melange

Also a frimp. Thank you, Lab! I got the same citrus-mint-aquatic-snow sense. The back of one finger, where I first applied it, seems slightly more minty while the other finger, the one I blotted it with, is more sweet/floral. Any waft of pine disappeared quickly. This is clean, fresh, just right for... refreshing.

I love this when I first smell it, but when it hits my skin, it fades and turns into a particular kind of sweat. I'll use my decant, but in a scent locket!

If Michael had a voice, he'd be a tenor. This has a complicated qualiy that makes me want to sniff it again and again; it's pale and layered without being piercing. Don't hold me to it, but every now and again, I catch a whiff that reminds me somehow of Antique Lace.

Buen Viaje is strong and spicy on my skin, but with a sweet side; after getting to try the tonka SN, it's fun recognizing some here! I'm not sure if I recognize the hiba wood but I think it's adding a little freshness to round out the sandalwood. My one worry is tumeric: it likes to amp on me, and here it's straining at the leash, just on the verge of taking over.

This is slippery saltwater on my skin, immediately evoking a mermaid, and sweetens up over time. No baby powder here!

Strong green floral at first, which fades in a couple of minutes to a prettiness that the myrrh makes more interesting, only then the myrrh draws a veil over the rest and leaves just a quiet floral softness. It's like a meadow you can take with you. (It lasts a while, too.) I'll have to bring this out again when we're actually in springtime.

It's a wash of menthol/pine cold at first, followed by sweetness. There's good throw from my skin. It's lovely as it is but also seems as though it would layer well.

Sharp and somewhat bitter, the first onrush of scent seems to be generally attributed to lavender, but I normally like lavender and this still doesn't smell right to me. I suspect that repeat offenders myrtle and cognac are sharpening things. The patchouli is trying to help everyone get along and eventually makes the scent herbal, but it's a prickly sort of herbal compared to Christmas Eve on the Moor.

I liked The Shivering Boy very much, but this decant doesn't agree at all with my skin. Maybe it's the balsam + chamomile? It just smells off, somewhat sour, especially on the right-hand side. No cold winey grapes for me!

This is another scent that is wonderfully evocative of its description. When I first tried the decant, I saw it as old wood bookcases with beeswax rubbed in years ago, long enough now that you can only sniff that old warmth when you're looking for it. After having let the decant sit for a couple weeks, though... this is amazing. Beeswax and incense and so many good things, and better, it lasts and lasts. It reminds me of Morocco, not that it smells just the same, but there's something about it. This may be my favorite of this year's Yules.

It really does smell metallic and cold on my skin. (Yes for ozone, no for lemon.) Unfortunately, it also gives me a headache.

This is wholesale dark fruity baked goods on my skin: moist, spicy, sweet and strong. Plain fig usually amps on me, but this figgy pudding handles much better. I'm surprised by how good this smells, and I like its throw.

When wet, and in its early stages, this is very plantlike on my skin. I can identify the carrot seed and lovage but I'm not sure what bog myrtle smells like. After maybe ten or fifteen minutes, the muddle of smells stays a mixture but becomes clean and refreshing while feeling somehow cool in temperature. I'll have to bring this decant out in the summertime.

What does this smell like? Wet, it smells very familiar, like one particular thing, only I just can't place it. As it dries, it stays pretty true on my skin, just quieter. I can't get over this one. It also lasts longer on my skin than some of the other Yules this year.

Wet, this scent strongly disagrees with my skin. It's not the vetiver, or not just vetiver, because often vetiver and I do very well together; I think the black currant and myrrh take it too far in the wrong direction. As it dries, though, it begins to blend and balance more, until it settles down into a warm skin scent on my left hand (if slightly more sour on my right). It's like crushed velvet with a waft of incense.