donnatron

Imp: Chocolate and rum and just a wee hint o' wine. Wet: Oh rum, why you gotta be like that? The rum and the cocoa combine to be pretty... gross. The wine is such a conflicting note that it's really not helping. Dry: This dries down to a pretty agreeable scent. There's a sense of bloodiness to it without being so literal. I get primarily cocoa heightened with the wine. There's still traces of rum here that prevent it from being fully awesome. It smells a lot like Midnight Kiss but if I was wearing Midnight Kiss and was sloppy drunk on rum. It's so almost wonderful but just that little bit rough around the edges that doesn't work for me. Throw: Moderate. Overall: Who doesn't want to love the drunken bunny scent? Unfortunately it falls just short (rum! Demon rum! I love all the other notes including blood accord!) and doesn't quite work on my chemistry. So sad.

Imp: Copal! I love copal! And a touch of an almost snow-y note. Wet: This doesn't morph a lot on the drydown. Once it hits my skin the gold note goes a little wonky but seems to stabilize pretty quickly. Dry: A nice, soft pretty sort of copal scent. Very light metallic quality but mainly copal. Very simple. Not necessarily something I associate with El Dorado (but I associate Candide with El Dorado so that probably smells like blood and sheep and jungle) but very pretty as it is. Throw: Moderate. Overall: It's pretty but I have other copal scents I'll wear and treasure more. Worth a try if you like simple, clean resin scents.

Chaos Theory V: CXVIX Imp: Like if Snake Oil and TKO had a baby but lavender was a recessive gene. It's very orchid-y is what I'm saying. Wet: Super orchid-y. Lots and lots of Snake Oil and orchid and then? Lemon drops. Dusty lemon drops and Snake Oil. Dry: Okay, so, throw-wise, this is gorgeous. A soft, velvety, almost mashmallow-y orchid and Snake Oil blend. The close-to-the-skin sniff test reveals an acrid, sour lemon smell that is seriously gross. So long as my nose is three or four inches from my skin I'm sitting pretty. Throw: Vast and glorious. It's the up close scent that I have to worry about. Overall: It is always such a relief to not like chaos theory scents, especially when they're in imp form.

Imp: I sniff this and I'm like "WTF? Why did I want to smell like this?" Then I remember that I have this weird thing about wanting to try all the Wanderlust scents. It smells like low tide. Wet: Soap and low tide and a little bit of that knock off Cool Water Woman scent you'd find at liquidation stores in the late 90s. Dry: Okay, dry this is actually a bit nice. Still strong and slightly soapy but definitely aquatic. It smells like the ocean. It conjures up memories of digging for sand dollars in Tofino. So it's pretty and evocative but I can't shake that feeling of low tide from it. A borderline lovely/borderline gross scent. Definitely getting the seaweed. I'm torn on the whole scent. On the one hand I know that I will most likely never crack this imp again but I also know that it's not the imp's fault. It falls just short of working on my skin chemistry and even if it worked fabulously I've never liked aquatics and as such would never reach for it. It's not you, Windward Passage, it's me. Throw: Pretty strong. Overall: Yeah. It's not you, it's me. This is a great scent for those who want to smell like the ocean. I am the landlocked sort and it's just not my style. An interesting and spot on aquatic.

Imp: Lime! Lime-y, lime-y, lime! So rarely do I actually detect lime in a scent that this is a delight indeed. Wet: Strong lime and stronger lemongrass. A faint hint of coconut. The florals are almost nonexistent. The amber is probably that faint grounding sensation I get from the whole scent. Dry: This is an... experience scent? It's pretty simple on my skin--lime and lemongrass with coconut and a faint floral note. Sort of candy like. But it reminds me of Corpus Christi, TX (I know, WTF?). It smells like warmer climes and easy summer days and is really... pretty. Disturbingly pretty. It's not so much a primordial slimy green alien so much as it's the man in the grey flannel suit. It's so pretty and charming and innocuous that you totally overlook the obvious darker aspects. Interesting. Throw: Moderate. Overall: This is quite lovely and very summery without having the pina colada/booze aspect that a lot of the summery scents have. I've wanted to try Shoggoth for a while but to be honest I thought I wouldn't like it. I'm pleasantly surprised and am glad to have the imp((s) Two different swappers sent me frimps on the same day!) on hand.

