tharsei-thanate

Oh, this is neat! My current top five, in no particular order: Autumn Lace Wolf Spider The Ghost Children Redoul Honey Port Royal I'm not completely familiar with a lot of the blends in the other posts for apologies for not recommending anything at the moment!

Oh, this is nice. It's predominately vanilla and honey embraced by warm spices and it doesn't morph much. It smells like a rich dessert, like a small spice cake with thick vanilla cream and warm honey poured over it. Vanilla sometimes becomes plastic on me, but it's behaving very well in this blend. The longer this is on, the more it smells like O minus the powdery amber. I really like this blend, it's wonderful. [EDIT] Ok, I usually don't slather when I review, I just place a dab or two on my wrist, but after I finished my review I went and slathered and it smells even more like O than I thought. It's really awesome because I adore O but the amber can get super powdery on me. If you're like me and have been longing for O without amber, you have to give this a try. It might be exactly what you're looking for.

I really want to love this because I adore Florence, it's one of my favorite cities in the world, but... well, this is a no. I have two imps of different ages and one is powdery and the other is powdery and sour. I know amber and fresh fruits are iffy but I was still hoping this blend would work. :-( It extra sucks because I can smell something lovely behind all the yuck but it just can't break through. Oh, well.

Got a frimp of this from a lovely forumite! Still on a hunt to find a coconut that works. Multiple people recommended this one. Let's see how it works out. In the imp: Yum. Creamy coconut and salt and sugar. It's like an interesting cocktail a beachside bartender whipped up on a whim. Wet: Sweet, smooth, a touch musky from the ambergris. A hint of plastic from the coconut, but overall this ain't bad! Drydown: There's a dark, sensual something casting a shadow over this. Very interesting. I feel like the plastic from the coconut is getting a touch stronger, though. Well, only on my left hand, on my right it's still fairly subdued, haha. Prob because I used a moisturizer on my right hand before testing this? Dry: Muskier than before. Beautiful marine musk with a touch of salt and coconut with a touch of plastic. Further on: Oh no. The sugar starts getting a bit gross. It's reminding me of Sprinklecake, which didn't quite work on me. Well, I'd like to do maybe one or two more tests, but this looks like it's gonna wind up in the swap pile. Sigh.

Got a frimp of this from a lovely forumite. This was a wishlist item and I want to say it was because of my Classical Studies degree but it's actually because I named one of my Pokemon Tisiphone. I am a nerd. Anyway, black patch is a note that I have had issues with, but it's not really a huge problem in this blend. This is mostly lovely ylang-ylang over a layer of neroli. There's a gorgeous white sweetness I'm catching that is likely the oleander, which is a note I'm not that familiar with. The only proof that there is black patch in here is a vague powder lingering in the background. Enough to notice but not enough to completely ruin the blend. Verdict? Not entirely me so no bottle, but I do enjoy this enough to keep the imp and maybe snag a second imp.

2013 This blend is... interesting. The agave nectar is the first thing I can pick out, and the texture really is like nectar. Then there's the cigar tobacco, which is a tad grittier than I like, and only a faint sprinkling of spices. Spices usually amp on me, idk why they're so quiet in here. Not too familiar with copal, but I believe I'm catching that now, too. There's only the lightest touch of rose in here, and faint woods. Biggest problem is that once dry the nectar dries up and the blend gets powdery overall. I'm usually ok with powdery, but in this blend it isn't that pleasant. Verdict? Definitely not a bottle, but I'll keep the imp for now. I feel like aging might help this blend out, because with these notes this really should work better on me.

2013 This is almost all florals on me. Very strong florals. Very strong florals that are really really familiar in a I-think-this-is-a-smell-from-my-childhood way, but I can't place what they're reminding me of. I want to say my Babcia's old house. Maybe that's where I smelled this before? As it dries, I can slightly catch the chocolate and tobacco, but it's still floral dominant. Hmm. It's nice, but I don't need a bottle. I will certainly keep the imp, though. Maybe if I sniff this often enough I can uncover a few precious childhood memories.

