hmelt004

I was given an empty bottle of this, without enough to really skin test, so I'll do my best with this one. Sweet and salty and cool, the way the ocean should smell but never quite does. I'm not getting melon like other people have. I would love to have a decant of this.

I was given a low partial of this that had aged over a year. It is a heavenly dry cherry spice. Not sweet, thank goodness, because sweet cherry becomes cough syrup on me. I'd like to smell it fresh to be able to compare the two. I'm going to save this for fall, but probably not buy another bottle. It's very similar to Red Queen and Enraged Groundhog Musk, and I own those.

I bought a partial cobalt bottle of this from a forumer, hoping for a sweet, complex rose. But on my skin this turns into a strange watery, sour rose. I like watery rose, but for that I have Moon Rose. Off to the PIF pile with this one!

I bought a partial of this unsniffed because I love violet and mint. And swamp mist and mushroom gases sounded...interesting. If you're worried about those last two, don't discount this one yet. They only ground the blend. Yes, the mist and gases are grounding. The mint is not toothpaste minty, and it blends very well with the bog violet, which is much less sweet than regular violet. This is going to be really great for hot summer days.

This is from 2007. Proper cocoa, this one, not made from a packet. If you've had Mexican chocolate, with the sugar granules and cinnamon, this is it exactly. Smooth and mellow and too foody for me. I'm going to wait and see if the spice comes through a bit more, and if not, it's off the the PIF pile for this one.

If I were forced to pick a favorite BPAL, it would be Ochosi. I have crushes and flings with other oils, but Ochosi is the one I come home to at night, the one that calms me down when I'm stressed out. It is in part responsible for my surviving mumps in a Chinese hospital. The mumps wouldn't have killed me, but the stress might have. Ochosi smells like sitting in the shade of an enormous tree in summer, warm and green and ancient, soothing in it's timelessness. Nothing can touch this kind of calm. This is a smooth green smell, not pungent trampled greenery, and may work for you if other "green" scents have not.

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed because the price was right, and I'm really glad I did. Sweet and smooth and mellow, this reminds me of a cool beer outside in August, when summer is just turning into fall. The beer is probably TsingTao, my favorite, not a dark, earthy beer. There's golden, honeyed grain, and maybe a bit of the whisky from Kill-Devil. Just a little. And no scary blood for me.

A while ago I was on a "dirt" kick and went around trying as many of the scents billed as dirty and earthy as I could. I had made it through most of the GCs when someone frimped me a decant of Badger. And then, dear reader, I stopped looking. Badger is THE dirt, wet rich black dirt full of potential for growing things and creating new life. It is also very wearable, and I imagine would be very sexy on a guy. I don't usually like myrrh, but I can't smell it in here. Galangal is a kind of ginger, and I get just a little of that. Maybe a ginger root is growing in this dirt a little way away. Atlas cedar must like me better than regular cedar does, because it behaves on my skin and doesn't take over. I wear Badger to help me sleep sometimes. It is peaceful and timeless dirt, sort of nurturing.

I was on Thinkgeek ordering a Sonic Screwdriver for The Boy, since he got me one because we're nerdy that way, when the announcement for this oil popped up on the forum. And despite the fact that I have never paid full price for a bottle unsniffed before, I bit on this one. And, dear readers, I was not disappointed. This is the chocolate from Gelt, which is my holy grail of chocolate scents, plus the aquatic from Cthulhu and Port Royal and the Lab's wonderful salt note. This really does smell like a fancy sea salt chocolate bar. Well, if you draped it with seaweed. Which I would not want to eat but quite like smelling. It is sexy and strange, a very wearable foody scent. The Boy even took time out from playing with his Sonic Screwdriver to give it a sniff and say he liked it.

My go-to floral when I need to feel strong and feminine. Violet Ray reminds me of purple skittles, but there's no grape here. If Morgause is royal purple, this is true violet, sweet and strong. Grounded, too by the mint and sandalwood, but everything blends together seamlessly. And if you're like me and can't do ylang ylang, don't worry.

Queen G is my holy grail of florals. I usually hate florals, but I was going through all the Illyria oils because I'm obsessed with Shakespeare and I found...her. Regal, icy, maybe. Soft and sweet and gorgeous, definitely. This oil began my love of violets. If you also love violets, but want something stronger and sweeter, try Violet Ray, in the Steamworks section.

