leahcat

A Latin word that means to sigh or draw a deep breath, that also suggests longing, desire, yearning, and a passionate wish. Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley. in the bottle: hit of very floral, either lily or jasmine, I cannot tell which yet wet: Definitely lillies! Calla lily is a muskier scent and I can pick that up, the sweetness of lily of the valley is there but underneath it. A few sniffs more and I can find the brightness that is jasmine, I'm not sure about white plum, white orchid or ylang ylang (the last of which is a complete unknown to me) drying/5 minutes: Floral still, but it is sweetening up on me - is that the plum? It might be! These are all very 'sweet' floral scents as well, which I find I'm rather enjoying more dry/15 minutes: it's warmer now, toned down but not fading - a bit like what I might get on a lazy summer late afternoon, hot day, flowers that have been in the sun... this is a lovely combination! Jasmine and lillies are some of my favorite flowers to smell (I LOVE my jasmine outside! still blooming and I inhale deeply every time I leave/come back home), so although I HATE FLORALS, I was willing to give this a try. Nothing in here made my nose itch like 90% of the other floral type of scents do, so that alone is a huge plus. and that's all for now!

in the bottle: wow this IS interesting...not very strong but has a crispness to it. Almost smells warm through, not cold. wet: I certainly cannot ID a single note in this but it's not offensive at all, not sweet, not heavy, not crisp, not cold, not warm, not ...huh. drying (2 minutes of heavy sniffing): ok, there might be a very soft touch of something I hesitate to call floral - mostly because I haven't found a floral I can tolerate and this is different. It'd be something like the barest trace of a calla lily or some such. dry: sophisticated and I'll be danged if I know what's in this. However, it's very mild so I can see this being one of the 5ml bottles I actually use up since it needs a bit more for use. I'll do more testing on longevity later

French Love In the bottle: honeyed vanilla faint w/ dragon’s blood (although I admit the color is influencing me on the blood count) Wet: rather soft but stronger than in the bottle/imp. Does not have that super-ultra-sweet tang that dragon’s blood has, quite nice! Drying/3 mins:more musky almost spice now, but still a lovely honey vanilla tone to my nose at least Dry/15 mins: much more spicy now, it’s taken over. The soft honey vanilla is mostly gone.

Florence In the bottle: very faint, barely there in the bottle Wet: mmmm! A soft scent, if it doesn’t fade this might be rather nice. Drying/4 mins: Amber and berries, a bit of a heady scent like waking up from a good dream, I can’t get any iris at all (which is nice!) Dry/10 mins: deserves more testing when my nose isn’t tired out. Has definite possibilities!

Juliet In the bottle: yup, that would be lilies! Wet: more sweetness now, probably the honeysuckle and pear. Floral but not too strong... still floral. Drying/4 mins: lily floral overload Dry/ mins: never got this far. Nose went nuts, had to wash it off. Wish I liked florals more on me.

Eden In the bottle: a surprisingly musky garden scent – not green but.. *reads the description* a ha! Toasted coconut indeed. Wet: toasted coconut, almond milk definitely. Oh! there’s the fig leave. Unique. Complex. Drying/4 mins: Definitely interesting... my nose isn’t sure what to make of this! Dry/14 mins: Worth further testing.. not sure it’s for me but it’s a very interesting scent.

Delirium In the bottle: lemony something? Wet: sweet lemon, a bit lemon Pledge like though. Giving it time... Drying/5 mins: still strong lemon, might be able to talk my nose into smelling apple in there, but it’s not the sort of apples I eat. Definitely rose, which is getting stronger. Dry/18 mins: icky lemon. So sad.

Elegba In the bottle: Oh! Sweet happiness! Sugar rum for SURE. Wet: sugar rub, soft tobacco...barely coconut. Much fun! Drying/4 mins: Coconut sugared rum. Do I need to ask for more? Dry/17 mins: happy sugared rum! Happiness!

Grand Guignol In the bottle: soft brandy, not too booze, soft fruit. Nice! Wet: a bit stronger on the brandy but still very mellow without the boozy of some of the other’s I’ve tried. Has promise! Drying/6 mins: a soft sweet brandy without much bite. Definitely uplifting without being too bright or strong of a scent. Dry/15 mins: much the same as before, it definitely fades a bit but that’s fine. I don’t really want to walk around smelling like a brandy cordial, you know? So happy with this one!

