Casablanca

Wet on my skin, the black currant and pink pepper stand out to me more than the peach. I also feel like I smell a little oudh, or something else more earthy than sandalwood? It reminds me of the oudh in Peach IV from this year. (I barely smell sandalwood at this point.) Pink pepper dominates the blend on my skin once Peach VI dries. I still pick up some peach and a little currant, but no sandalwood now. I'm not personally a fan of this notes combination, but it would work for the right person.

What a curious woodsy scent -- musky but evocative. I smell black musk first, but it's thoroughly infused with subtle smells from the woods, and I can pick out each note in turn -- even the ragwort. The whole, though, smells to me like dark musk and lichenous woods. This is a close skin scent and will be a wonderful fall scent. I hope it comes back in stock. It reminds me of Carlin.

I'm not usually much for soft florals, but this one has been on my curiosity list for a while. Gertrude is a soft floral lover's floral. She is cool-toned, all pale purples and blues and soft whites, like a bed of petals of those colors. I can pick out violet and wisteria, but am unfamiliar with chrysanthemum and delphinium. She probably has white musk, though there could be a little blue musk mixed in. This is pretty and I'm glad I tried it, even if it's not me.

A furry furry musky musk and clove, given depth from the opoponax and tonka. I only pick up a little black pepper and neroli when I hunt for them. Without the notes list, I might have read the black pepper as part of the clove... I don't mind black pepper when it's this light. After Old Demons dries, it becomes a sweet, spicy, fuzzy musk on me. I don't know if it's the fuzzy "Siberian" musk or the hint of orange blossom, but this reminds me of my flame-point Siberian cat. I like it.

I'm testing a bottle that belongs to a friend. I would have bought a four-pack of them myself if they had a nice, soft tobacco instead of patchouli. Still, Peach V gives a very early impression on my skin that starts off almost sweet tobacco-like, for a few seconds, maybe thanks to the teak and caramel -- then it sinks irretrievably into the patchouli patch. When I first tested this, the peach caramel seemed dominant; this morning, though, the patch is king, sweetened by peach caramel and a scant trace of vanilla. The teakwood is a lovely background note that adds some sophistication. Peach V isn't what I think of as a gourmand, but neither were the other two Peaches I've tested so far (I and IV). It's a little too dirty patchy for me to love, but I would have been in love with the blend without that. The less patchouli-averse should be happier, though.

Absent any listed notes, I can just say it smells to me like almond, cherry, light spices like what might go in a quince pie, and something like grains or pie crust. I find it an autumn gourmand in the vein of Halfling and Mr. Fezziwig's Ball.

A poisonous fruit-bearing member of the buttercup family. The scent, like the plant, is dark green, herbal, and plump with bulging black fruit. This smells just as described: dark green and herbal, with a ripe, currant-like dark fruit note. I think this would layer well with plum, currant, and blackberry fragrances. Pretty.

From Cleric, I pick up champaca and frankincense primarily at first, pretty but a little rough and without much depth. I also smell rose amber and a little balsam, but nothing else comes through at first. Cleric begins with light throw and fades to a close skin scent of myrrh, frankincense, and champaca, with a little rose and amber. Pretty.

I'm reviewing a friend's bottle. I would have picked this up myself if orange blossom didn't go all orange lollipops on me sometimes, but the blend is still a glorious hippie peach. The scent is as described: oudh-dominant with peach and neroli. The oudh smells warm, earthy, and woody and puts across the idea of hippie without resorting to patchouli. The orange blossom is quite strong in the initial wave of scent, but quickly calms on my skin into a dull orange glow. After a half hour, the peach is subtle and orange blossom nearly gone. This approaches an oudh single note on me thereafter. It simmers down to a close skin scent by two hours.

