Ashenrook

SENELION Against a velvet black sky hangs a blood red moon and a dusky midnight sun: Nepalese amber, twin red musks, Indian black vegetal musk, lotus root, star anise, orris C02, Himalayan cedar, hops, mallow, Roman chamomile, and zdravetz. When I saw this as one of the WCWC exclusives, I was mighty tempted to give it a pass going by the notes. I have a rather poor history with red musk and CO2, and other notes tended to be hit-and-miss for me. I would not have tried this out if it were not for Nachtwulf asking me to sniff it for her, so a big thanks to her – as well as Usagi and her friend, who helped me get a second opinion at the Lunacy. This scent is something special... In the Bottle Both the red and black musks were front and center for this, but it was oddly....appealing to me. Normally if I smell too much red musk, I instantly turn away since nearly all blends that include it are critical failures on me. Senelion, however, was enticing... The amber, ceder, star anise, and the CO2 provided a dryness to counteract how wet and drippy red musk can become – the flowers and herbs breathing life into the black musk, as well. On Skin: Wet Well... First of all, my imaginary hat goes off to Beth and crew for crafting this lovely perfume. The scentscape really does play out like the blood-red lunar eclipse we had this morning! It started off as crisp and clear, with the star anise, amber, lotus root, and the background herbs/flowers setting the stage with the dry Southern California air – the black musk providing the backdrop of the night sky with their stars blotted out by harsh urban citylight. Then bit by bit, the black musk starts to feel like it is encroaching upon the other notes (and I mean this entirely in a good way). The eclipse is starting...! The wetness of the red musk helps with this effect since it makes the black variant feel more and more ink-like. Thankfully, Senelion does not go into liquid musk funk like other blends have for me in the past. On Skin: Dry Black musk gives away into red, the CO2 note becoming way more prominent as the moon turns to blood. I will admit... I was really scared that this is where Senelion would fail on me. The red musk was so prominent and CO2 just turns into acrid disgustingness on me... but not here. But as I mentioned before, the other scent notes keep these musks extremely well balanced – the dryness of the cedar, the airy CO2, and the dusty lotus root keep everything in check. This is simply glorious! This is everything I have ever wanted in a red musk scent. It is dripping with sweetness, and the CO2 keeps it light, if not fizzy - electrifying the air. Afternotes Senelion is sweet, slightly floral, but deliciously dusty and earthy. It is also very warm and snuggly, due to the amber sun lighting up the sky as the moon slowly retreats. It has fantastic staying power, too! Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this an A+. Seriously. This scent has been an absolute triumph on my skin, which is super high praise on my part since red musk was, until now, considered a "death note" of mine. Thank you so much for this wonderful tribute to lunar eclipses.

