perfume

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Lilacs & Gooseberries

Shay & Blue’s iconic blue flask with black tall top, hung with a silver wolf medallion, sitting in a pile of sugared green gooseberry hard candy.

I was hoping this one would cast spells.

I’m a big fan of the show and the game The Witcher–for a male point-of-view medieval fantasy, it has some amazing and powerful women who call their own shots. (Side note: Henry Cavill looks so much better when he’s grubby.)
Yennifer, the main character’s usual love interest (and occasional foe) wears a distinctive perfume of lilac and gooseberry.
So of course I was excited to see her scent manifested in reality.

Shay & Blue’s write-up is pretty lush:
Nightmare dressed as a daydream. A twisted and addictive juicy floral. Obsessive Lilacs open to the thrill of dark demons. Twisted with sharp Gooseberries drenched in juice. Finishing this intoxication with smooth white amber.
And while that’s a great description of the sorceress’s vibe, S&B’s perfume interpretation is quite literal, and somehow more simple than I was expecting.

The eau goes on fresh and soft with light florals and tart fruits that linger somewhere between green peaches and Granny Smith apples at arm’s length. After an hour or two it settles inside personal space with a wet mineral amber that’s a little abrasive–not headache inducing, just a little prickly–and stays pretty for half the day.
The top notes grab cotton nicely.

I wish it were witchier, more chaotic, more like Yen, but I like it, and the geek factor makes me really happy.

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The bard in the series is an absolute drama queen. Jaskier (which means “buttercup” in the original Polish, though in the English version of the game he is Dandelion) is played brilliantly by Joseph Trapanese. Here’s my favorite song from season 2.

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Citronelle & Geranium

Bottle and box with cute flower drawings, in front of a can of Deep Woods Off and a tube of Skin-So-Soft body lotion.

Holy shitballs, it works.

Mosquitoes LOVE me. The little vampiric assholes feast on my flesh like I am manna from above.
So I am always looking for a good smelling repellent, and while Diptyque actually makes no claim to Citronelle & Geranium being proof against the bloodsucking fiends, it boasts lemongrass and lemon eucalyptus. Both are effective bug deterrents, and along with citronella, can even kill the little effers in large enough doses.

This “summer body spray” goes on comfortingly strong, with that invasive green citrus that immediately stops the annoying tinnitus whine that is not “just in your head.”
In a half hour or so, orange blossom and neroli ease in to soften the sharp sting of the lemon leaves, for a glorious insect free afternoon.

Would it stand up to the fanged pterodactyls that live in Vermont marshes?
No. You need DEET for that.

Is it as sweet smelling and nostalgia inducing as Avon’s iconic Skin-So-Soft?
No, but it’s a lot less oily and doesn’t stain the clothes.

Is it pricey?
Yes, especially when compared to a can of Off from the drugstore.
But since hats with full netting aren’t apropos for garden parties anymore (a shame, that) it might be worth it for fancy outdoor events when waving and slapping and swearing and welting and itching seems undignified.

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Jubilation 25

Amouage mini bottle with gold dome lid on a pink flower.

A celebration of drunk roses.

Almost frosting sweet at first–the ylang-ylang, but tarragon keeping it from being cloying–with a bubbly champagne exuberance, and loud.
The sugar turns smoky in censers, ceremonial myrrh exultant at arms-length for hours, inebriated and wild. A pinch of wormwood in the incense slips in and out of the roses all day long, and makes one aware that holidays had roots long before any book was written, with potions much stronger than wine.
Herbal petals cling to the cuffs for a week after, the confetti that lingers after a parade.

Jubilation is too raucous a party for me everyday, but it’s fun to go to a bash once in a while.

Also, I might be really enjoying tarragon at the moment–it gives nice sharp green aromatics at the top and sweet aniseed at the bottom–Minotaure has it, too.

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Cow

Promo card with a rather judgy bovine, sample spray, apple and kid’s cloisonne cow pendant.

