Gwydion

In bottle: The description is good. It’s an ozoney rain scent with a dark kiss of vetivert underneath. Call it rain dominant. There is no skin test as it has vetivert.

I did in fact acquire a bottle of Lindworm, but it's currently very bitter on me and I am aging it in the hopes that this issue clears up. Leather Phoenix is also very much on my wishlist. Lindworm does mellow some, but it's one the more intense end of leather.

In bottle: Beautiful strong pale lavender with benzoin in strong support and oudh to smooth it out. Wet: Richer and yet more sharply delineated on the skin. It’s wetter and juicier, but the balance remains essentially the same, only with stronger oudh. Dry: Mostly lavender with a kiss of benzoin.

In bottle: Strongly violet dominant. Clove is strong support to the violet. The incense blends well with the violet and clove. The tonka is understated and helps smooth things out. No skin test for violet.

In bottle: Licorice wins out as the strongest note after wrestling the bay rum to the ground. Licorice then dances about in triumph while the Bay Rum provides a pervasive background. The coconut basically tries to make peace between them while still mostly siding with the Bay Rum. Wet: Bay Rum wins the second round with coconut screaming encourage from it’s corner. Licorice skulks about muttered under it’s breath about cheating and plotting revenge. Dry: In the third round, the licorice comes back for a rematch. By this time the coconut has wandered off, leaving the bay rum to fend for itself. The licorice seems to be winning, but the bay rum won’t give up the fight.

In bottle: Exactly as described. It’s an extremely soft ozone, likely with a white tea base, probably white musk, and a pale flower, and maybe grapefruit or another citrus of that type and/or bamboo. Met: really hard to get my nose to pine down. Still musky ozone dominant with tea as a strong background. I no longer smell the kiss of citrus, so likely that was a figment. There is still something like bamboo or ho wood giving support to the lighter notes. This is lovely, but fast fading on my skin. Dry: A note I’m not properly identifying is now dominant (likely the thing I mistook for grapefruit), with support from the bamboo or ho. There’s also a clean maybe cotton sort of scent to it.

In bottle: Papaya dominant, with Blueberry support. Super sweet, with gin giving an alcohol edge and the lemongrass an accent. Honestly, this reads mostly as Koolaid to me. Wet: Still papaya and blueberry dominant, but richer and more like real fruit on the skin. Gin is still a background edge. The lemon grass is a touch more prominent and really blends well with the other notes. This is not my taste, but surprisingly good. Dry: As the papaya fades, this really becomes all about the blue berry, with a lingering ghost of guin and lemon grass. Prettiest with wear, I think.

In bottle: I do not know two of these flowers well enough to pick them out from a crowd. Suffice to say this is sweet, richly fragrant white flowers, with carnation giving it a little snap. This is gorgeous, unusual, and perfect for it’s concept. No skin test as I haven’t a prayer of it working on me.

I'd try Herbert West. it's GC, so easy to get an imp to test.

In bottle: Very, very peach, maybe a little too sweet with the honey and tonka bean support. Tobacco and red musk try to create a counter point. I waver on whether or not this works in practice. Wet: Much better balanced on the skin. The peach is still dominant and the honey may still be a drop too far, but the tonka is working with it and the peach smoothes out. Meanwhile, the tobacco steps out as a strong second to the peach with the musk still in support, but blending better. This is much closer what I was imagining when I read the description. As it warms, the honey suddenly makes sense as it stretches like a bridge between peach and tobacco. This one’s a grower not a shower, best to give it time to reveal itself. Dry: Okay, now I love it. The edges wear off the peach, so that you get a gentle tonka and peachy sweetness without it being overwhelming. The tobacco honey fades to a ghost. The red musk gives the sexy without coming on to strong. This evolves on the shin to something sublime, so if the initial brashness startles you, give it a little time.

In bottle: Bibliophile heaven. This is the rich scent of Library: books, wood, vines, dust, cologne. I suspect I am reading the toys as cologne and wood. I don’t care. This scent is so gloriously tactile. I want to run my hands all over it and snuffle it’s neck. Wet: Less intensely Book on my skin. The Vines press forward, though the books and toys and dust swirl about behind the dark green curtains. It is still beautiful, but it’s no longer calling an irresistible come hither to my hind brain. I am fascinated by the way the delicate dust accord swirls around the vibes and books. I love the way the cloth tangles with the wood and books. It is more subtle in it’s allure than in the bottle, but it is seducing me more by the minute. Dry: Mostly books and wood.

In bottle: sweet powdery insense, with amber as the strongest note. Osmanthus, cedar, and mandarin support the amber, while cumin, saffron, and cinnamon form a second faction that twines with and comments on the central Amber faction. Frankincense and myrrh form a sort of background wash. This is absolutely gorgeous, but there is no chance of it working on my skin, to my great regret.

In bottle: Surprisingly sweet with blood as the strongest note, supported by soft metallic. The smoke and vetiver circle under the surface like sharks. I will not be skin testing due to vetiver.

