BPAL: Halloweenies Pt. 3
Oct. 23rd, 2012 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydionThe Pickman decants came, so I'm posting them along with a bunch of swap stuff that came in last week.
The Frimps:
HERETIC 2012 (LE, Heretic Salon exclusive): (Company says: Dark, spicy, animalic: Nagdi frankincense, bois de cade, beeswax, Somalian myrrh, and Laotian oudh.)
In bottle: I’d astutely call it predominantly musky woody with a strong incense presence. I was expecting o hate this as juniper and frankincense are not my friends, but it’s quite sexy and intriguing in the bottle. Wet: Oudh dominant. It turns out the bois de cade is more woody and less juniper than I expected. Sort of juniper adjacent. Together with the oudh, the result is rather like cedar. The beeswax blends well with the woods, smoothing the edges between them. The Frankincense and myrrh wind through the scent. It gets significantly more insensey as it warms, while remaining wood dominant. It is beautifully designed and blended but too heavy and intense on me. Dry: It goes all traditional perfume with the oudh standing out from the throng.
KUBLA KHAN (Bewitching Brews): (Company says: Through sunlit caves of ice, roses unfurl amidst dancing waves of serpentine opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine.)
In bottle: Ooo! Pretty! The Amber Tobacco, Mandarin, tea leaf, and vanilla are strongest, but the florals make a strong showing. I’d call the lily dominant, but they are all working well together. Opium twines around everything, adding a sensual feel. The leather is soft and well blended. The ginger is supporting the tea leaf; the balsam and sandalwood support the tobacco. Frankly, I can barely detect the hay in all that complexity. Wet: The vanilla and tea leaf really pop on the skin. The tea leaf is unusual, and this is a lovely setting for it. I’m putting the lily in second, supported by the ginger. Leather and amber tobacco are third. It morphs though and the lesser threads are all present and floating to the surface at different times. It works well with its concept and is well blended, but a bit too floral for me. My personal skin chemistry does weird things with lily as it wears. It does settle into lily and leather dominant about fifteen minutes in. Again, this is an interesting idea, but weird with what my body does to lilies. Dry: It’s lovely on the dry down, with rich, creamy vanilla, with sugar, opium, and a touch of sandalwood.
MALEDICTION (Sin & Salvation): (Company says: Evil incarnate. Revel in your dark side with this romantically cruel scent. Contains red patchouli and vetivert.)
In bottle: Patchouli dominant, but with lots of smoky vetiver. The work well together, but this is skin chemistry anathema and I’m already a touch queasy from the vetiver, so no skin test.
NEW ORLEANS (Wanderlust): (Company says: Reminiscent of hothouse blooms on a humid night, ripe, but touched with decay. Sweet honeysuckle and jasmine with a hint of lemon and spice.)
In bottle: That’s a whole lot of jasmine. Did I mention the jasmine? Seriously, jasmine. It’s eating the honeysuckle up, so that separating it takes real effort. The lemon is a weak second, and the spices are more edge than distinct in themselves. There is o chance of anything nice happening if I combine this with my natural scent, so no skin test.
SPANISH RED CARNATION 2012 (LE, Single Note): (Company says: A celebratory scent, spicy and joyful. This is the nation flower of Spain. It symbolizes the suffering of Christ, the passion of lovers, and the laurels of victory.).
In bottle: Yep, carnations. I am actually quite fond of carnations and they are my second favorite floral scent (after hyacinth). I am not a big floral person, but carnation is on my list of one I often like in blends. This carnation is rich with that classic spicy edge and the full overtones of the real flowers. Wet: Just as rich and right on the skin. It manages to imply the stems as well as the flowers themselves. My skin amps the spiciness over the more traditionally floral tones in carnation and this is definitely happening here. I am really loving this. Dry: Fades fairly quickly along the same trajectory as a real carnation. Seriously, it’s like a time capsule of how a fresh buttonhole fades in the course of a day. It’s lovely, but expect to need to reapply.
Ordered:
BEAVER MOON 2012 (LE, Lunacy (Company says: For your pleasure and amusement, we present this year's incarnation of Beaver Moon: gooey apple cheesecake!)
