greenappletart

Cupid's Cathedral starts out sweeter than I expected. It's a very foodie vanilla, reminiscent of vanilla bean ice cream. The lily enhances the vanilla. It's a very fun fragrance that makes me think of eating ice cream in the summer sun and the challenge of trying to lick quickly enough before it drips everywhere. Within an hour, the lily become equal to the vanilla in strength and this is my favorite part. After 4 hours or so, all that remains is a subtle sweetness. Overall, it's cuddly and pillowy, with a hint of flirtatiousness. I think it would pair well with levitation or cuddle bunny.

Wow, this is great! And incredibly helpful. I love me a good chart!

A couple of things I wanted to comment on. You may be right about him being sensitive to certain molecules. But it could also be combinations of molecules, or even the ratio in a blend. For example, I know for me, the individual pheros in Open Windows are totally fine for me in other blends, but can make me insecure in OW itself, unless it's in very miniscule amounts. So a molecule may work in one formula, but not another. You just kind of have to play around to find out. That's why phertine is so great, because the trials of phero enhanced scents give you a lot of ways to experiment! Some molecules might not work for him ever and some might work in only certain blends, or only when he's in the right mood. What I'm going to say next should be taken with a huge grain of salt since, being single and without kids, I haven't been in your situation. I'm just going by what you and others have said in this thread. I notice you keep mentioning blends with a heavy bonding focus, and, while I get that (particularly in a more holistic approach to the relationship) I wonder if you might want to try some of the more outright sexual blends? If he's having a hard time separating you out from the maternal/homebody role, an aggressively sexual blend like Blatant Invitation or Sexpionage might help to create a stronger demarcation and allow him to really see that aspect of you. Ramp up the rawr. Or maybe something like LFM/LFN to seem a little more mysterious and intriguing.

Good memory, @Eve ! I had asked about Sheer Essence when ordering some. I've only used a little, but I'll try to tell you what I can. It's similar to the Occos, but a much lighter form. You can still smell the cops when wet, though they are not as strong. After it dries down, they are pretty imperceptible, scent wise. Once, I even forgot to add a cover scent after dry down and I couldn't even smell them bare. As for effects, I find them more subtle than the occos, which makes sense since they're the diluted form. If occos are a come hither, seductive dress designed to wow, sheer essence is a cute top you feel confident in, but can wear with jeans.

I've been putting off posting my review for Blue Rose for years because it's difficult to know what to write. My main thoughts are, "Yep. That's pretty much what it is." It's blue. It's roses. It's blue roses. Roses that smell blue. The name sums it up really well! Tells you everything you need to know. For reference, here's the extent of my actual review in my personal notes: It really does smell blue. Roses are the first scent, but like they are on a bed of sweet blue silk.

Orange Droolious is absolutely perfect. It's great as an Occo, but I'd also love a virgin version. It's a creamy orange that really does smell like an Orange Julius. It is orange, but not too bright. It's sweet, but that's not the predominate vibe. Somehow, it manages to hit the perfect balance of everything.

Herbal and unisex. It may lean the slightest bit to masculine, but could easily be made more feminine layered with something sweeter. I'd describe it as a light scent, but pretty aquatic. It would be good for a professional or office environment. Up close there is something that gives it more kick. Possibly the ginseng? I don't know. But, overall, it stays strongly aquatic throughout the wear and doesn't morph much. And, I'm not sure why, but something about it reminds of several of the totem collection. I think it could also be layered well with something sandalwood based.

I tend to think of it sort of like a wax warmer. (I know I use a lot of analogies, but that's because I tend to think in analogies.) How the heat of your body makes it diffuse throughout the air. The clothes may trap some of it in, but they will also make that body part warmer, creating more diffusion. Also, most clothing fabric is gong to breathe some. Think of the difference between wearing a regular fabric jacket and one of those rain jackets that is pure plastic. The plastic traps everything (heat, sweat, etc) and can quickly become uncomfortable, but the fabric jacket doesn't. At least, not to the same degree. So, as long as you aren't dressed in pvc, some of the cops and pheros will be getting through. Though I guess more layers would probably cause more loss.

