Category: Wanderlust
I could definitely smell the cinnamon in this one. Oddly enough, there was also a strong chocolate smell as well. I constantly had images of a cup of dark hot chocolate spiked with cinnamon...either that, or a cinnamon-colored, chocolate-striped tiger. It's not bad! Must have been the way the clove and honey were mingling together, with perhaps the ginger as well...it fooled me. All in all, I like it.
Category: Bewitching Brews
Definitely mint and lemon...those two scents predominated. Also a very faint hint of orange, and the rosemary gave it a peppery kick. Unfortunately, as strong as these elements sound, it really did not linger long at all. I can't say that this one did much for me. I would recommend it to mint-lovers.
Category: Bewitching Brews
At first I wasn't sure about this one, because the sweet berry note was throwing me off quite a bit. As much as I like sweet things, the berry notes usually feel too thick and sappy for my liking. For instance, Baneberry was just too in-your-face with the berry, and Akuma was sickeningly candy-sweet. Fortunately, later on Bewitched became more balanced by the herbal elements, and smelled like someone who's been working in their herb garden, with just a hint of otherworldly sweetness thrown in for good measure. It was much more pleasant, then! I would nudge people who don't usually like strong berry scents toward this one, as I feel the herbs and musk really help to ground it well.
Category: Discontinued Scents
Initially, there was a very strong lemon smell. Then the thyme and verbena and lavender insinuated themselves into the yellow haze of scent, giving it a peppery kick now and then. Mint and bergamot were faint, but there; they sort of phased in and out throughout the day. Overall, though...it was just...too...lemony! I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't work out completely.
Category: Mad Tea Party
Mmmm, yummy, I like the Cheshire Cat. It smells of sugared grapefruit, as others have mentioned, and I believe that there is a plump, moist note from the current, with the herbal notes at the very background of things. It's quite lovely. It has a decent throw and staying power, too...a nice scent for summertime, definitely. I like how the tartness of the grapefruit is mellowed by the other notes to create a very creamy scent.
Category: Rappacini's Garden
In the imp, it is a very moist, almost dewy green scent, one one might expect to find in the stem or bulb of a plant, rather than nestled between its petals, although there is also a faint, sugary sort of note as well.
Once on, it gets a bit of tartness and bite to it. As if one has plucked it from its watery nesting place, crushing the stem in the process; it is pungeantly sweet, like oranges, and yet when I place my nose close against my wrist, I can smell the peppery tartness of clove, the serpent's bite amidst its strangely-configured petals.
Oddly enough, the edge to it never gets horribly overwhelming. It is very tantalizing, in fact.
This also had a fairly strong throw, and lasted throughout the day. Very nice. I'm finding I like the Garden scents quite a lot, and this one wants to edge into my favorites.
Category: Limited Editions: Yule 2007
I didn't really get any tartness from this; sweetness, yes, but never shrill or sickly...it had a nice, full body to it. I think my only complaint about it would be that it doesn't throw quite as far or last as long as I would like. But it's quite a lovely scent, and sensual in its own way (which I suppose is appropriate...)
Category: Wanderlust
It's a strong, pungeant, incensey scent on me...sort of like frankinsence, maybe. Something very woody and cedar-y. Unfortunately, incense just does not seem to love my skin. There's also a sweet note, or pack of them, lurking underneath the smokey, dust-covered surface of it all; and though sometimes the sweetness comes out to assert itself, it never quite reveals just what the heck it is. Could be florals, could be herbs, I really can't tell.
While redolant and persistant, it's just not doing anything for me. Off to a home that will appreciate you, little imp.
Category: Excolo
Oh...oh yum. Sweet luscious fruity YUM.
Could be apple in there...could be pear...could also be some melon...definitely very moist, juicy scents, incredibly wet and tempting, with just a hint of florals -- is it sakura blossom that continues to make it so sweet? In any case, hot damn.
I don't get any spiciness from it at all...just lots of seductive sugary sweetness. I know now how hummingbirds feel.
Category: Sin and Salvation
Normally, I greatly enjoy florals, and this should have been a really great combination: lovely ylang ylang, earthy patchouli, and sultry, amping musk. And I think that if it had just been the patchouli and musk, it might have been fine...but today it's the floral note that kills it. It's like a menage a trois gone horribly, horribly wrong; the primadonna floral sweeps in, greedily hooks into the musk, and gets selfishly, insatiably busy with it while patchouli cries in the corner, wondering what the hell just happened.
When you are wincing every time you lift your wrist anywhere near your nose, it's a bad sign.
So, nope, no Lust for me, thanks.
Category: Excolo
This is lovely.
The juniper adds a very nice, grounding effect for the other woods, because for some reason sandalwood seems to do odd things on me that are not always pleasant. Together, the woods form a nice base, and there is a bit of spiciness from the juniper, I think, that creeps up every now and then, as well as bergamot. The florals lurk in the background; I can detect just a hint of lilac, just enough to make it especially sweet and pretty.
A very pleasant, romantic scent, in my opinion.