A nice blend for the concept. Death on a Pale Horse begins lavender-strong, with the lavender medium-sharp, with patchouli, pale musk, green citrus, and lily evident. I find a little mint and sandalwood when I hunt for them. As Death dries... er, does this have orris in it? I feel like I'm mainly smelling an orris-patchouli-sandalwood mix, with a cold breath of lily, after drydown. Two hours later, it's mostly gone. Death has passed. I'm glad I tried this, even though it's not for me.

Great Sword is a rare red musk blend that seemed at first to work for me. It really drew me in at first sniff, but the love wasn't to last... Freshly applied, the blend puts a bright red-orange mandarin in mind, with other notes mingled in and blending together. I can pick out tonka and tea and red musk, with a little saffron blurring the edges. I seem to smell basil and tarragon; maybe they're a couple of the herbs from the notes list. I don't pick out cocoa or tobacco. Once Sword dries, I start to smell a little tobacco, but the notes really blend into a complex whole at this point, and I don't pick most of them out individually anymore. Hours later, though -- oh, dear. I'm getting the unfortunate BO smell that the lab's red musk does on my skin. I was considering upgrading this one to a bottle at some point, but the red musk stink struck again.

Freshly applied, Dwarven Ale smells like warm pumpkin pie and wholesome honey-apple oatmeal. I find a trace of mushrooms, but they just color the other notes a bit. The throw is strong. This is a solid autumn fragrance.

Of the peach blends listed for the con this year, this was the only one I felt sure I'd like. It went better than that: I love it. Peach I is a juicy peach note blending into a wet, glistening pear, which reminds me of the pear in The Virgin and the Unicorn. This mingles closely with a pretty and bright red rose musk and red fruits that might include a teeny bit of cherry, but give no impression of cough syrup. As Peach I starts to dry, its vanilla cream comes forward, which is gorgeous, and the rose-tinged musk also steps up front. I don't smell anything identifiable at first as tobacco or hay, but the blend as a whole smells lightly grounded in a warm-toned _something_. After the blend has been dry for some time, I can kinda pick out tobacco and hay, but they are still very much in support, and not standout notes. They come across together to me as warm, dried leaves of no particular species. After a few hours on my skin, the tobacco amps to the fore, beautifully supported by the rest. Peach I smells both a little playful and a little mature -- it's not like the young girl or the woman in her thirties, but like the young woman in her twenties for whom anything may happen. I regret only having one bottle.

This would have been fun to wear at the amusement park earlier this summer. When first applied, Jiggery smells like marshmallow-ish cotton candy and vanilla cream, with a little orange and pink pepper (which smells quite pink, but only a little peppery). The light peppery note doesn't appeal much, but it's gone in an hour, leaving a pretty and admittedly girlish pink vanilla-mallow cream. Jiggery is charming, and I'm surprised to kind of want a bottle. But the blend has little throw and a short life on my skin of under two hours, so probably not.

I don't know this particular bottle's age. Wet on my skin, Agrat reminds me of caramel and antique stores. I pick up mostly caramel and teak, with some cream and a delicate apple. After drydown, I smell a supporting honey note in Agrat, too. I don't pick out amber. Low throw, but deep and lovely and autumnal.

I'm an amber lover and these notes look great (except that calamus is iffy), so I didn't expect what happened here. Sportive Sun is boring. Maybe it's the age: the bottle is around 9 years old. I smell the amber predominantly, and a little faint almond and cedar, but the blend smells flat and a little like lotion. Without actually smelling like it, Sportive Sun reminds me of suntan lotion. After an hour, the cedar strengthens on me, and I start to get more of a floral vibe. At almost two hours, the amber is strongest again. The lotiony smell abides, like the Dude. I might make a bath oil out of Sportive and layer it with spring fruit blends or fuller ambers for depth and interest.

This fragrance smells firmly wintery to me. It smells like a blackened, slightly unhealthy green color, like greenery trampled down into the slush of the season's first snow. That's not to say there's a snow note here -- it's just where I feel like I am when I smell this. I feel like it might have a little camphor and vetiver in it, though, among the heavy greenery. Or that might be part of what hemlock itself smells like. As Hemlock dries, it takes just a bit of a nasty turn on my skin, leaning toward body odor country. But it never quite commits to stinking. Not a favorite, but nice to try.

