maribouquet

Garden Path With Chickens, Gustav Klimt.Damp grass, ivy leaves, morning glory, daisy, rose geranium, heliotrope, white gardenia, climbing roses, peppery nasturtium, phlox, begonia, verbena and sun-warmed herbs. A very bright, spring green floral. Pretty, fresh and beautifully balanced. The gardenia and geranium are at the fore as this dries, but not overpowering. I can definitely smell the grass, too, but it grounds the scent rather than making me feel that I've rolled on the lawn. I do get the sense of a garden, all the notes waving together as flowers, greenery or the clucks of chickens might do in a breeze. I am going to need a bottle of this for when April and May roll around on the lawn instead. p.s. (1/27) This is so great on its own, but layer it with Shanghai (green tea, lemon & honeysuckle) for an incredible spring surprise.

The cold earth slept below; Above the cold sky shone; And all around, With a chilling sound, From caves of ice and fields of snow The breath of night like death did flow Beneath the sinking moon. The wintry hedge was black; The green grass was not seen; The birds did rest On the bare thorn's breast, Whose roots, beside the pathway track, Had bound their folds o'er many a crack Which the frost had made between. Thine eyes glow'd in the glare Of the moon's dying light; As a fen-fire's beam On a sluggish stream Gleams dimly-so the moon shone there, And it yellow'd the strings of thy tangled hair, That shook in the wind of night. The moon made thy lips pale, belov'd; The wind made thy bosom chill; The night did shed On thy dear head Its frozen dew, and thou didst lie Where the bitter breath of the naked sky Might visit thee at will. A dark, still winter's night. The cold, white moon shines on frozen ground dusted with silent snow: evergreen, juniper, winterberry holly, bayberry, Viking black chokeberry, hemlock, and yew, ice-rimed, gilded by traditional lunar herbs and flowers. Old Moon is almost sweetly snowy on me. (It reminds me a bit of Cloister Graveyard in the Snow, which I love.) The evergreen and other dark green notes are present but very much quieted and lying still together. This is lovely - such a surprise as it's very different from what I'd expected. Very glad I took a chance on Old Moon. Snow lovers will be in ecstasy - I predict this will be a widely held favorite.

Silent, 0 Moyle, be the roar of thy water; Break not, ye breezes, your chain of repose, While, murmuring mournfully, Lir's lovely daughter Tells to the night-star the tale of her woes. When shall the swan, her death-note singing, Sleep with wings in darkness furl'd? When will heaven, its sweet bells ringing, Call my spirit from this stormy world? Sadly, 0 Moyle, to thy winter-wave weeping, Fate bids me languish long ages away; Yet still in her darkness doth Erin lie sleeping, Still doth the pure light its dawning delay. When will that day-star, mildly springing, Warm our isle with peace and love? Call my spirit to the fields above? White gardenia, white iris, sandalwood, calla lily, French magnolia, muguet, jonquil, and orchid. Swan Maiden is a divine floral, with the lush, wet feel of Bayou or Pele, and the quiet gravity of Silence. It's a smooth, regal floral with orchid and magnolia predominant at first (and the lily does not overwhelm me, which is a nice surprise!), and as this dries it settles down and the sandalwood emerges along with the other flowers to beautifully balance out the blend. Lightly, tearfully sweet. My skin eats it up, but it's so lovely I don't care! The swan label is very pretty. A must for floral lovers.

This smells light and musky/powdery to me, reminds me a bit of Ivanushka.

Sadly, the ylang-ylang and myrrh combo goes alkaline green powder on me.

This goes very sharp on me, sort of an alkaline/lily vibe. I think it might be the agarwood or more likely the ambergris.

Honey and booze = sweet powder on me.

Wanton! Wanton! It's rose/patchouli love. Rakshasa is similar but heavier on the patchouli to my nose.

I don't have much in the way of new things to say about Pickled Imp, but I LOVE it - it reminds me a bit of Villainess' Ginger Snapped products, and the vanilla doesn't hate me. I will be procuring a bottle.

Chalk it up to a strange combination of misfiring nose and wonky chemistry, but this just smells like chemicals to me. So odd!

The Coil!

I love this - it reminds me a bit of Phoenix Steamworks, minus the beeswax. The drydown is superb on me - sort of a sparkling, ginger ale vibe (though obv. there is no ginger here.) Want a bottle!

I really dislike this when wet - it's nutty in a gross way and alkaline. But then it dries and becomes a gorgeous amber/musk blend, with a soft vanilla emerging after a time. To my nose it's a warmer, feminine companion to Mort de Cesar.

This would be so good on me if not for that one note. Clearly, it is time for me to accept that I cannot wear lily.

Soapy jasmine funk hell. I had to try it, but jasmine is a death note for me, and Parthenope is, unfortunately, no exception.

wet: mmm, spices! dry: everything! The carnation is a bit powdery, but otherwise I'm really digging Clémence. The patchouli is the kind that likes me, and I love the spices. Can't quite pick out the tea note, but that is okay. Really lovely.

I recognize the lotus root from Silence - neat! This dries down to a very nice red musk and lotus root blend on me. I will test it some more to see if I can coax out some of the other notes.

This reminds me of Faiza when wet, which seems odd to me since they don't really share any notes - except maybe honey. I love the light, fruity scent of the peach, but something in here becomes acrid when dry. I will try this again to be sure, but I don't think it's a keeper for me. So pretty and light, though!

At first, it's as though the sugar and the rosewater came together adn had a pale, sickly honey-baby. The kind of baby that sits next to you on the airplane and screams for eight hours straight. Or in this case, 20 minutes of olfactory ick. That blessedly backs off and I start to get bits of lilac and a slick of absinthe beneath that. I think it must be the opium smoke giving this a tar-like tang...argh, just as LHV started to get interesting, it faded into burning rubber baby buggy bumpers. I had high hopes for this, but my skin says otherwise.

I love this. The cardamom is very strong at first, but dry and reminds me of the little seeds you get at Indian restaurants as an after-dinner digestive. Next is the wood, a dry, calm wood, followed by clean, pure hay. I want to crawl inside this and have a long afternoon nap in the shade with the breeze all around. It is so comforting somehow. As others have said, I have a hard time imagining that I will wear this as a typical perfume, but I want a bottle. I want to smell like this and scent my bed with it. I have never smelled any blend like this - it's truly original.

Lovely, dark rose. Sadly, between the rose and amber it ends up like a powdery soap. Sad, because I generally like and can wear rose and amber.

Mmm, the tea note has that nice lemony scent that I like (is that the linden?). Very light and fresh.

Soooap! Ack, lily. >

Ooh, I like the orchid and dirt combo, and the wood notes are lovely, though they drydown a bit sharp. And the patchouli isn't working very well with my skin - sweet decay! Glad I got to try this one, though.

Mmm, caramel! This is authentic, smells just like the real thing, with sweet caramel and a bit of nuttiness. It just sort of sits on my skin, so I don't think I need a bottle, but I'm glad I got to try it!