tallan

Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, black currant, patchouli leaf and wild plum. I was so, so scared that I wouldn't love this as I love the original, that the addition of the blackcurrant would have ruined it for me, turning it into fruity sugar doom... but I didn't need to be. Thank everything that is holy, if indeed there are holy things. It's not the same. It's lighter, brighter, fruitier. Sweeter on me. Less patchouli and sharp pomegranate, more of the softer notes. I don't know how much of that is part of the reformulation, and how much is age. It has the same red musk-vanilla magic (and it truly is magic). I am a wee bit fonder of the original version, I think, but this new one is pretty damn glorious, and likely to get even more so with age. It's beautiful. I love it. I need more bottles.

A few other GC suggestions: Dorian - A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea. Mouse's Long and Sad Tale - Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood. Lyonesse - Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. Tamora - Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean. Mania (screeching white musk collides with a howl of red musk, with sharp white grapefruit and pale strawberry leaf) may sound scary and aggressive and grapefruity but it was all sweet fruity musk on me. I'm also thinking of The Dormouse (a dizzying eddy of four teas brushed with light herbs and a breath of peony) and 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster (a woody, musky-weird base glooping over with blackberry preserves, a twist of mandarin, strawberry juice, pulverized watermelon, and a handful of smushed gardenia petals) - they're more fruit than vanilla, but they're both very sweet and pretty. Seconding a lot of other suggestions - Snake Oil, Bordello and Dragon's Milk are all must-tries, and Alice's Evidence is just wonderful - including the one about checking out the Liliths. It seems like a very sweet(s)-centred collection.

So I received my Dragon's Milk backup straight from the Lab (well, via group order) today, and it looked like this: (Not the sharpest of pictures, sorry, especially after Nathaniel's works of art, but you get the gist.) Is this a new thing? I was expecting the old red dragon and purple text! I really like it, though - the li'l dragon curling around the text is very cute.

Soap! No, wait. Cologne! Quite nice cologne without sharp edges, masculine but not macho. As it dries, it softens further, becoming more unisex but never losing the cologne association. It's... nice, but doesn't evoke anything in particular for me. Inoffensive. I wouldn't hate smelling this on someone else, but... eh. It doesn't excite me.

Well, peachy. Like Jack without the pumpkin. A short while after putting it on, the rest of the notes appear, but stay in the background. The result is quite disjointed. Fruity peach is so absolutely dominating, but then there's musk and resins hanging around, and they never really coalesce into one scent. I don't really know what I think of it. It irritates me. Not a keeper.

This is the Ars Draconis blend I've been interested in for the longest time, and I'm slightly scared to try it now because I've committed to Dragon's Milk (I own a bottle and another is on its way), and I'm not sure I have room for more than one AD scent in my heart. But, well. It's on now. Wet: oh, this is pretty. Strong dragon's blood, with noticeable fruits. The musks take a while longer to show up, but round out the scent beautifully once they do. Annnd the fruits immediately hasten to leave the spotlight when that happens, leaving this a primarily DB and musk blend. Dry: Yep, DB and musk. It's stronger and spicier than Dragon's Musk, though, without actually being spicy. Sharper is maybe a better word. It's good, I like it a lot, but it doesn't measure up to Dragon's Milk (what a relief), and isn't distinct enough to get to stay around anyway. ...I think. ...Okay, maybe-pile it is.

This was just... no. I could smell all the notes, and I don't think I have anything against either of them on their own? (Maybe? Not sure about apricot and white ginger, but in theory.) But they don't work together on my skin at all. This was predominantly weirdly musty apricot vanilla, and it smelled like the fruit was off. Blech. I washed it off. Maybe fruity vanilla is just not something I can do.

Oh, this is dark and spicy. And heavy. The patchouli, clove and myrrh are all deep, deep, deep, and the ylang ylang is incapable of lightening it up, it just adds a floral tone to the scent. I feel like lying down when I huff my wrist - almost faint. It's like the scent steals its way into my head and weighs it down. This is so, so "BPAL-y" to me. It falls into the same family as Sin, Lust and Vixen. That deep, sexy-resiny type of scent, heavy on the patchouli, lacking the sweetness of, say, Snake Oil... It's good. It's distinctive. I don't know if it's me, still. (The rest of them weren't.) But I'll hold on to this for a while, see if I'm ever drawn to wearing it.

When I put it on, I get an immediate blast of ginger and citrus. The grass and the sage follow a few feet behind, like sedate parents with their bright and bubbly children running ahead. It's summery and pretty and not particularly what I want to smell like. I want the amber to show up. It doesn't oblige. This dries down into grass and verbena. It's a lot softer than Embalming Fluid on me, more snuggly, and it disappears a lot quicker. No amber. Boo.

