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turboweenie · 29 days

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I am not a connoisseur or anything but I am a little guy who's sensitive to smell, and I've bought a few of the Baldur's Gate 3 perfume oils from various vendors. I thought I might put together a little post of my likes and dislikes for each of the oils I've tried, in case people weren't quite decided whether or not they wanted to try them out! It might be helpful, it might not. Under the cut features a small selection from Kronos Olfactory, Siren Song Elixers, MadLabs Studios, and Moth & Myrrh.

Kronos Olfactory

Trickery x Key notes: Bergamot, Rosemary (top); Cream, Brandy (mid); Honey, Musk, Burnt Sugar (base)

This is the first oil I purchased with the intent of finding something subtle that I could wear daily that wasn't just straight clary sage in a carrier oil. It is peppery. This is the only oil in this little series that I've used that's given the more shady characters a peppery undertone instead of just smokey or leathery, and I think it really works well. It's sweet straight out of the bottle from those base notes of honey and burnt sugar. I'm not normally a fan of sweet, and it took me a few days to stop thinking that it was too sweet for me to use. Once it settles on the skin for about a half an hour or so, it becomes more 'burned' than 'sugar', and the pepper really balances it out. It kind of reminds me of well oiled boots, or gear that's a little bit older but well maintained. There's an ambery sort of sweetness to it that isn't my favorite, which I assume is from the honey base, but it works really well with this blend. It was a daily wear for me before I had a few other options to choose from and in terms of quality of materials, candidness of recipe, and complexity of scent, I would say Kronos is a really, really good brand to purchase from. There is no bite of alcohol to this one, for those who are also sensitive to alcohol-based perfumes. My only complaint is that their selection is quite small if you're looking for specifically Baldur's Gate 3 scents. A lot of the other scents look like they are just as carefully blended, though.

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Siren Song Elixers

The Pale Elf x Key notes: Bergamot, Rosemary, Brandy

If you are sensitive to amber or sweet scents the way I am, this is a bit too sweet, unfortunately. If it's something you enjoy, however, I think this would be a really great scent. Out of the bottle there's an almost vanilla sort of undertone to it, which makes me think that the oil they've used for 'brandy' might be the key note in this one. Rosemary and bergamot are both very bright, citrusy and herbal scents; this oil is not that. It's dark, almost fermented. I say this with the intent to convey that it suits the character well. The blenders have done a really good job of nailing the vibe they were going for with this one. In total honesty it won't be in my rotation, but that is not because of the quality of the product, that is due to the quality of my olfactory system. There is no bite of alcohol to these. My biggest complaint with this vendor is that the 5ml bottle is a dauber instead of a roller ball; the 10ml standard, which is the size I purchased for the other vendors, is available! I would have to double check, but I think perhaps this is the priciest of the vendors, which is maybe why I opted for a 5ml dauber when I was not certain I would get daily use out of the oils.

The Devil You Know x Key notes: Palmarosa, Black Pepper, Cinnamon Musk, Rosewood, Amber, Cherry, Salt

Unfortunately, if the Pale Elf was just slightly too sweet for me, this one was definitely too sweet for me. There is a sort of fruitiness to this one, it is ambery and sweet straight out of the bottle; I would personally describe it as more of a maple sort of sweetness rather than a fruity sweetness, which might be good for some... the fruit is there but it's not quite there. Unfortunately for this perfumer, and through no fault of their own, I sort of associate the saccharine quality of amber with mouse poison (that sort of syrupy sugar smell of a corpse... anyway, if you know you know). That death rot. It's actually pretty funny if you're considering the character it's for, though. When it settles on the skin, there's more of a smoked saltiness that comes up and the maple syrup lessens, but it's still a bit sweet. There is no bite of alcohol base to this one.

Ascension x Key notes: Spiced Brandy, Bergamot, Rosemary, Lavender, Amber, Incense, Black Pepper

The sweetest of this batch. Unfortunately, I bought the 1ml sampler of this one because I knew there was a good chance I wasn't going to be able to wear it, and I wasn't wrong. There's a sweet sort of vanilla-y kind of creaminess to this smell. It's not a bad smell, but if you are sensitive to scents to begin with, it might be a bit too complex. There is smoke and shadow from the incense, sweetness from the amber, floral notes from the lavender and rosemary -- it's just very complex. It overwhelmed me quite a bit, and unfortunately I was not able to determine what the scent settles into. Hopefully, the pepper comes out a bit more, as that is what I liked so much about Kronos's 'Trickery' scent and was excited to see that this one also included pepper. Out of the bottle, it's not noticeable to my palate. There isn't any alcohol in this one, either.

