LizziesLuck

Oooh, this is spooky and dreamy at the same time. It has just the perfect amount of dustiness to smell old and forgotten, without smelling like musty basement. The beeswax is gorgeous. I don't get a lot of leather, just a hint. I love this, I find it nostalgic and comforting and slightly haunting.

So this bottle ended up at my Decantress' for quite some time, and then sat around waiting to be tested in my own bag log for quite some time, all of which is utterly fine with me, because I don't love fresh Snake Oil nearly so much as aged. Wet: I was so worried that the spice would be stronger than the S.O., but this is perfect. Very strongly Snake Oil, with mostly cinnamon as the "pumpkin spice". It's amazing. Way better than Saw-Scaled Viper, which was far too much spice, not enough snake on me. Dry: I ADORE this. I never imagined I might like it EVEN BETTER than regular Snake Oil. But I might. It's glorious with that extra bit of sugary sweetness and that hint of spice. Love it!! I likely need a back-up or 12.

I love all the notes in this, and I have high hopes! Wet: Mmm, that's lovely. Smooth red sandalwood at the forefront. A hint of sweet benzoin. And just a touch of a very "classic" or maybe even "vintage" smelling rose musk. The rose musk is coming out more as it dries though. The whole feel of this is elegant and feminine. It's clean and classy. Very light though, I am wishing there was more throw. Dry: I don't know if this needs some aging, or if it's just not great on my skin chem, but it's gone really soapy. Or maybe powdery would be a better word? The glorious red sandalwood that I love so much has disappeared, as has the benzoin, and there's just a faint powdery soapy rose. Smells like a cold cream. Not what I was hoping for, sadly. I will age it and try it again another time.

So I got this new vanilla and rose deodorant, and it smells SO GOOD, it has totally caused me to get back on a rose kick again. And has made me realize why I had kind of stopped loving rose for a while - I need more SUGARED rose (or rose with lots of sweet notes) than I had previously been buying. Anyway, I digress. My point is, this scent could not have come out at a better time. It is a GORGEOUS sugary rose scent with sandalwood and I want to buy a big bottle and spray it all over everything I own.

I get mostly cake and nutty gingerbread. It's quite yummy. Buttery and rich. Not too much spice. It smells like there's cardamom in it! It actually reminds me of My Little Grotesque. Not a bad thing, at all! The cardamom (I swear that's what it is!) gives it a lovely perfumey edge. Keeps it from being too gourmand. This is fantastic.

Wet: At first I think it's going to be a lot of pine, and I am going to hate it. Turns out it's actually a lot of pomegranate and I don't care for that either. Pomegranate goes "dusty" and artificial on me. Dry: Dries down to all pomegranate. Not for me!

Wet: Gorgeous sugared lavender and musk (I identify it as a pale musk - white I think). Hints of tart grapefruit. The lavender is predominant though. I love it so far. I love almost all the Lilith's Lavender scents. <3 Dry: Sadly, this doesn't last long on me - odd, lavender usually does. What's left is more of a sugary citrus musk. Not for me.

Wet: Mmm, the tobacco in this is delicious. Chewy, and with the addition of fruit, almost tropical. I adore the combo. There's a hint of smoke with the tobacco and fruit. I can't actually pick out peach vs. jelly, but it's fruity and tobacco-y and wonderful. Very light though, not much throw so far. Dry: Very light tobacco and sweet fruit. It feels really tropical. It somehow reminds me a bit of Santo Domingo, from the Wanderlust line. I will have to compare the two. I really do like this though. It smells like vacation.

I got a set of half decants of all the Phoenixes, which is leading me to try things that, in all fairness, are very unlikely to work on my skin. Both Frank and cinnamon often totally overpower on my skin, so I am not expecting this to be a success, but still, sometimes scents surprise you! Wet: So far this is actually all about the clove! A bit of the frankincense comes through, but it's mostly clove, and a hint of sweet cinnamon. It's quite nice so far, but also sort of "generic spicy scent" on me. Not at all bad, but not amazing either. Dry: The same, but softer. Golden frankincense (which I kind of like in this!) with lots of clove and a bit of sweet cinnamon. It's OK, but not something that wows me. I have already found several clove scents lately that I like quite a bit better. Actually, this reminds me a bit of The Pope, but I like the Pope much better for whatever reason.

