I previously tried out ZOMG Smells (review here) and was impressed by their quality, so I got 4 more decants of their Gabriel's City Collection from Ajevie. I'll probably buy a sample set from them soon, but at the moment, I still have a huge backlog of stuff to review so I'm holding off on buying from them.
Anyway, while most of these scents didn't work out on me, I'm still really impressed with the quality and would recommend this scent to anyone. Especially people who love old English apothecary type of herbal smells.
So on to reviews! As always, reviews are done blind until the TL;DR's written. If anything in the notes surprise me, I write an overview.
"Honeycakes, fine rose-petal tea steeped just long enough and no more, and a dab of neroli, vanilla, and the most expensive sandalwood"
"Refined French lavender, sharp amber, ambergris, Atlas and Virginia cedarwoods, and an expensively sweet herbal cologne with cardamom, frankincense, nutmeg, bay, and clean, bright sandalwood."
"Sharp green galbanum, fresh wild lavender, cedar coffinwood, vetiver, patchouli and sandalwood for a last touch of the living on their lost ones, and grave-dirt."
This is a medicinal green and dirt. It's fresh leaves cut to make some herbal remedy that's bitter, cool & sharp. The scent is definitely unisex, leaning towards masculine. Despite all the herbal bits, it's still cool, light, and has hints of a masculine green note I've sniffed before in high end men's cologne. It's definitely not a boring mainstream high end cologne though! If you like earthy, herbal scents, you'll definitely love this. It's the scent of trudging in a forest turned into a refined perfume. I personally love this and think it smells like a guy who's very refined & elegant, yet kind of quirky and probably loves experimenting with....herbs. Somebody Johnny Depp-ish. Here's a picture I'd pick for an ad for this scent:
TL;DR: The scent of trudging in a forest turned into a refined perfume.
Overview: Oh wow...I normally hate patchouli but this isn't bad at all!
Anyway, while most of these scents didn't work out on me, I'm still really impressed with the quality and would recommend this scent to anyone. Especially people who love old English apothecary type of herbal smells.
So on to reviews! As always, reviews are done blind until the TL;DR's written. If anything in the notes surprise me, I write an overview.
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Anna
"Honeycakes, fine rose-petal tea steeped just long enough and no more, and a dab of neroli, vanilla, and the most expensive sandalwood"
Omg this starts off so gorgeous! There's honeysuckle and a sweet, candied sort of rose. It's different from my favourite honeysuckle-rose combo though (MDA's Rapunzel has it). The rose here is velvety and candied, and it's heavier on the rose. It's also more creamy rather than fresh & grassy.
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| This is the prettiest cake ever...and it's what I imagine would smell like this scent! Awesome masterpiece by sweettweetsbakery.blogspot |
The rose does get heavier with time, and there's hints of powderiness. It gets a bit too sweet at times for me, but my skin does amp up sweetness and I still like it overall. This is definitely a scent you either love or hate.
TL;DR: Creamy, candied rose.
TL;DR: Creamy, candied rose.
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Colin
"Refined French lavender, sharp amber, ambergris, Atlas and Virginia cedarwoods, and an expensively sweet herbal cologne with cardamom, frankincense, nutmeg, bay, and clean, bright sandalwood."
This is a very soapy smell. Have you ever tried eating soap as a kid? I did. I wasn't a smart child...anyway, this smells like eating soap. There's an absinthe sort of herbalness to it, which makes it smell even more soapy on me. For some reason, my skin eats this scent up really fast. After about 10 min, the scent got faint on me and it becomes more of a blue, soapy candy that's kind of dusty and tart, but it still feels like you're eating something you shouldn't be eating.
By 40 min, the scent's nearly gone.
TL;DR: Eating a bar of soap & washing it down with absinthe.
Overview: Not sure what's causing the absinthe scent, but I'm guessing it's the cardamom mixed with everything else. I know cardamom sometimes has a soapy sort of taste, so maybe that's behind the soapy feel too.
"The refined blend of imported lavender oil has been replaced by fresh crushed buds, he's down to just the sharper of the two cedarwoods, the memory of nutmeg, and a less poncy sandalwood that warms the skin and rubs up against the new things in his life: grave-dirt, freshly-broken twigs underfoot, earthy patchouli-- and of course, dragon's blood."
This has a dirt and herbs sort of scent to it too, but there's a peanut butter sort of creaminess to it and a lavender sort of iciness. The herbs part is an old English apothecary sort of herbal poultice smell –smells bitter, clean and made up of crushed dried leaves and roots. I don't know what to make of this scent. It's....interesting. I can appreciate the quality, but I don't like it. Neither do I hate it. I'm just confused and don't know what to make of it. I'm not sure who would wear this, but the next time someone wants weird scents, I'm destashing this to him/her.
After about 20 min, the peanut butter creaminess gets more dominant so it kind of smells like a peanut butter milkshake that's been mixed with tea tree/eucalyptus/lavender essential oil, and then poured over perfumed, fragrant wood.
Overview: Not sure what's causing the absinthe scent, but I'm guessing it's the cardamom mixed with everything else. I know cardamom sometimes has a soapy sort of taste, so maybe that's behind the soapy feel too.
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Drake
"The refined blend of imported lavender oil has been replaced by fresh crushed buds, he's down to just the sharper of the two cedarwoods, the memory of nutmeg, and a less poncy sandalwood that warms the skin and rubs up against the new things in his life: grave-dirt, freshly-broken twigs underfoot, earthy patchouli-- and of course, dragon's blood."
This has a dirt and herbs sort of scent to it too, but there's a peanut butter sort of creaminess to it and a lavender sort of iciness. The herbs part is an old English apothecary sort of herbal poultice smell –smells bitter, clean and made up of crushed dried leaves and roots. I don't know what to make of this scent. It's....interesting. I can appreciate the quality, but I don't like it. Neither do I hate it. I'm just confused and don't know what to make of it. I'm not sure who would wear this, but the next time someone wants weird scents, I'm destashing this to him/her.
After about 20 min, the peanut butter creaminess gets more dominant so it kind of smells like a peanut butter milkshake that's been mixed with tea tree/eucalyptus/lavender essential oil, and then poured over perfumed, fragrant wood.
TL;DR: Peanut butter milkshake that's been mixed with tea tree/eucalyptus/lavender essential oil, and then poured over perfumed, fragrant wood.
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The Green Lady
"Sharp green galbanum, fresh wild lavender, cedar coffinwood, vetiver, patchouli and sandalwood for a last touch of the living on their lost ones, and grave-dirt."
This is a medicinal green and dirt. It's fresh leaves cut to make some herbal remedy that's bitter, cool & sharp. The scent is definitely unisex, leaning towards masculine. Despite all the herbal bits, it's still cool, light, and has hints of a masculine green note I've sniffed before in high end men's cologne. It's definitely not a boring mainstream high end cologne though! If you like earthy, herbal scents, you'll definitely love this. It's the scent of trudging in a forest turned into a refined perfume. I personally love this and think it smells like a guy who's very refined & elegant, yet kind of quirky and probably loves experimenting with....herbs. Somebody Johnny Depp-ish. Here's a picture I'd pick for an ad for this scent:
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| Ok...I think steampunk styles are so hot. Awesome photography by Mascha Seitz |
TL;DR: The scent of trudging in a forest turned into a refined perfume.
Overview: Oh wow...I normally hate patchouli but this isn't bad at all!
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