In bottle: Yep, apple cheesecake as promised. It’s cheesecake dominant, but the tart apple is quite strong and the contrast is remarkable. Wet Apple dominant on the skin, with the cheesecake softening it and providing background. There’s a touch of spice, maybe to suggest the gingerbread crust or cinnamon spicing on the apples, or both. The apple starts a little shrill, but goes warm and gooey as it wears, suggesting baked pie rather than fresh green slices as it does when first applied. The cheesecake starts to make it’s move at this point, reasserting itself. There’s a lovely long period of balance at this point. Omnomnom. Dry: Cheesecake with a touch of apple. Lovely and unobjectionable.
BEHEMOTH (Phoenix Steamworks & Research Facility): (Company says: Ozone, lavender, tobacco flower, and camphor.)
In bottle: Lavender dominant with tobacco in support. The camphor is second and I’m not sure I like it. The ozone is understated, but pervasive. Wet: Lavender dominant, but the camphor is creeping up on it. They are working together better on my skin than I expected from the bottle. I like the woodiness of the camphor with the lavender and tobacco, but I think the medicinal edge may still be a little overwhelming. As it warms, the camphor takes over, with the lavender becoming strong support and the tobacco and ozone fading into the background. It’s a clever design to show off the camphor and well blended, but it may be too intense for me. Dry: Weakened camphor with the ghost of lavender. Not for me, but easily for someone else.
CAT ALLINGHAM 2010 (LE, San Diego Comic-Con): (Company says: Distilled shadows, a bleak desert landscape at midnight: Myroswelia balsam, gaïac wood, obsidian musk, green cumin, patchouli, myrrh, Siamese benzoin, frankincense, champaca, and sand.)
In bottle: Balsam dominant. I am not a balsam fan, but this version is quite lovely with the wood, cumin, and incense. The cumin is really clever here, giving a real sense of place. The musk is darkly sexy. There is a sense about this of mysterious rites and solitude. Wet: Musk and balsam dominant with a strong cumin presence. The wood supports the balsam and musk. The incense twines with the cumin. This really does suit it’s concept. It shouldn’t work on me, but it does. Lots of throw. Dry: Mostly balsam and musk. I’m heart broken as I loved it onfirst ablication, buut it’s not good on me in the later stages. Odds are it’s skin chemistry as the blending was brilliant and I amp musk and don’t usually do well with balsam, so I’m betting it’d be glorious on someone else.
THE DORMOUSE (Mad tea Party): (Company says: A dizzying eddy of four teas brushed with light herbs and a breath of peony.)
In bottle: Peony dominant with strong tea backing. They work together well, supporting each other beautifully. I’m a little bummed out it’s so floral though. I was hoping for mostly tea. The herbs give it a touch of green to go with the purple. Wet: More tea on the skin and a little less floral, though still in that realm. The herbs come out a little more as well, creating a tea party in the garden sort of feel that suits the concept. It’s pretty and delicate. I am picking up anise as it warms, which goes well with the tea, even as the peony continues to soften. Dry: Peony and herbs.
HALLOWEEN IN THE MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 2012 (LE, Halloween: Mnemosyne): (Company says: Ancient tomes, musty wooden bookshelves, cologne, and spiked pumpkin lattes)
In bottle: Spiked Pumpkin latte dominant. The coffee note is very espresso rather than sweet. The pumpkin is sweeter and trying to blend with the beans. The result is interesting with the booze note forming the third vertice of the love triangle. It’s one of the dark liqueurs, like whiskey, so that’s to the good for me. It’s gorgeous with the pumpkin. I like the distinctness of the espresso, but I’m not sure if that will work on my skin. There is also a spiciness that suits the pumpkin. The parchment and wood are more canvass for the spiked pumpkin latte to paint on. The cologne is soft, twining through the other notes. Wet: Initially too much espresso, but the spiced pumpkin starts gaining on it. After a bit, the booze and cologne get over their shock and try to mix it up. The library scents are strongly present, but again as background on which the more dynamic elements dance. I have a bad history both with coffee and pumpkin, but so far, it’s holding together surprisingly well. I think the booze and spices are really helping. Dry: Mmmm… Library. Paper and wood mostly, with some spice and a touch of the booze. I wasn’t sure about this one, but now I am. It’s gorgeous and well designed for it’s concept.
