Bangles

Single note butterscotch. It's a true butterscotch scent, and with just the right amount of throw - just enough that I can always faintly smell it, and not enough for anyone else to be overpowered by it. It doesn't morph or disappear; it's just a nice, true, long-lasting single-note butterscotch. Except when I stuck my wrist right up to my nose, while it was still wet. Then there was a distinct note of... berry-flavored NyQuil??? Apples, caramel and rum have all worked on me in other scents, so I don't know what went wrong this time. But luckily, only the butterscotch aspect had any throw at all; and by the time it dried, the NyQuil had disappeared entirely, even when directly inhaling my wrist.

Wet, this starts off smelling like powder. Not baby powder, though - something a little darker, gray rather than white. It's quite nice, but I don't particularly want to smell of powder. It mellows as it dries, and winds up being something dark and entrancing - sweet incense, dark wood/resin, and something else, something red... Upon reading other reviews I'm guessing that's the rose everyone's talking about, but I'm shocked, as usually rose notes don't work for me at all. This brings to mind a single red jewel in a gothic chapel, obscured at first by a layer of dust. The dry stage is really delicious, but it sticks a little too close to the skin for me - I don't like strong scents, but I have to stick my wrist to my nose to smell this at all. The wet stage was stronger, but that was the stage I didn't go for. Shame.

Oh wow, I really love this - I'd buy a bottle for sure if I could! That said, I'm having a hard time describing it. It's a well-blended scent, and it didn't morph much on me. From start to finish, it's green and earthy, yet I don't like most green blends and I loved this one; this is more the green of a layer of moss over the deep brown earth. But there's something deliciously sweet about it too. It has just the right amount of throw, just enough for me to smell it without having to sniff my wrist, and it lasts all day. It's a very earthy, comfortable scent. It gives me the feeling of sitting under a tree on a warm day.

I love this one. Wet, it starts out SHARP. But it's not a bad sharp - it's very evocative, a true metal scent, all shrapnel and gunpowder. This doesn't last very long. As it dries down all that metal's swallowed up by the earth, deep and dark and heavy, and with just a drop of blood. I adore the lab's blood notes and picked this scent up in the hopes that the blood would be fairly prominent - it's not, but the notes are so perfectly blended that I wouldn't have it any other way. ETA: The longer I wear it (and it's lasted all day and night at this point), the more I'm appreciating just how evocative it is; it definitely sets a certain mood. Not a blend I'd want to wear every day - but I think I've found my perfect Halloween blend.

I was hoping this would be the same leather as my much-loved Quincey Morris - and it is! Perhaps a tad darker, with the musk - Brom's not the gentleman Quincey was; this boy's just pure rough and tumble leathery goodness. And the scent stays true and long lasting without ever being too overpowering - and a day later, I swear I can still smell it! This is one to stock up on for sure.

Wet, it's all patchouli, strong patchouli, straight up patchouli - and I like patchouli, but I really don't need another patchouli blend - but that's just for a moment. Amber quickly dominates (which is fantastic, because I love amber), and it gradually dries down to that wonderful golden amber scent I love Mr. Jacquel for, with this dark woody background. It stays fairly close to the skin, while still being strong enough that I can enjoy the scent myself. Lovely!

Strangely, my main impression was of the same feral musk as the Rat King - not at all what I was expecting.

Trying this out, without remembering the notes, my first thought was 'oak paneling.' Wood, wood, wood, and more wood! It's not overpowering, it's quite pleasant, but all the other notes seem to have done a disappearing act. As it dries it turns into wood and dirt (and something much like patchouli), a dark and musty room; then finally, finally, someone's brought that cognac I was looking for. Just a drop, though; those mahogany panels are still making themselves the focal point of this room. The longer I wear it, the more I like it - yet I don't see myself wearing it again; this one's definitely a room scent. Which seems to apply to a lot of the Haunted House.

Preconception: all notes that are pretty much guaranteed to work on me, this oughta be good. On wet, patchouli, patchouli, patchouli. I like patchouli, luckily; but with the combination of the other notes, this winds up being just generic headshop. Dry, it's red musk and myrrh, exclusively. Pleasant, if nothing really distinctive. But while everything works well enough, it has way too much throw for my taste, so this will probably wind up a swap.

Sleek iris and verbena, grey amber, benzoin, davana, and glossy herbs. The wet stage is almost all verbena and iris; it's rather similar to the top notes in Crow Moon, so if you're looking for more crows, you might want to give that one a shot! Drydown, it's all resin - mostly the amber - and I'm not getting any of that lemon that other people have mentioned (which is great, because I fear citrus). This is a really lovely fall scent; I just wish I had more of it!

(2007 version) I love incense. Unfortunately, incense does not love me - most of the time my skin eats the incense up from scents entirely, and every once in a while it goes harsh and perfume-y. This one goes harsh and perfume-y on me, when I sniff my wrist, close up. From far away, though, it's different - I got these wafts of frankincense and cake throughout the day, which is what I was hoping for. And nice as those wafts of incense were, they weren't distinctive enough to keep this for a room scent; I've got plain old incense for that. Swap.

Apples, spices, and... fall! I can't describe it beyond that; this is what fall smells like. I didn't particularly notice any woods or fir - they're in there, but it's so well blended that this doesn't become a woodsy scent. It's really a scent I expect in a candle rather than a perfume, but I like!

