Pottersville

MORT DE CESAR The essence of intrigue, betrayal, and impending doom. Well, then, Antony, who was a friend of Caesar's and a robust man, was detained outside by Brutus Albinus, who purposely engaged him in a lengthy conversation; but Caesar went in, and the senate rose in his honour. Some of the partisans of Brutus took their places round the back of Caesar's chair, while others went to meet him, as though they would support the petition which Tillius Cimber presented to Caesar in behalf of his exiled brother, and they joined their entreaties to his and accompanied Caesar up to his chair. But when, after taking his seat, Caesar continued to repulse their petitions, and, as they pressed upon him with greater importunity, began to show anger towards one and another of them, Tillius seized his toga with both hands and pulled it down from his neck. This was the signal for the assault. It was Casca who gave him the first blow with his dagger, in the neck, not a mortal would, nor even a deep one, for which he was too much confused, as was natural at the beginning of a deed of great daring; so that Caesar turned about, grasped the knife, and held it fast. At almost the same instant both cried out, the smitten man in Latin: "Accursed Casca, what does thou?" and the smiter, in Greek, to his brother: "Brother, help!" So the affair began, and those who were not privy to the plot were filled with consternation and horror at what was going on; they dared not fly, nor go to Caesar's help, nay, nor even utter a word. But those who had prepared themselves for the murder bared each of them his dagger, and Caesar, hemmed in on all sides, whichever way he turned confronting blows of weapons aimed at his face and eyes, driven hither and thither like a wild beast, was entangled in the hands of all; for all had to take part in the sacrifice and taste of the slaughter. Therefore Brutus also gave him one blow in the groin. And it is said by some writers that although Caesar defended himself against the rest and darted this way and that and cried aloud, when he saw that Brutus had drawn his dagger, he pulled his toga down over his head and sank, either by chance or because pushed there by his murderers, against the pedestal on which the statue of Pompey stood. And the pedestal was drenched with his blood, so that one might have thought that Pompey himself was presiding over this vengeance upon his enemy, who now lay prostrate at his feet, quivering from a multitude of wounds. For it is said that he received twenty-three; and many of the conspirators were wounded by one another, as they struggled to plant all those blows in one body. Conspiracy and murder in the Theatre of Pompey: balsam of Peru, bitter clove, motia attar, amber musk, opoponax, cypress, red wine grapes, tagetes, spikenard, and blood accord. Wet, this is all bitter clove and hot spices. I was surprised to get a cinnamon-like blast until I looked up "balsam of Peru" and found it described as smelling like vanilla and cinnamon. The cypress and opoponax are present, but playing in the background during this phase. The red wine and florals start to peek out a bit more during drydown, though the spices are still very much present. I keep sniffing my wrist. I'm not sure that I love this blend -it has a nearly uncomfortable impact- but I know I don't hate it! Three hours later and I've got a lovely, spicy, woody scent with what smells like dragon's blood sweetening it up. Normally I'm no fan of dragon's blood, but it certainly works well in this! A keeper!! Edited for formatting.

Nope, nothing to see here.

Ditto to finding this a very "perfumey" perfume! I can't really pick out individual notes either. To my nose, everything blends into a very sweet, cloying floral melange, which is odd because I think orange blossom is really the only floral? I was also expecting something darker and smokier than this Bette Blanc!

Apparently Mr. Vandemar has BO, which is in keeping with how I pictured him, but not what I want in a perfume oil. Srsly ... upon first slather something in this blend hit me as SO WRONG that I wanted to immediately wash it off. It may have been the metal, as I haven't had much luck with the Lab's metal notes. I fought the urge and after a bit, the wrong note backed away enough to let the others come out to play, so I had a nice -if indistinct- slightly sweet, somewhat peppery scent to wear. A few hours later I started to wonder if my deodorant had failed. Nope, it was just Mr. Vandemar. Peeyeewwww!

Ohhhhhhh, this started out so beautiful! So promising! There's a certain earthiness -I'm guessing from the tonka, clove, and coconut shell? The licorice adds a slightly astringent spiciness to the mix, which is sweetened up by the amber. I can't quite find the ginger cream and probably wouldn't know what stinging nettle smelled like if it ... um ... stung me! It's gorgeous and complex and quite unique. Unfortunately, at some point in the dry down it began to go a bit pencil shavings on me. If I huff really close to my wrist, I can still get the coconut/licorice/spice, so I'm on the fence about going in for a bottle.

Not very green at all on me, but more of the fields you get with Scarecrow. The dirt note is also of the dry varietyand is mercifully short-lived on me. Glad I stuck with a decant! I was hoping for something more along the lines of Gunpowder grainy.

Not at all what I was expecting, which was woody and herbal with perhaps a splash of subdued floral. I get a bit of sweet flowers late in the game, but the first -and more overwhelming- notes are swampy and brackish. Not my thing!

