alicia_stardust

The Coil is a very clean and tangy scent. It's cool but not cold. It's mostly mint and eucalyptus, but the orchid sort of lends it a lower pitched duskiness that keeps this from taking off toward being a sharp ozone scent. The lotus adds another cool colored floral to this but remains soft. I can't quite detect the ginger. This is unisex and is a very nice, clean, energized scent. It has strong throw and long wearlength on me.

Violet Ray is a cool shot of electric purple. The mint is not minty, but cool, and it adds a nice jolt to the varied shades of purple: purple musk, violets, lilac... There's a sweetness to this blend and also a freshness; it literally smells like violets (with their leaves) and other plants are going to burst forth out of the bottle. The sandalwood sort of fills in the background and it seems like the violets take center stage as the rest of the notes begin to fade first. This is a must try for anyone that likes or loves violets. It's a unique violet that, while compared to Ultraviolet, is still in its own class. I need a full bottle of this one. =)

This seems like it has vetiver, but instead of being dark and vegetative, it has more of an ozone, stone, and metal sort of twist to it. I definitely the get sense of billowing black clouds of dirty air. This is one of those "how did Beth do it?" sort of blends. I almost find myself with the reaction of covering my mouth against the thick and dirty air. Highly evocative!

In the bottle this smells like a fresh, light, warm tea. It's soothing and relaxing and has a hint of greenness to it. As it dries, however, the wasabi really takes over and turns this into a bracing, biting scent. It has a very strong throw and the wasabi comes across as green, spicy, and dry. It's really hard to quantify this fragrance because it has a very arid and spicy aspect, yet there is the lightness of the black tea and honey. This is invigorating without calling on the oft-used citrus for such things.

I really like this one. This isn't the standard poppy fragrance that we are used to. It is lighter and brighter and more plant-like. There's a soft, almost green herbal quality to this with a bit of an astringent bite, and the acai berries seem to just barely dominate the poppy flowers and give this an orange-red tone. The honey is subtle but it is in there. The fragrance sticks around for quite a while and has a very nice throw, one that smells very similar to what it smells like on my skin, yet has an added sweetness. This is my second favorite of the Pharmacopoeia blends. =)

This is very much like the reviews say. It smells like root beer to me, but it's very thick and refined. As the oil dries it takes on a stronger vanilla tone and I think it's the CO2 butter extract that makes this into more of a creme soda than root beer. The sassafrass has a nice rooty quality to it once the CO2 butter and vanilla ease up a bit. It has a strong throw and a little goes a long way.

This is much more earthy than I expected it to be, but it has a nice depth to it that I like. This is mostly patchouli from start to finish, but the violets add a bit of softness and duskiness and there's a short stage where I can smell a bit of the currants. There's even a hint of sweetness from the violets that peeks in around the edges of the earthy patchouli root.

Cinnamon and patchouli: red and spicy and dark! The resins are a really nice touch to this red, fiery scent and the clove adds a bit of spice to it. I can only barely detect the peach, but I think it does sweeten this with a bit of warm nectar.

This is very much dandelion to me: both yellow and bright and green with a milky, sticky substance. On top of that I smell hops that are fresh, and a touch of booziness. The tobacco adds a touch of sweetness but it a light accent to me. Very evocative blend.

Thick, dark, sluggish and heavy with indolence: vetiver over black myrrh. Vetiver with a bit of spice and musk. It's masculine and strong, but dark and slow. Very fitting for the name.

This is strong, heady opium at first, but then the vetiver deepens it and turns this more masculine. It has a vastness to this, and it's very nice even though it's too masculine for me. Opium and vetiver lovers, check this one out!

I get mostly apple blossom (with a bit of an extra apple kick in there) with rose, but after a while the ylang ylang is noticeable and the honey lends an earthy-sweet, almost musky quality to the apple blossom. Lovely, light, feminine, innocent (kinda). =)

I love that there are so many playful, bright notes in this: grapefruit, lime, bergamot are noticeable to me. These are offset by the weight of the patchouli, which together with the bright notes seems to evoke the fun playfulness of a croquet game with a touch of dirt from the ground.

This is dark and biting and very sinister. It has a masculine edge to it and is mostly dark vetiver, dark musk, and only the slightest touch of tangerine to brighten this. Very strong throw and long wear-length.

This is red ginger with musks and a touch of something both regal and feral. This is another favorite of mine, and one that gets better with age. I turn to it whenever I want something warm and spicy and comforting. It projects far and I get a lot of compliments on it.

This is green and glowing, alien-like. This is a complex mix of florals and notes that are swept over by a yellow-green lemongrass and a touch of aquatic.

I don't know the notes of this but it is the most amazing, hypnotic resin blend I have found. It is warm and spicy and has a very sticky-sweet resin aspect to it. It's almost tangible, it's so evocative of resins. This is one of my top 20 fragrances and I always keep it on hand.

This is the blackest, darkest fragrance I have ever come across. It is truly fathomless and ethereal. The vetiver and black musk are predominant and bring to mind the eeriness of the story. Perfect execution even if it's too strong and dark for me.

This is mostly red musk; it is sweet and almost juicy; very feminine and sexual. The spices are gentle but present and add an alluring twist to this.

I don't know what storax is, but Anubis smells warm and golden, with a twist of balsam and sweet resins that glitter like the sun. This has an ageless, ancient feel to it and comes across as regal and strong. Lovely.

This is deep, dark, and evergreen. It has a dark forest green and blue color-sense to it. There's something that's a bit coconutty and possibly damp in there. It almost seems juniper-like and woodsy as well, but only as an accent. It's still mostly evergreen forest without smelling like a Christmas tree. There's something more mysterious and dark about this.

This smells like many opium blends, but there is an added sweetness to it that brings to mind large and soft poppy petals. Lovely, evocative, and spot on. I'm keeping this one!

This is really hard to describe, because it's not quite floral and not quite green and I can't pick out any specific notes. It smells a bit wild, definitely warm and glowing. There's a sort of sparkling, sinister quality and it comes across as a glowing yellow orange and red scent.

This is cucumber perfected. If you at all like cucumber scents, this is a must try. It is very fresh and juicy and smells exactly like a cucumber that has just been sliced. It's perfect for spring and summer and any time you want to feel refreshed.

This is very menthol to me, like very strong eucalyptus. The juniper adds more forest and bite, and the cypress sort of makes this vibrate lower so that it is almost feral and swarthy. The eucalyptus is a bit strong for me, but if you like forest blends with a touch of wildness and coolness to it, this is a good one to try.