akiko

I'm just not getting the wrath in this. I like it, but wrath? ... Imp: Kind of fruity, with some cinnamon I think. Wet: Fruity and spicy. Dry: Cinnamon & fruit. Not getting the Red Hots others mention, but there's something oddly sweet in this. I'm guessing it's the dragon's blood that's the sweet/fruity thing. I know red musk goes fruity punch on me, but it's a different fruity sweet than that.

Lyonesse smelled like cake to me. Not quite sure why, though... Cockaigne does smell like cakey death, however, at least in the bottle.

The Red Queen. It's not stylish scarves and Jackie O, but it's more Queen Elizabeth (I or II). To me, the imp smells like cherry cordial, but on my skin, it's elegant mahogany furniture. I was disappointed with it at first, but it definitely grew on me as the day wore on.

I only found out what kyphi was by reading this thread and the google. But it sounded like something I could do, so I got an imp. Imp: fruity incense. Wet: sweet and still some incense. There's a stage when it gets a bit spicy. Throw during this stage is pretty high. Dry: Soft incense, maybe a touch of the soft spiciness in Bengal. I like it, but I don't think I need a bottle, though I could change my mind later.

I think this smells like absinthe. I'm not entirely sure. Imp: Weird. Herbal and anisey. Wet: Initially, that same weird anise-herbal smell, then MINT!!!, then back to a weird smell. Dry: Anise-herbal-wormwood (at least I assume that's what it smells like.) Didn't last too long, maybe 3-4 hours.

I have no idea where the cherries or cherry blossom come from in this. Imp: Amaretto liqueur. Yum. Wet: Huh? Cherry soap. Then I decided the soap was actually a floral, and that it's cherry blossom. No cherries or flowers are listed in the notes, so I'm confused. Dry: OK, now it smells kind of like the description: very light almond and myrrh. I don't get the musk, though it could be mingling with the myrrh into the vaguely incense smell. Almond notes are really iffy for me, I'm learning. Pity, I like almond.

Imp: Holy sweetness, Batman! I couldn't pick out any scent over another, just sweet. Wet: Goes through a few phases: sweet, cake, then burnt cake (not like carbonized cake, more like caramelized cake. Burnt in a pleasant way.) Dry: Still got a cakey smell to it, a little more almondy, and still pleasantly burnt. It reminds me of something, but I can't think of it for the life of me. I like it, though.

Word to that last bit! My mind works differently than a lot of other people's, so it's not surprising that there's something I don't quite 'get' about this whole thing. Or that I come to things in a different way, like when I tried Red Queen the other day. I don't RP or cosplay. I costume, but I don't cosplay. (For me, it's about making the costume accurately and well, as opposed to being that character.) So, again, not surprising.

Tikva recommended this to me for my first order. I feared it (patchouli is not my friend), so I went with something else. But after I sniffed it at will call, my fear went away. Imp: amber and cinnamon and something orangey (kind of like Satan and Death) Wet: spicy oranges. No idea where the orange scent comes from. Dry: Amber, cinnamon. Maybe a hint of patchouli. I definitely like this. I'll have to compare it with Satan and Death at some point.

This *should* have worked on me. Alas, it did not. Imp: amber & musk; a sort of incense smell. I liked it in the vial. Wet: This smells exactly like the bottle of hand lotion I have at work (Freeman Peace at Hand, sunflower & vanilla sugar.) I'm not terribly fond of it, unfortunately. Dry: Baby powder. Bleh. Because it reminded me a bit of Pit & Pendulum in the vial, I attacked my SO with it. Before we left for work, it had gone powdery, but on him there was more of the musk. He said he didn't like it much, either. So unless I try a scent locket or something, it'll be off to swap. Sad.

This is a weird one. I got an imp through the forum, and it smells nothing like what I noted on my sheet at will call (all wood, no sassafras.) Imp: Wood. Cedar, probably. Wet: Woody, but there's some sort of spiciness in there. Dry: Cedar and vanilla. Where's the sassafras? I love root beer. I suppose I can chalk it up to batch variation that this is almost entirely wood, because the tester at NPE smelled like old west + root beer. I'm also finding that certain wood notes go crazy on my skin (like in Red Queen.)

Imp: citrusy, no spice Wet: citrusy and floral? herbal, maybe? Dry: Reminds me of men's aftershave, except not stinky. Still lightly citrus and a touch of that herbal-floral. Which is odd... I don't know if the imp I got off the forum was a little older or newer, but when I smelled it at Will Call in November, it was a lot spicier. I'm going to have to attack my SO with this one.

