Gwydion

In bottles: It really does smell like burning brush. I’m not familiar enough with the plants to put specific names to the scents, I’m smelling. This is not my prairie, but it smells fascinating, sweet and sharp, and wild by turns. Something in there may be a little heavy for me, but we’ll see. Wet: Mmmmm… very masculine and strangely sexy while still smelling like a place. The smoke comes out a little more on the skin. I’m wishing I knew which names went with which scent element, so I could describe this better. It’s spiky and heady and a little cruel. Something in there reminds me a little of leather without being leather. It is very strong and intense. I’m not sure I could wear this in a larger amount than the skin test from an imp gives. Dry: Mmmm…. Lovely. My skin loves this. I have had bad luck with smoke noes, but not this one, and the mix of plants is full of character, complex, and strangely sexy. It is also long lasting and quite strong.

In bottles: Extremely sweet, strawberry dominant. It does smell indefinably pastrylike, but mostly it’s strawberry, strawberry, strawberry. Wet: still strawberry dominant. The icing/pastry effect warms and weaves throughout. Weirdly, it makes me think of candy floss more than the Blue Pumpkin floss does. It also is vaguely whipped cream like. The more it warms, the better it is, with the strawberry growing less strident and more part of a surprisingly lovely whole. This is so much better on skin than in the bottle. Dry: Still strawberry dominant, though the pastry/icing holds up fairly well. It’s quite nice as strawberry blends go and doesn’t break down on my skin. The effect is warm and foody.

In bottle: It definitely evokes carnivals. It’s pumpkin dominant, with the candy floss mostly manifesting as a sweetness in the pumpkin. It is spicy, in a cinnamon and possibly clove pumpkin pie sort of way. The blackberry is very understated. Wet: Cinnamon dominant, with pumpkin second. The blackberry is a touch stronger, but still understated. I think I like the marshmallow Pumpkin from this year’s inquisition better, though the pumpkin/cinnamon is similar. This is less sweet and more purfumey. As it warms, the blackberry modifies the pumpkin in some interesting ways. Dry; The pumkin breaks down a bit. The cinnamon and hints of blackberry mingle with what’s left of the pumpkin’s

In bottle: Aiyee! That’s a little intense. This is extremely sassafras dominant, and not in a particularly happy way. It’s making me think of root beer cough drops. The effect is harsh and medicinal while managing to be cloying sweet at the same time. It’s taking me a lot of time to just acclimate to that so I can pick out the other notes properly. I think the black tea is actually intensifying the sassafras, if that makes sense, adding its strength and depth to the sassafras kick, while the champaca is turning it medicinal. Wet: It is better on the skin. There is still a medicinal root beer thing going on, but it’s softer and easier to cope with as it warms. I think the tea is helping now, adding warm depths that turn it more homey. It’s still not quite right, and I’m thinking I would have liked a cedar or pine in place of the champaca, but I could be wrong. Either way, I’m not entirely comfortable smelling this. Given time, the tonka claws it’s way to properly noticeable. Dry: The tea eventually overtakes the sassafras. It’s a fast fader just generally. It’s actually kind of nice on the dry down, as tea dominant scents go, but my skin chemistry does not love thins.

In bottle: Very, very sweet. The pumpkin and marshmallow turn out to be very complimentary together, each maintains it’s individuality, while contributing to a whole greater than the sum of it’s parts. I don’t have a lot of luck with pumpkin scents as I tend to parse them funny. There is no hint of that here, though I do worry how it will age. Right now, though, it’s exquisite. Wet: spicier on the skin. I’m suspecting cinnamon. The pumpkin really comes out, making me realize how much stronger the marshmallow was in the bottle. The marshmallow is less distinctly marshmallow now, and edging towards whipped cream, though still in the marshmallow spectrum. The effect is rather cinnamon heavy pumpkin pie. I still like it, but I’m not as excited, since it was more stand out unusual in the bottle. Dry: It’s softer and gentler, with pumpkin dominant. It is still spicy and the marshmallow sweetens and connects the elements. It’s quite nice, and so far the only really successful pumpkin for my skin chemistry.

In bottle: It is very craft shop in autumn. The ginger is dominant, with the quince a close second. It is a lot weaker than I expected. It’s certainly autumnal, in a cozy sort of way. Wet: Not much throw. The elements really blend into each other on the skin, each standing out less, but creating and interesting whole. The ginger is still strongest, but is much more at one with the fruit. It’s more foody now, and less craft store. It’s nice enough, but simply not that exciting. I keep wanting something more out of it, maybe more bite and less sugar. Dry: Dried fruit mostly with the ginger softening to a hint of ginger candy. It’s a decussated and a little spicy and autumnal. It’s not my thing, but it could easily be someone else’s.