My skin chemistry amps rose to the nth degree, so this one was a bit of a risk for me. of the other notes tempted me to try it, however! On me, Illuminati Cotillion is mostly cloying, sweet incense and heavy, overblown roses. The wood and pipe tobacco are background notes that keep the overall feel of the scent very dark, heavy, and mysterious. I don't hate it ... but I don't love it either. Perhaps the biggest hurdle is that it smells a lot like something else I already have from Arcana or Cobalt Blends. I'm going to give IC some aging time and revisit to decide if it stays or goes.

Wet - a full-on hit of cake and biscuits. It's bready and only mildly sweet. Nice! Dry - it's a lightly floral cucumber. I'm sad because I never smelled the Earl Grey, which is a tea I adore for its bergamot scent.

On me, this is all dry orris root and ancient leather. And perhaps some of those old tymey Band Aids. Not a hint of ginger or cream, or even of frankincense. If I could give it three thumbs down, I would!!

At first dab, I got an awful rush of cat pee that usually heralds BPAL's honey note on me. It ran away pretty quickly, leaving a lovely peachy nectarine smell, tempered with something vaguely floral (the quince?). Later, the tobacco came out to play and reminded me somehow of the Dogs Playing Poker series. If it wears well throughout the day, this may well be a bottle purchase for me!

Ditto to upthread comments about how very well blended this is and .... "interesting"! I find it very "interesting" that it's so difficult to pick out individual notes in something that has so few. I'm also on the fence about liking AP. I do like it best wet because that's when it's at its most aromatic. During the drydown, it just seems to get somewhat muddled and indistinct.

Lovely well-behaved resins and a hint of spicy carnation. But there's also something sour in here that doesn't work on me.

Ohhhhhhhhhh, first sniff in the decant and on the wrist was lurv. Beautiful mint and playful vanilla. And then the coconut started to amp up and turned the blend into a slightly old, musty, sour somethingoranother. So sad.

Cherry marzipan tart. Simply mouth watering!!

Lovely! Sweet, fruity, ever so slightly spicy. I "get" the comparisons to Agape because of the creamy fruitiness. Pet Magah Bird is much darker, though. It reminds me of one of the Grindhouse Ladies ... Aerowen or Dionysia, perhaps?

I hate 98% of the rose scents I've tried and Snow White turned nasty on me ... so why did I order a decant of this? I dunno, but I'm glad I did! The rose is the sort of lightly lovely scent I find in my garden roses (vs cloyingly heavy hothouse or old lady rose notes) tempered with a beautifully chilly vanilla note. And yes, it even smells "pink"! I may even break my "no rose" rule and get a bottle!

Like a spike through my head. Must be something from the "metals" because all my nose is picking up is some odd florals and cologne.

Oh, my ... I can't believe I never reviewed this one!!! I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an original Black Lace and a back up bottle from a generous forumite. That didn't stop me from buying another bottle when it reappeared on the Dark Delicacies site, however. There is a distinct difference between the two batches .... and it's one I hope is resolved with aging as I prefer the initial batch. Both have a lovely, aromatic quality that I think comes from the cognac and an overt "feeling" of cotton. In the original batch, however, the tobacco is much more resonant and the musk and incense come across more forcefully to keep the vanilla cream cotton in check. The new batch has all of the same elements, but the balance has shifted much more toward the vanilla cream cotton, which makes it smell more like Yankee Candle's Clean Cotton! Mind you, I like YC Clean Cotton! I just prefer to scent my room with it rather than my person.

Oh, I love this! It reminds me a LOT of Black Lace. Perhaps it's the slightly smokey vanilla sweetness? It's got a lovely throw and is long lasting too. No pine to speak of, but I do "get" the slightly foody note others have mentioned.

Wow, I feel as if I'm reviewing a comletely different scent from everyone else! I don't get the slightest hint of mint or eucalyptus or pennyroyal from my decant. I do get unidentifiable florals (white ... like a mix of lilac and narcissus) and a waft of ozone. Slightly dryer sheet, as mentioned upthread. Reminds me of Snow Bunny from last year. I suspect that Hypothermia -much like Snow Bunny- will only be wearable in the winter while summer's heat will spike the floral notes to headache-inducing levels.

Hmmmmm ... like Gunpowder with berries! I don't get the hazelnuts at all. Nice, but I wish it would last much longer.

Wet, redwood, teak, sage, and tree moss are at the forefront, making Ded Moroz slightly spicey and earthy, with a nice underpinning of sweetness. Very soon, however, the ambers club all the other notes into submission, making this another generically sweet, powdery scent on me.

I was convinced that this was love at first sniff, because in the decant it was all beeswax and church incense and delicious spices with a lovely underpinning of woody patchouli. On, it did a really weird morphing where it smelled really plasticky ... like a newly acquired Hannah Montana doll. ICK! Several hours later it's settled down into a lovely slightly smoky vanilla with spices. Very nice, but NOT worth the trip!

Lemon Pledge?! Wow, I so wasn't expecting that! Must be the lemon verbena. There's something dusty dry and slightly spicy in the drydown, but I can't put my finger (nose?!) on any other notes. Little throw and very short lasting. Still ... part of me thinks this might wear nicely in the warmer weather, so I'll hold onto my decant.