I have been hearing how amazing this scent is if you love lilacs. I do love lilacs - there were bushes all over where I grew up, and there is a bush along my driveway now. I don't know that I could live somewhere where there was no lilac bush, I love them so!! Hoping this will be the lilac scent I have always dreamed of owning. Wet: Oh my goodness that's utterly beautiful. It like...ugh, how to describe it. Smelling it makes me envision a dream world filled with lilacs and other flowers, green grass and softly lapping ocean waves. I usually can't do jasmine, but am not having any "cat pee" issues here, for those who are worried about that. This really does smell like it belongs in The Last Unicorn series. it's ethereal, elegant and beautiful. It's in my cart right now, just waiting for the dry down before I pull the trigger. Dry: I can't even tell you how gorgeous this is. Just go buy it already. If you love lilac, DO NOT miss out on this. Don't let the jasmine scare you. Jasmine is my nemesis, and it's not bothering me one bit here. This is all about that pale, ethereal lilac. I might need more than one bottle.

Wet: This is kind of creepy!! In a fun way, of course. The "old crumbling manor" vibe is totally evident. I don't really get incense or sugar (though it is slightly sweet). If anything I get maybe some woody notes, something slightly green, a hint of chewy resin. Really really interesting and not at all as I expected. Creepy. Dry: Wow, this dries so different! It dries to what I think of as a very dark, inky musk-and-incense scent. Think Panther Moon, or maybe Luna Negra without the fruit? That vibe. It's sexy! Unisex, leaning to masculine. I quite enjoy it.

Carnation at the forefront, some clove, and just a *tiny* hint of that slightly coconutty snow frost note - not the one from Snow White, more the one from White Bees Swarming. This is lovely! I really enjoy it a lot, three notes I really love, working perfectly together.

The note snow in this is the one I consider to be the "pine" snow note. The marshmallow is very sweet and fluffy. The combination is interesting, and very comforting some how. I am not crazy about it (pine or pine-smelling things are really not my jam) but I will happily use the decant up. Smells like winter!

So, I have to admit. I thought those who mentioned cinnamon/spice in Mme. HG were likely mistaken. Surely not. But when I sprayed it, I totally got a weird almost cinnamon (but not really?) sort of spice coming through. Then it settled into the more familiar scent of Mme. Moriarty. It's not totally identical to me though. Maybe it needs some age? Either way, quite happy to have it, it's great. The musk in Mme is one of the best I have ever smelled, and it comes through true here.

yes!! This is one of my favorites! I loooove red musk which is great because I amp it a lot. What I love most about hellish tattoo is that when I first put it on it smells really strongly of almonds but then as it dries down it just melds with my skin almost like I sweat out red musk lol. Have you tried psychodynamic discharge? Another red musk fav of mine. I have tried it! Not this year's version, but the one from, I think, 2014. Sadly it was ALLLLLL angry red ginger and leather on me. There was no red musk goodness to be had. If you enjoy the red musk and almond aspect of Hellish Tattoo, maybe you would enjoy some other slightly gourmand red musks? The Soldier and The Elephantine Colossus are two of my absolute favourites.

Wet: Musky and herbal, this is much lighter and actually more pleasant than I anticipated. Somewhat masculine. The leather is well worn, but sort of gritty. This is interesting. Lots of sage coming through (I always expect it to smell like the spice - which smells like Thanksgiving to me, lol - but it doesn't). Dry: Weirdly, this dries to an iris and blackcurrant scent that is almost plum-like. Sort, fruity, girly. I like it. It's not something I can really see reaching for often, but I do enjoy it.

This is a gamble on me - there are some dead leaves notes I hate and some snow notes I hate - others of both I like. Wet: Sweet, minty snow (not my fave snow note, but I don't hate it), and a slightly bitter dead leaves note (not the cologne one though!) that I also don't hate but don't love. The mint is gradually overtaking everything, and more than anything this smells like toothpaste now. Not great so far on me. Dry: Once dry this is quite faint - just a vague, clean, snowy fragrance. Nice, but this one isn't wowing on me.

Wet: Very light, slightly soapy, mostly powdery orris and pale amber with hints of lemon. Dry: Very light, sweet amber with very faint slightly powdery orris. Rather underwhelming, on me.

Wet: I don't know why I always believe the description when it says just a "drop" of vetiver. This is like, the whole bucket full. But my skin tends to eat vetiver, so I shall let it dry and settle and see if the other notes (all of which I love) come out eventually. Dry: Lots of vetiver. There is a sweet, perfumey scent underneath that I quite like (I think the benzoin with the petitgrain?) I get hints of fruity currant also. But the vetiver ruins it for me, I am just not a big fan.

