donnatron

Imp: A bit odd. Sour wine and tonka. Wet: Right. Chardonnay. White wine is never the greatest on my skin. Warm tonka, touch of tobacco and a wee little whiff o' leather. Dry: This dries down to sort of a kinky coconut. The chardonnay is present but so faint that it can't do it's usual weirdness on me. I get a hint of the leather. It smells... well, "kinky coconut" is probably the best way to describe it. Definitely sexy and a little sensual but with a bit of vulnerability around the edge. Throw: Mild. Overall: It's grown on me. I used to never be a fan of Perversion but the more I test it the more I actually like it. Oddly as a more comfortable/summer sort of scent than an actual sexy scent but them's the ropes.

Imp: Strong and dark. Lots of tobacco and oak. Wet: The tobacco is definitely the dominant note but I'm getting some of that lovely and distinctive teak note. The vanilla is warming up but isn't noticeably VANILLA! Dry: Wow. I think the trick with this one was aging it. I bought my imp right when the Steampunks came out, was not wowed by AM but now am kinda smitten. Very dark, sultry and sexy. Strong and commanding and definitely a power sort of scent. The oak and teak form an amazing, solid base with the vanilla swirling up with the tobacco in a smoky sort of way. Definitely not a coy scent. Throw: Strong. Overall: Gorgeous. I definitely understand all the love for this scent.

Sugar Skull 2006 Bottle: Molasses. Wet: Not molasses but still a strong, sticky, almost boozy scent. Dry: Really long drydown on this one, btw. After drydown it's a nice, sweet fruity scent but there's still a strong burnt/molasses-y component. Very, extraordinarily sweet and foody. A little fruitiness but it doesn't cut the molasses quality. Almost grotesque in its sweetness. I might have to brush my teeth now. Throw: Sugar Skull is EVERYWHERE! Overall: I don't particularly care for it but it's been complimented enough that if the compliments keep up I'll probably at least manage to finish the bottle. Apparently I am a big ho for attention. However, this doesn't mean I'll buy another bottle when it's done.

Imp: Blood orange and frankincense. Wet: The orange sort of smoothes out and I get a general spiciness combined with the frankincense and a warming skin sweetness. Dry: Dry, sort of dusty orange, resinous frankincense, a residual spiness and then a warm, skin sweet almost-vanilla. Odd but interesting. Not necessarily the greatest on my chemistry but definitely fun. Loving the benzoin in this. Throw: Mild. Overall: I like it. I will enjoy and use up the imp and may buy a bottle if I see one but won't be stalking the forums or ebay any time soon.

Imp: Artificial cherry/strawberry with a bit of weird oiliness (amber) and a touch of musk. Wet: The heliotrope comes out but now it smells like heliotrope and red twizzlers (WTF?). Dry: The red musk thankfully comes to the forefront and gives this a needed incensy kick. The strawberry and cherry still give it a kind of weird, plastic-y sense and the amber is doing nothing at all. It's pretty and I get the concept, but I'll take Kabuki or the Dodo for my GC fruity red musk jonesing. It is strangely addictive, however. Sometimes I like to smell like Hollywood Bablyon because I can even if I know I shouldn't (IE: confined spaces). Throw: Strong. Overall: I am a big fan of red musk and not trying HB would be craziness. I think I have other scents in the GC and LE that cover these bases but I wouldn't discount a bottle considering how oddly alluring I find this scent.

Bottle: CURRANTS! Followed by mint! Then a tinge of violet. Wet: CURRANTS AND MINT! SO MUCH MINT! Tiny, tiny bit of violet and then a touch of moss. The moss is really needed in this (not something I usually say) because it grounds it and keeps it from getting grotesquely sweet). Dry: Sweet minty violet currants. A hint of the lilac has come out. Maybe a bit of the sandalwood. Trace of sweetness that is probably the purple musk and the lingering traces of the moss. Need the moss. Kind of loving the moss. Unnerved by my moss lovin'. It's still very, very sweet but kind of adult in a way. Not particularly sexy to me, which is odd considering the inspiration, but still definitely a grown up sort of thing. Throw: Mild. Overall: I like it. It's actually calmed down quite a bit from when I first acquired it and I will definitely be reaching for it more often. Digging the currant/violet combo.

