Teaotter

LXXXV - received as a decant from Ordo_ad_Chao -- this is SO AMAZING, I just had to come say. I'm terrible at picking out notes -- there's definitely a fruit note in the dried apricot/date range, and a cakey-ness, and some kind of musk, I think. But I don't really care about notes, because I put this in my hair yesterday and spent all day smelling AWESOME, and getting compliments, and letting my close friends sniff my hair and get more compliments. ... actually, I care about the notes just enough to wish I knew, because I'd like to encourage the Post to make about a million similar hair glosses so I can buy more. ETA: Now that I've had a little more time with it, I'm pretty sure this one has an osmanthus note in there. It's so lovely, osmanthus and cake.

Also in the GC, Half-Elf (White sandalwood, beeswax, white tea leaf, oud, and a hint of sophisticated urban musk) has a nice beeswax/honey note without being overly feminine.

How have I never reviewed this? Luscious warm resins, a hint of spice, grounded by the oudh. It doesn't throw the scent very far, but I can smell it on me for hours, which is exactly what I want -- my own personal cloud of amazingness. I am so glad this is GC, because I want to smell like this for the rest of my life. *hearts*

Wet, I get a large blast of almond that just about bowls me over. When that passes, I have a sweet almond-and-sugar scent with a hint of lavender. After about thirty minutes, it dries down to a fascinating herbs-and-incense scent that I adore. There's a bit of acrid sharpness when I press my nose right against my skin, but the throw is all incense and lavender. All in all, this is less foodie in the wearing than I was expecting from the first half hour, but the incense is lovely for all that it's unexpected. Decent wearing time, too.

So. good. Vanilla cake and dark fruit. It's more mildly scented than some of the hair glosses, so I get soft whiffs of the scent during the day instead of a cloud surrounding me.

Wet: salted peanut butter cookies. Then the musk comes out and turns sour. I'm left with a vaguely vegetal warm but sour smell. Nope, off to the swaps page!

Wet, this is the most gloriously foody maple syrup and buttery pumpkin and nuttiness. Once it dries, the musk skews sideways and there's a sour note on top of everything, then just the sour note. Clearly not for me.

Red fruit and custard and honey and brandy. As this has aged, the fruit (which used to be sharper and more bitter) has smoothed out, blending incredibly well into the scent. The almost berry/cherry cough syrup I got when I first tried it now lasts maybe fifteen minutes until it fades into a juicy note that plays well with the honey and brandy. This is smooth and thick and very definitely dessert. I adore it.

I was expecting to be hit in the nose with cinnamon, not overwhelming smothering florals, but that's what I got instead -- I thought at first it might be lily, but lily doesn't give me the whanging headache that poppy does. I had to wash this off after half an hour.

Mine is labeled LXXXI. The person I got it from described it as charcoal briquettes and smoke. I swear I'm getting Tiger Balm and lemon creme cookies... o.O But that's Chaos Theory for you! I'm a little disappointed that it isn't smokier on me -- I have a bottle of Burning Book that I regularly use to scent my hair, and I'd love something similar as a hair gloss. That said, I LOVE the way this smells! It hits that edge between spicy and medicinal that I adore, with a deeply foody vanilla/creme cookie backbone underneath it.

In the bottle: patchouli, with some fruity overtones. Not a juicy red fruit, but almost plummy. Hmm. *checks notes* Wet: Gorgeous! Ambery resin and patchouli and sweet vanilla -- not buttery, but sweet -- all in perfect harmony. Wait. *checks notes again* Drydown: I have a hard time picking out notes for this. It's warm, resinous and woody, with just enough sweetness and spiciness to keep it from being too dry. It's definitely dry, though, and if I hadn't read the notes, I'd have sworn there was cocoa and tobacco in here. It has a gentle throw and fades fairly quickly, alas. All in all -- this is not what I expected, and my nose keeps imagining notes that aren't there. But it's gorgeous and incredibly well-balanced. I may pass it on just for the lack of longevity -- but I do really love it while it's on my skin.

Vanilla cream with a hint of brown sugar. It's a lot less in-your-face than Snake Oil or IBT, but the scent wafts softly the next day, too. Lovely!

On me, Delight and Consternation has a similar vibe to Eisheth Zenunim (Honey, ambergris, neroli, white peach, patchouli, and cocoa absolute) or Tezcatlipoca (Deep cocoa laced with patchouli, leather armor, ritual incense, and a touch of Xochiquetzal’s flowers).

Caramel corn. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Sticky, slightly boozy, woozy with caramel popcorn balls. This is making me hungry!

