Aredhel

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Gorgeous! Preconceived notions: Dragon's blood with a bit of herbs and orange? In the imp: Dragon's blood and orange. Already two of my favourite notes, this bodes well! On skin, wet: Spicy, but surprisingly light, dragon's blood and sweet, fresh orange. There's a bit of something green (herbs, I imagine) as well. On skin, dry: Not drastically different from wet, save for the appearance of chamomile. It's much softer and sweeter than I'd expected, but it's a pleasant surprise. Conclusion: Red Moon is an absolutely gorgeous scent, which combines three of my most favourte notes (orange [peel], dragon's blood and herbs). Being as rare and sought-after as it is, it figures I'd fall in love with it. I'll definitely treasure my decant of it, and I hope Beth deigns to re-release it one day.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Perfectly mad! Preconceived notions: Based on the description, sceery things. On the reviews? Lovely things! In the bottle: Oh, lovely! Musk, something herbal, and rich amber. On skin, wet: Okay, this is gorgeous. Green and musky, but not of the dark/heavy variety -- aka, the musks that hate me. No, thse are Aredhel-loving musks with amber, herbs and a bit of something fruity hiding along the edges. Perfectly wonderful, this one. On skin, dry: I am officially smitten. This is, really, exactly what I had hoped Coyote would be -- warm and ambery an herbal quality and a rich, faintly sweet musk. Spicy and earthy and divine. Conclusion: I can't believe how wrong I was about this one. When it came out, I thought "Oh HELL no -- it's going to be all animal-assy!" And I must say, it's not. And yes, to me it is a wee bit like Smut, but without the booze, not as sweet, and with amber and herbs. Long story short(er), I love the Mad Monkey, and I may need another bottle.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rotting flowers. Preconceived notions: Mints and flowers? In the imp: How odd. Mint (or menthol?) and flowers. Weird. On skin, wet: Definitely something minty or mentholy, but nothing sharp or crisp. I don't think I like the way it blends with what comes off as flowers. It's almost sour, and becoming rancid. On skin, dry: Oh, definitely not. Something here's turned into a rotting-flowers kind of thing. If I get a strong whiff, I can taste it. It almost smells like... urine. For some reason, though, like zillah, I keep sniffing it! Conclusion: Interesting, but just not me -- something in my skin just hates it.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Floral! Preconceived notions: Not a clue. Nothing? In the imp: Ooh. Very faint, but quite pretty. Soft and powdery and a tad floral. On skin, wet: This really does seem perfumey -- commercial, almost, but not in a bad way at all. Floral, but On skin, dry: Clean and white and slightly powdery. A lovely dress-up scent. Something to wear when I have to be a respectable adult (). Girly, but not girly. I have no clue as to the notes, other than that it is floral. Conclusion: I quite like this, but it's nothing like what I expected. I let my cat (Zero!) sniff it, and she didn't much care for it. Oh well -- I do! I think I might get a bottle when/if it's released, to wear to weddings, funerals and perhaps to work.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Beautiful. Preconceived notions: I'm hoping for a lovely aloe and amber with a bit of musk. It sounds like something that might be great for spring. In the imp: Aloe and musk! No amber or linen, and thankfully, no lily (yet). On skin, wet: Oh, divine, this. Soft amber, aloe, white musk and linen. On skin, dry: Fresh and beautiful and watery, without reeking of salt water. I don't catch a trace of the stargazer lily, which is wonderful, as I'm not much of a lily fan. Conclusion: I adore Berenice. It's bright and green, and perfect for spring. My only issue? It's got no throw on me, and it doesn't last long at all. All the same, I think I'm going to need a bottle of this one. And as apparently with others, this is my favourite of the Maelström.