VetchVesper

I used up the last dregs of a VERY aged imp, with oil the color of dark honey. Overall, this a regal and somber floral underpinned by musky, powdery wood. A tart, almost plummy iris is the only flower I can clearly discern. This smells old and dignified, like the Grande Dame in Aristocats, or maybe a spray of dark blooms on the dusty alter of a temple.

There's an immediate, cool, scintillating quality to this from the amber that is reminiscent of twinkling stars. It's very close, if not the same, as the lab's champagne note. It floats above the sweet, syrupiness of the opoponax, rich, but not heavy. Opoponax often smells treacley and dark to me, but this smells more like a golden myrrh. The two notes stay separate through the dry down, creating an interesting tension in the fragrance. I never get any p'oud or anything woody, though I do get a caramel/vanilla tone from the opoponax. Perhaps the frankincense is the bright lemony kind, and it's blending with the amber? Basically, this smells like an unusual blend of good myrrh and champagne to me. I'd prefer something darker and heavier for my night goddess, but for those who don't like heavy blends, this would probably be just rich enough to please and gentle enough not to scare them off. I'm dithering on whether or not to keep the imp, as it's very unique, but I don't LOVE it. If you like the champagne note though, this might be a sleeper hit.

In the bottle: yummy sour cherry with a tiny hint of the chili pepper and something vaguely animalic lurking in the back. Fresh on, it's delicious cherries and a dash of plum skin, but alas, it quickly becomes little else but harsh tobacco and sharp sandalwood. It smells strongly like cigarette ash to me with a hint of red sweetness. Normally, I like tobacco and sandalwood, but there's a variety of each that does not agree with me, and Goose Moon seems to have oodles of both of them. Apparently, I only like my moon geese when they are noisy, not when they're vampiric.

This doesn't make me think honey because, although it's sweet, it's not foody at all, nor do I recognize the wildflower honey note the lab sometimesuses. Befor I looked at the notes, I was thinking there was red musk sweetening the blend. Ylang ylang, itself, smells sweet, heady and syrupy to me, so perhaps that's masking the honey. The ylang ylang is obvious, but it's floralness is tempered by the labdanum, which I can faintly detect. During the dry down, there's a brief few minutes where I get an acrid, cigarette ash vibe, but it goes away, becoming a faint whiff of incense. Overall, this is a sweet, heady musk blend on me. I like it enough to keep my imp and keep an eye out for more.

In the GC, Robin Goodfellow and Yorick smell very natural and earthy and dusty green. You might also try Druid (which has a berryish sweetness to it) Ranger, and Orc (which is more foresty and leather, and I'll 2nd Bayou if you are okay with it being heavier on the floral and very wet/lush smelling. I personally love Solanine, the Flower Girl, which sprang right to mind from your description. It's very lush, green, peppery, and a bit floral, but it's so complex it's hard to identify anything specifically. Woman at the Edge of the Woods could also be a good one, (I'd describe it as a dryad's hug. It's smells more like the woods than GREEN, per se, but it's got a background berry/floral vibe that might be what you're looking for. Lastly, Silenti has somber, elegant vibes, like lilacs blooming in an old cemetery with moss and crumbling headstones. All of these are available year-round. Happy hunting! Urk! Adding one more. Alien/Siren is a little left of what you're asking for but might be worth a try if you're down for an aquatic. It's definitely sinister, damp and green in a non-planty way. It's unusual and really nice.

