Shimmershadow

Sudha Segara, Red Moon, and Three Witches are my current sexalicious faves. Mr. Man loves me in Three Witches (it's the clove and cinnamon that gets him), but I've gotten many compliments on Red Moon, and I personally feel like Miss Fabulous in Sudha Segara.

Very nutty-sweet in the bottle, like freshly roasted peanuts. On the skin, it dries down to the described woody-cherry smell. Very cedar-smelling, like a well-aged linen press. Odd as it may sound, might make a good gentlemen's fragrance..?

I'm suprised I didn't like this more than I do, based on the description. I was hoping for a fresher-smelling blend, but both in the bottle and on my skin, this one is very fruity, unfortunately, and very sweet. The drydown leaves me with a slightly brighter, more sparkly scent, but not enough green or floral to cover up the cherry-strawberry to my taste. I wanted to like it...I wanted to like it so bad...

Wow. This is incredibly strong-smelling, bitter and harsh. Made me gag a little just opening the bottle. This has a ferociously plasticky, chemical smell, wich mellows only marginally on my wrist into a deep frankincensy incense. Makes me sneeze, and while not as harsh as it was in the bottle, is still not particularly attractive to my nose. Could be particularly useful in chaos magic, but as a personal perfume, it doesn't quite strike me as something I'd enjoy wearing.

On opening the cap, I swear this smells like Egg Nog to me. Must be the nutmeg and cinnamon tripping my scent memory. On second whiff (and I made sure to take a nice deep breath), I get the cookie smell. And how! Totally reminds me of the cookies my mom used to make for the neighborhood cookie exchange. On my skin, it smells even more cookie-like and more like buttery cinnamon. Whoa cinnamon. Whoa loads of red-hots! Like I just rubbed my face in a box of cinnamon Altoids, without the pain. I like it, but it's still a bit foody for me.

Delicious, rummy creamy goodness! I don't know what I could possibly add to the other reviews except to add one more voice to the "dead-on" cheer. It smells so delicous in the bottle, and on my skin it just gets more nutmeggy and rummy, but is still smoothed out by the cream scent. It's tangy, it's soft, it'll get you into trouble at the office holiday party. What more could you want?

In the Bottle: Something almondy. I don't like almonds. On me: Still almondy! All almonds!! I don't like almonds!! Although it smells less bad on me that I would have thought...I still don't like almonds!! And so... I don't like almonds!!!

In the bottle: SPICY CHERRIES!! WHOA!! On me: More cherry, less spicy. Dries down into a more licorice scent, smells kinda weirdly plasticky. And so... Foody scents, even something as reasonably innoccuous as licorice and cherry, just don't excite me. I was hoping this might be more Japanese-incense-y, but nope...licorice. *sigh*.

In the bottle: Lavender? Why am I smelling lavender? On me: Still lavender, but sweeter now...like flowers gone to rot, when you stick them in the potpourri jar while still damp. Drying, a sort of resin-y note comes out...frankincense, which NEVER smells good on me (maybe it just doesn't smell good to my nose...) And so... Not a favorite, really. Not bad, but doesn't really do anything for me. I really don't like the frankincense, and this goes way too frankincensy on me.

In the bottle: Mmm! Sweet, floral...very yummy, very bright and shiny. On me: Rosy, flowery, but not cloying. I feel like I'm wearing a spring garden! Do NOT wear this if you don't like/cannot wear florals. Personally, I like this as much as I thought I might. It's so pretty, so girlie, and while I'm not normally crazy about girlie scents, this one is just irresistable. Light, sweet, fresh-smelling, very very pretty. And so: Like it very, very much! Actually was my first 5ml, and it's already on the 10ml list.

In the bottle: Very patchouli. And roses, FRESH roses. This is promising, as these are two scents that never fail to work at least to some degree with me... On me: Holy patchouli, Batman. Dries down to a scrummy rosey scent though...this is definitely an offering scent. The rose sweetens out and de-hippies the patchouli. Very, very strong though, as with most patchouli scents on me. Patchouli seems to strengthen on my skin, screaming out, "HEY! COME SMELL ME, I HAVEN'T SHOWERED IN TWO DAYS AND I'M COVERING IT UP!!" But this I like. And so... Mmmm nummers. This is going on at least the 5ml list for sure.

In the bottle: Sneakily sweet, decaying rose and a saltiness that I can't place. On me: More floral, the roses definitely start coming out on my skin. Less masculine than I'd expected it to be, but also more perfume-y. Has a bit of an outdoorsy smell to it, like being in a garden lined with cypress trees. Goes from being lighter and outdoorsy on my skin to being more close, evoking a darkened parlor-turned-viewing room. Starts smelling wridly citrusy after a while. And so... I like it, it agrees with me, but it just doesn't send me. Not high on my priority list, but it's okay.

