LavenderCoffee

myrrh is the prominent note, forming a soft and familiar base. I don't think I have anything else with papyrus in it, but I'm getting a sense of the reed aspect of the note here, and it perches on top of the resins. as with most oils the scent evolves differently on exposed skin - my wrist is giving me a nice warm vanillic benzoin, but the crook of my elbow is where the papyrus is most apparent. not sure I would call it papery at all unless someone told me it was supposed to be papyrus, but with that word in my head it does seem to fit. 

Finally got my hands on a bit of this to test. The wet scent is way too sweet for me and at first I think I'm safe, but then the drydown is so incredibly tempting. A familiar, comforting smell, almost a person smell. Funny considering this one is the mummy! I really like this one, I think it's worth wading/waiting through the condensed milk.

This snek is stronk! The oil itself is an alarming opaque orange, the color of the label. The musk is indeed prominent right from the start, which is lovely if you are a fan of the SO musk, as I am. Throw in dark sticky molasses and gingerbread spice, and well, it's a delight all the day long. 

I suppose we must know that the scent descriptions are not guarantees: they are an art form unto themselves, enhancing our appreciation of the scents. this one seemed least likely to be deceptive, and I was very excited to get a whiff.

but even though I know better, I must confess I nearly cried to discover this oud is NOT INDOLIC. it is gorgeous, of a light, nearly sweet perfume quality, and absolutely not what was advertised. luckily I was able to get over my devastation at the loss of what might have been, and come around to the devastating loveliness of this unusual blend. light on oud and light on gingerbread, somehow perfectly and unexpectedly complementary. for me it is very delicate, low throw, and addictive.

if anyone else is getting the darker, more provocative oud from this I am super jealous, but imo we got the switcheroo. still encourage the oud crew to check this one out!

continuing down the path of reviewing last year's yules: this is fun and I love it. the snake oil aspect is not as recognizably snakey early in the wear for me, but it still delivers in terms of waking up the next day smelling like snake oil. the up front experience is sugary and donutty and musky in a magical way, and one that works for me in a way that Please Scream Inside Your Snake Oil did not. throw is more muted than other SO blends but still enough throw to waft around and make me smile all day. 

I was certain I had reviewed this! I enjoyed it when I first received it, but now a year on it's really come together. The soft brown leather is at the center of the scent, retaining just a hint of the tangy tanning which sits nicely with the accent of fir. The chocolate and vanilla team up with the amber to form a gentle cloud of sweetness. A lovely yule-ified (family friendly!) unisex leather scent. 

This scent is delightfully unique: fresh and slightly cacophonous but in a fun way. The mint and tea are prominent, vanilla is a supporting player rounding off the edges, lubricant sort of surfaces and slips away. The anise is warm and herbal, quite restrained in my opinion, and I would love more of it. I'm not getting much of from the liquor notes. You can kinda smell a smell like a smoke machine in the mix, it's got that humid smell, but it's not smoky. 

Nostalgic, fun, low throw. 

I don't feel like I know amber very well as a scent note - any the various forms of it, so I was happy to receive a sample of this. I do know I've had some amber scents go a bit powdery on my skin in the past, but this is not one of those. It's warm toned and very gently sweet, and I agree that there seems to be a bit of spice at the outset, but it dries down into more of a golden glow. Wears quite well but stays close to the skin. 

As with most oils, this behaves a bit differently depending on whether I wear it on exposed skin or not. On my wrist the punchy cedar and sassafras recede more quickly leaving a creamy vanillic experience, tinted warmly with the aforementioned notes. In the crook of an elbow or under the shirt, the sharper cedar lingers for an extended period. I like the combined effect and the "just right" throw on this (a personal scent cloud) in addition to the holiday sweet treat vibes.

New to antique lace, but I must say, I see the appeal. The leather blends right into everything, very light. And I really enjoy the warmth of the caramel musk! It tiptoes right up to the point of being almost too sweet, but then it settles in and wears so beautifully - quite long lasting for me, with just the right amount of throw. Pretty, nostalgic, sepia-toned. 

I received my batty snek on 6th November, and I remember she was maaaad as hell about being confined in a box and transported across state lines. The leather came across more synthetic black than brown and made me nervous.

