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juushikaPRAGUE (GC, Wanderlust)
Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies.
A frimp from the Lab—I would never have ordered this myself.
In the vial: It's floral, but it has a fleshiness that almost makes it seem fruity, round and full. It's a sweet, frosted, pastel scent.
On me: Much as it is in the vial. Some of the fruitness disappates, leeching some color from the scent. I'm no good at discerning specific florals, so mostly what I get from Prague is the fleshy, white, opaque scent I associate with lilies. It's fairly tame, however, rounded out by a slight purple fruitiness, frosted with a pale powderiness that tones down the scent. It remains quite sweet, however, to the point of becoming cloying. This reminds me oddly of a tamer, gentler version of Regan, despite the dissimilarity in the notes. Scent-color is a frosted, opaque, purple-tinged cream; throw is moderate.
Verdict: I wasn't expecting these results from this blend—it's far fruitier and tamer than I anticipated. But even then, Prague just isn't my sort of scent. It's pleasant enough, but I'm no fan of floral/fruity perfumes. I'll pass along my imp.
GIANT VULVA (LE, Lupercalia: Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements II)
Skin musk, sugar cane, honey, beeswax, vanilla flower, and copal.
In the vial: A warm and heavy scent, thick with beeswax and resin, golden in color, with a waft of fleshy orchid perfume.
On me: Much the same as it is in the vial, but the notes mellow and meld. This is the scent of sex-hot skin: a gentle sensual musk, fleshy golden resins with the smoothness of beeswax, and still a waft of that thick, slightly tropical, vanilla orchid perfume. Despite the notes I don't get much sweetness from the scent; in fact it feels so fleshy, so similar to sex, that the scent's actually a bit salty and sweaty. Scent-color is pale gold, and scent-texture is very fleshy; throw is low, and wear length is short.
Verdict: This is such a unique scent that I'm glad I had the chance to test it. It's a brilliant match to the inspiration, even moreso than I expected from the notes: a thick, sexual, feminine scent, not quite vulgar but quite unabashed, obviously sexual. It's distinctive, beautiful, but not a scent that I would wear often—so I find myself in no need of a wearable amount. It's fascinating, but I'll pass.
SHADOW WITCH ORCHID (GC, Rappaccini's Garden)
This perfume is a dusky orchid, subdued and ethereal.
In the vial: Sweeter than I expected, and slightly powdery in its duskiness, but yes, a purple orchid floral.
On me: The same, but bolder, richer, more distinct—scents really do blossom on the skin, no pun intended. Thankfully some of the sweetness fades, but a little too much of it lingers, pushing the orchid towards heady and cloying. There's a bit of dusty duskiness in the scent's purple tone and in the throw, but for the most part this is a heady, fleshy floral, and quite potent too. Throw is moderate to high.
Verdict: With few exceptions, I tend not to like florals. Orchid is usually one of those exceptions, thus my interest in this blend—but it's just too strong for me, too heady, too floral. It's not unpleasant (although I'm not fond of the persistant sweetness), it's just not the scent for me. A drop of it may be decent for layering but in the end, I think I'll pass along my imp.
LES INFORTUNES DE LA VERTU (GC, Sin & Salvation)
A pain-tinged, pleasure-soaked blend of leather, oakmoss, orange blossom, amber, and rose with a breath of virginal French florals and a hint of austere monastic penitential incense.
A frimp from the Lab. This is not one I would have ordered on my own—I like some of the notes (orange blossom, amber, oakmoss, incense) but others (leather, rose, florals) I dislike or are deathnotes.
In the vial: I get exactly what I don't want out of the blend: a cologne-like scent, dry and vaguely floral but masculine.
On me: The dryness of the scent dies off during drydown, and the amber and incense amp up a bit in the first half hour—they provide a firmer grounding for the airness of the florals. But this scent's perfumey, cologne-like aspects never fade. It's a dry, slightly powdery, slightly soapy mixed floral, and while the rose never amps (as it is wont to do on my skin) there's still too much floral here for me to appreciate or accurately analyze the scent.
Verdict: As I feared, the florals and the leather/oakmoss blend make this too much like a drugstore cologne. To my nose it's simply unpleasant, so no, I won't be keeping my imp.
NAMASTE (GC, Bewitching Brews)
Sandalwood, jasmine, rose, patchouli, cedarwood and lemongrass.
In the vial: A yellow-green scent which I would guess to be lemongrass, but honestly I can't pin down notes. Regardless, I already think it's not my sort of scent.
On me: Immediately on the skin it's an Asian restaurant: lemongrass and blond woods. After about fifteen minutes the patchouli amps a bit, dimming and grounding the airy, fresh yellow-green of the lemongrass. But after a half hour the scent reaches its final stage—and it's full of florals. There's a fleshy, damp jasmine, but rose tends to amp on my skin so that's what I really get here: a heady pink/red rose with a touch of lemon citrus and patchouli's darkness.
Verdict: I'm not a fan of lemon, so it's very odd for me to say that I actually prefer the earliest stages of this scent. It's a fresh lemongrass with a bit of dimension from the patchouli, cedar, and sandalwood—and really quite pleasant, although it's not the sort of scent that I'd wear often. But the fleshy rosy florals are the same old sin of skin chemistry, and to my nose quite unpleasant. Other skin chemistries will probably have more luck, however, in keeping this scent balanced. I'll pass along my imp.
Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies.
A frimp from the Lab—I would never have ordered this myself.
In the vial: It's floral, but it has a fleshiness that almost makes it seem fruity, round and full. It's a sweet, frosted, pastel scent.
On me: Much as it is in the vial. Some of the fruitness disappates, leeching some color from the scent. I'm no good at discerning specific florals, so mostly what I get from Prague is the fleshy, white, opaque scent I associate with lilies. It's fairly tame, however, rounded out by a slight purple fruitiness, frosted with a pale powderiness that tones down the scent. It remains quite sweet, however, to the point of becoming cloying. This reminds me oddly of a tamer, gentler version of Regan, despite the dissimilarity in the notes. Scent-color is a frosted, opaque, purple-tinged cream; throw is moderate.
Verdict: I wasn't expecting these results from this blend—it's far fruitier and tamer than I anticipated. But even then, Prague just isn't my sort of scent. It's pleasant enough, but I'm no fan of floral/fruity perfumes. I'll pass along my imp.
GIANT VULVA (LE, Lupercalia: Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements II)
Skin musk, sugar cane, honey, beeswax, vanilla flower, and copal.
In the vial: A warm and heavy scent, thick with beeswax and resin, golden in color, with a waft of fleshy orchid perfume.
On me: Much the same as it is in the vial, but the notes mellow and meld. This is the scent of sex-hot skin: a gentle sensual musk, fleshy golden resins with the smoothness of beeswax, and still a waft of that thick, slightly tropical, vanilla orchid perfume. Despite the notes I don't get much sweetness from the scent; in fact it feels so fleshy, so similar to sex, that the scent's actually a bit salty and sweaty. Scent-color is pale gold, and scent-texture is very fleshy; throw is low, and wear length is short.
Verdict: This is such a unique scent that I'm glad I had the chance to test it. It's a brilliant match to the inspiration, even moreso than I expected from the notes: a thick, sexual, feminine scent, not quite vulgar but quite unabashed, obviously sexual. It's distinctive, beautiful, but not a scent that I would wear often—so I find myself in no need of a wearable amount. It's fascinating, but I'll pass.
SHADOW WITCH ORCHID (GC, Rappaccini's Garden)
This perfume is a dusky orchid, subdued and ethereal.
In the vial: Sweeter than I expected, and slightly powdery in its duskiness, but yes, a purple orchid floral.
On me: The same, but bolder, richer, more distinct—scents really do blossom on the skin, no pun intended. Thankfully some of the sweetness fades, but a little too much of it lingers, pushing the orchid towards heady and cloying. There's a bit of dusty duskiness in the scent's purple tone and in the throw, but for the most part this is a heady, fleshy floral, and quite potent too. Throw is moderate to high.
Verdict: With few exceptions, I tend not to like florals. Orchid is usually one of those exceptions, thus my interest in this blend—but it's just too strong for me, too heady, too floral. It's not unpleasant (although I'm not fond of the persistant sweetness), it's just not the scent for me. A drop of it may be decent for layering but in the end, I think I'll pass along my imp.
LES INFORTUNES DE LA VERTU (GC, Sin & Salvation)
A pain-tinged, pleasure-soaked blend of leather, oakmoss, orange blossom, amber, and rose with a breath of virginal French florals and a hint of austere monastic penitential incense.
A frimp from the Lab. This is not one I would have ordered on my own—I like some of the notes (orange blossom, amber, oakmoss, incense) but others (leather, rose, florals) I dislike or are deathnotes.
In the vial: I get exactly what I don't want out of the blend: a cologne-like scent, dry and vaguely floral but masculine.
On me: The dryness of the scent dies off during drydown, and the amber and incense amp up a bit in the first half hour—they provide a firmer grounding for the airness of the florals. But this scent's perfumey, cologne-like aspects never fade. It's a dry, slightly powdery, slightly soapy mixed floral, and while the rose never amps (as it is wont to do on my skin) there's still too much floral here for me to appreciate or accurately analyze the scent.
Verdict: As I feared, the florals and the leather/oakmoss blend make this too much like a drugstore cologne. To my nose it's simply unpleasant, so no, I won't be keeping my imp.
NAMASTE (GC, Bewitching Brews)
Sandalwood, jasmine, rose, patchouli, cedarwood and lemongrass.
In the vial: A yellow-green scent which I would guess to be lemongrass, but honestly I can't pin down notes. Regardless, I already think it's not my sort of scent.
On me: Immediately on the skin it's an Asian restaurant: lemongrass and blond woods. After about fifteen minutes the patchouli amps a bit, dimming and grounding the airy, fresh yellow-green of the lemongrass. But after a half hour the scent reaches its final stage—and it's full of florals. There's a fleshy, damp jasmine, but rose tends to amp on my skin so that's what I really get here: a heady pink/red rose with a touch of lemon citrus and patchouli's darkness.
Verdict: I'm not a fan of lemon, so it's very odd for me to say that I actually prefer the earliest stages of this scent. It's a fresh lemongrass with a bit of dimension from the patchouli, cedar, and sandalwood—and really quite pleasant, although it's not the sort of scent that I'd wear often. But the fleshy rosy florals are the same old sin of skin chemistry, and to my nose quite unpleasant. Other skin chemistries will probably have more luck, however, in keeping this scent balanced. I'll pass along my imp.
