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juushikaA WONDERFUL LIGHT (LE, Yule: Little Match Girl 2011)
Three radiant ambers with honey, linden blossom, bourbon vanilla, and orange zest.
In the vial: Warm, citric amber.
On me: It goes on as orange zest—the bright, volatile, almost bitter oils of orange peel—over amber. Much of the orange, in particular its brightness, dies off with drydown; what's left behind is a faint, warm amber, slightly powdery and slightly vanillic, perhaps a bit floral, touched by orange. It's a pale, light, warm scent, glowing rather than shining; it has almost a white cocoa sense to it, a more-than-skin-scent atmosphere of gentle and pale but distinct sweetness. (Bourbon vanilla usually goes dark and dirty on me; if the sweetness is just vanilla, it's much whiter than I'm used to.) Scent color is opaque, pastel orange. Throw is gentle but surprisingly high.
Verdict: A Wonderful Light is reminiscent of Khrysee, but drier and more pristine than Khyrsee's fleshy amber; it's also reminiscent of a white chocolate Gelt, sweet and powdery and dry. It's perfectly pleasant but doesn't move me—the scent texture is too dry, and it's a little too sweet for my taste, and I don't need to own it.
THE MOON GAZED ON MY MIDNIGHT LABOURS (LE, Yule: Frankenstein 2001)
Moroccan musk, black opium poppy, clove, and orris root.
In the vial: Dark, a bit bitter, a bit dry.
On me: The bitterness blossoms as this hits the skin—clove and orris root, maybe, a dark sharp scent. The musk comes out with drydown and the bitterness fades; the scent transforms into a warm, dark spice with a red/purple shift. It's a dense, dark scent that hovers close to the skin, spicy and hot, a bit powdery, musk with clove thorns, sensual and dangerous in the same scent. Throw and wear length are both fairly low.
Verdict: I'm not head over heels, but I am solidly won over. The Moon Gazed on My Midnight Labours is what I would expect from the notes, dark and warm and spicy; it doesn't try to play nice by offering up any sort of sweetness (even though musk is usually sweet on my skin), but is gorgeous in its own right. I expect it will age well, too. I'll hold on to my decant, but I don't think I need a bottle.
PUMPKIN MASALA ROOIBOS (LE, Yule 2011)
Rooibos tea with red ginger, green cardamom, fennel, peppercorns, almond, and licorice, sweetened with coconut sugar and jaggery.
In the vial: Surprisingly sweet, almost Jack-waxy pumpkin.
On me: Goes on strong pumpkin, midway between earthy and waxy, with something chemically sweet in the throw. The waxiness of the pumpkin dies off during drydown, leaving behind an understand and earthy pumpkin rind. There's a chemical/medicinal/herbal note at the heart of this blend—fennel and spices and licorice—and I just ... don't like it. Most rooibos I've encountered is an herbal equivalent to red musk, but I get nothing of that warmth and color here—it's just a spiced, curried pumpkin.
Verdict: Pumpkin Masala Roobios is effective as a non-sweet, non-traditional spicy pumpkin—herbs and unusual spices over a savory pumpkin base. But the spices always seem a little off and unpleasant to my nose, and I just find nothing to like here, none of the warmth I was expecting, nothing palatable in the blend. I'll trade away my decant.
Three radiant ambers with honey, linden blossom, bourbon vanilla, and orange zest.
In the vial: Warm, citric amber.
On me: It goes on as orange zest—the bright, volatile, almost bitter oils of orange peel—over amber. Much of the orange, in particular its brightness, dies off with drydown; what's left behind is a faint, warm amber, slightly powdery and slightly vanillic, perhaps a bit floral, touched by orange. It's a pale, light, warm scent, glowing rather than shining; it has almost a white cocoa sense to it, a more-than-skin-scent atmosphere of gentle and pale but distinct sweetness. (Bourbon vanilla usually goes dark and dirty on me; if the sweetness is just vanilla, it's much whiter than I'm used to.) Scent color is opaque, pastel orange. Throw is gentle but surprisingly high.
Verdict: A Wonderful Light is reminiscent of Khrysee, but drier and more pristine than Khyrsee's fleshy amber; it's also reminiscent of a white chocolate Gelt, sweet and powdery and dry. It's perfectly pleasant but doesn't move me—the scent texture is too dry, and it's a little too sweet for my taste, and I don't need to own it.
THE MOON GAZED ON MY MIDNIGHT LABOURS (LE, Yule: Frankenstein 2001)
Moroccan musk, black opium poppy, clove, and orris root.
In the vial: Dark, a bit bitter, a bit dry.
On me: The bitterness blossoms as this hits the skin—clove and orris root, maybe, a dark sharp scent. The musk comes out with drydown and the bitterness fades; the scent transforms into a warm, dark spice with a red/purple shift. It's a dense, dark scent that hovers close to the skin, spicy and hot, a bit powdery, musk with clove thorns, sensual and dangerous in the same scent. Throw and wear length are both fairly low.
Verdict: I'm not head over heels, but I am solidly won over. The Moon Gazed on My Midnight Labours is what I would expect from the notes, dark and warm and spicy; it doesn't try to play nice by offering up any sort of sweetness (even though musk is usually sweet on my skin), but is gorgeous in its own right. I expect it will age well, too. I'll hold on to my decant, but I don't think I need a bottle.
PUMPKIN MASALA ROOIBOS (LE, Yule 2011)
Rooibos tea with red ginger, green cardamom, fennel, peppercorns, almond, and licorice, sweetened with coconut sugar and jaggery.
In the vial: Surprisingly sweet, almost Jack-waxy pumpkin.
On me: Goes on strong pumpkin, midway between earthy and waxy, with something chemically sweet in the throw. The waxiness of the pumpkin dies off during drydown, leaving behind an understand and earthy pumpkin rind. There's a chemical/medicinal/herbal note at the heart of this blend—fennel and spices and licorice—and I just ... don't like it. Most rooibos I've encountered is an herbal equivalent to red musk, but I get nothing of that warmth and color here—it's just a spiced, curried pumpkin.
Verdict: Pumpkin Masala Roobios is effective as a non-sweet, non-traditional spicy pumpkin—herbs and unusual spices over a savory pumpkin base. But the spices always seem a little off and unpleasant to my nose, and I just find nothing to like here, none of the warmth I was expecting, nothing palatable in the blend. I'll trade away my decant.
