I ain't dead! Just... sick. And as I am a crazy cat-lady without the cats, going out for three birthdays in the space of a week (my own, Dave's sister's, and my Dad's,) would be enough socializing to overwhelm me a bit when healthy. Not that I'm ever really healthy, but in the middle of the week my ears got stopped up and I was too dizzy to walk without reeling around, and then by the weekend, about the time that was clearing up, I started having another one of those weird attacks in my stomach that started all this months-long stomach ailment in the first place, so, yeah. Retreat-into-shell mode!

Interesting note: One of Dave's sisters shares my name (albeit spelled slightly differently), and Dave's other sister has a new boyfriend named Dave. Creepy zone!

...

By the way, guys, decided to leave the porn_tree challenge open a bit longer, until the 15th. Last chance to get in prompts or fics!

...

UNRELATED TO ANYTHING, I have a question! Some of you guys who also crosspost from DW to LJ have these little "x comments on dreamwidth" thingies at the bottom of your posts. How do you get that? n/m, figured it out. Although now that I need to fiddle with the code until it suits me, my crossposts aren't showing up on LJ and the LJ in general is moving like a snail. Seriously, why am I still throwing money at them?

And on the subject of Dreamwidth, I apparently have 6 invite codes. Comment with your email if you want one!

eta: Crossposting apparently working again, and unexpectedly it would seem that if you edit a past post it sticks the footer on there... Neat!

Annnnd here are my notes on the Minorien sampler, also from Essence of the Ages. This is some of the most unique-smelling incense I've tried. Minorien's scents are well known for having a peculiar "wet" smell, and boy, do they. I don't even know how to describe it - they just smell very saturated, very oil-rich, very... er, wet. You almost expect them to feel slightly damp to the touch. The aromas are all fairly powerful, too.

Caveat - these are uncommonly bitter. Even the Frankincense, the mellowest and sweetest of the four, has some distinctly bittersweet notes going on. The other three are pretty in-your-face with their more bitter facets. While I quite like the bitterness, I'm not sure everyone would.


Frankincense: This one was apparently developed specifically for the American market. Usually that makes me wary; it seems to me that "developed for the American market" often translates into a lower-quality product. (Okay, maybe it's just that Shoyeido's Angelic, Jewel, and Kyoto Moon series by and large left me cold.) Anyway, my point is, this is a definite exception to that rule.

This certainly has a much more "western" smell than Japanese sticks normally do - in fact, it smells an awful lot like frankincense-based cathedral blends, if you've ever smelled those before. I'd swear there's even a bit of that burning charcoal smell, but I don't know if it's just the psychological association or if it's really there. It's very sweet and mellow, pitched at a much lower frequency than Tennendo's Frankincense, with a subtle, spicy undercurrent. All in all, I think I like Tennendo's Frankincense slightly better, but this is also amazing, very different and familiar all at once.


Fu-in Sandalwood: I rarely like incenses that are mostly sandalwood and little else, especially Japanese ones; they always seem harsh to my nose and kind of boring -- too much like, well, just burning wood. This one turns my all my assumptions about sandalwood sticks on their heads, because I love it.

While the focus here is most assuredly on the wood (I can't even detect any other spices), it smells totally different than the usual Japanese sandalwood; it's very sultry and lush, and the most oil-rich Japanese sandalwood I've ever smelled. There's something sort of alive about it - like you're cutting wood off of a living tree or something. (Note that I mean that metaphorically rather than literally; I have no idea how freshly cut sandalwood smells. It's just that those sharply bitter, wet notes remind me of freshly cut tree branches.) Definitely recommend this one, especially if you're looking for a different kind of sandalwood.


Fu-in Aloeswood: Extremely bittersweet. Deep and dark, with almost chocolate- and coffee-like notes. It's very woody -- I don't really smell anything in the way of spices or such, just pure wood. You'd think that would leave it smelling a bit dry, yet that "wet" smell is in full force here. You'd also think that would leave it smelling very simple, but it's not - it's very complex, all sorts of different facets coming out at you as it burns. (What's really mysterious to me is how all of these manage to smell so unique with such a strong focus on the wood. You'd think there'd only be so many things you could do with the smell of just wood. But apparently not.)

One of the best mid-range aloeswoods I've ever smelled, and also one of the most unusual. Highly recommended.


Fu-in Kyara: Much like the Aloeswood, but significantly deeper and sweeter. The bitter aspects of the wood are somewhat mitigated, but are still there. It's also extremely rich, almost too rich at times - but I often have that problem with higher ends. Like rich food, too much overwhelms. But in moderation, this is beautiful.

To be honest, this probably doesn't have a whole lot of kyara in it -- mind you, it's not priced like one of those extremely high-end kyara scents, either, and for the price it's a great scent. In my case though, I'm not sure I'd get it even if I could afford it - it delivers pretty much the same experience as the Aloeswood, just on a deeper level, and I'm not sure I get enough out of it when compared to the Aloeswood to justify the extra $$$. I do really love this, though.


(As an aside, I ordered the Frankincense, Sandalwood, and Aloeswood from Japan Incense, since it worked out cheaper, and they somehow managed to do the physically impossible and teleported the order or something. I ordered it on Friday night and already have it today, a Tuesday, and unless I am quite mistaken the USPS was closed yesterday.)