AirimirOfGondor

I ended up moving this along to another home; I love the Lace base, but to me, Summer was mostly just a green/floral mishmash, with an annoyingly heady quality from (I think) the cognac. I don't know if it was just my bottle, or my skin chemistry, but I never could pick out any citrus notes or honeysuckle. When it was dry, it was mostly alright (the lightly fresh green/floral one the Lace base), but the cognac just stuck around the whole time for me, and that's unfortunately not my favorite. 😅

I loved this Lace, but something about it kept making me reconsider. I think it was the cognac note; I kept up finding it too heady, and a little offputting. The amber was very nice; warm, and just slightly dusty, and I loved the saffron and tobacco. Mixed with the Lace note, it was a really nice blend; resinous-but-also-slightly-gourmand, and not overly sweet to me. But sadly my nose just hones in on that cognac and I just can't handle it. 😂

I just recently discovered my love for Snake Oil variants (I actually have not tried regular SO yet 😱). I love the Frostbitten and Pomegranite variants, and Snake Skin. That being said, I unfortunately don't think this one's for me. It's nice enough in the bottle, though it is a little too sweet for me. On my skin, I expected it to mellow out a little, and it did a smidge, but then I noticed the cinnamon coming out to play. And so did my skin. 😢 I got those itchy red patches and had to wash it off immediately. I would go for a scent locket, but I wasn't too keen on how it smelled where my shirt touched it either - it's mainly lightly sweet cinnamon, and a little powdery, but actual SO notes aren't sweet enough for me. So for me, it loses a big something when not on skin, and since I can't wear it, that makes me sad. 😔

Snake Oil by itself is just a hair to sweet for me. This version works wonderfully for me! The SO is amazing; thick, chewy, and darkly-sweet with a hint of smoke. The pomegranate adds this fresh, juicy, red, bright-candy-sweet pop, which to me, feels like the perfect exotic combo. The pomegranate, while very sweet at first, dries out a little, so it doesn't turn out to be overly sweet at the end. It also seems to linger a good long while for me as well, and fade at about the same rate as the SO, so that is pretty much perfect! I am definitely very happy with this blend!

I got a few bottles! Regular Samhain is already one of my most favorite perfumes ever. It is earthy and woodsy, but with the perfect level of foodie/fruity notes and autumn spices, without being overwhelmingly sweet. This was my first CT release, and has been very exciting for me! #5 -- I have no earthly idea.... I've thought it was red musk, pomegranate (or other dark fruit), dragons blood, maybe even saffron, or a dark fruit and incense mix... But, every time I think I've gotten it figured out, it seems to change on me. It is slightly sweeter than plain Samhain, but equally as deep and dark. I will figure this one out yet! #11 very gourmand to me. It might be vanilla, or perhaps tonka. It vaguely reminds me of some notes in Arcana's Honey Thief, so it could also maybe be labdanum, of some kind of honey. I can't fully place it, other than it is warm and sweet. It really reminds me of the time I was introduced to namoura cake as a kid - #11 really reminded me immediately of that super-dense/moist/chewy, sweet cake. There is also some kind of a golden dry-ish sweetgrass-reminiscent note as well. Very nice, but very sweet! (It is lovely, but just not so great for me, the mostly-anti-foodie ) #14 is a little lighter and more fresh. I also can't tell if I'm second guessing this one. I think it is cherry, or pomegranate? Could also possibly be cranberry or plum, or some other red fruit. It does dry to be mostly just Samhain, but the juicy red does stick around for a little while. #50 - I swapped someone the #11 for this - the other person thought it smelled woodsy, with an 'ashy' quality, but I personally just get lots of extra pumpkin. Perhaps with amber? Amber sometimes has a powdery quality for me, so I could easily equate that to being ashy.

