Darkersolstice

Oh, look, it's Sols being drawn in by black pepper and leather and clove again! What a surprise! This is a nicely masculine scent profile, nothing too sweet about it to go sugary (as so many scents do on my skin). While there are spices in the scent profile, it is neither spicy nor spiced, and the leather is not, I think, BPAL's black leather or red leather note. It's giving dangerous mystery man in slightly-damp leather armor, which is absolutely a vibe I can rock.

I get the astringent lavender and pine notes. The lilac's hiding, as is the mandarin. I don't know if I know patch well enough to identify it here, but I feel like it must be present. There's something rounding out those other notes neatly. I'm fascinated. This scent is wonderfully ungendered in a way that I like. It's green on the nose in ways I really like; a living green, and not sweet. (Which is not a bad thing. I amp sweet like a speaker that goes to 11, and this doesn't have anything for me to do that to.)

It's interesting reading all the different reviews of this one. On my skin, it doesn't tend to swing floral at all--I get dragon's blood, I get spicy warmth. Something vaguely like a red musk and yes, licorice. I'm getting that wonderful black licorice note that I absolutely love. Really, I'm reminded of a couple of my favorite general catalogue scents here: - This is Kabuki without any of the fruity notes, gone a little more bitter and dark - This is Mania's cousin, more serious and less inherently a warm-weather scent (Don't ask me why, but Mania always feels like a summer scent to me...) May edit if drydown goes substantially different on me, but I'm very much in love, and glad I jumped on this when I saw it on the forums.

The imp I have of Debauchery's been aged in my imp box for over a year, so keep that in mind. I got smoke and musk notes immediately on application, and commented to my long-distance partner (who's been doing sort of a 'test an imp a day' with me) that it feels like a scent I'd wear out, but not at home. Too sexy, see. I don't need that for myself. Wet, it was all kinds of sex kitten vibes. But as it dried, it's ended up something comparable to Mania. The musks mellow, and the red musk comes forward with that familiar sweetness. I don't seem to be having any issues with the civet, though--that's a good thing to note for later.

Wherein the Magician and the Fool are one, spinning the story and juggling the knives that drive a man’s fate. Frankincense and star anise, bergamot and clove bud, rue and green cinnamon, saffron and carnation, cedar and vanilla absolute. In Bottle: The saffron and cloves and green cinnamon dominate; it doesn't smell sweet at all, instead being a wild spice blend. Of the three bottles from the Fool collection my datemate J sniffed for me, this was the one she didn't say was a very 'me' smell. Too confident, I think. Wet: As I was walking to the train station after putting it on, the dominant notes were the saffron and the cedar, to my surprise. The woody note behind the saffron was rich, and took over the spices for a bit. Dry: By the time I got to work, the spices were poking back out, including the bergamot and anise that I hadn't caught, at the 'edges' of the smell. The cedar died down quick, yielding to become a grounding bottom note. End of Day: I was catching mild spicy whiffs all day long, and at one point thought I caught a hint of tumeric. Maybe the saffron interacted with something interestingly? I liked it, though. I'd love to try layering this with Wrath at some point, to stoke more of the cinnamon clove note. This didn't go sweet on me, like most scents do, but the end result was still very food-y. In all, a nice scent I'll be wearing again.

I really enjoy Wrath as a power scent. Wearing it gives me confidence on days when I know I'm up against something challenging. It's bold, spicy, and a great introduction to dragon's blood resin (Dragon's Milk is a similar introduction, but with a less fire-breathing and more sweet tone). Shub-Niggurath is something I picked up as an imp with my most recent order, and I'll be going in for the full bottle with my next one. I'm especially looking forward to wearing it in the fall, because the spice notes seem pretty apt for the season. And my go-to for date night, if I just really want to smell sexy, is Athens. I am very not a big floralsy person, so this is one of the more feminine picks in my collection. It's fruity-boozy on me and soft and tends to wear long enough for a whole night out with my datemate.

I'm not sure whether it's skin chemistry or decant age, or my nose, or something else...but what ends up being primary on me is the ouzo note, that anise/licorice/sweet, limned with boozy lightness (rum is that you?), rooted by something vaguely fruity that grows stronger as it dries down. Tea? What tea?

