deadlyves

Disclaimer: I don't have Antikythera Mechanism on hand, so I can't test to compare. That being said, I remember Antikythera Mechanism reminding me a bit of Lyonesse. Different, but in a similar broad family to my nose. Lyonesse is more vanilla forward than AM though from what I remember. I get a sweet woodsy blend from Odin, too, but I don't know how old my imp is and how that's influencing the smell. If you want to look for some of the notes in AM specifically and haven't checked out the directory on the website yet, I suggest poking around. Great way to find perfumes that have specific notes that you're looking for! There's plenty of tobacco, woods, and vanilla throughout the catalogue.

In the bottle, I get gentle vanilla and a strong beeswax. On the skin, the cedar comes out much stronger than the other two notes, but those two do round it out so it's not a sharp cedar, but soft and sweet. The longer its on, the more the cedar fades and it returns to beeswax with soft vanilla. Good throw, medium wear time.

Grasses, hay, and herbs all come through. The grasses seem only partially dried, there is still a fresh greenness there. Somewhat sweet, more than I expected. This is fresh and pleasant. I kind of expected something darker to be hidden in there, but this is earlier fall or a sunny day or something. It's giving me a similar vibe of the tomato leaf menage but later in the year (not to say they smell similar, just a similar feel).

I can see the french toast comparison, it feels more like that than funnel cake on me (for which I'm grateful) though there is still a hint of fried. Definitely pumpkin, but not pumpkin spice. Actually, this is probably my favorite pumpkin thing I've tried. It's a dark, comforting, sweet smell with a bit of freshness mixed in that might be the hay. Fairly good throw and wear time. While I don't think I'd reach for it enough to get a bottle, it is a decant I will thoroughly enjoy

I get a fuzzy, soft, gently spiced brown. It's powdery in the sense that it comes across dry and, again, soft, but not like smelling baby powdery. Something is combining to smell like a gentle, baked cinnamon or some other warm spice. I wasn't sure about this at first, but it is really nice. Oddly has very little throw on me, but much stronger the next day on the clothes I was wearing and in my scent locket. I keep getting the image of a long haired cat, clean until it knocked over a spice rack and even though it shook most of the spices off, it still has a touch of the smell mixed in it's fur.

On point, exactly what it says it'll be. Well balanced between the dead leaves and the smoky note. Kind of woodsy, smoky, dark, with the bit of sharpness of the dead leaves. I have a weird relationship with the smoke note that tends to go to an odd maple sweet place on me, but not this one! This is up there with October for what best encapsulates the feeling of fall for me. Very nice. Also not as strong of a throw as I expected which I think is a good thing, I had half expected it to be super overpowering but it's just right.

Here to add absolutely nothing new, but... This is a lovely, softly sweet vanilla with a hint of a warmer smoky feel. It's light but creamy. It's a sugared sweet, but only lightly dusted. Who knew light and shadows dancing on a flowing white curtain had a smell. Surprisingly good throw for such a soft scent, and with good wear. This would make a perfect vanilla staple in a collection and I could see how this would layer well with a thousand different things.

I didn't love this when I first got it. Now, a few months later, it's much more what I was hoping for. Though I think it might have just been me, because what I get now matches up a lot more with what folks have described above. It's a fresh, green tomato leaf with a gentle spice of pepper that really just accentuates the fresh feeling, but then there is an added warm underlayer of hay that really makes this shine for me. I think the hay is coming out more now than when I first got it, it seems a bit softer and less sharp. All in all, just fresh and herby with fairly good throw.

This shifts a bit on me at first but settles into a sweet, clean scent without getting too sweet. There's a bit more body from the musk and honey, a warm bright glow with a soft vanilla. The sugar is there adding a crystally sweetness, but again it never gets syrupy or overwhelming. It's calm, sweet, and nice. I've layered it with a few other RPGs, and I agree it goes well with Chaotic. I'll have to retest some of the other combos because I can't remember what stuck out. I've also layered it with High John the Conqueror which was wonderful, and I'm looking forward to layering this with other things.

Starts as an almost sharp herbally lavender and a hint of snow. After a while, it sweetens a bit more and gets a bit creamier and I can't tell if it's the bourbon vanilla or the amber or both. Neither show up horribly strong in a way that id be able to identify but they are definitely at play. It does soften and become a bit more complex, but remains lavender forward on me. It's calm, light, and has a soft glow. Even though I can't quite make out the notes individually, it's definitely different from my other lavender/snow blends. More herbal, less sweet though the vanilla is there, and more mature.

This is, up front, all smoke and mahogany. Smoke always does funny things on me, but I like it in this blend. The combo comes off as incensey, but fuzzes up with whatever the fur is as it sits. This gets more mellow and more cozy the longer it's on, and I dig it. I can't pick out anything I'd identify as chai, but it easily could be blending with that smoky, woodsy, coziness. I was surprised but happy with how this one!

I really want to love this one, but it just doesn't work on me 😕 Wet, it is very close to going plastic-y, and even once it dries and that fades, it still has an undertone that threatens to do it. But generally it stays in a thick, fluffy, mellow vanilla. I get all blanket, maybe some au lait, and no café. I had hoped with age the coffee would come out more, but it hasn't. Maybe it's time to play with some layering options. Anyway, it's still rather pleasant, just not what I had hoped for.

