brilliantcat

Oh, this is bliss! No pun intended Rich, thick, chocolately, but not supersweet or creamy. I get a hint of the malted barley from the stout but it's just barely there, a whiff to break up the dark chocolate wave a bit. It seems the chocolate comes in like a lion and out like a lamb as over time it becomes softer and gentler. There's more of the stout and buttercream coming through on the drydown. It becomes less chocolate and more a vanilla stout. It's cozy and my mind conjures up the image of sitting in an Irish pub near the fire with a cozy sweater on, sipping a just barely chilled Guinness and eating vanilla bean cupcakes. It's like being wrapped in coziness. This absolutely has to come back in stock before the Yules come down or I will perish *dramatic swoon*

Very gingerbready in the vial and wet on my skin, though I can pick up hints of the coconut and if I strain, the underlying darkness that is the patchouli. The cinnamon explodes for quite awhile before calming down but upon drydown, I get no coconut, no benzoin, no patch. It somehow smells like gingerbready black musk and I'm not a fan of black musk at the best of times. It has absolutely piqued my interest in trying the original GC, which has been on my to-try list for aaaaages because coconut + benzoin + patch sounds magical and I think without the components of the gingerbread interfering, I'd really like it.

Oh. My. Goodness. On first sniff from the decant, I get the most wonderfully creamy coconut. The benzoin and coconut milk are doing magical things and this doesn't smell a bit like suntan lotion but like silky waves of cream-colored coconut/vanilla sheets billowing around me. Once applied, the most prominent note is the frankincense which rather than being the resinous, incensey frank I normally think of it has a definite lemony tinge that's really quite beautiful and bright. Beneath it is that fantastic coconut/benzoin that I want to roll in like a cat. I'm not getting any overt florals or honey-like sweetness. On the drydown, some sweetness from the honey myrtle appears and the lemony frank smooths out and fades, allowing the creamy coconut/vanilla to really shine. This smells like bottled sunshine. It is what I imagine Felix Felicis might smell like. I utterly adore this and it will be such a perfect scent for summer or even winter when I need some olfactory sunshine. Bottle-worthy and backups, absolutely!

First sniff out of the decant is slightly sour, juicy lotus with a hint of the orris and maybe sandalwood. On me, it blossoms into beautifully dewy green lotus with hints of the rich, sultry musk. Lotus can sometimes have that sweet bubblegummy quality but not in this blend. The musk and sandalwood are adding a wonderful depth. My impression is of a luminous, still pond at night with otherwordly efflorescent flowers glowing softly on the surface. Sadly, I don't get any vanilla at this stage, however on the drydown it becomes more and more apparent. Perhaps aging will deepen the vanilla further. I find this blend calming and serene and ethereal. I tested it near Pouring Strains of Sacred Song and they blend surprisingly well into a sunshine/twilight hybrid that is utterly intoxicating. I adore both on their own but I definitely see some potential for layering. Bottles of both are necessary!

This was a spontaneous addition to my decant order as rose is notoriously my nemesis, but something about this called to me and I decided to listen to my intuition. I do get whiffs of rose in the decant but also geranium and hints of the musk. It's quite appealing, but I'm a little concerned that the rose will do its normal Godzilla-stomp on me. But wait... Shock! Awe! The rose seems to be kept in check by the slightly citrusy geranium! I feel as though I'm in a steamy greenhouse and the pink hues of sunrise are softly penetrating the misted glass. I catch hints of rich vanilla that add depth and warmth to the blend. Surprisingly the red musk is nearly undetectable and I tend to amp that particular note. On the drydown, the rose and geranium soften considerably and the vanilla peeks out more and more. While rose and I have often been at each other's throats, there are a special few rose blends that do work on me and when they do, they're magical. This is one such blend. Graceful and feminine with an underlying fire that perfectly captures the inspiration. I may or may not need a bottle, but either way I will treasure my decant and wear it when I wish to feel particularly strong and feminine.

