inkstone

In the imp: Woody mixed in with some florals. It reminds me of a Victorian old lady. We'll have to see how this goes. Wet: Smoky, oiled wood. Interesting. Drydown: Ah, there are the roses. The rosewood retreats to the back to form the base, with the roses mingling with the lilac. It's very pretty and sweet in this stage. Final thoughts: Unfortunately, despite how pretty the lilac and rose combo is, the tea rose starts to go to powder and it becomes this weird mix of rosewood, powdered tea rose & lilac. Off to swaps, for this one.

This was freebie from the Lab. In the imp: Amber, with something dark and hazy floating above it. No, seriously, that's what I smelled. Wet: Hello amber! Drydown: I'm impressed by how well the amber's melded with the black musk. Final thoughts: This is a dark, resiny scent. It's warm and sweet, due to the amber but it's not completely golden because of the musk. If you like those types of scents, then I recommend this blend. But since this isn't my style, I'll be putting this up for swaps.

In the imp: Clear, light roses. Wet: Still pretty true to what it was in the imp. Clear, light roses -- it's very ethereal. Someone mentioned in another thread a similarity to Rose Red & I can see where that comes from. It's not as green and lighter, but it's clear rose. Drydown: Crap. Is there lemon in this? Final thoughts: Bah, there is lemon in this & it smells like a combination of lemon-scented insect repellent and soap. Le sigh on my skin chemistry. Off to swaps.

This was a giftie from the Lab. In the imp: Chocolate! Wet: And even more chocolate! Drydown: Urk. I'm starting to smell the myrrh more and more. That note usually doesn't play well with me and it's mingling with the chocolate in an unattractive fashion. Final thoughts: Um. No. This goes to swaps.

This was a giftie from the Lab. In the imp: Sweet florals. Hmm, that's not very malicious at all! Wet: Ylang ylang. Nothing but ylang ylang. Drydown: Ylang ylang with a hint of spiciness lingering beneath. Is that the patchouli? I do get a little bit of clove, but not a whole lot. Final thoughts: Wow, I think I finally found a note that drowns out myrrh on me -- ylang ylang! O_O This is a pretty scent, and it does start forming that malicious note in the later stages. It's not very me though.

Ooh! An unreleased scent. A woody, peppery, earthy scent. Very interesting to smell, but it's for me. It's dark and masculine, and my tastes don't run that way at all.

This was a giftie from the Lab. Wow, another masculine scent! I agree with the above reviewers -- there's nothing feminine about this at all. It smells herbal over the frankincense. Nice, but I'm way too much of a girly girl to pull this off. Off to swaps.

A giftie from the Lab. Whoa, this is menacing, black leather. With just a hint of dampness as if it's just come out of the evening rain. Very masculine and very nice, but ooooh, does it NOT belong on me.

This was a giftie from the Lab. Oddly enough, I don't get the pennyroyal in this at all. It's all minty minty mint with a dash of citrus. From the imp to the wet stages to the drydown. As it dries down, a darkness comes out that I can only pinpoint to the black musk, but otherwise it's a strongly minty scent.

This was a giftie from the Lab. In the imp: Very masculine. Wet: Wow! This smells very close to department store cologne. Drydown: I really can't pick out the notes in this. It's very nice. Final thoughts: Way too masculine for me. But ah, it's a shame I don't have a boy to dab this on. I'd love to smell it on a guy's skin.

This was a giftie from the Lab. In the imp: Very green, with some lavendar. Hmm... Wet: My nose is confused. It's lightly masculine in the green floral sort of way. I'm very confused. Drydown: The amber's definitely there, mingling with the combined scent of lavendar and carnation. I'm impressed that I can't pick out one of those over the other. The moss hangs out in the background and doesn't really pop out much. Final thoughts: This is a nice, light clean scent. It's masculine, but it's not too masculine and I think plenty of women can wear. Alas, this isn't really my thing.

I haven't been reviewing in a while, because I had a cold and couldn't smell anything. However I'm on the mend, although my sense of smell may be slightly off still. I'm still giving this my best go. In the vial: Sweet. Very, very candy sweet. Wet: The woodsiness of the sandalwood mingling with that sweet note. There's also something else that I think is the anise. Drydown: This lightens up and the sweet intensity dies down a bit. It's cherry blossoms mingling with anise over a background of sandalwood. Final thoughts: This is delicious. It's light and spicy all at the same time. I really like it.

A freebie from the Lab. In the vial: Green. Very, very green. Wet: Green, herbal & medicinal. I don't think this is my thing. Drydown: A mix of herbal and woody on me. There's something vaguely floral in this, but I'm not sure what it is. Final thoughts: This is strong on me, and I only swiped it once along my wrists. But ultimately, it's not for me.

This was a freebie from the Lab. In the vial: Florals with something else that's bothering my nose. Wet: The same oiled note that I got from Blood Lotus. Must be myrrh. Ugh. Drydown: Myrrh and lily of the valley, with the other florals hovering in the background. Of all the notes that have to predominate on my skin, it has to be the two I dislike. Final thoughts: Not for me. Off to the swap pile.

This was a freebie from the Lab. In the imp: Vaguely woody and herbal. All right, let's give this a go despite the lemon. Wet: Black licorice. Um. What? Drydown: Black licorice mingling with lemon-scented insect repellent. Maybe giving this a go was a bad idea. Final thoughts: My accursed skin chemistry strikes again!

