miss apple

Pumpkin Queen is Jack but even better (which I did not think possible!) Jack is all creamy warm pumpkin and delicious in its own right but Pumpkin Queen - ahhh! The ginger and amber give a regal air to the warm sweet pumpkin foodiness. I'm not really getting any orange but perhaps they are subtle notes that serve to deepen the warm, spicy complexity of the blend. This does not morph to my nose at all and smells just as wonderful as when I first applied it. The Pumpkin Queen is alluring and sexy, charming and sweet, and seducitively delicious. I think I have found a new all-time favorite

In the bottle, mmm yummy chocolate but on the milky side. It reminds me of those singing fudge shops in the mall! Once on it still smells yummy but something is going a bit off...still a sweet fudge smell but now with a hint of something that smells a bit like toilet bowl cleanser Urg. I'm not sure what that could be but now I can't get the notion out of my head. I'm going to have to give this a try another time before I can make a final verdict. If I can't wear it then I think I will probably use it as a room scent.

Several things have been bugging me lately that are driving me nuts about the LJ communities on my friends list. 1. People using 'big' or 'advanced' words incorrectly or even inanely. This is a sentence from a post that appeared today: "I just love purveying things that are hand made" She's talking about buying things at craft fairs. Mmm, okay. I'm not even going to give her the benefit of the doubt by suggesting that it was meant to be 'purchasing'. It's probably a case of someone using a word that they think means something else. Maybe I'm just weird but any time I'm uncertain of a definition I look it up. Even for words that I use frequently just to make sure I'm not confused. At least she spelled it correctly which brings me to #2 2. Bad spelling - argh! Again, any time I'm not sure of the proper spelling I look it up. A learning disability is one thing but pure laziness (or apathy which I think may also be part of the problem) is another. And something else I don't understand is how someone can't see that they spell things wrong. My biggest example is the tattoo LJs. I can't even say how many times I see someone misspell the word tattoo which is used so often that if you played a drinking game you'd be drunk after reading one or two posts! 3. People posting questions that could be easily answered by using a search engine - is it that hard to look up something? Asking for opinons is one thing but wanting someone else to work for you? Lazy. 4. alot - haaaaate!! And what's even worse is that if it's not in the dicitonary now it will be soon and people will assume then that joining 'a' and 'lot' is correct. Much like many people think irregardless is a real word. Now I freely admit that my grammar and punctuation is crap. The last lesson I had was in 7th grade and, to be honest, I can't remember a thing. Where to put commas and semi-colons, what splitting an infinitive means, why you're not supposed to end a sentence in a prepostion, what a preposition is anyway...dangling participles...all terms and rules that march through my brain with no tangible sense of how to apply them. I suppose everyone has their Achilles heel. Am I a hypocrite for berating anonymous people about one thing when I'm so weak in another? And that I have no frame of reference for why they post the way they do? I don't know. It's food for thought.

Haha, I think of Prince whenever someone uses 'u' or '2' as an abbreviation too Drives me nuts. I just want to say "you are not Prince and you are not funky!"

Much hate for HFCS. It's in every damn thing these days

caveat: I tried this without reading the ingredients first so I'm going to guess it's the white musk going bad. Juliet In the imp: um...this smells like rubbing alcohol with something else mixed in. Once on: now I get rubbing alcohol and tanning lotion. It's a very odd combination. A bit later something salty comes into play. This might be the strangest reaction I've ever gotten from an oil. I don't smell any fruits or florals - I just have a bizarre impression of having an open wound cleaned at the beach Alas Juliet is not for me.

In the bottle Leo is citrusy with a hint of floral. It's really not a scent I normally wear so even though I've had this bottle for a while this is maybe the second time I've worn it. Once on the florals amp up and I'm a little worried that they'll be too strong. Luckily that phase only lasts for a bit and then the citrus and florals mellow and the sandalwood comes out and and everything settles down into a delicious warmth. Leo is bright and cheery with a sensous depth. Very glad I decided to try it today.

