Casablanca

This is a beautiful green tea spa scent. Cool, lemony green tea with a gentle green aloe and hint of sage. The eucalyptus adds a little cool freshness, but isn't strong on its own. Balmy lasts a couple hours on me and will become a bottle. Very relaxing.

She held his hand, with a hand that was icy cold. "You were given protection once. You were given the sun itself. But you lost it already. You gave it away. All I can give you is much weaker protection. The daughter, not the father. But all helps. Yes?" Her white hair blew about her face in the chilly wind. "Do I have to fight you? Or play checkers?" he asked. "You do not even have to kiss me," she told him. "Just take the moon from me." "How?" "Take the moon." "I don't understand." "Watch," said Zorya Polunochnaya. She raised her left hand and held it in front of the moon, so that her forefinger and thumb seemed to be grasping it. Then, in one smooth movement, she plucked at it. For a moment, it looked like she had taken the moon from the sky, but then Shadow saw that the moon shone still, and Zorya Polunochnaya opened her hand to display a silver Liberty-head dollar resting between finger and thumb. "That was beautifully done," said Shadow. "I didn't see you palm it. And I don't know how you did that last bit." "I did not palm it," she said. "I took it. And now I give it you, to keep safe. Here. Don't give this one away." Silvered musk and lemon peel, white fir needle, frosted apple blossom, and mugwort. In the bottle, I get a cool, medicinal lemon fir. On my skin, the medicinal quality lingers for a few seconds, and then mostly settles into a forest of silver-frosted lemon fir trees. After another moment, I pick up the apple flower, adding a little sweetness. It reminds me of the pretty apple blossom in Bestiaire du Moyen Âge. I dont smell mugwort at any point. This is an intensely silvery blend, with glints of pale yellow lemon, and ghostly fir white-green. Its mix of spring and winter elements makes me think sometimes of sweet late-winter snowmelts, and sometimes of Vicks VapoRub.

2018 First thought: I'm scared of the civet. What I get, freshly applied: Dark pines, wild juniper, and weirdness. Reminds me of Cabras without its dominant ivy. Is there also a touch of yew berries? Something... As it dries: The weirdness amps. It's musty and a bit sour. Dried: Vetiver peeks out and is surrounded by musty, musky weirdness. Eh.

Odd: I get the earlier-mentioned butterscotch for the first few seconds, sugared and smoky. Then it morphs into a rocks glass of sugary butter rum in a tobacco-stained gentleman's study. As it progresses, I get more of the pipe smoke and teakwood, with sugary butter rum in the background. This definitely evokes its scene.

(I'm trying this even though red musk is terrible on me.) First, I get a smoked lavender-plum on a soft, perfumey amber. If I look for it, I find a hint of teak. This blend makes me think of an ornate tent of violet-clad dancers. In drydown, red musk and red leather join the party. (The red musk does its usual thing on my skin, and turns gross after a while.) This one could easily have been a Carnaval Diabolique blend.

With Sixth Lash just applied, I get chocolate strongest for a minute or so, with a secondary red leather. A scarce hint of black pepper. Then it becomes an even chocolate red leather, with a shake of pepper. Not my thing, but interesting!

Similar to previous reviews: Sweet, fruity slush and a hint of black leather. I wore this next to Almond Blossom on my arm last night, and the snow notes between the two were kinda similar, though Almond Blossom was more minty versus the fruitiness here. The fruit smells like apricot or mango to me; it reminds me of the unlisted fruitiness I got from The Glimmer of the Northern Lights.

Sir, — After sitting for a short time in darkness, we heard raps on the table and on our chairs, after which the whole room vibrated powerfully. The medium, Mr. Herne, was entranced, but was unable to speak. Mr. Kent then described a female spirit as standing behind Mrs. Berry, with arms extended over her head. Mr. Kent took a concertina from the table, and after playing a few airs, Mrs. Berry requested our invisible friends to whistle an accompaniment, which they immediately did through Mr. Kent I the most magnificent manner I ever heard. Every air which was asked for was at once played, and cadences and shakes were whistled in the most finished style. “Home, sweet home!” was the last air played, and a lovely accompaniment like the singing of birds was given by the invisibles. This terminated a most interesting séance. – M. Pearson, 5 July 1870 The tittering whistles of phantasms: rosewood and rose geranium prickled with pink peppercorn, cardamom, white sandalwood, and frankincense. Cadences and Shakes goes on my skin as a pink-peppered rose geranium on white sandalwood. I find a touch of rosewood when I hunt for it. The rose geranium smells similar to the one in The Fox Sisters. The pink pepper is fun and quirky with it; the pepper and sandalwood give spice and texture to the geranium. In drydown, I start to catch a mild frankincense. It reminds me of the soft frank in Season of Ghosts. I'm not yet sure what I think of this one. I feel like it needs a bit of time to come together more -- it hasn't been here long. I'm interested in how it ages, because I think it might mesh and fill out nicely.

