Indigo78

I second third this one. It's black, alright. Pitch black to my nose.

The first one to pop into my head was MB Bloody Mary - kind of a bright cherry scent with creamy undertones. It lasts forever one me, and it still isn't too hard to find a bottle. Most options will include berries and/or wine as the "fruit" notes you're after... it's the citrus ones that seem to fade the fastest. At least for me. Hymn to Proserpine is GC, and it lasts a long time, too.. one of my favorites.

My 4 year-son likes Snow White, and I love it on him... he's really into fairy tale "princesses" right now, so SW suits this phase.

Crap. This smells good, and I just missed the curtain call. Oh, wells... bottle hunting can be fun. First on this is a wonderful mixture of cloves and dust. The cedar sticks to everything else in a way I would have never imagined it could. The tobacco rounds it out beautifully. Yep- gotta get a bottle, pronto. I never would have thought cloves could be so appropriate for a humid summer, but somehow the dryness of this blend suits the weather in the best way possible. I'm enamored. Off to find some more...

Women have to be better at smelling, in general. Men have historically been of a "hey, whatever I can get" mind, while women have had to be selective. There's been a higher investment on womens part (babies and the years of care that they require), and scent plays a large role in determining whether or not someone is "suitable" to procreate with. Also, google some studies on scent identification between humans. Woman definitely have an advantage (in general) over men. I am sure there are exceptions within both groups, though. I know a lot of women who couldn't smell a dead rat in their furnace, and men who are constantly commenting on the way things around them "smell". And back to topic, my sexified oil of choice is Black Lace. Nom.... Aged Snake Oil takes a close second.

From Khrysee I get neroli. It's almost edible, but not quite - the way neroli always is on me. It's very light and airy and a teensy bit bitter, like orange pulp. I also get amber as an even fainter background note. This was my favorite of the the Aphrodites as far as note lists go, but I am not sure if she likes my skin or not. Definitely a mood scent. Very pretty and soft, with something that teases at sweetness but never quite gives it up.

Mother of Demons, Vengeful Fury, Darkest Seductress, Queen of the Djinn, Goddess of the Gate. Red wine, myrrh, black musk, and attar of rose. In the imp I can smell the wine, and it seems like it will be a very sweet scent. Once on my skin it gets very *not* good on me. It's weird because the notes are all there, with myrrh and rose attar at the front. Sadly, the combo goes bad on my skin. Like outdated eau de cologne and baby wipes.

When I first applied this one it was such true, red, musty strawberries. The chocolate isn't strong at first, but it pushes through the berries as it wears. It does remind me of Strawberry Quik milk mix. I wish it were a little more strawberry on my skin, but I end up amping the cream/milk parts of the chocolate note pretty strongly. This is the only strawberry blend from the Lab that I have tried, and the yum factor at the beginning makes me want to try more!

I would consider seasonal issues, too. It could be anything, and allergies can develop at any time during one's life for any number of reasons. Try going back to your old way of applying and see if that helps, maybe? Or try a scent locket...

I say Cry-see, but I could be wrong. Very wrong.

In the bottle I could smell all of the components listed though they've been expertly swirled. On my skin the fruit explodes at first, and it's raining berries for the first ten minutes or so. The leather creeps up next, but I would guess it's the paper bag component that keeps it from smelling like other leathers from the lab. I really enjoy the paper bag note mixed with the leather, and how together they keep it from being too sticky. I'm disappointed in the lasting power, though... I put some on my hand to sniff at first, then decided it was yummy enough for a full-on slather. Only an hour later and it's vanishing before my nose! I know aging won't solve this problem - but I still can't help but wonder how it'll smell in a few months. Doubt that I'll ever find out, because it's so, soooo perfect while fresh. That means lots of reapplication, which in turn leads to *dun dun dun* a quickly emptied bottle. Empty bottles, of course, need replacing - so... I probably can't afford to love this the way I want to.

Yeah, I think reapplying plays a big role. It probably blocks up the pores so that the skin can't "breathe out" whatever the irritating components are.

This was frimped to me a month or so ago in a swap. In the imp I got a sense that this was sort of floral before reading the notes. The dragon's blood doesn't explode the way it does in some other blends, and I think it must be very light here. On my skin there seems to be a mix between the bamboo leaf and DB that is making me think there is a flower involved. During the drydown it gets the 'salty' note that I get in so many aquatics. It is perfumey and kinda soapy for my preferences at the moment: Nevertheless I am glad to have tried it. edited for major typo issues

My reactions are based on quantity - if I slather a potentially irritating oil, I break out. If I go lightly I'm okay. The usual suspects are cinnamon and cassia, which I used to LOATHE in any detectable amount... it just smelled bad to me. More and more I find myself reaching for spicier blends, I'm kinda starting to like them when everything is balanced (i.e. some of the Snake Pit). Still - - I have to wonder if there isn't a connection between aversion to an oil, scent-wise, and skin reactions. Our bodies intuitively know what is good and what is not.

In the imp this is all gooey caramel and salted butter - two notes of absolute fail on me. But... in the name of testing this generous forumite frimp, I'll sacrifice the crook of my elbow for the evening: Of course it changes from the imp to my skin, becoming much more complicated and less suffocatingly buttery. The caramel note burns off, literally - I get a lot of smoke that is unlike other "smoke" blends I have tried. This smells like a campfire, where sugar from marshmallows and other odd bits of things have found their way into the flames. It actually smells the way one's clothes might smell after sitting campfireside all night, making s'mores and love and stuff . A little of the syrupy quality lingers in the drydown, and the overlay of smoke makes me think of the cruchy top of creme brule. I do not get much in the way of patchouli or carnation. Ingeniously crafted and evocative, this fits its namesake well.

