Notes from 2023: Architect's Club, Liis, and Musc

Architects Club Arquiste:

Opens with a bracing citrus forward gin, backed by a sweet puff of powdery boudoir vanilla. The opening notes are a bit nauseating in it's intensity and then it quickly fades to a velvet oud. It has a quality that reminds me of the flavor of sweet red bean soup.

Sweet woody vanilla base notes last for several hours.

Ethereal Wave Liis:

A bright bergamot and tea scent, with a fresh crisp apple and cream floral heart. The blend is cohesive and refreshing but not quite seamless. There is an ineffable quality of "perfume" that does not let me suspend disbelief. I do not picture myself with a cup of tea and a bouquet of flowers. But rather I am looking at a scent photograph, an olfactive representation. Each element of the composition remains firmly present and detectable. It is art, a pretty picture but I somehow remain unsatisfied. I would like a real cup of tea.

Mona di Orio Musc:

A delicate composition of powder and lihingmui - dried plums pickled with licorice, salt, and sugar. The musky scent is so light and soft that it feels like downy feathers.

This perfume reminds me so much of Swan Princess by the Vagabond Prince. A powdery cloud so chock full of synthetic muscs, florals, and aldehydes that a pinpoint dab would go nuclear. The Musc by Mona di Orio is that same princess in disguise. She whispers quietly and passes by with her head ducked, but even so her charm doesn't go unnoticed.

I much prefer the understated beauty and find it more easily wearable compared to a showstopping Odette in all her finery.

PRIN: Burmite Honey

Released in 2023. $160 for 30 ML (Oh my!). This is one of the most expensive perfumes I have a sample of -- and I think the price may actually be legitimate rather than designer markup, based on these ingredients. Actual fossil. My gosh.

Fragrance Notes:

Amber Fossil, Ambrarome, Amyris, Beeswax Absolute, Black Pepper, Champaca, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin Seed, Incense, Jasmine Absolute, Myrrh, Nutmeg, Orange Flower Absolute, Sandalwood Australia, Tangerine, Thai Oud, Tonka Bean

Opens up supremely powder scented like having a rainbow of sandalwood in your face on Holi. The scent of it evokes honey, bringing to mind Slowdive by Hiram Green -- the scent of which I also love but cannot wear because of allergies.

As it dries, the oud, tonka, and jasmine harmoniously create a lovely texture that adds some density -- a pillow to catch you beneath the cloud. Like a cloud, Burmite Honey maintains an airy quality. Never sticky, but inescapably sweet like powdered sugar.

74 degrees F. The weather was cool enough to wear this scent. I've had my sample for a couple of years, but usually it is too hot for me to tolerate sweet powder scents. I'll be enjoying Burmite Honey while I can!

Whisper Sisters Collection

Latest Batch (November 2025)

• Dělat Lépe (Do Better) - cetalox, basil, hints of lemon and clove. 🥀 Hated by partners, "intense chemical scent".
• Fossil Britches - copaiba balsam, garden soil, grass, pipe smoke, earth musk, blue spruce, light tobacco, cedar, motor oil, copper, slight hints of wintergreen and black coffee. Inspired by my grandfather. This oil may separate and/or appear cloudy due to the inclusion of a very thick musk. This does not have an impact on the smell or quality of the oil. 💫
• Licorice Eyes - gingerbread men with black licorice eyes. 💫
• Mystery Scents:  
• Thanatos - heavy birch tar, black pepper, black spruce, black pine, black sandalwood, fir balsam, & dark musk.
• Candy Corn Trash -  lots & lots of patchouli, candy corn, soil.
• Dropper Sample: They're All Gonna Laugh at You - cedar, tea leaves, sugar, patchouli, butterscotch, oatmeal, cream, dark vanilla, hint of orange peel.

Mercari Purchases (October 2025)

• Unicorn Blood - Notes red Egyptian musk, sugar, heliotrope, Tunisian patchouli, soil, marshmallow, myrrh. 💖
• Sweet Sweet Heart -  amber, sugar, anise, cocoa absolute. 💖

Last Batch (September 2025)

• Aphrodisia - white musk, pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, lavender, allspice, clove. 🎁
• Candied Pepitas - toasted pepitas, sugared walnuts, marzipan, hints of earth and patchouli.
• Fright Night - patchouli, cassia leaf, red cedar, sweet orange, tonka bean, smoke, ylang ylang, teensy bit of basil. 💖
• Ballrooms of Mars - aged amber, Arabian musk, burning candles, cinnamon candies, white pepper, clove, orris root, brown sugar, slight hint of leather. Inspired by Ballrooms of Mars by T. Rex. 🥀
• Smaller Vials:
• Bog Witch - wet soil, tree moss, decaying trees, dark musk, patchouli, with hints of gingerbread, anise, & swamp tea.
• Black Cat - pumpkin stout, sweet pumpkin, patchouli, black musk, maple, black pepper.
• Spider and I - black sandalwood, vetiver, neroli, tiare flower, violet, ylang ylang, rosewood, bergamot, honey, clove.
• Clovan - clove, vanilla musk, vanilla bean, black vanilla. 💖
• Dropper Sample:
• Cicadidae - orange, marigold, patchouli, Egyptian musk. My tribute to the cicada. 🎁
• Auspex - fennel, clove, tonka bean, pumpkin, black vanilla, dragon's blood, patchouli.

Batch from Fall/Winter 2020:

• Fright Night - patchouli, cassia leaf, red cedar, sweet orange, tonka bean, smoke, ylang ylang, teensy bit of basil. 🎁💖
• Ignis Fatuus - maple butter, black sugar, incense, tonka bean, pumpkin, marshmallow, white pepper, nutmeg, patchouli, hints of blood orange. 🎁💖
• Spidora - red licorice, sugar, clove, patchouli. 🎁
• Not the Bees! - Request Scent - honeycomb (vegan friendly scent dupe), church incense, ginger oat cakes, maple, wicker, dried leaves, & dark amber. Or was it Apinae - honey, lavender, blackberry, patchouli, sugar.🎁
• Sample: Colorful Dust that Sparkles - cola, cotton candy, vanilla absolute, vanilla bean, marshmallow, root beer, lots & lots of glitter. Or was it Stardust? It was sweet and sparkly.

Note about Fright Night and Ignis Fatuus: I really enjoyed these but found them both way too intense for most of the year, with the warm weather. I gifted them to someone who lives in a cooler climate. I did eventually regret giving these away and repurchased Fright Night in 2025. I may repurchase Ignis Fatuus.

The initial exposure, from a grab bag of secondhand "indie" scents (circa 2020):

• Xocolatl - coffee essential oil, patchouli, cocoa absolute, whipped cream, sugar. This scent is amazing, and I still wear it regularly, even after having it for years. 💖

💖- Loved!

🎁- Sold or Gifted

💫 - Untested

🥀-Ugh!

Patterns: I'm apparently not a fan of white musk. Honey scents generally don't work out for me.