Lycanthrope

2013 version. I had the original release and hold that to my standard of Khajuraho perfection... I am disappointed by the balance of notes in this year's Khaj, whereas with my old bottles of Khajuraho and its occasional returns, the most I get wet and also silling from my skin is mostly tuberose, champaca, and the rose and davana - it is a sweet floral rose dominant with a little spice and 'crunch' beneath it. The other components, while present, did not elbow to the front. In this situation I smell mostly honeyed dates, amber and a very strong vanilla note. I'm not getting as much floral. While this is not BAD, since this is a sexy vanilla honey amber, I am missing the higher pitched, elegant exotic floral from my other bottles. I will use this, but probably not in the same realm as my hoarded Khajuraho.

Wow. Just spicy enough, smooth, sweet, dripping honey and amber, with an ouevre of leafy patchouli. It goes on me like golden amber and has the sillage of a top quality amber, not too sweet from the vanilla and just dirty enough from patchouli to be edgy without overwhelming everything. Want more!

A little bit of smoked ham from the wet bottle, which on the skin remains ferocious and prowling. Not pretty at all. The darker notes of vetiver, opoponax and the hiba wood lurk together as a swirl of menacing, gritty deep woodsy tones. The leather is likely a dark, dark leather, and then as it dries down there's the powder sweet sharp of bay and the deep sharp of clove. It smells like what a leather bar should be, mysterious, dark, gritty, with a little smoke and clove cigarettes, and plenty of warm bodies graced in supple well worn leather.

Straightforward, dusty gold, with a hint of the amber from Gelt peeking through without dusty cocoa. I would say this is almost the floral version of Gelt, in that the dust is supplied by the orris! I love the dry, cold iris of Cytherea, and this is somewhat similar to that - still plenty of rooty, purple goodness, but with a sweet, honey-like warmth. I have to be cautious as amber does not tend to vary on my skin - and I have plenty of amber scents. I kind of smell like 'LUSH,' although I have no idea what's giving me that scent association as the notes are nothing like that. I just get reminded of a melange of pleasant components. Maybe I smell like a bubble bar. Maybe I need some sleep. I do like this, this will require more testing to see if I need more than this one bottle.

Smooth, white floral, like a wedding bouquet, in the bottle. On the skin, jasmine comes rushing out at me. This is a cold, cool jasmine, not spicy or golden, and reminds me a bit of the one Grindhouse lady with the green underwater hair (oh, jeez, sorry lol). I'm hoping that the jasmine calms down, because this is all I'm detecting at this moment. There's a bit of the costus/labdanum, giving this some warmth, and if I snorf just long enough to get used to the jasmine, I can get a hint of the orangy-citrus mimosa and dusty orris. Sadly, this is definitely becoming the jasmine show on my skin, and I have to really work to get the other notes. I can't detect the osmanthus as a single note, it's probably what I'm confusing with the mimosa. Has a throw like a very elegantly dressed elephant. Wowzers! Not for me, I don't think.

Holy savory spice, batman! Deceptively sweet chocolate in the bottle, wet, smells like Gelt. On the skin, boy howdy, is that a slightly funky chocolate - it's probably the Annatto, and this comes across as a gourmand, not terribly sweet, dark cocoa chocolate. The spice and heat, you can FEEL it in your nose as you smell it. WOW. There is a hint of vanilla, and dribblies of cinnamon - I get this heat less as a frank cinnamon, and more of a slow burn heat from the pepper. The annatto, I assume, is this overarching savory, bready scent that really keeps this away from being a chocolate, melt your teeth type of scent. It smells like a fancy truffle, or ground cocoa powder with cinnamon powder, like something you might drizzle over a chicken breast. Gourmand fragrance, yes, but not cavity inducing in the least, perhaps one of the most fascinating chocolates I've experienced in scent form. Over time, the vanilla peeks forward a bit more, so... jeez, this is stunning. NOT like Bliss, Vice, Gelt. SIMILAR to Cassia/Chocolate/Bacon, and I have no idea what the frug, maybe like, the chocolate version of Chimera?

I'll have to see how this ages. I have always had problems amping rose geranium when I make aromatherapy blends, and this is no exception - I am not getting too much patchouli at this time - definitely TONS of red musk, a type that crescendos over time as I wear it. The two dominant notes on my skin are a very herbal rose geranium, and red musk. The sweetness and sharpness don't do too well on my skin at this time but, like all things in my collection, this will be set aside and in a year I'll probably fall in love. Maybe a re-review at that time? Spicy, herbal red musk, with a little thrummy base, but not as much as I hoped when I read the patchouli. For some unknown reason, this seems like the color yellow green in my head :| WTF, brain?

