ethaisa: (aphrodite)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 07:04pm on 16/03/2011 under , ,
 My Lupercalia decants arrived yesterday, so now I have to snif and test and decide which ones (if any) I want bottles of, and before next Monday, too. I'm going to start with the most likely candidates in the Ode to Aphrodite series and add the others in as I get to them.  So here goes...


ANTHEIA... grandiflorum jasmine, damask rose, ylang ylang, gardenia, sweetbriar and apple blossom dusted by    golden amber.
I usually love jasmine-rose blends but the ylang ylang kills the rose in this one, and there's only a hint of gardenia. The apple blossom has fled for the hillls and the amber drifts aimlessly about in the drydown and it becomes clear to me once more that grandiflorum is my least favourite jasmine. Overall a big floral that's heady in all the wrong ways. 


APATOUROS...  black fig, green tea, opoponax, ciste absolute, myrrh, carnation, nutmeg & Brazilian vetiver.
This starts off all fig and green tea underlain with smoky spicy carnation. The fig doesn't stick around long on my skin, but the tea does (WIN! as far as I'm concerned) the myrrh adds sweet depth to everything on the drydown. A dark, mysterious scent, but it's not cloying at all. It didn't last long on my skin (unusual with resins) but its lovely and I don't really have anything quite like it. Possible bottle contender.


KYPRIS... 
peru balsam, vanilla bean, Rainier cherry, bitter almond, golden honey, rose water, lemon peel, sugar cane   & benzoin.

This could have been overly sweet, even candy-like, but the benzoin and balsam hold the sweetness in check while the vanilla warms up. Once dry on the skin the sweet is nicely balanced by hints of tart lemon and sharper almond, but the vanilla remains prevalent and I only pick up the faintest touch of rose water in the mix. A light, creamy skin scent.

ethaisa: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 07:15pm on 15/03/2011 under , ,
TEARS, IDLE TEARS... a bittersweet aquatic lifted by white rose, olibanum, amber, orris, davana and oude.  

As a general rule, I'm not a real fan of aquatics, but this intrigued me enough to order a decant. It's watery alright, clear and bright with swirls of orris and faint resins. The rose is remarkably timid, at least until the davana starts to open up and then the rose beats it back, claiming front row in the floral array. I hardly detect the oude at all, except on the long drydown, beneath the final soft floral resins. A surprising amount of throw for such a soft scent, too.  Verdict: lovely, but not something I'll reach for often (I have many other rose blends I like more) but I'll be happy to keep the decant for those misty days when I'm feeling wane.



ethaisa: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 04:40pm on 13/03/2011 under , ,
 THE RUSSIAN DANCE... florentine iris, black tea, labdanum, patchouli, champaca, benzoin and ambergris.  

Initially I was wary of this one because of the iris, but fortunately had a chance to test it thoroughly. As might be expected from the description, I find the iris note here quite similar to that in Florence - that orris note that I love. This opens as a light and faintly spicy floral mix of orris and creamy champaca that mellows quickly into a sweet, resiny incense blend. The tea note is distinct, more of a duet than a blend and the patchouli only comes though in the long drydown into a somber grey scent that lingers for hours. I look forward to seeing how this ages.


ethaisa: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 06:16pm on 12/03/2011 under , ,
 THE ARABIAN DANCE...   leather, coffee, hazelnut, tobacco and Middle Eastern spices.

Soft leather gloves worn by a coffee fiend who hangs out in cozy after hour clubs, that's what this smells like. The combo of leather and coffee is amazing, underlain by the hint of hazelnut and smoke (not stale cig smoke, which I can't abide, but pipe smoke that takes me back to my early childhood). The spices are subdued; I'd says like cardamon and maybe nutmeg among them - more of a harmonious mix that reminds me of spice bread without being foody. Very well blended; its only on drydown that the leather grows into the more prominent note.


ethaisa: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 03:09pm on 11/03/2011 under , ,
EBENEZER SCROOGE   ... neglected leather, oakmoss, tonka bean, black pepper, cumin and vetiver.  

