Ajila

Bubble gum, bubble gum and yet more bubble gum . Although that's not entirely true, around half an hour in there are background hints of the white wine and the heliotrope, but they're not around for very long, although they do add interest whilst they are their. As someone who loves the smell of bubble gum, I really like this blend .

Wet this was sweet almonds, spicy sweet almonds. It was lovely and warm and I was very happy. Half an hour later the scent had some how gone flat and almost stale. Another 30 minutes later and it's fallen into that same ash tray smell I get from Spooky and Jack . I really must find out what it is that does that.

*Sigh* I guess I'm just going to have to accept that blends involving a fougere just don't work on me, they all have a harshness I just can't deal with. Having said that when the fougere fades the remainder of the blend is gorgeous. Warm creamy vanilla with the lemon, tea and musk in the background, it's heavenly, why can't it all be like this.

I was worried when I first smelt this in the bottle, because it smelt really, really sour. When I put it on this sourness faded and I got condensed milk. Occassionally in the back ground I got a waft of spearmint, but predominantly I got condensed milk. This didn't change much on me I have to say, although the scent of condensed milk did change slightly to the scent of rice pudding. In all it was a very creamy scent, in fact it was almost too sweet for me (something I didn't think was possible), I can see it be a brilliant, comforting time of the month oil. When all other scent had faded I get a faint waft of coconut, but it never really makes an impact.

Wet on me this is very nutty, like a creamy hazelnut to be precise. It's also got the definate feel of Snake Oil. When it dries it keeps the same feel, but the musk is present in the background and makes the entire thing have a slightly soapy edge. I could see this being a lovely close to skin scent, but it doesn't work on or for me.

Non compos mentis, indeed! A contrary, conflicted scent, bubbling with merry madness. Contains apple, rose, and lemon. Wet on me, this was full blown roses. Lush, heady roses, like walking through an English rose garden in the rain. As it dried the roses stayed predominant, there was powdery apple and sharp lemon in the background, but they only appear sporadically. Much later on the rose fades and begins to smell somewhat crystalised, as if the petals of the roses have been coated in sugar and the apple becomes more prominant. I like this second stage and I can understand how this could be a wonderful, sexy scent, but during the earlier part the roses are just to heady for me.

This to me is walking into a shoe shop. At first it's very strong, almost uncomfortably so. It dries mellower on me. I have to admit that I like smelling this on me, but I'm not certain that I want to smell of it, if that makes sense.

This is a very 'whole' scent. What I mean by this is that it doesn't smell like a collection of notes, but rather a single entity. I think it's predominantly the cypress that I can smell, but it's a more creamy mellow cypress than any I've smelt before. The blend stays fairly true from the beginning to the end, although right at the end there was an aftershave tang to it. This is a pretty scent, but I don't think it's for me.

Wet on me this was very sharp and spicy, almost to the extent of being medicinal, when I took a big sniff it made my nose twitch. When it settled it had become more creamy and resiny (maybe myrrh?) although still spicy. I have to admit this isn't my thing, but I'll be passing it on to my mother who's a yoga teacher, I think she'll appreciate it more than me.

Wet this was pure yumminess, cinnamon and creamy buttery vanilla. When it dried the vanilla changed to sweet almonds . I have to admit that this is what I imagine layering Dana O'Shee and my Dragonfly Blue Sugar & Spice would result it. There were moments of play-doh, but I didn't care this was so good. This is the first imp I've tried that from the moment I put it on to the moment it disappeared I've loved it and it's been an absolutely must buy more now blend.

When I first applied it this was definitely bitter cocoa, but there was something I didn't like in the background, almost like an oily scent. Fortunately when it dries this oily scent has disappeared and I've got spicy dark chocolate covered cherries . About 2 and a half hours later the chocolate and the cherries have disappeared and I'm left with what smells to me of vetiver. I wish the chocolate cherries section hung around longer.

Wet on me this was sugared carnations. As it dried it became fruitier and fruitier, resulting in dark, heavily spiced berries. This was quite a close cloying scent, I imagine in humid conditions it would be too much for me. This faded after a couple of hours revealing the carnations again, this time spiced in such a way that they're pretty and flirty. I was trying this as an attempt to decide if I wanted to by a bottle of it whilst its around as an LE and I've decided not to, I like it, but there are very limited occassions when I would wear it.

On me this is very fruity, dark and sparkling currants and deep lushious plums. If it had stayed like that I would have been a very happy girl, but sadly it was not to be. It faded very quickly, a little bit of musk remained and did it's best, but it was too harsh for my nose and then that went as well .

Wet this was purely sweet champagne. As it dried I got a waft of strawberries, those same fresh green strawberries that turn up in Pink Moon, but that disappeared so quickly. The champagne note hanged around for a bit, but it also disappeared. This was so lovely, I just really wish it lasted longer.