Bottle: Crazy lavender. Not a crazy amount of lavender but rather a scent that I identify as lavender but there's something in it that makes it smell a little off kilter. Wet: Flat gingerale. I actually like the scent of flat gingerale so I'm digging it. Dry: This is what it says it is. Musky, soft magnolia spiked with lavender. Very womanly and sultry. A little chilly an distant--I like wearing this at work or with difficult clients. I think it's suitably remote. It's also completely unique which is something I've been noticing about the Stardust scents lately; there is nothing that can approximate or smell like this anywhere else in the catalogue whether GC or LE. It's a gorgeous scent. Throw: Mild. Overall: I always forget how much I love Yvainne (considering that I've had the bottle more than a year and have yet to review it) and I think it's just because she's a little sharp edged for my usual mood/presentation. I adore wearing this scent for occasions where I have to be severe but I think I should branch out and just try it on average, everday days.

Rolling helps to blend the oil together so that if any components have separated you won't be applying only from the top layer of the oil. It also warms the oil slightly from the heat in your hands and gives you a bit fuller scent experience. It's important to roll rather than shake a bottle because shaking could snap long molecule strands in the oil components that will lead to quicker degredation or alteration in the oil. </enthusiastic bottle roller> After I test a scent and decide to keep it I apply by covering the top of the bottle with my middle finger, upending the bottle and then applying that way. I like the sort of more sensuous experience of having the oil in my hand as I apply. It's the same reason I loved 4711 before switching to BPAL (well, that and 4711 is just a really awesome, classic fragrance).

It could also be Midwinter's Eve (sugar plum and icy white florals) or Prospero (wine, plum, nag champa).

Because clove does bizarre things on my skin I find that the scent Blood from Bewitching Brews actually smells like literal blood. I love blood accord and this one kind of scares me. It has too much of that sour, congealed slaughterhouse edge for me to truly like it. I do, however, due to my weird clove chemistry really like Sybaris which smells like fresh blood accord (metallic and coppery with a bit of pulse to it) and violets.

Bottle: Vetiver and violet. Nothing odd here. Wet: So I'm pretty sure there are two varieties (at least) of vetiver than the lab use. One is the sultry, dark smoky vetiver of Lunar Eclipse and Prurience. The other is a drier, more grassy vetiver of the sort used in Queen and Saturnalia. I prefer the smoky one, but I can deal with the other. This is definitely threatening to go gross, however. Dry: Dirty violets. I'm a little sad because I know this used to be pure sexiness on me but now it's still wearable and I like it but it's also like, "Would you like to smell like a violet garden? WELL YOU CAN!!!" The violets actually clean it up quite a bit and make this sort of boring. Like violets and dirt. Throw: Moderate to strong. Overall: I actually had my bottle up on the sales board but I think I'll keep it. I can see myself being in the mood for this every once in awhile.

Imp: Camphor... Camphor? WTF? Wet: Okay, getting some of the tobacco now. Definitely getting the gin. No melon or honey. Dry: I smell like a tobacconist near my office. It's a gorgeous scent and I'm actually kind of psyched that I can smell like that without having to sit around and marinate in it for hours because I don't actually smoke cigars. The melon adds the perfect amount of sweetness and I get a sense of spice and herb from this. It's an unusual but actually pretty glorious scent. The honey adds just a bit of sacchirine sweetness and I LOVE IT! Throw: Moderate. Overall: I so was not expecting this. Tried it on without the notes in front of me and thought it would be some weirdo counterpoint to Odin. It's glorious, however, and I may have to have a bottle. It's just so freaking WEIRD!

Imp: Creamy, soft rose. Wet: Yet more, creamy, soft rose. Touch of aquatic. Dry: Eh. Soft, creamy rose, a little of that sort of white musk moonflower drydown. Not generic but not doing wonders on my chemistry. Very prim in a weird sort of way. It makes me feel like a spinster school marm. Super asexual. Throw: Mild. Overall: I like it and could actually see retaining a bottle for those days when I just want to do my thing and be left alone and not be thinking randy thoughts because I smell like leather and musk. On the shortlist of wanted bottles but probably for a weird reason.

