nappunkitty

I was really unsure about most of Act II, but, determined to try most of the Carnaval before it leaves town, Melisande made it on to my requested decants list. I was apprehensive when I received it--there's a floral with herbs (almost medicinal) smell straight from the imp. I tried some on, and it smelled about the same. Sharp floral and green, with something darker underneath. Oh, well, I thought--another one to pass on to swaps. So I started fixing dinner. And about the time I finished up--maybe 15-20 mins later, I smelled something sweet and creamy and slightly floral and HEAVENLY. And it was me. I sniffed the appropriate forearm to make sure--several times. On me this turns mostly vanilla, but not terribly foody--much like the vanilla note (which may or may not be vanilla, lol) in Mme Moriarty. It's darkened by the musk, and although I can't distinguish the florals, I'm assuming they're what keeps this from feeling heavy. This is interesting, since normally I amp jasmine (couldn't keep the Presence of Love--too much jasmine gave me a headache!). I'm going to put this on again Friday when the hubby comes home, but this is almost definitely a bottle scent--and I'm not giving up my decant in the mean time!

This is a great thread--we too are getting hit hard with the lovely humidity, so anything that helps me not feel so nasty and sweaty is good! I'll second Lady Una--I wore that earlier this weekend, and it stayed very well throughout the day. I'm also a big fan of Sugar Moon on hot days--that burnt sugar smell with the greenery poking through was great. I'm about to get a partial bottle of Xiuhtecuhtli in swap, and I have an imp of Severin I'll have to try again (I loved it--it just has very little staying power on me). I'll have to look up Carnal, and maybe give some of the other tea scents another shot.

My bottle of Perversion has been somewhat neglected since the weather turned warmer, but it was the first thing I thought of when I opened up my imp of Antikythera Mechanism (well, after I finished going "Mmmm...."!). It has, both in the imp and on me, that same smoky sweetness that I love in Perversion; but dryer, lighter. Instead of being a smoky club room with leather chairs and lots of booze, Mechanism is more the Victorian drawing room mentioned by others. The drydown on this was wonderful--I was sniffing my smoky-woodsy-vanilla-y wrist for hours after application. Whereas Perversion I do not wear some places (like work--can't do Smut at work, either), I could wear Mechanism anywhere I wanted to--and I'm likely to want to wear it everywhere. I will have a 5mL in my next order. It smelled good on the hubby too. And for those of us *sniff* spurned by Glowing Vulva, have hope! (try the Mechanism!)

I got an empty bottle of this along with my Luau decants, and my first thought was "Ooooh." So I was hugely disappointed when I applied my decant and could smell only a hint of vanilla and sweetness. Even that faded within ten minutes. About half an hour later I started smelling baby powder. So, I'm thinking it's a good thing I only got a decant (this is the one I'd have ordered a bottle of based on the description), until another 30 minutes or so has passed. All of a sudden, I'm going "Holy moly--what is that FABULOUS smell...oh, wait, that's me!" Finally I'm getting the vanilla, sweet, slightly gingery goodness everyone's raving about! Since I have to wait so long to get anything out of this, I probably won't go after a bottle (though I still have time left, so we'll see--I do smell awfully good right now), but I won't be giving up my decant, either!

This was totally an impulse buy for me--I decided I really wanted one of Beth's 'dirt' scents, since I hadn't tried any yet. On me that clean dirt smell is very nice (although it sticks very close to the skin). Unfortunately, I didn't get much besides some pale underlying florals before it faded. I want to give it another try, and in the meantime, it's way more complex on the hubby--still not much in the way of fruit, but the florals are much more pronounced, and he gets a little blood. I may have to keep it for him.

I got Valentine on a bit of whim--I really didn't know what it would do, but the notes all sounded interesting. At first it was gorgeous--incense and resins and cypress, all beautiful and warm on me. Then the cypress went crazy and stomped all over everything but the myrrh. I like cypress, but I really wanted more out of this than cypress+myrrh. I guess now I know to tiptoe around that note in the future!

Pomegranate wine, lotus root, river reeds, hyssop, and barley. I love pomegranate, and this is gorgeous. At first I get nothing but strong, sweet-tart pomegranate. After a few minutes the barley just appears and takes over for a while. Then the pomegranate comes back--mellowed a little by the other notes. At this point, I absolutely second Iceblink's description--this is the March Hare of pomegranate scents (I love March Hare, too). This may be my first multiple bottle scent.

When I first tried this on, I was ready to go after a couple of bottles--a golden, sweet, sexy scent that makes me think of Perversion lite. After about fifteen minutes, the kush (that is the dry, dry, grassy note, right?) came through with a vengeance, and I began to change my mind. I like kush--pretty sure I've worn perfumes with it or something like it before converting to BPAL, but wasn't sure I wanted to smell like kush central. And then it got sweet again--definitely that currant finally showing up, maybe backed up by the dragon's blood. The kush is still there, but now I can't stop smelling my wrist...or wondering what this will do on my hubby... I'm going to have to get a bottle after all.

I like the way you put that, alicia--gunpowder kick describes it wonderfully. I'd wanted to try this because I like all the notes in it besides the vetiver, which I had not tried at all yet. I wasn't really prepared for the vetiver. Most florals don't stick very well on my skin (and leather does) so I wasn't too surprised that this skipped the rose and gardenia, although I was a little surprised I couldn't get any jasmine out of this on me. Instead, Highwayman went straight from vetiver (which was WAY too much on me) to a nice saddle leather smell. This was pleasant, but I prefer other notes with my leather , so I'll hold on to this long enough to try it on the hubby, and if he's not a fan, I'll pass it on to a more appreciative home.

If, as I'm reading this is a "typical" red musk blend, I must try more of them! When I put this on, it smelled something like chocolate cherries--but darker. The chocolate faded a bit as it dried, but it's settled into a sweet, warm scent (reminiscent of cherries, but not overwhelmingly so) that clings to my skin. It's lingering very well. It's a little bit sweet for everyday wear for me (which is sad--I like it a lot), but it would be perfect for something like...Halloween parties. *hmmm*

I'm pretty new to the forum (first review here), but so far this is my favorite scent! I didn't get any coconut, just an underlying sweetness that reminded me of vanilla, but not as sugary. The leather, rum, and tobacco blend on my skin to smell simply warm and comfortable--makes me think of lying naked on a bearskin rug (though I would never own one!). And this lasted forever--which was WONDERFUL. I've told my hubby I'm wearing this when he gets back from his deployment--not that he'll notice then. Just gives me an excuse to wear it again later. Just an imp for now, but I've a feeling that won't last long...