Aredhel

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rose. In the imp/bottle: Rose. Nothing but rose (there's a shock). On skin, wet: Rose, rose, rose! If there's rose in any scent, it overwhelms everything else, Whip included. I sniff nothing approaching leather, unfortunately. On skin, dry: Rose! Wet, damp, trampled red rose. Very lush, but almost decaying. Conclusion: Another Nothing-but-rose scent. I had such hopes for the leather.

A sultry, exotic scent that inspires devious plotting and clandestine affairs. It is a scent painted in artifice, veiled in deceit, and slithering with whispered secrets. Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes. Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Dry. In the imp: Wood and dark cocoa. On skin, wet: Wood... covered in cocoa? Strange, but good. On skin, dry: My skin almost always turns cocoa into dust and chalk, and Intrigue, unfortunately, is no exception. Dusty cocoa-covered wood. Conclusion: I'm not big on cocoa, nor what my skin does to it. I love the woodsy aspect, but the scent is too dry. That, and I just don't like smelling like cocoa or chocolate.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Bloody amber! In the imp: Warm dragon's blood and amber! A lovely combination. On skin, wet: Spicy dragon's blood and warm amber. I love the combination of the two. Not much throw, though. On skin, dry: I love this... while it lasts. Which isn't long. After about thirty minutes, it's a barely-there, powdery amber. Conclusion: If I could convince my skin not to eat this one, I'd love it. Perhaps I'll try it out in a scent locket eventually.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rose! In the imp/bottle: Rose, rose, rose! Nothing but fresh, wet roses. On skin, wet: Cinnamony rose! There's also something bitter here, something I can't place -- whatever it is, I don't care for it. On skin, dry: This becomes pure rose again within ten minutes. Conclusion: Rosy scents aren't for me. I was hoping for stronger cinnamon, but obviously, no dice.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Dirt. In the imp/bottle: Dark, twisted roses, and something earthy. On skin, wet: This reminds me very much of Zombi; they have a similar earthy quality. On skin, dry: Rosy Zombi! I think there was something I tried that reminded me of rosy Zombi, but what it is escapes me. But this reminds me of that. Conclusion: Not my bag -- earthy/dirt scents never are, nor are rose scents.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Strange. In the imp/bottle: Apricot! Warm, sweet apricot. On skin, wet: Orange blossom and apricot. Sweet, but a bit musky. I love orange blossom, and I don't dislike apricot, but I don't think I care for the combination of them. On skin, dry: I might like this a bit more if the apricot were sweeter. On drydown, the apricot is tart and bitter, which doesn't compliment the sweet and floral orange blossom very well. Conclusion: Very strange.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Woodsy. In the imp/bottle: Bitter and musky. As a few others have mentioned, this reeks to me of something civet-esque. On skin, wet: Jasmine, vanilla?, and that terrible other thing. Musk? Something herbal? I can't place it, but I don't care for it. On skin, dry: Jasmine and vanilla are very soft, almost creamy. Were it not for whatever makes it turn rancid, this would be very, very nice. Conclusion: Not for me; that woody/musky/animalistic (I can't place it!) note sabotages it for me.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Sagey lemon. In the imp/bottle: Citrus and florals and.. something that makes me sneeze! This does not bode well. On skin, wet: Sweet, floral lemon. Some sort of spice as well, though I can't place what. This is turning quite soapy. On skin, dry: Lemon soap, or a lemon drop. After twenty minutes, there's also something herbal. This really starts to remind me of Aeval after a bit, so perhaps sage? Whatever it is, it turns rancid on me. Conclusion: A very fresh scent, heavy on the lemon. I am not a lemon fan, so this isn't for me.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Berry wine. In the imp/bottle: Dark plum, currant and wine. On skin, wet: This reminds me of Midwinter's Eve: it's very fruity, and very sweet. On skin, dry: Midwinter's Eve with wine. This doesn't seem like a very deep perfume at all, but it -is- very decadent, and almost cloying. Conclusion: Great in the burner, not on my skin.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Wine. In the imp/bottle: Syrupy wine, fruity berries and something minty. On skin, wet: Sweet berry candy. Reminds me of berry gum, actually. On skin, dry: This becomes a warm, almost heady berry wine. Conclusion: Another one of those 'Great in the oil burner, not on my skin' fragrances.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Dirt. In the imp/bottle: Heady amber and a dark, sharp musk. On skin, wet: Warm, musky amber. I usuallylove the way amber compliments (and is complimented by) musks, but this musk is too heavy and sharp for me. On skin, dry: Dirt? Definitely dirt. Amber and dirt. Conclusion: I love most ambers, I like musk, but in Haunted, something goes wrong. Not my thing.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Coconut. In the imp/bottle: Sweet, fruity-floral coconut and buttery almond. On skin, wet: Chalky fruits, coconut and buttery, cloying almond. On skin, dry: Chalky, buttery, overly sweet coconut. Conclusion: Almost all coconut, with a undertone of almond. My skin almost always amps up the coconut, and usually turns it chalky, and since I'd bet there's coconut in this (or something very, very close to it), that's no surprise here. Almonds very rarely agree with me, either.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Chocolate wax. In the imp: A melted milk chocolate bar. On skin, wet: Creamy chocolate. I don't normally care for chocolate notes (nor chocolate itself), but this is lovely. On skin, dry: Chocolate... candles? I'm definitely getting something waxy now -- not plastic; waxy. Interesting, but not good. Conclusion: I love this in the wet stage (though I don't know how much I'd like to smell of chocolate), but I really have no desire to smell of chocolate candles.

