strick9

[No additional description provided.] When I first saw the notes for this, i knew I had to have it. I ordered this one along with Dead Leaves, Licorice Root, Tonka Bean and Pachouli, and I'm really happy to have full bottles of each of these. I tested this on my forearm to see how strong they are; I'll report back when i do a hair test. In the bottle: strangely floral. I'm guessing this is the saffron and honey playing together. I get very little pachouli, but the oud is definitely there. This almost smells aquatic to me in the bottle. On the skin- I applied a very small amount, and on my skin it dries down quickly. This smells nothing on like it does in the bottle, and I'm really quite glad. This actually reminds me a lot of The Thales Eclipse in the bottle, which has made me realize that the oud in these particular scents amps animalic on me. In this particular blend, I love it. In Thales, along with the castoreum, the funk needs to mellow. anyway- as i said, the dry-down happens super quickly and i'm left with no residue or greasiness at all. The floral note has turned super rich, and it's a very golden scent. The patchouli is barely there, and seems to act as an anchor. It may be mingling with the oud and producing the base earthy funk that i really love. I'm not sure that I get "dead leaves" from this as a note- i do get it as a vibe though. This scent is like walking through a forest on a sunny, slightly breezy day while the leaves are in their red, orange, and yellow splendor. I'm of the opinion that this could be worn almost year-round. It might be a bit heavy for summer, but the rest of the year? Absolutely. One surprising thing to mention- a little seriously goes a long way, at least on my skin. the scent is strong, and i hope that when worn in the hair it mellows some. Overall I'm super happy to have this as a whole bottle.

[No additional description provided.] In the bottle: This smells like dead leaves to me. Forest floor, but decidedly deciduous. It's woody, and slightly green. If i had to give this a color, I'd say it's olive green. It's a bit cologne-like in nature, and while I like the scent, I do hope it changes so i can smell the other notes. Skin Test: again, a little goes a very long way. As it starts to dry down, more of the other notes start to come forward. The dead leaves scent though is definitely the star here. There's a sweet herbal note that i wouldn't necessarily identify as licorice root, and the patchouli is definitely coming out way more on than in the bottle. Some of the sweetness could be attributed to the tonka as well, but I don't outright get the cocoa/vanilla rich notes that i generally associate with tonka. As this continues to dry and warm up on my skin, the tonka and licorice definitely start to come out, and there's almost something sugared about this. At this point, I can't stop sniffing. I do finally get patchouli on this one, but it's not a super funky, wet earth patchouli. It's tempered by everything else and just lends more to the whole "forest floor" feel of this scent. While this wasn't quite what I was expecting, I really do love this, and I'll report back once I've put this in my hair. edit: In my hair the scent smells like the dried down, best version of itself. Not nearly as strong in my hair as on my skin- i have short hair and sprayed it into my hands before applying. I used two sprays. It's just the right amount of scent, and I think it would play nicely with base scents like O and Snake Oil, as well as other licorice scents. If you want to amp the patchouli, i think you could do that too. Ugh-so good!

Kill Devil- where have you been all my life? I got this as a frimp from The Lab and Im just really, really in love. I love rum in most of its forms, particularly Rum Punches and Hot Buttered Rum. I feel Kill Devil really hits it home by being evocative of both my favorite rum drinks without being overly foody. In the imp: dark rum, oleo saccarum (a sugar mixture made with lemon peel and turbonado sugar), and something akin to sweet cream. Im in for the skin test. Wet: interesting-the sugarcane is really prominent here, and theres a floral note thats got me unimpressed. Its like strong honeysuckle and while Im not opposed, Im not a fan at this stage. Thank goodness that doesnt last long, and the molasses starts to make a show. The citrusy note is still present, but not as intense as in the imp. I like this! Dry: Ive never smelled anything like this and I want it always. The oak is perfection and anchors all that sweetness with some wood and baking spice/black pepper notes.. Theres a slightly floral note- heather and honeysuckle. Perhaps thats the combo of the honey and sugar cane, and I even get a little bit of sugarcane funk. That cream note in the imp comes through and its like the idea of butter or cream without malolactic overkill. Yes. So much yes. This might be one of my new faves- Ill definitely use the imp and get a bottle.

