harlequin

I pick out Plum the most from this blend, which is fabulous, because I love the lab's plum blends.. following that up next is the daffodil. It sounds like a kind of odd combination, but It works really well. they're both sort of on the sweet side, but the daffodil stops the plum from being overly fruity. When those two start to mingle together more, the wonderful White Musk becomes more noticeable, as well. It's a fabulous backdrop for the rest of this scent..

Hmm. Getting this at the beginning of summer isn't all that useful, is it? I haven't gotten the bubble gum scent I get from Leather a lot, so this is a good thing.. Definitely a very sexy smell. 2 of the 4 ingredients listed in this blend are pretty much new to me (black amber and red musk), and I think those are the strongest parts, of course.. It's very rich and deep, and did I say sexy? Oh. I did. well, anyways. I would love wearing this in Fall and Winter.. possibly in spring, but I think it's far to heavy for Summer, alas. (actually, later, I think I did get wafts of the bubblegum scent, but it was intermitant and rather hidden, so it was all good anways.. kind of adds an interesting twist, kind of like it does in Perversion.)

Hmm.. I'm notoriously not a floral person, but this is actually very nice. Unfortunately, I'm not super familiar with the scent of many of the flowers in this. I can definitely pick out Tulip, though. It's not a perfumey floral in the slightest, to me.. which is good, because those are the ones I really dislike (and that give me a massive headache).. I also agree that it blends fabulously with Milk Moon. I've got one on my wrist and one near my elbow, and halfway between is lovely. however... it tastes like soap.

My guess would more be to the effect of Snow White and Spooky having a baby. On my, it's got the Creamyness of Snow White with a bit of Mint poking it's head out. Uhm. perhaps that's a bad way to put it, when talking ab out having a baby.. aaanyways.. this is absolutely delicious. After wearing it for a bit, the mint part fades out (mint has a tendency to fade quickly on me), it's left with Creamy Lunar Oils... still none to shabby.

First thing I noticed about this oil was that the label was spelled different than I remembered it being on the website. I looked at it and thought.. "hmm. I thought this had an 's' in it...!" Bottle Label: Tulzcha Website: Tulzscha Anyways.. There's definitely a whole lotta mint in this! I think Peppermint and Spearmint are the ones I notice the most.. As it dries down, it becomes a bit sharper and the pepper is noticable, now. After the mint starts to fade out a bit, it is a rather different scent. Much lighter and airier, I'd say. Unfortunately, I'm not all that familiar with the Cucumber note. It does remind me a bit of frost moon, in the bottle when the mint is strongest, but dried down, they don't seem quite as similar. For one thing, this doesn't have the aquatic-ness for Frost Moon that gave me a headache and broke my heart.

This stuff is definitely sexay! I ordered Cerberus when these were released, because I thought it was the only one that looked appealing to me, and it didn't work out so well... the wonderful Diabolique went on about how good this stuff was and I looked at the description again and wondered why I didn't think it looked good the first time around... so I ordered a bottle, even if I had placed 2 orders the day before. hehe. Sooo glad I did. I get a lot of the white musk out of this one. I can see the relation to whitechapel, though this one isn't as sweet as that is, even after the lime fades. It's not really floral on me at all.. slightly herby yes, but mostly, it's just sexlicious White Musk. So gorgeous. Sad it's gone. ETA: I didn't think it was overly masculine, myself. Would work great on a guy, but I won't have a problem wearing it!

