ethaisa

- these are available until Jun4, so I have time to ponder or get testers, but I'm not sure I'll get a tester-set; I'm only really interested in 4/10, and vaguely curious about a couple others.

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A Grievous Swarm
- Black pepper and vetiver with cardamom, blackened vanilla, and tobacco absolute.

A Very Grievous Murraine
-Brown musk, myrrh, and sun-baked leather afflicted by splotches of saffron and red musk.

About Midnight
-Judgement rendered: vanillic sandalwood, holy balsam, cedar, and frankincense.

All the Dust of the Land
-An infestation of Ceylon cinnamon bark, black patchouli, tonka absolute, bitter almond, and frankincense.

VISIONS OF AUTUMN

I white cedar, black pepper, golden amber, bay leaf, 4yr aged oudh
-gold and spicy incense - gorgeous wet; Wow, even better on dry down; definitely a MUST HAVE bottle!

II gurjum balsam, rose geranium, opoponax, violet leaf, brown leather accord, patchouli
-wet, the rose jumps out and bops me on the nose; takes a bit to calm down and the opoponax warms up; the patchouli is very mellow
-dry, its very much a rose incense with a hint of spice feel to it; wasn't expecting that. very nice but not sure I *need* it.


III bourbon vanilla, aged patchouli, honey, Ceylon cinnamon
-rather like this but the honey doesn't play well on my skin :(
-later dry down is nice w/everything blended together


IV Somalian myrrh, orange blossom, champaca flower verbena
-begins with sweeter lighter myrrh & prominent orange/lemon top notes; can't really separate out the florals so when wet it's a very floral myrrh blend. very incense-y - wearable nag champa-esque with the myrrh having more woodiness and subbing in for the SW
-smoother hints of floral on the dry down, where sweet woody myrrh shines; another bottle contender


V Haitan vetiver, tea leaf, Himalayan cedar, apricot rind
-vetiver really dominant while wet; soft fruity finish on dry down


VII tobacco absolute, myrrh, opoponox, black sandalwood, black pepper
-oh, this is really nice, both first sniff and wet application; pepper slowly steps up but myrrh remains a constant sweet dark base.
-drydown is also lovely; this one may be bottle-worthy MUST HAVE!

L'ESSENCE DU CHAGRIN
White chypre, French Lavender, rose geranium, opopponox, Peru balsam, bois de rose, lime & vanilla absolute.

White scents, especially florals, aren't my thing, but I love me some chypre, and lavender, so I had to try this one. The lavender is dominant, as expected, but there's a sense of spice there along with the expected powder. The lime is drifts in and out; it works unexpectedly well with the sharp lavender. It definitely hits that 'dapper gentlemen' note that chypre/lavender blends often evoke but there's a resinous undertone that grounds and rounds and the drydown is gorgeous - if this sort of scent is your cuppa tea. I can totally see how many would consider it overdone and soapy (which I often get from white scents) but this one works for me.

In the midst of moving and reno madness, it's time to stop and smell the roses admist the sawdust. I managed to get a few decants, so I'm going to attempt to review some of them here.


L'ESSENCE DE LA PASSION
Red musk, carnation, myrrh, and honey.

Carnation is the diva here, with a trumpeted red musk salute. A big floral, nothing subtle but the honey (often a problem) seems to be behaving (crossing fingers). As the carnation settles down into its aria the myrrh plays the anchoring chorus. This is going to age beautifully (I haven't found a red musk/resin blend that didn't!); despite being loud it's a balanced scent with moderate throw. And good last.

This scent is also designed to go with a bath oil (which I often use as post-shower moisturizers. The oil is a combo of carnation, orange blossom honey, myrrh and neroli and it works wonderfully with the perfume oil. The honeys are behaving (perhaps because of the hint of bitterness from the neroli) and on the long dry down the myrrh has mellowed everything out.

 BIWA...  tangerine, black currant, white musk, honey and tagetes. 

This starts off with delicate, zesty tangerine with a hint of musk and honey. The marigold note is light and adds a floral complexity to the blend. The honey powders upon drydown, and with the musk creates a long-lingering loveliness that I wasn't expecting. I barely pick up the black currant at all, except perhaps as a hint of sharpness in the blend, but that could be the marigold's doing, too; I'm uncertain. I probably won't get a bottle of this, but I"ll certainly enjoy the decant when I want a delicate bright citrus blend that isn't predominantly lemon.


And I'll mention here a blend of great fail on me, one that doesn't get SotD status 'cause I had to wash it off almost immediately.

BURNING VULVA.... vanilla infused amber, leather, beeswax, cyclamen, oakmoss, peru balsam, orange blossom, red ginger, tonka, opoponax, myrrh and black pepper.

