Review Requests and Random Stuff

[Anoxia]

Zombie: woody, smoky, dark, sensual

Glory! *swoons* Just four adjectives and I already regret not ordering that one.

[katiushka]

These just landed. They will change a little perhaps with time, but initial bottle and group test thoughts are as follows:

black annis absolutely stunning bright juicy licorice. Captures the darkness of the candy and the brightness of the flavor brilliantly. I don't consider this to be redundant to my other licorice scents (my possets include silver licorice and mistress of trembling). A little playful. Very wonderfully nuanced with the whole anisette family being present here.

dancing with the sprites in the fall rain Fabienne has absolutely nailed being outdoors in autumn with this. Not in an evergreen forest, not in the high desert nor in Mediterranean clime of Oakland, but a place where leaves turn and fall and fires are lit and the air turns crisp. Very much the smell of dead leaves and cool air in a bottle, with the barest possible suggestion of sweetness to remind you that it's a perfume, after all.

Dancing with the Sprites indeed sounds lovely! So does Black Annis...the name scared me away, but serves me right for being too squeamish

In the meantime, stalking the mailman to greet my scents with open arms! Any day now...

[katiushka]

THEY'VE ARRIVED!!

Of course, I couldn't resist sniffing them all out of the bottle. The poor dears haven't had time to settle in, but I just couldn't wait! I tried not to cheat and look at the note descriptions, so some of these may not be quite what you expect:

Asmodeous - Sugar and a custardy cream with spices, not unlike what I smelled in Girl with a Watering Can from the summer collection. On second whiff, I can detect the slightest hint of lavender. I'm not too worried: in the scents I've previously purhcased, Fabienne's lavender takes a few weeks to come out in full glory. I can wait.

Autumnal Equinox - apples with the slightest hint of rose. Very uplifting!

Halloween - I don't think this is in the description, but I swear I smell coffee beans! I like it. On the skin, I think it will develop into something of the width of the October sky - can't wait to try it out!

Jin - Yay! Peaches after they've overripened just a bit and started producing liquor, combined with a yummy something that smells like chocolate. Fresh, tasty, mouthwatering. Mischievious, perfect for a spirit of mischief :P

Lady Hawke - this seriously smells like a floral aldehyde - reminds me of Chanel No 5 and Revlon Charlie, but a touch more woody and ferny. Seems like a perfect work scent!

Redcap - apples and pears, combined into an almost bubble gum-like aspect. So gentle, really wonderful and happy! The redcaps aren't mean creatures, after all. They just kill to survive, like anyone on this planet

Scent of Night - OMG. This is the dark, woodsy, autumnal, mysterious version of 3336 Reservoir Rd from the spring collection! By that, I mean it perfectly captures the scent of the air. This is exactly what a forest at night would smell like. Love this.

Spider Juice - has a similar custardy feel as Asmodeous. At second sniff, I can also smell the meatiness of the pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie, but the fresh pumpkin that you get from the farm and carve. Intriguing!

Strigoi - This is similar to Scent of Night (and - I just checked - with Portrait of Christina of Denmark), but with a more uplifting character because of the citrus notes. Again: really, really wonderful.

Overall, I'm most excited about Scent of Night, Strigoi, Redcap and Jin, as I don't own anything that smells quite like these! However, they all smell wonderful, and I can't wait to wear them all

[Boudicca]

Yeah baby! Zombie! Haven't tried on skin yet but judging from the bottle this one will be getting my vote.

[hill78]

I'm so ticked off at USPS, my tracking number says delivered and it was not

[warriortwo]

I'm so ticked off at USPS, my tracking number says delivered and it was not

That happens. I swear, I think someone gets overzealous at the post office and marks them delivered as they're packing them up to go. Usually comes the next day (but I often check my neighbors' porches, just in case...I live in a series of similar-looking studios with close enough numbers that the mailperson misdelivers mail all the time.) but it really, really makes me not want to deal with USPS if I can help it.

[fireweaver]

The post held onto one of my orders for 3 days before there was any movement. Apparently Cincinnati loves possets, and didn't want them to leave

[fabienne]

Recently, it was Columbus Day and that really put a cramp in fast delivery (remember, I might have packed it and put it in the outbound on the 10th but it didn't move until the 13th). Yes, when things are checked in and checked out does make a difference and given the vagaries of sidereal time and windage, your package might not get to you seconds after you see the delivered sign pop up on your screen.

I am grateful that you care enough to grouse about parcels not appearing instantly.

However, it's always good to make friends with the mailman. I think this is especially true in California where deliveries are sometimes real odd (I think that is from the very dense population there and remember, the mailman always has to be right you know). Things 99.999999% of the time turn up just fine if just a little late.

Also, if you choose First Class (as most people do) you are getting cheapest possible way BUT it isn't deluxe. I try to help you out here and offer Priority Mail as well as FedEx and UPS, those are the premium options and they might be more reliable. Your choice.

[fireweaver]

For me, it was kind of a huh? Thing since the tracker gave an estimated delivery date, and didn't update that it had totally missed it, until I mentioned it on the forum. I swear it seemed like they read my post and then I got like 4 updates as to my package's travels, including the oh yeah, we didn't make the est.date.

[warriortwo]

I think this is especially true in California where deliveries are sometimes real odd (I think that is from the very dense population there and remember, the mailman always has to be right you know). Things 99.999999% of the time turn up just fine if just a little late.

Erratic doesn't even begin to describe it. We have different mail carriers all the time, at least when I'm around to see them (the main mail delivery usually comes when I'm at work). Occasionally I get two separate deliveries in a day. I've also had mail deliveries come between 7 and 9 p.m. (I live right next to a city mail hub, so I often wonder if that's why they come so late). I've chosen UPS as the carrier for a number of items, but in 2012, UPS partnered with USPS. Just this year, about 5 or 6 items I ordered via UPS have been *transferred* to the USPS towards the end of their journey, and the tracking takes over from there. I've had packages state "Notice left at door" with absolutely no notice left. The last time that happened, I traded phonecalls back and forth with no resolution, until I had a day off work where I could go to the post office. After a lot of shuffling around, they found my package--with a note saying "Return to Sender" (and it was an international package, which would have caused all sorts of problems). It's so many different kinds of crazy, I have basically thrown in the towel.

I don't have a car or a lot of free time, so I rely on mail order for a LOT of things. Premium shipping often costs as much or more than the items I'm ordering, and I'm on a tight budget, so I just have to accept that there is a possibility I won't get what I ordered, and leave it to the fates. There have been staff cuts at USPS; it's a big issue here in Berkeley, as our downtown post office is in a fancy, historic building that USPS tried to sell to a private entity, which prompted months of Occupy-style protests, so we've been hyper-aware of the precarious economic situation of the USPS. Nevertheless, the process is maddening.