This was a freebie from the Lab. In the vial: Cinnamon red-hots. Wet: Still smells like cinnamon red-hots. I don't really get the almonds or neroli. And... hmm. My wrists are starting to itch. I only swiped once per wrist and rubbed them together as I usually do. Am I allergic to something in this, I wonder? One minute later: AIEEEEEEEEE! It's burning! It's burning! Ow ow ow OW! Final thoughts: I admit I didn't keep this one on long. Once the burning began, it just got hotter and hotter and quite painful. I ran to the bathroom and washed it off. I had red welts rising up on my wrists where the oil had been. Conflagration is about right, I think. O_O I don't know what caused this. I've worn other blends with cinnamon in them & I've never had this reaction before.

In the vial: Roses, roses, roses. Wet: Very strong roses, with something sweet mingling with it. I assume that's the ylang ylang. Drydown: Roses and ylang ylang. Final thoughts: This is a very strong rose blend on me, but it goes to powder. Alas.

This was a freebie from the Lab. In the vial: Roses Wet: First it's roses. Innocent, blooming roses. Then what I suppose are the spices come out. It's something part creamy (but not really), part dusty and part warm. It's familiar, but I can't name it exactly. It's an odd effect. Drydown: The spices don't linger long. Roses, roses & more roses. Final thoughts: These are not the wet, juicy roses I love. It goes to powder on me. Alas.

This was a freebie from the Lab. In the vial: Fruity and floral. Hmm... Doesn't seem very angry to me. Wet: Black amber straight up. Wow, I can always count on my skin to amplify amber like there's no business. There's something else fruity in here, which I think is the currant. Drydown: Dragon's blood and geranium. It's pretty nicely blended. There's a bit of darkness lurking beneath, which I think is the black amber. None too sure though. Final thoughts: It's a nice blend. It doesn't seem to embody "Rage" to me. It's a bit fruity and happy for that, but it's nice. I don't think it's very me though.

In the vial: A complex, dark floral. Interesting. Wet: Sandalwood and musk. It's very dark at this stage that it disconcerts me. Drydown: I can smell the orchid and night-blooming jasmine, which doesn't bother me unlike the other night-blooming flowers. It's not a strong floral, and there's something very fruity about this stage. I can't pinpoint what's causing that fruitiness though. It's very mysterious. Final thoughts: The drydown is gorgeous. However it fades really quickly once it hits that beautiful fruity, veiled stage in the drydown. It's light scent though, so I wonder if this is a blend that I should be slathering.

In the bottle: Cold musk. There is definitely some citrus in here though. Wet: Very masculine. It's white musk and a note that I think is oakmoss. I'm not entirely sure. Drydown: There's something fruity in here. *sniffs again* Yes, there's definitely something fruity. I think TheDarkMother is right when she says it's something peachy or nectarine-y. It's something along those lines. Final thoughts: He's the perfect complement to the Queen of Diamonds. Now I'm smelling him more closely, I'm not sure it is very me. That musky oakmoss note has come out again, and it's become masculine again. When it's like this, it doesn't really fit me. Hmm... I'll try it out a few more times before I make my final decision.

In the bottle: It smells like expensive, sophisticated department store perfume. Or rather, what those perfumes aspire to be. I smell citrusy florals. Wet: White grapefruit. The orange peeks out a little bit, but it doesn't come out a whole lot. And I think the floral I'm smelling is orchid. It has a similar tone to the floral I smelled in Kitsune-Tsuki. Drydown: This mellows a little bit, but it stays pretty true to its original smell when it hit my skin. I can smell the lemon bark a bit more in this stage too. Final thoughts: The Queen is pretty and sophisticated, glittering and clad in white. However, I don't think she's very me. I may keep a decant for myself, but I don't need a bottle. I'll find people who'll take good, loving care of her.

2004 Edition In the bottle: Because of my sensitivity to night-blooming flowers (I get a rip-roaring headache every single time I wear a blend that has them), I smelled this carefully. Previous reviewers have said that there's hardly any floral in this, so that gave me hope and convinced me to give this a spin. At first sniff, I smelled coconut and the note that seems to be almond, but isn't quite almond. (The lily musk?) Wet: Snowy coconut! That's exactly what I smell! And... Um, huh. Maybe I should have listened to my gut the first time around because I immediately developing a headache even though I don't smell any night-blooming flowers! Not fair! And on top of that, I'm getting nauseous too! No no no! What is wrong with my skin?! Drydown: I'm having the same experience as omly. It's a creamy, snowy coconut, but there's something else in here that's making my stomach unsettled. Final thoughts: I don't think I can keep this. It's making me nauseous. Just goes to show -- I'll always lean towards Snow White's oft-forgotten sister, Rose Red. I guess it's the lily musk that's making me nauseous? Or maybe a combination of notes? That's so strange. I couldn't smell florals at all in this, so I can't claim my headache is from the "breath of night-blooming flowers." Alas. I'll find a better home for you, my dear Snow White, with someone who loves you.

In the vial: Lemony, white tea with a bite that can only be coming from the ginger. Wet: Wet, hard lemon candies. Eh? Drydown: I can feel the tea trying to sweeten the blend. It's trying very hard. I can totally feel it, but the citrus is taking over and I do think it is lemon because I can taste it in the back of my throat. Yes, it's trying to go to insect repellent on me like all blends with lemon in them do. And with the ginger spiking it, it's an edged repellent too. :D Final thoughts: This is similar to Shanghai, but it has an edge and isn't quite as soft. This also doesn't last that long. It's starting to fade already and I haven't even reached an hour yet.

In the vial: Black tea with a hint of yuzu. Wet: The black tea comes out strongly when it hits my skin. It's upbeat, yes, but also a little sharp. There's a bittersweet tang to this. Drydown: It takes a couple hours for this blend to mellow on me. At that point, the yuzu & mikan come out and there's a faint floral that's likely the cherry blossom. Final thoughts: This is a nice, fresh & clean tea scent but I don't think it's very me.