SIBYL This play was good enough for us, Harry. It was Romeo and Juliet. I must admit that I was rather annoyed at the idea of seeing Shakespeare done in such a wretched hole of a place. Still, I felt interested, in a sort of way. At any rate, I determined to wait for the first act. There was a dreadful orchestra, presided over by a young Hebrew who sat at a cracked piano, that nearly drove me away, but at last the drop-scene was drawn up and the play began. Romeo was a stout elderly gentleman, with corked eyebrows, a husky tragedy voice, and a figure like a beer-barrel. Mercutio was almost as bad. He was played by the low-comedian, who had introduced gags of his own and was on most friendly terms with the pit. They were both as grotesque as the scenery, and that looked as if it had come out of a country-booth. But Juliet! Harry, imagine a girl, hardly seventeen years of age, with a little, flowerlike face, a small Greek head with plaited coils of dark-brown hair, eyes that were violet wells of passion, lips that were like the petals of a rose. She was the loveliest thing I had ever seen in my life. You said to me once that pathos left you unmoved, but that beauty, mere beauty, could fill your eyes with tears. I tell you, Harry, I could hardly see this girl for the mist of tears that came across me. And her voice--I never heard such a voice. It was very low at first, with deep mellow notes that seemed to fall singly upon one's ear. Then it became a little louder, and sounded like a flute or a distant hautboy. In the garden-scene it had all the tremulous ecstasy that one hears just before dawn when nightingales are singing. There were moments, later on, when it had the wild passion of violins. You know how a voice can stir one. Your voice and the voice of Sibyl Vane are two things that I shall never forget. When I close my eyes, I hear them, and each of them says something different. I don't know which to follow. Why should I not love her? Harry, I do love her. She is everything to me in life. Night after night I go to see her play. One evening she is Rosalind, and the next evening she is Imogen. I have seen her die in the gloom of an Italian tomb, sucking the poison from her lover's lips. I have watched her wandering through the forest of Arden, disguised as a pretty boy in hose and doublet and dainty cap. She has been mad, and has come into the presence of a guilty king, and given him rue to wear and bitter herbs to taste of. She has been innocent, and the black hands of jealousy have crushed her reedlike throat. I have seen her in every age and in every costume. Ordinary women never appeal to one's imagination. They are limited to their century. No glamour ever transfigures them. One knows their minds as easily as one knows their bonnets. One can always find them. There is no mystery in any of them. They ride in the park in the morning and chatter at tea-parties in the afternoon. They have their stereotyped smile and their fashionable manner. They are quite obvious. But an actress! How different an actress is! Harry! why didn't you tell me that the only thing worth loving is an actress? Bourbon vanilla, Egyptian musk, olibanum, summer honey, white tea, Spanish mandarin, tea rose, cognac, and a faint trace of prussic acid. In the Bottle Refined vanilla, a breath of mandarin, and the barest traces of cognac and tea. On Skin: Wet Oh... This is just heart-breakingly beautiful. White tea comes to the front, wreathed in velvety bourbon vanilla, with a ghost of tea rose in the background. I am rather impressed that the rose is being so well-behaved as it is! A few minutes later, you can detect the sweetness of the honey overlaying the sunniness of the mandarin. It's just all so gorgeous... It's as if you are having afternoon tea in a drawing room, seated on a plush sofa in front of a huge open french window – the day is sunny and beautiful (much like how WeHo was today, minus the heat...) with birds chirping and the scent of orange trees drifting in on the breeze. On Skin: Dry The tea rose starts coming to the surface more, accompanied by a glass of sophisticated cognac. The vanilla and the achingly beautiful note of white tea still flit in the background. Afternotes Much of the same in the drydown phase, but with a trifle of the olibanum and Egyptian musk in the background. Just as beautiful, and delicate, as before. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I would give this an A+. This, easily, makes one of my top five scents and I am thoroughly impressed by the Lab by making this absolutely perfect compliment to Dorian. And even though there's honey in it, it is behaving gorgeously and the rose does not overwhelm. I cannot say how much I adore this scent. - - - -

Yeah, I saw a couple Nonae bottles floating around a few months ago and now I'm kicking myself for not grabbing one. I tried Alice but the honey did something...terrible with the bergamot oil. It was really sad. I wanted to like Alice because it sounds just so perfect. Sudha Segara I'll try if I happen upon it, but since honey is there I'm not gonna actively seek it out. Bread-and-Butter-Fly is already on my radar but I just haven't bothered to order anything since I'm already awash with imps as it is. *chuckle* I might just have to try it at the next Brick and Mortar. Chaste Moon, however, sounds divine and I'll put that on my wishlist. Thanks Cuervosueno!

Hi everyone! I was just chit chatting with a friend about this and it got me to really thinking. I am really starting to fall in love with milk notes, but the problem I have with them is that they are most usually paired with honey (I'm looking at you, Milk Moon). Honey, at least in BPAL scents, just does not work with my skin at all. Well...that's not true. Sibyl works, so I'll just say that it is very rare that it does. But the types of milk I am looking for are the ewe/goat milk notes! I smelled it in Candles Moon and I absolutely loved it (but the scent didn't work due to the wax). I'm eyeing Nonae Caprotina, but since that's retired and, currently, hard to find... Do any of you have some suggestions? I'd love to hear them (even if they do have honey...).

