cyborgutena

Ohh it's so floral and pretty, with a yummy sweetness backing it up. The honey-vanilla sounded like it might be too much, but it's honestly really nice. It stays delicious-floral-honey on the dry down. I'm not sure how me it is, but it is very nice to sniff and it lasts a long time while staying pleasant.

Very... amber-vanilla perfume. It starts off sharper (strong blue cypress I think) and then dries down into this weird thing that vanilla frequently turns into on me. It seems nice enough but it's definitely nothing I'm interested in wearing. Perfumey and doesn't sit right with me.

As above, something in this is a bit acrid on me... I don't mind that at all, but it is very strange with the musk. I think maybe the smoke is making the sweet musk sweeter, because sometimes smoke goes sickly on me in combo with other things. Weirdly, it reminds me of sour candies a bit... but with the more animalistic scent underneath. The unfortunate part is that it just stays like that and never really calms down on me! Sometimes my skin makes sweet scents waaay too much over time, and this seems to be what happens here. It does get less astringent but it dries to something like very sweet smoke (that smells a bit rubbery-fake) which for me is no thanks.

A frimp, and not at all a collection of notes I would have picked for myself! I was surprised by its wet scent because it was more sweetpea than I expected. It dries down to something like powdery and milky-sweet vanilla. A fuzzy little white mouse. I'm kind of scared of vanilla because it sometimes goes sickly and/or totally artificial on me when it dries. This one isn't too bad at all! It remains pleasant, but it's just really not something I'd wear. My long-term tolerance for something this sweet is pretty limited too.

Oh wow! Out of the set of three, I was keenest to try this one and I was right to because it's really good. It's sweet, but exactly the kind I like. Patchouli with that rich honey-like sweetness and resins. It's deep but also mellow. I accidentally put more on that I should have, because it's one of those weird ones for me that seems like it's going to be weaker than it is at the start. It didn't matter that I overdid it, because it was incensey sweet patchouli all day and continued to be lovely. Will definitely be keeping and using.

Floraly dragon's blood, some very subtle soft leather, not sure if I get much smoke. The smoke could be blended well with the dragon's blood because I can't 100% remember what it smells like on its own. It's a lot softer that what I expected from the name! Very much a subtle dragon's blood incense smell. If I sniff the imp, I get more leather, but it's far less detectable on my skin. Unfortunately, very soon after application until complete drydown, it sort of gets this soapy smell in the background. It's not the kind of aquatic-soapy that I sometimes like but... it reminds me of SOMETHING to do with cleaning but I can't figure out what. Like something fresh from the dishwasher? It might just be some weird association my brain has decided to make, but it makes for a strange experience.

I'm really not sure what this scent is when wet! I understand the 'creamy lime' thing people are getting and I feel like it's close but not quite that. Limey floral that's a bit sweet? Maybe it's actually something blending with a particularly green tobacco. Anyway, it definitely smells clean and a bit sharp but also soft. Dry makes the soft leather more detectable. Most leather notes go very soft and sometimes powdery on me (especially when backed up by musk), but I think this stays in a really good place. I wasn't sure the tobacco was strong at first, but I think it was just blending really seamlessly. When I look for it, it comes to the fore. Sweetness and floral has also faded by this point. There's something else in the background and I really can't figure out what it is, but it's nice! This is a complex masculine scent and it's really interesting! Love it.

I'd describe this as a sombre floral. The floral with violet is really beautiful but backed up by something dark - desolate seems correct. At least at first, the vetiver is quite a grassy one, which I think suits the florals quite well. The couple of times I've tried it, it hasn't lasted very long unfortunately. If it lasted, I think all the interesting non-florals (wood, sandalwood, amber) would come out to compete with the florals a bit more. Someone said above that it reminds them a bit of Darkness, and that's what I was thinking too! Darkness has something in it that doesn't sit right with me when it develops, but Fallen is just fine so I prefer it.

The is a really clean smell, and I like it! The leather is very subtle and soft, the stone and iron are somehow... fresh? Don't ask me why stone is fresh and clean, but somehow it is! The hops adds something mellow and herbal. I like wearing this is something pleasantly non-invasive and masculine.