Lemony? Not what I was expecting. An acrid green note starts to emerge. I don't know if celluloid actually has a scent as I never was a photographer or what not, but this makes me think more of cleaning fluid than dark theaters or lightning storms. Citrusy, green, and chemical. The all-knowing Google tells me celluloid is produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, so perhaps the camphor is the green smell I'm picking up. Oh, yup! "CAMPHOROUS VAPORS." I'm sharp today. I'd be very curious to hear the scent impressions of this perfume from anyone who has worked with film or in a dark room. Not for me, but certainly unique. ... ETA: WAIT! I was given a decant and a 1/2 decant of this, and they smell almost entirely different. Batch variations, or perhaps one of the imps wasn't rolled/shaken before it was decanted? The 2nd imp is all musty velvet curtain and nicotania. It shares some notes from one of the old Weenie atmos that was inspired by an old theater. Can't remember the name, but I do remember the smell! This also smells a bit leathery? Wow, the nicotania is getting stronger. It's that old cigarette smell that lingers in the yellowed wallpaper of antique houses. If you've ever seen the movie Dark City, it would smell like this perfume. The lemony camphor is still present, but it's way in the back and barely recognizable. What a pronounced difference! Remember to shake those bottles! I like this a lot more with the darker notes and will enjoy the decant. Perhaps I shall mix the two.

A light honey blend, with a subtle hint of herbs behind it. Very pleasant, sweet, and golden smelling, maybe a hint medicinal, without being as foodie as many other honey blends. I like it and would love a bath oil that smells like this. It's very refreshing and smells like it could actually be one of those small-batch, wildflower honeys where you can smell the flowers the bees fed on. ETA: This was reminding me of something in the CG Apiary catalog, and yes, Elspethdixon got it! It is indeed reminding me of Chokecherry Honey. I like this blend better though, as I seem to remember Chokecherry going a bit bitter on me.

I'm going through and death-matching some of my jasmine perfumes, and that's what I mainly get from this, jasmine. This isn't the juicy, lascivious smelling jasmine that I adore; it's tempered by the lavander, and perhaps by the musk, into something drier, less sweet and less indolic. There's also a strange undertone, a faint whiff of salty plastic to my nose, which sounds gross, but it's not. What it does is bring to mind that distinctive chlorine smell one does indeed smell when poolside. I get no vanilla or tea. The sillage seems pretty low for a jasmine perfume. I'm getting lavender and periwinkle colored vibes. I'm not sure if I'll be keeping this one because I have so many, but it's very nice.

This smells like... banana. But what KIND of banana, you ask. In the bottle, I'd say it smells like a realistic, ripe banana, but once it's on my skin the green notes come out -- the coconut, a grassy vetiver, and perhaps the green fig -- and the banana unripens before my nose. It's still fairly realistic, but it has the freshness of a barely yellowed peel. After maybe ten minutes, the green fig becomes more present, balancing the banana for a more evenly fruity fragrance. This smells more fruity to me than foody, like a smoothie grounded by very subtle frankincense and tobacco. It's fun and unusual and quite worthy of a sniff to all those who enjoy fruity fragrances. If you like Shango, you'll surely find this less in-your-face and more realistic cocktail appealing. It's more wearable, very tropical, and sits close enough to the skin you won't feel like you're in danger of a monkey attack. This got death matched with Noisy Goose Moon for one of the few banana spots in my collection. It's nice, but I'm not bananas over it...😏 The foodier Goose won out, so this murdered banana is off to swaps!

Interesting to be sure. In the imp, I smell the narcissus, but the other notes tame its sweetness so much, this could easily be a men's cologne. It smells dark and woody and a bit dank. Vetiver is the only other recognizable note. Wet, something's going a bit sour on me and the whole thing is getting a creamy feel to it. It's a bit spicy from the pepper, but I'm still not discerning any tobacco, certainly not anything chewy and golden. This is still fairly masculine on me, though it could probably swing either way. The white tea is recognizable now, lending a spice and astringency over a well behaved, woody vetiver. This smells refined and old-fashioned, but that dank/swampy note is sticking around on me. Even without it, I do'nt think this is really something I'd wear.

