Sea-Cucumber Ring, Jewel Balls, Small Dildo

[Jenjin]

Tobacco flower, hay absolute, lemon peel, brown leather accord,
amber saffron, black pepper, and magnolia blossom.

[LavenderCoffee]

Opens with a big bushel of lemony hay, and just keeps getting better from there. The tobacco flower gains prominence and the pepper provides a nice accent. During my first skin test, I thought I could pick out magnolia clearly, but it's less distinct today. In the drydown I get more of the amber and soft brown leather, adding a sweeter depth to balance the bright chord of top notes. It lasts all day with a low to modest throw, feels very neutral and wearable but also elevated.

Thought this would be more outside my comfort zone with the tobacco flower, but I'm really enjoying it.

[Fancyfetus]

This one is a wild ride. 

In the bottle: it's strongly reminiscent of something I can't quite place. To me, it reads medicinal, but a friend thought cleaning agent. Chemical and sharp in an herby sort of way is the best description I can manage. 

 

Wet: fascinatingly complex. One of those oils you have to keep bringing to your nose in an attempt to work out just what it is you're smelling. Edit: I finally worked out that it's the leather plus lemon peel that's doing this. It's the same leather used in The Black Rider - sharp, bold, black leather. There's something almost acrid about it. It's a sucker-punch to the nose but I'm not sure I dislike it.

 

Dry down: beginning to soften as the leather warms and the florals finally make an appearance, mingling their sweetness with the hay. The scent is much more rounded out now, warm and bright, with a bit of a fresh edge. Like hay and lemon peels are just stuffed into the pockets.

 

After drying: the chemical smell is totally gone, and all that's left is loveliness. Up front I get sweet hay and magnolia, then pepper and lemon. The leather and saffron bind this all together, adding a depth that makes me want to keep bringing my wrist to my nose. The tobacco flower trails sweetly behind. Over time this gets softer and warmer, becoming the gentlest kiss of hay, flowers, and leather.

 

Final thoughts: Sophisticated, lovely, and unexpected. This is among the most unique perfumes I've worn. From the notes, I didn't expect so much complexity or shift over time. The scent in the bottle doesn't seem even like a distant cousin of the perfume when applied on my skin. To me, this one is pretty genderblind.

 

Overall, this was nothing like what I expected and was totally confounding on my first application. Since then, I just keep reaching for it. I'm totally fascinated by the scent and tend to slather it on. Maybe I'm masochistically obsessed with the shift from acrid chemical tincture to hay field heaven wrapped in a comfortable leather jacket. A real winner for me. 8/10

Edited April 26 by Fancyfetus