Lycanthrope

I may or may not have KO'd a guy next to me (he moved) wearing Love's Philosophy that reactivated with cardio. Oops.

It's so... seaweed! The vial almost made me go arrrrrr in a different sort of way, because I could really smell the wet-rotty-squishiness of the seaweed, but the drydown is marvelously aquatic and it makes me want to swash some buckles and yo ho a few bottles of rum. It also brings to mind the New England coast, so that's very nice. I wish I lived by a real ocean, and not a gigantic lake, heh heh.

So, echoing what people have said about this being woodsmoke and charred logs. I haven't written a review for a while as I'm usually overwhelmed with scents that I have come out of hiding to remark on what is truly, really, very accurately one of the weirdest, quirkiest and most non-Lycanthrope-wearable and not-sure-to-use-as-room-scent aromas I've experienced this year. It's a brief description, but each element is there. Brimstone to me is powerful smoke + vetiver + cinnamon. Inferno was tons of cinnamon and smoke. Djinn? Myrrh + smoke. Agnes makes me think of: 1) Black peppery, crackled air after a gunshot. It smells warm, your body is tingling from the discharge, you're not sure if you can relax. 2) You've doused the campfire. Because you're weird like me, you sniff the burnt logs. They smell like Agnes Nutter. 3) See 2, except you were silly enough to sniff too early, you got a snootful of wet smoke. You cough. It pervades. Cough. Ow, my lungs, they burn with hydrocarbons. 4) After a few very disconcerting minutes of wearing Agnes and going 'Whoa...' it dries a bit down to something like Bed of Nails. Sharp, metallic. Tangy. I don't know, on me, this sort of metal-aquatic always smells clean. The 1-3 elements do make it seem dirtier though. Agnes is sitting on my shelf next to Aziraphale and the two could not be more opposite, I want to slather Aziraphale and I'm not sure I want to wear nor diffuse Agnes, as I think my neighbors would come running to see if I set the place on fire with my newfangled candles and japanese incense...

Tombstone... nggggggrrrhhrhrmrmm. I'm biased though, srsly. I also love Casanova but it has a more urbane hit to it, and I detect the airy muskiness and the tonka to me is sweet rather than vanilla-y.

In the vial - spicy, warm, gingery chocolate. Mmm. On me... sadly... this turns into apple rinds and dry, dusty cocoa. There is an overall clovey spiciness and less 'depth' or 'cream' to this one than the prior incarnation of 13 I have...

ARGH! This is so much apricot and date on me + supah-grape that it's one giant fruity raisinoid scent. My skin chemistry must have destroyed this one - I don't get any cream at all, it's all fruit compote.

Wet, it smells a little sweet and herby. On me, it changes from that generic sweet herbiness to something... maybe a little fruity? I don't know why but I get pear and apricot, those dried ones that taste great if you eat a few and then get sorta bland and squooshy. Ya know, those flat ones. Underneath it all there are very subtle florals. Hm. On me, this is definitely NOT what I expected! Heh. Although... for me, it's quite apropos for me, since I am always bitter in the realm of love! ETA: Oh... my sniffer must be so broke! Where'd I get that impression?!

In the bottle, it wafts up a little like candy, a touch like chewing on a candied violet off of a piece of fancy white cake. There's a touch of wet, gooshy fruit, definitely plum. Juicy. Dab... On me, egads, it's floral! Oh, wait... this reminds me of that nice floral in Morgause. Given a little time, it's definitely very well blended, and though I can pick out a few notes, it shifts and moves. I'd say the drydown is definitely floral, maybe to the point where I can't really pull this one off, but of course I love all things violet. I got a few (a few!) of these, since purple/violet is among my favorite colors, and I may be biased but this does smell violet, maybe like some kind of night flower that is a striking, unnatural cobalt blue.

Fenris Wolf!!!

I'm a spicy, fruity thing! b..b...ut seriously... Malkuth is kinda berryish and with a stroke of cinnamon or spices. May be worth a shot...

