Its honey, cinnamon, vanilla, and a whiff of ginger. It smells warm, comforting, and generally up beat. Monster throw, medium wear length.

Fruit salad! I get grapes, white pom, fig, and something that smells like banana. This smells like fruit salad, and dries down to a golden fig and pom blend. Medium throw, low wear length on me. But fruity and delicious!

Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has been continuing uninterrupted since 1885, and I wanted Lilith to see the monstrance where the Blessed Sacrament is held. An incense for the Maid of Orléans: red rose beads, frankincense, lily of the valley, iris petals, red labdanum, and steel.  Oddly enough, I got a whiff of green grass (which I think is a combination of the lily of the valley and iris), whiffs of steel, frankincense and rose. It dries down to a much more incensey type of blend, and the labdanum makes itself known on the drydown. Medium throw and wear length.

[No additional description provided.] This one is mainly apple with lemony patchouli. Its a very strong apple note (but not fresh), with lemony patchouli. Good throw, average wear length. After four hours, I can still smell the lemony patchouli.

Our collaboration with Disasterina is a creature feature for the ages. We don't know what lagoon she crawled out of, but now that she's made landfall you can always smell her coming. Slithering tentacles of kelp and seaweed absolute, draped over a shard of salt-crusted driftwood. This one is a soft creamy aquatic. On wet, it sort of reminds me to Nivea Cream, and then it dries down to some salty driftwood with a heavy aquatic overtone. Medium throw, low wear length.

Brian: “Now this shit was fun. When we arrived in Berlin, we stopped by the Potsdamer Platz market for a few minutes on our way to the hotel, but we didn’t stay for long because we were all exhausted. We check into the hotel, and I open the curtains in my room and Lilith and I see the lights of the market… and this ride, this alpine slide, that we must have walked right by in the dark. Lilith and I knew we had to do it first thing in the morning.” Lilith: “There was a humongous slidey thing where you sit in a pool thingamajiggy and slide down it. And you have to carry your pool thing up the stairs. Ok, so DAD had to drag it back up the stairs for me. Anyway, I went on it a bunch with my Unkie and my dad, and mostly mom took photos. AS USUAL. This was one of my favorite things in Berlin!” A tube of black rubber sliding wildly down a whoosh of white musk and white oud.  Synthetic black rubber, oudh, and a whiff of musk. This is mainly a rubber blend, and at first sniff, it reminded me to a cool black leather, but then the plastic started to come through, so more like pleather? If you were looking for a 'leather' type Lilith, I'd give this a whirl. Great throw and wear length, of course.

A sweet, dark ember of winter pleasure: port wine, brandy, and bourbon simmered with white sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, orange peel, and wild blackcurrant. Black currant, spices, clove and port wine. Boozy black currant! If that's what you're looking for, this is a nice warm blend. Good throw and wear length.

On wet, it smells of woods and smoke (hello vetiver)! As it dries, I get hint of lemongrass/lemon verbena (although I tend toward the lemongrass) and red wine. Deeply woodsy, and on the drydown after two hours, I get a resinous note that I believe is frankincense. Definitely more masculine. Deep, regal, incensey.

A new year’s blessing! Peony, China’s national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, orange blossom and peel for happiness, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat for prosperity, King mandarin for good fortune, cypress for longevity, sticky rice cakes for abundance and hopes for a rich, sweet life, and a splash of blazing red of dragon’s blood to help you scare away the rampaging Nian. Okay, so I get orange and tangerine, and then notes of plum blossom and peopny, and something that smells like oudh and incense. This one is a weird citrusy oudh floral on me, and it smells like a heavy oriental fragrance. Good throw and wear length.

So on wet, it has a very intense grape smell. Like High John the Conqueror grape intensity. It has a more oak dryness that comes through on the drydown, and mellows out to a nice grapey whiskey sort of smell. Medium throw and wear length. I sort of enjoy how luxuriously boozy this blend is. On the other hand, do I want to pledge allegiance to an imp-only blend?

A little known fact about me is that I love chess and have played it all my life. Here, Lilith and I were discussing a move that one of the players made and we both agree that it was a mistake. This photo was taken in Salzburg at the Kapitelplatz in the shadow of the Festung Hohensalzburg. While Beth was taking this photo, a huge mound of snow fell on her head. It was the best laugh of the day. Lilith was rolling. Snow-covered Snake Oil and huge wooden chess pieces.  Smutty, snowy wood. Yup, I said it. You get the Snake Oil, and its smeared over the wood, and this is a sexier blend than I expected it. Because snake oil. And wood. This could be a Shunga, and you know what I mean when I say that. Woody snake oil. For what ails you.

Black Phoenix’s 2018 blob of Christmas Pudding is loosely based on a medieval recipe, and is crafted, as tradition dictates, from thirteen ingredients (representing Christ and his apostles, natch). Thick with treacle, smoky with suet (suet accord, sillies – there’s no mutton fat in this perfume!), and sweet with stirred custard. Oh damn, did I not review this one? According to my notes this one was a cake-pudding (definitely get that custard thing going on!), with molasses (fine, it's treacle) and spice. It was what I would consider a Christmas Pudding/Cake smell. Good throw and wear length.

Fig, peach, white musk and a whiff of sandalwood. I get a ton of fig, and white musk. Good throw and wear length.

Cool rosebud. It's a very pure rose smell, very clean and with a hint of lilies. Good throw despite the age. Simple, lovely, rose.