Essay 28

In the bottle: strong, medicinal cherries with a hint of currant, very like Cherry Nyquil. On skin initially: Wesson vegetable cooking oil. After an hour: Still cooking oil. I'm still trying to figure out what note turned to the cooking oil, but regretfully, my chemistry doesn't like this one. Into the swap pile it goes.

In the bottle: boozy cherries. On skin initially: very dominant boozy cherries. I've noticed that cherry syrup makes me think "booze" in scent, so it's the cherry that is giving me the booze impression. After an hour: Finally a hint of orange creeps in to tone the cherry down, but I still smell rather like I'm wearing cherry syrup, like they use to flavor slushes or snow cones. Not a hint of chocolate, which is odd, as chocolate tends to show up loud and brash when it is in a blend I've tried. Vice is cute, but just not my kind of scent. Swap pile for it.

In the bottle: something very woodsy - the laurel I expect. On skin initially: Definately laurel, as it become strongly woodsy, with an almost antiseptic undertone to it. After an hour: The antiseptic undertone fades, softened a bit by a hint of bay. I've not scented any wine notes in this, so it has settled to a strongly laurel scent with just a touch of bay. A nice scent, but not a keeper.

In the bottle: A bit medicinial, with a green floral undertone. On skin initially: Tart, definately medicinal, with a bitter spicy note. Floral is lurking, but not prominent, and nothing I can identify right off. Other reviews call it gardenia, and when I think on it, I used to have a gardenia shower gel that did smell a bit like this. Something sweet here - vanilla or honey? After an hour: It does blend well, which I wasn't expecting since it clashed quite a bit at first. A definate spicy gardenia, with vanilla or something similar blending into the mix. It makes me think somewhat of blending Dorian's sweetness with Queen of Sheba's spice. This is what I wanted when I had Sheba, so definately a keeper, even with the medicinal stage.

In the bottle: sweet, tart fruit, similar to cranberry. Must be the pomegranate. On skin initially: very tart pomegranate, with less sweetness. The kiddos declared it the "Gummy Bear" scent. After an hour: while it is a nice enough scent, it reminds me too strongly of the "Koolaid" note in Lady MacBeth. While Lady MacBeth's note fades and blends, Swank just stays tartly fruity. A nice scent, but just not a keeper for me.

A generous forumite tossed this in as a frimp when we traded... much gratitude to her, as this one lived up to every expectation I had for it. In the bottle: sweet cream, with a whiff of some sort of sweet booze. It's not rum - that smells a bit different than this, so it must be the honey mead. It's nice. On skin initially: the sweet cream and mead get pushed aside a bit to allow the hazelnut to dominate. I love hazelnut, and the cream and mead soften it to make it smell rather delicious. My son decided it smelled like a gingerbread man. After an hour: The notes all settled together for a nice mingling of sweet boozy nuttiness. At this point, the mingling is so subtle and complete that I'd be hard pressed to pick out individual notes if I hadn't smelled them earlier. A keeper for certain, and a 5ml will be needed.

(Note: This isn't an imp being tested, but a spritzer!) In the spritzer: sweet cream, like condensed milk. On the skin: Sweet, lovely honey and cream, sort of like a milkshake or a caramel steamer (the milk-only flavored drinks from places like Starbucks). After an hour: Still a lovely, warm, scent... sweetly creamy, as if I'd spilled a caramel steamer on myself. I had to resist the urge to nibble on my wrists. I was worried that my skin would "eat" this one like it did Sudha Segara (being a milk-related scent) but it had staying power. I did not reapply all day, and it was lingering on my wrists when I went to bed at night, 15 hours later. When my budget allows, I will certainly be tracking down someone willing to part with this lovely LE.

In the bottle: nothing at first, so I sniffed the wand instead. Ah ha! A hint of ginger! On skin initially: ginger, tempered by something soft and sweet - milk? It doesn't have oomph honey usually has on my skin, but I wouldn't expect milk to smell sweetish so I assume the sweet undertone is either honey or the ambrosia. It's a pretty scent, with the calming feel I get from Dorian (though they smell nothing alike). After an hour: sadly, this scent, no matter how heavily applied, is eaten almost immediately by my skin. It lasted no more than five minutes, which means I'll pass it on to someone else to enjoy.