This is That Leather that I've encountered a couple of times now (which I think might be the black leather note?). Some scents have softer kinds of leather, but this is a very polished and hard one. I don't know if this is something to do with my chemistry but this type of leather takes on a life of its own when it touches me! It separates out, overpowers everything, and is SO hard to get off. It starts of very polished leather with what I think is mostly steel and a little blood beneath. And it just... stays very much the same as it dries down! I think it must be the musk backing it up, but the metal smells the tiniest bit sweet. Unfortunately, this new polished leather scent is way too much for me. It just stays VERY hard on me and doesn't seem to fade. It smells kind of... separate (?) from the other scents. Sadly, combined with musky metal, it begins to bother me. I left it a few hours before removing it with oil but boy did it cling. Alas, I think Fighter just isn't my class!

I was kindly given an imp, so I got to sample this interesting scent! It really is fresh and kelpy and and salty going on. Aquatics always start a little soapy in my opinion, but it's never unpleasant! It has a mild floral sweetness all the way from wet to dry and a mossy background. It's refreshing and pleasant, and I especially like that salt is detectable to me because it isn't always!

On wet, this is the kind of tree and plant smell I like! It goes on sharp and green (probably pine with some cypress), but with something dark backing it up. I think I smell the juniper blending with the pine at this point too. It doesn't veer into That Overbearing Pine Scent for me because of the complex base backing it up. Ambergris and musk emerge more as it dries down, which is nice but it ends up too kind of... sweet and musty (?) for me when dry.

To me, it doesn't really match the description - not particularly creeping, slithering, or dark. That said, it slowly grew on me and I really enjoy wearing it! It's a very clean masculine aquatic to start with and as it dries down, a mysterious sort of wood-perfumed-with-incense thing comes out behind it. Mysterious logs sitting in the water? In a very pleasant way. I sometimes put it on for situations where it's more appropriate to wear a scent that's a little more traditionally perfume/cologne-y. I wore it to a (successful) job interview because I think it projects something a little interesting but pleasant!

Here's the review I should have posted ages ago! This is quite a cologney smell to me, but in a way I really enjoy. I think that's why this seems on the masculine side. In the bottle and wet, it's lavender men's cologne in the best way possible. It somewhere between sharp essential oils lavender and the hazy kind (and that'd be the musk part of lavender musk, and possibly the snow). The lavender becomes less sharply herbal when dry. Those leather and vanilla-y scents make for a really nice mix. Leather always goes quite soft on me, which really works here. It's really hard for me to pick the notes apart, but it's good! I'm really not sure what the snow note is meant to smell like, so maybe that's why it's difficult. I've slowly used the decant when I've felt like wearing something deep but bright, confidence-inspiring, and non-feminine!

I like most of the notes in this, but there's unfortunately some combo in here that my brain interprets as the rubbery smell of car tyres (or perhaps some other car related smell like hot dashboard). If I had to guess the tyre combo, it would be the vetiver and jasmine - my nose-brain connection sometimes just does weird things when layering very different notes. Behind that weird scent, I can smell a chill and hazy floral. It's a very unisex kind of floral, and it's not 'fresh' (which I don't mean in a bad way at all). The soft incense emerges after a while too. Annoyingly, I think I'd really like this scent without the rubber! After letting the imp age a little, the tyre smell seems to have chilled out a bit, but it is still very much present. It fades a bit when dry, but takes a while and never truly goes away. Oh well.

In the bottle and going on, it's got that sharp lavender smell with a sort of herbal-woody background. The herbal is only a tiny bit sweet, which is what I prefer. The wood in it isn't harsh or dominating at all. It's sort of soft and floaty. It stays sharp for a while, developing into something nearly citrus without the fruitiness. The herbal-wood scent emerges as time passes. At the end, I'm left with a nice oakmoss-patchouli blend with lavender. The lavender starts off sharp but really does calm down to something that 'misty' is a good description for as it dries. Soft and clean and mysterious. The throw and longevity are in interesting! This sort of pleasant clean scent hangs around for ages. It's kind of subtle but really nice to sniff. This is very but it's not really in the realm of things I actually wear, so I'll be swapping in when I can be bothered.