Should it surprise me a leo refuses to behave itself for a cancer? Far from a roar, this feline presents itself as a surprisingly tame blend of amber and frankincense in the imp, with something earthy and flat underneath, perhaps the chamomile? Once applied, something smells vaguely musty and musky with the resins. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm not really loving it. In the dry down, the carnation presents itself, spicy and sweet, but it smells thin to my nose, like it just won't bloom fully. The dry, soft resins and touch of spice remind me of the Lion, but I prefer the CG fragrance over this. Alas, this kitty tempts me with delicious notes but just won't purr. If you're a Leo with a fondness for the Lion, Morocco, or frankincense, this might be worth seeking out.

Without checking the notes, I get a creamy, powdery, floral lemon verbena scent over a very light resin, frankincense, maybe? Aaaand apparently, I'm way off. Okay, I get the lavender, though, this doesn't have the usual herbal bite I would generally expect from that note, nor is this the juicier variety. All in all, this is pleasant, but pretty tame for something touting "demonic incense," dragon's blood, and surges of raw, wild magic. I guess the orange is where I got the lemony note from. I can definitely detect the amber as this dries down. Now that I know what to look for, I can smell a bit of orange in the imp, but none in my skin, and I get absolutely nil for cocoa, which is a note I enjoy. Just reading the notes, Sorcerer seems like it would be right up my alley, but the sum of its parts is something very different from what I expected. Again, it's nice enough, but just not what I'd expect from the depiction. It reminds me a little of Penis Bound with Gold Ribbon, but without any foody vibe. It's also reminding me of Bath & Bodywork's Vanilla Verbena or maybe a more resinous, powdery Cheshire Cat. I'd wear this to bed or to meditate. It feels calming.

An odd mélange of spices with a peppery note and a thread of bright, resinous dragon's blood winding its way through light incense. I believe the galangal is what's coming across as peppery; its smell is unique and somewhere between cinnamon and ginger to my nose. It's quite prominent at first, but eventually balances itself with the other notes, forming a bright, unisex incense that smells cool, airy, a vaguely sweet. I don't need a bottle of this, but as an incense lover, I'm appreciating its unusual scent profile and will enjoy keeping an imp around for role-playing purposes. It also smells fantastic blended with EVIL, which is no surprise since everything smells better with a drop of evil added. 😈 It's also pleasant blended with GOOD, where it adds depth and grounding to the thin sweetness of that fragrance.

I'm wearing the last dregs of this from a very aged imp, so I'm guessing the resins have mellowed quite a bit. The bergamot and neroli add a bit of an herbal-orange sparkle on top of a fuzzy black musk and smooth resinous base. It's all very well blended and feels like a skin scent more than a cologne. It's dignified but understated, gender neutral, and smells clean without being soapy. It reminds me a bit of Arcana in how neutral it is, almost more like a place than a person, but all the resins bring to mind Anne Bonney, sans the lustiness. It smells almost scholarly. If you like resins and want something understated and classy, this is worth a go.