In the bottle: sharp, almost medicinal scent, with a faint hint of the "diaper" scent I get from anything with civet in it. (I had to go check and make sure I hadn't accidentally gotten something with civet again before I'd put it on!) On skin initially: strongly diaper. It's got to be the narcissus morphing with my wonky skin chemistry, as vanilla loves my skin and I've had success with orange blossoms before. My younger son declared that I smelled like a dirty bathroom (don't you love the kid's honesty?) I thought about washing it off, but decided to let it ride out, just to see if any other notes would appear. After an hour: vanilla at last! The narsissus has disappeared, and taking the diaper aroma with it. If I really concentrate, I can detect a hint of orange blossom in this, but it's almost purely vanilla. While thankfully I won't have to go wash the scent off, the time it takes the narcissus to fade is not worth a soft vanilla scent when other vanilla blends like my skin chemistry better. Alas, a good blend for some, but narcissus hates me. Swapping this one.

The first thing my hubby said when he smelled Port-au-Prince on me was "Where'd you get the Big Red?" Now, to me, it smells more like cloves than cinnamon, but he *swears* it smells just like the gum to him. And this thread just expanded my wish list once again.

In the bottle: green herbs, much like a herb garden on a warm day. Clean and refreshing. On skin initially: a nice, sweet, yummy floral. I kept sniffing, because "lavender" didn't describe this scent properly to me. It strongly reminds me of the waxy flowers - like a variety of lily or magnolias. Sniffing my wrist is like burying my face in a big, heady magnolia blossom, with a hint of crushed herbs lingering around. After an hour: it is a lovely scent, still sweetly floral with a hint of green. No mint to speak of, but the "magnolia" still lingers in my mind. I wonder if it's the lavender morphing on my skin (or that my dislike of lavender is due to sniffing rather inferior stuff in the past?). Unfortunately, as lovely and yummy as it is, I don't think it would be an everyday scent for me, and I might trade it - for the right temptation.

In the bottle: Definately aquatic, and it reminds me more of what I think a bayou smells like than Bayou did in the imp (at least compared the bayou I grew up next to!). On skin initially: Aquatic fruit? I had to come read reviews to identify this as grapefruit, which I've never smelled as a perfume note before. After an hour: The oil fades so rapidly on my skin (I tried two separate times) that it's hard to really judge it after an hour. The notes have blended to an almost floral scent, but without the powdery scent I usually get from florals on my skin. A hint of the grapefruit remains, but only because I knew it was there from the initial application. Sadly, as much as I wanted to like this one, it doesn't have enough staying power for my skin, so it'll go off to someone who can enjoy it more.

In the bottle: soft, faint floral, a note that reminds me a bit of those "mountain fresh" type fabric softeners. On skin initially: The floral amplifies just a bit, although the only note I can really distinguish is iris. It makes my eyes water a bit, but there is a very, very slight whiff of a woody note. Something about the scent still keeps drawing the fabric softener comparison to mind. After an hour: Whoa, new note made its debut...and I can't place what it is! Something close to a pine scent, not cleaner type (like pinesol) but definately more like being in a pine forest in the hottest part of summer after a good rain has soaked the ground. It's not an unpleasant scent, but there's still a hint of a floral, which has gone completely powdery. Alas, it still makes my eyes water, and as much as I like the piney forest image it brought up for me, this one's a swapper.

Gluttony doesn't list any coffee notes, but when I wear it, I feel like I've just gotten the biggest, best hazelnut and toffee laced coffee ever.

In the bottle: very woodsy, with a sharp bite of spice. On skin initially: A strong, overwhelming fir scent, underlaid by a very sour smell. The sourness reminds me of spoiled fruit, like what falls from the tree in late summer heat. After an hour: The sour smell faded finally, as did the fir note. Finally I got a sharp whiff of apple, then a hint of spice came back. After reading reviews, I knew that this scent often progresses and changes longer than others do, so I kept sniffing away. After two hours: spiced apple cider, with a faint, faint hint of pumpkin. After four hours: The sour smell comes back and it is really frustrating. I think it may be the allspice, since it lacks some of the "fruit" scent of earlier and smells a little more towards bitter than sour now. Unfortunately, this scent is not a keeper, as the sour/bitter note appearances just aren't worth the brief flash of beautifully spiced cider.