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Wine-y. Preconceived notions: Based on the description alone, I'd have maybe thought "creamy berry-vanilla," but based on the reviews, I'm betting wine. I don't like wine notes. In the imp: ... Wine. Sweet, fruity wine. On skin, wet: Sweet and fruity but not exactly wine -- similar, but not "wine" itself. No sign of vanilla, however. On skin, dry: There's something "off" in this, as others have mentioned; something deep below the surface; something... dark. Woody (the oaken in "vanilla oaken notes", mayhaps?). Harsh and not me. The whole thing is much less sweet, much more tart. It reminds me of a local trade market. Conclusion: I have nothing against Montresor, really, it's just not my thing; I don't really care for tart berry/wine-y scents.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Blood Moon Lite. Preconceived notions: Not a clue, really. Hopefully it's not especially foody. In the imp: Cocoa, pepper, dragon's blood and musk. Kind of smells like dragon's blood meets bad B.O, oddly enough. On skin, wet: This is kind of like Blood Moon, but not as spicy, and with cocoa. Unfortunately, there's an undertone of pepper here that I'm really not liking. Not bad, but that not great. On skin, dry: Blood, a bit of musk, cocoa and pepper. Not bad, but nothing that "wow!"s me. The cocoa's not nearly as strong as I thought it'd be, and it hasn't turned chalky. Conclusion: This didn't win me over. I've nothing against it, though I don't dig the pepper, but it's like Blood Moon Lite. I'll stick to Blood Moon. It's fairly weak on me, and it's an almost... flat kind of scent.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Honeyed incense. Preconceived notions: Based on previous reviews, I'm expecting a spicy floral with a bit of honey. In the imp: Deja-vu, and I don't know why. I've smelled something like this before, and I think it was BPAL. Whatever, I get a bit of amber, patchouli (the non-hippie kind!), tobacco, incense and carnation. This bodes well. On skin, wet: I know where the deja vu came from! It's the honey in O! Or, well, it seems to be, anyway. Thick, not-sweet honey and carnation. No sign of the tobacco, amber, or patchouli, unfortunately. On skin, dry: Honeyed incense, plain and simple. The kind of incense that tickles, and then burns, my nose. Unpleasant incense, in other words. It doesn't smell unpleasant, it just burns the hell out of the inside of my nose. Conclusion: I'm not a fan of incense, and The Masque is almost complete incense on me -- incense with a wee bit of tart, dry honey. It's just not my thing -- especially since I can't sniff it without a bit of a wince.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Blue Moon-y + Citrus Preconceived notions: I really have no idea. Based on the reviews, citrus and/or melon, maybe? In the imp: Upon first opening the decant, I too get something similar to Blue Moon (I even popped open my final BM imp to confirm). I'm not sure if they share any common notes, but at first, they're similar in a sweet, faintly aquatic way. On skin, wet: Citrus and some unnammed flower(s). A bit... watery, but not really aquatic (to me). I must say, at this point, I'd buy a 10ml of Toxin this very moment, if I could. On skin, dry: I have no clue what notes are in Toxin, but I love them all. Dry, like Morrighana, I notice the resemblance to Blue Moon again. Toxin, dry, on me, is a lovely crisp, watery, slightly floral citrus, and I adore it. Conclusion: If (when! when!) this is released, provided it's not terribly different from what I've just tested, I'd order a 10ml straightaway.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Orchid! Preconceived notions: Based on the reviews so far, an earthy orchid! In the decant: Orchid and... dirt. A bit more dirt than orchid, and a dirt similar to Zombi -- as in, a dirt that hates me. On skin, wet: Orchid! A very rich, warm and earthy orchid still in the soil. The earthy note(s) aren't so similar to those/that in Zombi, at least in that they/it doesn't hate me. On skin, dry: Very perfumey, but in the same way Jacob's Ladder is -- which is, not in a Macy's-perfume-counter way. A bit green, also, so that it reminds me of an entire flower in its soil. Conclusion: Absolutely lovely and, as Andrabell said, very sophisticated. I couldn't see myself wearing it daily, but it'd be perfect for occasions when I'm forced to dress up (as in, if I smelled like Black Orchid while wearing a dressy, er, dress, I wouldn't mind the dress as much). Hopefully Beth releases it soon, and that she doesn't make many changes to the scent in my decant!

