Aredhel

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Orange Snake Oil. In the imp/bottle: Orange Snake Oil! On skin, wet: Warm spices, vanilla and orange blossom. Sweet and spicy and beautiful. On skin, dry: I love the way my skin amps spices in some blends, as it does with Hunger. Spicy orange blossom. Lovely. Conclusion: I love Snake Oil and I love orange, so I love this.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Almond-y vanilla. In the imp: Almond, sweet to the point of being sickly. On skin, wet: Sweet almond and vanilla. Reminds me of Dana O'shee. On skin, dry: There is a difference, but this reminds me quite a bit of Dana. They both do the same vanilla-almond thing when they dry on my skin. Lovely, but still very sweet. Conclusion: No trace of frankincense, heliptrope or cinnamon! I love the vanilla-almond combination, but as with Dana, this may be too sweet for me. I think the cinnamon could have tempered that sweetness perfectly, but, no dice.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Violet. In the imp/bottle: Sandalwood and musk beneath a strong violet. On skin, wet: Violet! Violet seems to trample any and every other note when it hits my skin. On skin, dry: The violet lets up just a bit and lets the musk peek through, so it becomes a musky floral. The whole scent lasts about two hours. Conclusion: Clean and fresh for a violet scent, but I'm not big violet fan.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Sweet! In the imp/bottle: Fruity and foody. Almond! On skin, wet: I can usually tell between cherry and almond, but this one confuses me. Beyond that, I can't discern any specific notes. It's so fruity and sweet, you'd think it'd be syrupy. On skin, dry: A fruity musk for a while, it eventually becomes a sweet, dark and spicy fruity... thing. Way too sweet for a perfume for me, but nice. Conclusion: This reminds me of Jailbait, light on the bubblegum, heavy on the musk and candy. I don't know about kissing mirrors, but I do know I twisted the hell out of my wrist trying to keep it against my nose. It's tooth-rotteningly sweet, but lovely. But as a perfume, probably not for me.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Musky pine. Preconceived notions: Another "could be good, could be bad" scent. Black musk usually ruins any blend it touches, but the tobacco, clove, mint and orange blossom sound promising. In the imp: Fir and mint. On skin, wet: This reeks of fir, mint and tobacco, and it's a weird combination. Oddly, I get no musk yet. On skin, dry: Dark, musky, minty. The tobacco's all but gone, and if I sniff and sniff, I catch a hint of orange blossom. Very strong and dark, not not at all bad, but very dark and heavy. Conclusion: Way too strong on the dark musk and fir to ever want to wear this as a perfume. It might be interesting on a boy, though.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Violet! In the imp/bottle: Hello, violet! I've not come across *any* of the Lab's scents this strongly violet yet! On skin, wet: Ah, there's the tonka bean! The violet is still the dominant note, but tonka bean is a strong second. No sign of any spices or clove, though. On skin, dry: This fades into nothingness in twenty minutes. The tonka bean dies away even more quickly, leaving nothing but the violet. Conclusion: I'm not a big violet fan, so I was hoping for the tonka bean and clove, mostly. Either way, my skin just *devours* this scent (it seems to devour anything with violet, actually).

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Aquatic dirt. In the imp/bottle: Ah. Watery dirt. On skin, wet: This is Zombi but aquatic, and floral. It's dirt and grass around trampled flowers, none of which I can specifically name. On skin, dry: Yeah, definitely floral, aquatic Zombi. Conclusion: I'd hoped the 'blooms' and incense might tone the earth down a bit, but no such luck. This, as Zombi, Graveyard Dirt, and all scents I've tried with earth, hates me.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Sugary flowers. In the imp/bottle: Bright, pink sugar. Very, very sweet. On skin, wet: Pink flowers! No hint of the strawberry, just pink flowers dunked in a bag of sugar. On skin, dry: Sickly sweet and very floral. It's very nearly gone in about ten minutes, and I'm not disappointed. Conclusion: This is definitely not for me.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Ginger! In the imp/bottle: As roesmoker said, Mmmmm, ginger! On skin, wet: Warm, evil gingerbread. A much darker, strongest Gingerbread Poppet, almost! On skin, dry: Warm, and almost sweet. Very spicy, with what I think may be a faint amber note way down beneath the ginger. Conclusion: Definitely a keeper, after giving it another shot