Port Au Prince is really, really lovely. I got a frimp from The Lab with my last order, and I’m so pleasantly surprised! In the imp: it’s very very heavy and almondy-sweet. There’s a touch of spice, but nothing to write home about. Wet: immediately it’s almond- but not almond extract, more like almond syrup- orgeat. There’s a hit of orange flower water to balance out the heaviness of the sweet. As it starts to dry, the bay and clove make an appearance but it’s subtle. Sassafras is there and helps in keeps my the sweetness at bay. After a few minutes, the scent is gorgeous. It’s heady and sexy and really catches me off guard. Dry: the rum comes out and it is definitely dark rum, thick with molasses, sugar, and vanilla. The spices are very soft on me, and I don’t perceive this to be masculine at all. Everything is blended exquisitely, and I can’t stop smelling my wrist. It’s a very sexy scent, and evocative of hot, breezy nights in the Gulf Coast. I’ll finish the imp and more than likely buy a full bottle. I’m so glad this is GC!

This is incredible. It is very evocative of place for me, and it’s most definitely dark, ecclesiastical, and rings of ceremony. JazzieCazzie described it super well- to me it’s a cross between Catholic Church benedictions and grown ass, sexy person. I got 3 imps of this and I’ll grab a bottle.

I've not tried regular Perversion, so I have no basis of comparison. In the bottle, it smells like a super oaky, rich chardonnay with a hint of wet tobacco. I don't get a lot of leather in this at all On, The chardonnay gets amped on me, along with the tonka. I really wish this had the leather in it that the original promises, but im not getting it at all. Perhaps my chemistry is off? who knows. Dry, it's a pretty enjoyable scent. I honestly don't think that The Lab's PS note agrees with me. Of the three PS scents I've tried, this one has been the only one I liked. I'm glad to have an imp to play with, but there's no need for a bottle.

I had a negatively visceral reaction to this, and I think The Lab's PS note just generally does not agree with my skin. In the imp, it smells lovely- like a richer version of the Snake Oil i know and love (and I love me some snake oil and all the Snake Pit variations). On, whoof. When wet, it's a pretty rich Snake Oil. During the dry down and once it's dry though? Nope. It has a latex undertone that reminds me of flavored condoms; like if pumpkin-spiced flavored condoms were a thing, this would definitely be what they'd smell like. The rubbery smell adds to the cloying sweetness that's here. This is not for me. Off to the swap pile it goes.

Wet in the imp, this smells lovely. It's incense smoke with a touch of baking spice and creaminess. On, its a whole other story. How I wish both this and traditional Cathedral didn't turn into hamster bedding/pencil shavings on me. But this one get's weirder. The addition of the PS note is super... fake. Like a pumpkin spiced rubber ball or pumpkin spiced caustic chemical. I'm not into it. Into the swap/sale pile it goes.

ugh, man. This is exactly what I wanted it to be! in the bottle all i get is patchouli and something sort of boozy. so far, i'm here for this. Wet, when applied, the oudh definitely comes out. its not as "oudh-y" as I anticipated; I think it's tempered by whatever "obsidian" happens to be, which reads to me a lot like the lab's wet stone note. like this and Night's Bridge are distant cousins? This feels atmospheric to me, and the color i get is pewter/tarnished silver. It's a really sexy and mysterious scent, and there is something that's a bit leather-like about it. But not like a jacket- like leather gloves. I'll definitely be wearing this, and I'm happy to have picked up a bottle!

I got an imp of this as a frimp with a few bottles i picked up from a fellow forum member. The scent is absolutely absolutely gorgeous- I've honestly been looking for a super dry unisex wood scent. Unfortunately, my skin eats this up. I put it on and it smells beautiful for all of 5 minutes and then poof, down to almost nothing. super super SAD.

I had to wear this one a few times before deciding if I liked it or not. I do indeed like it, and i like it A LOT. Wet, its very very sickly sweet with almond and fig- slight bit of pine. I come to expect this from BPAL almond scents, so it's normally not a huge concern for me because the almond dries down pretty nicely. The patchouli in this is really rich and almost wet pipe tobacco-ish. I suspect that's the melding of the patchouli, fig, and vanilla, and I dig it. The pine here is SUPER subtle. Like you maybe got some sap on your hands and rinsed it off and have just the faintest smell left. It actually tempers what could be a seriously sweet blend on me, and makes it just a touch astringent and much easier to wear. I can't stop smelling my wrists. I've had it on for about an hour, and I love it. This is my third time testing it, and assuming it doesn't go bad, I'll order a big bottle.

