White_rabbit334

This is the first scent that I've taken the time to review in about a year. That being said, it should be pretty evident how highly I think of Czernobog to actually get off my ass and review it. In the bottle, this has a STRONG pine-pitch smell; it reminds me of Thanatopsis, which smells similar in some ways but is much greener. If Czernobog had a color, it would be dark, golden amber, like the color of dark honey illuminated by a fire burned down to the embers.... around midnight to 3 AM, no less. Other than the pine, I can smell the myrrh and musks, maybe even the vetiver; this scent reminds me a GREAT deal of Voodoo, in fact. On, the Voodoo-like experience continues. The musks (I wish I knew which ones!) bloom immediately, and with the vetiver and myrrh it becomes dark, sultry and filthy. This is mysterious and dirty, like burning incense in the middle of the forest, still around midnight. The myrrh deepens the blend with a lingering spiciness, and I imagine one of the musks is responsible for that spice also. By about an hour later, the musks have gone powdery---which is usually something I'm VERY averted to, other than lemongrass and citronella. However, with the spiciness of the myrrh and the darkness of the vetiver, it smells smooth and rounded, not at all like baby powder but still.... dry, perhaps. It has these amazing nuances of soda to it also, leaving it quite sweet and intriguing to smell. I may have people mistaking my nose as being super-glued to my wrist at this rate; DEFINITELY need a bigger bottle. I know the mullein is in here somewhere, but I'm not sure how it plays out. Whenever I make tea, it doesn't have such a pronounced smell (at least to me); even in the wild, it isn't super noticeable. Either way, for having only a couple of notes, this is an amazingly well blended perfume. 5/5!

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned Entangled; it's a bit too heavy on the honey for me, but it has ginger cream as a note. It certainly is very creamy, and even a bit green and smokey from the kudzu. If the honey had been lighter, this would've worked out well on me. It started out so promising, but someone who amps honey a bit less might have better luck than I. Morocco obviously has a sweet creaminess that I think comes from the carnations? It's pretty amazing. Haunt's Gloomy Sunday has REALLY similar notes, and may even be a bit creamier thanks to the 'warm spiced tea'. Monsterbait: biggerCritter is the creamiest grapefruit-jasmine blend I've had the courtesy of owning. Sprinklecake goes to loads of cake and creamy frosting, and Mother Ginger fades to ginger and marshmallow cream. Lyonesse is another one that's gold and creamy on me, but not as much as Glowing Vulva. Gardenia notes sometimes go really creamy on me without having any actual cream notes. Little Flora is simply peony and cream, but unlike gardenia the peony overwhelms any creaminess I might've gotten from it. Other retailers like Nocturne Alchemy has Bes; it's a spicy-cream scent that's simultaneously a powerful and delicate cup of chai. Honey, if you're looking for lilac notes, their Lilac Kobalt is one of the best I've ever tried (except for a Chaos Theory I bought recently >.>) for lilac and amber notes. It almost goes entirely into a creamy lilac single-note with just a hint of spicy, resiny depth.

I'm not sure about either of those; I haven't been fortunate to try them. However, I have tried "Memoirs of a Trespasser"; the closest I've gotten so far is by blending Antikythera Mechanism with Aperotos Eros. I've been trying to find an appropriate scent heavy on myrrh and not much else---maybe, MAYBE Penitence. If you ever smell that and find a close approximation, let me know

in the bottle: chocolate, pomegranate, lemon on skin: immediately starts smelling like lemons and pomegranates---maybe linen? I'm getting a distinctly...clean scent from this, maybe even a tea. 10-30 minutes: Chocolate, pomegranate, something darker.Maybe the fig? Vanilla, maybe the honey musk are starting to come out. I finally looked up the notes; I know what the tea-impression is now! It's bergamot! But it's more or less dominated by the pomegranate on my skin. I definitely get the tonka but it's an undercurrent, and not a dominant player. hour in: Pomegranate, honey musk, hints of lemon and tonka. The vanilla adds a creaminess that's VERY well blended. It's almost a single-note at this point however; pomegranate dominates all! Overall, 4/5 for me---one of the few fruity blends I enjoy. If you're leery about chocolates, try this one! It just adds depth and is barely detectable otherwise. It's what made me brave enough to try other chocolate and cocoa scents, admittedly!

