voodoobaby

In the bottle: Hmm. Kind of smells like furniture polish and sassafras. That's not a bad thing, though. Wearing: Woodiness galore! Oh how I love wood smells. The cedar is most apparent, but it's not a screaming cedar. Sandalwood lurks in the background...and I smell a very dry kind of wood that is neither of the above, which must be chiuri. There are definite spices here, though I can't pick out what they are. Fifteen minutes later: The only way this has changed is that it's grown very, very faint. No matter, I love it anyway. It's woody, exotic, and kind of serene. Definitely a keeper!

In the bottle: Hmm. This is spicy, and just a bit woodsy, nowhere near as much as I was imagining. There's some sweetness, too. For some reason I'm thinking a craft store. Wearing: Didn't really change from the bottle, other than the fact that I don't smell any woods at all. If there's floral here, it's an unusual type that doesn't smell like your typical flower. This is very potpourri, but it's a good-quality, homemade potpourri, not a cheap manufactured kind you get at Wal-Mart for a dollar a bag. Later: Darn moss is turning powdery on me again. In this instance, however, it's not too bad. This is a hazy fragrance, but it still manages to smell solid. It has an incredible amount of throw as well--in fact, I used six swipes of the imp wand and it seems to have been too much! It's elegant, feminine, and natural, without smelling too fieldy or foresty. I will wear it when I want to feel pretty.

In the bottle: Very sharp and astringent. I don't know if I'm going to like this one or not, but I'll give it a try. Upon application: Yikes, lavender! It dominates, which isn't a good thing for me. I hope it goes far, far away so that I can enjoy my sandalwood and nag champa loveliness. Ten minutes later: Oh my, this is gorgeous! The lavender didn't go away; it's still there, it's just in a sort of latent, sleepy state. The sandalwood has taken over for the most part. Every now and then I catch a whiff of smokey tobacco, and the nag champa is just barely detectable. I have no idea what labdanum smells like, though. Something here is giving the blend a bittersweet, almost Oriental feel to it, which might be it (or it could just be the sandalwod evolving on my skin). Oh, I love it. It's relaxed, beautiful, and earthy, without being overpoweringly bitter or strong. I'm just glad I sat through the lavender phase!

In the bottle: I get hairspray like some others did. The narcissus is also quite apparent here. Wearing: Wow. The hairspray goes away, and the narcissus lives up to its name by screaming, "Look at me! I'm beautiful!" Which really isn't a bad thing. The opium is the equally beautiful note standing quietly in the background, but I'm not getting much myrrh. Later: Ah. The myrrh and opium have mixed seamlessly together into a whole new scent. The narcissus has wound down a bit, making this blend very mellow and incensey. I wouldn't say that this is as dark as the description or the name implies. It's simply a smokey, brooding floral, nothing too spooky. I like it a lot, and can see myself wearing it on a day where I just want to sit back and observe everything around me rather than participate.

In the vial: Mint? Wait wait, that can't be right. Maybe it's not mint, maybe it's something that just has the sharp bite of mint. And...yeah, that's what this is--a sharp bite. It's not bad, though. Wearing: Hmm. Is that vetiver I smell? Its base note seems to be the same super sharp element in Blood Kiss. And I swear I smell cedar in here. This is a very, very bitter blend. I like it, but it's so strong! Later: OK, root beer and burnt cedar. Again, it's not bad, just kind of disappointing. And I can't say I want to smell like root beer. Well darn, I wanted so much to like this one. Maybe I can swap this one out for Djinn and see if that has the burning wood smell that I was looking for. Edit: After this initial application, every time I smelled it I got Vics vapo rub. Not pleasant.

In the bottle: Yep, this is definitely mint. One of the mosses (not sure which) thickens it, but it's mostly mint. Wearing: Once on my skin, the mint is still there, but it's different. This isn't spearmint gum or peppermint candy; it's a rich, deep mint, if that even makes sense. The moss peeks its head out a little bit, but not too much. The ambergris starts coming through, lending a perfumey property to this that I definitely did not expect. Later: Well, before this I wondered what ambergris smelled like, and boy did I find out! That's basically all of what I smell now, and it's turning to powder on me! Every now and then, if I sniff hard enough, there's a very slight zing of mint...but for the most part, citrusy, perfumey powder. I can imagine this being great on someone else whose skin can hold onto the moss and mint, so I'll probably have to swap it out.

In the bottle: Mmm, smells like candy. Plum Starburst and gummi worms, perhaps. It smells very tart and very sweet and very edible. Wearing: Oh, sweet currant! How I love thee! The plum is still dominant here, but the currant is lovely. The wine shows up as warmth for the most part, and something in here adds a nice, smokey touch. Amaretto? I didn't imagine that it would smell like that. After maybe an our or so... Maybe I'm crazy, but something spicy shows up and turns it into a sort of spiced plum jelly scent, which isn't bad at all. I was expecting it to smell more of a deep purple, like a plum, but this is definitely a pinkish fuchsia, feminine and sassy. It's not really "me", but it is a gorgeous scent, and I'll probably keep the imp.

