Gwydion

In bottle: Lots of chalky musk. I’m guessing the wood and stone are combining to make the chalk. The musks give the feel of vetivert without being vetivert, if that makes sense. Wet: Still very chalky musk, but more nuanced on the skin. The stone is soft, but moire distinct. This is not ideal on my skin. The musks don’t agree with my natural scent. Dry: Fast fading to mixed musks.

In bottle: Mostly red, juicy berries and apples over honey, with a touch of citrus. Omnomnom. Wet: The fruits are way more complex on the skin. I’m picking up peaches and melon now as well as berries. I’m wondering if the quince isn’t the thing making it particularly late fall, as I’m not familiar with quince. If so, it’s second strongest after the dominant apple with the raspberries in third. The melons and peaches are subtle and rich, with the melon the stronger of the two. My skin generally amps citrus, but it stays in balance here, lending tartness without overwhelming. Dry: Mostly Quince and apple with a touch of melon.

In bottle: This was a clever idea. The sexy tea based cologne of Dorian goes surprisingly well with crusty, spicy pumpkin. The pumpkin is understated, letting the spice really shine in its dance with Dorian. Wet: The pumpkin moves to the forefront, with spice next and Dorian as a soft background. Dry: Dries down to a slightly juicier version of Dorian.

In bottle: This is stunning. This is very much what fresh white sage smells like. It’s richly floral and herbal, suggesting whole plants. Wet: The herbal sage somewhat overwhelms the floral on the skin, and it smells more like dried smudge stick sage than fresh. I love both versions, but this works better with my skin. Dry: Fast fading, but lovely sage traces.

In bottle: Dark, thick, earthy patchouli dominant with strong agarwood support, very mildly sweetened with honey. Wet: More nuance on the skin as the agarwood comes out and the patchouli dramatically softens so that they switch places. The honey grows a touch more assertive. I was not sanguine when I smelled it in the bottle, but I like it more now. Dry: Fast fading to soft agarwood and a touch of patchouli.

Review: This is the strongest tea note I’ve ever smelled in a blend. There is a hint of licorice to it, which is possibly a phantom from the way the dragon’s blood sedum mates with the tea. In any case, the two blend together well, with the dragon’s blood a bit stronger. Wet: Strong and heady. I’d swear there was lemon verbena in this now. I’m guessing this is whatever was giving the licorice accent in the bottle. I’ve never smelled sedam, but I’m guessing this is an aspect of that, the way carnation smells spicy. Either way, the Dragon’s Blood Sedam has big throw, while the tea fades into good support. Dry: Mostly dragon’s blood.

In a Bottle: Very, very evergreen and pine. The birch bark and cedar give support to the stronger notes and all four combine to say “November Forest.” The grass is soft support for the woods. The woodsmoke is pervasive, but well blended. Wet: My skin loves this and thins loves my skin. The woods stay well blended, but warm and differentiate more. The grass almost sweetens it, the smoke backs off to create a hint of burning without yelling “Smoke!” the way it does in the bottle. This is everything I’d hoped for. Dry: Sweeter on the drydown, and less pine/evergreen and more birch and cedar. Lovely and the evolution as it wears is a joy to the nose.

Review: Very strongly floral with honeysuckle strongest, supported by a strong peach note and a gentler orange blossom one. The peach and grass blend beautifully with the honeysuckle. The tomato vine is gorgeous, but under stated with the grass as a good support. The soft cedar sap ties things together well. The verbena is very understated and gives the orange blossom a hint of bite. This is elegantly designed, and very pleasing if rather more floral than I’d hoped.

Review: Starts out mostly tobacco with oudh support. The pomegranate adds a hint of fruit. It all blends really well. It’s a bit delicate for a candle fragrance. As it warms. The pomegranate comes out a little more, gradually overtaking the tobacco and agarwood. It glides towards pomegranate dominant with strong oudh support. It’s lovely and comforting, but hasn’t much throw. I’m so in love with this fragrance, but the lack of throw is an issue.

Review: Initially fizzy apple cider with the barest hint of booze. A bit more brandy as it warms. It’s absolutely lovely, but hasn’t a lot of throw.

Review: Exactly as it says on the label. It’s strongly clove and pumpkin. If you like the clove candle and the lab’s pumpkin scent, this is likely up your alley. If the pumpkin accord doesn’t work for you, this is likely not going to work either. The scents are about coequal early in the burn and work together. Lots of throw. As it burns it goes nearly all pumpkin, alas.

In bottle: This smells a lot like the lavender ice cream I like to buy. Sharp lavender floats over creamy vanilla, tea, and honey. The musk is soft, and blends well. Wet: Vanilla dominant now, but the lavender doesn’t back too far off. The tea is gentle and ties things together well. The musk stays soft, but threads all the way through, blending with Dorian’s cologne to bring the subtle sexy. This hasn’t much throw just generally, and seems ideal foir neck nuzzling. Dry: Fast fading to a soft musk with a touch of lavander.

In bottle: I was not familiar with styrax, but the Internet tells me it’s also frankincense, which makes sense given how frankincensey this blend is. Add all that frankincense to labdanum and it this is a very resin sort of blend, which makes sense for the exorcist. The lilac fougere is marginally dominant with strong competition from incense. The musk is a close third, tying things together well. It’s not my cup of tea, but it’s really well designed.

