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juushikaFLOWERING CHRYSANTHEMUMS (LE, Lupercalia 2009: Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements II)
Chrysanthemum, marigold, golden sandalwood, vanilla, cinnamon, and amber incense.
In the vial: Golden, creamy citrus. Yeah, I don't understand that either—but it's my first impression.
On me: The scent is still golden, but the tangy citrus edge is balanced out a bit by something a bit more dry and earthy—probably a balance between chrysanthemum and marigold, but I'm not familiar enough with mums to know for sure. As the citrus tones down, there floral competent grows stronger. The scent is smooth but slightly powdery, a touch of sandalwood; there's a bit of sweetness from the vanilla, but never cloying; it's a very golden, warm scent. I don't get anything of the cinammon or amber incense, however, and the marigold's earthiness remains subdued. Scent color is golden. Throw is moderate to low.
Verdict: I keep retesting this scent, ever confused about the citrus I get from it. I had such high hopes, and I wish that there were more marigold, more cinnamon, more amber incense to make the scent earthier, spicier, and less like orange and cream. As it is, Flowering Chrysanthemums is nice but doesn't capture me. It's creamy, golden, floral, just a touch powdery—a pleasant scent, and I may like it more if I divorce it from my expectations of what it could have been. Regardless it's not my new favorite, and I'll be content with just my decant.
REGAN (GC, Illyria)
A deceptively sweet orchid vanille with a faint trace of stephanotis.
In the vial: Sweet creamy vanilla with a powerdy floral. It reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what—oh wait, I know! The bathroom my aged babysitter's house from my childhood. She was like a great-aunt to me, and her bathroom had a pink furry toilet seat cover and lots of doilies: pretty, sweet, feminine, but a little dowdy and stuffy.
On me: The floral blooms, becoming less powdery, a bit more fleshy and airy, and a touch cloying. It has orchid's depth and shadow, but it is much sweeter than I usually expect from orchid. The vanilla too is sweet, but now it feels powdery and pale, not unlike baby powder. The combination of the two unfortunately has a lingering feel of old lady's bathroom: sweet, floral, a touch dowdy; it has the sort of texture of colored soap which has sat in the soap dish so long that it's dry and a dusty: powder over something firm and slightly waxy. Scent-color is opaque creamy red-violet. Throw is moderate.
Verdict: I may have to retest this later with a drop rather than a swipe, because I suspect Regan would be better as a subtle hint of scent. When it's obvious, it feels too old lady to me. I had expected that orchid and vanilla would be lovely together, a rare floral I can wear, lightened and sweetened. But the orchid is too dark and the vanilla too sweet, and it's all more cloying-floral than I expect from orchid. All in all I am unimpressed and unless a second test is dramatically different, I'll trade away my imp.
DARK CHOCOLATE AND PEPPER-SMOKED CARAMEL (LE, Lupercalia 2009: Box of Chocolates)
Dark chocolate and pepper-smoked caramel.
In the vial: Smoky pepper, slightly sweet, with a touch of very dry chocolate (think El Dia De Reyes's cocoa powder, but as dark as Boomslang's deep dark chocolate).
On me: This is a smoke and pepper scent, like the rich swathes of flavored smoke that you'd use to preserve meat. It's not harsh, or sharp, or really all that dry—this is smoke that's almost solid enough to cup in your hands, but smelled from a distance where purer air has filtered out the ash. The caramel is more of a texture than a scent, filtering out the smoke's harshness and giving it that rich, malleable texture. But I get nothing of the chocolate, and this saddens me—I adore chocolate and it's what drew me to this scent. Scent-color is dark gray. Throw is low.
Verdict: As Dark Chocolate and Pepper-Smoked Caramel, this is disappointment—where oh where has my beloved dark chocolate gone? I only have a decant, but if those floating black specks are the same chocolate absolute in Boomslang then I'm not surprised that the chocolate disappears on my skin (as it does in Boomslang). But I am, still, saddened. However, as Pepper-Smoked Caramel this is surprisingly lovely. Thick, smoky, but never harsh, it's an uncommon and sensual skin scent. I'll have to adjust my expectations to fit, but that done this is a scent worth keeping around. (And I may have to try it on fabric, to see if the chocolate sticks around.)
CATHEDRAL (GC, Sin & Salvation)
Venerable and solemn: the scent of incense smoke wafting through an ancient church. A true ecclesiatical blend of pure resins.
My imp is tarted, so from at least 2004.
In the vial: Resin and wood, or else a polished wood. It's surprisingly pale and faint.
On me: Initially it's very much wood, and not ancient at all—it has a cedar-like sharpness and a pine-like astringency. Much of that sharpness swiftly fades, but it doesn't leave a whole lot behind: resins which, however beautiful, are faint and pale. Really what this is is Heavenly Love and Earthly Love lite: lots and lots of resins with a touch of incense, but lighter and fainter and paler. Slightly mailable (like ambergris), golden, smooth, polished, warm. The only odd thing is a slightly saltiness. Scent-color is pale gold. Throws is very low.
Verdict: It's so similar to Heavenly Love, and yet such a pale comparison, that I think I'll pretty much stick with Heavenly Love. Cathedral lacks the depth and shadows in Heavenly Love (which surprises me, as my imp is so old), which makes it more difficult to discern and somehow less breathtaking. And when I catch it, that odd salty note is a touch disquieting—on top of all the resins, it smells a little too much like dirty skin. Nonetheless I'll hang on to this, for a bit. It may be a good warm-weather alternative to Heavenly Love, and it is on the whole a lovely, if pale, golden resin.