So many notes that I love in this one. So many. And yet this scent is a complete disaster on me. In the vial, it's fiery ginger and orange blossom and leather with hints of pepper and oakmoss and resins. For a brief glorious moment wet on my skin, its a spicy conflagration and the beeswax and vanilla open into luxurious creamy goodness. And then, POW! WHAM! sour plastic. If it was honey rather than beeswax in the blend, I'd suspect the same honey note that makes O such a disappointment, but I don't think I've had a scent turn so bad so fast on me since WAR which, surprise surprise, also has red ginger. Is this the villain? maybe (but I love VILF!).  So definitely not for me -- the decant might scent a nice candle, tho. 

 
I wore an old favourite, Lucy, Kissed, (2009, from the Trading Post) when I went off this morning - one of my many red musk blends, this one with dark roses and violets, yew and juniper, patchouli and oude. Perhaps because I felt like I was one of the living dead at the time. But the day was actually far more pleasant than I expected, bright and sunny through the late morning/early afternoon and it actually felt springlike despite the piles of stubborn snow scattered about on gardens and under trees.

But its time now to look to the new Shunga scents, which are only up til the end of the month. So here's the first:


AN APPRAISAL OF SENSUAL PLEASURE IN THE FOUR SEASONS: wild plum, lemongrass, frankincense, honeysuckle and teak.

I'm surprised I like the plum and lemongrass notes as much as I do in this; they are mild and sweet and add a roundness to the frankincense. Even the honeysuckle is delicate and restrained. The frankincense remains the dominant note in the drydown, deepened by the woody teak. Intriguing blend.

THE RING... antiquated amber, frankincense, patchouli, hay, oakmoss, skin musk and white mint.  
This starts off smooth and mellow, with the amber and frankincense in soft, dusky accord, and just a faint hint of mint. The skin musk keeps this close as the moss and patchouli warm up and the hay is prominent but its all very well blended. I get a hint more mint on drydown but unfortunately the dreaded playdoh note develops, probably from the skin musk. I can see where this would be a lovely, dusty earth and soft incense scent on the right person, but sadly, not on me.


STANDING FEMALE NUDE... red rose and red currant with amber, blood orange, myrrh and golden musk. 
Red rose bursts out, juicy, bright and bold, with a faint dusting of amber. The fruits develop next, first the orange - a lovely blend with the rose - and a hint of sharper currant. The myrrh adds sweetness and grounds the mix (and I can only distinguish it as a separate note on late drydown; I love rose and myrrh together - they compliment each other so well). A lovely scent, but the currant adds a faint bitterness on my skin and as I have other rose scents I like just as much, or better, I can let this one go.


SLEEPING NYMPH AND SATYRS... wild woods, Bulgarian rose, tolu balsam, vanilla absolute, ambergris, honey & vanilla.
Honeyed woods (I suspect there's some teak in there) and rose, beautifully balanced with balsam added edge. The vanilla is distinct and yet adds overall creamy smoothness and the ambergris drifts and partners with the balsam in a lovely duet. This is one of those scents were I can pick up every note and yet nothing really outshines anything else. I like this more with every wearing - definitely bottle worthy.
    ETA sadly, I must revise this one -- there is something odd in the final drydown that I didn't catch before. Two more wear tests proved it not a fluke. I'll enjoy what's left of my decant in a locket, but this one is off the bottle list.


WRESTLERS... vetiver, guiac wood, peru of balsam, two musks, labdanum, saffron and rum accord.  
The rum and musks are prominent  at first, underlain with the saffron. The woods are rather light, and the vetiver takes its time but eventually beats down the musks. It's smooth and warm and faintly butterscotchy .... and then the rum (not unexpectedly) goes funky on my skin. woe! 


This is the last batch of my Lupercalia decants; time to do a final check on my favourites and put an order in before they come down on Monday. Thank goodness the Shunga scents are up until the end of April, as I'm still waiting on those decants and the Chocolate Box scents, too!  Tho those come down Monday as well, I ordered full decants of them, which I think will be enough since I have lots of foody chocolate scents already -- but I'll check the .org reviews anyway, just in case.

 The Venustas series, A Tribute to William Etty and the Elegance of the Human Form.


FEMALE NUDE, THREE QUARTERS LENGTH, BESIDE HER LEFT AN APPLE TREE... mahogany, rosewood, red apple.
A very well blended scent: the mahogany is glorious beneath a drift of apple. It's surprisingly delicate with hints of rose developing as it warms up. There's a freshness here that plays well with the overall woodiness of the scent. Lovely but not enough that I'd reach for it before something else.

MALE NUDE, ARMS UPSTRETCHED... dark musk, linen and red chypre.
I was ready to like this before I opened the decants, and wow, do I!  A layered musk blend (I'm betting it's red musk holding the base of the chypre). The linen note gives the spice and wood a clean edge and plays nicely with the top citrus of the chypre (I'm thinking bergamot). Decent throw, incredibly drydown and despite the fact I'm brimming with red musk scents already, I have a soft spot for chypres too, so I'm sorely tempted to get a bottle of this one.

