cranberry

Danube - Wanderlust Notes: rhododendron, bellflowers, aquatic notes Juicy, sweet flowers – so fresh. Splash of grapefruit. This is a lovely watery floral that makes me think of Kindly Moon. It has a sharpness that Kindly Moon does not, and as it wears it becomes almost piercing in intensity. This is very pretty but it is a strong scent. It does remind me of flowers in rain and it smells moist yet cool. This isn’t the heart of summer, but perhaps the start of spring.

Juicy, sweet flowers – so fresh. Splash of grapefruit. This is a lovely watery floral that makes me think of Kindly Moon. It has a sharpness that Kindly Moon does not, and as it wears it becomes almost piercing in intensity. This is very pretty but it is a strong scent. It does remind me of flowers in rain and it smells moist yet cool. This isn’t the heart of summer, but perhaps the start of spring.

Rose Cross - Sin and Salvation Notes: rose, frankincense At first I was bit hesitant to try this as the rose blends are a crap shoot for me. Sometime they work and oftentimes they don’t. Well, I’m glad I tried this. It’s a lovely greenish red rose and blends beautifully with the frankincense. Very pretty. Similar roses for me included Rose Red and Séance.

At first I was bit hesitant to try this as the rose blends are a crap shoot for me. Sometime they work and oftentimes they don’t. Well, I’m glad I tried this. It’s a lovely greenish red rose and blends beautifully with the frankincense. Very pretty. Similar roses for me included Rose Red and Séance.

got Jessie 2 today (along with 1 & 3) Jessie 2 Kathmandu** - reviewed 4-22-07 Lucy's Kiss - reviewed 2-19-07 Seance** - reviewed 6-4-06 Snake Oil** - reviewed 10-12-06 Spellbound** - reviewed 4-22-07 Tisiphone - reviewed 2-19-07 Viola - reviewed 2-19-07 Voodoo** - reviewed 7-4-06 (** indicates imps that I have) ** sent to SpaceKitty 2-22-07

Kathmandu - Wanderlust Notes: incense, saffron, sandalwood, cedar, lotus, chiuri bark, nepalese spices Initially, there’s a lovely wood scent – mainly cedar, a touch of smoke and sandalwood. After it’s been on for about a minute, there’s a wintergreen scent. It sticks around for a while, then poof, the whole scent is gone.

Initially, there’s a lovely wood scent – mainly cedar, a touch of smoke and sandalwood. After it’s been on for about a minute, there’s a wintergreen scent. It sticks around for a while, then poof, the whole scent is gone.

Seance - Bewitching Brews Notes: rosewood, rose leaf, hazel My first impression of Séance is: roses! Rich, moist, lush roses. Slightly green. My second thought is that this is a good sub for Rose Red. It has that same fresh rose with a touch of greenery. After I’ve had it on for a couple minutes, the rosewood comes out and it’s not an exact dupe of Rose Red but still very nice. After it’s been on a while, this still remains a beautiful rose scent, slightly woody. Beautiful. Just beautiful. Thanks GC swap – I probably wouldn’t have gotten around to my imp of this otherwise! reviewed 6-4-06

Snake Oil - Bewitching Brews In the vial: spicy, ambery vanilla On the skin: damn, this smells good. spicy, ambery vanilla. Yum. This dries to a wonderful, slightly spicy vanilla. I know that there's patchouli in here but I don't smell it, it's all vanilla on me. But not vanilla as in a bland, "vanilla ice cream" type of way - no this is not an innocent, school girl vanilla. This is much more confident and sexy. Conclusion: I love this scent and most of the scents in the Snake Oil family. There's a reason why this is a classic. It smells great fresh or aged. It layers wonderfully and is a slightly dark, sexy as hell scent. Confident. It lasts forever and that's even better in my book.

Voodoo - Bewitching Brews Notes: myrrh, patchouli, vetivert, lime, vanilla, pine, almond, clove In the imp and initially on the skin, this smells a bit like cherry coke. After it’s been on a while, it doesn’t smell exactly like cherry coke any more, but I’m at a loss at how to describe this. It’s a tad masculine, and I think it would smell really good on a guy. I can’t get beyond the cherry coke imagery in my brain for this scent. reviewed 7-4-06

Spellbound - Love Potions Notes: 3 roses, amber, red musk In the imp this smells very much like Fenris Wolf – the red musk and amber dominate the scent. Once applied, the red musk softens and the roses peek through. The roses interweave with the amber and the musk provides a stunning backdrop. As it wears the roses take on a slightly powdery smell, but still meld well with the amber and musk. The amber reminds me of the amber in Sin, which is a good thing. There’s a smoothness to this scent and reminds me of polished wood, even though wood is not a part of this scent. The best words for this scent: smooth, dark, slinky, and sexy.