I love this. It's not what I expected at all... Mostly it starts off with a subtle, understated creamy almond note that is blended really nicely with a bright pine. Given time to dry down, I can start detecting a brush of leather, smoke and masculine tang. It's ... wow. Mmm hmm. I'll probably get another bouteille of this while CD is in town.

Chrysanthemum Moon! I got a bunch of these, because of the description... let's see how it plays on my skin. In the bottle, it smells a little resiny, a touch like... sassafras? Woods? It's sweet and a little spicy. Wet, it's a little like lotus, a sweeter flower essence over a musky base. It dries down to a relatively inobtrusive, soft incense powder with a little bit of twang which I assume is a touch of tobacco smoke. It's nice, but not a 'me!' scent. Maybe I'll give it a few more tries

It smells kind of like... bananas? Oh, wait, that's frankincense and resins! And copal, too. Oh, after a bit of time this glows. I guess it's the combination of the herbal flowers. This really reminds me of that glowing, crackled gold patina of the painting. It kind of reminds me of Midnight Mass, as well. Such beautiful light.

Whorf! It smells... interesting in the vial. On skin, it's a whomp of strangely sour grassy floral, and then it smells kinda... peppery, but not. This is really, really spicy. Not sweet at all. Oh, that's cassia! Egads, it's kinda reminding me of the spiciness of Three Witches (revisited). In fact... it seems that is all that is amping up on me. ... where are the other notes? ... boo cassia...

Wet, this is a bright tea note. It's slightly watery and citrussy, and then I get a hint of benzoin, sweet resins. The tea's acrid note then rises again to the forefront. Underneath it all there is a bit of smokiness, a darkness. Must be the vetiver. It's not too prominent, however. Over time, it stays tea-bright. Interesting and sharp, but it's not playing quite so well on my skin after a touch of time.

Sweet, juicy, cedar-kissed, soaring frankincense with that beautiful fiery bite of black pepper. It is sweeter and brighter than I would have expected but yeah, this stuff is pure heaven.

Whoa! Peppery! Spicy! Leather... musk... *slap!* it's racy! Raunchy! Now it's rich and heady, with a wicked fang. Oh my. Musky leather and smoky patchouli. Not much ginger though... I love the white pepper freshness. This is a bottle consideration.

Definitely a beautiful, sticky golden resin in the imp (decant). I'm getting a whiff of freshness, too. This is a viscous oil! It definitely has a citrus-marine note base, a similar sweetness as R'Lyeh and Nyarlathotep. The cypress emerges slowly under the sweet benzoin. There's a wispy floral. Chilly, a touch of cold on this warm ocean. Still... it doesn't scream out to me, but it's quite beautiful.

Hee! I don't have anyone to dominate. Still, a dab for a test. And... perhaps if I play my cards right, or my experience with Q5 is a stunner, . Bottle: It has a sharp, almost achingly sweet and musky aroma to it. If I had to compare it to a catalog blend it would be most like Satyr or Czernobog. The overarching spicy muskiness also reminds me of the initial bit of Storyville, or some of the Lab's richer, headier perfumes. Dab: Pine, civet, and black amber, black patchouli. Pine, yes, pine. I think it appears to be a familiar element of many male blends. Oh. Civet. Uh huh. Meow. Drying: Uh oh, civet civet civet. I smell really... evil? I smell like a dark forest with lots of creeping beasties. Summation: Again, more of a ritual use, as civet doesn't behave well on me. However, this scent does make me think of debauchery and naughtiness, so perhaps it would have a similar effect on someone else. I'll reserve judgement for that if I find anyone willing...

