akw

Someone mentioned rose geranium, and I'd be inclined to lean toward that rather than rose. The main reason being that I'm not running for the soap and water like I usually do with anything rose, and it is staying fairly true to how it went on instead of morphing into the usual laundry soap (rose on me). It is a bit sour, and I probably wouldn't wear it as perfume, but for anyone who studies the Qabalah, I think it definitely represents the energies of Netzach. I could see using it in ritual. It's very much of nature, plants, flowers, the physical beauty and lushness of the earth.

This was mostly fruit on me. Sweet, pretty fruit. There was a hint of underlying otherness -- probably cocoa or palm -- but very faint. I found this to be a light, pretty scent, very work safe or mother-in-law safe. Medium throw, short wear length.

When wet, strong fruit and florals, although I can't say I find the peach. Pretty soon baby powder, and before it even dries the rose takes over. I probably shouldn't even review blends with rose in them as I just can't wear it, but I always think it's worth a go when I encounter a new one. For someone who can wear rose and likes sweet, light, fruity florals, this would probably work really well.

In the beginning, wet, I could hardly believe there are no fruit notes listed. I felt like I was sniffing a tropical drink with a little umbrella in it. Maybe this is what shea does on me. On drydown, I start to get more shea and more herbs. The herbs aren't sharp or pungent -- just nice. I'm so happy that the wood in this isn't doing what wood usually does on me -- scented pencil shavings. It's just barely foresty rather than the sawdust pile at the wood mill. This is a happy, summery, enjoy the meadow-at-the-edge-of-the-forest kind of scent. Wear a frilly skirt and take a blanket.

In the bottle and wet . . . almond. Then . . . straight up Red Hots! The almond gives the cinnamon a candy flavor. It's fun, but for me it's not perfume. The good news is that it's the only strong cinnamon I've tried that doesn't turn my skin red.

At first, I would have sworn I smelled citrus in this. Maybe I've experienced rosemary and citrus together so much that I made the association. After a few minutes, the sweet notes come through, and I think maybe it's actually honey or caramel and rosemary. On me, this is happy and summery with light throw. Very pretty.

Early on, wet, I get subtle herbs and spices. On me it might be mostlly pepper in the spice category, but it's not hot peppery. I'm not getting patchouli at all except maybe as the thing that grounds the herbs and spices. At this stage, it reminds me a little of standing at the edge of the road in Big Sur, Calif., looking out over the ocean. That kind of herbaceous, resiny thing. Maybe it's the hyssop doing all that. Soon the amber shows itself, and it becomes warm and sunny. I have trouble keeping amber on my skin long enough to enjoy it, and I'm very pleased that I get warm, sunny, beautiful amber for at least an hour. It's subtle, but it's definitely there, along with the herbs. This reminds me of a warm, spring or early summer day, being outside with herbs and resins rather than flowers. I sorta wish I got the desert that others have mentioned, but this is evocative and wonderful anyway. Lovely, and I'm really curious to see how this one will age. Edited to add . . . I applied another layer and NOW I get all the other spices. It just keeps getting better!!

Initially strong, but dusty, powdery cocoa. As it dries, the Snake Oil comes out, and I don't specifically get wood or rice milk, but there is something that pulls everything together in a really nice way. After a few minutes, I get mostly deeper, darker Snake Oil. It's nice, but my skin is eating it. Ater 30 minutes I can't smell it unless I have wrist to nose, and even that is fading fast. If this had more throw and lasting power, I'm sure it would work really well. If your skin plays well with woods and you like Snake Oil, you might love this. Woods tend to either amp up or disappear on me, and I suspect that is what's happening. Boomslang minus my skin = lovely blend.

In the bottle and wet on my skin, Tiresias was strong caramel. However, it faded really quickly, and morphed into a constantly changing and complex scent. I spent an evening with it and felt that it was more of a journey than a perfume. In the beginning it was like everything I love about Red Lantern and none of what doesn't work. I adore Red Lantern in the bottle, but there is something in it that does nasty things with my skin these days. Tiresias has none of that. The tobacco comes out next and blends really nicely with the fading caramel. Not getting any currant at this point. After a couple of hours I begin to get the cinnamon and red currant. I'm thrilled with this cinnamon because I usually can't wear it. It usually overpowers whatever else is in a blend. In this, it just adds spice. At the end I get the black currant. I'm glad I didn't look up "muguet" before I ordered this because I probably would have passed on it had I known it's Lily of the Valley. Somehow this lily works!! This is a long review, but as I said, it was a journey more than a perfume. I love it, and I'm glad I took a chance with some of the notes.

