funkmoppet

Damn, Dang, Blast and Bugger it. Labdanum, you smell so wonderful to begin with, until my skin recognises you for the evil resin you are and blasts you into Doom Powder. Wet, this was a wonderful, Teak laden, resinous blend with well-behaved rose, swirling around on my wrist. Dark and rich. Dry. Nope. Skin's not having it.

This is nothing at all like I expected. No dirt. No booze. Just cloyingly sweet! What on earth is doing that? Amping magnolia is in there, but there's this sugary, fruity sweet note that's just completely dominating this. It manages to fade on the dry down, and finally I get the spanish moss and a touch of the bourbon. This stage is nice enough, but UGH, the wet phase is really too much for me. Sadly, not for me.

Ugh. Jasmine - you just take everything over. There IS myrrh and rose in here, but they have a fight on their hands with the jasmine. Myrrh gives up and goes home, and rose hangs around for one last effort that results in powdery floral potporri.

This was a frimp. I have ongoing issues with Dragon's Blood, it only being something I like when it's a bit-player with other notes that I prefer. In the imp - yup, that's DB. Wet on the skin, there's a big amping of cinnamon. The dragon's blood is underneath, and not as sweet as I usually find it. But cinnamon and dragon's blood is pretty much all this is on me - right through to the dry stage. I barely even detect the myrrh, which miraculously behaves on me, but not in any way I can really notice. No patchouli, no pomegranate. This is just really unremarkable on me.

I am SO ready to love Dracul. Musk, balsam, orange blossom, clove - sounds like a good time! And god it so almost is. In the imp, it's musky balsam. Yum! Straight on the skin is gorgeous orange blossom. More yum! Then WHOOSH! The mint amps faster than I can sniff and just hangs around like a jerk at a party. The mint in this is quite maddening. Underneath, there's man sex. I can SMELL it. There's a perfect mix of all those aforementioned notes, all smoothing out into a breathy masculine waft that's SO good... but the goddamn mint is there bouncing about in front obscuring my view. The mint is ruining this for me. It's like Mr Sexy Dracul has just brushed his teeth and is standing in his jim-jams all tuckered out after a hot mug of Horlicks.

Why won't the Norse gals like me? Wet, it's overpowering, aggressive ylang ylang. Sweet and sickly. As it dries, the musks are there, but they're adding to the sweetness in a powdery way. This is very quickly turning to out-of-control potpourri. Hell no. This just isn't for me, at all.

A lethal poison bundled up in a dainty, innocent little package that was oft times found in ancient witches’ flying ointments and astral projection balms. A warm, soft, ruddy scent, earthy and mild. Wet, this is light dirt with a mushroomy, mildewy note. It's very light and a great likeness to what this scent is a representation of! I can detect a whisper of vetiver in here. Very faint, but lending it's harshness to that dirt smell. As this dries, it gets sweeter. Dry, it's a shadow of the vetiver with a dusty vanilla now taking over. Glad to have tried it, but the dry down is a bit disappointing. Edited to include lab description.

Oh, like Trick #1, this is also glorious! Being an aged bottle, I have no idea how this might have been fresh - but wet, this reminds me so much of Minotaur. It's resinous, dark, smoky and wonderful. The patchouli is earthy without being "dirty hippy", the tobacco is sexy, and the oak and pine are both so mellow. Drying down, this just gets sexier. It's warm, luscious and heady, with just a hint of the smoked vanilla and pomegranate. Dry the dusty pepper is very faint, and the resinous patchouli holds with none of the doom-powder that ruined Minotaur for me. SO glad I have a bottle! Both Tricks are just superb, and both SO sexy in different ways.

Very light ozone from the imp. Fresh and watery, with a gentle sweetness. On the skin, the florals in this overtake the gorgeous ozone and get a bit sodden and unpleasant. I can't really pick out which florals they are, as they smell fairly nondescript on me. As this dries, the flowers back away to let the ozone come forward again, and this phase is very pretty. It has a breezy, wet throw, and smells more like light rain on a garden after a brief summer downpour. Evocative, yes - but I'm not loving this. The floral is what ruins this for me. I was hoping for Thunder Moon lite, but the florals are far too dominant, reminding me far too much of a bathroom freshener. Swaps.

I can't think of anything that custom-Beth-blends wouldn't make better! And hooray for someone else who loves War! We don't appear to be that numerous.

