magikfanfic

In the bottle: This sounds like a whole lot of bad for me. Lavender. Lavender and I have a hate/hate relationship. It hates my skin, and I hate it on me because it hates my skin. Lavender and cypress. Now that's a combination you don't smell everyday. Wet: Lavender and...there it goes...turning into something rotting on me skin. Dry down: This smells like a number of different things just decaying on me. Lavender does this on my skin. It's very...unpleasant. I can smell a couple of the herbs wanting to make it not so ugly but their plan is not working. Dry: This is foul. My skin cannot abide lavender.

In the bottle: Look, more patchouli. Eeeee. I'm not really sure what all the notes in this smell like, but I can pick out the ylang ylang even though the patchouli is being quiet. Wet: Here comes the patchouli as well as something else that makes my stomach turn just a little bit. It might be the neroli. I've had problems with scents that have it in them before. Whatever it is it makes this blend oddly powdery on me. Dry down: This is unexpected. It's not that bad even though it's nothing I would ever really wear. It's a slighty powdery floral. I cannot really discern which note is which but I do know that the patchouli is being good and not getting to the front of this blend. Spoke too soon. There it is. And this is me sneezing. No, sorry, can't do it. Dry: A powdery floral with a little patchouli but a little is still a little too much for me.

In the bottle: I cringe from patchouli scents, but I'm willing to try it. Straight patchouli and musk in the vial. This is really somewhat scary. I hope it calms down on my skin. Wet: Slightly peach that is then consumed by the patchouli and the musk. Dry down: Patchouli and musk. Nothing else. No signs of either the amber or the peach as the patchouli/musk duo has eaten them. Little bit of peach in the patchouli/musk scent but not enough to make me like this in the least. Dry: Patchouli and musk with a hint of peach. I cannot wear patchouli so this is a no-go.

In the bottle: Very interesting scent. Dark and odd in the mixture of the scents. I can pull the lotus out, but it is a much deeper, darker lotus than the one I'm used to and can wear. Sandalwood, amber and myrrh have been known to give me problems but on it goes. Wet: Lotus and...it almost smells like lotus and some kind of really sweet, dark candy. Like a coffee flavored candy or something. Yeah, this has a definite coffee like scent; more like the flavoring in a coffee more than coffee itself though. Dry down: The lotus smell is going into the background and letting the sandalwood/amber combo come more to the front of this scent. Very much sandalwood and amber with some myrrh on me now, which makes me a little bit ill to my stomach for some unknown reason. It still has the interesting waft of coffee smell that comes up occasionally, though. Dry: Sandalwood with a slight coffee scent to the background of it. Not anything I'd really consider wearing.

In the bottle: That is strong. Hello, anise. How have you been? I forgot that we were avoiding each other. Oh well. I hope this meeting isn't too awkward, maybe we'll even get along this time if you learn to behave. Anise and cardamom and the two notes that jump out at me with maybe the lightest suggestion of mint. This should be interesting. Wet: Anise and cardamom quickly replaced by lemon. Lemon...pledge, which isn't a scent that turns me off but is nothing that I really want to smell like. Maybe it'll calm down. Dry down: Nope. Lemon. A very strong lemon scent maybe a little more like Lemonheads than lemon pledge, though, which is a little better even though it's nothing that I really want to smell like for very long. I should say that I have no idea what either wormwood essence or hyssop smell like not that it seems to matter much as this scent is almost straight lemon on my skin with, yes, a hint of mint in the background. There goes the mint and somehow the lemon has just amped itself back up into lemon pledge territory. And there goes the lemon to be replaced by the anise. Well, it's something of a lemon/anise smell. It's better than just anise but at the same time it's a little disconcerting to me. It's smells like lemon cleaner flavored licorice. Dry: Lemon cleaner flavored licorice. I was hoping that nice lemon/mint smell might stick around.

In the bottle: Sweet rose smell with a note of green in the background. Not nearly as green as Rose Red, though, and much sweeter. This is kinda what sugar coated rose petals might smell like. Wet: Very light rose blend that does have an odd sweetness to the background of it but it's still unmistakably rose. It's almost too many roses, though, because on me rose scents are really kicked up and this is so fragrant as to almost be flooring. Dry down: This has a very powerful rose throw, and it is all roses at once. Which makes it almost too mant roses for me. I'm not sure if this blend will work. It does not instantly capture me the way most of the rose blends I end up loving have. In fact, there's something in the background that's almost a sickly, medicinal note. It might be the grass on my skin. I don't do well with grass scents. Yeah, the grass is coming out a little too strong on this one, pushing the roses down and really bothering me. I was hoping to love this, but I do have Persephone, Rose Red and The Emrpess that work really well on me and three rose blends is probably enough for one person. Dry: Roses. Lots of them with a little too much green grass. It's kindly sickly on me, though, which is unfortunate. As it dries, it reminds me more of Rose Red, but it still doesn't really want to work on my skin the way that I had hoped.

