Lambent

Cherry blossoms, white tea, vanilla orchid, and a drop of strawberry. The simplest way to describe Kamisuki is "shampoo-like." It reminds me of Herbal Essences in a way (not that that's a bad thing). I think I get the cherry blossoms most prominently, although on the first spray I forgot to shake it and it ended up smelling very much of strawberry. It's a nice springtime scent and one you can spray on when it's hot out or you want to smell inoffensive. Also the bottle art. Let's not forget how gorgeous the bottle art is. Quite fitting that it's of a woman combing her (presumably) just-washed hair.

Madagascan vanilla, rice powder, iris root, and pale musk. Of the Lupercalia hair glosses I sniffed, The Moon Reflected in Every Rice Paddy made the greatest first impression. On that note, I actually tried it out in my hair and it's a beautiful, creamy, almost marshmallow-y scent without being saccharine. Not too dry or powdery. I'm seriously considering a full bottle.

The Small Brown Cat reminds me a bit of Unicorn and Ram without the scratchiness of the wool and the weight of the oud (and also a bit of Dee and The Bow & Crown of Conquest). This cat is softer and more tame. The cardamom is also not as spiky as it was in Unicorn and Ram. I usually amp cedar and it is definitely the most prominent note. However, it is tempered by the bourbon vanilla and becomes less pencil shavings and more of a creamy wood. Linear and comforting.

Heady and slightly powdery on my skin due to the violets, I think. The patchouli comes up a bit strong for me and the whole blend gets a bit overwhelming (I imagine it would be cloying in the summer heat). I do get a bit of an asphalt-like grittiness from it at times. Fuck You, Said the Raven reminds me a bit of department store perfumes, but not necessarily in a bad way. Like one of those vintage or classic perfumes recommended for night wear. Suitable for femme fatales and dark strangers in leather.

Just yesterday, Licinius, at leisure, we played around for hours with my tablets writing erotic verse as we’d agreed to, each of us taking turns at improvising line after line in meter after meter, adjuncts to wine & witty conversation. And when I left you, I was so on fire with all your brilliant & ironic humor that after dinner I was still excited, and sleep refused to touch my eyes with quiet. In bed & totally unstrung by passion, tossing in agony, I prayed for sunrise, when I could be with you in conversation. But when my limbs, exhausted by their labor, lay on the bed in nearly fatal stillness, I made this poem for you, my beloved, so you could take the measure of my sorrow. I beg you to be kind to my petition, darling, for if you aren’t, if you’re cruel, then Nemesis will turn on you in outrage. Don’t rile her up, please – she’s a bitch, that goddess. – Catullus, translated by Charles Martin Olive leaf, osmanthus, bois de rose, and lemon verbena. I get mostly lemon verbena from this (not much of a morpher) A very fresh, rejuvenating fragrance. I don't think I'll need a full bottle of this, but I will enjoy the decant I have while it lasts.