The first time I tried Sinus Amoris, it was just a light sandalwood, backed by some hardly noticeable myrrh. A disappointment, in other words. And then I got Fenris Wolf, which I'd been excited about for a while - and the comparison to which had made me more interested in Sinus Amoris - and it didn't work on me at all. I started preparing myself for this not being my scent, either, even though I really wanted it to be. But it needed a second try. (And a third. Possibly a fourth and a fifth. I mean, to be really sure.) And the second time I put it on, the vanilla showed up. This time? Warm, soft woodsy vanilla made interesting by the spicier, resinous notes. I don't get any champaca blossom, or do but can't identify it, which is just fine by me. It's still pretty light on me, with hardly any throw; hopefully that'll improve with aging. I have a feeling it will age gloriously. And I'm perfectly okay with imagining Chris Evans smelling like this, thank you.

Some suggestions that all evoke that fairy feel for me (GC and LE): A Nocturnal Reverie - Violet musk and oudh with black amber, ambergris, agarwood, black currant, dark musk, fig, and lavender incense. The East - Bluebonnet, passion flower, freesia, jasmine tea, mint, thyme, and redcurrant. Fae - White musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss. The Fairies - Apple blossom, white clover, huckleberry wine, dandelion sap, milkweed, primrose, thyme, pink moss, thorny thistles, and opium pod. Leanan Sidhe - A crush of Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists, and nighttime dew. The Lilac Wood - Ageless trees, everblooming flowers, brilliant grass, and soft shadows.

Yeah, I'm one of those who colour code all scents.. it's part of how I organise them, both in my head and in my personal files, and is basically the starting point for my daily choices ("I just wanna wear something green today"). So fragrances that evoke certain colours? ALL OF THEM. I'm with Dusk when it comes to electric blue, though. I'm no good with blues at all (ha), it's mostly aquatics and atmospheric ozoney stuff, perhaps some spring flowers... and blueberries, of course. Mostly stuff I've stayed away from. Blue Fire sounds like a perfect fit.

My heart is filled with Daredevil. What Would Matt Smell Like? (Oh, hell.) Something bloody... and religious? I'm having trouble nailing it. Also Foggy, and Karen, and Claire, and Ben Urich, and Wilson Fisk and Vanessa... Wesley? I want them all. What do you think?

I never thought I'd like something with dragon's blood, even less fall head over heels for it. Dragon's Milk has joined the handful of scents I can't get enough of - yes, they're just a handful; I'm really picky, and this is just that good. (HOW?) Wet, it's floral vanilla - the candyish quality of DB on my skin is wonderfully tempered by the vanilla and only appears as a soft, soft hint of something like cherry. But it's good. I can't stop huffing my wrists. I want more. I want to bathe in this. Dry, the DB takes a backseat to the vanilla, and the scent turns almost Snake Oil-like the longer it's on. The only thing I don't love about it is that it doesn't last very long on me - 2-3 hours and it's almost gone. I'm going to have to try the "almond oil beneath" thing. And get a bottle or two for slathering. Verdict: :wub: :wub:

Dragon's blood is one of the first notes I learned doesn't work on me, so I've wisely stayed away from the Ars Draconis line. That came to an end when I got this as a part of an Ebay lot, and happened to like it a lot. Huh. It's soft and musky and dark pink in my mind - terribly romantic. I get visions of medieval dresses and long tresses and other things which do not rhyme but is part of the same narrative - princesses and knights and... faires, things like that. Very, very pretty. I'm keeping it.

Wet, it's honeyed jasmine. It immediately makes me think of LUSH's Flying Fox, like someone wrote above. I agree that it's more complex, though, and gets more and more so the longer it's on my skin. As it dries, it goes from honey-jasmine with other stuff in the background to vanilla-jasmine with other stuff in the background (including honey, it doesn't disappear completely). I don't really get - or are incapable of identifying - the woods underneath. In the end, this is a jasmine scent, on me. Supported by other notes (I think the hay finally decided to turn up), but solely jasmine in its heart. It's not what I expected, but it's good. I like jasmine. I'm not sure how good, yet. But the decant may well be a kepper.

I'm so surprised right now. I've had a sniffie for ages, thought it was pretty but not my thing, and then I recently converted to red musk fandom. Hallelujah, give me more Mircalla. I expected it to become a favourite. So I bought a decant, and got to try it today, and it's not at all like the sniffie. It's the same scent, but whereas my sniffie was mostly red musk and vanilla, made complicated and more interesting by light florals and spices, wearing it now is almost entirely clove and patchouli with an orchid backup. Pretty in its own way (even though I'm not a clove fan), but not at all what I expected and, to be honest, wanted out of this scent. It's been a few hours, and neither the vanilla nor the red musk have bothered to show up. Bummer.

