duende - fantome perfumes
oakmoss, cedar, fir, resinous labdanum, benzoin, tree sap, wild violets, lilac.
*** the one that started it all! duende has been recommended as a top pick for "you want to smell like a forest?" so i had to snag it. i really like duende, but on me the florals really stand out. so it feels more like the forest the last unicorn resides in at the beginning of the book than "creepy and weird forest" which personally i would like to smell like that more on a daily basis over 'meadow clearing'. however, it's still a lovely scent and i like to wear it, but i tend to reserve it more for days where i feel a little more feminine than normal. also for some reason one of my cats goes crazy for this one, she's always trying to lick my wrists when i wear it... which is bad!!

coyoacán - fantome perfumes
desert wind, sweet nectar, cool stone, mexican vanilla, creosote, hibiscus, sage.
*** i got this one when i picked up duende so it would be a contrast since they were my first two perfumes. now i'll be honest most of the notes in this one just don't register at all to my nose. what DOES register though is the vanilla, and it feels like a very "warm" vanilla. vanilla beans you've left to dry on the hot steps outside. since some of the other notes are supposed to be things like desert air and cool stone maybe that's what they're going for. i wear this one more than duende since the vanilla doesn't feel as "creamy" which makes it more gender-neutral (to me).

made of - cherrykas trunk
spanish moss, romanian birch, cypress, dirt, moss, gunpowder, mushrooms.
*** this is a scent inspired by My Beloved ethan winters from resident evil. i really like this scent a lot, however, it is really strong on my skin at first and since a lot of the notes in this are meant to invoke a sort of wet floral landscape, it can be almost pungent at first. the scent mellows out super quickly into like. a floral bog scent that isn't nearly as overwhelming, but those first couple of whiffs are like whew. this is a scent that definitely reminds me of the baker house; a house hosted in a bog in the humid south with lots of wet fauna and flora in the vicinity.

silver handsome - cherrykas trunk
leather, tobacco, gunsmoke, ocean, ginger, cherry blossom, tequila, sand.
*** a scent based off of johnny silverhand. i bought this one kind of on a whim to wear while i play cyberpunk and i wasn't sure if i'd like it much given the tequila note, but i really like it a lot. it's fiery, a little boozy, but also shockingly grounded, which works perfectly for johnny's impulsive behavior despite his well-rounded insights.

sandalwood guns - cherrykas trunk
gunpowder, denim, leather, tobacco, desert, red rose.
*** i have no idea what character this is supposed to be based off of but it's good. the leather and gunpowder stand out the most on me. it smells...well-oiled?? like you're in a workshop in the desert and you're oiling a gun or something mechanical. for that reason, i actually associate this scent kind of with fullmetal alchemist and wore it when i cosplayed edward elric. my friend made fun of me for trying to match perfumes to my outfits, but when i had him smell this one he agreed that it did smell like something ed would smell like, so i guess i'm right lol. warm, mechanical, a little dusty, grounded.

cthulu - black phoenix alchemy lab
seaweed, oceanic plants, seawater.
*** i really like how watery scents interact with my skin, and cthulu is certainly the wateriest scent i have tried so far. the seaweed takes a minute to show up, but it is definitely there--and i like it, but it doesn't really offer the nice floral element that restless dreaming's lavender does. cthulu smells stormy and bristly. funnily enough i wouldn't say it smells like seawater to me despite the sea note. rather it makes me think of a large looming lake teeming with unknown secrets. so maybe the seaweed smells more like algae to me? definitely one to pick up if you really just want to smell like a wet lake, since there's nothing particularly floral to this scent to me. definitely something to wear whenever i pick subnautica back up again for the full immersion!

codex - calyxfragrance
old books, leather, dusty pages.
*** i said that i've been looking for a book scent -- this one, i think, fits the bill perfectly. it starts off very pulpy and light, almost creamy in scent, but overtime the scent morphs into something darker and more leathery. per the etsy description it is meant to transition from "new modern bookstores" into "aged tomes" which i think makes sense - it's interesting to have the scent go from something creamy to something more dry. it's really good if you're looking for a book scent, but i will say it doesn't last terribly long on my skin nor does it project much. i also think i prefer the initial 'pulpy' and creamy scent to the later notes of the leather. definitely one i'll restock or maybe get as an essential oil for a diffuser.

