smallvoice

I wish I could find a scent my husband really loves. He used to love Jailbait, but I wore it the other day and he didn't even recognize it. He told me it smelled nothing like Jailbait used to, to him. There are very few that he absolutely dislikes, but I wish I had a scent in my arsenal that he would request and sniff my neck when I wear it. I feel like he tolerates my obsession, but it'd be nice if he could somehow benefit from it, too. Y'know? I'm wearing Glitter right now, and I am SO not in the mood to be smelling like it. I thought it might cheer me up somehow, but it's not. I can't find MLST; it must be buried with Christmas stuff. Same with Alice and a few others. Nuts. I wish I had something somber and still light. I don't need to find anymore scents to love, though. I was talking to him yesterday about limited editions, and remarked that I don't think there's a single LE I love as much as my catalog favourites. Beaver Moon comes the closest. I REALLY like Cerberus, Lotus Moon, Et Lux Fuit, Storyville, Hungry Ghost Moon, and Halôa to name a few, but I think I would cry if Katharina, Whitechapel, Alice or Jailbait were ever discontinued and I really had to hunt for bottles of those. They are just breathtaking. They're perfect for me. If I could make a huge order right now of GC bottles, I'd order Persephone (because I'm obsessed, even though I've yet to try it), Alice, Dorian, Euphrosyne, Regan, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale x2, Bewitched, The Lion, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Arkham, Shub, Misk U, Black Opal, Port-au-Prince, Lyonesse, and La Petit Mort. Heh. If only. But it's more fun to dream about it here than to put it all in my shopping cart and then close it off.

Interesting description. But here's the odd part: I opened Dublin and sniffed and had an almost visceral reaction to it. It is something out of my childhood and I cannot for the life of me really explain much more-The scent memory came from the kitchen, but Dublin itself is not foody. Maybe it reminds me of thyme or some other spice? Maybe it simply reminds me of my mother, for some reason? I don't know. It's hard to tell. It's a very light fragrance on me, and has a physically chilling effect where the oil touched my skin. I really like it.

Sweet, honeyed almonds. This is soothing and warm, almost the same way Alice is to me. However, it's not quite in the same scent family as Alice- maybe they're scent cousins, or something, but... yeah. This is lovely, milky, and comforting, and it has real depth to it. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on another imp.

To repeat what so many others have already said, this smells like Chai tea. But, somehow, it smells better. It's richer and more complex. The honey is strong and lovely, and I really love this one. This one shall go on my bottles wishlist at once. If you're a fan of spicy-sweet blends, what're you waiting for? Try Bengal!

This makes me happy to sniff in the vial. Wearing it on, however... hmm. I'm not sure what to make of it! I've been obsessed with finding a bottle due to my quick little swipe test, but now I'm not so sure. Mello Yello is SO accurate it's scary. Then again, I can also get the hair spray AND the mosquito repellant. Fortunately for me, it dries down to sugared pears. I'm not sure how much I want a bottle of this anymore, but I still really enjoy it. Even the odd middle stages are fun and evocative of the name- well, mosquito repellant isn't exactly glittery, but you know what I mean. I like it.

I have a suspicion that this blend can only get better with age. It's like holiday baking with Nutella, as others have pointed out. The pumpkin isn't too foody/buttery, and the hazelnut/walnut combination really grounds the flavour- the cocoa just gives it that edge, and it is really wonderful fun to wear. Very much a fall/winter scent, to my nose, and very gourmand. I think that it is basically straightforward- if you like the notes, there's not much that'll go wrong. If you expect you won't like it, you probably won't. The only caveat there is if you fear the butter that was in Jack. It's not there, at least not on my skin.

I like this one, but I also got a shot of fake strawberry that plagued so many others. It was a beautiful, sweet, candied strawberry/vanilla scent to begin with and over time became a strawberry shortcake doll, but magnified. Oddly enough, I even enjoyed that particular scent, but not for an extended period of time. It wavers between that and the vanilla, but ultimately strawberry shortcake wins.

It smells lovely in the bottle- sweet and sugary and pastry-like. The sandalwood grounds it, and there's the tinge of the connecting note between all the monster bait scents. Once on my skin, however, the vanilla plays nice with the sandalwood and it all seems fairly innocuous for a while, until suddenly the sandalwood sours (sours! I've never had it sour before, but there's no other word to explain it!) and everything takes on this sharp, dusty and brittle scent. It is not my holy grail scent, and I'm pretty glad for that.

