Shadow Witch Orchid

Notes: dusky orchid

I’m not too sure what orchid smells like, but if this is it, then I like it. Or rather, I think my mom will like it. Once applied, this is a heady, sweet, floral blend. It is sweet and lush, humid and moist to me. Maybe it is the power of suggestion, but I’m also getting a little bit of a grape smell and in general, this oil smells purple. The scent does seem as if it would easily be a component in commercial conventional perfumes – for some reason Amarige by Givenchy comes to mind. Because it has such a strong, “I am here and anyone who doesn’t like it be damned” quality about it, it reminds me of the perfumes from the 1980’s, all of which had that loud, brash, in-your face quality.

I really think my mom would like this one, so this could be a good gift order. I’m going to be keeping my eyes open for orchid blends from now on.

Harlot

Notes: somalian rose, moroccan rose, bulgar rose, cinnamon

In the imp, this smells like dry and dusty florals, subdued, but with a touch of spice. It reminds me of elements of Medicine Show, either the opium or elmni. It also reminds me somewhat of an acaia oil that I’ve had forever.

Once on, I can smell the roses, but it’s not the moist, lush roses of Rose Red or Séance. They are the “old-fashioned” roses that have a bit of powder attached. There’s also cinnamon which adds a wonderful spice and complements the roses quite nicely. Pretty!

Envy

Notes: herbs, mint, lime, lavender

Initially I smell mint. Once on, the mint blends with herbs and lavender. There’s something there that makes this an even colder scent, I think it’s the citrus scent. After its been on for a bit, the other, non-mint elements are quite strong and it reminds me of fresh-cut grass and being outside. The longer it's on, the more it reminds me of weed-whacking.

Interesting scent; I think that Beth did a great job of interpreting Envy and beyond that, it's fresh, green and light. Glad I got to sniff it but it's not a bottleworthy scent for me.

La Belle au Bois Dormant

Notes: plumeria, white pear, damascus rose, tuberose, magnolia, evening dew

On the skin, wet, this is all strong florals and very, very sweet smelling. Once it dries, it stays strongly sweet and floral. There’s a hint of juicy, lush fruit behind the flowers that smells like apricot or pear. Ahh, after looking at the notes, I see that it’s pear. I can’t pick out the different floral notes in this, but they don’t seem to be rose or jasmine or gardenia. Nor lilies. Overall, I find this to be an aggressive floral-fruity scent that is well done but not my style.

Zorya

Notes: Spices of the Orient mingle with crystalline musk, midnight flowers and cereus, jasmine, primrose and vesper iris.

In the imp, this smells clear, slightly spicy, a bit musky and not too floral. Really good. In the imp, I think this might me one of my OMG, I have to have this scent! Once on, the jasmine shows up immediately, drowning out the spice, musk, and clear coolness. Behind the jasmine, I can smell tuberose faintly. Wow, as this wears, there’s something in here that reminds me of MB: Underpants – I think there must some a bit of saffron in here.

I like this a lot but there sure is a lot of jasmine in here.

Hesperides

Notes: oak bark, dewy leaves, mist, apple

This is a hard scent to describe in the imp. Once on, the apple comes out and dominates the scent. There’s a touch of wood in the background grounding the scent. It also smells like there could be a touch of mint or pennyroyal. This is a cheery scent that reminds me of fall-time and the leaves turning golden and red on the birch trees. I really like this scent and think it would also make a great lotion, body wash or room scent.

Manila - Wanderlust

Notes: Sampaguita blossoms, banana leaf, palm, and narra

In the imp, this smelled fruity, warm and tropical. Once on, the tropical fruit smell remains. It's a well blended scent and I'm not familiar with any of the listed ingredients. It does smell a bit like bananas but not full on, ripe bananas. More like banana taffy or other banana flavored candy.

Once it's been on a bit, it continues to smell like tropical fruit, maybe a mix of banana and mango or papaya. There's other elements in here for sure, lush florals and damp wood. It's really quite pretty and it reminds me of other scents that I can't think of right now. There's almost something back there that provides some tartness to the scent, like pineapple or kiwi (I'm leaning more towards pineapple).

I've never been to that part of the world, so I can't say if it's reminiscent of how it actually smells, but it evokes to me the tropics, moist rainforest, and hot and humid weather. I think I'll keep my imp to sniff during the subzero days of winter.

Laudanum - Sin and Salvation

Notes: nutmeg, sassafras, black poppy, myrrh

In the imp: mainly sassafras, spice and myrrh

On the skin: mmm. Sassafras. Spice. A touch of bitterness. The spice smells hot, like there could a touch of pepper in here with the nutmeg. The sassafras makes me think of gourmet root beer and makes this scent almost edible.

As it wears, this scent really become dry and dusty. Later, it become quite dark and sultry. It lasts a while too.