Rapturous Spouses and Curious Cat

[Jenjin]

Lemon blossom, neroli, white honey, Himalayan cedar, ylang ylang, white frankincense,
and a fuzzy purr of musky amber.

[Assimbya]

On me, this is a predominantly lemon blossom scent - a softer, gentler floral lemon, wearable as lemon notes rarely are for me. As it dries down, a warm, caramelized (but not at all foody) sense comes through which I think is the combination of honey, cedar, and amber. Just a hint of frankincense and ylang-ylang for me. There's something very enthralling about this scent, a way that it's at once sensuous and cozy, and I find myself repeatedly smelling it to try to make sense of the experience. It doesn't personally quite feel like me, despite how well-done it is, but I appreciate it very much.

 

On the other hand - on my partner it totally blooms (really all the notes come out, especially the neroli), and feels all of us a beautiful piece; it's a new rival for his favorite scent. So our household is definitely getting a bottle, but probably I won't be the one who mostly wears it.

[gentle-twig]

This scent to me basically breaks down into a sharp, bright frankincense accord over a dark, foody, and slightly funky honey accord. The frankincense is accompanied by the citrus blossoms and cedar, whereas I presume the white honey is getting its darker character from the musky amber. I don’t really get any ylang ylang, which is a shame because it might help bridge the two halves of this scent. This wears like a shunga equivalent of Carved Wooden Nativity Scene on me. I didn’t enjoy Carved Wooden Nativity Scene and while Rapturous Spouses and Curious Cat is more dignified, less cloying, and has a more intriguing complexity, I don’t really care for it either. That being said, it does have a classic shunga feeling about it and is pretty true to the description (except for the ylang ylang), so it will probably be a winner on those who like shungas, dark honey scents, and chiaroscuro effects. I will be going with the sunnier and frothier Lesbians Cavorting with a Tortoishell Dildo for my honey fix from this years Lupers.

[bheansidhe]

From start to finish, this blend reads like "honey plus" - and as noted, this is a viscous forest honey, almost as funky as a chestnut honey; pungent, distinctly musky, but still definitely a *honey*. Sniffed, it's dark honey plus lemon blossom and neroli. On my skin, it's honey plus tree-sap resins and a touch of floral sweetness like honeysuckle blooming in the background. For a moment, confusingly, it's honey plus a very realistic salted black licorice. On drydown, it's honey plus a resinous musk, still viscous and sweetened, but not cloying. I never get a separate note of ylang ylang or amber. It's low, golden, and darkly warm; really an interesting play on honey variations.