In the bottle: Fig. I hate fig. I was hoping that this would have so many other things in it that the fig would drift down to the back of the blend and never come out. Something about the smell of fig just turns my stomach. I can't even really explain it; it just does. I can make out other notes besides the fig but they're well blended and do make me think of a very lush, somewhat overgrown garden. Wet: Fig and fir. Great. The two notes that had me cringing in a corner of indecision over this blend and those are the ones that are the most promient. This smells like a very leafy garden in that it has more trees than flowers, which makes sense as it is the hanging garden but still. so not what I was hoping for. Dry down: Now it smells like gardenia. I should mention that I'm pretty allergic to most commerical versions of gardenia. This has not driven me into a sneezing fit yet though so it's cool. For now. Waxy gardenia and...fig, I think. I'm not positive anymore that it is fig because it does and does not smell like it at the same time if that makes any sense at all. This is way too "tree and tree bearing fruit" for me. It msotly smells like fig with changing florals backgrounds. The much hoped for plumeria, plum and pomegranate scents have all been devoured by my skin. Dry: Fig and trees with a slight touch of a rose background. This could be pretty if the fig wasn't so overpowering on me. I'm afraid that this is another pretty blend that will have to go because it just cannot work on my uber-picky skin.

In the bottle: I have problems with both carnation, dark musk and lily of the valley. The rest of the notes are good on me so this blend could be iffy as well. The jasmine is coming out on top pretty well in this blend in the bottle. Whether it stays there is the question. If this ends up being another jasmine blend, I'll get rid of it. Ave Marie is good enough for my jasmine blend. It's almost jasmine and amber, which is a fairly pretty scent even though amber and I have a few difficulties. Wet: Jasmine, which I'm glad that it's taking over the carnation. Carnation is just too spicey for my tastes. Ummm...ew. Dark musk coming out, I think, which is not the best scent on me. I can only really deal with white and sometimes pale musks. Dry down: Dark musk and amber. All traces of the florals have vanished along with any sense of tangerine, which sounded as though it could have been a very nummy scent indeed. There is a hint of the bergamot, though. Another scent I'm not crazy about on my skin. It's not bad, but it's seldom good if you know what I mean. And then it starts to fade down and away very quickly. I think my skin is just steadily eating every trace of it. Even when I sniff my hand, I only get the faintest whiff of a fragrance, and then it's just a very weak amber/musk smell. Dry: Very faint musky/amber smell. No floral, no tangerine and the bergamot is gone, run for the hills or been eaten entirely by my skin. This could have been so pretty but not on my skin. Oh well. That's three bottles up.

In the bottle: This is an odd combination of herbs, fruits and something that reminds me of root beer in the bottle. I swapped one of my custom dreamcatchers for a partial 10ml of this because The Moon has always been one of the Tarot cards that interests me the most. There is an herb in this blend that is recognizable to me as something living in my kitchen but still unidentifiable. And then there's that weird fruit smell that reminds me of fig as well as an odd root beer smell that might be sassafras. Wet: Herbs and while the root beer smell is less pronounced, it's still there. As well as that weird, almost fig note. Well, this is not what I'd been hoping for at all. It's green and yet fig fruity at the same time. Dry down: Fig and...herbs. I'm not a fan of fig as I've stated before so this is a fairly depressing turn of events. No jasmine that I read about in the reviews, though. I want the jasmine. *sigh* Dry: Maybe it's magnolia rather than fig although this is not the magnolia smell that I've liked in other blends. It has an odd spice/fruit scent to it that just really does not do much for me, which is sad as I was hoping for a pretty, toned down jasmine scent with it.

Chaos Theory XXXVII (I think) In the bottle: Well, that's strong and vaguely chemical smelling. I don't even know how to describe it really. It has something of a light scent to it as well but it's hard for me to tell whether it's florals or what that's in there. Wet: I don't know. To me, this smells like some kind of chemical. And it burns slightly. I mean, more than slightly. Dry down: This reminds me of something that I've smelled before, but I don't know what it is and it really isn't anything that I like. And it's still burning. It smells very strong to me. Very powerful. There's something that might be a foody or a floral smell but it has a kinda of waxiness to it as well as a backing sweetness. Dry: It still burns, and I have a headache. Maybe some kind of spice. Cinnamon or something like that. I'm not sure. Gin and I swapped imps of our Chaos Theories but this doesn't smell like the other reviews of this scent. Gin, are you sure it's XXXVII? Previously reviewed by amberbella.

