Aredhel

I've been grabbing for Dorian on suck-tastic days lately. I don't think I view it as a cheery kind of scent as such, but I just love it so damn much, sniffing it brightens my mood. White Light is also immensely uplifting to sniff (in the imp; I never wore it), but the chances of me finding/getting a bottle of that (unless/until the TAL site goes up) are pretty much zero.

This is Snake Oil's CN-esque label. The quality isn't great, since I took the photo with my friend Nate's cell-phone camera (hey, he left it here, fair game! ), since *my* camera's still MIA.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in one word: Medicinal. In the imp: Very fresh, watery eucalyptus and tart juniper. Slightly medicinal. On skin, wet: If it weren't so medicinal, I might like this. As it is, this smells like Noxzema with juniper! On skin, dry: Not much change from wet, though the juniper becomes a bit more pronounced as time goes by. Still, it's strong Noxzema in the jar. Conclusion: Not my thing. I don't dislike the scent, but, just as I wouldn't want to wear Noxzema on my face all day, I wouldn't want to smell of this for more than a few minutes.

The scent of calm waters just before a raging storm, limned with achingly-beautiful blooms, an icy scent, but somehow warm, and mirror-bright: bold gardenia, crystalline musk, muguet, water blossoms, clear, slightly tart aquatic notes and a crush of white ginger. Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in one word: Beautiful! In the imp: This is very hard to describe! I can discern ginger, but beyond that, it's a jumble of notes, which isn't a bad thing. It's sweet, but not cloying. On skin, wet: Ginger and gardenia! I don't usually care for gardenia, but this is lovely. It's an entire flower -- the soft, white petals, and the slightly tart leaves and stem -- in a pool of water. As I said, hard to describe, but beautiful. On skin, dry: I really, really like this, which I find very strange, being the Anti-floral girl I normally am. The slight aquatic element becomes more pronounced, which only adds to the scent's beauty. Conclusion: This is a gardenia scent for those that don't like gardenia. It's (gardenia) tempered beautifully with something fresh and herbal, but that same herbal something isn't as bitter as it might be without the gardenia. It's a jumbled mass of notes for me, all told, but I find it rich, complex, and beautiful. A 5ml will be in my next order.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Lemon! In the imp/bottle: Fresh and green and slightly citrusy. Bright and cold and very nice! On skin, wet: Something green (I can't figure what!), and lemon. It reminds me of some kind of candle scent, with a name like 'Forest Morning' or 'Country Fresh' or something silly -- which isn't to say the scent's silly. I quite like it, but the lemon keeps getting stronger... On skin, dry: Lemon. Lemon cleaner, specifically. Conclusion: I can't figure out what that green herbal scent is. If the lemon could be kept at bay, I'd definitely want a bottle of this (if it were ever released).

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in one word: Rose. In the imp: Equal parts jupiper and rose. On skin, wet: Rose, and nothing but. On skin, dry: Still rose. No hint of chamomile, cypress, or juniper. Just heavy rose. Conclusion: I'm not surprised that the rose takes over: rose owerpowers almost all blends once it touches my skin. I just wish I liked rose.

Quite true -- it was a longer design than Blood Moon's, so it probably wouldn't carry over to label very well. But, it's still neat to imagine BM having a label to match its scent (or, until I get my bottle and sniff, its description).