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rancid. In the imp/bottle: Sweet, cherry Dragon's blood resin. On skin, wet: Not so sweet anymore. This turns into an almost rancid Ars Draconis-esque scent. Dragon's Urine, maybe. On skin, dry: This fades away completely in about ten minutes, which is a good thing. Ick. Conclusion: This started out so lovely. In the imp, I thought "Oh, I'll have to add a 5ml to my June order.", but then it turned into something nasty. Sigh.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Roses. In the imp/bottle: Roses! Surprising, right? On skin, wet: This is... rose soap, with a bit of grass. On skin, dry: Yep, soap. Like Moon Rose, it reminds me of Milk & Rose bath soap. Conclusion: Disappointing. I love the smell of fresh roses on the bush, but never cared for rose scents. I keep searching for that perfect roses-on-the-bush scent, but this isn't it.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Soap. In the imp: This is... this actually smells like rotten mint. On skin, wet: Soap! This turns into a strong, headache-y soap when it touches my skin. On skin, dry: No change. This reminds me of a soap I used to have in my kitchen, until I realised it was what was giving me a throbbing migraine when I washed dishes. Out it went. Conclusion: Thankfully, this faded into nothing after about two hours. I hesitated to wash it off, because I wanted to give it a chance to turn into something wearable. Oh well.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Flowery Zombi. In the imp/bottle: Uh-oh. This smells like a floral version of Zombi. On skin, wet: Yes indeed, flowery Zombi. Bright flowers and sickly, stomach-turning earth. On skin, dry: Not much change from wet. Like dumping cut flowers on a patch of freshly-turned earth. Conclusion: I don't like most florals, I don't like Zombi, so I don't like this.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Cocoa. In the imp/bottle: Bitter cocoa and rum! On skin, wet: This is dark, chalky cocoa and thick, smoky rum. After a minute or so, I start to catch the dark, spicy red wine. On skin, dry: This dries into a dry, dark, rummy cocoa. It's very dry, and very bitter. After a few hours, it's nothing but cocoa wine! Conclusion: I had such high hopes for this. This just isn't my bag: I have such bad luck with cocoa and rum!

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Spiced pumpkin. In the imp: Odd. Cold peach and very warm pumpkin. Spicy. Weird. On skin, wet: Spicy! Pumpkin and peach and clove! Very, very nice. On skin, dry: A gorgeous, lightly-spiced pumpkin! Warm and festive, but not something only for autumn. Conclusion: I originally tried this in May of '05. It was rotting peaches. That fall? Same thing. That winter? Still no dice. As of April '06, however, I get the above lovely spiced-pumpkin. What a difference months can make. And note: it's not an ageing issue with the imp, as I tried different imps every time.

Innocence defiled. Sticky pink bubblegum and the thick, sweet scent of orange and cherry lollipops smeared over a breath of heady womanly perfume. Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Kiddy. In the imp/bottle: Pink, sickly-sweet bubblegum. On skin, wet: Bubblegum and sugary lollipops. Oy, this is sweet. On skin, dry: This reminds me of elementary school, cupcakes, sweet juice and lunch break. It reminds me of the poster-girl for a middle-class childhood (of whom as I child I definitely did not resemble at all). Conclusion: This is *terribly* sweet! It's definitely nothing I'd ever wear, but I can certainly see scenting *something* like this... sachets, mayeb, or lockets. It's quite cute! I doubt I'd go out of my way to buy a bottle, but I'm not sure I'd pass up the chance to snag one, either!