The Hanging Gardens In the bottle: Green with a surprising tone of sweetness! Forgot about the fruits, but indeed this is a fruit orchard over grass. Wet: ok, there’s that touch of rose but still very subtle (as I dislike florals...), the fruits are a nice blend of pear-plum-date-fig to my nose. Definitely others in there as this is a VERY complex scent! Impressed. Drying/6 mins: Alas! Much more rose now, gardenias as well. *rubs itchy nose* fruits fading fast. Dry/ mins: Gardenias and rose with a touch of sweetness. Fruits definitely take a backseat here

Santa Eularia Des Riu In the bottle: bright soapy barely sweet semi spice. Wet: floral – and while I love jasmine and lavender... not together! Oh well. Floral double punch, a bit like some lady’s soap set. Bare touch of herbs in there, the orange blossom/sweet is gone now. Drying/3 mins: oh lookit! The orange is back, to my delight. The herbal is almost gone but the florals have taken more of a backseat now. This is rather nice, the sort I’d like a satchel of for the underwear drawer, you know? Dry/16 mins: very soft, still floral, the orange is more gone now ah well.

De Sade In the bottle: leather! Wow they got that one rather well. Not perfect, but it’s close enough. Had no idea what to expect with such a cryptic description. Wet: ok ok, this is ‘raw’ leather. I’m used to oiled and used leather which gets a different scent from the neatsfoot oil and other stuff (nono, not S&M, from horsebackriding, bad mind!) Drying/5 mins: raw leather Dry/20 mins: yup, raw leather

Alas! The frankinscense and vetiver and deep musk knock everything else out. Sweet clove, mandarin, bourbon, lemon peel, leather, grasses, lime? Completely gone. Can I get those in a scent by itself? Sigh.

Aglaea In the bottle: bright! Sweet! Fruit? Wet: a soft fruit, not sweet though. A plum sort to my nose, oddly enough. Perhaps that’s the myrtle or wine? The bright tone is definitely gone now. Drying/3 mins: barely spiced fruit with that overtone I tentatively ID as the wine. Amber is very much a back seat in this, but I like amber a lot so it doesn’t stand out as strong to my nose I admit. (she who bathes in Bastet....) Dry/15 mins: almost overly sweet now! Oh no! overripe PEACH over the head. Ouch. Must test again later to see if this keeps happening.

Kunsthammer In the bottle: oh how nice! Nothing like what I would have expected, but I also have no clue what benzoin or olibanum is either! Barely sweet, I can ID the orange in there but little else. It’s impossible for me to describe. Wet: definitely the deeper scent of the blood orange, with something I’d describe as a complicated light musk. Very interesting! Drying/5 mins: this mellows out considerable, as the layers blend together. It’s almost like the softest of incense with a spicy but light musk... all barely sweet with the blood orange. Rather nice! Dry/12 mins: A very sophisticated scent, this is one I’m happy to have an imp of!

Yerevan In the bottle: sweet! Um.. fruits? Floral? Hard to tell. Wet:sticky sweet something. Pears? Touch of apricot? Currently too much for this stomach. Drying/4 mins: this has soften CONSIDERABLY, oh my. A bare touch of floral (rose by the description), soft sweetness that isn’t at all overwhelming. When I breathe very deeply I get dead fish ... um, not sure about my nose right now. So normal breathing gives me a VERY nice scent. Wow. Dry/12 mins: soft vanilla fruity sweetness. No idea about the vanilla, but that’s what my nose says now! Definitely for more testing!

Perversion In the bottle: I... just cannot find words for this. It’s nice, but I can’t tell WHAT it is. Wet: still not sure. Soft, perhaps a light musk? Barely sweet, but not fruity nor floral. Okay, going to go get the description.... my nose needs help! Drying/3 mins: a ha! It’s that tonka that my nose isn’t familiar with (at least so far as to name it), but it’s a very nice layered scent – the rum isn’t boozy at ALL (thankgod) and the tobacco isn’t strong either. Dry/10 mins: Very fun but while not sure it’s for me, it’s definitely worth testing further to see how I like it and what other scents come out.