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Love! Preconceived notions: I think Snowblind will be divine -- I love vanilla and I love mint, so why wouldn't I love it? In the bottle: Yep, already in love. Mint and vanilla, what else can I say? On skin, wet: Yowza. Crisp, cold mint and impossibly smooth and slightly warm vanilla. Being the mint fiend and vanilla fiend I am, how could I not adore this? On skin, dry: I'm not quite sure how else to put my crazy desperate love for Snowblind into words... Conclusion: Snowblind reminds me of two things: MLS' Shamrock Shake lip balm and Somethin' Special's Jack Frost. I adore Jack Frost, but Snowblind's mint is colder, and the vanilla is a hair sweeter, and much creamier. I also prefer Snowblind over the Shamrock Shake balm, as the balm's vanilla seems very plasticky at times. That said... Snowblind is even better than I expected. I luff ivyandpeony for swapping it to me, and you (anyone) can have my bottle when you can pry it from my cold, dead hands, etc etc.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Caramel! Preconceived notions: I really don't know. Burnt sugar and milk, maybe? In the imp: Holy hell that's rich. Creme brulee, indeed. On skin, wet: ... Really contemplating taking a bite out of my wrist. It's not overly sweet -- it's not particularly "sweet" at all -- but ye Gods, it's rich. Smooth, creamy and unbearably rich. On skin, dry: You know those small caramel cubes you can buy, hell, everywhere? This is one of those, melted with just a bit of thick, perfectly sweet cream. Conclusion: An absolutely perfect caramel. It's not sugary sweet, thankfully, just barely sweet, thick, rich, creamy and warm. And I? Am head-over-heels in love with it, which is odd, since I normally hate foody scents.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Blood Moon + Leather Preconceived notions: I don't really like leather or booze (bourbon), so unless the cardamom and patchouli save the day, I'm not terribly optimistic. In the imp: Whoa, wait, this reminds me of my beloved Blood Moon. I didn't know they shared any notes. Patchouli, cardamom, a bit of leather and something musky. On skin, wet: Seriously, this is like Blood Moon with leather on me. Spanked has the same dark, earthy, divine spiciness to it, but there's also the distinct smell of leather. On skin, dry: Holy bloody hell, I'm in love with this. I get absolutely no bourbon, thankfully. It's all spicy (cardamom!), earthy (patchoul), musky leather. Not cow's-ass leather, either: broken-in, almost sweaty leather. Not much of a leather fan usually, but... yeah. Conclusion: I? Am bowled over, shocked and in love. I won't mourn the fact that I highly doubt I'll ever possess more than my wee imp of this, because it is so similar to Blood Moon. Still, I wonder if I can re-create this using catalogue scents somehow...

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Calla lily. Preconceived notions: Based on the description, I think the sweet pea's going to spell DOOM for me, as that note always does. The musk and pear might be interesting, though. In the imp: Calla lily! I know this note because I smelled it in Seraphim, and it's... soapy and horrible on me. On skin, wet: Calla lily, and nothing but. All this time, I thought it'd been sweet pea that loathed me so, but as it appears, it's actually calla lily. On skin, dry: A hint or two of musk and pear beneath the lilu, but only just, and fleeting. The lily asserted its dominance early, and the other notes ever stood a chance. Conclusion: Calla lily tormented my skin in Seraphim and lo! it does the same thing in Juliet. Calla lily = bad. I'm not sure if the sweet pea in this is bad or good, as I couldn't discern anything beneath the lily.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Floral soap. Preconceived notions: I'm definitely expecting something heavy on the flowers. Jasminey, maybe? In the imp: Strongly floral, but I can't pick out any specific notes. I think I'm catching rose, though, which does not bode well. On skin, wet: Very surprising: I like this so far! It's a very... warm, slightly dark and spicy floral scent, though no one note so far dominates the others. Very well blended and beautiful. On skin, dry: There's something almost soapy about this now, unfortunately. Rich and quite pretty, but very much like an expensive floral soap. The soapy element... it doesn't smell soapy-esque, but actually smells like soap. Like Dove "unscented," which always has that soft, powdery smell. Also, I definitely get jasmine above all else, and while I do like jasmine, I really dug the "unidentifiable" quality it had while wet. Conclusion: I may try this in a scent locket, but even then, it's so floral and elegant I wouldn't wear it on a regular basis.