Absinthe - Bewitching Brews

Notes: wormwood, mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, lemon

I’ve always been curious about absinthe ever since reading about it, but Pernod is the closest I’ve come. I’m familiar with wormwood as it grows here in the woods, and it’s used as a medicinal, but I’ve never smelled it in anything. So, on to the review.

In the imp, this smells herbal, bitter and a touch lemony.

On the skin, it’s still herbal and bitter, with a fresh lemony tang. It’s fresh, lemony, clean. As it wears, the bitterness wanes and it’s slightly sweet and lemony. After about 15-20 minutes, I smell anise with only a touch of lemon. The licorice smell is really strong now – it reminds me of going to Indian restaurants and the digestives at the end of the meal.

Overall, this was an interesting scent to test and I’ve enjoyed it as it goes through all the stages. I think I enjoyed the earlier stages more than the latter. There are similarities to White Light – the anise overpowers it at the end and the lemon at the beginning. So yeah, maybe the hyssop.

Has no Hanna - Voodoo Oils

Notes: no notes listed

In the imp: flowers – jasmine and gardenia. Strong, strong flowers!

On the skin, this smells of strong, vibrant flowers. Aggressive. Jasmine, gardenia. Is that a touch of ylang ylang? This oil makes my eyes water a bit it’s so strong. There could be a touch of pepper in here and maybe some ginger.

This is a hot, dry scent.

This is indeed a happy scent. I can’t say if this brings me luck, but I’ll keep the imp and hang on to any that come my way.

Ra - Excolo, Stations of the Sun

Notes: none listed

In the vial, this smells of heliotrope and frankincense.

On the skin, this smells sunny and warm. Heliotrope, frankincense, amber, a touch of citrus. There’s warmth here, some kind of spice. I think there’s a touch of lavender here, maybe hyssop too (if that’s a principal scent component of White Light and Anthelion, of which I smell some similarity). Yeah, this smells like a TAL. Maybe that’s not too surprising since it is an Excolo scent. I love Anthelion and White Light, but I only use them when I really need them. But I do enjoy their scent, so this is a good substitute when I only want to enjoy their scent but don’t need their other properties.

Anyway, this is a warm, spicy, soothing scent that is just beautiful. The oil I’m testing has a bit of age on it, probably 1.5 yrs or so, so that could be part of it. The citrus only lasted for couple minutes and it dried to this ambery-lavender-spicy-resiny scent. Wow, just wow.

Nocturne - Funereal Oils

Notes: violet, lilac, tuberose

In the imp this smells most strongly of violet.

On the skin, the lilac comes out and joins the violet. As it dries, the tuberose is there too, providing a floral lushness that is just tiny bit sharp. I really like lilac so I do like this scent despite the sharpness. As it wears the sharpness diminished and it becomes softer and smoother. Now the violet comes back. This is a really pretty scent!

Santo Domingo - Wanderlust (reviewed 9-14-2005)

Notes: tobacco leaf, bay rum, Caribbean blossoms

Santo Domingo was a gift from the lab in one of my recent orders. I'm making an effort to go through my imps, review them and then decide whether to keep them or not.

That being said, this is a very interesting scent. In the imp, it's sort of a neutral, slightly spicy scent. Not a lot of florals, no woods, a touch of spice. Reminds me of a medium brown color. Initially on, what I imagine to be the tobacco comes out. That, plus the bay rum. Maybe a touch of lemon. Initially on, it's as in the imp, just rather neutral for me, not evoking much reaction one way or the other.

But - once it dries, what a different story. It deepens and becomes rich and spicy. Not real sweet, but somehow it reminds me a bit of caramel. Don't know why as it's not really foody at all but that's what I get. I really get the bay rum, which I really like. Wow - the drydown is really nice. I find it very smooth and soothing despite the spice (which instinctively would get you going). We'll see how long the drydown lasts as I'm only a bit of the way through.

In closing, it's lovely - I don't know whether I'll get a bottle but I'll definately keep an imp on hand to enjoy when I want a deep, spicy yet soothing scent.

Casanova - Love Potions

Notes: leather, anise, lavender, bergamot, amber, tonka, lemon peel, patchouli

Imp: lavender, bergamot, leather

On the skin: this smells masculine – mainly lavender. It has a slight cologne tang to it, because these scents are traditionally found in men’s cologne. As it wears, the amber, tonka and leather come out, adding a sensuous note. The patchouli too. This is wonderful. The lavender and bergamot provide a bit of an edge to this scent. I’m not getting lemon peel or anise, which is good as I don’t generally care for those notes. This really is a sexy man kinda scent, confident, strong, sexy. It has a similar vibe to me as Doc Constantine, except there’s a herbal edge rather than a smoky one. Delicious!