greymatter

Wow. I'm generally a skeptic when it comes to herbal remedies and such, but I do know that lavender does have a calming effect, as does chamomile. Unfortunately, I hate lavender. When I got a panacea set on LJ, I was mostly interested in Grr, Oof and Ugh. The fact that TKO came with it was incidental. I really didn't expect to try it, much less fall head over heels. Beth, if you read the reviews, know that you are a goddess. I have PTSD and often have night terrors/flashbacks/nightmares and I don't sleep well at all. (And yes, I know the fact that this is written at nearly 2 in the morning looks odd.) However, I put this on about 5 minutes ago and the calming was immediate. I've gone from panicky/wired to calm and restful and verrrrrry sleepy. And for the first time in ages, I think I'll go to sleep now. Thanks. (Oh, also: it's not a lavender-heavy smell on me. It's soft, sweet, gentle and ... yeah. Just nice. <3) ETA: YES. This works. I wouldn't be awake right now except I have to get ready for school. *sigh* On the plus side, my skin has the sweetest smell this morning. I smell like a marshmallow!

This is 100% in my top 10. Lily - I never knew it was so good on me. It's sweet and fruity without being at all foody or cloying. It's GORGEOUS.

I was frimped this in a recent purchase from ivyandpeony (she is SUCH a doll!). Anyway, just based on the description, I wasn't all that interested, but since she was so generous, I had to try it, right? O.M.G. *dies* This dries down to the most gorgeous, soft, musky sweetness ever. It's amazing! And here I thought I was a Door 13 girl. . . ^_~ I get nothing aquatic in this. Just soft, sweet, not overtly floral goodness. <3!

I don't have much call to be the embodiment of female wrath, but it's good to know I have the option to smell appropriately should the opportunity arise. In the imp: it's strange and spicy. It neither compels nor repulses me. I'm indifferent. Wet: I understand the "root beer" sense that others have gotten, but it's merely a vibe to me. If it were the actual scent, I'd have to scrub it off; root beer makes me urpy. There's a fiery flare of saffron and, I'd swear, cassia. It's the same scent that in Saw Scaled Viper was unwearable, but here, I find it tempered by something. Interesting. Dry: This is a gorgeous, spicy, warm scent. I could see wearing this when I'm pissed and want other to know it - but also want them to know I'm hot. ^_~

I am not a floral person at all. This one came to me in a group with others I'd sought to purchase. I didn't expect to like it at all. In the imp: Something indistinct, spicy, floral-y. Meh. Wet: HELLO MUMS!! The heck?? I've just been exploded by a mum bomb. Dry: Honey, mums, something else sweet and dark and. . . *huffs wrist* It's SEXY. Gah. *dies*

I really enjoyed this one. It's mulled cider and autumn leaves and a hint of Thanksgiving baking in the background. Wet to dry, it doesn't change much on me. Just sweet and fantastic and perfect for the season.

I didn't intentionally seek this one out. It came with some other scents that I was seeking. But I am so glad it did. This is a sweet, gentle, golden, warm, happy scent. I can't describe it any better right now. It's definitely a feel-good scent for me. I'm very happy to have my 2 imps.

I scored a bottle of this recently for a very decent price. About 8 months ago, I tried Spooky and I liked it, but I didn't love it, so I swapped it away for something I wanted more. ... Except it's been haunting me. Even though I'm not a big mint person, Spooky has been on my mind since the imp left my possession. Every time I turn around, there's Spooky - appearing in my bathroom mirror, whispering my name in the dark, raising the hair on the back of my neck, channeling the spirits of dead loved ones... >.> Erm, okay, well, maybe not. But I had to have some justification for getting a whole freaking bottle. On me, it's delicious - coconut-y sweet and soft. It's really gorgeous. Not overly foody or anything. Just nice, soft, sweet and yum.

I have an imp because I despise Paris Hilton and everything she represents. I am happy to take part in anything that mocks her existence. That said, Privilege is not for me. Too floral, too overdone and vapid - in short, it's exactly what it's meant to be and I love that fact. So I'll be keeping my imp (along with my imps of Pruno and my imp of Delousing Powder - the Paris Hilton trio). Beth is a genius, though. When I sniff this, I get a distinct impression of a big-eyed, glammed up human void.

This is my go-to happy scent. I never wear it, but I have 2 bottles. Why? Because even though I have no desire to smell like a caramel apple, the smell itself makes me grin. Seriously - it's practically Pavlovian: *sniffsniffsniff* *happy sigh* *stupid!grin* I have tried it on and on me, it's very true to its in-bottle scent. It's a coconut rum slathered caramel apple. (Note: this is about the only caramel note that plays nice with my skin. Everything else winds up smelling like burnt brown sugar.)

Pumpkin with pear, white wine grapes, and jasmine-laced tea. In the imp, I can smell the pumpkin and pear vying for dominance. Seems safe enough. . . . Wet: Yup, there are definitely pears in thar. . . Dry: Pears? Where did you go? Why do I have deathly dry white wine and jasmine EATING MY FACE?? Where did my pears-n-pumpkins go?? Mah punkinz - I mournz it!