Imp: Ozone-tastic. Kind of smells like unscented deodorant. I'm a little afraid to put it on my skin. Wet: Really strong deodorant feeling. The florals assert themselves in a pale sort of bouquet feeling. The lotus is the dominant floral note. Dry:Thank God the deodorant scent disappears. This is primarily orchid with a faint hint of ginger. It reminds me a little of Opuhi, actually. Very light and pretty. Clean florals. The sort of thing you can wear to work or to casual gatherings. Throw: Mild. Overall: It's pretty and the more I wear it the more I like it. A very lovely orchid scent and a little unusual and striking. Very pretty.

Imp: Labdanum? Methinks there be labdanum here. Wet: Really grapey. Sort of sweet. Sort of smokey. SO MUCH GRAPE! Where is this grape coming from? I dinna understand. Dry: Sort of body odour-y labdanum. This is kind of a fail on my skin. I can see how it theoretically works but it's just falling flat. No incense, no interest. Just a grapey sort of blah scent. Sadly not for me. Throw: Minor. Overall: Not my style. If you're a labdanum fan this is probably the scent for you.

Bottle: Dark and sweet with a tinge of... not sour,. but tart from the berries. Wet: This is strongly pimento and sage when it's first on. It's not unpleasant but is also not what I was expecting. The patchouli is a bit murky. Dry: That's the ticket. I love patchouli/vanilla combos and this one delivers like crazy. A very smoky, sweet base of patchouli, vanilla and myrrh tinged with the tart berry and then crisped up by the sage. Borderline unisex but still very sexy. A dark, dreamy resinous blend. Almost woodsy. Throw: Moderate. Overall: Simply lovely. This is an amazing blend. Very sexy and fun and easy to wear. Can dress it up or dress it down. Will definitely be treasuring this bottle.

Imp: Strong, rich red roses. So realistic! So rosy! Wet: The rose acquires a brief, fifteen second descent into bathroom air freshener land but rebounds nicely. A touch of leather comes out. The two scents sort of tussle for a while. It's not unpleasant, just surprising. Dry: Move over Blood Rose, I may have found my new GC rose holy grail. This is a perfect damp red rose with just the teensiest hint of kinky leather behind it. Extraordinarily simple but beautiful. Very rich and feminine. Makes me feel like a million dollars even though I'm sitting around the house in a bunny hug. Throw: Good. Mostly the rose throws. Overall: I love this. It is exquisite and beautiful and wonderfully simple and all the other adjectives I can think of to describe "awesome." Definitely on the big bottle list.

Imp: Well, black musk and chocolate. Very little tobacco. Wet: A weird, citrusy zing adds to the overall scent. It's not cloying or unpleasant, just odd. The black musk starts to develop and gets a little furrier than I'm comfortable with but not out of control. A similar GC to this would be Hecate. A very feral scent with a hint of warm, foody sweetness. Dry: Actually, dry, the GC this most reminds me of is Snake Oil. A pared down, sultry, naughtier Snake Oil. It's a very simple scent. The musk is the base note and the cocoa and tobacco sort of entwine overtop of it. It's a gorgeous drydown and very sultry and evocative. It is, however, exceedingly, EXCEEDINGLY sensual. I don't think I'd wear this unless I was comfortable with everyone in the room knowing I wanted some. Throw: Quite strong. Overall: Thankfully I'm the inappropriate sort. This is gorgeous and I am so glad to have ordered a bottle unsniffed (and thank you to the lovely Jen from my Meet 'n Sniff who gifted the imp!).

