Incendiare

IGNORANCE AND WANT From the foldings of its robe, it brought two children; wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable. They knelt down at its feet, and clung upon the outside of its garment. “Oh, Man! look here. Look, look, down here!” exclaimed the Ghost. They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread. Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude. “Spirit! are they yours?” Scrooge could say no more. “They are Man’s,” said the Spirit, looking down upon them. “And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!” cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. “Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And abide the end!” “Have they no refuge or resource?” cried Scrooge. “Are there no prisons?” said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. “Are there no workhouses?” The bell struck twelve. Bog myrtle, wormwood accord, carrot seed, lovage, Roman chamomile, orris root, myrrh, and patchouli. The wormwood and patchouli make an entrance. Ignorance and Want is very dry, herbal, and slightly woodsy in the vial. Wet, the wormwood is stronger and the oil smells more medicinal. The herbs have become stronger, especially as the lovage has made itself known. The dry, celery-like note from the lovage cuts the heaviness of the patchouli. I don't smell any myrrh, at least yet. The chamomile is so incredibly faint but it's gently woven in with the other notes present. I can't pick up on any orris root whatsoever. Ignorance and Want is earthy yet medicinal, leaning towards an insect repellent. It must be the bog myrtle that is giving this blend that repellent vibe. After fifteen minutes, the patchouli has practically faded away, which is surprising since my nose automatically zones in on patchouli, even the slightest trace of it, and doesn't let it go. I think the bog myrtle wins. This reminds me so much of an insecticide on the dry-down actually, kind of like Raid. Sorry, not for me.

EGG NOG Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. Simply put, this is Egg Nog '11 in a soap. I personally find Egg Nog to have barely any scent. Both years that I have tried have smelled like almost nothing except a hint of nutmeg'd up eggnog that turns to plastic on my skin. This doesn't even seem to have that. It's seriously barely nothing. Like the base scent of Egg Nog and no nutmeg. At least the soap is very softening! And there are tiny bits of, I think, coarsely ground nutmeg. Not too many, though. They actually left some scratches on my legs but it's not bad at all. If you personally find Egg Nog fragrant and it works for you, this soap won't disappoint.

Cinnamon, cinnamon, dry herbs, cinnamon. There's something sweet underneath, like marshmallow or bubble gum? Hmm, to me, this goes a little flat. It reminds me of a candle or a craft shop.

Oh yeah, that is definitely jasmine. And then with the second sniff comes the honeysuckle. Flying Fox, anyone? When I apply it, something dry and woodsy emerges out of nowhere. Perhaps it's a vague dry spice in the background. Whatever it is, it is taking everything, which is shocking since I usually find jasmine and honeysuckle overbearing. The honeysuckle burns off within the first few minutes. A heavy jasmine is left mingling in the air.

I was expecting this one to be too heavy and dense for my tastes, but it's actually quite pleasant. In the vial, it's sweeter than one would expect, like a sweet juicy incense, but as soon as I put in on, there is a burst of ambergris, then it disappears. I'm surprised I don't get any leather, but I'm sure this imp has aged for a few years now. As this starts to dry, the scent goes drier itself. Like overly dry tobacco. I swear there is spice in there too, like a bit of cinnamon? It's better than I expected but I would never purchase a bottle.

Eclipse is your typical super almond extract-heavy blend, but dusted with frankincense. It's not an obvious frankincense but it lends a dusty, almost woodsy backdrop to the almond extract. No heliotrope, but as this dries, the cinnamon comes out, like cinnamon red hots. Not something I'd really wear.

When I sniffed this out of the bottle, I initially caught vanilla with a touch of gardenia, and the more I smelled it, the more the gardenia came out, but in a good way. But once I put this in my hair, it starts to smell more like Bourbon Vanilla bath oil to me, that root beery vibe many people, including myself, get from it. Not a complaint, it's beautiful too, but for me, it loses its tropical touch once I apply this. I get barely any coconut out of it too. Still a keeper.

This seriously makes me think of the colour pink as soon as I smell it in the bottle. It's sugared strawberries and cream with the most delicate-smelling bouquet of flowers. As soon as I apply this to my skin, the carnation separates itself from the rest of the floral notes. This rest of the florals are so incredibly muted that I can't even make out what they are. They all meld into each other Together, they create the vision of sweet, colourful petals. In general, this is an ultra mild blend. I'm definitely going to have to slather this one. Beautiful, delicate blend. I still prefer '07 but this one is worth keeping, as well.

