Oh, right. That's why I got out of the perfume habit.
There's a list of why, of course, but the two major reasons are my particular scent sensitivities/problems*, and an expression of my physical disabilities: I can't open more than five of the standard sample vials without starting to splash perfume all over my fingers and tweak my bad hand.
(*: I'm allergic to lavender. This is exactly as awesome as it sounds.
I'm also problematically sensitive to gardenia, jasmine (this may be a synthetic-scent issue), frankincense**, myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, and don't like the smell of roses.
**: I amplify frankincense to the point of it kinda being more like I throw frankincense. Like Veggie and her mum with gardenia. That was a fun afternoon of discoveries for everyone.
Well. Let's be fair. I don't really love any floral-heavy scent--they get overwhelming very fast for reasons I can't identify--but I reserve an especial dislike for roses.°
°: I hate roses. It's a running joke.)
I use original-scent Tide powder laundry detergent and an unscented liquid or the Nordstrom delicates-liquid that isn't lavender (yagh) for bras and the like. I strongly suspect the only reason I get away with the Tide is that I grew up with it and the nasal Freakouts are so far in the past that I'm sort of immunised.
I can't spend any sort of extended time in New Age stores, because patchouli and I are really not friends. It took until I was 22 to realise why I always had a raging headache after wandering through that class of store, but I'd learned very quickly not to spend much time inside 'em long before that.
So there's that. *hands*
I also have touchy skin. I dry out quickly using soap on hands and body, and break out if I put just about anything on my face.
(I wish I was kidding. My current daily facial-care regime involves an eyedropper droplet of castor oil, a cotton makeup remover pad, and hot water. =\)
As a result, I have to be pretty careful with what perfumes I experiment with, and I'm drawn to baking scents like vanilla, coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, ginger, etc, and I adore sandalwood and cedarwood notes, along with beeswax and honey. In part because I seem to react less to them than the florals.
I've had bad luck with milk and tea notes in general, and coffee frequently does something coconutty on me (which is a pity because I don't love coconut). I like smoke but can't handle a lot of it, which annoys me no end.
--
Judging by the number of real bottles involved, Arcana Soaps is my independent perfumery of choice. I mostly buy from The Soap Box Company.
Judging by number of imps, it's Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, but then going by imps whose collection isn't dominated by BPAL?
(Speaking of: sing out if you want a list of the BPAL imps--I can pretty much promise I'm not invested in any of them considering how hard they are for me to open. They're all old; nothing newer than 2011 and most probably in the '07-'09 range. Lots of city names.)
Following Arcana and BPAL is ZOMG Smells, who have some truly delightful names for perfume. Not the easiest descriptions to work from, unfortunately, which limits my ability to order from them in comfort.
--
My personal collection of perfumes that aren't going anywhere runs:
The I'd Fight You For's:
Arcana's Shambhala - "Somewhere high in the Himalayas, a mystical kingdom is said to be hidden, accessible only on rare occasions to a fortunate few. Enjoy a touch of Shambhala's magic with this harmony of sandalwood, Himalayan cedarwood and a dash of spun honey."
- My partner calls this Kung Fu because it smells remarkably like a dojo he used to hang out in. I call this Mine. Bottles of it live in both my apartments.
ZOMG's Kudzu Doom - "Green twining vines, sappy resin, clutching roots...and just a weensy whiff of human civilization erased from the face of the earth."
- I smell delightful in this but could not tell you what notes it shows on me. I wear this less than the other perfumes I own, but it manages a neat trick of being sort of spicily floral without tripping the I Regret This Decision circuits. I have an imp someone can have if they like; the bottle lives in Vancouver.
Arcana's Madame Lapin 2012 sugar scrub - "The essence of a soft brown bunny: fragrant notes of sweet honey, dry Atlas cedarwood, warm toast, buttermilk, and a subtle blend of spices. Made with organic sunflower oil, Fair Trade shea butter, and honey extract." I love the way this smells, but can't use it as often as I'd like because my skin gets grouchy about the sugar and the shea. Light cedar and spices.
