puellacaerulea
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Everything posted by puellacaerulea
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Dead Leaves, Bourbon, Black Cherry, and an Orange Twist
puellacaerulea posted a topic in Halloweenie
[No additional description provided.] In the bottle, this is intense black cherry and bourbon. Super sweet, super boozy; can't make out the dead leaves at all. After applying, the dead leaf note amps up a lot and balances out the sweetness/booziness nicely. The orange note also comes out more, but it stays mostly in the background. After a couple hours the cherry and bourbon notes are still there, but they're much more subtle and blend well with the dead leaf note. Overall, I'd say the black cherry is the strongest note here, but the dead leaves keep it from getting into sickly sweet territory. The notes balance out in such a way that the end result is a warmer, sweeter take on the Lab's dead leaf note. -
This one starts out lilac- and snowdrop-forward -- light, springlike florals, but the pairing of these florals with the ambergris seems to soften them and give them a more wintry, soft, snowy feel (sort of like the floral/ambergris combo in To a Wreath of Snow in that respect). The florals fade super fast on me, though, and while there's still some of the scent detectable on my skin, it's veeerrrry subtle and close to the skin -- it's more faint ambergris and white musk with a fainter breath of florals beneath it. It's pretty for sure, but the fast fade means I'm probably just going to stick with my decant of this.
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This one starts out all fir -- fresh, full-on Christmas tree fir. As it dries down, the smoke starts to come out and balance out the fir. It's a subtle, slightly sweet smoke, not at all overpowering. It's a really lovely, atmospheric winter scent, but it fades fast on my skin. I think I'd love this as an atmo.
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This starts out with dark green notes paired with the sweet blackberry -- the addition of the blackberry takes this from a dark green scent to something you might expect from a holiday-themed scent. Once I put it on, though, the candied blackberry overtakes everything. It ended up being too fruity/sweet for my liking, but might appeal if blackberry is a note you enjoy!
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Scent-wise, this is primarily ginger and galangal to me, backed up with red sandalwood and dragon's blood and a breath of herbs. Spicy, rooty, but also a little smooth and resinous. As this pandemic winter wears on and finding the motivation to get going and get my day-to-day work done gets tougher, I've been using this oil for the intention and "get shit done" energy behind it.
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This is strange (but also very evocative of the name/description) in that it seems both blurry and sharp at the same time. After a brief period of amping the muguet like whoa, giving me sharp, white floral, the sandalwood and orris creep back in, blunting the white florals and giving the scent a soft, hazy quality. Blurry, silvery white floral and orris, with some soft sandalwood in the background.
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Echoing the love this one's getting. Tobacco flower stays the dominant note on me throughout -- white floral with a bit of pipe tobacco undertone. It's backed beautifully by the lavender and ambergris, which give it a chilly and fuzzy quality that take it into extra-wintry territory. The oud's hard to detect. The only thing holding me back from a full bottle is that my skin eats up the lavender, leaving me with primarily tobacco flower when the interplay between the lavender and tobacco flower is what really takes this scent over the top. Still, it's such a good tobacco flower scent that I might get a full bottle anyway.
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Was kind of hoping someone else would get to this first, because I'm going to struggle to accurately depict this one. I absolutely love it -- it's a very fresh, clean, greenish scent -- but the notes blend in such a way that it's hard to pick them out individually. There's no corn-chip salt to be found here -- the salt note in this is more like fresh, cold salt air, adding a chilly cleanness to the teakwood and moss. The teakwood itself is strong-ish and is a little "polished wood" for a bit as it dries down, but it eventually settles to a distinct but not overpowering wood note. Overall, it's clean, fresh, greenish, and bracing. It reads gender neutral to me, but I can see how this would read more conventionally masculine depending on one's tastes.
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Pink Pepper, Orange Blossom & Lemon Peel
puellacaerulea replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This was another case of "I love all three of these notes individually but I'm not sure how they'll work together, so let's try a decant." This starts out with bright, greenish orange blossom and lemon (not a full-on Lemon Pledge situation, fortunately). The pink pepper emerges, but the way it interacts with the other notes makes the scent go a little powdery. It does settle to bright citrus with a hint of pepper in the background. A very bright, sweet-ish, citrus scent, all pinks and oranges. -
This is very much a warm, brown, cozy scent. Chestnut is definitely the dominant note here. I recognize the brown musk from Year of the Ox, but where that scent is heavy on the woods and tobacco, this is nutty and a little creamy. There are hints of woods and balsam that keep this from going into full gourmand territory, though.
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Beeswax, Cedarwood & Bourbon Vanilla
puellacaerulea replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I don't know if it's just the specific beeswax note in this scent or how it's playing with the bourbon vanilla, but this definitely smells honeyed to me. I'm getting beeswax and honey, with a whiff of vanilla and cedarwood. The cedar gets more pronounced on me as it dries down, adding a backbone of dry woodiness to the scent and toning down the sweetness a bit. It fades again after drydown, though, leaving me with sweet, honeyed beeswax and vanilla with a faint breath of cedar. (It might just be the vanilla and honey, but this reminds me a little bit of O.) Agreed that it has fairly strong throw. I can probably hold off on a full bottle, but I'll keep using my decant. -
On me, this is mostly pumpkin spice, with a hint of musk. It's a pleasant enough gourmand scent, but it doesn't wow me like the other two scents in this series.
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This one seems very well-blended, such that the notes that stand out the most are a soft, slightly smoky leather and rose, with a mix of balsams and resins underneath. The rose goes through a brief powdery phase on me, but otherwise behaves, and works surprisingly well with the leather note -- the overall post-drydown effect is almost like a skin musk. It stays fairly close to the skin and is weirdly cozy. Not 100% sure if I need a bottle yet, but I'll definitely be using my decant.
