zankoku_zen

Dewy rose, clove and hints of coconut. This is like the BPTP Red Rose with hints of coconut. Heady, rosey, clovey.

Smoky clove and leather. Smoky dry clove, hints of wood and leather. Manly, manly sexy clove. LOVE.

Thick honey, amber, and just a hint of patchouli. A dirtier, better version of O.

VETIVER AND OAKMOSS DEATHMATCH. And the bad vetiver, smoky bacon and a hint of dankness. BAAAAAAAD.

Geranium, rosemary, ginger and dragon's blood resin. Herbal, spicy, DBR.

Banana leaf, ylang-ylang, hints of vanilla and jasmine. White floral tropical coolness.

Coconut, caramel, rich opium and swirls of tobacco. This smells exactly like the Red Lantern perfume. Rich, heady, exotic.

I got a tester of Song of Selune - and the scent is a heavy, salty lavender. Mildly aquatic. I would say that there is something almost metallic underneath. I haven't tried it out for ritual purposes, and I'm not entirely sure if full moon, waning or waxing would possibly have effects on this. I will come back and edit the topic once I've tested it out.

Chocolate and hints of banana. Meh.

Red musk, amber, and patchouli. Warm, musky, sensual. Meh.

Giant blast of lime and mandarin, hints of tea. And then it dries down to a nice, floral shampoo. FML. Screw you skin chemistry. This was the Luper I was looking forward to the most, and your epic skin chemistry fail... is epic.

Trees, maple leaves, and a big dusting of clove. This is like a wood and clove blend, with a tinge on green around the outside. I actually really enjoy this. It's dark, sexy, and woody.

Orris, jasmine, and benzoin overlayed over a citrusy chypre. It's soft, slightly sharp, and resinous base with tinges of smokiness. Pleasant, slightly masculine, and more wearable than expected.

Red currant, white honey and hints of sugar cane. This is bright, sugary, and fruity. This actually reminds me to Tomoe Gozen a fair bit. And part of me really likes this. The other part of me wonders if it wouldn't be better with another fruit.

Honey, lavender, red musk. On wet, there is a heavy citrus note and swirls of cognac. But then the honey and red musk make an appearance. \ Nice, honey lavender blend. Honey, musky, comforting. (i find all blends with lavender comforting).

Nocturnus starts off with the big hit of TKO - creamy lavender and marshmallow fluff, but the drydown is much different. I get notes of chamomile, mugwort, geranium, and frankincense. Much more complex thank TKO, multi-layered. Take TKO and perhaps mix it with Midnight Bell, and you get an idea of what that would smell like. Very relaxing. I can see how this really works. [Don't really need sleep blends, but this one definitely intrigues me]

Thanks to a generous forumite for the tester of this. You know who you are. Okay, you have to be able to wear the black leather note. Which I can't. I amp the black leather note. This is a sister scent to De Sade. This is the same inky black leather note in in De Sade, but feminine - which means LESS chemical noxiousness. Instead I get hints of jasmine, tonka and amber which soften the leather. But yes, feminine black leather. [Yes, its heartbreaking in how much this does NOT work for me, and yet part of me is utterly deliriously happy that I actually don't like something THIS rare]. ETA: So I am re-testing this again and aging has done a real number on this. It's much more cologney, I get a hint of the jasmine and the leather has receded to the background. I get more of the white sandalwood. It still screams ninja girl assassin but instead of being introduced to her in her all black leather outfit, its more like you got the kimono version and then you realize that this girl also happens to be hiding an untold number of knives under her skirt.

I have to agree. Dark Chocolate Merlot Star Anise [i know, redacting the title] was actually pretty awesome, but you have to like star anise, which to me smells like a combination of cardamom and anise.

Orris, powdery amber and hints of golden musk. This sort of reminds me to Leo 2007, minus the saffron. Warm, citrusy amber.

Lemon vanilla custard, with hints of cocoa and skin musk. Custardy, lemony, warm.

Warm, spicy floral. Hints of sandalwood, balsam, and a floral I have tested recently in Lupercalia. Like a more desert version of Morocco.

Spicy ground cocoa. I smell hot chili pepper, spices, and dusty cocoa. Spicy, dusty, cocoa.

Ultra creamy chocolate, honey and fig. Hints of citrus, and green. This one is a very interesting chocolate. I'd actually be interested in EATING this if it were an actual bonbon. Toothsome, creamy, tasty.

Musk, cumin, patchouli and honey. This one is warm, stinky, and kinda dirty. The honey sweetens the patchouli and musk up, the cumin makes it spicy. It's tends slightly toward the masculine on me, and I can see the right guy carrying this off gorgeously. I think out of sheer contrast, I have Voyeuristic Monkey on one hand and Angry Crab on the other and they are like complete anti-thesis. Fuzzy, dirty, warm.

Salty seas! This one is ambergris, oakmoss, and sea kelp greenness. It's cool, watery, but with tinges of sea kelp and life. Pretty strong throw. Sadly, it does turn a little Irish Spring/deodorant on me. Salty, clean, aquatic.