In the bottle: Green. Very green with some florals in the background. This worries me. All the "Irish" scent worries me because they inevitably will not work on me no matter how badly I want them, too. Moss is also a problem for me, as well as herbs. But on it goes. Wet: Wood. It smells like wood on me and green things. I smell like a forest as well as...what is that note? Clover. I smell like hawthron and clover as well as some of those other green things. Florals, where are you? Dry down: Still no florals though there is that vague apple nailpolish remover note I got (sadly) out of The Hesperides. Why do all the "Irish" scents hate me so? I don't need to be able to wear all of them but one would be nice. Hmmm...um...eee. I don't know. Little bit of florals, lots of green and wood type scents on me the combination of which is quickly resulting in me having a headache. This is what happens with me and wood/grass scents. Headache. Dry: Well, that's a little better, but I still have a headache. And it still has that vague apple nailpolish remover smell. So...noy gonna work. Washing off.

In the bottle: Now this I like. I get the green tea and lemon verbena straight off, and it's just lovely. There's a lingering floral chocolate note (yeah WTF?) that must be something between the jasmine and the neroli. Neroli is a note that I haven't had much luck with. Wet: Lemon with a faint floral and a nice green tea kick. This reminds me of Shanghai but with a little more umph, which is what I was looking for in Shanghai. Dry down: Hmmm...this turns into lemon jasmine, which is actually rather pretty on me and has a nice, light, spring/summer feel to it that makes me want to buy a pretty dress and get my hair done. It might be a little too lemon for me in the long run, though, which would make me sad. I need more scents that make me want to wear dresses. It has a green quality to the background of it, but I'm not sure whether it's because of the green tea, the verbena or one of the florals. Dry: Lemon with a little bit of jasmine as well as some green tea in the back. This is a very lush, real lemon lemon scent as opposed to the fake lemon scents that I've smelled in others things. This is something I probably could wear on a more regular basis, but I'll have to retest it to make sure it still suits me at different points.

In the bottle: It...I don't know what it smells like, but it did automatically take me back to my childhood. We lived next to these people who rented an apartment in their house to a archetecture student. His models and glue and paint smelled like this. It's nothing I think I'd ever want to wear, though. Wet: Cleaner. It smells like cleaner and industrial strength chemicals to me with a throw that's slightly less industrial and more...I don't know...a wet field. I kinda spilled this all over my desk so the scent is pretty much everywhere. I'm really not a fan. Dry down: It smells a little more...I don't know. I was never really in fields much. It is very masculine, though, and I can see why the boy likes it. To me and on me, it smells like cleaning products. Dry: Calmer now. An outdoor smell with the slightly harsh chemical cleanser in the back.

In the bottle: Wow. Almost instant headache. This is strong and acrid and makes me want to throw myself as far away from it as possible. I can pick out both the almond and the cinnamon. It scares me. Wet: Almond and...chocolate, which is kinda weird if you think about it. But it is very much almond with cinnamon and an odd chocolate smell. I had feared that this would burn me the instant it touched my skin but no burning yet. Dry down: Red hots. As it dries, the almond fades away, and I now smell like red hots. I don't like cinnamon. And, yes, here comes the burning. Slight but there. Barely. Dry: Red hots. Washing off.

In the bottle: Orange hates me. It really, really does, but I'll try anything. Holy exotic orange juice, Batman. With yes, some incense in there as well. Wet: This is so gross on me I can't even begin to describe it. The orange is rotting. There's some kind of horrid wood and incence smoke to it as well that is just awful on me. Dry down: I don't know. I don't think I can take this. It's like it morphed from something interesting into the scent from hell once it touched my skin. I don't know what that wood note is but I must avoid it always. Dry: Just nasty. This has cemented the idea that orange and my skin is a bad combination.

