nekogrrl

Wet: *sniffs* Is someone baking a ham? *sniffs again* Oh, is that /me/? Okay, not exactly what I want to smell like right off the bat. Drydown: Clove totally goes away, and the cinnamon takes over. Hard. I don't smell like a red-hot (like I did with the cinnamon Snake Pit, whose name is currently eluding me), but it's definitely cinnamon and it's STRONG. Dry: Still cinnamon. I get no vanilla from this at all, nor do any of the other notes make an appearance (except for the clove at the beginning). Yet another for the swap pile. So far, I'm thinking my BigAssHUGEOrder I was planning on making specifically for the CD won't be so bigass or huge.

Wet: dry red.. /something/. Dry: Hellooooooooo soap! Very sweet-smelling soap. Bah. Another one for the swap pile.

So I finally get my Acts V and VI in the mail. First up is the Blasphemare Reliquary. Wet: CEDAR HOMG. Yes, I know there is no cedar in here, but for some reason, all the resins blend together and make cedar. It's a very sharp, biting cedar, too. Dry: Now it smells like rosy cedar. And it's also started to give me a headache. So sadly, this is going on the swap pile.

My god, I /love/ this scent. As a professional massage therapist, I tend to stay away from oils because they're sticky and *goes into MT speak* I usually get too much glide for depth. (I usually slide over the muscles too easily, and am forced to work hard to get into the muscles.) However, this oil is LOVELY. It's not sticky, it dries to a workable consistency, and yeah, I just love it. The first time I used it I was a little taken aback by the scent, because I'm not used to oils being so strongly scented, but once I got used to it, it was great. This is very grounding, and when I have it used on me, I can definitely feel my sense of balance returning. The prominent notes for me are the patchouli and clary sage. I'll definitely have to get a full bottle of this.

This is such a lovely wet green scent. Wet on skin, I really smell the oakmoss and sea moss. On drying, the Snake Oil comes up to play and prevents this from being a icy wet green scent. It's been about 15 minutes, and this has warmed up quite nicely. It is still very green, but there's an underlying tone of orange which really makes it pop. Yummy.

Oh yum. I LOVE this scent. I think it's mostly due to the apple (which is a favorite scent of mine), but it's not overpowering, like it can be in the Norn's Farmhouse (dusty woody apples, anyone?). It blends very nicely with the orange and lemon. I don't particularly smell the florals in this. Definitely worth a bottle.

I didn't hold out any hope for this because of the lily note, and sadly, I was right. I amp lily like mad, and this time was no different. And also, that tends to be the only thing I smell, so boo. This goes on the swap pile.

*sniffs her arm* This is good. Probably one of my favorites of the Snake Pit. This is an almost acrid smell, but the teak and ho wood keep it from being bitter, and teh Snake Oil warms the bamboo up nicely. I do detect a citrusy note, but it's never CITRUSliekwhoa. I think this deserves a bottle.

This smells a bit dry and herbal in the imp. I already tried a frankincense oil earlier tonight, and am curious how this is going to smell. On skin, it's very herbal and incensy. I don't think I particularly like this type of scent. Doesn't do much for me, and I liked King Cobra better.

Oooooh, berry nice! *ducks rotten tomatoes and other assorted salad items* I like this. This is a nice berry scent warmed up by the Snake Oil. Doesn't have much of a throw on me, but then, my nose is probably getting a little confused since this is the 6th perfume I've tried tonight. I still think it's yummy, though.

This is a very interesting version of Snake Oil. Usually I don't get a spicy morph of regular Snake Oil, and I've wondered how it might smell if it did. I don't have to wonder any more. In the imp, I definitely got a big whiff of frankincense, which made me a little leery. Usually if it's that strong, I think it would work better on a guy than on me. Happily, that wasn't the case. The orris and copal are keeping the frankincense in check, while the Snake Oil base gives a nice sweetness overall. The throw and last is kind of weak, though. I like this.

Oh yum. This so far is my favorite of the Snake Pit. The mint in this actually reminds me somewhat of Beltane 2008. Once on the skin, the bergamot and Snake Oil come to the fore, and the mints fade to the background. The only sad part about this is that apparently my skin eats this like whoa. It's been about 10 minutes since I put this on and I can't really smell it at all. Sad.

I'm kind of torn on this one. I can really smell the vetiver, both in the bottle and on the skin, but I don't mind vetiver, so that's not my problem with it. It's a dark scent.. something you'd find in a back alley somewhere and be afraid of, but also smooth. *huffs her wrist again* Hm. Now the vanilla has come to the fore. I'm not getting much coconut out of this, which I think is a good thing. It's probably giving that dark depth to the oil, along with the vetiver. I might actually be tempted to buy and cellar the oil, to see how it ages.

In the bottle: Snake Oiled leather. On skin: Vanilla, tonka and leather. Can't really smell the sage. Dry: Where did everybody go? Oh wait, there's leather, hanging about. Is leather feeling all right? He's hanging out pretty close to my skin. Oh. Apparently leather has to go home, as he's not feeling so hot. ---- My skin apparently ate Western Diamondback. It may be good in a scent locket, though.

My wrist smells like a cinnamon red-hot. Which would be nice if I liked smelling like candy (and I do like to be nibbled upon), but this is just too sweet for me to enjoy. Neither the cassia nor the red ginger come out to play, and I really don't get a lot of Snake Oil, even. Just sweet, sweet cinnamon. Wet, it's fairly strong cinnamon. After about 10 minutes, the cinnamon softens, but that's still all I smell. Not for me.

