verbranden

Someone earlier in the thread used "sharp, clean and herbal" to describe this scent, which is the perfect description for how it is on me. The leather is there, but mostly stays in the background, backing up the herbal-ness. It does tend toward powerderiness after extended wear, but it's light enough that I can refresh it periodically without feeling like I'm overapplying. The scent is also quite simple, but not in a bad way. It's very straightforward, but it works. It is definitely masculine, but in a very understated way. Masculine, but not machismo if you will.

This scent really drove home the importance of skin testing for me, and what skin chemistry can do for a blend. When I sniff the bottle, the wood notes seem really sharp, bitter and generally unpleasant, but after application and a few minutes of drydown, the sharp bitterness fades to the background and I getting is a rich wood and berry scent that I love. The berry note isn't at all foody either, it's more like, well, like you would expect, being outside in the woods and smelling the trees and the wild red berries growing there. Whatever was causing the sharpness in the bottle is still there, beneath the smoother wood and berry, but it's more balanced and plays nice with the other notes and tones down the brightness of the berry. I absolutely adore this scent, which is a pleasant surprise considered that when I first sniffed it from the bottle, I was sure that I would hate it. To me at least, this scent embodies the idea of winter more so than even many of the snow based scents. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one ages.

GHOSTS IN LOVE "Tell me, where do ghosts in love Find their bridal veils?" "If you and I were ghosts in love We'd climb the cliffs of Mystery, Above the sea of Wails. I'd trim your gray and streaming hair With veils of Fantasy From the tree of Memory. 'Tis there the ghosts that fall in love Find their bridal veils." - Vachel Lindsay White sandalwood, tobacco flower, lily of the valley, white carnation, and magnolia blossom with tea rose, labdanum, and oudh. First impressions were that it was a very light and mildly soapy. While it was wet on the skin, it kept that soapy quality, but as it dries, seemed to be less flowery-soap and more damp florals with a touch of sweetness. It reminds me very much of Niflheim, but I'm not sure if is that similar smelling or that the two just evoke the same feel for me. I'll have to do sniff tests with my bottle of Niflheim when I get home. I don't really notice the sandalwood in the blend, which is good for me since I'm not a big fan of the note and it kind of had me on the fence as far as ordering a bottle of this or not. The rose also doesn't seem to stand out, which is nice as I tend to amp rose so much it drowns out some other notes - though since this is white rose, it is probably not as bad. This scent stays very close to the skin and is very, very light. Because of this, this scent doesn't feel like it has a lot of staying power. I can smell it now a few hours after application if I put my wrist right up against my nose, but I don't still smell it like I would with a stronger blend - though admittedly this could be because I tend to apply scents I'm testing quite sparingly. Overall, I really like and light, damp floral scent it has - the only drawback for me is that it just doesn't seem to last as long. If you missed out on Niflheim before it was dced, this would be a good one to get if you don't mind a bit of a soapy phase as it dries.

I love this scent so much, and I've only been testing it for a few hours so far. I only ordered an imp of this because while I was excited about the leather and hemp, the rosin made me a bit nervous. Rogue definitely strikes me as a masculine scent, not that that will stop me from wearing it regularly. The leather is definitely the main note in this, with the hemp and rosin coming in in about equal measures to balance the leather out nicely. Rogue is, as would be expected, a subtle but powerful blend with it's own intoxicating richness.

Hehehe, yeah, I was talk to someone about this perfume and when I told him the name, he responded "...that sounds painful." I was amused. But as far as the scent goes, I almost didn't test this one at all despite ordering a bottle right off. It was strangely foodie to me when I sniffed it - I'm guessing it was the vanilla and a touch of ginger that gave it a distinct smell of "COOKIES!" But then I remembered the advice to skin test everything because you never know and I'm really glad I did. I also noticed right away that the oil consistency seemed a lot thinner than most of my other blends, so be careful with this one! Like many people have already pointed out, this scent is quite a morpher. It was indeed a rather cookie/foodie scent on me right when I put it on, but it started changing almost immediately and for the first five to ten minutes, I kept getting "cookies!... no wait, florals... no, floral cookies!" But after those first few moments, any foodiness about this perfume went away and it just becomes lovely. After a few hours of wear, I'm getting mostly beeswax with enough cyclamen and orange blossom for a touch of floras with undertones of spicy leather. Definitely a keeper, and I'm hoping the foodieness of the vanilla mellows as it ages, as that's the only thing I really dislike about it as it is now.