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Mad Labs Studios

Rolan x Key notes: Teakwood, Geranium, Old Books (???), Bitter Orange

This one is very herbal and citrus out of the bottle; almost a little soapy with the floral notes, very clean smelling. I was a little nervous, as florals are not typically something that I am drawn to, and you can smell the ethanol base on this one when you uncap the bottle. Floral and clean is not how I would describe old books, either. I am sensitive to these sorts of scents; I would encourage the wearer to give it a minute to settle into the skin. Start with a small layer to get your nose accustomed to it. Once it's sat on the skin for about 30 minutes and the alcohol has aired out and the oils have soaked in, the only way to describe this is the smell of a library. Clean, but with a musky undertone that reminds me of old binding glue. The kind you smell in a used bookstore when you're flipping through a collection of Keats from Ward, Lock & Co that's so old, it doesn't have a publication date, but somehow still seems clean, as though it was cared for. I cannot stop huffing my own arm when this one's on. The more you smell it the more the different notes come out. Really like this one. My complaint for the company is the quality of the roller bottles: this seems a fairly standard complaint. There is often minor leakage (all three of mine had leakage), and if you don't rinse them off with soap and water, the carrier becomes sticky on the label. There is also a matter of the mystery shrouding some of the names of the ingredients. I understand that they are probably doing this to avoid having their formulas replicated, but as a shopper who sort of has an idea of what I like and dislike in a scent, I would rather the ingredients be listed candidly. Even so, I will be ordering from MadLabs again. Their products blend well and I've been impressed with the blends despite the drawbacks.

Dammon x Key notes: Clove, Blacksmith's Forge (???), Hot Cocoa, Sandalwood

This one is very smoke and cocoa out of the bottle. It took a second for my nose to adjust to the smoke smell; when mixed with the ethanol base it has a slight bit of a tobacco-y tone to it from the clove that I wasn't certain I would enjoy, but it mixes well with the chocolate and the sandalwood is a subtle balancer. Clove by itself is something I do enjoy, so I didn't think it would be a problem. There's something kind of metallic to it, like iron. Once it settles on the skin, the cocoa fades a bit to make the smoke the strongest scent, but it's almost woodfire smoke, not necessarily quite so coal/tobacco/iron. That stuff fades into the background. The cocoa that lingers adds a hint of dark chocolate sweetness to ensure that the smell isn't just smokey, and it blends well. There's a slight undertone of alcohol to this one even after it settles, it must just be the way it blends with the other ingredients. I could still wear this semi-regularly and not be bothered by it. The cocoa undertone is really unique.

Raphael x Key notes: Cinnamon, Plum, Labadnum, Black Velvet (???*) (*appears to commonly be a mix of citrus like lemon or bergamot, floral like lavender or rose, and something woodsy like cedar or sandalwood)

I am obsessed with this one, almost straight out of the bottle, even. I think this might be the favorite. This is what I expected a Raphael perfume to smell like. There is a cloying sweetness from the plum (cherry) overtone but it's not too sugary, like candied cherry or watermelon flavoring. It is the strongest note when you uncap this scent, but it fades to the background after about 20-30 minutes. Even straight on, I still found that it's more of a natural, subtle sweetness that almost presents itself as savory instead of sweet. I don't like sweet perfumes, I am obsessed with this. It's musky and overall more of a subtle scent than what I would presume a cherry-inspired perfume to be, and it settles even more savory on the skin. The fruit mellows out and gives way to the spice of the cinnamon and a muskier floral smell with the very slightest undertone of smoke or leather, which I am assuming comes from the labadnum. It was smart to pick plum instead of cherry, the cherry would have been sugary, or aspartamey. This is part of my regular rotation.

