Gwydion

In bottle: sharp dirt scent over blood. Something vaguely green. Wet; Intense Dirt smell with pleasing light overtones. The perfume comes out slowly. This is no jazz Funeral, but pleasant. Dry: Wears nicely as a sweet dirty scent.

In bottle: musk amber, rotting roses. Wet: Alternative/wiccan clothing and insense shop. Lots and lots of rose over the other things. Sexy in an old-fashioned way. Dry: Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose.

Deep, mysterious, and full of dark portents: oakmoss, juniper berry, myrrh and patchouli. In bottle: They aren’t kidding about the juniper. Smells like moss, incense, and Gin. Accent on the Gin. Wet: My skin really doesn’t like this chalky gin and patchouli over moss and chemicals. No. Dry: Double no. Cheap candy.

In bottle, sharp green aftershavey. Arresting. Wet: The fougere and amber make it lighter than I expected. It is still a green fresh scent. Dry: Highly androgynous and vaguely intensely floral. Dry: Goes mostly floral and feminine and the patchouli amps.

It goes very sweet and womanly. It smells like my Mom’s purse when I was little.

In bottle: Familiar, but hard to place. Woody and herbal. Wet: Oddly spicey. Something aftershave like. It’s sharp and vaguely sweet, pleasantly ambery, a very warm, yet outdoorsy scent. It is masculine, vaguely sexy, and smells like herbs, moss, and cedar. Dry: Mostly sweet, sweet amber.

In bottle: Dragon’s blood predominant. The ocean bit breaks down into something flowery. Wet: So flowery,. Goes vaguely aquatic given time. Dry: Much the same, only soft.

In bottle: Overwhelming Oceany scent. Jolly Roger on steroids. Wet: Ocean. Did I mention the Ocean? It does nice things on my skin though. Dry: More complicated. Various vegetation comes out. Curiously sexy in an unconventional way.

In bottle: Plum!!! Did I mention the plum? With booze under it. Wet: Fruit candy. Very intense. Dry: Gone to vaguely fruity soap fast with almost no transition.

In bottle: Reminds me of 1970’s perfume. Perfumey, with a strong Amber/musk/Sandlewood/Saffron effect. It does smell of desert and Middle Eastern market, at least in the imagination. Wet: The bergamot makes it’s move. Dry Rose heavy women’s perfume.

In bottle: I want to eat this. The ingredients speak for themselves. Think decadent truffle, think high end chocolate shop. Yum. Initial impression: a touch disappointing. A bit powdery and faintly chemical smelling. It is reminding me of clean high end hotel room. Wet: On the upside, the cardamom soon gains dominance. I really don’t mind smelling like cardamom with something vaguely candy shop underneath. Dry: Cardamom and red hots. Fades in three hours to a mild musk.

In bottle: Disappointing. The olive does something weird with the other elements, making something too sweet, yet richly unsettling. Wet: Not nearly as bad. It is still very light and too sweet for me, but peculiarly seductive. It is really reminding me of something, but I can’t think what. Dry: I take it all back. This is heavenly. It a sweet insensey blend, complex and pleasing. I know I shouldn’t keep this, as it’s very feminine, but it smells so good.

In bottle; surprisingly soft and sweet, more herbal tea and incense than anything else. Wet: my skin really sucks this in. It almost disappears at first, until my skin heats it up. At that point it as a delicate incenseything, with a surprisingly seductive herbal edge. I really like it, though it isn’t even vaguely me. Even though I love it. Seriously, this is stunning. Dry: it develops a fascinating edge as the amber blends more strongly with the other elements. I know I can’t wear this, but I’m going to have a hard time parting with it.

In bottle: Oh, the patchouli. This smells like aftershave, with lavender, bergamot, and patchouli being the strongest elements. Wet: This smells unexpectedly dry with a flowery aftershavey scent floating over sand. Dry: It settles into something surprisingly seductive, the amber adding a wicked undertone to the more conventional elements. Normally, my skin amps citrus, but it doesn’t do that here. Seriously, this is masculine, slightly dandified, yet with an undercurrent of danger. It fits the concept and my skin beautifully.

In bottle only, as I know better than to try to wear this given my sensitivities and the ingredients: This is really interesting and I can imagine this being really cool on the right guy. It’s light and sharp. The violet and vetiver balance each other out, creating something pleasantly masculine when combined with the musk and lavender. It is inexplicably making me think of very butch cucumbers I don’t do well with violets or vetiver, but this was quite tempting, a case of the whole being greater than the parts.

In bottle: Not promising, dry and chemical, with a clove/vanilla overlay. Wet: The patchouli, ambergris, and amber get stonger, but are still peculiar with the other elements. It does improve as it settles. Dry; The moss comes out and mingles with the foody elements and the darker ones to create something interesting if a touch unsettling. The effect is strongly insensey-clovey. It smells like a lot of the little west coast shps catering to Buddhist and Wiccan clientele. It’s pleasant enough, though I’m not convinced it’s me.

