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juushikaPUMPKIN PRINCESS (LE, Halloweenie 2011)
Before the Grand Dame was the Pumpkin Queen, she was a Pumpkin Princess! Bright, sweet pumpkin with vanilla fluff, guava, chocolate-dusted white amber, tiare, red currant, raw honey, and meringue.
In the vial: A sweet, airy, Jack-esque pumpkin.
On me: The pumpkin's earthiness comes out as this hits the skin. Initially, Pumpkin Princess is surprisingly spicy and pumpkin-y, darker, drier, and not as sweet as I was expecting, but never heavy. There's some amber warmth and a dusting of sweetness, and perhaps a touch of extra fruitiness (currant, I think), but those are subtle; the pumpkin is predominant. A warm, sweet, dark-toned, full-bodied scent. The sweetness comes out as it wears, and the pumpkin grows less earthy, tending towards Jack's pumpkin but without the waxiness. Unfortunately, the scent develops a certain fruity/floral perfumeyness at its tail end (about three hours in), which may be what others are calling tropical but to my nose seems pretty much a generic perfume. Scent-color is a glowing golden orange. Throw is moderate low, and wear length is moderate.
Verdict: I love Pumpkin Princess upon application—its a warm, welcoming pumpkin scent, but errs towards the raw honey side of the other notes: its sweetness is gentle instead of cloying, and there's something earthy and warm in its golden fruits. But it conforms to expectations more and more as it wears, and I don't love that as much—the glowing golden pumpkin is pretty nice, but the tendency towards perfumeyness isn't my style. All in all a wash-up; I'll keep this around and retest it, but I'm not won over yet.
THE CHANGELING (LE, Pickman Gallery: Torment & Reverie)
Blonde wood, linen swaddling, pumpkin rind, and bourbon vanilla.
In the vial: A familiar cologney smell that I can't name. Woods? Linen?
On me: Bourbon vanilla as it goes on the skin, almost as dark and dirty as tobacco. About ten minutes later, an earthy pumpkin emerges, spicy and earthy, made that much darker by the bourbon vanilla. The scent has a surprising sweetness, thick and dark but not quite cloying, and a certain perfumey quality, especially in the throw. The background hides a dry/cologne note, somewhere between blonde wood and linen, which makes the scent a little airy and counteracts the dark spice of the pumpkin—and I don't love it for that. Throw is surprisingly high, and wearlength is incredible—but many hours in The Changling morphs into a pure perfumey, fruit-touched, insistent sweetness.
Verdict: I quite like The Changling for an hour of two, when the pumpkin emerges—the lean towards rind makes it dark, spicy, earthy, unique and quite lovely. But the occasional off note in the background keeps me from falling in love, and bourbon vanilla does its best to run away with the scent. For a few hours it's fine, casting a dark sweet dirty shadow over the scent, but the almost-cloying perfume that it becomes at the tail end of wear is frankly offputting—so much so that I washed it off. Aging may help the notes settle, and I'll hang on to my decant, but this is is more than a miss than a hit for me so far.
A NOCTURNAL REVERIE (LE, Halloweenie 2011)
Violet musk and oudh with black amber, ambergris, agarwood, black currant, dark musk, fig, and lavender incense.
In the vial: Mostly a sense of darkness. Some oudh, but precise notes mostly escape me; a slightly scratchy, slightly floral/fruit, dark scent.
On me: When it first goes on this is currant in the throw, red and fruity, and something darker against the skin, with a powdery/incense bent. The currant dies to reasonable levels during drydown (although there's occasional overstrong hits of it in the throw—but to be fair, currant amps on me), contributing a fruity fullness, but the color is purple now, dark, over a smoky/powdery base of musk and incense. There's a very clear sense of color from this scent, and it's all purple. The vague powderiness atop all that color creates a slight candle/soap vibe, and however vivid and clearly conveyed that dusky violet don't make for a particularly deep or nuanced perfume (I wish I got more dark musk, or something else that would ground and deepen the scent), but its not unpleasant. Throw is moderate low, wear length is moderate long, mostly due to a lingering skin level perfumeyness.
Verdict: A Nocturnal Reverie isn't unpleasant, but neither is it winning my heart. I have a fondness for scents which are classifiable by color, and so this helps to scratch a purple itch, but it lacks depth overall and that background hint of candle/soap isn't my style. Aging may help bring out the darker notes that would counterbalance all the color, but on the whole I think this is destined for swaps.
