Euphrosyne, The Gratiae: Mirth Options

Wow, this is very sweet florals on me, piercing in their intensity. Initially I get rose, vanilla with a topnote of jasmine. It stays fairly true and remains a strong floral. I’m not too much a floral kinda gal, so this oil doesn’t sing to me but I can see that for floral fans this would be a good one. It’s a cheery scent and reminds me of a bright sunny day.

Maledication

Notes: red patchouli and vetivert

Oh, I’ve been wanting to try this one for a long time! I’m a huge red patchouli fan. In the imp, I smell mainly vetivert. Once applied, after the first few seconds, the patchouli emerges to join the vetivert. This is a rich, almost grassy type scent. It smells like it would make a great perfume base and I can think back to times in my life when this would be have been my holy grail. Or something like a holy grail in any case. Lately, I find I’m drawn to sweeter scents, or scents with a bit of a bite, and this seems rather simplistic and without depth (despite the fact it’s all fixative-type scents here).

This is a scent that lasts. I put a couple drops on at lunchtime and 7 hrs later my arm still smells strongly of this oil, at this point mainly patchouli with a hint of grassy vetivert. I’m glad that I got to try this but I won’t seek out a bottle as I’ve got straight patchouli and vetivert EOs, so I think I’ve got it covered.

Pannychis

Notes: Night-blooming jasmine, moonflower, cardamom, sandalwood, black currant, ylang ylang, frankincense and lily

On the skin, wet, I first smell jasmine, ylang ylang and what is like a smooth base. For some reason this reminds me a bit of Sleepy Moon, which is one of my favorite lunars. This is much more floral and almost silky smelling. It’s very smooth. I’ve been coming across a lot of jasmine blends lately and for some reason they always make me think of the Lupercalia series. This is a strong scent, and slathers be warned. I was intrigued by this blend because of the cardamom, black currant and sandalwood in combination with the florals. On, I don’t really get cardamom or black current. It’s strongly floral yet there is just a hint of heat/spice in the background. After a couple hours it’s only faintly on my skin but what is there remains a sweet floral.

Centzon Totochtin - Excolo

Notes: Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, blood

In the imp, this smells like cocoa and booze. Once applied, at first it’s cocoa but that morphs into a foody, incensy smell that reminds me a bit of Sugar Cookie. Maybe it’s the rum soaked aspect of it. Yes, I think it’s the rum. This smells pretty yummy and I’m so glad that the GC Swap finally enticed me to try this.

Dang, after this has been on a bit, it begins to smell like clove cigarettes. There’s that hint of smoke which is so strong it burns the lungs. I’m thinking that must be the blood note but I’m interpreting the combination as a clove. I remember smoking these and how yummy they tasted, but also how they made my lungs feel. This is a hot and spicy kinda scent, very strong and overpowering. This is an unusual scent. After it’s been on a while, I’m almost getting a lemon or lime not similar to that in Torture King. Interesting. There is definitely a citrus element in here. It’s subtle but there. Also a touch of vetivert.

Overall, this has been an amazing scent to try and I’m so glad that I finally did. It’s dark, sexy, incensy, edible. Yummy!

Dublin - Wanderlust

Notes: misty forests, alder leaf, white rose

In the imp, this smells of forest (evergreen) with a touch of flowers.

On the skin, this smells of pine, maybe a touch of mint, with flowers and wee bit of musk. This is very sweet and pretty. There’s similarities to the cool, wintery, forest Yule scents of last year as well as to Snow Moon. It smells like there could be a touch of spice in here. After it’s been on a while, it gets this soft scent (it all melds together) and for some reason I almost think of it as cottony. Velvety.

I’ve got bottles of Snow Moon, Talvikuu, and Snow Bunny so I don’t need any more scents of this genre, but I like this one quite a lot. I’m glad that it’s GC because I may have to pick up a bottle at some point.

Seraglio - Love Potions

Notes: sweet almond, mysor sandalwood, bulgarian rose, neroli, nutmet, clove, orange peel

In the imp: almonds

On the skin, a combination of almonds and soft roses. I don’t really care for rose scents, so I’m not liking this one. It reminds of a Voodoo Oil. It’s a powdery rose. I’m not getting any of the sandalwood, spices or orange peel.

After it’s been on an hour or so, the rose is very soft and gentle. There’s still not much more going on, just soft, powdery rose. This is not a scent for me.

(and I love mysor sandalwood - pity I'm not getting any in this scent).

Phantasm - Bewitching Brews

In the imp and on the skin, this is a light, fresh, pretty scent. It screams innocence and youth. On me, this is mainly jasmine with the lightness of lemony tea. There's a touch of neroli adding to the mix but it's not overwhelming. This is a really beautiful combination of scents and this would be an amazing linen spray or to mist on clothing that's drying on the line, in the sun and breeze.