Lucchesa
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Everything posted by Lucchesa
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The only note that gave me pause here was the hazelnut cream because cream notes have been doing abominable things on my skin lately. This, however, is not hazelnut cream but just a lovely toasted hazelnut. Caramelized, even. With lovely roasted chestnut and that beautiful, beautiful sweet vetiver of Two Sheep and Two Goats. It goes on sweet and even foodie but quickly becomes something more as the vetiver develops. Maybe a little amber, maybe a little cashmere, no cedar that I can detect. I love toasty nut notes and the vetiver lasts all day and this is just a beauty.
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The soil is strong in this one (2022). For the first hour or more, it's all dirty leather, primarily the dirt, not the leather. In the vial I can smell a much more balanced set of ingredients, but the soil note takes over on my skin, which is unfortunate because every other note here I adore. Even in later drydown I never get tonka or ambrette, and not nearly as much tobacco or vetiver as I'd like. Leather and dirt, yup. I'm going to try aging this for a year or so to see if the other notes emerge, but right now my skin chemistry is ruining it.
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I am totally delighted by everything about the Light Betwixt the Horns except for the fact that I didn't spring for a bottle. Red musk predominates as it always does on me, but the supporting players are so great here. I don't get the sense of specific fruits, just a fruity red musk, and it's spicy from the clove. There's a background of deep rich amber and patchouli, two of my favorite notes. I honestly don't get any juniper, which is fine, it can go awry on me. Despite the "scorched" and "blackened" of the description, I'm not getting any kind of charred vetiver, just a rich, slightly smoky depth. This has been going strong for eight hours, very rare on my dry middle-aged skin. Why did I only get a decant? Why? TLDR: spicy red musk, eminently wearable, sexy as hell. Totally hoardworthy.
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Horn of Benediction doesn't have nearly as much vetiver present on my skin as I would have liked. It's definitely a white vetiver -- everything here is light and bright. The sandalwood, sage and incense are hard to pick apart -- it's similar to the white incense note in some blends. The overall vibe is of a clean, summery incense, with a whiff of ambergris.
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One of my favorite scents is that of sheets hanging out to dry in the sun, and Traditional Sheet Ghost comes near to catching that vibe. There's a sunny lemon I wouldn't have pegged as frankincense and that clean cotton smell with a hint of vanilla. I'm not getting a lot of marshmallow, though it is mildly sweet. It has hardly any throw on me but lasted longer than I expected it to. Very work appropriate and a fun summery scent.
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I’m avoiding oudh these days, but this decant was gifted to me, and it’s really lovely. Everything is understated on me — the pepper and oudh balance out the honey and vanilla, and nothing stands out, like a perfect ensemble cast where no one is showboating and everyone shines. Utterly unisex. I think this would be appropriate for work because it is understated, but yes, it’s sexy too.
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This was a gift from a lovely forumite, and when it hit my skin I thought for sure there must be a goats milk component. It had that kind of barnyard twang along with the sweet florals. Cream notes have been disastrous on me lately. It settles down into something wearable (I actually enjoy the goats milk note) although more floral than my usual jam. Lots of pink roses and pink peonies, and not much in the way of identifiable amber or sandalwood. So creamy pink florals and goats milk.
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This was frottled to @Teamama who generously passed it on to me. Sadly, I don't do orange blossom either. And this is a lot of honeyed orange blossom on me. The amber adds a powdery feel to the orange blossom rather than appearing in its own right, and after half an hour or so I do get the smoky frankincense, though it's overpowered by the orange blossom. If orange blossom is your jam, it's hard to see how this could miss.
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I want LavenderCoffee's skin chemistry! I got peonies. Big peonies. With some honeyed goat's milk. I'm still hoping the carnation and vetiver will show up on my skin. Peony is actually one of the few florals I enjoy, but this is really a faceful of them.
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Despite the cacao as the first listed note, this is not a foodie blend. It's in the same family as #occupywallstreet, but this is the more respectable cousin who doesn't sport dreadlocks and bathes regularly. This patch is smooth, not filthy, with a little sweetness from the tonka, some rich woods from the mahogany (I get no smoke whatsoever, if that note is of concern) and a bit of that incensy sandalwood. And of course the deep dark cacao holding it all together. I don't see any sludge in my bottle, and it doesn't stain my wrist. I bought the two Roe v. Wade scents I thought would work on me, the two with patchouli, and they're both pretty perfect.
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This is already one of my favorite cardamoms. Earthy patchouli sweetened by brown sugar and vanilla with lots of spicy cardamom -- what's not to love? This is an instant classic. The throw and wear length are nothing to write home about, but hopefully that will improve with a little aging.
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Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry (Uso, Shidarezakura)
Lucchesa replied to Seajewel's topic in Limited Editions
Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry was extremely unlikely to work on me, but I love the woodcut so much I had to give it a try. Plus I was interested in the woad note. Like doomsday_disco, I get mostly cherry blossom dryer sheets. Unfortunately, I also get tuberose, which I dislike. I can't make out any smokiness, any black plum, or anything I could possibly identify as woad. Swaps. -
I nearly wrote this off when I first applied Bugbear Doula. I was getting a slightly high-pitched lemony tea note, and I couldn't imagine ever really wearing it. But over the next half hour, it softened into something cozy, with the fur note adding a hint of musk and something sweetening it (a drop of honey in that chamomile tea?). It's not really what I would consider herbal, just golden and comforting.
