tartchef

Oh golly. Nyomitynyomitynyom. I am a total sucker for Beth's bamboo scents, and here it is, front & center! Tangy & juicy & crisp & just spectacular The oud & teas are cool & deep & faintly bitter, quietly underscoring the bamboo & keeping it from getting flat... A perfect example of a few key ingredients combining to make a greater whole... Lovers of the original Dragon Moon, Hungry Ghost Moon, Tanuki, Velvet Cthulhu & Embalming Fluid should make it a point to try Holiday Moon at some point - comparatively speaking, Holiday Moon is a much simpler scent than any of the others, but it has a purity of green that is really beautiful. Thanks, Apple, for sending this my way!

Since Labores Solis has been compared to The Sportive Sun over in the Anyone Tried It? thread, I thought I'd do a side-by-side... (Caveat: amber & heliotrope powder out on my skin. Not horribly, but if you wear wither of those notes without the powdery throw, YEMV.) Wet, they are in a similar vein, certainly, but LS is fizzy & woodsy, SS sweet & unctuous. As the top notes dry off a bit, both start to throw a similar powdery amber/heliotrope blend - but again, SS is heady & thick, very feminine compared to LS. LS keeps a resinous, nearly fruity feel - the chamomile & saffron pop nicely. SS is increasingly reminiscent of Bastet, not quite as formal, but that same almond-amber. In the final throes, LS & SS are nearly identical, on my skin, but magically, if I move my nose from one spot to the other & back, it almost feels like half my arm was in sun, the other in shade. The Sportive Sun smells like my skin bathed in sunlight, Labores Solis like my skin in shadows. Further proving Beth's effing genius.

Now that I have it in my hot little hands (thank you, jewelbug!), I can't for the life of me figure out what took me so long to try this. It is an odd one at first, the powdery amber & heliotrope & the almond/frangipani blending into a strange, bittersweet scent - babypowder-esque, but vaguely sinister... cyanide & tiny pink socks If I'm patient, though, the cedar & calamus warm up & start cutting through the powder, a lovely & sticky & sappy combination. In the end, Sportive Sun is very similar to Labores Solis on me - I may do a sniff-off at some point to determine which of the two to keep.

Good heavens. This is delicious! How has this flown under my radar for so long?! Lamia, you goddess, thank you for whipping this out at the M&S yesterday! I've had a bit of a thing for the pale green scents lately, and Absinthe fits the bill perfectly. Fresh & herby & anise-y, all juicy wet stems dipped in sugar & swirled in a glass of ice. The lemon is indeed just a hint, but it really snaps. This is my grandad's glass of Pernod, sweating on the cafe table in the summer's heat, and I am sneaking sugar cubes & dipping them in the milky drink when no one's looking. It lasts longer on my skin than I'd expected, but stays nice & clean & bittersweet - yes, I need an imp of this for summer

I got to try a dab of this at a M&S yesterday - thanks for sharing, Lamia! I was bracing myself for a disaster along the same lines as Milk Moon '07 (the milk/fruit combo was horrible on me), but The Goat proved to be quite delicious Instead of being the dominant note, the goat's milk acted as a rich, faintly gamey undercurrent to the fig, and the myrrh added a lovely spicy, smokey element that kept Nonae Caprotina from going too terribly foody. The end result was a very warm, inviting scent - very maternal, to my nose, in a lush-bosom-strong-arms-smattering-of-freckles sort of way. I need to meditate on it a bit, but I may well end up looking for a decant of this - I think it would be fantastic in the fall/early winter...

