Honey

The notes sound like a big win, so I was eager to test! Now, this is very default perfumey on my skin - a bit sweet, a bit resinous, a bit musky, a bit herbal. I guess the rain note adds a bit of a citrus aquatic vibe here that's usually not so good on me, maybe that's where the fruity quality comes from. It's hard to pick out any notes. I was expecting a stronger ginger or verbena, but both are really dull - maybe that's also due to ageing? My skin eats it up, it's very faint after a while. I mostly get amber/musk with some other hard-to-pick qualities, but it's not very complex or interesting on me.

This is all grapefruit and yuzu on me. Very fruity and tart. There is also something dirty peeking out. Some weird bandaid smell is in the mix too, however. It's a bit sickly sweet without much depth during drydown. The bandaid smell that's just... blunt? ... remains. It gets a bit soapy and artificial. I think a bit of sour juiciness is what the scent would need to shine.

This is a very masculine and tart scent on wet. I pull back my nose as soon as I smell my hand - not what I expected at all. It's either the breeze (actually reminds me of that airy and bitter smell in room sprays) or the bergamot that gives it this really tart quality, but it overpowers most other things I can detect. On drydown, some citrus and florals are peeking out. Even if there is a light floral blend underneath, it's totally floored by the breeze scent that's so overpowering on me. I cannot detect any vanilla or neroli. The full lemon/orange/floral vibe is totally lost on me. This is a very grown-up scent. Rather androgynous in the end, but nothing I can imagine ever reaching for.

This smells entirely different than I would have imagined, but it's very yummy! I get apple cream pie with toasted almonds or coconut actually - cozy and comforting but also a bit juicy and sweet. The creaminess must came from the milk. And I guess the toasted coffee beans may play a trick on my nose and come across as very nutty. I have to say though that I like the Labs coffee note and coffee scents a lot so far. So this settles down as milk coffee with an overall comforting scent. No more apple. Very nice. Do I detect any carnation for the dry sweetness of wool? Any sandalwood that comes from the drier coffee note? I hope it's not doing any weird tricks during drydown. This gets more almond milk and coconut meat the longer is sits on my skin. Very refreshing actually and neither too sweet nor too cloying. The coffee note melts into a spicier but behaved sandalwood. My skin eats up the rest. What an interesting scent for sure. I only tested a tiny bit from an imp, but I wonder what slathering on would turn into on me. If I get the chance to snag a bottle, I certainly will!

It's always funny to retest a scent you know you tried but didn't care for at the time and didn't leave a review for either. When testing HSD now, it's interesting that I like it more than I think I would have. It smells like a meadow fresh on: White flowers on wet grass. Only when the oil dries down, the scent becomes pinker and sweeter with the carnation peaking out. This is neither bubblegum nor plastic on me - it actually reminds me of going into a flower shop and perusing the section with the blush, orange and pink specimen. After a while, it becomes a bit sickly sweet, and the green grass clashes with the pink sugar in the blend - as if green and blush were to melt into each other, and I can foresee the danger of this turning into a murky brown? There is a sourness that reminds me of flower stems that doesn't go super well with the sugar note for me. This stays a bit sharp and sour on me, weirdly enough. The fresh scent I would have loved to keep, but this isn't nice at all.

This blend goes on my skin as a somewhat nutty and fresh masculine scent. It gets smoother with drydown, and I detect a soft dryness that I associate with sandalwood. There is a sharp musk and/or amber poking my nose, and it overshadows the nutty creaminess a little. I think this is a very nice soft cologne that reads as rather gender neutral in the end. It reminds me of some beard oils or deodorants I have smelled in he past - pleasant but not as unique as the blend components would have alluded to.

This is a very powdery scent. It has a grey and dry quality to it. It almost smells as if there could be ambergris or sandalwood in it, but the musk and husk could do that trick to my nose. It’s remains a creamy powdery scent after drydown. It’s a skin musk, something that reads as very neutral yet pleasant. It becomes more resinous the longer it stays on. Unfortunately, it’s too powdery and a bit too “sticky” for me (i.e. the resins are overpowering the other components).

