inkstone

In the vial: Without a doubt, it is grapefruit. Wet: Sweet, juicy grapefruit with the faintest hint of sugar. It reminds me of summer and makes me thirst for lemonade. LOL Drydown: It's still grapefruit, but the aquatic notes are starting to meld with it. There's something vaguely murky and spicy about this stage. I can't put my finger on it. It's fresh and light, definitely, but there's something in it that makes me uneasy. Final thoughts: I like this! It's not quite what I expected from the name, I'm not sure if I sense Cthulu or any of the elder gods in this, but it's nice.

There's not much I can add at this point, but here I am anyway. In the vial: Roses and ripe, juicy fruitiness that can only be promegranates. Wet: Wet, juicy roses mingling with something dark that I think might be the promegranate seeds. I can smell the promegranate trying to come out, but the rose is stomping all over it. Drydown: The roses mellow and blend with the juicy promegranate. It's very pretty and sweet. Final thoughts: This is a nice scent and I think I'll keep the imp, but in terms of rose scents I think I prefer Blood Rose and Kurukulla more.

In the bottle: Musky greenery. It's actually a little off-putting. Wet: And it's even more off-putting on me. The spruce mingles with the musk in a very unattractive fashion. Drydown: The intensity of the musky spruce doesn't lessen at all. I can smell the florals faintly in the background and just a touch of the fruits, but that's it. This is a very wintery green scent on me and eh, apparently I don't do those scents very well. Final thoughts: It's a very cold, haughty scent on me. On the right person and with the right skin chemistry, I think this could be beautiful. But it really repells me when I sniff my arm, and quite honestly is hideous with my skin chemistry. It's a no go on this one.

2004 Edition In the bottle: Sugary plums Wet: Oops! I ended up spilling the oil all over my myself. Applying the oils can be precarious sometimes without the reducers. But there's no mistaking it now! This smells like wet, juicy plums. Drydown: It smells like plums, and I smell the florals faintly in the background. I can also smell something faintly green, something like ferns, but I'm not sure what it is. Final thoughts: This is similar to Bordello with the plum note, although the sweetness is different. It's actually relatively light, so even though I spilled it all over myself, I didn't make myself dizzy or give anyone else headaches. I just smelled like plums and who's going to complain about that? Love this.

In the bottle: Minty pine. Wet: The pine comes out a lot. It's a very invigorating scent, almost medicinal in tone. Drydown: Oh, this is pretty. This is snow-covered pine in the far north. The strong pine note mellows into something prettier. Something a little sweeter has come out and I can only assume that's the berries. Final thoughts: Between Ice Queen and Skadi, I far prefer Skadi. It's still "cold" but it doesn't have the off-putting hauteur that repelled me from Ice Queen. This is something elusive and vaguely wild. I really like it.

In the bottle: Warm sugar cookies fresh out of the oven and resting on a cooling rack. Wet: Cinnamon red-hots. Um... huh? Drydown: OMG, it's sugar cookies with red-hots embedded on top! Final thoughts: This really makes me salivate and crave the real thing. I can almost feel the crisp crunch as I take a bite. Mmmm.

In the bottle: Windblown mint. Wet: Mint with a faint medicinal note that can only be the eucalyptus. Drydown: Oh wow. I absolutely love this! The lotus has come out to blend beautifully with the mint and eucalyptus. This isn't the bubblegummy lotus; this is something rounded, deeper and darker. It's brought out the "midnight" aquatic note and it's so beautiful. Final thoughts: This becomes a creamy minty lotus scent on my skin. It's so pretty and actually does a second-skin routine on me. It's not as cold a scent as I expected, but it does remind me of the time right before the coming frost. Gorgeous.

2004 Edition In the bottle: Yummy gingerbread. How does Beth do that? Wet: Cinnamon red-hots. Since I had this experience with Sugar Cookie, once again I am very confused. Drydown: The spices remain pretty strong. I can smell the gingerbread in the background, but it's being smacked around by the spices. Final thoughts: This isn't as balanced as Sugar Cookie on my skin. I'm going to give this a few more goes to see if it takes better, but I may end up offering decants since I don't think I like this as much as Sugar Cookie on me.

2004 Edition In the bottle: An entire rosebush -- petals, stems, and all. It smells exactly like a freshly cut rose. Wet: It's very green and sharp to my nose. The stems, leaves and thorns nearly drown out the rose petals proper. Drydown: Ah, there we go. The rose petals return. It's actually sharper than the other rose scents I've tried. It's not bad, but it is different. Final thoughts: It's not powdery. It's not wet. It's a rose just touched with dew. This is pure genius.

In the imp: Sweet lotuses and dragon's blood Wet: Oiled wood/musk... WHAT? Drydown: The lotuses mingle with that oiled note in a bad way. Final thoughts: This doesn't smell good on me at all. I don't understand what happened. It smelled so promising in the vial, but turned weird on me. Lotuses and dragon's blood usually play very well on my skin, so I think there's something else in here that's messing things up. If I weren't positive that it's lotus & dragon's blood that I smell in the imp, I'd have thought I received a mislabeled imp of Black Lotus, because what this blend smells like on me sounds like that one. It's very earthy and very Egyptian on me. I don't understand!