Winter really does smell like a warm cup of tea. Tea doesn't usually smell like tea on me, but here it does. It's like holding a mug of freshly steeped tea up to your face and inhaling deeply as the steam envelops you. That comforting feeling of drinking hot tea on a cool morning. As it dries the pine comes out a little bit more, but not bad. I was worried about the pine, but I needn't have been. It reads as a crispness more than pine, itself. The oak moss eventually takes over, but in combination with the eucalyptus, is more soapy than powdery.

Lirial goes on cakey, but then pretty quickly gets floral. But it's a pillow-y floral. The cake and the floral really balance each other out in interesting ways, where neither is quite as expected. These are florals that, to me, tend to skew older, but the cake keeps it young. The florals, meanwhile, keep the cake from being too sweet. The vanilla is a vanilla extract type that almost powdery. But every time, just as it verges on too vanilla, the floral brings it back in range. After several hours, it leans a little bit more toward the floral, but still somewhat balanced. It doesn't ever have the harshness that floral can sometimes have. I liked this scent so much, I bought two bottles right away! It feels really unique. Though on me, it was less tropical and more Southern summer evening.

This is why you try things on. In the bottle it was all leather. Going on, it starts out with the leather coming on strong, but in 10-15 minutes, some subtle sweetness appears. That's when a becomes a much softer scent. The leather becomes just one aspect and it all melds into a quiet, sophisticated fragrance. It smells like an expensive store. Luxurious in a high end sort of way. Weirdly sort of calming. Could be a good office scent if you work somewhere more formal.

Crema Delizia is sweet and dessert-y. It's creamy and sugary in a thick way that is verging on a custard. A very foody vanilla. Reminds me a bit of warm and toasty, but sweeter. I used to think I didn't like any vanilla scents, but Mara works wonders and over the years, I've loved a lot of her vanilla creations. This, however, was not one of them. It's the exact kind of vanilla that I've always hated. It was funny because, while I found the scent cloying and off putting, the BAM kept making me take really deep breaths and try to get closer. I was at total war with myself. I found that by adding a little Crayons Collection: Burnt Umber, I didn't hate it quite as much, but I still had to eventually wash it off. Oh, well. Can't win them all. And this was decidedly a case of my personal tastes. If you're a big fan of anything labeled vanilla, this will probably be right up your alley.

Super excited!! Especially about the new phero! Can't wait to find out what it is. I have a question about how the pick your own samples works. With such a large collection, if, for example, I wanted 20 trials, would there be different levels of sampler packs, pick 10, pick 20, etc? Or would it be possible to order two 10 pack samplers with different choices? This will probably all be explained when it's listed, just trying to prepare in advance IN CASE I NEED THEM ALL (or at least the women's/unisex). 😜

@CosmoTea The BAM sounds like a good idea. For as much as there are major trends with each blend, there are also a lot of individual reactions. The best thing is always to experiment. Other people's experiences can give you an idea of what to expect, but you never know until you try. Each person and situation is unique. If you can narrow things down, it will help you find what works best for you. That's one of the reasons I love the trial sizes of the phero enhanced scents. It really lets you try out different mixes without committing to a large bottle. (Of course, I also love virgin bottles so I can change things up. 😁 )

The dry down is sort of like lotion sinking in. How it kind of absorbs and merges with your skin. A good metaphor might be waiting for wet nail polish to dry. You can do stuff, but you kind of have to be careful. The area of your body where you apply it is like the wet nail, only instead of leaving streaks of color if it touches something, it leaves the stink of cops. Just like you don't want to get nail polish all over a shirt (or your face) and wear it out, you don't want to get cops on it, either. I do all kinds of things, though, while waiting for the cops to dry. Apply makeup, eat, put away dishes, etc.