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in one word: Spicy, bloody musk (okay, three words!). In the bottle: A rich blend of musk, blood (dragon's, I think), and cinnamon. Like shelldoo, I don't smell a red-hots kind of cinnamon, but more of a cinnamon stick. On skin, wet: A very lovely blend of blood, spices and something woody, or herbal. It's warm, rich, and deep. On skin, dry: This dries down into a spicy, blood-tinged musk. It's got wonderful staying power so far, and a decent throw. I really, really like this. I don't know how else to rave about it. Conclusion: I'm so ticked off that I didn't give in to temptation and order the three bottles I originally wanted. I think I'll go raise the "Don't like Blood Moon? Sell it to me!" flag. Note: This was the first Moon I ordered from the Lab directly, so I'm amused that it's a definite keeper.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in one word: Leather! In the imp: Sharp, heavy liquid leather. On skin, wet: If there's anything else in De Sade, I'm not getting it; this is like a leather single note. I don't really dig this, but then, I've never liked the smell of (p)leather. On skin, dry: Absolutely not. This is very dark, sharp and masculine. It smells as if I've just bathed myself in Eau de Biker. Conclusion: I had to wash this one off. I didn't get a sexy, deep, warm and slightly sweaty leather as I'd hoped, but a new, crisp, Harley store leather. Pass.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Woodsy. In the imp/bottle: Lavender, some sort of wood, and something herbal. Reminds me of Peace, actually. On skin, wet: This really reminds me of Peace! It's lighter on the lavender, heavier on the herb and/or wood note(s). On skin, dry: Not much change from wet. It becomes a bit softer, drier, and a bit darker, like a piece of wood dabbled with lavender. Conclusion: Nice, but nothing I'd pine for.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in one word: Lavender! In the imp: Very thick, dark smoke, tobacco and lavender. What a strange combination. On skin, wet: I usually find lavender very calming. Not in this case! This is sharp, biting, smoky lavender. Intimidating lavender. It brings to mind someone you wouldn't want to encounter in a dark alley -- someone who has slathered himself in a lavender aftershave. On skin, dry: I'm not too keen on Gaueko, and it's not too keen on me. This is starting to give me a headache, so it's going to be washed off now. Conclusion: Really, really not my thing.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rosy. In the imp: Rose and oak. Strong and very dry. This brings to mind the actual board part of a Ouija board. On skin, wet: Already my skin is amping up the rose. A dry, dusty rose with a faint oak note in the background. Fitting, but not a good sign. On skin, dry: I wish my skin could play nicely with rose. This is all rose now, dusty and faded. Conclusion: If I liked roses, this would be grand -- an almost antique rose, yellowed and old -- but as I don't, it isn't.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in one word: Lemony In the imp: Sweet, and vaguely green. Something like lemon, and grape. Bubblegumish, but not bubblegum. On skin, wet: Lemons! This isn't strong, overpowering lemon (like June Gloom), but definitely very lemony. Lemon isn't a favourite of mine, so this isn't a very nice scent for me, so far. On skin, dry: Spicy, incensey lemon. Strange and exotic. Interesting. Might be grand in an oil burner; on my skin, not so much. Conclusion: I might like to have my apartment smell of Cairo, but not my skin.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in one word: Green! In the imp: Very, very green. Soft and herbal, and very lovely. On skin, wet: Tingly! This makes my nose tingle, the way mint does. It's green, herbal, but fresh, slightly woodsy. I get the faintest hint of rose, but shockingly, it stays beautiful, soft, and -- most importantly -- in the background. On skin, dry: I can't stop sniffing this. It becomes even greener. Not Pine Sol or pine needle green, or radioactive green: soft, herbal, woodsy green. Beautiful green. Conclusion: Think I've raved about this enough? In the imp, I thought "Nice! But not bottle-worthy." Now? I definitely want a 10ml. This is the very sort of herbal/green scent I love. ETA: For some reason, this just isn't loving me so much anymore. It's much heavier on the rose and pine, and very... aftershave-y. I am the sad.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Rating (efficacy): 0/5 Summarised in one word: Sweet! In the imp: Sweet! Fruity, laced with a something light, green and herbal. On skin, wet: Sickly sweet, like bubblegum dipped in syrup and sugar. Not bad -- it's actually nice -- but way too sweet for me. On skin, dry: Other than becoming a bit powdery and warmer, no change. Conclusion: I wore this on a day I was in a foul mood for no good reason. Did it help? Not especially. I was still in a foul mood hours later, hours after the scent had worn off. As a scent, it's nice, but I have Midway for my 'want something sweet, NOW!' cravings.

Edit: Oh, duh, I just realised you mean a BPAL fragrance for someone who likes BBW's Black Raspberry Vanilla! Heh... I need sleep.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Raspberry powder. In the imp/bottle: Fresh, juicy, crushed raspberries. As OriginalWacky said, it's like I crushed fresh raspberries, and am sniffing the resulting juice. Lovely! On skin, wet: Ripe, beautiful raspberries! I also smell something vaguely green, as if Beth jammed raspberries and rasberry leaves in the bottle! Absolutely beautiful. On skin, dry: Raspberry powder! I'm so disappointed with how my skin treats this absolutely lovely scent. It turns it into stale powder. Conclusion: I love this in the bottle, and wet. It's a perfect raspberry, with just the faintest tinge of green leaf! But my skin turns it into powder.