Tragically, this scent does not work on me in the perfume version--the buttermilk does something awful with my skin chemistry. Let me know if you want the bottle; I'd guess it's circa 2009, 10ml, full to just short of the neck.
Arcana's Inclement 2011 body lotion - "Vanilla bean, coconut milk, pearl musk, sweet clove, cubeb, and a sprinkle of massoia."
- This was actually a mistake gift purchase from my partner; I'd asked for their Tinderbox ("The essence of a baroque case filled with tempered firesteel, flint, and linen charcloth: resinous black amber, woodsmoke, sweet mallow root, frankincense, cubeb, and sandalwood.") in the hopes that I'd throw the frankincense less if it was in a lotion, and he eventually bought me that one, too, but holy shit does Inclement smell amazing as a lotion. Soft warm dense vanilla. This is not a vanilla you eat; there's no ice cream sense to the smell, no latte.
I can't lay hands on the Tinderbox lotion, but I know I throw the frankincense and the smoke with a backwash of cedar, even if it's just on my legs because multiple people have made O.o face after sharing a car with me. The perfume is much the same, and if I'm very careful to dot it at roughly my radial head (outer side of the elbow, deliberately not on a pulse point) I can get away with wearing it. Not in long-term enclosed spaces, I smoke myself out, but I can get away with it. :)
The occasionals (and invoking scents):
LUSH's It's Raining Men shower gel which comes across as honey with some violent florals mixed in. I use this as a shaving soap because if I use it anywhere else I dry right out and I develop a scent headache.
ZOMG's Doc Holliday ("A rich, herbal masculine scent: horehound, sage, clove, a faint whiff of bar smoke and just enough sweetness to make you popular with the ladies and temper the underlying bitterness of your lot."), which my skin does something weird to--I'm remembering cinnamon, which was Not Listed in the text--and on Veggie's skin the horehound comes right to the foreground.
A honeysuckle perfume I got from
lemon_badgeress in 2011 that I wear at most once a week in the summer dotted onto the nape of my neck, because while I like it, and the way it smells on me, it's still a floral. >.>
ZOMG's Chocolate Orange Cordial, which on other people will go this rather lovely Grand Marnier boozy slightly-bitter orange but on me smells exactly like a Christmas chocolate orange. I may have bought a sample so as to make my partner demand why my cleavage smelled like Christmas. Just possibly.
Arcana's Dia de los Muertos - "Though Spanish conquistadores tried to put the kibosh on this Aztec ritual for the dead, the holiday not only endured but retained its flamingly pagan core. Celebrate, honor, and even laugh at death with our fusion of spices, honey, tobacco, and dark chocolate."
- I like this considerably better than BPAL's Feast for the Greatly Revered Ones. Not sure why. I smell excellent in this in a very foody way, all spiced chocolate and warmth. Someone's more coherent review is here.
Arcana's Honey Tobacco layering note, which I have to be very careful about applying. I appear to be somewhat allergic and have reddened up on application points in the past, but it smells like someone's been storing pipe tobacco in an apiary. <3
Arcana's Kincardine Maiden - "A harvest blend for traditional corn dollies and the spirits that live among the grain: hard apple cider, genuine hay absolute, chamomile essential oil, infused honey, and the smallest dash of white musk."
- I just tried this on again after having been rather disappointed in the past (I bought the perfume in September of 2010, for level of 'past' involved). This is way, way better than I remember it being. The infused honey is coming out much more strongly, backed by the musk and just a hint of apple and chamomile. I think it must have been the hay and full-presentation chamomile I was having problems with.
Dry, this is really sweet smelling. Mead just before it ferments, with some floral.
The two Invoking Scents I had were from the 2005 Fall/Winter LE list from BPAL. The first was Devil's Night ("[...] This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk.") and the other was Cracked Bell ("[...] A winter's horror: smoke and stillness, faded incense and the metallic tang of blood."), and both of them have died the terrible, terrible death that is overaged essential oils. =(
I'd buy both again for exactly the reasons I bought them in the first place, but I'd never get through real-sized bottles before I lost the scents to age again.