In the bottle it smells like straight up vanilla, cinnamon sticky buns, and sticky fingers. Yep. I love this, and i really really hope this doesn't turn plastic on me like so many gourmand scents do. Applied, its like WHOA HI CINNABON, but then almost immediately tempers. The sweetness mellows, and some super well-worn brown leather notes, as well as oudh make an appearance. I am into this a lot. As it dries, I start to amp the leather, oudh, and bourbon vanilla. the cinnamon turns into cassia bark, and isn't quite as "bakery" as it was before and far more "cinnamon broom." The sweetness again keeps pulling back- the vanilla is super dry and oaky. Apparently I do pretty well with the Lab's bourbon vanilla as opposed to other vanillas. I'll keep on using the imp, and this may call for a full bottle with my next order. Edit: this won't be on my next order. My skin eats it up and turns it to sweet vanilla powder.

My mother wears Chanel No. 5; it is absolutely her signature scent and it smells lovely on her. It does not, however, smell lovely on me; in fact, it smells terrible. It goes sour/powedery and gives me a headache almost immediately. I'm going to give my mom the imp and probably order a bottle to give her for Christmas. If you can wear Chanel No.5, I highly recommend this. I honestly can't wait to smell this on my mom.

Reminiscent of hothouse blooms on a humid night, ripe, but touched with decay. Sweet honeysuckle and jasmine with a hint of lemon and spice. Ithe bottle it's a very, very heady floral. Jasmine, honeysuckle, vanilla. Indolic notes that I love. There's something lightly citrus- the lemon is more like lemongrass. A touch of cassia, a touch of anise seed perhaps. All in the background. I love the way this smells wet. Initial application wet is very much as it is in the bottle, Jasmine being the main player here. Its like crushed jasmine though, like you accidentally stepped on some blossoms. As this dries, it changes quite a bit, and I'm having a hard time determining if i like this. It oscillates between cinnamon-tinged palmolive dish soap (blegh) and a heady, slighly decaying honied white floral with spice that I actually like- a lot. I keep thinking there's gardenia in here as well. after wearing for a few hours, it smells like scented plastic flowers. In the trade pile it goes.

In the imp this is definitely green and brown. Maybe some patchouli, definitely some musk. In the imp, i can't make out any super distinct notes other than patchouli and an unidentifiable muskiness. On my skin, this is heavenly. It's a very feral smell, in the way that i wanted Ravenous to be feral ( i cannot do orange blossom at all). There's a wine/red musk note in here, and a lot of indolic notes that keep me sniffing the spot where i applied it. I believe there's red patchouli in this too, which is what drew me to Ravenous in the first place. It's dank, but not brown-dank. There's also incense here- dry, almost smokey church incense- like frankincense, myrrh, and benzoin. perhaps some cassia bark, but not a ton. ugh. Fabulous. I don't think this smells particularly masculine on me, and it's almost a little perfume-y. If i had to categorize it with another non-GC scent, I'd say its similar to The Thales Eclipse, but sans leather and with civet/ambergris instead of castoreum. I will definitely use this imp, and probably buy a bottle. I say probably because it's very similar to The Thales Eclipse, which i do have a full bottle of and needs time to age.

someone in the facebook groups recommended this as an alternative to Silky Bat in the Blood Milk Exquisite Corpse line. I happened to get my hands on Silky Bat, and I can definitely see how they're in the same family. I really, really dig patchouli. From light to dark, new to aged, give me all your patchouli. I also love benzoin. Coconut? meh, I could take or leave and it depends on what else is with it. I have a tendency to turn coconut notes into "sun tan oil," so testing is super important for me. I got an imp of Goblin, and really, it's seeming like love at first sniff. It's very heavy patchouli and benzoin in the bottle. I am a super happy camper. Wet on my skin, its heavy heavy patchouli with benzoin in the background to temper a touch. A few minutes in, and the coconut starts to make an appearance. It's not foodie, which makes me happy. As it continues to dry down, The patchouli softens and the coconut and benzoin start to come out further. There's a slightly citric/vanilla note that comes out to play from the benzoin. I dig this. The longer it wears, the more complex it becomes. That citric/sour vanilla is coming up, and I hope it stays in check. If I continue to amp it, I won't like this. Either that or maybe I'm having a bad nose day, which is definitely a possibility. Overall, right now, Goblin is a super rich, dank patchouli that's supported by soft, round, dry coconut and sweet, resinous benzoin. I'm pretty sure I'll put this on my list and add it to my ever-growing patchouli collection.

