Monday

:D Anyways, I had an aged bottle and as far as I can remember it was pretty much all smoky caramel. But in a grown-up way, I can't say it was very foody or floral. Salon blends are a lot more difficult to figure out.

I confess I really didn't like this oil when it was fresh, the frankincense stomped all over the rest of the notes. I got the decant only because jonquil was listed but i didn't get any of it. But now, oh boy... I get the musk, sandalwood, resins and the same honey note that's also in Blossoms in Springtime. It is quite sweet. The jonquil makes an appearance when Liaison is almost dry together with a very faint clove (I'm thankful for that because I can't stand clove). I feel like Liaison is in the same scent-family as Blossoms in Springtime, they're probably siblings. Blossoms is the vanillary, innocent type, Liaison is more resiny and sexy. I'm glad i kept my decant and may upgrade it to a bottle.

I love Jungle too, it has a lot of patchouli in it. The Lab uses a significantly different patchouli note though. I haven't found anything close to Jungle yet be it GC or LE. On a different note Ceanothus Silkmoth resembles Flying Fox.

Many thanks to the amazing frimper! Black Opal with orange. Well that was the shortest review ever. It's very pretty, but fades quickly on my skin. I'm going to be needing a bottle to slather.

Thanks angelamaria for the tester! Sri Lanka! Dolly Kei has the same woods/resins combo that Sri Lanka has. Pair that with the dark tobacco from the Antikythera Mechanism and add lots of frankincense et voila: Dolly Kei. Dolly Kei starts out as sharp sandalwood paired with myrrh. Tobacco quickly comes to the foreground and dominates the blend together with frankincense. This is a lot more resin that I had bargained for. It doesn't morph a lot when it dries down. The vanilla is pretty much non-existent bourbon vanilla tends to be very faint on my skin (Sonnet D'Automne made me realize that). There is a sweetness to it that might be the vanilla though. The notes in order of strength on my skin are: tobacco, resiny woods, myrrh, frankincense, vanilla. Smoky, resiny woods. If it wasn't so sweet I'd have called it masculine but this is definitely unisex. On my skin it fades quickly, maybe aging the blend will help. Dolly Kei has too much tobacco for me. If you like The Antikythera Mechanism, tobacco, resins and woods this is a good blend for you.

This has that classic feeling which is very fitting for it's name. I actually smell green lilac and orris. Since there isn't any orris listed it must be a combo of the notes making it smell like orris (possibly the paperwhite narcissus). It's a bit too generic for me though.

Wow this is seriously fruity. This blend made me realize that I do not like to smell of pineapple. At all. My hopes were for the banana (that's what she said). But this is all pineapple on my skin, it has a bit of a honeyed feel. Not for me.

On my skin wet: Spicy patchouli a hint of cologne and some orris. Where is that bergamot? On my skin dry: Dusty woodsy patchouli and orris the pink pepper is adding a little spiciness. This reminds me a bit of Dance of Death, Boystyle Aristocrat may well be the manly counterpart. Still no bergamot. I don't really find this overly masculine. Ends up as a light, dusty sophisticated spicy purple patchouli. What I really wanted from Boystyle was bergamot though, it's the only thing I'm missing in here. It fits the style though.

Wet: Sharp salty sea, a bit masculine. Dry: This turns into dryer sheets on my skin, minty dryer sheets. Not a scent for me.

On my skin wet: Plum! Juicy plum, with a hint of tobacco, not ashtray tobacco but the kind that gives a bit of kick to a scent. Some greenness is showing up behind the plum I think it's the sage. The lemongrass is twining itself between the notes. This is way nicer than I had expected. On my skin dry: Fragrant plum is still the foremost note. I'm not getting coconut, opium tar is present but not obnoxiously so. Vetiver...nope not getting any vetiver here, I guess my skin amps plum so that it just drowns out everything else. The notes in order of strength on my skin are: plum, tobacco, lemongrass, opium tar, sage. Either the rest of the notes just get drowned out or they are melding really well. Thank goodness that frankincense doesn't show up though. Actually this is rather girly on me, like a plummy version of Ninon. I've been avoiding plum since Mme. Moriarty and Snake Charmer both gave me a headache, obviously I can do white plum. I'd love to see this note used in more scents.