I can tell this one definitely has red musk in it; it smells.... Well, like Mouse's older sister, who is much more mystical, self-assured. It's like someone added a heady dose of incense to it or something, it just is.... deeper? I don't know how to explain the scent but it certainly is different from Mouse's, which is on the whole a paler, sweet scent... Delicate, I would say. This is much more robust, but the ironic thing is that the pale Mouse lasts a lot longer than the red. Weird. I certainly enjoy it at least, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't mystify the @$(# out of me trying to figure out the 'new' secret ingredient. Like I said, *must* be red musk or incense or...something! Hmmm. I almost want a bottle of this; maybe I just have to slather to get it to last a while.

So... I wish I could include a picture, because this is the oddest thing I've ever seen. I have here before me two imps of Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. In the left corner, we have a completely colorless oil, literally pale white. The one I stepped on before this was also the same color. The oil I recently received from arsinoe9 looks....well, BRIGHT red. It looks like it's all red musk or something! I don't know of too many oils that are this rich of red, except for Sin maybe? My question is whether or not anyone else has MLaST that's this color. Does it turn red when it ages, or was it reformulated? I have no idea what to make of this. x_X

I definitely will. I just sniffed my bottle of Voodoo, my imp of Snake Oil, and my other imp of Banshee; I'm about 75% positive the vanillas are the same, or very similar at least, and that the patchoulis in Voodoo and Banshee are in the same boat. It makes me wonder if I can get away with layering Rogue for the hemp with Voodoo without it going into a stinky, oily mess.... You bet your butt I'm going to try! Short of Beth putting out Hemp and Patchouli single-notes... Fat chance, but I know if I'm patient it may be possible. =) Besides, in the meantime it gives me a chance to hunt down an imp of #occupy. I'm not usually a fan of chocolate scents but reading the notes made me drool, so I'm hopeful

I've always been curious about what other people like to layer with their BPAL collection---both LE and GC. Me myself, I really enjoy layering Raven Moon 09 and Harp of C'noc Chosgair I believe it is. DELICIOUS, makes it a bit more sweet when I need a sweet fix. I've also layered Raven with Antikythera Mechanism, because sometimes for whatever reason I amp the woody notes instead of the vanilla and tobacco, turning this into something super-masculine. x_X Also, I'm curious if anyone layers anything with Voodoo---it has a ton of notes already and is quite a morpher, so I would consider it more of a challenge.

Sunshine.... I love you. :wub2: :wub2: That's the *perfect* plan of attack. I think the vanilla in Banshee Beat is similar to the ones in Snake Oil and Voodoo... I could be wrong, though. I also saw Rogue has hemp in it! One of the few that does, truthfully, without getting too complex... So the real question is, is can I find a patchouli that doesn't necessarily have a chocolate note to it...

Apparently vanilla, sandalwood, and most patchoulis are golden-notes on me; they can do no wrong! And tonka works pretty well too, admittedly. I'll have to try that out, maybe if I'm lucky someone will send me an imp! =) Although, I am a touch worried; most chocolate notes amp to the point they overwhelm honey, ginger, sandalwood AND vanilla---which I thought was impossible, because those and amber/resins tend to overwhelm anything else in every blend I've tried. x_x I did just try Midnight Gypsy's Murder of Crows which has a dark chocolate basenote, and coconut apparently is the one note that can conquer it. Actually turned out pretty nice, to be honest. They say there's always a blend out there that'll turn one of your hated notes into one of your favorites... Scales of Deprivation revived lavender blends for me, and the lemon in it worked well too! So I suppose I can't knock it until I try it! =D Which I definitely will, if it means I can start wearing chocolate AND smelling like Banshee!

