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scent_junkiesOMG, so many reviews! And it's scary how many more things I've got in the "to be reviewed" drawers of my organizer.
I've got: One from Arcana (via Soap Box Company), Two from BPAL's Carnaval Diabolique, One from Cobalt Blends and Three from Nocturne Alchemy.
Arcana -- Espionage -- The shadowy, spicy aroma of Cold War intrigue. Russian ginger and pomegranate blend in seamlessly with USA citrus fruits, East German poppy seeds and a secret dose of cumin. Oh this is lovely. The sweetness of the pomegrante is perfectly balanced by the sharp bite of the ginger, the tang of the citrus and faint spice of the cumin. I'm not getting the poppy seeds, but then again, I don't know quite what they smell like in something that isn't a tasty, lemony muffin. Normally a perfume that falls into the fruity category isn't described as spicy as well but that's what this one is. I love it; it's the clear winner of today's review batch.
BPAL -- Aeronwen (Carnaval Diabloique The Ladies of the Grindhouse) -- Fig, dark myrrh, amber, redwood, nutmeg, tarragon, black musk, and sweet orange Sadly, there's too much going on here. I don't have a problem with complicated scents or even scents with contradictory notes, but this never seems to settle down and smooth out into perfume. I think my skin is amping the tarragon and the amber more than anything else and they're just not getting along.
BPAL -- Inez (Carnaval Diabloique The Ladies of the Grindhouse) -- Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood. This is a spicy, musky amber which, like many of Beth's ambers, turns a little powdery on me. I like the dry note the cedar adds and I can pick up just a little bit of the spice of the carnation. After a while it blends into something very nice; it's a bit powdery, but some days, I like my amber a bit old fashioned and powderey.
Cobalt Blends -- Imperial Topaz (Winter '07) -- Glowing from within, the juices of crushed red crystals. A faint whisper of incense. All around, opulent amber and precious resins. I can see where the "red crystals" come from; there's a faint berry/pomegrante top note that fades pretty quickly. The amber is nice, spicy and not powdery and to be honest, I have no idea what resins are involved here. There's a faint brown sugary undernote that I kind of like; it makes this one different than other amber/resin/incense blends without making it foody. It's a bit much for summer, but I'll probably wear it when fall and winter finally roll around.
NA -- Amber 23 (forum exclusive) -- Amber perfection to celebrate NA's first anniversary! 23 different types of Amber oils and resins. Amber? Really? This is the most aquatic amber I have ever smelled. Normally my skin amps amber like an amber amping thing, but, while I can smell a little bit of amber, it's not at all warm or spicy. Someone else on the forum said it was aquatic, but most everyone else said it was warm and spicy so I assume that it's just not for me. After a little while, the watery note calmed down and the amber came forward, but it's still not an amber that I'm all that wild about, unlike say, their amber-vanilla combo, which I love to death.
NA -- Solar Egypt 2009: BA (LE) -- Pink, Blood and Red Grapefruit Zest and Essential oil, Sandalwood Resin and Pure powder, Amyris Resin and E/O of India, Honeycomb breath, Apothecary Cucumber Absolute and raw Egyptian Chamomile Tea Resinoid. Although I usually go for spicy/Middle Eastern notes, I also like a good citrus now and then, and this is just lovely. It strikes me as more lunar than solar, but to be honest, I really don't get most of NA's naming practices. This starts out as a crisp blast of citrus and then as it dries down, I get the cucumber and the chamomile. I'm not getting too much of a sandalwood but I'm assuming it's a fairly light version. In the end, it settles down to a nice light perfumey scent that wouldn't be out of place at the Sephora or Macy's perfume counter. Believe me, as much as I love indie eatilers, that is not a complaint; my favorite perfume for years was Calyx by Percriptives and this reminds me of that.
NA -- Tut Ankh Amun (General Catalog) -- The scent of royalty. Golden Amber, Golden Egyptian Sandalwood and Golden Vanilla. This is a very nice, simple blend of the three notes that works perfectly. The amber is creamy without being powdery, the vanilla doesn't turn into rubber on my skin, and the sandalwood is the perfect base, dry without being too dry. At one point during the dry down I got a very weird coconut scent that took me back to the tanning oil I slathered on in the '70s and that kind of worried me for a moment, but then it went away.
