Gwydion

In bottle: Cinnamon dominant, but the almond is quite strong as well, the Neroli is soft and is tying the stronger scents together. Wet: Extremely strong cinnamon with a touch of almond and the ghost of neroli. Dry: Cinnamon. Lots of cinnamon, with a touch of neroli.

In bottle: This is mildly vanilla dominant. The smoky boozy deliciousness of bourbon and rum dances through it. Wet: The rum is now strongest, with the bourbon vanilla providing strong support. It perfectly evokes its concept. Omnomnom. Dry: It has lots of throw and maintains it’s qualities through most of the wear down process. The vanilla fades slightly faster, but really, this wears well.

In Bottle: Ozone and the snow note I liked in death of a gravedigger. It’s a non-peppermint mint, maybe spearmint. The ozone and snow together are quite strong, with the resins in support. I like it well enough. Wet: Mostly snow, the resin s are still in support with the ozone damping down a little to join them. I think the wood is a little stronger and I’d swear this has stone accord too. It suits its concept beautifully. Dry: Mostly snow and benzoin.

In bottle: Lots of balsam with ambergris as a strong second. The bay and leather are interesting with the balsam and ambergris. The effect is unusual. The leather is quite soft here, the bay giving and herbal edge to the resin. Wet: More bay on the skin, moving up to being almost equal to the ambergris. The balsam’s edges soften, letting it work better with the ambergris accord. The leather comes out more and coallesses better while staying understated. Wet: This wears beautifully. The resins mellow and the leather comes into it’s own. I can’t believe how good this is.

In bottle: Very bright and citrussy. I'm guessing grapefruit dominent, with a lot of metallics in support. It's got a strong carbonated element such as in the lab's champagne blends. It's well designed for the concept. Wet: Fizz dominant, with metallics second and citrus and some sort of resin third. On paper, this shouldn't work on me but it's making a fair bid to trying. Dry: Tight, bright, metallics with a touch of citrus. Against all odds, it's a keeper.

In Bottle: The woods are dominant. Unfortunately, this is a peppermint based snow note, which is heartbreaking for me. I love the birch and fir combination, but peppermint and I can’t ever be friends and I don’t dare skin test. This is brilliant in concept though and a perfect winter trees scent for a peppermint lover.

In bottle: Complex and a bit overwhelming. Patchouli, heliotrope, almond, and hyssop swim to the top. Other quickly noticeable notes are opoponax, frankincense, and myrrh. It’s primarily and incense blend with a foody floral combination underneath. Wet: It makes me think of burnt sugar a bit. The pomegranate swims towards the top of the incense pond, quickly becoming dominant. The carnation and poppy separate out from the scrum and support the pomegranate. The incense stays strong, but forms a background on which the brighter elements play. Sharp edges pop out now and then as it warms. Dry: Mostly frankincense, with the other incense notes in support and some heliotrope. Not for me.

In bottle: Fruity and sweet. I’m having a hard time parsing out the individual fruits, maybe mango? Kumquat? Some sort of rich red berry for sure and likely pomegranate. It also smells a bit like swedish fish. It may have that fizzy carbonation scent they use for things like sparkling cider or champagne. It’s definitely a good fit for the concept. Wet: The thing I’m thinking is kumquat and the fizzy ozone carbonation thing are strongest with the pomegranate and berries a close second. I’m now suspecting incense such as nag chasmpa and maybe some metallics like tin or silver or iron, though I’m having trouble sorting out which. The metallics slowly creep into second place with the carbonation staying dominant. Dry: Mostly incense, with metallic traces.

In bottle: The pepper really shines in this. I’ve never smelled a pepper dominant cologne before. Fascinating. The balsam and honey work together to form a canvass for the pepper. The skin musk is soft and sexy. Wet: Still pepper dominant with skin musk second and that lovely sweet balsam/honey canvass. I am not a big balsam fan, but this is a clever usage of it. Dry: Mostly balsam with a peppery edge.

In bottle: Unexpectedly chalky. It seems to be the better of the lab’s snow accords with strong fruit as second strongest. The woods and nuts blend well with the snow note, supporting it. I like the way the snow and apples contrast to create a crisp, chilly impression. The almond is smoothing things out, mostly. Wet: Way more almond on my skin to the point of being almond dominant with snow as second. Apple and woods are third and forth respectively. I’m surprised there is no pine here, as it smells like there is a scouch, maybe as part of the snow accord. Dry: Mostly snow with a bit of wood.

In bottle: White musk dominant with strong lilac in second. Tobacco is third strongest providing lovely support for the musk. The lime loans the lilac a tartness. The rosemary winds through everything, soft, but blending beautifully with the musk and tobacco in particular. Wet: Not as lovely. The Lime pushes it’s way to the strongest spot, turning the whole thing a bit shrill and drowning the rosemary and lilac. The musk and tobacco try to push back, but the blend’s just not as subtle and complex as in the imp. Dry: Rind mostly with some musk

In bottle: Musk, Musk, Musk, Musk! Yep, that’s musk. The strong cacao note blends with this beautifully, with the tobacco as a soft accent. I thing this would be gorgeous on most people, but it’s likely too much musk for me. Wet: Still strongly black musk dominant. The cacao is stronger and more separate on the skin. The tobacco is still soft, but a touch more distinct. These notes work well together, but it’s a bit intense on my skin. Dry: Mostly musk with a ghost of the other elements.