Beautifully invigorating in the decant. I get a bit of a Yule vibe from it without it being full-on Christmas themed. Once applied, the pine is front and center with the olive oil adding richness. This is one of those blends that smells different up close at the skin and in the cloud of scent that wafts from my arm. There's a lovely resinous quality from the olibanum and a bit of herbaceousness from the bay laurel. I get a touch of sweetness from some combination of the notes... perhaps the olive oil? The pine calms down and the blend softens immensely on the drydown; this sticks very close to the skin. I find it surprisingly soft and cuddly and even soothing. I'd like to try this on the husbeast as well, but I definitely need a bottle. Every single one of the blends I tested from this collection has been a hit. What a wonderful Anniversary collection

Hay, gunpowder, patchouli, autumn herbs, and sun-baked wood. 2014 version I got this for the husbeast but I had to give it a try before I handed it over Hay, herbs, and a titch of nose-wrinkling gunpowder in the decant. Wet, it's very similar but with the addition of smoke. Actually, it smells a bit like charred meat and adds a very disconcerting feel to the blend. It honestly kind of creeps me out... Luckily it doesn't last long and the blend settles into a somewhat masculine-leaning, slightly cologne-ish mix of hay, herbs, smoke, and something that's pulling a bit aquatic to my nose. I definitely feel it could be unisex but I'm looking forward to trying it on its intended victim: the husbeast

This really is autumn in a bottle! It smells like I crushed up a handful of dried fallen leaves with a tiny bit of soil clinging to them and rubbed them in my hair (but with much less mess of course lol). The leaves smell true to life and not fake at all (MAGIC) and the patch adds that little bit extra earthiness that makes this blend special. This is definitely an earthy patchouli versus some of the down and dirty or sweet patch notes floating around and it goes just perfectly with the leaves. The description mentions "smoke-touched" and I get just a tiny hint of smokiness like a long-burned out bonfire. Delicious and evocative! It will be an autumn staple and I can't wait to layer it with my favorite autumnal blends (Samhain, I'm looking at you!). Did I say delicious? I want to keep gushing about how gorgeous this is but I can't stop sniffing my hair

Oh this is fantastic! Spicy pumpkin with toothy fig and lovely woodsiness from the cedar. As it dries down, the cedar burns off and it takes on a caramelized quality. It's quite sweet and foodie on me and I can't decide if I need to hang onto my decant or not. I do love it but I tend to wear pumpkin-heavy scents primarily on Thanksgiving. In any case, it's a delicious blend that's not quite like the other pumpkin scents I have/have tested, it's more complex than most of the pumpkin-heavy blends that tend to go pumpkin spice only. I think I'll hang onto and see what aging does to the resin, vanilla, and cedar components.

I agree, this is the least craft-store-potpourri pumpkin blend I've ever smelled and I love it (and the other variety too, being a foodie and all) On me, the pumpkin note is taking the lead with its spiciness but it's not buttery/foodie really, it's more of a dry spice like a pumpkin with whole sticks of cinnamon and whole cloves sitting on it. There's a bit of the earthy mushroom trying to peek out and say hi. That's one reason I was interested in this blend, I loved the mushroom note in The Grave-Pig. These are not similar in the least though Oh, there's the hay/sweetgrass/vines, which read just a bit as celery to my nose. Grassy notes seem to do that a lot. If your skin isn't weird like mine, this would be such a fantastic alternative to all the sweet, foodie pumpkin blends if you still want a pumpkin fix.

2014 edition I immediately thought "hay" when I sniffed the decant but after I read the notes, that's gotta be the leaves. I get a sort of minty-ness that's very ephemeral. Early in the drydown, the white musk makes this go all old lady soap and perfume on me. It pretty much ends up smelling like clean laundry. White musk, why must you hate me?

