k00kaburra

In bottle: Woody with an aromatic fruit note. In fact it is very green - it definitely makes me think of the leaves and stems of a plant, rather than the flower bud. On me: Very fresh and green - not at all what I expected. I anticipated Strength would be a heavy fragrance, full of incense and warm woods. Instead it smells of milky stems and leafy vegetation. Mmmm. Perfect - I was wondering what I could do to replace my Dandelion single note when it eventually ran out. While not exactly matching in scent this is similar enough to serve my purposes.

I wasn't too keen on Harvest Moon last year - and I mean I really didn't like it, I thought it smelled of wet bandaids - but the formulation sounds just different enough this year that I will chance it again. In bottle: It smells very heavily spiced, and of apples. Pumpkins pies oozing juice because they're so freshly baked, and applesauce served instead of ice cream. Red wine and dark plants. On me: Perfect autumn potpourri - but not the nasty drugstore-aisle kind. I mean that it's an excellent blend of the dry leaves, mulled apples, pecan pie, all the good things in Autumn gathered together and evoked by a single oil. I'm so glad I took the risk and tried Harvest Moon again!

In bottle: It smells very strongly of fine baby powder that crumbles at the touch. It is very delicate and fragile, like it would blow away with a sneeze. There's also hints of a berry-like sweetness. On me: It mellows on the skin, so the initial screaming burst of rose-and-powder that may surprise you isn't permanant. For me Beatrice is very strong as a rose soap - I don't detect any spice in the blend at all. It definitely matches the character of Beatrice; the blend has captured her essence in a bottle perfectly.

In bottle: Cinnamon and a bubble gum note. Very peculiar! It is an unusual blend of spicy and sweet. On me: Cinnamon and a fruit note. It becomes cinnamon gum on my skin, which is a great scent and all but not something I care to wear. Cinnamon fans, please investigate this blend further - you won't regret it!

In bottle: Oh yeah. That would be the pure jasmine we all know and adore. On me: If this was meant to be a complex blend, on my skin it failed completely. Jasmine takes over and dominates the entire scene.

In bottle: Rather bubbly, it is quite medicinal. It reminds me heavily of root beer mixed with cough syrup - which is not a pleasant combination to my nose or to my imagininative tastebuds. On me: Another vote of 'rootbeer' for this scent! It's warm and inviting, and a bit fizzy. Completely unexpected, but I like it!

In bottle: Cool, rich leather. It actually reminds me of the leather couches Mom has in the living room, soft and always relaxing to lie down on. On me: Very true to the bottle on the skin. It is very masculine but I could see a woman choosing it when she wants to feel tough.

In bottle: Salty wood. Salty hard wood, like the bottom of a ship that's been sailing many a year. While I wouldn't call the fruit note a citrus - it is a musky sort of fruit to me, more reminiscent of plum or possibly lychee - it's definitely there. On me: Cedar, surely. It seems more balanced and delicate than most other cedar blends I've tried - normally I loathe cedar, but something about this blend appeals. It's astrigent and a hint tangy. Fresher, too - cedar often smells like it is rotting to me, but this smells alive and living. A cedar I actually like - I never thought I'd see the day!

In bottle: Soft and light. Very difficult to describe. A bit powdery. On me: I wouldn't say there's a dirt note in this, but it does smell very dusty. It's also very light and powdery - a hint musky - overall the embodiment of soft, but with those powders and that dustiness it definitely suits some sort of rock. I keep hoping for the jagged black fire to appear. The closest thing to it is a light creaminess that I find intriguing; so I will keep this scent and continue to attempt to unlock its mystery.

I must admit that I anticipated a mint, and from what I've heard that note makes not even a peep in Numb. I can't wait to try it. In bottle: It's chilling, but difficult to describe. It seems to be a cold musk to me. Cold musk on pure baby powder. This is a very neutral scent to me - dare I say, it's a bit boring. On me: Hmm. No. I'm sorry. It doesn't have such a cold sensation to me, and worse - much worse - it smells like an anti-fungal foot cream my brother uses. Not a scent for me!

In bottle: So much fruit! Berries! Citruses! Plum! Peach! Melon! Every fruit you can think of is stirred together in this blend; it is the juiciest fruit salad in the world. It sings and dances in the bottle. On me: On the skin, guava, papaya, passion fruit, and other tropical notes are the strongest. The berries retreat to the background, the cherry and pear seem to vanish. The citruses are still present, as are the rambunctious plums and peaches and kiwi - mango is surprisingly distinctive, I must add - and everything seems energetic and giggling. It reminds me of the Jello and Fruit Salad concoctions my grandmother made when I was younger. Her creation contained green and red jello, lychee, maraschino cherries, and canned peaches. This scent brings that creation back to my mind instantly.

In bottle: Hmmm. Apparently the womb smells of curry. Or at least something equally heavy on incense and spice. On me: On the skin the initial blast fades to florals. It's like a deep cedar wood with jasmine growing out of it.

In bottle: Creamy rose. It's a very peaceful, graceful fragrance. There's a slightly smoky sweetness that I think can be attributed to sandalwood, but I"m not sure . On me: Love it! It's a lovely rose, simple and true, that hasn't gone nuts on my skin. Again, I think it's grounded with a dash of sandalwood, but I can't even detect that on my skin except in minute amounts.

In bottle: It is a complicated blend that I don't think I'll be able to do much in the way of identification. It reminds me a bit of watery cherries and leather. Sugary Maraschino cherries, at that. That possibly means almonds. On me: Pleasantly sweet. It's very light on the skin, but it's a delicate almond.