Category: Excolo
I definitely get lots of grapefruit from this one; the plum gives it a sweet, rounded edge after the initial bite of the citrus. To be quite honest, it reminds me of Cheshire Cat, only without that creamy, ultra-sugary note to it; while Cheshire Cat hunkers down and grins at you, Meg is higher up, sulking jealously. If you thought that CC was too sweet or thick somehow, you may want to try this, instead. Also, I feel it's a perfect sort of perfume for the height of the summer months.
Category: Limited Editions -- Lupercalia 2007
I received this as a decant from my Switch Witch.
This...is sex and decadence in a bottle. The earthy pleasures of opium, tobacco leaf, and liquor -- yes, liquor! I'm wanting to say bourbon -- are all I can detect, and it is AWESOME. It's as if someone had captured the essence of a long night in a bawdy bar, sans the less alluring scents of, say, sweat and actual tobacco *smoke*, and put it in a bottle.
If you want to smell like you've been out all night partying, with the smug satisfaction of not having a hangover, then wear this. And don't be afraid to slather it.
YUM.
Category: Ars Moriendi
At first sniff, it's very green and a bit herbal; I definitely get the funeral boughs, as well as the dried stems of leftover, long-dead bouquets.
As it warms up, it does get a little bit sweeter, and more floral, in a very subtle way.
It has very little throw, and average staying power. If you enjoy piney scents, I'd say to give this a try.
Category: Excolo
For the most part, I don't get any sweetness from this, certainly not in a juicy cherry way like others have mentioned -- it's just spicy and warm. Granted, it's a pungeance that does have a bit of moistness to it, like rosemary oil, or when you crush sage leaves between your fingers...hmm, and I guess I can smell the plum, lurking around in the background there. So I guess there *is* a bit of sweetness there, but overall, to me, it's all herbs and drying fruit and a hint of incense.
Category: Illyria
This is a really light, clean, pretty scent -- just like a fresh bouquet of flowers. Usually in scents like this I home in on the stems, the leaves, almost anything but the actual blossoms, but here I don't have so much of a choice; my nose is buried in fragrant petals. That's far from a bad thing, though; they are soft and given with affection, and therefore inutterably beautiful. There is an extra hint of berry-like sweetness, but it's perfectly-balanced and subtle with the rest of the blend. It's very lovely -- definitely go for this if you like fresh scents or florals.
Category: Sin and Salvation
Auuuugh OMG!!!
Either I have only experienced very well-behaved, domesticated notes of rose before, or I just haven't had rose on my skin before. But this blend HATES me. And I hate it. From the second I opened the imp it was ROOOOOOOOSE, attacking my nostrils and pounding against my temples trying to give me a headache. And, wouldn't you know it, I not only amped it, but it lasted...all...day...long. Oh good Lord.
Near the end, it *did* morph into the sandalwood note, but it was far too little tempering, far too late. Aside from the very interesting morphing process, this blend holds no allure for me.
I will still have to experiment with rose a bit more to see if I just hate all roses, or if it's just certain blends. But I'm scared to.
Category: Excolo
Mmmm, I get sweet florals from this, like honeysuckle and/or jasmine, with perhaps a hint of cinnamon to give it some warmth and kick. It's nice...though I think I like Bathsheba just a little bit better.
Category: Bewitching Brews
This is a sweet, creamy scent that does smell a bit like almond -- I suspect that's the part that's inspired by 'sweet grains'. It's very nice, but doesn't last very long or throw very much on me.
Category: Ars Amatoria
At first, it gives off a very floral hue...sweet, but not overly sweet like jasmine. The other flowers seem to be tempering it. As time passes, the spiciness comes out more. It has modest throw and decent longevity. I think I'll continue to enjoy my imp.
Category: Rappacini's Garden
Like many of the Garden scents, I find this one a very green, viney sort of scent. Up close on my skin, there's a more pungeant, earthy scent -- I can see where some people were getting the 'burnt tires' vibe! This doesn't have very much throw; it hugs my skin throughout the day. I actually sort of wanted to like this simply because so many people seem not to. It's decent, but not awesome enough for me to need to keep.
Category: Ars Draconis
Upon first application, it's a very woody scent, with a vague hint of spiciness, and a delightful resinous edge. However, it wears off really quickly, leaving just a very faint blend of sweetness and sandalwood behind. Not a keeper for me.
Category: Bewitching Brews -- The Conjure Bag
Wow, I actually love this! It's lots of straight-up dirty patchouli over what smells like musk and amber, with maybe a leeeeetle bit of cinnamon thrown in for flavor. I have to slather it quite a bit, but it lasts all day and all night, and gives me delightful wafts of its spicy, sultry scent. This is the first of the Conjure Bag scents that I really had a liking for.
Category: Bewitching Brews
Sweet, yummy apricot; the brandy gives it a warm edge that balances out what could otherwise have been a cloyingly sweet odor. I have to slather it quite a bit, but when I do, it treats me to warm, fruity sweetness throughout the day. Very pretty.
Category: Excolo
I pretty much smell lots of lilac and myrrh mixed together. I don't know if there is an actual wine note in the 'honey wine', but Eros manages to go sour on me pretty quickly, much like Athens did. It's not as obnoxious as Athens was, but still not for me.