I've found that if you smoosh and spread them around a bit when applying, they dry a little faster. Not hard rubbing, but just getting them into as thin a layer as possible. For me, this knocks the drying time down to no more than 15 minutes, even for heavy cops. Throwing out some ideas: You might also try throwing on clothes just for the dry down time that leave the areas exposed. For example, if you're swiping them on your abdomen, maybe a sports bra or crop top with low slung pajama bottoms. Perhaps a skirt if you're using them on your inner thigh area. Or maybe a shirt that you don't wear anymore that can be your 'putting on cops' shirt that you only wear while they dry down. Like if you were going to paint a room.

Quick update: I'm double vaxxed, but still wear masks when out in public. And of all the masks I have gotten, these have held up the best. The construction is still going strong on these. No problems with the fabric, elastic, or stitching and still as comfortable as when I got them. No shrinking, either. A teensy bit of fading, but that's because I wash them a lot. So big props for their durability.

There's something in that milk/butter/cream combo of notes that can sometimes go smoky on me. Sometimes it's not noticeable, sometimes it adds a nice undercurrent of smoke to the other notes, and sometimes it goes straight cigarette ash. It seems to depend on both the rest of the notes and my skin chemistry on any given day. It's been too long since I've worn Mrs. Fubbs' Parlour to remember what it did on me, but I liked it, so it must not have been the cigarette one, lol. I don't know if that is what is causing it on you, but it may be worth seeing if it happens with other scents with that combo. Though, my skin definitely has unique reactions, sometimes.

Not a full review, but my first impressions. (Had to wait until I had a full bottle securely in my possession. *wink* ) This is soooooo good. Soooooo good. It's like the olfactory equivalent of those old black and white pictures of Marlene Dietrich with the striking lighting. Also reminds me a bit of the huskiness in her singing voice. Mysteriously sexy. Dark and sultry. Great on any gender. I get coffee and strong incense. What I really love is that this isn't a patchouli based incense. There's a background note that is almost floral. Not one of those high, sharp florals, and not a bright floral. More of an earthy, damp floral. Weaving in and supporting the slight sweetness others have mentioned. It's not really floral, so much as keeping the incense from being dry. It creates more of the impression that the incense is a resiny, sticky paste. The incense outlasts the coffee, but they are pretty equal in the beginning.

My first sale order had been sitting at the post office for a few days, but I was able to pick it up this afternoon. Put my necklace on first thing. All the perfumes I've at least sniffed before, except for the Indan Attar Egypt Musk, so I had to dig for that one straight away. Can't wait to give it a proper test.

That is good information! I may try it at some point. (To be honest, at least 80% of my hesitancy is fear of winding up with a full bottle of EoW all over my carpet. 🤣 )

Oh, fantastic! That will work much better than any attempt I could make!

The cops discussion in the sales rules thread has me thinking. It probably won't happen this order, but I was wondering if I could jerry rig sheer essence from a bottle of EoW and some DPG. Sheer Essence is currently only available in the spray, but I'm not a huge fan of sprays. I'd much rather have it in a roll on or dropper. If I were to put some dpg in a 1/3 fl oz bottle, what would be a good number of drops of EoW to add? Or is there a way to special order it?

This is super helpful. Thank you for doing it. I'm hoping my sampler gets in before I have to finalize my sale order and now I know which scents to focus on for a quick skin test. Really looking forward to trying Ghost Dust, Mourning Glory, and Sweet Leaf. And Infusion, of course, since I love anything "red" and tart, but I already have 2 bottles of the last brew, so may have to wait on that.

The description of Okulo as "fuzzy Jasmine" is right. Dead-on, in fact! It's floral and pretty with something soft underlying it, like a cotton ball. Very feminine. You know when you're under a warm blanket and one little bit of you is sticking out cold and uncovered, so you pull the blanket over that bit? That is exactly how this smells. Like snuggling down into enveloping warmth. Being in a cold bed the exact moment it starts to warm up. Or sliding into a warm bath. I find it so snuggly that, on me, at least, it is very sleep inducing. Knocked me tf out! I need a "Do not operate heavy machinery" warning sticker for mine. A scent for drifting off to sleep. On a separate note: I generally don't like the Spider Silks and Gossamer Threads, but I keep trying them anyway because this (THIS!) is what I'm always hoping they will smell like. Funny that.