Snake Oil - had heard a lot about this and got an imp at last! By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla. In the bottle: oh dangit. It’s very musky with that tone of something I’m 99% certain I dislike passionate. Makes my nose itch! Wet: warm, sweetish, is that amber? The musky/incense tone is definitely less now Drying/6 mins: Still very incense – but not that specific one that was making my nose go nuts. Very warm and sweetish, a nice blend but I suspect something I wouldn’t ever wear. Dry/15 mins: Soft amber and vanilla with a touch of something else – I’d call this a softer Bastet, sweeter perhaps. Not bad but not sure if it’s something I’d wear. Definitely keeping for a round 2 of testing.

Vice A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom. in the bottle: chocolate + cherries, ayup! With an orange tang. This seems like a rather straightforward scent. (cherries = NOT cough syrup cherry but definitely black cherries) wet: tangy orange chocolate over cherries. Spot on. drying/5 minutes: wow, this is dry already. Fast absorbing with my skin and faded a bit already. Sweet chocolate scent. I can pick up orange and cherries if I sniff a bit more. dry/20 minutes: faint chocolate. Might have been absorbed faster since I used the underside of my arm – I know some scents last longer on ‘tougher’ skin like the back of the hand, etc.

Blood Countess in the bottle: Ooo, sweet yum plum. Floral? Not yet. wet: sugared plums and berries ....several sniffs more and I get a bit of lilac. This is so NOT floral. Yay! Let’s see how it dries. drying/5 minutes: much more spicy now, which is odd... no real spices in the description. Might that be the opium? Still sweet cooked plums (not fresh ones) and berries. I get both lilac and gardenia now, but it’s a faint after-note. Not sure about the roses but perhaps... if I talk to my nose long enough it tells me that perhaps they are there. dry/40 minutes: musky spicy plum. Not as nice as I’d hoped from the start, but I’m sure it suits other people.

Morgause Earth sorceress and mother of Mordred, she is, in essence, the harbinger of King Arthur's doom and the downfall of Camelot. She is a sister, or sister-self, to Morgan Le Fay. A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses. in the bottle: floral! Yes indeed. However, it’s a sweet floral, not quite an icky badly scented bath soap floral. wet: Floral. Hmm.. my nose isn’t being more specific than that right now. Violet? Sure, I can swing with that. drying/15 minutes: Floral in my face. I don’t think this is going to change :S

in the bottle: sandalwood and peaches, not much else, but Oy! That’s strong. wet: the sandalwood is still dominant but not along. The sweetness of the peaches is very much there, and I believe I can get the vanilla as well, since there’s a warmth to the peaches that normally isn’t there. A few sniffs more and I can get the amber, no clue what heliotrope smells like though. drying/5 minutes: I’m getting more spices than peach or vanilla. It’s nice but a bit heavy on the incense/resin odors. dry/35 minutes: a sweet tinge to sandalwood and amber. Ah well. Not as peachy/vanilla as I’d hoped.

in the bottle: sweet happiness! faint strawberries and nothing else overwhelming wet: yum. yum yum yum. .. I mean, strawberries, but yummy cooked in a tart sorts, not overly sickeningly sweet like Bon Vivant was. drying/3 minutes: More promise now, I get touches of something else with each sniff...a hint of floral so very very faint I barely notice (me = hate florals) It's enough to add depth without overwhelming dry/15 minutes: fades a lot of me... ack! a sweet touch of sugar, touch of strawberry, touch of floral. VERY nice blend without any one note standing up and screaming too much. Will test all-day tomorrow

Aureus in the bottle: eep! incense notes. erk. wet: heavy heavy incense. Where's the light? golden? dark musky room odor to me drying/5 minutes: softening but still *cough*incense*cough* and my nose doesn't like that sort so heavy. oh well dry/ minutes: just not for me

Incantation in the bottle: Oo! sweet bright scent. I can't ID anything in it though. Just danged nice wet: My nose is still as a loss, but it's happiness for me. Reading the description I can ID the lemon now, but it's very much NOT overwhelming or even at the forefront. I am no sandlewood fan but I can barely get it in this oil. Just... loveliness in a bottle drying/5 minutes: it's darkening now, not quite as bright/lemon. What a change... and yet much the same. The lab description nails this quite well - profound, entrancing, deep....best I can do is echo what they have already written, as it's spot on for me dry/25 minutes: still warm, I think I can almost ID the sandlewood now. This is definitely a wear-all-day and see how it changes scent for further testing