Black Cat

Tink! I keep wanting to have time to do it justice.... I moved this weekend so I have been at sixes and sevens. But let me give at least a preliminary review. This is a total power potion. It takes a bit of getting used to -- I asked Mara for something dark, earthy and herbal and wow, this delivers! It is maybe the darkest LP I have ever smelled. I picked notes that would speak to magic and darkness. In fact, let's just get the notes out there: ELDERBERRY ~ A lure for the Fae. Long considered a highly potent magical plant. Healing, induces visions and dreams, creativity, twigs used as a charm against illness. WALNUT ~ Leaves promote fertility, carry nuts to delay pregnancy. Wishes granted, strengthens the heart, enhancement of mental powers. Dark earthly powers. ROSEWOOD ~ Love, spreads an exotic aura, mystery, darkness. Enhances psychic powers, healing, divination, luck, protection. This is the complementary pairing to my Cottage perfume. This is what I wrote to Mara: "So they are a pair -- Black Cat's Cottage is the light/day side of things, meant to echo the atmosphere I'd love to create, which I envision as clean and airy and light-filled and open. With the smell of rosemary/lavender bread emanating from the kitchen! Black Cat's Pie of Power (a nod to Prophetic Pie there, which remains one of my all time favorites!) is the complementary darkness/night aspect -- rich, powerful, a bit of dark and stormy night outside while the Pie of Power bakes in the oven and candlelight dances on the walls. :-) As always for me, not too sweet, even though it is pie!" This one had a bit of travel shock, and I think it may also need to cure a bit. While I have already come to love it, I have a feeling that in a year's time it is going to be SPECTACULAR (Persephone Potion and Opal have both been like this). It goes on a bit raw and very intense -- I think the rosewood makes it initially quite medicinal. But as it settles.... the elderberries are tart and bright, and then the walnut and rosewood give it long gnarled roots reaching deep into the earth. It's a bit foody but also very atmospheric. It's interesting to think of it next to Persephone Potion... that one speaks so much to inward darkness, while this definitely is of the physical world. It does exactly what I wanted it to do, which is to let me ground myself and unleash my inner crone (inner for now, though becoming more outer with each passing year, obviously). I feel strong beyond measure and a bit terrifying when I wear it, like I'm on my way to becoming Granny Weatherwax (for you Pratchett fans). So tink, I'm dying to hear what you think! ETA because Rosewood, not Rose! I may still be a little tired. :-)

Oh, thank you, Luna! Yes, it fades a bit quickly on me too, but fortunately I ordered 3 bottles so I can slather freely!

OMG they are all wonderful! I especially love the dragon one. I think you should rotate them all!

Yeah, wonder why I thought "This time it will be different"?!?!? LP addict and proud!

OMG I am a madwoman. Ordered a spray of Indiscretion and another PE.

OMG this is crazy amazing! I am supposed to be on a no-buy policy these next months, and if it were just a question of the scent, I might be able to resist.... although if you are in to soft shimmery smoky autumnal resins that sexily whisper in your ear about long dark nights and if you wept when Allumette sold out you should probably jump on this one right now! But! I don't have any TMI boosted scents and it's a phero I'm wildly curious to try and I can't imagine, as StacyK said, a more perfect and congruent pairing.

Argh, just wrote out a review and computer jumped me back a screen before I could post! Let me try again -- this is the one I was most interested to try based on descriptions because it was compared to Blue Smoke. I find that the LP it most puts me in mind of is Hauntings -- maybe because I experienced Blue Smoke as a warm and definitive scent, while this one like Hauntings is much more sheer and cool. I really like this -- the dragon's blood is not overpowering, and the black current is transformed by the smoke and musk from fruity/foody to something much more delicate and almost disembodied. This is mysterious and intriguing. Love it!

I can't top Memorare's awesome review but I want to echo it. It's one of the loveliest LP lavenders I've ever smelled and the pine and mistletoe give it a cool and soothing perfection. It's also intensely relaxing -- my first thought was, I'll get a bottle and boost it with B2 or Balm Bomb and then I quickly realized it doesn't need it. Every time I sniff my test patch I can feel muscles in my shoulders and back relax more deeply and my breathing gets slower. For the nature scent lovers -- this also has a cool stony mossy cast to it that is really delightful. I don't know how Mara does it.

Definitely one for the almond crowd! Wet I get a marzipan quality which settles into thick luscious butterscotch candy. Unfortunately, it goes a bit plasticky on me in the long drydown but that initial splash is rich and intoxicating!

So interesting all the different experiences on this one! Yes, on me this is surprisingly unfoodie. It's maybe the smokiest LP I've ever smelled on my skin... which is not a problem, I love smoke! But I get the apple crisp in the background and the smoke and sandalwood more to the fore, which puts it more in the category of awesome evocative fall scents.... like the playground at a nursery school, with kitchen smells drifting from the windows but being mixed with the crisp air and smoke from a chimney. Really lovely!

OMG it TOTALLY is!!!!

