cranberry

CT III CDXXXVIII (438) This is a special oil to me. I will always have happy memories of this scent and it will always hold a special place in my stash of perfume. Anyway, on to the review. In the imp this smells like sugar, and something else that I can’t place. It’s sorta like Trick or Treat, but pretty different. Maybe it’s sugar and something herbal. Yes, definitely herbs. Once applied, it’s sweet sugar and herbs. Interesting. After it’s been on a bit, it turns a bit buttery, and it’s still quite sweet. This reminds me of a mix of Sugar Skull 05 and Trick or Treat. With maybe some herbs thrown in for good measure. I really like it. At some point, the herbs take a walk and all I’m left with is sweet, caramelized sugar. This is a really long lasting oil, and hours later I can still smell the sweetness – mainly sugar and caramel. Yum!

Initial impression: Sharp. Juniper. Slightly acrid. It tingles a bit where I applied this. It’s like the sharp bite of crushed evergreens. As it dries: it softens. It’s still quite green, evergreen in fact. This smells like juniper and maybe a touch of pine. It smells like there could be flowers tucked away behind all the greenery. This becomes stronger the longer it wears. After it’s been for a few minutes, I like this oil more and more, the longer it wears, the more I sniff my hand. It’s still strongly evergreen but considerably softer than when I first applied. Overall: It’s very fresh smelling, but a little more herbal/floral now. Wow, this oil really changed a lot!

Initially, this is all leather on me. This reminds me a lot of Geek (good to know). As it wears, the oakmoss comes out. It gentles and softens the scent. I only put a little of this on, and it’s a softer scent than I would have thought based on the notes. It is more on the masculine side. There’s nothing candy sweet about this scent, the sweetness is more a musky softness with hints of rich soft leather. This would smell amazing on a guy. On me, it’s as if it’s melding with my skin scent. It’s very subtle and a skin-scent in the way that EOM becomes a skin-scent. I can imagine burying my face in the nape of his neck or under his chin and just inhaling. Delicious. This is a 2-day beard type of scent. I just might have to gift my honey a bottle of this.

I got to test this via the Convergence Sniffies US tour. Thanks Brienze for sending this and the 2006 Convergence scents around!!!! In the imp: sweet, spicy, gingery, incense. This reminds me of a Voodoo Oil. On the skin, wet: Damn this smells good! This doesn’t really smell pumpkin-y at all to me. Rather, it smells more like Shub Niggurath mixed with a Voodoo Oil with a dash more incense added to the mix. On the skin, dry: This reminds me a bit of Love Me. It has a spicy element in common with it. It’s also sweet and has some vanilla. It’s like a mix of Shub and Love Me. Now I’m getting a touch of apple, so maybe throw in Hesperides or Verdandi. I wonder if you could make a substitute by using PP1, Shub, and Love Me? Regardless, overall, I really like this blend. I haven’t fallen in love and gone mad but there’s a deep appreciation here. This is a spicy, complex blend that is just beautiful and I’m so grateful that I got an opportunity to try it! ETA: p.s. I tried layering Shub and Love Me. Didn't work.

I got to try this via the US Convergence Sniffies circle. Thanks so much Brienze!!!! Imp: smells like Shub Niggurath! Foody ginger, spices and incense. Yum! On: Once applied, it’s initially spicy, gingery. There’s resins there, adding a dose of incense to the scent. This is wonderful. It’s sweet and sugary. It doesn’t remind me of Sugar Cookie, which to me, was more boozy. This doesn’t have any booze, just wonderful ginger, vanilla, incense. It’s like a mix of Shub Niggurath and a strongly vanilla scent. Or maybe Shub and Sugar Cookie (minus the rum). This is remaining pretty true – ginger, vanilla, spices & incense. Conclusion: It’s not a strong scent on me, and slathering would be necessary if I had this scent. I’m enjoying it tremendously and have loved all of the Convergence scents. This is no exception. This and Voodoo Queen are duking it out for my favorite. But this reminds me very much of Shub Niggurath, which I already have, so no need to hunt down a bottle of this. (Of course if one dropped on my doorstep I'd be eternally grateful!)