In bottle: Tasty, tasty rum dominant, with a pleasing cheesecake and crust note and a soft creamy thing going on underneath. It’s very well suited to the concept. Wet: The rum gets richer and deeper. It is sweeter than it is in other rum related scents in the catalog, again, well suited to the concept. The butterscotch ice cream and crust both go beautifully with the dominant rum note and my skin just loves this, though not as much as it loves some of the less foody applications, Like Mad Sweeney. I do recommend it, but I do want to make clear how much sweeter and creamier it is than the other usages in the catalog, so YMMV. Dry: The crust is proportionally stronger, and the ice cream degrades a little, but it’s still nice enough.

In bottle: Very strong honey with ylang ylang as the second strongest element. The other elements are present, with the fig blending particularly well with the honey, patchouli, and floral elements. It does indeed smell expensive and worldly. Wet: The ylang ylang strengthens on the skin, becoming dominant with the honey and fig making a lovely backdrop. The patchouli softens, but the clove maintains its edge. It’s rather like a well crafted setting designed specifically to show off the ylang ylang. If ylang ylang is your thing, this would be an excellent scent for that. Dry: it goes a little chenmical and shrill, but odds are good that this is my skin protesting the ylang ylang. The patchouli is proportionally stronger as the other elements weaken, with the fig holding about even.

In bottle: Green apple dominant, with strong sugar, candy corn, and vanilla components. It does a good job living up to its concept. Wet: still green apple dominant, crisp and candy sweetened. It is a touch more artificial on the skin, but still lovely. The candy corn and sprinkles differentiate it from other apple blends in the halloweenie line and there’s a lovely contrast here between sweet and tart. The cinnamon is understated yet pleasing with the buttery sugar. Dry: As it wears, it goes very spicy, and the apple start to smell less juicy and more dried. The candy elements soften and blend into the apple, turning the tartness a bit sweeter.

It sounds like you'd be good with woods. Have you tried leater, tobacco, oakmoss, and the variations of machine oil etc. in the the steampunk collection?

In bottle: Strong thick black leather, modified by the machine oil, rust, and tobacco. The musk is very smooth. It fits its concept beautifully. It’s thick biker leather and hot machines. It’s a touch sweeter and less oily smelling than Mutant Hot Rodders and Mechanical Phoenix, while being an even stronger, tougher, leather scent. Wet: The leather softens on my skin, allowing all the nuances of the machine scents to come out. The rust is fascinating and a little alarming. I don’t recognize this musk. Gritty is a good description, actually, but it is not too strong for my skin, which amps most musk and it blends beautifully with the leather and tobacco particularly. I think there would be no point in wearing this if you don’t like leather, but it is an excellent addition to the leather scents in the collection. Dry: The oil really comes out and the leather goes subtly smoky. It’s attractive, comforting, and a little harsh and dirty all at once. It softens to something understated and masculine on me, but the person who swapped me had it amp like whoa, so how this will likely work on you is best judged from how your skin handles leather.

It's not much in the bottle, but on my arm it paints a beautiful and complex scent poem about new Orleans. Imagine a canvas of old wood, stone, and muddy water with an evolving collection of spicy sexy goodness parading across it. I wanted to roll in it. I wanted to like it. It is nothing I will even be in a position to possess, but I have spent the evening exploring it's ins and outs. This does not have a lot of throw, but it it grabs me by the hind brain and melts my bones.

I suggest Boo. Halloweenies are out now, and i find it to be creamy vanilla.

In bottle: strongly floral and Lotus heavy. It’s a little like floral chewing gum, which I know from past experience is the amber interacting with the florals. It’s bright and strongly coloured flowers. The amber turns sexy once I parse it out. The citrus is very understated. Wet: It’s not as intense on me. The citrus is stronger as I amp it, but it must not be proportionately tiny, as it’s not that strong here. It’s less chewing gum on me too. It’s quite lovely for a floral, but my skin chemistry is not particularly good for florals. I’m guessing it could be stunning on someone else and it’s rather wasted on me. Dry: The amber really comes out as it wears. Seriously, if it smells this good on me, it’s got to be impressive on someone else.