This is the first Snake I have picked to try, mostly because I promised to test and then send on its way to a friend of mine. For some reason, I smell sage in this. It's probably the teakwood and rice milk mixing wierdly. On my skin, it has a sweet green note, which throws me. I figured the teakwood would dominate, like it does in Glowing Vulva. I forgot this is Snake Oil, which is where I'm getting that almost sickly-sweet smell from. Once it's dried, the OMGsweet! scent has faded a bit, and the teakwood and rice milk are blending nicely. I don't smell the cocoa at all. It's still a little sweet, but I like it.

Cream accord, amber, teak, and lotus blossom. Wow. Just wow. This is an amazing scent. I /just/ missed the salon (I was enabled, but not addicted), and finally tracked, hunted and bought one. In the bottle, however, it was a bitter scent. My heart kind of sank - I had spent a lot of money on this, and I wasn't going to like it? Hah, I was WRONG. Wet, I really smelled the vanilla and cream, and then during the drydown, the teak and amber came shining through - it smelled like I should be looking at this gorgeous piece of oiled wood, with the oil smelling lightly of vanilla, and touching the wood, it would be satiny smooth. I'm so glad I have this.

In the bottle: seksi sagey apply goodness. I know sage isn't anywhere near this blend, but that's what I get out of it. I'm guessing that it's the myrrh, fig, and woodsmoke combining. On skin: seksi spicy apply goodness. And that's pretty much how it stays during the drydown.. OMG I love this scent. It's like cantabile said - autumn in a bottle. Can't nobody talk me down from getting another set of this! *plots her storypoemthing*

*calls out* Everybody conga! *dancedancedancedancedancedance!* Everybody conga! *dancedancedancedancedancedance!* You know you want to conga! *dancedancedancedancedancedance!* (the above conga call shamelessly stolen from John Flansburgh as the intro to the below song in live concert) This spray reminds me of the They Might Be Giants song 'No One Knows My Plan' mostly because of the lyrics No one understands No one knows my plan Why the dancing, shouting Why the shrieks of pain The lovely music Why the smell of burning autumn leaves because that's what I primarily smell in this spray, sweetened by the fig. I don't particularly pick up on the tea or patchouli. It's still yummy, though.

Oh L'Autumno, how I love thee! Let me count the ways! When first I poured thee into my bath Sage rose to meet me- But wait! What else is wafting? Sweet myrrh with a Spicy cinnamon edge. Swirling in the back were Patchouli and cedar Never coming to the fore. Long did I soak, Breathing in the Scents of autumn. I wish I could strain the bathwater before it goes down the drain. *****with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning***

I got my Inquest today (La Primavera and L'Autumno), and decided to test out La Primavera first. (I mean, taking a test is easy, but writing a sestina is a little harder, so that's how I chose). I did sniff the perfume first, and I definitely smelled the florals, but the oakmoss and violet leaf helped to ground it so it wasn't OMG jasmine/tuberose/plumblossom. The two greens weren't obvious, but I could tell they were there. No sign of the citrus. I took a bath with the bath oil first, so this review is probably going to be a bit skewed, as I didn't test the perfume straight up. I really like this perfume. It's a soft floral - all the notes blend so well together. Add in the mint from the bath oil and it's just terrific. I love this type of scent - the green/earthy and citrus notes tone down the florals and deepen and enrich the entire scent palette. With the layering from the bath oil and perfume, I really enjoy the whiffs I get. There are (obviously) enough repeated notes in each scent palette that each works well with the other, but they're different enough that you can catch the differences between as they dry down and burn off. I think I'm going to have to go to the Talk Me Down thread.

Yum, I love this scent. In the bottle it's bubbly wine with a foody scent and a touch of bitterness. Wet: HELLO BOOZE. Booze with currants and again a bit of bitter greenery courtesy of the dandelion. Dry: The drydown has taken with it the OMGBOOZE scent and left a bit of alcohol with currants and a stronger dandelion. I likes it.

Based on the scent description, this was the Gaiman scent I /really/ wanted to like. It didn't like me back though.. I pop open the imp, and take a deep whiff, ready for the vanilla-y goodness sure to follow. What do I get? Nothing. As in literally nothing. I look confused, and sniff again. Nothing. I put it on, and literally cannot smell a thing. I'm so disappointed.

White ginger, artemesia, vetiver, nutmeg, King mandarin, bergamot, and lime. My slog through the Gaiman scents continue.. Upon opening the imp, I got a nice citrusy hit with a sharper tang in the background. I put a little bit on (can't go overwhelming the clientele), and hold out my arm for a coworker to sniff. He snarfed/airbit at me. I think he liked it. On the drydown, the citrus toned down and mixed wonderfully with the rest of the notes. I do consider this more of a masculine scent, and would love to try it on the hubby to see how he wears it. I'm not sure this is bottle-worthy. At least for me. We'll see how Mr.Neko likes it.

I'm not sure I like this scent. I tested during a stuffy-nose period, so for sure this will warrant another test. For now, after I put it on, all I could smell was the calla lily. I'm not very fond of it, to say the least. I'll be looking to see if the floral component blends more nicely when I test this again. For the drydown, I adored the purple incense. If the retest holds true to the first, I'm going to have to weigh the lilies against purple smoke. I'm not sure who would win.