Invidiana

This IS out of this world. There is an aspect of this that reminds me of a vintage Body Shop musk I used to love (that one was a white musk), but it is so, so, so much more than that. To me it's as if the best parts of every type of musk have gone into this, without any of the really animalic ones that tend to go plasticky on my skin. There is also a slight sweetness to it that is not at all overpowering. I can only imagine what this is going to turn into as it ages.

Think I might be needing a few of these...great labels, Lovestruck!

In the beginning this is a smoky incense, but there is so much more to it than just incense. The drydown is where the other components really come into play. I amp benzoin, which works to my advantage because that gives it a wonderful vanillic undercurrent that adds sweetness and depth to the frankincense and myrrh. There is also a certain warmth from the sandalwood which is enhanced by the hint of cinnamon (which I thankfully don't amp here), and also a sensuality from the patchouli. There is something ancient, yet comforting about this scent that I can't quite place.

At first I get blueberries and something almost like maple syrup but not as sweet--not sure where the maple syrup vibe is coming from but it might just be the blueberry interacting with one of the other notes on my skin. As it dries down the woods become more prominent (though the blueberry always remains at the front), turning into something that makes me think of a blueberry pie being left to cool on the window of a house in the middle of the woods, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimney. There is the barest hint of spice, but I don't amp it. I have never, ever come across a smoky blueberry scent in all the years I've been perfume-whoring, but this one just works (and it's not too masculine at all on me either).

This is a lifesaver. I'm already a Balm Bomb devotee, as some of you may know, but the scent just adds to it in that it's very calming and embraces you like a warm, fluffy towel or comforter or--something warm and fluffy. It isn't a stereotypical lavender vanilla but gets a lot of depth (and also a lot of its comforting vibe) from drydown of oakmoss, musk and amber, which interplay so well with the dominant notes. It's definitely in the To Soothe a Broken Heart family of scents so if you're as crazy about that one as I am, you need this. More like needed it yesterday.

Mine are all paid for, thanks Mara.

Could I please also reserve the second Olivia's Comfort & Joy Part Deux Deux? Oh and I don't need any more Honeyed Blackberry, I'm good with that one. Thanks!

I got my labels in on time!!! YAY!!!! Positively dying to know what is in LadyV's. Both of them. And put me down for a White Chocolate Rose if there are even any left by this point, lol.

Harrison asked for a raisin-tobacco scent, and I think I hit this one spot on. A base of non-foody vanilla blended with cured tobacco and roasted tea leaves, layered with a thick raisin note and a few drops of bourbon. This is an amazing fall-to-winter scent. It's got the cozy smokiness of tobacco and tea, with deliciously sticky raisins soaked in bourbon. I get plenty of booze in this one, which I was hoping for, and no, it doesn't make me smell like I've been drinking all night. The raisin note here is very different from a grape or wine note (both of which often go cloying on me), closer to a dark marmalade or even a fruity molasses. There's just enough sweetness, from the raisin and vanilla notes, and probably the bourbon also, to temper the smoky notes and keep it from being too masculine for me. Now I want nothing more than to curl up on the sofa with a cup of tea--spiked with bourbon, of course.

Scented Balm Bomb. I DIE.

"Sweet pumpkin flesh with a frosty note and the barest hint of spice, with drops of medium sweet amber and nonfoody vanilla to ground. I wanted it to evoke the spirit of post-Halloween pumpkins glittering with the first crystals of frost." A base of non-foody vanilla, and a fleshy (barely spicy) pumpkin, a drop of sweet amber in the base, and for the frosty note, I combined 1 drop each of mistletoe, mint and pine. I really don't know how Mara did this but it really does smell like a frosty pumpkin. Not frosted as in covered in cake frosting but actual frost swirled with sweet pumpkin, which is fleshed out more with that hint of amber. There is just the barest dusting of spice to round it out, but I don't amp it so it stays where it's supposed to. Now I know how odd it sounds to mix pumpkin with mistletoe, mint and pine, but the three notes that evoke the frosty feeling don't assert themselves as PINE! or MINT! but rather show up as the sum of their parts, which is an ethereal chilly shroud falling over the last Halloween pumpkins on people's doorsteps. The only regret I have about this PE is not doing it sooner!

"October Laundry was actually inspired by biking outside around mid-late October. I always smelled fresh linens from the neighbors' (the detergent they used had some sort of nonfoody vanilla-ish thing going on) mingling with the woodsmoke from their chimneys and dry leaves piled up at the curb. So the notes are actually linen, nonfoody vanilla, dry leaves, woodsmoke and--of course I had to ask Mara to add just a drop of pumpkin to it." A base of non-foody vanilla, layered with the scent of dry leaves, linen, woodsmoke and a dash of fleshy (not spicy) pumpkin. ​Mara really hit the nail on the head with this one. It really does smell exactly like those bike rides. The first thing I get is the vanilla and the linen (actually, this smells even better the laundry detergent the neighbors were using), and as it dries down all the wonderful autumnal elements come into play: first the crisp dry leaves, the slight sweetness of the pumpkin, and finally a veil of woodsmoke. The pumpkin really is sweet pumpkin flesh too, not spicy, and doesn't take over the other notes--it's exactly as it should be, in the background. Finally, I don't have to go outside when it's 30 degrees out just to breathe in that smell. I'm huffing myself like crazy right now.