Testing from an imp of unknown age. Nice and mossy, earthy, but somewhat bright from the juniper. The myrrh and patchouli are there, but neither are overpowering on me. It's kind of dark, a little dirty, but fresh and reminds me of sitting on the ground in the forest.

I agree with what's above about a sugary lemony tree! After a year of aging, though, a bit more of the other woods are coming out dimming the brightness of the verbena. Still yellow, but darker, and less fir than before. It seems more like the description of a "liquid moon gliding through gaunt branches" now, whereas before it got stuck in lemony sugary candy forest for me.

I mostly just get a smoky, tobacco leather. There's a slight creaminess added from the amber. Perhaps I'm picking up the opoponax, too, but I can't say I'm any good at picking that one out. I like it, but perhaps more for other people than for me.

In the imp, I cannot stand the smell of this. Overly sweet honey something or other. Good thing I've heard a lot about this one or else I wouldn't have tried it. That sickeningly sweet smell goes away almost immediately and it dries into a simple but wonderfully pleasant beeswax with the faintest smoke. Really lovely, close to the skin, fairly neutral blend.

In the imp and wet on the skin, Cockaigne is heavy on the sweet cakes, creamy with the milk, but with something darker to ground it. Dry, I get the nice pastry smell but it's no longer taking over. Instead it's balanced with a drizzle of honey and the dark hint of wine. It dries as a very dark gold smell. This reminds me a bit of Athens, but I think I like this one better with that cooled crumbly pastry added in

Dry fir with a bit of bark and a slight sweetness from the berry. This is dry and powdery in a good way, a really nice comforting way, soft and full. I love this, it's such a natural smell. Unfortunately it doesn't last long on me at all but you can bet I'm reapplying.

I got a sniffie of this with a testable amount left, so I decided to try it. Its pretty much a straightforward green apple and resins scent. There's something about it that comes across as a lightly woody undertone. It's pretty, and even better as the apple fades a bit. I think the pear is there tightly woven with the apple, too, adding some of that green. It's reviving a particular scent memory that is probably coloring my interpretation some and making it hard for me to say much else about it, but I'm glad I gave it a test!

This is straight up blueberry pie or maybe blueberry cobbler, though there's not really any crunch to it. Fresh but baked (probably because of the cardamom) blueberries, a sweet cream, and that lovely cardamom smell that makes things smell like a baked good. It's strong and lasts a long time, too!

Testing from a lab fresh imp. Just give me anything that's yuzu and grapefruit I guess! This has the nice citrusy smell softened by the flowers, just fresh and nice. I'm not sure what kumquat smells like, so not sure how it's influencing things. This sits somewhere between Snow Moon, which is softer, and Grapefruit, Yuzu and White Musk, which is sharper. I agree that it's dry and not wet/juicy. All in all, I really like it! If I didn't already have Grapefruit, Yuzu, and White Musk, I'd probably go for some of this.

Wet, this is sharper and sweeter than I expected but it's dark, too. For some reason this is reminding me of something foodie and I can't pinpoint what, something dark cranberry colored, sweet, and spiced on top of the resinous smell I was expecting. Dry, it's more the dark gold color I expected, with something almost smoky. A thick (buttery was a good word) woodsy honey beeswax smell

This is spot on! Already, after only having it for a few days, this is less laffy taffy banana in the bottle and pretty natural banana on the skin. Wet there's a bit of something sharp, almost a boozy note, but that goes away quickly as well. Dry, this is a warm, sticky banana bread with walnuts. Some spice comes out, too, and I could see this being fun around the holidays! Again, just a spot on take on banana bread and definitely glad I got a full bottle.

I'm going to totally fail at describing this... A dead leaves scent, but not as sharp. Its rounded out and warm, toasty even. The amber is noticeable but evenly paired with something else I don't know. I'm not getting a whole lot of the cinnamon, but cinnamon husk has proven to be my favorite for adding a bit of the smell without the bite. I agree that it's muted browns and green. Its both fresh and dark and dirty. Theres something lighter and slightly sweet trying to lift it up but is barely peeking through, like something weighed down by a blanket (or maybe a blanket of fallen leaves?). I really like this, and am very happy I blind bottled.

When I first put this on, it was all laundry detergent which, like... Isn't bad but definitely wasn't what I was going for. Thankfully, the strong detergent smell settles quickly on the skin into more a freshly cleaned fluffy sweater. The apple comes out more, too, although the sweater still dominates on me as it has in other blends. I'm getting the sliiiiggtest spice, but was kind of hoping this cider would have a bit more spice to it. This sweater doesn't remind me too much of Cozy Pumpkin Sweater or Cafe au Lait and a Wool Blanket, but I remember not really liking either of those until they'd aged about a month so maybe they seem disimilar because this one is so new. I do like this one fresh, but hoping it gets even better as it ages like those other two did! All in all, a clean and fresh laundry scent with a splash of apple and low throw. Edit: the longer this sits on the skin, the more balanced it's becoming and the warmer and cozier it gets. Yep, this one's gonna be great!