2018 A green, aquatic cypress leads, but Spanish moss follows it, close as a shadow. Tobacco flower floats out separated from the other notes, so it feels like an odd presence, but it doesn't last long on me. The rest of the blend is an enticing mix of bergamot, clove, and a soft perfume-cologne quality. More than an hour after drydown, Cross of Snow was very sweet and green on my skin. I had been inclined to bottle it, but I tend to not reach for cypress often, even though I like it. It's still a quite enjoyable blend.

I was curious about this one because white fir and thyme sound so beautiful together, but I didn't get to try it until my friend brought her decants over. Gaaah! I love this, especially during its first phase. White-greenish fir, thyme, and a soft background blend of Otherness. I don't find anything specific besides the fir and thyme, but there's a sense of other airy, blendy things. More than an hour after drydown, it has become much more plain and developed a lemony edge. At this point it reminds me of the lemon and white fir in Take the Moon (silvered musk and lemon peel, white fir needle, frosted apple blossom, mugwort). I find this a wonderfully airy blend, like the Element Air floating in a green, herbal grove.

I expected to love this one, given my penchant for smoky woods, but it doesn't quite work for me. I get lots of a smoky, conifer tar-like note that reminds me of birch tar in its weight and smokiness, but is otherwise different. I loved the smoke of Midnight Bonfire and First Lash, but this smells different to me, more tar-like, and it's not connecting with me. Woodsy, tarry smoke. Possibly it will settle down with more time but, right now, I'm relieved to not crave yet another bottle of tree smoke. 😂

I love Thought Photography. It reminds me of the element air. I feel like I'm sampling Elemental Air distilled into a refined essence. For a fleeting moment when I first applied this, I thought I sensed a cool, ethereal metallic sheen to it, but it was quickly gone. A mercurial presence. Otherwise, I find lots of airy lavender and palo santo -- even a slight lemony edge from the latter. I think the ambrette is contributing to the blend's sense of refinement, though it isn't overt to me. It feels like a light musk veneer. This needs to become a bottle.

I had steered clear of this one myself, because yew berries, but I got to try a friend's decant of it last night. Yew berries. I catch a little moss and dark musk, but the yew berries stomp out everything else on my skin. This was much milder on my friend's skin. The yew just owns me.

Schönperchten reminds me of the way Alisz was on me before it had had a few months to sit: mostly vanilla mint. Sweet, snowy vanilla mint. I think of a white after-dinner mint. That's pretty much it for me. Buuuut, Alisz's other notes showed up in lovely ways on my skin after it sat a few months. This one might do the same, but it was a friend's decant I sampled, so I will not know.

Freshly applied, Abolish ICE offers gobs of caramel toffee darkened with coffee and clove (in that order of strength). Then I notice lots of bourbon vanilla. The gourmand qualities of the opening are tempered in drydown when a little oudh and patchouli start to emerge. If one doesn't often go for the foody, as I don't, it's a bit of a rescue. But the early notes still dominate the blend at this point. Later, when I get more oudh and patch, it seems like I've lost most of the earlier notes, except for the coffee. I don't think the balance of notes in this one works for me, but it's a pleasure to try and a great cause.

I love smoky, woodsy blends. On the wand, First Lash reminds me a lot of Przeczucie (terebinth, fir needle, and smoke). Fresh on skin, it gives off billows of woodsmoke, pine tar, and a warm, dark amber that borders on sultry. Dried, the wood swaps with the woodsmoke in the order of strength, but the blend is still similar. I didn't need to want another bottle, but I'd like one of this. Yules just do me in.

On the wand, Ninth Lash gives off honey, warm clove, and something earthy and grassy that I'd guess is helichrysum. It's a curious mix. Fresh on skin, oodles of honey and clove. Warm and dusky are good words for the clove. It's a dark-thirty clove, a scent that makes me think of a bit after dark and before dawn. The helichrysum is like a little grass in the dark, barely distinct now. Dried, more helichrysum comes out. This overall blend is interesting. Even though it doesn't resonate for me, I'm glad to try it.

