elissamay

I don't understand this scent at all, and I'm here for it. All bright, fresh lemon balm at first, maybe with some mint, or maybe even dill? It's herbaceous and bright and bracing. When it dries down, there is a sweet resiny thing happening along with the lemony and minty notes. It isn't the lemony resin of frankincense for me, almost sweeter like amber. This is definitely not my usual scent wheelhouse, and definitely not what I expected for a scent whose name is "Shadow," but I'm enjoying it quite a lot. This will make for a beautiful spring/summer wear!

This is another SO variant that goes savory on me, but not to the intense degree that Sugar Cookie SO did. I get mostly dry apple pie at first and very little Snake Oil. Over time, it's as if a dry Snake Oil blooms. Not sweet, just spicy and musky. As savory as Snek can be.

Testing this one today, and this reads with fresh-cut, dew-kissed spicy roses with their stems peeking through the ambery warmth, but there aren't roses in the notes. "Budding herbs," maybe? The rose-esque note isn't dominating, and the stem or herbaceous quality makes it feel very real, like it came from this Sorcière's garden. The honey comes up as this warms on the skin and melds so nicely with the amber, but the honey isn't dominating, either. It evokes the image of the Sorcière with a bundle of budding, dewy roses and herbs, spinning in a spiral dance with clouds of amber and honey around her. I don't find the sandalwood or polished wood until I take a deep inhale from my skin. I think a more normal everyday application (vs my test drop or two) would help bring that forward (on me).

This gives me big Silky Bat vibes when first applied, but later it opens up to Silky Bat wearing a crown of flowers. I'm enjoying the honeysuckle, which I wasn't totally sure about, but having grown up in California with plenty of honeysuckle bushes, it conjures my youth. The vanilla in Final Girl is closer to "ice cream" to my nose. UPDATE, 1 YEARish OUT: Sparkly sweet, chewy patch with just a glimmer of honeysuckle.

I hesitated on Final Girl because I thought it would veer too sugary sweet for me, but on my skin it reads creamy sweet vanilla with a really lovely undertone of cloves. I'm glad I took the plunge on this one!

2022 fresh from the mail: I'm getting the fir needle right up front vs. 2021 (my only other version). "Medicinal" came to mind up front, and as it sits on the skin, the apple comes out, and the rest of everything we love about this classic. I especially love the mullein, which is what I reveled in when I got my very first bottle last year. It arrives in 2022 once it's warmed up on the skin. I love how there's a little twist from version to version, making me want to pick up a few others.

I don't have any other citrus BPALs in my collection, so I can't compare to anything else. OOB, it's all tart and even bitter citrus peel, but on the skin the velvet musk quickly takes over. The citrus is hovering over the musk with a crispness, but the bitterness OOB fades. I don't expect the citrus will last long, but while it's here, it's a nice contrast and companion for the deeper musk. I don't get a ton of "blooming" mock orange floral at all, but it is sweetening the citrus a bit. Not my usual musk scent, which is a good thing! I think this one will be a nice option in the spring. EDIT: This has aged a little now, and this musk is swoon-worthy. The citrus is still bright and a little bitter up front, hovering over that lush, lush red velvet musk.

I love this. I'm a sucker for red musk, so I expected to like "merlot musk," but this really delivers. Wet it's very much cherry-spiked wine, and the clove bud comes through while wet as an almost numbing or tingling in the nose/back of the throat. On the skin, the the burgundy wine and merlot musk meld together for a really sophisticated, sweet (but not foody or cloying), velvety hug. The spiced chestnut is coming through as a bit of a woodsy anchor for me, and rides along very nicely with the clove. Really enjoying this one so far!

This More Than Bloody Deed is really an interesting one, and way more complex (and challenging) than I ever would have thought based on the notes. The "wildflower" honey is very realistic to a squeeze of wildflower honey from a bear-shaped bottle, with a sharpness and a floral kind of effervescence, almost. On the skin it starts to mellow down to a more warm (and less floral) honey, but if you want red labdanum to come out and play it definitely takes a while to go there, and I don't really get vanilla at all, crazily enough! I think my nose is reading the red labdanum as medicinal, kind of numbing to the back of my throat. Day 2 test: The medicinal quality of the red labdanum already seems to be mellowing out, but the vanilla is still taking its sweet time to show itself. I'm looking forward to how this one will change with some time!

Out of bottle this was 100% dead leaves, but on the skin it really opens up into Snake Oil wrapped in a warm amber hug. The leaves dissipate almost immediately as if taken away by an autumn gust of wind, and the amber-wrapped Snake Oil blooms. I don't get the lavender oil at all, and the smoke from the fires really is distant. If you love Snake Oil, you will no doubt love this, but if you don't like dead leaves, they only stick around for a brief time. I have also never smelled original Snake Oil or Dorian, so more discerning noses than mine may have a different experience!

Fiery. OOB, it's pure pine pitch. (One drop filled my room with the sharpness of pine pitch!) On the skin, the dragon's blood and clove takes over, and the sharpness of the pine pitch smooths out. Very long lasting, and I can imagine that the throw would be incredible with a normal application of oil. (I only tested a drop for this go-around!). If you like these notes, you will like this blend. It evokes fire, and I'd say anger, but because it's so potent, it almost feels like wearing a force field against the bullshit we're living through.

Is this the patch from Anne Bonny, because my goodness, I adore that scent, and this has that woody effect that I love from AB. I thought it was the sandalwood all this time. Can't wait to slather this one.

I love this scent, and it was one I had to get a second bottle of just in case it never returns. If you like Kobold Barista, I feel like they're cousins. It's warm, spicy, toasty, non-gourmand sweet, and absolutely appropriate for any day of the year.

Oh my goodness, I just made the same observation re: Scientific, Occult, and Inexplicable! I didn't think I could swing this, but once the sharp metal calms down, it's actually very pleasing and elegant (?).

To Lesbia was on my watch list, but will add these, too! Yes! On my ISO list for sure. I'm not really a floral person. It seems like carnation is the one I do really enjoy, and rose really only when paired with carnation. Nice, I have frimps of a few of these that I haven't yet tried. Thank you!

I'm new to this as of last summer, so my vocabulary isn't as vast as most of yours! I chose a top 5 of scents that sort of lead me to one another. 1. Anne Bonny 2. All Souls/Cathedral 3. Morocco/Alice/Scherezade/Alischerashasa 4. Every Day Is Halloween/Kobold Barista 5. Ask the Nearest Hippie/Chibi Skull Bonus: I freaking adore Horses. It's not much like these others, though. Other loves: Mme Moriarty, Samhain, Pumpkinville, Blood, Lust, red musk I don't really love leather notes. I appreciate any expert recs!