HOTHRUN DATH 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says: Hothrun Dath, Sidney Sime. White sand, blue musk, ho leaf, oudh, mugwort, bamboo, white myrrh, and opium tar.)
In bottle: Intense and fascinating. I am not sure I approve of the mugwort, which is a little overwhelming here. It does smell like sand, though I can’t tell you how. The Myrrh, musk, and opium form a faction with the mugwort. Another, more subtle faction is formed by the sand, ho leaf, oudh and bamboo. I love the second faction, and am fond of much of the first, but all together, it may be too confusing and overwhelming for me. Wet: It settles down a bit on the skin, though is sytill strong. It creates the feeling of balsam without containing it. The musk moves into the strongest position, though the mugwort stays strong. The second, more delicate faction makes its move with the wood striking out hard together to become nearly as strong as the musk. After an awkward five to ten minutes or so, it becomes a quite lovely oudh dominant blend. Unfortuneatly, the mugwort strikes back and ends up coequal with the woods again fairly quickly. It’s heartbreaking as I fall in and out of love as it morphs. Dry: Still a bit too much mugwort, but mostly woods with a bit of myrrh.
MICHAEL CASTS OUT ALL OF THE FALLEN ANGELS 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says: Michael Casts Out All of the Fallen Angels, Gustave Doré. White sandalwood, olibanum, styrax, galbanum, white dammar, valerian root, and white musk.)
In bottle: Surprisingly pale and juicy. This is nearly all resins and as two are unfamiliar, I’m going to have a hard time telling you what is strongest. It’s a strong resin blend with Valarian standing out bright and clear from the pack. The sandalwood and musk are understated and mostly supporting the incense. I suspect the dammer of being the thing doing the lovely dance with the styrax and the galbanum of giving the streak of pale green with the white musk, but that’s guessing based on word descriptions of scents, not visceral knowledge, so again, don’t quote me. This is surprisingly complex and subtle, and while I’m not a big fan of olibanum I think it’s playing well with others here. Wet: More sandalwood on the skin. The complex dance of the resins continue, the valerian moves into support and blends better than it did in the bottle. It’s a good fit for a warrior angel, all that elevated incense with a sharp edge of danger under the devotion. As it warms, it gets a little pencil shaving adjacent, but mostly this is about the resins. Dry: Soft, sweet resin. I suspect a lot of people will misidentify it as vanilla or power, but it retains a surprising amount of complexity until late in it’s process, along with a sexy hint of musk. I think this may have been what I wanted from Paladin without knowing it.
MONASTERY IN THE MOUNTAINS 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says: Monastery in the Mountains, Nicholas Roerich. Snow-capped mountain air, rich sandalwood incense, and deodar - the Tree of God.)
In bottle: The snow note is similar to the Death of a Gravedigger and very intense, maybe too intense. The deodar is a weak second, with sandalwood support, so the result is SNOW, WIND CHILL, cedar and a touch of sandalwood incense. It works for the concept and the smell suits the art beautifully. I am worried it may be too much for me. Wet: It is much the same only stronger and mintier. It did remind me why I fell in love with the Gravedigger in the first place. It’s a non-peppermint mint, BTW. Dry: Still mostly snow, only softer and the accord has less internal differentiation, with the ghosts of deodar and incense.
NADIE SE CONOCE 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says:
Nadie Se Conoce, Francisco de Goya. Red currant, caramel, pimento, bitter clove, Spanish mimosa, and Italian bergamot.)
In bottle: The Pimento stands out because it’s effect is so unusual with the mimosa and bergamot on the one hand and the caramel and current on the other. This is actually strongly current dominant though, with the caramel adding an extra sweetness and the florals providing variety. I’m calling the pimento second, a strange savory voice in the midst of sweet. The clove ends up hanging out in the background making eyes at the current. It’s interesting and intense. Wet: Still current dominant, but now with the bergamot a strong second and the pimento pulling up third. Do not get this if you don’t love current and bergamot. This is fascinating and quirky, while also being unsettling.. Dry: Current and strong clove. Yummy!
TARASQUE (Phoenix Steamworks & Research Facility): (Company says: Spiced tea, leather, liquidambar, and labdanum.)