I love this lace! It is fresh and clean, but sweet and playful at the same time. In the bottle, it is super green, grassy, and slightly astringent. There is a nondescript, subtle note lingering at the bottom, but it is definitely there. Wet on skin, the green notes develop more complexity - I get grass, something green apple-like, and something reminiscent of bamboo. The lace and tobacco do come out to play, but they are almost-but-not-quite overpowered by all that green. (This is my favorite stage) More dry, the greens do fade significantly; the lace is most prominent here, with underlying tobacco, and the green notes are just barely there at the end of a sniff. Dried on clothing (close approximation of use in a scent locket), all the notes are much more even and are all there at the same time. It does have a bit of an Irish Spring soapy quality, but I find it quite pleasant. Edit: As the hours go on, EL in my skin does fade to the same scent as my dried-on-clothing observations. Overall, (for me personally) EL has a medium throw, and doesn't morph too much after it reaches that well-rounded stage. Interestingly enough, I could still smell just the tiniest lingering bit on the inside of my elbow when I woke up this morning! It was incredibly light, but it was definitely still there, and still nice!

Nasty Woman is sooo nice! I blind bought it as I wanted to support the charities, but I wasn't really expecting to like it much. Sweet, vanilla, and foodie scents are usually cloying on me, and they are really hit or miss (usually miss), so I was pleasantly surprised with this! Wet, it is a loud, dark, sweet scent, with a random pop of brightness. Someone else here said 'chewy,' which is totally appropriate. I think the highest notes of the loukhoum are strongest when wet - although none is listed in the notes specifically, I keep getting a light sugary rose. I think a lot of varieties of Turkish Delight are made with rosewater, so that would be appropriate. As it dries, it mellows and blends, maintaining the dark, chewy notes. The patchouli and fig are all but inseparable to my nose, and they have melded with the Bourbon notes of the bourbon vanilla, to make a solid, grounding, unified note. The vanilla is noticeably there as well, but it blends so well with everything else, that it doesn't make me nauseous like usual. A dry, faintly-woodsy, honey note floats overtop it all. It does seem to get brighter and sweeter as time goes on, but it never gets cloying. It seems to have medium throw, and average wear time. I'm glad I decided to blind-buy this oil! I think it will appeal to foodie fans and non-foodie fans alike.

Snagged a bottle of this from a fairy during the 2016 charity event. Wet, it's extremely strong. It's dark, deep, smokey, and just slightly sweet. It's almost overpowering though, a kind of motor oil, charred-pan kind of thing. If it remained like that the whole time, I probably wouldn't like it. But as it dries, it thankfully lightens up a lot; it gets brighter, with some green notes, and quite a bit more of a dried-grasses/hay quality. After it's been dry for a while, it's wonderful! All the notes meld together, and it is smokey, spicy, sweet, and woody, with an underlying comforting heaviness - I think it's amazingly grounding. I'm glad I can stick it out to this point, because it's wonderful! Since it's so strong, it has suuuuper long throw, and lasts forever. A little bit goes an extremely long way, so I consider this a really smart buy.

Very nice! Seems to be the deepest of the 3 SDCC oils, and the most masculine. In the bottle, it's very boozy. The whiskey is strong, as is the rum. (I know it says bourbon vetiver, but I mostly just get a bourbon scent). Freshly applied, everything starts to blend together; the super-boozy aspects mellow out, and it gets a little sweeter. As it dries, a warm, spicy, wood note comes to the foreground. It reminds me more of mahogany, or the salty-wood notes from Jolly Roger. If I whiff very hard at this point, I get a sudden note of the cumin. When totally dry, it's a mellow, warm, slightly sweet, slightly spicy, slightly smokey, woodsy scent. Seems to have a lower throw for me, and seems to last a few hours. After about 2 hours of wear, it's starting to fade, but seems to have hit equilibrium - it's still sweet, and the spicy wood is still there, but the cumin seems to be the strongest note. All in all, I quite like it! This might be my favorite of the three.

I like this very much! In the bottle, it is at first a nondescript, sharp, astringent scent, with a hint of something sour. There is a very light hint of something tobacco-y-leathery-vanilla-y, but it is very faint. Also maybe something is chocolatey? Immediately on skin, it is still a little astringent, but a little sweeter, and lightly powdery, but it's a strange, fresh kind of powdery. As it dries, it seems to develop a hay-like scent, something reminiscent of clean, dried grasses. When fully dry, it actually develops a slightly brighter, kind of greenish quality, and I think leather is suddenly noticeable, while it retains the hay and astringent qualities. After about 3 or 4 hours or so, it's mostly faded away, except for the spots where I applied a little more. What's left is smooth, yet slightly spicy, and something kind of wood-like. I get a vision of something warm, and deep-brown-red as this point. My immediate thought for this was "Oh, god, does this smell like pot??" (being that I've never smoked anything in my life, I had literally no idea, and was terrified) but, my father-in-law confirmed, it doesn't actually smell like pot. The specific notes are a little hard for me to pick out; for some reason I don't specifically get the patchouli, amber, or blackcurrant, but it all blends together in an amazing way. I expect this will age nicely!