In the bottle: Musky, tart, very masculine. I get a sniff of burned tire for some reason. Some kind of pine in there, too. On me: Softens up slightly, but only slightly. Still that burned pine smell, but now a more incensy note comes through. Smells a bit chemical to my nose. And so... Not crazy about it, although I am keeping it in mind to use as a sort of mood-setter room scent for when I'm feeling particularly mad scientist.

Bottle Sniff: Sweeter than I'd expected it to be, even slightly more feminine. Keep picturing Anthony Hopkins in Julie Taymor's "Titus", and keep coming up short. Smells a squeedle bit soapy to me (which may be the neroli), but after a few minutes the bergamot comes out, and I can start picturing the Roman countryside. Wrist Sniff: Evolves into something a bit more lush, but still softer than I'd expected. Still oddly soapy for my taste; but it reminds me a little of my dad. No, the more I leave it on, the more i don't like it. Dries into something smelling vaguely of nailpolish remover. My skin is not liking this. I smell like a clean floor. Damn you, body chemistry! You used to like EVERY perfume! And so: Can't do it. Might get an imp for dad to see if he likes it, but this is one I'm definitely having to pass on.

Bottle Sniff: Whoo! Sweet!! Very sugary-berry. Makes me suddenly crave a bowl of Strawberry Fields cereal, as a matter of fact. Wrist Sniff: (Ten minutes later, crunch crunch crunch...) My skin is not loving this. It smells kindof chemically on me. The berry is still there, but it's gone smoky and incensy; there's a kind of dirty musk underneath it. The sweetness has faded (thank Goddess) into something more sinister. It's the American Psycho of BPAL. All sweetnes and flash on the first go, but progressively primal the deeper you go. Occasionally crisper notes hit my nose, giving a tease of freshness. And so: I kind of like it, but it's not high on my list. Something I'd really have to be in the mood to wear, but I could defintely see it evolving into a...fun...evening.

Bottle Sniff: A little heavy, incensy. I can definitely smell the ambergris and patchouli. I was hoping the orange blossom and carnation in the description would be more prominent...here goes... Wrist Sniff: Wet on me, the orange suddenly pops out! It's a nice compliment to the heavier, more formal notes in this. Gives it a little spice, a little tang, like a high-class party where nobody's wearing any underwear. And so: If I weren't wishing so hard for Winter to be over so AI could opena bloody window in the house, I'd be liking this scent more. Right now though, anything that even faintly invokes the indoors is not on my love-it list.

First sniff: Grape bubble gum! The really thick, Hubba-Bubba stuff! Makes me nostalgic for the days of flouride treatments... On me: It gently evolves into something more floraly but still with those purply grape notes. Sweet in wafts, but not like honeysuckle. I didn't like it at first, but it may grow on me. After a little while, it smells like sweet wine, a prelude to a kiss on a first date. Becomes vaguely incensy and softens out. And so... Admittedly, I hated it at first, but may reconsider adding it to my 5ml list now. Nice for an evening with friends or even Casual Fridays at the office.

Knowing that I don't normally like foody scents to begin with, I should've just left the cap on this one. Of course I didn't. In the bottle, it's a mighty powerfully sweet, almost cloying scent, like if you took great handfulls of German Chocolate Cake with the coconut-caramelly frosting stuff and just jammed it up your nose. Astoundingly sweet. Made my cavities hurt sweet. On the skin, still too sweet and foody-smelling for my taste. It does calm down a little bit, and I can detect notes of coffee and vanilla in there, but the caramel-chocolatiness is just too much for me. And so, I shall be passing this little love along...

Second the Nature's Miracle... If it works on ferret smells, it'll work on anything. And if I don't have that handy, I use rubbing alcohol. Just dab it on and rinse it off.

I couldn't even get this one onto my skin. On opening the bottle, I found the scent incredibly overwhelming, and unfortunately for me, it started setting off my migraine almost instantly. However, it's probably just as well as I'm not big into "food-y" scents, which Jack most certainly is. It's very rich-smelling, reminds me of my dad cooling pumpkin pies on our front porch in the fall, with the piles of leaves out front. My entire cubicle is now smelling of nutmeg and pumpkin seeds.

On Opening: Woody, mossy smell, kindof foresty. Makes me think of old stone buildings. Smells very organic, sort of mushroomy even. On second whiff, the wood smells really start to come out. Whoo! Methinks may be too strong... Wet on Skin: Still smells mushroomy and damp earthy. Not a bad smell, just not one that I'm particularly crazy about on my skin. Dry: More woody, very strongly cedar, and not a bad scent at all, but not one I'm in love with. Very masculine on me, and while I like masculine scents, this is a bit too much for me. Overall: Nice, but not for me. Think my dad would like it though, so if I don't sell or swap it, I may give it to him.