I have not, but those notes sound pretty amazing! =D I amp all those notes actually... I wonder how it would smell? I wonder if there's anything with patchouli I could layer it with... >.>

Hahaha I have Tombstone... For me, I amp the pines in it too much and then it suddenly turns to rootbeer

Okay... So I'm addicted to Banshee Beat, along with hundreds of others, no doubt. Not wanting to sift and sort through 70 pages, what are some good substitutions or blends to replace it? Short of writing up a petition to bring the damn siren that is Banshee Beat back, I have to make due with my imp or hope I can find a bottle that isn't exorbitantly priced. I hear that Goblin is a good substitute; however, are there any blends that don't have coconut in them? I tend to amp coconut to high heaven, and it either turns into a dry, husky coconut (think Brown Jenkin-like) or suntan lotion (ewwwwww).

Goodness gracious, now THIS is one I can complain about them not having in the GC---in this instance, the Lab isn't just shooting themselves in the foot. No, they're shooting themselves in both feet, kneecaps, femoral artery and genitals. I thought Antikythera Mechanism was addictive---which yes, yes it is ---however, this is addictive in a completely different way. A-M is addictive like alcoholism. Banshee Beat is like whatever drugs old Voodoo priests would blow into peoples faces to make them into zombies. It really blows me away that much, and good gods what I wouldn't give for a hundred bottles of this! It's a shame that this WOULD be the type to be my signature scent, but is so damn rare and hard to find. In the bottle: The vanilla reminds me of an aged Snake Oil vanilla, sweet but with a lot of depth! The patchouli also reminds me of Voodoo---both have an almost soda-pop vibe to them at first. Incredibly spicy woods and vanilla! on the skin: Someone must have laced this with meth. MUST have! x_X And possibly Gorilla Glue. This is the most AMAZING scent I have EVER had the fortune of trying, and I can't get my wrists off my nose. I'm practically huffing this. x_x Again, the most perfect spicy-sweet scent EVER, I don't know how anything could ever get better than this. So far, it's long lasting and has AMAZING throw. I only put on a little from the imp I received, and I barely have to sniff myself at all. That, however, doesn't stop me from sniffing anyway. Obviously avoid this if you hate vanilla, but if you're ambiguous about patchouli, give this a try! My old art teacher used to wear patchouli single note; it was so powerful and cloying that you could literally find him by following the scent-trail he left behind in his travels around the building. If you have similar memories of a friend, relative or acquaintance sporting overwhelmingly strong patch SN, have no fear! This patch isn't very high pitched, but slow developing, spicy and earthy. Think oozing magma compared to raging wildfires; the patchouli certainly adds a fiery... something to this mix. Lab, if you read these notes regularly, seriously, what are you DOING. At the very least bring this back so I can stock up on 100 bottles. Even a quick resurrection! This scent is just too good to be so damn rare. Okay, I guess just 50. I'd have to share with its other fans, who I have no doubt are as ravenous as I am for it. x_X but really, you think I'm kidding when I say I want to wear this until I die, but I really do. I've never encountered a more mysterious, beautiful, brilliant scent in my life until today. A thousand thank yous to surlygurl for including this as a little frimp! I knew as soon as I saw the notes that this would be instant love(and lust) at first sniff!

I'm going to start by saying this has to be one of the most satisfying reviews I've ever had the pleasure of doing. Why this isn't in the general collection as a permanent staple is mystifying to me; with the fervor after it, it seems to me that the Lab is doing itself a great disservice not taking all my money, limbs, and first-born children, because yeah, this scent is THAT GOOD. EDIT: Apparently it is, much to my delight/my bank's horror. In the bottle: At first whiff, it ALMOST smells like cheap cologne. Almost. The tobacco is in the backround, urging me forward; I bought a half bottle off the forums, so obviously I'm going to try it regardless. All the notes were winners for me.... I knew it couldn't go wrong. First ten minutes: Oh my goodness, my chemistry turns everything super sweet and spicy! I swear to the good gods there MUST be sandalwood in here as a hidden note; I can smell the teak, and DEFINITELY the oak (good Dagda it's BEAUTIFUL ), but even together it shouldn't smell this much like sandalwood.... should it? My nose is convinced, but it may be that I work really well with woody notes Half hour later: It smells like rich, sweet, sandalwood incense being burned inside a tobacco shop. You head in, buy yourself a big bag of vanilla pipe tobacco, chat with the owner for a few minutes and head back to your car. You then proceed to take a drive up to the national forest, already chomping on a pipe, the sweet smell filling the car, mingling with the scent of sandalwood incense that permeated your clothes. You park, step out, and the intense smell of damp oak leaves and bark joins the clouds of sweet, incense-like smoke billowing from your lips. It's a lot like that. I have a feeling a certain handsome redhead I know would enjoy this immensely..! This would smell amazing on him, as he actually DOES smoke vanilla pipe tobacco, and enjoy sandalwood or woody/spicy scents. I have a feeling he would amp the oak more than I did; on me, however, this is tobacco dominating with vanilla, his right-hand-man so to speak, while sitting atop a throne made of oak and teak.

