filigree_shadow

Very, very pretty. Soft shimmering musk with just a hint of cocoa and vanilla and dry sweetness. I like this one a lot. ETA: Well, I have to edit this. I did a full wear of this one today, rather than just a test, and the "dead dry leaves" aspect of it came out waaaaay more on my throat than it did on my arm. One of my wrists smells sweet and sort of like a cocoa musk, and the other wrist smells like it has spikenard on it. Spikenard is a note that will very definitively KILL any perfume for me if I can detect it at all. I hate it. "Dead dry leaves" don't smell exactly like spikenard, but close enough that whenever I get a whiff of it I crinkle my nose. Really not what I want to smell like. So... off to swaps after all. Dammit. That one had some promise.

Yep, it smells like pot. Not exactly, but pretty close. And because of that, I won't be able to wear this. Because of my profession, I can't have people even thinking that I might be tokin' up.

I've worn this one four or five times since I got it. I keep putting it on thinking that I can't remember whether I liked it last time, but based on the notes it should be a good one. I put it on, give it a sniff and think Sure, that should be fine, and go on with my day. And as far as I can remember, that's where it ends. I can't remember ever wearing this scent and thinking Hey, something smells good -- oh, it's the Changeling! Apparently I put it on and then instantly forget I have it on and don't interact with the scent at all. Kinda odd. That doesn't usually happen with me. I like it -- it has the squashy pumpkin scent to it rather than the buttery pumpkin scent, and I do like that. It's less foody. I like the blonde wood and the linen. Basically there isn't anything about this scent that I don't like. It smells nice. It just doesn't seem to be knocking my socks off for some reason.

Vanilla-infused white honey, magnolia, skin musk, ylang ylang, and beeswax with patchouli, olibanum, kurundu, and a feral brown musk. I expected this to be light and pretty, and instead it smells pretty much exactly like baby powder on me. It doesn't smell bad, it just smells like... powder.

Dark, electrically charged perfume. It smells clean and sultry at the same time. Very interesting and pretty. Good for nighttime.

Smells like a sweet, tropical floral on me, with a hint of banana. Not too much of the caramel scent others are describing. It reminds me a bit of some of the Mexican-themed BPAL perfumes, in that it is an unusual sweet floral.

These days, rosewood is one of the only wood notes I'll wear. I've liked it for years, and it feels very comforting to me. I definitely like it in Kostnice, but the combination with frankincense (which tends to be a little too high-pitched for me) and geranium rose (geranium is a little too herby-harsh) is not my favorite. Don't get me wrong -- it's not bad at all. It's just that I really only need one rosewood scent, and Seance is my favorite. This one is a close second.

I'm not usually a fan of green or lemony scents, but I actually kinda like this one. Lemongrass is often pretty blechy on me, but it's kept in check here. The anise gives it a bit of a twang -- smells like a tangy lemon scent. Greener than lemon usually is. It's kinda cute.

Squishy, fruity, summery fun. I don't really smell the herbs very much, but the pomegranate and mango appear to be front and center. Just a wee hint of red musk -- I amp red musk like crazy and it doesn't overwhelm in this blend at all. Smells delicious. Now I'm hungry for fruit salad.

The red ginger & caraway seed are pretty strong. If you like spicy (without being HOT spicy), this is one to try! The orange peel comes in after a few minutes and sweetens up the spice... I don't know how to describe it, but it's very interesting. The florals show up after 10 minutes or so, and they basically just soften up the scent. They aren't super noticeable. This smells exotic and fascinating to me. It's not the kind of scent I usually wear at all, but I find it so intriguing.

Hey. How come this doesn't smell tropical on me? I guess it smells a little bit like orchid, but it's distorted a bit (possibly by the geranium?) and winds up smelling more like a soft generic floral than a lush tropical paradise. It doesn't smell like one particular flower -- none of them are too strong -- but it's also not really a standout for me, personally.

I expected a smooth, possibly syrupy resin scent from this, and that's pretty much what it smells like. It's a sweet resin with some smoothness to it, but it also smells just a little bit sticky. The verbena isn't very strong on me, luckily, because that's not my favorite note. Resin fans, give this one a try!