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Dirty. In the imp: Red musk and patchouli and maybe vetiver. No cinnamon or dragon's blood at all. On skin, wet: Just the barest hints of cinnamon and dragon's blood, and very heavy on the patchouli, musk and vetiver. I've never been much of a fan of red musk, so I'm not quite digging this at the moment. On skin, dry: Musky patchouli (emphasis on musky) and a very faint, muted cinnamon. Dragon's blood peeks up every now and then, but for the most part, it's musk and patchouli. The patchouli, which can go either way on me, has decided not to turn out well in Bloodlust, on my skin. Bloodlust is... heavy and earthy, in a freshly-turned-earth kind of way. Conclusion: Bloodlust is feral and primal and deep, and very earthy. And not very me at all. Now, if the dragon's blood and cinnamon were stronger, and the red musk weaker? I'd be all over this in spades, I think; likely a 10ml. As it is, I'll definitely keep the imp (thank you, dear VenusFlyTrap!), and I may try it in a few weeks. For now, though, Bloodlust and I aren't meant to be, which surprises me greatly.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Myrrh! In the imp: Ugh... not good. Not good at all. Cypress, heavy myrrh, poppy and what smells like rotting orchids. On skin, wet: Oh my, what a change. Thick, oddly violent orchid, fruity currant, myrrh and labdanum. I am... loving this so bloody much. It kind of reminds me of O -- they're both terribly sexy, but Medea is more of a throw-me-down-and-ravage-me kind of scent (with the wearer of the scent doing the ravaging; Medea is not a scent for submissives). On skin, dry: ....Damn it. The orchid has fled to locales unknown, leaving the myrrh to rule in its absense... and the myrrh is not merciful. Have I mentioned that I don't get on with myrrh well? We're not friends, and the myrrh in Medea is starting to give me a hell of a headache... Conclusion: Alas! I tried Medea in a scent locket, and was only able to capture that not-good-at-all rotting orchid, as I smelled in the imp. I may keep the imp around in hopes that my skin comes to its senses and deigns not to devour the orchid anymore.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Pretty! In the imp: Lovely, cool jasmine, ozone and white musk. Lovely so far. On skin, wet: Eeep. Very high-end department store perfume on me. Jasmine, white musk and ozone, with a bit of moonflower and iris. This actually reminds me of something a perfume-counter woman once sprayed at me, but I don't know the name. On skin, dry: A light and musky hotchpotch of ozone and floral notes, the latter of which have blended together enough that if I didn't know already what they were, I wouldn't be able to pick them out. Honestly lovely, and definitely "pretty," but not my thing. Conclusion: A very classy, very feminine floral perfume. That said, it's not my kind of scent. I was hoping for a musky jasmine with a bit of earthy moss, but it was not to be.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Agent Orange and dirty hippies. In the imp: Patchouli, orange, amber and woods. Really liking this. On skin, wet: Dirty patchouli and orange. The orange is already kind of clearner-ish, and while I love earthy/dark/warm patchouli, I don't love dirty-hippy patchouli. Not liking this anymore. On skin, dry: Lavender, patchouli and orange. I don't like lavender, this is the kind of patchouli I dislike, and the orange reminds me of Agent Orange (the cleverly-named industrial hand clearner, not the "weed killer") which reeks of chemicals and icky oranges. Conclusion: Really not my thing. I didn't really have much hope for Clio, so it doesn't really bother me that it doesn't work on me.