Chrysanthemum, marigold, golden sandalwood, vanilla, cinnamon, and amber incense.
In the vial: Golden, creamy citrus. Yeah, I don't understand that either—but it's my first impression.
On me: The scent is still golden, but the tangy citrus edge is balanced out a bit by something a bit more dry and earthy—probably a balance between chrysanthemum and marigold, but I'm not familiar enough with mums to know for sure. As the citrus tones down, there floral competent grows stronger. The scent is smooth but slightly powdery, a touch of sandalwood; there's a bit of sweetness from the vanilla, but never cloying; it's a very golden, warm scent. I don't get anything of the cinammon or amber incense, however, and the marigold's earthiness remains subdued. Scent color is golden. Throw is moderate to low.
Verdict: I keep retesting this scent, ever confused about the citrus I get from it. I had such high hopes, and I wish that there were more marigold, more cinnamon, more amber incense to make the scent earthier, spicier, and less like orange and cream. As it is, Flowering Chrysanthemums is nice but doesn't capture me. It's creamy, golden, floral, just a touch powdery—a pleasant scent, and I may like it more if I divorce it from my expectations of what it could have been. Regardless it's not my new favorite, and I'll be content with just my decant.
REGAN (GC, Illyria)
A deceptively sweet orchid vanille with a faint trace of stephanotis.
In the vial: Sweet creamy vanilla with a powerdy floral. It reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what—oh wait, I know! The bathroom my aged babysitter's house from my childhood. She was like a great-aunt to me, and her bathroom had a pink furry toilet seat cover and lots of doilies: pretty, sweet, feminine, but a little dowdy and stuffy.
On me: The floral blooms, becoming less powdery, a bit more fleshy and airy, and a touch cloying. It has orchid's depth and shadow, but it is much sweeter than I usually expect from orchid. The vanilla too is sweet, but now it feels powdery and pale, not unlike baby powder. The combination of the two unfortunately has a lingering feel of old lady's bathroom: sweet, floral, a touch dowdy; it has the sort of texture of colored soap which has sat in the soap dish so long that it's dry and a dusty: powder over something firm and slightly waxy. Scent-color is opaque creamy red-violet. Throw is moderate.
Verdict: I may have to retest this later with a drop rather than a swipe, because I suspect Regan would be better as a subtle hint of scent. When it's obvious, it feels too old lady to me. I had expected that orchid and vanilla would be lovely together, a rare floral I can wear, lightened and sweetened. But the orchid is too dark and the vanilla too sweet, and it's all more cloying-floral than I expect from orchid. All in all I am unimpressed and unless a second test is dramatically different, I'll trade away my imp.
DARK CHOCOLATE AND PEPPER-SMOKED CARAMEL (LE, Lupercalia 2009: Box of Chocolates)
Dark chocolate and pepper-smoked caramel.
In the vial: Smoky pepper, slightly sweet, with a touch of very dry chocolate (think El Dia De Reyes's cocoa powder, but as dark as Boomslang's deep dark chocolate).
On me: This is a smoke and pepper scent, like the rich swathes of flavored smoke that you'd use to preserve meat. It's not harsh, or sharp, or really all that dry—this is smoke that's almost solid enough to cup in your hands, but smelled from a distance where purer air has filtered out the ash. The caramel is more of a texture than a scent, filtering out the smoke's harshness and giving it that rich, malleable texture. But I get nothing of the chocolate, and this saddens me—I adore chocolate and it's what drew me to this scent. Scent-color is dark gray. Throw is low.
Verdict: As Dark Chocolate and Pepper-Smoked Caramel, this is disappointment—where oh where has my beloved dark chocolate gone? I only have a decant, but if those floating black specks are the same chocolate absolute in Boomslang then I'm not surprised that the chocolate disappears on my skin (as it does in Boomslang). But I am, still, saddened. However, as Pepper-Smoked Caramel this is surprisingly lovely. Thick, smoky, but never harsh, it's an uncommon and sensual skin scent. I'll have to adjust my expectations to fit, but that done this is a scent worth keeping around. (And I may have to try it on fabric, to see if the chocolate sticks around.)
CATHEDRAL (GC, Sin & Salvation)
Venerable and solemn: the scent of incense smoke wafting through an ancient church. A true ecclesiatical blend of pure resins.
My imp is tarted, so from at least 2004.
In the vial: Resin and wood, or else a polished wood. It's surprisingly pale and faint.
On me: Initially it's very much wood, and not ancient at all—it has a cedar-like sharpness and a pine-like astringency. Much of that sharpness swiftly fades, but it doesn't leave a whole lot behind: resins which, however beautiful, are faint and pale. Really what this is is Heavenly Love and Earthly Love lite: lots and lots of resins with a touch of incense, but lighter and fainter and paler. Slightly mailable (like ambergris), golden, smooth, polished, warm. The only odd thing is a slightly saltiness. Scent-color is pale gold. Throws is very low.
Verdict: It's so similar to Heavenly Love, and yet such a pale comparison, that I think I'll pretty much stick with Heavenly Love. Cathedral lacks the depth and shadows in Heavenly Love (which surprises me, as my imp is so old), which makes it more difficult to discern and somehow less breathtaking. And when I catch it, that odd salty note is a touch disquieting—on top of all the resins, it smells a little too much like dirty skin. Nonetheless I'll hang on to this, for a bit. It may be a good warm-weather alternative to Heavenly Love, and it is on the whole a lovely, if pale, golden resin.