In the imp: rich, musky, dark, lush, with a touch of greenery. This a strong smelling scent in the imp. We’ll see what it does to the skin. On the skin: Wet, this smells a bit perfumey, dark and musky, yet sweet like it has opium in it. This is a rich scent, quite strong. It’s quite masculine smelling, but I think a woman can pull this one off too. It’s resinous, with an underlying base of wood. There’s something sharp here as a top note that I can’t put my finger on. Frankincense? Maybe some myrrh too. As it dries, the wood and resins come out more, and I really think there’s some sort of a dark musk in there (but not too dark as it’s not going powdery). After it’s been on a bit, it still has that wonderful dark, musky, woody character. It is also a bit spicy and I wonder if there’s a bit of tobacco leaf and bay rum in here. Whatever it is, it’s wonderful and I’m really enjoying this scent. Overall, this is a dark, spicy, sexy scent, mainly woods, musk and resins. Beautiful.

Courtesy of the US Convergence Sniffing Tour – thanks Brienze!!! In the imp: Damn! This stuff is amazing. It smells like a combination of Snake Charmer and Smut to me. It’s rich musk and sweet vanilla with a smattering of spices. I see why this is in such demand. On the skin, wet: it smells as good on as it did in the imp. It’s a light scent, but of course I only put a small amount on. If I had a bottle I’d be tempted to slather but then not, because it is so scarce. This is a sweet earthy musk (maybe Egyptian), warm golden amber, vanilla and spices. On the skin, dry: This is perfect for a Voodoo Queen. This is spicier than Snake Charmer, with elements of clove and some other spices that I can’t identify. To me, this doesn’t smell like Gypsy Queen at all, which to me smelt like grapes, sweet smoke, incense, and flowers. There is a slight sweet smoke here but it’s light and the spices and vanilla are predominant. At it wears it gets sweeter, with more of that sweet incense smoke. Still the vanilla, amber, musk and spices hang on in the background. After it’s been on quite a while, it’s faint on my skin but still there. It has a touch of Chanel No 5 aldehyde which is rather strange, so it’s probably my imagination. Overall: God, I love this scent, maybe ever more that my beloved Snake Charmer, which I went absolutely nuts over and have enough to last me for a long time to come. That is good because I know that I’ll never be able to afford what I would want of this. I’ve got SC as my consolation and I may be tempted to layer that with a dab of Three Witches and bit more Smut, and see how close I come. Yum!

In the imp, this smells like honeyed almonds. Once on, the honey almond scent disappears and instead I get the scent I get from a lot of the Voodoo oils. It smells a bit powdery. After it’s been on a bit, it begins to smell like rose. There’s also a mineral oil smell here too. This smells better thank it did initially. It's rosy, slightly sandalwood and slightly spicy. I didn’t have an opportunity to see how this oil works. The scent was ok but there are other oils that have similar properties that smell better.

The essence of ambition, covetousness and manipulation: sweet Bordeaux wine, blood red currant, thyme and wild berries. In the imp, this smells like sweet, juicy, ripe berries. Once applied, wet, the sweet berry scent remains. This is a strong oil and a little is going a long way. This is a wonderful berry scent. Applied, dry, I’m starting to get other notes now. But the berry remains dominant.

In the imp and initially on the skin, this smelled like honey and a blast of wine. The wine mellows pretty quick and it becomes all honey and incense. After its been on a couple minutes, the honey blast calms down and it becomes a bit spicy. It smells as if there’s a slight herbal element there too. Wow, this is lovely! It’s a dry scent despite the inclusion of a wine note. I’m not getting any florals so far. As it wears, the myrrh becomes the dominant scent. It’s fairly longlasting on my skin. The conclusion of this scent is spicy and incensy. It does bring to mind how I imagine Greece to be. Lovely.