I admit I was a bit grabby and impulse ordered a lot of the Lupercalia scents. This is mostly because Beth's takes on Lupercalia (passionate, sweeping, and a bit on the dirty side) appeals to my inner fragrance hound. That said I think I got this because I really liked Bezoar, that polished wood scent, and the name 'Antique' brought that to my mind. It's very weird in the bottle, almost sweet and softly musky. Definitely feel that amber glow. On the skin, initially, I'm pretty hesitant, this is weird and kind of a mishmash. Given a little time, it really starts to transform into a beautifully -polished- scent, that smells old. How? What? Whales? The woodsy notes all play together very well to give the impression of a fine cedar chest. I definitely get a cedar as the predominant wood note, and it is strong enough to make me think briefly of hamster bedding - however, it's supported and softened by the amber and oudh/vetiver just enough that it's not dry and biting. I'm getting a very soft, soft leather here - this is not the cold, bracing leather of Iago or of Brom Bones, but a warm, snuggly leather. The musk is not terribly apparent, and I can't feel the black currant though I'm sure it's adding a little sweetness. Overall it turns into a very interesting, warm/sweet balsamy cedar. I will probably not use this too much in warm months. I'm tempted to put this on some old cedar closet balls and throw this into my closet drawers!

Hello, rose! How are things? Oh, I see you brought some friends, and they seem like interesting people! Come in, there's plenty of cookies for everyone. Wait? Why are you the only one coming in? Oh, you're THAT rose. The one from Ysabel. Ulterior motive, extreme rose. Like, REI-equipped, climb up the sheer face of the flatirons, overpowering red, red, big, giant blossomy rose. You are like the rose at the party who no one can get a word in edgewise. Oh, wait! I am getting to know your friend, lemon verbena! ... and like most lemons/verbenas it's just you two, chattering away like the Real Perfume Notes of Beverly Hills Reunion with Andy Cohen, Yet Another Snarky Jerky Gay Host. Neither of you wants to give up on my skin, but both of you are vying for the top. I can't smell much else. And I'm tired, like an inadvertent peripheral person in a Real Housewives show, picked up by the camera, awkwardly smiling while some kind of hot mess occurs next to them. No... no. Not for me. ETA: Yar, and apple blossom is there, but it's like the not-quite-as-tragic supporting Housewife, but still dramatic and not a good match.

Pleasant, brightly herbal and citrus as overtones, for me, sadly I get mostly lemongrass. I tend to grab onto citrus notes, in particular things like lemongrass/palmarosa/etc. and amp them to high heaven. The blend does smell like a very fancy aromatherapist's blend, like the inside of a herbal apothecary or something. I'm mostly getting the lemongrass but around the edges there's a bit of medium grounding from the sandalwood and the angelica/gums. Not for me, but probably for someone else!

Oh, no, this did not work on me at all. Galangal, pepper, cumin and fig read to me as a foody, and then there is a distinct, sweet, jarring peppermint note (true peppermint!) The blend is eerily cooling, yet reads as distinctively red, as Mars would be. Opoponax does bad, bad things on me in this perfume, and as the whole blend dries down, it emerges, whomping all about. The tobacco leads to a smoky, but discoherent, eerie scent on my skin. It reminds me overall of Macbeth and the Witches with the foody front. Do not want!

So, so weird. But yet I had to try it, mostly for the violet. Anything violet? YA HAR DIS WULF, YAR. It's got a very interesting mix of sharp wood/resin and spice, sweet fruit, and then the opium/violet combines to make it all murky. It smells like shadows. Wet, the cypress is dominant and you can get both the pomegranate and tamarind as a scarlet fruit note. On my skin, I do amp pomegranate, but this dies down pretty quick and I'm left with a bit of spicy opium. The violet is not very strong. Drydown is mostly resinous, hint of spice. It definitely on me does not read as 'violet,' which is why even though I can detect it in the blend I probably won't go into hoarding mode on this one!

I had a lot of hope for this, given that it has many intriguing florals. I get everything kind of whomped out by the Galbanum and lettuce. I amped the lettuce in last Unicorn, so it smells like a chopped iceberg lettuce. I can tell that the rest of the florals are trying to come out, but then I bring up hints of parsley and then more galbanum, and a fleshy yam. I... what... grocery? I think this requires more testing, but innately I am not drawn to this blend.

I ordered a bottle. Starts off very pine-y, but then the other woods plus the nutmeg swing this towards a well-balanced, complex sandalwood like scent. But, it's sandalwood without being sandalwood, if that makes sense - like the woods are nuanced with powdery, spicy richness from the nutmeg and bay. I'm not getting too much sarsparilla directly but I'm sure it's adding to the general sparklitude of the blend. It's bright, optimistic, yet grounded. I will probably continue to test this until near the cutoff day, perhaps may snag an extra bottle as other updates pop up.

Well, this is certainly interesting on my skin. I smell a complicated mishmash of spice and bright floral in the decant vial, on my skin, it's all cinnamon pineapple all the time. I don't think I can wear the pineapple note. I'd take my review with a grain of salt because I amp cinnamon like crazy. It smells yellow, though. Yes.

