Gwydion

In bottle: Intense and oddly familiar.. Much sweeter than I’d imagined, definitely sea smelling though. It smells disturbingly like sex and candy. Wet: Unsettling. I wish I could place this smell. It is green, yet corrupt. I smells vaguely like shampoo when one is showering off at the beach. It may be too sweet, almost floral, yet there is something alluring about it, like Amber. Dry: It is rather like the sea half of jolly Roger, mixed with something light and green, like embalming fluid. I’ll be keeping it.

In bottle: Very cinnamon, with a nasty medicinal undertone. Wet: Just like red hots. Dry: cinnamon, maybe sandalwood and other spices. Plastic smelling too. If one really likes cinnamon, not bad

I'm absolutely sure that you are right. There are very few companies that are willing to make the guarantee that a product will always be 'free' of an ingredient, and I have no doubt that cross-contamination can occur with limited equipment, regardless of how careful they are. That having been said, I personally feel safe enough to order from the Lab just as I feel safe enough to eat some foods that don't specify that they are absolutely peanut-free. My only truly severe allergy is to peanuts, and I feel safe ordering from the lab because I have never seen a blend with a 'peanut' note, am technically not allergic to good-quality peanut oil, and due to the nature of the business I imagine that the Lab maintains better cleaning practices between blends than might be found in other products. For me, the risk is worth it, but I imagine that a possible cross-contamination disclaimer might be a good thing for the Lab to put somewhere on their website. I guess my idea of having a sort of list was less for people with life-threatening allergies and more for people with milder allergies (ie rashes), so that people can come and say "I know I have a problem with almond/jasmine/etc, and this blend made me itch even though it doesn't have it as a listed note. If you have a problem with ______, you might want to avoid this blend too." However, after reading your post and thinking about it, I do agree that such a thread could potentially cause problems for people with more severe allergies. I would be interested to know if the Lab has any sort of comments on the allergy issue, though, particularly regarding the likelihood of cross-contamination.... let me know if you hear anything! I will also email the Lab this week and ask specifically whether they ever use peanut oil so that I know for certain whether I and others with peanut allergies should be concerned about that. Reading all this, I'm feeling very lucky that the only one I had a potentially serious reaction to was an Le ingredient I've only seen in one blend. A rash is annoying, but not life threatening.

In the bottle: This is a surprise. It’s very green and woody. I’m picking up some men’s cologne and little else. Wet: Smells like my father’s aftershave from the 1970’s. Dry: It goes all chemical on my skin, with a faint hint of floral.

In bottle; This made me a little queasy. The rose/vanilla combo smelled a bit like my Mother’s angelfood cake, but with the other florals on top of it, it was just too much for me. Wet: OMG overwhelming floral with rose and peopny on top. It’s all I can smell and I just put a tiny bit on my wrist. Dry; Rose rose rose rose rose

In bottle: Smells like tarts and burnt sugar. Likely that is the fruit mixing with sufganiyot, which is a traditional Jewish donut, apparently. Wet: Much like in the bottle only richer as the amber and beeswax come out a little. It’s pleasing for a foody scent. As the amber insinuates itself into the overall effect, it is surprisingly sensuous. Dry: Olive oil, candles, pomegranates, and a hint of tart and amber.

General catalog; Jolly Roger (yum leather and sea breeze), Plunder (Spices), Kill devil (rum and wood) You can also usually find Pirate Moon on ebay or the swap/sale section here. It's glorious and complicated, but I find it's a little delicate if you don't reapply after a few hours. You can also sometimes find the Phoenix, which smells like pirate sip and sexy pirate captain.

Here: MOROCCO: (Lab says: The intoxicating perfume of exotic incenses wafting on warm desert breezes. Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia. In Morocco, the floral is subtle as it's carnation, which reads as vaguely spicey, especially with so much going on. PEITHO: (Company says: The Goddess of Persuasion, Seduction and Sexual Wiles. A member of Aphrodite’s retinue, she is also Aphrodite’s daughter and sister to Tyche and Eunomia. Lusty myrtle and jasmine with red sandalwood, stargazer lily, and clove over an opulent, rich bed of warm musk and bourbon vanilla.)

i don't much like florals either, but i do test most things that I'm not allergic to just to see, and keep track of good ones for my sister. I second Peitho and morocco. May I suggest Moscow? (Company says: A rich, bold blend of imperial rose, carnation, lush jasmine, lily of the valley, dark musk, amber, bergamot and gilded tangerine.) How about saint-Germain? gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses.)

