akiko

Imp: minty Wet: minty, then herbal, then floral as it dries. Dry: Floral. Nice enough, but it's not me.

The Seventh Daughter, Daughter of the Oath. She was King David's lover, and the mother of King Solomon. Her scent is breathtakingly lovely, exotic and powerfully sensual in its innocence: carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk. Oh, wow. Why did I wait so long to order this?? Imp: Softly resinous. Wet: Initially, it's a fruity, sweet plum, then the musk & carnation come out to play and give a very sensuous smell. Dry: It's fruity, but it's also got this sexy depth behind it. Verdict: Bordello didn't give me the plum I wanted, but Bathsheba does. If Bordello reminds you too much of a Jolly Rancher, give Bathsheba a whirl. (edited to insert lab description)

Where's everybody getting the almonds from? Imp: Very faint. Sweet. Wet: Still faint and sweet. Dry: Doesn't last very long. I like this, but I think it'll get better as it gets a little older.

Another frimp. Imp: Nice enough, I suppose. Honey and rose. Wet: Rose. Yay Dry: Rose. For once, it didn't turn into that fake rose hand lotion smell, which is a mark in its favor, but I'm generally meh on smelling like this. Pleasant enough if you like rose. I don't.

I got this as a frimp. It's mainly a bunch of sweet florals that smell like Shadow Witch Orchid when dry. It's nice enough, and I think I'll keep it a while, but I don't need yet another perfume that smells like SWO.

I like this much better after it dries. Imp: When I first took this from my mailbox, I sniffed the imp and said, "ooh, citrus!" and made my SO sniff it. He said "eew." I was perplexed until I sniffed it before applying it this morning. It's a weird, metallic, icky smell. Wet: The weird icky smell persists briefly, until the citrus kicks on. Slowly, cedar makes an appearance. Dry: Gets softer and softer, and I don't think this will last very long, unfortunately. The cedar fades out, and this becomes a strictly resinous scent.

Imp: sassafras. Which doesn't quite smell like root beer, but it's a descriptor that people know. Wet: Sassafras! And something sweet - the vanilla, likely. Dry: Poo, the sassafras is gone. But the vanilla lingers, and something creamy (the butter extractive, probably). It hasn't gone cloying yet, thankfully. I bet this would smell really good with Tombstone.

This is extremely unusual. I think I like it, but I'm not sure. The lab imp labels are cute, too! Imp: Very sharp and biting, kind of like Kumiho in the vial. Wet: Still sharp, and it smells more like green tea than black. Sometimes I get a whiff of honey. Dry: Hint of honey, maybe some tea, and a lingering sharpness. Try this if you like Kumiho but want a black tea version.

This might be the almond blend that doesn't go wrong on me. Imp: almonds. Wet: orangey and almonds, and a bit of snake oil. Dry: soft, hint of almond, maybe myrrh? Nice.

Bewitching Brews Ars Moriendi Sin & Salvation Ars Amatoria Diabolus Mad Tea Party

I like this better than plain Snake Oil. (Heresy and sacrilege, I know...) I just wish my wrists didn't have an orangey-brown tinge to them where I applied it. Imp: Cocoa and the snake oil scent. Wet: Oh, nice. Goes through a phase of being pure cocoa, then cocoa and sandalwood (which I guess is supposed to actually be teakwood...). Dry: The sweet notes balance out the astringency of Snake Oil. Mmm. Though I'm still wishing it weren't turning my skin orange.

I like this Imp: strongly caramel, and some vanilla Wet: Same, with a hint of sandalwood and presumably iris. Dry: Almost entirely vanilla & caramel. No iris, no patchouli that I can tell, and no sandalwood, unless it's hiding in there. It hasn't gone plasticy yet or to the Yankee Candle shop (2 hrs). Let's hope this continues!

Intriguing. imp: initially, a strongly foody nutty smell, then a floral note. wet: still nutty, but as it dries the mandarin comes out, as do the flowers. I'm thinking it's the mandarin that gave Spider the generic cologne smell on me, because there's a brief phase of this that includes the generic cologne smell. dry: fairly balanced floral and nutty. I hate florals, but this doesn't seem to be the kind I don't get along with despite having magnolia *and* lily! (As much as I love magnolia trees, magnolia perfume tends to give me a splitting headache.)

Inferno - ~45 minutes duration on wrists, blisters behind ears Plunder -~15 minutes duration on wrists Saw-scaled viper - very mild irritation

I'm always hesitant to order a bottle unsniffed, but I think the reviews here gave me a good idea of what to expect. And Cairo also has Kyphi in it, so that was something I could compare to. Bottle: Smoke, with something oddly sickly sweet. Was a bit nervous at this point. Wet: Growing sweetness with an incense kick Dry: Very pleasant. Incense & something fruity. There's a slight powdery note, probably part of the incense. This is about what I expected, and it's definitely a keeper.

Yay, gingerbread! Imp: yummy ginger cookies Wet: Ginger cookies with cinnamon? Dry: ginger. This goes sort of plasticy/playdoh on me, but not revoltingly, so ... yay.