In bottle: I’m guessing licorice tea, because I’m getting licorice as the strongest note. I am not familiar with sweet gum resin, so I’m guessing it’s the resiny scent that isn’t the labdanum. If so, it’s kind of cool and doing interesting things with the tea. The leather is medium strength and mostly working with the resin I’m not a labdanum fan, but it’s clever here, giving it an edge it wouldn’t otherwise have without taking over. It seems well blended and unusual. Wet: Tea dominant on the skin with the liquidamber as strong support. It’s still licoricey, but less overwhelmingly so. The labdanum stays in similar proportion, working with the sweetgum. The leather gets stronger as it warms, eventually overtaking the tea to become dominant. The leather and licorice are really good friends, and I like the result, so it’s all good. Dry: Mostly leather and.. clean laundry? No really. It smells like cotton tee shirts and de4nim fresh from the dryer. No really. I have no explanation, but I love it. Leather and clean laundry is a fine scent.
THREE SWORDS 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says: Three Swords, Nicholas Roerich. A snow-touched olistolith, embedded with quartz, red clay, limestone, shale and granite, with a hint of wild rhododendron.)
In bottle: This is a multiple stone blend, which means I may have trouble telling which accord is meant to be what. It’s surprisingly industrial, and reminiscent of a construction site which makes sense. It is very much a stone blend, indeed the strongest stone blend I’ve encountered. The rhododendrons are pervasive and actually contributing to the industrial feel through accidental accords with some of the stones while still being clearly floral. It suits it’s art concept beautifully and is quite unusual and subtly unsettling. I don’t know if I want to smell like this, but I am fascinated by it. Wet: Much as in the bottle, only with the clay more differentiated and the rocks more nuance. As it warms, the rhododendron spends less time smelling industrial and more smelling floral. Dry: Above average staying power for a stone blend. I suspect it is bulstering by clay and rhododendren that make it possible. Still, it evenually goes mostly to clay. I’m not that big on clay, as it turns out.
Winners: Beaver Moon 2012
Runners Up: Tarasque, Halloween in the Miskatonic university Library, MICHAEL CASTS OUT ALL OF THE FALLEN ANGELS
The Frimps:
HERETIC 2012 (LE, Heretic Salon exclusive): (Company says: Dark, spicy, animalic: Nagdi frankincense, bois de cade, beeswax, Somalian myrrh, and Laotian oudh.)
In bottle: I’d astutely call it predominantly musky woody with a strong incense presence. I was expecting o hate this as juniper and frankincense are not my friends, but it’s quite sexy and intriguing in the bottle. Wet: Oudh dominant. It turns out the bois de cade is more woody and less juniper than I expected. Sort of juniper adjacent. Together with the oudh, the result is rather like cedar. The beeswax blends well with the woods, smoothing the edges between them. The Frankincense and myrrh wind through the scent. It gets significantly more insensey as it warms, while remaining wood dominant. It is beautifully designed and blended but too heavy and intense on me. Dry: It goes all traditional perfume with the oudh standing out from the throng.
KUBLA KHAN (Bewitching Brews): (Company says: Through sunlit caves of ice, roses unfurl amidst dancing waves of serpentine opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine.)
In bottle: Ooo! Pretty! The Amber Tobacco, Mandarin, tea leaf, and vanilla are strongest, but the florals make a strong showing. I’d call the lily dominant, but they are all working well together. Opium twines around everything, adding a sensual feel. The leather is soft and well blended. The ginger is supporting the tea leaf; the balsam and sandalwood support the tobacco. Frankly, I can barely detect the hay in all that complexity. Wet: The vanilla and tea leaf really pop on the skin. The tea leaf is unusual, and this is a lovely setting for it. I’m putting the lily in second, supported by the ginger. Leather and amber tobacco are third. It morphs though and the lesser threads are all present and floating to the surface at different times. It works well with its concept and is well blended, but a bit too floral for me. My personal skin chemistry does weird things with lily as it wears. It does settle into lily and leather dominant about fifteen minutes in. Again, this is an interesting idea, but weird with what my body does to lilies. Dry: It’s lovely on the dry down, with rich, creamy vanilla, with sugar, opium, and a touch of sandalwood.
