porcelina

my first thought upon opening the bottle of hygeia was "i might need a second bottle of this." sadly, it doesn't smell quite so glorious on my skin, but it's still nice and i'm still keeping it. it starts off flat on the skin, but improves as it dries. i want more of this "golden musk" note- combined with the red musk and the sweet incense and the amber and sandalwood and tobacco- this is a keeper, and i think it will age well.

i really didn't think i'd like this one but i ordered it anyway for completion's sake (and hey, it's for charity). my first impression is SHRIEKING floral notes. yikes. this does not bode well. i leave it alone for a couple of minutes and sniff again. it has definitely calmed down- beneath the florals and the bergamot is a pleasant whiff of tonka, fig and mate, providing an blessedly earthy base for the lighter, brighter floral notes. still, though- this is not me.

in the bottle, pallas athene smells like nothing special, but on my skin, it starts to slowly bloom. the 'antiqued amber' is gorgeous and rich, warmed by all of the wonderful spices. there is no one single overpowering note- just a gentle, golden warmth that stays close to the skin. over time, the saffron comes to be the strongest note (this is common for me, though; i amp saffron).

at first sniff, this vaguely reminds me of a chaos theory i once had, that always confounded me. (i think the note i'm picking up on in both is galangal root! i finally have an answer!) unfortunately, the galangal and mandarin in tree of life overpower the other lovely notes (ash bark, kashmir wood, tonka, sage and cocoa) that should have made this an instant winner for me and instead leave it smelling vaguely of rich, gleaming woods… polished with a citrus and pine-scented cleaning product. as it dries down, i'm left with something that strongly resembles my beloved antikythera mechanism, with top notes of citrus and herbs. if you have a higher tolerance for citrus than i do, you might like this one more. as it is, i enjoy it, but i don't know what would make me reach for this versus antikythera… we'll see. it does seem to have excellent staying power, which is always a good thing.

i thought with the vanilla musk and sandalwood and coconut and other things this could be okay but instead its ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE and some other vaguely sweet stuff but mostly ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE ROOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! did i mention ROSE?!?!?!?!?!?!??! rose.

D: is my reaction to kypris. not because it smells bad… but because it smells GOOD. i ordered a decant of this, against the will of my superstitious nature. kypris- furnisher of pregnancy?! NO THANK YOU. but oh god, it sounded so good- like sugary vanilla cherry goodness. my worst fears came true: it really is that good. at first sniff, when wet, it's all bright, sugary cherry, like a super red cherry lollipop. s it dries, the cherry is softened by the vanilla, honey and benzoin. the honey lends a sexy note à la O. when it is completely dry, the sugary rosewater comes out and i swear to god, it starts to smell a little like gulab jamun. this is so good, i am just going to have to suck it up, buy a bottle and maybe re-label it to "furnisher of bunnies" or something else way better than fetuses.

Congratulations, sweetie! For a Vegas wedding, I would choose Bon Vivant: strawberries and champagne! Bubbly, sweet, and light, fun but still romantic. thank you! i have actually never tried bon vivant, but it does sound like something i would like. i think i'll throw an imp in with my next order. true! unfortunately, 51 smells better on my fiancé than me. thanks! i actually tend to like dark, musky, resiny scents. it will be hot, though (vegas in july!) so i'll probably have to go with something a little lighter. i do like the idea of wearing something that i can later associate with the moment. i hope you post pictures after your wedding- that sounds awesome! Ü is one of my favorites, too!

bump! i'm getting married on july 13! recommend me something for a bride to wear to her quirky vegas wedding? (i wish there was a vegas scent in the wanderlust series.) i thought about wearing 13 (it's my lucky number and the wedding is on the 13th!) but i don't know if i wanna smell like chocolate and it doesn't last very long on me. hm.

i get mostly sharp patchouli and dry leaves with thick greenery. i am really disappointed in the distinct lack of coffee! i wish i could pick up on that note. the woody, kinda dirty patchouli reminds me of greed, although this blend smells more raw. as it dries down, it's getting kind of BO-ish on me. i will keep it to see how it ages, but i won't be wearing the phoenix in autumn anytime soon!

this is a very nostalgic scent- like big, blooming lilac bushes and wet green grass in our yard when i was a kid. this is a very natural, fresh, green kind of scent- it is not a perfumey floral at all. very nice.

love this! O is one of my all-time favorites and womb furie has the sexy, sticky honey sweetness of that, combined with the darkness of snake oil. this is going to be fabulous when it ages.

very comparable to schwarzer mond, to me. (i also compared it to snake charmer, but there aren't many similarities on my skin.) this is more musky and less resinous, with a hint of spice; it's a sweeter, smoother scent. it's really nice, but i only have one bottle so i must hoard it!

i expected this to be my favorite of the bat's day goth scents, but romanti.goth and i don't really seem to get along. i don't get any of the plum, sadly- to me this is more like incense smoke and vetiver, even though the latter is not a listed note- i get a sort of bitter smokiness that i tend to associate with vetiver. it's a very dark, heavy, dry scent.

