k00kaburra

In bottle: Oranges. Sweet fresh oranges, plucked from the tree in December. Very crispy scent. On me: Goes to grapefruit - very sharp grapefruit at that - as I dab it on. It's another clean white scent; after the grapefruit fades a bit the white tea and ginger come out into the air. It's very much like Bath & Body Work's White Tea & Ginger line with a bit of Mango Mandarin (another fragrance they carry) blended in.

In bottle: Cinnamon and something nutty. On me: Cinnamon! I'm lucky I'm not one of those peopel allergic to it. I smell something like ground almonds - almost more like almond shells, truthfully - blended with the cinnamon. I don't find the scent particularly pleasant to wear, but it makes a decent room scent. It seemed to have no effect on the boyfriend, tho'.

A pale, delicate, truly angelic blend. A scent created to emulate Adonis' halo of beauty: fragile, distant, and radiant. Rosewood with Sicilian lemon peel, red Mysore sandalwood, pale musks, sweet mountain sage and a dusting of lily, night-blooming jasmine and orris. In bottle: It just smells icky to me. Slightly curdled, like perfume you find at the department store that's turned a bit bad. Jasmine's quite strong. On me: Sometimes I like musk, but there's a bit too much of it in this for me to appreciate it. Also, the sandalwood and jasmine are strong and the combination is a bit headache-inducing. It turns sour and musty on me quite quickly. After an hour: Wow, this scent's gotten a lot better. If I get get through the drying it's a very pleasant sandalwood with hints of musk and white florals.

In bottle: Very fresh and clean. I can definitely smell tulips. I associate tulips with soap, having used a tulip-scented soap for many years growing up, so it is a very soapy smell to me. But it's crisp and green with hints of grass as well. On me: Very, very clean fragrance. The florals sharpen a bit but overall it is very true to the bottle. In the spring and summer this will be quite fantastic.

In bottle: Sweet. It's a very candy-like fragrance that reminds me of strawberry chap stick. There's some serious powdery bubblegum action, too. On me: Very light. It's barely noticeable. Weird, the bubble gum's completely vanished, as has the strawberry chap stick. In fact, the fragrance has completely morphed into something faintly citrus, almost cake-like...how bizarre! I will need to try this one a few times before deciding whether it's a keeper.

I guess I'll wear Anne Bonney as I'm going as a pirate. But dang - I was really hoping for Samhain or one of the other limited editions!

In bottle: Bubblegum. Bubble Yum Strawberry Bubble Gum! It makes me think of childhood and those one inch blocks of gum sold in packs of five at grocery store checkouts everywhere. On me: I'm getting such a craving for bubble gum asI put this on. After the first initial bubble of fragrance 'pops' the scent grows up a bit and smells like something an adult would wear. I'm beginning to pick up hints of orange and something else that darkens and subdues the bubble gum. But wow! I am in love.

In bottle: It's a delicate bouquet with roses and violets and hints of something fruity. It's a sweet, bright spring scent. On me: This is so feminine and pretty! This rose is light and airy, and not the least bit overbearing. The violets, too, smell freshly-picked and brand new. This is such an innocent scent; I expected Antionette's fragrance to be more heady and decadent, but I am so delighted to be wrong.

In bottle: Whoa! Sharp. Overwhelmingly bitter oranges and neroli. It truly is the essence of demon. On me: True to the bottle as it dries down...after a few minutes this fades to mostly raspberry. However, I love that this is a corrupted, sinister raspberry, not your typical Bath & Body Works Sun-Ripened Raspberry.

