Venneh

TOMBEUR The Interfectors’ cousins in savagery, the Tombeur, are much more complex in their hunting habits and their perceptions. Like the Interfectors, they perceive their vampirism to be an initiation into a higher state of being and relegate humans to base foodstuffs. Unlike the Interfectors, however, the Tombeur are not straightforward predators, and there is a secondary purpose to their hunt: sexual gratification. They take full advantage of their saliva’s hypnotic and psychotropic effects on humans, the mystique that surrounds vampires, the seemingly unnatural attraction some humans have toward vampires, and the potency of the Tombeurs’ own sexual drive to lure humans into complex carnal relationships that culminate in feeding. They are consummate seducers, and some Tombeur feed, completely and terminally, on their conquests, while others create henchmen that are little more than sex slaves. Neither fate is something we would recommend to any of our readers. Deadly and seductive: vanilla-infused sandalwood, blood musk, antique patchouli, vetiver, lavender, bitter almond, amber, and a trickle of Snake Oil. I'm getting the antique patchouli and vetiver first and foremost in the bottle (NOOOOOOOO). On my skin, this is primarily the antique patchouli, what I think is the blood musk, and a bit of SO. We'll see what this girl does. This is going really light really quick, which I think has to do with the lavender (DAMNIT), and I think I'm getting the sandalwood and amber, only it's going borderline soapy. Not quite for me, I think, but worth taking the risk on.

LUNA Touareg tea, Asian pear, carnation, lime sugar, green musk, armoise, and thyme. This one ended up being mostly lime sugar and pear on my skin, with some other funky notes in the bottle that I couldn't quite place (tea? green musk?). Not for me, so much.

Antiqued amber, frankincense, patchouli, hay, oakmoss, skin musk, and white mint. In the bottle, I'm getting amber, skin musk, and hay. On my skin, primarily skin musk and hay. Huh. It's actually so realistic that it's triggering my hay fever. The rest is kind of dusty, and very evocative of a barn (in a good way). Not quite my thing.

GYPSY Bourbon vanilla, Egyptian musk, tonka, white sugar, and cardamom. This is probably my biggest disappointment of the moths, and I'm going to preface this by saying I think that this blend is going to be HIGHLY dependent on skin chemistry as to what you actually get. Out of this, I got cardamom, tonka, and musk, none of the vanilla and white sugar that I was hoping would play evenly with the blend. If you've got skin chemistry like mine, then this is not going to be the Gothabilly clone that some are hoping it will be.

PAPER KITE Coconut, white sugar, angelica, and black pepper. This was coconut and black pepper and white sugar in the bottle, and all coconut on me, sadly, because I amp coconut to high heaven, and it in turn turns into a plastic monstrosity on me. Again, this is skin-chemistry dependent, and I hate for this first review to be so negative, but if you can't do coconut, this is one you should stay clear of.

She Who Strikes From a Distance Red patchouli, myrrh, lemongrass, gurjum balsam, lemongrass, lavender, and honey. In the bottle, this is patchouli and myrrh to me, maybe a bit of the sharpness of the lavender. On my skin, definitely patchouli and myrrh amping, as they tend to do on me. Very dark, very militaristic. The lavender's mellowing it out, but not killing it like it usually does on my skin. Very interesting.

COMMON JEZEBEL Apricot, lemon sugar, coconut, red currant, and vetiver. I got mostly VETIVERRR and something else underneath it, but the something else didn't quite win out, sadly. The vetiver might leave with age, but if you amp vetiver to high heaven like I do, you're going to be hard-pressed to get anything out of this.

VERONICA When we too are armed and trained, we can convince men that we have hands, feet, and a heart like yours; and although we may be delicate and soft, some men who are delicate are also strong; and others, coarse and harsh, are cowards. Women have not yet realized this, for if they should decide to do so, they would be able to fight you until death; and to prove that I speak the truth, amongst so many women, I will be the first to act, setting an example for them to follow. Veronica Franco was born in Venice, the daughter of a famous cortigiana onesta. She did not wish to follow in her mother's footsteps, and so married a wealthy physician at an early age. The marriage was loveless, and ended badly. In order to support herself, she became a courtesan, and swiftly excelled in that profession. Veronica was distinguished by more than just beauty: she was well-educated, articulate, and possessed of an exceptional intellectual vitality, which earned her the admiration of many powerful men. Veronica used the freedom that she gained through her contacts to explore her twin passions of writing and philanthropy. She showed herself to be a brilliant author and poet, publishing essays that explored and defended the rights of women and poetry that extolled the virtues of love. Suiting action to her words, she also founded a charity that gave assistance to courtesans and their children. Arum lily and Florentine iris with pomegranate, red amber, ylang ylang, blackcurrant, and oakmoss. In the bottle, this is a lighter scent, and similar to my initial assessment of Lola; bright florals with a bit of redness underneath. On my skin, all florals and a combination of pomegranate and blackcurrant. Fades quickly, not quite my thing.