On me, this is clean, soapy, a little minty. Maybe a bit of floral baby wipes. It smells very white-to-light-pink, damp in that evaporating-steam kind of way. It's comforting, in a clean-sheets-on-the-bed kind of way, and I could see how steam + bedsheets could be sexy. But for me, this is only "Come to me, for I have taken a shower."

I can generally wear anything with white rose -- Joyful Moon, E'Ecole des Filles, Dream (Map of Dreams), Delight and Consternation (Luper). Sometimes tea rose works -- Marie, London, Klara (Yule from a few years back) And then, oddly, Wanda and Two Five Seven work for me. I have no idea why.

Wet: herbal cough syrup? medicinal herbs, at any rate. Hmm. I'm not sure I like this. Drydown: The cough syrup note moves into the background and the myrrh comes out. This is a fairly sweet myrrh, sweeter than I would've expected with this blend. There's also a warm, almost metallic smell -- maybe this is the dust note? I've never smelled it before. I can definitely catch a hint of something like nutmeg far in the distance. The green herbs are still there, along with a hint of something that might be oakmoss but I'm not amping it, so I'm not sure. It's either that or the herbs that are lending a hint of Irish Spring to this. Dry: It smells like incense and dust and freshly cleaned skin to me, and I love it! Moderate throw and decent longevity.

Wet: sweet cola. Seriously fizzy, sweet cola. o.O Drydown: the cola note steps back but never entirely goes away. More of the sweet-smoky myrrh comes forward. This reminds me of Priala, though I'll have to test them side by side to see if they're really that similar. Medium throw, sweet and smoky.

Wet: The frankincense is doing that almost-rubber thing that it does sometimes on me when it's strong. There's an intense sense of coolness to this smell, not what I was expecting. Drydown: Mostly frankincense. There is also that coolness, I don't even know how to describe it except it smells like I'm sniffing cold air. The cinnamon is a hint of spiciness in the back of my throat more than something I can smell. But the throw is all frankincense. This one has hella throw on me, even if it is all frankincense. Lovely, but I was expecting more warmth.

Wet: Implacable Beautiful Tyrant. I can't shake the idea that this smells EXACTLY like the hair gloss. Drydown: That lovely, gorgeous golden amber dominates, with the vanilla creeping up from behind. Once it settles, the notes blend together seamlessly for me. I can usually pick out the oudh in perfumes more than this, but I can't really here. It's just part of the luscious sweet warmth of the scent. The throw is mild on me, with moments where I think it's gone and then intermittent puffs of glorious scent. eta: Finally remembered what else this reminds me of: Aelopile (Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud) One of my absolute favorites in the GC!

Origin: This was a frimp of some age, if the thickness of the oil is anything to go by. I have no idea what the notes are. Wet: Gingerbread? Um, no, wait, there is definitely a sexy musk here, I'd say red and maybe black -- it reminds me of Satyr, or possibly Smut. But then this lovely spicy gingerbread. Drydown: The musks are more evident as the scent dries. But there's still a spicy vanilla baked good sense to this, kind of like... ice cream cones? Tonka, is that you? It very much reminds me of Smut without the grape/fruity notes. Utterly gorgeous! Looking at the notes, I can only say that I'm clearly not very good at identifying them. Tobacco often gives me a sense of warmth, and tonka is pretty much always 'that vaguely spicy ice cream cone smell' so maybe they went together to make me think 'gingerbread.' But I got no sense of citrus or mandarin from this at all, and I can never identify tea notes anyway.

In the imp: Whoa! That's a lot of pine you've got there! Wet: Evergreen forest and crisp, clean air. I was expecting the pine to slap me around a bit, but this is a nice balance of green, and sweeter than I was expecting. Drydown: There is a powdery sweetness to this, with a hint of juniper, and a very strong effervescent note. I have no idea what it is, but it reminds me of the gold note in The Magi. I'm not getting desolation or despair at all. I'm also not getting the evergreen forest I was expecting. Huh. Skin chemistry is strange, y'all.

In the imp: Lots and lots of carnations, with a hint of lavender and something almost peppery, maybe the ginger. Wet: a large bouquet of carnations, with a vague sense of honey somewhere in the room. Drydown: The carnations back off a little and let the lavender come forward some. There's something vaguely plant-green and something vaguely smoky on top of the floral, but nothing I can identify even when I'm looking at the notes. This is kind of meh on me. It's a pretty floral, but I was hoping for something a little more herbal, possibly with a kick from the peppermint.

Gorgeous soft patchouli and a sugar note that wavers between caramelized white sugar and a hint of maple syrup. I smell DELICIOUS. I may need a back-up of this.

Honey and musk and utter gorgeousness. The scent lasts for at least a couple of days.