Have I not reviewed Athens yet? It's my default date night perfume when I'm out with the datemate (as opposed to the partner, with whom I'd be more likely to go for something like Incantation). It's sweet, wine-forward on me, to where the receptionist at work read it as 'fruit juice' at first. Great confidence builder, definitely a feminine sort of powerful, as compared to 'I am dragon, hear me roar'.

Given how I amp sweet notes, this started off as "someone dropped a lemon jolly rancher in a pile of hay and pine needles, and they're debating whether to brush it off and stick it back in their mouth", but by the time I got to work (~1.5 hours into drydown), it's subdued and mellowed into mostly hay and leather and vetiver, with lemon weaving through it, lifting it all up. I agree this one may need to age for a bit, but I kinda like what it seems to want to be.

I don't know what geranium smells like, specifically, but right now I feel way too floral for my own good. No edge of bourbon, no earthy vanilla and patch. I had hopes while walking to the train, but now that I'm at the office, this is so very flowery it's landed next to New Orleans in my "gift to someone who likes smelling womanly" bin. (That said, if one of my datemates wore this, I'd probably nuzzle into them like a kitten, and I agree with everyone who called it a summer scent.)

Has anyone mentioned Slippery Poppy Tincture? It's a very gently floral with some grassiness in it, not as loud as New Orleans, but with some sweet tones that I likes. Another idea is Envy, which has mint and lime and lavender with green herbs. That one did not last on my skin very long, but I loved it while it did.

Wow, this is wonderfully dark and mysterious on my skin. Like, individual notes are not easy for me to identify here. Cardamom and...spice drawer...and musk? Musk, sure. But I love how there's nothing in here that I amp to a hellacious sweetness, and this just ends up being wonderfully deep spice. This is not something I'd wear on my femme-presenting days, and I think a lot of people will read it masculine overall. But goddamn, I am loving it for the office.

Received as decant. Hrm, I'm not sure my skin chemistry is jiving with this one, quite. While I get the cranberries, I also end up with something vaguely soapy about it on me. Like...if Bath and Body Works made a Cranberry Orange body wash, that's what I'm smelling. Which isn't horrible--definitely not a scrubber--but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. I wonder if that's the bergamot. Oh, please don't tell me that note goes off on me.

This is not chocolate, this is cacao. That's the first thing to get straight, if you're looking at reviews. It's bitter and dark and there's something clean to it, and when I grabbed it from my imp box and put it on without looking at the description, my first thought was "dirt. Good clean dirt." I mean that in the best way, though. It's an empowering scent, one that makes me feel really grounded as I'm wearing it. I definitely get the lift of the cotton blossoms, but this one never strays into the girly floral zone that I avoid like the plague. I'm debating getting a full bottle--this is a great warm-weather scent.

Yes, this goes amazingly, horribly sweet on me. That said? I like it as a bedtime scent. Like, the beeswax and pine are comforting in a way I wasn't exactly expecting.

So. Red Queen smells like wood on me, but Incantation is the woods, and that makes a lot of difference. Last night, I tried it as a bedtime scent without reading the notes, and I landed on it being pine-dominant before I got to this thread. Is that what vetiver does, that "astringent like pine bud candy" smell? I'm all for it. The lemon peel lifts without drawing too much attention. There's something 'clean' in here without it going full-on soapy to my nose. I'm entranced. While some people seem to be finding it too masculine for them to wear, I think I'd call it 'not overtly feminine' instead. It is not sweet, not flowery, but very green and herbal. For something I found myself describing as pine-y, I think it'll still be a superb summer scent, hearkening back to my days at overnight camp as a kid.

Chanukkiyah is a rich heady scent on me, fig-forward and almost inching too sweet. But it's not too strong a throw, so I'm unafraid to wear it for any occasion, though my first test was as a bedtime scent. I'm considering trying layering experiments with not-sweet scents (especially woody ones), to see if I can make the figs behave a bit better.

