Gwydion

I second Appalling Abattoir and would like to add the bloody banister.

In bottle: This one’s mighty weird. It almost smells like cucumber and beetles. I’m guessing it’s an accidental accord involving pumpkins, hulls, and flass in the first case and the rest on the other. I am not convinced I want to smell like this, but it’s certainly interesting. Wet: It differentiates out more on the skin. It’s still a mess for me as far as parsing, but I think the beer, pumpkin, eggs, hulls, and maple are strongest. Maybe. The beer is strongest of those. The effect is similar to Brood XI, but not as good with my body chemistry. Dry: fast fading to mostly barley and maple.

In bottle: Yep, those are hedges. I’ll call it boxwood dominant with strong rosemary support. They go together well, though are a bit overwhelming. Wet: Boxwood get a touch rancid buttery on my skin. I’m suspecting my bizarre skin chemistry of being the culprit. Luckily, it moves past it quickly and a dirt note and some sort of purpleish honeysuckle like flower comes out. The flower is gorgeous with the boxwood and rosemary. The result is simultaneously wild and delicate. It’s not remotely me, but this would be gorgeous on the right woman. Dry: A little weird on the dry down. Mostly boxwood.

In bottle: This is well suited to it’s concept. Wood and medicinal herbs are strongest, but it definitely has a lot of bone to it was well and there is a touch of smoke, thatch and something avian about it. I’m not sure I want to smell this much like medicinal tea, but it certainly is interesting. Wet: The Wood and avian scent go well together, but I’m sure now there is chamomile among the herbs, and while I like it in tea, it goes badly with my skin chemistry in scents. The smoke goes well with the bone accord. I suspect I’d already be in love if this didn’t have chamomile. Dry: Mostly wood and chamomile.

In bottle: The blonde woods are strongest and quite lovely with the Spanish Moss and grape vines. Think pale wood and dark green plants. The raspberry is understated and mostly serving to sweeten. Wet: More raspberry on the skin, now almost balancing the dark green with the wood providing the ubiquitous canvass on which they play. They all go beautifully together and this is subtle and exquisite. Dry: Mostly wood with the ghosts of the other elements. It’s lovely

In bottle: Citrus bright and definitely sunny in feel. Wet: Still strongly orange, but more complex and grassy with amber and a touch of spice. I generally amp citrus, so that’s happening here. Dry: The citrus backs down and it ends up sweet creamy Amber mostly. This is utterly lovely on the dry down and would be brilliant on someone younger than me with less awkward skin chemistry.

In bottle: I like the parchment note, but there is a touch of something sinister that I’m not sure I like. Wet: Parchment with varnish? Ink? I’m still not sure I like it, though it is interesting. Dry: mostly ink with some parchment. Much nicer on the dry down when it looses the chemical edge and smoothes out.

In bottle: The strong carbonated champagne note common in BPAL champagne blends with a hint of strawberry accord. Wet: The strawberry accord and the fizz from the champagne blend in really interesting ways. The effects are subtle and unusual. Historically, I do badly with the champagne note and I break down the strawberry accord in some funny ways. This is the closest I’ve ever come to making the champagne note work and it’s because of me miss parsing strawberry in chaotic and interesting ways. Go figure. Dry: The champagne note with most of the fizz gone out.

In bottle: mahogany dominant, with a note similar to blackened palm that I’m guessing is the rot, with a hint of iron. This is very intense. Wet: Even more intense on the skin. If anything, the blackened coconut is stronger. It blends beautifully with the rich mahogany. The iron is a touch stronger, but not overwhelming. I wasn’t sure I liked it in the bottle, but it’s lovely on my skin. Dry: Mostly mahogany with a touch of dragon’s blood. Exquisite.

In bottle: Soft and subtle, mostly dragon’s blood with some stone, musk, and spice. Look, I know the last two aren’t listed, but I could swear to musk and I’m strongly suspecting cassia or maybe cinnamon. Wet: Surprisingly juicy and sweet. Dragon blood dominate, with that touch of musk and spice fading into it though still clearly present.. It could be I was breaking down the gore accord when it was in the bottle, but it blends smoother on my skin. The gore accord works beautifully with the subtle touch of stone. As it warms the musk and probably cassia come out stronger again. The balance is different, but still interesting. I really amp musk, and this may be a touch too much with my personal chemistry. Dry: Mostly musk with a touch of dragon’s blood. It’s not bad even with my wonky skin chemistry.

In bottle: It’s pretty much the lab’s sea scent, made a touch darker, though I’m not sure exactly how. Wet: I’ve been having trouble with the sea accord lately, but this is actually working surprisingly well on my skin. As is often the case, my nose tends to separate out the floral element of the accord, but this time it’s not breaking all the way down, at least so far. Dry: Softens into something darkly sexy.

2012 version: In bottle: Spanish Moss, extra lush and green. Wet: Sweeter and even more lush on the skin, sexy and vibrant. My skin has always loved Spanish moss in other blends, and it turns out that it’s brilliant on its own as well. Lots of throw. Dry: Ends up a drier, darker green, more like it smells in blends.

In bottle: Strawberry dominant (Full disclosure, my nose frequently breaks down strawberry accords funny, so my review may not apply to your experience). The lavender is a strong second and occasionally breaks off bits of strawberry. The honey is heady and rich. There is a feel of sunshine about it. Wet: The lavender and strawberry break down and mix into a lovely cotton candy for me. The lavender is clearly dominant when I can parse it out of the accidental accord. I love this. Dry: Berry infused cotton candy.