I've already raved in the PE thread but I need to put a proper review here too! First of all, just because I love to look at notes: LAVENDER ~ Soothes/ restores body and mind. Arouses sexual desire in men, loyalty, purification, protection, healing. Third eye chakra, spiritually uplifting. ROSEMARY ~ Intellectual stimulation, purification, love, sensuality, wards against dark forces, invigorating. LEMON ~ Energizing, uplifting. Longevity, faithfulness, fidelity, friendship. Used to attract spirits. So this was actually a bit of an afterthought, but I was asking Mara for potions this month to help me channel my inner domestic goddess because, I will not lie to you guys, it has not been good. I am working a ton of hours at a job I love and I am waiting for the contractors to actually hand me a contract with a start date for my house to be totally taken apart and put back together, so I am living and eating out of boxes. Not the greatest. I wanted something bright and clean and airy and nourishing and mood elevating (I wrote to Mara "more aromatherapy than perfume") and WOW this delivers! I also picked notes that felt like a match for what I want, ultimately, for my home. I want it to be a place of refuge, a clean well-lighted place. And I want a sense of secure protection from all the chaos swirling around out there. This completely delivers on the aromatherapy effects, but of course it is also a pretty spectactular perfume. Fresh on I get the most delicious lemon sweetbread scent -- crumbling cookie gorgeousness. Very quickly though it settles into something less sweet and more complex -- bread gets breadier and herbs! Oh, my lord, the rosemary is especially exquisite! This is based in part on a recipe I listed in one of my journal threads, for lavender rosemary butter cookies and wearing this is like having a freshly chopped rosemary lingering on the skin. And just as it feels as if rosemary is going take over, lavender peeks out and adds to the shimmer. I've worn it out and got really good responses -- mostly "It smells like cookies!" and "what smells so YUMMY" but this is very much something I wear primarily for me. I just love it. It's delicious and while it's obviously very foody, it doesn't read as pure foody. I have already gone through about a third of a bottle -- I love it for sleep and I also love it to start my day. So gorgeous! Thank you, Mara! ETA: And oh my stars, the LABEL! It's like you peeked inside my brain and saw my fantasy for what my downstairs will look like after renovations! Love it so much!

OMG Mara, PEs arrived today and I can't stop huffing! FIrst off, the Cottage is the most delectable baked goods scent I have ever, ever smelled. I can't believe how perfectly you captured the quality I was looking for: foodie goodness, with the herbs detectable but not medicinal and the lemon peel! Holy smoke, this is now my fave lemon LP EVER!! It's so accessible and so perfect -- I foresee slathering this on Saturday and Sunday mornings and wanting to sing while I do my household chores. It's truly spectacular. As for the Chthulu Octopie of Power (which I am afraid it now is fixed in my head as, forevermore ) -- holy sh*t! This is the Mother of all feminine heart of darkness power potions! I get such a blast of energy from it and -- I don't know how describe it well -- it just anchors me so deeply and strongly that I feel like I can do anything. I need to experiment with both of these singly to explore all their dimensions, but of course right now I have one on each arm and am giddily going back and forth between the perfect poles of light and darkness. I am humbled by your gifts, Potion Master. These are phenomenal and so precisely what I need in my life right now. Thank you!!! :kiss43:from

OMG SHIPPING NOTICE!!!!! I don't know if it's PEs or sampler or all of the above but oh my lord I am SO EXCITED!!!!

OMG, Mayberry. The hype is real! I am SO thrilled I got to get a bottle when a generous member cracked open her GGG vault. This is delicious. Rich syrupy berries with a hint of flour (really struck by the no spices effect) deliciously grounded in amber that is so subtle I can't pick it up. Simple and yet extraordinary. It's strong but not loud, and the staying power is phenomenal. I woke up this morning after having slathered the night before and it was more present than any other overnight LP I've tried. So far I'm treating myself to this at night, but I'm going to dab a little on tomorrow for work and see how potion plus phero affects things. But wow! Just amazing. (Oh, and if that's elderberry I'm smelling the background then I can't WAIT for my Pie of Power - which was partially inspired by the Mayberry concept, even before I ever had a chance to smell it - to get here!)

What I just said above to tink! Hey, beautiful lady, so lovely to see you here!

Yay! Love to share potions with you, tink!

OMG the deliciousness, both notes and Luna's gorgeous scribings! Such fun. I woke up this morning knowing I was in for a tough day, so when I saw they were up I made myself wait until tonight to read them. So worth it!

Mmmmmm, I love this! Wet the mahogany is very strong and dark, and the blend reads quite masculine on my skin. But as the drydown commences, like MR says, the chestnut just..... BLOOMS on me and it's so delicious! I don't think I've ever smelled this as a note before and I love it! The fallen leaves and woodsmoke make for a perfect evocation of fall.

androstenol, how awesome!! Congrats on your anniversary, and what a lovely way to celebrate!

OMG MARA THE CTHULU OCTIPIE I CAN'T EVEN!!!!!!!!! The labels are beyond the beyond of gorgeousness! I can't wait to get my hands on these.... so excited!! They all look delicious but the one I can't resist is Lina's Buttered Caramel. Please may I join the list for that one?!

This one was so hard to wrap my head around, but like Halo said, it's lovely! I get predominantly violet, with a bit of edge from the citrus that kind of de-sweetens the marshmallow so that I get lots of fluff, but with a clean almost soapy cast, not sugary. I bet it would be lovely in a spray, and very congruent with OW.

WHAT SHE SAID!!!!!! And PEs tomorrow..... rubs hands gleefully and settles in to wait!!

I keep going back to my itty sample of this and letting one precious drop fall... it's really something! The perfectly blended amber, tonka and vetiver bolsters the leather -- it's smoooooooth, sensuous and seriously sexy. And then the pink! Honestly, every time I sniff this I see a gorgeous woman in a pink leather trench coat (that's she just about to whip open to show her fantastic bod) with a mask. Fantastic concept and execution, congrats LadyV and Mara! It's pink and fluffy but like Halo said, SO RICH.

I tend to think of Gotcha! as snuggly, Bang as sexy, and Sexology as snuggly sexy..... IMO your Baby Doll could be fantastic with Bang!