This was a long shot - vanilla amps on me and the pear in Quincey Morris vanished, so this stood a good shot of winding up being just single note vanilla. But I gave a decant a shot anyway, and miraculously, this scent is just what I'd hoped for, a sweet and creamy scent of pear and vanilla. It started out almost sugary when wet, and becomes almost musky as it dries down; not too much throw, just a sweet, subtle scent. I think I'm going to order a whole bottle of this one.

Wet: Ugh! This is harsh, bitter, and citrusy in a way that's reminding me of bug repellent more than anything else. What on earth is doing that? Dry: Okay, there's fruit, and there's a sweet white powdery scent. Thank you for calming down and smelling pleasant. However, it's faint, there's nothing outstanding about it, and it's certainly not enough to make up for that wet phase (which, looking at the notes now, I'm betting was the mango and orange gone wrong.) Definitely a swap!

This one is not for slathering, at least not on me. It's best as a subtle scent. Because having slathered it, I was able to detect a nice light, creamy, musk scent - but the rest of the notes just did this harsh perfume-y thing. Not fun. But as it dried, that harsh perfume-y scent miraculously morphed into the pages of an old book, still with that nice musk as a background. Very pleasant. The incense never made an appearance, alas. Though it's not really a scent I see myself wearing again, I intend to try this one as a room scent.

Sweet and tangy (and infinitely more pleasant than my own cellar - maybe I should use this for a room scent in there!). I get the wine more than anything else, but it's mixed with something dusty - the clay or the mortar? It doesn't really morph at all, just fades gently.

I'm not used to having florals actually work on me; without looking at the notes, I interpreted this as sugary with a slightly green, almost minty feel to it that reminds me a little bit of Enraged Bunny Musk. Apparently I should give more white florals a shot.

I grabbed a bottle of this more for the concept than for the scent, but happily, I'm liking the scent as well. This is green, sweetly herbal rather than floral or woody. And it's medicinal - yet in a good way, somehow. I'm thinking of mint, of sage, and of green tea, and there's something aquatic about it as well. It's a great summer scent, very green and light. It makes me think of a scent to wear when you need a clear mind, to think logically and make the right decision as the Justice figure must. Which is precisely what I wanted it for, so I'm happy on all counts.

Leather! I'd been hoping for something like the soft, buttery brown leather of Quincey Morris, as the lab's black leather note in De Sade went to burnt plastic on me (which broke my heart). But Geburah, while definitely on the black leather side, doesn't go to plastic in the least! This is a beautiful, dark, masculine leather scent, kept from being single-note by a background of sweet smoke or incense. And it has some serious staying power. I find this scent very comforting more than anything else; it brings to mind a sense of strength, but not the kind that needs to show off. Something secure and comfortable and confident. I'd been curious about this one because I associate the Qabalah concept with a character I write; and I finally decided to order it because I do love leather, when it works. And not only does this work on me, but it actually smells like I imagine the character would. Great scent with great associations; I'm so glad I got a bottle before it was retired.

Not something I would've ordered from the notes listed or the name, but I am loving this frimp, I might just get a bottle. This isn't at all green or woodsy on me. It's predominantly sweet, in a powdery sort of way - but it's a good powdery sweetness, not baby powder or artificial sugar or the like. I'm loving it. I can tell there's something else in the background - mostly incense - that grounds the sweetness and keeps it from being boring, but it's stays very much in the background. This scent doesn't change much from start to finish; it's neither overly strong nor too close to the skin, and it has staying power.

As a general rule, me and florals don't get along. So I knew I was going against the odds on this one, but it was a frimp, I like the character, why not. Sadly, I was right - not my thing. Wet, I get almost entirely cherry - not proper cherries, but something artificial, more like cherry kool-aid, with the florals somehow lending it a sour note. I considered washing it off, but it stuck close to my skin so I gave the drydown a chance. As it dries, the cherry dies down, the lilies come out and lose the sour note - but it picks up that soap/baby powder feel that most florals do for me. This queen's jewels are fake. Eventually, the various components balance out, and that soap/baby powder phase is gone. Somehow the combination of cherry + lilies winds up smelling more of roses than anything else. Finally it's calling to mind the character I expected! This is a dark red rose, one that's regal as a queen and hinting at a tyrant's temper.

Wet, this is straight up patchouli on me. As it dries, it cycles over briefly to straight up vetiver, and then steps back to let the patchouli back in along with a hint of the musk. Sandalwood? What sandalwood? Once it's dry, it's this lingering sweet, earthy smell; faint but pleasant. Reminds me of Greed. Verdict: Love it, but there are other scents in this general category that I love more.

Wet, it's all lemon, the other notes are very much in the background for me. Oddly, I normally don't like citrus but this was all right, very light and fresh. Still, it's more something I'd associate with scented soap than anything else. Dry, all the notes blend together, nothing really dominating, which is nice, except that they've all gone very faint; unless I've got my wrist right up to my nose, I could easily forget I put anything on.

My first impression: Perfumey. Matter of fact, it reminds me of my mother's perfume. As it dried, I got past that first impression. Deep, wine-like rose scent with a dark musky background, yes, this does somehow manage to be a masculine floral. Unfortunately, that perfumey quality is giving me a slight headache, though I'm not sure how, seeing as the scent is so faint I could forget I'm wearing it.

Very foody, this smells just like cake! I can pick out all the listed notes, though the sandalwood's just a hint, and it doesn't really morph at all as it dries.