tweed waistcoat - calyxfragrance
cognac, vanilla, oakmoss.
*** smells like the creamiest earl grey or london fog you could ever have. this was my sample i received from them and i fell in love with it immediately. it's a gourmand scent for sure but because the gourmandy-ness reminds me more of adding milk to my tea, it's something that doesn't surprise me or make me feel like i need to be in a bakery or something. there's something there resembling leather for sure. i can see the dark academia influences, but i think for me it mostly reminds me of ordering london fogs when i lived in seattle because the perfume has a sort of 'humid' note to it that might be the oak moss, although i wouldn't say the perfume smells particularly watery or anything.

leopardite - hexennacht - july 2024
sandalwood, golden sandalwood powder, vanilla husk, chamois accord, cedarwood, tobacco leaf, black oak, cardamom, saffron threads, miel blanc.
*** a very sandalwood forward fragrance with an accord that i can only describe as 'sharp'. i'm guessing that's the chamoi. it's woody, slightly musky thanks to the musk sharpness? but it isn't hazy in the same way a lot of musky fragrances tend to be, at laest on me. this fragrance has a lot of body to it. the tobacco might also play a role in it. warm but not candle-esque. woody but not wood-centric.

santal - hexennacht - july 2024
sandalwood incense, golden sandalwood, mysore wood accord, vanilla sandalwood.
*** basically does what it says: mmmm sandalwood! after being disappointed by the longevity of another sandalwood-centric perfume i got i thought this might be nice...and it is a significant improvement. i do get some of the mint-elements some synthetic sandalwoods have in this one, but overall this is very creamy and delightful and lasts quite a long time on me!

strawberry fields forever - hexennacht - july 2024
strawberries, fresh cut grass, dirt.
*** this one was a bit of a disappointment. i like strawberry as much as the next person but this smells primarily syrup-y to me with little 'real' strawberry to it, let alone any strength to the more green notes. over time the syrup-y nature of the strawberry does die down and get a little more green, but it never fully goes away enough to invoke any outdoor imagery to me. i'll be trying to get rid of this one i think, it doesn't do what i wanted it to do at all :(

to different oceans - cherrykas trunk - aug 2024
vanilla, citrus, sandalwood, rosewood, ocean, lavender.
*** i'm not as into this perfume as i was when i first bought it admittedly. it's beachy, light, airy, and the way the vanilla and salt notes of the ocean interact on my skin is sooo yummy. it's just sophisticated enough to make me feel fancy wearing it, and yet the tang of the sea salt and ocean turns everything on its head to make it feel playful. the rosewood offers a nice floral element without turning it into a floral--instead it feels distinctly driftwoody, washing up on vanilla scented shores.

moon lust - alkemia - dec 2024
creamy white ambers, blonde woods, luminescent skin notes.
*** when i first got into perfume i thought i would be all over wood notes but i think i've found they tend to be too 'astringent' to be something i like to actually wear. however, i've found such a happy place with ' blonde woods' and especially the ones in this perfume. almost like how blonde coffee just smells lighter than dark roast counterparts, the woods in moon lust smell bright and soft and dream-like, playing into the soft creaminess of the ambers. a warm, diffused glow of a perfume that settles easily into your skin. this is one of alkemia's "not a perfume" perfumes so there isn't much projection here but i think this is one i can see myself getting a larger bottle of, it's so lovely in a blurry ethereal but subdued rather than divine way. the warm impression of a ghost's hand on yours, suffusing your skin with heat. could see this being my go-to for daily wear.

luminae - alkemia - dec 2024
no listed notes, described as "an illumination of creamy olfactory radiance - your skin but better"
*** this seems to pull pretty differently on people based off their skin chemistry. a lot of people were mentioning a buttered popcorn element to this, calling it a more gourmand your skin but better perfume...fragrantica review are all over the place on its scent as well. on me it's not as creamy as moon lust is, and pulls into a more salty and maybe muskier(?) sweet wax-like scent. i get the impression of a weeping salt-scented beeswax candle. this perfume definitely still gives the intended 'luminating' effect, and i like it a lot, but i like moon lust that much more! but this is more about how my skin behaves with the scent than the scent itself, as people get pretty varied experiences out of this one. i'll be curious to see how it interacts on my friends.

