sailthetethys

I liked Zorya P, but I didn’t love her. She was just a little too sweet and the florals were just a little too high pitched. I LOVE this. This is perfection. This is deeper, richer, and moodier than Zoya P, while still being soft and sweet. I think the oud is doing some secret magic behind the scenes to give this scent complexity and depth, but I can’t pick it out on its own. In fact, I really can’t pick out any particular scent except the lavender (and for me, it’s THE lavender - that soft, dreamy, almost marshmallowy lavender that I absolutely love) unless I really make an effort, because this is so well-blended and cohesive - it’s one of those blends that feels more like a luxury perfume. It’s lavender heavy in the early stages. As it dries down, I get spiciness from the tobacco flower and a shimmery warmth that’s vaguely-marine-but-not from the ambergris - more like a heavy coastal fog that’s drifted inland than the actual sea. It evokes a winter-like color palette - blue, grey, purple - without being astringent or icy - in fact, it feels warm and cozy. There’s a creaminess that together with the tobacco flower spice makes it feel gourmand at times, but I wouldn’t call this a gourmand scent any more than I’d call it a floral, a resin, an herbal, or a not-quite-marine. And yes, I definitely get a sweet creaminess that’s almost vanilla in the later stages. I feel like this could be a snuggly sleep scent, an every day scent, OR a special occasion scent. It ticks all the boxes. Tbh, this reminds me of a winter version of Abalone Vulva even though they don’t share any notes. But they both have that sophisticated, high-end perfume cohesiveness, and both feel very iridescent/pearlescent in the way that the notes swirl together and overlap to create something complex and lovely. But where AV is a swirl of turquoise and white water on a pink sandy beach, WoS is a swirl of snow against a stormy violet-grey sky. Very evocative and elegant, and it’s quickly become one of my all-time favorites.

The bottle smells like sweet green grass, a big comfort scent of mine, so I wasn’t ready for the punch of perfumed dirt on application (hard packed indeed, right into both my nostrils). That brought on a second of panic, but the dirt note is VERY short-lived (too short lived for me to appreciate it tbh - I probably would’ve liked it if I hadn’t been lulled into sweet grass complacency right before it hit me). Dry, it’s delicious. There’s greenery and sunlight and I second the hint of wildflowers. Not quite a forest, but a wooded meadow. There’s a little something else in the background that gives it a bit more depth and complexity than the notes would suggest (perhaps what’s left of the dirt?) so it feels like a proper perfume to me despite its simplicity - something I can’t say about other green grass blends I’ve tried. Overall, it’s fresh and green and light and I love it. It’s the summer grass scent I’ve been waiting for.

I’ve been trying to trick myself into organizing (and culling) my massive tiny bottle collection with a game where I sort them all into different groups solely by nose. The results have been…mostly comical and embarrassing tbh. The Eternal Virgin got sorted into the Fruity Pastry category along with the suffs. Why? Because in the bottle it smells EXACTLY LIKE Apple Newtons. Don’t remember Apple Newtons? They were like Fig Newtons, only WAY better, and I’ve been bitter about their absence for most of my life. Anyway, I see neither Apple nor Newton listed in the notes. BUT apparently the reviewer above me had pretty much the exact same “this is a fruity dessert” blind sniff experience so I feel somewhat validated. I’m guessing the honey is reading apple, and carnation + milk are reading cake, and cardamom is assisting both in the deception. On the skin, the carnation reads pretty true and the honey is more of a pure sweetness, so the end result isn’t very Apple Newton-y (sad), but an otherwise very lovely carnation that is equal parts spicy, smoky, and sweet. The cardamom spice and the slight smokiness from the carnation are actually giving it kind of a Yule-y vibe that brings to mind a sweeter, lighter version of Hearth. I don’t get any sharpness that the other reviews mention, so I assume that aging has mellowed this beauty out. And I agree that the honey is very delicate and well behaved, it’s a light, fresh honey ala Venus Obsequens (which could be why I keep associating it with apple).

[No additional description provided.] I haven't the faintest clue what a bluebonnet is supposed to smell like, so I can't tell you if this actually smells like a bluebonnet or not. To me this smells similar to the woodland phlox that used to grow in the forest near my childhood home, but with a note of fresh-cut grass. It's sweet and green and makes me think of picking wildflowers in late spring. I love it.

In the bottle this smells very soft and creamy and marshmallowy. Having been thus deceived, I slathered and promptly got backhanded across the face by lotus. Thus far, this has a tendency to stab the old temples a bit if I take a deep whiff of it (which I have done repeatedly since slathering, because I don’t learn). But it wants to settle down into sweet creamy poofiness. If I stop masochistically huffing it for a minute and let it get comfy, I imagine it’ll fade into something quite pretty. 30 min later edit: I was right.

