savvymercury

wet: the passion fruit and guava, teeniest bit of citrus from the tangerine skin: my skin brings out the gin/tonic, not smack-you-in-the-face booze, but a nice undercurrent. it keeps this blend from being too fruity, which i really like. drydown: i too get a bit of greenery mixed in with this. it's nice, it reminds me of being outside on a beach somewhere with a tropical drink. overall, this is a great blend. score: 9 out of 10

this is my favorite of all the tikis : ) in the bottle it's yummy pineapple and raspberry. on me, the other fruits start to come out, it reminds me of a bag of lifesavers gummies. the passion fruit is especially prevalent. i didn't get any of the rum until it started to dry down a bit, but when i did i was socked because it's the PERFECT rum note. not the scary boozy rum kinda smell, but that delicious spicy sweet smell. the final rum kick keeps it from being too uber-candy sweet, it grows it up a bit. :sigh: perfect summer scent.

oh man, i wanted to love this one. i really did. in the bottle it smells exactly like blue hawaiian punch. when it's on me, the gin comes out, and it smells like the jungle juice we served at our last new year's party. my skin must have soaked up the lemon grass and papaya, because i never got any of those notes. just boosy blue hawaiian punch. :sigh:

destroying angel i got this as a frimp from the lab. yay frimps : ) in the bottle: very wet mushrooms. the way that mushrooms smell after it rains, when they're swollen with water. on the skin: my first thought was, "hmm, this is nice". a very dry mushroom-y smell, with some dry dirt creeping in underneath. there's a faint sweet white smell reminds me of the smell of dried paperwhite narcissus. drydown: the sweet white smell becomes stronger, overtaking the mushroom scent. the dry dirt remains strong. final thoughts: although i've described scents as being "strong" i mean that in relation to the scent itself. overall, this is a very gentle scent. i had to slather on quite a bit of it to smell anything. throw is pretty weak. rating: 4 out of 10 (ten being highest). this is a pretty scent, but it's just not my thing.

this is a lovely warm compforting scent. in the bottle it's quite sweet. however, once it hits my skin the deep arabian musks come out to play, and the fruity-ness goes away almost entirley. it's a nice pick me up on cold, rainy, wet days. rating: 6.5 out of 10

on me, this is a very dry, woodsy sent. i get a little of the pine and blackberry, but the sweetness isn't overpowering. there's a lot of wood/earth in this blend. it's very elegantly done, none of the notes are overpowering. rating: 7 out of 10

valentine of rome in the bottle: wow! this has got some power. the incense practically smack me in the face with this one. wet: this is really a strong, almost oppressive scent. very dark, church-like. drydown: as this gets dryer, the blood accord comes out to play. i'd never smelled blood accord before, but it really does smell bloody! (i know, this may seem obvious, but i was still shocked at how realistic it smelled.) in the end, the incense, the blood, and the heavy dark florals make for a very heavy perfume. i imagine that this is exactly what ancient ritualistic sacrifice must have smelled like. final thoughts: i can't make up my mind on this one. do i like the scent, or am i just morbidly fascinated by it?!? : ) i don't think i'll get the bottle, but i'll probably use up my imp.

first off, i have to mention that this oil is LIME GREEN in the imp, which i thought was really neat! in bottle: this does smell a little over-powering, almost medicinal. wet/drydown: this scent dosen't change much on me, once it hits my skin. thankfully the "on skin" scent is very different from what it was in the bottle. it's a very green/dark/growing scent. a friend of mine grows belladonna and lady's mantle, and this scent reminds me of sitting in her garden on a hot august afternoon. when there is something almost oppressive about the heat, but stil,l i'm pleased to be among all the growing things. there's also something of a "garden earth" kind of smell lurking faintly underneath. final thoughts: this scent is really pretty. it reminds me so much of my friend's garden that i'll have to get a bottle. i think it will be one of my top summer smells.

cheshire moon in the bottle: this is practically drinkable. a perfect blend of creamy, fruity, and floral. wet: very creamy fruits, almost like a fruity soda pop. drydown: the fruityness dies down, letting the florals emerge more. there's a definite hyacinth scent in this one, and maybe some oleander or perhaps orchid. there's the bite of the lemongrass sneaking in behind them. the lingering fruit smells seem almost dark to me, perhaps the fig leaf scent other's have been smelling. final rating: this is one of the most gorgeous fruity blends i've ever smelled! i put this on, and four different people stopped me to ask me what i was wearing that smelled so good! i'm sooo glad i got a bottle of this one!

i got a frimp of fruit cake with my order today!!! fruitcake wet in bottle: cherry cough syrup wet on skin: cherry cough syrup drenched in rum or brandy, really really boozy ten minutes: the almondy-ness starts to come out, the booze quiets down a bit. the cherries start smelling more like maraschinos. drydown: all the notes start playing together, nicely. the spices start kicking in, mixing with the almond. cherries have diluted to a "general fruit" scent. very sugarry. the brandy smell is still there, but it's mixed in nicely as well. there seems to be a bit of a pine coming out now. verdict: this reminds me of christmas at my grandma's house when i was a little kid. it's like how you remember christmas as smelling, rather than how christmas really smells. i'm not entirely sure how i feel about this one, i may need to test it a few more times before making a final decision. rating (1-10, 10 is best): 5.5