I think.... I have a low tolerance for tonka, unfortunately. Wet, I get mild spice, a little leather and tonka. It's warm and a bit green somehow. Kind of cologne-like in a woody way. It's kind of pleasant but I get the feeling I might get a headache if I have to sniff it for an extended period. I like that it gets more leathery, but I prefer something darker with my leather. This stays relatively pleasant, but again the tonka sticks around. It's kind of mildly sweet woody masc. Not sure that I ever get parchment from it.

I do like Darkness but I don't love it. I get the notes in roughly equal portions, I'd say. They do combine to make something dark and beautiful. I think something about opium bothers me, though. It's mostly fine but there's just this kind of....thing at the back of my nose that I have no idea how to describe. It goes a bit... something that isn't sour, bitter, or musty but is something around that area. I can still wear it, but only on occasion.

... this is the essence of Victorian-era spiritualism: rosewood, oak and teak notes with wispy blue lilac, tea rose, dried white rose and ethereal osmanthus. This is weird. I thought I'd like it but I am not a huge fan. On wet it's....something I don't particularly like and very strong. I think it's one or more of the wood notes. I normally like wood but one of them is not for me when it's this strong. Maybe the teak? It makes me think 'cologne' (in a not great way) for some reason. I like the dried rose that I can smell, which becomes more apparent as the wood note I mentioned becomes less dominant. As it dries, it smells a lot more pleasant. It's old wood and petals with this slight weird fruitiness (osmanthus?). The drier smell isn't great, so it's not really worth getting through the wet stage which actively bothers me.

I get mainly grapefruit. It's a sweet juicy grapefruit. Yumm. I think I also smell the apple blossom and ginger backing it up. The ginger is very faint but I think I detect a tiny bit of spiciness. Unsure if I can detect white tea. This isn't a winner for me because it has very little throw and it disappears incredibly quickly. The grapefruit fades so quickly and I'm left with an incredibly subtle (and not necessarily unpleasant) soapy smell. Like I'm talking a VERY short time. After 15 minutes there's no trace left. Maybe my skin magically kills grapefruit and the other notes aren't strong enough to survive on their own.

It's really sharp and clear to start with. I think I mainly get lavender and possibly pine, which is refreshing and cool. As it dries down, I get a weird dish detergent thing happening. I wonder if I had a dish soap with one or more of these scents at some point... The main scents don't last super long on me but the soapiness hangs around faintly for a while.

Going on wet, it's sharp lavender and cedar backed up by the nice floral gardenia. After a while, the gardenia really comes out. It ends up very floral but keeps that sharpness in the background for a while. Very light and white scent. Unfortunately, my partner said the scent reminded him of old ladies at church (probably down to the gardenia).... it wasn't a scent I was going to wear out anyway, luckily. This is strictly a 'sit around and huff with wild abandon' kind of imp.

It's certainly intriguing. It's a very interesting combo of fruit and smoky wood. The fig adds a slight and somewhat juicy sweetness to this scent. This is accompanied by woody and vaguely smoky goodness. Like the balcony of a wooden shack with fig trees outside. The reason I don't love this is there's something musty about it. I think it's the 'shadowy wooded notes' (or maybe the black palm?). Or maybe I associate slightly sweet wood with mustiness. Hmm.

Got this as a frimp and not necessarily one I would have picked for myself based on the notes, but I do enjoy it. At first, it's kind of sweet and juicy and warm. I wouldn't have expected to like a honey note, but it turns out I do! The combination of the musk/frankincense/myrrh with the fruity sweetness is interesting. I get mainly musk with a bit of honey and floral when it dries down. It smells light, sweet and warm but not too cloying. It's too sweet for me to wear personally but it's certainly tasty. I wouldn't get tired of someone else wearing this.

This smells really good. With that in mind, I'm not sure it's in my 'like a lot' category rather than my 'faves' category. I get a big deep cocoa whiff backed up by the leather and patchouli. Deep, a little herbal and spicy. Not much sweetness, which is normally ideal for me. It dries down to the lovely spicy incense. There's also a vague floral sweet note. I also like being reminded of dark chocolate (one of my fave things) without it being a foody scent. I think the reason this might not have made it to my absolute favourites is that I like the elements of it and have nothing in it that puts me off, but it also doesn't have anything that really wows me. I guess I've been spoiled by some really amazing BPAL scents.