Initially, I was a bit dissapointed that I got absolutely no berry from this scent at any stage, but once I actually started paying attention to what it was and not what it wasn't, I'm appreciating it much more. The Scent: In the imp, I can defnitely smell the Iris... and I get the Pine scent from it, too.. like standing amid the bows of a pine tree, thankfully nothing like cleaning-supply-pine.. The amber starts to come out pretty strong once it's on my skin. When I first put it on, I'm not sure it was really me, but It's growing on me quite a bit, actually. The Pine and Iris are still there, as well.. so it becomes a piney-irisy-soft-spicey incence that is absolutely fascinating. Once it dries down and the scents start to blend together more, the pine, though it wasn't initially that strong or sharp, softens down, and the mental associations I've developed with this scent are even stronger. I don't much think of Pine when I think of Florence, but once it's less noticable, It definitely adds something to the scent that I can't imagine it being without. I wasn't thinking so initially, but this one is going on my Bottle Wishlist. The Imagery: As for representing Florence goes... I think it totally does. It's been more than a decade since I was there, but I still have pretty strong mental images of the city. First among these is standing in the plaza above the city where the reproduction of the David statue is, viewing this gorgeous expanse of old buildings with gorgeous orange tile roofs. The Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore rising prominately in the air. Even the color of this oil matches that perfectly, and It's kind of synchronous... catching that first view of the city and the first experience of the oil. My other strongest associations are of wandering around the old stone streets and and browsing through endless leather stores. Florence, the scent, somehow catches the experience of this, without trying to replicate it. It's got a warm dusty feeling, like walking about the city streets on a bright spring day, and at the same time, it smells like walking into a leather store.. As far as I can tell, there's no actual leather in the scent, though. Walking into a leather store in Florence isn't even in the same league as going to Wilson's at the mall. The smell.. the ambience.. it's much warmer and-- muskier? I can't quite come up with the right word for what it is, but I think the Amber/Spice combination in this oil caputres it *perfectly*... Well done, Beth!

Oh my goodness, this stuff is *amazing*..! I shall now worship QSpice, for sending me some of this... and Beth, for making it, of course! Anyways. .. the scents I get strongest from this are Cotton Candy and Caramel Corn. After a few minutes something tangy comes out.. could be salted snacks, could be the sensation of a warm day and a nice clean sweat... take your pick... There was about 2 minutes when it smelled kind of plasticy on my skin, but then it was back to Mmmm Fair Goodness.. I think the Cotton Candy part is probably more top-notey.. So when it comes back, there's less of that part of the scent. (my skin tends to eat top notes for breakfast, lunch, and fair snacks! hehehe) I didn't put on much, so that I can savor my little impy until the scent is actually released, but it doesn't seem to have a lot of throw, to me.. That just means I'll have to buy a few gallons of it, so I can bathe in it! Seriously. At least 2 Bottles... possibly three, if I can! Aaand.. Pixie-elf, since we know you're so eager for cotton candy scents.. you have to try this. hehe!

I haven't tried Blood Countess yet, which I hear is close to Queen of Spades (i've got it on order, though).. but I just got The Hanging Gardens, and boy..... the drydown especially smells just like QoS on me... I still find it similar in the wet phase, but not as close a match..

uhm. yeah. smells just like wet, upturned earth crawling with earthworms. not much more to say about it, from me.. other than... well definitely not something I want to smell like. I didn't really imagine it would be when I ordered it, but it was one of those things you just have to try. I do have a sudden urge to go fishing, though. hehe!

First, I have to say that Macha's review was absolutely amazing! and mine will probably do this scent no justice. (so, pay more attention to hers ) The first scent i get of this is very lush and ripe. An explosion is a good way to describe it, really. It's like fruit so ripe they're just bursting with delicious juices. Backing that up is a floral scent that adds a bit of depth and kick to the wonderful fruit aroma. On, and dried down, The Hanging Gardens smells a lot like Queen of Spades on me, which I find interesting because the only note they list in common is some form of plum, but I don't think that the drydown smells much like plum at all. The florals start to come out more, but still with enough of the fruity juicyness that they don't smell much like what one might expect this blend of florals to be like, at all.. Fascinating. This is a very amazing scent, indeed! ETA: I made my ex try this out last night.. he sniffed it and was totally amazed by it as well. (He also said it smelled just like a certain Headshop he used to go into 20 years ago.. that musta been one *amazing* smelling place, if it smelled like this, because it doesn't smell remotely headshoppy to me!)