Imp: Very strong melissa. Very herbal, zingy and lemony but there is definitely a sugared edge to this. Wet: Hooboy! This has a loooong drydown. The wet phase is all herbs and meliss and sharp lemon over absinthe. Bright and sunny and a little odd. Dry: Once dry, the vanilla musk and honey peek through and this is quite lovely. A warm, skin close haze of vanilla and honey touched with absinthe's herbs without smelling like I'm an exotic drunk. Very springy and bright and pretty. Not a sexbomb scent but also not a blushing flower. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I like it and am glad to have procured a partial. It's a pretty, interesting scent that is decidedly perfume without being too perfume-y (if that makes sense). Quite lovely. Adult but not suggestive. I'm happy to have it and will definitely use my bottle up.

Imp: Blood Countess without the florals, actually. If I didn't know better I would think there was opium in this. Wet: Hellion's kind of quiet initially. A dark plum scent without a whole lot of other things going on. Maybe a hint of sandalwood? Dry: It reminds me so strongly of Blood Countess but (thankfully) I think I prefer Blood Countess. This falls a little flat on my skin--it's lacking something that prevents it from really being all it can be. The black plum dominates with a hint of sandalwood and nag champa. Though I love both dark musk and patchouli, they combine to create a furry sort of vibe here that doesn't seem to work on my chemistry with the surrounding notes. The longer it sits on my skin the more tolerable it becomes but perfume should be sniffed and adored, not tolerated. Throw: Mild. Overall: I guess I'm probably just relieved it's not the greatest on my skin. It reminds me not only of Blood Countess but also of Makhanitis and Prospero. A nice plum blend and I'm happy to have tried it but I don't think it's my bag.

Imp: Lavender/sandalwood. Hint of sweet nag champa in the background. Wet: Lavender slightly stronger than the sandalwood and a kind of... body odour scent. Not sure where it's coming from. Dry: That body odour scent persists but as a very faint part of the overall scent. I smell a blend of lavender, sandalwood and faint nag champa. A bit of dust/powder from the tobacco but no real scent. Labdanum has run for the hills. This is very, very light. Throw: Mild. Overall: I don't want people to think I'm masking my body odour with a vaguely headshoppy scent. Gaueko, sadly, did not work on me.

Imp: Apricot. Like Depraved but something I wouldn't feel embarrassed to wear around my grandmother. Wet: Apricot. Strong, STRONG apricot. Apparently I amp apricot. Who knew? Certainly not me. Dry: Apricot and the faintest hint of white musk. No orange blossom which is odd because orange blossom is normally quite prevalent on my skin. Although most fruits work on me I have a general ambivalence towards them and rarely wear a lot of my fruitier scents. This is a fruity scent I could wear a lot. Although I don't smell the floral in it there's a general kind of floral feel from it. Very youthful and fresh but not drugstore body spray-ish. Throw: After the initial "THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR APRICOT!!!" wet phase the dry phase is quite polite. Overall: I like it. It's unusual and pretty and not overbearing. I don't really think I need a bottle but I say that about a lot of things and lo and behold, two months later I need a bottle. Bottleworthy, just perhaps at a later date.

Dia de los Muertos 2007 Bottle: In the bottle this smells deceptively sweet and like... cactus juice. Like that cactus juice Sobe drink they (used to?) sell. Wet: The leaves definitely amp up and this reminds me of a much lighter and more feminine Samhain. Getting a strong incense and a strong, borderline fruity floral. Very, very sweet. Dry: This is not a soft scent. It's very attention seeking and almost harsh. The leaves are very strong and the incense backs it up. Under that there is a level of sweet florals and a touch of candy sweetness. It's a very layered scent and the layers don't seem to be jibing well on my skin. Throw: Moderate. The florals throw more than the incense/leaves. Overall: This has an exceedingly long drydown but the sweet, Samhain-lite drydown is quite pretty. Not an everyday scent but maybe one for bumming around on weekends or any other time where I have a large chunk of time between applying perfume and subjecting the general public to it.