In the imp: Jasmine & orchids, with a sweet plum scent lingering in the background. Wet: White musk Drydown: The white musk forms a solid background while the jasmine and orchid play in the foreground with the faintest hint of plum. Final thoughts: It's light and delicate and lingering. This makes me think of something elusive and lurking in an orchard. Very lovely.

In the imp: Narra and sampaguita blossoms. Very light and tropical. Wet: Sun-warmed narra and palm leaves. I feel like I'm back in the provinces. Drydown: Narra mingling with banana leaf, palm and soft sampaguita. My God, this smells like the rain forest of the Philippines. Which is good because if it really smelled like Manila proper, it'd be smog and pollution. Thankfully, this is pronvincial Philippines at its very best. Final thoughts: I was so excited to see this addition to the Wanderlust category. And I'm not disappointed at all. It smells like the tropics! This is a very summer scent! I may have to get a bottle for my mother.

In the imp: Roses and lotuses and I think I'm going to die of happiness! Wet: Roses. Sweet, wet roses in full bloom. Drydown: Roses layered over lotuses layered over roses layered over lotuses. Final thoughts: This is so beautiful. It's feminine, sweet, harmonious and so evocative of a Tibertan goddess of love and wealth. Roses can be hit or miss on me and go to powder. However this doesn't do this at all. It stays wet and juicy and sweet. The lotuses provide an added dimension to prevent this from being a purely rose scent. Wonderful! This is definitely on the consideration list for a bottle!

This was a gift from red_hot_mama, because I wanted to try it. In the imp: Jasmine & vanilla. Wet: Jasmine overpowers everything else and it's the only thing that comes out on my skin. Drydown: Jasmine blended nicely with a layer of vanilla. It's sweet in a way that's reminiscent of coca cola. There's a faint edge of ginger that adds a spike. It gives character. Final thoughts: I wish the apricot had come out more. It's a little strange it didn't, because fruits usually come out more on my skin. Maybe it's just being wonky, so I'll try it in a couple weeks. RHM assures me that the apricot comes out much much more in warmer weather. On a side note, I tested this out before I went off to the store to get a new cell phone. Four different salesmen were falling all over themselves trying to help me. Craziness.

This was a gift from red_hot_mama. I'm glad she sent it to me, because I don't know if I would have tried it otherwise. I get so distracted by the new and shiny. In the imp: Dandelions. Wet: Dandelions and weeds. Drydown: ...dandelions for the most part. After several hours, the tobacco comes out but it's so faint and so many hours later I could have easily missed it. Final thoughts: I need to give this a few more tries. I don't understand how the only note that really came out was dandelion. No booze or anything. That's just too strange. On the other hand, it does smell like the overgrown weeds around a roadhouse so maybe my skin just messed thing up. I don't think it's really me, but maybe a few more tries will yield better results on my skin.

EvilKitten sent me a decant of this just because she's so cool. In the vial: Very fruity -- plums and blackberries. There's also an unfamiliar note that I think might be the vetiver. Wet: The plums and blackberries smell tart on me. They mingle with the woodsy notes and the musk. At this stage, it's more masculine than not, but it's definitely not all that masculine at all. Drydown: The fruits have sweetened and the vanilla has really come out now. I catch whiffs of the coconut here and there, along with the woody lurking lurking below to give it depth. It's creamy and goodness, I want to bite my arm. Final thoughts: Oh my, the drydown is just gorgeous! If it had stayed like it was during the wet stage, I doubt I would have liked this so much. However the drydown is so perfect!

I really like Jezebel. It's vaguely like Tamora with honey replacing the fruit and a hint of roses in the background.

There's not much that I can add at this point, but here we go anyway. In the vial: Buttery pumpkin and cider. Wet: Woodsy notes and cloves, I think. It's a little smoky, but beneath it I still smell the pumpkin. And the patchouli. Of course. Drydown: Warm, buttery pumpkin and cloves. It fades in and out in my skin. Final thoughts: Wow! What a cozy scent! I'm glad I have an imp for this.

A special extra from Chaos Runs Amuck! Quantum Spice's Experimental Blend #111 I feel very embarrassed that I'm the first one to try to pick this apart. My nose isn't that experienced, but I'll try my best. In the vial: Lavendar, mostly. There's something else that's a little sharp to my nose, but damned if I can figure out what it is. Wet: I think that's amber. Amber tends to smell somewhat hard, sharp and sour upon initial contact with my skin. There's something else... A dark, lazy floral... I know this smell. Why can't I-- Oh! It's the same note from Juju and Morgause. I think that's violet! Drydown: I'm almost positive this is violet. After it's dried down, it clings very closely to my skin. It had much more throw in its wet stages; here it's just cozy. I can smell the lavendar faintly in the background and I can hardly make out the amber, which is fine given its sour-smelling tendencies on my skin. Final thoughts: I feel very lazy wearing this. I'm curious to see what others think is in here, since I'm not so good at picking out notes and this has no description.