In the imp, this one smelled to me like a earthy almond. I wouldn't call what I smelled radiant, "really". more like "warm". Unfortunately, I didn't think it was a good idea to put it on, as almond can do weird things to me. It did however, manage to leak it all over the desk because it has one of those wimpy tops on the poor little imp. It's a pretty scent, but again, the almond just jumps out and screams "hello, I'm almond... smell me!!!!" to me. Update: 6/28/05 - Got to sniff another imp of this with the oblation caravan.. obviously this one is a bit more aged than the brand new one i tried before.. the almond is less noticible in this one than i remember it being in the first one, and I can pick out cherry this time. don't think i got any of it before.

In the bottle: Gah! this is part of the scent that makes me queasy smelling gluttony! I guess it was mostly the chocolate in there, after all.. though, I think it's a combination of chocolate and something else (probably the nuts, now that I think about it).. this one doesn't give me quite the same feeling, but the association with the feeling, I think? Hard to explain. anyways. yeah. Chocolate... On: well, I think it might be a good thing that the cocoa smell fades kind of fast. I don't think I'd be able to wear it for too long if it didn't go away. It becomes a very warm scent as the sandalwood comes out in full force. There is a big of myrrh adding a touch of bite, but mostly it's just warm sandalwood. I wish the vanilla was stronger. I couldn't find it in there anywere, unfortunately. I think it would be a good way to temper out the sandalwood, make it really creamy. mmm. Either way, this would be a great winter scent.. very warm and cozy. (and I just have to add, I think there might be more than one chocolate variation, too, because not all of the chocolate/cocoa scents give me that weard queasiness. Gluttony and Velvet do.. I think I got a tiny bit of it from Vice, but I'm not sure.. Don't remember about Bliss. will have to smell it when i get home, since i just got an imp of it. Spooky and DDLM... not a trace of it. )

Mmmm.. This one definitely starts out melony.. It doesn't smell much like canty-loop (as my neice called it last night), so I'll have to go with Honeydew, as well.. after a few minutes, it fades into something akin to watermelon jolly ranchers, but not quite as sugary-sweet.. As I let it dry down a bit, I'll interlude to say that before reading the other reviews, I had no idea what/who Yemayá is/was. using our friend Wikipedia, I found Yemaja: sounds like she had a naughty, naughty son. aaanyways. This article associates her with Isis, as well: Hmm. okay.. half an hour later, it's still mostly watermelon, but there is something kind of poking its head out that smells vaguely floral, but I have no clue what it could be.. Wow.. after this has been on for about an hour and all the single notes become blended and somewhat indistinguishable from heach other, this is a really beautiful scent! It was nice before, but now... wow. Unfortunately, I think it'll fade really fast after this...

Definitely just like walking into the leather store (Wilson's Leather or whereever) and going to stand in the section of suede jackets. It doesn't turn straight to bubblegum on me like the other leather scents I've tried, but it does seem to get a bit sweeter as time goes on. It's... interesting. On the boy, it's definitely all rugged and manly. like a cowboy walkin through a red clay desert.....

Hmm. I wouldn't have thought it smelled like butterscotch in the bottle until seeing the other reviews when I came to review it myself, but I suppose it kind of is. That does definitely fade away quickly, whatever you want to call it, though. From that, it goes into a wonderful creamy scent.. If you like Alice, I can't imagine you not liking this one, though I can see people who don't like Alice liking it too. *laugh* It's sort of sweet, in a not-sugary kind of way, and definitely creamy.. On me, it's only slightly floraly.. De-lish! Hrm. After being on for awhile what I imagine the "crystalline" bit comes out. Something in this stage reminds me a bit too much of Sacred Whore and a tiny bit of Gluttony. That's not so good. but it's not strong enough that it makes me nauseous like the others do, at least. It's just a slightly bad association for my nose. This one will definitely need a bit more time to make a final decision on, I think. I love the first 2 stages of it mucho, though.