In bottle: The tree combination in this is a bit unusual and complex. It blends beautifully with the soil note, which I consider mildly dominant over the woods. Pitch incense supports the woods, the herbs and grasses are soft, but distinct. This is very up my alley. Wet: Paler, juicier, and greener on the skin. The herbs and grasses step up to dance with the trees. There is a sweet wet note similar to slobbering pine. It’s surprisingly complex and fluid. Dry: Fades to a pleasant slightly sweet melange of woods with a opalescent herbal halo.

In bottle: I expected this to be woody, but it’s very bright floral. It’s violet dominant, with the other florals in support painted across a delicate canvas of very soft woods and herbs. I am not good enough at florals to tell which of the less common ones here is which. It’s very pretty, but I can’t carry violet, so I’m not skin testing.

In bottle: This reminds me of forest floor. The pine, oakmoss and earth create the illusion of pine needles and moss decaying into rich, black topsoil. Patchouli supports the earth while slightly lifting it’s feel. The honeysuckle and almond are understated and well blended, serving to sweeten it slightly without undermining the dominant effect. Wet: sharper on the skin, with the oakmoss dominant and pine a close second. The earth and patchouli fade into third. The honeysuckle separates more from the almond on the skin. Dry: Mostly oakmoss with a touch of patchouli and pine. It is not as exciting on the skin just generally as it was in the bottle.

Withered vines, gnarled trees, twilight crows, river flowing beneath the little bridge, past someone's home. The wind blows from the west where the sun sets, it blows across the ancient road, across the bony horse across the despairing man who stands at heaven's edge. A desolate scent, dusty, bleak, and withered: old wood, burnt brown sandalwood, and twisted vines. MEDITATION IN AUTUMN 2008 (LE, Halloween): In bottle: Astringent, yet pleasing, it really does smell of vines and old wood. This is reminding me of the ivy patch by the pines in my Mother’s yard, shady and moist and darkly green. It’s also got an aftershave feel to it. Wet: Sharply masculine ivy cologne. Weirdly appealing. Oddly, it is also reminding me of freshly washed cotton laundry, drying on the line. Dry: More sandalwood than wet, but keeps the same over all feel.

You could always try searching the swap section of this forum too.

Halloweenies should be dropping soon and there is nearly always an auntumn scent with dead leaves and smoky vetiver. (Look for descriptors like Khus and smoke. Khus tends to be more expensive vetiver and the smoke notes are often vetiver in disguise). I know they aren't GC, but they are about to be readily available.

I'd say Boo is pretty pure, though it's creamier than the pure note.

In bottle: It’s an unusual blend. The combination of tea and pepper is about coequal with the pie and vanilla cream combination in strength. The leather and musk are much softer, but distinct, both inclining to the tea/pepper faction. Wet: Black tea moves into prominence with its strong pepper support. The pie and vanilla cream are third, with the musk edging slowly into position with them. The leather accord frays into tatters of components, dancing with stronger elements. The sharpness of the pepper does really interesting things with the smoother elements, adding an unexpected sharpness. The power and distinctness of the pepper is so different than the more typical usage in other blends as accent rather than scent. Dry:Mostly read musk with a hint of vanilla and leather.

In bottle: Well blended. Patchouli dominant with strong vetiver support. The musk and balsam also join the dominant cabal. Sandalwood, ambrette, and ambergris form a second, brighter toned cabal. This is really well designed for it’s concept, with a dark earthiness lifted by incense. Alas, there is no chance of this working on my skin, so no skin test.

In bottle: Note bene: I have no idea what zdravetz is or smells like, and I have limited knowledge of what salvia smells like. This is strongly patchouli dominant with musk in support, and an herbal edge that is likely the salvia, with the tobacco bridging the dominant scents and the herbal edge. There is also a very faint touch of something lighter, vaguely floral and blended with the herbal scent which I’m guessing is the zdravetz. This is assuming they went with salvia leaves and zdravetz flowers. It’s possible that they did the opposite or leaves and flowers both. The scent is creating a peculiar vaguely psychotropic effect when I get too close to the open bottle. It consists of a headachey feel and a sort of rippling, like staring into a fish tank from close up, or as if my brain is trying to fold itself down the center line between the right and left lobe. I suspect I’m having an allergic reaction either to the zdravetz or whatever they did to make the salvia scent, so YMMV. However, I have to give them credit for the Lovecraftian Slipping into Madness feel this gave me. Dayumn. Weirder still, I could move away from the bottle and feel fine, but closer in, the effect kicked right back in. On! Off! On! Off! Uncomfortable but weirdly compelling and fascinating. As my eyes are itching, I’m just going to take an anti-histamine and not skin test it, as clearly that way madness DOES lie.

Review: Cider dominant, but oh is there popcorn. Third strongest is a parliament of sweet baked goods, with shifting notes. The green tea is pervasive and plays well with everything, harder to notice but the perfect canvas for this carnival of delights. Omnomnom! This smells delicious! It’s the essence of autumn carnivals.

In bottle: Strongly patchouli dominant. Heliotrope is a counterpoint. Copal softly supports heliotrope. Oakmoss gives very soft support to patchouli. This is not to my taste, though I can see it working on someone else. I know from experience that this is way too much patchouli on me and my skin chemistry turns heliotrope unpleasantly shrill, so I’m not skin testing.