Cacao, Sandalwood, Clove, and Hemp

[zankoku_zen]

No additional scent description.

[torischroeder9]

Arrived on Wednesday, so it's been resting about four days. 

 

In the bottle: Cacao first and then clove, like very spiced hot chocolate. I can't make out either the sandalwood or clove as discernible notes, except to say that this blend is grounded and not very sweet. So, very spiced, extra dark hot chocolate. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, the cacao makes its way to the front of the scent first, so it's more like a balanced cocoa powder. The clove and sandalwood combination is detectable but in the background. As it dries, the cacao fades back a bit, so it's back to the more bitter scent profile from the bottle. (It's not bitter in the overall realm of things, but it's much more like biting into a bar of 85% cacao chocolate than it is of biting into a bar of 33% cacao chocolate.) Given more time to develop, the cacao recedes more, and the clove and sandalwood become more prominent. The cacao is still there, though, adding a -- it's not quite sweetness, but it's not as sharp as either the sandalwood or the clove might be on their own. I can't detect the hemp as a stand-alone note, but it does share a vibe that I get from Banshee Beat, so I assume that joining factor is the hemp note. 

 

After the initial drydown, the scent stays fairly close on me -- which is honestly probably good because it absolutely comes across as intense dark chocolate with spice. Just like I presume the adage "a little goes a long way" would hold true if this was a food, it's also true for this as a scent. But it's warm and powerful and sophisticated and just the tiniest touch foodie. 

[Laughing Seagull]

This smells wonderful but I believe I may be allergic to it.

 

Before I got all sneezy and congested, I was pleasantly surprised by how fresh this smells.  I consider sandalwood and hemp to be very "dry," so I thought that this might end up being dusty smelling.  I believe, though, that the hemp imparts it with a grassiness that strikes me as fresh.  It may also impart it with allergens.  

 

The clove is extremely aggressive in this one.  I'm not sure if this is what's causing my issue, since I've never had an issue with clove before but I've also never tried anything that was this loudly CLOVE.  It makes my nose physically feel weird if I sniff it up close.

[zankoku_zen]

Clove, sandalwood, and a smidge of chocolate. This is a very clove heavy blend. Great throw and wear length.

[Lucchesa]

This smells delicious though not as foodie as you might think.  Lots of dark chocolate at first with lots of clove, but as it wears the cocoa wanes and the sandalwood comes through. It ends up lots of clove backed by smooth sandalwood and a little cocoa, and it lasts really well on me.  It feels more like an autumn/winter blend.  A must for clove lovers.