Woah, quite a backlog here. Lemme take a crack at it! @omnistraight I'm a woman, but I enjoy wearing scents that lean more traditionally masculine, and we seem to have similar tastes! Just recommending General Category scents - All of the 4 Horsemen scents lean masculine and are great, but definitely Bow & Crown of Conquest and the Great Sword of War. Gauko has a nice chewy tobacco with a dark, broody lavender and is great for fall. Satyr is possibly my favorite GC scent, and I would swoon for any man who smelled like it. 💀 It's a heavier, spicier Snake Oil, which is also worth trying if you haven't, especially since it's in a lot of blends. If you're open to lemon then Aelopile might be to your liking. Bard is a lighter, more gender neutral scent, but has the sweetness of rum and a nice, warm wood note. Elegba and The Organ Grinder have chewy tobacco and a gourmand but masculine vibe. Tombeur is gorgeous and in the same family as S.O. and Saytr. You might also enjoy Plunder if you really like those spices and Port-Au-Prince for rum. Sherlock Holmes for something a little odd, but still in your wheelhouse. @Nix Mad Hatter is a really nice masc. herbal scent. Absinthe is more gender neutral, but has certain similarities to Robotic Scarab. Nyarlathotep, the Black Tower, and Lightning have a cool, clean ozone note you might enjoy. Incubus is also clean and masculine. Iago is an unabashedly masculine leather scent - one of the few I can't wear. If you ever come across Single Note: Riding Crop (it was a LE Lupercalia scent) it's amazing. You might also enjoy Antony and Bow and Crown of Conquest. You might also keep an eye out for blends with vetiver in them, because that's one of the strongest notes (for me, at least) in Samhainophobia. @CoffinJumper You might enjoy Watson, Goblin, Santa Domingo, Eden, Port-Au-Prince, and Cockaigne. Grog is very butterscotchy like Drink Me. Aglae is a beautiful, boozy peach. Elegba is super rich and foody with a caramelized tobacco when it's aged. Fairybites is lovely, but I don't know of anything that it smells like, but Mari Lwyd is a repeat Yule with a candied lavender and foody vibe, and the GC Envy is an herbal lavender with lime and mint. Pumpkin spice Weenie blends will probably be right up your alley if you like Jack, and you might also check out Prairie Witch. (You can't buy official samples, but there are probably decants somewhere on the forum.) @faeriedust87 Alas, I don't have many recs for you since gourmands aren't really my go-to's and I'm guessing you want LE's. Batty Lace has a really nice, caramelized vanilla vibe. There was a 13 that came out with ALL THE SUGARS that is amazing. I hoard mine like no one's business. The Lupercalia 2023 Raunchy Hearts were really nice hard-cany sweet. Also, I know Stale Sugar-Crusted Marshmallow Chick is a holy grail for some folks. I really loved Two Frames, which is basically lavender cupcakes, and a lot of the Lilliths feature food and candy scents, so you might troll through that category and see what strikes your fancy. Also, they've done a couple Beaver Moons; no idea how they stack up to each other, but it might be worth a look-see. More recent versions are probably available for trade/sell on the forum.

This one is dry as a bone. Very smooth, slightly sweet sandalwood. The leather in this is extremely subtle on me, much more so than in the other two riders. White Rider stays very close to the skin and reminds me a bit of the mysore sandalwood in some of the Shungas and the Little Wooden Doĺl.

Kind of generically floral to my nose. Would fit in well withvthe Ars Moriendi catagory. A bit of tatness from the violet leaf. With the incense subtley fuzzing things together. Medium weight. To me, the least interesting of the Crimson Peak line.

Brazen and beautiful, unconventional and daring. The scent of soft white leather gloves and the sharp crack of a riding crop mingled with tobacco, clove, incense, and opium smoke seeped into sugar-spun vanilla lace, all stained with green cognac, sweet dried red fruits, and wild plum. Lot's of leather in the bottle, and it is indeed that SN Riding Crop leather. Brown but with just a touch of sharpness, with something animalic underneath. Oudh or musk maybe? When it touches my skin though, this becomes a poof of smoke. Very masculine and harsh. This is fresh from Darkdel, so I'm hoping it just needs some rest time and will calm down dramatically. Ok. Smoke and leather relaxing. Now I'm getting some of the soft, glove leather. Something sweet, but unidentifiable starts to peek out, but there's a lot of notes I'm missing. Hmmmmm... Oh dear. I just accidentally put some Miss Forcible on it, thinking I was reapplying Smoke & Lace. ? ..... Huh. .... I rather like the combo. Well who'd have thunk it. Reapplying Smoke & Lace on the other arm. ...I'm beginning to get the sense of a metallic clove and tobacco. It smells like cigarette tobacco to me, which goes with the picture, but its a little jarring. This still smells very male and sort of comforting. Like - I could actually see a leather wearing, heavy smoking cowboy smelling like this naturally. I think I might be barely getting a hint of plum in the background, but.... it's a dry plum, if that makes sense. No sweet, fruitiness here. This is like Bensiabel if he was told to shut the f@*k up, climb out of that fairy tale, and toughen up. Maybe a touch of Marquis De Carabas. I ... might... like this? I feel like it needs some revisiting after it's mellowed. I also feel like it could really grow on me. Time will tell. As a side note - There are lyrics from a Joni Mitchel song I've always loved - "He lives in another time/ Ladies in gingham still blush/ While he sings them of wars and wine/ But I in my leather and lace/ I can never become that kind." Smoke & Lace and Crinoline & Lace seem to encapsulate the line for me. Very different scents for very different ladies.