In bottle: Sweet tea and fougere. Wet: Tea parlor: tea, vanilla, jasmine, perfume. I wasn’t expecting this to be so delicately feminine. I am surprised there is no lemon in this as it has a sharp citrusy edge. The scent is very green and sweet. I’m rather liking this, even though this wasn’t what I was expecting. Dry: Smells vaguely of soft leather. I am really loving the way the various elements blends seamlessly as it ages. The musk does some absolutely stunning things with tea and fougere. This is subtle and clean, and civilized. I am definitely planning to wear it more.

2005: In bottle: Weirdly alcoholic. Smells like anise. Wet: Very sift. It still smells like anise, though I am getting some linen and leather. Given a little time it warms up and there is a hint of wood and smoke. Dry: This is rather disappointing. It's licorice and leather, basically. 2010: In bottle: Wood and pipe smoke hits the nose first, but after a wave of what I’m guessing is the sweet leather and linen comes along. I’m liking the way the wood and sweet leather dance with the pipe smoke. The sweet leather note is definitely sweet and gentle while still having plenty of throw. It’s hard to explain, but it’s definitely not like any of the other leathers I’ve tested before while still being leather. The linen is more an edge here than a strong individual note, giving me hope I can wear this despite a mild linen aversion. Wet: Much greener than I expected, more live wood than old dead polished, if that makes sense. As it warms, the pipe smoke twines up and through and the sweet leather takes on dimensions, I wasn’t expecting. It’s now got a hint of something almost lemony to it, though if it were lemon, I’d likely be amping it. I think it’s the linen mating with the wood. Sorry this is rather a muddled mess, but the sensations I’m getting are straining my ability to find appropriate vocabulary. Dry: Sweet leather mostly. It’s a fairly fast fader.

In bottle; this is reminding me of ventriloquist dummy, that odd mix of masculine elements and foody stuff. One simply does not expect tobacco and caramel together. Wet: Burnt sugar and woodshop with cinnamon. Oh, the cinnamon. This is a note my skin amps, so your milage may vary, but mix that with sandlewood, tobacco, patchouli, and caramel and you get the dominant scent, here. The effect is odd, but not displeasing. Sadly, not stunning either. Dry: fades fast to vaguely foody sandlewood.

In bottle: Oddly familiar, but I’m not placing it. Really it smells like my spice cabinet with medicinal roots thrown in. Lots of ginger, I’d bet. Wet: Oh the glorious ginger, with something sweet and spicy underneath. I’m really liking this. Dry: Clove, I’m guessing this contains clove. So clove ginger with something pleasant, but vaguely Chinese medicine under. It’s still made of win as far as I’m concerned.

In bottle: not promising, strangely chemical and vaguely rotton. I think it’s the wine and tobacco not blending well. Wet: similar, but less noxious. I think the honey, balsam, and chocolate strengthen under the influence of my own scent and body heat. The blend improves markedly given time to settle. Then the flowers come out, doing strange things with the elements already there. This stuff morphs fast when it’s fresh. Dry: grapes and dark chocolate with flowers. If anything smells like a Valentine’s date, this would be it. I was not expecting to like this, but it honestly grew on me. I’d still not buy it for myself, but I think I’ll keep the frimp.

In bottle: Surprisingly yummy, candied ginger and unusual florals. The scent is surprisingly rich. If this were a smoothie, I’d be all over it. Wet: much the same. It is very Hawaii’ an, or at least as I imagine some perfect Hawaii might smell. I am not a floral person, so this isn’t really a scent for me, but this really is a fascinating scent, a delicious non-rose with plenty of depth. Dry: slightly less depth, but still quite pleasant.

In Bottle: Yummy. Almond, fig, cocoanut cookie. Seriously, I’d eat this in a heartbeat if I could eat figs still. Wet: The sandlewood comes up on my skin, but not that strongly. The fig is strongest here, but blends beautifully with the other elements. The sandlewood turns it more into perfume and less like food, though it is still fairly foody. I really like this, though it’s not something I’d likely think to wear if I had a bottle, as it doesn’t smell like me. It has a wonderful, dry middle eastern wilderness effect, that would be glorious on the right woman. Dry: Soft, but pleasant enough, much along the lines previously described..

In bottle:Rosemary over chalky flowers. Wet: The citrus really comes out, pretty much overpowering the rest. My skin amps orange, so this is not really a surprise. Dry: This goes to a citrusy rose. Not my thing, but not awful.

In bottle: Sweet milk and honey. I am surprised there is no almond in this as it smells like almond cookie. Wet: Slightly powerey but still very much that pleasant honey cookie scent. Dry; I’m rather disappointed. It went all soapy.