Tattered Lace - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

First sniff: 
Something resin-y, maybe frankincense or a fairly delicate patchouli. That's the wand. In the vial I can small something foody - it's almost like a sweet custard, like the way a continental slice smells.

First applied: 
There's that custard smell again, now with a very slight lemony tinge. The resin is there too and it's strong enough that it made me sneeze when I sniffed it closely. It seems to blend nicely with the food note/s though, so hopefully this isn't going to be some big hippie nightmare.

After 30 minutes: 
This has faded a lot - for something so potent when first applied it's really quite faint now. I can smell it when I move my wrist around close to my face but that's about it. Now it's more of a vanilla scent, still a little of the sweet custard note but the resin has pretty much gone.

After 3 hours: 
Almost gone. There's a faint whiff of sweet vanilla when I sniff my wrist closely, but that's about it.

Longevity: 
Maybe 2.5 hours, tops.

Actual notes/description: 
An allegory of Victorian melancholia: tea-stained bourbon vanilla, with white cognac, coconut bark, Oman frankincense, and woodmoss over opium tar-stained silk.

Availability: 
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
Limited Edition - Dark Delicacies Retail Exclusive 2011
Not readily available. Might pick up in private sales.

Horror Night At The Movies - Violette Market

Source

First sniff: 
No idea. Something vaguely floral and a bit sour, maybe some popcorn?

First applied: 
Still no idea - this is a complete mystery. I think there's some almond in there. That sourness is more pronounced and there's a very faint note of something else I can't put my finger on... I think there's definitely popcorn in there too but it's not distinct.

After 30 minutes: 
No real change, it's still a mystery. The base is very perfume-y, like something an old lady would wear. This is weird.

After 3 hours: 
It's almost gone but once it hit that base it didn't change from the old lady floral/musk thing at all. That sour note still stuck around a bit - I was beginning to wonder if the perfume had actually turned, but I'm pretty sure that note is meant to be there.

Longevity: 
To be honest, I stopped sniffing after the 3 hour mark because I didn't like it at all - not quite a scrubber, but just a bit bleh. It had almost gone by then though so I doubt it would have stuck around much longer.

Actual notes/description: 
Popcorn coated in vanilla salt, flecks of almond bark, droplets of crimson dragon's blood resin, and salty sweat mingled with the heroine's white musk perfume as she runs to escape the on-screen vampires.

Availability:
Violette Market
Limited Edition - The 1980s Collection 2011
Apparently very limited and forever gone.

The Cake Is A Lie - One Hand Washes The Other

Details: 
The Cake Is A Lie
Winter 2011 (now permanent)
One Hand Washes The Other

Notes: 
But it smells so REAL! Lemon-filled butter cake with thick, fluffy frosting. Lemon, sugar, cake batter and frosting. 

This perfume came in my recent package from Rachel, and having never tried any perfumes from One Hand Washes The Other, I was a bit excited to get in and try it. The Cake Is A Lie is one of those weird phrases that I have heard a million times but don't know the etymology of - I assume it's from some fandom or other. Regardless, I've had at least a couple of other perfumes of that name in the past. In the vial, this one smells like sweet lemon cake. I like it, but I feel like I've smelled the exact same perfume 10 times in the last few months. It doesn't change a lot on application - perhaps a bit more sugary. About 20 minutes in it goes a bit dusty and stays that way for a half hour or so. The dry down is sugary vanilla custard. The sillage and longevity are both fairly low - it was gone in a couple of hours.

Rating: 
3/5 As I said, I liked it, but I feel a bit caked out these days.

Day 88!
 

Hasta la Muerte - The Morbid The Merrier

Details: 
Hasta la Muerte
Valentine's Day 2011
The Morbid The Merrier

Notes:
The innocence of lily and carnation, sweetened with vanilla absolute, smashed and marred by an undercurrent of heartless black spice.

This is one of the few perfumes I have left from The Morbid The Merrier, and it's never been a favourite. When I first bought it, I found it just okay, but nothing about it kept me going back. After a couple of years, this has aged quite well (interestingly, because the other TMTM scent I reviewed for this blog was the opposite). In the bottle, it's a sweet, very faintly spicy floral, mostly the lily with a dab of vanilla evident. Once applied though, the spice comes out and I get the carnation as well. It's so different from bottle to skin - almost like an entirely different perfume. This is what I'd call a unisex floral - you can definitely smell the flowers, but it's not girly. The spice makes it more deep and masculine.

I'm glad I pulled this one out - I really like a lot this time around. The vanilla stays in the background, just adding a slightly warm, sweet base as it dries down, but the carnation is the most definite note, there all the way through. Sillage is medium - like many carnation scents, it would be easy to go overboard with this, but subtly applied it's not too out there. Longevity is pretty good - I could still smell it 6 hours later.

Rating: 
4/5 A forgotten gem.

Day 70!

Garden Gate - Solstice Scents

Details: 
Garden Gate
Spring Collection 2011
Solstice Scents

Notes: 
Voluptuous Lilac blossoms in the foreground combine with faint traces of cascading wisteria and subtle, fresh, green grass notes. Contains a blend of fragrance oils and African Bluegrass EO to creat a sweet, creamy and gorgeous floral. The dry down is an intensely beautiful and very wearable floral that smells true to the light purple flowers that inspired it.

This perfume is similar to several other 'cottage garden' ones I have, which is why I never bothered buying a full size. The lilac is most prominent on first sniff - that's pretty much all I get. It doesn't really change any until the dry down, and that's when the wisteria and the 'green' show up. It's lovely if you like garden florals (and I do very much). There's really not a lot more to say about it. Sillage and longevity are both on the low-ish side. I could still smell it after 3 hours, but it was extremely faint. 

Rating: 
3/5

Day 58!