… A mixture of springtime greenery and classical Roman cologne: rosemary, bergamot, lemon rind and vervain with costus, benzoin, gray amber, cardamom, white narcissus and iris. This smells, in the best possible way, dear readers, like the green vegetable section of the grocery store. Celery, parsley, cilantro and fresh herbs. I'm kicking myself that I missed wearing it this March 15. It is not a sweet green scent, and I cannot detect any florals or citrus, despite the notes listed. I've had this bottle for a while and I haven't worn it much. I'll run it past the boy to see if he wants it, or if it goes into the PIF pile.

This is a floral for people who don't like florals, and an aquatic for people who can't wear them. I am both. This is one of the more accessible Lovecraft scents, so if you are a fan of his and still deciding which scent to try, Arkham might be your best bet. It is definitely complex, with a creepy, cold vibe that fits perfectly with the name. It is also very wearable, and I imagine it would be very cooling on a hot summer day. I mixed two imps into a bottle of unscented body wash and enjoyed my eldritch horror in the shower last year.

This one starts out as a strong sharp citron, sort of a cross between orange and lemon. Unisex, but maybe leaning toward the masculine. It makes me feel powerful, but a little unsettled, as if something isn't quite right. After about an hour the citron has faded into the background, giving way to a soapy, musky sort of smell that I have mixed feelings about. The jury is still out on this one for me. If you like white musk, I'd say give it a try.

Niflheim is a nice gentle watery floral, as is Pontarlier. If you like violet, I get a little sweet aquatic vibe from Violet Ray and Queen Gertrude. Both seem very fresh and cool to me. Black Pearl is one of my favorites, but it's more of a salty coconut with a little sweetness from the hazelnut. I get very little of the iris from it at all. A more floral, watery coconut is Shoggoth. It also has hinoki and Chinese peony.

Ichabod is... a glass of water with lemon that's been left sitting overnight, so that the lemon oil has infused the water. I realize that there no lemon-y things of any kind are listed in the notes, but skin-tested or straight from the bottle, all I get is watery lemon. I LIKE watery lemon, mind you, and I will wear this, but I had wanted something else from dear Ichabod. It is a mystery.

This Alice is a complex and mature Alice, not simple and girlish. She's equally sweet, spicy, and floral and she lasts for a long time. I don't get amber from this, but the carnations are there in force, and there's a sweet foody note that stays in the background but keeps this from being just a floral. And there is ink, and sand, and wool, although how you get though into a perfume AND make them smell good is a mystery only the lab knows. They kind of ground the whole thing. I get the same feel from Ichabod Crane. Alice is wearing a wool coat over her frock, I suppose.

Got this as a frimp from bookandbroom. Definitely autumn in a vial, this one, but not spiced apple cider warm toasty fire autumn. This is cold autumn wind rattling dead leaves and ivy vines over *wet* dirt and *wet* hay. As it dries, I'm getting a little sharpness that might be the gunpowder. It's not smoky, though. This one reminds me of Thanksgivings at my grandmother's house in Tennessee, way out in the country. I'm holding on to this one unless I find guy that will let me put it on him.

I'm didn't get root beer from this, just kind of a sharp greenish-plasticy vibe, sort of like Ochosi. (This is not a bad thing. I love Ochosi.) Must be the sassafras and oak leaf. After an hour or so it morphs into a light buttery vanilla that stays very close to my skin. Very nice!

Green Tree Viper reminds me of the end of a very posh, sexy dinner party. There is a plate of after-dinner mints sitting in front of me and tea is being served. Someone across the table is drinking green tea, and someone farther away is having Earl Grey, but most of what you can smell is the sweet, heady vanilla musk perfume of the woman sitting next to you. I do not like Snake Oil, but I love this stuff.

I bought a partial of this unsniffed and am sooooo glad I did. I don't get any dragon's blood, thank God. This is all freshly cracked black pepper and worn, metal-studded leather. Sexy and dangerous. I like it on me, but I would work as a masculine scent as well.

The Bloody Sword, if you can find it, smells to me like mostly black pepper with a little leather and metal.

I love the sweet, smoky, spicy tobacco of Hearth 04 and Samhain 05, but I don't think I'll ever get anymore of those. Is there a GC equivalent to this loveliness?

Wow, so many good suggestions! Thank you, guys; I will definitely look for those.

I''m looking for something that resembles Hearth 04, like a sweet cherry tobacco scent.