HILMA The amiable, ebullient proprietor of the Mirror Ballroom, where Jelly Roll Morton got his first gig. Miss Burt, while very young, is of a type that pleases most men of today - the witty, pretty, and natty - a lady of fashion. Her managerial possibilities are phenomenal, to say the least, and her success here has proven itself beyond a doubt. Miss Burt has been with us but a short while but has won all hearts. Her palace is second to none. It is good for one who loves the beautiful to visit Miss Burt's handsome palace. There are no words for the ladies - one can only realize the grandeur of feminine beauty and artistic settings after an hour or so in the palace of Hilma Burt. Miss Burt, aside from having two handsome homes here, has one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City, Mo., where, it is said, she is as popular as in New Orleans. Don't forget to converse with her, as she is very clever, jolly, and cultured. 205 N. Basin Honeysuckle, Bulgarian rose, night blooming jasmine, sweet clove, cedarwood, black tea, and nectarine. I'm really interested to see how the play between the wood/clove notes (which have a tendency to be made of death for me) are balanced out by the honeysuckle, rose, jasmine, and fruit, as those can really amp and make a blend beautiful on me. Never tried a blend with tea in it, either. In the decant, it's a very interesting mix between the floral aspects and a combination of the black tea and the wood/clove notes. Hmm. On me, wet, it feels like the florals are fighting with the wood and the clove underneath the tea note. The florals quickly disappear, swallowed up by the wood and the clove, and combine with the black tea in a way that's just made of world of no on me. Damn skin chemistry.

(Looked through the whole section and wasn't able to find a topic for this, mods, if there is one that I missed, please merge w/appropriate topic.) Got a tester of this in a recent package, can't WAIT to try it out; in the vial, I get mostly chamomile. On my skin, chamomile, and something green. I think? Ends up fading quickly, so I can't quite put my finger on it. Sorry bout that.

CRIB GIRLS Situated on of the lowest rungs in the Red Light District's hierarchy, the crib girls solicited from their windows and doorways, entertaining their clients in sparsely furnished, dingy two-room apartments. Seven honeys under one unkempt roof, with fiery-tart cubeb and dusty cardamom. ...Wow. First first review. My decant of this just came in the mail today, eager to try this out. In the decant, I'm definitely getting the honey, with a really tart, almost lemony berry smell - maybe that's the cubeb? I've never run into that note before. On my skin, the tart berry is really, really amping, to the point where I can't smell the honey or the cardamom at all. Then again, this is wet right now; this probably just needs some time to dry off. As it's drying, the honey's trying to fight with the berry for dominance in this, but the berry's still the strongest note; these are some rowdy girls. It's vaguely reminiscent of Lolita on me ...And now it's starting to smell like Froot Loops. What? The berry's combined in a really weird way with the honey with my skin chemistry, I think, to give me a final result of what's smelling like Froot Loops. oO Think I'm going to end up passing this on to someone else, sadly. Retesting a half-decant that recently just got passed onto me, maybe some aging will have made a difference. ...Out of the gate, not looking that much different.

In the bottle, a really sweet creamy scent with a hint of a tang to it. On my skin, it's that sort of creamy scent with the tang turning into wood. Actually... my Trading Post order just arrived today, and this smells like the Glowing Vulva bath oil. No joke. A creamy, tangy woods sort of scent, which is almost exactly a match for what I'm getting out of the GV bath oil. oO The woods are slightly stronger here (on me, the cream part of GV is a bit stronger), but the scent is still pretty much in a good, even balance.

Vetiver, guiac wood, peru of balsam, two musks, labdanum, saffron, and rum accord. In the bottle, unexpectedly rummy and musky, with a bit of sweetness from the saffron. On my skin, rum and saffron, very sweet, though the woods and vetiver are starting to come out. The vetiver and wood comes out to balance and slightly overpower the rum sweetness. A bit more sexily masculine, would prolly be better on a guy.