After my scuffle with the Voodoo Queen, I was nervous about trying the good Doctor. I wish I could pick out notes better, but this is so well blended and complex that I'm having trouble. It is a beautiful blend, and it turns into something even better on my skin. This is amazing. It's like incense with a sharp edge to it; something green. It's dark without being heavy, and it's got a hint of sweetness to it that is breathtaking.

There's something slightly sour amidst the mint. I think I just really dislike aged mint. There's also that slushy pine note that my skin loves to amp to the point where it's overwhelming. Otherwise, it's refreshing and evocative of the desolation it is intended to reflect. Also, I adore the label.

... Blackberry wine and apple cider with hops, apple blossom, English ivy, hazel, sage, oak bark and myrrh. Mabon is exactly as beautiful as it sounds. Oddly enough, the blackberry wine behaved quite nicely on my skin, rather than turning into urine, the way other wines with berries (Montresor, MB: Closet) have in the past. I only tested a sniffy of this, but it is stunning and subtle. The woods balance out the fruits to make it a complex and deep scent. Oddly enough, I don't know that I would use it enough to warrant seeking out a bottle.

The woods in this are slightly spicy, and somewhat reminescent of Arkham. The coconut manages to be there without adding a tropical flair; like it's not quite ripe, or it's really just the bare meat. Vetiver is probably what's adding the spice to the woods, which are the most prominent note to me. This doesn't strike me as being fruity, per se, but I can smell the plum and berries, and it gives the King a wonderfully rounded scent. As it dries, it sweetens even more, which I really like. There is a green note to this, and I'm not sure where it's coming from, but it all blends really well. This is a beautiful creation, to be sure. I'll just have to see if it's something I reach for, now. If you like: Purple Phoenix, Arkham and Hamadryad, you may like King of Spades.

The rose is the dominant note in this from start to finish. However, it isn't exactly agressive or in your face, it's just central. It's a lovely rose, but I can't decide if it's a little too strong for me. However, I can smell the other components very clearly and I love them all. I wish the honey was just a tad stronger, but I do love the ylang ylang and the light fruitiness of the apple blossoms. It's pretty, but it's not one that I think I would wear a lot, which is unfortunate. It's just not my type of scent.

This is a very non-offensive white floral with a sweetness from the ginger. I definitely smell white musk, and it's giving this a depth that I really love. I wasn't expecting to really like this when it first went on, but as it dries it is wooing me. I am quite impressed. Come spring, I may have to break this one out a lot. It has the potential of being passed over for scents I simply love, like Alice and Whitechapel, though. This one works for the dredges of winter, so I may have to wear it more. Very nice scent overall.

Oddly enough, I too get the root beer and a hint of wintergreen. It must be something in how the saffron mixes with the cedar on my skin? I don't know. It's really peculiar. As it dries, I get a hint of pencil shavings. This is really a strange one. I don't know what to make of it, but it's not for me. It's not so much the root beer itself as it is the fizzy foam at the top of a really good one. Huh. I really think it is tied into the saffron, though. Tried it again today. Uh. It smells like smoked meat. With a hint of mint.