...Who would have thought that a foody scent would make me think of a bug. I don't know how you do it, Beth. Anyhoo, I got this as a lovely freebie in my NYCC fairy's package. I'm not a huge fan of spice scents, but this was sorta nice. It's a very fresh, spicy, gingerbread... Probably a ginger snap would be more apt. I don't think I'd wear this one, but it was fun to try!

Thanks again to my lovely NYCC angel! I got this for a friend and...I stole a dab. >_> In the Bottle Smooth, buttery...popcorn? Almost something cake-y about it. It's like being on a carnival food strip. On Skin: Wet You know, I've never tried a BPAL red musk note until now. I'm unsure if I am a fan. It is a nice concept, though, with the spicy, yet fruity, musk... But fruity tends to do poorly on me. There is a splash of root beer, but it vanishes rather quickly, and replaced with a somewhat herb-y scent that must be the pipeweed. On Skin: Dry And...there's candy floss? Yeah. Cotton candy. I like this part. It's starting to smell less like a strumpet and more like classic carnival foods (all it needs is some funnel cake). Afternotes Pretty much this...kinda annoying red musk (I have now determined I do not like this note), but the cotton candy note is lovely! There's a little bit of creamy root beer in the background again. Mm. Now I want a root beer. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a C. While the red musk is not my thing at all (it reminds me too much of red currant, which does not get along with me at all), but I really liked the root beer and cotton candy. And as the usual rule of thumb goes, if it's "Meh" or "Ick" on me, without going foul, then I am nearly positive my friend will like it.

Thanks once again to my lovely NYCC angel! In the Bottle Very smoky, with dark spruce and...chestnut, I think. It's nutty. On Skin: Wet ...Celery? What? Wow, this is bitter. Mount Misery indeed! This is pretty indefinite proof that evergreen notes come out swinging at me and the smoke is not helping. On Skin: Dry Wow, something just overloaded my nose. Even taking a nice whiff of coffee didn't clear it up like it normally does. It's very smoky and it kind of makes the leaves smell like they're burning, but the sweetness of the chestnut is coming into play. But there's an...unpleasant bitterness about it. I can't say I much care for it. I blame the smoke note... it goes so acrid on me. Afternotes Yeah, it's the same... Smoke, spruce, chestnut, and more smoke. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a C-. I can smell the other notes fighting to be realized, but the smoke, spruce, and chestnut kind of block everything out. But I figure that if the smoke did not go weird on me, this would be a wonderful scent. I'm sad... I am looking for a good "fall" scent and I keep getting duds.

Many thanks to my wonderful NYCC angel for picking this up for me! In the Bottle Kind of dry and musty, but with a hint of spice. There's something dark about it, lurking behind the faded White Lady. On Skin: Wet Musty old dress fabric and lace, but in a good sense... The image of faded white lace comes to mind. There's nothing sweet about this one, but there is an aire of sophistication about her. It is...elegant, but bitter. The tobacco flower and narcissus is kind of heady, but not overpowering. On Skin: Dry I am starting to detect the bergamot and a hint of white tea. The cacao, oddly, is absent...but I can feel its earthiness lingering in the background. The jasmine bud is hiding way back there, peeking over a hedge. Afternotes It is starting to go a bit powdery, but in a classy sort of sense... Not because of a skin reaction. The White Lady is drifting away on the ether, her bitterness and determination going with her, leaving a peaceful, ghostly, powder of jasmine, tea, and a hint of tobacco leaf. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I give this two sets of scores... A B for how I wear it, but an A for execution. It is a good scent. Whenever I wax poetic as I have, I know it is so. This is the scent of a bygone age, but it does evoke things like wandering through an antique shop or unearthing your great-grandmother's wedding dress in a long-forgotten trunk stowed away in the attic. It is classy. It is refined. And it is old... For those who don't really want to smell like a classy old lady, you might want to give it a miss. Otherwise, break out your petticoat, your best frock, and a parasol... This one is for you.