the lady's yes - alkemia - dec 2024
fig, magnolia flowers, amber, white sandalwood.
*** when i smelled this right after it got here i really only could smell the sandalwood and amber, so i'm glad i didn't try it on right away. after a few days of resting when i opened the bottle all i could smell was fig, so i'm surprised that the note was totally dominated by the others in travel! this is a fresh fig indeed--ripe and juicy but lightened by the magnolia, and it blends nicely into the skin thanks to the amber and sandalwood which warms the fig just enough to give the impression of smelling like the palm of your juice-stained hand after you've eaten a few figs. i am very delighted by this, fig has been something i've wanted to try but haven't been interested in the more dessert-y and flora-centric takes from other houses (or i'm worried the other notes will override the fig and make it candle-y, which this does not do).

old books and fresh flowers - alkemia - dec 2024
neroli, heliotrope, paper, leatherbound books.
*** oh this is just beautiful. in the bottle the leather and paper give a stronger impression to perfectly mimic the title of the perfume--that is, pressed flowers between the pages of an old book. i don't get as much of the leather on my skin, but i can sense it lingering somewhere, giving the heliotrope and neroli a sort of dusty afterquality that i think is gorgeous. even as this is drying down on my skin i get more and more of that dust element, making it smell almost musty in a very enchanting way, like unearthing a secret love journal in the corner of the basement. a gasp of a kiss from words you forgot about. the heliotrope is awakened just enough by the citrus in the neroli to make it feel like a fresh floral and not an old one--fresh flowers dampened by old books, indeed. my skin loves florals so i was worried this would just go straight heliotrope on me so i'm glad that didn't happen. personally this is everything i want out of a floral perfume.

enchantress - alkemia - dec 2024
amaretto liqueur, star jasmine, orchid, bourbon vanilla caramel, guaiac wood, vetiver, botanical pheromones.
*** the amaretto note is very strong and very liqueur-y, giving the opening of this perfume a 'sharp' element that's not bad but not great either. but the almond that comes after that sharp liqueur scent is sooo yummy it keeps me sniffing my wrist. the bourbon vanilla caramel shows up next, deepening the amaretto and making it more sultry and seductive, promises of riches and a fae lady curling her pointer finger to beckon you closer from where she lingers in the shadows. maybe it's because my skin likes florals so much eventually this turns into more of a flourmand on my skin, but it's definitely darkened by the wood, vetiver, and botanical notes, giving it a sticky sweetness and a sexy bog witch kind of vibe. i really love that almond but less so the alcoholic tang or the caramel, it's a little too poisoned sweets in vibe for me.

haunted and bewitched - alkemia - dec 2024
egyptian amber, jasmine, rosewater turkish delight, madagascar vanilla, caramel, patchouli.
*** this rose turkish delight note really does smell like rose turkish delight. a sweet, powdered rose is the star here, but it's not an overpowering rose scent. eventually the caramel and patchouli peek through the rose and give a sort of shifting, sultry element to an initially delicate and powdery fragrance, although it's certainly not nearly as cloyingly sexy as enchantress is. i used to wear lush's karma perfume a lot in high school and this kind of feels like a more grown-up variant of that, less heavy on the citrus and patchouli and more sophisticated and complex with its other notes. again, not really my vibe, but plenty yummy enough to wear.

head like a hole - sixteen92 - dec 2024
black ink, kohl eyeliner, scratched vinyl records, latex, fog machine and strobe lights, clove cigarettes.
*** i could see this eliciting a very specific scent memory for people; on me the clove cigarette and fake fog are what show up the most. it's a brutal, sexy but definitely "cheap" clove, which isn't bad 'cause who was rolling up to industrial clubs in the 90s with expensive cigs? no one. anyway i love the fake fog note here, but it might give someone sensitive to that smell a headache. again, i could see this giving someone who was lucky enough to be part of this scene in its heyday some flashbacks. it definitely gives me the vibes of the harsh sexual brutality of early NIN works, and while it's not a scent i'd go to for daily wear, it's cool they were able to distill pretty hate machine into a scent. funnily enough my boyfriend gets more of the eyeliner note, which show up like grimy-esque pencil shavings offset by the clove which is a fun distinction from how the fragrance works on my skin.

