zankoku_zen

2013 version Roses and pineapple! This is a fun, flirty, tropical blend. Probably not what you were expecting me to say. But yeah, that's what I get. Pineapple and roses.

Wine, amber, woods, snow. This one is a warm, cozy blend with no single component being overwhelming, or taking over. This blend is like one giant happy gathering of friends - where there is warmth, good cheer, and fun. Overall very pretty, but it doesn't grab me like some of the other blends.

Starts off as super strong peppermint, and then dries to a creamy slightly minty marzipan, with just a hint of plastic. BPAL's cream note strikes again for me. *sigh*

Moss, strong celery seed and sweet frankincense. Holy crap, I really am amping up the celery seed on the drydown. So, very very green. Smells like a salad. And evil salad. You know, the type with tentacles. No mushrooms, but I'm sure if you look, you can find them.

Salty aquatic ozone, touch of incense, woody background. Okay, this definitely smells like an evil sea. There's something 'off' about it. It smells like an ocean with teeth. In other words, very similar to Kingsport and the other Picnic in Arkham blends. *runs away*

Spicy gingerbread musk, cumin, and hints of pine and clove. Okay, so to me.... Gingerbread Troll is on the other side of the manly Gingerbread cologne spectrum. If Gingerbread Villain is sophisticated sexiness, Gingerbread Troll to me smells like a dirty, patchouli wearing BRO. You know, the kind that think crushing a beer can with their forehead is somehow knee-weakening to the opposite sex. Yeah, not for me!

Blue musk, herbal mugwort, and in general, a touch of rose and snow. It's a quiet, contemplative blend. It has the same vibe as Silence, but not as rich, still. It's more gentle than Silence. It definitely evokes going out in the middle of the night, surrounded by snow, and looking into the clear sky with all the twinkling stars our there, your breath creating a bit of mist around you.

Hazelnut, honey, rose and sandalwood. This smells soft, woodsy, rosy and sweet. It's more comforting that foodie, the rose is not overwhelming, and it reminds me of a warm motherly hug. Not the type of blend I'm typically drawn to, and oddly enough it makes me think of it along the lines of the Conjure Bag.

Ginger, cookies, and tea. This one is a toothsome, foodie blend with a sprinkling of sugar. Tasty, but sadly too foodie for me. Lovers of all foodie/cookie blends should check this out though!

Minty sugary goodness devolves into.... minty pommy condensed milk with a hint of plastic. BPAL's cream note is typically a problem for me, and slightly less so in this one. The sugary condensed milk part I could handle, but its the plasticky overlay that remains a problem. Sad that this didn't work out better. Skin chemistry, you fail.

Myrrh and frankincense, sweet syrupy and with a hint of chamomile. This one is a fairly pleasant resinous blend.

Evil neroli and lemongrass. This lemon verbena seems like its been eating... well poison woods and herbs. This is the lemongrass that grows in a witches' garden. The kind of witch that eats children. Lemon verbena, aquatic oakmoss and dark, smoky vetiver.

Dark, salty, roses, hint of patchouli, sea and candles. Slight aquaticness. Definitely unisex. To me, this smells more like a cursed female pirate (perhaps a wraith?) docking her ship in the dead of night. Sort of picture the female version of Davos, the Onion Knight, from Game of Thrones, and that's the sort of vibe I get from this. So far, one of the more wearable Misk Yules I've tried.

Sour sandalwood, pine and herbs. This smells herbal, and oddly luminescent for a blend with some pretty heavy components. It manages to be luminescent and dark at the same time. This smells like an bioluminescent green orb floating in the middle of the night. And you know, from the prickle in the back of your neck, you don't want this sucker to notice you and float your way. So in other words, this smells like Cthulu jellyfish (the green glowing kind).

Gingerbread, red musk, and a hint of cedar. So really, this is a red musk version of Gingerbread Poppet. It's a slightly foodie red musk, and for all you ladies and lads that love a good red musk blend, give this a whirl. Sexy gingerbread.

Gingerbread, aquatic moss, and a touch of roses. This one is a foodie/floral combination with a high aquatic overlay. Oddly enough, the top note smells almost like a tobacco leaf (I blame the aquatic + spices component). If I keep sniffing at it, that's when I distinguish the components. Oddly compelling.

Starts out slightly sharp, but then it dries to a snowy, slightly minty (hint of eucalyptus or camphor in it) with tinges of a white floral. As it continues to dry, it gets a warmer base on it, and I think that's the almond blossom making an appearance, vaguely smelling like a white floral tinged with almond. I've smelled this snow note before - and its the icy type, as opposed to the slushier type I adore, and I think it tends to make an appearance on the [insert color] Snowball scents.

Peppermint (esp. on wet), loads of sugar, and just a hint of vanilla. It's almost a slightly boozy tinge to it as it dries. And.... my skin TOTALLY eats this sucker up. BOO.

Lilies, snow, hints of rose and poppy. And oh, this is so pretty. Like girly pretty. It's delicate, and snowy, and just the barest blush of pink. If I had a young girl in the house, I'd totally let her wear this.

Wait... Ice Queen, is that you? It has some very Ice Queen tendencies, with a giant hit of grapefruit when you first apply it wet (which I adored) but then as it dried, there is a note that smells 'off' to me. Perhaps the neroli combined with the freesia? So while I love the slushy note that is the same as Ice Queen (actually the entire blend is eerily similar), it's still not the same for me.

Pom, patchouli, resin and something that smells like beer hops. It dries to a more patch/pom/rose blend, giving it a "red greenery" vibe that is again, slightly off putting and eerie. It smells like mutant roses.

Black musk, sandalwood and green herbs that smells like cucumber. It's the black musk + greenery that really breaks my head. And my nose. The greenery lends a certain eerie luminescence to the blend. Black, dusty, green.

Krampuslaufen on wet smells like smoke, fur, and chains with a high pitched alcohol note. It dries to a dusty, slightly minty, fur. PASS.

Super vanilla gingerbread. Toothsome and vanilla! I'm neither a fan of Gingerbread Poppet and Snake Oil, but the combo is enough to turn any girl's head (even a professed hater!).

Salty caramel, cookies, and leather. This smells like a distant cousin to Miskatonic University - minus the dust and the coffee. It's got that old bookstore feel to it. Just a little odd, and perhaps magical? In other words, this should be called SANTA'S LIBRARIES WHERE THE ELVES LIKE TO EAT AN AFTERNOON SNACK OF BUTTER COOKIES AND CARAMEL CHEWS. Sweet, cookies, and leather.