nekogrrl

I think I love this scent. Wet on skin: Sharply spicy, with a hint of sweetness. Drydown: Pine shavings. Dry on skin: The teak is coming through, with a touch of sandalwood and musk. This is just lovely. Verdict: Definitely bottleworthy. I'm hoping the pine shavings will age out - if not, it's blessedly a short phase.

In imp: sweet citrus Wet on skin: very peachy. Very strong peach. Drydown: the florals are starting to come out. I can definitely smell the tuberose. The peach is starting to tone down and mix better. Dry on skin: The peach floral is still there, very close to the skin. I get no lemon peel, no blood orange, no carnation (which is what I was hoping for, to spice up the sweetness). Verdict: It's nice, but not what I was looking for. Eisheth Zenunim will still be adequate for my peachy needs.

This is such an odd scent on me. Wet on skin: I get oranges and.. something really clean-smelling. Dry on skin: The musk has come out more, and maybe the black currant. I really don't know exactly what I'm smelling. It's got this strange.. smoky-clean smell to it. Verdict: This one DEFINITELY needs a second opinion.

This scent is so not what I expected. Wet on skin: Very musky, with hints of honey and beeswax. Dry on skin: Still musky, but with more beeswax and vanilla flower. Verdict: I'm not sure if I like this on me. Will have to get a second opinion.

Wet on skin: The white musk is EXTREMELY prominent at first. About 2 minutes later, the coconut starts coming in. Dry on skin: I'm almost thinking this is floral, even though there's no notes listed which would lead me to draw such a conclusion. It smells.. very much like a dryer sheet, but slightly soapy. Verdict: Not for me, sadly. I was hoping for more of an ambery oakmoss, but it seems like all I'm going to get out of this is a musky coconut.

This is not a scent which loves me. Wet on skin: heavy florals. Maybe a hint of the frankincense and ylang ylang. Dry on skin: still heavy florals. I think that instead of toning down the florals, the headiness of the frankincense and ylang ylang are adding to it and amping it up. Verdict: not for me.

Hrm. This is an interesting scent. Wet on skin: Light orange amber. I think the amber is what is almost giving me a headache when I sniff at my wrist. However, that only lasts for a few minutes through the beginning of drydown. Dry on skin: Faint orange-vanilla amber. I'm not sure if I like this on me. It's a nice scent, but it hasn't struck me as some of the other reviewers above.

Wet on skin: Hello gardenia! Wow, is that ever floral. (Yes, I know it's a flower, I just wasn't expecting it to be so strong.) Dry on skin: The gardenia has lessened in strength, probably tempered by the rice paper. I do get whiffs of honey as well. Verdict: Generally too sweet and floral to suit my tastes. It's nice on me, I'm just not wild about it.

Bleh. This was so quickly headache-inducing I washed it off after I got a good whiff of it on my skin. Which was sad, because I use bergamot and lavender in massage therapy sessions, but this was just way too strong.

Eeeeh, I didn't hold out much hope for this. I didn't expect it to be so bad though. Wet on skin: The black lily and grape are immediately in my face. Ergh, not a good smell. The lily amps like mad, and I end up having to wash it off, it's so strong. Obviously I won't be getting a bottle of this.

So far, this is the most interesting of the Lupercalias for me. Wet on skin: vanilla flowers. Dry on skin: very spicy floral with a subtle vanilla amber undertone. Verdict: I'm not sure if this totally works on me, but I like it.

Wet on skin: Lovely berry creaminess. Dry on skin: Add a bit of leather around the edges to the previous statement. I really like this. It's sweet, which is usually kiss of death for me, but the leather and probably the cognac in the deep background keep this scent modulated. Verdict: Bottle!

Wet on skin: Orange bubblegum. It's very sweet, very.. oh, I know! It smells like one of those orange jelly slices. Not what I was looking for in a perfume. Dry on skin: The blackberry has come to prominence, although it still has that candy-like smell to it. I don't get any sandalwood, or blossom, or anything. The blackberry is also very close to the skin. I have to pretty much put my nose to wrist to smell anything. Verdict: I was hoping for more from this. I'm really disappointed.

Mmmmm. This is amazing! First squirt, I really get a lot of the myrrh and ylang ylang. Then the honey comes out and wow! It's.. sweet, but I really think it's tempered by the above notes so it's not cloyingly sweet, but rich and fantabulous! I really don't pick out the almond, but I think my nose is a little burnt out (I've also been sniffing the bath oils Glacies and Incendias). I'd definitely say this is for honey lovers. And I can so see this as the olfactory experience for a romantic night. It smells /so/ sexy to me. If hubby were around.. I might be pouncing on him.

