Gwydion

I can eat almonds, but sometimes my skin reacts to it in blends.

In bottle: Richly spiced and pleasingly sweet. The almond milk and cocoanut make a smooth canvass on which the complex of other elements can be beautifully displayed. I think the raisins in this is the best use of any grape related scent I’ve encound=tered. The lotus blends well with the other elements, while remaining distinct. The woods ground the blend. The spices are perfect with the other elements. Wet: Less stunning on my skin, where the coconut, cedar/sandalwood, and cardamom/clove are the main elements. It’s still quite nice, but my skin steals the nuance. Dry: Mostly sandalwood and cardamom with almond milk.

In bottle: An unusual floral blend, rich and dark, but unfortunately a touch chemical. My sample is very old, and I think the grasses have broken down. Wet: Very faint on the skin. I think that’s the peony on top, with a faint fresh water aquatic touch and that chemical sting that I noticed before. No dry down info, as it faded too fast.

Note: I'm seeing the main difference in the ingredient list between this and the 2006 is sweet rice for aloe. In bottle: In the bottle it's much sweeter than my aged bottle. I'm getting a ginger dominant blend with a strong sweet rice and sugar cane presence. I would put the woods and grapefruit a distant third. The other elements form a complex background for the dominant scents. I do see why this has a separate entry, as the emphasis and effect is still lovely, but quite different than the proportions in the older blend. Wet: More grapefruit than in the bottle, but still ginger dominant by a hair, with sweet rice and sugar cane a close third. The wisteria is more distinct, but well blended. The musk is more noticeable. The woods ground it. I'm really liking this, and not sorry I acquired some. Dry: It stays ginger dominant, but the other elements end up creating a lovely, complex support. It is delicate, but with decent throw.

In bottle: This is really unusual. It is almond dominant with a rich tapestry of hay, corn, acorn, and sweet rice milk backing it up. The other elements are soft, but distinct. Wet: The rice milk ends up nearly coequal with the almond which stays dominant by a hare. The other elements spread out a little, but still provide strong support. The moss and sap are now just strong enough to darken it by a hair. The amber is understated and serves as a sort of glue holding the elements together. I really like the way this is blended, smooth, sweet, and hearty. I can think of nothing else in the catalog close to this, and I do love unique blends. Dry: The hay, hemp, and corn end up blending with the almond and acorn to make this wonderful sweet hearty effect. I love this, but am left groping for words.

In bottle: Very soft, and more perfumey than I was expecting. I do like the way the musk, leather, and vanilla complement each other. The frankincense is understated, but gives it a bit of edge. Wet: Rather vanilla powdery. The vanilla and musk are strongest, with a touch of leather in support. The other elements are very soft. The whole effect is delicate and there is not much throw. Dry: Mostly vanilla musk.

In bottle: Ginger and balsam dominate. I’d say the gear lubricant and spices are a distant second. I can barely find the sarsparilla. This is reminding me of a lot of champagne scents, and smells like carbonation feels. I can tell already this won’t work with my skin chemistry, which doesn’t mean it won’t work for others. Wet: Ginger dominant. The sarsparilla fails to overtake the balsam, but it’s a touch more distinct. Honestly, I love ginger scents, but I think it gangs up with the balsam to to beat most of the other components unconscious. Dry: Mostly balsam.

In bottle: This is very gentle and sweet with the pale musk, vanilla, honey, and sugar forming a block, with an understated acacia playing about the edges. The musk is vaguely dominant, but really, it's a matter of accent in the block. Wet: A lot more acacia. The honey emerges as the leader within its block, but really they do work together. I'm not sure I like the acacia with this group of soft pale scents. It's too bold a contrast for me, but your tastes may be different. Dry: Really pretty on the dry down, a sweet vanilla musk with touches of the other elements. .

In bottle: mmmmm…. Leather. This is a particularly bright leather with the musk, blood, and steel blending in beautifully to create a scent that perfectly evokes a sexy, sexy warrior. Yum. Wet: vaguely fishy. O.o I think I’m parsing the leather accord and musk incorrectly. The blood gets a touch shrill. I do love the way the steel and the leather go together though. The fishiness softens with wear and it definitely appears to be my brain reading the leather wrong. Dry: The fishiness goes. It is still dominant leather, but the musk pulls it darker now, with a touch of blood.