glass houses - sixteen92 - dec 2024
glass, wind, concrete, neon violet, static synthesizer hum.
*** inspired by skinny puppy's song glass houses. a quite subtle, 'cold' and weather-bitten violet. stark violet, bleak in the edge of the city. a violet that makes you almost cringe to smell but not necessarily because it smells bad--just that it doesn't really smell 'healthy' in the way you'd expect it to smell in other perfumes. more and more of the concrete and rain come through on dry-down, giving a petrichor-like quality to the perfume, although i wouldn't say it quite just catches that humid scent of rain on the way. it's a shame that s92's reputation regarding fulfilling orders isn't so great because i could see myself falling in love with it the more i wear it because it's definitely a one of a kind scent but they aren't exactly well-regarded in the perfume community anymore (and if i had known of this i wouldn't have ordered from them but i didn't oopsie).

pas de deux - sixteen92 - dec 2024
pink macarons, sugar wafers, candied pistachios, silk tulle, rosewater tea.
*** this is definitely a different scent for me since i don't generally opt for gourmands, but i like macarons and pistachios and was curious what 'silk tulle' would do to this. sugary-sweet scent for sure, i really get the candied pistachio...it almost smells marzipan adjacent, but more sugary. as the oil dries the rosewater comes up to soften the sugar and sophisticate the scent a bit. it definitely stays in sugary-sweet territory, but i like how the rose mixes to bitter the sugar when i'm so used to it being a strong floral. i think i'm realizing i like rose when it plays against musk and dust-like scents or when it can tone down an otherwise bright and powdery scent. i still have no idea what silk tulle is supposed to smell like but i do get a sort of sugary nutcracker ballerina vibe from the fragrance overall, so i'd say mission accomplished.

lady amalthea - black phoenix alchemy lab - jan 2025
white winter musk, lilac, wisteria, white chocolate, white mint, tuberose
*** i've wanted this one for a while purely because i adore the last unicorn so much but i've always held off just because i wasn't sure if i'd like it and with bpal's collabs and LEs you unfortunately can't order them in trial sizes. after my recent alkemia order upon which i realized how much i adore heliotrope i've warmed up more to floral-centric perfumes, especially when used in a more atmospheric, dreamy way. this perfume is just perfect for amalthea. a wilting droop of sad and cold florals--then made just a touch creamy by the white chocolate and musk. the mint cools the perfume wonderfully and doesn't actually invoke much mintiness imo, which is nice. i think the florals take a little while to peek out of the dry-down and shine, but once they do it's an invocation of the softest, dream-like bed of ice cold petals, soft and delicate but frost-lined and cold to touch. in my experience bpal stuff gets closest to its intended scent profile after a few months have passed, so i'm excited to see how it does in march. very evocative of the character it is named for, and i'm glad i took the chance on it.

caramelized pecan rum cake - black phoenix alchemy lab - jan 2025
exactly as described.
*** i can smell it through the little freebie vial, that's how strong it is. smells very true to its notes. i'm not someone who usually opts for gourmands like this, but i like them plenty as candles! just not as perfume. anyway me and my boyfriend tried this on at the same time; on him it truly smells like what it is, the rum especially shining on his skin. it smells like a very boozy, sweet, caramelized and candied cake. on ME however, i mostly get a sweet pecan. which is honestly something i'd prefer to wear as a perfume anyway. it's light, airy, still got a little bit of that cake element but it mostly smells like opening a bag of candied pecans, especially if the candied element is on the lighter side and not super intense. kind of surprised by how much i like this on me especially with how intensely like a rum cake it smells in the vial and on my boyfriend.

djinn - black phoenix alchemy lab - jan 2025
smoke, flame, ashes.
*** this smells exactly like promised. whatever my skin chemistry does to this is just lovely too, since i tend to play better with cooler notes. this is the first perfume i've smelled and gotten a distinct scent memory of: being outside camping in the mountains sitting around a fire, breathing in the smoke and relishing in the heat and the pine. i don't think there's actually a pine or tree note in this. and it does smell more like "fire" not "campfire" specifically. but that's what it reminds me of. on people with warmer skin chemistries i get more of a direct flame image, more of an indoor fireplace than the outdoor fire i get on me.