Oh... this scent... *fans self*... WOW. I bought this scent on impulse while reading through the Carnivale Diabolique section for the billionth time more for entertainment than shopping. I had previously not given this scent much consideration, but for some reason during that reading, I knew I had to try it. I NEEDED THIS SCENT. The package arrived Thursday evening, I wore it Friday, and all I can say is DAMN Beth has 1) seriously outdone herself and 2) must have had "verbranden needs a sexy scent YESTERDAY" in mind when making this. It definitely has a masculine edge and would be sexy as hell on a dude, but women can definitely rock it too. Sniffing it in the bottle, it's pure deception. "Don't mind me," it says. "I'm just a light herbal scent. Smell how cool I am? What harm could I possibly be?" Those shivers down your spine when you smell it in bottle? Hint, they're not because this scent is a cold one. On my skin, it went from cool herbs to a slick, hot spice. It abandons all pretense here. It no longer needs them. It has you. "You tricked me, Wild Men of Jezirat al Tennyn!" You might exclaim. "You're not really cool moss at all! You're...you're... pepper! And patchouli! YOU'RE CLOVE!" you cry out. It just smiles. "I am not entirely moss, but moss is a part of me. I told no lies." It says calmly, still smiling. "Would you like to find out what else I am?" Of course you do. You can't help it.

2009 Version When I first got my decant of this, I could not see what all the fuss was about. It was all plasticky play-doh in the imp and on my skin. I was very disappointed because it was my first exposure to Snow White and all the hype had me really excited to try this blend. However a month or two ago, I randomly decided to pull it out and give it another shot, just to see. And this blend... omg... IT IS AMAZING. It is a very smooth, delicate, barely-there vanilla and floral scent that is noticeable but not cloying, over the top or in your face. The thing that amazes me most about Snow White is that Beth has somehow managed to capture the very essence of the coldness and desolation of winter, but also, winter's striking austere beauty. This scent is also very much a morpher in the best way possible. The longer I wear it, the richer and more beautiful it becomes on my skin. I'm interested in seeing how the 2010 blend compares because I've ordered a bottle to put away for storing!

I probably could have written Hillary's review myself. The French vanilla note was the first thing I noticed, and it is definitely a different scent than other blends of tried with vanilla. In the bottle, it also strongly reminded me of something but I can't really figure out what. I got a few of the more floral Lupercalia blends and I might have to do some comparison sniffs - once it's on my skin however, it is definitely its own blend. After a bit of wear, the floral notes come out, especially the honeysuckle. I do wish I got a little more rose, which is unusual because anything with red rose in it might as well be Rose Single Note on me, but at least I know white rose won't completely take over a blend like red does. This is lovely on me, and unlike several of my favorites, this is a blend that for me, seems to defy seasonal limitations. I could wear this year round and it would still feel right.

I'm getting mostly the dry rose and light smoke notes from this one, but that could just be my skin's tendency to amp rose to the exclusion of all else. I could smell the saffron immediately after applying, but it seemed to fade or be overpowered after wearing it just a short time; and I'm not getting any frankincense to speak of. The scent is lovely, thought it is also very straightforward. It is however extremely light, I'm not usually a slatherer but I had to apply more oil than I usually do an the scent is still very light. I think I'll need a full bottle of this for as much oil as it will take to fully appreciate this scent!

In my decant, I can really smell the Snake Oil, but once it's on my skin the patchouli and vetiver are what are really noticeable and the Snake Oil, while still present, settles into more of a background note, with just a touch of lavender and blood musk to spice things up. The notes play very well together on me. It is very smooth, dark and sexy. I'll be getting a bottle of this of this for sure.

This on me is a creamy, rich but non-foody vanilla very reminiscent of the vanilla note in Antique Lace, and just enough wax to carry the idea of candles without smelling overly waxy. There's a warm smokiness deep in the scent that you pick lightly under the more present, wafting vanilla. I don't get much if any honey, which I read from other people is a note, but it might be hidden by the vanilla which my skin tends to amp. Throw is light, but the vanilla does carry and it has great staying power, lasting several hours. Overall, a very lovely scent and after just one testing from my imp, has found its way into a priority spot on my "Bottles to Order" list.

In the imp, I get a rich, leather amber - definitely black leather. On my skin, the opoponax and tobacco become more prominent with a bit of wear, mingling wonderfully with the leather and amber notes. With me, this scent doesn't morph so much on me as just becomes more rich throughout the day - though the amber does seem to rise to the top eventually (though that is most likely my skin's super amber amping tendencies). It is rather unisex edging on masculine and I'll probably get another imp for my husband as I can imagine this also smelling wonderful on a man. This is an instant favorite and definitely will be getting a bottle on my next lab purchase.

In the imp and on my skin, this is totally a men's cologne/aftershave which despite having two imps of, I think I shall hoard for myself instead of giving to the husband which I usually do for more masculine oils. This smells wonderful on me, though I can't really pick out individual notes. It doesn't really morph much, but it had a rich deepness that I really enjoy so I don't mind it not changing. This is a fantastic oil and I'm glad to have a couple imps of it because I love it.

This is very sweet in the imp, but the second I put it on, my skin chemistry abuses it and it goes straight violet and oddly enough, playdoh. This one just doesn't work on me it seems.

This smells absolutely wonderful on me. It's a light scent, a blend of mostly sage and sweet pea with a bit of musk; I don't get much tonka out of this. It doesn't have very much throw and the only downside to it being such a light scent is that it doesn't very long, but I don't mind reapplying this. Definitely a bottle purchase in the future.