In the bottle, sweet and clean and very green. Wet: strangely complex and compelling. It reminds me of tempest and of Kumiho a little, but it’s nore interesting. The bamboo really stands out. It is also making me think of the sea. Dry: Gentle clean vaguely floral tea scent.

LE SERPENT QUI DANSE (Ars Amatoria) Just looking at the ingredients, I was expecting this to be too sweet on me. I love violet in food, but not on skin. In bottle: OMG violet and gardenia. As vanilla needs aging, I expect this is part of the problem. Wet: Mostly violet, with a hint of gardenia spice. This doesn’t strike me as darkly seductive so much as young teen trying to smell like older sister. Dry: My skin really doesn’t deal well with this. It does give the very Baudelairian impression of a flower with decay at it’s center. This clearly isn’t meant for my skin chemistry. Still no vanilla.

In bottle: Sweet and spicey. The black pepper and ginger give it a sharp foody scent, softened by the honeysuckle. The dragon’s blood gently pervades the blend. It smells a little like ginger snaps if ginger snaps were incense. Wet: Wow! Surprisingly feisty. It’s sweet and exciting. I think the pepper really adds something, a sharpness and wildness that is unexpected. Normally, I find pepper gets lost in other elements, but not here. I’m trying to decide if it’s too floral for me or not; it’s right on the edge. Dry: The more delicate elements weaken, leaving a lot of honeysuckle, with a hint of the other resins. Disappointing..

In the bottle: Intense. It’s reminding me a little of The Great Sword of War and of hunger. It’s a floral with some resin and an herbal edge. Maybe gardenia, jasmine, or carnation. It’s is aggressive, rather than sweet teen or old lady floral. Something about it buts me on edge. Wet: Spicy and incensey. It definitely smells like incense heavy alternative clothing store. I really do like it, though I’m not big on messing with voodoo recipes at all. It does indeed fell weird just to wear and is giving me a bit of headache. I could use some serious uncrossing though…. Dry: It fades surprisingly fast for something this strong. It maintains the incense shop with spicey florals effect, but softer. It’s really pleasant and gentle, but goes to powder in a couple of hours.

I spilled my bottle of singing moon and I've had no luck snagging Shanghai Tunnel, so i was wondering if anyone can suggest a more common replacement for my beloved singing moon?

Shadwell and to a certain extent dorian are comforting to me. I think it's the cream tea.

Rather than snake oil, I suggest Habu, which is Snake Oil with ho wood, teak, black musk, and bamboo. Musk tends to read as sexy. Habu, like all snake oil needs a little extra time to season sometimes, so if you get it and it doesn't work, try it again at 3 months and at 6. It's a carnivale diabolique, though, so you have to invest in the full bottle or check the swaps/sale forum for decants. General catalog wise, I suggest HAUNTED: (Company says: A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk.) I can totally imagine Theda Bera wearing this late in her silent film career.

I just realized today that I forgot TEMPEST: (Company says: A crisp ozone-tinged breeze. The scent of the first gentle rain before the storm.) It's very green and fresh, though vaguely floral.

In bottle: Sweet, almost too sweet. The sugar cane and vanilla combines with the resins to kick the shit out of everything else in there. I've only smelled champaca in one other blend and I've liked nothing I've smelled with labdanum, though there were enough obvious culprits, that I'm still trying to zero in on the element as an individual. It has a definate femme fatale air about it though. Wet: Sweet. Very Snake oil, with a softer edge. The sugar blens with vanilla to sweeten it, the frankincense and opoponax elevate it. I do like it, but it hasn't the stunning power of Banded sea snake. Dry: The more traditional Snake oil elements come out more strongly, the tree oil bringing out the herbals. It grows less sweet, though the sweet elements remain. It hasn't much throw, but it's pleasant enough. I suspect my sample needs seasoning for a few months.

