voodoobaby

This is odd. Upon my first sniff from the imp, I got an overwhelming baby powder smell, and some sort of floral. The next day I sniffed it, and I smelled just the floral. Upon actually trying it, I smell that floral smell again. It's so familiar, but I can't put my finger on...oh. Uh oh. I recognize it now: dragon's blood. The dreaded dragon's blood. Obviously, that will overpower and it'll be all I smell. Or not. The more it sits, the more I get baby powder again. Wow. So like, powdery, floral dragon's blood. I don't think I like this, so much so that I don't feel like using it for its voodoo-ness. Off to the swaps!

Dee strikes me as being very old. Like, dusty, musty, aged...but in a very good, fascinating way rather than stuffy or boring. It's a lot softer than I had anticipated. The leather is quite different than the leather in De Sade, Hellfire, and the like. It's light and worn and not "bad" or "evil" at all. I smell a lot of wood here. And as far as the parchment goes, I have no idea what it's supposed to smell like, but that could be what gives me the impression of an old library, as many others have said before. The incense blends in with everything else seamlessly, providing a little bit of sweetness. While this is "old", it's almost golden. It definitely brings to mind an antique library with a high ceiling, bookshelves and tall windows all around, with the late afternoon sun shining through. Lovely. I like it a lot.

To my nose, Yerevan is a very conflicting scent. On one hand, it's fruity and very, very sweet, with the apricot and pomegranate in the foreground. On the other hand, it has a very earthy base, in the form of a dirty and plant-ish scent. I personally don't feel that these two extremes mix well together, and combined with the florals, makes for a cloying and kind of artificial scent altogether. It could just be my chemistry, though. Nonetheless, not my cup of tea, and will to go someone who might enjoy it better.

Languor is definitely along the lines of Anathema and Darkness to me, most likely due to the slight hairspray smell of the opium. However, it doesn't have the blown-out candle smell of Darkness (and isn't quite as hairspray-y), and doesn't have the drop-dead sexy deepness of Anathema. Instead, it's quite a bit sweeter, though still quite sharp, and more mellow. It's pretty and mostly pleasant, but not me. Oddly, as far as mood goes, I wore this today and was actually alert, playful, and kind of hyper. Weird, considering it's supposed to be "soporific". Oh well.

Oh, Lust. The first thing I smelled was red musk, as usual, but I couldn't help noticing that there was something delightfully and deeply incensey beneath it, and it doesn't smell like myrrh. I can't put my finger on it, but wow, it's wonderful. In its first stages on my skin, I still smell the red musk a lot, but the patchouli (seemingly of the red variety) creeps up a little and does something I've never seen patchouli do before. Now see, BPAL's patchouli was always kind of dry and "blah" to me, but not too unpleasant, and other brands of patchouli I found positively rank, in a kind of moldy way...but this is neither. It smells woody, but it's rich and alive and passionate, not dry or rank at all. And really, red musk usually overpowers most of the blends when I try them on. This seems to simply provide a lovely, animalistic base. As it dries down, Lust becomes more and more of a skin scent from the ylang ylang and musk, mixed with a woody base, and with incense smoke wafting about. Mmm. Very nice. One of my new favorite musk blends.

Talvikuu is, for me, very much like Skadi, only a little darker and more masculine. It doesn't smell as artificial as its female counterpart, but at the same time it possesses that evergreen-and-berry combination that is a bit cloying on my skin. At the same time, I get some aquatics and a faint trace of mint backing that up. Though the description mentions death, this is so not dead to me. This is actually pretty alive, with the sharp evergreen and sweetness from whatever is causing the berry scent. It smells like the outdoors. While it does smell good, especially in the throw, I'm afraid that, again, it's a bit too cloying for me--that, and I'm not too hot on smelling like evergreen. I'll probably swap it off for something I think I'll like more.

Initially, I thought, "Old lady!" In the bottle it was sharp, with an almost citrus edge, or something that reminds me of magnolia. Very potent. But I decided to try it, and wow, it gets a lot better. There has to be incense in here somewhere--I smell something very resiny on top of the florals, with maybe a touch of wood and vanilla. It's gotten very rounded and lighter, though there's still a slight, lingering touch of sharpness in there somewhere. Overall, lovely. I just wish I hadn't spilled the imp.

Burial is GREEN. Very green. The juniper is the main scent, and the only thing I smell in the initial phases. A little later I get a whiff of flowers, but it's still mainly juniper. I don't get the dirt or the patchouli, sadly, which is what interested me about the blend. It's not unpleasant, but maybe a bit too sharp for my tastes. I will try it again and see if my opinion changes.

In the bottle, Baron Samedi is all about the almonds, and some herby/spiciness. On the skin, I still smell some almonds, but wow, clove! Clove, and much of it. There's something else a little bit green, maybe the bay part, and perhaps a bit of woodiness...but mostly it's a wonderful smokey, spicy smell. Think clove cigarettes, only not as sweet. Ah, lovely. I like this a lot, despite my fears that it would smell too much like Port-au-Prince. I'm quite pleased. And as a warning, this is a strong, very heady scent. I only applied one little swipe with the wand on my wrist and I'm dizzy from the scent. Proceed with caution!

In the bottle, Anubis smelled wonderfully unusual to me. The myrrh is very light, yet clearly detectable. It smells herbal and incensey and kind of fizzy. Wearing it--and this is odd--I smell something fruity. It smells like wine, really. Wine and incense and herbs and YUM. For a death scent, I find this strangely uplifting, in the same way as, say, Bon Vivant, only much more earthy. I love it. A new favorite.