Part 6 of Chaos Runs Amuck. Chaos Theory XLVIII In the vial: Lemony florals. Wet: Gardenias and lemon. I almost want to say there's some night-blooming flowers in here, but without fail, my skin amplifies those notes and that's exactly how my arm smelled in the first few minutes of application. Drydown: Very floral. The lemony note is softer now and it's definitely creamier. I don't think this is vanilla, so maybe this is what tonka bean smells like? Final thoughts: I didn't get lotus at all. No tell-tale bubblegum. To be honest, I didn't really care for this on me, but if you like smooth, creamy florals, this could be for you! Addendum: Dang it. I think there might be night-blooming flowers in this after all. I'm starting to get a headache, and that's the only note so far that consistently gives me one. Bah. EDITED: Fixed UBB code. Previously reviewed by paperdoll, hypothermya, with coffee spoons and quantum spice.

Part 5 of Chaos Runs Amuck. Chaos Theory XV In the vial: Bananas and coconut. It reminds me of a Filipino dessert that I just cannot name at the moment. Wet: ...Bananas and coconut? This does remind me of a banana cream pie. Drydown: If there is lotus in this, it doesn't really come out on me. It's not bubblegum. But it could be blending with something else to make that banana smell. The vanilla (tonka bean? I obviously have problems telling these two notes apart since I've never tried anything that definitively has tonka bean yet) adds a creamy background over which the coconut and banana play. Final thoughts: YUM! Previously reviewed by Red_Hot_Mama, hypothermya, with coffee spoons, harlequin and quantum spice.

Part 4 of Chaos Runs Amuck. Chaos Theory XXXII In the vial: Delicate florals and...bananas?!?! That cannot be right. After I sniffed it again, convinced that my sense of smell was whacked, I smelled pears. I think the florals and the pears together confused my nose enough to make me think I was smelling bananas. Wet: Hello sandalwood! Drydown: There's definitely sandalwood in this, but it's of the white variety. It says hello, lingers around, and then fades into the background. This is a very nice, crisp pear scent. It blends nicely with the sandalwood. I wish I could identify what the flowers are, but they don't come out all that much on me, compared to the other notes. Final thoughts: I'm jealous that Quantum Spice has the bottle of this! It's yummy pears over sandalwood with just the barest hint of florals. It's a perfect scent for spring or summer. I'm very glad I had the chance to try this. Two more Chaos Theories to go!

Part 3 of Chaos Runs Amuck Chaos Theory XXII In the vial: Florals. I'm not quite sure what kind, but florals. Wet: For a minute -- for a short, OMG, NO! minute -- I thought I got a whiff of night-blooming flowers. If anyone remembers my past experiences with night-blooming flowers, they'll understand why. I'm not sure if my nose was playing tricks on me though because it's immediately overtaken by a bubblegummy scent that I associate with lotus and that's all I can smell. Drydown: Lotuses, I think, but it's not as bubblegummy sweet as it tends to be on me. It's still bubblegum, but different if that makes any sense. It's actually a little creamier, so I'm not sure what else is in this. I know there's something else, but I'm unable to identify it. Final thoughts: I really like this one. It's a very cozy, slightly candyish, slightly creamy blend.

Part 2 of Chaos Runs Amuck. Chaos Theory XCV In the vial: Floral vanilla? There's a sweetness I associate with vanilla, but I'm not sure if it's floral I'm smelling or something else. Wet: I'm fairly sure there's vanilla in this, but I've never tried anything with tonka bean in it so if they do smell similar, it could be that. I also smell something vaguely medicinal along the lines of lavendar. It's faint though and very much in the background. Drydown: The vanilla has become a base and on top of it is a slightly citrusy (possibly lemon, but if so, it's not the kind that turns to insect repellent on me) pine scent. I keep on sniffing my wrist to make sure that is what I'm smelling, but it's stayed true for the past hour so I guess that must be it. Final thoughts: Apparently the Chaos Theories are all just going to confuse my nose. Mentally this scent conjures mental images of pine trees after a rain storm. I'm not sure why that over anything else, but there it is. Previously reviewed by hypothermya, with coffee spoons, harlequin and quantum spice.

Part of Chaos Runs Amuck, courtesy of our favorite penguin. Chaos Theory XVII In the vial: Sweet aquatic lemony florals. Eh? My nose is really confused. Wet: Well, there's cedar in this because that's what first comes out when it touches my skin. Then the lemon comes out. I hope my skin chemistry doesn't mess this up. Drydown: I think there's cucumber in this and I can smell the florals. It's faintly aquatic on me, but not much. It's the lemon note that's confusing me. I've never tried anything with lime in it so I don't know if that makes a difference, but it's not sweet like lemon verbena is on me and it doesn't turn to that weep-worthy insect repellent on my skin like regular lemon does. I'm... I'm very confused. I don't know what it is. Final thoughts: This is a soft, lemony aquatic floral. I think it's appropriate for spring and summer; it's definitely a warm weather scent on me. I don't think it's something I'd prefer to wear myself, but I think lots of people could fall in love with this, even people who have skin issues with lemon. Edited: Because I forgot to put down which one this was. Previously reviewed by supasonicsage, hypothermya, with coffee spoons, harlequin and quantum spice.