Hmmm I'm totally bemused as to what I think about this blend. In the vial it was a kind of murky cherry and coconut combination, which is how it stayed when it went on my skin. After about half an hour I've got the gorgeous boozy coconut scent I get from Perversion. Another half an hour later and that fades revealling a sharp red wine note, which itself fades to reveal vetiver, which I don't mind, but I would prefer it if it wasn't the sole note present. The vetiver seems to hang around forever as well.

I know the scent is not the point of this blend, but it is gorgeous. It's ginger, at first sharp and pwerful, but then when it settles creamy and warming. I don't know about its 'money drawing' properties, but I do know it's a very optimistic scent and it certainly made me feel more able to deal with things.

In the vial this was boozy honey and really strong, so strong it quite took me aback. Wet on me whilst the 'throw' continued with the boozy honey theme, which I quite liked, but actually sniffing my skin gave me a really heavy sour wine scent that was actually quite uncomfortable to smell. Fortunately that faded quite quickly, and when it is gone I was left with a glorious sweet and spicy incense, which so far has lasted strongly for about 7 hours.

Wet on me this is pure raspberries, strong, dark raspberries that you just pull straight off the plant and pop straight into your mouth, a little bit tart, but soooo juicy. This reminds me so vividly of the weeks spent during various summers staying with my grandparents and helping them in the garden. There are probably 2 months when some raspberries are ripe and 2 weeks around mid-July when I can pick raspberries all day long and still not have picked all the ripe ones. This oil reminds me of those days with the sun warm on my skin and my fingers (and mouth) red with the juice. I just know that as I write this the first raspberries are ripening and this year I wont be there to pick them. Anyway back to Akuma - when it dries the raspberries are still there, but now they must share my nose with the brightness of the citrus and a slight powder edge (as if they've been sprinkled with icing sugar ). This stage lasts and lasts fading slowly to leave gentle powdery oranges. On the whole this is a very pretty, very edible blend.

On me at first this was pure, pure grapefruit juicy and sharp, but in my opinion darker and more bitter than the Pink Grapefruit SN. After a couple of hours this faded to reveal the cherry blossom. In all this was a very pretty scent, but it's not for me.

Wet on me this is an amazing cacophony of gorgeous scents, cherry, dark chocolate, coffee, wine, almond, cola, spices, all there, all holding their own as very seperate scents, but not clashing. Sadly this faded rapidly and left me with a slight coffee aroma, which was nice, but not as exciting as the original scent, I think I'll try putting this in my scent pendant.

Breathing this in off my hands I can see why it's meant to help focus, there is an immediate clearing of the mind (and the sinuses, but that's another story). To me this smells of lemon verbena and peppermint. Initially it was incredibly strong, but it faded gradually and ages after I occassionally get wafts. Everything I'm using regularly whilst I'm working is beginning to pick up the smell of it, which is good. I really think this works, it even copes with my tendancy to do one thing, whilst thinking about another. ETA. It is a very bad idea to get Concentration on sensative skin like your lips as I discovered this morning, when I applied lip balm after handling the bottle .

In the bottle this smelt exactly like candy floss, I was so excited when I first sniffed it. On me for the first half an hour or so it was floral, sweet floral, but floral non the less, when that had faded, I kept getting wafts of candy floss and strawberries (a word on these strawberries - I am so impressed this is the exact scent of strawberries that have been picked from my Grans garden and are so sharp that they're practically sour so we have them with a liberal sprinkling of sugar and when you've eaten a bowl you end up with the excess juice of the strawberries and the sugar forming a sort of syrup ). It's strange because the scent fades on my skin quite quickly, but I'm still getting wafts of it. What is left on my skin is a warm vanilla scent. I like this blend, I like it alot, but I think I would have liked it more it the hype hadn't made me anticipate it so much before I tried it (if that makes sense).

In the bottle this smelt of lushious juicy fruits, the plum slightly stronger than the apricot. Wet on me the florals came more to the fore, but the fruits were still headlining. About half an hour after application the fruit has disappeared and I'm left with a strong impression of orchids, I wouldn't have thought that I would recognise the scent of orchids, but apparently I do. In the end this is a pretty, sweet floral, but it's not for me.

There was only one problem with this blend and that was the overall smell of bleach . It was only in the throw, if I sniffed my skin I got a gorgeous scent of spicy creamy vanilla. The bleach smell did fade over time but it was still hanging around. Now nearly 10 hours after applying it the bleach has finally gone and my skin smells nice, but I don't want to wait ten hours for it. And this was a blend I so wanted to love .

This is a very strange blend, at first it's a yummy combination of coconut and mint, which are both strong, but not at the same point, close to my skin it's mint, but the waft is all coconut. About an hour later the coconut had disappeared and I was left with a creamy mint scent, in fact I think the best description would be that I smell of Murray Mints. Sadly half an hour later I smell of ashtrays , I think this will have to go in the scent locket.