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FLOR DE MUERTO (LE, Halloween 2010)
The orange marigold, or zempasúchitl.
( Review. )
Verdict: I want so much to like this, but it isn't all that I had hoped for. Perhaps it's just me and my experience with marigolds, but I had expected a spicier, earthier, different sort of floral—something more like a golden carnation than an autumnal orangeblossom. What I got instead is pleasant, but not quite satisfying, and so faint and brief as to hardly matter. I'll hold on to my bottle to see how it ages, but honestly I'm a bit disappointed.
PUMPKIN LATTE (LE, Halloween 2010)
Espresso, pumpkin syrup, smoky vanilla bean, milk, raw sugar, and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.
( Review. )
Verdict: All told, I'm pleased. Pumpkin Latte isn't precisely perfect—perhaps it's too faint, perhaps just the pumpkin is—but it is beautiful, comforting, and pretty much what it says on the tin, in the best possible way. I look forward to seeing how my bottle ages.
POMEGRANATE V (LE, Halloween 2010: The Pomegranate Patch)
Pomegranate, carnation, amber, cardamom, neroli, vetiver, black pepper, and opium tar.
( Review. )
Verdict: Pomegranate V reminds me of the dark fruit/carnation combination of Bathsheba (although pom works much better on me than plum) and even more of the dark, subtle fruits in Queen of Clubs. It's a rich indulgent scent, shadowed and secretive but never shy, warm and red, and so beautiful. It's subtlety in boldness, and, well, I'm impressed. Every now and then the pomegranate gets a little out of hand, which is my only compliant—and I think aging will temper it. All in all, I'm thrilled to have a bottle. This is beautiful.
LAWN GNOME (LE, Summer Garden Miniseries)
Red currant, molasses, vanilla cream, moss, and patchouli.
( Review )
Verdict: The candy red moments of Lawn Gnome were just a little too sharp and strongly currant for me, but on the whole the various remixes of this scent were enjoyable—unique, vibrant, and pleasant to the nose. But the lack of stability irked me. I like to know what I'm getting out of a scent. Morphers are fine if I know their strange and wild paths, but this skipped all over the place and never settled down. I want to like it, and sometimes do, but I don't think this is one that I'll often reach for.
PHILOLOGUS (LE, Vampires Don't Sleep Alone)
Ancient books, crackled parchment, faded incense, and candle wax.
( Review. )
Verdict: I want to like this so badly, and it has some aspects which I could love—but again, that mustiness kills it. I don't get the cologne that others report, and it is pretty similar to the notes and inspiration, but it goes a little bit wrong and I don't know if I can get past that. I'll hold on to my bottle for now, and retest later.
ETA: A year has tamed this scent somewhat: it remains musty in its early stages, but that fades after drydown. What it leaves behind is a sheaf of parchment, a wide and mellow creamy scent, dark but not particularly complex, Lurid Library's broader cousin. I love Lurid Library, but I also like its delicacy, its sense of individual pages being turned; Philologus is similar enough to be redundant, but not as nice. I'll finally trade it away.
The orange marigold, or zempasúchitl.
( Review. )
Verdict: I want so much to like this, but it isn't all that I had hoped for. Perhaps it's just me and my experience with marigolds, but I had expected a spicier, earthier, different sort of floral—something more like a golden carnation than an autumnal orangeblossom. What I got instead is pleasant, but not quite satisfying, and so faint and brief as to hardly matter. I'll hold on to my bottle to see how it ages, but honestly I'm a bit disappointed.
PUMPKIN LATTE (LE, Halloween 2010)
Espresso, pumpkin syrup, smoky vanilla bean, milk, raw sugar, and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.
( Review. )
Verdict: All told, I'm pleased. Pumpkin Latte isn't precisely perfect—perhaps it's too faint, perhaps just the pumpkin is—but it is beautiful, comforting, and pretty much what it says on the tin, in the best possible way. I look forward to seeing how my bottle ages.
POMEGRANATE V (LE, Halloween 2010: The Pomegranate Patch)
Pomegranate, carnation, amber, cardamom, neroli, vetiver, black pepper, and opium tar.
( Review. )
Verdict: Pomegranate V reminds me of the dark fruit/carnation combination of Bathsheba (although pom works much better on me than plum) and even more of the dark, subtle fruits in Queen of Clubs. It's a rich indulgent scent, shadowed and secretive but never shy, warm and red, and so beautiful. It's subtlety in boldness, and, well, I'm impressed. Every now and then the pomegranate gets a little out of hand, which is my only compliant—and I think aging will temper it. All in all, I'm thrilled to have a bottle. This is beautiful.
LAWN GNOME (LE, Summer Garden Miniseries)
Red currant, molasses, vanilla cream, moss, and patchouli.
( Review )
Verdict: The candy red moments of Lawn Gnome were just a little too sharp and strongly currant for me, but on the whole the various remixes of this scent were enjoyable—unique, vibrant, and pleasant to the nose. But the lack of stability irked me. I like to know what I'm getting out of a scent. Morphers are fine if I know their strange and wild paths, but this skipped all over the place and never settled down. I want to like it, and sometimes do, but I don't think this is one that I'll often reach for.
PHILOLOGUS (LE, Vampires Don't Sleep Alone)
Ancient books, crackled parchment, faded incense, and candle wax.
( Review. )
Verdict: I want to like this so badly, and it has some aspects which I could love—but again, that mustiness kills it. I don't get the cologne that others report, and it is pretty similar to the notes and inspiration, but it goes a little bit wrong and I don't know if I can get past that. I'll hold on to my bottle for now, and retest later.
ETA: A year has tamed this scent somewhat: it remains musty in its early stages, but that fades after drydown. What it leaves behind is a sheaf of parchment, a wide and mellow creamy scent, dark but not particularly complex, Lurid Library's broader cousin. I love Lurid Library, but I also like its delicacy, its sense of individual pages being turned; Philologus is similar enough to be redundant, but not as nice. I'll finally trade it away.