This incarnation of Wolf Moon honors the She-Wolf who nursed and sheltered Romulus and Remus in her den, the Lupercal, after they were cast out into the wild by King Amulius. By the order of Amulius some of his servants took the babes in an ark and carried them to the river, distant about a hundred and twenty stades from the city, with the intention of throwing them into it. But when they drew near and perceived that the Tiber, swollen by continual rains, had left its natural bed and overflowed the plains, they came down from the top of the Palatine hill to that part of the water that lay nearest (for they could no longer advance any farther) and set down the ark upon the flood where it washed the foot of the hill. The ark floated for some time, and then, as the waters retired by degrees from their extreme limits, it struck against a stone and, overturning, threw out the babes, who lay whimpering and wallowing in the mud. Upon this, a she-wolf that had just whelped appeared and, her udder being distended with milk, gave them her paps to suck and with her tongue licked off the mud with which they were besmeared. In the meantime the herdsmen happened to be driving their flocks forth to pasture (for the place was now become passable) and one of them, seeing the wolf thus fondling the babes, was for some time struck dumb with astonishment and disbelief of what he saw. Then going away and getting together as many as he could of his fellows who kept their herds near at hand (for they would not believe what he said), he led them to see the sight themselves. When these also drew near and saw the wolf caring for the babes as if they had been her young and the babes clinging to her as to their mother, they thought they were beholding a supernatural sight and advanced in a body, shouting to terrify the creature. The wolf, however, far from being provoked at the approach of the men, but as if she had been tame, withdrew gently from the babes and went away, paying little heed to the rabble of shepherds. Now there was not far off a holy place, arched over by a dense wood, and a hollow rock from which springs issued; the wood was said to be consecrated to Pan, and there was an altar there to that god. To this place, then, the wolf came and hid herself. The grove, to be sure, no longer remains, but the cave from which the spring flows is still pointed out, built up against the side of the Palatine hill on the road which leads to the Circus, and near it is a sacred precinct in which there is a statue commemorating the incident; it represents a she-wolf suckling two infants, the figures being in bronze and of ancient workmanship. This spot is said to have been a holy place of the Arcadians who formerly settled there with Evander. A mother’s unconditional love, soul-deep compassion, and destiny: date plum, myrrh, black mulberry, black poplar, and Pan’s sacred pines. Really quite nice. A deep, rich, "purple" scent. Date plum is apparently persimmon, but I'm not sure I get much of that at all. The black mulberry in this reminds me of the blackberry in Scorpio 2016. But thankfully, Wolf Moon contains no patchouli. I do recognize some myrrh and there's a balsamic aspect to this. The scent evokes a trek through a forest at night, wolf paws crushing berries underfoot. There's a sweetness and a murky quality to Wolf Moon. The pine in this doesn't degrade into cat piss on my skin, which is a first. It's the perfect forest/pine scent I've been looking for.

Strawberry Moon 2017 is what I wanted Strawberry Moon 2009 to be. While Strawberry Moon 2009 is more boozy, sweet, and caramelized, Strawberry Moon 2017 is more green and fresh. I think the additions of sage and "summer grasses" bolster the dandelion sap. Makes me think of warm weather and U-Picks for sure.

[No description given.] I'm really glad I got my hands on a bottle of this. It smells lovely! I don't get much of the frankincense, but the peach is light, fresh, and just sweet/ripe enough.

I've stashed away a cherished imp of Antique Lace back from when it was still available years ago. Kicking myself now, of course, for not buying a full bottle or two of it when I could. This is a beautiful lightly musky, vanilla'd, clean linen scent. Keeping component issues in mind, I wonder if we'll ever see an Antique Lace redux (hint, hint). Its ghost surfaces now and again in some of the Laces, and sometimes the scents with vanilla/musk notes remind me of this. But no exact clones, I believe. On the downside, A.L. is near impossible to track down and if found, it is at an exorbitant price. Plus side? There are always new perfumes to fall in love with.

Have you ever eaten those karma orchids before? Vanilla Orchid captures that experience in a bottle. It's a very faint scent that has an icy quality. More orchid than vanilla. It's like the cutting clean, crunchy, slightly green taste of those edible orchids. Those who were looking for a more gourmand or creamy vanilla scent will be disappointed. However, those who enjoy floral fragrances and clean/green smells might like this. UPDATE: On subsequent tries, Vanilla Orchid is stronger and a bit creamier (but not really vanillic). It's definitely still "floral" and perfumey in character. A little fresh linen-like.

Absolutely gorgeous! It's a creamy lilac that, for some reason, reminds me of 2016's The Bride. Slightly powdery, but that drizzle of honey keeps it less dry in texture. A pinch of cardamom is apparent in Cave of Treasures' first few minutes, but this is definitely more lilac cream and honeyed skin than anything else. A periwinkle scent. Don't miss this one if it sounds up your alley!

I'm glad I didn't blind bottle Diligent Instruction for the Bridal Night. I'm not sure if my skin just amps the Lab's strawberry note, but this was all sharp, tart strawberry on me without the mallow blossoms. I was hoping for something more along the lines of the Enveloped in Silk Hair Gloss, but in perfume form. Something creamier and softer. The strawberry in this reminds me of the one in The Small Harem, which I already own, so I'm not too disappointed.