I can't resist fig!! Wet: LOTS of fresh sandalwood, which is approaching "pencil shavings" territory on me. I am also finding something (maybe the ti leaf?) really lemony. So, lemony pencil shavings. Dry: Mmm, this dries down way nicer. The sweet fig emerges, sticky and juicy. The sandalwood settles down and smells ways less like wood savings now. Whatever citrus thing was happening, it's gone now. I think with age the sandalwood might calm down even further, and I know I would like it even more then. I think I will keep this decant and age it and see how that goes. I like it right now, but I may love it enough to own a bottle once it ages.

I love teak, and I love white musk! Excited to try this (2017 version) Wet: This is so interesting! It's hard to describe. It really does smell Christmassy. I think I am getting a lot of the ectoplasm though, and it's quite lemony. Like a certain lemon candy I am thinking of (can't remember the name) that tastes of real lemon, not "lemon flavor". It also reminds me a bit of...Neo-Citron. Lol. Which is actually super comforting! That was always my favourite thing when I was sick as a child. The teak is coming through strong - I was expecting teak wood. You know, already cut down tree, made into furniture? This smells more like a living tree. This is much more outdoorsy than I expected, and honestly I know I am doing the worst job EVER describing it. It smells wonderful, despite my rambling. Totally not my usual type of scent, but I am really enjoying it. Dry: This dries down much sweeter on me. It's slightly powdery. Clean smelling. Almost-but-not-quite lemony. It reminds me of something I can't put my finger on. It's a lovely clean (in a slightly powdery way) skin scent. Perfect for work, though at this point I have so many work appropriate scents I am not sure whether or not I will need a bottle. Certainly considering it.

I adore Sin, it's a GC fave. I cannot imagine how it's going to mix with any snow note though, let alone the coconutty/floral one from Snow White! Wet: Oiy. I had somewhat forgotten that my bottle of Sin is rather aged, and that, fresh, Sin has quite the "edge" to it. It's interesting, in the vial it's all snow white, on my skin it's all fresh Sin. Which is to pay the sandalwood and patchouli haven't quite come into their glory yet, nor has the amber, and there is a LOT of cinnamon going on here. A lot. Dry: Pretty much pure Sin on me, I don't get any snow. Which means I can pass on this, as I already have straight up Sin!

2017 version Wet: At first this smells like a combo of Peacock Queen and Snow White. Then it sweetens quite a bit. I have been looking for a scent similar to a deodorant I love (Schmidt's Rose and Vanilla, if you must know) and also like Razor's in a Doll's House HG, and so far this is fairly close! I wish it was sweeter still though, but it's not fully dry/warmed by my skin yet Dry: The rose comes out on top. It's actually a very red smelling rose, to me, and I find myself wishing it was sweeter, creamier, with more vanilla. Sadly this is not what I was looking/hoping for, but that being said, there is nothing bad about it at all. It's quite a lovely rose scent, just not the one I wanted.

This has been on my list to try for ages, so I was excited to see it return. This is the 2017 version Wet: Very creamy, and sort of soapy? But not quite. It smells like some sort of old-fashioned cosmetic - maybe cold cream? It's very classy and elegant. As it warms it's turning more into a classic perfume and smelling less like a cream, though it is still very creamy. I'm enjoying it. It immediately makes me think how wonderful it would pair with a costume - this would be a perfect scent to wear to a Renaissance Fair! Dry: I really do like this. It's classic, elegant, clean - slightly powdery, but in a good way. Slightly creamy. Very old fashioned, but in a wistful, sweet, nostalgic way that I enjoy. It reminds me a bit of Closet Raid, and that is the only reason why I feel I don't need a bottle - Closet Raid already fills this particular niche for me.

I honestly don't know why I keep trying both patchouli and frankincense scents, both rarely work on me with my current skin chem...but here goes anyway! Wet: Yep. Dry, dirty patchouli. *Sigh* it has literally come to smell like dirt on me in most blends, unless there is something seriously sweet and sticky to go along with it (I guess I hoped the amber would work here??). This is not pleasant. Dry: Dirty patchouli (when I say dirty, I mean it really smells like dry, dusty earth on me) and head-shoppy champaca. Not a win, for me.