This blend of vanilla and saffron remind me of two things: Love’s Philosophy and bubblegum. What I think of as bubblegum must be a very vibrant, sugary and juicy peach though. The amber behaves well on my skin and blends nicely with the florals. It reminds me a bit of the amber in Hollywood Babylon actually. This is a very creamy and only a tad bit spicy peach blend that gets its complexity from the vanilla-amber backdrop and the additional floral bouquet. If you are a peach lover, definitely give this a try. If you are scared of amber, see if this one works for you. And if you are a vanilla lover that likes it sweet and juicy? Get your hands on it! Unfortunately, personally, the peach is taking away from my excitement for this blend as it smells too artificial and/or too candy-like on my skin.

This blend goes on my skin as a strong cologne, very masculine. It’s also very balsamic, warm, earthy and rich. I can almost detect a spiciness that reminds me of gingerbread with actual ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper. The “coffee bean” in this one reads more like cacao to me: Rich, grounded, luxurious and only a tad bit sweet. This is not a coffee blend, but it reminds me of a very stylish coffeehouse that serves cinnamon buns, hot chocolate and is filled with an autumn spices air refresher.

Wet, this is super strong! But it is sunny, floral, sweet and elegant - not astringent, heady or heavy at all. It smells very clean and electric for sure- heavy on the white musk and ozone. I don’t detect any violet flower (and I am pretty sure about that since it usually makes me nauseous). Violet leaf has a totally different quality - one that I actually enjoy as it brings a freshness that is not as green as wet grass or any moss. It’s also very feminine due to the vanilla and comes with a lush, even tropical feel due to the soft floral spiciness peaking out. I think this is a great take on a commercial perfume: Strong, yet light on the musk, feminine, floral, clean. It’s not offensive at all and very likeable. Layered with coconut I could see this as a great blend to bring a beach vibe to summer. And even just by itself, it is the best “wrapped in a freshly-washed hoodie” scent I can imagine.

There is so much going on when putting this on my wrist. It is a bit herbal in its muskiness (somewhere between fuzzy brown and dirty green), but it's also very orange and creamy (like orange custard or something). There is a spicy floral peaking out as well, sweetened by a sticky yet bright honey note. Very interesting. This is super nice! What a great scent for spring! The neroli, magnolia and orange blossom work so well together. It's like sitting in a beautiful garden full of different kinds of flowers, being surrounded by honeybees and eating a melting orange sherbet. The muskiness in this blend now reads as carnation and blush musk to me. Everything comes together in a smooth way. Neither too heady, nor too sweet, too dry, or too musky. I will keep this for spring and summer for sure!

This is a clean white musk scent that has a rather dry quality due to the papyrus and sandalwood. It reminds me very much of The Grand (Great) Basin, minus the violet leaf and ozone, plus a faint spiciness that is added to the musk. Egyptian, Arabian and African musks (or ambers) usually work best on me - they have a decent depth and throw, add a dash of spice, and are not too overpowering or soapy. The vanilla in this blend is not gourmand, as expected, but gives this a creamy floral quality. It's very pretty! I can imagine turning to this blend when I want a softer smell on me when going to bed. Or when I want this "clean & fresh laundry" kind of vibe surrounding me. I'm so happy I got this! I'll use my decant and see if I need to upgrade to a bottle some time.

When trying to close the imp, I flicked the top to the other side of the room and send droplets of oil flying - great! This is anise hard candy all the way. Super strong. No oakmoss I can detect that usually gives a blend a more cologney vibe. A very faint tea note appears soon that's turning it into a clean herbal scent with a light green and almost ethereal quality. But it's very close to being a single-note anise liqueur, hands down. MKNF turns into an "anise with tea" scent eventually. I don't care much for it, and I'm missing some depth and complexity. I did hope for a tea scent that had a dash of anise to it, and, unfortunately, this is more like the other way around. A winner for anise lovers. But it's not a blend for me.