In bottle: Grounding. It smells sharply, but also of sandalwood and frankincense. Pine, perhaps - definitely some sort of hard wood. On me: Smells very strongly of pine and frankincense on the skin. It has a holy, balanced feeling to it, very magical and potent. I think I'd be best off passing this on to someone who engages in magic, as this is just wasted on me.

In bottle: This is the fragrance I am most worried about, because it has many notes that don't agree with me. Patchouli. Pine needle. Leather. CEDAR. In the bottle it is quite pleasant. Leather warmed by human skin, wooden floorboards and walls heated in the sun (it's a very warm scent), very wild and uncontrollable. On me: Not bad at all, althought it is not my sort of scent so I know I won't keep it. Dry grass and moss gives this hints of green, while the wood and leather keep it warm and raw - the heat hightened by the cinnamon. In fact this is gorgeous! But I have to be honest, I wouldn't wear it because I am a fruits and flowers kind of girl. But the feral aspect of this blend, so carefree and wild, make it a tempting bottle indeed.

In bottle: Yesterday I tossed a bag of 'Butter Lover's' popcorn into the microwave and cooked it up. Today I open Shill and the same fragrance greets me as when I opened the bag yesterday - the only difference is now thre is no cloud of steam. On me: On my skin the buttery note fades but is still present; the popcorn aspect amplifies. It's good, tho'. I won't wear it because really, who wants to go about smelling of popcorn? - but I love it, and I will burn it in my oil burner and my house will always smell of fresh buttered popcorn. Victory!

In bottle: Exotic spices, which I can't even pick out the specifics of, are layered over amber and vanilla in this scintillating, slithering blend. The sweetness of the plum is a complimentto the other notes. On me: It is like snake oil, but the amber and the multitude of notes expand it greatly. In fact, it is like Snake Oil was the base, and the other notes enhance it. Like when big-name perfumers take, say, 'Burberry Brit' and tweak it a bit, creating 'Burberry Brit Red.' This is just as wonderful as Snake Oil, although different. More complex and I think Snake Oil's a bit slinkier.

In bottle: The smell of fried food, and vanilla. Sugar sugar delicious food! Caramel and cotton candy - man, this is great. On me: On my skin the scent becomes rather like cotton candy and waffle cone, or spun sugar and caramel. Either way, this is heavenly. No one else shall even touch this bottle! Eeew, that makes me sound greedy.

In bottle: Very sharp - that must the ginger and the balsam. I can tell right away this won't be a scent for me - it reminds me of a yellow vetiver, if that possibly can make sense to anyone. On me: Oh, eew. It's very unattractive on my skin. Somehow it goes to plastic band-aid on me; it may be a cure for all that ails you but if you feel queasy in the process, it's best to pass this one on.

In bottle: Complex and foody. Chocolate and fig seem the most prominant notes to me, which mingles with vanilla and the honey musk (honey can have musk? I must research this new development.) It smells delicious, and is blended so well that i can't pick out most of the notes too well. On me: The cocoa bean, fig and pomegranate sing on me. Vanilla and honey, with the smallest hints of citrus, hover in the background, shaping the fragrance without actively participating. As the drying continues the lemon becomes more prominant.

In bottle: A hard wooden plank with sharp iron protruding; the scent is captured exactly. Metallic, almost with hints of rust; a hard yellow wood like pine, and the slightest hint of salt, like human sweat, perhaps? On me: It is saltier on the skin, and reminds me a bit of driftwood on the seaside. The wood is definitely the strongest note - I'm sticking with pine but that's only because I'm not sure of other hard yellow woods. Then the metallic note, which is a bit more discernable to its probably aquatic origin strikes up like one of the nails. It's very interesting, but not for my skin.

I was one of the lucky folk who rec'd a mislabeled bottle of Snake Charmer instead of House of Mirrors. My correct bottle has finally arrived and I must say, the new/real fragrance is lovely! In bottle: Crystalline. It is very much like glass - slightly citrus, slightly floral, and slightly the scent of air - but crisp. Very, very crisp. There is something almost otherworldly about the shimmering blend - like it is a scent from the world beyond the mirror...if that makes any sense at all. On me: It smells very familiar, like I've come across a similar blend before. It does remind me a bit of Thunderbird, but not so much because they smell alike, but because they both make me think of the sky. This is citrusy and a bit sweet, and beautiful, certainly beautiful! This is definitely a top-ten perfume for me!

In bottle: Frankincense and leather, clove and bourbon. That dryness of lemon peel. It smells very sexy and inviting in the bottle - but masculine, for this is definitely a man's fragrance. There are hints of smoke and vetiver, but these notes are not strong. Based on my past histories with many of these notes, I doubt this will smell good on my skin, but I'll try it. On me: Lime and lemon and incense and spice, with grasses shooting up throughout. A deep, heavy musk adds to the mysterious allure. A man wearing this would exude power, I think. It is a very strong, kingly fragrance. I have had little luck convincing the current boyfriend of the delights of perfume oil (if he can't spray it, he isn't interested) but I'll give him a shot of this.

In bottle: Blood orange and spicy black pepper; I need to look up the other two listed ingredients because I do not recognize them. Apparently benzoin is a creamy, slightly woody vanilla and olibanum is a more delicate frankincense. This is very, very fruity, but I can detect the elements of a vanilla-like note. On me: Smells strongest of oranges and benzoin, with the spice and incense dusting over the sugary sweetness. At intervals the sweetness receeds and the incense comes forward, but it soon reverses itself again. It is a bit funny on my skin though - terrible shame, I really liked this in the bottle. It looks like it isn't for me.