Mrs. Dunbar smelled a bit similar to The Bride to me. Speak! Speak! from last year's Weenies also had a similar fuzzy brown note like Unicorn & Ram. Étude de Déshabillé (the recent Luper; black amber, 7-year aged patchouli, cashmeran, and tobacco leaf) might be up your alley if you haven't tried it out already. It smelled quite warm and almost woody to me in person.

I'm relieved I'm not the only one who got the fecal note from this. Once the oudh settles down, it's mostly a frankincense scent on my skin. Slightly citrus-y. It's a calming, contemplative, "holy-smelling" fragrance. I don't detect any of the metal. For reference, the oil itself is a lovely reddish color.

L'Hyver is super atmospheric to me. I think it's the white cypress in this that gives it an almost menthol-like quality--like breathing in biting cold winter air. I do get that slight anise-like note others have mentioned mixed in with "grey" resinous smells. I'm not sure what labdanum smells like, but L'Hyver is both light and airy with substance. It's an enigmatic, cool-toned scent. I'd like to test it out in a diffuser some day.

#LXXVI (76) This one's a head-scratcher for me. It's familiar, but I'm not sure what exactly it is. I know it's not frankincense (or if it does contain frankincense, I assume it's a small quantity). It's dark, sweet, verging on chocolate-y. Maybe not chocolate. Maybe licorice. My quick research leads me to thinking this is myrrh. I'll try to test out some essential oils of resins in the future and figure out what incense is in this. EDIT: Compared this to an imp of Penitence and they smell similar. #LXXVI is darker, though.

Hua Mulan is such a beautiful scent. Jasmine haters need not fear. The jasmine in this is neither indolic or animalic in the slightest. It's a tame, soft kind of jasmine that blends well with the other delicate notes. The leather isn't strong in this--more like a "white" leather. It has a low throw, hangs very close to the skin, is a soft floral/tea leather scent that dries down to a soft, clean pink musk/skin scent.

I think of a zombie hand punching through a grassy, earthy grave when I smell this. The core of this hair gloss smells like the Tomb Moss single note perfume. I get a blast of dandelions in the beginning and the moss drags itself along with the green chypre. It's a smoothly green and damp scent--quite lovely and unusual.

Oh.... my gosh?! Like the others mentioned, this is garlicky mashed potatoes in a bottle. I had to laugh incredulously after sniffing and reeling away in disgust. Not a scent I want to put anywhere near my skin, but I imagine hardcore collectors will love this.

Something about this reminds me of Unicorn and Ram. There's the same fuzziness to it and the leather note smells similar. It's a warm scent, but very faint. When it dries down, it becomes a very soft skin smell. Should've been a win judging purely by the notes, but Speak! Speak! failed to vocalize its charm.

A surprise hit for me. It smells both smoky and gooey--like roasting marshmallows by a campfire and telling scary tales. It's perfect parts midnight mischief and nostalgic comfort.

I got more of the buttery biscuit note in the beginning, but the Earl Grey tea comes out more on my skin as time progresses. It's quite creamy and warm. Pleasant. I like it, but not enough to get a full bottle.

I can smell that familiar resinous Snake Oil base with a sharpness from the lavender and sweetness from the gummy bears, which also smell kind of rubbery? It's not revolting or anything, but it's just not up my alley.

I immediately think of Wensleydale for some reason. As well as Dirty. Both have that clean skin/laundry softness going on (although Dirty is a bit sweeter and more floral/fresh). Thought they might be comforting. I would also recommend Parsifal, as it is an ozonic floral and somehow I feel like the archetype of the knight errant fits someone who likes reading/gaming? Maybe because you mentioned gaming, I would also recommend Paladin. It's a clean silver kind of scent (light leather with a tiny clang of metal). I imagine for you, it would fit well with Good (a sweet musk) or Neutral (skin musk). You mentioned anxiousness, so I thought of Cathode. It's a green chypre and described as "negatively charged." Made me think of frenetic energy. Hope this helps!

I just love when lavender and sage are paired together. Lavender by itself tends to have a very sharp, astringent quality, but in Wulric, the Wolfman, the lavender is tempered by the cocoa and musk. The edges are softened and the scent is deepened overall. I don't get any spiciness from this, but it does have an aromatic quality from the lavender and sage. Really comforting!