An oil just for men. Increases strength and virility, infusing you with the power of the Primary Masculine Principle. Expectations - I caved and bought a bottle of this. I'm anticipating a fiery, red, radiant blend, with a lot of oomph. Let's see how it goes. I'll comment on the efficacy of the 'primary male principle,' as I am gearing up for clinical stuff soon. Ironically, I'll be starting OB/GYN so... mayhaps Godfire may put the wrong kind of energy into that situation. I'll be sure to take a good cleansing bath before I hit the wards. Bottle: Pine and... mint? Snow? It almost smells like Talvikuu or Nuclear Winter to me. That is, it has a sweet, icy arboreal aroma. Mayhaps a touch puzzled at this point, but we'll see how it does with a test dab. Dab: Gawarrggh! Pine'd! The snowy note vanished pretty fast and aw man, is this one strong and ferocious tree whompin' me up the nose. It sort of tickles at the back of my throat. Drying: Ok, the pine is behaving itself a bit more, and it's adopting a very warm, slightly smoldering, subtle background. As if there are more spices that are just faintly accentuating the herbal forefront... and the oil does have a touch of warming tingle, as well. Longterm: I think this may have a very tiny bit of sandalwood and amber mixed in, but they contribute to the overall subdued, quiet smoldering effect of the oil. Ahah. Pepper. I think there's some kind of pepper in here! Summation: Most likely will be used for ritual, meditation. The smell is interesting but tolerable, heh heh.

A men's confidence and good fortune blend. Use to increase personal power and material wealth, and inspires assertiveness and self-assurance. Halloo. Definitely a guy here, and decided to use Master in a small ritual tonight regarding an upcoming exam that I require some control (mastery)of, good fortune, and a whole lot of confidence about preparation. I anointed a fluorite crystal and a white candle and burned the candle over my board review book, while holding the crystal between my palms. Master is definitely quite animalistic straight out of the bottle, a quite potent kick of civet is apparent, backed by a cool, almost minty backdrop. I want to call it aquatic but it's not quite that, it's misty, while still being present. From the fluorite some got onto my palms, which is where I am evaluating the scent. It morphs away from the initial civet into an immensely arboreal fragrance redolent of pine boughs and grand red cedarwood chips, fir needles and pine sap, a cool forest in the morning light, just waking up to the new day and new potential... This, more than anything to me is a wolf striding through a Northwest forest, a touch of animalistic musk and potent drive as it bounds over fallen pine needles and paws crush dry bark and leaves... ... where was I? Oh man. This stuff is good. It has kick. And man do I feel like I can howl at the world.

I think Strangler Fig's too warm to be as crisp as ivy... but it really, truly is a slightly creamy, real leaf scent. *awaits big bottle*

I'll try to keep this short. It seems like Dum is the preferred over (T)Dee in the duo, and in my opinion both are nice scents, but Dum is much more wearable, at least on me. It's definitely figs and mangos, over a very delicate astringent tea. The patchouli, if present, is not that eager to assert itself. All in all, a pleasant, tropical aroma that wears light.

Oh boy, is this sharply citrus. In the bottle it's a very faint orangey oil in aroma, and it definitely does not seem to be as potent as a later skin test will reveal! On my skin, this really amps up to a bitingly ferocious citrus. Tweedledee has rabies! I can smell a very, very distinct, rind-y citrus oil note (kumquat?) blended with a quite audacious orange blossom, spiked with a dry, peppery base. This reminds me a lot of Kunstkammer, which went all candy-sweet on me. Oh! This reminds me of fruit-flavored cereals in general - a blaze of fruity aroma and taste so potent that it seems composed of fruits that don't exist. GeneriFruit. GeneriFruit + a nice undercurrent of pepper, but still, quite strong. It's all right, but I can't see myself wearing it too much. Looks like I'll test it in my burner next.

I want to preface this thanking BellaKatrina for letting me obtain some of this blend! In the vial, Doc is cool, cool greenness. Definitely some stands of pine, fir, but no additional notes like leather or smoke are apparent. I'm not sure what to expect, as I don't know the story behind the name of the blend. On my skin, the oil remains a sharper, resinous tree scent but I think there's some benzoin or galbanum, a sweeter true resin that sets a sweeter base for the airier pine. Oh - I bet there's a 'paper' note in this, because I'm detecting a morphing and dusty scent which reminds me of the parchment in Clio. It's quite foresty!