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Floral In the imp: Very floral, but I can't really pick out any individual notes. Sweet and a bit grassy. On skin, wet: ...Huh. Nothing. No, really. Nothing. Like, Pele nothing. o_O. On skin, dry: As it dries, it thankfully becomes stronger. As it does, it becomes a soft grassy floral -- though I still can't identify any of the actual floral notes -- with a wee bit of sweet fruit. No sign of amber, however, which is kind of disappointing. While it's stronger, it's not very strong or noticeable on my skin unless I have my nose near my wrist. Conclusion: Lovely, really, but too floral for me to want to wear very often at all; I'm just not a floral kind of girl. It is pretty, though. I'll keep the imp around for occasions when smelling like my normal fare isn't in my best interests.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Sweaty! In the imp: Patchouli, juniper, oakmoss and honey. Lush and green and dark. And good! On skin, wet: Ooh. Beeswax, oakmoss, juniper, patchouli and musk. Very... sweaty? I absolutely adore the musk in this, and I'm liking the beeswax much, much more than anticipated. On skin, dry: This is the kind of patchouli I love. All the same, this is become very... sweaty. After a while, it becomes something very much like most of the heavy/"I'm such a manly man" department store men's colognes I've ever come across. And it stays that way. Conclusion: I'm torn on this. I adore it while wet and through much of its drydown, but then it becomes a bad, bad thing. I may try this when the scent locket I bought this week arrives; if it stays true to its wet stage there, I'll definitely be hunting down a bottle.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rose. In the imp: Amber, saffron and mandarin with... ugh. Rose. On skin, wet: Wow, there's like no throw to this. What I can catch is... amber, a bit of spice and that stupid rose (sorry -- I just don't like roses in perfume; they never work on me). It does remind me a bit of Chimera, but not nearly as sweet, and with rose. On skin, dry: Rose. A lightly-spiced rose, but mostly rose. Rose almost always overpowers the entire blend and ruins things for me, and Baghdad is no exception. It's... alright, but nothing I'm a fan of. Conclusion: I had high hopes for this one -- amber! saffron! mandarin! musk! nutmeg! But... rose. The rose ruined it, as I kind of knew it would. Damn.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Minty violet. In the imp: Oh. Um. Not good. Instantly reminds me of the back of a pet store, for some reason. On skin, wet: Really, really not digging this. At all. I don't know what the problem notes are, but this reeks of hampster cages. On skin, dry: After a few minutes the "WASHOFFNOW!" thing starts to ebb away and it becomes more of a minty violet. I do love mint, but violet's really not my thing, so I'm not becoming a fan of this. Conclusion: Even if I fell in love with the drydown, I don't think I (or my stomach) could handle the first 5-10 minutes. Thankfully, the violet is too strong in this for me to even consider falling in love, so it's not something I need worry about.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Dublin - Rose + Nuclear Winter - mint In the imp: Oh oh oh, I know something in this from Nuclear Winter. Loving it so far. On skin, wet: Very, very similar to Nuclear Winter, but with pine. They both share a similar grassy-aquatic quality that I love and hate at the same time. On skin, dry: Not nearly as strong as I was expecting -- kind of... sweet, in a strange way. Birch, pine, grass and snow in that NW-esque way. Conclusion: Dublin meets Nuclear Winter, sans rose and mint. Thing is, it's close enough to both of them that I don't really need a bottle of both -- I already have a bottle of Dublin, and will hopefully find (another. WHYDIDISELLMINE?!) a bottle of Nuclear Winter.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Woodsy! In the imp: Surprisingly woodsy. Cedar, I think. I was definitely expecting amber! On skin, wet: Incense? Cedar, incense and patchouli, mostly. Not at all light or golden on me. On skin, dry: Cedar (and maybe sandalwood?), patchouli and incense. Maybe a bit of amber beneath, but I'm not sure. This is very strange -- I was expecting something, well, golden. Amber! And definitely something lighter. This is woodsy and dark -- if it were a colour, it would be the very dark orange/amber colour of the oil itself. Conclusion: Not really me. I've been liking amber lately, so I think I was wanting something akin to a less-perfumey Jacob's Ladder.