kashmira

Oman frankincense, cistus labdanum, white sandalwood, and liquidambar. On me, the frankincense starts off very strong and almost single note-like, but soon the sandalwood and labdanum start to come out. This blend, once dry, really becomes a beautiful, slightly woody, incense type blend with medium throw. This makes it a pleasure to sniff, but it doesn't overwhelm a room. Overall, for those who love resin-incense type blends, In Templum Dei will not disappoint.

17-year aged black patchouli, champaca flower, cardamom bud, green coriander, Haitian vetiver, red vegetal musk, black pepper, night-blooming jasmine, and leather. Funnel of Love starts out of the gate smelling very strongly of patchouli, cardamon,and pepper. As it dries, it becomes sweeter and richer, as the leather and musk begin to warm up. Eventually, a hint of jasmine and champaca flower do pop up, but overall, this is a much heavier, much more "earthy" type of scent. It is a scent that means business and is fairly assertive. I admit I was a bit wary of Funnel of Love as it had a few notes that could possibly go wonky on me, but it has very pleasantly surprised me!

Uncompromising idealism, haunted romanticism, fatal ennui, and a heady amount of scandal and vice: red roses and pale carnation with a draught of laudanum, smears of opium tar, a hint of absinthe, and mercury ointment. Wet, this starts out with a medicinal, almost bitter smell that quickly morphs into red rose and laudanum. As it dries on my skin, the carnation takes a front seat and tends to be very assertive. It pretty much stays all carnation all the time, though eventually a bit of the opium tar peeks through. To my nose, overall this has a "high pitched" floral scent which isn't necessarily to my taste. On the plus side, it has a ton of throw and lasts for hours. Interestingly enough, I tend to get a lot of compliments from women on this scent, but my husband and guy friends all find it somewhat 'meh.'

Brown leather, dusted by the spices of his many voyages: cardamom, red sandalwood, sweet clove, white mastic, mandrake powder, and galangal. This scent is definitely fitting for a dashing, mysterious adventurer! The leather note in the bottle is definitely a new-ish brown leather -- not quite worn in, but still fairly smooth. However, once on my skin, this scent transforms into a melange of roots and spices as well as what seems to be campfire smoke. I suspect it is the red sandalwood that is coming across as this note. The leather is still there in the background, but overall the spices really dominate. To my nose, this one almost smells like I wore a new-ish brown leather jacket around a campfire and sniffed said jacket the day after.

Leather, thick black fur, yeti musk, red roses, and a waft of opium smoke. This spray is simply gorgeous. I sprayed this on my pillow and oh goodness, it is amazing. At first sniff, I notice a nice strong musk but given a little time on fabric, the rose and leather come out. However, they are very well balanced and the notes blend marvelously. To my nose, it is fairly strong, so a few squirts will definitely go a long way, Even my husband who doesn't like too many strong room scents approves of this one. I daresay it is almost the perfect complement to my beloved Eldritch Dark. I am thoroughly in love with this scent.

Red musk and belladonna blossom for Hel’s red rooster, amber and copal for Gullinkambir, and pimento-soaked red clove for Fialar. Of all the Ragnarok scents, this is the one I was most interested in trying. In the bottle, I smell a deep, herbal-root smell with a tinge of clove. On my skin, the clove is at the forefront, with some amber and perhaps belladonna in the background. As it settles on my skin, the clove starts to slowly recede to the background, letting copal be more noticeable. Overall, though, the clove is mostly dominant on my skin, which is nice. The red musk doesn't come out until much later in the drydown and even then, it is not as strong as it normally is. After the initial blast of clove, this tends to be a 'sticks close to my skin' scent and doesn't seem to have a huge amount of throw. Overall, I definitely like this one, though I hope with time the clove settles a bit.

Bulgarian rose, ambrette seed absolute, saffron, white pear, oudh, and a touch of oakmoss. This oil has changed over the months that I've had it. When I first received it, it was strong Bulgarian rose with very little of the other notes present. Several months later, there is something sharp and green that stomps all over the rose. I think it is the oak moss, but it is a little difficult to tell. Eventually, the rose comes back after 20 minutes or so, but it is not as strong as it was originally. Overall, I like this bath oil, but as a rose lover, I prefer the oil fresh rather than aged.