I'm so glad I got a bottle of this untested. Such wonderful, leafy goodness. The leaves in this are so nice. In October they're very sharp, but here they're much softer. There's also a crust of maple sugar which mellows into smears of maple syrup the longer this is on. There are also snapped twigs and light touches of smoke throughout. Really, this is perfect for me. It's everything I wanted October to be and more.

Wow, my first thought when I tried this was "This is a pignoli cookie!" Seriously, it's a nutty cookie with a touch of pumpkin spice for a while, and then Snake Oil becomes recognizable. The vanilla in Snake Oil is Play-Doh on me normally, and while it is slightly plastic in here it's not too terrible. The longer this is one, the more prominent the spices become and the less plastic the vanilla gets. Hm, I'm not sure what to think of this! Normally this is the sort of smell I totally dig, and it is super delicious, but I guess Snake Oil not working for me in the past is turning me off a little, even though this a version of Snake Oil that works. Can't shake those negative associations, I guess! I don't know about getting a bottle, but I'll certainly keep the decant. Heck, who knows, maybe I can train myself to love this perfume and then maybe I'll see about a bottle.

Got a tester of this from sfsassy! I've been super excited to try this and now that it's finally on I'm a bit startled. It smells like Christmas! Like the smell of a Christmas shop, minus any pine or fir. If I concentrate hard I can get marshmallow specifically but casual sniffs pick up cinnamon and sugar and a very light smokiness. I loooove cinnamon so I'm very happy! Oh wow, the sugar becomes more recognizable as marshmallow the longer it's on. So glad I got to test this! I think I need more.

When I first smelled it in the imp I was disgusted. It was just nauseating, cloying, gag-inducing awfulness. Still, I always do a skin test no matter how bad something smells in the imp or bottle. I dabbed some on, preparing myself to run to the bathroom to scrub it off if it got too bad, but oh my goodness, this is amazing on my skin. Sweet and boozy and totally drinkable! At first there was a lot of honey which I was able to ping as clover before checking the notes, then it blended with the boozy, almost candyish pumpkin. There's the lightest drizzle of maple throughout, adding extra depth, and spices start to come out the longer it's on. Now, after 45 mins of wear, it's just pure deliciousness. I wish I could better describe how wonderful this is, because damn, this is some good shit. I need a bottle!

2013 Hm. I got a decant of this hoping that it would work better on me than Samhain. While there is a striking similarity to Samhain that's making me frown, overall this indeed works much better. Instead of gross powder like in Samhain, Samhainophobia has smooth balsams and a gentle kiss of vetiver and a light whirl of soft leaves. It gets more leafy and sweeter as it dries, which I quite like. This is nice, and I will definitely keep my decant. Not sure about a bottle at this point, though, since that Samhain smell lingers through every stage and I'm not a huge fan of it. I'll see what more aging does.

This is yummy. When I first got my decants this was one of the first ones I tried and it was awful. After letting it rest a few days, it's become delicous foody sweetness. I'm getting the texture of the marzipan more than the smell- it's not as almondy on me as I thought it'd be, which is fine because almond goes weird sometimes. Then there's chewy pumpkin candy and glorious pumpkin spices and a hint of buttercream. No lemon zest at all. The longer it's on, the more boozy the marzipan gets and the more the spices amp. I really like this! I don't know if I'd wear it enough to justify a bottle (as much as I like foody blends, this is a little bit too foody for everyday wear!), but I'm glad I have a decant and I may track down another decant.

This starts off really nice. Sweet florals and juicy peach. But then the amber pokes its head out and it's unpleasantly powdery. At least the peach is behaving and not turning into hard candies. This one's a bit of a no right now but I'll keep it a bit longer. Hopefully the amber learns to behave itself because this smells quite nice otherwise.

I found an imp of this hidden away in my purse and I don't remember ever trying it, which is a travesty because this smells so good! Effervescent citrus over sweet flowers gently embraced by light musk. In the dry the fruits lose their fizz but they're still lovely and bright and not going wonky on me. Further on, there's a touch of patch and the lightest breath of sage that help deepen the overall scent. This is a really happy blend, definitely something I'll reach for when I'm feeling down.

May I recommend an atmo? I find that Thrive is really invigorating. It's fairly rare, but I found someone who's selling it.

