hkhm

imp: fruity lilacs. wet: very strong lilac with a nice sweetness (which does not smell like plum but gives off a nice purple vibe). no leather at this stage. dry: an herbal lilac. this is not overly flowery once dry. certainly it smells like lilac but it's not overpowering or cloying. sadly, i never got leather from this blend.

imp: leather and amber. wet: this is mostly tobacco and amber on my skin with a teensy hint of oppoponax and leather way far away in the distance. dry: this is stronger amber as it dries (i tend to amp amber so no surprise there), the other notes are all backdrops but in the best way possible.

imp: leather. honestly, exactly like walking into the shoe department and smelling new leather shoes. wet: this is an incredibly realistic leather scent. i don't know how else to describe it. dry: i get more moss as this dries but it's still almost entirely leather. very manly. i'm testing this scent on my husband as well.

imp: faint, faint leather. wet: thie smells very close to a men's cologne my brother was wearing for a little while. i think it was called "preferred stock" or something like that. it's a faint leather scent over something sweet. dry: very faint, not really a leather scent once dry, but the leather balances the sandalwood well and makes it a very pleasing blend.

bottle: strong black musk and a hint of cacao. wet: this is very sexy. dark, thick musk over cacao with a curl of tobacco smoke. i think that this blend will only improve with age. dry: this dries to mostly musk and tobacco but there a cacao hint in the background. so glad i splurged on a bottle!

bottle: pepper, clove and cinnamon. spicy yum. wet: this is going a bit strange on my skin, half plasticy, half pencil shavings... dry: this dries and tames a bit. it's still a bit plasticy but there is another scent of dry, dusty spices. darn.

bottle: pastries, fruit, almonds, sugar... this smells just like my kitchen! wet: this is a dead-ringer for butter rum cookie with just a hint of fruit added. so delicious smelling. dry: this is more pastry once dried. like an apricot danish with a dab of almond paste.

bottle: orange, guava, caramel... this reminds me a great deal of agapē, just with a nice dab of caramel added. wet: yummy! this is more like diary of a lovestruck teenage cannibal once applied. very bright fruits and a nice sugary stripe running through it. dry: this is a much brighter fruit scent than either agapē or diary of a lovestruck teenage cannibal. this is vibrant and lively, i'm going to save it for spring or summer.

imp: faintly powdery chocolate with something thick and sweet. wet: the chocolate stays very faint, this is all rich, thick, slightly-smoky caramel. dry: this dries to pure caramel goodness. there is only a bare hint of cocoa or smokiness. i must now hunt down a bottle.

this is for the 2009 version. bottle: tart-sweet pomegranate candy. wet: this is a wonderfully sweet-tart fruit blend. no, it does not smell exactly like a pomegranate but it has the same feel: wet, juicy and red. dry: this dries to a tart-sweet almost cranberry-pomegranate scent. this was my favorite of the 2007 yules and i don't smell even a bit of difference between my old bottles and this new one. i will be buying at least two more before they retire.

bottle: thick, gooey fudge. wet: incense and cocoa. very dry and warm. wet: this gets a bit musky as it dries. the cocoa note stays tame and pleasant and the incense remains light and airy. i don't get prune at all (alas!) but i love this nonetheless.

that is awesome! thank you devilot!

me too! somebody?

Oh no...now I want ALL OF THEM. tell it. i've ordered about half of those bottles already but the labels are so amazing, it might push me to buy a few i'm "undecided" on...

kabuki! it is the one scent, the one scent, that i wear that makes my husband spontaneously comment: "mmmmm... you smell sexy." how could i not love such a scent?

the snow storm. it's an le from yuletide 2007 but probably won't be too hard to find.

Curses! Sure, sure, just make me add yet another LE to my crazy-long WL, why doncha! That actually sounds to die for-- many of those notes are awesome on me (though clove worries me as I amp it). Tobacco... *swoon* melainis is pretty strong when wet, but my husband adores it on me. i have to admit, once it's dry, it is very, very sexy. for me, the best gc cypress blends are arkham and loup garou, followed by house of night and nephilim. i have not yet tried black forest, but i'm getting an imp of it with my next order (how have i overlooked it for so long?) so i'll know soon. hades lists cypress, but i don't get any from it. i just sniffed my bottle again and while i love it, i would never guess it has cypress in it. edited to add: and as for woody scents, why has no one mentioned ventriloquist's dummy? it's all glorious woods on me.

not sure. milk moon '05 smells very different that milk moon '07 to me (which does kinda small like a pineapple creamcicle). milk moon '05 is very straightforward milk. it lists honey as a note but i don't get it at all. milk moon '07 lists a ton of fruit in it's notes but it mostly smells like a pina colada to me.

dirty does not smell soapy to me, it's very clean and brisk but not soapy. numb on the other hand is all soap. in a good way.

milk moon '05. it's just straight up milk/cream on my skin.

can't believe i forgot about sga. yes, it's quite the icy cold green apple. poisoned apple is a bit sharper to my nose but they are very, very similar.

a package arrived today. a soft package with a return address i did not recognize. it contained delightful hand-made goodness from verilita! sorry about the weird lighting in these photos. my husband would not stop goofing around while he was taking these. and i found it impossible to take photos of my own arms. these arm-warmers are made from a lovely green and brown yarn, crocheted comfortably loose with a gold-tone button accent (it's got a leafy sort of design). i didn't know if it went at the top or the bottom but i liked the way it looked near my hands so that's how i wore them. there was also some tea (which is not pictured because i already drank most of it ) and a nice postcard! thank you so, so much verilita! these are so beautiful, i will be wearing them regularly this winter.

unfortunately, i don't think there's a single bpal blend i would describe as "granny smith single note". how i wish there were one. poisoned apple is probably the closest, but it's definitely got a bite from the hemlock (i know the description says red apple, but it always smells like green apple to me).

fourth-ed. none of the other blends mentioned are very vanilla-y on me except this one (not that i don't love quite a few mentioned here) and it indeed reminds me of french vanilla. for a vanilla-lover, it would be a hit. you may also consider cake scents: cockaigne does not list vanilla, but it smells just like vanilla cake on my skin.

imp: fig, carnation and apple. this is heavenly. wet: this is all fig, carnation and a dab of myrrh with a halo of apple goodness. this is so lovely. dry: this dries to a potpourri version of cidery scents like fearful pleasure or lamb's wool. this has more wood to it, more greenery. this is a perfect blending. i'm in love.