alicia_stardust

Autumn is a beautiful dry leaf scent. The leaves remind me strongly of Samhain, but the difference is that this has a fine layer of sandalwood dust and a burst of rose absolute. It sticks around for a while and has a very strong atmospheric quality to it. This definitely smells like autumn.

This is a deep, rich blend of glowing resins and dark clove. The clove and patchouli are the most prominent, with the rose not far behind. As it settles into my skin I get the sandalwood, smooth and fine. The resins add a nice incense quality to this. Long wear-length, wide throw. Lovely, and I'm definitely keeping this.

This is a sweet and crisp scent. It is light and both fruity and sensual. This sort of brings to mind a lovely medley of colors: glowing white, green, lime green, pink, cobalt... The pear is by far the dominant note in this and it has a juicy green bite to it. The bamboo pulp brightens things and the jasmine adds a sensual sweetness. The freesia and plum are lovely. I smell the freesia as a soft, bright blue spring color. The combination of the ambergris, sugar, and violets adds a sort of dusky, powdery aspect to this. I find this to be a juicy, bright, glowing, feminine fragrance.

This is a soft, gorgeous blend of hazelnut and vanilla bean. There is a slight element of something chocolate-like beneath the vanilla and hazelnut. The amber provides a warm, soft base. The myrrh grounds it out a bit. The honey adds a sultry-sweetness. Overall the hazelnut dominates the blend but not so much that I can't enjoy the artistic interpretation of this blend. Lovely.

This scent is the most divine blend of resins I have ever encountered. It's as if it was made for me. I can't pick out a single thing about it that I would change. I get a complex mix of golden, glowing, sticky teardrops and dusty rocks of resin. There is a gummy bite and a layer of smoky-sweetness. The teakwood is beautiful. The myrrh adds a touch of darkness and the sandalwood provides a soothing, woody base for all of the resins. I can't get over how glowingly beautiful this is!

I hate airport searches. Sometimes I practically have to turn around and bend over to let them search me, and other times (this just happened recently) they don't even ask for my ID when I pick up my tickets. That's right, peeps. I didn't get ID'ed. When I went to C13 I was so paranoid about getting my BPAL home that I went and mailed it to myself with insurance and DC. Since then, I have just traveled with a few bottles and imps in my carry-on, in a ziploc. I have never even been questioned about it but even so, I always travel with replaceable BPAL and not something rare like Pumkin King. When I moved from OR to CA, I wrapped each bottle in bubble wrap, then put more bubble wrap around everything and stuffed each box full of padding. My ~250 bottles made it here just fine, even with the moving company.

Lysander is so much different than I expected. I get an almost-foody, nutty quality to it. The strongest parts of it is the tonka, which to me is a comforting and more decadent version of vanilla, and the benzoin. I don't smell much of the other notes, but the violet adds a touch of softness and the musk adds a slight sharpness. I find this to be very calming and gentle.

This is a dark red wine that is smooth and sweet. The wine and the plum are so very gorgeous together. They dominate the blend in a deep red-purple richness, but the amber is underneath it all and has a soft powdery resin quality. I can't pick out the champaca but the white musk is there in the background. I really think this is pretty. It is very distinctive and if you like plum then this is probably one that you should run out and buy!

(Dark Delicacies re-release) This smells just like a rich, smoky-sweet incense with a slight gummy bite to it. It reminds me of sandalwood and frankincense, and I know there are other resins in there as well. While I find it similar to Al Azif and Midnight Mass, this smells a bit darker and more earthy than Al Azif and is softer and smoother than Midnight Mass. In any case, this is an amazing incense scent. I can't wait to try this as a room scent.

Blood Phoenix is sweet and grape-like. Despite that, this still smells "red" to me, and not purple. The red musk is present but not dominant. The dragon's blood resin gives me a sharp tingle and the myrrh and sweet myrrh darken and ground this and prevent it from smelling too candy-like. As time passes, the dry bite of the poppy comes into play and, as with the resins and musk, it tempers the juicy grape scent. I can distinctly smell carnation and its floral spice as well. Overall this is a very bold, red scent due to the resins, poppy, and musk. The wine grape, mimosa, and carnation sweeten and lighten the boldness to create a rich, blood-like scent that is also sweet like a fine, dark wine.

LIGUR Ligur is dark and fiery. It is very heavy on the khus and black moss which bring it an earthy, dank quality. There is an almost medicinal quality to this. The resins add a dark, gummy bite but they remain subdued next to the dominant khus. This is very interesting—earthy, dark, autumnal, dry, fiery, fiendish!

HASTUR This is very dark and heavy with an almost medicinal quality to it. It is actually very, very nice! It has a dark, sticky resin quality that is weighted by a light, sweet smoke and the barest hint of tobacco. The brimstone serves as the base and it is recognizable yet doesn't dominate the scent. The labdanum seems to be the most noticeable part of this blend and as a whole it has a strong throw and a long wear-length. It is a perfect Hastur scent.

FAMINE Wow! From the description I had no idea if I would like this or not, but it is fantastic. It smells gender neutral to me and has a sort of musky, resinous base, a light dry tea and tobacco accent, and a top layer of honeyed lilacs. I have no idea where the sweet honey scent is coming from but I think it is, in part, the tobacco and the way it mingles with some of the other notes. This sticks close to my skin but lasts quite a while. I'm definitely going to keep this one.

