Ever smoke a Djarum Black? The inky Indonesian cigarette dipped in clove oil? The kind of smoke offered by cutesy English-major goths on dimensional-lumber college bar back-terraces; accepted—though you really don’t smoke—because your blood contains an unhealthy ration of Jäegermeister. Thick, stifling, with a sweetened filter. Some are tobacco. They are incredibly harsh. Possibly banned by the FDA. Some are rolled from tea leaves. They crackle and snap like kindling. Also harsh.

Lush’s white-label Vegan Leather Jacket smells like Djarums, plus smoked ham. A clove-stippled mesquite ham, crackled and crusted by a basting of Coke and pan juices. Grandmother will never pass down the recipe. You are all ingrates.

It smells like Christmas dinner, attended at a late hour by your wayward cousin (the cool one) freshly removed to Grandma’s from that Djarum-smudged collegiate dive. Outrageous in a black Schott Perfecto (reeking of ashtray) and fresh-pierced scabby snakebites. Wedged between bourbon-soaked Uncle Tom and cherry-chocolate cake-covered Baby Alicia’s high chair. Conversation turns to forbidden subjects (Obamacare,) Mom is crying, and you’re out on the chilly shoveled drive with Cousin in short order, chuffing a quick Camel and necking bottled Guinness. Woodsmoke on the winter air. “Stay outta drugs,” you hear, and watch the Pontiac vanish in an acrid cloud of burning serpentine belt.

Lush’s formulation includes all those things. The leather jacket may be vegan, but the effect is meaty. Roasty. The clove is central and quite real, as is the smoky mesquite. There is real clove oil in the recipe, and what I suspect is real liquid smoke. The tonka bean creates a dark-chocolatey undercurrent reminiscent of cake after a roast meal. The tobacco is that of the overclothes of a smoker you’re close with—and who’s smell you’ve grown to like, despite the habit. Maybe the smell of your own stinking leather jacket, stained with chain oil, sweat, and Camel fumes.

Vegan Leather Jacket was the dustiest bottle in a busy Lush outlet. I imagine it’s divisive, much like Tank Battle. It shares some scorched DNA with Zoologist T-Rex. Like T-Rex, it is actually wearable, but should be used sparingly, with confidence, and without fear of its roasty, meaty opening notes. Recommended.

The introduction, you might say; whether it's titled that or not. Those first ~5 pages vary a lot between games. Often, they are the weakest part of the book, I think. Things like the dreaded "what is an RPG?" section are a drag. Protracted, back-and-forth examples of play tend to live there, too, and those are also often bad. World/setting descriptions or pitches might reasonably go there, but in a world where we are exposed to so much marketing for a game before buying it, isn't that selling what's already been sold? I suppose hyping up the game doesn't hurt, but how do you do it in a way that is complimentary, not redundant?

Personally, I prefer (player-facing) books that get straight into character creation. Mothership does this. "How to play" comes 10 pages afterwards, but doesn't suffer for coming second (third, actually, after "safety instructions.)

NJ SkinCare LLC

An eBay merchant. Have you bought from them? Good experiences? They seem to be well-established. They sell practically everything unboxed, which I'm sure there's a reason for, but it feels slightly sketchy (might be de-coding product? Circumventing eBay rules?)

I haven't seen a similar "are they legit" thread for them, despite their size, so I thought I'd make one and harvest opinions. Might help future searchers.

Do you count them among the few legit eBay grey market sellers?

NJ SkinCare LLC

An eBay merchant. Have you bought from them? Good experiences? They seem to be well-established. They sell practically everything unboxed, which I'm sure there's a reason for, but it feels slightly sketchy (might be de-coding product?)

I've considered buying from them and I haven't seen a similar "are they legit" thread, so I thought I'd make one and harvest opinions. Might help future searchers.

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