Pretty much what it says on the tin. Figs and dirt with oakmoss and mushrooms and patchouli. Patch is powdery in this one, but luckily it's not too loud to be a problem. The fig gets stronger the longer it stays on, which is good. Overall, just a nice earthy blend with enough fig to brighten it and make it yummy. Glad I have an imp. :-)

I bought a bottle of this blind in October. I did one or two quick tests since it arrived but I think it's time I do an official test and see if it's a keeper. In the bottle: Pumpkin, spice, and sugar. There's a vague burnt quality. It's not bad, but the pumpkin reminds me of Halloween in the Misk U library, which is a blend I reacted very negatively to. The bad associations still linger, so while objectively this smells good, subjectively I'm not fond of it. Wet: Smells like spiced pumpkin cookies. It's good but the bad associations are keeping me from enjoying it. Drydown: A veeery light plastic emerges along with the scent of chai tea. The plastic is likely the vanilla in Dorian. Aged Dorian doesn't have that problem but it looks like fresh does. Luckily it's not overwhelming. Dry: A cookie/spice/plastic/sugar mix. The tea has disappeared. Further on: Becomes a rich, spiced pumpkin bread kind of smell, but there's still plastic. I really want to like this but the HitMUL associations and the vanilla plastic are preventing me from doing so. Sorry, friend, but I'm going to have to get rid of you. I wish things could be different.

At first I'm mostly getting soft florals with a touch of sweetness and wisps of smoke from the opium. Nice, but not thrilling. Then it gets green, and the greenness adds a vague bitterness to the blend overall. Eventually, I can catch some sugar. Right now, it's gotten powdery. This isn't necessarily a bad blend, but it's rather boring on me. Not worth keeping the tester.

I have Wolf Spider on right now, but I think I might put on Third Charm when I go out tonight. Tomorrow will probably be Sugar Skull '08 and the day after Autumn Lace. :-)

No problem!

You know what, there are people on the forum selling Gluttony right now. Here's someone with a 70% full bottle: http://www.bpal.org/topic/81989-mostly-bpal-bottleslegc-for-sale-nothing-over-20/page__p__2357540__hl__gluttony__fromsearch__1#entry2357540 This person's selling an imp if you want to test it first: http://www.bpal.org/topic/74301-the-purge-continues-sale-or-swap/page__p__2007355__hl__gluttony__fromsearch__1#entry2007355 As for a recommendation for something easier to come by, perhaps Hellcat is worth a shot? A soft, sensual, luxuriant blend with a wicked bite: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond. It's not quite the same but there are some similar notes. It's in the Diabolus section of the general catalogue.

Wow, just noticed that I haven't reviewed this one. I have an imp of the '08 version. Sugar Skull is a surprise winner on me. Fresh fruits can go wrong on me, but these candied fruits smell so good. It's like wearing brightly colored pieces of candied fruit crusted with sugars- very well behaved sugars, since this blend isn't making my teeth ache like some other sugary blends. There's also a boozy/syrupy quality that emerges in the drydown that makes my mouth water. Overall it's just a delicious blend that works super well with my skin chem. I need more!

Received an imp from the lovely HJackson. In the imp: Very pretty tonka/lilac musk mix, with a touch of benzoin. Wet: Violets! Just a lovely blast of violets with a fruity sweetness just behind it and a hint of tonka. There's something... solid about this. Sturdy. Grounding. It's really nice. Drydown: The violets bow out and the lilac musk takes over. The fruity sweetness is a little further in the background while the tonka is a tad louder. There's something else in here too... lime? Just a little sparkle of lime. Overall it's dense and woody and dark green. Dry: Not much change from the drydown, except I'm catch violets again, and a suggestion of myrtle. This is an interesting blend! I thought it would be more masculine but it's very gender neutral on me. I like it, I'm glad I have an imp!

Wow, this is really really good on me. Beautiful, sweet, lush white florals with very well-behaved greenery (sometimes green can get high-pitched on me but it's not doing that here). It's not morphing much at all and there is no soap or powder as it dries. Just lovely, almost mouth-watering florals and greens throughout. :heart: