zankoku_zen

Amber, patchouli, and touches of cardamom and juniper. Vintage amber is my jam, and this is just lovely liquid and old amber. Medium throw, great wear length.

Dark woody roses, with a touch of ambrette. I agree with the assessment that it reminds me to a Peacock Queen, but gothier. Light throw, great wear length.

This starts off with the same snowy apple bite that Snow Glass and Apples does, but dries down to a different beast. I get red wine, a touch of Dorian and walnut over a woody Snake Oil base. Which you guessed it, turns semi-play doh like on my skin. On wet, its one of my favorite Phoenixes, but the drydown with the Snake Oil making itself known isn't working for me. But if you like Snake Oil and SGA hooked up, due to a liberal dose of red wine, I'd give this a whirl. Good throw and wear length.

Red currant and mandarin oranges dries down to a smoky oudh with a white musk edge, which lends a certain powderiness to this. I liked it on wet, but then the fruits disappear and I'm left with an oudh-musk blend that doesn't quite work for my skin. Medium throw, good wear length.

Almond marshmallow Snake Oil. Which unfortunately on my skin codes as almond marshmallow play-doh. However, it's got that almond note from Snow White, fluffy vanilla marshmallows and a big honking dollop of musky Snake Oil. If you love any of those elements, what are you waiting for? Go get it. Good throw and wear length.

Soft sandalwood and myrrh. Honestly, this codes to me as straight out of a Shunga/Lupercalia update. It's got the soft sexy skin scent vibe going. Low throw, good wear length.

Snow White with a touch of chocolate. It's chocolately Snow White. Good throw and wear length.

I mainly got Dorian on wet, and then I got the vanilla from Antique Lace, and honestly, for about the first two hours it smells like aged Dorian to me. After about six hours, it's mainly very Antique Lacey. So yeah, if you love either Dorian or Antique Lace, this is a get for you. Good throw, great wear length.

Black musk and castorerum turn this into a powdery bathroom cleaner. Eew. Super skin chemistry fail. And of course the throw is EXCELLENT.

Scorched reds: woods, amber, pepper, and a whiff of oudh. This is very red, very woodsy, and smells like it was at some point on fire. Good throw and wear length.

Let's start this review with two GIANT disclaimers. A) For reasons' only the gods have seen fit, Snake Oil is a huge disaster with my personal skin chemistry. Fresh, aged, super aged, in the Snake Pit, you name it and in general it sort of really sucks on my skin. Again, the gods' only know, but Snow White smells like coconut tropical playdoh on me. I only know of the almond chilliness that SW is supposed to smell like because of the atmosphere spray. So my expectations for this scent are extremely low. To me, this starts off smelling as almond milk + spicy vanilla funk. As it dries (after about an hour), the almond milk aspect has disappeared into a cloud of vanilla spice playdoh. Meaning, this probably would smell awesome. With someone else's skin chemistry. However, if either Snow White or Snake Oil are problematic for you, this may ring true again for this blend.

To me, this is a lemon tea version of Snow White. I mainly get a more sugary lemon version of Snow White (so chilly almond milk + lemon sugar). Foodier than I expected. Medium throw, good wear length.

I get dead leaves, amber, and a touch of candied lemon. This one is light, complex, and very fall like.

Butterscotch, spice, and a tinge of apple. It's very foodie fall. Good throw and wear length.

This is mainly Pumpkin Spice. If there is any rum in here, it codes more to an extra layer of sugar cane into the pumpkin spice mix, as opposed to some caramel boozeyness. Medium throw.

Chocolate cheesecake, caramel and a whiff of coffee. I smell chocolate, spices, and a whiff of graham crackers on a deeper inhale. This one is a well balanced foodie, with the spices and coffee keeping it from being all food in your face. I agree with it reminding me of El Dia de los Reyes, but with a definite cheesecake element. Good throw and wear length.

Deep sweet pomegranate. Pomegranate ends up very tart on my skin, and it's not typically a note I enjoy. This one is much more likeable. Good throw and wear length.

Resiny beeswax with touches of incense and fir. It smells polished, and wooden, and beeswax. It really did sort of feel like polished floors, and incense. Somber, and regal. Good throw and wear length.

Roses, honey and lily. This is a feminine, volouptous blend. Very flirty. Good throw.

Creamy coconut and vanilla. Not muy cup of tea, but it's light and bouncy.

Hay and patchouli, with a touch of tobacco. This one has a sweet vanilla overlay, and I get hay and a ton of patchouli. Oddly, it reminds me to Banshee Beat in vibe, if not in smell. Good throw and wear length.

No notes. This was available for purchase at NYCC 2017. The Star is probably one of the most disturbing blends that I have tried in recent years. It's a ghostly, cloying white floral that seems to creep and squeeze. I think it may have both tuberose and gardenia. In either case, the Star just gave me the feeling of "this is a sickly blend", like when you know something is unhealthy. Great throw and wear length. I imagine this is what carnivorous plants would like to smell like if they did not expend all their energy in trapping insects for food.

This one is oddly delicate floral blend. I think there's iris in this, as I get a bit of powderiness on the drydown. On wet, I smelled a lot more jasmine, and I have to wonder if there isn't actually some magnolia in this, as I get some creaminess in here. It's definitely feminine, pretty, and very wearable. Good throw and wearlength.

Jasmine tea, amber, and musk. It smells of tea with swirls of delicate jasmine over a bed of amberry musk. Good throw and wear length. It's a very pretty blend, but not for me.

Dusty chocolate, coconut, cardamom and sugar cane. This one is sweet tropical coconutty chocolate. Medium throw and wear length.