MANILUS HURLED FROM THE ROCK... frankincense, leather accord, sandalwood, Himalayan cedar, nutmeg & violet leaf.
Another scent that's right up my alley. Sharp - almost overpowering - leather over warm resins. Then the leather softens into something well worn and brown, and the woods warm up, making this drier and dustier with the spice of the nutmeg at the center of it all. The cedar grows a bit more prevalent on further drydown, with the violet leaf adding a hint of sweetness and the frankincense keeping it bright. This will age amazingly well. Definitely getting a bottle of this one.

NUDE WOMAN RECLINING... calla lily, honeysuckle, Turkish jasmine, ambrette, galbanum, iris and bourbon vanilla.
Loud, heady floral, opening with a blast of lily and honeysuckle, so much so that I almost didn't skin test this. But the other notes had promise, and it does grow creamier and smoother on dry down. The vanilla is remarkably subdued and I get only faint hints of the jasmine. This is a morpher and the final stage is sweet and creamy with dreamy floral hints, but its a long journey to get there and way too floral for me until then. 

 And here's the last three of the Ode to Aphrodite scents:

KATASKOPIA... tuberose, mandarin, jonquil, black sandalwood, green musk, styrax, hyacinth and violet musk.
HEELLLLOOO tuberose!  This is a big floral, sharp and green. And oddly watery, which I wasn't expecting. The florals mellow and the mandarin begins to hold its own but the best part of this scent is woody resin base (the sandalwood is strong in this one, young jedi).  Too much floral and it goes powdery. Not for me. 

KYTHERIAN... black narcissus, purple orchid, neroli, white sandalwood, ambergris, plum musk, jonquil, thyme, oakmoss & grapefruit.
This is one of those scents I wanted to try just to see how everything worked together. The fruits are the most prominent when wet (and I include the plum musk in this), followed by the orchid. I don't really pick up the thyme or sandalwood. Fruit with attitude, and cold. Just the barest hint of oakmoss on drydown to start to warm it up. Strong throw, and overall a very 'purple' scent and something in here is putting the Soap in soapiness (daffodil, is that you?)

NIKEPHOROS... black currant, patchouli, blood orange, oakmoss, galbanum, benzoin and white mint.
Oakmoss and galbanum may be waltzing in the center of the dance floor but patchouli and blood orange are the prom royalty of this blend. Benzoin lurks near the band, white mint plays the wallflower. Black currant shows up late and spikes the punch. I thought this would be too fruity for me but it grows more earthy in the later dry down and I find myself sniffing my wrist over and over. Quite undecided about this one.

 HEKAERGE... red patchouli, myrrh, lemongrass, gurgum balsam, lavender and honey.
I wasn't sure I'd like this, because of the lemongrass, but I can't pick it up at all; this opens with patchouli sweetened by honey and myrrh; the lavender adds a nice edge. The balsam is in there somewhere, added to the overall spice-woodiness of the scent and as it mellows it deepens into spicy resinous woody heaven. Definitely bottleworthy.


NYMPHIA... white rose, apple blossom, spun sugar, mango, cucumber, freesia, coconut and lavender. 
A sweet and fruity floral, as might be expected. The lavender is slim to non-existent as, sadly, is the coconut (except perhaps adding a slight creaminess to the blend). Mango and apple and rose, mostly. Pretty, but too fruity for me.


APATROPHIA... complex Eastern musk with orange blossom, peppermint, lime peel, spikenard, petitgrain and white cedar.
A lovely spicy musk, with a hint of citrus, underlain by dry woods. Sadly, it goes a little soapy on me in the drydown. 


APHROGENES... orris root, iris, white honey, white sandalwood, coconut and cherry blossom.
I love orris, but I'm not sure I get the distinction between orris and iris as notes - orris is iris root, and iris flowers are either practically scentless or stinky, ime, so I'm not sure what's up with that. Regardless, this is a lovely scent. The coconut and white sandalwood (sometimes problematic for me) balance each other perfectly - the sandalwood keeps the coconut from being too loud and the coconut adds enough cream to smooth out the SW's dryness. Orris is faintly sweet to being with and it gets a boost from either the cherry blossom or the honey (I don't find the coconut at all sweet in this blend), or possibly both. A sweet dreamy scent - I like it a lot, but I have a number of other orris blends I adore, so I don't know if I need this one too.


AREIA... dragon's blood resin, pimento berry, olive wood, rosemary, black cherry, persimmons, red musk and red rose.
So many lovely notes in this one, resulting in an unusual dark blend. I get cherry and red musk at first, with some spice from the dragonsblood and pimento. There's an odd herbal note from the rosemary, and the olive wood is present, but it seems at odd with the rest of the blend; perhaps my skin is amping it. The rose seems to come up only at the end, when the dragonsblood goes powdery (of all the resins, it's my least favourite, I think). I really quite like this wet, but it doesn't seem to agree with my skin once it dries - nothing horrible, just meh. Which is a pity, because the initial throw is fascinating.