I also have a sample labeled Temple of the Trickster in with the invoking scents, which I need to get Veggie to pry open for me tomorrow because my sinuses and fingers are Done for the night.
This entry also available at Dreamwidth and has
comments there.
(*: I'm allergic to lavender. This is exactly as awesome as it sounds.
I'm also problematically sensitive to gardenia, jasmine (this may be a synthetic-scent issue), frankincense**, myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, and don't like the smell of roses.
**: I amplify frankincense to the point of it kinda being more like I throw frankincense. Like Veggie and her mum with gardenia. That was a fun afternoon of discoveries for everyone.
Well. Let's be fair. I don't really love any floral-heavy scent--they get overwhelming very fast for reasons I can't identify--but I reserve an especial dislike for roses.°
°: I hate roses. It's a running joke.)
I use original-scent Tide powder laundry detergent and an unscented liquid or the Nordstrom delicates-liquid that isn't lavender (yagh) for bras and the like. I strongly suspect the only reason I get away with the Tide is that I grew up with it and the nasal Freakouts are so far in the past that I'm sort of immunised.
I can't spend any sort of extended time in New Age stores, because patchouli and I are really not friends. It took until I was 22 to realise why I always had a raging headache after wandering through that class of store, but I'd learned very quickly not to spend much time inside 'em long before that.
So there's that. *hands*
I also have touchy skin. I dry out quickly using soap on hands and body, and break out if I put just about anything on my face.
(I wish I was kidding. My current daily facial-care regime involves an eyedropper droplet of castor oil, a cotton makeup remover pad, and hot water. =\)
As a result, I have to be pretty careful with what perfumes I experiment with, and I'm drawn to baking scents like vanilla, coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, ginger, etc, and I adore sandalwood and cedarwood notes, along with beeswax and honey. In part because I seem to react less to them than the florals.
I've had bad luck with milk and tea notes in general, and coffee frequently does something coconutty on me (which is a pity because I don't love coconut). I like smoke but can't handle a lot of it, which annoys me no end.
--
Judging by the number of real bottles involved, Arcana Soaps is my independent perfumery of choice. I mostly buy from The Soap Box Company.
Judging by number of imps, it's Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, but then going by imps whose collection isn't dominated by BPAL?
(Speaking of: sing out if you want a list of the BPAL imps--I can pretty much promise I'm not invested in any of them considering how hard they are for me to open. They're all old; nothing newer than 2011 and most probably in the '07-'09 range. Lots of city names.)
Following Arcana and BPAL is ZOMG Smells, who have some truly delightful names for perfume. Not the easiest descriptions to work from, unfortunately, which limits my ability to order from them in comfort.
--
My personal collection of perfumes that aren't going anywhere runs:
The I'd Fight You For's:
Arcana's Shambhala - "Somewhere high in the Himalayas, a mystical kingdom is said to be hidden, accessible only on rare occasions to a fortunate few. Enjoy a touch of Shambhala's magic with this harmony of sandalwood, Himalayan cedarwood and a dash of spun honey."
- My partner calls this Kung Fu because it smells remarkably like a dojo he used to hang out in. I call this Mine. Bottles of it live in both my apartments.
ZOMG's Kudzu Doom - "Green twining vines, sappy resin, clutching roots...and just a weensy whiff of human civilization erased from the face of the earth."
- I smell delightful in this but could not tell you what notes it shows on me. I wear this less than the other perfumes I own, but it manages a neat trick of being sort of spicily floral without tripping the I Regret This Decision circuits. I have an imp someone can have if they like; the bottle lives in Vancouver.
Arcana's Madame Lapin 2012 sugar scrub - "The essence of a soft brown bunny: fragrant notes of sweet honey, dry Atlas cedarwood, warm toast, buttermilk, and a subtle blend of spices. Made with organic sunflower oil, Fair Trade shea butter, and honey extract." I love the way this smells, but can't use it as often as I'd like because my skin gets grouchy about the sugar and the shea. Light cedar and spices.
Tragically, this scent does not work on me in the perfume version--the buttermilk does something awful with my skin chemistry. Let me know if you want the bottle; I'd guess it's circa 2009, 10ml, full to just short of the neck.
