T

[journal]

TEMPLE VIPER
carnaval diabolique
snake pit 

Snake Oil with sugar cane, frankincense, champaca, opoponax, labdanum, and hyssop.  

Just a sniff in the bottle right out of the mailbox tells me we're gonna be great friends... I will let it calm down for a day but I look forward to this one.

The sugar cane greets me in the bottle and I look forward to putting this on my skin. But something happens and suddenly it's a lot more cologne-y than I thought I was in for. Luckily it changes again before I can think oh no, and it's smooth and sugary now. I don't get any snake oil or maybe just a tiny little all the way up there to the left. This is gorgeous, even after I've been spoiled for days by SNAKE CHARMER RES it's good, which says something because that's a pretty hard act to follow. Yesterday I put a tiny little bit one me and then I got a little whiff of head shop (which I love) but I don't get that today. 
 

THE CLOD AND THE PEBBLE
limited edition 

William Blake
Love seeketh not Itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care;
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hells despair.

So sang a little Clod of Clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet;
But a Pebble of the brook,
Warbled out these metres meet.

Love seeketh only Self to please,

To bind another to Its delight:
Joys in anothers loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heavens despite.

Rose otto, clove, patchouli, Indian sandalwood, nutmeg, and cedar.

Oh man this one is gorgeous all the way.
I expected the cedar to be sharp, but in the bottle and wet on my skin it's very woodsy, yet still smooth, with a whiff of spice in the background.

When drydown starts the rose comes to the foreground with the spices and it's so very very beautiful.
An instant love!


THE CONTRACT OF THEOPHILUS OF ADANA

I dare not open this scroll. Temptation is the plague of men's spirits.
Parchment, Siamese benzoin, infernal incense, red musk, brimstone, and daemonorops.  

I usually respond well to the red musk but lately I've encountered some floral-heavy ones that didn't behave on me but were screaming loud and gave me a headache (TRICK#1, I'm looking at you), so I was pleasantly surprised and quite relieved since I already have a bottle on the way from the lab when I tested this decant. It's not too sweet, the paper note keeps it nice and dry, but not too dry. And the daemondrops (isn't that dragon's blood in some form?) keeps it from being too dry. It's downright gorgeous. The bottle that travels across the pond right now will be met with a lot of love.

 

THE GRINDHOUSE

Throaty laughter captures your attention. Across the lane you see a buxom Venetian woman standing before a huge black and red striped tent. Her head is inclined towards a dapper, leering man, and they appear to be sharing a private joke. He reaches into his waistcoat and produces a gold coin. The woman plucks it from his fingers. He bows, and walks into the tent with a swagger. A sign flashes above the tent flap in letters that seem to be aflame: The Grindhouse, Dead or Live Girls.

The Madam turns towards you and smiles. As she approaches, someone within the tent strikes a few keys on a tuneless piano, and begins to play Jelly Roll Morton's 'the Crave'. The light within the tent illuminates the interior, shining behind the silhouettes of naked women gyrating lewdly upon raised stages, writhing in time with the music.

In the distance, behind the tent, you hear a whip crack, and a man's scream. Tittering laughter follows, and the screams continue.

"Voulez-vous un morceau de la boîte de bonbon?" she asks, gesturing gracefully towards the tent.

The Madam's perfume envelops you.

Florentine iris, red musk, mimosa, magnolia, Damascus rose, clove, and vanilla bean.  

According to the description notes she is very floral but it doesn't really show up that much. She goes on as warm and comforting and I get the vanilla bean and maybe a little whiff of rose. The red musk is very much in the background but it's there.

Sadly she has magnolia and that's not really good for me, especially in a headache situation. It gets overwhelming.

 

 

THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT 2008
limited editions
2008 yules 

Embrace your villainy: balsam, myrrh, mandarin orange, bitter clove, artemesia, rosewood, nutmeg, dark musk, smoke and cypress. 

Mm this is good. I get the clove right away, and the mandarin. There is a little greenery in there but it's not overpowering. The rest of it I can't really pick out but it's good. I like it. It's not sweet and not really that spicy either, but I really like it. The longer it stays on my skin the better it gets. It's in the CLOD AND THE PEBBLE and FREDERIC area but smoother and not so powerful. It might just be a bottle in here. I have to test it a little more. I think a rollerbottle here is appropriate.  
 

THE WITCH QUEEN
stardust 

On a rocky mountain pass, on the southernmost slopes of Mount Belly, the witch-queen reined in her goat-drawn chariot and stopped and sniffed the chilly air.

The myriad stars hung cold in the sky above her.

Her red, red lips curved up into a smile of such beauty, such brilliance, such pure and perfect happiness that it would have frozen your blood in your veins to have seen it. "There," she said. "She is coming to me."

And the wind of the mountain pass howled about her triumphantly, as if in answer.

Wild plum, red musk, tuberose, calla lily, heliotrope, pimento, ylang ylang and beeswax beneath a dark haze of sinister purple-hued incense smoke. 

Holy florals batman! I think I have to give her some time to settle and/or try her on another time of the month because this was not a success!

She got better with time and when I didn't have the migraines lurking in the shadows. I can do a detailed review later but I want to be fair. She's not bad at all. Floral, yes, but not overwhelming. 

TOMOE GOZEN
limited editions
trading post inquisition
warrior queens

A "warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot." Tomoe Gozen was a fierce, noble, and courageous samurai, first captain, as well as a renowned beauty. She was an excellent swordswoman, famed for her riding ability and her skill at archery. She fought for Minamoto no Yoshinaka at Battle of Awazu, and her forces were defeated. Legend says she was seen holding the severed head of one of her foes on the battlefield, and vanished, never to be seen again.

HER PERFUME
Red currant, golden amber, blackberry, honey, and pink pepper.

She's been sitting in the flower box for a while and we just had a heat wave so she's really smooth now. I get sweet honey and just a hint of berry. The amber makes her even smoother. I think I like it although it's not instant love like with SEMIRAMIS.

HER BATH
Red currant and honey.

It had leaked so everything smelled of red currant and honey. It's just what it says it is. Red currant and honey. Do we like? We don't know yet.

 

TRICK #1
limited edition
Trick or Treat Inquisition 2006  

A double-dose of seedy that oozes rough-and-tumble sexuality while promoting vice-driven profitability! Volcanic red musk, vanilla bean, Queen Elizabeth root, red ginger, skin musk, black leather, honeycomb, honeysuckle, magnolia, and patchouli.  

Oh crap this one is good. Worth every penny (and I won it in a fist fight on ebay so it wasn't cheap).
I can't really describe it. I get the red musk (mmm) and I get honeysuckle, honey and I think vanilla.
But there is something else. Something that pulls me back to a good thing from my childhood. Well, no matter what it is, it's a wonderful scent. Feminine, sexy and maybe a tad dangerous.

On second testing the magnolia overwhelmed everything and unfortunately makes it unwearable. Very very sad. :(