♡

Moth & Myyrh

The Pale Elf x Key notes: Bergamot (top); Leather, Geranium, Rosemary (mid); Brandy, Patchouli, Oakmoss, and Tobacco (base)

Let me just say, I like this company. I feel terrible, as their scents did not mix well with my needs, and it's unfortunate. The packaging is really nice. Cute, professional, the bottles themselves look very pretty, there was no leakage of product and the rollerballs are smooth, they are clearly using high quality materials to produce their scents. I like this vendor. Out of the bottle, this scent is herbal and soapy. It's very clean smelling, and I might not have been able to wear it long enough to get it to settle, but it didn't seem to mellow out for me at all. It's what fresh laundry from your nan's house would smell like: clean and comforting but a little perfumed. There is a smokey undertone from the brandy but it's overpowered a little by all the other notes, and it translates as very floral. (In the spirit of complete honesty, my brain told me that it smells a bit like someone went out back for a cigarette and spritzed a bit of floral perfume to cover the smell on their clothes when they came back in.) Honestly, if you are the type of person that perfume is often irritating to (like myself), this one might not be for you. I really tried to let this one settle on the skin to see how it mellowed out but I did end up having to wash it off, as it wasn't compatible with my sensory needs.

Raphael x Key notes: Saffron (top), Tobacco (mid), Cedar (base)

Again, top quality product. Not for me, that's all. I have been trying to avoid using terms like masculine and feminine for something as arbitrary as a smell, but this is what perfumers are talking about when they describe something as masculine. If you've ever smelled a cologne from Bath and Body Works, you've smelled this oil. That's not necessarily a bad smell but it is iconic, and it might be the saffron overtones mixed with the cedar (the Bath and Body Works one might use sandalwood instead). Pretty much what you smell is what you get. I again did not find that letting it sit on the skin changed the tone of it much, it felt straightfoward to me. It's a good, clean, masc smell. It doesn't particularly evoke Raphael to me, though; I might more readily assign this to one of the Zhentarim, like Rugan.

#bg3 #charlie talks #hope this helps somebody!! aaaaa #much love to all the hard work that went into these

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mystlnewsonline · 7 months

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Cybersecurity: South Dakota's Next Big Industry

(STL.News) When I first ran for governor, I promised the people of South Dakota that I would bring the next big industry to our state. We want to keep our kids and grandkids living and working in South Dakota, so we’re focused on bringing the jobs of the future to keep them here. Careers in technology and innovation are the future. And South Dakota has the opportunity to build a future for our kids and grandkids. Cybersecurity is South Dakota’s next big industry. Our fastest growing sector is “Scientific and Technical Services,” with 4,000 jobs added in the past five years – a growth of 25%. South Dakota already has one of the top universities in the nation for cybersecurity and emerging technology. Dakota State University has received designations in cyber operations, cyber defense, and cyber research from the NSA and Homeland Security. There are only ten institutions in the entire country that can say that! DSU was also the first school in America to create a Ph.D. program in cyber operations. Earlier this year, Dakota State University established an Educational Partnership Agreement with the US Army Cyber Command. This partnership allows students to experience work and educational opportunities at the top classification level. In fact, DSU was the only school in America to send four students to compete for Team USA at the World Cyber Games. South Dakota is in the middle of the country – and we’re landlocked, so foreign spy ships and subs can’t reach us. It makes a lot of sense for cybersecurity resources to be centered here. Dakota State’s “MadLabs” is the heart of this. It is the key facility in Madison, and we’ve built partnerships with private industry to expand it to Sioux Falls. They are doing incredible work to drive innovation throughout both the South Dakota economy and the entire nation. They focus on cybersecurity, AI, machine learning, digital forensics, and so much more. We are also training kids even before they get to college. The Governor’s Cyber Academy provides opportunities for high school students to get some of this training early. Students can attend the academy to get dual-credit training opportunities during the summer. They earn digital badges as they learn skills that will help them get in-demand jobs in the future. Dakota State University is giving students the kind of career opportunities that they can’t get anywhere else. These opportunities not only encourage our kids to stay in South Dakota to earn their college degrees but also put our state on the map and attract students from across America to choose South Dakota for their education. I ran for governor to ensure that the next generation would inherit an America they could be proud of. Accomplishing that goal starts with education. I recently had the opportunity to be a member of a panel on the future of US regional innovation at the Global Emerging Technology Summit. During this discussion, I got to tell South Dakota’s story and how we are making real progress right here in the heartland. I am so proud that South Dakota schools understand the importance of educating our students in the fields of the future – and I can’t wait to continue our hard work. SOURCE: South Dakota Governor Read the full article

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