In bottle: Sweetly insencey Aquatic with some ozone. The pitch and lichen give the ocean scent a sharp foresty edge, which is gorgeous. The incense is beautifully blended with the other notes, being pervasive, but hard to tease apart because it fits so well with the elements. This is a more complex cousin to the lab’s Cthulhu blend. I have been having trouble with the ocean accord on my skin for a few years, but this is so lovely, I’m going to skin test. Wet: even more amazing on my skin. I’d swear there were baneberries or mistletoe berries in there. It is as in the bottle only more so. My skin chemistry turns the ocean accord a little, but the pitch and lichen are doing a good job of holding things together, so that I have hopes of being able to really wear this. Dry: Mostly ocean with some lichen.

Oak bark, pine pitch, and blood red mistletoe berries. Review: Okay, this is lovely. It's pine dominant with a strong mistletoe berry second. The oak is a wonderful support for the pine. It's a lovely evocation of December, if a touch delicate for a candle.

Review: Rich, wonderful shortbread, with cocoanut in strong support. The royal icing is also strong and distinct, complimenting the shortbread beautifully. Mint is not listed as a note, but I'd swear there is quite a bit of mint int there.

Review: Unusual. Smoky nuts are the first impression, with scorched brown sugar the next most dominant after smoke and nuts. It’s the best smoke scent I’ve come across in a fragrance, very natural rather than chemical. The cedar is next strongest, with oak in support. The incense is subtle and works well with the other elements, tying them together. The herbs are soft, but give the incense an unusual edge. This is lovely and very different from the usual atmosphere spray options. Over time, the smoke and sugar are longest lasting, which is a little odd, but interesting.

In bottle: Honey dominant with strong plum support. I’d call the pomegranate and rose weak thirds. Myrrh and osmanthus are both easily discerned with the myrrh the stronger of the two. The honey, plum, and pomegranate combination is absolutely lovely, but when you add the myrrh the effect is too heavy for me. Add in the way roses turn on my skin, I’m going to have to give this one a pass, though it would likely work for someone who is not having the trouble I have been having with some incense blend and who’s skin plays well with rose.

In bottle: Very perfumey. I’m guessing maybe musk and definitely some resins. It’s over some lovely desert vegetation scents. It’s complex despite the effects of aging, but I don’t know enough of the names of desert plants to be much use. There is something dusty underneath that may be dry soil and a tough of stone. Wet: Still musky and resiny on the surface with all the pretty desert stuff underneath. On my skin there seems to be ozone. I’m a bit disappointed as I so wanted more desert and less musk. I suspect we’re looking at an aging issue combining with my skin chemistry’s amping of musk. There’s nothing objectively wrong with it, but I t5hink my expectations were too high. Dry: Mostly ozone over some lingering desert begetation.

Review: Wow1 that is intense and unusual. I think I’m in love. The ginger root and grass blend beautifully with the cardamom. Wait a minute and the hay starts to come out, again doing a lovely dance with the spices. The frankincense comes out next, but without taking over the blend. The tonka is gentle, but ties things together sweetly.tonka. It really is a warm, vibrant blend as bracing as cold water on the face, but heartbreakingly beautiful in its sweet spicy glory. I can think of nothing like this, and it’s irreplaceable.

In bottle: Patchouli dominant with ambrette support. The feel is strongly resinous The moss is a week second with bergamot third. The flowers are delicate and not well differentiated. There is a slightly chalky feel to the herbs. Wet: The patchouli is a little less intense on the skin. The herbal elements are a bit stronger, though it’s still resin dominant with the moss now in strong support. The flowers are softer. It’s better than in the imp, but it’s not really gelling with my skin chemistry. Dry: pPatchouli with some herbs. Not really my thing.

In bottle: Strongly floral. The Amber is strong support for the tulip poppy. The herbs are third strongest, but well represented. I’m not familiar with some of the ingredients, so I can not tell you which is epazote and which prickly pear. The sage is lovely and the coriander goes well with the other herbal notes, with the hyssop giving it a hint of mint. It’s quite lovely and well suited to its concept. Wet: significantly more hyssop on the skin, to the point that it’s hyssop dominant with sage and poppy in close second. The herbs and plants come out beautifully as it warms, giving a Mexican brush sort of feel to it. I’m not hyssop’s biggest fan, but this is a gorgeous setting for it. Dry: It’s surprisingly rich on the dry down. The amber ends up dominant, and it does something lovely with the hyssop and either epazote and/or prickly pear.

In bottle: Cypress dominant. I’d call the rose and cyclamen second. The patchouli is fairly subtle here and supporting the cypress. The tonka, ginger, and fig form their own little faction. The tonka is pervasive, the fig blending well with it. The ginger is sharp and distinct. The blend is absolutely lovely and if I could wear rose, I suspect I’d really enjoy this. No skin test for rose.

I love rogue and second Crowley. May I also suggest Krampus from the yule line? It's an all time favorate. I've not tried Ranger, but I can recommend FIGHTER (RPG): (Company says: Leather, musk, blood, and steel.) It's a heabier leather than rogue, but you might like it if you like Rogue. (I have full sized bottles of both).

In bottle: Incense dominant, by which I mean the Amber and patchouli, while distinct work together to be the strongest first impression. I’d call the amber slightly stronger, but that could be because the rich, juicy tamarind is providing strong support to it. The fig supports the tamarind more gently. The tonka sweetly ties it all together. It’s lovely and sexy. Wet: Tamarind moves into the strongest position with amber and fig support. The tonka strengthens; the patchouli steps into the background, soft and well behaved, but still distinct. It is a definitely a fruity blend now as opposed to the incensey first impression: different, but still lovely. Dry: Mostly tonka, some amber, and a bit of fig.

In bottle: Mostly dragon’s blood, sweetened with honey and softened with a touch of vanilla. Wet: A touch more balanced on the skin though the hierarchy remains the same. It’s pretty and well suited to its concept. Dry: The vanilla comes out on the dry down, gradually over taking the resin.