My original post of this got lost in the database fail, so here it goes again Imp: bitter orange Wet: sweet, orange Dry: faint, orange & raspberry

Oh, nice. Imp: Dragon's blood. Wet: softer vanilla with DBR Dry: DBR softened with vanilla

This is a phased one for me. Imp: Hello, cherries Phase 1: Sweet, juicy cherries Phase 2: black licorice (which I enjoy, really, though I'm not sure I want to smell like it...) Phase 3: Balanced cherries and licorice Phase 4: very light red musk.

THE BUGGRE ALLE THIS BIBLE: Crumbling paper and ancient cracked leather with a touch of tobacco leaf and incense. As much as I love the concept (and that part of GO), this isn't gonna work for me. JASMINE COTTAGE: Camellia, jasmine, heather, orange blossom, osmanthus, wisteria, thyme, angelica, freesia, granny’s nightcap, and English wildflowers. Floral death. Nope. NANNY ASHTORETH: Middle Eastern flowers, amber, honey, blood red-berries, whip leather, and polished paddle wood. Torn. 4/6 notes are great, but flowers are iffy, and leather has yet to work for me. PEPPER: Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium. I tried a prototype of this at ECWC at Thanksgiving, and I really liked it. I have no idea what the relation between that and this is; the notes list is frighteningly floral. WENSLEYDALE: An immaculately clean scent: well-scrubbed soapy skin and fresh cotton. I also tried a prototype of this. I thought it was horribly floral. ++ AMERICAN GODS THE IFRIT: Desert sand, red musk, blackened ginger, dragon’s blood resin, black pepper, cinnamon, and tobacco. I want to like this. Tobacco is not my friend, however. If the good notes overwhelm the tobacco, it could be awesome. THE NORNS’ FARMHOUSE: Dusty, ancient wood, horehound, and sage, with viper’s bugloss, mugwort, chamomile, nettle, apple blossom, chervil, and ashes. Dust? Ashes? Pass. ++ STARDUST THE EAST: The scent of the winds beyond the wall: bluebonnet, passion flower, freesia, jasmine tea, mint, thyme, and redcurrant. Too much floral. THE STORMHOLD: Creeping moss, slick granite, murky vetiver, lightning-charged ozone, and icy rain. Tried a prototype of this, too. Ick. It gets all those images from the passage, but ... so very not for me. ++ DOC CONSTANTINE'S PHARMACOPOEIA BRUISED VIOLET COMPOUND: Crushed violets, red currant, patchouli root, and Spanish moss. Violets = no. Moss isn't very good for me, either. NOSTRUM REMEDIUM: Black tea leaf, invigorating wasabi extract, sweetened by honey. Intriguing. This could be a tea scent that smells like tea on me... SLIPPERY POPPY TINCTURE: Poppy flowers, acai berry, and honey. Pass? No idea what poppy flowers smell like. STIMULATING SASSAFRAS STRENGTHENER: Sassafras, vanilla extract, oak leaf, CO2 butter extract, and onycha. Sniffed a prototype of this. Liked. Would try again. ++ PHOENIX STEAMWORKS AND RESEARCH FACILITY PHOENIX STEAMWORKS: Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage. Not a big fan of metallic scents, and I've got Philosopher in Meditation for my Abramelin needs. AELOPILE: Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud. ? I like amber, citrus, verbena, and cedar, not sure for labdanum & oud. THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM: Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco. Again with the tobacco... THE COIL: Ozone, eucalyptus and mint with purple orchid, passionflower, white ginger, and purple lotus. No - ozone, mint. ETHER: Translucent blooms, ethereal white resins, and davana. Doubtful. Sounds like a headache in a bottle. GALVANIC GOGGLES: Metallic notes with Indian musk, tobacco flower, and African balsam. Tobacco flower is different than tobacco, but metallic? Meh. NO. 93 ENGINE: Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage. Balm of Gilead might be eucalyptus. Frankincense is iffy. Benzoin is nice. Hard to say... THE OBSIDIAN WIDOW: Pinot noir, dark myrrh, red sandalwood, black patchouli, night-blooming jasmine, and attar of rose. Jasmine + rose = hell no. THE ROBOTIC SCARAB: Polished metallic notes, glossy leather, frankincense, star anise, and thin lubricating oils. Again with the metals... SMOKESTACK: Creosote, coal, and industrial waste. I'm sure there's someone who finds this idea appealing, but that person is not me. VIOLET RAY: White mint, purple musk, violet, lilac, ylang ylang, lavender moss, and sandalwood. Intriguing, but no.

I want to love you so, but you're gone already! Imp: Wow, sweet. A hint of cherry? with cinnamon. Reminds me of what I wanted Wrath to smell like. Wet: More cinnamon here, still sweet - all the vanilla & heliotrope being nice Dry: gone? If I sniff really hard, I can catch some cinnamon. A scent locket or room freshener, perhaps.

Very nice! Imp: sharp, vaguely citron, pleasant - clean & summery Wet: more citron - reminiscent of Phobos, but with an added depth Dry: I'm getting more of the tea now, and it's still vaguely lemony. This is definitely something nice for spring or summer.

This is very much not for me. imp: nail polish wet: strong, headache-inducing florals dry: washed it off

I can't get past the initial smell in the vial. It's this horrid, acrid stink, and I'm not putting it on my skin. I'm sure there's someone who wants to smell this way, but it's not me.

imp: sweet & aquatic. wet: ginger & aquatic dry: pleasant enough, reminds me of Amsterdam a little bit, but not really for me.