Just got it in the mail today after ordering it the day before it left the forums. Thank you for the speedy delivery, Labbies! In the Bottle Delicious rich cake with strawberry, rose, and tea! On Skin: Wet Beautifully sumptuous with the cake and tea, laced with gentle, bright, roses. But... there is something in the background that seems to threaten this balance. It...I don't know what it is, but it's fruity and potent. It must be the madeira wine because it's certainly not strawberries. On Skin: Dry Oh no... I was afraid that this would happen. The madeira is mixing and making this noxious fruit bug spray smell. Afternotes Much of the same, but much lighter and slightly muted with rose. But it is still very unpleasant to sniff at. Verdict Given the occasion this marks and who it was made for, I am not going to give this a grade. My heart wants to give it an A+, if only for the wonderful idea and how beautiful it smelled in the bottle. But my skin just doesn't like it... However, I'm going to have to give this another try in a few weeks. Perhaps it's just hormones mucking things up. Or so I can hope.

In the Bottle Frankincense and...hm. I think that's the rose. On Skin: Wet This is kind of wood-y, but...there are no wood notes in here. Like another has mentioned, I am reminded of pencil shavings. Uh oh. I can smell something resembling rose in the background, but thus far there's no plum or lilac. On Skin: Dry Okay, now the rose and lilac are starting to come out more. Still no plum. But it is still very much pencil shavings... Afternotes Same as before. Alas... Verdict On an American scholastic scale, I'd give this a C. While it is by no means bad, I just find myself going 'meh' at it.

In the Bottle Very murky mud and something sharp... On Skin: Wet I really don't know what this sharp note is in this, but it's kind of jarring... That being said, it is freshly turned, damp, potting soil with old wood. On Skin: Dry Pretty much the same, but the sharpness is starting to drift away (but by no means is it fully disappearing). It's now becoming a little more spicy, somehow. Afternotes The same as the drydown period. It's nice, but nothing to write home about. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a C+. It's nice and I enjoyed it (because I do love me some dirt notes), the sharpness of it, coupled with the fact that it fades so fast on me, makes it teeter on the edge of "Somewhat immemorable, but I kind of like it" to "I like it, but I can live without a bottle or tester of this". So, a C+ it shall be, and remain.

[short review since this was ultimately a failure] Alas, this one actually played nice for a moment... As mentioned in several reviews before, honey generally turns on me (with a rare exception), so I was in high hopes that this might be another blend with honey that would work on me. At first, the good points. For the first minute, it was gorgeous. Decadent, yet light, honey accented by clove and patchouli (BOTH being well behaved, too). I love the sweet fig note... Like, I really love it. And the ylang ylang is very gentle. Thennnn it goes all upside-down on me. My skin is actually neutralizing the scent to the point where I can't smell anything, barely, but if I sniff around on my wrist REALLY hard then I notice the honey...and it's turning sour on me. While it didn't go noxious stench like Jezebel did for me, I preemptively washed it off. Rats. I had high hopes for it.

You know, when I smelled this I wasn't sure I was going to like it... Well, this is proof that love at first sniff doesn't always apply. In the Bottle Eugh. Very medicinal and herbal, rather greenish-brown, but it's not sharp at least. On Skin: Wet Hm. Well. It is medicinal, yes, but... it's surprisingly not bad. I've been having a bad string of luck with anything that resembles green herbs, so this is a blessed relief. It's also nowhere near as strong as I thought it would be. There's a smidge of wood scent in the background. On Skin: Dry Mmm... Okay, this is really nice. The wet green phase has shifted into warm rosewood, but there is a sweetness to this that makes me think of a flower. While it's by no means a floral, I can't help but be drawn to likening this to a very light psuedo-tuberose, backed by all wood and resin. The greenery before is still in the background and some spice is starting to come to the surface. It's a very velvety, reassuring, confident, and mystical sort of smell. Spot on, Beth. Afternotes Warm woods and spicy turmeric (which is thankfully complimenting the wood rather than overpowering it). Mmmm. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this an A. Yeah, this was definitely a hit with my skin. It lasted a long time, but there was no residual single notes still clinging to me and turning strangely a day after use. This is one of the better "incense-y" scents I've tried in a while, since most of them tended to be way too strong on me. But, no, the rosewood is fantastic and the perfume is light while the throw is good. This is definitely big bottle material for me.

