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OBATALA (GC, Excolo)
Obatala's ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water.
( Read more... )
Verdict: There's something here that I just can't tolerate—Obatala seems to do all the right things, but it overpowers and intimidates me with an unexpected smothering blanket of opaque, sweet, buttery milk. I've tested this twice now, and each time been surprised at the intensity and strangeness, and been forced to wash it off. This is definitely one for the swaps.
BATTY (LE, Dark Delicacies: Halloween 2011)
Dark and fuzzy, yet also dapper and debonair! If Fred Astaire was a werebat, he'd totally smell like this: dark chocolate, black oudh, tonka absolute, cassia, white oleander, sandalwood, and free-tailed bat musk.
( Review. )
Verdict: Disappointed would be putting it mildly. There's a lot of promise in the vial, where I can smell almost all of the notes, but on the skin this is cologne all the way. It's a better cologne than I usually get from BPAL, but still nothing desirable or special. I may try this on fabric, to see if the vial complexity will sustain. But so far, Batty is headed to swaps.
2018 update: 2018 update: 7 years have done this some good. The chocolate has gained a stronger voice, and reminds me of The Seekim (cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash), a non-foodie, complicated cocoa which is spiced and dry. But Batty's cologne remains forefront, more overtly perfumey and masculine than The Seekim. "If Fred Astaire was a werebat" is a spot-on fit now.
HALLOWEEN: MONTREAL (LE, Pretty Indulgent: Halloween 2011)
Chimney smoke and woodstove fires, and all the classic scents of Halloween – loads of candy, leaves, cold earth, smashed pumpkins left over from Mat Night’s debauchery – are sharp and clear in the frosty air.
( Review. )
Verdict: As noted, I prefer the complexity of the scent's earlier stages. But the similarity to Samhain is telling—like Samhain, Montreal evokes human celebration on the edges of late autumn wilds. It's not as well refined a scent, but it still encapsulates a certain autumn experience. I'll be interested to see if it balances a bit better as it ages—the sappy sweetness can be a little heavy for me—but on the whole I quietly adore it.
THE SEEKIM (LE, Pickman Gallery: Seeking the Seekim I)
Cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash.
( Review. )
Verdict: I'm in love. Bless that I get nothing of the lemon others report, because The Seekim is a dream come true on my skin. The notes meld together into a rich dark warmth, more distinctly cocoa than I was expecting but far from foody. I may have to spring for a full bottle, because I think this will age like a dream—and I want to find out.
THE CHANGELING (LE, Pickman Gallery: Torment & Reverie)
Blonde wood, linen swaddling, pumpkin rind, and bourbon vanilla.
( Review. )
Verdict: I quite like The Changling for an hour of two, when the pumpkin emerges—the lean towards rind makes it dark, spicy, earthy, unique and quite lovely. But the occasional off note in the background keeps me from falling in love, and bourbon vanilla does its best to run away with the scent. For a few hours it's fine, casting a dark sweet dirty shadow over the scent, but the almost-cloying perfume that it becomes at the tail end of wear is frankly offputting—so much so that I washed it off. Aging may help the notes settle, and I'll hang on to my decant, but this is is more than a miss than a hit for me so far.
Obatala's ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water.
( Read more... )
Verdict: There's something here that I just can't tolerate—Obatala seems to do all the right things, but it overpowers and intimidates me with an unexpected smothering blanket of opaque, sweet, buttery milk. I've tested this twice now, and each time been surprised at the intensity and strangeness, and been forced to wash it off. This is definitely one for the swaps.
BATTY (LE, Dark Delicacies: Halloween 2011)
Dark and fuzzy, yet also dapper and debonair! If Fred Astaire was a werebat, he'd totally smell like this: dark chocolate, black oudh, tonka absolute, cassia, white oleander, sandalwood, and free-tailed bat musk.
( Review. )
Verdict: Disappointed would be putting it mildly. There's a lot of promise in the vial, where I can smell almost all of the notes, but on the skin this is cologne all the way. It's a better cologne than I usually get from BPAL, but still nothing desirable or special. I may try this on fabric, to see if the vial complexity will sustain. But so far, Batty is headed to swaps.
2018 update: 2018 update: 7 years have done this some good. The chocolate has gained a stronger voice, and reminds me of The Seekim (cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash), a non-foodie, complicated cocoa which is spiced and dry. But Batty's cologne remains forefront, more overtly perfumey and masculine than The Seekim. "If Fred Astaire was a werebat" is a spot-on fit now.
HALLOWEEN: MONTREAL (LE, Pretty Indulgent: Halloween 2011)
Chimney smoke and woodstove fires, and all the classic scents of Halloween – loads of candy, leaves, cold earth, smashed pumpkins left over from Mat Night’s debauchery – are sharp and clear in the frosty air.
( Review. )
Verdict: As noted, I prefer the complexity of the scent's earlier stages. But the similarity to Samhain is telling—like Samhain, Montreal evokes human celebration on the edges of late autumn wilds. It's not as well refined a scent, but it still encapsulates a certain autumn experience. I'll be interested to see if it balances a bit better as it ages—the sappy sweetness can be a little heavy for me—but on the whole I quietly adore it.
THE SEEKIM (LE, Pickman Gallery: Seeking the Seekim I)
Cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash.
( Review. )
Verdict: I'm in love. Bless that I get nothing of the lemon others report, because The Seekim is a dream come true on my skin. The notes meld together into a rich dark warmth, more distinctly cocoa than I was expecting but far from foody. I may have to spring for a full bottle, because I think this will age like a dream—and I want to find out.
THE CHANGELING (LE, Pickman Gallery: Torment & Reverie)
Blonde wood, linen swaddling, pumpkin rind, and bourbon vanilla.
( Review. )
Verdict: I quite like The Changling for an hour of two, when the pumpkin emerges—the lean towards rind makes it dark, spicy, earthy, unique and quite lovely. But the occasional off note in the background keeps me from falling in love, and bourbon vanilla does its best to run away with the scent. For a few hours it's fine, casting a dark sweet dirty shadow over the scent, but the almost-cloying perfume that it becomes at the tail end of wear is frankly offputting—so much so that I washed it off. Aging may help the notes settle, and I'll hang on to my decant, but this is is more than a miss than a hit for me so far.