This blend goes on as a juicy pineapple in coconut oil - very tropical, juicy, promising. I get a full-bodied passion fruit in the background that adds another fruity layer to it. No raspberry and no orange mandarin to my nose. I don't really smell any rum in this blend either, but maybe the booze mellowed down a bit with age? After drydown, this stays a very weak pineapple with a remaining fruitiness. It's neither artificial nor rotten fruit on me, just a bit faint. The coconut oil must have gotten more prominent with age, and I actually like that. I can also finally smell the raspberry, but it's not really doing much for my to be honest. It gets rather dominant the more RR dries down. Meh. Maybe there will be layering options for this blend? Maybe I am invited to a tiki party and am looking for that perfect scent to wear? Who knows! I will keep it and use it to make laundry or rooms smells nice, worst case.

Hello, violet! 😱 Long Night Moon goes on like violet bubblegum - fruity, bright, sweet. It smells a bit astringent, and I don't detect any night-blooming flowers that usually work super well on me. Also, no frosty notes or strong mint - the violet is overpowering everything else on my skin. (I should mention that violet is one of my death notes and can make me nauseous if it's too overpowering.) I think the sickly sweet honeysuckle may amp the violet scent even more. This stays a purple bubblegum and violet scents on me. Good for those who love florals (they show up eventually) and a purple-blue vibe to their perfume - alas, not for me.

This is a clean and fresh aquatic on me. Neither sour nor too masculine. Dare I say I smell a bit of green in there? Remind me of freshly cut grass or freshly washed hair that's not overpowered by the scent of shampoo and conditioner. Just wet hair, you know? This is a strong citrus on me - plus, still the wet hair. The wet hair is neither pleasant nor weird, it's just a bit unexpected? It could also have some faint violet or other light flowers in it. It certainly smells like a "freshly washed" scent on me, but I don't get any milk at all. My skin must eat it up and turn the remnants of it into wet keratin I guess. 😅 TSFM doesn't do much for me. It's not terrible, but it's another aquatic that didn't get me excited about it.

Is is it different from A Torrent of Light ("eucalyptus petals, white mint, white amber, and ozone")? I don't think so actually. Odic Force is like the mintier companion scent, but to the untrained nose, they are not different at all. Eucalyptus is the strongest note in this blend while the ambers give it a deeper complexity that keeps it from being a straightforward cold rub. The mint has a soft quality, almost like the vanilla mint scent you get from the Lick It blends. The lime rind is not noticeable to me at all. I really like it because eucalyptus and mint are usually a win for me. Since I do have ATOL in a bottle, I will be okay with OF in a decant - in case I ever run out or need a smaller size for travel or similar.

This is a very dark and rich coffee. It doesn't go all cacao bean or cocoa on me but stays true to the scent of roasted coffee beans without the bitterness that often comes with them. I din't get any cream from it, but there might be some sugar that makes the blend sweeter than your average black coffee. During drydown, I can detect a sandalwood note that gives this a bit more dry depth. But it is not pencil shavings, so don't worry. There might even be a vanilla creaminess showing up after all. Very wearable - a pleasant surprise. I think my decant should last me a while and be good for an extra jolt of energy, but I am also really intrigued what layering options I could have (and if I should think about a bottle purchase after all).

Like the previous poster, I sense a strong connection to Love's Philosophy after putting this on. It is very creamy vanilla with a strong almond vibe going on. I'm not sure how I feel about almond blossom. It can turn into this artificial almond smell that reminds me of teenager perfume or beauty products. The vanilla is less of a buttery, custard, gourmand vanilla than a "vanillin" vanilla. The blend feels very juvenile and innocent in that sense and not as mature or sexy as I'd like it to be.

This is a straight up Granny Smith apple scent to me - green, bright, tart. The lemon rind gives this a very fresh appeal, the juniper makes this a tad bit cologney but not so much that it reads as masculine. My skin doesn't amp the pepper or cedar note at all. Even during drydown, this remains a green and true apple scent on me. It is not complex enough to keep it, but it's also doesn't read as cleaner to my nose. If you love Granny Smith, you definitely need to give this a try.