In bottle: Heliotrope dominant with a surprisingly strong rooibos as support. I say surprisingly, as in Rl rooibos is fairly mild, but this definitely smells like it concentrated. It is very sweet. I’m not sure I like mastic. Do not expect much kick from the wasabi. It’s mostly heliotrope tea, though. Wet: Heliotrope dominant still. Did I mention the heliotrope? It’s a lot of heliotrope. The mastic blends better now. The rooibos becomes more background, but the wasabi starts asserting itself a little. The musks are mostly subsumed into the heliotrope, really. Dry: Mostly heliotrope with some musk.

In bottle: A lovely light floral scent, fairly androgynous as florals go, with lilac and lavender dominant, with the ferns and absinthe granting it a pale green edge that plays very well with the dominant florals. It’s a little bit wicked. The rose and black currant are understated, joining with the sugar to smooth things out. Wet: The blackcurrent and rose are stronger on the skin and it edges the whole blend towards the feminine. It’s quite lovely, layered and nuanced. Dry: Comepletely different. Apparently fern has the most staying power, with a bit of black current giving it a gentle fruity touch. The florals fade back to the point of being a gentle kiss. Nice. Very nice.

In bottle: Strongly lemony over mostly herbs. Wet: Mostly lemon with something floral I can barely make out over the tart lemon. I’m thinking iris, hyacinth, one of those purple flowers, but I’m not good at identifying florals. There’s something that smells the way sticky feels that I’m not placing. Dry: Lemon, lemon, lemon.

In bottle: Sweet and oddly sexy over the usual herbal background. I’m getting a strong musk as the dominant note, with maybe some amber support. There is a floral I’m not placing at all as a secondary. It’s a gentle floral, and not any of the usual suspects. There is a touch of something tangy, that I’m suspecting would have been in the lemon range in a younger sample. Wet: The citrus is likely lemon grass or maybe lemon verbena, as I’m not amping it as I do true citrus. It’s still fairly faint, but blending well with the musk to give it a tangy edge. The herbs are particularly strong in this blend and provide good support for the musk, which remains dominant. This is not ideal with my skin chemistry, but should be rich and sexy opn someone with less natural musk. This is very well blended. Dry: Much more strongly herbal now, with the musk blending in.

In bottle: This has a shockingly green edge that I’m guessing is cucumber over a soft sweet fruit, vanilla, and the usual herbs. This is not entirely fortunate in the bottle with the green and red clashing. Wet: is that amber or musk? It’s edging the blend towards sexy and going well with the fruit and maybe jasmine, but not so well with the cucumber, which is luckily fading into the herbs. Five or six minutes later, all the green is gone, leaving something warm and somewhat sexy. Dry: This wears well, going to soft gentle amber with a touch of fruit and jasmine.

In bottle: Pleasant incense blend with quite a bit of sharpness and fruitiness to it, with the usual herbal undertone for chakra blends. Fruit dominant. I’m suspecting amber and maybe frankincense component of the incense. It’s rich and heady over all. Wet: I’m loving the way the frankincense and the rich juicy fruits blend. The herbs stay distinct. I’m really liking this one. Dry: Mostly frankincense and chakra herbs, sort of chalky with claws.

In bottle: Extremely chalky, mostly herbal. This does smell like roots. It’s got some florals and spices as well. The incense is patchouli dominant, but it’s a smooth patchouli rather than eau d’ hippy. I wouldn’t be surprised if this has orris and maybe vetiver in it. There is a hint of wood. It’s giving me rather a headache and I’m afraid to skin test it given the way my sinuses are throbbing..

In bottle: Yummy. This is sweet and heady with a touch of sharpness. It is fittingly warm and bright, yet strangely comforting. Elements are familiar, but hard to place. It has a floral element that may contain sunflower and a spiciness that suggests carnation, but may not be. I’m not particularly good with florals. It’s got a dominant incense I’m not placing, but I do detect sandalwood. I do think it’s got similar herbal content though. I’m suspecting pepper, but I’m not placing some of the other spices. Wet: Okay, now I’m getting cassia instead of carnation. The florals are softer on the skin and ply really well with the incense. The underlying herbs are a bit acrid here. Dry: A faintly floral, chalky, incense blend. Not bad, but not stunning.