2004 Version Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in one word: Snow! In the bottle: Cold, frozen flowers in the snow. On skin, wet: Soft and mildly sweet. I can't pick out a single note from this, but they're all wonderful. On skin, dry: Frozen flowers, snow, and what vaguely reminds me of coconut and vanilla, respectively. Conclusion: I can't begin to describe this, other than to say: absolute and total love. I've since acquired bottles of the 2005 and 2007 releases of SW, and I can't notice any difference between the three that I don't attribute to age.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Beautiful. In the imp: Oh, vanilla, how I love thee. On skin, wet: Lovely, crisp vanilla. The linens are very soft, but in a crisp, almost sharp way, if that makes sense. On skin, dry: Crisp, powdery, smooth. It's confusing, I know. I'm starting to get what I assume is the "long-faded perfumes," and they're lovely. Conclusion: This is absolutely beautiful. This has such a lovely depth to it. It's a very swanky, almost ritzy perfume, kind of like Black Opal, but in a very different way. I'm so glad I can now get a 10ml!

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Goldbond. In the imp: Strong mints and eucalyptus. Smells of mint candy, actually. On skin, wet: Lotus, mint and eucalyptus. This has a very medicinal twinge to it. It also reminds me of Goldbond lotion. On skin, dry: Lotusy Goldbond. It smells as if I've rubbed some sort of medicinal cream on my wrist, then layered it with a strong lotus perfume. Conclusion: This is definitely not for me. I'd hoped the aquatic note would be most prominant, but lotus, mint and eucalyptus almost always sabotage things for me.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Aftershave. In the imp/bottle: This is absolutely a men's cologne. It actually smells of high-end aftershave. On skin, wet: Mint, rosemary, jasmine and white sandalwood. Not bad, but very aftershave-esque. On skin, dry: This seems very aquatic to me, and very clean. I'm almost positive I'd smelled an aftershave very much like this, but I wouldn't even begin to know where. Conclusion: A candle scented like this would be great. I'd definitely buy one. But as for wearing it on my skin? Definitely not. Since I'm single, I won't be keeping this to try on a boy.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Spicier Snake Oil. In the imp/bottle: The first thing I notice is something like vanilla. This is very spicy, but aside from vanilla, I can't pick out any specific note. On skin, wet: Oh, this is divine! It reminds me (as it seems to remind a few others) of Snake Oil, with less vanilla, and a bit spicier. On skin, dry: No change from wet, thankfully. A very Snake Oil-like scent, easy on the vanilla and heavy on the spice. Conclusion: I have to slather to get any potent scent, but I really don't mind.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Interesting. In the imp/bottle: Sandalwood, musk and amber. On skin, wet: Musky sandalwood and thick, warm amber. Beneath those, something floral. Woodsy, but floral. On skin, dry: Nothing. This has no staying power on my skin. Conclusion: This is very interesting, but not something I could see myself wearing. I do, however, think this would be great for scenting a room.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Amber dust and grass. In the bottle: Spicy, almost sweet amber. Very pretty, and almost sexy. On skin, wet: ...Huh. Amber, but absolutely no trace of anything resembling spice, even if I slather! It actually smells a bit grassy. Kind of like Coyote. On skin, dry: Amber and grass. Not much spice. It's also very, very faint, and I have to sniff quite deeply to get much of anything beyond a whiff of warm grass. Conclusion: Well, I've tried this three times now, and it just refuses to be anything but either 1) amber powder or 2) soft, warm grass and a faint bit of amber. I think I'll keep the imp, but I'm just about out of hope.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Honey! In the imp: Oddly enough, in the imp I don't smell any honey! Lots of gardenia, jasmine, ginger and thyme, though. On skin, wet: Ah, there's the honey! Everything else fades away almost instantly, leaving a very deep honey mixture. On skin, dry: Honey, honey, honey! I can't pick out any specific sorts/kinds, but this is one of the nicest scent I've come across with honey. It dries down into a very soft, sweet, warm scent. Conclusion: I like this quite a bit, but not quite enough to want to hunt down an imp or bottle of my own.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Floral soap. In the imp/bottle: Spicy, flowery red... soap. On skin, wet: Floral soap indeed. It's a spicy floral (carnation, maybe?), and a very red scent, but very soapy. On skin, dry: Indistinct floral soap. Beyond perhaps carnation, I can't pick out any specific note. Conclusion: Not crazy about this at all. ETA: I originally reviewed the prototype. The final version is a bit musky, deeper and sweeter, but it turns into soap as well.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Bitter. In the imp: This is... not good. Sage and sweet pea make for a bad combination. On skin, wet: The tonka peeks out just a bit, but is summarily smothered by the sage and musk. On skin, dry: Unsurprisingly, the combination of sage and sweet pea trumps tonka and musk. Neither of the former notes are particularly fond of me, and I share the sentiment. They're wont to become bitter, sour, and downright stinky. Conclusion: This is very, very bitter. I imagine this could be fantastic on someone else -- I do like sage and sweet pea, just not on my skin. On me? Not so much.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Woodsy. In the imp/bottle: Thick, syrupy frankincense and dry cypress. On skin, wet: This is a very heavy franincense-crypress on my skin. It's very woodsy, and very masculine. On skin, dry: Cypress. The frankincense dies away within ten minutes, leaving thick, dry, chalky oakmoss. Something in this also vaguely reminds me of Zombi's earth/dirt note(s). Conclusion: Not for me. I love some woodsy blends (eg, Black Forest), but others (eg, Danse) just don't work out.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Patchouli. In the imp/bottle: Heavy patchouli, sandalwood and the slightest hint of amber. On skin, wet: The dominant note is definitely patchouli; everything else takes a distant back-seat to it. On skin, dry: After ten minutes, the cinnamon is as strong as the patchouli. By then, Sin is nothing *but* cinnamon and patchouli. Conclusion: Definitely not a favourite. Patchouli-cinnamon doesn't seem to be a happy combination for me.