Leather leather leather. Pure dark spicy leather. If you like De Sade I'd say The Black Rider is the next best thing to this. Or you could hold out for a Leather SN.

Wet on my skin: Perfumey beets... Wow this is powerful and heady. Goes on as soapy beets. On my skin dry: This is giving me a headache. Very heady spicy soap with a hint of beets, has a ton of throw on my skin. I'm sure this will suit someone but that someone is not me.

On my skin wet: Fruity with a hint of dirt. Kind of perfumey. On my skin dry: This isn't a morpher it stays nice and fruity with a hint of greens. It reminds me a bit of the kiwi note in That! The Terror From Over There. I'm not getting any radishes, if you like radishes try Doozers. This is quite a nice light scent.

I haven't tried the released version of Boadicea so I can't compare them. On my skin wet: Boadicea v9 starts out with black musk, lemony black musk. There is something behind that, possibly some amber? It reminds me of L'Estate but with a hint of wood. Very nice. On my skin dry: It's warming up. It now smells like a cross between Haunted and L'Estate. It's also slightly reminiscent of Inez. A spicy ambery floral with added black musk. This is perfect for warm weather. I like it a lot. Boadicea v9 doesn't have a lot of throw on my skin though.

On my skin wet: Incense with a hint of grapefruit. It's a soft scent, it feels a bit smoky but it isn't if that makes sense. When it's drying down the guiac woods comes forward. On my skin dry: Dark woodsy incense. The orris is giving the blend a hint of purpleness. Hm I'm not really enjoying this one, maybe incense blends just aren't my thing. Off to the swaps with this bottle.

On my skin wet: Mandarin? Like a freshly peeled mandarin. There's something underneath that that I can't quite pinpoint it smells a bit like greyish soap. On my skin dry: Persistent soapiness, where did that delicious mandarin go? The soap smells a bit of anise and honey. Meliai has quite some throw, but is not something I enjoy wearing.

Opens with a sharp lavender. When it's dry the white musk and oudh come out and it softens remarkably. Dream is very well blended I can't pick out any of the notes once it's dry, it ends up nice and smooth.

Argh I had just crossed Orpheus off my list. But really, Beatrice and The Unicorn? Darn. The Sailor's Den also didn't survive the cut, I fear it'll have too much tobacco. (actually most of the salon blends have/had three of my death notes: frankincense, tobacco or tea.)

In the imp: Strangely foody...poppy cake. On my skin wet: Cakey poppy, slightly green. When it's drying down the cake disappears and a bit of citrus appears. Still rather green. On my skin dry: Tart, fruity poppy. It's getting more perfumey, I wonder if the floral note is the poppy or the acai. I have some poppy perfumes but they don't have this light sweet scent. I had always assumed poppy to be a bit of an earthy, green floral. This ends up as a light fruity perfume. It's nice, but the floral in it doesn't call to me.

Hm Melancholia is disconned so that's one less I guess. Too bad though the notes look amazing, must try to find some.

I tried a few Salon blends, two or three at the most. I have a couple that I want to try though. My first list went up to 10 scents this morning but I really don't have 300 bucks right now. I have now narrowed it down to 8... Lucretia Orpheus Three Brides Melancholia Three Gorgons Bat Love and Pain Sunrise with Sea Monsters I'll need to reread the reviews on those carefully.

#28 This is a tough one. Amber, moss and a green floral. Chrysanthemum? Marigold? It's bright and cheerful. Not something for me though.

I had the questionable honor to come across Eris before. It smelled of well, poo that time, floral poo though. Maybe I'll have a better experience with this imp. Wet: Cat poo. Must. Resist. Urge. To. Wash. Off. Dry: Still a hint of feline incontinence in the background. But the other notes are trying really hard to cover that up with smooth almost vanilla-like fruits. To no avail, really. This is just not for me. Bad kitty!

This is very pretty in the vial. Wet: Flowers with a hint of dirt. Gorgeous flowers. I think I must have walked by some rose geraniums but I have never smelled them. from now on I'll stick my nose in every one I see. Dry: This is actually kind of cozy. Like sitting in your backyard when it just rained. Earthy, slightly green, airy floral. But I think I liked the wet stage better, there is a hint of sour powder, possibly the spanish moss, when it's dry.