Cake or Death - Common Brimstone

Cold sniff: 
Sweet nothing. Not even kidding - there's a faint sweetness but really can't smell much of anything at all.

First applied: 
Almond and vanilla. This reminds me a little of Haus of Gloi's Troika. It's still quite faint - I have to lift my wrist to my nose to smell it properly.

After 30 minutes: 
Very faint. The scent hasn't really changed at all - still a soft vanilla almond - but it has faded a lot. I can barely smell it.

After 3 hours:
Completely gone.

Longevity: 
Barely a sigh.

Actual notes/description:
Luscious red velvet cake blends beautifully with elegant cognac for a delicious gourmand perfume experience.

Availability: 
Common Brimstone 
Permanent
Full size and sample size

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.

Estella - Arcana Soaps

Details: 
Estella 
Great Expectations
Arcana Soaps (bought from The Rhinestone Housewife)

Notes: 
Quietly stunning ambre blanc and vanilla bean with a kiss of cognac.

I bought this unsniffed after reading rave reviews about it. I bought several other bottles at the same time, two of which were also perfumes I'd not tried before, and since I received the order I have not given those other two more than a cursory sniff, because I am obsessed with this. I've been wearing it most days at some point, even if at night just as an excuse to sniff it. It is so beautiful - I thought at first that it was a lot like BPAL's The Shadowy and the Sublime, but I dug that out to compare and it's not really that similar. There are elements that make each remind me of the other, but Estella is in a world of its own.

I was a little concerned that the amber would be overpowering but it's not at all - it's smooth and mellow and blends gorgeously with the vanilla. This is a very warm, comforting, girly perfume. A snuggle scent, if you like. The cognac is detectable, but it's not a boozy smelling perfume - that note just adds a grown up element to it.

Lasting power is fantastic - I've put this on first thing in the morning and I can still smell it after dinner. Sillage is medium - if you splash it on you'll probably be announcing yourself for an hour or two, but if you apply subtly it's just enough to let people know you're there without screaming it in their face. I freaking love this perfume - I am definitely getting another bottle before it disappears. Possibly even two.

Rating: 
5/5

Day 215!

Black Lace - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Black Lace
Dark Delicacies 13th Anniversary Concoction
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
The embodiment of Victorian funereal elegance. A delicate sugar-spun vanilla cream cotton, stained by tobacco and incense, Indian musk and drops of cognac. 

I like this perfume quite a lot, but I don't have much to say about it. It's one of those 'everything mooshed together' blends that BPAL does sometimes. It works, but nothing really stands out to me. In the bottle, it smells like incense. Once applied, it's a vanilla musk, and on me that's pretty much it. I don't get the tobacco, the cotton, or the cognac. I do like vanilla musk though, so it's not such a bad thing.

Rating: 
3/5 Not quite a 4, because I don't find anything remarkably unique about it, but still a very nice scent.

Day 15!

*Apologies for the delay on this one. I'm on holidays at the moment and having trouble keeping track of what day it is - I messed up my schedule dates.