Nestlé apple flavored Quik.
And Crayons.

Opens with some herbs and a basket of fresh apples, that soon turn milky sweet with lily-of-the-valley and violet powder, and then slides down to the skin with waxy musk for half the day.

I don’t know how to explain how silly this smells.

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Some ridiculous NSFW Doja Cat

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Poison Ivy

Black bottle with white ivy illustration and silver cap, and dark green flocked silk leaves

Velvety green roses and lily-of-the-valley out of the bottle, soft in personal space for an hour, then sits with lime sherbet dust on the skin for a few more.

This one is the last of the newest TokyoMilk Dark set. I’m not so impressed with this release–First Base is good, but the other three seem weak in both performance and creativity.

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Dreamy soft song…

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First Base

TokyoMilk Dark black bottle with a white lipstick motif, in a china cup.

Tea-time lingerie.

A splash of milky Earl Grey bergamot with a bit of fresh fruit on the side–a flirty opening that quickly gets shy, retreating to a hand-span off the skin, cologne weight–but it lasts for over half the day with a constant tease of voluptuous florals and bit of wood inside clothing.

There’s a brilliant stilted sexiness to it that’s hard to explain, kind of like art house porn that’s been edited to a PG-13 rating.

I might hang onto this one for a while.

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More tea.

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Oh Ma Biche

Teal blue promo card featuring bottle with a doe, and sample spray. And some fairy lights to make my photo fancier.

Perfect for young teen things who still decorate their bedrooms with twinkle lights and ruffled throw pillows, but whose musical tastes are surprisingly quite refined.

Opens with orange juice and pink pepper, then settles into a nice peach Hawaiian Ice–that really wants to be a Bellini when she’s old enough to drink–inside social distance, and ends after a few giggly hours of sheer vanilla musk on the skin.

Cute and lighthearted, but not silly.

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Isla Crall is a very impressive young woman.

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Golden Nectar

Nest mini roller-ball bottle with dogwood blossom illustration, on pile of other Nest mini bottles.

A dentist’s office–kid’s fruity toothpaste, floral hand sanitizer, fish tank salt, vague panic and rubber soled shoes.
Gets a bit into the face and lasts as long as that smooth feeling on the incisors after a polishing.

This is the second time I’ve thought, “Maybe I won’t bother trying the new Nest when it comes out.”

I think I’ll go floss my molars now.

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My dentist pipes in “Hits of the Seventies.”

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Stunned

Rainbow blown glass, and Bel Rebel sample spray and envelope.

Y’know the skanky convenience store two blocks down, that has as much lampwork glass paraphernalia as munchie snacks on the shelves, and sells the best cheap vanilla incense anywhere?
The guy at the counter is fat and comfy with some nice swagger, and if you’re a regular he’ll give you a zip-lock bag of the green with your $50 roll of Butter-Rum LifeSavers.

Stunned is stunning.
Funky, verdant, sweet, resinous, and joyful.
Goes on with a draw of labdanum smoke, then exhales long–with sticky cannabis cupcake frosting and relaxing cloves–in personal space for most of the evening. You wake in the morning with a smudge of sugary patchouli on the skin, and only a vague idea of what actually happened the night before.

I love that Bel Rebel didn’t go the haute couture route that Florabotanica did–here they embrace messy weed culture full on, with head-shop cliches, creosote smeared bongs and gooey candy excess.

Medical card not required.

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Sì Intense

Ice cube shaped bottle with weird black thumb cap, and some dark pink rose petals.

A headier, smoother version of the original Sì. The vanilla has been culled and the alcoholic woods replaced with benzoin, making the rose and currant syrupy and delicious–almost chocolaty–with a resinous base.

If the first version is meant to be worn on rosebud and champagne day dates, Intense is meant for falling petals and cream sherry evenings at home.

Lasts all night long, and forever on silk scarves.

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A sultry silk scarf song.