BLOOD MOON 2011 (LE, A Little Lunacy)
A Lunacy inspired by the magnificently morbid fantasies of Edgar Allan Poe: laudanum-stained linen scented by an ink-smeared tobacco musk and phantom bloodstains illuminated by monstrous moonlight.
In the vial: Medicinal, a bit spicy, a bit sweet, a hint of smoke.
On me: Blood/dragon's blood in color and warmth, vetiver/tobacco in smokyness, and a touch of pepperish spice. It's surprisingly warm, especially in the throw, and has a certain lightness within—laudanum maybe, or linen, a bit sweet, pale; it opens up the scent. It reminds me of a remixed The Tell-Tale Heart, and not just because of the Poe connection, but the pale note hiding within makes it unique. Unfortunately at the one hour mark it's already faded to a ghost of that pale scent touched with a hint of spice and smoke. Scent-color is ... well better just to say that this evokes the moonlit red and black landscape of the description. Throw is moderate dying down to low, and wear length is short.
Verdict: Beautifully realized, perfectly to my taste, and also heartbreaking—it hurts to see something so wonderful fade so quickly. Luckily I get enough similarity to The Tell-Tale Heart that I can just turn to that blend instead, but if Blood Moon had more staying power then I would probably want a bottle of it, too.
AMELES POTAMOS (GC, Wanderlust)
The River of Unmindfulness: bittersweet black water swollen with forgotten tears.
In the vial: Salty and slightly dark/organic water.
On me: The word I want to use is brackish—a pure aquatic, impressively salty, with a dark, organic element. The description is indeed so spot on that there's not much else to say about the scent, except some congratulations may be in order. Over time the black water recedes and are purer, slightly more crystalline salt water comes to the fore. Throw is moderate, dying down to low; wear length is about four hours, but the scent fades dramatically at its tail end.
Verdict: Ameles Potamos is too unique a scent to be called straightforward, but it's exactly what it says on the tin: black waters touched with salt, pure but deep, utterly convincing. I don't know how I like it as a perfume, but I admire it as a concept. For a while now I've wanted a scent that reminds me of crying, and this is a beautiful interpretation of such—so I think I'll keep it around, and scratch that want off my list.
Before the Grand Dame was the Pumpkin Queen, she was a Pumpkin Princess! Bright, sweet pumpkin with vanilla fluff, guava, chocolate-dusted white amber, tiare, red currant, raw honey, and meringue.
In the vial: A sweet, airy, Jack-esque pumpkin.
On me: The pumpkin's earthiness comes out as this hits the skin. Initially, Pumpkin Princess is surprisingly spicy and pumpkin-y, darker, drier, and not as sweet as I was expecting, but never heavy. There's some amber warmth and a dusting of sweetness, and perhaps a touch of extra fruitiness (currant, I think), but those are subtle; the pumpkin is predominant. A warm, sweet, dark-toned, full-bodied scent. The sweetness comes out as it wears, and the pumpkin grows less earthy, tending towards Jack's pumpkin but without the waxiness. Unfortunately, the scent develops a certain fruity/floral perfumeyness at its tail end (about three hours in), which may be what others are calling tropical but to my nose seems pretty much a generic perfume. Scent-color is a glowing golden orange. Throw is moderate low, and wear length is moderate.
Verdict: I love Pumpkin Princess upon application—its a warm, welcoming pumpkin scent, but errs towards the raw honey side of the other notes: its sweetness is gentle instead of cloying, and there's something earthy and warm in its golden fruits. But it conforms to expectations more and more as it wears, and I don't love that as much—the glowing golden pumpkin is pretty nice, but the tendency towards perfumeyness isn't my style. All in all a wash-up; I'll keep this around and retest it, but I'm not won over yet.
THE CHANGELING (LE, Pickman Gallery: Torment & Reverie)
Blonde wood, linen swaddling, pumpkin rind, and bourbon vanilla.
In the vial: A familiar cologney smell that I can't name. Woods? Linen?
On me: Bourbon vanilla as it goes on the skin, almost as dark and dirty as tobacco. About ten minutes later, an earthy pumpkin emerges, spicy and earthy, made that much darker by the bourbon vanilla. The scent has a surprising sweetness, thick and dark but not quite cloying, and a certain perfumey quality, especially in the throw. The background hides a dry/cologne note, somewhere between blonde wood and linen, which makes the scent a little airy and counteracts the dark spice of the pumpkin—and I don't love it for that. Throw is surprisingly high, and wearlength is incredible—but many hours in The Changling morphs into a pure perfumey, fruit-touched, insistent sweetness.