Osun. ... Her ofrenda is thick with honey and herbs of love, passion and desire. In the bottle, mmm honey. Not sticky, cloying honey though, this is more of a florally sweetness. Once on this reminds me a little of Athens but I like this better. It's golden and warm and comforting. There's a touch of baby powder but not many scents smell like that on me so it's nice. There's not a lot of throw but I like it that way. The delicious smell isn't noticeable until you get up close which gives it a sensual air. So glad I bought a bottle

Sometimes - ok a lot of the time - I wonder exactly what people think of me. If I don't know someone I tend to be very quiet and reserved. I don't speak up, don't really offer my opinions, don't expand on my thoughts or comments. Flying under the radar, being invisible, that's my usual MO. I think this is what an old friend meant when they told me I was very un-Leo-like. Inside, however, I am quite the Leo. I want attention. I want people to laugh at my jokes. I want to be engaging. I take pride in my appearance. The inner Leo always fights with my low self confidence but usually loses. Most of the time just can't shake that ugly, unpopular, wallflower kid feeling from middle school. I feel that anyone I meet immediately sees that I don't measure up and that I am not worth consderation. It's not as though people come up to me on the sidewalk and ask just what business I have going out in public but sometimes it feels that way. My husband tells me that he wishes I could see myself through his eyes. I wish I could too. There are days when I do open up. Then I talk and laugh and joke. In the moment everything feels fine but afterwards doubt creeps in. Did I talk too much? Was the person just humoring me? Do they think I'm just nuts? I have a caustic sense of humor and a keen sense of observation - does that make me appear harsh or critical? I think I notice these things more the older I get. Possibly because it's so hard to meet people when you don't have a ready made community like high school or college. I'm not even sure where this post is going...just some random thoughts going through my head at the moment. I'm resisting the urge to delete it though.

Chaos Theory CDXLIV (444 - hey that's kinda cool!) In the bottle this reminds me of Shub with less of a gingerbread note. There's something else in here but I can't figure out what it is. Maybe a hint of Underpants? There's something with a bit of a tang but it's not really vinegar...Once on this is definitely in the Shub family but now I'm thinking that the tangy note is more of a buttery rum note. It doesn't really morph and pretty much smells like a mixture of Gluttony and Shub Niggurath - delicious

Hmm, I think we stealth Leos need to band together. I'm so glad to hear there are others like me

Haha, very true! I guess that's what takes people by suprise when I do come out of my shell. Yay for Leos!

Eat Me: In the bottle - yup, definitely cake-like. Not as sweet as MB:Closet though, more like cake without the frosting. Once on I smell berries and I admit that I really don't know what currants smell like but the scent of this reminds me of blueberries. There's a brief hint of butteriness wafting through but never quite coming to the surface. Overall I really like this. It's much lighter than MB:Closet, Underbed, Underpants, Beaver Moon, et al. Good for those days when you want to smell like cake but don't want a strong scent.

Ahathoor - in the imp a bit woody. Once on I can smell something similar to amber and maybe a touch of sandalwood? Clove-like spices add a bit of sweetness. I really like this! It's warm and woodsy - very comforting. Definitely need a big bottle

Hymn to Proserpine: In the bottle is amber and something else though that something else isn't fruity. Can't quite put my finger on it. Once on - wow this is strong! Lots of amber and another element giving it a perfumey quality. There's a little bit of spiciness but the overall impression is amber perfume. I wish was able to smell the fruit but this is still nice. It seems like a dressy, sophisitcated amber rather than an earthy, sexy amber.

An utterly feral, thoroughly rousing perfume. Red patchouli sweetened by orange blossom. Ravenous - in the bottle: spicy oranges. Once on I can smell a Snake Oil quality and oranges but oranges that aren't citrusyl. Citrus is usually a bad thing for me but in this blend the orangeiness works. It reminds me a little of the orange blossom perfume that my grandmother bought for me when I was little. My mom hated the smell of that stuff but I loved it because perfume was such a grown up kind of thing to my six year old mind and if my older sister had it then I wanted it too. Anyway the patchouli is strong and in this blend that's a good thing because it keeps the oil from being too cloying. The scent stays strong and lasts for hours. Side note: I spilled an imp of this in my car and it makes a great air freshener!