I was living in Utah when my paternal grandmother died. She was a sweet, beautiful lady. I am so grateful that I spent a lot of time with her when I was growing up. I spent most weekends at her house, and later her apartment. She was lucid and active when she passed away, but she had moved in with her daughter, who lived near Portland at the time. She never wanted to burden her children, so I think that may've been part of the reason she was ready to go. (Quick aside, since I don't want to mar this story with anger, but I really, really dislike my aunt. She took advantage of my grandmother, and there was even suspicion briefly that she may've "helped" her pass on, but again, that's for another time.) I felt peaceful about it. It wasn't an ugly death, and she lived a long time- though I couldn't tell you her exact age, she was in her late 80s at least, probably early 90s. I was sad that I was so far away, and that I hadn't seen her for some time, but I did okay with it. Thanks to a dear friend who worked with Delta airlines, I was able to fly home for her memorial service and spend some time there to recharge. The week after her memorial service, we got a phone call from my aunt. She had 2 children- her oldest was a boy, 13, and her youngest was a girl, 7. The girl was a surprise- majorly. My aunt had had her fallopian tubes tied off, and my uncle had a vasectomy, but she was something of a miracle. She looked so much like my uncle that there's no doubt she was his. I spent summers with them, and at one time had been very close to them. They were like siblings, especially the boy. Then I grew up and didn't spend as much time with them- they lived several hours away, and I was busy, and then I moved. The call was to let us know that her son had killed himself. You know what the first thing I felt was? Relief. Isn't that horrible? I was afraid that my mother was going to tell me that he had killed somebody else- his sister, classmates, anyone else. He could have been a school shooter, but he wasn't, and I was relieved. I can clearly remember going through all the stages of grief, especially denial, which seems like the most ridiculous one to me. Maybe it was an accident with the gun. Maybe somebody else had done it and made it look like he had done it. Was he at the hospital? Maybe he wasn't even really dead. Maybe they were working on him there. There was a note. To this day, I absolutely ache to read it, to pore over it, to see what made him do it, and to get some answers. They're not there; they're never there. I didn't ever get to read it, but I morbidly grilled my aunt for details of what had happened leading up to it. I was obsessed with trying to understand. There's no way to understand. The only person who can really provide any answers is gone, and that is the HARDEST thing in the world I've ever had to accept. It was morning, and his mom left for about 15 minutes, to drop his dad off at work, since they only had the one car that was working. He had eaten his breakfast and showered; gotten ready for school. His homework was done. He and my aunt briefly spoke about buying roses for his girlfriend, and he seemed excited about it. When my aunt got home, she went downstairs to get him off to school, and he had done it. She said, "No mother should have to see what I saw." I agree. Her daughter was hiding under her bed upstairs. The story goes that she didn't go down to investigate the gunshot, but I'm almost positive that she went down and was actually the first one to find him, and then went and hid until her mom got home. This may seem almost silly to add in, but the day of his memorial service, we got a call from home- the kid who had been looking after our cat found her dead when he went in to feed her that morning. We'd had her for 18 years; I couldn't remember being without her, and she was probably 20... so that just added one more ache. It was one more loss. That was such a dark time. I still don't know how you deal with suicide. I never found a way. My other cousin, his little sister, is the absolute light of my life. She was my maid of honor at my wedding, despite the fact that she was only 15. I love her so much, and I wish I could protect her from all the pain she's been through. She's the one who is possibly moving to Maine, eventually. A few years after her brother's death, she was skiing with her dad, on Thanksgiving, and he had a heart attack and died. This kid has been through the wringer. She is such an inspiration to me, and I don't think she even knows it. Anyway... I don't know. I guess I needed a mental purge. Sorry if this upsets anybody, though.

This website shows what sort of inspired my husband's gift to me. I can't find them anywhere else, but I know I've seen them before. He made it himself, though, and it is perfect.

I wore Alice for Christmas, because I wanted to smell lovely and Alice always leaves me feeling happy- Alas, the only comment from my husband was, "Hmm. It's pretty, but it doesn't really evoke Christmas." I knew I should've gone with a spicy scent, but... eh. I think I will wear Et Lux Fuit on New Year's Eve in hopes for a bright year to come.

It was a great day! I am so, so, SO tired. Hee, my fetching gloves garnered lots of compliments, including one from my sister-in-law with whom I was mightily pissed recently. We got a gift card to Pier 1, which is odd. I like the store, but we don't do a lot of shopping there. Ah, well. I guess we'll have to browse. Highlights include: My watch, of course! It is really lovely, and has no clasp- it's kind of like a bracelet style... wow, I don't know jewelry, obviously. I don't know how to describe it, but the band sort of expands and my wrist slips through a gap. Anyway, it's silver and has a large, round face and is gorgeous. So I shall retire my first watch to the watch box, which is really quite exciting. The project from my husband- A gorgeous, framed note, written around "ENDURE" which was the central focus of the piece... anyway, it was about how that word sums up our relationship, and that while life's uncertainties make it impossible for him to promise a lot, but he does promise that we will endure. So incredibly romantic and sweet and yes, I cried, and we kissed, and it was awwwww. I wish I could describe it better. Firefly on DVD! Awesome. It was the best Christmas ever. Until next time.

Merry Christmas, lovelies! Even if you don't celebrate the actual holiday, I hope the spirit of the season itself brings warmth and love into your lives. You all deserve it. Take the best care, and I shall write an entry with the scoop on my holiday swag as soon as possible. Love to you, darlings!

I'm tired right now, but I've got a lot on my mind, so I thought I'd do a brain dump here. Since I can! I'm swapping for King of Spades with somebody I trust a lot, so yay me. Now if only I can get my hands on a bottle of Glitter. I just realized I forgot to finalize a swap! Cripes, I feel bad. I need to go leave a message now. Okay, done. I will hopefully be getting Punkie Night, which will hopefully smell pretty on me. This year I need to focus on GC's. I am just so OCD when it comes to LE's. But I need Alice, Arkham, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, and a few others- Bewitched. Plus I want to try a bunch of patchouli blends and a few others- Persephone and March Hare are the ones I'm obsessing over right now, as well as Depraved, Ravenous, Sin, Urd, Sri Lanka, Spellbound, The Catterpillar, Vixen and Tweedledum. Tweedledum in particular. The last are from my patchouli recommendation thread! (I want to try the others, these are just the ones that stand out to me.) Anyway, the title. I was feeling philosophical, but now I'm not. I guess I'll leave it at that. Hope you all are doing well. Peace and love to you all!