In bottle: Aged patchouli is way mellower than fresh. This is strong earthy patchouli with strong musk support, modified by tobacco, benzoin, cocoa, and myrrh in that order. It makes a unified whole, the design complicates and enriches the aged patchouli while showing it off to good effect. Wet: The patchouli softens on the skin. It stays somewhat dominant, but the benzoin comes out much stronger on the skin as does the musk. The cocoa remains soft and makes excellent support for the patchouli, sweetening it somewhat. The tobacco haunts the background. This is well designed and blended. Dry: Soft, mellow patchouli with a touch of tobacco and myrrh.

In bottle: Crisp sharp apple is the central theme, with softer apple blossoms lending a floral touch, blending with perfect caramel support. The oak is gentle and perfectly blended with the apple. This is perfect and exactly what I wanted.

Review: Yep, that is Boo. It is particularly creamy in bath oil form, with the characteristic sugary Vanilla floating over it, that makes it a classic.

In bottle: This is lovely and delicate. The floral note floats sweet and clear on a sea of silky honey. Jessamine appears to be a more delicate jasmine, as if jasmine were trying to be honeysuckle. This would be beautiful on a young woman, heady and a little dangerous. Wet: The honey somewhat overwhelms the jessamine on my skin, though the unusual, polleny scent of the flower is still discernible. The florals reemerge as it warms reasserting the in bottle balance, even as the whole fragrance mellows into something stunning. I am exactly the wrong person to wear this, but the bones of the design are so good, it still manages to be lovely on me. I can easily imagine how amazing it would be on the right person. Dry: Mostly jasmine.

Review: Gorgeous in a juicy, fruity sort of way. The black current is initially dominant and gives it a richness. The pomegranate blends beautifully with the currents and gives it a tartness. As time passes after squirting, the balance slowly shifts in favour of the pomegranate. I am deeply in love. This will be gorgeous for the fall all the way through the Holiday season.

In bottle: I'd call the zucchini is strongest, but with a strong smoky vetiver as a second. The Leather blends beautifully with the vetiver, and the musk forms a bridge between the zucchini and the heavier elements. I really like the contrast between the bright fresh zucchini and the sexier, earthier, predator scent. There is no way I could wear this, but it's a gorgeous and startling design, well suited to its concept.

In bottle: Very strong wine note made too sweet for my tastes by rose. The dragon’s blood smooths it out and adds a fruity richness. This is not to my taste, but does fulfil its concept well.

REGINA EREBI The Queen of Hell: pomegranate, spear mint, black mulberry, and myrrh. In bottle: The pomegranate and mulberry go together beautifully and are strongly dominant as a pair. I’d say the mulberry is strongest of the two, but really they play so well together, it’s silly to separate them. The spearmint is a clever touch, giving it a crisp affect, while the myrrh is a soft growl underneath. Wet; The mulberry is even stronger on the skin. It still plays beautifully with the pomegranate which provides a rich support. The spearmint’s sharpness, if anything goes even better with the other elements, while the strengthened myrrh gives it a lovely darkness that perfectly suits the concept. Dry: The mulberries mostly burn off, leaving a softer drier pomegranate dominant blend with a strong spearmint bite, and a hint of myrrh haunting it. Autumnal and dangerous. Yum.

In bottle: It’s an excellent fit for its concept. The amber is thick and dreamy’ the grasses soft and complex. There is a sense of fading about the grass even as the amber is so warm and buttery it smells like moving underwater feels. I suspect the shadows are mostly musk. Wet: Still Amber dominant, but the grasses pop on the skin giving the Amber and Shadows more to play against. The shadows support the Amber. There may be a berry element to the shadows. May I add that this is lovely and lazy late afternoon in September decadent. Dry: Mostly amber.

In bottle: They aren’t kidding about the bitter. It is bitter balsam dominant, the ashes blending in with the bitterness. The cedar is second strongest and supports the balsam. Wet: The cedar flips the balsam to grab the dominant position. The Ashes are now second with the bitter balsam supporting both. It is well blended, but impossible on my skin. I am wondering is there is vetiver in the ash accord. Dry: Dry, dry cedar with a bitter, ashy, edge.

DXCIV (594) In bottle: This is a green tea dominant scent. I strongly suspect rain, melon, and likely bamboo or ho wood. There is a lovely fruit I can’t identify. There is something sweet like maybe sugar or a very light. I would not be surprised if there was cardamom and/or grass. The grass note smells dried, like a woven mat. It may have some apple blossom. There is a haunting familiarity about this, but I’m not placing it. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a touchy of musk. Wet: The thing I’m suspecting of being musk melon or some other Asian melon type fruit is now strongest with green tea support. There is definitely a musk that blends beautifully with the melon and tea and likely a touch of Rain. This is a very green and fruity scent. I’m still not placing the other fruit that is quite strong; There is something powdery that could be amber, but might be something else with a similar feel. I’m still picking up bamboo or ho wood as a well blended background, and a soft pale floral that might be apple blossoms, but could just as easily be something rarer. There is still a touch of something grassy, but now it’s more fresh mowed. There is something in the middle strange I’m completely failing to place. I appear to be mildly allergic to this blend, which makes me wonder if the thing I’m not placing is unplacable because I’m allergic to it and thus avoid it. As it wears, the melon starts to burn off and it gets a mildly insensey tone to it. Dry: Amber and probably green musk with something incense or incense adjacent and a touch of rain.

In bottle: Every bit as wonderful as I’d hoped. The Brown sugar is marginally strongest, with ginger a close second. The musk is pervasive and vaguely patchouli like. The vanilla and cardamom smooth the edges, while the clove is a well chosen accent. Wet: Complex and spicy on the skin. Still brown sugar dominant, now with the spices working together in second. The musk is still well blended and ubiquitous. The vanilla is a gentle background. Dry: Brown sugar and ginger.