This oil definitely smells like its name to me! In the bottle, it's an almost juicy sweet vanilla, with a hint of smoke and light bourbon. As it dries, I get a feeling almost like a vanilla bourbon was left forgotten, until the alcohol evaporated and just a sticky-sweet residue remains. As it continues to dry, the tobacco gets stronger, and there's a note that is almost hay-like, fresh, yet dry. For some reason I can't figure, I can't seem to smell the leather much though. Seems to have a low throw, and is rather mild all things considered. After having it on for a little over two hours, all but a very light remnant remains. It is still very nice; fresh and dry with a hint of sweetness, but it's just very, very faint. I still like it very much though! I can't wait to see how it ages!

I got a frimp of this, and I'm not sure how it has aged compared to full bottles. In the imp, I find it pretty nondescript; it's kind of wet, and kind of crisp, but I can't place any specific notes. As it dries, I get something dark and heavy, and lighty smokey, but it very much reminds me of smoked fish. >_< Fully dry, it is still slightly smokey, and dark, heavy and wet, but with a hint of sweetness, and the fish smell is gone. All in all I like it, but only for an occasional use here and there.

I just tested this today! In the bottle, it is super-piney, with a hint of sweetness. Wet on skin, the pine completely dies almost immediately, and it's kind of sour-sweet. The sour is definitely a musky sweat smell, and the sweet is some kind of hard-to-define candy/fruit/flower....thing. The sour overpowers most everything else though. If I were to smell a note like this on Mr.OfGondor, I would probably tell him to go shower. But as it dries more, the sweet-and-sour thing dies down, and I'm left with a very nice, sweet, grounded, earthy/woodsy/incense blend. Just a touch of skin musk is still there, and the sour is gone entirely. It definitely feels like you've walked through a pine forest, then ran into some extremely sweaty witches, who suddenly disappear, leaving only their incense behind. And while I keep smelling that sour note and going 'yuck' to myself, the 75% dry-completely dry smell is wonderful. So I think I can tough through the sour sweat note until it's gone, to end up with a very nice end result.

Creeper Dragon Musk: daemonorops, green leather, and red musk with dribbles of honey and white cream. I have more recently discovered my love for mid-range musks, and I've really liked everything I've tried with dragon's blood, so this sounded right up my alley. Wet, it's mostly musk, and slightly sweet, with a hint of something green. It feels more like some kind of fresh, light foliage though, rather than leather. The dragon's blood is like an after-sniff, sharp in my nose as the other scents fade. Dry, the sharpness dies out a little, to leave something slightly sweeter than before, but mellowed out by the musk, which has also died down a little. Something now smells ever-so-slightly reminiscent of some kind of breakfast porridge, somehow. Yup, don't ask me why, but somehow, I guess the cream and honey notes remind me of when my mother used to make Cream of Wheat or sweet grits for breakfast. Ideally, I'd like this to be a little stronger. It doesn't seem to have much throw, and it seems to fade pretty quickly. But all in all, I love it! It's an invigorating smell, but also soothing and grounding.

I never used to like rose. I remember being a really little kid, thinking rather specifically, "rose is for old ladies." ...Joke's on me now, I guess, because rose is now one of my top 5 notes. Or maybe I had just never smelled a good rose scent until I disdcovered the lab? But anyway I digress... Harlot is a very rosey rose. I had gotten an imp from the lab recently - wet, it is very, very rosey, with the cinnamon creeping out as it dries. The 'dribble' as the lab calls is, it very apt. But then I also recently obtained a more aged bottle. It is still very rosey, but the cinnamon is much more prominent, when both wet and dry. I love this scent very much (both new and aged are equally wonderful, even if they are different). Since I discovered my new interest in rose, I have tried others, but I think Harlot will always be my favorite.