... His scent is deep, swarthy, and darkly commanding, and compliments the Queen of Swords perfectly: oakmoss, vetiver and opoponax with black plum, wild blackberry, soft woods, sharp and glinting white musk under a soft, velvety robe of vanilla and coconut. In bottle: Wow. Deliciously complex. Something and then bubblegum. Somewhat citrus, one of the unfamiliar ones like bergamot or yuzu. Man, I like this. On me: Aack? I can't smell a thing! The King is incredibly light. Quite a gentle scent. Notes are starting to waft up: Blackberry, coconut, plum and a white musk. Wow. I bought this scent for my boyfriend, but I like it on me so much that I'd hate to give it up. But how am I going to interest him in being a Queen? (How many girls go about saying that?) Lovely, like a benevelent ruler.

In bottle: Honey! Glorious golden honey, sweetened by wine and surrounded by bright flowers. On me: Here comes the myrrh, drawn out and magnified by my skin. It's a darkened honey now, amber rather than golden. But it's still sweet, although there's an almost soap-like quality to it. I am thinking of honey scented soap when I smell this. However, this soapiness fades after a time and the remaining scent has a definitely classic and timeless quality to it. Spicy honey - works quite well!

In bottle: Makes me think green. Almost makes me think of cucumbers? It's so very, very green. Not really getting violet or vetiver at this point. On me: Still not getting violet. I even cracked open a vial of violet oil I have to see if the problem is that I've forgotten how violet smells. No dice. There isn't a hint of that flower here. I get more of a woody forest scent from this. Whoever said totally nailed this.

In bottle: Incense. Wood. This is such dignity in this scent. It's gorgeous. On me: I would never wear this, so I'll just babble about how great it is for home fragrance. It stirs such memories in me. I am reminded of chapel on Wednesdays in elementary school. (I went to a private school.) We'd sit on wooden pews gazing forward at a wooden cross and stain-glass windows, and while the priest spoke we'd flip through the pages of hymnals and Bibles to amuse ourselves. That's what this smells like – the inside of a church. Not a new building, of course, but an old one with a very high ceiling. There's a certain mustiness (I don't want to use the word as it sounds negative, but there's no other way to describe it) but it's such a wonderful scent to fill the house with; it lends it a certain power, like it's a sacred place.

In bottle: Sharp. Clean and perky, like it's got eucalyptus or mint in it. (But I don't actually smell either of those notes in this, it just has that same invigorating feeling.) My especial favorite plum is wafting up, with the blackberry and something I'm pretty sure must be amber. On me: Hooo boy. That just came pouring out (I gotta get used to reducers) and drenched the back of my hand, as well as the notebook paper I originally wrote this on. Anyway...myrrh. Fruity myrrh. This mellows out into a light blackberry fragrance. It isn't a cheerful berry, but a dark and brooding one. But talk about lasting power! Queen of Spades just goes and goes...if it ever comes back, I'll definitely get another bottle.

The name makes me expect something smoky, but the description says this'll be completely different. Cool. In bottle: Sharp. Smells like man - let me re-phrase that. It's a very masculine scent. Harm, just got a hint of juniper there. That would be very sexy on someone, but I'm thinking it isn't for me. Well, here goes... On me: Smells like wood to me. I know how useless that is, but let me think how to put it better. Hmmm...bark. That's what I'm thinking of. If you walk into a forest and then walk up to a tree and bury your ose in its side, you meet Wildflire in the bark. I think I catch hints of flowers, but they're so faint. Like the scent's been carried by a breeze from some other place.

In bottle: Sharp fresh grapefruit??? Weird. I certainly wasn't expecting that. I sense more beneath this citrus but cannot detect the specifics. On me: It's quite weak on me. The fresh zap! of the bottle mutes immediately. But as it dries it's quite lovely. I smell boozy blackberries and apple cider tempered with herbs or green-something. I expected this to be harvesty, but in my head it's more like a twilight walk under a full moon when the chill is creeping in but isn't quite cold as winter yet. It's like when fog is rolling in from the sea but it hasn't yet blanketed the town yet. It's still a distinctly autumn scent, and a very complex one that changes the longer you wear it.