In the bottle, this is white chocolate blended with peony and tiare. Wet, it's the same, although I find that the tiare is the most prominent floral in here thus far. It's a creamy floral without being too sharp. I was a little worried that this would be too heady. After a couple minutes, I can detect the faint wild orchid in the background. The honey is very faint too. It almost goes unnoticed on me. This is only the third 13 that I've tried but it is definitely my favourite.

Wow, this is really beautiful in the imp. Soft gentle florals, especially pikake. And very airy too. On me, it's the same. No ginger, just soft, innocent florals. Not sharp nor soapy at all. It's quite light though so I'd need to slather this on or else it would probably go unnoticed. After about ten minutes, the florals are still gentle, but leaning towards powdery. I still love it though. It smells humid. I just may need to buy a bottle of this someday.

Right off the bat, I am hit with the lavender and chamomile, after the mint follows soon after. Very botanical and spa-like. Wet, the lavender is rather medicinal and the tingly peppermint is right behind. The herbal thyme is creeping in too but it's very light. Ultra relaxing. I like this way more than I thought I would since lavender can be really tricky for me.

In the imp, this is like a drier Dorian with added leather. Wet, the tonka shows up, which to me gives it more of an ethereal vibe. There is also something sharp about this. I think it's the ti leaf woven into the leather. It's definitely better on me than in the bottle. Although it's a little too masculine for me, there is something about this that I kind of like. It screams confidence and mystery, which is basically David Bowie in a nutshell. It's one of those perfumes that although it isn't me, I know I'll be secretly snatching an application every once in a while, because it is just that intriguing. And about ten minutes into this, I am totally getting oudh, which is making this even better.

In the imp, my nose automatically honed in on the lily, but just a few seconds later, the grapefruit tried to push aside the lily. Wet, the grapefruit is even more pronounced. The fresh lilies are in the background now. The two notes are actually quite harmonious. After five minutes or so, the lily has taken the throne once again, and now the grapefruit is rather muted. No vanilla whatsoever. But on the dry down, I find that the lotus is now palpable and supports the lily. It's a very pretty blend, but bottle-worthy for me.

Wow, the honeydew in this is a lot stronger than I expected. In the imp, I only get extremely sweet candy-like honeydew. It reminds me of a Push Pop. Wet, the musk comes out a little bit, but I don't actually smell honey on its own. If there is any, it must be disappearing into the melon. Ok, perhaps I spoke too soon. After a good five minutes, the honey shows up on my skin, and the musk has calmed down the honeydew, but ultimately, this is a little too sweet for me. I'm not quite sure if this is the musk doing this, but as this further dries down, this is becoming a little dustier. Nice try, but not for me.

In the bottle, this definitely reminds me of blends such as Door and Lady Una. The honey is lighter and a little on the floral side. Once I apply it to my skin, a pollen-y note comes out. The florals blossom, as well. After a few minutes, I can detect a little bit of sparkling amber in here too. Funny how I have two bottles of this and have never really worn this yet. It's absolutely gorgeous.

Perhaps it's a good thing that I waited a couple months before reviewing this because it's telling a different story now. Lab fresh, out of the bottle, Mama Ji strongly reminded me of Inez. The clove in Mama Ji matched up to the carnation in Inez. At the time, the main difference regarding Mama Ji was that it had a more astringent, almost vinegary undertone when wet. Now, although both still smell similar out of the bottle, it doesn't take long for Mama Ji to turn into rose on me. The carnations and spice are still in the background, but the rose is definitely the dominant note. Lab fresh, I couldn't even smell it. I like it and will use my bottle but wouldn't repurchase.

Wow, all the notes really mingle in a harmonious way in the vial. It's a gingered dark chocolate. It actually reminds me of a specific chocolate in a chocolate box, but can't think of it. You more I whiff it out of the vial, the mose dark chocolately this gets. The tulsi shows up on me. It continues to go a little herbal on me. The ginger and dark chocolate weaken but they're still there. I actually like this a lot more than I thought I would. Glad I got a decant.