In the bottle all I can really smell is the lotus. It's light, more like a faded version than the robust note in Blood Lotus. Transparent is the word that comes to mind. Once on it stays the same, airy, paper-thin lotus. A slight touch of rose comes out a bit later but by then Lotus Moon has all but disappeared. No amber or pine or spices for me, sadly.

Litha - in the bottle it's kind of nondescript. Something florally and light. Once on it blossoms into a bright golden yellow scent. I can really smell the honey and it reminds me of Jezebel quite a bit. The florals fade to the back and mostly what stays strong is the honey. I can see wearing this in early September when the days are still warm and the nights start to cool.

In the bottle this has an essence much like the other Ars Draconis blends. Once on a sweet woodiness comes out. I get the same warm and dry impression and for some reason this blend really makes me think of fall when it's still warm during the day but the leaves have just started to turn. On me this is quiet and reserved but with an earthy, sexy edge just beneath the surface. Dragon's Claw will definitely be in rotation during the autumn months.

Wow, that sounds like more fun than when my dad thought it would be a great idea to dump hot ashes in the garden on Christmas eve. Nothing like scanning the skies for Rudolph only to see flames in the front yard Glad no one was hurt!

Madrid is a good red wine scent.

My back itches! And that's pretty much all I have to say about that. My legs are also itching like a fiend for some unknown reason. I'm convinced that my skin has declared hostile intent and constantly looks for new ways to torture me. Tonight I'm absurdly glad that I will be able to have a nice quiet dinner, watch tv, and finish my belly dance belt without any interruption. I love my husband but sometimes it's nice to be home alone. My mom always said I'd make a good hermit. I do like being around people but I also love reading a good book for hours or just watching tv while I knit or sew. There weren't many kids my age in my neighborhood when I was growing up so I learned how to amuse myself at an early on. I think this might also be the reason why I talk to myself so much. This weekend will be my first performance as a belly dancer. I'm a little nervous but I'm also happy because it will make my dancing seem a bit more real since someone else other than my teacher and her husband will see me perform. Luckily it's going to be somewhat informal so the stage fright won't be so bad. I just hope I do ok.

Yesterday I went in for the next stage of my tattoo. This session was color, shading, and reworking my old tattoo to make it part of the new design. I'd been pretty psyched all week for my appointment but Sunday morning I was feeling some trepidation. Maybe it was because the feeling of the needle was still fresh in my mind or maybe it was something non-tattoo related but I was not in a good mindset for tattooing when I got to the shop. Outlining the old ink wasn't so bad but it seemed harder for me to adjust to the pain. It was especially intense when the artist started shading in the areas around the old design to join it with the new. It seemed to go on and on and I could swear that all my skin was gone and she was working directly on the bone. The odd thing was there were some parts that hurt so much I thought I'd start crying and others two milimeters away that felt like nothing. I'm guessing this was different because I've never had much more than an outline and extensive shading was a whole new kettle of fish (not to mention more needles). I didn't cry and in fact I hardly made more than one or two exclamations the whole session but inside I felt like I wasn't handling it was well. It seemed much more mentally taxing than physically. I had scheduled three hours but at the two and a half mark I had reached my limit. I could feel my instincts making me want to shrink from the needle and felt that it was probably a good time to stop. It seemed to me like I was wussing out...like I hadn't accomplished what needed to be done. She'd hardly started to use color - just a bit of dark blue in some areas - when I said 'uncle'. It wasn't until I looked in the mirror and saw that most of the work was on my old tattoo and now it looked crisp and dark and brand new (and, really, I guess it was). The whole bottom of the design had a new intensity from the dark accents. It looked amazing. My next appointment is almost a month away but I think that's a good thing. It will give me time to heal and adjust and prepare myself for the next stage. I'm truly amazed at anyone who can sit for hours under the needle. Maybe someday I can work up to that but for now I need to take small steps.

Thanks! It's not sore anymore...now I've moved on to the infernal itchy stage. I am beginning to believe that tattoos are serendipitous things that happen when all the right elements come together: i.e. the right artist, the right idea, the right time. I think if you find that you want to get one you'll be bold enough to do so when everything falls into place.

It's tough losing a furry member of the family