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I'm also in the "more oud than pecan" camp. Throughout its wear time, this is a deep, woody, spicy oud, with a hint of nutty sweetness in the background. Fortunately, the oud behaves -- there are moments where I think I'm picking up something indolic, but this oud doesn't go stanky on me. This might be my favorite of the pie series.
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This one starts out with light, sunny amber and citrus, with a hint of fresh ginger root in the background. The ginger amps up along with the lime blossom and neroli as it dries down, adding a fresh, slightly floral zinginess to the scent. Overall impression is a bright and sunny citrus floral grounded with a bit of amber and fresh ginger giving it a little effervescence. I'll probably be breaking this one out more during warm weather, but it would be great whenever you want something cheerful and fresh. No blind bottle regrets here.
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Cherry Cream Pie Chypre
puellacaerulea replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
In the imp: maraschino cherries. Once it's on, creamy vanilla notes come out and balance out the sweet cherry. As it dries down, slightly buttery notes come out as well. It's like angel food cake topped with cherry pie filling. Given that's one of my favorite desserts, I'm not mad. -
An Open Grave Underneath the Heavy Leaves
puellacaerulea replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Halloweenie
For some reason I expected a version of the dead leaves with this. This is not that, but it's pretty great. It's bright and grassy, but it's not exactly a "freshly mown grass" sort of a grass note -- maybe that's the herbs alongside it? The hay is pretty subtle, but it's adding a sort of dry sweetness to the scent. Overall, bright, herbaceous, slightly dry grassiness. Like walking in a field in early autumn. I could see going for this one in warm weather, too. -
In the decant: APPLES! My skin eats the apples up fast, though -- once it's on, the apples mostly disappear and the oud and amber amp up. It's not heavy, though -- it's a relatively light amber/oud combo, with maybe a bit of the honey detectable, but it's a subtle honey. It is a little indolic, but the oud mostly behaves. So: golden, light, sophisticated, gently sweetened amber and oud.
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This starts off as a combo of bright lemongrass, neroli, and white musk, emphasis on the lemongrass. This isn't just cleaning-product lemon, though -- there's a distinctly herbal tone to it, which I'm guessing the lavender is helping to provide. As it wears, the lemongrass settles a bit, and the cedar and oakmoss come out more, giving the scent a bit more backbone. This is still primarily lemongrass and white musk to me, but with a slight herbaceousness and woodiness that grounds it. It's like Phantasm with a little more oomph. If you like scents like Phantasm or Embalming Fluid, you'll probably also really enjoy this. I might need a full bottle to fill the Phantasm-shaped hole in my heart.
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Dead Leaves, Tunisian Amber, and Smoked Balsam
puellacaerulea replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Halloweenie
This is another interesting take on the Dead Leaves blends, in that the dead leaves seem to be a background player through all stages of this scent. This is primarily a warm, rich, spicy amber to me. I do pick up the balsam, which I think is adding a woody/spicy note to the amber, but the smokiness is minimal. The dead leaves do peek out more well after drydown, adding to the woodsiness of the scent. If you've ever tried Pacifica's Spanish Amber, this reminds me a lot of that. Medium throw and great wear length -- a little goes a long way. If you like amber blends, this is one to try. -
Dead Leaves, Marshmallow, and Pistachio Cream
puellacaerulea replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Halloweenie
I've tried a ton of the DL blends over the past few years, and this one's definitely different. It's almost more gourmand than leaves. The leaves are there, but they're a background player to the marshmallow and pistachio, and they don't have the cologne-y vibe you can sometimes get from the DL note. It starts out sweet, creamy, and a little nutty. After a weird sharp/powdery phase, it settles and gets nuttier, but the leaves keep it from getting cloying. Nutty sweetness with an undercurrent of dry leaves. -
Pretty much exactly what you'd expect -- smoky dead leaves! It's a sweet-ish, non-overwhelming smoke, though, somewhere between "distant bonfire" and "candle you just snuffed out." Definitely distinctly smoky, though. If you tried October and wanted something more smoky, give this one a go.
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This one starts out with aggressive cinnamon. Like, *aggressive* cinnamon. As in sticking-your-nose-in-a-cinnamon-scented-candle cinnamon, and combined with the dead leaves, it's a bit much. Fortunately, after drydown, the cinnamon settles quite a bit, and more of the sweet notes come out. After settling, the leaves stand out more than the cinnamon buns. The cinnamon buns are still detectable, though, and do that thing that sweet notes seem to do to the dead leaf note -- adding warmth and toning down the super green, bell-pepper-esque scent people tend to notice in the dead leaf note. The end stage is warm, dry leaves with a hint of cinnamon buns wafting around in the background. Fortunately, it lasts for a long time post-drydown, so if this sounds appealing, powering through the "ZOMG CINNAMON" stage might be worth it.
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O Spirit of Love
puellacaerulea replied to Ina Garten Davita's topic in Independent Shakespeare Company
Simple and pretty rose and vanilla combo. The chypre is also there and, along with the rose, a little more prominent than the vanilla -- it gives the scent a sort of shimmering, effervescent quality. The rose does go a little bit powdery on me, as rose tends to do, but the bourbon vanilla balances it out. The throw is subtle, but it has great wear length. If you liked the smell of TAL Enchantment and Rose-Tinted Mirror, you might also like this. -
I think I was hoping for more salt/sea air/aquatics in this one, but I'm getting more of the fruits/mosses/florals. There is a blue-green aspect to this scent, but to me it's less oceanic and more muddy and bayou-esque. My skin chemistry might also not be playing well with this one, as it goes slightly powdery for a bit. It's not bad as a green, mossy take on an aquatic, but just might not be for me.