In the bottle: Oh wow. It took me a while to figure out what this smells like. This is very similar to Goth Rosary's Dervish. Of course, they have the same notes (vanilla, musk, spicy stuff). So...yeah. I'm also smelling the bubble gum that I smelled in Blood, but to a lesser degree. I'm going to guess that that's how this brand of cherry smells when mixed with clove. Wearing: Ooh, this is delicious. Where to begin? The musk is clearly visible here, but it's so soft and understated--it's like it's sending musky subliminal messages to me! I can smell the honey most clearly as an "aura" around me rather than straight from my arm. There's also a woodsy, kind of sharp bite to it that must be the vetiver (which I like). The vanilla doesn't come out too much until maybe fifteen or twenty minutes after application, and even then it's just barely under my "yum" radar. Around this time, I start smelling the tartness of the wine that is blending beautifully with the honey and musk. Only once in the duration of wearing this oil did I smell poppy, and even then it was fleeting. And I'm barely getting clove, if any at all. My one complaint is that something sweet in this blend is giving me a slight headache, which I'm thinking is the honey. I don't care, though, I like it too much to not wear!

In the bottle: Spicy bubble gum! It sounds odd, but it's not bad at all. There's also just a bit of cherry, which is thankfully a fresh, juicy cherry rather than marachino or cough syrup. Wearing: As soon as it hits the skin, the cherry comes right out, but in less than five seconds it's gone. I still smell the bubble gum and a kind of allspice smell (oddly, not clove). Then comes the lovely, lovely myrrh which adds a wonderful bitter element to it. Oh my, it's very bold, and pretty sexy. Later on the myrrh settles down with a slight touch of clove. I now smell a dry, hot sweetness, which has to be the dragon's blood. This soon settles on down into a relaxed, smoldering glow, which remains like a powerful beast sleeping. A great blend. I would like for the myrrh to stick around for the whole duration, but I still like it a lot.

From the description I was expecting this to smell like the inside of a freezer, which would have been a very, very good thing for me as ice is one of my favorite smells. However, I was in for a slightly disappointing surprise. In the bottle: Butter. Very sweet butter. And a bit of almond. Even in the bottle it's a barely-there scent, very light. Wearing: Very warm, and not snowy or cold at all. This is the sweet, creamy, nutty smell of vanilla soy milk...at first, at least. After maybe three to five minutes, I keep sniffing, and a bit of a charred smell of all things starts coming through. Then...what the heck? Burnt rubber bands?! This is along the lines of the plastic smell others have talked about, only much worse. After a few more minutes, the burnt rubber bands thankfully fade out a bit, leaving toasted almond (or maybe even hazelnut) and what smells like a very faint white musk. At this stage it isn't bad, but so not my cup of tea. It would be great for layering, however, especially with something as warm as, say, Hearth. I will more than likely be passing this on to someone who can enjoy light scents.

In the bottle: Cherries! Marachino cherries, to be specific. It's a very unusual smell, sharp and pungent and sweet at the same time. I have to get used to it, but it's not bad after a couple of sniffs. Wearing: Yup, still cherries, but this time with a heaping dose of something alcoholic. It's not quite cough syrup, more like cherries and brandy. It's so odd, when I smell it I can feel the warmth in the back of my throat like I was actually drinking wine or something. After being on my skin for a while, the wood starts just barely coming through, and the cherries settle down a bit, but they're still jumping out at me. The pipe tobacco is in there, which smells oddly fresh amongst the fruit and alcohol backdrop. I also get just a faint bit of woodsmoke, but not nearly as much as I would like. And I get no leather at all, which is odd because my skin usually really likes leather. I really wanted to like this, as the description sounds positively delicious, but unfortunately it just doesn't work for me. I might have to pass it on, as much as I hate to.

In the bottle: Very, very herbal, though I can't identify individual herbs. I can also smell a bit of fig in the background, and some spiciness that the ginger is more than likely responsible for. Wearing: Wow, fig! That's definitely the dominant note here. The grass comes out a bit, but it's a muted, sweeter grass rather than sharp and bright. After wearing for a while, the oakmoss comes out, which I can smell most strongly wafting up to my nose rather than sniffing directly. The blend is very green--a darker shade of olive or hunter green, maybe. Later on, however, it becomes considerably powdery, which turns me off a bit. And I was liking it so much, too. I'll probably keep the imp, but not buy a big bottle. ETA: What's this? The more I wear it, the less powdery it gets, and a nice woodsy scent of all things mingles with the moss and fig. Lovely! Another edit: Because I'm redundant.

This is my first review, so be easy on me. Perversion... Oh my goodness. Upon smelling it in the vial, my initial reaction was to drink it! In the bottle it definitely smelled like a yummy pina colada. I usually hate coconut, but this wasn't an overpowering, super sweet coconut--it smells like the real deal. I didn't get anything alcoholic, just a kind of tartness. Then I put it on my skin, and almost immediately it turned into this positively sexy blend of smoke, leather, and just a hint of coconut. The notes blend together incredibly well, but I think the leather takes center stage on me. I'm also smelling something slightly nutty and sweet, which I'm assuming is the tonka. I am so impressed with this blend; I think I might have found a new signature scent!