Mad Maudlin

For me this is THE cozy winter scent and I absolutely love it. I got a sample of this and knew immediately I had to go in search of a full bottle. On me this is a beautiful woody resin blend, the perfect balance of sweet and dry with just a hint of almond (I don't like things that are sweet or foody in any way, and this stays well away from that). It's smoky, but doesn't smell like smoke, if that makes sense. I'm not getting any of the acridness some other people have mentioned, but It had already had time to settle before it came to me. This one is simply stunning. I am enthralled, I can't stop sniffing my arm. 15/10 cozy.

This is also ginger-forward on me, which I love. It reminds me of Fallen Angels In Hell, but deeper and more herbal. This is spicy and firey ginger and warm spices with deep resinous and herbal notes. Truly stellar. Angels is one of the strongest scents i wear and it feels wimpy next to this. Absolutely a bruiser of a perfume. It certainly feels very energetic and inspirational. Definitely a new top 5.

I Love this. On me it's very ginger forward, a beautiful spicy red-gold scent. the resins meld in to the point where i can't really distinguish them. Even on dry down i don't get much smoke or any sulfur (which i was hoping would be a matchstick smell) but I still love it. Maybe just a hint of herbal form the damiana at the end? Very strong thrown and good wear length. This one feels so uplifting, good to know I love ginger scents!

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this one, since metal can be an iffy note sometimes, and it seemed like it may end up smelling too masculine for me. I needn’t have worried, turns out I really like this! This scent is so well balanced, no single note is sticking out to me at first. It’s warm and resinous, with a bright, almost orangy cast to it, but not in a foody way. The metallic tang of the iron filings is there, but thankfully not too overwhelming. It’s smooth, slightly sweet, and dry but not too dry. It reminds me a bit of Karma from Lush, but much nicer and more mellow. When it’s completely dry it dims down to an earthy base note with an edge of smoky hot metal. Amazing and very sexy. I can’t stop sniffing my arm! If it’s a factor for you, I’d say this leans toward a classically masculine scent, though I really think it would smell great on anyone. The throw and staying power on this is insane too. It's been over 14 hours and this is still going strong! In fact it’s so strong I might end up diluting my decant in a carrier oil to tone it down a bit. Overall I think this is a lovely blend for for all us lovers of warm dry scents!

Ooh first one here! Here goes. I threw this one into my cart first thing because my main goal in life is to be an actual forest floor. As far as that goes, this scent is spot on. In the bottle this is all green, like freshly cut plant stems. For the first few weeks that’s all it smelled like on my skin as well, but now it has settled a bit and I really like it. Unfortunately it doesn’t last very long on me, but I enjoy it while it’s there. Freshly applied it has that wet green smell I associate with the dead leaf blends, and the moss pretty much just amps that smell, adding a sharper bright green edge to it. It mellows a bit as it dries; the leaf scent softens down and this really nice undertone comes out, earthy with just a hint of spiciness. It reminds me of Death Cap, but with a fresh green top note from the moss. It’s not spooky at all, but a very calming, woodland-in-early-fall smell. Very nice.

2019 version: This is surprisingly bright on me, very sweet and almost fruity? I’m not getting any smoke or pine pitch (weeps) and not much in the way of patchouli either. Once it dries down though it has a nice tobacco scent that lingers for a long time. This is definitely sexy, but I was hoping for something a bit darker. We’ll see how it ages though!

Right out of the bottle this hits me with that super sharp smoky vetiver edge, the same note that is the main component of The Burying Ground (my precious love) so if you are looking for that scent this one may be a good substitute. It has the same smokiness and earthy base, though Believe also mellows out a bit with that beautiful sweet dry grass note. I love this scent, definitely a keeper.

I took a chance on a bottle of this hoping it would be a nice dark spooky scent, or maybe that smoky roasting pumpkin smell you get when all the jack-o-lanterns are lit on Halloween night. Unfortunately all I get from it is single note pumpkin spice candle, ultra sweet and cloying. The wood and pine pitch starts to come through and cut the sweetness a bit after a few minutes, but it’s not enough to get me through that first whiff. If you are really into sweet autumnal scents you may really like this, but it’s not really my jam, so I’ll be passing this one on.

In the bottle this is a big ol’ whif of vetiver, very dark and very green. On my skin it’s still very vetiver-heavy, but as it dries down the black leather edge starts to come out as well. I agree with other folks about the new leather jacket smell, that's exactly it. As it dries down the spicy undertones of the musk, patchouli, oudh and cardamom start to round everything out, though none of them stand out in particular on me. Over time this spicy underside comes out more and more. This is very dark scent. The Initial punch of vetiver and leather is so smooth and sharp it blows be away every time. It gives me the image of a smooth black metal blade. Do with that what you will. I was expecting something warmer and more towards the musk/cardamom end, which it does get to eventually, though I find I miss that sleek top note as it starts to fade away. I don’t even care though because the final result is just superb and it makes me excited for the next time I get to put it on and get that vetiver blast. Yeah this one kicks ass. It’s unexpected and super sexy, with 0% sweetness, which is perfect. A new favorite.

In the bottle this smells oddly of beeswax, the same note I get in The Writing on the Slate. On my skin it’s sweet, woodsy and just slightly floral. The beeswax sweetness persists through dry down, which was unexpected. It could be the amber and incense I’m smelling though. This is a lovely scent, but it doesn’t leap out at me. I as hoping to for more more dark fir and skin musk. Perhaps I’ll let it age a bit and see.

In the Bottle: Sharp, strong, and cold. I'm getting mostly cypress and birch tar. Wet: This honest to god smells like rootbeer, if rootbeer could stab you in the face! Birch beer would probably be more accurate, but I've never had it so it's hard to say. The birch and cypress are pretty overwhelming, but the tobacco gives an underlying sickly sweetness. This honestly disturbes me. Dry: at first it stayed pretty much the same, but this bottle has been mellowing for almost two months now and It's become much more balanced. After a few minutes the sharpness dies back and the musk and tobacco come out to make a really lovely well-rounded scent. It's dark and warm, but still with a hint of sharp cold from the birch/cypress. The top notes wear off after a couple hours and leave just dark sweet tobacco. yum I'm starting to really like this one. Not as spooky as I had hoped, but a great wintery perfume. I look forward to seeing how it ages.