Freaking Melody. Heh. I'm sorry, and I know a lot of people love her, but.... first impressions and all. If that chick knows where the Ark of the Covenant is, she needs to tellllll me. And stop filling it with water. Freak! Ahem. I'm done. Seriously. I'm such a spaz. How did I get to be so old? My husband is out in the front room doing something mysterious and Christmas-y for me. I'm not allowed out, and I think it's very sweet. I can't wait to find out what it is so I can brag about him here. Hee. I don't know that I say it enough here, but I love that man. He is so good for me. SO GOOD! In other news, my brother's mom seems to be in stable condition, and should be here for Christmas- which is wonderful, seeing as how my brothers and sister will all be here, and the last time we were all together before my wedding was many, many years ago, and I was dumb and didn't take a picture with them- so we will have to get one while they're in town for the holidays. I was so afraid that we wouldn't be together again until a funeral, so that's a relief. I hope! I just really hope she makes it. It would suck for her kids and grandkids if she died so close to Christmas. Me too, obviously, but them more. Uh, okay. My brain is still flitting about much like a hummingbird. Hummingbirds freak me out, because some of them are so small that they resemble moths. We have HAYUGE moths out here. I'm so phobic about moths it isn't even funny. Riiiight. I can't concentrate, obviously, so I'm going to go play Cake Mania. Seriously. It rocks. Big Fish Games is the coolest thing ever!

Since I'm always so nosy about butting in and giving advice about scents to try, I thought I might ask for some advice, myself. Patchouli hates me. It wishes I would die, a dirty, sweaty death. It wants to strangle me. And yet, somehow, I still long for its approval. I guess we all do, in some way or another. Anyhoo... I've found florals for people who can't do florals, and vanilla that smells divine on me, and I've even discovered the occasional sandalwood combination that works on me. Has anyone found a patchouli blend where it's not just that you can't really smell the patchouli (which is what Mme. Moriarty ended up doing on me, more or less- but it's the closest I've come), but that it behaves and smells beautiful where it would otherwise make you a smelly, sweaty death-bunny? Any patchouli blends out there for people who can't do patchouli? I know that some notes are just out of the question, but I would love to find a patchouli I can wear. Here's where I'd ask the poster what all patchouli blends she's tried. Um, yeah. I don't know, exactly. Snake Oil, Voodoo, Namaste, Mantis (which I don't recall being heavy on the patchouli, really), Malediction, and probably others. Sorry for the lack of help there, guys!

I've been a member of BPAL.org for a year now! Wow. I mean absolutely no offense to anybody with this post, especially not Krissy, but I don't get the kritters. I appreciate that other people like them and want them, but it doesn't resonate with me, I guess? They just sort of puzzle me. And, again, this is not meant to harm anyone's feelings or anything, but the price seems a little high. I don't know. I'm in a shitty mood, so please keep that in mind. I am sure they are adorable and they obviously have a fanbase, but... I dunno. I don't get it. Here's another thing! Anybody here know of Melody? She writes books about gems and shit- I don't know her last name, don't really care. She's very new agey and has really long, white hair. Anyway. This woman I used to be friends with (V) hooked up with a doctor shortly after her husband died (he was admittedly an asshole, though, but still) and the doctor is old friends with Melody, so V used to go on and on about her and how she named gems after the doctor. Eventually V and the Dr. wanted to get "married", but she wouldn't get her dead husband's pension if she did, or something, so they had a commitment ceremony instead. (This is going somewhere, seriously.) Well, I went over to this ceremony at the doctor's house (oddly enough, they still weren't living together, and didn't for the first few months...) and met all these people and briefly spoke with Melody. Then V gets all excited and is like, "She's going to perform this special blessing on us!" And Melody turns to me, and I shit you not, says, "This bottle," she holds up this tiny blue bottle, "has water from the Ark of the Covenant in it." And I'm so taken aback that all I can say is, "Really." Pause. "Huh." And her eyes are shining all mystical like, and V's just thrilled to death, and I'm sitting there going, "Did I miss something?" Water. Ark of the Covenant. And she was dead serious. I've always wanted to introduce my husband to her by saying, "Oh! This is V- you remember me talking about her, right? She got married with the water from the Ark of the Covenant?" Hee.

This was meant to go here- Aglaea really smells a lot like Fruit Moon on my skin.