In bottle: Not promising. Smells like shampoo, though I can pick up the incense and opium smoke. Wet: Plastic. Almost musky. the scent is hard to categorize. I do get a sense of dust, but the intense is so sweet and strong it seems almost floral. the opium almost smells like must. This is so much more what I'd expect a snake dancer to smell like, incense and exotic female sexuality. It is very perfumey, intensely so. Dry: It calms down rather. It's still a touch perfumey, but solidly in the resin/incense/opium camp. It smells cleaner, somehow, though heady. I'm a little bummed because I was expecting something more androgynous from the description and likely wouldn't have ordered it if I'd know is was so aggressively womanly, but I actually do like it though and is you like strong incense perfumes with an exotic sexy undertone this is totally the way to go. Dry, it really grew on me, even though it was not what I was expecting. I suspect it says something about the high quality of this oil that I'm going to keep it and wear it despite it not being what I'd imagined. It bears a similarity to Dia de Les Muertos, only without the flowers and the cakes.

Mmm... steampunk. In the bottle: Men's cologne. I'm betting this is fougere based, and there's an ozone element to it. Oddly sexy. Wet: Surprisingly soft compared to the forceful presentation in the bottle. Still very men's cologne, but much gentler, more androgynous. I'm getting a definite metallic edge, but my fear that it really would smell like motor oil was unfounded. The ozone that I'm guessing represents scorched wiring is a pleasant tang to me instead of the teeth gritting nightmare of the real thing. It really does smell like eau de Etherite, if that mad scientist was a steampunk mechanical genius ala Wild wild West instead of a reanamator like Herbert West. Steampunk sexy for sure, it smells like well turned out Victorian gentleman who spend the day building a steamliner to go to the moon and is now freshly shaved and cologned for a dinner party. Dry: The more delicate elements burn away, but what's left is a really pleasant aftershave scent. I am wondering if there's some wood in this, as I'd guess a hint of evergreen, though I could be mistaken. I love this so much that I rather wish I could afford a second to horde. The effect is drier, like a workshop smells, saw dust and metal shavings under cologne. still that hint of ozone. Mmmmm.... So in love. Added Note: 13 hours after application it was still going strong.

Snake Oil usually needs aging to be good, so this will likely only improve with age, though Ican't imagine anything much better than this. In the bottle: Oh my God1 I'm already in love. It's got this tobacco store thing going on. there is vanilla over the wood oil that makes up Snake Oil, modified by glorious mosses and leaves. Very masculine and very exciting. Wet: as above. The various botanicals mingle though, bringing to mind wet rocks jutting out into a wild November sea. The tension between the sweeter elements and the herbal elements is quite exciting. If you like snake oil, you'll love this. Dry: If anything, it grows richer, the dragon's blood base doing strange and exciting things with the sea snake components. This is a real winner, folks.

I'm fond of the symbolism, but my skin really amplifies citrus though. In bottle: Orange with spices and incense. Wet: Orange Peel. Dry: incense and a touch of flower over soft orange. It's not bad for citrus, but it fades fast. ADDED 5/18/09: In bottle: Sharp orange peel dominant. Wet: I generally don’t do orange well, but really, this is lovely, with the incense and unusual flower combination creating an excellent balance with the orange. It’s unusual and does an excellent job at evoking a temple in a rainforest. Dry: Rich incense, exotic florals, and sharp orange, weirdly appealing really. This is the best orange blend I’ve come across for my wacky skin chemistry.

In bottle: Nasty. Sickly sweet and dry and alcoholic. Can you tell I'm not a martini drinker? I've never liked gin and prefer vodka in mixed drinks or better yet straight Scotch or Drambuie. as a result, I'm not really the right audience for this scent. Wet: Better. I'm thinking that fruitiness is the juniper berries coming out. On me it's mostly fruit over that dry herbal scent. Dry: Sweet berries and powder.

I was looking forward to this one as I've heard nice things about this and the ingredient list is appealing. In bottle: not promising. It is very woody, but a flat wood, like in Aziraphale instead of wood oils like in snake Oil, with cheap perfume on top. Wet: it blends way better on the skin. Oddly sweet, yet musky. You can really smell the spices now. It reminds me a pit of Plunder and count Dracula. I'm guessing maybe clove and nutmeg, maybe a touch of cinnamon. this is rich and appealing with a definite air of sea breeze. It is so much richer on the skin than in the bottle. Dry: spicey wood and sea breeze. Yum. Definitely a keeper.

Does anyone know what's in Osun/ It made my skin burn and gave me a rash.