timshel - madame scodioli
tobacco, vanilla.

one of us - madame scodioli
sandalwood, cedar, cardamom, leather.

mojave ghost - byredo (edp)
ambrette, jamaican nesberry. violet, sandalwood, magnolia. chantilly musk, amber, cedarwood.
*** i tried the handcream of this at a store once and fell in love with the scent but admittedly the edp version of it is a little underwhelming for me. luckily i just have a sample size of it. it's still a nice scent, but at least on me the handcream comes out fruitier rather than muskier and i am just not super impressed with the edp's performance to justify the price. this also was a big hint for me in realizing i prefer the oils over the edps as i realized pretty fast i didn't like the lingering scent on my clothes lol. mojave ghost reminds me of sitting in the desert underneath a blooming cactus; the edp makes me think of that desert-like dry air with a little taste of something blooming on the air, whereas the handcream makes me think more of cutting open the cactus with your knife and drinking straight from it.

fall cashmere - skylar (edp)
roasted almond, cinnamon bark, spiced bark.
*** this was a gift from my friend who is subscribed to scentbird but didn't like this scent much. it's fine! it smells very warm, almost chai-like, but maybe a little too synthetic at times. i've since discovered i prefer perfume oils so i just don't wear it much. i'll probably give it away too (sorry rain).

the ghost in the shell - etat libre d'orange (edp)
aqual, yuzu, hexyl acetate, milk, skin, jasmine, nugane, orcanox, vinyl, moss.
*** wow this is a weird one. i obviously had to get this because of its name. it definitely lives up to it. unfortunately the yuzu lasts all of a handful of seconds on me before the dry-down takes over and it morphs into something strangely milky-sweet. it's not a bad scent, i actually like it, it just feels almost like a cold glass of milk on a hot day, not the spiced milk i love of black moon milk. it feels too-clean yet organic, and while some people said it feels unsetling for them, i didn't think so. i really like how this smells but i will say i got a little tired of the milk scent clinging to me after a few hours so eventually i just scrubbed it off since i was tired of always smelling its scent bubble. more reason for me to stick with oils i guess. but it's so unique, i think it's worth picking up a cheap sample from ebay like i did, especially if you like to feel like a weird android from time to time. this feels like what chii from chobits would smell of. an unrecognizable sweetness that is just a bit off.

l'heure bleue - guerlain (EDT splash)
anise, neroli, bergamot, heliotrope, carnation, violet, tuberose, iris, vanilla, benzoin. (amongst others per fragrantica)
*** this one is something of a classic, so when i found a vintage vial for a good price, i figured why not. it smells really, really lovely, but being around as long as it has, i also can't help but associate it a bit with an older lady lol. i don't think that's intrinsically bad or anything though. l'heure bleue is soft, powdery, very floral (especially thanks to my skin chemistry), and true to its name the blue hour, it's a little sad somehow, too. it's about powdering yourself in front of a vanity as the sun sinks into twilight, and staring longingly out the window wishing for more as fireflies dance in the distance. it's serene, melancholic, and a bit glamorous. the deathly pallor of sleeping beauty in her castle.

white diamonds - elizabeth taylor (splash)
aldehydes, white lily, orange, neroli, ylang ylang, tuberose, jasmine narcissus, sandalwood, oakmoss. (and others per fragrantica)
*** got lucky with this at a garage sale for 2 dollars so i figured why not. adorable bottle. smells nice, overpoweringly floral for sure, especially with my skin, but not in a way that feels overwhelming... it's just very much the sort of perfume i smell and think 'i don't want to smell like that' and was a big resaon why i avoided getting into perfume since i thought it would just be floral city for a while. however! despite my personal associations, i do think this is a really nice and slightly glamorous scent. it feels of an older lady adjusting her fur shawl in an upscale vegas resort, or dipping your wrists in a tub of petals and soapy water so you smell both soapy and floral. and like i said, the bottle being cute is a win too!