Penetrating and gifted, vulnerable, with just a hint of opium-blurred delirium: poppy smoke, champaca flower, tonka, sandalwood, ginger, white pepper. Bottle: Definitely champaca and it kind of smells like skin musk. There's no skin musk in here but if pressed I would assume there was. Wet: The wet phase is strongly champa with a little touch of the poppy smoke. Very slight hint of ginger in the background. Dry: Strongly nag champa over a soft, smoky base touched with sandalwood. A little ginger and pepper in the background. This is surprisingly feminine on me. Probably because I amp nag champa like no one's business (it's okay, it's one of my favourite notes). Very skin close and alluring. There's a little tonka sweetness here. Very creamy and beautiful. Throw: Minimal. Overall: This is an absolutely gorgeous scent. Sweet and soft and warm with just a bit of grounding from the sandalwood. Close to the skin and very sexy without being sleazy or overt. Definitely on the big bottle list.

Bottle: Sharp greenery and rose. I think there's probably myrtle in here. Honey myrtle to be exact. Wet: The wet stage is highly green and very myrtle. It lasts a long time, too. This is quite the morpher. It has a languid drydown--it definitely takes its time. Dry: If I had to hazard a guess about the contents of this I would say rose, myrtle, lily and... aloe, maybe? Probably not aloe but something like aloe. Maybe a light herb? Bay leaf? Light, green, slightly sweet and with a gentle floral touch. This is very green and fresh and dewy. It's not an innocent scent but it's also not voracious or overbearing. There's also something bitter in here. A contrasting note. It's secure, if that makes sense. It's not afraid to be a little ugly so long as it's itself. Shit son, this scent is like Lady Gaga! Throw: Moderate. Overall: I really like this. It's a pretty unique scent and a great use of (what I think is) myrtle. A beautiful scent that is still a bit ballsy and definitely interesting. It's probably a trip to try on everyone's chemistry.

Imp: Delicious cherry lilies. Wet: Strong green lily scent. The cherry backs off. Dry: Oh... well played, skin chemistry. Stemmy, green, almost aggressive lilies and cough syrup. It's not as bad as that sounds but it's a little weird. Minorly gooey and sweet but kind of bland at the same time. A very blah lily blend. Throw: Minor. Overall: Did not work on my chemistry. The in imp smell is gorgeous though--is Queen of Hearts the scent that sends me careening towards the scent lockets?

Imp: Alice? Weird. It smells a LOT like Alice. Maybe the rose in Alice is Bulgarian? Wet: This is still a dead ringer for Alice. It must be the rose/citrus combo. Dry: This dries down to a pleasant rose/orange blossom scent touched with a bit of almond and spice. Very sunshiny and bright. It's actually not particularly sexy to me. More of a pretty, womanly blend that is appropriate for work or hanging out with friends. The almond kind of rounds out the scent and prevents the florals from getting a bit too aggressive with each other. Throw: Moderate. Overall: It's pretty. Not my favourite but certainly a lovely blend. It very nicely balances more foody/gourmand notes with very classical floral ones.

Imp: I wonder if there is sarsparilla in one of the accords used in here. I get a very strong sarsparilla with a little touch of violet and juniper. Wet: Oh... there's the chestnuts. The very strong, chestnutty chestnuts. Dry: There is a hint of sharp tree bark to this clashing with a strong floral note and the chestnut note. A bit sickly sweet but there is also something sour in here. This is really not jibing with my chemistry or tastes. Borderline foody but like roasting chestnuts and drinking gin. Very weird. The chestnuts lend a strange milkiness to the overall blend. It's kind of fascinating but also gross. I like to smell it because it's unlike anything else I've ever smelled but that's not a good thing. Throw: Moderate. Overall: That was an experience. I should know by now that I just don't like nut notes. It's an interesting blend and is probably stunning on someone else's chemistry.