I fully expected to not like this. I'm not a foodie-blend girl. Wet, this is cocoa with cocoa and a chocolate chaser. Very nice chocolate, but not a scent I'm fond of wearing. But the change in this blend comes on quickly, and the orchid and ginger push up giving it a lovely light edge and countering the richness. The peach, mercifully, is subdued, as is the honey. Drying down, the vanilla picks up and the chocolate heads for the background as the clove comes through. This is far less foody than I expected. Dry on me, it's more of a fruity, vanilla floral with a cocoa base. Lovely! Not a favourite, and how often I reach for this is yet to be seen, but for now I'll hang onto the bottle. I'd like to see what a bit of aging does to it.

Guh! Oh god - this is red musk perfection!! And with red musk being one of my absolute favourite notes, I am in HEAVEN! In the imp this is leather and red musk, but as soon as it hits the skin, the leather mellows out almost immediately as the sexy-as-hell musk rises up with the patchouli and just a touch of the ginger. SO good! As it dries, the florals are so well behaved, staying in the background and adding a very feminine touch to the heady musk that's still dominating beautifully. The vanilla is also a great bit-player, mostly peeking out when dry, when it's joined by the skin musk. This is blended so well. Utterly glorious. It's like a muskier Mme without the plum. So completely thrilled I nabbed a bottle on the notes alone! Freakin' LOVE this!

Oh, this is beautiful! It's so barely-there in the imp. Wet on the skin, this is the lightest, most subdued whispery pine. It's nothing like other pine notes I've smelled - this is wet and gentle and not pungent at all. It almost has a very distant feel to it. Drying down, the beautiful berry comes out and sweetens this on my skin. The pine is gentle and very much in the background, and the berry hangs close to the skin. It's very unisex on me. This really is lovely! I like this one very much. Definitely keeping the imp, and this may also be a future bottle purchase.

Medicinal anise and lemon! Boy this has some super strong throw. I only used it sparingly and it amps up powerfully when it hits my skin. There's a real boozy quality to this which makes it a perfect Absinthe. And that booziness lingers right through to the dry down. The medicinal punch eases off and it's a lighter lemony anise blend with the worm-wood swirling about. Really unique and lovely! I'll see how much I reach for this one, but I'll be keeping the imp. It's refreshing and yummy.

I'm also dying for a castle scent. When you find it, I'll arm-wrestle you for it... As for librarian, have you tried Clio or Dee? They've both got a nice parchment note that reminds me of books... Woodsy scents that I've tried and loved are Fenris Wolf, Odin, and Tristran (the first two are a bit more woody than green, but they're wonderful all the same). You might like Arkham (the Lovecraft Arkham), although it turned to rubber on me. I've also just ordered Yggdrasil, which I have high hopes for. And for warrior, I'd go with The Bloody Sword or Bed of Nails (or even The Cracked Bell), since they have a nice iron feel to them...probably wouldn't hurt to mix in a smoke scent too, like Agnes Nutter or Djinn, for that "after-battle" feel. When I find the ultimate castle scent, I shall squee with you! I've tried Dee - he's very close, but I'm after something so irritatingly specific. Penny Dreadful has a library feel to it, and I adore it, but I'm still on the hunt for "the one". I will try Clio. I like Tristran, but Fenris Wolf and Arkham both won't play nicely with my chemistry. I'm very hamstrung by what my skin will behave with. Yggdrasil is on my list, and I've got Yew Trees to try. : ) The Bloody Sword is way too sweet. I get no warrior from it at all - dragon's blood just doesn't evoke anything more than floral candy for me. Agnes Nutter is a great vetiver, but it's got no leather or musk to "sweaty man" it all up for me. ; ) Though Agnes Nutter is great for evoking iron. The dear Vicomte smelled like Axe on me, and while I enjoy Axe, I expect more from my bpal. Have you tried War, I haven't but your description sure fits the character. I'll second the War for a mean scent. It depends on whether you like the strong ginger note (luckily I do), but for me, War is a great "don't-fucking-mess-with-me" scent.

Agnes Nutter is made of win! In the imp and wet on the skin: HELLO VETIVER! A big blast, clean and lovely and very strong. My nose is far too untrained to detect what else is in there, but along with the clean vetiver, this is very much an iron and gunpowder smell. Emphasis on the iron. This settles down to a much smokier, slightly sweet blend and dries into what really is a unisex vetiver blend. This doesn't have the ongoing harshness of Highwayman, and none of the evil jasmine. It's a wonderful interpretation, and very evocative. Vetiver lovers ought to enjoy this. I would never use a whole bottle of this, but the decant will definitely stay and be used. This entire series has been nothing short of spectacular. Bravo, Beth!