Now, I COULD be wrong... but I seem to remember a very, very old, Egyptian recipe for incense that included wine, honey, myrrh---possibly some frankincense in there---and raisins. I believe there were a few more ingredients--maybe cloves, cinnamon, labdanum, etc, but for some reason this strikes me as an interpretation compared to the previous recipe. I've MADE that incense before---it can take while a long while to dry, I've let mine mature for years. But when it's lit, it smells downright amazing.... I wish I could say the same thing about Cairo. I don't get any honey (the one in O would've been *perfect* for this), or spice, or anything remotely reminiscent of ACTUAL Kyphi. It smells like someone spilled a bottle of wine.... and then, to clean it up, someone pissed all over it. -.- And then there was a lemon-fight. This was such a let down---different types of kyphi are supposed to be bursting to the brim with resins and honey, maybe even a touch of cinnamon (sorry those of you with allergies). Vaudevillain's review was entirely accurate. Crazy throw, horrible smell. I've heard of jasmine going to cat pee on people... I am fortunately not one of those people, but made the mistake of thinking I was safe. Screw 0, at least that's neutral... I'll give this a -15/5. =/ I've never heard of Kyphi incense made almost purely with lemon, wine, and pee.

Let me begin by saying something: this is definitely a unisex scent, maybe even leaning slightly towards masculine depending on what notes you tend to amplify. Don't let the beaver butt scare you! It's soft, delicate, and not even a touch stinky. Now, my impressions: In the bottle: This smells EXACTLY what I want my men to smell like, except... Well, except it could use a little amber and spice. >.> But OTHERWISE, it's like buying an expensive, well-blended bottle of man's perfume. Lots of woods, a HINT of bourbon vanilla (you can't really smell it in the bottle except for a certain... roundness, or a hint of sweetness at the very back of your nose), and plenty of patch. I can't smell the tobacco flower very strongly; not yet at least, but I suspect it's what gives this scent its depth. Wet: Hoo-boy! I was a little intimidated for the first ten minutes here, because it smells VERY masculine, and very musky. There's the powder-notes of toasted sandalwood for me, which I amp strongly, but the teak is coming in as well; they're like Tango and Cash, or Cassidy and Sundance, you don't really find one without the other. There's a certain green, woodsy kick from this, and before long vanilla starts smoothing out the rough spots. 30 minutes later: The sharpness is fading, a blade dulled by repeated use. More toasty sandalwood, the beaver-butt developed into powdery musk on me; the tobacco flower and vanilla are definitely what make this unisex (barely, because on me I think I'm amping almost ALL the notes except the tobacco flower x_x ). However, I amp vanilla considerably, so I'm hoping that given another hour or two this'll be mostly a sweet/woodsy scent.