So, the interesting thing here is analyzing myself as much as the scent, because bottom line is that I like this one a lot. But I didn't like New Orleans because the floral was too feminine. So what stopped this one from making me go 'ew, I smell like a girl and that's not right for me'? Was it the berry note? Eat Me and Red Queen both have fruit notes I enjoy, though with Red Queen it's a top note that doesn't linger, whereas dementia_divine was very accurate in the assessment that Slippery Poppy Tincture goes from floral-forward to berry-forward. Was it the honey? I love how I amp honey, and how it lingers on my skin--The Fool's Tranquility is a favorite, though it seems too simple to really satisfy me. So this, honey with other noticeable notes might be filling that yen. Was it the nature of the floral? Wet and during drydown, there was as much cut-stem green scent as there was floral, and even when it did present, it was a very different floral than the honeysuckle and jasmine of New Orleans. Where those were big bold florals that ate up the bulk of my attention the whole time I was wearing the scent. Some people describe the floral in Slippery Poppy Tincture as red, but that isn't how my brain does floral scent -> color. There's nothing too in-your-face or eye-catching about this floral. It's just there, taking the foodie edge off the scent. Low throw, long last--I can still catch it 12 hours later, sniffing my wrist. And I'm glad to.

In Imp: Pure caramel, with a vague nutty underside. Butter pecan ice cream? Wet on skin: Ah, now I smell the coffee. But there's still something very buttery about it. Drydown: The coffee and oak are now up front, but there's still that buttery note I can't put my finger on. It's like the butter that melts into pancakes, a very pleasant edge. I also think I'm catching some more vanilla tones. Notes: this did not have a very long last or far throw in the end. Still, I'd bring the imp to reapply if it suited the occasion.

Nitpicks before I get into my review: 1. This should have been released in fall for Rosh Hashanah, rather than as a Yule. 2. The translation "kindness begets kindness" really misses the mark of what 'mitzvah' means. If I were translating, I'd go for something akin to "One good deed leads to another". That said, this is a lovely soft and mildly 'perfumey' scent, fruity and light. The eight honeys don't run cloying on this blend--it's no Fool's Tranquility--but they mellow everything out. When first applied, this one ran a bit sharp on me, and I was worried it'd be a scrubber. Something in the apple or pomegranate was tart in an offputting way, but by the time I got off the train and into the office (maybe an hour of drydown), it smoothed out wonderfully. This is not something I'd reach for on a cold day. It's a springy scent, despite the fact that I feel it's very Rosh Hashanah-esque, putting a little extra float in my step all day.

Staying at my parents' house over the weekend, I rediscovered my father's "Le Male" by Jean Paul Gaultier. The top notes of this Jean Paul Gaultier cologne for men include fresh mint, bergamot, and lavender. The middle notes are represented by orange blossom, cinnamon, and cumin. In the base notes, you will find cedar, sandalwood, tonka bean, and vanilla to add a sweet warmth. Its spicy notes make this cologne best for winter and night wear. What from BPAL might be similar?

This had so much promise, but not nearly enough payoff. Sniffing the imp, the spiced-honey scent seemed bound to end up a favorite. But after Bengal dried, there was literally no throw. Oh, if I stick my nose into my wrist, there's the vaguest sort of whisper of sweetness and cinnamon, but that's not enough for me. I may need to retest and edit, but for now? I'm kinda disappointed in this one.

Ah, this is a learning experience. I've never quite understood what "powdery" meant when people use it to describe perfumes, but now...I get it. It's perfumey in the way my grandmother's perfumes used to be, rather than staying true to the intended scent, on me. There's still hints of mint, but the overpowering note is baby powder. Good to know.

I smelled like a dessert all day wearing this, but could not stop sniffing at my wrist. Dragon's Milk is incredibly long lasting on me, sweet without crossing over into cloying. While Wrath gave me 'I breathe fire' vibes all day long, this was kinda comforting--almost tame in comparison. It could become a good 'everyday' scent for me, but for special occasions or high-pressure situations, I'd rather have Wrath.

Red Queen: On me, the cherry scent didn’t develop at all (I might age my imp and see if that changes), but what was left was a woodsy smell that reminded me of the platonic ideal of the Mountain Lodge candle from Yankee Candle. How to smell like a strong lumberjack. Server Gremlins: Do I owe this one justification? It’s an oddball scent, but one of the coolest things about it is how neutral it sits on the skin, not leaning one way or the other, regarding gender. Jongleur: The blend of spices in this doesn’t go too sweet, and the result is something that left me feeling really confident and bold.