hkhm

imp: i'm mostly smelling light, sweet frankincense here. this is much sweeter than frankincense usually smells to me.

wet: very sweet, slightly powdery violet over frankincense. the cinnamon is absent, i get no burn from it and can't smell even a hint of it.

dry: the frankincense is most dominant. the violet is sweet, but far in the background, making it more of an afterthought. nice.

bottle: rich, sweet myrrh.

wet: myrrh and clove. this is like a lighter version of mort de caesar on my skin. there is absolutely no hint of cinnamon here to burn me or even make me a teensy bit pink. (whew!)

dry: this dries to an intense and beautiful sandalwood and myrrh scent. i am so happy i took a chance on this scent!

imp: very faint orange and orris.

wet: this smells almost juicy once applied. i'm not getting any rose, just delicious soft florals and delectable light fruit.

dry: thank goodness the rose was nowhere to be seen here. i'm mostly smelling orris and orange blossom which is fine, they smell wonderful together. a dusty orange/violet scent. very demure.

imp: very pungent bergamot.

wet: i was expecting the rose to be overpowering but it's not, it's the saffron that's ruining this scent on my skin.

dry: very different once dry. the amber is warm , sweet and golden. coupled with the saffron it produces a scent that really puts me in mind of magnificent autumn sunsets.

imp: i mostly smell the orris here, it's quite lovely.

wet: sadly, the rose and jasmine are drowning out everything that could make this scent work on me.

dry: oh, how i want to love this scnet. if it were not for the rose and jasmine i'd likely be buying a bottle. the scent behind the rose and jasmine is incredible... i just can't ignore either of those notes long enough to really enjoy this scent on my skin. oh well...

imp: irish spring. most aquatics smell that way in the imp to me.

wet: super bright, fresh aquatic. it's not soapy or cloying, very crisp and tangy.

dry: the bright, crisp tangy beauty of this quickly faded and has died back down to smelling like most aquatics do on my skin. like i just took a bath with some irish spring. alas.

imp: excellent bitter chocolate liquers. very chocolatey and lightly boozy.

wet: this reminds me a great deal of godiva liquer. it's more wine/booze than chocolate, however the chocolate is evident as an afterthought.

dry: this may be one of the very few chocolate scents that i can wear. the booze has almost completely disappeared and the chocolate has a dry, restrained quality that is wonderfully dusty and sweet... and, for one, actually smells like chocolate to me.

So, I just placed an order through ccnow but didn't get the confirmation email. Has that happened to anyone else? Should I be freaking out?

there have been plenty of times i've ordered from ccnow and didn't get an e-mail. sometimes it came 12+ hours later, sometimes it never showed up at all. i don't worry as you can look up the order details online.

( sorry, wrong thread! )

imp: i get the same sort of cherry scent as i do from kabuki, with clove instead of star anise.

wet: overall, this is very similar to kabuki on my skin. but the musk base in kabuki is richer than the dragon's blood base here. this blend is sweeter and lighter (feeling-wise). the scent itself has quite a bit of throw.

dry: unfortunately, all the other notes vanish and leave only dragon's blood. and while not bad, it's not what i was hoping for.

imp: a jumble of florals with light fruit.

wet: the florals go a bit sharp, it is not at all pleasant on my skin.

dry: oh, YUM! the florals really fade into the background and this becomes a creamy plum scent. exceptional.

imp: i mostly just smell the cassia.

wet: this is sweet, smooth cassia. none of the other notes are clearly distinguishable.

dry: this smalls like indistinct sweet, spiced fruit. i can still clearly smell the cassia but it has mellowed. these notes are very well-blended.

imp: wet, sharp greens. not the usual sort of aquatic scent.

wet: this has an almost bitter aquatic scent once it hits my skin, but the greenery part keeps it from being unpleasant. it is very sharp though. the greenery almost has a faint grassy feel.

dry: this is very nice once dry, the aquatic is faint, the greenery is lush and there is almost a faint whiff of tobacco. i think i'd like to test this on my husband.

imp: i don't get roses at all, just a yummy baking pastry scent.

