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juushikaTHE MASQUE (LE, Dark Delicacies: Maelström)
Honey and carnation, rich incense and rose accord, myrtle, red sandalwood, amber, jonquil and clove propel you through the revel, finally seating itself in the final, patchouli, tobacco and labdanum drenched darkness of the blood-tinged western chamber.
In the vial: Warm spicy florals, but I can't make a guess on the notes.
On me: This is a warm red scent, like sunlight pouring through stained glass to color the room within. Golden-red floral (I can't can't pick it out, which saddens me; I can pick out a touch of rose, which for once doesn't go screaming bright on my skin—based on that, don't necessarily let this rose scare you away if it's normally disobedient), thickened with resin, touched by incense and spice. But within an hour it all but disappears, leaving only a warm but indistinct ghost of itself behind.
Verdict: It contains so many notes that I love, and yet ... The Masque doesn't do much for me. It reminds me distinctly of Masquerade (without the citrus, which disappears on my skin), only I prefer Masquerade and it lasts longer. There's something about The Masque that I can't pin down, but whatever it is I don't like it. Not a bad scent, but it's not for me. I'll pass this along.
HEAVENLY LOVE & EARTHLY LOVE (LE, The Salon: Traveling Exhibition)
Ambergris accord, benzoin, teakwood, frankincense, myrrh, Mysore sandalwood, and incense.
In the vial: Resin, incense, wood. It's polished smooth, golden brown with deep, dark reflections.
On me: Much the same as in the vial, though it's warmed and blossomed. These are smooth, deep resins, gently sweet and glowing with hidden luster, paired with warmth from the teak—the scent has the feel and color of wood polished to a shine. It's not too dark, and it's lit by am inner glow. The precise qualities seem to change a bit over time—always resin and incense, but sometimes warmer, sometimes sweeter, as if the different aspects are taking a turn to glow.
Verdict: Wonderful. This is a beautiful scent, a triumph of resin and light incense (with remarkably little smoke). It's a bit outside of my usual taste, so I won't wear it often—but I'll certainly keep what I have.
THE PIT & THE PENDULUM (LE, Dark Delicacies: Maelström)
The depths of despair, a dark Ecclesiatical triumph: the incense of the Inquisition.
I grabbed a half decant of this long ago, when I was first discovering incense.
In the vial: Dark, strong, smoky, and bitter incense.
On me: Some of the smoke and much of the bitterness has died down. This is dark, slightly powdery incense with a faint heart of solid, sweeter resin. It doesn't have a whole of a depth, though. Color is black.
Verdict: I tend to prefer incense as an accompanying note, not as the star of a blend, so this scent isn't for me. I also wish that it were more complex—a sniff of it and I'm done; this isn't a scent that I keep coming back to experience again and better understand. All in all, I won't keep my decant.
TO AUTUMN (LE, Halloween 2008)
Mist and mellow fruitfulness: mist-swirled, moss-covered bark and dry red leaves, apple pulp and knotty galangal, with poppy juice and nutmeat.
"Nutmeat" made me curious enough to grab a decant.
In the vial: Crisp, dewy apple and ... something else! But I don't know what.
On me: This is difficult scent to pin down. It's completely different from the imp scent, but what it is is difficult to say. It's organic and mulchy—wood, moss, and leaves. There's a touch of spice, and a faint warm-earth feeling. It's not a cool or misty scent, which is disappointing. I don't get any of the foodiness that others report, not apple nor nutmeat. It is autumnal, but not particularly evocative. The scent of autumn lawn mulch, decomposing in between rains. Color is dampened red-brown.
ETA: On second try, it's autumn bark and leaves, dry and surprisingly spicy. Mist is still missing in action, likewise fruit and nut. It's not as bad or as disappointing as it was, but it remains unevocative, rather flat, and not particularly pleasant.
Verdict: I didn't know how much I was looking forward to this scent until I began to suspect it wasn't working on me. I was wishing for evocative, misty autumn outdoors; parts of that are present, but the entire image isn't realized. What's left isn't horrible but isn't particularly likable either. I'll retest my decant and hope that today is just a fluke of chemistry, but I'm pretty disappointed.