In bottle: Wet leaves and green wood, a gentle salty misty impression. Autumn in a bottle, bright sharp, sad. Seriously. Autumn distilled. Wet: wetter and salteier on the skin. The individual types of leaves stand out against the misty canvass clear and bright. It’s definitely an ocean aquatic. Those are definitely trees and crushed leaves. It’s a love song to Fall near the ocean, a beautiful realization of it’s guiding concept. Dry: Damn. Ocean scent with a touch of green twigs. I thought I’d found the perfect fall scent, but this is not it. It’s nice enough, but it’s nothing like the brilliance of its first application.

In bottle: Dry dark chocolate dominant, underneath it is strangely sweet. It turns out the berries, honey, and bergamot create something that feels like cherry without smelling like cherry, if that makes sense. The chocolate picks up the spices and forms a team with them the sweeter elements form a second team. They eye each other, but create two distinct scent impressions. Wet: a touch astringent. It is berry dominant on the skin and the tobacco and honey speak up. The chocolate and spices are still present, but they more modify the sweeter parts, than stick to themselves as they do in the bottle. As it warms, it richens and complicates. I’m loving the bergamot in this, I really am. It’s nothing like I expected, but I’m okay with that. Dry: Dark chocolate and barries. Lots of berries. It’s nice, but not brilliant.

In bottle: It smells like early 1970’s hippy house. Poatchouli dominant, with sandalwood second and cinnamon third. The amber smoothes it a little, but can’t really change the overall effect. Wet: Exactly as in the bottle only more so. Lots of patchouli, lots of throw. It is fairly sexy. Patchouli plus cinnamon plus natural skin musk is sexy, but I;m not a big patchouli fan and this is too much for me. Dry: patchouli, patchouli, patchouli.

In bottle: sweet and heady. Foodie the way a lot of candle scents are foodie. I like it even though it smells a bit like pudding. Wet: My core scent is a bit overwhelming for it. The foodie edge goes more warm and waxy. Once the initial battle of the scents is over, it settles down to something halfway between the bottle and the initial skin scent. I like it, though it’d likely be better on someone less naturally musky. Dry: Powdery, warm, sweet, gentle. It is still pretty, though less intriguing.

In bottle: This is pleasantly like Iron Phoenix, only very rose. My skin does terrible things to rose, so it’s impossible for me to wear, but it’s a lovely incense blend with a strong rose edge.

Gardenia, tea rose, vanilla and jasmine. In bottle: Gardenia dominant with jasmine in second place. It’s a pleasing floral, rich and strong without being cloying. I know the terrible things my skin chemistry will do with this, but I’d really like it on someone else. No point in skin testing.

Wow, better ask the lab directly on that one.

In bottle: Chalky and green, like crushed vines and dandelion stems, maybe bell pepper. There is something dark and vicious underneath that I can’t place. I’m also guessing musk. There is a hint of brackishness as well. Wet: Very fierce. The slightly nasty thing hidden in the green pounces and it’s smoky and intense. This is strong and interesting with the complexity of the greens carrying over, but it’s rather too much for me. Lots of headache making throw. It’s very much a wild thing scent. I suspect it’d be brilliant on the right person, but I’m simply too sensitive. Dry: Maybe it was amber instead of musk, because the slightly powdery dry down makes me think more of amber. It’s sweeter and softer, though that vine note stays dominant. I’m unexpectedly loving this, it’s so much more gentle than I was expecting, balancing its fiercer and softer elements into something right in the sweet spot. It’s still unusual and interesting, instead of averaging into bland. Given my mild allergic reaction to it, I can’t wear it, but I would enjoy it on someone else.

In bottle: It is as described, really. A touch of ozone/floral over a strong grass base. The dandelions blend well with the grasses. Wet: The ozone floral is stronger now and it’s reminding me of lightening and tempest. The grass is softer and less differentiated, I also think less interesting. The dandelion is barely detectable. Dry: High end herbal shampoo with a grassy finish. I think the ozone’s gone floral, as often happens.

In bottle: Strong and sweet. It’s got a mixed tropical fruit effect, as its dominant impression. I’m guessing tobacco, maybe gum of some kind. Maybe balsam. It’s got a high-end shampoo thing going on. Wet: Banana dominant. It’s still simultaneously tart and sweet, with a mixed fruit effect. I’m getting less balsam/tobacco, though there’s a touch there. It was androgynous in the bottle, but now it’s womanly on my skin. Dry: The Gumlike thing comes out again. The tropical fruits are more balanced again, which means a lot less banana. There’s more medicinal herb and somethings gone a touch powdery. It’s interesting, but I think it would be exhausting to wear.

Thanks so much. I found PX72 with your help.