I am SO SO SO sad that I didn't order this with my Eclipse order. It's in my top 3 from that run. I got a frimp of this with a purchase from annemathematics (thank you!), and i'm absolutely smitten. In the bottle it smells like a resinous woody pitch. It reminds me of playing in the woods and climbing trees as a kid, and getting sticky with pine sap and other pitch. On, ugh. ON. The pitch falls into the background and becomes a whisper of astringency that balances out the sweetness and heaviness of the other resins. The resins are so gorgeous in this, and I can't stop sniffing my wrist. LVNEA makes a cocoa/labdanum body oil that i LOVE, and the labdanum is clearly what i'm loving here. It's kinda funky, kinda piney, kinda raw honey. It's sweet, but not cloyingly so. As it wears, it becomes a bit lighter, and raw maple syrup smells start to develop. Sweet barks, trees, leaves, saplings. ugh. I cannot smell enough of this. If you love resins and woody blends that *aren't*, and verge slightly on the side of old oak barrel, you'll dig this. I must find as many of these as possible. i'm SO SO SAD i didn't order this!

This bottle is from 2010, so it's got 7 years of age on it. Upon first whiff from the imp, it smells like a really great rum-based cocktail, or hot rum punch. It's surprisingly fruity, but in a mulled fruits/wine sort of way. Wet: Spices are huge here! Clove, bay, and tobacco grounded by patchouli. I don't get a ton of sandalwood, lemon verbena, or lime at this point either, but I don't mind one bit. I'm into the dark spices that are going on here. As this dries down, the amber starts peeking out, and so do the citrus notes. just a touch, though. you have to hunt for them. This is so lovely and so wearable during colder months.

In the bottle: Sweet patchouli and fig. yep, this is going to be great. Wet: The fig isn't as pronounced, but its there in the background. The red benzoin and vanilla are coming through nicely. It's rich, earthy, and sweet, but in a cognac/tobacco sweet way, not a foodie-type way. Dry-down: as this starts to dry, the fig and the benzoin bump up further, and the patchouli somehow gets lighter. And there's the bourbon vanilla, floating ethereally in the background. As this keeps going, the bezoin, vanilla, and fig keep pushing more forward while the patchouli gets grounded in the background. There's something a little woody here as well- like a tinge of charred oak. that might be the caramelized part of the patchouli, i think. I'm amping this charred smell just ever so slightly. This is definitely a "second skin" scent, and I can see this becoming a scent i wear daily. I'm really glad i got an entire bottle of this. I think i might continue to age this a little longer and see what happens.

In the imp, this smells like my homemade hot buttered rum. Buttery, with a tinge of salt, baking spices, and raw sugar. There's a touch of real amarina/marasca cherry in there too. It's thick and rich expensive cherries, not cheap bright colored marascino cherries that get thrown in a Shirley Temple. Wet, It's almost like rum-soaked pineapple upside-down cake. Caramelized butter/toffee, a touch of pineapple, still lots of butter, and cherry. This is about as gourmand as can be, and it also happens to be reminiscent of my favorite dessert. I really hope it stays that way and doesn't turn plasticky/waxy like so many other gourmand scents can on me. Well, just as i feared. My finnicky chemistry turned this into a scented candle. Which, isn't bad in and of itself- I just don't want to smell like it. I might try this as a room scent though, because I love gourmand candles that are scented like this.

In the imp, everything is blended beautifully. Dusty patchouli, dusty orris, and if musk can be grey, this would be it. The black musk isn't strong in the imp at all but it's there in the background. Wet, this smells like grey, damp dirt; lichen, oak moss. It quickly turns into something dusty and ancient, and the myrrh gets amped. I feel like this is the aftermath of Brimstone. as this dries, a bit more orris comes forward and so does the black musk. oh man- this is decidedly dark, elegant, sexy, and almost sinister. It's gorgeous. There isn't a lot of patchouli here; it's creeping out in the background kinda anchoring and backing up everything else. About 10 minutes in, and the orris has gone entirely too powdery. it's not elegant anymore- its too musty. It reminds me of something a grieving victorian widow would wear, and not in a good way. Apparently I amp orris pretty strongly. I might have the beginnings of a headache. Sigh- the orris totally blew this for me. Into the trade pile it goes.

