Chanter

Re: a World Where There Are Octobers... I've actually got that one! and you're right, it's lovely. Thanks!

Okay, I'll play. It's been a while since I stuck my nose in the forums, and I really should remedy that! My top 5 in no particular order, and good gosh but it isn't easy picking these! are: Morocco Dragon's Eye Dragon's Bone Cicuta October 2011 that doesn't even get into the scents I love but have to be in a specific sort of mood to wear, or the ones that aren't quite in the top 5 but are still marvelous, or... Ah heck. Anyway. runners up, for further information, are Helena, Juniper Hairstreak, Rose Red 2011, Squirting Cucumber and Anne Bonnie.

I'm a true rose fan, so I was definitely going to try this when decant circles went up. In the imp: Mmm, rose as advertized, as well as something sharper - that must be the dew-covered aspect, or maybe it's a representation of winter. Nice, if a little unexpected, anyhow. Wet on skin: Much the same as in the imp; this one doesn't morph much at all on me. That sharp note is still there, mingling with the rose itself, and it's really starting to grow on me the more I sniff it. On drydown: This mellows a bit, but really doesn't alter much scent-wise. I like it! Hanging onto this one for sure.

Seconding Dragon's Eye here, and how! I'm also a serious lilac fan, and Dragon's Eye was one of the first two imps I ever ordered. I think it's heavenly... but your mileage may vary depending on skin chemistry. Note to self: try The Lilac Wood at some point or other.

Aha! I've had a reply from the lab, and it sounds like October 2011 is backordered. That explains it! I'm much less squirmy now that I know that, and I'm looking forward to October 2011 even more than I already was, now. If it's backordered, it must be really lovely!

That makes perfect sense, and I'm glad to know someone else just got a CNS. Thanks! I figured there'd been a mad rush to place 'Weenie orders, I just wasn't sure if... you know... mine had slipped through the cracks or something. Twitchy me.

Okay, I'm totally being paranoid here, but I'm squirming like a squirming thing and wondering if my order's been eaten or something. I ordered on the eighth of September, and according to CCNow the lab has my order as of the thirteenth... but I haven't yet seen a CNS, and I'm in the U.S. From the look of the CNS thread, lots and lots of people who ordered on the same date or after are getting their orders already... does this happen often? Only one of the three bottles I have coming is a 'Weenie, October 2011. The other two are Morocco and Helena. I... just really want to know what's up. I e-mailed the lab and haven't heard back yet, thugh I imagine they're insanely busy at the e-mail end of things too. So... does anybody know if sometimes one bottle or so causes a delay? Or am I just being twitchy?

In the bottle: Mmm, this's a lovely woody cinnamon at first sniff, though I pick up hints of the amber and saffron as well. Wet on skin: Yup, the cinnamon's still there, but it's not overpowering. It plays really very nicely with the woods, the amber, and what I'm guessing is the frankincense. This must be extremely well-blended, because the cedar doesn't leap out at me like it does with Sri Lanka. That's plenty fine with me! On drydown: This doesn't morph much at all on me. It does linger though, so I was getting whiffs of marvelously cinnamony woodiness all day. I like this one!

A sensuous, deep berry bouquet: blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries with Morello cherries, apricots, and strawberries, swirled in heady red musk and brandy. I got this as a tester with a decant circle, thank you! In the imp: This smells much like it says on the tin, so to speak. I don't get much of the brandy at all, though there might be a little of the musk in the background. Mostly wild berries, though. Wet on skin: Yup, wild berries ahoy. I still don't get the brandy note, but that's okay with me. On drydown: This reminds me a *lot* of the berry scent in Blood Countess. It mellows after a while and hasn't got a lot of throw on me, but it's still a perfectly nice berry scent. I know some people have said the red musk overpowers everything else, but it doesn't do that at all for me. I'll enjoy the rest of the tester, I know that much.

In the bottle: This one's rather similar to Atlas at first sniff; I expect the woody notes are doing that. I like Atlas, so that's not a bad thing. On skin: The similarity to Atlas is still there, only without the mallow note, which was a little strong for me anyway. The woods are definitely there, plus something sharp that's probably the macha tea and mandarin mingling. The cocoa appears and the sage peeps out juuuust a wee bit as this dries, and there's something smoky in the background that from other peoples' descriptions I'm going to guess is galangal. Liking this one so far. On drydown: The cocoa gets stronger, but that's not at all a bad thing. Beyond that, this one doesn't morph much on me, so I end up with a lovely, cocoa-y, woody, slightly sharp tea-hinted scent. Mmmm. I am most certainly keeping this decant, and if I'm not careful, there may well be a bottle of this in my future.

I got this as a frimp from another forumite, thank you! To me, this one smells almost like a prototype version of Miskatonic University. The coffee and hazelnut are definitely there, mmm. I need to try this properly and see if there's dust in this one as well. If not, I'm going to adore this one.

Oooooh, now that I think about it, I'd love to see a few more lesbian-inspired or bi-inspired scents, especially bi ones! Hmm. There's a whole series of something.goths floating around; could there possibly be a somethingorother.girl series turning feminine and non-straight stereotypes on their heads in a similar fashion? Hmmm...

In the imp: It's true, this one really does smell like friendly, grassy greenness. There's definitely cucumber here, as the name suggests, but also something that could almost be cabbage? Not a bad smell, anyway, just a little unexpected. On skin: The cabbagey smell goes away, but the friendly greenness doesn't. It gets more grassy out of the bottle. I like this one. On drydown: It's still that friendly grassy sort of scent, but it's not lawn clippings grassy at all. It's more meadowy, with the suggestion of dandelions gone to seed or clover in the background. It fades almost completely after a couple hours, which only means I'll need to reapply it on the days that I wear it. This'll be a good scent for later December, January and February, when it gets the most horribly cold and snowy here.

I just got this one at the Madison meet 'n' sniff, and I had to try it today. In the imp: The incense and cedar are the strongest notes I can pick up. I liked this one at first sniff yesterday. On skin: The cedar gets a bit stronger than the incense, and reminds me a little of Baghdad for it. That's not a bad thing. On drydown: The pachouli I think? and something sweeter/tropical that almost reminds me of Mouse's Long and Sad Tale make their presences known, though the cedar, as well as hints of the incense and sandalwood are still there, especially if I don't sniff my arm too closely. I'm liking this one. I'll be hanging onto it and wearing it, that I know. This mellows after an hour or so, and then the cedar starts to get stronger again. Mmmm.

In the bottle: Ooooh. I went into this one rather expecting to like it, and I wasn't wrong! I get a lovely, woody, incensey smell with something almost nutty in addition. I like this already. Wet on skin: Still pleasantly nutty, still woody, still with a wonderful sharper incense smell that almost reminds me of the saffron in Baghdad. There's something faintly creamy here as well; must be the mallow. I liiiiike this. On drydown: The incensey note mellows just a bit, as does the wood, and now the mallow is coming out a bit more. If it were any stronger, I might object, but as it is I haven't got much of a problem. There's still plenty of the lovely saffron-y and woody notes, and when things combine, they almost do smell leathery or canvas-y if I think about it. This reminds me of summers camping in the Wisconsin woods. I'll be keeping my decant, that's for sure. There miiiight be a bottle in my future too, I'll have to see.