Blind bottled this based on the previous reviews, and I’m happy to say they’re on the mark. This IS a very creamy, golden scent. “Seamless” is another word I’m gonna shamelessly steal from above - it’s so well-blended that no note really stands out above the others to me, not even the amber, which I usually amp like a goth-curious 90s teen who finally built up the nerve to visit the local headshop. I can pick out the honey and a non-stabby floral that must be orange blossom, as well as a resinous amberish vanilla-ey something, but tbh I think that’s only because y’all told me they were in here. Nothing in here really speaks hay to me or grass to me, but this scent does feel reminiscent of other sweet, creamy hay and grass blends like Thrice-Plowed Field, so they’re probably in there and my inferior nose just can’t sniff them out. Idk if it’s just the season, but this has big Shunga energy to me - the sweet creaminess makes me think it could be a Vulva in another, brighter timeline, one where Beth didn’t have to make gorgeous activism scents to help carry us through the dark.

In the bottle: Fruit Loops. On the skin: Sophisticated Fruit Loops.

In the bottle: lord god this is straight up grass clippings On the skin: thankfully, this sweetens up pretty quickly! There may be evergreen tinge in the background. The snow note is what I assume is the icy/ozone snow - it’s almost aquatic. The snow note does veer toward dryer sheet territory after a few minutes, but thankfully the grass keeps it sweet and green, with a freshness that feels more spring day than laundry day.

TKO without the KO! Lavender has always been my nighttime scent, but the snow note (this one is the Snow White snow to me) perks it up enough to wear during the day. The sugary snow + lavender makes me think of a wintery Sugar Phoenix. This is lovely and sweet, a perfect combination.

My favorite since the OG sufganiyot! Not too sweet, but still very jammy and decadent. The pastry note is really great in this one too; I feel like it’s been a bit overwhelmed by the fruits in some of the previous years. There’s no mistaking it in this one! I, like the others, can't quite pick out the individual fig note, but it definitely lends a sweetness to the cranberry that makes it somewhat reminiscent of a tart strawberry. If you missed out on Strawberry Sufganiyot, imo this is the scent that comes closest to the original in terms of balance between sweet and tart, and jam and pastry.

Sweet pea and sugar cane. I blind bottled this as soon as I saw the sweet pea and sugar because I'm still suffering from the Great Reflected Vulva Heartbreak of 2014. After painfully doling out a teensy drop from what's left of my decant to compare, I can say that at least to me it's very close. Even though Princess doesn't have the cream note, it still smells soft and creamy to me. This is so sweet and girlish and precious that it should come with a free tiara, and yet it's not overwhelming and cloying. It's absolutely lovely and now I can finally stop pining for the Luper that got away. You're damn right I'm a motherfucking princess and now I smell like one too.

I keep rediscovering and re-falling in love with this scent. It goes on very clean, almost powdery/soapy, to the point that I feel a tinge of apprehension (juniprehension?) and regret (ambregret? ...I’ll stop) whenever I first swipe it on my wrist. It mellows immediately into something sweet and inoffensive and I go about my day. The real magic comes once it settles a bit. The copal bumps up the resinous aspect of the amber, the juniper warms into something nearly cedaresque, and the sage does whatever sage does. It’s very smooth and well-blended, and is an excellent compromise between woodsy and office safe. It’s like what the village witch would wear to her court date. Enchanting but approachable.

Hi there, 2014 version. I hated you from the moment I bought you 4 years ago up until literally today. Today, for whatever reason, you really do smell magnificent. This has always been too cologny for me in years past, due in part to the Dead Leaves aspect (a note which, incidentally, I also didnt like until literally today). Now its a gentle, spicy floral with some fall fruits and leaves in the background - and yes, it does morph and become decidedly less green as it progresses into a more golden scent. It feels very autumnal in the same way that Samhain does, but gentler. If Samhain is a rowdy fall festival, this is a quiet walk in an autumn wood. (Incidentally, I hated Samhain as well until all of a sudden I loved it. And yall wonder why I never get rid of anything.)

This isnt the foodie scent that I expected. I get a less-Christmassy version of Hearths fireplace smoke mixed with a creamy sweet note makes me think of Boo. No chocolate that I can discern, although the graham cracker may be contributing to the spiciness that makes me think of Hearth. And if you combine Boo and Hearth, you get Boarth, which sounds kinda like Birth and now Im 100% convinced this is all an elaborate scent-pun, so don't try to tell me otherwise. I will accept my reward for cracking the code in the form of free oils (and also maybe some wand caps). Anyway, I love it more than I would a straight-up smores scent. This is more like marshmallow incense, or maybe a sugared campfire. Either way, Im here for it.