Wow, I don't know if it's the fact that I'm like 75% sure this has been aged a bit, or if I just SERIOUSLY amp vanilla, but this surprised the hell out of me! In the bottle: *not* what I expected, although I realize I was being a little silly; sandalwood is listed as one of the first notes, and justly so, because it's more or less ALL I smell in the bottle. Toasty, dry, powdery sandalwood! I hate powder notes, but I refuse to give up on this. Besides, it's sandalwood; I amp the hell out of it, but it usually becomes either smokey or sweet on me. What could go wrong? Wet: Wow. Super Powder comes in with a vengeance, but is quickly subdued by the clove. I'm starting to think this bottle is chock-full of notes I just amp considerably, because here comes Patch, AND the carnation, which I didn't realize likes me a LOT. Initially there is absolutely *no* hints of vanilla, which is disappointing; I was hoping that it would be much creamier than it is. 20 minutes later: Ah-HA! THERE you are, sweet, sweet bourbon vanilla; this is more what I was expecting. The sandalwood is still strong, but has mellowed and sweetened slightly; the clove and patch give it an earthy, spicy feel. I'm absolutely infatuated with this scent, and so glad I ended up getting a 5ml instead of half a bottle like I was thinking. I could drown myself in this scent; I can *kinda* see feathery, but for me it's like burning sweet incense in the middle of a forest in autumn. The carnation peeks out here and there to lift the other notes and accentuate the sweetness of the vanilla. I'm surprised at how much the vanilla is showing as this dries; towards the end of the hour, it really commands attention, and you would've *never* expected it from just sniffing the bottle. 5/5, easily one of my new favorites. Not as sweet and beloved as Voodoo (which I'd give a 7/5, despite the improper fraction it's downright addictive and is like turning the volume up to 11), but incredibly enchanting.

I'm not going to do one of my typical, fully detailed reviews for this one because I have one word: Barbecue! I smell like a bloody barbecue. I have NO IDEA what would cause this imp to do that; in the vial, it smells absolutely gorgeous, dark and spicy and certainly pumping full of dragon's blood. I'm going to assume it's the musk, because I just discovered that vetiver and I oddly get along. I wasn't expecting that---it smells so dark, dirty, and musty!!---but it does AMAZING things on my skin, so I can't blame that. Dragon's blood usually isn't a problem for me either, and hell, even patchouli is one of my LOVE!!!! notes. I think I'm going to have to chalk this up to the musk, dragon's blood, patchouli and vetiver *together*. The dragon's blood, patchouli and vetiver stood a slight chance, but it was still a chance! The musk just does something really, really funky on my skin. Again, it smells exactly like barbecue sauce with maybe a dash of metallic blood for good measure. It's like all of these notes got together in the middle of a work picnic day and started brawling, giving themselves (and many others) bloody noses and broken limbs. Someone clearly hit the grill while Bob the Grill Man was working on flipping the bbq-chicken. It's all just a giant mess! Usually I only have problems with white florals and rose amping to the point it blows fuses; this is something I'll have to be wary of. I'm going to try it again during the month to see if my personal chemistry has anything to do with it; maybe it just smells horrible on me when I'm sick. Goodness, a girl can hope, right??? Otherwise, it's undoubtedly to the swap pile with this. Such a disappointment. Update: Good gods. This is definitely going to the swap pile; when I opened the bottle to take a whiff, the only thing this reminded me of was mesquite. I can't imagine what happened to the dragon's blood I used to be able to detect before, but it still smells like metallic bbq sauce on me. This has to be one of the downright weirdest morphs I've ever experienced with a perfume; damn near every note was a winner for me, but together it just turns foul and gives me a headache (RARELY ever happens, even with scents I hate!). Oh well, my loss, someone else's gain.