GREAT GREY WITCH Orris root, Roman chamomile, white sugar, ambergris accord, and cimarrón. So, in the bottle and initially on my skin, I get a combination of orris, sugar and chamomile that makes this smell like sugary cereal. For reals, folks. But then it dries down to a combo of orris and chamomile and a hint of ambergris that made me fall in love with this. One of my keeper blends from the update.

Green and brown musks, coconut husk, wisteria, lemongrass, hydrangea, cranberry, woody sandalwood, and ripe squash. In the bottle, this is green musk, cranberry, wisteria and hydrangea, just a very bright, very playful scent. On my skin, green musk and cranberry and wisteria and hydrangea, though the coconut husk and brown musk appear to be coming out. We'll see what this does... Sadly, the coconut husk and brown musk and sandalwood come out and overtake the rest of the scent. I wish the wet stage had been the final drydown for me.

I was unable to find a topic for this; if I've missed it, mods, please merge with appropriate topic. In the decant, this smells very similar to the champagne note in the Champagne and... Will-Call scents that hasn't worked well on me; very bubbly, almost ammonia. ...And yeah, it's the same on my skin. Agh.

FLORA Everybody in the sporting world knows Miss Flora Meeker and she knows everybody worth knowing. So it is unnecessary at this time to make any introductory remarks about Miss Meeker, suffice it to say she is still at her same old place where she has been for a number of years past, doing a boss business which deserves, Miss Flora is well thought of by all and her house is patronized by the best element. Carnival visitors should not overlook this swell mansion where the cream of female loveliness will be found which is situated at No. 211 Basin avenue. Miss Flora Meeker's Palace of Mirth Sweet, wet fruits, sibilant Eastern musk, apple blossom, tuberose, calla lily, osmanthus, wild orchid, amber, and sandalwood. In the decant, this is a really fruity floral; I'm getting what I'm pretty sure is the apple blossom and a combination of the florals. Once on my skin, the fruit and the florals are mixing together in a way that makes this smell like Eris on me, almost, but with a more floral edge (living up to her name), and with a more general mix of the fruits. She seems to fade away pretty quickly, sticking really close to the skin. I think I'm going to give her some further testing, as I"m not really sure of what to think of her just this moment. EDIT: Having tested her further, the combination of fruit and floral ends up being very similar to shampoo on me, and is just not something I want to smell like.

Oh. My. God. This leather is similar to the note used in Clockwork Couture: Female, which is one of my favorite scents ever. That, combined with the Dorianishness of the white musk, tonka, and lilac fougere means I am buying all the bottles, right the fuck now.

SUGAR PLUM FAIRY Queen of the Kingdom of Sweets: sugar plums, vanilla-infused sugar, tiare, amber musk, apricot peel, and a light dusting of cacao. This is wonderful. It's a light, airy scent, sugary and delicate, and it stays that way when sudsing down (wonderful lather, btw). Perfect winter scent, and I'll defintely be needing backups for these. For those who love what Sugar Plum Fairy smells like in the bottle, but the perfume turns on their skin, try the soap, you'll love it.

CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO GINGERBREAD Dark molasses, espresso beans, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and brown sugar with rum-infused espresso frosting. Oh man. This is amazing. Chocolately coffee-jolted gingerbread, and there's bits of coffee bean in it, I think, to help exfoliate. Makes you smell like you want to eat yourself. Definitely another one that warrants backups.

This is absolutely amazing. I may have to talk to some folks to get a backup bottle at one of the WCs. In the bottle, this is very much honey and nuts. On my skin, it's a nutty sort of honey with deep cherries and berries underneath, and just a hint of the pine. That slowly morphs over the hours to honey and moonlight, and eventually to this soft, warm fur scent that reminds me of what my cat's belly smells like when I stick my face in it, occasionally. Stunning, and an awesome first lunacy for 2012.

The cherry note does seem a bit medicinal at first, but on my skin, it blooms into this black cherry-vanilla-amarreto glory. Might need a backup of this. Mmmmm.

When I spray this around the living room, it's a wonderful baked apple/coffee/hot chocolate scent. Perfectly festive, and just what I imagined. Definitely need a backup.

Definitely going to need a backup of this. Quite stunning, and the perfect mix of gingerbread spices and cookie dough. For comparison, take any one of the Gingerbread Poppets from years past, but imagine it not quite as spice heavy as it can get in some cases, and you have this. MINE.

You know how Puddin' was saying over in the BPTP forum that this was similar to Steeplechase Park? Man doesn't lie. This is Steeplechase, but with the fig giving it a bit more of a depth. This is Steeplechase taken up to eleven. In short, amazing, and definitely horde-worthy.