ralenth

Bottle: Ethereal aquatic, with underlying cool greenery. Wet: Pale florals and soft aquatic. If mist could be distilled, it might smell like this. Drydown: As she dries, the green notes bell out, and a hint of musk and stone peep out from the mists. The musk grows warm, and furry (like a feminine Rat Speakers), and then calms down again. Dry: Reminds me of Danube a bit, but a muskier older sister who has a thing for marble. Overall: Unfortunately, Sarah makes me sneeze. She is lovely, but she will have to go live elsewhere.

Aged since 11/2011. Bottle: Intense resinous floral. Wet: Aggressive, yet feminine. Drydown: She gets sweeter on the drydown, but the predominant notes are a visceral musk and amber-tinged vanilla. Dry: Sweet, complex, but completely gorgeous. It is reminscent of blending Clockwork Couture: Male and Clockwork Couture: Female together.

Bottle: Warm, muted resins with a vegetal tinge. Wet: Reminscent of Rat Speakers, but rolled around in some jungle foliage. Warm, snuggly. Drydown: It barrels straight down Powder Lane. It's a musky powder, but still a powder. Dry: Achievement unlocked: baby powder single note.

Bottle: Peppery soft musk. Wet: Straight up spicy peppercorns. Achievement unlocked: secret pepper single note. Drydown: The peppercorns dissipate rather quickly, leaving behind a soft skin musk with hints of basalm and a faint pepperiness. Dry: The end result is a sweet muskiness that clings to the skin with a teensy bit of spice. This is much nicer than I was expecting from its initial stages.

Bottle 122: At first, 122 is muted fermented purple grape. It is very soft, but strikes me as being halfway on the way to wine. On the drydown, there are hints of red rose. As it dries, the rose becomes the dominant characteristic, but the effect is very mellow. Overall, on my skin it is very muted with minimal throw.

Bottle 91: At first, 91 is fizzy lime soda with a muted buttery foodiness underneath. On the drydown, there is a faint aquatic note that dissipates quickly. Once it has dried, it has melded into a creamy lime citrus scent. It is very light and refreshing.

Wet: Lavender tempered with silky vanilla. Oh, this has aged well! Drydown: A slightly muskier cousin of Dorian, light and airily sweet. Dry: This is much closer to aged Dorian than aged Snake Oil on my skin. It has a slight depth that my Dorian does not have. Verdict: I like this, but I am not sure if it is different enough from my aged Dorian to hang onto it.

A slow, murky sojourn into bedlam: slick, black Arabian musk, aged red patchouli, tobacco absolute, wild salvia, and a sliver of screeching, high-pitched zdravetz. Slipping into Madness is warm, dark, and lovely. How appropriate. It slithers across my skin, whispering eldritch secrets. Intially, the red patchouli dominated, but as the hours tick by, it melds seamlessly with the inky dark musk and traces of tobacco. Why must I always fall in love with the impossible scents?

Source: Sniffie from BluestBlood Wet: Sharp, peppery cognac. Drydown: The pepper takes a backseat, and something akin to French Tobacco SN comes to dance with the cognac. The result is quite pleasant. Dry: Sweet, and not overly boozy. Ginny becomes smoky without being too sultry, and slightly sweet and effervescent like champagne. Verdict: I could see myself wearing this on a hot day. I will need to acquire more of this.

In the imp: Juicy, slightly spicy floral. On my skin, at all stages: Geranium SN. Verdict: Sigh, skin chemistry fail.

Wet: Creamy magnolia, and my nemesis, cinnamon. Drydown: The cinnamon takes over completely and my throat is starting to itch. Dry: Cinnamon SN. Verdict: Sadness. I would love a smoky magnolia scent, sans cinna-monster.

Roses typically hate me, so imagine my surprise at this blend working for me. It's soft, creamy beeswax with a splash of dew-kissed tuberose. Plovers Above the Waves is gentle, and feminine. I will definitely add it into rotation for my girlier moments.

How have I not tried this until now? Wet: Sinuous smoke curling around a sultry vetiver core. Drydown: Slick black leather, and more luscious vetiver. Dry: Sexy leather with a vettiver undercurrent. Iago almost replicates mixing Haitian Vetiver Single Note with my beloved De Sade.

Dew kissed sakura adrift on a sea of soft ozone and cologne. As it dries, the sakura fade into the background Dry, it's a nonobtrusive cologne with tinges of a mechanical cherry blossom scent.

Wet: Sharp fingered musk, curling around soft tendrils of mint and wisps of elemi. It feels aggressive and cooly distant simultaneously. Dry: Masculine cologne with tinges of aquatic. It lands somewhere between Volt (sans leather and mintiness) and Villain (sans lavender).

Warm, polished wood with resinous overtones. After about thirty minutes, it has faded to a background inviting woodsiness.

I am completely floored by this blend. Just... wow. Wet: Hollow floral note with hints of aquatic. Drydown: Suddenly, it's a luscious tropical floral explosion, as if the rain awoke the garden. The aquatic underrcurrent grounds it, and gives it depth. Ozone flares briefly. Dry: Mostly dripping hothouse florals, with something intriguing underneath.

This is a leather lover's dream. At first, it's a rush of well worn leather on the skin. As it dries, the fougère surfaces. It is almost like a marriage of a less visceral incarnation of DeSade and Villain. After thirty minutes, it is a softly musky leather with a hint of genteel cologne. Love, love, love.

Bottle: Aged since release. Woods, and bright sweet apple blossoms. Wet: Apple peels over a bed of crushed apple blossoms. Drydown: Candied white floral.As it dries, there are slight hints of woodiness, but mostly it's an apple blossom melded with Rose Red on my skin. Dry: Woodsy, and soft. It's understated, feminine, and romantic.

Hello, this one is a morpher! Source: Bottle, aged since release (2.5 years). Wet: Bright lime, with dashes of cleaning product. Drydown: Violet candies, and soft, powdery florals. Dry: Old ladies at the bar in twilight. Mmm, no.

Source: Bottle, aged 4 years. In the bottle: Sharp, and green, with an almost bitingly vetiver undercurrent. Wet: Malevolently astringent green. The vetiver-type woodsiness keeps drawing me back. Drydown: The astringency is burning off, leaving me with a soft woodsy scent. Dry: A mellower version of the Vetiver Single Note.

Source: Lab bottle aged since release (September 2008) Ghûlheim is a swirling dark musk,with soft hints of clove and pepper. Aging has mellowed this bottle significantly from my initial sniffs. It seems dark, sexy and wearable. Initially, I couldn't get this far enough away, but now it's quite lovely.

This has aged quite nicely. It is predominately apple blossom drenched in soft aquatic notes, with hints of honeyed rose.

Soft, dark musk with spikes of catnip greenery. Aging has definitely mellowed Lil Menes for the better.

Rose doesn't do well on my skin, usually, and Miss Jessell is no exception. Sharp, dark roses - bitter and angry.