wet: whoops, nope, it's got rose in it. it's a battle between the yummy pastry scent and the soapy rose scent. alas.

dry: well, this all faded pretty quickly. i'm still getting the light pastry scent but it's outmatched by the rose. might make a nice room scent though.

imp: gin and melon.

wet: this is a very sparkling gin scent with a teensy hint of melon and a nice swirl of thick honey. this is the most accurate honey scent i've smelled in a while. this does smell very male, i don't get even a whiff of tobacco but the feel is there somehow. very intriguing.

dry: this gets a bit spicier as it dries, perhaps the chili pepper, but it's still thick and sweet and lightly alcoholic. a very different sort of scent.

(edited for spelling idiocy)

imp: hyper-sweet fruit. the mandarin stands out over the rest of them.

wet: the gardenia amps up at once, mixing with the fruits and making this an in-your-face cute scent. i could see this scent working really well on a cute little flower-girl.

dry: i suppose if i really liked gardenia, i'd get a bottle of this. i'm not terribly fond of gardenia but i do like this blend. however, this imp will last me a long, long time (it's that strong).

imp: melon! like the melon in yemaya.

wet: this is very, very similar to yemaya, what with the melon and grape being very strong. but where yemaya is also very sweet, this has a nice little edge to it. i think it's the lime rind and/or the lemon balm but it's a nice counterpoint to the melon/grape scent.

dry: once dry, this is almost identical to yemaya. i'm getting a bit of the tea with the melon/grape but otherwise, it's very similar.

imp: reading the notes i can't believe that there is anything in this other than rose. and i don't mean the usual perfume rose, i mean the way rose-red smells, minus the greenery. like a real rose.

wet: for once, a rose scent that doesn't send me running to scrub it off. this is like burying your face in one of those huge old-world rose and inhaling as deeply as you can. it's that sumptuous.

dry: this smells like a faded rose once dry. it's tangy and aromatic.

imp: sugary flowers.

wet: this does have a slight agapē feel to it, must be the carnation, but less fruity.

dry: yep, even dry this smells somewhat like agapē, it's sweet and rich without being cloying.

imp: well i know it's got pineapple in it because there is that bizarre chemical scent that always scares the crap out of me.

wet: citrus flowers drenched in fruit syrup. this is a blindingly bright blend. no tobacco at all.

dry: this smells like the tiki bar scents once dry, that indistinct light boozy scent with random fruits. the flowers have all but disappeared.

imp: this smells like marmalade while it's still being cooked.

wet: this is dead-on spiced quince. this smells so incredible i can't believe it.

dry: the quice scent fades until it's very light but the rich spices more than make up for it. i will be getting a bottle of this scent.

imp: lush, loamy soil. this smells more wet than dry to me.

wet: something spicy mixed with the dirt. this reminds me of a wetter, less spicy version of penny dreadful. i will be getting a bottle of this.

dry: as this dries, the scent itself smells drier. spectacular. this dirt scent is sweeter than zombi and richer than graveyard dirt.

(edited for spelling idiocy)

imp: wow! bright, purple violets with greenery!

wet: very strong and almost sharp greenery make this a wonderfully commanding scent.

dry: this is a pollen feel here as well, like you are actually huffing a violet that has just been picked. very realistic.

imp: yep, chocolate mint. this smells more realistic that the usual chocolate scents do to me.

wet: oh well. the chocolate goes weird. sorts of a dusty, powdered chocolate-flavored drink mix scent. with mint. pretty much this smells just like bliss but with a smooth hit of mint.

dry: i know this will be lovely on other people but it's a choco-cardboard disaster on my skin. glad i got to try it though, it smells great in the imp.

imp: bark. this is spot-on bark. it's brown and crumbly and... bark.

wet: the moss and bark are so woodsy and beautiful, the musk makes this smooth and mysterious, the amber is bright. the rose is sweetening this a bit but it's also on the verge of going soapy. still, this is wonderfully evocative.

dry: the rose does fade after a while and it leaves a very rich sweetness behind, it almost smells honeyed. this smells like overgrown, moist woods that have lots of towering oaks and mossy rocks. the amber and musk really tie this blend together well.