And now, excuse me; I need to go sniff some coffee.
I've got: One from Arcana (via Soap Box Company), Two from BPAL's Carnaval Diabolique, One from Cobalt Blends and Three from Nocturne Alchemy.
Arcana -- Espionage -- The shadowy, spicy aroma of Cold War intrigue. Russian ginger and pomegranate blend in seamlessly with USA citrus fruits, East German poppy seeds and a secret dose of cumin. Oh this is lovely. The sweetness of the pomegrante is perfectly balanced by the sharp bite of the ginger, the tang of the citrus and faint spice of the cumin. I'm not getting the poppy seeds, but then again, I don't know quite what they smell like in something that isn't a tasty, lemony muffin. Normally a perfume that falls into the fruity category isn't described as spicy as well but that's what this one is. I love it; it's the clear winner of today's review batch.
BPAL -- Aeronwen (Carnaval Diabloique The Ladies of the Grindhouse) -- Fig, dark myrrh, amber, redwood, nutmeg, tarragon, black musk, and sweet orange Sadly, there's too much going on here. I don't have a problem with complicated scents or even scents with contradictory notes, but this never seems to settle down and smooth out into perfume. I think my skin is amping the tarragon and the amber more than anything else and they're just not getting along.
BPAL -- Inez (Carnaval Diabloique The Ladies of the Grindhouse) -- Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood. This is a spicy, musky amber which, like many of Beth's ambers, turns a little powdery on me. I like the dry note the cedar adds and I can pick up just a little bit of the spice of the carnation. After a while it blends into something very nice; it's a bit powdery, but some days, I like my amber a bit old fashioned and powderey.
Cobalt Blends -- Imperial Topaz (Winter '07) -- Glowing from within, the juices of crushed red crystals. A faint whisper of incense. All around, opulent amber and precious resins. I can see where the "red crystals" come from; there's a faint berry/pomegrante top note that fades pretty quickly. The amber is nice, spicy and not powdery and to be honest, I have no idea what resins are involved here. There's a faint brown sugary undernote that I kind of like; it makes this one different than other amber/resin/incense blends without making it foody. It's a bit much for summer, but I'll probably wear it when fall and winter finally roll around.
NA -- Amber 23 (forum exclusive) -- Amber perfection to celebrate NA's first anniversary! 23 different types of Amber oils and resins. Amber? Really? This is the most aquatic amber I have ever smelled. Normally my skin amps amber like an amber amping thing, but, while I can smell a little bit of amber, it's not at all warm or spicy. Someone else on the forum said it was aquatic, but most everyone else said it was warm and spicy so I assume that it's just not for me. After a little while, the watery note calmed down and the amber came forward, but it's still not an amber that I'm all that wild about, unlike say, their amber-vanilla combo, which I love to death.
NA -- Solar Egypt 2009: BA (LE) -- Pink, Blood and Red Grapefruit Zest and Essential oil, Sandalwood Resin and Pure powder, Amyris Resin and E/O of India, Honeycomb breath, Apothecary Cucumber Absolute and raw Egyptian Chamomile Tea Resinoid. Although I usually go for spicy/Middle Eastern notes, I also like a good citrus now and then, and this is just lovely. It strikes me as more lunar than solar, but to be honest, I really don't get most of NA's naming practices. This starts out as a crisp blast of citrus and then as it dries down, I get the cucumber and the chamomile. I'm not getting too much of a sandalwood but I'm assuming it's a fairly light version. In the end, it settles down to a nice light perfumey scent that wouldn't be out of place at the Sephora or Macy's perfume counter. Believe me, as much as I love indie eatilers, that is not a complaint; my favorite perfume for years was Calyx by Percriptives and this reminds me of that.
NA -- Tut Ankh Amun (General Catalog) -- The scent of royalty. Golden Amber, Golden Egyptian Sandalwood and Golden Vanilla. This is a very nice, simple blend of the three notes that works perfectly. The amber is creamy without being powdery, the vanilla doesn't turn into rubber on my skin, and the sandalwood is the perfect base, dry without being too dry. At one point during the dry down I got a very weird coconut scent that took me back to the tanning oil I slathered on in the '70s and that kind of worried me for a moment, but then it went away.
And now, excuse me; I need to go sniff some coffee.