Marshmallow goo and pumpkin pulp! And yes – this, too, is vegan! buttery and creamy. this is maybe more like pumpkin pie with whipped topping, to my nose! a gooey, creamy pumpkin spice scent, very foody, with a creamy vanilla component. it dries down to a light, pleasant spice, and is one of the rare foodie scents that doesn't go all plasticky on me.

a heady floral with lots of sappy greenery. i wish i could be more detailed, but this is not my type of scent!

i was hoping this would be more creamy white chocolate than actual chocolate... it's too cocoa-y for my tastes, but the strawberry is delicious! it smells sweet and sticky and edible. it dries down to a fruity cocoa scent.

wow, i'm so glad i picked this one up! it has the bay rum i adore from hellhound on my trail, the paper and incense of my favorite, the lurid library, and maybe a hint of leather? i love it!

holy crap, i should have bought a second bottle of this. this stuff is amazing. it's like antikythera mechanism meets the infernal lover meets pie. sexy vanilla cream, leather and musk with a foodie edge. OMG.

i think this might be what i always wanted snow white to smell like on me. the snow note is heavy with vanilla- almost, but not quite, foody; the pine keeps everything fresh. it is creamy, cool and FABULOUS. also, when it's been on for a long time and has almost faded away, it smells like the scent they use in the casino at Aria Las Vegas.

kind of reminds me of singing moon, another smokey aquatic, although this scent is cooler and doesn't have the salty tang of singing moon. the aquatic note is subdued and, i suppose, "foggy" which makes a certain amount of sense when you think about it! i agree with zankoku_zen, who said it made her think of a pirate ship.

at first, all i smell is wood. i think this might be the galbanum, which, according to my reading, can smell woodsy, balsam-like or piney. it's mixed with a lovely, fresh fig, reminding me a little of lush's figs and leaves soap (one of my favorites!). i do not get a lot of frankincense. this is mostly wood and fresh fig, a surprisingly clean scent and very enjoyable. a keeper!

in the bottle: super fruity, woah! looking at the notes, there are indeed fruits here (black currant, holly berry and blackberry) but i wasn't expecting them to be so fresh and, i don't know, juicy! on my skin, the first thing i smell is tart fruit (it reminds me of cranberry) against a warm and fuzzy backdrop of resins and musk. there is a tickle of spice (the peppercorn? yum!) and the barest hint of pine. this is a very complex and well-blended scent. it's hard to pick out most of the notes. it smells wonderful and expensive. this feels like a formal scent to me- something i would wear out for a very nice dinner or show or to a fancy holiday party. it is warm and luxurious. so glad i got a bottle!

in the bottle, it's smokey, woodsy and lemony? huh? on my skin, i think what i perceive as lemon is actually the fresh, crisp linen (unless there was a mixup and someone grabbed the lemon bottle instead of linen? ). anyway, it is less citrusy on my skin, and as it dries the linen note becomes reminiscent of the linen i remember from black lace, before i swapped away my bottle. i get only a faint hint of leather in the background; what i mostly smell here is sweet tobacco and rich, dark woods. it doesn't smell smokey at all. the linen keeps the whole thing from smelling too dark and sticky. this is right up my alley and i can see myself wearing it a lot! mm.

at first, this is a dark, strong scent, almost sort of acrid. as it dries, it becomes more resinous and maybe a little musky (the ambergris?). it smells really good in the drying stage. however, by the time it is completely dry on my skin, it smells like stale flowers. damn you, florentine iris.

like a number of other reviewers, i get snake oil at first- fresh snake oil, which always smells somewhat sharp to my nose. as it dries, it gets softer and fuzzier. i mostly get cocoa/woods/vanilla as it dries, which kind of makes it smell a little like boomslang. totally dry, it kind of has a dusty smell to it. this disappears after a few minutes, until it's basically snake oil with something like peach candy mixed in. i assume this comes from the massoia bark- either way, it's wonderful. i will keep this because it can only get better with age.