crebbsgirl

GAH! This started out perfect! Mellow sandalwood with a hint of bite from the neroli. Wonderous stuff this. And then... ylang ylang. Unfortunately, it took over the blend for me, so that I couldn't smell my beloved sandalwood or neroli anymore. Boo.

This was a really golden scent on my. The drydown was beautiful with the ambers and apple blossom combining to give a soft, lightly floral scent. The myrtle adds a touch of tang, and only a couple hours in does the carnation become apparent. This is truly beautiful and "glittering" very aptly describes this blend. I usually like my scents a little darker, but I may keep this one.

Ok, I need to just admit to myself I can't wear rose blends and be done with it. But instead, I just keep trying them, hoping against hope that one will work. Unfortunately, this was not the one. Upon first applying Wicked, I am immediately surrounded by jasmine. I can't detect the myrrh at all at this stage. As it dries however, the myrrh comes out. But wait, what's that? The longer I sit, the more the rose seems to come out, until all I can smell is screaming ROSE! Sadly, this blend is not for me.

On me, this was a slightly floral Blood Amber. I get the creamy fruity floral of that blend plus a slight overtone of ylang ylang and poppy. Ylang ylang and I don't get along at the best of times, and in this case, I prefer Blood Amber.

On me this is all dry woods with a slight hint of rose. It's a rather nondescript scent on me. It dries down to a rather unnoticeable skin scent. I usually like my perfume to be a little sweeter and slightly more noticeable.

This is in-your-face, screaming patchouli when wet. But give it about 5 minutes and the coconut and benzoin start to come out and sweeten it up. This is a wonderfully warm scent, with patchouli providing an earthy base, and the coconut sweetening it up while the benzoin adds a creamy tone. If you can get past the PATCHOULI!!!!! wet stage, it's very well worth it. YUM!

Ok, I think ylang ylang and I have a problem. We're fighting. In a big way. You see, Malice is everything I could want in a scent. Yummy clove. Earthy patchouli. Resinous wonderful myrrh. And then... ylang ylang. Why do you have to be so loud ylang ylang? I just wanted to love you. And what did you do? You kicked everyone else in the blend out. You made it so sickly florally sweet I had to wash you off. Well, ylang ylang I've had it with you. We are through!

I love reading the reviews for this one because almost everyone has different impressions. I will say straight off the bat that Queen absolutely loves me, and I think I am definitely falling for her! Wet: I smell an almond note here. There also seems to be a spicy undertone. As it dries: I think there is a spice here, maybe cardamom? White Pepper? There is also a similar note to Pickled Imp in here. I'm not getting any florals. There may be a light patchouli presence, as something is grounding this blend and making it earthy. Overall: I get a warm, earthy scent with just a bit of spice. Queen wears fairly close to the skin for me.

This immediately shot into my top 20 (if not my top 10) the minute I put it on my skin. This is a sweet musky scent. Wet, I get sandalwood and coconut. As it dries, the musk and incense come out. It's a dry but sweet scent, very warm and earthy. Coconut always gives me a little pause because I strongly associate it with sunscreen, but I didn't get that vibe here at all.

I am being surprised all around by blends this evening. I usually don't like fruits, and violets and I despise each other, but for some reason, this really works for me. I think it's the incense note that ties everything together for me. I agree with other reviewers in that it's a very "Purple" scent. The flowers and fruits blend together seamlessly. Wet, I could detect jasmine (definitely) and maybe plum? But as it dries, they enmesh so well that the individual notes are almost indistinguishable. The incense wafts throughout the entire blend, creating a depth to the scent that otherwise might be written off for me.

This defied all odds for me. I'm usually of the dark, earthy, spicy, creamy blends. For some reason, this herbal, floral, faintly aquatic blend actually smells wonderful on me. There is a definite wildflower vibe here, and the dew/mists aren't overly aquatic. As it dries, it takes on a tinge of spice. Overall, this is surprisingly nice on me. I don't know about buying a bottle, but I'll definitely keep the imp.

This is a rather elegant and mysterious blend. The jasmine is fairly predominant throughout the wet and drydown stages. Wet, this is mostly jasmine and rose. As it dries, the jasmine calms down a bit and I can faintly detect the moonflower. After about 1/2 an hour into wearing, the musk and incense finally come out, but they are rather supporting players to the jasmine, instead of taking the foreground themselves. Overall, this is a truly beautiful blend but a little too floral for my tastes. I can't see myself wearing this very often. - Also, I agree with the reviewer who stated they could see this as a Chanel perfume.

