detritius

From the description, I expected something totally different, but on me, Incubus is all warm, melty caramel that gets smokier and muskier as it dries down. The tobacco note unfurls lazily amid the sweetness -- it's less smoke than whole, sunbaked leaves, somehow. The musks round out the carmel and keep it from being sticky-sweet, and the mint and sage don't stand out as individual notes, but they may be in there somewhere. Overall, I expected something much darker, but on me, this is all temptation and decadence -- "Oh, I really couldn't... well, I supposed one taste couldn't hurt." -- which still seems thematically appropriate. Wickedly luscious. I only hope wearing this won't kick up a craving for smokes or sweets.

This is a soft, sweet, delicate scent on me, both sensual and intensely comforting, like cuddling with your SO on a lazy summer day. The coconut is probably the most prominent note, but it's not a particularly foody coconut, more rounded and subtle. The musk really grounds and makes it more... personal, if that makes sense, not a straight-up tropical scent but something warm and appealing and close to the skin, something I could see myself wearing any time of year.

I've been out of the LE loop for about two (broke-ass) years, and now that I've got some cash on hand again, I'd like to know what I've been missing. Some of my favorite notes are amber, honey, smoke, star anise, apple, cinnamon, and spices, but I'm always willing to branch out, although I've found that roses, violets, moss, dirt, aquatics, pine, juniper, plums, and figs tend to disagree with my skin. So, any ideas? Any popular favorites or hidden gems you can recommend me?

This is a sweet, subtle peach -- not sliced, if that makes sense. Just a ripe, sun-warmed peach waiting to be bitten into -- with a breath of soft, gorgeous florals. There's something else, too, a warm skin scent that's probably the musk, which rounds the whole thing out and keeps it from being too innocent. This is a very intimate scent. It stays close to the skin, so someone would have to be very close to smell it.

A wickedly dark, smokey apple. Under the apple, I get spice, musk, tobacco, and smokey wood. Out of all the Celestial Apples, this is the one that seems to most autumnal to me, because it's more crisp than juicy, and the apple has an almost cider-ish note to it that I can't explain, but really, really like. This is like sitting around a campfire on a cool autumn evening, drinking hot apple cider and telling ghost stories. Love it.

As others have mentioned, this scent is very dry, with hints of sweetness. It's a light, subtle sort of scent that nonetheless has a lot of throw and staying power. It also reminds me of my favorite perfume before I discovered BPAL, which I think must have had an orris note as well. Very, very nice -- I may have to look for a bottle!

A softly spicy, sun warmed apple. This doesn't have the intensity of some of the other Celestial Apples, giving it an innocent sort of femininity. I also get more florals in this one than the others in this collection, which adds to the soft, feminine quality, and the frankincense and ginger give it a mysterious sort of allure. This is the kind of perfume I'd want to wear on a first date.

Out of all the Celestial Apples, I think I get the least straight-up apple from this one. The first impression I get is fruit, sweet, lush, and incredibly juicy. The apple note weaves in and out between the pomegranate and strawberry, creating a lively, summery blend.

Wet, this is sweet, with a buttery topnote I recognize from Eat Me. As it dries down, it becomes more savory, the wine and meat smells coming out. For some reason, this reminds me most strongly of a Greek restaurant. Definitely interesting, but I'm not sure I want to go around smelling like dinner all day.

Bleh. I’m not sure if it’s my chemistry or if I just don’t appreciate this type of scent, but this just smells like bitter dirt to me. I haven’t tried a single earthy scent that worked for me yet, though, so maybe it’s just not my thing.

From the second I open the imp, all I get is liquorish. It doesn’t morph on my skin; although it does warm up, it’s the same strong liquorish smell. I generally enjoy anise, but this is like anise turned up to eleven. It has a pretty significant throw, too, so there’s no escaping it. Not sure this one is for me.

This is very nice. At first, I get a warm honey -- one of my favorite notes -- with a soft floral that must be the ylang ylang. Then, as the scent opens up, I get a touch of sweetness from the fig (although not enough to be overpowering, like the fig note in Intrigue) and something sharp and green in the background. This is a sophisticated but comforting scent with a lot of complexity.

Mmm. This is very nice. At first, all I get is a warm honey -- one of my favorite notes -- with a soft floral edge that must be the ylang ylang. Then, as the scent opens up, I get a touch of sweetness from the fig (although not enough to be overwhelming, like the fig note in Intrigue) and a hint of something sharp and green in the background. This is a sophisticated but comforting scent with a lot of depth to it. Edit: Sorry about the duplicate posting. Edit 2: And after about an hour, that overpowering fig note comes out and turns sickly on me. So disappointing.

I was surprised by this one. I got the heavy, smokey incense smell I expected from the description, but there was something like a prominent honey note, too, that sweetened up the whole blend. I didn't get the dryness other people have described, either. Overall, this is a slow. warm, languid scent with a nice exoticness to it.

I so wanted the warm, spicy, sexy scent that others are describing, but on me, this is nothing but violets. Sickly-sweet, overpowering violets. After it dries a little, I get a hint of something else, maybe pepper or ginger, but the violets still predominate. Apparently, that's one of the flowers I amp, along with roses, and it's a deal breaker for me. Such a shame, too. I was really looking forward to a a new hot and spicy scent.