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juushikaTHE CANDY BUTCHER (LE, Carnaval Diabolique, Act I: The Prologue)
Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone.
I got a sniffie of this from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sisterite just before it was discontinued, so I almost hope I don't love it...
In the vial: Bitter dark chocolate which almost smells like coffee.
On me: The chocolate disappears upon application, but returns within a few more minutes—but returns only as a ghost of itself. The chocolate is dark but only moderately strong, not nearly as heavy or melted as I expected; it's lightly sweetened, but not sugary. In fact, it reminds me of the cocoa in Velvet, but mixed with cream rather than dried on sandalwood. The cream doesn't go rancid (yay!); it's thicker and silkier than milk, but not by much—this is half-and-half. Strangely, despite being chocolate and cream, this scent doesn't strike me as foody. It has an unusual edge, non-chocolate and non-foody edge which I can't quite pin down. It's the scent of a box of medium darkness, moderate quality bar chocolate, a person eating a chocolate bar, a room full of chocolate bars—not the chocolate bars themselves.
Verdict: If this were a general catalog scent or still available, I'd be tempted to hunt down more. It is a lovely scent, smooth and delicious, and much better behaved than I expected from heavy cream. But it's not my favorite chocolate (that would be Velvet for wearing, and Boomslang for a room scent), and I haven't fallen in love. It's a little too tame for me, a little too creamy with not enough emphasis on the chocolate, too foody for perfumey chocolate, too light for chocolate decadence. If this scent remains difficult to aquire, I can live without it. (Whew!)
WHITE RABBIT (GC, Mad Tea Party)
Strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen.
In the imp: Very faint, almost indiscernible.
On me: Milk, linen, and white pepper with just a touch of sweetness which comes out a bit more during wear. This is an odd scent. One of the notes is a vaguely unpleasant on me (not sure which), but ignoring that: The pepper gives warmth but not spice, and everything in the scent is very smooth—crisp clean linen, indeed, and not much more than that. It's opaque white in color, as well.
Verdict: I keep trying to wear and love White Rabbit, but it's just not happening. This is an unusual perfume, which I like, but there's something off about it which I don't enjoy and the rest is so clean and white that it's almost without character. This just isn't for me, but I'm not too broken-hearted. Oh well!
PENTHUS (DC, Excolo, discontinued 1/24/08)
Salt tears over white roses, the fumes of thin funereal incense and the hollowness of calamus.
I intially purchased this, before it was dc'd, as a possible tears/salt water scent.
In the vial: Salt water and bitter incense.
On me: Salt water predominantly, pure and liquid. Behind that, thin bitter incense and just a breath of rose. Within an hour, the intensity of the salt water dies down and the scent becomes lighter and less bitter: gentle white rose and soft incense, dipped in salty water. Somber and wistful, this is most certainly a funerary scent, but it's more pretty than dark or threatening. The colors are white and a very dark warm gray, almost black. It's a gentle scent with a decent-to-low throw and low staying power.
Verdict: I'm not sure. Something I get nothing but a huge headache out of Penthus (no doubt the aquatic); the rest of the time it's lovely salt, which is wonderfully true and exactly what I'm after, but I'm not crazy about the incense and rose that accompany it—even though they are quite pretty. This certainly hasn't become my go-to tears scent. I'm not sure, yet, whether I'll keep or trade my imp; I definitely don't need to seek out more.
OCTOBER (LE, 8/26/07-11/15/07)
Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air.
In the vial: Ozone and cologne, with just a touch of sharp greenery. The scent feels almost empty—an absence, clear, white, airy.
On me: Goes on as cologne, very masculine, preserved in sharp alcohol. And on me, that's what it stays—even after an hour's wait. It's a bit sickening, really, and not quite what I had hoped for from this blend. I'm disappointed, but to be fair my skin chemistry doesn't often fail me so completely.
Verdict: Washing it off and swapping my imp, immediately. This one just doesn't work on me.