Fairly fresh from the mail, so take with a grain of salt since I'll probably need to retest. Like one of the other reviewers, I'm getting zingy citrus o.O Not quite grapefruit, not quite yuzu, not quite lemon or lime... No idea what's causing that. It starts to morph almost immediately and the word that comes to mind is "stately". It feels very elegant to me. On the drydown, it's definitely soft and cozy but still elegant. Cashmere, not wool. Pretty but not something I'd wear often.

Bourbon vanilla, aged patchouli, honey, and Ceylon cinnamon. Definitely agree with the BB vibes. I find it most similar to that beloved blend in the imp (which I tried almost right out of the mail and it's cold and snowy so I should probably retest...) On me, it's BB's softer, sweeter, less dirty hippie little sister while Feed Me and Fill Me with Pleasure is perhaps BB's older, more seductive sister. They're all in the same family and Little Maggie is definitely a cousin but with cacao. This particular patch is my FAVORITE. It's earthy, a bit dirty, rough, and delightful without being over the top gnarly like OWS was on me. This really ends up quite soft and cozy, sticking close to the skin. The honey and vanilla tame the potentially beastly patch, but I do wish for a bit more cinnamon as I get none of that and I think the spice would have made this GLORIOUSER. Yes it's a word, I just said it I will definitely need a bottle or six.

2014 version Definitely agree with what most of the reviews for this year say: it smells very, very candy sweet. Now I like a good sugary scent and so far this is quite pleasing to my olfactory senses, despite it being the complete opposite of what I expected. I'm hoping a bit of booziness and smoke develop as this dries down but I'm certainly not displeased with the yummy candy. And then, somewhere, it turns to acetone. This is going to be the weirdest description ever, so bear with me. I'm an RN and a diabetic so the symptoms of ketoacidosis are pretty familiar to me, particularly the "fruity breath". That is what this ends up smelling like, minus any breath funk. The fruity ketosis smell. It's not bad or nauseating or anything like that, it just very strongly reminds me of that smell and the hospital and I just can't.

Thank you dear fairy! I was utterly intrigued based on the notes, and being the unrepentant foodie I am, I cannot deny that my heart greatly desired this. In the bottle, it's a melange of sweet, buttery, pastry-like YUM. On, it's less pastry and I get more of the sweet potato flesh. The cardamom pops up to say hi and lends a very slightly citrusy note. This is the most lovely spice blend with nary a craft store vibe in sight as a lot of the pumpkin blends turn to on me. I agree that is more gourmand than foodie, as it's not immediately obvious that it's supposed to smell like, well, food. It has this lovely comforting feel about it and as it warms, the pumpkin seeds lend a delightful nuttiness. This really is a perfect fall blend, I can't stop sniffing myself!

In the bottle it's leather leather leather and the rum is interacting in such a way that it smells licorice-y and vaguely burnt o.O I cannot adequately express how bad this blend reacts with my skin, though. In theory, it should be perfect as it has three excellent notes on me. The reality smells like a charred, rotting zombie who's rolled in dust, imbibed large quantities of spiced rum and spilled it liberally on himself, and eaten black licorice. I don't even... I feel terrible criticizing one of Beth's creations so harshly, but it really, really didn't work on me. Thankfully for every one that smells like dirty burnt butterscotch and licorice zombie, there's twenty that smell so good I can't even begin to explain how wonderful they are, except that they make me happier than unicorn glitter farts and chocolate. And that's pretty happy.

A salty, feminine aquatic in the bottle. So many aquatics have the tendency to pull masculine (I blame commercial colognes like Cool Water for this misconception) but this is not masculine at all. Wet, it's a lovely, soft floral-aquatic blend that has both a salty note and a sweet one. "Pretty" seems inadequate to describe it, but that's just what it is. Perhaps if I used "jolie"? The French seem to be able to capture the nuances of a word so much better. While "pretty" is bland, "jolie" makes me think of sweet yet sophisticated and feminine, but not childish. Very soft, feminine aquatic but I'm not sure I need a bottle.