Arcana's Inclement 2011 body lotion - "Vanilla bean, coconut milk, pearl musk, sweet clove, cubeb, and a sprinkle of massoia."
- This was actually a mistake gift purchase from my partner; I'd asked for their Tinderbox ("The essence of a baroque case filled with tempered firesteel, flint, and linen charcloth: resinous black amber, woodsmoke, sweet mallow root, frankincense, cubeb, and sandalwood.") in the hopes that I'd throw the frankincense less if it was in a lotion, and he eventually bought me that one, too, but holy shit does Inclement smell amazing as a lotion. Soft warm dense vanilla. This is not a vanilla you eat; there's no ice cream sense to the smell, no latte.
I can't lay hands on the Tinderbox lotion, but I know I throw the frankincense and the smoke with a backwash of cedar, even if it's just on my legs because multiple people have made O.o face after sharing a car with me. The perfume is much the same, and if I'm very careful to dot it at roughly my radial head (outer side of the elbow, deliberately not on a pulse point) I can get away with wearing it. Not in long-term enclosed spaces, I smoke myself out, but I can get away with it. :)
The occasionals (and invoking scents):
LUSH's It's Raining Men shower gel which comes across as honey with some violent florals mixed in. I use this as a shaving soap because if I use it anywhere else I dry right out and I develop a scent headache.
ZOMG's Doc Holliday ("A rich, herbal masculine scent: horehound, sage, clove, a faint whiff of bar smoke and just enough sweetness to make you popular with the ladies and temper the underlying bitterness of your lot."), which my skin does something weird to--I'm remembering cinnamon, which was Not Listed in the text--and on Veggie's skin the horehound comes right to the foreground.
A honeysuckle perfume I got from
lemon_badgeress in 2011 that I wear at most once a week in the summer dotted onto the nape of my neck, because while I like it, and the way it smells on me, it's still a floral. >.>
ZOMG's Chocolate Orange Cordial, which on other people will go this rather lovely Grand Marnier boozy slightly-bitter orange but on me smells exactly like a Christmas chocolate orange. I may have bought a sample so as to make my partner demand why my cleavage smelled like Christmas. Just possibly.
Arcana's Dia de los Muertos - "Though Spanish conquistadores tried to put the kibosh on this Aztec ritual for the dead, the holiday not only endured but retained its flamingly pagan core. Celebrate, honor, and even laugh at death with our fusion of spices, honey, tobacco, and dark chocolate."
- I like this considerably better than BPAL's Feast for the Greatly Revered Ones. Not sure why. I smell excellent in this in a very foody way, all spiced chocolate and warmth. Someone's more coherent review is here.
Arcana's Honey Tobacco layering note, which I have to be very careful about applying. I appear to be somewhat allergic and have reddened up on application points in the past, but it smells like someone's been storing pipe tobacco in an apiary. <3
Arcana's Kincardine Maiden - "A harvest blend for traditional corn dollies and the spirits that live among the grain: hard apple cider, genuine hay absolute, chamomile essential oil, infused honey, and the smallest dash of white musk."
- I just tried this on again after having been rather disappointed in the past (I bought the perfume in September of 2010, for level of 'past' involved). This is way, way better than I remember it being. The infused honey is coming out much more strongly, backed by the musk and just a hint of apple and chamomile. I think it must have been the hay and full-presentation chamomile I was having problems with.
Dry, this is really sweet smelling. Mead just before it ferments, with some floral.
The two Invoking Scents I had were from the 2005 Fall/Winter LE list from BPAL. The first was Devil's Night ("[...] This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk.") and the other was Cracked Bell ("[...] A winter's horror: smoke and stillness, faded incense and the metallic tang of blood."), and both of them have died the terrible, terrible death that is overaged essential oils. =(
I'd buy both again for exactly the reasons I bought them in the first place, but I'd never get through real-sized bottles before I lost the scents to age again.
I also have a sample labeled Temple of the Trickster in with the invoking scents, which I need to get Veggie to pry open for me tomorrow because my sinuses and fingers are Done for the night.
This entry also available at Dreamwidth and has
comments there.