In the bottle, Devil's Night is very sweet and kind of buttery. It smells thick and kind of heavy. However, on the skin it lightens up a LOT. I almost couldn't smell it at all at first--it seemed to meld into my skin. In its earlier stages, despite that, I did detect a heavy cinnamon note. Later on, it's...different. I don't know how to describe it. I do get sugar, booze, musk, and even a slight whiff of that autumn/bonfire smell. But at the same time, I get the smell of faded air freshener. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I'll try it a few more times and see if it'll grow on me a bit more.

Lily. Nice, fresh, slightly aquatic, slightly soapy lily. I am a big fan of lily--it does wonderful things on my skin. Oddly, that's all I smell. This is very nice and feminine, though not fluffy or pink. Lovely.

At first, I got lots of cedar and something that smells very hot--black pepper, maybe. It's hard to say. The more it dries down, the more a strong menthol smell comes out. I'm thinking...camphor...or something. Eucalyptus? It smells like Vicks Vapo-rub and cough drops sitting in a cedar chest. This would no doubt clear up some sinus problems. It's actually pleasant, but I wouldn't wear it for anything other than ritual or medicinal purposes.

Yeah, rose. And lemon? Oddly, I mistook the rose for lemon at first. This is a very pungent rose--herbal and sharp, not soft and girly. It does soften a little bit as it dries, but it's still not girly. Aside from a slightly powdery background, I really can't place any other notes. Wow.

Grape! Grape and...soap. This is the smell of a soap I had long ago, something maybe floral, or perhaps bayberry, but I can't put my finger on it. Behind the soap, I smell some sort of spice--definitely thinking cinnamon. On my skin, everything really blends together, with the slightly soapy smell in the foreground. Very very lovely, but not me.

Kether, to me, at first smelled like a package of Bottle Caps. It was like the smell you would get if you mixed Dr. Pepper and orange soda (the Dr. Pepper makes me think there's myrrh here). It changes a lot. It's been sitting a few minutes and smells like a powdery floral now, with a little wood and musk backing it. Not bad, but I definitely don't think I would wear it.

Mmm. Spicy. At first I thought cinnamon, and I still kind of think that, but carnation makes sense. To me, Hod smells resiny, spicy, and very warm. It goes on a little bit "air freshener", but doesn't stay like that for long. I do get the similarities to Morocco, but it's sweeter and not as harsh. Seriously, I could bathe in this. I imagine it would make an excellent room scent. Very nice.

In the bottle: The first sniff is pretty, creamy, and...wait, grape? Where did that come from? Not screaming grape popsicles like Urd, definitely more toned down and barely there. Wearing: Ooh. Just slightly floral from the rose, very sweet, yet something sharper deep down--must be the candle smoke smell. It's a little heavier on the citrus that I was hoping, but that so doesn't matter. This is gorgeous. It's definitely a "second skin" scent, one of the only ones I've tried that has that effect on me. It blends so perfectly, you'd think I actually smelled this good naturally. Later: Fades a lot, sadly. That's really the only drawback. It still smells, but only in that faded, dryer sheet way that some lighter blends get after a while. Overall: Beautiful. Subtle. Sexy. A blend for a tomboy who feels like being girly for a day, but still doesn't want to overdo it. In other words, it suits me very well. I am pleased.

Geburah smells a lot like Hellfire to me, just without the tobacco. I definitely smell leather and black musk, and some sort of incense, maybe. A great scent, but too similar to Hellfire for me to really take notice.

On first sniff, it smells like root beer, pepper, musk, and...oh dear, is that civet? I know this shares a certain note with Czernobog, but I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. Later on, I realize that if there is civet here (which I keep almost smelling), it's very faint and doesn't take an awful turn like most blends do that contain the note. Nonetheless, there's something a big "off" about this one. It's not incredibly unpleasant, but I'm really not sure about it.

Loving Kindness, Tzedek, the Benevolence of God, and the source of the 72 Bridges of Mercy. Upon sniffing from the bottle and when wet on my skin, this smells very, very sweet and lovely--possibly lotus. Smelling now, I pick up cedar, pine, and maybe some frankincense and cinnamon. It smells sooo good. I might have to get a bottle of this. Also of note is that I got some on my fingers while opening the imp, and now the two fingers it got on are extremely warm. That said, I'm fairly certain that there's cinnamon here, or something else that does wonders for the circulation.

Binah is, to me, quite floral. There seems to be some sort of medicinal, almost metallic thing going on around the florals, and some wood, but I really can't pick out any notes. It's sweet and deep and definitely reminds me of the Mother God. Very pretty.

I was surprised to find that, while Tamora is indeed a somewhat sweet, light scent, there's a definite depth and almost bitterness here. It smells great, and it's very pretty, and I'm almost at the point of liking it...but there's something about it that's a little off. I think it's the way the amber, heliotrope and sandalwood all blend together, most likely the heliotrope, though I can't really put my finger on it. In the earlier stages I do get a fruity feel from the peach blossom, but that fades out as the other "off" notes take over. Maybe it will work better on someone else.

This goes on very apricot-y at first--pretty, but kind of nondescript. Then after a while, poof! It's gone, except for a very faint, almost aquatic white musk smell. It's so subtle, I have to really sniff to smell it. If you're looking for something subdued and barely there, this is great. However, I like bolder scents, so it will go to someone with different preferences.

The most I can say about this? Good lord, it's SWEET! I mean, sweet. So much so that it gives me a headache. I definitely get a tart, almost artificial peach smell, and that's all I can pick out. Definitely not my cup of tea. Off to the swaps.