2018 When I sniff the wand from the decant, I think I might be at risk for bottling this. Oak, pine, thyme, lemon, and frankincense. Yasss... Let's see if the mistletoe and verbena behave on my skin. Fresh on skin, Yule brings out lemon verbena and thyme first. I lately made some lemon, thyme, and tea tree lip balms that I've been going through, and this reminds me of them. It goes perfectly with them, which is nice, because I want to make more of those lip balms for spring. This blend is fresh and clean, almost dewy in its lemon-ness. Lemon verbena can take over perfumes on my skin, but if it keeps doing so here, at least I'm getting some thyme, too. I love the two together. Dried, yup, this is still a lemon-thyme party. I have a use for a lemon-thyme party, but I wish I were getting all the notes from the wand sniff that drew me in so much. In this case, I can use a bottle to go with the lip balm, and see if the verbena calms down over time.

2018 On the wand, I catch mostly a dry, nutty almond, and just hints of apple, woods, and cold. Fresh on my skin... huh. Sweet almond syrup poured over a soft, snow-dusted pine. The apple hint has wandered off into the woods, and the almond smells much sweeter on my skin than it did on the wand. As this dries, something in it comes out as a bit vanillic and dusty. Then I start to notice berries, maybe cranberries, but they are soft, hidden among some vague, smoky or dusty pines. This one needs to settle more, but it might not work right on my skin.

On the wand, this smells like golden-green apples, white grapes, and a dry, grassy bit that might be the hemp. A touch of woods, a Mediterranean orchard. It smells like the garden of the Hesperides. Fresh on my skin, it's still a bright golden apple and white grape blend, resting on a more muted background of greenness, grassiness, and woods, blended like an oil painting. Dried, it blends into an orchard cloud and adds a little perfumey vibe. This is basically some Greek mythology in a bottle.

Freshly applied, Measurement brings me a lemony white tea, with a subtle, cool breath of white sage. I don't find any other notes. White Tea and Sage HG is one of my go-to glosses, and this would be a dream pairing so far: fresh, clean, and dreamy. When the perfume oil is drying, but still shines a bit on the skin, I start to get a little warm fig and cedar, just peeking out. They add some complexity and the combination charms. After drydown, I get more fig and cedar... and sandalwood, it seems like. Looking back, my experience is similar to ElspethDixon's. I definitely see the likeness of this to the HGs White Tea and Sage, and Fig and Sandalwood. This works for me.

This is quite sumptuous, to start. But Men Loved Darkness goes on as a sweet, dark resin that's also herbal, spicy, woody, and a little smoky. It's a lot to unpack. I seem to get labdanum most, but I also get the patchouli, ginger, clove, allspice, sage, and smoky vanilla, a little of each. This labdanum doesn't smell like cola, but instead dark and sweet, even a little syrupy. The sage fades quickly and, in drydown, a little saffron and myrrh replace it. The clove strengthens. Once dried, the whole blend softens a lot and becomes much simpler and less rich, but it hasn't been here long, and likely needs to settle more. I like this and suspect it will age wonderfully.

2018 Last year, I eyed and eyed The Fox Sisters, but made myself leave it be to keep costs down. This season I'm on a geranium kick, so please yes. When I first apply this, it reminds me of Coral Snake (Snake Oil with blood orange, blood apple, lemon peel, plumeria, and red gardenia). It's not quite as bright as that one when it first goes on, but the blood-red floral apple vibe is a cousin. (Or a sister.) Red apple, rose geranium, rose, and hints of unlisted lemon and blood orange. As this dries, I find a mild vanilla and wood background. Love it. Probable bottle.

2018 I've had a thing for geranium and citrus lately, so I had to check this out. Fresh on skin, I get a complex citrus that's well blended, yet still with some identifiable parts. Blood orange feels strongest on me, but not by much, because there's also plenty of geranium, ginger, and lemongrass. Like Doomsday Disco, I find bergamot if I look for it. I don't catch frankincense at this point. Later, after drydown, I find a super mild frankincense. It's just the perfect base for the other notes. This ginger is working on my skin (!). It's not shrieky at all. I've been drinking so much ginger tea lately as I recover from a stomach bug, and have come to love the scent even more, so I'm giddy to have it work in a perfume. 😼 I'm huffing this like it's oxygen on a high mountaintop. I'll try to stick to one bottle, but not sure I can resist a backup.

Creamy, minty, slushy snow, and a sweet floral almond. I could imagine a little cool blue juniper being in this. The almond blossom makes me think of almond plus some white flowers rather than a literal almond blossom, and it's kind of intriguing. In drydown, I get some sugary vanilla added in. The blend goes quite sweet. I like this. Maybe bottle-like.