This is a mild, herbal scent. It smells like cool lavender and zingy lime. The lavender and lime complement each other The lime has a juicy quality to it. This lavender seems a bit sharper than that of Safari. The lime almost adds a cocktail-like quality to this scent. I really like this scent, more than I thought that I would when I smelled it initially. When I first smelled this, it seemed dominated by lavender, however now, it seems that the lime comprises at least 60% of this scent. This is a soothing scent and suits its intended purpose well.

This is a slightly sweet, herbal scent, slightly fruity. When first applied it has a bit of a tang, but as it dries, this sweetens up considerably. This smells like blackberries in a tangle of vegetation and thorns. After this has been on for an hour or two, this is a soft, sweet, fruity scent that’s quite charming.

I’ve had this imp for a long time, so I don’t if aging has had any effect on it. I remember not being too impressed when I first gotten it, but it’s possible that my nose is simply better at appreciating things now. On the skin wet, this is all lemon. This is reminding me a bit of Enraged Bunny Musk of all things! I really enjoyed the musk in that. This seems to be the same lemon. It’s light and refreshing. I’m not getting much incense but there does seem to be something more there than lemon. Wow, this would be a good substitute for EBM. This is quite nice and I’m enjoying this more than I first did. Yes, as it dries the incense comes out, melding with the lemon. I almost think I can smell melons now. Overall, this is quite nice and I’m liking it. I don’t need a bottle but it was good to try it.

This is a softly floral scent. After it’s been on a minute, the rose comes out. As does the lily. These floral notes dominate. When it’s fresh on, the rose and lily are rather sharp and piercing, strident in a word. After it’s been on for a while, it seems to soften. Maybe the resins and incense are coming out. This reminds me of All Saints ’05, but I like this better. This is all soft and lovely. I like this phase of the scent but don’t care for the beginning.

In the imp, I smelled mainly neroli. Once applied, it’s neroli, maybe a bit of lily of the valley. As it wears, this is strongly neroli. There could be a touch of rose in the background. This is not good. After it’s been on a while, the rose comes out more and then all together. This is a powdery rose, soft and sweet. This oil was interesting, it changed pretty dramatically on me, but, this is just not my style.

Hymn to Prosperpine - Bewitching Brews Notes: amber, fruits of Prosperpine This is beautiful! This is strong, sweet amber. There’s a fruity element, I suppose that must be the pomegranate but I can see similarities to cranberry. I’m really loving this. I had my boyfriend smell it and he said that it smelled like candy. I’m disappointed that he doesn’t love it like I do, and now I can see similarities to candy, it’s such a sweet scent. But it is so much more. It smells like there could be a touch of vanilla in here. And maybe some sandalwood. I want a bottle of this; I know that my imp is not going to last. I love this scent. (Looking over the reviews as I was getting ready to post, fallow deer compares it to Al Azif. Thinking about it, I too can see similarities to Al Azif. For me, not the incense part but more the sweetness.)

This is beautiful! This is strong, sweet amber. There’s a fruity element, I suppose that must be the pomegranate but I can see similarities to cranberry. I’m really loving this. I had my boyfriend smell it and he said that it smelled like candy. I’m disappointed that he doesn’t love it like I do, and now I can see similarities to candy, it’s such a sweet scent. But it is so much more. It smells like there could be a touch of vanilla in here. And maybe some sandalwood. I want a bottle of this; I know that my imp is not going to last. I love this scent. (Looking over the reviews as I was getting ready to post, fallow deer compares it to Al Azif. Thinking about it, I too can see similarities to Al Azif. For me, not the incense part but more the sweetness.)

Wow! And I thought that Kunkstkammer and Moxie were orange. This is right there with them. Lustration is all strong citrus, sweet orange. This is an energizing, clarifying, wake-me-up type scent. I don’t know that it’s purifying but it’s certainly zingy. It’s mildly sweet. As with most citrus scents, this is extremely short-lived. After about 20 minutes it’s all but gone. I enjoyed it while it was here.