MALEDICTION (Sin & Salvation): (Company says: Evil incarnate. Revel in your dark side with this romantically cruel scent. Contains red patchouli and vetivert.)
In bottle: Patchouli dominant, but with lots of smoky vetiver. The work well together, but this is skin chemistry anathema and I’m already a touch queasy from the vetiver, so no skin test.
NEW ORLEANS (Wanderlust): (Company says: Reminiscent of hothouse blooms on a humid night, ripe, but touched with decay. Sweet honeysuckle and jasmine with a hint of lemon and spice.)
In bottle: That’s a whole lot of jasmine. Did I mention the jasmine? Seriously, jasmine. It’s eating the honeysuckle up, so that separating it takes real effort. The lemon is a weak second, and the spices are more edge than distinct in themselves. There is o chance of anything nice happening if I combine this with my natural scent, so no skin test.
SPANISH RED CARNATION 2012 (LE, Single Note): (Company says: A celebratory scent, spicy and joyful. This is the nation flower of Spain. It symbolizes the suffering of Christ, the passion of lovers, and the laurels of victory.).
In bottle: Yep, carnations. I am actually quite fond of carnations and they are my second favorite floral scent (after hyacinth). I am not a big floral person, but carnation is on my list of one I often like in blends. This carnation is rich with that classic spicy edge and the full overtones of the real flowers. Wet: Just as rich and right on the skin. It manages to imply the stems as well as the flowers themselves. My skin amps the spiciness over the more traditionally floral tones in carnation and this is definitely happening here. I am really loving this. Dry: Fades fairly quickly along the same trajectory as a real carnation. Seriously, it’s like a time capsule of how a fresh buttonhole fades in the course of a day. It’s lovely, but expect to need to reapply.
Ordered:
BEAVER MOON 2012 (LE, Lunacy (Company says: For your pleasure and amusement, we present this year's incarnation of Beaver Moon: gooey apple cheesecake!)
In bottle: Yep, apple cheesecake as promised. It’s cheesecake dominant, but the tart apple is quite strong and the contrast is remarkable. Wet Apple dominant on the skin, with the cheesecake softening it and providing background. There’s a touch of spice, maybe to suggest the gingerbread crust or cinnamon spicing on the apples, or both. The apple starts a little shrill, but goes warm and gooey as it wears, suggesting baked pie rather than fresh green slices as it does when first applied. The cheesecake starts to make it’s move at this point, reasserting itself. There’s a lovely long period of balance at this point. Omnomnom. Dry: Cheesecake with a touch of apple. Lovely and unobjectionable.
BEHEMOTH (Phoenix Steamworks & Research Facility): (Company says: Ozone, lavender, tobacco flower, and camphor.)
In bottle: Lavender dominant with tobacco in support. The camphor is second and I’m not sure I like it. The ozone is understated, but pervasive. Wet: Lavender dominant, but the camphor is creeping up on it. They are working together better on my skin than I expected from the bottle. I like the woodiness of the camphor with the lavender and tobacco, but I think the medicinal edge may still be a little overwhelming. As it warms, the camphor takes over, with the lavender becoming strong support and the tobacco and ozone fading into the background. It’s a clever design to show off the camphor and well blended, but it may be too intense for me. Dry: Weakened camphor with the ghost of lavender. Not for me, but easily for someone else.
CAT ALLINGHAM 2010 (LE, San Diego Comic-Con): (Company says: Distilled shadows, a bleak desert landscape at midnight: Myroswelia balsam, gaïac wood, obsidian musk, green cumin, patchouli, myrrh, Siamese benzoin, frankincense, champaca, and sand.)
In bottle: Balsam dominant. I am not a balsam fan, but this version is quite lovely with the wood, cumin, and incense. The cumin is really clever here, giving a real sense of place. The musk is darkly sexy. There is a sense about this of mysterious rites and solitude. Wet: Musk and balsam dominant with a strong cumin presence. The wood supports the balsam and musk. The incense twines with the cumin. This really does suit it’s concept. It shouldn’t work on me, but it does. Lots of throw. Dry: Mostly balsam and musk. I’m heart broken as I loved it onfirst ablication, buut it’s not good on me in the later stages. Odds are it’s skin chemistry as the blending was brilliant and I amp musk and don’t usually do well with balsam, so I’m betting it’d be glorious on someone else.