POLLUTION This has a distinct green ozone scent to it. It is sharp and musky and the ozone causes this to present as almost masculine. I find that Pollution has a clean, cool, citrus-like scent that sits over the other notes, and that helps add to the radioactive part of the concept. This is really nice. Oddly enough, I find this sort of refreshing.

MADAME TRACY This is a sweet, comforting sort of floral blend. It actually reminds me of my grandmother in a good way; it envelops me in a floral hug and kiss from a motherly figure. The rose sits on top but the lily and geranium are not far behind. I do get some of the violet; it sort of softens things and blurs the lines between the other notes. This is clean and light but it has a strong throw and an almost perfumey aspect to it. It fits Madame Tracy well.

MECHANICAL PHOENIX I can't get over this. I've been trying to finish this review for over an hour and my eyes keep misting up. Talk about Proustian memory. When I first smelled this I had a sudden flash of myself as a child, running around my Dad's shop, jumping oil puddles and grease stains, climbing over car jacks, and hiding behind toolboxes. But this is more than a memory that has welled up. This scent IS my dad; it's his life and work, his work ethic, his innovative and mechanical, power-driven approach to everything. It fits so well with the concept that Beth set forth for this anniversary Phoenix. She nailed the scent. Mechanical Phoenix smells like cogs and gears, metal tools, and dirty smears of oil that mar the sheen of smooth metals. This is a gentle scent, despite the metal and oil. It has a unisex/masculine air about it and a sweet, light background that I believe might be a floral or light musk. Mechanical Phoenix is what I would smell when I'd run up to hug my dad; even after cleaning up there would be a slight tinge of the scent of motor oil that mingled with his cologne. I find that combination both rugged and genteel at the same time. This would smell great on any male, or on anyone that likes light metallic, cool scents, or on anyone that likes the uniqueness of a fragrance that invokes motor oil as part of its outcome.

LA BELLE AU BOIS DORMANT I get mostly plumeria, pear, and rose in a beautiful triplicate. This is feminine and intoxicating but it isn't overwhelmingly strong. The tuberose lends a beautiful, powdery quality to this. I find this to be very sweet and calm—a fitting expression for the Sleeping Beauty. ADDED May 6: This has a ghostly, watery quality that lends itself to the pear and plumeria. The plumeria is quite prominent, heady, sweet. The tuberose peeks in for a bit and I love the way it has a dusky, soft, almost waxy petal scent. This is very feminine and gentle.

URUK Uruk is a strong, sweet almond scent but the almond does not dominate the blend as it is wont to do. Instead it is present, but the other notes are allowed to mingle with it on even terms. I get a lot of jasmine, a touch of cinnamon, and hints of bergamot, lilies, and patchouli. This has a sort of rich, decadent, glowing, glittering quality to it.

R'LYEH This... this is freaking awesome! It took me a while to pinpoint what I was smelling but it is a dark and brooding, EVIL grapefruit! On a more serious note, though, this is a very dark aquatic that speaks to murky depths, evil, and chaos. I can't believe I haven't taken notice of this one before now! I need more!

HIGHWAYMAN In the most endearing way possible, I find this to be... vegetatively feral. It's the vetiver. It is the first and last thing I smell and it seems to have an almost gunpowder-like kick to it. It has a very dark green and black smell to it. I can't smell much else besides the vetiver and a touch of leather. I know this would work great on a guy but it's too strong for me!

NYARLATHOTEP This has a charged, clean scent ozone that sits just above a swarthy, dark incense. It reminds me of myrrh and something else that is almost earthy and fiery. There is a touch of something citrus that is possibly lemongrass or grapefruit. Overall this has a masculine tinge to it but I like it anyway. It's really fitting a scent for Nyarlathotep.

ROBIN GOODFELLOW This is amazing! It is musky, dark, mossy, green, and slightly herbal. It has a clean edge to it, yet it is very murky and almost spicy. It is very woodsy and yet not too masculine. This is a surprise hit for me!

GONERIL This is predominantly cedarwood, softened by mutable flowers. Even though I know there isn't pepper in here, there is an almost peppery quality to the way that the cedarwood and florals mingle. The florals are simultaneously sweet, yet dusky. I think the lilies add the sweetness and the orchid adds the duskiness. This has a tendency to go a bit soapy, but not overly so. It's really a good one for anyone that likes woods and especially cedar. The cedar in this reminds me of Red Queen.

PHANTOM QUEEN This has a regal, sultry, sexual tone to it. It is dominated by lusty orchid, which is full and voluptuous and dusky. Beyond that I get a touch of herbs and a mixed floral undertone. This is complex and yet I can't put my finger on individual notes beyond the orchid. All I know is that it is very sensual, feminine, and strong.

TITANIA This is a fruity floral. The icy pear sits the strongest, with a bit of grape and lots of sweet pea. I do detect some of the other notes in there, bu the sweet pea and pear seem to be the strongest. This has a very sweet, innocent, girlie feeling to it. It's light and breezy.