A scent as sharp as glass shards, and as brittle as a broken heart. The formula came to me - quite literally - in a dream, and is named after, and created in memory of, the last poem that I ever wrote… almost ten years ago to the day. A blend of white champagne notes, grapefruit, lotus, slivered mint and crystalline aquatic blooms. Imp: Grapefruit and mint. Wet: Yet more grapefruit and mint. Also: It stings. Not the expected stinging you get from mint where it can be very refreshing and cool. Rather, it stings like it is burning my skin. Not horribly enough to wash it off but definitely puzzling. Dry: Almost nonexistant but kind of pleasant and grapefruity. A bit ozone or aquatic. Sweet and fresh. Very, very clean. Definitely an office sort of scent. Throw: Mild. Overall: Not digging it. It burns.

If you want something a bit lineny but more complex than Dirty you could try: White Rabbit Strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen It's sort of a clean, fresh, lemon-y linen scent. Interesting without being cloying or overbearing. Other suggestions: Manhattan sheer amber, black leather, white mint, lemon peel, white tea, grapefruit, kush, teakwood and orchid. Clean and sheer with a bit of edge from the leather. Cathode Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints. A bit dirtier than the other two from the mosses but the mints give it a clean, sharp edge. Torture Queen White amber, vanilla musk, white tea, ambergris, gardenia, and chrome. She's Carnaval Diabolique so if you're buying straight from the lab you're committing to a full bottle. It's a light, clean, almost CK One-ish scent. Galvanic Goggles Metallic notes with Indian musk, tobacco flower, and African balsam. This might work for you or the mister. Clean and sharp with a bit of fuzzy softness from the musk and tobacco. If you're willing to hunt down a limited edition I would recommend Pirate Moon Red musk, ambergris, coconut palm, red sandalwood, balsam, date, warm leather, tobacco, ebony, lingum vitae wood, pandanus grass, an' a touch o' lime. It's sort of a salty, sea air linen shirt scented with your honey's cologne. It's what I imagine Ernest Hemingway would smell like. For your husband: Bloodlust Dragon's blood essence, heavy red musk, Indonesian patchouli and swarthy vetiver with a drop of cinnamon. It has the heft and complexity of Burberry without the sweetness of Death Adder. Voodoo myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, lime, vanilla, pine, almond and clove. Deep, dark and a little dischordant but ultimately very, very interesting. Dee soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods. Just the ultimate sexy man scent. Sometimes I get the urge to do myself when I wear this one, let alone what I would do if I sniffed it on a gent. Tombstone vanilla, balsam and sassafras layered over Virginia cedar. Depending on his chemistry this one may be a winner. If he amps vanilla, probably not, but if he amps the woodsy notes it is truly a winner. So, of course, I will include the standard BPAL disclaimer: Never discount it until it touches your skin. Your chemistry might absolutely sing with heavy foody or floral notes. You'll never know if you never try!

Imp: Soft ginger oil. Wet: I get the creaminess from the milk and honey combo and a touch of warm ginger. Dry: The ginger goes lemony and this winds up a very soft, skin close sort of citrus scent. It's pretty. Not exactly what I was expecting but I definitely see why people always cite this one as a comforting scent. Throw: Mild. Overall: I like it. It seems like something I may want to upgrade to a big bottle for just so I can wear it around the house at night and sleep in it.

Imp: Greenery and berries. Wet: Something sharp and artificial comes through on application. It reminds me of those old body sprays by the Gap. Dry: Still cloying and artificial. I do smell the grass and berries and a light dusting of florals but it's just sitting on top of my skin smelling kind of gross and artificial. Really doesn't meld with my chemistry well. Throw: Light. Overall: Not doing it for me.

Imp: Thin and... reedy? Not floral at all. Wet: A touch of floral coming out with the nicotiana. Also a hint of greenery from something. Dry: This is nose tingling. I actually sneezed when I took too deep of a whiff. I don't know which ingredient is doing that. This is a thin, sort of blue floral scent. It reminds me a lot of Dreamland but without that sultry skin musk note. Throw: Mild. Overall: Eh. It's not working wonders with my chemistry so I think I can pass this one by.

Imp: Herbs and dirt and a little moss. Very faint trace of red wine. Wet: Sharp, acrid dirt and a touch of warm sweetness. This is very dischordant. Dry: Go figure. Nosferatu winds up being a warm, rich, fruity red wine scent with just a touch of sharpness from the dirt in the background. On my skin, at least, it becomes pretty feminine and definitely swelling with some weird sweetness. It's a lot less threatening than the name and ingredients would suggest. However, it's also a lot less interesting than I anticipated from the ingredients. My wine amping powers have been used for evil. Throw: Moderate. Overall: It was a fun try but I don't overly care for the eventual drydown. Probably will become one of those imps I take out to sniff every once in awhile because the drydown is just so dang weird.

