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juushikaINTRIGUE (GC, Bewitching Brews)
Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes.
In the vial: Mild cocoa and a touch of fig, very faint and light.
On me: Once it dries down, Intrigue is ripe purple fig with unusual sharp sweetness, backed by dark depths. The fig is just on the safe side of cloying, but it is sharp and potent—unusual, unforgiving, and bold. The depths behind them could easily be a mix of palm, cocoa, and wood, but it's too well blended to pick out particular notes; instead, there's a impression of dark woody, possibly cocoa, depths, shadowing the fig and grounding its sharp sweetness. The scent entire is bold and yet mysterious, unignorable potency drawing back into hidden depth; predominant purple fig grounded by cocoa-darkened wood. Colors are purple and black; throw is medium to strong with fig predominant; staying power is pretty impressive—at least six hours without any fading or morphing.
Verdict: I find Intrigue unusual, bold, and marvelous. It's sharper and bolder than the scents I usually wear, and I have to be in just the right mood—and clothes—to wear it. But when I am, and when I do, it is breathtaking. The fig's sharpness is slightly unsettling, yet I'm compelled to sniff it again and again. Sweet, sharp, and ultimately dark and mysterious, Intrigue is a perfect fit to the name. Its potency, darkness, and sensuality make it a wonderful evening perfume.
BLOOD AMBER (GC, Bewitching Brews)
Slivers of warm, pulsating blood forever crystallized in golden amber resin.
In the vial: Dragon's blood resin, backed by a hint of amber. My imp has aged almost two years, and has quite a stunning appearance—both the oil and the imp cap are bright orange-red.
On me: The dragon's blood remains predominant. It's bright red, slightly sweet, almost juicy, although it tempers a bit during wear. The amber is far secondary, but it amps a little bit over time—rather than crystalline, it is soft, warm, and slightly powdery. The total effect is a slightly sweet, fruity red DBR grounded by a background of subdued golden amber—more powdery and dragon's blood-heavy than the description implies.
Verdict: This isn't my favorite scent. On me, it's not more than the sum of its parts—so while I love both DBR and amber, I wish the combined scent were more complex. Nonetheless, it's quite pleasant and the boyfriend loves it. Lively and yet comforting, warm and smooth, a good scent for dragon's blood lovers. I don't need more than my imp, but that imp gets a fair bit of use.
MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY (GC, Picnic in Arkham)
The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls.
In the vial: Almost indistinct, but cream with a touch of coffee and dusty wood.
On me: Heavily creamed coffee, lightly sweetened. The cream is generous, the coffee is secondary but amps a bit more with wear. I can't pick out alcohol, thank goodness; nor can I pick out books or wood, though they may be what provides the barest grounding, non-foody aspect to the blend. On the whole, this is milky/creamy, sweet, delicious coffee—in fact, it smells just like coffee ice cream, but pleasantly warm instead of cold. It's a comforting foody scent, creamed-coffee light brown in color, thin cream in texture.
Verdict: I've always wished that Misk U. were more complex than pure creamed coffee—I would love an atmospheric scent, something more evocative, more of the books and wood. Nonetheless, it is lovely. It's true to life, foody without being overly sweet, comforting and delicious. This is a wonderful scent for cuddling up and reading. I don't wear it too often, but I am glad to have my imp around.
DEATH CAP (GC, Rappaccini's Garden)
A warm, soft, ruddy scent, earthy and mild.
In the vial: The softest hint of warm dirt.
On me: Sweet dirt. It's ingenious, but difficult to describe. The dirt is fine, light, and slightly warm—almost fluffy, really. The sweetness is light vanilla, almost marshmallow; it's very mild, and its creaminess is balanced by the dryness of the dirt. The soil grows slightly more ruddy during wear, but it remains quite light. The combination is gentle, sweet, warm, comforting, mellow, natural, unusual—an unexpected sweet soil scent which manages to be both remarkable and subtle in one go, wearable yet intriguing. Its color is languid lavender, a soft, pale, grayed purple; the throw is miserably low, but the scent is worth slathering.
Verdict: I adore Death Cap, and only wish that it were stronger. It's an unusual dirt blend that (like Penny Dreadful) branches out from dirt's usual companions into something delightfully unexpected: vanilla. I'm very glad that I tried it, and treasure my imp; because (unlike most BPAL) I slather this one, I see a potential bottle in my future.
THE TELL-TALE HEART (LE, Dark Delicacies)
This is a swollen, pulsating, thudding scent, heavy with dread; a steady, unceasing, throbbing harbinger of retribution and doom: blood musk, cocoa, black pepper, allspice, dragon's blood resin and vetiver.
In the vial: Dragon's blood and darkness.
On me: A red heart of vivid dragon's blood resin with deeper, darker blood musk—the color and feeling of fresh blood just beginning to congeal. Surrounding that is cocoa, darkness, and spices with black pepper as the predominant note—a shadow cast over blood. It's a dark and powerful scent, but not overwhelming: the combination of blood and cocoa is somehow sensual, and the scent sticks close to the skin (with dragon's blood and black pepper in the throw), inviting others to lean in to experience it fully. The colors are dark red and black (I wore it when I saw Burton's Sweeney Todd, and it's a perfect match to that aesthetic).
Verdict: The Tell-Tale heart is a pleasing scent on the surface—warm dragon's blood spiked by black pepper. Then the intimate throw draws you in, revealing richer blood and darker overtones. Finally it conjures the perfect image of the final, unnatural pulses of a congealing heart, beating its threat from concealing darkness. An exact fit to the inspiration, a wonder of a perfume, and a personal favorite. This was the first scent that I was compelled to stock up on, I wear it often, and it's my favorite LE. Truly—perfect.
Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes.
In the vial: Mild cocoa and a touch of fig, very faint and light.
On me: Once it dries down, Intrigue is ripe purple fig with unusual sharp sweetness, backed by dark depths. The fig is just on the safe side of cloying, but it is sharp and potent—unusual, unforgiving, and bold. The depths behind them could easily be a mix of palm, cocoa, and wood, but it's too well blended to pick out particular notes; instead, there's a impression of dark woody, possibly cocoa, depths, shadowing the fig and grounding its sharp sweetness. The scent entire is bold and yet mysterious, unignorable potency drawing back into hidden depth; predominant purple fig grounded by cocoa-darkened wood. Colors are purple and black; throw is medium to strong with fig predominant; staying power is pretty impressive—at least six hours without any fading or morphing.
Verdict: I find Intrigue unusual, bold, and marvelous. It's sharper and bolder than the scents I usually wear, and I have to be in just the right mood—and clothes—to wear it. But when I am, and when I do, it is breathtaking. The fig's sharpness is slightly unsettling, yet I'm compelled to sniff it again and again. Sweet, sharp, and ultimately dark and mysterious, Intrigue is a perfect fit to the name. Its potency, darkness, and sensuality make it a wonderful evening perfume.
BLOOD AMBER (GC, Bewitching Brews)
Slivers of warm, pulsating blood forever crystallized in golden amber resin.
In the vial: Dragon's blood resin, backed by a hint of amber. My imp has aged almost two years, and has quite a stunning appearance—both the oil and the imp cap are bright orange-red.
On me: The dragon's blood remains predominant. It's bright red, slightly sweet, almost juicy, although it tempers a bit during wear. The amber is far secondary, but it amps a little bit over time—rather than crystalline, it is soft, warm, and slightly powdery. The total effect is a slightly sweet, fruity red DBR grounded by a background of subdued golden amber—more powdery and dragon's blood-heavy than the description implies.
Verdict: This isn't my favorite scent. On me, it's not more than the sum of its parts—so while I love both DBR and amber, I wish the combined scent were more complex. Nonetheless, it's quite pleasant and the boyfriend loves it. Lively and yet comforting, warm and smooth, a good scent for dragon's blood lovers. I don't need more than my imp, but that imp gets a fair bit of use.
MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY (GC, Picnic in Arkham)
The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls.
In the vial: Almost indistinct, but cream with a touch of coffee and dusty wood.
On me: Heavily creamed coffee, lightly sweetened. The cream is generous, the coffee is secondary but amps a bit more with wear. I can't pick out alcohol, thank goodness; nor can I pick out books or wood, though they may be what provides the barest grounding, non-foody aspect to the blend. On the whole, this is milky/creamy, sweet, delicious coffee—in fact, it smells just like coffee ice cream, but pleasantly warm instead of cold. It's a comforting foody scent, creamed-coffee light brown in color, thin cream in texture.
Verdict: I've always wished that Misk U. were more complex than pure creamed coffee—I would love an atmospheric scent, something more evocative, more of the books and wood. Nonetheless, it is lovely. It's true to life, foody without being overly sweet, comforting and delicious. This is a wonderful scent for cuddling up and reading. I don't wear it too often, but I am glad to have my imp around.
DEATH CAP (GC, Rappaccini's Garden)
A warm, soft, ruddy scent, earthy and mild.
In the vial: The softest hint of warm dirt.
On me: Sweet dirt. It's ingenious, but difficult to describe. The dirt is fine, light, and slightly warm—almost fluffy, really. The sweetness is light vanilla, almost marshmallow; it's very mild, and its creaminess is balanced by the dryness of the dirt. The soil grows slightly more ruddy during wear, but it remains quite light. The combination is gentle, sweet, warm, comforting, mellow, natural, unusual—an unexpected sweet soil scent which manages to be both remarkable and subtle in one go, wearable yet intriguing. Its color is languid lavender, a soft, pale, grayed purple; the throw is miserably low, but the scent is worth slathering.
Verdict: I adore Death Cap, and only wish that it were stronger. It's an unusual dirt blend that (like Penny Dreadful) branches out from dirt's usual companions into something delightfully unexpected: vanilla. I'm very glad that I tried it, and treasure my imp; because (unlike most BPAL) I slather this one, I see a potential bottle in my future.
THE TELL-TALE HEART (LE, Dark Delicacies)
This is a swollen, pulsating, thudding scent, heavy with dread; a steady, unceasing, throbbing harbinger of retribution and doom: blood musk, cocoa, black pepper, allspice, dragon's blood resin and vetiver.
In the vial: Dragon's blood and darkness.
On me: A red heart of vivid dragon's blood resin with deeper, darker blood musk—the color and feeling of fresh blood just beginning to congeal. Surrounding that is cocoa, darkness, and spices with black pepper as the predominant note—a shadow cast over blood. It's a dark and powerful scent, but not overwhelming: the combination of blood and cocoa is somehow sensual, and the scent sticks close to the skin (with dragon's blood and black pepper in the throw), inviting others to lean in to experience it fully. The colors are dark red and black (I wore it when I saw Burton's Sweeney Todd, and it's a perfect match to that aesthetic).
Verdict: The Tell-Tale heart is a pleasing scent on the surface—warm dragon's blood spiked by black pepper. Then the intimate throw draws you in, revealing richer blood and darker overtones. Finally it conjures the perfect image of the final, unnatural pulses of a congealing heart, beating its threat from concealing darkness. An exact fit to the inspiration, a wonder of a perfume, and a personal favorite. This was the first scent that I was compelled to stock up on, I wear it often, and it's my favorite LE. Truly—perfect.