Yes, Gojira smelled like vanilla mint. BUT . . . I don't know. I had the overwhelming impression of it being old, melted vanilla mint ice cream. To be honest, it turned my stomach.

This year's pumpkins are SO. STRONG. Pumpkin III makes me its whipping girl. Seriously, I'm not into BDSM, but this pumpkin totally dommed my ass. I'm still reeling. When I recover, and maybe after a session or 2 with my therapist, maybe then I'll be able to talk about it... ^_~

Notes made of fail: candle smoke, rose of any sort, neroli Notes made of win: carnation, amber musk, bergamot and a modest amount of incense So.... Gypsy Queen - fail or win? Well, in the imp: OMG!ROSE (I hate rose - I think rose stinks like.... stuff that stinks.) Gritting my teeth against the rose of DOOM, I try it on anyway. Wet: ... that's interesting. The rose, for the first time in EVER, is FADING. I *amp* rose like nobody's business. Surely this is some sort of crazy skin magic! Oooh. Amber musk and carnation coming to the forefront... tiny tiny bit of incense... this is niiiiiice. Dry: OMG I AM T3H SCHMEXX! It's amazing. It's sexy, comforting, sweet and gorgeous all at once. I. Am. Stunned. Dammit. Now I have to find a bottle. -____-

Even though this is Not My Scent in a big way, I still love it. Yes, it smells like decaying flowers going to compost in a pile with yesterday's fruit droppings BUT . . . let me tell you a story... My brother, one of the goofiest human beings on the planet, decided that this scent would be perfect for his costume this year. And it was - oh, how it was. What was he, you ask? One cannot be told - one must be shown! Does he not look like the bar wench in Hell's tavern? I ask you: How can I not love it now?

I'm allergic to strawberries and that fact alone means I have a severely bad reaction to anything of the strawberry persuasion, particularly artificial strawberry scent, for some reason. It nauseates me. The initial smell is all bubbly champagne, but the strawberry death isn't far behind. . . Oh well. Passed this on to a bubbly friend who loves the 'berry.

I dressed as . . . um. . . a hacker geek who was unplugged from the Matrix? Yeah, that's it. Plus, I came unscented because at the Hayless HalloWeiner Ride, it turned into a scent orgy. *nodnod* Plus, I got to chomp on HillaryGayle's head. I has pics.

In the imp, this scent smelled like a vaguely herbal/fruit/licorice blend. Once it went on, it was the bastard child of lemonheads and licorice. Now that it's dry (and has given me quite the headache), it's a suffocatingly sweet licorice/floral/cassia blend. ... um... no thanks.

As with everything that even hints at the inclusion of rose, this turned into almost rose single note on me. With an underlying soured milk scent that turned my stomach. Gave it to a friend who is also, coincidentally, an Alice fangirl, and it's AMAZING. That's so unfair. . . *sigh*

If there were every cherries anywhere near my imp, they only glanced at it and moved on. Mine was straight up mahogany. But then again, I amp woods like they're going out of style, so it may have been just me. On my best friend, this smells spectacular. On me, I smell like I've been refinishing furniture.

This is definitely interesting. I hated it when I sniffed the imp - but you can never tell just from a sniff test, can you? Nope. So I dabbed it on. Wet, all I get is cassia. Then a bit of wood pops up. It reminds me of those cinnamon flavored toothpicks everybody chewed on constantly when I was a kid. (Like I'm so old now? o_0) Anyway, that's what I get. As it dries, though, a bit of the fruit pops out. The lemon gives it a tart edge that cuts through the cassia and the mango sweetens it some. I can't say that it's a favorite, but it's DEFINITELY interesting. I think it's worth trying if only to sniff it as it morphs. It's a circus for your nose! (Now that it's totally dry, the waft is all sweet and lemon while the up-close is still woody cassia. . . )

I don't use oils for their ritual/voodoo uses, so I can't comment as to its efficaciousness insofar as that goes, but I *can* comment on it as a scent. As a scent, it's LOVELY. I got frimped this when I got all the Sephiroth scents about a year ago. Sadly, my imp was decapitated, so HJC and I were not meant to be long-term. But the scent was sweet - grape without being artificial. Just nice, soft, happy. I really, really enjoyed it. Actually, the memory of this scent has stayed with me for quite some time. . . why haven't I hunted down another imp??

While I enjoy the taste of an occasional chocolate mint something-or-other, I just didn't care for the smell very much. That's okay, though - this was obviously no problem to swap away to a more loving home. . .

I love this one. I love it for its scent, sure, which is a sweet, soft, sugared vanilla sandalwood on me, but I love it more for my emotional attachments to it. I wore it to my dad's funeral and fully expected that to ruin the scent for me, so I sold it. But now I have tracked down a bottle again because it brings up my good memories of him and his crazy sense of humor. It's a happy scent and I'm grateful for it.

Most aquatics hate my ever-lovin' guts. This is the amazing, wonderful, glorious exception. DAMMIT. *sigh* Why do I love the hard to find ones? ETA: Muahahahaha! I has a bottle a-comin'!