Yeah... No big review for me. The ultimate fate for this one was running to the washroom to scrub it off with a brush. Being that Forest Reverie had, well, a "forest" note in it I already had a hunch that it might not work on me. It...didn't not work out as I planned. While the evergreen note did go car freshener on me, as it sometimes does, the combination of opium smoke and grapes just made this pretty terrible smell. I didn't want to take any chances and let it set in, so... Off it went!

Hm... I can't say I know of any scents that are exactly like that, so I zeroed in on one less-than-common scent: Heliotrope. Here's what I got that I think is a close fit. • Greed (Sin & Salvation): "Base and earthy, yet glittering with golden notes: patchouli, heliotrope, copal and oakmoss." [This lacks the creaminess of the vanilla and much of the florals, though.] • Sheol (Ars Morendi): "Vibrant gladiola, graceful stargazer lily, triumphant iris and bright heliotrope flare, and is finally made somber by heavy copal, a drop of labdanum, and tonka." [if I remember correctly, tonka bean has a slight vanilla-like quality to it? Plus this has more florals going for it with the iris and lilies.] • The Witch Queen (Stardust): "Wild plum, red musk, tuberose, calla lily, heliotrope, pimento, ylang ylang and beeswax beneath a dark haze of sinister purple-hued incense smoke." [i'd imagine that the musk and incense smoke would be pretty close to your patchouli?] But you can always go to http://www.bpal.org/search/ and plug in what notes you liked from it and see what results you got. That's what I did. PS: For inquiries like this, you'd probably do best putting it in the Recommendations forum instead of the For Sale one. Welcome to the boards, though!

In the Bottle Lots of tuberose and smoky opium. On Skin: Wet The opium comes on rather strong, to the point where it was kind of overwhelming. It's kind of bitter, due to the smoke in this "den". Thankfully it's tempered by the florals in the background. On Skin: Dry The tuberose and lilies are starting to come to the front, pushing the smoky opium to the background, laced with sweet poppy. It is a very heady, but beautiful, perfume. Afternotes Lots of gorgeous tuberose and lilies. Mmm... Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a B+. I absolutely love tuberose and, like the description said, this is a very soporific perfume. I partially bliss out whenever I inhale deeply near my wrist. Though I don't see this as something I can wear much in public since the tuberose is kind of potent. But man, this will kickstart my muse whenever I need to write or draw, I bet. I'm definitely keeping the imp.

I would have reviewed this fully, but it ended up with me furiously washing it off after the first thirty seconds after applying. Ever since I tried out Jezebel, I have been SUPER wary of any thing with honey notes. But in light of the honey note in Sibyl working on me, and that Alice is one of "the scents" here apparently, I wanted to at least try. Nope. Didn't work at all. I could smell the honey going turning bitter and going powdery, which in turn made the bergamot go sour. I didn't want it to have more of a chance to sink into my skin, so... off it went. But I still smell the honey residue left behind and yep... burnt honey and baby powder. Just like with Jezebel. *sigh*