In bottle: Rather sweet and over ripe. I’m getting maybe dragon’s blood or some berry and some supporting florals as the main scent. I’m not good with florals, but I’m guessing lavender, rose, and maybe lotus, maybe jasmine, maybe lily, or maybe something else. This is not my sort of thing. Wet: The lavender stands out more as does the rose. It turns a little nasty on my skin, but I expected that, along with the rose pretty much eating everything else. An herbal thread steps forward more. Dry: Jasmine dominant, with an herbal under scent, and maybe a touch of dragon’s blood or something similar.

In bottle: Strong and sharp. Heavy on the incense, pleasantly herbal, with a faint touch of chalk. The incense is familiar, but I’m not placing it. The scent has a lot of depth, and a hint of sweetness. It has a thread of anise running through it. Wet: The sharpness resolves into some sort of evergreen needles. The incense mellows out and does lovely things with the anise. I’m guessing that floral is lotus, but I’m not great with florals. This is completely different on the skin than in the bottle, gentle, yet strong, sweet, yet a touch sharp. Lovely. Dry: Now it’s all dried flowers popourri, though a particularly nice blend of flowers and herbs. I wish I could place that incense, but it all blends well. It is sweeter and more floral than I generally like, but it works with my skin way better than I had any right to expect.

Of the ones I know of/were on the list, those two were the strongest, purest marshmallow. Poof is purer than Pink Plastic flamingos, but they are both wonderful strong marshmallow scents.

In Bottle: Lemon verbena dominant. It does genuinely smell like honeyed darjeeling underneath. The anise is very understated. Wet: Still verbena dominant, but the other elements are making a comeback. I’m fascinated by the honeycomb, which is unexpectedly nuanced. I think I’d loike this better with half the verbena, but it is still quite nice. Dry: Still a touch too much verbena, but much better balanced so as to allow the darjeeling to really show off.

In bottle: Mmmmm… Elegant! I don’t know what castoreum is, but process of elimination suggests it’s what’s doing that glorious thing with the tabacco flower. This is a rich green scent, with tobacco flower and castoreum dominant. The teakwood complements and grounds the scent. The vanilla and incense give it nuance. Wet: There is a bit more sandalwood and teakwood on the skin. It is still tobacco flower/castoreum dominant, but the woods are creeping up on them. All elements are pleasant and play well together. It suits well both the Japanese wood cut idea and the spring. Dry: A touch perfumey, and not as well balanced, but mostly a softer version of fresh.

In Bottle: This is unusual. The clove, labdanum, and champaca form a team and climb to prominence over musk, leather, sandalwood team, though all elements are present and fairly easy to pick out. I’m not sure I approve of brown musk, or laddanum, for that matter, but I’m certainly fascinated. Wet: The labdanum moves up to lead its team, as does the sandalwood sandalwood in its own team. It is less powdery on the skin and a touch more boot polish. This is a particularly nice champaca. I rather wish the clove weren’t mostly in hiding and I still find the brown musk a bit dubious with my skin chemistry. Dry: it work out rather better in the long run. The musk is still a bit rough, but it’s playing better with the dominant leather, sandalwood, and the tail ends of the other elements.

In bottle: Leather dominant. This really does smell like soft worn black leather. Delicious! I’m not familiar enough with rosin in the real world to judge the scent’s accuracy, but here it is utterly lovely with the leather. The hemp is understated. I’m in love. Wet: The leather softens and the rosin rises, the effect is sweeter and gentler in the bottle, but utterly sexy and gorgeous. I need a bottle of this stuff. Dry: Still lovely and leather dominant, now with more hemp and less rosin so they balance. I don’t love it quite as much as wet, but I do love it.

In bottle: This is a good fit for the concept. It is heady, yet light. It is a little too fabric softener for me, but the blend of florals and resins creates a complex evening garden sort of effect. The musks blend beautifully with the sandalwood and other resins. The florals are dominant, but it’s not the standard florals. Given the contents, I’m opting against skin testing, since my che,mistry will break this all down into non sense, but it would make a pleasant breezy late spring sort of scent for the right woman.