2005 version. Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in one word: Burnt. In the bottle: Sugar! Sweet, tooth-decaying, syrupy sugar. Why am I liking this? On skin, wet: Boozy, spicy brown sugar. This starts off in a burnt-to-a-bitter-crisp way, but then changes its mind and settles down into a warm, spicy sugar. Slightly bitter and vaguely smoky. Quite nice! On skin, dry: I get no candied fruits, in any stage. This is sweet, smoky, spicy and a bit cinnamony. The only downside is the burnt edge I keep sniffing. Conclusion: Wet, I loved it. Dry, I loved it, except for the burnt quality. As it continued to dry, that burnt smell got stronger and stronger, until it was nothing but burnt, syrupy brown sugar.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in one word: Smoky. In the bottle: Sugary musk! Interesting, but strange. On skin, wet: Sugar, smoke and something boozy. This actually, strangely, smells foody. It reminds me of Sugar Cookie, without the cinnamon and vanilla. On skin, dry: This is very surprising, and totally not what I was expecting. This is warm, sweet, and vaguely spicy. Like lorajc, I'm getting something gingerish, though I'm not sure that it is, in fact, ginger. But it's sweetly spicy, like hard sugared-ginger candy. The longer it's on, the deeper and smokier it gets. After a few hours, it reduces to spiced stale bar smoke. Conclusion: I don't dislike Devil's Night -- I just don't dig smelling as though I've just stumbled out of a bar, so this isn't something I'd wear. I'm glad to have gotten to try it, though.

2005 version Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rotten pumpkin. In the imp/bottle: Wood and fir. Very sharp, and very rough. On skin, wet: Very heavy patchouli, fir, and deep, dark woods. It then becomes something very unpleasant; something rancid. I'm not digging this at all. On skin, dry: I think what's turning this sour is the pumpkin. Pumpkin and I, we don't see eye-to-eye when it comes to agreeing with my skin chemistry. This isn't spicy at all. I get no clove, nutmeg, or apple, just rotten, decaying pumpkin. Conclusion: Samhain '04 didn't work for me, and Samhain '05 didn't work for me. I had a feeling it wouldn't, but I had to try anyway. Oh well. This just enforces my theory: Pumpkin is evil on me.

Ah, good point; I entered 'raspberry' in the search engine, and came up with those. D'oh.

Fruit Moon, Akuma and the Raspberry Single Note (obviously) has raspberry. I haven't tried any of them, though, so I can't speak for how they smell. Your best bet would likely be the Raspberry SN, but that, obviously, is very hard to find (I've been looking since March, and just last week snagged a shortie of it! heh).

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word: Masculine. In the imp: Very cold vetiver and faint tangerine. Smells like a high-end men's aftershave. Wet: Spicy, woody vetiver. This is very masculine, and I'm doubtful this'll be something I'll like... Drydown: Nope. I'm not usually one to classify scents as 'feminine' or 'masculine', but I can't help but do so with this one! Conclusion: This isn't unpleasant, really, but not for me. If I ever become find a SO of the male gender, I might hunt down an imp of this to try on him. For now, though, not a keeper.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in one word: Surprising. In the imp: Cherry? Almond? I can usually distingush between the two, but this one stumps me; either way, it's surprising. I'm guessing cherry, because of the "cherry wood" in the description? On skin, wet: Very strong, dominating cherry/almond (I give up, I don't know!). This is really surprising. I don't get tobacco, smoke, leather or anything woody, just cherry/almond! On skin, dry: After a while, this becomes a smoky cherry/almond, but still no sign of the leather or tobacco. Conclusion: Surprising, and definitely not for me. This is all cherry/almond, and it's much too sweet for me.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Bubblegum. In the imp: Berry? I'm getting a frosty berry. On skin, wet: Very berry, almost like bubblegum. Lotus? This starts out as a "cold" scent, but warms up very quickly, and becomes a soft, warm berry. I'm quite surprised. On skin, dry: No change from wet, save to become a bit stronger. Conclusion: Surprising! I don't get any flowers from this, only a lotusy berry. Interesting, and not unpleasant, but not for me, as I'm not big into bubblegummy berry.