Want to add Harrison and Out of This World Musk to my Honeyed Blackberry, I Heart Autumn, I Heart Halloween, and Eternal Summer. ETA: everything paid for. Saving my posting credits for Pheromas.

If reserving is happening.......I definitely want one each of Honeyed Blackberry, I Heart Autumn, I Heart Halloween, and Eternal Summer. May add to this once notes are posted.

Okay, okay, a little more awake now. October Laundry was actually inspired by biking outside around mid-late October. I always smelled fresh linens from the neighbors' (the detergent they used had some sort of nonfoody vanilla-ish thing going on) mingling with the woodsmoke from their chimneys and dry leaves piled up at the curb. So the notes are actually linen, nonfoody vanilla, dry leaves, woodsmoke and--of course I had to ask Mara to add just a drop of pumpkin to it. The other one, Frost on the Pumpkin, is exactly as it sounds: sweet pumpkin flesh with a frosty note and the barest hint of spice, with drops of medium sweet amber and nonfoody vanilla to ground. I wanted it to evoke the spirit of post-Halloween pumpkins glittering with the first crystals of frost.

I think it's Lady Marmalade. You know what this reminds me of? Even though there's no actual cheesecake accord, it makes me think of one of the best cheesecakes I ever had in my life, which was this ungodly concoction with a citrusy flavor to it and a good dose of triple sec to round it out. Except this is even better, because it's like taking that cheesecake and adding creamy coconut and toasty hazelnut. Where is the "cheesecake" feeling coming from? Probably the buttercream, white chocolate and banana. It's a thick, delicious scent that manages not to cross the line into cloying territory. So glad there was a rebrew of this that allowed me to snag a bottle!

That Kind of Girl. I suppose I am when it comes to perfume, at least.

The descriptions for mine are in that fall scent thread under Your Potion Ideas. I'm just too lazy to dig for them at this hour. I think Honeyed Blackberry, I Heart Autumn and I Heart Halloween are also calling my name. Lina (Hearts) has her description for one of them in that thread too, but I don't think she specified which one. And I'm deathly curious to know about Harrison and whether or not it really is beer like the label suggests.

How I never reviewed this is beyond me, because I'm a whore for anything with coffee. It actually starts out as mostly coffee, a spiced coffee that almost reminds me of a pumpkin latte, and then as it dries down the incense swirls in and turns it into a magical, mystical coffee shop. This isn't a churchy incense note but sweet, mellow incense, the kind that makes me think of candles and foggy windows and Beat poets. The coffee does stay prominent throughout the drydown. When it's fully dried down there is a pretty even proportion of coffee and incense.

This was the one I misread and even mis-posted as "Bohemian Butterfly" in the scent of the day thread. The sandalwood really is sweet and sensual, not sharp or dry in the least. It grounds the other sweet, creamy notes so well. The coconut, vanilla and white chocolate are sweet and luscious but far from saccharine, and one easily complements the other. I think the uplifting feeling that comes from it has to do with the fact that they are all white notes (yes I do have synaesthesia and often end up confusing everyone with it).

I was dreading looking at this because I just knew I'd want all of them....maybe just almost all of them if I'm lucky.

This one is amazing for fall. There's a reason I wore it to the RenFaire, because it smells like magic. The leather has a significant presence like I hoped, and there is the coolness of earth somewhere in the background though ti doesn't smell like dirt per se. The sandalwood and myrrh are just really mysterious and almost otherworldly, and it gets a little vanillic sweetness from the benzoin though not in the food sense. And of course there's no way this could be without smoke. The smoke note just ties it together. Lives up to its name!

Oh yes, a pirate scent without any bay in it (bay ruins everything on my skin). Echoing the coconut chai latte comparison--lots of creamy coconut that always stays at the fore, accented with warm spices that make this a warmer coconut scent that can go well into the fall. I have Arcana Queen Crossbones; this one has the spice element in place of that one's honey, so they're really two different scents but equally delicious.

Love, love, LOVE anything marzipan so of course I had to get this. It is exactly what it sounds like--lost of delicious vanillaed marzipan, with a dash of spice that makes it feel warmer and more autumnal. I think the pear and slight bit of wood contributed to that feeling too, though they don't interfere with the marzipan but just complete that cozy feeling around it. I'm going to be reaching for this a lot now that it's getting cooler out.

I'm actually glad they're coming in October--or really, my wallet is. cough *Maradosomethingwithpumpkinbeerimdyingtoseepumpkinbeernobodyeverdoesit* cough