I can already tell by how this smells in the vial that this will exceed my expectations. It's like white chocolate coconut bark in the vial. Wet, the marshmallow comes out and replaces the white chocolate, but the coconut is the dominant note. I don't really pick up on any mushroom? I thought I did as soon as I applied this to my skin. It was something sharp and a little damp, but it disappeared in seconds. I was originally going to blindly order a bottle of this but the mushrooms talked me out of it (yeah, I was clearly on drugs). I wouldn't have minded receiving a bottle of this, but at the same time, I don't really need one anyway. Oh yeah, I forgot that this was even supposed to have macadamia nut. I can't detect any in this. On the final dry-down, it's mostly coconut with a swirl of white chocolate marshmallow fluff.

To me, this is pure sassafras in my decant bottle, with an added touch of vanilla. When I used this in the shower, it became creamier and richer, like a creamy root beer float. For a few seconds, it went a little wonky on me, plasticky and artificial, but smartened back up again. When I stepped out of the shower, it kind of did that again for a while but has finally returned to its root beer roots. It has lost a bit of its creaminess though. Definitely not what as I was expecting. I was hoping for a daring, in-your-face vanilla all boozed up, but hey, I really like this too. As a side note, I'd purchase a bottle if they were 8 oz. and the average price. The price of the 4 oz. bottles are starting to get a little too steep for me.

This is such a rich chocolate. Like warm chocolate baked goods. I mostly get the cocoa note found in Gelt and Velvet. Truly scrumptious, and I can see tiny flakes of lumped cocoa at the bottom of my decant. In the shower, it kind of morphed and fell a little flat on me at first. Lost its richness, but once I got out of the shower, it smelled like how it does in the bottle again. My only complaint is that it fades more quickly than I'd like, but at least it's still there. I'd definitely love a bottle of this and/or the massage oil. Day-um.

This soap has such a fun design but unfortunately, I'm getting almost no scent from it? It's an incredibly light Sugar Plum Fairy scent, but once I take it in the shower with me and lather up, that tiny glimpse of hope was gone. Weird, because I find that soaps usually blossom in the shower once wet. On the plus side, it's very smooth and has a nice lather.

Now that's some strong linen. It automatically makes me think of Black Lace. It's crazy how when you have them side by side, the linen in the Black Lace now pales in comparison with the linen in Medical Procedure. Sorry for going on about Black Lace, but this is now making me look at BL in a different light. Before, it was more cologne-y and sharp to my nose, but now, up against Medical Procedure, I can finally smell the vanilla and cognac in there and the sweetness in general is more noticeable. To me, that just shows how much stronger the linen is in here. Anyway, Medical Procedure is cleaner and brighter in the vial. Wet, Medical Procedure is mostly linen with an added touch of the tobacco flower. As this dries, however, the sandalwood begins to slowly inch its way in, and most of the lab's sandalwood notes smell like a vague, dry wood to me. The DBR never made it to the party. Now that this has completely dried on my skin, it's lost its clean vibe. The linen has completely vanished and I am left with that dry sandalwood.

Is there a heavier, cream-like note in here? It reminds me of the heavy cream note I get from blends such as Großvater Tanz or the Chicken-Legged Hut. This also has an unexpected nutty background. On me, something spicy starts to come out and blends into the cream. My nose must be on crack because to me, this smells like a nauseatingly overly creamy nutty pudding or porridge or something. Oddly no sandalwood. That stuff always jumps out at me. I'm going to slowly back away now.

This is so beautiful in the vial. Delicate, sweet pink peonies. Not soapy at all. I wonder if it's just my mind playing tricks on me because I can detect a bit of strawberry in this. I don't know if it's because I expect it in a blend with the word "pink" in it or if it's a hidden note. Wet, the sweetness tones down and this turns into a clean floral musk on my skin. This has such a light throw, though. It's delicate and a very appropriate spring blend, however, it's a little too light to justify buying a bottle.

In the vial, this smells like a spicy wood. It's beautiful. I generally find most of the lab's wood notes to be on the dry side, but this is definitely creamier. I guess that's just how the black musk is playing with the cinnamon. Wet, it starts heading in a dry wood direction, but the cinnamon still stays strong. It's not an overwhelming cinnamon, nor is it a red hot candy type. It's more subdued and realistic. This is awesome. I'll have to experiment with it a bit more before making the final decision on a bottle.