And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. An ancient formula that inspires unrepentant decadence, lechery and debauch. Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Smoky floral. In the imp/bottle: Pink and floral, over vanilla and musk. On skin, wet: A nice enough floral, a bit spicy, and a smoky, musky something. On skin, dry: Smoky and sweet, and very floral (I'm thinking rose). It's got a smooth quality, which on my skin usually implies vanilla. Conclusion: I like this very much, but it's another "nice, but not something I'd wear as a perfume" type of scent.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Muskier Snake Oil. In the imp: Smoky, musky and spicy! On skin, wet: Strikes me as a darker Snake Oil, much heavier on the musk. I swear, there's something like vanilla in it! On skin, dry: Softer. The musk is even stronger, the spices deeper. Still, it's not a strong scent. It doesn't have much throw; it's more of a second-skin kind of scent. Conclusion: Absolutely lovely, but I'd have to slather, and I don't have that kind of patience. Another one to eventually try with an unscented lotion.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Heavy. In the imp/bottle: Pure ylang ylang. On skin, wet: Spicy clove and sweet ylang ylang. I'm not wild about ylang ylang, but it keeps the clove from being overly spicy, so in Malice, I like it. On skin, dry: Dry, this reminds me a bit of Delphi, but darker and spicier. It's very heavy, perhaps too heavy for me. I don't like drowning in scent. Conclusion: This has a huge throw, and it's almost heady. Even a bit overwhelms me. I may eventually tinker with a bit of this diluted in jojoba, but it's not on my to-do list right now.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Sweet. In the imp/bottle: Very strong, floral cherries. Digustingly bitter-sweet. On skin, wet: Hmm... this still seems too sweet for me. The honey and red wine are by far the dominant notes. On skin, dry: This seems to quickly mellow out into a warm, red wine floral, though the myrrh is definitely still there. After a few hours, it's pure, sweet honey. Conclusion: This starts out horribly, turns into something fairly nice, and ends on an "eh" note. Not strikingly beautiful, but not horrible, either -- just not my thing.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Jasmine and... alcohol. In the imp/bottle: Crisp, musky jasmine. On skin, wet: Musk, incense and that bright, lovely jasmine. On skin, dry: There's something in this on the drydown that smells like... alcohol. Strong alcohol. The jasmine is beautiful, but that alcohol-like element makes me think of a high-end commercial designer perfume. Conclusion: I tried this again in Jan '06. For some reason, I'm digging jasmine lately. Nuit was absolutely beautiful (instantly 5ml worthy), but dry, it reeked of alcohol and a perfume counter, and gave me a hell of a headache. Alas, Nuit and I are not to be friends.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Woodsy. In the imp/bottle: Pepper and wood! On skin, wet: This almost reminds me of Zombi, but not quite as harsh. I definitely notice something woody, the vetiver, and the pepper. On skin, dry: When this dries, the nutmeg makes an appearance, right over the pepper and the wooden note. As a few others, it also seems as if I catch something akin to lemon. Conclusion: This is interesting... it's very dark, cool and earthy, but just not something I'd ever wear (or use for any other purpose).

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Floral. In the bottle: Very floral... I definitely catch red rose, lemon, jasmine and sandalwood. On skin, wet: This is quite interesting... I can't pin any one note out! Whenever I think I've caught one, something else pops up. On skin, dry: This turns into an ordinary, run-of-the-mill synthetic floral after an hour or so. It's rather faint, but lingering. Conclusion: This didn't win me over, sadly. It's not a bad scent, just not something that strikes me as something I'd wear.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Magnolia. In the imp: Magnolia, mandarin and musk. Very cool and spicy so far. On skin, wet: Hell's Belle is immediately very soft, musky and spicy. It's very floral, but not overpowering. I love the mandarin in this, which isn't fruity. On skin, dry: As it dries, the oleander appears, and, with the magnolia, gangs up and oppresses the musk, mandarin and spice, leaving a heady, bitter-sweet floral. That something creamy along the bottom is a bit nutty now, and rich, like a muted cocoa butter. Conclusion: This reminds me of something, or someone, that my mind can't figure out. It's a nice-enough musky floral that just isn't me: I'm not a floral kind of girl.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Sex! In the imp: Another gorgeous Dragon scent! Dark red, strong and spicy. On skin, wet: Obviously I catch the Dragon's Blood, musk, and I swear I almost get clove! Also, cherry? On skin, dry: Bloody, musky and spicy. Love. Conclusion: summer mentioned it, and I agree: it smells like sex! Good sex, specifically.