The first thing I got, in the bottle and wet on my skin was champa flowers. For the first few minutes it reminded me of Midnight on the Midway, but not as sweet. Soon that settled down, and I could begin to smell the spices coming through. After an hour or so, the floral and spice blend together in a really nice way. The longer it's on, the more I smell the spices. This is exotic and different and morphs really nicely. I took a chance with it because florals usually turn to sharp laundry soap on me, but this one isn't doing that. On me, it's just a little bit girlie, but I do like it and am seeing myself wearing it a lot on warm, summer nights. Definitely a keeper.

When this first arrived, the frankincense, Snake Oil and champaca didn't seem really well integrated. The frankincense, especially, was a little too loud. There was something interesting and compelling about it thought, so I kept coming back. Now, the frankincense plays nicely with the other ingredients, and I get more Snake Oil than in the beginning. I can barely detect the labdanum. I think it probably helps ground some of the other components without being in-your-face itself. It starts out wet as a sweet, resiny, well-blended Snake Oil concoction and dries to something more subtle and less sweet, really beautiful and interesting. Definite keeper, and maybe second bottle-worthy.

I held off reviewing Shub until it aged for a month or so, and I'm glad I did. Early on, especially when wet, it was too lemony and gingery for me -- a little too foody. I found it interesting and wore it around the house, but it didn't seem repeatable beyond the imp. The lemon has simmered down a bit, and something warmer and darker is sitting under the ginger -- perhaps the incense. The lemon now adds sparkle and interest rather than being sharp. I'm wondering if this actually has lemongrass rather than lemon. It's still in the foody category, which I actually like, but not as in-your-face as it was a month ago. I'll probably be buying a bottle soon, so it will be nicely aged by the time the imp is gone.

Everything Macha said, and . . . Essential oils are affected by growing conditions, soil composition, seasonal variations -- all that stuff that varies from place to place and season to season. This is the beauty and the frustration of working with naturals -- that they come from living plants and can change with environment and conditions. One of the reasons large perfumers switched from naturals to synthetics was for consistency that can't be guaranteed with naturals. Every now and then there are disappointments, but more often there are happy surprises.

When I first got this, I thought the vetiver might be too strong and that it might not be well-enough integrated. However, after about two weeks . . . I am in LOVE!!! This has become the one I keep reaching for even when my mind thinks I want to wear something else. The vetiver has settled in with the other ingredients, and it is luscious, earthy, grounded Snake Oil. The vetiver gives it a slight, raspy edge that I really like. I do get some coconut, but it's subtle and plays well with the other notes. It adds richness rather than standing out on its own. This is Snake Oil for when I'm feeling more quiet and subdued. I agree with others who have suggested that this Snake Oil might have started out more aged. There will most definitely be at least one more bottle before CD comes down.

First impression was strong, strong lavender. A bit after dry down, the deeper notes come out, integrate well with the lavender, and I thought it was going to work. That phase was really lovely. However, it lasted for just a short time, maybe 10 minutes or so. Within a half hour or less, the only thing remaining is faded, slightly sour lavender. I really wish that brief 10 minutes of loveliness had lasted. It was sooo nice.

Wet, this is incensy and warm, slightly sweet with a faint woody background. The currant is also very background. There is something exotic -- possibly the oud. 30 minutes later, fading but comforting and lovely. I get the honey more and the currant less. 45 minutes later, it's more interesting and complex with a spicey component that I didn't notice before, but it's fading fast. This is a beautiful scent, and I wish it had more oomph and lasting power. It's evocative of something lovely that I haven't yet put my finger on. I want to experiment with successive layers of it and see if I can get it to stick around for awhile. ADDED March 4: Wet, I get incense, warm background woody, slightly sweet with currant in the background. There is something exotic. Oud maybe? Later, it becomes more faint, the comforting honey is stronger and I get less of the currant. Even later, more interesting. Spicy and pretty and complex. I wish it lasted longer because this last phase is really, really nice. Overall, through all the stages, I get an underlying light floral. I usually can't wear florals, but somehow this works.