I received this in the "Love is a Mixed Bag" PiF giveaway from emilynicole, and goodness gracious I have *never* been so in love with a scent! Let me start this out with saying that I tend to *hate* lemongrass, or anything too lemony without any cake/vanilla notes. However, I am currently growing ginger not even 5 feet away from me in the next room. Just yesterday when I went to water it, I was met with this amazingly fresh, peppery-sweet, gingery aroma; I realized the fragrance was from the leaves! Spellbound, I wondered to myself if I would ever find an oil blend that could use this note. Thank you Universe, you did NOT hesitate to answer that question! (And more importantly, thank you emilynicole!!! ) In the bottle: I can *definitely* see why people are thinking vetiver; it must be the kudzu that is giving this that smokey, dirty tone. Ginger being my favorite, it isn't hard to capture it in the first whiff, but the kudzu is *quite* demanding. I see kudzu akin to the bouncer to a very lively club; if you can get past him, you're in for a spectacular time! Clearly the creamy notes and honey are in the VIP club, because they certainly aren't out front like the kudzu and ginger grass. Wet: For a second I am seriously worried---anyone who likes lemongrass will definitely like this. It's not *lemony* per se, but it has that same bright and herbal tone. It's almost peppery! I imagine that's the ginger tones starting to come up. There are faint moments where this almost smells medicinal, but suddenly it morphs into this sweet, bright scent reminiscent of ginger ale. This isn't the ginger ale you buy at Walmart though; this is strong, vivid, artisan ginger ale. I keep feeling like it almost---ALMOST---has citrus tones. As much as I hate citrus tones, it's actually very attractive in this. Apparently Kudzu has relatives, and they're all working security for the club as well; I keep catching glimpses of them, but then they fade into the crowds of happy ginger-grass dancers. 20 minutes in: THERE'S the honey! And some of the creaminess too. The ginger-cream comes into play like 50 stunning women suddenly flooding the dance floor. You can't pay attention to anything else! But there in the center is honey; beautiful and sweet, but nowhere near as flashy as her ginger-cream entourage, she is subtle and inviting, utterly captivating. The honey is what rounds out the ginger beer vibe, but the ginger-cream and ginger grass are stage hogs. I was expecting more smoke from this, considering I usually amp the hell out of smokey notes. 1 hour in: Holy ginger. I didn't realize it but someone trampled Honey during the second act. I don't think anyone realized it. She's been stomped and mashed to the point I can't even recognize her anymore, and the ginger cream and ginger grass dancers are still dancing with wild, reckless abandon! Shit, I'm pretty sure even the kudzu bouncers got trampled to death in the ensuing madness...!! The only thing entangled about this is how honey's and kudzu's body parts got entangled in the Gozilla-sized-ginger-dancers' legs and feet (and they'd curbstomp Godzilla to boot)! However, this keeps morphing.... I don't know what the #@$^! happened to this night club, but I'm pretty sure it's delicious pandemonium. As the Ginger Godzilla twins rampaged on, something happened to the Ginger-Cream sister; it split into two separate entities! Suddenly, it was Ginger and Ginger Grass vs Cream and Honey, and literally one hour it's Revenge of the Gingers, and then the next it's ginger-ale float (thank you Cream and Honey!!!), tripped up by kudzu's haggard herbal limbs. This could VERY easily be unisex, because it's gone from masculine to feminine to androgynous at least 6 times during the day alone. I should also add that the throw is ENORMOUS (a little bit'll do ya, but I'm a slatherer), and for being comprised mostly of what I consider top-notes, this lasts a *considerably* long time. =D As much as I hate lemongrassy like things, I think this one is a serious winner, and one I can't wait to wear during the spring and summer months!

This is only going to be a brief review for now, because I want to try this a few more times before I call my final judgement on it. I do want to say however that unlike a lot of people apparently, this turns INCREDIBLY smokey-sweet on me, almost cloyingly so. Apparently my skin is okay with some vetivers, because this one turns into a spicy, woody incense, oozing with sweet resins and a hint of salty tang---I consider this like the need for acids taste-wise in cooking, it makes this scent incredibly interesting. Admittedly, this is a serious morpher, so sometimes it goes from uber-feminine incense-woods-resins to super-salty-woods and dark earth. For being so simple, it is acting incredibly complex with my chemistry, and doesn't know where or how it wants to develop. Only time will tell if this stays sexy-sweet and the dragon's blood wins, or if I'm going to end up smelling like what every drop dead gorgeous man should smell like. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Thank you Labs, this frimp is going to be absolutely delightful either way!

In the bottle: Ohhh my goodness, almonds and honey. The creaminess isn't a thick cream so much as a thin milk. I've smelled creamier oils, to be honest, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Wet: Goodness GRACIOUS almonds. It's almost a soapy almond-honey-milk blend, but I say that because it's one of my favorite scents for hand soap... >.> It certainly isn't bad, and because I'm a slatherer it has a decent throw at least initially. 15 minutes in: Wow! I usually have a hard time letting scents mellow on my skin without wanting to add something to it (when I tried Ekhidna I actually ended up sweetening it with this and a vanilla/black pepper/sandalwood blend of my own making)... However, when those urges kicked it, I couldn't bring myself to layer it with *anything*. It smells AMAZING! It could've gone oatmeal cookie on me, but instead it's going all sweetgrass. I imagine I can thank the almonds, honey and milk notes for tricking my nose into it It's delicate, sweet, creamy without being cloying, and has a hell of a throw still. Apparently I am amping this like tossing jugs of gasoline on a bonfire. Dry down: Nothing but honey and milk and sweetgrass-notes. I smell like someone infused milk with it and a scattering of almonds, with just the *faintest* oatmeal notes rounding it out. If this was a bath, I would feel like Queen of the Fae themselves afterwards, good gods! I don't think it can get much better than this. I'm glad I splurged on a 5 ml; clearly I need one that's a LOT bigger I should also add that I've been wearing this for about a day straight, and the more I reapply, the creamier and sweeter this gets, both in terms of honey and the sweetgrass notes. I think there's a good chance I'm quite literally addicted; this is aptly named/described, because apparently I've been enslaved.