This is super nice! Blood musk is one of my favorite scents - it just seems to be perfect with everything! :3 Wet, this is very sharp, kind of astringent and a little cologne-y, with a twang of metal. Dry, it is more mellow; softly spicy, with a smooth sweetness. It is kind of subtle, but complex. For some reason I keep thinking of cork, or maybe a wood-drying rack - one that has a whole lot of different kinds of wood on it. It doesn't seem to have much throw though - I need to stick my nose really close to my arm to get anything. I just put it on maybe 5 or 10 minutes ago, so I guess I'll have to see how long it lasts. All in all, I don't think I need a whole bottle, but I'll definitely use the decant I have.

Obatala is one of my favorite summertime-y scents. Wet, it is a pretty-sweet, buttery, milky coconut (I wish I could eat it!) Dry, it mellows and evens out a little, leaving it warm, creamy, not-too-sweet, and lightly buttery, while somehow still managing to smell clean and fresh at the same time. It has a really low throw, and doesn't last very long, but while it does last, it is amazing!!

I'm so glad I found a fairy for this! This is my first oil with blood musk ever - and MAN is it strong! When it arrived, I applied the teensiest bit to my wrists from the bottle cap, and my DH asked me to wash it off! And I was OK with that, because it was too strong for me at the time too! Wet, this is strong, strong, strong! It's sweet, with just the smallest touch of something sour, and something not quite metallic, but on the verge. As it dries, it's still very strong, but much sweeter and very nice. There's a wonderful honey, but it's not quite as sweet as normal honey. But then it's sweeter still from the poppies (I guess? I've never really smelled a poppy before so I'm not sure). When fully dry, it's a very rich, well-mingled musky-honey-sweetness. There's a shade of something incense-y to me as well, though I can't quite place it. It has as very long throw, and lasts a very long time. After I had applied some to wrist/elbows the other day, I put on a hoodie. Now, quite a few day later (maybe a week even?) I can still smell it on the hoodie (I cycle through a lot of hoodies throughout a week, so they're all clean, don't worry! ). I'm thinking about experimenting, and getting some fractionated coconut oil to dilute it a little; it's just so strong! But all in all, I really love it!

I got a 2006 bottle of this off Ebay recently. For a pretty good deal, too, so I'm stoked about having it! Wet, this smells very much like both cherry -and- black licorice to me. With a touch of pipe smoke, and rather dark and sweet. Dry, it's much more mellow; the smoke smell comes to the foreground the most, and the leather comes out more. It's also still sweet, but not cloyingly so. The cherry and licorice are still there as well, but more muted. I don't get any linen from this either, but that's ok. It doesn't have very much throw, and it doesn't last quite as long as I'd like, but it's definitely a keeper!

This little beauty is my all-time favorite scent! (It used to be No. 93 Engine, but that has now been dethroned!) Wet, it's very piney, a little sweet, and a little smokey. To me, it's less of a Christmas tree smell, and more of a just-wintertime-pine-tree-outside kind of smell. As it dries, the pine tones down a little, and the tobacco is more noticeable. At this point it very much feels like more of a pine wood fire, and less of the whole tree, and the pipe smoke/tobacco is just kind of at the edge. As it dries further, the pipe smoke and tobacco are a bit more noticeable. They blend very well with the pine by the end, and they all share a similar strength level - so once it's fully dried, you can smell all the notes evenly, and still pck them all out. I'm definitely glad I opted for a backup bottle of this one!

I tested this the other day. I was really interested in this one and looking forward to it, but in the end I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be. Wet it's a little sweet, very much what I was expecting - the bay rum and sandalwood are familiar lab scents to me, and I liked it like this. Dry, it kind of mellowed out a bit. It was very nice; straightforward and uncomplicated. But as it continued to dry, it went just as tad too sweet for me, and a little muddled somehow, maybe even stuffy? It was still very nice though. I think of Alan as a more refined, more mature, calmer, older brother of Jolly Roger. They share some of the same base notes, but the slightly fresher, brighter, and saltier qualities of Jolly Roger make me like it a bit better than Alan.