Verdict: I quite like The Changling for an hour of two, when the pumpkin emerges—the lean towards rind makes it dark, spicy, earthy, unique and quite lovely. But the occasional off note in the background keeps me from falling in love, and bourbon vanilla does its best to run away with the scent. For a few hours it's fine, casting a dark sweet dirty shadow over the scent, but the almost-cloying perfume that it becomes at the tail end of wear is frankly offputting—so much so that I washed it off. Aging may help the notes settle, and I'll hang on to my decant, but this is is more than a miss than a hit for me so far.
A NOCTURNAL REVERIE (LE, Halloweenie 2011)
Violet musk and oudh with black amber, ambergris, agarwood, black currant, dark musk, fig, and lavender incense.
In the vial: Mostly a sense of darkness. Some oudh, but precise notes mostly escape me; a slightly scratchy, slightly floral/fruit, dark scent.
On me: When it first goes on this is currant in the throw, red and fruity, and something darker against the skin, with a powdery/incense bent. The currant dies to reasonable levels during drydown (although there's occasional overstrong hits of it in the throw—but to be fair, currant amps on me), contributing a fruity fullness, but the color is purple now, dark, over a smoky/powdery base of musk and incense. There's a very clear sense of color from this scent, and it's all purple. The vague powderiness atop all that color creates a slight candle/soap vibe, and however vivid and clearly conveyed that dusky violet don't make for a particularly deep or nuanced perfume (I wish I got more dark musk, or something else that would ground and deepen the scent), but its not unpleasant. Throw is moderate low, wear length is moderate long, mostly due to a lingering skin level perfumeyness.
Verdict: A Nocturnal Reverie isn't unpleasant, but neither is it winning my heart. I have a fondness for scents which are classifiable by color, and so this helps to scratch a purple itch, but it lacks depth overall and that background hint of candle/soap isn't my style. Aging may help bring out the darker notes that would counterbalance all the color, but on the whole I think this is destined for swaps.
BLOOD MOON 2011 (LE, A Little Lunacy)
A Lunacy inspired by the magnificently morbid fantasies of Edgar Allan Poe: laudanum-stained linen scented by an ink-smeared tobacco musk and phantom bloodstains illuminated by monstrous moonlight.
In the vial: Medicinal, a bit spicy, a bit sweet, a hint of smoke.
On me: Blood/dragon's blood in color and warmth, vetiver/tobacco in smokyness, and a touch of pepperish spice. It's surprisingly warm, especially in the throw, and has a certain lightness within—laudanum maybe, or linen, a bit sweet, pale; it opens up the scent. It reminds me of a remixed The Tell-Tale Heart, and not just because of the Poe connection, but the pale note hiding within makes it unique. Unfortunately at the one hour mark it's already faded to a ghost of that pale scent touched with a hint of spice and smoke. Scent-color is ... well better just to say that this evokes the moonlit red and black landscape of the description. Throw is moderate dying down to low, and wear length is short.
Verdict: Beautifully realized, perfectly to my taste, and also heartbreaking—it hurts to see something so wonderful fade so quickly. Luckily I get enough similarity to The Tell-Tale Heart that I can just turn to that blend instead, but if Blood Moon had more staying power then I would probably want a bottle of it, too.
AMELES POTAMOS (GC, Wanderlust)
The River of Unmindfulness: bittersweet black water swollen with forgotten tears.
In the vial: Salty and slightly dark/organic water.
On me: The word I want to use is brackish—a pure aquatic, impressively salty, with a dark, organic element. The description is indeed so spot on that there's not much else to say about the scent, except some congratulations may be in order. Over time the black water recedes and are purer, slightly more crystalline salt water comes to the fore. Throw is moderate, dying down to low; wear length is about four hours, but the scent fades dramatically at its tail end.
Verdict: Ameles Potamos is too unique a scent to be called straightforward, but it's exactly what it says on the tin: black waters touched with salt, pure but deep, utterly convincing. I don't know how I like it as a perfume, but I admire it as a concept. For a while now I've wanted a scent that reminds me of crying, and this is a beautiful interpretation of such—so I think I'll keep it around, and scratch that want off my list.