Really? On me it's predominately leather and snake oil, backed by what I think is the sage. I get those things too, but the red sandalwood amps nicely on me, making it a woody leather blend.

This is just divine in the imp. Fresh, watery and lovely. The ozone in this is light. Wet on the skin, there's a beautiful citrus lift to this, with a slight peppery note. It's refreshing and very evocative of summer rain. As it dries, the white flowers peek out. Thankfully they don't seem to amp on me, and the rain notes hold onto the foreground. That peppery note also comes back after vanishing briefly. It's all damp flowers in sunny rain, very pretty and a white floral that I can like. I don't really love it though. I adored the wet phase, but the florals, subdued though they are, still aren't my cup of tea. White florals just don't appeal to me, even when they're in amongst these other notes that I love. I may keep the imp, though.

Ahhhhhh Desire. Straight onto my skin, this is gorgeously blended neroli, black musk and patchouli. The neroli is very well behaved and never so much as threatens to overpower the other notes (like it can do on me). This is sensual and lovely, oozing with warmth. There's a hint of the vanilla as it dries down, but it's quite fleeting. The rose also behaves as just a very faint compliment, and the bergamot is barely there. When dry, its back to the warm, subdued trio of neroli, musk and patchouli - gorgeous and dreamy. So nice! I'll definitely use the imp, and it may be a bottle purchase in the future.

Whoa. My skin chemistry is doing seriously ghastly things to this one. In the imp, Cassanova smells like a lovely masculine floral cologne, and I'm all keen to give it a whirl. Then it hits my skin and it's positively horrid. Straight up, it's a mix between the smell a refuse tip, then goes to sweaty-crotch. And I seriously mean "sweaty-crotch". Uncannily. How the hell my skin has done that to these notes that ought to play very nicely on me is a complete mystery - but that's nevertheless what this blend is doing on me. I've let it dry, and it's improved. The tip and the crotch smell have gone. Now the lavender and lemon are through and giving me a glimpse of what this might smell like on skin that isn't having a serious tantrum. But this is way too little too late and there's no way I can survive that wet phase more than once. I've never had a blend fail this spectacularly on me before. Skin, skin, you curious thing...

Nooooooooo! This is SO sexy from the imp and wet. Heady red musk, incense and spice - pure sensual bliss. Then it wastes no time in going straight to doom-powder on me. I suspect an amber culprit in here somewhere. Black amber? Either way, this one was a crushing disappointment. Grrrr skin chemistry!

Okay. I just have to avoid these damn fruity blends. I honestly wanted to love this one. I love apricot, I love clove - thought this just might be the foody blend for me. Hell no. The apricot is cloying and the clove is awol. Hellooooooooo clove? What clove is there just isn't taking the syrupy sweetness down at all. This isn't even yummy in a candy way to me, it's just pure Off you come March Hare. To the swaps with you.

Oh YUM! Been itching to try this and it's fantastic! Yummy, cool, watery cucumber - absolutely! It's like I've just cut up a fresh Lebanese cucumber and waved it under my nose. This is so delicious! Might well end up being a bottle purchase when summer hits, but until then, I'll definitely be using up this imp!

Wow, this really is a journey in a bottle. Wet, this is herbal - gorgeous meadowsweet and grasses, and wet rocks. The breath of the ocean is there somehow. As it dries, there's a damp, almost sodden herbal note as the lavender pushes into the foreground. Dry, we've passed over the ocean, and there's the autumn fires. A faint, burnt leaf smell. The herbals drift back up again with the lavender. It's a lot warmer than I expected, and something in here (I think it's the "autumn fires") is reminding me of Black Tower. This really is a remarkable interpretation of the haunting poem. Just incredible. An amazing, morphing blend which is more an experience than a perfume - for me at least. I'm very glad I have it.

Oh, this is beautiful! The "candied" part of the description had me worried this would be too sweet, but it's nothing of the sort. Fairy Market starts out with a softer (but similar) herbal to that of Allison Gross. The flowers are sweeter, though, and the soft incense give it a wonderful misty and other-worldly quality. The candied fruits are very gentle, and peek through only briefly on the dry down. What's left, when it's completely dry, is a soft misty floral with the herbal notes drifting about underneath. It's a truly gorgeous blend.