New Worlds: Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness

For the last month of Year Four, the patrons of the New Worlds Patreon voted for personal care! We're starting off with bathing -- or rather, the many methods we've developed over the ages for getting clean, only some of which involve a bath. Comment over there!

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/YUx94J)

The Advent of Scent, Week 8

* Drops of Amontillado
I don't have a description for this one, but that's fine, because it is clearly GRAPE. Like, high-end grape gummy grape to start with. While it's drying it gets less cloying -- there's a woody element that comes through, and some whiskey -- but I swear it gets grapier again after that. I do not like grape well enough to want to reek of it, even if it's generally a pleasant reek.

* Dirty
BPAL goes for irony with the name of this one, since its description is "a fresh, crisp white linen scent: perfectly clean, perfectly breezy." In the bottle it's green and slightly floral; wet, it takes on a quality I've encountered in one or two other scents, where it smells cold to me (and yes, I'm aware "cold" isn't a smell). I have no idea what gives rise to that! Overall it's slightly green and very pleasantly fresh. On me it fades fast, though, and even when it's there, I'm not sure it's my kind of thing.

* Squirting Cucumber
What an unfortunate name. Described as “wet, grassy greenness;” in the bottle and wet it is very clearly cucumber, and manages to be sweet without being sugary. As it dries, the grassiness comes through. It's another fresh-smelling scent, and I think I like this one better than Dirty.

* Sanguinem Menstruum
Also an unfortunate name, heh. Described as "the copper tang of blood musk, swept by a cloud of dying bees and red poppies of madness." It's almost a buttery musk in the bottle, with maybe a honey note; once applied, that gets sharper and cleaner -- maybe that's the poppies cutting it. Dries down to musk and honey, which for me is a meh result.

* Velvet
Described as "gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh." Like Bliss, this one launches itself at you as CHOCOLATE. Later on the sandalwood and myrrh are kind of there in the CHOCOLATE . . . but when all is said and done, I do not wish to smell like chocolate.

* The Red Queen
I purchased this one because the description sounded good: "Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant." As with Drops of Amontillado, this starts out extremely juicy and fruity -- mostly cherry, maybe a little currant. But then the wood starts to come up, and it balances out really nicely with the two fruits, for a result I really really like!

* Irish Buttercream
Described as "Irish whiskey, granulated sugar, brown sugar, whipped cream, buttercream and coffee." This is exactly what it bills itself as: starts out smelling like Bailey's, then develops a coffee note as it dries. I'm on the fence about this one, because I like those scents; I'm just not sure if I like to smell like them.

* A Whiff of Waffle Cone
Described as "vanilla, heavy cream, salted caramel, amyris, orgeat, Saigon cinnamon, ice cream shoppe." It's a sugary caramel at first, like you might expect from the name, but then . . . I'm going to assume it's the amyris I wound up smelling, because when I looked that up online it got described as "balsamic, rich and warming." And while I'm still not clear on what "balsamic" means in a fragrance, this definitely got rich and warming, with maybe just a hint of vanilla. Much, much later, it started to smell like cream. So, not much like the name, and not really my thing, either.

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/AiTy2e)