QSpice said DMH had a normal label, dunno if it's got a special little symbol, but no TLF-like label for DMH..

Hmm. okay.. I'm sure I'll get a bizzare wtf reaction from this.. It's kind of hard to explain. Definitely a zippy scent.. it's kind of fruity, I realized when I first put it on, but not quite. It's vaguely familiar, but I can't make out what it reminds me of. It is definitely "Red", but without most of the traditional things a red scent might have. Oh! There it is! I just found out what it reminds me of... the deeper/spicy parts vanished for a second This smells like spicy..... wait for it... Fruit Loops. Yup. It actually has to be just right for the Fruit Loop thing to be recognizeable, though. most of the time it's complex and well blended and deep and warm, but occasionally, maybe the wind changes or something, and bam. There it'll be for just a second. Nifty. I likes more than I thought I would smelling it in the bottle. There's something I can smell in it in the bottle that my nose doesn't overly like, but it's nowhere to be found on my skin, whatever it is.

I've never had a Mint Julep before, or spelled one, but this stuff is AMAZING! I'm in love already. In the bottle there's a strong mint leaf smell.. definitely a green mint, like the actual leaf and not a Minty smell, if that makes sense. On, in traditional Mint style, it doesn't hang around too long, though it is longer than many other mints do on me. After that, it's definitely got a boozy smell, but it doesn't smell like alchohol. Oooh! and I can still get a touch of mint still hanging around occasionally. This stuff rocks my socks. I really want to try the drink out, now!

Well, I did a search for: "Pirate" (only anne bonny and grog come up)... "Japan".. (baku, hakkotsu, kitsune-tsuki, aizen-myoo, neo-tokyo, only)... and nothing under "Sea" fits either.. (and those were using the "all scents" option) perhaps it was another company?

I just suggested Aglaea to someone else, and I'll second it here.. It's lovely! Tamora is nice too.. doesn't seem quite as peach-y, but very pretty..

I'm not sure where/how these originally came about, but I got passed Andrabell's Experimental Blend (#3) in the travelling bottle swap.. Oh my.. I'm totally in love with this! *this* is what I was anticipating Snake Oil would smell like.. It's not as incensey as S.O. it's kind of creamier.. maybe a touch sweeter, but not much.. Dude. If I could buy this version, I'd bathe in it!! Rating: :D (Not that I don't like the actual Snake Oil, but it can be a bit too incensy for my tastes..)

Bottled happiness. Helps reverse misfortune, brings light and laughter to even the most troubled and discordant place, and aids in alleviating the stress and discontent that accompanies so many of life's daily trials. In the Imp: ooh. this is sweet and cheery! (maybe even cherry, along with cheery.. not quite sure!) On: Oof. There's gotta be some sort of wine/champagne note in here.. I'm leaning towards the latter.. i'm getting a bit the same sort of sour thing I got from Bon Vivant. I don't think it's White Champagne, though, because Shattered didn't do it. I'm sure I'll be able to nail down the difference when Thalia arrives, as that's also got White champagne in it. After a while: Alas, I don't think I'll be reaching for this one very often. The poor sweet has definitely turned to sour.. (it's not super sour, but when you're expecting something sweet and cheery, it's.. well, not the same. Hard to tell if the Voodoo concept of the oil is doing it's thang or not, though, as I've got Andra's Experimental Blend on my other arm, and oh-my-goodness, it's got me squee'ing!

The Chocolate part of this one is yummy, but unfortunately, there's something in it that's a bit tooooo close to gluttony to make my tummy comfortable. I hope it's not chocolate that's putting me off! that would be so sad. (but then again, i got the same sort of thing from Sacred Whore, so maybe it's not.)

*tee hee* I have the feeling this reminder comes on the heels of you seeing the spreadsheet on ebay?