cfrancesca

I really wanted vanilla cupcakes and rich, creamy frosting but instead I got a chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, with little to no frosting. I amp the chocolate and it's mostly a soft, slightly dry, not too sweet cocoa-like scent. The throw is nice, warm and foody and smells of dry cocoa with hints of vanilla, but I find the overall scent soft. It kind of reminds me of the chocolate in Left his Nurse in a Crowd. It's a nice foody scent, just not what I was expecting so I'm happy these are already on their way to new homes.

Initially this is herbal-basily on me, similar to the herbs in Antony and I could swear I also get soft, slightly smokey brown leather. A warm and bright citrus note starts to amp but stays well-blended with the other notes on me, I get a little bit of soft vanilla fougere in the background, the ambergis is soft and also stays in the background, the juniper berry is not coming up on my skin. This settles into a soft, warm, slightly smokey, dusty, well-blended leather herbal blend with a slightly bright citrusy vanilla fougere background. ETA: As I'm testing other scents I caught another whiff of it and I'm really amping the smokiness, it's probably coming from the ambergris.

This one broke my heart. I should've known since wisteria and I don't get along but I was hoping that somehow, it would magically work, but what I got was headache-inducing heady florals. I get all the notes listed, the strongest on me are the wisteria (as per usual) and white mint which together is just pure fail on me, in the background is the white chocolate, tuberose (which adds to the heady floral fail), lilac and hardly any white musk which I was hoping would be stronger. It's like a mix-up of Needlework, The Last Unicorn (without the coconut) and Knockout Drops, I love and own the latter two but on me they just don't smell good blended together. This has the most beautiful label too so it adds to the disappointment. The happy news is that this is already on it's way to a loving home.

Unreleased prototype, no notes or description given. I mostly get a fresh orchid scent from this one, it's slightly sweet and with a lush, sophisticated tropical-vibe. It's a bit heady at times but I find it really pleasant overall. It actually reminds me a bit of a less sweet version of Hi'iaka.

Prototype, unreleased, no scent description. I get soft rose and spiciness, I think carnation? The rose in here is similar to the one in Lucy's Kiss, it actually reminds me of a softer and a bit spicier version of that one.

This smells a lot like Loli.Goth on me! It has that same pink musk and fruits combo which ends up smelling like a sweet and girly fruity musk on me, maybe strawberry, peach and raspberry? There's possibly a few more fruits in this one because it's fruitier and slightly tarter. I also get soft hints of pretty florals now and then, maybe a touch of slightly fuzzy iris, which has an almost vanilla-like scent in the background, I also get very soft woods which come out with time. I'm thankfully not getting the freesia, which I was worried about since it hardly ever works. I was hoping to get the doll's head scent which I strangely like the smell of, but I'm not getting any of it (at least not like I got from the Mimosa single note, which after a while smells exactly like a Barbie's head to me ). This has really nice throw and amazing longevity! I would keep this but I find it too similar to Loli.Goth which I already have.

On me, is mostly creamy soft coconut, well-blended vanilla musk, creamy roses, frankincense (which I usually amp) and soft woods. It reminds me of White Rose and a creamy, soft coconutty version of Parliment of Foules. It's a really beautiful, soft and ethereal. Though I was expecting this to be primarily a rose scent, I think it might be too similar to other rose blends I have to justify keeping it.

I find this a really nice, soft, well-blended and complex scent. I get dusty, almost resiny leather, soft clove, wood, and a bit of sweet, almost creamy lime, which is noticeable but subdued, more like a light sweet citrus and barely-there vanilla. I find it surprisingly light. As it dries, the olibanum gets very dry, dusty and slightly spicy/peppery on my skin (I usually amp it) and the gunpowder has a softly smokey, almost grittiness which amps on me with time. This reminds me slightly of the background dusty citrus and olibanum scent I get from Sibyl. The strong dustiness I get from this makes me not love it, but I do like the overall scent.

It starts of strong patchouli (I find it very similar to the kind in Banshee Beat and PRC12), the blend is dry with no sweetness at this stage. The other notes are very-well blended but I do get some smokey tobacco and dry woods peeking through. It settles into a warm, smokey, dark and earthy patchouli blend with soft wood and tobacco in the background. If you like your patchouli extra dark and earthy, I think you should give this a try.

This starts off as a complex sweet dark musk with a bit of red musk. It settles into an incensey, deep, dark, sexy exotic musk. It has similarities to some of those sweet, dark musky blends like WILF, Panther Moon and Male Nude, Arms Upstretched.