In the bottle: Umm...musk and spice are both very promient in there. I kinda don't want to put it on because it scares me. It's very, very strong in the bottle. Let me check and see what part of my hand is the most scent free. Wet: Cranberry and musk. The musky cranberry of doom coming to eat your soul. This is...powerful and yet not as strong as I had imagined it would be. It has a very sharp bitterness to it, though, that's going to get it tossed into the swap pile if the musk doesn't. Dry down: Ew. Now it's all musk and spices and something elese...um...maybe those dark lilies. Whatever it is, though, it does not like my skin. It fact, I'm quite convinced that it hates my skin very, very much. Well...the cranberry is resurfacing but that odd musky/spice smell is there under the surface, lurking. Dry: This is just not for me. It's a very interesting blend but the overall combination will not work on my picky skin.

In the bottle: Wow, I have no idea what half of the listed ingredigents smell like. This should be fun. Hmmm...oddly fruity and sweet. It smells like something else I'm familar with, but I cannot recall what. But it's sweet and kinda lush. Very tropical...and therein lies the answer. This smells like mixed drinks. I don't remember which ones but that's the smell. And, yes, fruit punch, too. Wet: Fruit punch with...a really prominent wood background note. Uhh...this might not work as well as I had hoped. Oh...yummy...fruit punch, which is a little...I don't know. I was thinking this would be a bit more...swanky rather than smelling so close to something overly sweetened and mass produced. It could just be the way it smells on my skin to me, though. Dry down: Uh-oh, there's a really weird cough drop menthol note coming out on my skin. It's like trpoical punch cought drops, which is not flattering for me. And, yeah, wood notes. Some banana leaf. It makes my nose and throat kinda burn when I smell it, though, so I'm guessing that this imp is not destined to last past the initial testing phase. Plus there's that slight burning sensation on my hand to consider as well. *pout* Dry: Woods and smoke, which is really kinda odd, along with that vague menthol note to it. I wish this had gone better on me but my skin is the devil.

In the bottle: That's nice actually. I'm not really sure what it smells like, but it does smell pretty and comforting. It seems very night-time and does bring to mind the night sky glittering with lovely stars. Wet: Hmm...I'm not sure what that...oh no. Moss. It's moss. I smell like moss again. I don't like smelling like moss. Please go away in the dry down. Please go away. Evil moss. Dry down: Oh, good, the moss is fading away. That was a very close call because while I can wear moss, I don't want to. Hmmm...somewhat waxy floral smell now. This was a little ncier in the bottle than on my skin, which isn't really that surprising. The throw is sweeter than it is on the skin. Moonflower. I recongize it from the Moonlight Path lotion from B&BW. I can't wear it. Moonflower is a little too heady for me. Dry: Soap. It smells like a floral soap or candle. It's not a bad smell but it has an odd waxiness that is not terribly appealing to me. Le sigh. I was hoping that this one would work because there are a lot of things in it that should be pretty on me, but also some things that do not like my skin much at all. Oh well.

In the bottle: Get on the spice train, spice train. I cannot find any iris or berries by smelling the imp. The amber and the spices rush out and try to engulf me, though, so I'm more than a little nervous about testing this one. Yet on it goes. Wet: Um...amber and burning. OMG. Burning. I hate when they burn. Slightly fruit smell in the background of the amber and burning. Burning = washing off.

In the bottle: It smells like that cheap peach wine you can get. Those fruit wines in the store that are, like, 16oz and cost maybe $4. Not to say anything bad about it, but that's what it smells like. Kinda sparkling and slightly alcoholic but not enough to knock you on your ass even if you drink the whole bottle. Wet: Peaches. Slightly rotting peaches. Very sweet and on the brink of turning into peach goo when you touch them. With...um...some amber. I'm not sure what myrtle smells like so I'm not positive what's making this smell kinda...sickening on me, but something sure is. Dry down: Too sweet peach wine. Slightly rotting. Maybe it's been let sit too long. I think peach hates me. It makes me somewhat ill in almost every blend that I try it in. This should be a nice, sweet, fruity scent--the kind I like--but instead it's turning my poor stomach. Dry: Slightly musky rotting peaches. Can't wear it. Washing off.

In the bottle: Spicy rose, though it does have a very nighttime suggestion to the scent itself. Wet: Rose. Rose with something else in there with it. I'm not sure what it might be but it does have a vaguely spice feel. I'm really bad at picking out spices. Dry down: Mostly rose. But this is a mature rose. Rose Red is the fresh rose. Persephone is the sweet, fruity rose. But this is the slightly grown-up, ready for action rose. Dry: Rose. A full bodied, huge, petals open to their apex rose. A very nice, mature kind of scent. This would be my sexy, grown-up rose if I wasn't already swimming in so much rose blends. It has a vague spicey note in the background as well as something sorta green but on me, as always, the rose is the winner. Only...um...uh oh. As this continues to dry it gets really rather weird on me. I'm not sure how to describe this scent other than to say that it's not pleasant on me. It's kinda like rose soap or rose incense in that those backing spices are taking over. So sad. Washing off.