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Lots of campfire here, and not much gingerbread -- just the spices, if anything, and they're pretty charred. It's a lovely campfire scent if you're into that sort of thing -- in the same family as Chestnuts and Hearth Smoke or Dead Leaves on Fire. I think it would make a good layering scent for weenies that don't have quite enough bonfire going on. BPAL wood smoke fans know who they are, and this is for them.
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Queen reminds me a little of Against Idleness and Mischief -- honey and herbs, a little sharp at first but they settle down quickly. There is also definitely something floral as well, maybe a pale musk. There may be pepper but that's often a note I can't smell or that doesn't emerge on me. This is nice enough, but it's not a goddess or major power scent for me. I'll keep one imp around and give away the other.
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Hi, @clockworkcrypt! I’ve flown with both imps and bottles in checked luggage and in the liquids ziplock of my carry on (and since getting TSA precheck, just randomly in my toiletries and even in my purse) and I have never had any problem. I usually travel with only GC imps because I’d hate to lose something irreplaceable, but recently I’ve been more adventurous. It’s fun to plan perfume for where you’re going and what you’re doing. Bon voyage!
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Been a decade since my last purchase: what should I get now?
Lucchesa replied to thesibylqueen's topic in Recommendations
Welcome back!!! You’re right, it is overwhelming! As someone to whom the cause has a personal relevance, I want to highlight the two “On Children” scents with proceeds going to support trans kids in Texas. And Though They Are With You is a perfect vanilla sandalwood, simple but gorgeous, wearable in any situation. I’m a patchouli hound so I love You May House Their Bodies even more. It seems like there have been some magnificent forest scents released recently but my brain isn’t letting me call them up this morning. And there are wonderful bargains to be had in the GC. I love Elf, Lizardfolk Park Ranger, Golden Priapus, Black Rider, Bard, No. 93 Engine, just off the top of my head. -
I'm finding lately that I absolutely need to avoid any scent with "cream" in the description. My skin will curdle it. This one starts off lovely, a nutty coffee with cardamom and baking spices. But as soon as the cream note starts to make itself felt, it's game over. Spicy coffee and sour milk. It's not a new phenomenon; Young Pine Saplings was a disaster on me. But some cream notes used to work on me, and more recently the percentage is tiny.
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Lizardfolk Park Ranger went sideways on me. Wet, I had the same experience as some other reviewers, a very sharp pine note with a mentho-lyptus vibe. This calmed down pretty quickly and for a time I got the daylight in the woods vibe -- no blackcurrant or hazelnut, though. And then? Nag champa. My skin chemistry turned this into hippie incense. Strong, too, and long-lasting. Not sure what's up with that.
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Drider Crossing Guard is a whole lot of plum on me. I thought from the description that it would trend dry and earthy, but it's all juicy fruit. I'm not getting pepper (not unusual) or nutmeg or tea, and only a little bit of fig that emerges gradually. It's pretty much the plum show. Fortunately, it's an enjoyable, wearable plum.
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Drow Yoga Instructor has massive throw on me and lasts ages, which is unusual for me. There’s a lavender incense at first, similar to what I remember Cathedrale de Notre Dame smelling like, which morphs into a sweet sandalwood incense with a hint of plum. Lovely and relaxing.
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Holding Hands is all about the apricot cream on me. I love apricot -- Depraved and Grand Guignol are GC favorites. This is much more delicate than either of those, with the clary sage and white tea keeping it from going too sweet. I am not getting much in the way of coconut and no tobacco at all, and it was really the creamy apricot and tobacco combo I was eager for. But it's a lovely soft springtime blend even if it's not exactly what I expected. No throw (pretty normal with my chemistry) and average wear length.
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I definitely have the Friendship annemathematics gave the Lab description for. It was received in a decant circle of TAL house blends. I love Friendship, which is a spicy honeyed carnation on me. I can't comment much on its efficacy; I'm using it mainly in an attempt to recharge the friendship component of my marriage, though I may wear it to visit my 94-year-old friends tomorrow. But carnation is my favorite floral note, especially with the one-two punch of carnation and clove, and this is definitely one of the lighter honeys I wear well, and I find it delightfully uplifting.
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This is gorgeous in the bottle, but perhaps predictably, on my skin I get red musk. It's accompanied by yummy cola labdanum at the beginning and a slight charred note, not identifiable on me as vanilla, but once it's dry, it's basically the red musk show with a hint of smoke. I'm hanging onto my decant to see if time will balance the notes out somewhat and allow the vanilla some play, but given red musk's history with my skin chemistry, I'm not hopeful.
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I blind bottled Sunyashniki, which doesn't always go well for me, mainly because I wanted one of the Ukraine scents and this seemed the most "Ukrainey" and the one I had the best chance of wearing often. It was surprisingly successful. It's more floral than I expected or usually wear -- definitely a sunny warm yellow in tone. All the notes here that could be sharp are instead mellow and cooperative: lemon, neroli, frank, cedar. In fact it's challenging to pick out individual notes, they meld together so seamlessly. I'm not getting much in the way of musk, and I hope that note develops a little more, but even if it doesn't, this is a wonderfully optimistic sundress blend, and it's going to get a lot of wear this summer.