Imp: Yep. Pennyroyal. I know that scent. Wet: Pennyroyal and lavender. The lavender almost imediately gets swallowed up by the pennyroyal. Dry: So I just reviewed this because I had it on hand because I know that pennyroyal is the devil's herb on me. A sharp, biting pennyroyal mint scent over rotting vegetation. Pennyroyal is not my friend, yo. Vaguely body-odour-y and moreso as it wears on. Throw: The throw itself is mildly minty. The up close scent is what makes it so very wrong. Overall: No pennyroyal for me.

Imp: Sage and cedar. Wet: Cedar. Ever so very much cedar. Teensiest bit of sage. No bay leaf. And I'm okay with that because I don't relish the thought of smelling like cooking. Dry: The bay leaf comes out and it's actually quite nice. The sage and bay sort of meld together into a nice, masculine, herbal greenness. The cedar presides over it all, however, and is very... cedar-y. It's a little peppery but the longer it sits on my skin the more it melds into my chemistry and starts to smell more like I've been doing something outdoors than I'm coated in perfume oil. Very interesting. Throw: Strong. Overall: I like the imp and will probably use it up. Don't see myself being in the mood for Lear enough to justify a bottle.

Bottle: Sweet violets. Wet: This goes a bit baby powdery at first. The sweet note definitely amps up and gets very fuzzy. It takes a while to calm back down. Dry: Gentle, sweet violets. It's very simple but very distinct. Not old fashioned but definitely classic. It's a little flirty but in an odd way. I wouldn't go on the prowl and wear this to a bar but I'd be more than happy to wear it to a work function and flirt a little with my workmates. It's very nonethreatening. The violet is strong and sweet in this and just absolutley perfect. Throw: Strong. Overall: Dangit. The Carnaval just keeps sucking me back in. I dread the next update because there are so many scents that I desperately need to be stocking up on.

Definitely something a little light and ethereal. A few recs: The Lady on the Grey pearly sandalwood, white amber, tobacco flower, orris, castoreum bouquet, soft resins, and pale petals. Very dry and pale. This is the one that immediately sprang to mind. Lurid black currant, Bulgarian lavender and white musk with a dollop of thick resin and a voltaic charge of ozone notes. I think of this as sort of a younger Luna scent. It's a bit more playful and light without losing that sort of intense gravity Luna has around her. Black Opal Soft and luminescent with flashes of black fire. A pale, sort of creamy vanilla with a touch of mineral. Hairy Toad LilySpotty, hairy, purple, sweet! I think it has the same sort of whimsy Luna embodies--fun and spunky but with something a bit sinister. Iambe Sudanese amber, patchouli, rose, gardenia, gladiola and white tea Soft and pretty with a bright edge from the tea.

Imp: Dusty ylang ylang. Wet: The ylang ylang vanishes leaving me with a primarily sandalwood scent over dusty neroli. Neroli is always initially dusty on me so I'm not going to panic. Dry: This has a fairly long drydown before it becomes something more than boring old regular sandalwood. The neroli peeks out and this becomes a soft and airy sandalwood/neroli blend. Very simple and easy to identify the notes but also not medicinal or aromatherapy-esque as some of the simpler blends can turn on my skin. Light and clean, a touch floral and overall just very pretty. Throw: Mild. Overall: Pretty. Will probably use up the imp for work purposes but not my favourite sandalwood or neroli (or ylang ylang for that matter) blend.

Bottle: Soft aquatic and ozone notes. Very crisp and clean. Wet: The wet stage on this one is weird. It wants to stay clean and crisp and sort of detached from me but the amber warms to my skin and seems to drag everything else into it. Dry: I think that without the amber I would totally hate this. It's basically just a light, clean, almost laundry detergent fresh scent. But the amber lends it a really interesting, warm resinous quality and makes it interesting without overpowering it. This is very light and ethereal. Not the greatest thing I have ever smelled on my chemistry but something that I can wear to the office without complaint and it actually has really good wearlength. Throw: Moderate. Overall: It's pretty and a little unusual. Nothing too out there and nothing groundbreaking compared to other BPAL scents but sometimes you need something that is just neutral and easy to wear. House of Mirrors definitely falls into the category for me.