In the imp this smells very much like Fenris Wolf – the red musk and amber dominate the scent. Once applied, the red musk softens and the roses peek through. The roses interweave with the amber and the musk provides a stunning backdrop. As it wears the roses take on a slightly powdery smell, but still meld well with the amber and musk. The amber reminds me of the amber in Sin, which is a good thing. There’s a smoothness to this scent and reminds me of polished wood, even though wood is not a part of this scent. The best words for this scent: smooth, dark, slinky, and sexy.

got fiddledragon 1 today! Yay! fiddledragon 1 Bliss - reviewed Crossroads** already reviewed Faustus** Masabakes - reviewed Masquerade** - reviewed Nero** - reviewed Ravenous** - reviewed Salome** - reviewed woohoo! scents I haven't tried before!

Nero - Sin & Salvation Notes: rosemary, bay, pine, lemon Initially this a spicy scent – herbal. Lots of bay rum, touch of rosemary. This is spicy and rich smelling, yet smooth. As it’s mainly a bay rum scent, this would smell amazing on a man. It reminds me of when I was a teenager – there’s something here that’s prompting that association but I can’t for the life of me figure out where it’s coming from. As it wears, the bay remains strong and true, as does the spice. The spice smells like clove. It’s wearing well and seems to have good lasting power. Very nice!

Initially this a spicy scent – herbal. Lots of bay rum, touch of rosemary. This is spicy and rich smelling, yet smooth. As it’s mainly a bay rum scent, this would smell amazing on a man. It reminds me of when I was a teenager – there’s something here that’s prompting that association but I can’t for the life of me figure out where it’s coming from. As it wears, the bay remains strong and true, as does the spice. The spice smells like clove. It’s wearing well and seems to have good lasting power. Very nice!

I’ve been trying to figure out what this smells like on me. There’s something….. oh – I know what it is, ylang ylang! There’s also something here that’s like smells a bit like nailpolish. It smells like there could be a bit of pepper here too, but it’s mainly ylang ylang.

Ravenous - Love Potions Notes: red patchouli, orange blossom I just tried and reviewed Masquerade. Wow, what a difference. From first sniff I’m thinking YUM! From Masquerade, I got an odd doughy smell whereas I smell none of that here. I was blaming it on the orange blossom, but now I’m thinking orange blossom + ambergris was responsible. Anyway, back to Ravenous. There’s actually a bit of a citrus edge here, like orange juice with a touch of rind or something and it brightens the scent considerably. The orange blossom doesn’t have that bitter, acrid note I oftentimes smell with orange blossom. There could be a touch of vanilla in here, this is much closer to Vixen than Masquerade. Vixen is a bit darker and more syrupy, whereas this is brighter, sweeter, and has an almost effervescent quality to it. As it wears I can’t help but thinking how fabulous this blend is and for some reason is reminding me of my beloved Snake Charmer. SC is a lot sweeter and stronger with vanilla, and the fruit base is different. I think there’s maybe a similar musk/patch base plus the sparkling fruit (citrus vs plum) that’s making me find a similarity. Regardless this is fabulous and I have to get a bottle of this one day soon. Thanks GC swap, it would have taken me a lot longer to try this!

I just tried and reviewed Masquerade. Wow, what a difference. From first sniff I’m thinking YUM! From Masquerade, I got an odd doughy smell whereas I smell none of that here. I was blaming it on the orange blossom, but now I’m thinking orange blossom + ambergris was responsible. Anyway, back to Ravenous. There’s actually a bit of a citrus edge here, like orange juice with a touch of rind or something and it brightens the scent considerably. The orange blossom doesn’t have that bitter, acrid note I oftentimes smell with orange blossom. There could be a touch of vanilla in here, this is much closer to Vixen than Masquerade. Vixen is a bit darker and more syrupy, whereas this is brighter, sweeter, and has an almost effervescent quality to it. As it wears I can’t help but thinking how fabulous this blend is and for some reason is reminding me of my beloved Snake Charmer. SC is a lot sweeter and stronger with vanilla, and the fruit base is different. I think there’s maybe a similar musk/patch base plus the sparkling fruit (citrus vs plum) that’s making me find a similarity. Regardless this is fabulous and I have to get a bottle of this one day soon. Thanks GC swap, it would have taken me a lot longer to try this! ETA: love!