I adore this bath oil. I have two decants of it, and I wish I had just gone ahead and ordered a bottle or two of this. Oh well, I have my fingers crossed for next year. Anyway, the first scents that come in are the mints. My god, I love peppermint and spearmint, and if these were the only two scents in this oil, I wouldn't care. But there is, of course, much more goodness. Then come the herbals in the form of geranium and lavender. The mix of floral and herbal is what really does the good relaxing stuff. The mints do that uplifting thing they do so well, and what can I say? This really does the trick. I too, hope for its rerelease next year. This time, I'll stock up.

In imp: sharp and fresh. Wet on skin: icy florals. Usually florals don't work well on me, but the snow/mint are grounding them and keeping them in check. Dry on skin: I'm getting something green, other than the mint I sniffed on first application. Green and cold. It's just about overtaken the snow and florals. 10 minutes later: Gone. Verdict: This is very similar to The Snow Storm to me. So once that bottle is done, then I'll get this. And wear it in a scent locket.

In imp: Hellooooooo ginger! Wet on skin: VERY spicy. I keep wanting to sneeze. Not just a teeny sneeze, one of those designed to clear ALL your sinuses and pop your ears. Dry on skin: Still spicy, but the leather is coming out a little more. 10 minutes later: Oh I just got the dessicated flesh. And the blood. On me, it's not a good smell. Verdict: Eeeeeh. The spices are a bit too heavy, and while the leather note was working this time (it's a hit or miss note on me), the flesh/blood notes are /not/ pleasant on me. And I didn't get any dirt, which was the note I was most hopeful for. It's going on the swap pile.

In bottle: very crisp, clear and clean. Wet on skin: Uh.. Irish Springs. Dry on skin: Still Irish Springs. 10 minutes later: Irish Springs. Obviously, this isn't for me. I get no berry, no snow, no herbal.. I just smell cloyingly clean.

In bottle: dry bitter herbal Wet on skin: I can definitely smell the blackberry and tonka. There's a hint of aquatic from the lotus root, and the lavender and hibiscus are likely providing the herbal feel I get from this. Dry on skin: The florals are more dominant, but it's not on my skin like straight florals tend to be. I almost get the feel of a drying-up swamp - it's a deep, murky aquatic, plus the dry herbals and dark florals. I really like this scent. I'm glad I tracked down a bottle.

Oooh, I /love/ this scent! In the bottle, I only get the sugarcane. Wet on skin: Sugarcane, with fruity goodness. Dry on skin: The sugarcane has backed off, and is now playing nicely with the fruits. The blackberry leaf has come up a little bit, giving this a wonderfully grounded feel. I don't really get any of the orchid (which is a good thing, considering it ruined Lune Noire for me). In fact, the florals aren't really making an appearance that I can detect, but I think they're helping ground this scent, and preventing this from going into gross sweetness levels. Verdict: I'm glad I got to track down a bottle.

Ergh, when will I learn heavy florals do not work on me? The orchid, jonquil, and gardenia are just so heavy and thick, that's all I smell. It does not smell nice on my skin. I had hoped the amber, oakmoss and musk would tone down the florals, but these are just overwhelming. This will be going on the sale/swap pile.

This is just a lovely scent. In imp: Sharp greenery. Wet on skin: definitely can smell the tea and berry leaves. Not much else. Dry on skin: the honey and vanilla are mixing with the sharp leaves, making a gorgeous scent. Nothing is too obvious. 10 minutes later: very soft musk/vanilla, with a hint of green. This deserves a bottle.

Dried blood, boiled wine, leather, galbanum, onycha, tonka bean, and pomegranate. In imp: sweet wine Wet on skin: *looks around* Did I accidentally put on Candy Phoenix? Cause the pomegranate in Holofernes is certainly smelling like Candy Phoenix. Dry on skin: The pomegranate has faded somewhat, but it's still the dominant note. I don't smell anything else, which is disappointing. 10 minutes later: Still pomegranate. Maaaaaaybe a hint of leather, but it's not consistent. Final verdict: I was hoping for more of a leather and blood scent, not Candy Phoenix Redux.

In imp: Uhm. I'm not exactly sure /what/ I'm smelling. Wet on skin: I must be smelling a mixture of the amber, galbanum, ambrette and tonka. Not getting much benzoin out of it yet. Dry on skin: Amber is stronger, still a nice mix of everything. 10 minutes later: Throw is still strong, amber is starting to get a touch powdery. Final verdict: Meh. It's a nice blend, but it's not ME.

Embrace your villainy: balsam, myrrh, mandarin orange, bitter clove, artemesia, rosewood, nutmeg, dark musk, smoke and cypress. In imp: woodsy incense. Hrm. Interesting. Wet on skin: *coughs* The woods are there. Kind of sharp and dry. Dry on skin: clove and oranges. The balsam and cypress have faded. 10 minutes later: Still clove and oranges. Final verdict: Meh. It's okay. Not wild about it, though.