A spice caravan, with cinnamon at the top (which I'm amping like hell, in accordance with the laws of my skin chemistry). The cinnamon (or cassia, idk which) is voluptuous and BIG, swollen and sweet. After a few minutes, some middle notes of resin push through the dominating cinnamon. Some of the Ars Moriendi blends have certain... dust note (?), and this is apparent to my nose in Bengal during the drydown. The finish of this is rich, warm and laden with honey. It ends up very regal and sexy at the same time, but you have to give it a bit to calm down and sink in. Warm spices aren't necessarily my bag, but this is gorgeous just the same. EDIT: the description says "peppers". I think this is why I thought of Thai food initially. It's faint and only grounds this... like the pepper in Ogun. Mmmm.

On me this is fruit warm spices, like a syrupy mulled cider made from many different fruits. Something almost hoppy in the background makes me think of brewer's yeast for the first thirty minutes, and it really thickens the blend as a whole (looking at the notes, I guess this must be the mahogany). That note fades later on, and morphs into an almost edible fruity-floral. The frankincense isnt bold, nor is the patch, to my nose. They're so subtle you have to look - er - sniff for them. In the end I get a scent-feel similar to the The Blood Garden, but lighter, prettier and sweeter. If you liked The Blood Garden, try this.

Very outside-ish. Red cedar, but not the pencil-shavings or pickle note that damns almost every cedar blend I try. I smell dust and the yellowed pages of books, with herbs lurking way in the background Understated and calm and wise. I'd like it on the right kind of man very much. Nonviolent throw, short wearlength.

In the imp this smelled so, so sweet, with the tiniest floral undercurrent *mmmmm*. Within seconds of applying - - wth.. Rose? It turned to a slightly bitter rose puntuated with wood. There might be some lily, but no sweetness at all! Sad, I wanted this to work - I even set the imp aside based on that initial sniff because I was so sure it would be a winner. Wearlength is fairly short, and it's very soft - you have to lean in to smell it.

Sweet, airy, and bright. It's got that brat note, anise, teasing with the sweetness it offers like a promise of sugar that never pans out. The cardamom hangs out clear in the back. Rather than licorice, my overall impression of this is spiced black gumdrops - the kind with the crunchy sugar crust. Since I loathe licorice but love gumdrops, this works out well. Short-average wearlength, and strong sillage while it lasts.

I somehow thought this was more of a polished wood scent, and opened it up without reading the notes/reviews beforehand. So, I was surprised to find that it's a bit foody in the beginning. It isn't heavy or buttery-foody, though, more cool with a peek-a-boo sweetness- like anise root. For all the color-smellers, I get a pale blueish-gray from this scent overall. The cardamom is definitely right up front early on, but then fades to reveal dusty grass just beneath. When everything settles down, a very familiar overall scent takes over: I realized that the wood in this blend closely resembles what you smell in a sauna. I'll keep this...it's unique and different from anything else I've tried.

This seemed far sweeter than I expected when I cracked the imp. On the skin it is festive and sunny at first, amping what smells like a combo of lotus and sugared citrus fruits. The citrus is tempered and eventually tamed by a thick sweetness, which I think is the wine and raisins in Kyphi insense. Never burned Kyphi, but it's scent is familiar to me from the Lab's Philosopher in Meditation (Salon) - I can definitely smell similarities. But while Philosopher is hazy and smoldering, Cairo begins and remains comparatively bright and alive. A bit of myrrh creeps in during drydown., & that's when this starts evoking timeless ritual and rite. Beautiful.

I pimp out Cetaphil products all the time, and I'm about to do it again right here To get rid of unwanted lingering scents try this: 1) Wash the area like you normally do with soap or body wash 2) Apply several squirts of liquid Cetaphil wash to the affected area. Let it sit for a minute, the go over the area with a dampened scrubby mitt for another minute or two. 3.) Rinse thoroughly with warm water and pat dry. 4.) Apply Cetaphil face lotion to the area. 5.) Wait about five minutes and sniff the offending area - based on my own experiences, the smell will be gone. I think there is a neutralizing element to Cetaphil that just kills perfume. I've even used it to get rid of sticky, stubborn scents of steel, like Schwarzer Mond. the wash and lotion are drugstore stuff - pretty cheap, and a small price to pay for not smelling like play doh.

I didn't know this was a conjure oil until reading the description upthread. Hence I spent much of the time huffing my forearm thinking about how much it reminded me of Bayou during the drydown, rather than any psychological effects it might have had. At initial application it was overpoweringly rosey, with a strong lavander aura that I am not sure about. While bathing my son my arms get very sudsy, but this scent weathered it unscathed. From wet to drydown there is a lot of difference: the first half hour was floral doom, but dried down to a salty, very believable seaside scent. Thinking about the legendary/biblical significance of a dove, the sea comes to mind (after the ark hit land, something about an olive bough, etc etc etc. Sunday school flunk out, here - I can't do the story any justice). Anyway, while reading the bedtime stories to my son, I noticed that he was very affectionate. He always says sweet things to me, but he was a real schmoozer tonight. He said the nicest things to me before I turned the lights out. Conjure oil effect? I don't know.

For me, this is the eighties in liquid form. I remember having several scents that were heavy on the gardenia, and this scent reminds me very much of those when it's wet. Sweet, a bit floral, hints of citrus... the "feel" is very similar to Verdandi (not the same scent - you know what I mean). The early dry down makes me sad, though. The sweetness disappears and it turns scary, ultra floral, and sort of like a hair product I can't place. Occasionally I get a scent like violets peeking through, but it's mostly rose. Very little vanilla on me until the late dry down, and then that's what I am left with. It's the same vanilla as Black Opal, and very pretty. The rest of the circus left town completely. Sillage and wearlength unknown.