I can't vouch for long-term freezing, but my last order was delivered to my mailbox during a cold snap (it was -30, -35 degrees Fahrenheit, something like that that day) and the package sat in there all afternoon. Some of the bottles were frozen solid, a couple were slushy, a couple still liquid, depended on the formulation, I suppose. Anyway, when they were all thawed out, they were completely fine. What I've heard is that heat is worse than cold, but in general, extremes are best avoided. One perfumer/aromatherapist I know says that fluctuations in temperature do more damage than the occasional extreme. So, here's more information that doesn't answer the question.

When I first got this, I only liked it a little bit. It was interesting, but had an edge to it, and the orange and musk didn't seem well integrated. I tried it again a couple of days ago, and oh, my!! I think the black amber must have emerged because it has a smoothness and underlying very slight sweetness that it didn't have before. The whole thing is more integrated and really pretty. After a two or three hours, just a bit of the old edge resurfaces but I can apply more, and it's beautiful again. I've already chased down a swap of another bottle.

Wet and early on this is all almond and something slightly fruity. As it dries, the myrrh, amber and musk come out and it becomes creamy, spicy and lovely. There is something very comforting and soft about it, yet not the least bit wimpy. It's a little bit reminiscent of Anubis -- probably the myrrh and the storax and balsam in Anubis may remind me of the amber in Bastet. This is softer though. This is really beautiful!

Desire was sharp and pungent first out of the bottle. This was short-lived though, and soon the vanilla, neroli and bergamot emerged. This is well enough blended that I couldn't detect either patchouli or musk -- just the presence of something deep and dark in a very subtle way. The darker notes support rather than overpower. I'm pleasantly surprised that the bergamot and rose are not doing their usual overpowering amp on my skin. Perhaps the vanilla keeps them in check. This isn't a style that I would wear, but it could be perfect for someone who enjoys elegance and sophistication. It's well-blended, balanced and pretty.

Urd is sooo interesting. At first, I found the combination of fruit and patchouli somewhat disconcerting, but after a few minutes they integrated. The combination creates something that reminds me of the musk scents, but no musk is mentioned. The champa comes out after the fruit and patchoulis start working together, and the whole thing is lovely. After 30 minutes or so, the fruit comes out again and the patchouli recedes, and eventually, as it fades a little, it integrates once again. Very interesting morph throughout. I wish that first stage of integration lasted longer and that the reemergence of the fruit would happen a bit later in the process, but overall this is an interesting, exotic, unusual blend.

My initial impression of this was vanilla-scented baby powder. Sweet, nice and innocent, and a little one-dimensional. After an hour or so it developed into something a bit more complex and interesting with more depth, but remained too light and sweet for me. I actually like the scent . . . just not for wearing. However, I'd highly recommend it for someone who wants a light, comforting, slightly girlie scent that isn't heavy on the florals. After several hours, I'm thinking this might be tonka rather than vanilla. Tonka lasts and lasts on me this way.

Straight out of the bottle, fruit, fruit fruit. Grapes, wine and champagne above all else. However, the fruit is like the host/ess who opens the door and greets you at the party. Once you've said hello, you come inside and spend most of your time with the other guests. (Typical of top notes). Ten minutes later, the honey is stronger. Oakmoss usually goes all men's aftershave on me, and this isn't doing that. The florals and tonka are just beginning to surface. An hour later, it's nearly gone except for some faint, lingering fruity tonka. This is really pretty, but has no staying power on me. For someone who can't do a lot of florals, this would be lovely if it sticks around. It's winter and my skin is drier. Maybe that's part of it.

Sweet and soft, and I agree that it's a nice meditation blend. I get sandalwood and cedar with something else that adds sweetness and warmth. Unfortunately, it was gone in about a half hour. That tends to happen with me and sandalwood and cedar though. Whatever else is in it isn't enough to let it hang on for awhile. If it had more ooomph on my skin, I'd probably buy a bottle.

Wet, this is a very light, pretty scent with the pepper and mandarin keeping it interesting. I don’t know what laurel or peony smell like so I’m not picking them out. Everything is subtle, and this is something I might wear when I want to be subtle. A quiet, just-for-me scent, or for an elegant tea. I usually can’t wear lily, so either it’s a very small amount or the stargazer variety works. After 30 minutes, except for the faintest hint of mandarin, it’s nearly gone. 15 minutes later, totally gone. Great potential, but just didn't hold up on my skin.