In the bottle, I think what I got most was the amber of all things. On me, the orange blossom honey is strongest with some pear hiding behind it. It's more perfumey than fruity to my nose and like some others, I get a bit of a white floral feel. While this stage smells good, it's not at all what I expected from this combination of notes (I adore coconut and pear, honey is usually wonderful, and amber can go either way). I can definitely where others have gotten gardenia from this as that's almost exactly what it ends up smelling like dried down. I do like gardenia but I'm not feeling this blend much as I love the inspiration. It's so different to what I expected and wanted from it. I am envious of those who got pear pina colada type scents from this, that would have been perfect for me!

Applied on dry hair: Tart green apple that is somehow creamy, probably by the vanilla orchid. Surprisingly, I don't get any bergamot and that's usually a note that doesn't hide in the background. Overall, it smells very clean. And it reminds me very strongly of something... OH! Prell shampoo (I'm so old haha), that old school shampoo in the green bottle I remember from when I was a kid. It smells JUST like it on me/to my nose. I really enjoy how fresh and clean it smells but I'm not sure I want to smell like Prell shampoo. I think I'll pass my decant on to my daughter as she likes florally scents like this instead of candy/foody scents like I'd expect of a 9-year-old She snagged my Lightning Storm last Halloween and I agree with puck, they have a similar clean/fresh vibe.

I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like lavender. I like the IDEA of lavender, but often in blends it's so screamingly astringent that it can ruin the entire blend for me (see Capax Infiniti). Right off the bat, this is definitely very much lavender. If I try really hard, I can get hints of the vanillic benzoin and bourbon vanilla and maybe a tad of the sandalwood but lavender is running this particular show. I really wish the lavender had backed off because all of the other notes are ones I adore (vanilla, benzoin, patch, fig, tiare, woods).

Rummy coconut cupcakes Oh, this is PERFECT! I need about 100 bottles of this so I can bathe in it as though it were the blood of virgins.

In the decant, it's buttery, almost bready pastry. Once on, it's GORGEOUS. Foodie heaven! Buttery, nutty, sweet, and cozy.

In the bottle and wet, the chicory scares me. It's stomping all over everything and smells both medicinal and old-fashioned black licorice-y. I HATE black licorice, though I love anise and fennel. Go figure. I get a bit of bitter coffee which I adore and as it warms, the chicory starts to smell like... celery?! I don't even... It smells like I've been chopping celery for chicken soup. Up close, it's actually a fairly nice blend with bitter coffee and a little spice from the pastries. But from about a foot away, yes, celery. I'm so disappointed I didn't get the beautiful coffee blend everyone else's skin turned this into

I adore Bananas Foster, in fact I just made a big batch of them to have over ice cream. This is very true to that caramelized banana scent when you're cooking the bananas. On me, the banana is super-potent for a few minutes (love it!) and then calms down and melds with the oleander, incense, and Dorian to form this incredible blend of what should smell totally strange but is actually totally wonderful. It's fruity, resinous, very slightly floral, and vanillic. I actually DO feel as though I'm walking down a NOLA street, passing an overgrown oleander bush, a cafe serving Bananas Foster, and a Catholic church with incense censors swinging. It hits all of my note loves.

This is everything I wanted OWS to be: Banshee Beat with chocolate instead of hemp! The patch is the same to my nose and is of the woody, toothsome variety as if it's a big gooey patchouli brownie. Not as down and dirty as the patch in OWS, it interacts with the sandalwood to become this earthy, woodsy, beautiful concotion. The cacao starts out strongly, whispering seductively in my ear but like a cat she does her own thing and slinks off to reappear when she pleases while the patch makes himself at home. He fluffs up some soft, downy vanilla and mallow flower pillows and invites me to cuddle. Who could refuse such an offer? I'm wrapped in swaths of fluffy vanilla blankets with poofy mallow flower pillows, snuggled up with the patch who has wrapped his arms around me while we both drowse, and the dark chocolate cat slinks by now and again to rub my leg and purr. In other words, perfection. I adore you, fairy, for picking up this little slice of heaven for me.