In the imp and on the skin, this was strongly citrus. Fresh, crisp, juicy citrus - mainly lime, with maybe a dash of grapefruit. It’s slightly sweet. This is wonderfully refreshing. It acts like citrus notes do, that is burn off pretty quick. After about 5 minutes, this has faded a lot and softened down to a softly sweet lime scent. After about 10 minutes, it’s pretty much gone. It’s calming and I could see that it would be useful for letting go of the crap of life or stress in general. I have to say that I want that first initial scent back, that strong, sharp, crisp, juicy lime. It was wonderful!

Lavender. There’s something else in here. I think it’s geranium. I have geranium essential oil and sniffing that, and imagining lavender, I could imagine this scent. It’s a very soothing scent and quite lovely. If I got tense during travels, then I believe this would be an excellent oil to try.

In the imp this smells a bit like spoiled fruit. (Bleck.) Once applied, it has an almost medicinal smell to it, in addition to the fruit and musk. There’s some spice there, perhaps a touch of carnation or cinnamon? If it’s carnation, it’s not the floral carnation, but it’s just enough for the spiciness of it to come through. Anyway – this is a slightly spicy, resinous blend, a bit fruity and sweet, and just wonderful. There’s something back there – that medicinal smell, is it camphor? Eucalyptus? A combination of a deep fruit, spice, carnation and resins? I can’t tell. That medicinal edge gives this oil a cool feeling to me despite the musk and spice. It adds something very smooth, almost metallic to the scent. Overall, this is a really interesting scent; it seems like it’s changed a lot while I’ve been wearing it. So far, this has been a great series for me. (I don’t know if aging affects these much but I’ve had these imps forever and a day it seems – well maybe not that long but probably closing on a year now).

This starts out and reminds me of Aveda products. I’m having a hard time identifying notes but I like this scent, a lot! It’s mildly sweet, sort of spicy, ambery, and warm. This is a quiet sort of scent. It doesn’t have a lot of throw (on me anyway). There’s something almost edible about this scent, like an exotic candy which I can’t think of right now. It’s a dry scent and it smells like it would have a powdery feel without smelling powdery. Hmm. Yes, it reminds me an Aveda perfume (I used to love their perfumes so it’s a good association). I like it.

This is all carnation on me. It soon morphs and the vanilla, amber and honey come out. This reminds me a bit of O or of the skin scent in La Petit Mort. There’s something else back there that adds something different to this scent. The spice in the carnation remains, and may be augmented by another spicy scent. This smells almost milky. I’m really enjoying this scent. It smells feminine, seductive, warm, cozy, and sexy. Wow! edited for funky grammar.

In the bottle it’s mainly pine and juniper. There’s a faint whiff of something Snake Oil-like in the background but it’s fairly faint. On the skin, it’s pine and juniper at first application, but immediately the vanilla and amber make themselves known. After that, it’s all vanilla and amber. This reminds me of Snake Oil a lot, which I love, so that makes me very happy. Even though the vanilla and amber dominate, there’s still a whiff of something evergreen and sharp (juniper) far in the background. If I hadn’t have read the description, I wouldn’t have thought this was a masculine scent. Granted, the juniper and pine do add elements but I think unisex is a far better description. Maybe it’s the name. Hmmm. Golden penis. Well I don’t know about that but I sure am enjoying this oil. I'm halfway through my bottle. p.s. this smells yummy layered with Dana O'Shee too.

In the imp, this smells mainly like a strong, dark musk. Once on the skin, it remains mainly musky with elements of sweet, sweet incense. There's a slight floral aspect, maybe a trace of jasmine. This has the sweet piercing incense that I remember from Al Azif and of which I find elements in the Bearded Lady. As it dries and wears, it becomes all sweet incense. As it wears, I’m picking up a bit of cinnamon and what smells like coconut to me. It’s an unusual combination. It’s dominated by the incense and musk of course. I'm not getting any dragon's blood. It was fairly short lasting but wonderful while it did. I’m tempted to pick up a bottle of this.