The last lamenting kiss: velvet red rose absolute with sweet myrrh, amber honey, and red sandalwood. The scent reminds me of a heavy-lidded beauty, face upturned, lips poised to provide one final kiss.. Wet on my skin, the amber and myrrh are most prominent. Once dry, the sandalwood and rose decide to take over, with the luscious rose mostly dominating. Over all this one is truly lovely. I'm very glad I have a bottle.

Love and Time and Sin: red rose, Saturnian opoponax, and red musk. The red musk is mostly dominant when wet, but once dry, the opoponax comes out and takes over. There is a hint of rose, but for once, it is not taking over the entire scent as it usually does. Overall, this stays pretty much resinous on my skin, though whiffs of red roses and red musk come out every so often. To me, this combination of scents is very deep and sophisticated, mournful and sexy. It captures the essence of deep ardent love that has come and left; now only the memories and scars from those passionate days and nights remain. While this one isn't quite as complex note-wise as some other Luper scents, it does reflect the title of the poem perfectly. This one is definitely a keeper in my book.

Child of Aphrodite and Ares, Hedylogos is the God of Sweet Talk and Flattery. His gilded words are perfumed with honeyed rose and the quicksilver scent of mastic and olibanum. Ah rose, how I love thee! In the bottle, I mostly detect rose with a small amount of sweetness. On my skin, it is all rose, all the time. I recognise this rose note from some other blends -- it seems to be of the Bulgarian rose variety, rather than the 'haughty rose' of Peacock Queen or 'fresh cut rose' of Rose Red. I don't detect much olibanum or honey, but past experience with these notes tells me I need to give this one a few months in the dark box for them to make their presence known. Overall, this is a wonderful addition to the GC catalogue!

A kiss of fire and frankincense: exquisite Hojari frankincense painted with red benzoin, Ceylon cinnamon, blood rose, pimento, and jasmine hedoine. Frankincense and rose are 2 of my favourite notes, so when I read the description for this one, I definitely needed a bottle. In the bottle, a strong resin-y scent is most prominent. Wet on my skin, the frankincense dominates and for a brief time, it seems as though it is the only note present. After about 20 minutes, the rose takes over and beats the frankincense until it abdicates its resinous throne. There is a secondary note that peeks up in the drydown that I believe is jasmine hedione -- it doesn't scream true jasmine to my nose, but does seem to be in the same family. I can't detect any cinnamon or pimento, but perhaps with some aging, they might make their presence known as well. Overall this is more a pretty floral on my skin rather than a resin-heavy blend. It is very nice and light and seems perfect for those wanting a fresh spring scent.

Unfailing golden arrows dipped in lust: shimmering amber and copal with red musk, red patchouli, beeswax, hay sugar, and a drop of Turkish rose. I love any excuse to take a long hot highly scented bath. Lust bath salts are a perfect way to ensure I have a fabulous bath! My bath salts in the jar were deeply scented. Mostly in the jar I noticed red musk and patchouli, but once they were sprinkled in the bath, the other notes (mainly amber and copal) also scented the entire bathroom. I used two small palm-full amounts and there is still plenty more in the jar. Also, I was pleased to find that the bath salts dissolved very quickly in the water, which allowed me to enjoy the bath even faster. My skin was left lightly scented as well as perfectly soft and smooth.

Whips, chains, goblin-sized leather harnesses, and Excitable Goblin Musk! Of all the atmosphere sprays, this was one that I was most looking forward to trying. It did not disappoint, though it has taken me by surprise. The leather in this one is similar to what one might find in an upscale riding stable -- it is polished, gleaming brown leather, not the black harsh leather like I was expecting. Underneath of the leather, I get a smell which reminds me of hemp rope, which can have a hay-like smell. I don't smell any metal thus far, but there is definitely a funky musk lurking in the middle of all of these notes. The notes all come together and are quite nice. I can see this spray being popular with people who want something very different from your "typical" atmosphere spray.

A goblin’y take on Smut! Smutty Goblin Musk sweetened with sugar and tonka, and woozy with dark booze notes. I simply couldn't wait to try this straight out of the mailbox. This, by far and large, is one of the most fantastic HG scents I have ever tried. To me, it is like the best brown sugary parts of Sugar Skull decided to have a romp in bed with the best musk(and non grapey) notes of Smut. It's slightly boozy and I'm so overcome with joy that I'm feeling kinda woozy! I'm thrilled to pieces with this HG.

White Peach and Incense HG+Temple Viper work rather well together.