In the Bottle Extra virgin olive oil. I love olive oil! On Skin: Wet ...I was not aware there was lemon in this? I'm guessing the olive blossoms have a citrus-y feeling to them, because wow. Extra biting virgin olive oil and lemon. On Skin: Dry ...Now it's olive oil and lemon pledge. Oh no. Afternotes Okay, I will admit the late drydown period was rather nice. The spanish moss finally started to come out and the scent became much more earthy and peaceful. I did pick out stuff that reminded me of a sleepy N'awlins street with moss-covered trees lining dimly lamplit roads. But, ultimately, it was still awash in OLIVE. Had the olive blossom not have overwhelmed so much, I'd imagine this would be such a wonderful scent. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a C-. I guess this drives the point home of being careful just what you test at Lunacies because, like Harvest Moon 2010, I think it got muddled with other oils and I came out with a different opinion of it. Now I kind of regret I didn't get Halloween: San Francisco instead.

In the Bottle Beautiful fresh greenery! On Skin: Wet ...Hm. I think that I have now determined that anything with "green/meadow grass" as a note does not get along with me. With Leanan Sidhe, it turned to Irish Spring. With Pa-pow, it turned to Axe bodywash. And just like Pa-pow, the Axe has returned. *Sigh* It's sharp and fresh, yes, but it turns soapy on me. On Skin: Dry It starts to balance out a little more now, thankfully. But it smells like...soapy grass with grain. Bird seed? Afternotes Pretty much the same as the drydown. Verdict On an American scholastic scale, I'd give this a C. While it did not work on me, it still was not terrible or unpleasant. Just... soap. And birdseed. I still don't want to give up on fresh grass notes, but the Little Bird just doesn't work for me.

In the Bottle Wow. It's very sweet. Not sugar sweet, but...melon-y? Melon, musk, and something I can't quite put my finger on. On Skin: Wet I will admit, it smells a little fake-y for the first couple minutes of initial application – like one of those cucumber scents from Bath and Body works. But man, does it ever become something grand... It is very fresh and sweet. The cucumber and agave are really stealing the show, all of it being sweetened by the benzoin. On Skin: Dry I really love how this scent starts off as a brilliant teal color, but begins to deepen in shade ever so steadily. It's like you are racing along a beautiful lake on a summer's day before diving into its depths – going deeper and deeper as the light grows dimmer. It starts becoming a little more green with the pondweed, lichen, and musk. It's still sweet, of course, but more of a subdued, mysterious, and plant-like smell. There's a hint of cyclamen in the background, too. Afternotes Basically all musk, reeds, and lichen – kissed by sweet agave, cyclamen, and poppy. Simply beautiful. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this an A. I've worn this twice now, but the first did not really give it justice since I did not put it on any of my pulse points. So I vowed to wear it again when it was proper. Today was just such a day with a beautiful blue sky, warm weather, with big fluffy clouds over the mountains that were fattening with rain. Plus I was wearing a blue shirt, so this meant I needed a bright blue-ish perfume to go with it! And I am so glad I wore this. What a treasure Sturgeon Moon has become.

A freebie from the WeHo Bookfair! In the Bottle I was sniffing at the bottle and, like I often do, I got a drop of the stuff on my finger unintentionally. It was then at this point that I sniffed it, widened my eyes, and went "OH MY GOD". It smelled delicious! Coffee with Bailey's! I just had to try some more. On Skin: Wet ...Hm. Not quite as I hoped. Something about the Irish coffee is going a little odd on me. I'm picking up that hazelnut-y scent that people have been talking about, but I want to say that there is something going on with the whiskey and cream notes that are screwing something up. Something almost smells burnt (and not in the roasted coffee way). Yeah... Like someone just picked up a bunch of hazelnuts, threw them into a pot of cream and coffee, and burned it. On Skin: Dry Oh dear. Yeah, this is definitely a bad reaction. The beautiful Irish Coffee has turned into... Corn Nuts with cream and coffee. Afternotes ...I'd like to know how my skin made this go from coffee to Southwest-seasoned, whiskey spiked, Corn Nuts. I really do. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a F. It's a grade I give with a heavy heart since I wanted this to work so much! Dusty old library? Oakwood? COFFEE? Sign me up! But nope, MU does not play nice with my skin...