SEASON OF THE EMERGENCE Month after month the gathered rains descend Drenching yon secret Aethiopian dells, And from the desert's ice-girt pinnacles Where Frost and Heat in strange embraces blend On Atlas, fields of moist snow half depend. Girt there with blasts and meteors Tempest dwells By Nile's aereal urn, with rapid spells Urging those waters to their mighty end. O'er Egypt's land of Memory floods are level And they are thine, O Nile -- and well thou knowest That soul-sustaining airs and blasts of evil And fruits and poisons spring where'er thou flowest. Beware, O Man--for knowledge must to thee, Like the great flood to Egypt, ever be. During Peret the Nile's waters retreat, leaving a lush, fertile black silt behind. This is the time of plowing and seeding: crops and herbs were planted and cultivated, and prayers and sacrifices were offered to ensure a bountiful harvest later in the year. The seeds and the seedlings as the sprout forth from the deep black silt: cucumber, flax, wheat, radishes, leeks, sesame, and beans, with thyme, frankincense, chamomile, coriander, spikenard, cumin, hyssop, and juniper. This is very odd. Quite an herbal, thick, rooty vegetable scent. It kind of smells like carrots and oregano, and has this very smooth... rooty scent. It's not terribly dirt-scented. It smells like a very nice herb blend, in terms of cooking. I'd love to eat a chicken that smells like this. ... Did I just type that?

THE RAT KING The Nine-Headed nemesis of the Nutcracker Prince. Dust, wood and feral musk with a fang-sharp undertone. In the bottle: Definitely a sharp, woodsy aroma... kind of a hint of pine, I'm getting, and this smells very earthy, almost like my Aveda Brilliant humectant pomade, so it has a definite hair-salon upscale styling goop hint to it. It does have a somewhat chemical tang to it. On my skin: The initial 'Aveda' aroma fades somewhat and this obtains a very light, somewhat birch-like barkiness, and on top of that is a very, very animal-like musk. Kind of like the scent of a small animal like a rabbit or guinea pig, that light aroma that reminds you that this is something alive, and not just a fuzzy toy... I'm not sure it really works out on me at this point, as it's still a bit chaotic and unsettling. There's definitely a dusty powderiness to the blend, and it brings to mind a craftshop with little rats scurrying around... After a bit of time to dry and mature: This is like the woodsy elements of Geek, without the sharp leather and with much less smoke. I get that very delicious hit of light forest that I adore in that oil, but the feral musk has a definite civet-like swagger that doesn't work out on my skin. However, that said, this is definitely a unique aroma which brings to mind a malevolent rat in all of his feral glory! This may be a swapper in the future.

Smells like Sea of Glass. I can't shake that - is it the muguet? A rain-type scent? I can't detect the orris at all. Nose ded? It's good, but I lurve me some SoG.

This is like taking a bowl of frankincense and benzoin, vanillic and sweet, smoky but not really charred or ashy, just a haze of gold. Take this outside on a fall day, light it, then smell crisp, crunchy vegetation and leaves, and just add that on top of the incense. Sitting on a barcalounger on a porch. Mmm.

Spikenard to me smells like earthy nuts, and has a musty herbal twang that although strangely unpleasant is actually quite grounding. The soap lathers wonderfully and is a swirly gray in color. My nose detects a rich, loamy 'brown.' The soap has a nutty overtone that turns into a smooth, silky, deep mixed leafy and slightly rotted (in only the best way possible) note. The spikenard (grounding, herbal, rooty aroma) remains and lingers on the skin for a while later but like most Villainess soaps is glorious and a scent experience in the shower without leaving too much on the skin. Would layer great with Graveyard Dirt. I think I want more.

My skin treats this very oddly. Wet it's a sharp, slightly bitey wood scent with a LOT going on. Dry and powdery. On, oh good jeebuz, I'm getting a ton of the tobacco. The tobacco, coconut, galbanum, vanilla and tonka combine to create the feel of a caramel note without being caramel - it's quite foody at least at the first hour of wearing. I'm not getting too much of the chamomile. Oh, the clary was what was causing the top note scruffiness. A nice use of the clary! Over time this dries to something wispier, with more powder, perhaps the white musk. The tobacco smoke is still swirling around. So, I would call this along the lines of a foody, smoky vanilla. Which, looking above, is not quite what ih8perfume's experience was. Must be my skin chemistry! I can't really do coconut since it amps on me.

It was a long time ago that I was in Anatomy lab for medical school. The smell that got to me worst wasn't so much the flesh itself, but the formaldehyde. That kind of off, rubbery, dry, smell that envelops you and first year medical students, and you can't get out of anything... I would recommend NOT using Nosferatu as that scent brings back immediate flashbacks to Anatomy Lab for me. I personally gravitate towards fresh scents during the day. Mint may combine too much with the formalin smell and irritate, so something like Night's Bridge or a stoney/light/perfumey but not strong scent may be a better choice. Formaldehyde is such a STRONG scent that adding more strong would just make the association worse.

Well, gosh, I guess I need to order about 8 extra atmosphere sprays then Like a vat of Down the Rabbit Hole.

No, oh no, help! Oh jeebz, the honey... the HONEY. Honey now with mutant huge strawberries, but like... all HONEY. RUARUAUGUHGR

Mwah hah hah. I have freeshipped from the Lab on occasion. I think the threshold is less for the BPTP but don't quote me.