And big thanks to you, thekittenkat, for your info regarding the different snow notes. I just realised I've never tried a real snow BPAL, and that I would like to do so but wanted to know what the heck they're about first, and ducked into this thread looking for pretty much exactly that. Am feeling extremly edified now!

FragranceLush was kind enough to frimp me this, probably because I had it on my wishlist. For some reason. Looking at the notes, I can't remember why! It doesn't strike me as something I'd be dying to try, but clearly I thought so at one time, so... okay, then. Wet, it's A LOT OF orange and A LOT of jasmine, and not much of anything else. I'm not sure what to think of it; I quite like jasmine but find it hard to wear, and I don't like orange except maybe I'm starting to? I don't know. It's confusing. This is all shimmering jasmine and wet, juicy orange, and it's really very loud!!! Drying, it softens, and softens, and softens into... ah, fabric softener. Jasmine vanilla fabric softener. The orange is but a memory. How sad.

This is nothing but woodsmoke and pine sap on me. A bit sharp, a bit sour, really natural smelling. I like it, but I'm with patina in that it's a lot like Danse Macabre. I won't need both of them, and in that case I prefer to stick with the GC, just to make things easier.

Looking at the notes, this almost scares me more than it excites me. I have no good experiences with dragon's blood, vetiver frightens me a little, and red musk haven't done anything for me yet. I love patchouli, though, and have no issues whatsoever with cinnamon. I'm hoping that Bloodlust will turn into something more than just the sum of its notes. Wet: Sweet, floral dragon's blood and harsh vetiver. Scaaaaryyyyy. Drying: Dragon's blood and cinnamon. Dry: Slightly spicy, musty dragon's blood. It's sort of hot and, ah, bloodlusty in the beginning, but as soon as it starts to dry, this turn into a soft, sweet fruity floral-type of scent on me, with only a hint or two of some darker things lurking underneath the dragon's blood. Not scary, not dark, not dangerous. Not working.

Here's to hoping that the almond and lotus don't ruin Bastet for me. Wet: Complex. I can smell the almond immediately, softened by, oh god, saffron! I LOOOOOOOOOVE saffron. Ah, I think I get some of the lotus as well, but it's not nearly as cloyingly sweet as in Black Lotus. After 10 seconds on my skin, the almond quiets down and provides equal space for the other notes, and... I really like this, so far. It's spicy and golden, with warmth and sweetness beneath the spices (probably the amber and musk). At this stage, I have a hard time separating the individual notes, they've melded together into a lovely whole. This is a softer, sweeter and more feminine version of Anubis to my nose, which is a bit interesting because they have, what, one note in common? Dry: Augh, the lotus hath returned. Bastet is now slightly musky, barely resiny bubblegum. WHYYYYY.

Wet: Sharp and sour and really unpleasant. And that blue minty bubblegum smell again! The one from Yggdrasil! It has to be the oak, then. Good to know. A faint hint of crisp apples. Drying: Huh, imagine that. It really DOES go caramelly after a while, after the oak of DOOM has quieted down. It's warm and brown and... pleasant. I didn't expect that! Let's see what happens next. Dry: The pretense of this being an apple scent drops and this is nothing but caramel and honey, is what happens next. It's so sweet and rich it makes me queasy. No apples for me, it seems.

Wet: Ooooh I immediately like this. I think I can identify the orchid, bergamot, and (thankfully tame) juniper berries. Possibly the white musk as well, there's something soft in this that reminds me of Kitsune-Tsuki. This is very light and airy, almost ethereal. Not an impression I expected from a scent containing patchouli. Of course, I'm still waiting for that note to appear. Dry: This is decidedly floral, but the bergamot makes it gender neutral to me. Still soft and light, it seems to disappear pretty fast. And I'm still missing the patchouli. But this is very, very good even without it. Fresh and fey. I can absolutely see Oberon smelling like this. Many months later Either my taste or smelling capacities have changed, or Oberon has, with aging - now all I get is soapy florals heading straight for fabric softener territory. Crud. I had hopes for this one.

Hmm. I think I recognise the heather from Robin Goodfellow. There's a sweet fruitiness behind it; so that's what blackberry smells like in perfume form! It's really indistinct, though - I'm going to have to try more scents with it to be able to properly identify it. This is a sweet fruity floral, emphasis on floral, light pink, and unfortunately edging into the "too feminine for me" territory.