However! Since then she's recovered from the shock quite nicely. I definitely get brown leather, and there's a slight animalic edge as it dries that really sets it apart from the sleeker Snake Skin - maybe a bit of a different musk in the mix. Takes a bit, maybe 20 mins, for the sweet vanilla to pop out, but the combined effect is intoxicating.

This wears well for me now, but as with many SO blends, I think it will continue to improve.

Dang RoseThornAndOak really nails it with the dark carnival pumpkin vibe. I'm getting the same thing: vaguely sweet, a bit of popcorn, but also dark and sticky. Like hanging out with a pumpkin carny hitting a vape. Kinda dangerous.

This is way nicer and subtler on me than I thought it would be. It's mostly brimstone and dark amber sitting on a nice leather chair, and not particularly spicy or leathery. Not even excessively smoky. Just kinda smoldering. Whew.

Is petrol meant to smell different than gasoline? freshly applied it does not smell like filling up the tank, imo - something more like paint thinner maybe. thar be fumes but not the fumes I seek! I do however get a nice scorchy sweet pumpkin as the fumes die down. smells great when it's dry. 

my skin just devours this. a sparkle of ginger on application disappearing into a memory of leaves and cookies. it's absolutely gorgeous but I'd have to slather it.

when I first tested this one it went a bit soapy, and now a week later it's mostly the same. I don't wear pomegranate well, however, so ymmv.

very chocolatey at first, but then the toasted hazelnut and the leaves pop out and it really gels together into its own scent. it arrives in a lovely warm autumnal spot, more like a favorite sweater than a candy bar.

Goes on with a nice big hit of black cherry, but as it dries it does read more like cherry incense and less like fruity cherry. the incense note is really nice and I'm not getting a ton of dead leaves. pretty, quiet blend. 

this is a fizzy frankincense, making me think of champagne. can't pick out the marshmallow until 10 minutes in, but it's a warm complement and not a foodie takeover. like a sparkling golden leaf floating past an open kitchen window. very nice. 

tested this yesterday from a decant that got to rest a couple days, and if I had been testing blind I would never have guessed it had any fruit in it at all! gonna check this out again after a week or so and see if I can find any prune. 

in the meantime however, the mild cologne-y element of the DL accord made the patchouli feel bit more refined, and the two notes balanced out really nicely - not too much of either.

edited to add: on retest, there is some nice dark purple lurking in the background that adds dimension to the cologne-y feel of this blend. not one I would wear but I really appreciate the balance of it. 

when I wear this, the tea is front and center in the wet phase. I found this surprising based on gingerbread and vetiver both being pretty bold scent notes. the vetiver does add a lovely smoky quality to the tea, and the gingerbread definitely adds more spice than sweetness, although there is a subtle sweetness in the background, and it's not an overwhelming amount of spice. this cozy dark tea is an unexpected fav.

Oh this is so utterly perfect, I don't know what else to say. It's gorgeous, suede-soft, lavender-chamomile misted leatherrr. I am convinced I can smell the sunshine in this, and there's a slight sweetness to it! 

oh yeah. the tl;dr is SEXY COOKIE. ie., what if a cookie was a person, and what if they were also sexy as hell. 

imo the vibe is very similar to the yule blend Gingerbread and Leather (black leather, gingerbread, clove, and tobacco) - these two cookies might hang with the same crowd. I wasn't sure about the bay rum component, because sometimes it can be a bit overpowering, but here it's just right. and the molasses is not overly sweet either.

I am gonna wear the hell out of this and my word, I would also love to smell it on the right someone. 

gotta echo Vexelite, this is a sibling to the Vanilla Husk/Nutmeg/Hay trio. in that one I did not get much of the nutmeg, but here I get a pleasant dusting of the cardamom, along with a dusting of cacao (less prominent than the vanilla was in the predecessor). I definitely get a sturdy base of the hay note. a very cozy scent with great wear time.

I really like this combo, even though it's not quite what I expected - it's very subtle and delicate. I can see the pine association. The blackcurrant/rose aspect is somewhat fleeting but gorgeous, it lasts longer when worn under your shirt. on me, the drydown is mostly a soft vetiver, with a trace of rose if you hunt for it. overall a very low fuss low throw neutral scent.