In the bottle: I don't know if I can detect the corn, but I'm definitely aware of the hemp---it's almost a green note, but I would call it more of a green-brown, not emerald. This might also be accented by the tree sap and the mosses, neither of which I'm entirely familiar with. The acorn gives it a mealy nuttiness that reminds me of when Bob, my oak tree, starts dropping them all over the front walkway, only for some to be inevitably crushed under foot. The hay is strong and sweet, what I would have hoped for from Hay Moon, but on second sniff that sweetness is probably coming from the rice milk. Good sweet gods, the rice milk notes are sending my head in a whirl (in a really good way!) On the skin: The rice milk and almond blossoms predominate, but behind them there is a strong presence of hemp, acorn and tree sap. It's not exactly sharp, but it's not smooth, either; those green-brown notes grab your attention, and the sweeter, milky notes draw you in to stay. Mmmmmm. I need to get myself *quite* a few bottles of this, especially if it wears well! I can't imagine that it could turn weird on me, but there's always that chance... 20 minutes later: The green smell isn't so cloying anymore; the hay is coming out in full force with the rice milk and acorn---but the acorn isn't as... mealy? as it smelled before, it's almost like a smooth hazelnut tone. It could be my nose playing tricks on me, but it reminds me a great deal of that. I could see that if you're sensitive to smells this could be cloying in large amounts; best to go gently with it if you're in that group! The throw on this thing is ridiculous, Olympian even. This scent apparently leads a double life as a pitcher for the big leagues somewhere. Maybe multiple places. It's mysterious like that. I agree it smells like oatmeal porridge to a point, but it still has mossy tones lurking in the background. The moss isn't demanding, but it fleshes out the scent amazingly well. 1 hour later: Is... that spice? I don't think I saw any spice in the notes here, but it's starting to go slightly cinnamon-nutmeg on me; I won't argue. The acorn is still strong, but I was secretly hoping I would be the type to amp it (hooraaaay!!!). I don't broadcast it as strongly as I tend to with say, rose or sandalwood, but it's strong enough that it held its own. Thank goodness! Amber is evident; maybe that's the spice I noticed. It must be, I can't imagine where else it could come from, and on second thought amber *does* tend to get spicy over powdery for me. Thank the good gods! I still haven't noted any corn notes throughout the entire thing; this was *very* well blended. I imagine it's lurking back with the mosses, keeping company and providing proper support to the main characters. The rice milk, hay and amber make this just so incredibly sweet (as does my skin <3 ), and I seriously want to curl into this scent as deeply as possible. For being an hour later, the throw is still pretty strong, but it isn't as overwhelming as it was after the initial application. I should add that the sweetness increased all day yesterday, and was still very noticeable this morning when I woke up! It's milk and meadows and amber-scented now, with hints of hazelnut-acorn and even a touch of smokiness. It must be the blend of the acorn and amber, carefully playing off one another; I realized I smelled like an oatmeal cookie! After reapplying, the green grassy/mossy and the sharp acorn notes subsided VERY quickly, and just revitalized the sweetness and sweet meadow notes. Good gods, this is perhaps one of my most favorite scents...! I know it's meant for summer, and I suppose I could see that, but to me it's much more autumn and winter. I worry that with the damp summer heat Western PA is known for, the strong throw that was there at the beginning would become overwhelming. Admittedly, this is not necessarily the best thing to wear if you're trying to avoid a hangover either. I didn't realize how sensitive to smells I could be after a night of silliness. x_x All that aside, I need to stock up on at least 10 bottles of this. Body chemistry be willing, I would wear this for decades to come.