I wanted to cry after trying this because I had been looking forward to this scent so much, it literally broke my heart. I wanted to get the boozy earthy goodness with just a hint of floral that everyone else seems to get. What I actually got? Flowers... and that's it. I got no boozy notes, no earthy notes. I got magnolia and flowers with a hint of greenery. So sad

White gardenia, ambergris bouquet, lavender fougere, orange blossom, melissa, tobacco flower, coriander, ebony wood, ylang ylang, absinthe and aged whiskey. I was expecting something a little heavier here, but this blend starts out all white flowers on me. I was almost about to wash it off (white florals and I do NOT get along) when the tobacco flower, ebony and whiskey started to show up. This turned into a really nice blend of woods and florals, with the whiskey adding a bit of depth. The absinthe gave it a little bit of a bite. I liked this.

This smells very much like cedar incense to my nose. It's a spicy woodsy blend with a hint of a herbaceous element here. The cedar is definitely in the front seat throughout the wet stage, but as it dries, the myrrh and patchouli come out and the sandalwood sort of wafts through the blend. The cedar begins to blend nicely with the other notes, but it's still a standout. I usually prefer my cedar notes to remain in the background. It's a really beautiful supporting note on me, but I can't have it at the forefront. It's nice, but there are other woodsy scents I prefer.

Unfortunately, I think this blend had determined for me that I can't wear fig. In the imp this is a beautiful blend of cocoa, fig and woods. Once on my skin, however, the fig note predominates to the exclusion of all else. It's a sickly sweet earthy note that is just too loud and cloying. I was really looking forward to this.

Before BPAL, I never would have thought cocoa was a note that I would be interested in, and now, I'm finding it to be one of my favourites. I was a little taken aback initially when I opened this imp. The chocolate scent was so strong I could almost taste it at the back of my throat. Instantly on my skin, the myrrh and sandalwood develop. This becomes smoky sweet and utterly sinful. The cocoa blends nicely into the sandalwood and myrrh so that you can detect each of the notes on their own, but only if you know what you're looking for. This blend is seamless, and not to be missed if you like sweet smoky goodness.

Alright have I mentioned I don't do aquatics well? This is actually the first aquatic I like. Its very comforting as others have stated. I also get a hint of white flowers. I think I can also pick out some tea notes as well, but they are very light. It's light but the staying power is remarkable. I don't get violets here - as violet and I do not get along and I've gotten very good at picking her out!

There is something similar here to Old Scratch. When first applied, I get lavender and sage with the faint scent of the lemon peel. As it dries, the frankincense and sandalwood start coming out. I don't get any vetiver here, which is a little disappointing because this blend seems a little bright for me. Overall, the effect is nice, but I'm not in love with it.

I believe I said the same thing about Magus. If you can describe a scent as "sharp" it's definitely not for me. GAH! The rosemary definitely takes a front seat here, with the lemon wafting throughout the blend. I can smell the pine in there as well, and overall it makes for a fresh, herbaceous masculine scent. One that is utterly not me.

This went on a little Pine-Sol-y at first. But as it started to dry, the musk came out. This ventures into the cologne territory, but never actually makes it there. It ends up being a spicy wood blend, which I am surprised to say, but I actually enjoy. I'm normally a fan of softer, rounder, creamier, warmer blends, but this is quite enjoyable.

I should preface this by saying that I am NOT a florals person. I like woods and red musk, but florals and I have a rather turbulent relationship. That being said, this blend was not for me. I like orchid as a note, but I think the lilac may have ruined this for me. On my skin, the bergamot and orchid came out first, which was pleasant. The red musk could be detected faintly, but after about 1/2 an hour this went FLOWERS! on me. The juniper lent a freshness here, but overall the experience was just too floral for me.

If you can describe a scent as "sharp" then it is definitely not for me. And this blend is sharp. Very herbal, with frankincense taking the lead. This was a fairly fresh blend, the cedar was a dominant note here as well. As others have noted, it did sweeten up on the drydown, but not enough for me to want to keep it.

I should have known better. I got frimped with this in a recent lab order and it contains the two notes I can say that my skin hates: Lotus and Rose. My skin amps the crap out of rose and can occasionally make them smell like pickles. (I'm not kidding) and lotus almost always goes towards sickly bubblegum smell. Unfortunately this blend was no exception. The rose started going pickle-y while the lotus took on a sickly sweet smell making the overall blend sickly sweet pickles. I had to wash it off after an hour so I couldn't even tell you where this developed from that point. Damn skin chemistry.

Hellooo SMOKE! In the bottle and wet on skin this is all smoke. Black, oppressive, choking smoke. Not pretty in the slightest. After about five minutes the smoke clears a little and the myrrh come out. This is beautiful! The smoke wafts rather lazily through the blend, mingling with the myrrh, adding a nice depth. After about 15 minutes, the cinnamon bark can be detected. This is not the spicy in your face cinnamon of Chimera, but rather, a softer, subtler woodsy spice. All of the notes remain steadily present on the dry down for me. I'm having real trouble picking a favourite for the Carnival scents.