Sweet pipe tobacco, cherry wood, the warm, worn leather of an easy chair and a pleasant, subtle waft of fireplace smoke. Id like to know how the hell Beth managed to bottle the exact smell of the living room of my childhood home at Christmastime. Im genuinely in tears. I cant even begin to describe how this smells in any sort of way thats meaningful to the rest of you, unless you know what opening the big green tub and seeing all your favorite ornaments for the first time in a year and playing with the nativity figures on the stone hearth behind the tree and snow-diffused morning light streaming through the windows onto the toy soldiers on the mantle smell like. Because thats what this smells like. Its so deeply personal and evocative of my own ghosts of Christmas past. Thank you so much, Beth.

Lord, it’s like Venus Verticordia and Snow White had a baby and it’s the sweetest goddamn baby you ever smelled. The honey note is, as others have pointed out, of the wildflower and dandelion variety (my favorite!!) and it really amps up the sweetness of the Snow White snow note. It’s definitely more floral than foodie. Not what I expected but right up my alley.

To me this is the tame, cuddly companion to the ethereal forest being that is Buck Moon. Same crystalline sparkle, same sweet skin musk, but the fur is fuzzier and sweeter, and the forest has been replaced by a warm bed of hay. Im in love.

A month of bounty, when the fish are plentiful and the corn grows high. This is the scent of breezes passing over the Great Lakes, mingling gently with traditional lunar herbs. Sandy shores and sweet fresh water, lichen, green algae, and whitestem pondweed, with benzoin, hay, cyclamen, moonlit musk, cucumber, blue poppy, driftwood, and agave. This is a very clean ( almost detergent-like) scent. Drying down, it becomes more watery and cucumber-y. It's very fresh and aquatic without being too murky or heavy.

That first review is spot on. First impression smelled like what mango candy tastes like: not really mango but more of a super sweet interpretation of mango (think watermelon jolly ranchers vs actual watermelon). Then a sharp, not-quite-ripe piney mango. And now it's creamy mango sunscreen and yeah, Animal Kingdom ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This is really yummy and has a lot going on for a single note. Definitely has a floral aspect to it. I don't know that I'd layer this one; it's complex enough to wear on its own.

Fan of the Body Shop's Satsuma? This is that, only better and more BPAL-y. Lasts a decent while for a citrus single note too. I was about to give up on SNs til this little beauty came along.

Oh my god. Someone described the old Buck Moon as Summer Faunalia, and I can get on board with that. This smells less like a forest and more like a mystical forest being in the same way that Faunalia does thanks to the skin musk and the sparkling note. I don't get much pine, just sweet warm woods and soft musk. There is a creamy spiciness that reminds me of a lighter Samhain. This is pure forest magic in a bottle. It's absolutely gorgeous.

Winner of the Great No-Sail-You-Cannot-Buy-All-The-Chocolates-Get-Your-Shit-Together-And-Pick-One Throwdown of 2017. This is glorious and creamy-sweet without being too cloying or going sour from the milk. The chocolate doesn't necessarily seem white to me, just chocolate. And it's not too buttery either, which was an issue I ran into with Ivory Vulva making me crave popcorn. Probably one of my favorite milk and chocolate scents. The deciding factor, however, was that none of the notes bothered me after drying down. After an hour, Ceylon Cinnamon and Coffee's coffee absolute note reminded me too much of early morning exam cramming and Whiskey and Cardamom's whisky note reminded me too much of early morning puking. As I haven't done anything regrettable regarding marshmallow or goat's milk yet, this one gets to come home with me.

This one took a minute to appreciate. Actually, it took a full 30 minutes. When first applied, this was a blast of harsh, chemically leather with faint wafts of very fresh Snake Oil. And the two didn't mingle very well together. I'm not a big fan of fresh Snake Oil - in fact, I've never bought a big bottle for this reason and have gotten my fix entirely on aged imps. Just too impatient. But now it's pretty delicious. The leather has calmed tf down considerably and is now the warm, dusty leather note that I love. And the Snake Oil is now mostly soft, rich vanilla. This makes me think of Outlaw with Snakey sweetness instead of root beer. The Snake Oil is still a bit too fresh for my tastes, but even my impatient ass thinks this is worth snagging a bottle to age because it's going to be glorious. One Year Later Update: yep, its fucking glorious.

Ok, Beth. I get it. I don't hate florals after all. This really REALLY wanted to go soapy on me, possibly because I fully expected it to. In fact, I attempted to scrub it off. But 20 minutes later, it's a lush creamy lilac with just a touch of spicy cardamom. And it's lovely. This is so annoying. I'd already crossed it off the list and everything. Now I have to make a new list. Maybe I'll hate it in an hour.

Man, this lil guy seems to be different on everyone who tries it. For me, it's straight up Panther Moon when wet. Just pure Nag Champa. Dries down to a softer sweeter Panther Moon. I can't pick out the carnation at all.