In the bottle: Goodness gracious, root beer (sassafras) and cedar city! The cedar is definitely sharp and woody, and the peru balsam adds a little sweetness with the vanilla; however, this sweetness is different than the vanilla in a way that's hard to describe. It's almost.... more round, and wooded, but this might be the cedar. The cedar's pretty strong! On the skin: Mmmmmmmm. I agree that this is like vanilla syrup poured into a cedar chest, but I feel like it's more like a thick rootbeer float flooding that chest instead. It's incredibly sweet, but the woodiness keeps it from being too foody for me. I tend to amp woods like nobody's business, but oddly enough I think the sassafras is becoming the dominant player for me. You know, on second thought, I really hope this gets sweeter. I want to smell like root beer floats forever :3 20-30 minutes in: Wow, this is weird.... it... it almost smells like sweetgrass? Like I am sitting in a field of it, surrounded by the braids of it I've neatly harvested, with gallons of birch beer and Boylan's Root Beer. It's a sunny, warm, breezy day, so I'm sitting in the shade of a little grove of cedar trees that sway and creak in the wind. The vanilla is definitely becoming a strong player as well; I either wear vanillas very strongly or devour them without warning(thank goodness it's the former for this). It IS almost *exactly* like the vanilla in Snake Oil however, which would be disappointing if not for the sassafras. I'm absolutely in love with sassafras, but I'm worried the vanilla is starting to drown it out. I'm also worried that in another 15 minutes I'm going to smell like cheap vanilla candle and powdery instead of the deliciousness at the beginning. Good gods please, don't do it. Don't do it. I really hope it mellows out and sweetens up. C'mon Sassafrasquatch, do your thing, my body chemistry be damned! 1 hour in: Oh you sweet, sweet thing! Cedar either becomes woody and sweet---like a combination of pine, sandalwood and french vanilla---or pencil shavings. This cedar suddenly took a turn for a weirdly perfect blend of the two---the very sweet woodiness, but with an odd... spiciness? that I cannot resist. My true love, sassafras, was letting vanilla dominate before, but now he's returned to the stage to co-lead with her. There are still strong tones of sweetgrass, which is either the peru balsam or the total result of the blend itself. Or my body chemistry, hard to tell! Either way, I'm so glad I received an imp of this! I think a very large bottle is going to be in the works =D maybe 4. X_X Note!!: It's been about 4 hours now, and I can't detect hardly any cedar---maybe a hint or two of it, but it's subsided substantially. It's mellowed into this creamy root beer float scent that I wanted, with just a hint of something rustic, like having this wonderful drink outside on a summer evening, the smell of sweet grasses accompanying it. Good gods this was well worth the wait through the sharp cedar notes! I think I'm in some serious trouble, this is addictive stuff! ^__^ Mmmmmmmmm.

In the bottle: this smells almost like the Sensual Amber from Bath and Body Works I used to buy, but so, so much better. The sweet pea and the vanilla give this a wonderfully sweet feel, and I have to agree with basically everyone---this is a light pink, like fluffy, sweet mounds of frosting atop a cupcake. The difference is, is that despite the food reference, this isn't a touch foody, and despite the sweet pea it isn't overwhelmingly floral either. You can *barely* detect the sandalwood. On the skin: Oh good sweet gods, have I died?? There is no way that something this heavenly should be here on earth, but here it is! The vanilla and sweet pea immediately take control, with more sweet notes than I can understand. The sandalwood gives it the faintest of powdery notes on my skin, but the amber and vanilla are the major players, with best supporting role given to sweet pea. The sweet pea really elevates the vanilla to another level entirely. 20 minutes later: Usually I amp sandalwood like nothing else, but the vanilla and ambers are holding their own---although the sweet pea is fading. Apparently my skin really drinks it in! This is really a slatherer; the scent didn't last on me very long at all (about an hour, hour and a half). To try and prolong the lasting power I layered it with a touch of O; the honey compliments the ambers and the sweet pea quite nicely, and it lasted for a few more hours. Delicious!