(no subject)

[gwydion]

The Frimps:
ANUKI NO AMIUCHI 2011 (LE, Pon poko pon no pon): (Company says: Sandalwood incense, patchouli, matcha, cumin, white cedar, white gardenia, ti leaf, and vetiver.)

In bottle: It’s a very ‘70’s retro patchouli dominant incense heavy blend. The vetiver plays well with the patchouli. The cumin adds an air of the Middle Eastern cooking. The matcha and ti leaves lighten it a little. The gardenia is very understated and shouldn’t prevent you if you love incense but hate florals. This isn’t my sort of thing, but it’s well designed for what it is.

Ordered:
ABSINTHE AND LACE 2012 (LE, Dark Delicacies, retail exclusives): (Company says: Inspired by Edgar Degas' L'Absinthe, and created in the vein of the Dark Delicacies / Black Phoenix lace-themed collaborations. A scent of dissipation and ennui: green cognac and icy absinthe, louched, spilling onto lace that is drooping with neglect and darkened by tobacco smoke.)

In bottle: Absinthe is dominant, but not by much. The cognac and tobacco are strong enough to darken and temper the green fairy. The lace is soft, tying elements together. Full disclosure: I’m not good with absinthe scent, as I’ve drunk to much absinthe in the past to not have strong associations. This may be understated enough for me. Fingers crossed. Wet: mmmm…The cognac really comes out on my skin. The absinthe plays beautifully with it, the hint of licorice adding depth to the dominant sent. The tobacco blends beautifully as well. The lace is stronger on the skin, and plays beautifully with the other elements. The result is luxurious and a little dangerous in a 19th century sort of way. My skin loves this. Dry: More Absinthe on the dry down, but pleasantly modified by the supporting cognac and tobacco. The perfect absinthe blend.

AE. ALBOPICTUS 2011 (LE, Metamorphosis): (Company says: Saffron, pimento, cardamom, beeswax, cajeput, tomato leaf, geranium, and pink pepper honey.)

In bottle: Really different. It’s very late spring/early summer afternoon. There is a sense of warmth and of lying about in the sun, of bees hovering over flowers, and the sharp bite of mosquitoes. Very clever for a day feeding mosquito know for spreading deadly fevers. The saffron, beeswax, tomato leaf, and pimento play together brilliantly and together give the strongest impression to the nose. The geraniums are soft and sort of the afternoon on a warm day outdoors feel to the thing. I like that the beeswax and honey work together with the geraniums to hint at the hum of bees. The pepper in the honey works with the touch of sharper tree oil, which I’m guessing is the cajeput, to suggest the mosquito’s bite. Tomato leaf contributes to the sense of garden with the geranium; while saffron, cardamom, and pimento suggest the start of the fever. This is a beautiful scent poem before I even put it on my skin. Need I mention, I’m already in love? Wet: Sweeter on the skin, with the tomato leaf, geranium, and pink pepper honey moving to the forefront. The effect is simultaneously sweet and savory, outdoorsey with a real bite. Omnomnom. Less subtle on the skin, but still stunning with it’s shifting alliances. As it warms, the tomato leaf and pimento gang up on the sweeter elements and it goes primarily savory for a while. Then it softens and the beeswax, saffron, and geranium, rise… You get the idea. Something is combining to make a leather accord that collapses like a man made of insects into components again if examined too closely. It changes minute by minute. I’m not sure the pimento/cajeput dominant phase was entirely apropos, but wait a minute or two and the cardamom, honey, and geranium strike back. This is the most fun I’ve had with a scent poem since a friend let me skin test Storyville. I think this will not be to everyone’s taste. It has it’s viscous and awkward moments; it is fickle and strange; sometimes smells like gardens and fevers and other times like leather. It is to my taste though. I love it for the complex songs it sings to my nose, it’s sunny garden feel, fever sweat, and savory bites. Dry: Mostly that accidental leather accord to my nose, with touches of cajeput, pepper, honey, and saffron that I can still pick out individually. I love it, but I still suspect it may be for a specific audience instead of wide appeal.

BODY, REMEMBER 2012 (LE, Lupercalia: Love Poems): (Company says: Profoundly sensual. The echo of caresses: raw black coconut, ambergris accord, ambrette seed, champaca flower, and sugar cane.)

In bottle: Lots and lots of black coconut. Ambergris, sugar, and ambrette are smooth support for the coconut. Champaca flower is soft and delicate. Wet: The coconut and the ambergris and Ambrette are more balanced here, which worked better on my skin, than the bottle balance would have. Indeed, the warmer it gets, the stronger the ambergris and ambrette get, the better it smells on me. The coconut ends up a strong second instead of dominant as in the bottle. It isn’t really very me, but I suspect it’d be lovely on someone with a more suitable personality. Dry: The coconut comes back as the various ambers soften. The balance ends up similar to the in bottle balance, only smoother and softer. The ambrette wears stronger than the ambergris. It’s absolutely lovely, but utterly confusing on me.

BOOBER (Fraggle Rock): (Company says: A fretfully clean scent: freshly-washed laundry, linden blossom, soap suds, and a sprinkle of vanilla.)

In Bottle: It really is as described. Linden blossoms are strongest, but it really does smell like clean laundry hanging in a garden. The linen blends beautifully with the linden blossoms. The soap suds are understated and give the impression of clean. The Vanilla supports and deepens the florals. Lovely. Wet: Still very much a bright, breezy, clean smelling floral. The linden flowers are even richer, stronger, and more nuance as the skin warms them. It’s not very me, but I’d love this on someone else. Dry: Linen mostly.