Non-BPAL:
HUNGER OF THE NIGHT (Mythos Mixtures, Other Mythology)
Sweet trickled blood flows over cranberries, pomegranate, and rich blackberries with the lingering scent of smoky city streets.
In the vial: Juicy, sweet, thick red fruit.
On me: Mixed berries—the redness has somewhat died down, but it's still present; I think I can pick out a darker blackberry; altogether, the fruits are thick, sweet, yet somehow bitter. They're accompanied by something smokey and somehow inorganic, which fades a bit with wear. It reminds me closely of BPAL's Midnight Kiss, and even Enraged Groudhog Musk and Tell-Tale Heart—a heart of red (fruit) set in a darker base (of cocoa or incense). Unlike those BPAL perfumes, however, this has a somewhat more artifical scent akin to commerical potporri.
Verdict: I love the inspiration and the intent, but the execution lacks finesse—it feels a bit artifical, and I find the bitterness offputting. Since I have BPAL perfumes in a similar vein which I prefer, I can live without Hunger of the Night. I'll pass this on.
CAMELOT (Heaven and Earth Essentials, Dreams of Avalon)
Indian Sandalwood EO, Opoponax EO, Yuzu EO, Black Pepper EO, and Davana EO.
In the vial: Rich, woody, resinous, fruity via citrus.
On me: An unusual combination of smoky, spicy brown/black resins and sharp citrus. The resins are smooth with a touch of powder, which is probably the sandalwood. The black pepper is wonderfully distinct, almost to the point of being predominant, and adds a smoky edge to the resins. The yuzu is sharp but not bitter, and its strength dies down a bit in time.
Verdict: It's a bizarre combination, but the components are vivid and true, and they're finally more complimentary opposites than a disharmonious rabble. This isn't mystic, mythological Camelot, but rather smoke-darkened castle halls with the pungent zing of life—an unusual interpretation, but it almost works. That said, I'm not a fan of the citrus and I still find the scent a little strange, so I can live without it. I'll pass this on.
Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone.
I got a sniffie of this from
sisterite just before it was discontinued, so I almost hope I don't love it...In the vial: Bitter dark chocolate which almost smells like coffee.
On me: The chocolate disappears upon application, but returns within a few more minutes—but returns only as a ghost of itself. The chocolate is dark but only moderately strong, not nearly as heavy or melted as I expected; it's lightly sweetened, but not sugary. In fact, it reminds me of the cocoa in Velvet, but mixed with cream rather than dried on sandalwood. The cream doesn't go rancid (yay!); it's thicker and silkier than milk, but not by much—this is half-and-half. Strangely, despite being chocolate and cream, this scent doesn't strike me as foody. It has an unusual edge, non-chocolate and non-foody edge which I can't quite pin down. It's the scent of a box of medium darkness, moderate quality bar chocolate, a person eating a chocolate bar, a room full of chocolate bars—not the chocolate bars themselves.
Verdict: If this were a general catalog scent or still available, I'd be tempted to hunt down more. It is a lovely scent, smooth and delicious, and much better behaved than I expected from heavy cream. But it's not my favorite chocolate (that would be Velvet for wearing, and Boomslang for a room scent), and I haven't fallen in love. It's a little too tame for me, a little too creamy with not enough emphasis on the chocolate, too foody for perfumey chocolate, too light for chocolate decadence. If this scent remains difficult to aquire, I can live without it. (Whew!)
WHITE RABBIT (GC, Mad Tea Party)
Strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen.
In the imp: Very faint, almost indiscernible.
On me: Milk, linen, and white pepper with just a touch of sweetness which comes out a bit more during wear. This is an odd scent. One of the notes is a vaguely unpleasant on me (not sure which), but ignoring that: The pepper gives warmth but not spice, and everything in the scent is very smooth—crisp clean linen, indeed, and not much more than that. It's opaque white in color, as well.