In bottle: Bubblegum and smoke. It's actually the way I always thought Lolita ought to smell - a mingling of distinctive child and adult fragrances. Seen the musical Rent? I tell you, this is exactly how Mimi smells. On me: Bubblegum recedes to the background but lends a sweetness to the smoke-and-clove that I could never otherwise wear. My body's chemistry often pulls rose forward but if there's any here, I can't find it. This is just an amazing, intoxicating scent. This is just amazing.

In bottle: It smells like a smoky dark floral. I'm definitely getting a whiff of lilac. On me: Lilac or violet...whichever it is, there's a very dominant floral here. Funny, I didn't expect this to be flowery – I always figured this would be full of resins and patchouli. Whatever is in Bat's Blood, it makes me think of my grandmother's perfumes. She had a collection that sat on a mirrored counter for thirty years, rarely being used. When I played with them, they smelled as Bat's Blood does. If that makes sense to anyone.

Good, I've been wanting to try this one, and Beth sent it as an extra in one of my orders. In bottle: Lovely strong citrus, reminds me of orange Tic-tacs. Second whiff and the candy-like orange is more like furniture polish. Hmmm. This could be interesting. On me: OH EEEW! This totally just went to piss on my skin. Not what I was expecting; I'm quite disappointed. I'm thinking these marine/watery notes just don't like me...

In bottle: Most of the voodoo love oils have some sort of pungent thing in them that I simply can't stand. I haven't a clue what it is, except that it makes my hair curl and my face wrinkles up. Whatever it is, it's in India Bouquet. That and curry – man, this makes me think of curry dinners. On me: Curry curry curry. I barely dabbed it on (I'm a bit scared of this fragrance) but it's still quite strong. Oh, and there's that licorice smell. As I like fruit and sugary scents, this won't work out for me at all. Oh well. I wasn't that worried about infidelity anyway.

This is an amazingly effective blend. I was extremely upset about some stupid policy my work had recently put into place. I needed to talk to my manager about it and I was dreading it so much that I was shaking. Goona Goona had arrived a few days before so I slathered it on and hurried off to work. Somewhere between the store and my house I found the rose scent calming me down. I was completely composed and ready to discuss things calmly only ten minutes later. Amazing! The strongest thing I smell is roses with a hint of some sort of spice rounding it off. Maybe pepper? Sounds odd, but it's a gorgeous scent.

In bottle: Definitely generic floral. Reminds me of hotel soap, but this may be the sweet pea, which is a very popular fragrance at my work and I'm definitely overexposed to it. On me: Even with the myrrh to temper it the rose is just exploding out of my skin. It's just too much, too powerful. But if your skin doesn't amplify rose like crazy, this could be a very lovely bouquet.

In bottle: Wow. I've never smelled anything quite like this before. It's foody yet not really. The almond and orange and some sort of herb are making a lovely fragrance. It reminds me of buying fresh roasted almonds at the farmer's market, and smelling the other produce and goods available. On me: Mmmm, almond-and-orange candy. The almond is really strong, which is unusual on me. The citruses might be amplifying it, since they're so powerful as well. I think the mint must be contributing to the candy feeling as well. I will enjoy using this imp, but it's not quite enough of a 'me' scent to justify purchasing a 5ml.

In bottle: Ick. Smells like a varnish or stain that my mom uses when she's making her minature buildings and needs an 'antiqued' look. On me: If I hold my arm a few inches away, I smell grape popsicles. Not so bad, I'll take fruity anything. If I get any closer I smell some animalistic thing. I don't think it's rancid or horrible, but it's not something I seek to wear. Too bad. It's fading very quickly, too.

In bottle: Wow, this is a fierce fragrance. The dragon's blood and the musk are predominant, but there's a hint of rose hiding beneath. On me: Whoa! Hello patchouli! Where were you hiding? This is smoky and spicy. It makes me think of a wild red-haired woman dancing on tabletops in a smoke-filled bar. She's laughing. She's having a blast. It sweetens with time but doesn't fade. The fragrance doesn't suit my personality but it's really a shame it'll be going away.