DOOZERS (Fraggle Rock): (Company says: The scent of industrious cooperation: glittering crystals, soft soil, and radish dust.).

In Bottle: This is a lovely, rich, loam dominant scent, with the radish giving it unexpected and delightful bite. The crystal is soft and gives the otherwise earthy scent a delicacy not normally associated with fresh turned earth. Wet: now only slightly dirt dominant, but both the radish and crystal are stronger on the skin. On me, the crystal and radish clash rather. The warmer it gets, the more ascendant the crystals are, becoming coequal with the dirt. The radish settles down, so as to play better with the crystal, but it is an uneasy truce. They give the crystal a sharp edge, sharp enough to cut. Dry: mostly dirt and radish.

GORG'S GARDEN (Fraggle Rock): (Company says: Radishes, freshly-turned soil, and soft herbs.)

In Bottle: This has the same soil plus the sharpness of radishes as it’s base that the Doozers have, but here, the effect is entirely different. The herbs are dominant, and surprisingly sweet and a little fruity. I was a little worried, I’d gotten a mislabeled Red imp, but a quick sniff of Red reassured me. This is only a little fruity, with a supporting mix of herbs instead of aggressively fruity. The herbal mix is more medicinal than for eating I think. This is interesting, even if it isn’t what I expected. Wet: Less fruity on the skin. The herbs and radishes blend together in a sharply arresting sort of way, and the dirt smoothly fills in the cracks. I like it, though I’m not sure I love it enough to crave a bottle. Dry: Mostly dirt and radishes, with a touch of sweetness.

RED (Fraggle Rock): (Company says: Sporty and energetic: sweet red currant, tangy cranberry, pink musk, and spicy pink pepper.)

In bottle: This is very much as one would expect from the notes and concept. It’s aggressively fruity and fresh with a peppery edge that suits red’s character. The pink musk works beautifully with the pepper, providing a clever support to the fruit and almost creating the illusion of grapefruit. The cranberry is the dominant note, by the way, though with the current and support, it feels all season instead of Fall, if that makes sense. Wet: still cranberry dominant, still bright red and juicy. The Pepper and pink musk are more understated on the skin at first, but bounce back as the oil warms, to end up a little stronger than in the imp, but still well balanced. This isn’t much me, but I can think of several friends it would be perfect on, and I like it enough on me to wear. Dry: Mostly pink pepper with pink musk a strong second. The fruit is soft and no longer easy to differentiate.

UNCLE TRAVELING MATT (Fraggle Rock): (Company says: Dark chocolate, figgy vanilla, pear, and quince.)

In Bottle: This is gorgeous and rich in the imp. The dark chocolate is dominant, but the pear is a close second. The quince and fig support the pear, the vanilla blends the chocolate and pear and is a strong third in it’s own right. Omnomnom. Wet: The pear and quince are more separate and distinct, but still work together beautifully. The pear is now strongest with the quince second. The rest of the notes hover in the background, present and delicious with the dominant notes, but not asserting themselves. This is delicious and sharp and makes me want to lick my arm. Dry: Heavenly. The remains of the fruit and the dark chocolate and hint of vanilla are perfect.

WHITE PEACOCK 2011 (LE, Metamorphosis): (Company says: Teak, ebony wood, osmanthus, patchouli, red sandalwood, vanilla orchid, tonka bean, tobacco, wild musk, spikenard, and sugandh kokila.)

In bottle: Oh god, the glorious woods! Call it teak and ebony dominant; with sugandh kokila, musk, sandalwood, tobacco, and patchouli support. (I’m guessing the touch of evergreen wood is the sugandh kokila, but don’t quote me there). The wild musk is, by which I mean dark and wild while dancing beautifully with the ebony but without being overwhelming. This really is all about showing off the woods, with the osmanthus, spikenard, orchid, and tonka mostly serving to soften it around the edges and smooth things together. Wet: if anything, the woods are stronger and have even more individual definition on first application. It’s all about the wood. I am particularly fond of the way the ebony, teak, and tobacco work together, but it’s all beautifully blended. Call it masculine or androgynous, with the florals so understated that they are hard to pick out wet. For the record, the wild musk is not too strong with my natural musk, sexy and a little dangerous, but not too much. Dry: Still wood dominant, but gentler, with more sandalwood proportionally as the others fade a bit. The musk continues to play well with the woods and tonka and now the little hints of flowers that reemerge. Even softened, it’s still a little bit wild. I’m loving this. It’s brilliantly blended to smell glorious in all stages while maintaining a sense of itself.



Winners: White Peacock, Ae. Albopictus,
Runners Up: Absinthe and Lace, Uncle Traveling Max

Comments

[psybelle.livejournal.com]

oooooh. I wish I was more of a perfume-wearer... the White Peacock, Absinthe, and Uncle Traveling Matt sound amazing. (Anuki no Amiuchi sounds pretty cool, as well...)


I have a really weak sense of smell, have trouble judging how much is "too much"... and the complexities are usually lost on me. (I know that I tend to hate florals and really sweet/fruity scents, like woods and spices and musks; but that's about the limit of my scent vocabulary.)

[psybelle.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

I broke down and ordered a handful of things.

It's all your fault...

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

*pats*

Do not use more than a dab on each side of the neck and under each arm. If reapplication in a few hours makes sense depends on the strength of the oil and your skin chemistry. Best to ask someone else if you aren't sure.

They are addictive. ;)

I clearly need a bottle of Uncle Traveling Matt. Omnomnom.