THE DORMOUSE (Mad tea Party): (Company says: A dizzying eddy of four teas brushed with light herbs and a breath of peony.)
In bottle: Peony dominant with strong tea backing. They work together well, supporting each other beautifully. I’m a little bummed out it’s so floral though. I was hoping for mostly tea. The herbs give it a touch of green to go with the purple. Wet: More tea on the skin and a little less floral, though still in that realm. The herbs come out a little more as well, creating a tea party in the garden sort of feel that suits the concept. It’s pretty and delicate. I am picking up anise as it warms, which goes well with the tea, even as the peony continues to soften. Dry: Peony and herbs.
HALLOWEEN IN THE MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 2012 (LE, Halloween: Mnemosyne): (Company says: Ancient tomes, musty wooden bookshelves, cologne, and spiked pumpkin lattes)
In bottle: Spiked Pumpkin latte dominant. The coffee note is very espresso rather than sweet. The pumpkin is sweeter and trying to blend with the beans. The result is interesting with the booze note forming the third vertice of the love triangle. It’s one of the dark liqueurs, like whiskey, so that’s to the good for me. It’s gorgeous with the pumpkin. I like the distinctness of the espresso, but I’m not sure if that will work on my skin. There is also a spiciness that suits the pumpkin. The parchment and wood are more canvass for the spiked pumpkin latte to paint on. The cologne is soft, twining through the other notes. Wet: Initially too much espresso, but the spiced pumpkin starts gaining on it. After a bit, the booze and cologne get over their shock and try to mix it up. The library scents are strongly present, but again as background on which the more dynamic elements dance. I have a bad history both with coffee and pumpkin, but so far, it’s holding together surprisingly well. I think the booze and spices are really helping. Dry: Mmmm… Library. Paper and wood mostly, with some spice and a touch of the booze. I wasn’t sure about this one, but now I am. It’s gorgeous and well designed for it’s concept.
HOTHRUN DATH 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says: Hothrun Dath, Sidney Sime. White sand, blue musk, ho leaf, oudh, mugwort, bamboo, white myrrh, and opium tar.)
In bottle: Intense and fascinating. I am not sure I approve of the mugwort, which is a little overwhelming here. It does smell like sand, though I can’t tell you how. The Myrrh, musk, and opium form a faction with the mugwort. Another, more subtle faction is formed by the sand, ho leaf, oudh and bamboo. I love the second faction, and am fond of much of the first, but all together, it may be too confusing and overwhelming for me. Wet: It settles down a bit on the skin, though is sytill strong. It creates the feeling of balsam without containing it. The musk moves into the strongest position, though the mugwort stays strong. The second, more delicate faction makes its move with the wood striking out hard together to become nearly as strong as the musk. After an awkward five to ten minutes or so, it becomes a quite lovely oudh dominant blend. Unfortuneatly, the mugwort strikes back and ends up coequal with the woods again fairly quickly. It’s heartbreaking as I fall in and out of love as it morphs. Dry: Still a bit too much mugwort, but mostly woods with a bit of myrrh.
MICHAEL CASTS OUT ALL OF THE FALLEN ANGELS 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says: Michael Casts Out All of the Fallen Angels, Gustave Doré. White sandalwood, olibanum, styrax, galbanum, white dammar, valerian root, and white musk.)
In bottle: Surprisingly pale and juicy. This is nearly all resins and as two are unfamiliar, I’m going to have a hard time telling you what is strongest. It’s a strong resin blend with Valarian standing out bright and clear from the pack. The sandalwood and musk are understated and mostly supporting the incense. I suspect the dammer of being the thing doing the lovely dance with the styrax and the galbanum of giving the streak of pale green with the white musk, but that’s guessing based on word descriptions of scents, not visceral knowledge, so again, don’t quote me. This is surprisingly complex and subtle, and while I’m not a big fan of olibanum I think it’s playing well with others here. Wet: More sandalwood on the skin. The complex dance of the resins continue, the valerian moves into support and blends better than it did in the bottle. It’s a good fit for a warrior angel, all that elevated incense with a sharp edge of danger under the devotion. As it warms, it gets a little pencil shaving adjacent, but mostly this is about the resins. Dry: Soft, sweet resin. I suspect a lot of people will misidentify it as vanilla or power, but it retains a surprising amount of complexity until late in it’s process, along with a sexy hint of musk. I think this may have been what I wanted from Paladin without knowing it.