Other scents that remind me of Leanan Sidhe, and the like, are The Unicorn and Lady of Shalott – But the latter is a lot more frigid and wet.

Hmmm... Well, you can't go wrong with Snake Oil. Not only is it a forum favorite and a seemingly unanimous "safe bet", I think it kind of fits thematically. Other scents that come to mind, thematically at least, are... • Bathsheba - "Carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk." • Chimera - "The fiery, volatile scent of cinnamon, thickened by myrrh, honeysuckle, and copal." • Hetairae - "A seductive and dazzling blend of golden honey, fiery patchouli, sweet fig and clove, and a blushing touch of ylang ylang." • Inferno - "The Dark Side of Fire: cinnamon, bitter almond, and neroli. Heavily spiced, torrid, and possibly conflagrant." • Lust - "Red musk, patchouli, ylang ylang and myrrh." • Masquerade - "A festive, dazzling blend, layered in mystery and intrigue. Patchouli, ambergris, carnation and orange blossom." • Mata Hari - "A renowned exotic dancer and courtesan, possessed of aristocratic elegance [...] Her scent is striking and bold with a delicate yet dark undertone: five roses with soft jasmine, warmed by vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany, spiced with a drop of coffee bean." • O - "Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla." • Queen of Sheba - "Her scent is a bounty of golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices." • Scherezade - "Saffron and Middle Eastern spices swirled through sensual red musk." I guess it just comes down to if you want a "firey" scent or a more sensual one. Snake Oil aside, I'd probably be more inclined to go for Bathsheba, Mata Hari and Scherezade. Though I pretty much just went down the Ars Amatoria line and plucked these out. Hope this helps!

In the bottle It's very bitter and...citrusy? There's no lemon in here, is there? On Skin: Wet Wowzers. The witch just comes screaming out of this bottle with strong lemony wings, leaving a shimmering cloud of sugar dust in her wake. There's no lemon in here and I know it's not a bad reaction since the lemon doesn't smell fake and amped. So... I guess it's the cimmaron. Apparently, after looking on the interwebs, cimmaron is another name for Mate (as in the drink). Yep. That's the lemony culprit then. On Skin: Dry I will admit... I was rather afraid that with the strong lemon was going to be a constant theme, but the witch calms down slowly and lets out her more delicate side. The drydown is a lovely bouquet of chamomile and orris root (which is playing nice on me, thankfully) and it just gives it this beautiful dustiness to it. And I don't mean the bad "something has gone bad on you" sort of dust. I... I really like this. Afternotes Just beautiful chamomile, sugar dust, and a hint of cimmaron in the background. Verdict On an American scholastic scale, I'd give this a B+! Possibly even higher than that. The more I think about it, the more I find myself liking it. Now I'm sad that I never got around to getting a bottle of this, but I will hunt one down! Another future review might be forthcoming.

In the Bottle Resins and something "dusty". ...Cathedral? Is that you? On Skin: Wet I am starting to suspect that this IS Cathedral... But, the more I let it sit, I can begin to tell the subtleties between Aureus and it. While both evoke a sunny, peaceful, and hallowed imagery in my mind... Aureus seems more golden, and brighter, in comparison to Cathedral. I think there's a greater emphasis on amber in this blend. On Skin: Dry Much of the same! The smell of sun-baked wood, of dust, of sun... But despite how incredibly close it is to Cathedral, it evokes a different sort of imagery on me. To me, Aureus feels like I curled up for a nap on a weather-worn porch, warmed by the sun on a perfect summer's day. Afternotes Still going strong and just as lovely. Mmmm. Verdict On an American scholastic grading scale, I'd give this a B+. I would give it an A...but given that Aureus is so close to Cathedral, I feel compelled to choose between the two. And I feel that I much prefer the smell of a lovely dusty and musty sun-warmed cathedral over a sun-warmed porch.