zankoku_zen

So at the beginning, I can smell the orange and frankincense. And as it dries I get a hint of the lemongrass and some of the bergamot. The orange in this reminds me more of Pez orange candy than actual orange/orange juice. Maybe it's the frankincense giving it a 'dusty' quality. Dries to pretty much frankincense. Meh.

Light, darkness, kindness, and malice: golden amber, white amber, redwood, teak, bois du rose, sage, tree moss, and snow. I am very torn on Ded Moroz. The amber is warm, and there is a hint of rose, but I love the cool aspects of it. It doesn't smell like snow per se, and the rose isn't obnoxious. It smells pretty, and it does the hot vs. cold thing very well. I might have to wear it more and see if I need a bottle. ETA: Totally got a bottle. The hot vs. cold thing was too intriguing for me to pass up! And I have to add, the more I wear it, the more I like it. I do think it is a winter blend, but I get green woods, with warm rose infused amber. LOVE IT.

Gah! Honeysuckle! Evil Jasmine. On the drydown, I get some of the tea and clove coming out. But overall, heavy floral not for the likes of me. *sigh*

I was most excited about the geranium, but I get mostly gardenia. The geranium makes an appearance in the drydown, but way later. Like way way way later. Pass. ETA: The Lulu prototype does not have gardenia. It has tobacco flower, a touch of bergamot or lemon perhaps and something else. It goes a little soapy on me but VASTLY better than the released version for me.

This one definitely is more akin to Skadi than the released Hearth. It's got pine, ever green, and more like tobacco smoke. No buttery. Just the chill of snow on a bitterly cold winter's day (did you run into a berry bush while carousing in the snow? perhaps you did!) contrasting against the smoke of a fire. MMM. Yes. Unfortunately my skin eats this up. Literally.

This one is a rosey, floral amber. It's pretty, in very girly way. The amber turns to powder on me. And this must have jasmine, because the florals turn a little sharp.

Floral Doom indeed. I think this has rose, jasmine and something that just dries to rose powder. EW.

Agreed. The leather in this one isn't chemically - combined with everything, it is a soft, musky kind of leather. It kinda reminds me to Quincy Morris, in that it was a softer/more subtle leather than some of the other leather blends that come out from the Lab. This one was like well worn kinda leather. I actually liked it alot.

On wet, I would say that this is more rose than geranium. It's like roses with a bitter geranium underneath it. As it dries, the rosiness dissipates, and I get more of the geranium, but it sort of ends up in 'clean laundry land' but it is the same geranium/clean that I love from Winter Stress Relief Elixir. LOVE IT.

CCCXV (315) I think this one is very similar to 316, as it's a bright juicy floral - I think it has gardenia, pikaki and ginger, and possibly some cedar. As it dries, I've gotten more of the pencil shavings scent underneath all of the heady florals. Not my style at all.

Tanned leather. In fact, it's a bit obnoxious on me. UGH.

This one is a nice, flowery blend. I do agree that it is a 'green' sort of floral with 'little white flowers'. I think the florals may be the same white ones as in Ice Queen, which I adore. So by extension, I like this. It has a tendency to go a little soapy on me though.

I get sweet berries, wine and a touch of bread. It was pretty 'green' and fresh on wet, and as it dries it has become much more foodie. I think I smell the roast. Weird.

Cupcake doesn't work on me. I get cocoa, wood, and dirt. Loads of dirt. Grimey dirt. I don't fancy my cocoa with dirt. The wood is pretty prominent on me too, as if the cocoa was just a thin veneer. It lacks sweetness for me. yeah for dodging a bullet? Esp. since PWT seems to be kinda wonky...

Creamy, sweet, slightly perfumey floral. It does have 'water' as a component though, as I get the same sort of vibe as in from Water Phoenix and the Festival of Anukhet. As a scent, it works better than WP and FoA did, but I'm not sure I like it enough to keep.

It does smell like a candle - an expensive vanilla candle. The beeswax is sweet on me and I can smell the touch of honey, it def. has a vanilla like component on my skin. It's subtly smoky. I think I have to wear it a little more to decide how much I love it, but I can def. see this having multiple layering possibilities...

Lilies and oak. I am beginning to think that BPAL's oak note and I don't get along, as this smells like floor polish, which it is supposed to. But I find that particularly unpleasant on me. Mr. zee_zee liked the lilies though...

Smells like a Christmas tree. I get loads of pine, a hint of metal and something that is almost berry sweet. So far, my favorite WKAP. On the other hand, given the smell, I'm not sure I want to walk around smelling like a Christmas tree...

El Dorado is masculine copal and cinnamon. Woof. Smells like a guy.

Def. fabric and leaves. The leaf note I've smelled before... was it BPAL's October? I believe. I'm not sure. My skin eats this one up. And after an hour, it is gone, gone gone.

Okay, this definitely smells like polished woods. In fact, I would say it most resembles wood polisher as opposed to the actual polished woods. I do get a bit of oak out of this though. Meh.

Metal and blood. I must amp up blood, because this ends up smelling to me like Gore Shock, except slightly more pleasant. It's got a very manly aftershave vibe on me.

I do remember typewriters and typewriter ribbons. My mom was a secretary and I remember being maybe like three and I was there at her work, and this is the smell of them. I also get a fairly strong motor oil component to it - so it sort of smells like a Phoenix Steamworks line blend, with a hint here and there of something else (could it be the groceries). My skin eats this one right up.

Agreed, I get a bit of lime, a bit of dirt but overall its a very green, clean aquatic. It sort of ends up like soap on me.

This is a very warm, golden grass blend. It's got a warm fur kind of smell, which made me think of Ivanushka. This is the scent of a happy dog that has come in from a walk outside, sun sticking to its hair and it just flops down on your bed and smiles at you, and looks at you with those deep, dark eyes shining with love and loyalty and you can't help but smile back. Golden puppy love indeed, and a fitting tribute. This blend is very obviously a labor of love.