MONASTERY IN THE MOUNTAINS 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says: Monastery in the Mountains, Nicholas Roerich. Snow-capped mountain air, rich sandalwood incense, and deodar - the Tree of God.)
In bottle: The snow note is similar to the Death of a Gravedigger and very intense, maybe too intense. The deodar is a weak second, with sandalwood support, so the result is SNOW, WIND CHILL, cedar and a touch of sandalwood incense. It works for the concept and the smell suits the art beautifully. I am worried it may be too much for me. Wet: It is much the same only stronger and mintier. It did remind me why I fell in love with the Gravedigger in the first place. It’s a non-peppermint mint, BTW. Dry: Still mostly snow, only softer and the accord has less internal differentiation, with the ghosts of deodar and incense.
NADIE SE CONOCE 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says:
Nadie Se Conoce, Francisco de Goya. Red currant, caramel, pimento, bitter clove, Spanish mimosa, and Italian bergamot.)
In bottle: The Pimento stands out because it’s effect is so unusual with the mimosa and bergamot on the one hand and the caramel and current on the other. This is actually strongly current dominant though, with the caramel adding an extra sweetness and the florals providing variety. I’m calling the pimento second, a strange savory voice in the midst of sweet. The clove ends up hanging out in the background making eyes at the current. It’s interesting and intense. Wet: Still current dominant, but now with the bergamot a strong second and the pimento pulling up third. Do not get this if you don’t love current and bergamot. This is fascinating and quirky, while also being unsettling.. Dry: Current and strong clove. Yummy!
TARASQUE (Phoenix Steamworks & Research Facility): (Company says: Spiced tea, leather, liquidambar, and labdanum.)
In bottle: I’m guessing licorice tea, because I’m getting licorice as the strongest note. I am not familiar with sweet gum resin, so I’m guessing it’s the resiny scent that isn’t the labdanum. If so, it’s kind of cool and doing interesting things with the tea. The leather is medium strength and mostly working with the resin I’m not a labdanum fan, but it’s clever here, giving it an edge it wouldn’t otherwise have without taking over. It seems well blended and unusual. Wet: Tea dominant on the skin with the liquidamber as strong support. It’s still licoricey, but less overwhelmingly so. The labdanum stays in similar proportion, working with the sweetgum. The leather gets stronger as it warms, eventually overtaking the tea to become dominant. The leather and licorice are really good friends, and I like the result, so it’s all good. Dry: Mostly leather and.. clean laundry? No really. It smells like cotton tee shirts and de4nim fresh from the dryer. No really. I have no explanation, but I love it. Leather and clean laundry is a fine scent.
THREE SWORDS 2012 (LE, Halloween: Pickman Gallery): (Company says: Three Swords, Nicholas Roerich. A snow-touched olistolith, embedded with quartz, red clay, limestone, shale and granite, with a hint of wild rhododendron.)
In bottle: This is a multiple stone blend, which means I may have trouble telling which accord is meant to be what. It’s surprisingly industrial, and reminiscent of a construction site which makes sense. It is very much a stone blend, indeed the strongest stone blend I’ve encountered. The rhododendrons are pervasive and actually contributing to the industrial feel through accidental accords with some of the stones while still being clearly floral. It suits it’s art concept beautifully and is quite unusual and subtly unsettling. I don’t know if I want to smell like this, but I am fascinated by it. Wet: Much as in the bottle, only with the clay more differentiated and the rocks more nuance. As it warms, the rhododendron spends less time smelling industrial and more smelling floral. Dry: Above average staying power for a stone blend. I suspect it is bulstering by clay and rhododendren that make it possible. Still, it evenually goes mostly to clay. I’m not that big on clay, as it turns out.
Winners: Beaver Moon 2012
Runners Up: Tarasque, Halloween in the Miskatonic university Library, MICHAEL CASTS OUT ALL OF THE FALLEN ANGELS