tartchef

Um, yeah! This is spectacular. I don't get any of the cherry & leather - on me, HD is all hot buttered pannetone & smoked cinnamon. It's foody, but not overwhelmingly so - just enough sweetness to round things out. I can't wait to wear this on a cold, crisp November morning...

Oh. My. Heavens. This is incredible, if only because for the first time in recorded history a floral blend hasn't gone bathroom cleanser & dishsoap on me. To my nose, it's freesia & paperwhites - white, sweet, & faintly spicy, with a fresh greenness underneath. I'm getting just a hint of paper & mild incense, too, like a vase of flowers on a library desk... As it dries, there's a hint of orange zest, bitter & juicy. It fades so quickly, barely 2 hours start to finish, but it is absolutely worth wearing. Infinitely glad I got a bottle before it disappeared...

See my avatar? That's what Crow Moon smells like... Impossibly delicate, sweet little flowers pushing through the last crust of snow. Lots & lots of violet, but not a powdery guest-soap violet - this one is very deep & sweet, and you can smell the dark green-ness of the foliage - it's a spiky green, though, like evergreens & crocus leaves... I agree that Darkling Thrush lovers will embrace this as well - it's a more complex, chillier scent, minus the warmth of the amber... This is not a scent you wear for other people - it's very quiet & private, but absolutely lovely....

Ferret. Expensive, pedigreed, bathed-in-exotic-oils-&-draped-over-the-shoulder-of-a-stunning-woman-clad-in-silk ferret. I can't stop sniffing my wrists, though, so it can't be all bad, eh? Seriously, this is amazing. It starts out a rich dark honey, thick & sweet... Then the musk comes out to play, and the spiciness of the mums comes up underneath. It is undeniably sexy, but in a quiet, langourous way - I want to drape myself over a divan & have my toenails painted... Just wish I got more ginger...

Lab frimpage: Eh. I'm getting a faint whiff of Emma2403's burning something - faint, but enough to turn me off the whole thing. I'm blaming the blackberry leaf, as the scent is reminding me a lot of the raspberry leaf tea I drank during my pregnancy... There's a trace of lilac musk & something dry & cologne-like lurking in the background, but none of the lime, & none of the lovely roundness of the tonka. Ah well...

Oh noes. Vetivert is in my BPAL, stinkin up my World... (too much time in the Macro thread, yes)

Lab frimpage OMFG, I want to eat this. I'm getting the cinnamon everyone's talking about, but I'm getting clove, too, nice & hot & pungent. As it sits on my skin, an incredibly yummy fruityness comes forward - like a tart but really ripe pear, with a little booziness in the background... hard pear cider? It's threatening to go craftstore/scented candle on me, but the tartness & booziness is keeping the Michael's funk at bay... Not something I'd wear as a public scent at all, more to wear at home when, like today, I'm feeling lost in a PMSy fog & in need of simultaneous pampering and a good kick in the pants...

Lab frimpage: Wet, this is toothachingly sweet honeycomb candy - I can almost feel it crunching between my teeth. It mellows quickly, though, and goes all lovely & fresh & sweet like the tiny vanilla orchids we found in the Pyrenese with a bit of beeswax flirting around the edges. So, so nice...

Wow. This is gorgeous - greengreengreen, verdant, lush ferns & the faint whiff of sea air. Really vegetal, not at all "fresh" like laundry detergent or Jolly Roger, say. I barely get any wine, just a faint waft about 6 inches off my skin - it disappears if I press nose to wrist. Up close, now that it's dry, I'm getting lovely bracken & hairy brown stems, like I've gotten down & crawled under a thicket of ferns. It's perfect for a hot, humid day... An unexpected delight... the Mister is strangely taken with it, and it seems to have gotten him all frisky-like...

There's a common note in Hurricane & Queen that morphs into sinus-piercing pink peppercorn & cheap soap on me, and I'd like to avoid it from here on out... I suspect the culprit is vetivert, but without a list of Queen's notes, it's hard to verify. Any ideas?

A lovely herby, woody lavender - definitely the dried stems & leaves, not just the flowers. I agree that there's something else lurking in here - something more flowery, but still herbal, and a deeper, earthier note, quite possibly a tiny dab of patchouli. A very personal, restorative scent - it lingers on my pillowcase and makes waking up that much nicer... Looking forward to trying it when my inevitable winter sinus headaches kick in, and during the whirlwind 10-day holiday trip home. I may try a few drops in the humidifier bowl in the nursery, as well - if it can ease all the teething wake-ups we've been having this week, I'll buy a gallon jug!

In the vial, green & fruity. First applied, there's a slap of sweet fig & deep greenery, with an odd, almost cocoa/PlayDo back note. It's strong, and at this point I was bracing myself for an eventual wash-off... But an hour later, it's incredible. I can't stop sniffing. All the greenery is gone, and what's left is a gorgeous blend of sweet, spice & dry smoke. It's like a plump dried fig rolled in incense ash. Just amazing. It's got a good bit of throw, so I don't know that it's an every-day scent for me, but it's got that "Who smells so good? I must find them!" element that would be perfect for attracting a bit of attention, if you know what I mean...

Longtime lurker, first time poster... I have to chime in here because my experience with the Darkling Thrush is so different from what I'd expected. By all rights, this should have gone toilet bowl cleaner & dishsoap on me, like just about every other floral under the sun... But no. I get sweet, clean nectar, like the droplets we used to suck out of the honeysuckle flowers when I was wee. It's barely floral, but I can tell it's violets, fresh & green with a bit of rain or frost. Once on, it fades quickly to a soft, delicate amber, much quieter than any of Beth's other ambers. It's a very private scent, as it clings close to my skin... This is gorgeous. Very sweet & delicate, but not overly girly - just clean. It's not an everyday bottle for me, but perfect for those days when I'm feeling a bit out of sorts & in need of some time alone with a book & some tea...