This opens like I just walked into a leather shop, almost overpoweringly so. But that initial sharpness fades and the tonka plays sweet peacemaker between the pepper and cumin - all the notes are distinctly there, spicy, but playing nice. I don't get much of a sense of oakmoss, but that might be what's smoothing the edge of the leather, and the vetiver provides a nice ground note, neither overly smoky nor earthy and only a slight tang hinting of citrus. (I like vetiver is pretty much all its forms, but this one is particularly nice.)  Definitely a sense of dust and age and recluse to this scent - excellent for a pre-reform Scrooge. So glad I got a bottle of this.

ethaisa: (bpal1)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 01:31pm on 26/03/2010 under , , ,
Beanman & Beanwoman Prepare to Attack the Vagina
skin musk, white amber, ambergris, orange blossom, ylang ylang, coconut milk

(Yeah, this is one of those names.) This scent is gorgeous, and very well balanced - other than a faint spike upon opening (likely the yy) no one note overwhelms. I didn't think this would work on me - I'm always cautious about skin musk and white amber, and don't particularly like ylang ylang - but it is a soft and light creamy floral with great last and no plastiky drydown. (It's been a couple hours since first application, I think its safe to say that.)


VS

Unveiled
Red bush tea, vanilla, white peach, golden amber, mandarin, lotus root & myrrh

Oh, this might have been my perfect spring scent. And I do really, really like it. Soft fruity tea with a faint herbal touch, richly rooted in myrrh. The vanilla is subtle and not particularly foody and there's a light touch at first from the lotus. But on drydown, there's an odd.. something. I'm pretty sure its the lotus. I've tried this several times, hoping ... well, just hoping. I think this might work in a locket and I will retest in a week or so incase its weird cycle-related body chem, but lotus often doesn't play nice with me. :(


Winner: The Bean spouses. Bottleworthy.
ethaisa: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 11:05am on 25/03/2010 under , , ,
Octopus and Abalone Diver
Ambergris accord, water lily, freesia, sea spray, molluscan seashell accord, and driftwood.

I'm generally not a fan of aquatics and this is no exception. There were hints of notes I liked in this (the ambergris accord?the wood?) but overall, no. Just no. It made me sneeze and I had to wash it off.


VS


Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand
Honey, quince, vanilla, white cognac, Spanish mandarin, and golden tobacco.

Starts off with tart pear (must be the quince, maybe the mandarin) drenched in vanilla-honied cream (cream?) and then the tobacco rustles its way to the front (definitely get the sense of dry leaves here). The booze note is light and not really very boozy at all. Wonderful throw, with swirls of tobacco to balance out the tart and the sweet.


Winner:: Autumn Moon, no contest. Looking forward to seeing how long this lasts...
ethaisa: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 10:37am on 25/03/2010 under , , ,
Lovers in a Carp Steamer
Cranberry, thyme, teakwood, mint, cedar, tobacco flower, and red currant.

Surprisingly fresh, with neither the cranberry nor thyme overwhelming (though fairly sharp in the imp)  and just a hint of mint for coolness. The woods come up with a hint of spice as it dries and I'm finding it enticing; I keep sniffy my wrist with a fervour usually reserved for more foody scents. 

VS

Konseishin the Penis God

Apple blossom, champaca, fir needle, cistus, myrrh, Peru balsam, and Tan Xiang.


Harsh resin-sap in the imp, but fades down quickly. The apple is MIA; this is mostly fir and myrrh with a hint of balsam. It reminds me of Faunalia without the musk and while I quite like it, I think I need to do some side-by-side comparisons to decide if I need both.


WINNER: Lovers in a Carp Steamer. This fades quickly but I love the woods on drydown. 
ethaisa: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 04:48pm on 24/03/2010 under , , ,
 
Needlework
oolong tea, lilac, sheer musk, crushed ginger, wisteria, delphinium, lavender

A rather watery floral, and quite strong, with lilac predominant at first and then wisteria getting sharp as it dries. Nary of touch of tea, or of ginger - very disappointing - and only hints of lavender. Ends up very soapy and too floral overall. I had to wash this one off (and my wrist still smells of soapy flowers).
ethaisa: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ethaisa at 04:52pm on 22/03/2010 under , , ,
Ronin
White sandalwood, rice flower, honey, black pepper, and oakmoss. 

Starts off with a blast of honey and a hint of a sharp, almost sour note which thankfully fades quickly. Not sure if I could pick out rice flower if you waved it under my nose, but I think the honey drowns it out in any case. The honey remains as the pepper kicks in; very nice. Good last, with a honied powdered (hello sandalwood!) finish. I quite like this.

VS

Okayaki
Olive blossom, cardamom pod, amber, morning star lily, bergamot, and a well-aimed snowball.

I was worried about this one because of the lily, but it is very well behaved. This started off as a spicy floral with a hint of citrus - so light that if I hadn't been looking, I would have missed it - and then mellows into a sweet creamy floral with a woody amber base. There's a hint of coolness with that cream - which isn't really a cream note per se but rather a smooth quality to the scent. The more I smell this the more I like it.

WINNER:  Okayaki by a faint edge, and only because it is such a unique scent. Both have bottle potential.

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