In the bottle: Lotus. Very clearly lotus as well as slightly floral and a little citrus. No real amber yet but then I'm never very good at spotting amber in blends. At least this has given up the rotting fruit smell it had yesterday when I sniffed it. Wet: Lotus. Pink bubblegum. I feel bubble yummy. Lotus. Sometimes you're just too much. Dry down: Still bubblegum but now with a citrus tang to the back of it. The mixture is somewhat unpleasant on my skin. In fact, this takes on a slightly rotting fruit/bubblegum smell on me the longer it sits on my skin. Not terribly pleasant. Only. Hmmm...now the strong bubblegum is dying down and the citrus is more prominent except that....I don't know. This is...sometimes lotus is just so bubblegum on me. Sometimes it works really well but at others it's iffy. Dry: Citrus pink bubblegum. Tart and sweet at the same time but not in a good way. At least, it's not a good way for my skin to smell. The florals are making something more of an appearance now but this still has that overly bubblegum scent that does not really appeal to me. Lotus and I have a love/hate relationship. I love Cold Moon. I can't say that I hate...oh, wait, what are you doing now? No, still bubblegum. Just amber/floral bubblegum now. Washing off.

In the bottle: Tobacco. And...something floral. I was expecting this to be more pungent, but in the bottle it's a nice, subtle blend. Not very foody or overpowering. Wet: Tobacco and chocolate. This gets more interesting when it hits my skin. Candy. There's this candy rush of a throw that comes up from it along with a pretty strong floral. This reminds me of Kali in some ways. Only it's pretty smokey on my skin. The throw is sweet and foody but on my skin it's smoke with floral in the background. Dry down: It's...pretty smokey on my skin. The throw has all but disappeared. I still catch the occasional whiff every now and then but it's mostly settled onto my skin by this point. There's a slight burning on my hand where I have the oil so I doubt that I'll wear this past the reviewing point. Flowers. It smells like funereal flowers. Very heady and strong but also solemn and...white. It makes me think of white flowers and fires. Sweets as well. Oh. What is that smell? I know that smell. Tobacco. It's down to mostly tobacco on my hand along with some residual burning. Dry: Tobacco and funereal flowers as well as the lingering scent of burning chocolate. This gives me a headache and makes my skin burn, which is unfortunate because it's a pretty blend.

Chaos Theory XLVIII In the bottle: A slightly citrus/vanilla blend with something like a lurking lotus note in there. This smells a lot more citrus this time than it did the last time I sniffed it, but I don't mind the slight change. Vanilla is definitely in this blend, though. It's a nice sweet vanilla. The lotus is not as prominent as the first time I smelled it. Wet: Vanilla and something that isn't really citrus but is somewhat close to one. There's a slight background note of bubblegum, which tells me that there probably is lotus hiding in there somewhere beneath the almost-citrus and the sweet of the vanilla. Dry down: This is fading really fast on me. I'm not getting much scent at all even when I smell my hand directly. The throw is a sweet vanilla with just a hint of the lotus. So pretty but not powerful really. On my hand I still have a very faint vanilla/citrus. Dry: Creamy citrus. Kinda like a vanilla/lemon combination. Interesting, but I'm not sure if it's something I'd really wear. Previously reviewed by paperdoll, hypothermya, with coffee spoons, quantum spice and inkstone.

In the bottle: Apricot and jasmine in the vial. An interesting almost spicey scent. Not that sweet at all but kinda aluring. I sometimes have problems with the apricot blends, though. Wet: Chocolate and root beer. I must be going insanse. No, that's what it smells like on me. How freaky is that? Dry down: It still has a very interesting root beer quality to it, but I'm starting to detect some of the other notes as well. Jasmine with the apricot working as a spicey backdrop for it. I was hoping this might be a nice ginger/vanilla blend. My skin had other ideas. Well...we're back to root beer with a little vanilla lurking in the background of the scent. And now ginger. Nope, disppearing. Vanilla. A very slight vanilla, though, as all the notes seem to be merging and then being devoured by my skin. Dry: When I can catch a whiff of it, it's basically a slightly spiced vanilla. Most of the time, though, I only smell the merest suggestion of a scent on my skin. Weird. This was one of those scents that smelled like nothing I had ever imagined it would.