This is a delectable tea blend, and smells like something I would %100 slurp over ice or boba. There's a fruity/floral sweetness, along with a honeyed brightness that I associate more with green tea than black. It's refreshing and realistic smelling to me, and I'm highly tempted to purchase a bottle for summer.

This is reminding me a lot of Tweedledum, though it definitely has its own vibe, along with more complexity. Ripe, earthy fig and woody patchouli are the most prominent notes on me, with the hay note joining the party during dry down. I don't really get a purple vibe, nor do almond cream and guava make an appearance other than, perhaps, to add some sweetness. It goes a bit masculine on my skin actually, and I'm a bit bummed about it. BUT - if you're into fig scents and/or Tweedledum, you'll probably enjoy this.

@ShadowEtienne Alas for your musk allergy! The cocoa in Cock Stamen is only perceptible to me now, after years of aging, and the vanilla in L'Agonie is also very much a background note. Of course, skin chemistry varies. To my nose, both have that succulent juiciness that makes me think of the BEST fruit punch. ? Good hunting and happy sniffing.

@ShadowEtienne Late to the party, but I thought I would add to Prince of Cat's excellent recommendations: Cascading Silks, Cock Stamen, Argento Sunrise, L'Agonie, Last Tavern at the Town Gate, and Worm Moon 2021. (Other years might also work; I'm just not sure if they all have the same notes.) The Gilman House Hotel is a great aquatic, if you can find it, and smells to me, how Cthulhu should have smelled if it hadn't gone straight to soap. Stargazing at Sea might also be up your alley. ?

Muskity-musk! Quite possibility kitty musk! I'd wager civet because of the feral, but cozy, animalic feel I'm getting. This also seems like it belongs in the same family as Yule Cat. Dark and fuzzy evergreen notes, and a touch of sweet snow, cling to our festive goat's fur, and as the scent wears, I get something like frankincense: dry, spicy, and warm. It's likely the wool or some trick of my nose, but it gives this goat gravity. I like this, but I don't need more. It's great for the concept though, and if you want to smell like a delightful, wintery woodlands beast, this is for you!

Cascades of vanilla cream and voluminous poufs of gleaming coconut with white cognac, adorning a phantasmagoric farthingale of white musk, tobacco leaf, tea roses, and elemi. OOooo..... This is all floofy, froofy, fancy vanilla and coconut on me. It reminds me a bit of the Pickle HG from a few years ago, but it's a little richer and more buttery at first. Just a tad. The tobacco is light and subtle, but I can detect a hint of it in the background. I'm not getting much rose. I think I smell the elemi, which I am only a little familiar with, so correct me if I'm wrong. It's kind of a light, dry, chilly note. It smells a bit ghostly. Crinoline & Lace smells very pale, very cool and airy, with a distinct vanilla vibe that's sweet like the lightest of cakes. This will be very fun for spring and summer.

Fruitier and sweeter than its non-batty predecessor, Batty Perversion smells more playful/whimsical than the very naughty original. The leather and tobacco are less forward, to my nose, and the mix of rum, tonka, and fruity chardonnay make me think of delicious, spiced apricot jam. Or maybe the extra gooey innards of a fig newton, downed with a shot of good, dark rum. Either way, I like it very much, and it's different enough from the original to make both worth hoarding. P.S. I think it will also make a very fun holiday scent.