I have a ridiculously hard time with Beth's dirt notes, and was hoping that somehow silt might be different... Ah well. As dirt/soil scents go, Inundation is more wearable for me than most - the screaming CLEAN! vibe is rounded down considerably by the myrrh & spikenard, and the resinous woods cut through the sweetness. Alas, the dirt wins in the end, finding an unlikely ally in hyssop - the end effect on my skin is jarring, bittersweet & soapy, with a dash of Old Spice. Phoo

My 3-year-old knows I always smell like something I had just put on The Tree of Knowledge the other day, and he came scampering across the living room to snorfle my neck... "Mama, what's THAT one?!" I told him the name, and asked him what he thought of it. "It smells like... like... something I want to eat!" Oh child. He's getting more & more interested in the smell of things in general, and was very pleased with himself when I let him pick out a new bar of soap at market - he chose cranberry-pear, and it's delicious My favorite on him, though, is anything with frankincense or amber - when he's cuddled in and a bit of my perfume has rubbed off on his hair, and then he comes back for a hug later in the day, and the top of his head smells all warm & soft, almost like sun-warmed hay...

I believe that the Lab uses an automated bottling contraption - with scents that settle so quickly & dramatically, I'd imagine it's very hard to ensure that each bottle gets the exact same amount of sludge, as it were

Finally got to try this, thanks to TwilightEyes' generosity! As I imagined, Lovers opens very delicately & sweetly - cool blossoms brushed with a bit of vanilla. As it dries, though, the plum & rice push forward, and it's an odd combination - thick & heady & fruity, but with a brush of florals that threaten to go soapy... a goal that the sandalwood is only to happy to encourage. The end result, at least on my skin, is a decidedly weird & soapy-foodie mash-up that really isn't working. So sad I might put my decant in a bit of wax & see how it acts as a room scent - the opening volleys are so pretty...

Mental, physical and spiritual purification. PEZ! That's spot on, fairnymph! My experience with Lustration seems fairly textbook - lots of citrus & a touch of eucalyptus at first, fading to a honeyed lemon & finishing up with a very sweet candy scent. What no one's mentioned, though, is the brush of sandalwood I'm getting throughout - it's just a trace, fine & white, keeping the citrus very nicely grounded. Lustration feels very similar to VanVan, minus the funky mystery notes - and it has a similar if somewhat subdued effect. It's cleared my mind & relaxed my chest a bit, and it smells... optimistic. Not giddy or gleeful, but quietly hopeful. I feel like I can relax & just enjoy the day a bit more now. Delightful

I will have to tread very carefully around Labores Solis, I think, despite desperately wanting to fling my arms around it. Wet, the amber & heliotrope pool their collective powderiness & wait.... One false move on my part & this will all go horribly wrong... If I am patient, the frankincense sidles in & quietly smothers the worst of the powder. It's having to hold its own against the bitterness of the artemesia & saffron as well, though, and the end result is a bit of a muddle... bittersweet, oddly medicinal, all the notes smudging together without quite blending. A few hours after applying, there's a tantalizing trace of warmth on my wrists - the silkiness of the frankincense, apple-like chamomile, and a shadow of what must be wormwood. It's akin to The Norns' Farmhouse at this stage, strange & herby, but with a resinous base. This makes me want to keep & age my bottle for a bit - I really think Labores Solis will be something magnificent, given some time to soften the edges a bit... ETA: Oh huzzah! Three weeks later, everyone's playing very nicely. Still a powdery wet stage, but the fruity resinous stage is much quicker to emerge now, and the edges have definitely rounded out. Nyom.

You'll find it here, Hillary - it's a Trading Post scent

It's not a beat-you-over-the-head honey, but Litha '09 has the same crunchy honeycomb that appears in Mead Moon. I can't swoon enough over the white honey in The Oblation, either

Opium teaches only one thing, which is that aside from physical suffering, there is nothing real. A bitter, soft, fragile flower. I'm so glad nenia mentioned a Band-Aid element here - I thought it was perhaps just my wonky nose... As a rule, I adore Beth's opium blends - Parliament of Monsters & Mum Moon are two of my absolute favorites - but Opium Poppy is sadly rather flat & unremarkable on my skin. Slightly wilted, musty petals draped damply over wrists, trying in vain to hide the bandages... a very sad, faded-beauty scent, to me...