Oh Ravenous, I really wanted to love you. Like really, really wanted to love you. It smells heavenly in the imp. The orange blossom is tempered and grounded by the red patchouli- its mouthwateringly good, and i i don't ever want to stop smelling it. There's some creaminess, and the orange is super fresh and sweet. On the skin, it stays like this, for about the first hour of wear. I was convinced that I'd found my summer scent, which has been eluding me for who knows how long. and then i amped the orange blossom and lost all the red patchouli. and everything else. I became a walking orange blossom, and i couldn't deal. I had to wash it off. It started to smell like decaying orange blossoms at that. I normally like a little bit of decay and funk in my florals, but this? No. No no no. Sigh. into the pile it goes.

In the imp: Just how it sounds, albeit more astringent than it lets on. I Think there's copal and myrrh in here- there's some lemon-peel going on. Wet: This one is heady, and super aromatic. The amber and black musk really come through. There's a smell reminiscent of Shalimar. If i had to assign a color to it right now, it would be dark, dark, chocolate brown. like 72% cacao chocolate-brown (i read other reviews AFTER i wrote mine- it's nice to know other folks got the Shalimar too!). Drying: As it dries, more of the amber comes through and starts to sweeten up all that thick black musk. This is one sexy scent, and it is indeed haunting. its "mysterious person walking into a bar" haunting. The further we go, the more the citrus notes start to come back- just ever so slightly. My grandmother wore scents like this, and if she were still with us, I'd definitely have her try this. As it continues to dry down, there are subtle notes of cinnamon coming through. Light star anise. The amber is really coming through nicely, and there are some light honey and citrus notes coming along for the ride. Bitter orange and lemon zest. There's got to be some sort of copal in here. Twenty minutes later and this is gorgeous. The musk has gone a touch powdery and the amber has toned town just a touch, but this is pretty true to what it was twenty minutes ago. I'm really happy to have this imp, and it might very well be bottle-worthy.

For a reason i can't remember, this ended up in my "no go" pile. I'm retesting, given how my tastes have changed. It's decidedly not easy to sniff out of an imp. What i get here is blackberry, sage, and dark musk. mmmm. Wet on my skin, there's definitely sage and some sort of balsam/piney situation, with berries on top. The dark musk hasn't made an appearance yet, but I find musks normally show up later on me. As it starts to dry, I'm getting some of that earthy green tea business. I like this so far. To me, it's very reminiscent of The Forest Reverie- there's a purple/red juiciness that lives harmoniously with more earthy, astringent notes. Oh, yeah. Now I remember why this made it to the "nope" pile: the berry notes to totally room-spray on me, and it's all i can smell. That being said, i think this will make an absolutely lovely room scent and i will indeed keep it for that reason.

It seems I'm a complete outlier with Brimstone for the most part, in that i find this scent absolutely wonderful. I didn't expect it. at all. Firstly, my imp doesn't smell too downright smokey. Smoked patchouli and vetiver maybe. Oak moss perhaps. Ashy, certainly. But I don't get the liquid smoke and other notes that other folks are describing. Maybe my imp has had time to age? Whatever it is, I'm into it. Wet on the skin, Brimstone has the stone note that I so love in Night's Bridge (another scent that i never thought I'd be into, but alas!). While Night's Bridge has a musk that keeps it round, there's something a touch animalic and sharp here. Civet maybe- i think this keeps the vetiver from amping out of control on me- but vetiver, you are certainly a star here. Patchouli for sure, and it's a wet, dank patchouli. Dry, for me, is about the same as it is wet, with the exception of maybe some anise/fennel seed. It's definitely seeds though, and not star anise. There's no sweetness here at all. I really quite enjoy it a lot. I don't know that it's full bottle worthy, but i think it will be interesting to play with and layer. O comes to mind, as does Ravenous. I'm actually testing Brimstone and Ravenous at the same time on different wrists, and i think there's potential here. For me, I don't know that it's evocative of "fire and brimstone;" If there were an image, for me, this is a forest fire being smoldered out by a long and steady rainstorm.