In the bottle: strong, overpowering floral. I was almost afraid to try it, due to my usual dislike of floral-dominated scents. On the skin: A very sweet, almost sugary floral, with a hint of green (like bayleaf) in the background. After an hour: The floral recedes somewhat, leaving a sweet incense more dominant. Interesting, and one I'll have to put in the "keep" pile for now.

In the bottle: musk, tea, and a brief wiff of sage. On skin initially: Sage takes over the scent initally, although the musk is present and hovering. After an hour: The berries make their appearance, as the sage and musk fade into the background. A bit of tea returns, giving the berries more of a herbal scent than the pure sweet, almost candy-like scent most berry notes have on me. Very pleasant but it faded fast on a first application, so I'm trying a second to see if I didn't apply enough or if it's short-lived on my skin. A keeper for now.

In the bottle: bubblegum. On skin initially: stronger bubblegum. After an hour: Fading bubblegum. The scent lasted about three hours on my skin, and the only real note I could distinguish was bubblegum. It's cute at first, but after a while just seems more like a scent for a little girl to me. Into the swap pile as a gift for my BPAL enabler's daughter.

In the bottle: freshly mowed lawn. On skin initially: freshly mowed lawn. After an hour: The floral finally appears, and it's rather strong. If this is peony, it smells an awful lot like "rose" to my uneducated nose. I finally decided this reminded me of a little old lady who'd just mowed her lawn. Swap pile, and I think I may need to start avoiding "herbal" blends because none of them have worked out for me.

A maddeningly festive blend of warm, buttery rum, cocoa, coconut, vanilla and a jolt of peppermint. It’s a sweet, decadent, slightly silly scent, reminiscent of rum-laced holiday cookies. In the bottle: minty booze. On skin initially: coconut makes its appearance, making me think of Black Pearl. The mint is very dominant still. After an hour: I smell like mint chocolate chip ice cream would smell if it were a warm cookie! I like this, perhaps not enough to pay the price of a 5ml bottle, but I may seek out an imp or two in the future. It remains very similar in scent to Black Pearl (in my mind anyway), just with the impact of mint and a hint of vanilla. Probably the coconut that makes me compare them heavily.

In the bottle: floral but woody. On skin initially: strongly floral, with a bit of an herbal leaning for the floral...I'm thinking this is the laurel? Musk is present but very low key. After an hour: Interesting, very interesting. Some pepper has finally appeared, giving it a tang of musky, woody floral. I can't really decide if I like it or not, but it plays with my head a bit. Better than most floral mixes for me, but not a keeper really.

In the bottle: clean herbal scent, with a hint of evergreen. On skin initially: The evergreen amps up and nearly knocks me off my feet. I'm really hoping this fades, because I'm feeling like I'm lost in a Christmas tree farm at the moment. After an hour: Finally, the evergreen tapers off, allowing a darker earthy note to surface (the moss?) and a very herbal floral. Interesting, but not something I'd want to wear regularly. Swap pile for this one.

In the bottle: bubblegum. On skin initially: wine, with an undertone of the "bubblegum" scent and a pleasant floral that I actually like more than most florals. After an hour: A coworker finally helped me define the "bubblegum" scent when she came through and said "I smell Sweet Tarts, or maybe Sprees". The candy scent is still strong, too much so for my preference. Into the trade pile it goes.

In the bottle: honeyed spice. On skin initially: Spice is very dominant, with a bit of a burnt scent underlying it. After an hour: Still spicy, but nearly gone after only an hour. Not a bad scent, but without any staying power on my skin. I never really got any true "honey" out of this one, which was a bit of a disappointment. A trader.

In the bottle: candy. Specifically, from one of the kidlets, lifesavers candy. On skin initially: strongly boozey, almost like cough syrup, with an underlayer of floral. After an hour: this morphs nicely to a smooth, creamy coconut scent with a hint of a nice floral (the iris) and a bit of hazelnut peeking out to keep the coconut from smelling like tanning lotion. It does remind me of pina coladas. A keeper, for certain. ADDED July 22: In the bottle: sweet, sweet coconut. On skin initially: Coconut amplifies, smelling stronger than the bottle, with a hint of hazelnut underneath. After an hour: Still coconut, toned down with a wonderful hazelnut overlay, and just a hint of floral in the background. A keeper. (ironically, I received an imp of Spooky around the same time, and on my skin, Spooky was Black Pearl plus a teasing whiff of mint!)