This is a lot softer than I was expecting. I thought that maybe with the coffee and wood notes it would be dry and possibly bitter -- but it's not. At all. It smells smooth and warm, and the mallow makes it smell oh so soft. Very comforting and lovely. Definitely on the lookout for more of this one.

Very sweet red musk and pomegranate. And something... spicy? I kid you not, that's what I smell. Not sure what that's from. I'm a huge red musk fan, and I have definitely liked red musk + fruit combinations (e.g., Mania & Hollywood Babylon). I don't, however, care for pomegranate, and I was hoping it would take a back seat for this one. It doesn't. Honestly, I think this is a well-done scent, and if someone sitting next to me for a while were wearing it, I'd enjoy it. But for me, the pom would drive me nuts over the course of the day. I can only take very small doses of that note.

This is very light on me. Something in it reminds me of citrus -- I'm guessing that's the tea part. I thought it would be dark and smoky, but instead it smells like tea and frankincense. I think I can smell a little bit of the bourbon vanilla, but it's not very strong on me at all. It's a fine scent -- it reminds me of the Salon scents, which I tend to like. I think it'll age well. It's just so very light on me. The only part of the scent I catch any kind of waft from is the tea.

A dark, mysterious red musk scent. Definitely some dark-smelling floral notes in there, along with some resins. Strikingly pretty. Gah, when am I going to get around to doing that side-by-side test of all the red musk scents to see which ones I like best. I like them all so much. I can't have like 20 bottles of red musk blends, though. Three would be sufficient. But which three? This one is a contender for sure.

Grass for sure, and something that smells like aloe or cucumber -- one of those soft green scents. AND something harshly herbal that smells like bitter weeds OH CRAP is that spikenard? UGH spikenard hates me so much. I don't know if that's what that is or not, but it sure smells like icky acrid weeds, and on my skin that usually means spikenard. On me, this does not smell like the nice soft green grass you guys are describing. It smells like rotting weeds. Kinda gross.

Really I just smell grapes. White grapes... I guess that's from the wine? Can't really smell any honey. No herbs at all. It's not a bad grape scent, but there doesn't seem to be much else going on here.

A scent evocative of poisonous family secrets: dry lavender-infused amber, battered leather, nicotiana, osmanthus, and jasmine tea. Yeah, the lavender in this reminds me of TKO's lavender. This one is more complex -- the floral notes make it smell more exotic than lavender perfumes usually do. It's pretty. I think I've been using TKO for too long, though, because when I take a big whiff of this I get sleepy.

Only the vaguest hint of leather-bound books in this -- mostly it smells like kind of a mossy basalm on me. Just a wee bit peppery, too. Honestly, it reminds me of a softer version of R M Renfield. I enjoyed the scent of that one a lot, but I felt like it was just a little too bold for me to wear much. This one is more wearable.

Strong boozey almond syrup at first (and I do mean syrup; it smells thick and sticky) and then it turns into a really smooth pineapple scent with a pretty peach overtone. Really nice. I think it's my favorite of the Atomic Luau Lounge blends. Weirdly, most of the other Lounge scents have been fairly strong on me, but this one isn't. Light and sweet and pretty.

This smells like banana at first and then it turns into kind of a smoky coconut rum scent. Kind of like something's burnt. Roasted coconut? It's a little odd.

Raspberry liquor, cranberry juice, gin, mango pulp, and a mint garnish. Sweet raspberry gin, with just a hint of mint. It smells just a little fizzy, but not much. It smells cute and summery.

I think I kinda like the blackberry and rum combination, but it's hard to tell because the ouzo stomps all over it. Unfortunately it goes to a chalky licorice scent on me. 4 July 2015 ETA: I tried this one again, just in case, before banishing it to the swap box forever, and yeah, it's still chalky weird on me. Like that powder that gets on your hands when you eat sweet tarts.

Nice. A soft, dry leather scent. Doesn't smell like shiny or new leather, it smells like well-loved leather. I like it for sure.