Verdict: I keep trying to wear and love White Rabbit, but it's just not happening. This is an unusual perfume, which I like, but there's something off about it which I don't enjoy and the rest is so clean and white that it's almost without character. This just isn't for me, but I'm not too broken-hearted. Oh well!
PENTHUS (DC, Excolo, discontinued 1/24/08)
Salt tears over white roses, the fumes of thin funereal incense and the hollowness of calamus.
I intially purchased this, before it was dc'd, as a possible tears/salt water scent.
In the vial: Salt water and bitter incense.
On me: Salt water predominantly, pure and liquid. Behind that, thin bitter incense and just a breath of rose. Within an hour, the intensity of the salt water dies down and the scent becomes lighter and less bitter: gentle white rose and soft incense, dipped in salty water. Somber and wistful, this is most certainly a funerary scent, but it's more pretty than dark or threatening. The colors are white and a very dark warm gray, almost black. It's a gentle scent with a decent-to-low throw and low staying power.
Verdict: I'm not sure. Something I get nothing but a huge headache out of Penthus (no doubt the aquatic); the rest of the time it's lovely salt, which is wonderfully true and exactly what I'm after, but I'm not crazy about the incense and rose that accompany it—even though they are quite pretty. This certainly hasn't become my go-to tears scent. I'm not sure, yet, whether I'll keep or trade my imp; I definitely don't need to seek out more.
OCTOBER (LE, 8/26/07-11/15/07)
Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air.
In the vial: Ozone and cologne, with just a touch of sharp greenery. The scent feels almost empty—an absence, clear, white, airy.
On me: Goes on as cologne, very masculine, preserved in sharp alcohol. And on me, that's what it stays—even after an hour's wait. It's a bit sickening, really, and not quite what I had hoped for from this blend. I'm disappointed, but to be fair my skin chemistry doesn't often fail me so completely.
Verdict: Washing it off and swapping my imp, immediately. This one just doesn't work on me.
Non-BPAL:
HUNGER OF THE NIGHT (Mythos Mixtures, Other Mythology)
Sweet trickled blood flows over cranberries, pomegranate, and rich blackberries with the lingering scent of smoky city streets.
In the vial: Juicy, sweet, thick red fruit.
On me: Mixed berries—the redness has somewhat died down, but it's still present; I think I can pick out a darker blackberry; altogether, the fruits are thick, sweet, yet somehow bitter. They're accompanied by something smokey and somehow inorganic, which fades a bit with wear. It reminds me closely of BPAL's Midnight Kiss, and even Enraged Groudhog Musk and Tell-Tale Heart—a heart of red (fruit) set in a darker base (of cocoa or incense). Unlike those BPAL perfumes, however, this has a somewhat more artifical scent akin to commerical potporri.
Verdict: I love the inspiration and the intent, but the execution lacks finesse—it feels a bit artifical, and I find the bitterness offputting. Since I have BPAL perfumes in a similar vein which I prefer, I can live without Hunger of the Night. I'll pass this on.
CAMELOT (Heaven and Earth Essentials, Dreams of Avalon)
Indian Sandalwood EO, Opoponax EO, Yuzu EO, Black Pepper EO, and Davana EO.
In the vial: Rich, woody, resinous, fruity via citrus.
On me: An unusual combination of smoky, spicy brown/black resins and sharp citrus. The resins are smooth with a touch of powder, which is probably the sandalwood. The black pepper is wonderfully distinct, almost to the point of being predominant, and adds a smoky edge to the resins. The yuzu is sharp but not bitter, and its strength dies down a bit in time.
Verdict: It's a bizarre combination, but the components are vivid and true, and they're finally more complimentary opposites than a disharmonious rabble. This isn't mystic, mythological Camelot, but rather smoke-darkened castle halls with the pungent zing of life—an unusual interpretation, but it almost works. That said, I'm not a fan of the citrus and I still find the scent a little strange, so I can live without it. I'll pass this on.