In bottle: I’m thinking it’s palm dominant, though that could be an accidental accord of pale wood and incense. There might also be tonka with the same caveat. It may contain sandalwood, as I’d swear that’s the core of the incense, with likely frankincense. It does have a calm, meditative feel. Wet: The blonde wood is even stronger, the cedar and sandalwood differentiate out more. It smells less like palm, so I’m thinking that was my nose making an accord. The incense comes out more complex, though I’m not having much luck placing anything but the frankincense. Really, it’s wood dominant. Dry: Mostly sandalwood.

In bottle: Pumpkin Dominant, with the clove and ginger dominant spice blend second. I’d call mango third, giving a sweet fruity feel to it. The coconut sugar is in support of the mango. The tea is soft and ties it all together beautifully. Wet: More tea on my skin, and it becomes the strongest note as it warms. Mango and the spices are a strong second with pumpkin a weaker third, which is fine by me as my history with the pumpkin note is not good. The other notes are present, but soft. As it warms further, the ginger comes to dominate the spice blend. This one morphs a lot with relative values changing over time. At some point the mango and pumpkin start working together and the cocoanut comes out more. This has lots of throw. Dry: Softens and blurs as it wears down. Rather more allspice than when wet, though the ginger has staying power as well. The Pumpkin and tea linger along with some sugar.

In bottle: lots of juniper with pine and musk strong seconds. The cypress supports the juniper, The Ambergris supports the musk. It’s darkly sexy and a touch alarming. I’m not skin testing for juniper and musk.

In bottle: Mint dominant with some rose and a bit of resin. No way am I skin testing it, I’m queasy just from the sample sniff.

In bottle: Sexy in a resiny sort of way. Benzoin is strongest with red musk in support, sweetened by honey and caramel, with a spicy edge. Wet: The honey is stronger on there skin, though still third after benzoin and musk. It’s a subtle shift of balance more than a drastic change. It’s a good design for its concept, rather overwhelming on me, as red musk often is. Dry: Smells a lot like sandalwood, which isn’t a listed element, only a touch wetter than sandalwood.

In bottle: Sweet Pea dominant with the vanilla giving lovely support. The ambers are third and well blended with the stronger notes. The sandalwood is understated, but distinct. This is a delicate, beautifully designed scent. The elements are all a little more separate as they warm, though they still play well together. I’d say the ambers are now second, with sweet pea still strongest. My body chemistry doesn’t play well with the sweet pea, making it smell a bit strained. The sandalwood is stronger on my skin, moving into third as the vanilla becomes more background. This does not work on me, but should be fine on the right young woman. Dry: Dries down to mostly amber with some vanilla and a touch of sandalwood.

In bottle: Powdery green tea, with lemon. I’m guessing amber and something else, maybe tonka, but I can’t swear to it. It does indeed smell a little like a flea powder for cats that was popular in the ‘70’s, to the point that I struggle with notes. (seriously, sniffing it I get strong associative memories of powdering our Siameses in a bad flea season, and I can’t objectively break it down, so anything I said above is speculative). It also smells like it ought to be itchy, though it isn’t. I find the scent association confusing enough that I don’t want to put it on my skin, though likely it is safe.

In bottle: It smells like a medium weight musk, lusty and heady. Wet: Okay, the musk is much lighter on my skin than I expected from the bottle, delightfully feral, and nuanced. I am not sure I strictly need a musk single note, but I think it will be fun trying it with other things. Dry: Fades into a delicious soft musk.

In bottle: Mostly ocean with a touch of light floral. Wet: More nuanced on the skin. The ocean scent is more interesting and less uniform than the general run when combined with the florals which are also more individual when warm. Still not my thing, but I was going to dismiss this as a bit dull, and now I can’t. Dry: mostly Ocean scent.

Carlin is very turning of summer into Autumn.

To buy or to review?

In bottle: It’s lovely and sweet, very, very Green. It’s very grass fire and leather. The herbal combination is wet and blends beautifully with the grass. The smoke blends beautifully with the leather. I can’t call anything dominant as even in the bottle, they take turns. It’s surprisingly complex and perfect for it’s concept. Wet: The smoke is slightly more synthetic on the skin. I’ll now consider it leater dominent, with smoke second. Historically, I do badly with the smoke notes as my nose parses them funny. Fingers crossed. I’ll call grass third, comparatively subtle and prone to sneaking up on my nose with the herbal support. As it warms, the edges blur a bit. Leather stays dominant, but the smoke, grass, and herbs, swirl together more. I’m wondering if there is a lot of musk in this leather accord as it’s very musky and feral. I can’t tell if I love it or hate it and it’s impossible to ignore in its reptile glory. Either way, it conjures the flash of green dragon scales and a lick of flame turning a field to smoke. Dry: Settles down eventually into a strong musky smoky leather. While wet, it’s just at the edge of what I can handle intensity wise, on the dry down, it’s a sexy, feral sort of leather that I think I will love the way I love my Mutant Hot-Rodders from Hell High. They seem to be cousins once the more volatile elements burn off, being a similar sort of leather and both edgy and dangerous as leathers go, with similar vaguely industrial affect.