On me, this starts off like as very realistic, just peeled orange/tangerine type scent, dry and zesty, almost bitter, with just a hint of sweetness. I can't say I like it too much at this stage, I was hoping for the candy sweet orange that others got. Suddenly, this masculine-type scent start to amp, almost spicy cologne-like, could very well be cloves that saralaughs mentioned getting. There might also be some light benzoin (it reminds me slightly of Lilith vs. the Giant Crab) and very light musk in here. It finally settles into a strong citrusy, orangey, soft spicy cologne on me. It basically smells like if I'd just spilled a ton of orange juice on someone wearing a spicy men's cologne. I really like it overall, but I wish it had a lot ,less of that orange note. eta 8/13 I wore Bakeneko today and it reminded me of the soft, spicy, slightly masculine background scent plus some of the citrus I get from this one, it's possible they share a few similar notes.

This smells like pure citronella on me.

This is nice and spicy, almost foody on me. I get a soft resins, sand, and warm spices - soft clove, slightly sweet ginger and dry cinnamon. This ends up smelling like chai tea on me. This is really nice and I don't even like clove.

This started out mostly a pretty, soft rice wine blend on me. I'm not sure what else is in here, but as it dries, I also get a fruity, creamy, slightly citrusy scent. Sadly, after a while, something turns sharp and the blend ends up smelling like hair dye on me.

Unreleased prototype, no notes or description given. I get a gorgeous, light, heathery, sappy green scent, pretty florals (lilacs? maybe something else too) with a bit of soft, powdery vanilla in the background. It reminds me a lot of Lilac Wood but fresher and livelier version, I wonder if this is a proto for that one.

I get creamy, green sap-y balsam, soft and very well-blended leather and soft mint (similar to the mint in Green Tree Viper). It reminds me a lot of U, but without the vanilla note (though I also get something softly vanillic in here after a while). After a while it gets a powdery and soft.

I get strong earthy patchouli, dirt and something tart and menthol-like in the background. :ack

This has a strong medicinal, bitter herbal smell on my skin, I think it's one of the most bitter bpal's I've tried so far. In the background, I get some soft, boozey sweet fruits (maybe berries?) and soapy, watery florals.

Dark, fruity, effervescent. Lime, clove, opium, hints of dark amber and soft berries are the standouts for me, they're well-blended but you can still pick them out. I don't like the opium and citrusy fizzy scent combo, it reminds me of Champagne and Opium which also didn't work on me.

I get juicy, very fruity light red musk, with hints of sage and herbs. This reminds me of Ushi without the tomato leaf. It faded pretty quickly on me.

Despite my love for the released Boomslang, I decided not to seek out a bottle of this because I remember testing it and thinking it smelled very similar to the released one. When it was available on etsy, I decided to compare them and I find v2 much softer overall, the Snake Oil is stronger, the cocoa is creamier and softer (similar to Candy Butcher chocolate on my skin) and there's also a warm, nutty note which amps with time. When it dries down it smells like very nutty snake oil and soft chocolate. It doesn't have much throw or longevity on me but I liked it enough to order a bottle.

On me, this smells like sweet syrup, rum and a bright, fresh, tart tropical fruit salad (I get pineapple, starfruit, maraschino cherries, berries, maybe melon and a hint of coconut?). I love the fruits in here, but over time they start smelling artificial and too tart for my tastes. I wouldn't mind the fruits turning on me, but sadly the overall blend is too boozey for me.

This is really rich and strong. I get cassia, dark rich cocoa, buttery cake, plus something that smells burned, it could be a dark coffee note and caramel or brown sugar, I keep getting hints of blueberry too. This is a heavy, cloying, bitter mess on my skin.

Delicious leather (loving this leather note), lots of herbs, some woods and possibly some warm musk on the background? There's also something slightly watery that appears as it dries, not aquatic per say, maybe a hint metallic too. It has the same 'feel' as Antony does on me, though that one is heavier on the musk and Byron v13 is heavier on the leather and herbs on my skin.

In the bottle, I get a minty, chilly, atmospheric sweet pine needle scent. On my skin, it smells like I've stepped into a forest in the chilly winter air surrounded by damp, fresh, snow-covered pine trees, pine cones covered in dirt, hints of leaves, and maybe a bit of wood (like fresh cut pine wood). I'm also getting hints of citrusy amber (maybe a tinge of orange?), and at times soft hints of something like hollyberry. This smells like Christmas in a forest. After a while, I'm also getting something else that smells almost like a hint of dark beer? I find it complex and evocative. I really like this blend, but it sadly doesn't stick around too long. I might try putting some in an oil burner, I think it would make a gorgeous room scent especially come winter.