Alys Vorpatril = The Red Queen. I put that on this morning to try, and the smell just said "this is Alys." Even if it's not a perfume she'd necessarily wear; it's got a lot of olfactory associations, I suppose. I have to say, I don't quite get the need for a scent to go with a character, but it could be that I have a lot of issues with certain scents (eg, anything even remotely floral, ozone/watery) so recommendations like "a Victorian lady would wear violet and rose" or whatever are fairly useless for me. I'd wear something I like, but that also reminded me of that character or what she would use.

This scent is power, nobility, and strength. It's the dark, beautiful sorceress queen. It's the wealthy noblewoman who wields power behind the scenes. Imp: Cherry cordial. Wet: Morphs: cherries, then WOOD. It smelled like a freshly-polished antique table. Which is a nice smell, but I'm not sure it's one I want to smell like. Dry: The wood has toned down, with a bit of the cherry sweetness coming out. I'm liking more than I thought I would at the wet stage, though I'm disappointed that the cherry cordial scent is only in the bottle. This is Alys Vorpatril.

This is really pleasant. Like summer in a bottle. Imp: citrusy and vaguely floral Wet: Hello, grapefruit. Very bright. Dry: Much lighter, though I didn't get a huge amount on my skin. Grapefruit & ginger. It reminds me a little bit of the Burt's Bees body wash, but without the soapy smell.

My skin chemistry must really like this, because I'm not having the fading problem others seem to be. Imp: It's got the same fruity-musk smell as War, so I'm thinking that it's the red musk. It's also got a fizzy smell. Wet: Still fruity-musk, but also with something straight-up sweet (sugar?) Dry: It's still the same fruity-musk as War, but the spice under it is different; I think it's the cassia. Probably the fruits and sandalwood are blended under there, too.

I think I'm in love. Imp: Amber & musk & something sweet. Wet: Sweet & musky, kind of like incense. Dry: It's very well blended. I'm getting amber, musk, and something sweet, possibly the almond, and it's combining into a very lovely smell.

Oh, tea, I like you so much. How I wish you liked me. Imp: citrus. Nice bergamot tea. I don't get leather, but I'm OK with that. Wet: Steeping Earl Grey tea. (One of my favorite things in the world.) Dry: Bergamot. Maaaaaaaaybe some tea if I sniff really hard and use my imagination. Possibly some leather, but it mostly is a balancing/deepening to the bright citrus. Unfortunately, it lasts about 2 hours before fading.

Imp: fruity sweet wine Wet: currants & dandelion wine Dry: Very subtle & lightly sweet. I think I smell currants and dandelion, mostly.

I'd mostly avoided the Snakes because you can't get them as imps, but I saw this one listed in a "spicy blends" rec post, and said "MUST HAVE!" So I bought a partial bottle off the forum. Yay. In the bottle, it's got a weird, musky scent to it. Wet on my wrist, it's very cinnamon and yummy. It smells kind of like dessert, my hub says. About 2 hours later, it's less sharp, more subtle, maybe? and a bit more of the Snake Oil is coming out. I wish it stayed more in the sharp cinnamon stage, but it's still a nice, pleasant scent.

Blood Phoenix smelled like Hawaiian Punch to me, but it's LE. War smells fruity but with a kick.

Bottle: Resiny orange Wet: bitter orange. It's kind of like Tweedledee's older, sexier cousin. Dry: Orange and spicy resins. I really like this one, and I'm glad I tested it.

I fear flowers, but I tried this at ECWC and recall it not being too bad, though I was having olfactory overload at the time. Imp: spices & some flowers. Wet: Gah! Flowers! Get it off! Ugh, rose! (about 20 minutes later: hmm, not so bad now. Some spices, yes, but still flowers.) Dry: This is still definitely floral, but it's not the overwhelming horrible floral it was when wet. I also get unidentified spices, reminiscent of the Silk Road/Morocco end of things, but not really any cardamom. (Sad... I like cardamom.) Surprisingly, it works on me. Florals are generally not my friend, but they're nicely balanced in this.

In my quest to find scents similar to Fruit of Paradise, I happened across the Madame. Imp: musky & incense, with a touch of something sweet. Wet: Viscous yellow oil. Smells incensey a bit. After a while, the pomegranate starts to come out. Dry: Equal parts resin/incense, pomegranate, and vanilla. Nothing at all like Fruit of Paradise, but certainly nice in its own way.

I rather like this one. Bottle: When I smelled the tester at NPE, it was death by hazelnut. Which is a good thing, IMO. My bottle smells a little different: it's still recognizably hazelnut, but there's a slightly unpleasant astringent/perfumey smell behind it. Wet: The mild unpleasantness is still there, but there's definitely hazelnut and something sweet. Dry: Nearly 2 hours later, I'm getting hazelnut, resins, and vanilla, with a touch of honey. Update, 1/13/08: The astringent/perfumey smell is gone. I think it was an aging issue.