in the bottle: Dried baking spices, heavy on the ginger, with a musty, cloying, almost rotted smell, like not-quite-fully-decomposed mulch.

on wet: Ginger, ginger, ginger, spices, dirt.

drydown: Cinnamon red-hots, ginger, dirt.

one hour later: Cinnamon red-hots, ginger.

end of day: Didn't make it.

compared to official description: I'm guessing the combination of dark resins and ritual herbs gave me the composted plantlife smell. I don't know which spices are considered aphrodisiacal, but nothing in here did a damn thing for me. I got a strong cinnamon component later (not like dried cinnamon powder, but more like cinnamon extract), and I can see someone arguing that cinnamon is an aphrodisiac. Again, not so much.

notes: To my scent aesthetic, this is ugly, if a scent could be called that. Not unpleasant, off-putting, unappealing or unapproachable, just ... ugly.

Understand while you're reading this that that statement is not meant as a hit on Beth's skill. I'm an artist, and I know what it's like to have people love, shrug at, and seriously dislike your work. I know the pain of planning, testing, refining, and slaving over an idea, pouring too much of yourself into it, then getting ... well ... stepped on. Beth, I have no reason to believe that you'll ever read my blog, but if you do, please understand that I completely admire what you've done for yourself, and I respect your courage and efforts. You know from reading other people's responses that you've given a great deal of pleasure to many. I can only describe my experiences the way I experience them. Please don't take it too much to heart.

added to forum reviews