Phoo. I'm casually trying all of Beth's apple blossom scents, and LIS would be lovely, if it weren't for the lily of the valley - I can usually manage it in small doses, but here it soaps out & drowns the delicate apple blossom... The tartness of the hibiscus clashes with the lily, and the whole package is fairly wretched on my skin I'll pass this along to my mum, who can wear lily of the valley quite happily - it's got the potential to be lovely & fruity & floaty on her... ETA: Hold the phone. The lily burned off all of ten minutes after I wrote this, and now I am left with a beautiful apple-peel-tinted floral... it's still not quite a winner, but it's much better given some time to dry down...

By all rights, this should be Tartchef's Bane - florals AND aquatics? But damn, it's beautiful! Sweet & cool & juicy & lovely... I get the citrusy, salty element of the aquatics, instead of the usual Man-fume/mayo explosion, and yet again, I am floored by Beth's more obscure botanical notes - bell flowers, aka campanula/harebells, are some of my favorite flowers, and here they are, beautiful & periwinkle blue & delicate. The rhodies are perfect, too - they grow in abundance in the Appalachians, where I did a lot of backpacking when I was younger... Again, this is a delicate balance, and I suspect a slight chemistry or weather shift will shove Danube into soapy mayonnaise, but for now I will sniff deeply & enjoy it... A side note: if you liked Fairy Market, but found it a bit too sugary/muddy/vague, Danube would definitely be worth trying...

I was frimped this in a recent swap, and admit, it was one I would never have tried otherwise... but golly, I think I love this! I must have a remarkably well-behaved imp (it looks Lab-fresh, or near to it), because even wet, all three notes balance beautifully. The sakura is perfect - sweetly pink & petal-y without going soapy. The star anise is spot-on - licorice-esque, yes, but with a smooth, lacquered sheen & a hint of spice beneath. White sandalwood can go needle-sharp on me, but here it just adds a bit of soft warmth & depth, like a perfect little pyramid of incense ash. Delightful! I suspect Kyoto would be a bit sensitive to chemistry shifts throughout the month, prone to a bit of soapiness, maybe, but I really want to try this when the weather goes stinking hot again, just to see how it fares. It's not something I can see reaching for often, but there's something delicately compelling about Kyoto...

The original Litha ended up thin & tinny on me, so I had high hopes for the new version... I'm not 100% sold yet, to be honest, but it's an interesting scent so far... Wet on my wrists, there's that candied honeycomb note from Mead Moon, thick & sticky & cloying. Hot on its tail is oakmoss, my nemesis But here, it's not nearly as heavy & choking as usual - in fact, it nearly smells... coconutty? Like Shadwell's biscuity note... There's something else in here, the yarrow & chamomile, I'm thinking - thick pollen, kind of funky & musky but still plant-like. As it dries, I get the copal smoke, dry & a bit sharp. At this point, I need to mention that Litha is a totally different creature in the crooks of my elbows, and it's this that makes me inclined to keep trying it... Here, I'm getting loads of parsley & vervain & fresh juicy herbs & flowers - the carnation even peeks out for a bit! The moss is making things a bit soapy, but not enough that I'm giving up. I'm going to let Litha rest for a week or so & try it again - if I can get the yarrow & herbs to stand firm against the moss, and if frankincense can tame the copal edge a bit, we'll be onto something just perfect for mild summer days ETA: OK, we really need to make this work - Litha's extended dry-down, especially on my wrists, is fantastic. That musky pollen, honey & copal has settled into the pores of my skin, and is radiating it back out, hot & deep & golden and WOW.

To my nose, Lamia shares some common elements with aged Lion, aged Bengal, and, to a certain extent, Bezoar. (Leaving out Three Witches because really, you don't need to swap one futile search for another ) I seem to get a lot more of the dry wood & incense than most of the other testers, so for my own use, I'd layer aged Bengal or Lion with a bit of Cathedral, or Midnight Mass, or maybe Black Forest, with just a dot of Bezoar for the cardamon note. I have all these on hand, so I'll give it a test drive tomorrow & edit with my findings... ETA: OK, I don't have as many of these as I thought But I can say that aged Lion + Bezoar is exceptionally tasty, and very, very close to Lamia's opening throes. Midnight Mass is too heavy on the frankincense to work for the wood/smoke element - really wishing I hadn't swapped away Black Forest & Bengal, because I think they might be the keys. A dot of Smiling Spider would be helpful, too, to bring out the clove...