Imp: Not a whole lot of scent, actually. Vaguely powdery. Reminds me of Nantucket Briar dusting powder from Crabtree and Evelyn. Wet: This goes on powdery. Very, very old fashioned. The white rose doesn't go sour on me as it is want to do--I think it's wrangled a bit by the skin musk. Soft oriental spice notes round this out. It is exceedingly dry. Dry: Okay, actually this is sort of pretty in an old fashioned fainting couch sort of way. Soft, powdery rose touched with skin musk and a light dusting of spices. It smells very classic and proper. After the full drydown I'm getting a hint of creaminess from this coming from the skin musk that makes it soft, delicate and interesting rather than the borderline wretched talcum I was dealing with at the beginning. It smells like something that would work better as a lotion than a perfume, though. Throw: Skin close. But that's good. This is the type of scent that if it had a lot of throw would probably choke everyone in the room. Overall: Huh. I was so not enthused about this scent. I actually really like it and can see picking up a bottle if I see one on the swaps boards. It's very pretty and very classic. Unusual and interesting without being sleazy or weird.

Imp: Honeysuckle, possibly jasmine and... ?? There is a floral in here that I recognize but can't name. Gardenia perhaps? Something thick and tropical. Bit of spice. Wet: Strong honeysuckle and a faint hint of spice. Maybe a touch of rose? Dry: This is quite pretty. A swirl of light flowers and a touch of something a little animalistic. Not in your face but also not completely innocent. Coy, perhaps. This is a coy scent. Maybe tuberose? There's a certain waxiness/creaminess present here. Throw: Moderate. Overall: The world needs more love, yo. This is a pretty blend and the sort of floral blend I love but seem to lack in my scent wardrobe. Chuparosa is a winner. Even if every time I look at the name I think "Chupacabra." ETA: This reminds me strongly of Sundew without that citrus sweetness. There is even a similar white floral note in both that I can't place in any other scent. If you like Chuparosa but are leery of wearing the Voodoo blends, definitely check out Sundew.

Imp: Green tea and lemon. Wet: This is nice. Light and crisp. Green tea is the main note supported by honeysuckle and a surprisingly gentle lemon verbena. Dry: Stays true to scent. Honeysuckle becomes a bit stronger but for the most part this is a very balance oil. Light, crisp and very clean. Summery, I guess. Throw: Mild. Overall: It works on my skin and I like it but will never need more than an imp. I can see myself reaching for this but not often.

Imp: Red musk. Very strong red musk with a faint hint of orchid. Reminds me strongly of Marianne. Wet: The red musk takes off running and melds with the patchouli to create a woodsy, dark sort of incense scent. I get a very faint hint of vanilla. Little floral. No clove or frankincense yet. Dry: Lovely. Or rather, lush. It's a very lush sort of scent. Brings to mind a voluptuous woman reclining in a red velvet dress. Very sexy. It's primarily red musk and patchouli with a faint vanilla vibe. Kind of like if Marianne and Raven Moon had a baby. Or like a drier Mme. Moriarty without the fruits. It's very similar to several other blends in the bpal ouevre. Throw: Good. Overall: This is a gorgeous scent and it certainly lives up to its hype. Personally I just have way too many scents in this family to justify tracking down a bottle.

I'm with Kristana on the hilarity of the word choices. Giant Vulva is Skin musk, sugar cane, honey, beeswax, vanilla flower, and copal. So I'm going to assume that on you it's a soft skin close light musk with a teensy bit of resin from the copal and sweetness from the honey/beeswax/vanilla combo. The best approximation I can think of is layering: Regan Illyria A deceptively sweet orchid vanille with a faint trace of stephanotis. and La Petite Mort Ars Amatoria The scent of warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion, touched by the luxuriant potency of ylang ylang and myrrh. It's missing the honey/beeswax element but might approximate the skin musk/vanilla combo nicely. Other scents you can try are: Eos Excolo Her scent is that of softly glowing skin, jasmine, buttercup and honeysuckle. The buttercup adds a nice waxiness that might smell a bit like the beeswax element. Les Bijoux Ars Amatoria Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh. A drop dead sexy skin musk/honey combo with a light dusting of florals and resin. Vasilissa Marchen creamy skin musk and blushing pink musk with soft sandalwood, white amber, dutiful myrrh, and star jasmine. I haven't tried this so you might want to check the review thread to see if it matches up with your expectations. And you can always check the swaps forum to see if anyone's selling or swapping off a bottle. Or you can look for decants to fill your bottle up with. Good luck!