tragicomedy

I am walking along a cliff by the sea. My path is uneven and winding, and the sun and wind press on my body. I come to a quiet place, nestled in a garden that has been long abandoned but still blooms with wild-growing flowers and citrus trees. There's enough shelter here from the strongest winds that I can take a seat on the dusty earth and place an incense burner beside me. I light my charcoal, the scent of sandalwood rising around me before being carried off by the breeze.

At first I was somewhat baffled by the listed notes, as it opens on me as almost pure smoke, but as it opens up the florals and lemon come out beautifully. The woodsy-smokiness remains prominent throughout, but the florals/citrus round it out and lift it up a little. Also has a tealike element to it - maybe the jasmine and neroli? The amber and vetiver are subtler but noticeable if I look for them. I can't say the same for the melon - I didn't know it contained a melon note until I looked it up here.

Overall I really enjoy this one! It's invigorating and interesting, challenging but still meditative. That said, I'm not sure it's one I would wear to work, even in the solid formulation, as I can see why it's polarizing. But if you like smoky incense smells I would definitely check it out!

Sweet, slightly powdery incense. Immediately and powerfully evocative of the new age shop I worked in as a teenager - for me, a wonderful thing! The amber and frankincense blend beautifully, and the cedarwood and soil notes, while more muted, keep the amber-vanilla from getting cloying. I don't get much absinthe/wormwood, sadly.

I bought this as a decant. The creosote gives it a floral sweetness that reminds me less of storms and more of tramping through dewy grass and clover. The rain accord is a bit more synthetic than I'd hoped, and while I don't get much soil I do get a very slight, almost chemical-metallic edge, maybe from the cedar. It has less of a "cold" feeling than some rain scents I have, possibly due to the lack of ozone, and it gets warmer still with time. I couldn't identify the black tea.
If it evokes anything in particular, it's walking through a city park in the late morning after a rainfall: the grass is carefully maintained enough that there's no mud, just wet greenery and wet playground metal just starting to dry in the sun.
Overall it's not so unpleasant that I want to wash it off, but if I'm in a rainy mood and want an everyday-wearable indie fragrance to match, I'd go for Tempestarii by Andromeda's Curse or Storm Magic by Cherry-ka's Trunk.

"Neon" is absolutely right for this one - if it's a rainsoaked cityscape, it's a cartoon one. The florals and chemical notes mingle to form something wholly artificial and removed from anything that comes to mind when I think of spring or plants. Not a bad thing! But it's hard for me to pick out individual notes beyond sweet, artificial flowers. I don't normally gravitate towards frags like this, but it's striking and unusual.
I do wish that the tar, ozone, and leather came out more on me - I'm getting less apocalyptic clouds and more digital dream-image of a city sunset.
I really have to be in the right mood for it and I wouldn't wear it around social events, but it's evocative and fun.

I purchased a decant of this. It is *very* strong and opens with a really harsh chemical note with a bit of burning plastic. After drying a bit it becomes predominately fog machine and brominated water. Having family living an hour out of Anaheim means I went to Disneyland a number of times as a kid, and Xyrena really captured the smell of the Pirates water! I really like it, honestly - I enjoy chemical and plasticky smells (sometimes) and the bromine-sweetness I'm sure evokes mildew for some but is really comforting to me. Maybe it's the nostalgia. It also makes me think of going to a rave held in an underground cavern. I'd wear it around the house if it wasn't a bit much for my wife.