edenssixthday unexpectedly gifted me a very juicy quarter imp of Lamia in a recent swap, and I ADORE her for it! Wet, Lamia is akin to Three Witches (the re-release), aged Bengal, aged Lion & perhaps Bezoar - cassia-scented honey, a lovely golden musk, and a delicious smattering of clove, cardamon, and perhaps a bit of dry Chinese ginger. There's something else dry & woody here, a drop of sandalwood or cedar, maybe, just enough to keep Lamia from shifting to a screaming foody scent on me This gourmand stage doesn't last long, though - the sweetness fades very quickly, and I'm left with a very true clove note, underscored by that same woodiness (which is almost smelling like cedar incense now) and the barest whisper of the Lion's musk. I agree that there may be a bit of tobacco in here, but it's only emerging now that I've had Lamia on my skin for half an hour... The final throes are mainly dry spice & woods & smoke, with almost an air of pickling spices, but up close the trace of honey & musk makes it very snorfleable Lamia (the forumite) has really nailed it, I think, with the clove & imported cigs & incense reference, but I'm getting a stray piece or two of baklava left out, rather than wine bottles At first sniff, this was so similar to Three Witches 2.0 that I didn't foresee needing to hang on to my bit of Lamia, but the extended dry-down may well nudge this into Holy Grail territory... This is what I'd hoped Silk Road/Bengal/Morocco would be, but they were all too sweet & cloying. Lamia is quite edible at first, too, but it's that warm, smokey dry-down that has captured my attention... Glorious I will covet my wee dribble, and pine for Lamia to be released someday

I really am not a huge fan of hot weather, and the high pressure systems that move through this part of the country tend to set off my migraines After Memorial Day, I wear light, green/fruit/tea scents almost exclusively... The Asian-influenced scents seem to work especially well. In rotation already this year: Kumiho Hungry Ghost Moon Tanuki Earth Rat Daiyu Pontia Cheshire Cat Lady Una Green Party Velvet Cthulhu Manners Among Men & Women... Tamamo-no-Mae

I've been digging in the garden nearly every morning for the past few weeks, and it's definitely been coloring my BPAL selections... Her Voice - I wore this for three days straight after putting the columbines in... gorgeous spring petals, warmed up a bit by the beeswax Caliban - mmm, ferny! It reminds me of my shade garden in the back... The Norns' Farmhouse - a hard one for me to wear, but when it works, it's fantastic, bitter & green with dry herb stems & dust Calliope - fresh juicy herbs, great when I'm harvesting & want to get in the kitchen & cook By all rights, Blade of Grass & Host of the Air should be in here, too, but I find I'm not reaching for them as much... I suspect they might be more alluring in the early fall, when I'm craving a last bit of green... I didn't wear it much last year, but I'm making a mental note to break out Death of Autumn when I'm raking leaves & mulching the beds this fall... Alas, Beth's dirt notes don't work for me at all

OH... oh my. Yes. A tad masculine, perhaps, but so deliciously green & stemmy & bittersweet & cool, I can overlook that... Akin to Nostrum Remedium, but without the laundry-fresh element - Velvet Cthulhu is a bit sweeter & spicier (thank you, coriander & frankincense!), faintly medicinal, but with that cool, deep shadow from the teas & khus. Can't wait to try this in the hot weather... ETA: Lovers of the forum-only F5 should give this a whirl - Velvet Cthulhu's dry-down is a bit deeper, but very similar...

In the vial? Black currant Lockets On my skin? Like I spat out my Locket in the dirt, then tried to clean it off with a squirt of Dettol... I fear Beth's mushroom note is very closely related to her dirt notes, which go strangely clean & soapy on me. Phoo.

Inez! Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood. A few of us picked up on a similarity between her & Wezwanie/Hold, but Inez is much lighter on the hazelnutty stuff...