This blends starts as nothing but green tea on me. I can detect a light ginger and a bit of a nice coconut in there too. During drydown, the tea note mellows down a lot and gives the coconut room to grow. The ginger isn't spicy at all but is more of a white ginger flower - white, clean and pretty. This doesn't read as suntan lotion at all. It is not overly sweet or artificial. The tea and ginger remind me a lot of White Rabbit, but it's more of a green tea than a black tea in First Mate, and you have the coconut instead of the cream and linen. It's also close to the lemon tea note in Dorian if you only focus on the lightness of if. The coconut note is fresh and closer to coconut meat or coconut water than a sugary coconut bar or candy. It is a very light, pretty and ethereal blend. Since the musk is not very prominent here, I can imagine this as a scent I wear when I don't feel like making a bold statement or to layer it with another blend that has a more complex sweet element (for example, honey, a resin, or vanilla).

This blend starts out very camphorous and green. Sharp, biting, grabbing your attention! During drydown, it mellows out quite a lot. There is still camphor and pine, and maybe some other green notes that blend into this herbal concoction. It reminds me strongly of tiger balm or any traditional bath salt or sauna additive. There is a woody undertone that comes out the more the blend dries down - nevertheless, it's not really my kind of scent.

This is dry cocoa powder on me when straight out of the imp. It is super rich and only moderately sweet. There is no marshmallow I can detect, but there is an earthiness to the chocolate that could come from the muddle puddles perhaps, hence the blend's name? During drydown, it becomes much sweeter, and I swear I can smell some rich dark honey (maybe a pine honey of sorts?) that's warming up the cocoa powder to give it a more resinous and complex feel. This is neither artificial nor plastic on me. It's a really nice blend that I wouldn't mind wearing on a rainy day (if I had more than a tester to work with).

Not sure what I am getting when wet. There is the cocoa with something medicinal - is that the labdanum? Reminds me a bit of a light frankincense. There is a soft cocoa-vanilla backdrop to this, but the church vibe is definitely present. On drydown, this is all church on me. I get frankincense or church incense and a dry, soft and sweet backdrop. This is like putting your nose in a dusty old tome while sitting in a monastery library - very interesting.

I have a decant that's labeled #178. Fresh on, this is very faint and pleasant. I get a creamy and light scent that's not very complex but also not boring at all. Nothing sharp or heavy hitting my nose. It is hard to pin down, but I can say what I do not detect in the blend: There is no heavy wood like sandalwood that turns into pencil shavings. There is no salty or cologne-like aquatic in the mix. There is no sweet or dark berry. Well, there doesn't seem to be any kind of prominent fruit in this one at all. I don't think it has amber in it as my skin usually amps this up like crazy. It's neither earthy nor green nor white. It just... is. After a few minutes, I get a heavy vanilla that's coming to the forefront - and what a glorious vanilla it is! It's warm, gourmand, creamy - the kind of vanilla you find in custard, pudding or ice cream. If there is a wood, balsam or resin in it, it is very soft and blends super well with the vanilla. The same goes for any kind of floral. Maybe there is the faintest hint of carnation or orris (butter)? The only scent I can describe this too that I tried is Black Opal? Or Mouse's Long and Sad Tale minus the sandalwood (and minus the fruity element to it). I really wish I had a bottle of this, super nice. ETA: I tested this again today - and it smells very different on me. It is still a creamy and light scent, but I do get an aquatic and slightly floral vibe. It could be a white or yellow flower - no daisy, carnation, mallow, jasmine, rose, violet, or magnolia. I want to say that it smells a bit like sun tan lotion, so could it be tiare/plumeria/frangipani? It gets more and more into the territory of skin musk, vanilla, faint floral and a very soft aquatic. Must be the larger amount of oil that I used today that made the breezy and floral vibe come through more. It certainly reminds me of Pele if I remember it correctly.