Masquerade - Bewitching Brews Notes: patchouli, ambergris, carnation, orange blossom In the imp and on the skin wet, this is strongly orange blossom. There’s a slightly doughy scent here that I’m thinking is either the orange blossom or the ambergris, or a combination of the two. Based on past experiences, I’m thinking it’s the orange blossom. As it wears, the doughy scent goes away for the most part, but still remains faintly in the background. There’s a touch of patch and I’m not getting any carnation at all. The patch and orange blossom combination is not a good one on me. It’s funny because sometime I just love orange blossom and neroli, but it’s often a toss-up it seems. In this case it’s not working for me.

In the imp and on the skin wet, this is strongly orange blossom. There’s a slightly doughy scent here that I’m thinking is either the orange blossom or the ambergris, or a combination of the two. Based on past experiences, I’m thinking it’s the orange blossom. As it wears, the doughy scent goes away for the most part, but still remains faintly in the background. There’s a touch of patch and I’m not getting any carnation at all. The patch and orange blossom combination is not a good one on me. It’s funny because sometime I just love orange blossom and neroli, but it’s often a toss-up it seems. In this case it’s not working for me.

Salome - Love Potions Notes: almond with star jasmine, oakmoss, red sandalwood and Egyptian musk This is mainly almond and jasmine. As it dries, the jasmine becomes stronger and the sandalwood comes out. After it’s been on a while, this is almost all musk and sandalwood, and becomes quite sensual and rich smelling. This may be bottleworthy for me!

This is mainly almond and jasmine. As it dries, the jasmine becomes stronger and the sandalwood comes out. After it’s been on a while, this is almost all musk and sandalwood, and becomes quite sensual and rich smelling. This may be bottleworthy for me!

Crossroads - Wanderlust Notes: garden of blooms, dry earth and mosses, incense, offertory herbs This is from imp that I’ve had for a long time. In the imp I get smells of dirt, moss, then flowers and a smidge of herbs. The predominant scent is loam and soil. On the skin, wet, the dirt, moss and dust disappear and I get flowers, possibly gardenia or jasmine, or maybe both. It has kind of an Aveda type smell, which I love. It’s a beautiful floral. It's a lot more lush on the skin than in the imp. As it dries, incense peeks it way in. The strong jasmine note remains but it’s blended with other element tempering it a bit. As it dries further, I’m picking up a dusty, smoky note; that was a total surprise, I didn’t expect that! Overall, I like it but I'm not sure if I need a bottle or not. I tried it when I first got it and I think I got more earth, incense and moss, and I fell in love and immediately wanted a bottle. Many months later I'm getting mostly a beautiful heady floral. If you're a jasmine fan try it! I will hang onto my imp though.

Masabakes - Diabolus Notes: black currant, myrrh, bitter mimosa, mandrake I’ve wanted to try this one for a long time so I’m thrilled to finally have the chance – thanks GC swap! In the imp and once applied to the skin, this is rich, slightly spicy, and a bit hard for me to describe. Initially I’m getting mainly myrrh that’s softened up some. There’s a wee bit of currant that adds a juicy quality to this scent. It’s strong and it’s making my hand tingle where I applied it. It smells like there’s moss, loam or dirt here, maybe that’s the mandrake. This is an unusual one. Dark, sexy, rich, spicy. Powerful. I’m so glad that I tried this!

I’ve wanted to try this one for a long time so I’m thrilled to finally have the chance – thanks GC swap! In the imp and once applied to the skin, this is rich, slightly spicy, and a bit hard for me to describe. Initially I’m getting mainly myrrh that’s softened up some. There’s a wee bit of currant that adds a juicy quality to this scent. It’s strong and it’s making my hand tingle where I applied it. It smells like there’s moss, loam or dirt here, maybe that’s the mandrake. This is an unusual one. Dark, sexy, rich, spicy. Powerful. I’m so glad that I tried this!