This is green honey. To me it's a lightly coniferous, lightly herbal, floral honey. I seem to get a touch of blue spruce, or something like it, and something like chamomile, and a shadowy floral. And a straightforward honey in the background. I didn't have any expectations for this free sample, but I love it. It seems to mix a little winter into an otherwise spring fragrance. Beautiful.

Frankincense sweetened by myrrh and the vanilla fullness of benzoin, and folded over with a little tan leather, thin and soft. Another gift of a blend for resin lovers. I like best those blends with at least one note that is not a resin, and the leather is what I notice here for that. Among resinous blends I have, Magdalena feels less heavy and intently serious than In Templum Dei -- she is at once a little sweeter, softer, and more rugged. Her frankincense is smoother, less grainy. I love.

Sniffy sniff. Powdery, pale orris and patchouli -- mostly the former. I pick up the lab's black musk with them, but no myrrh as yet. About an hour later, I smell a little musk, but no myrrh, and no patchouli. All that remains is a faint powder-poof of orris -- the Ghost of Orris Past. This isn't my thing.

Gack! There's that note of graveyard rot, sweetened with red geranium. This is like a zombie trying to offer you a flower, but the arm holding the flower falls off. Sickening, poignant, and ridiculous, all at once. The geranium is pretty, though, and pairs well with the Spanish moss. The geranium-Spanish moss combo strengthens on my skin as this dries. The geranium is turning very sweet. Enough of the rot has burned off now for this to be acceptable, if not alluring. The dirt smell is dirt -- not decay and not bothersome, though not exciting. But I get a faint wood note that reminds me of countryside. Maybe that's Irish yew. I like it. Overall, though, this isn't for me.

I like these notes, except that Lime is a mighty warrior who overpowers the weak and the average in her path. Still, on the wand, Envy smells more like herbs, mint, and aromatic (slightly bitey) lavender than lime, though I get a lemon-lime thing, too. On my skin, though, the lime takes over. It also turns sour, like it did in Undertow. Yuck. I like sour if it's clean, but this smells overripe. The bite from the aromatic lavender adds a harsh edge, not helping at all. The pretty greenery from other herbs isn't nearly enough to mitigate the mess. I barely catch the mint now. Once dried, the harsh lavender bite wears off, and most of the limey sourness as well. What's left, though, still doesn't appeal: overripe, watery, lime- and lavender-tinged greens. This is like someone tried to grow lavender using lime concentrate instead of water. Not much good for me, really.

The frankincense is strong in this one, and Frank dominates the first impression on my skin. But there's plenty of labdanum present, rounding things out, and a side of white sandalwood that reminds me of the sandalwood in Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn. The liquidambar, which the internet tells me is resin from the American sweetgum tree, seems to appear as the blend warms on my skin. There's something sweet and ambery at that point -- maybe there's some amber accord in here, too. In Templum Dei is a committed oriental for those who love resins.

2016 Wet on my skin, Temple Viper makes me giddy with sugared champaca over resins and a lesser impact of Snake Oil. I smell the opoponax just a little more than the frankincense, and labdanum is also present. Resins come to the fore of Temple Viper as it dries, with the spice of Snake Oil lurking beneath. This blend sits right in a sweet spot of my tastes at the moment. It has filled out somewhat in the few days I've had it sit to settle, and I figure that will continue.

Orris and patchouli, skipping hand-in-hand. This seems a chewy patchouli to me, in the way that some tobacco notes are chewy. The orris is a ghostly, powdery presence next to it. Of the agarwood/oud, and the ambrette, I get a blended hint, together forming a woody and slightly nutty background. This is a very base-notey blend. After an hour, Of the Unicorn is a dusty, powdery earth scent on my skin. Hours later, I can barely catch it.