Honey and carnation, rich incense and rose accord, myrtle, red sandalwood, amber, jonquil and clove propel you through the revel, finally seating itself in the final, patchouli, tobacco and labdanum drenched darkness of the blood-tinged western chamber.
In the vial: Warm spicy florals, but I can't make a guess on the notes.
On me: This is a warm red scent, like sunlight pouring through stained glass to color the room within. Golden-red floral (I can't can't pick it out, which saddens me; I can pick out a touch of rose, which for once doesn't go screaming bright on my skin—based on that, don't necessarily let this rose scare you away if it's normally disobedient), thickened with resin, touched by incense and spice. But within an hour it all but disappears, leaving only a warm but indistinct ghost of itself behind.
Verdict: It contains so many notes that I love, and yet ... The Masque doesn't do much for me. It reminds me distinctly of Masquerade (without the citrus, which disappears on my skin), only I prefer Masquerade and it lasts longer. There's something about The Masque that I can't pin down, but whatever it is I don't like it. Not a bad scent, but it's not for me. I'll pass this along.
HEAVENLY LOVE & EARTHLY LOVE (LE, The Salon: Traveling Exhibition)
Ambergris accord, benzoin, teakwood, frankincense, myrrh, Mysore sandalwood, and incense.
In the vial: Resin, incense, wood. It's polished smooth, golden brown with deep, dark reflections.
On me: Much the same as in the vial, though it's warmed and blossomed. These are smooth, deep resins, gently sweet and glowing with hidden luster, paired with warmth from the teak—the scent has the feel and color of wood polished to a shine. It's not too dark, and it's lit by am inner glow. The precise qualities seem to change a bit over time—always resin and incense, but sometimes warmer, sometimes sweeter, as if the different aspects are taking a turn to glow.
Verdict: Wonderful. This is a beautiful scent, a triumph of resin and light incense (with remarkably little smoke). It's a bit outside of my usual taste, so I won't wear it often—but I'll certainly keep what I have.
THE PIT & THE PENDULUM (LE, Dark Delicacies: Maelström)
The depths of despair, a dark Ecclesiatical triumph: the incense of the Inquisition.
I grabbed a half decant of this long ago, when I was first discovering incense.
In the vial: Dark, strong, smoky, and bitter incense.
On me: Some of the smoke and much of the bitterness has died down. This is dark, slightly powdery incense with a faint heart of solid, sweeter resin. It doesn't have a whole of a depth, though. Color is black.
Verdict: I tend to prefer incense as an accompanying note, not as the star of a blend, so this scent isn't for me. I also wish that it were more complex—a sniff of it and I'm done; this isn't a scent that I keep coming back to experience again and better understand. All in all, I won't keep my decant.
TO AUTUMN (LE, Halloween 2008)
Mist and mellow fruitfulness: mist-swirled, moss-covered bark and dry red leaves, apple pulp and knotty galangal, with poppy juice and nutmeat.
"Nutmeat" made me curious enough to grab a decant.
In the vial: Crisp, dewy apple and ... something else! But I don't know what.
On me: This is difficult scent to pin down. It's completely different from the imp scent, but what it is is difficult to say. It's organic and mulchy—wood, moss, and leaves. There's a touch of spice, and a faint warm-earth feeling. It's not a cool or misty scent, which is disappointing. I don't get any of the foodiness that others report, not apple nor nutmeat. It is autumnal, but not particularly evocative. The scent of autumn lawn mulch, decomposing in between rains. Color is dampened red-brown.
ETA: On second try, it's autumn bark and leaves, dry and surprisingly spicy. Mist is still missing in action, likewise fruit and nut. It's not as bad or as disappointing as it was, but it remains unevocative, rather flat, and not particularly pleasant.
Verdict: I didn't know how much I was looking forward to this scent until I began to suspect it wasn't working on me. I was wishing for evocative, misty autumn outdoors; parts of that are present, but the entire image isn't realized. What's left isn't horrible but isn't particularly likable either. I'll retest my decant and hope that today is just a fluke of chemistry, but I'm pretty disappointed.
