tdgnika

In the imp, this gives me that vague smell that I can only quantify as fruity pumpkin. I'm so bad at identifying certain notes. Wet on the skin, it smells like a candle that's supposed to smell like one of those chocolate oranges. On dry down, I'm definitely getting a deep chocolate smell, which is nice since most of the chocolate scents go to a cocoa powder on me - emphasis on the powder. This doesn't have that dusty powder quality. And, it's not shouting ORANGE the way that other scents that have orange in them tend to do. But, it still smells very strongly of wax. If this was a candle, I'd probably like it. But, seeing as that I am not a candle, I don't like it on me.

In long-ago Arabia, harem girls rubbed an herbal poultice formed from a blend of sensual, luxuriant herbs and oils onto their bodies to prepare themselves for the Sultan's pleasure. This lush, indulgent perfume is based on that ancient formula. Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel. I have tried this one a couple times - put it on and left the house and promptly forgot I was reviewing something and forgot to take mental notes. But, today, I remembered. In the imp, syrupy sweet, kind of the same way Blood Kiss smells when it's wet. This bodes well, since I love Blood Kiss after it gets past that syrup smell. Wet on the skin - well, hello, flowers! How doest thou choke me with your strong scent. It smells like Lily of the Valley to me, though I could see how the rose could be misinterpreted as such by my uneducated nose. It *screams* Lily of the Valley for the first 5 minutes. As much as I love Lily of the Valley, I think it should use its inside voice. I was a little worried, since I was going to my very blue-collar job with it on and didn't want to be shouting FLOWERS at all the guys in their shop clothes. But, by the time I drove to work, my skin had eaten it. There's a faint, very light rose/powder smell if I huff my wrists, but it's that icky old-lady-linen-closet smell that I don't care for. So, into the swap pile for this one. It's crazy-fast fade would explain why I'd always forgotten I was reviewing this one.

In the imp: this smelled very woodsy, and musty like paper and old bookstores. Maybe the tonka is giving me that? Wet on the skin: the floral jumped out and said hello, but it was still very heady and musty, in a good way. Not too much patchouli, which is nice, since heavy patchouli freaks me out. I started getting a memory of...something. On dry down: it has good staying power, and I realized what that wonderfully heady smell was. I'm fairly certain it smelled like my high-school-boyfriend-first-lover's cologne Hero. Which I liked so much I bought a bottle for myself and used to wear even after we split. Smells like...ahem...splendor in the grass. LOVE IT.

In the bottle, this smells like fruit syrup to me, a smell I do not particularly like. On the skin the first time, it threw a spicy smell, but as soon as I put nose to wrist, I got that plastic, syrup, fake fruit smell. Yarf. On the second try, hoping for better results, the plastic syrup smell was overwhelming and I resisted about 9 minutes before I had to wash, wash, wash it off. My go-to sexy syrup scent is still Blood Kiss - its reign continues unblemished. (ETA: I can't type right)

In the imp, it smelled like a classic cologne with some slight chocolate overtones. On the skin, it smelled like fake air freshener and then morphed into industrial bathroom cleaner and urinal cakes. I had to wash it off.

In the imp, I could smell what I think are cherries. Wet on the skin, it smells like men's cologne, but not too chemically. As it began it's sitting on the skin for a while process, it started to smell like warm lemon juice, which was a fairly pleasant scent. On dry down...I made the mistake of wearing this out and actually asked the girl next to me if I was drowning her in the smell of Deep Woods Off. She couldn't smell it, but it was screaming that smell at me. Not a keeper for me, sadly.

In the imp, a spicy male scent. I can't really pinpoint it more than that, it just smells like a spicy Italian man to me. (Not that I've ever actually smelled any Italian men). On the skin, it really throws a strong male cologne scent. It's nice and heady, but a little too 'basic cologne' for me.

In the imp, this has a strong ginger note. Wet on the skin, the ginger is even stronger and throws pretty strongly as well. As it dries, more of the incense comes out but it's made too tangy by the ginger for my tastes. I'm going to pass on this one.

In the imp, a faint smell of strawberry and plastic. Wet on the skin, a rather unpleasant mix of fruit and musk. As its drying, smells more like incense, but still has a plastic-y undertone that I don't care for. I often find that strawberry-scented or flavored things smell fake to me, so I'm sure this accounts for the plastic smell. I blame it on my Strawberry Shortcake toys I had as a young 'un.

... Her ofrenda is a bounty of melons and grapes, strewn with the petals of the flowers of motherhood, draped with sea mosses. In the imp, a strong melon scent with a slight hint of something unidentifiable. Wet on the skin, still the melon but more of the unidentifiable scent - maybe the grapes. Fades to almost nothing within an hour. I really wanted to like this one, Yemaya being my patron goddess, but it just doesn't do anything for me and my skin eats it. Oh well.

Wet in the imp, definitely very mild. Doesn't really smell like...anything I can identify. Wet on the skin - smells like mustiness, but a good mustiness. Like a museum or the House on the Rock (for those of you familiar with Neil Gaiman's American Gods or tourist attractions in Spring Green, Wisconsin), oddly enough. I really like it. I don't think this is an everyday wear, but when I'm feeling nostalgic, definitely.

In the imp and wet on the skin, a nice mellow incense. No sharp notes. This is a great, long-lasting scent. Very masculine (even though I'm a girl, I seem to gravitate toward the masculine scents.) I'm definitely placing this in my top 20, wear-often column.

In the bottle, a very male, musky scent. Woohoo - I love the male, musky scents. Wet on the skin, broadcasts a bit of chemical men's cologne smell at first. As it is drying, I'm still getting that chemically men's cologne smell amping. Uck. Good staying power, but I still think it smells like Polo. I tried it a second time because I love me some musk, but again all I get is that chemically cheap men's cologne smell.

In the imp, it seems to be like fresh peony. Wet on the skin, it broadcasts peony at first. Broadcasts peony for about an hour and then disappears. Not a keeper. People in the next state could probably tell I was wearing a peony scent.

In the bottle, it smells like pine. Wet on the skin, it smells like sort of a buttery rain. Dries to smell like a weak cedar. Didn't have much staying power and was a rather forgettable smell for me. The lab has incense blends that do much better on me. Second go around, stale unpleasant incense.

In the bottle, I get a general incense smell, which I assume is the myrrh. Wet on the skin, there's a very strong smell that is incredibly familiar - sandalwood, I think? Or general incense? Within a few minutes, it got into my throat the first time I wore it - damn. The second time, I was more careful not to smell it too much while it was drying and I avoided the smell getting into my throat. On the second try, I really like this one - a dark, incense-y smell that isn't too sweet. A keeper.

My switch witch gave me a whole bottle of this as part of my reveal, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Prior to opening the box, I had never even heard of it or considered it. But, in short, this is heaven in a bottle. On sniffing it in the bottle, I was a little wary, because it's got kind of a thick, floral scent of the type that usually betrays once it's on my skin. But on my skin, this is long-lasting decadence. I love it. This is autumn and ritual in one place. I don't know what note or combination of notes is making me so happy, but this is very likely to become my signature scent. This is everything I like about the heavy incense scents, but it's got enough spice and depth to give it enough chutzpah to be more versatile.

I was really hoping for an amazing exotic smell here. I love lilies as flowers - they look so inviting. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be. In the imp, I smelled ginger, I think. Wet on the skin, all I got was soap, soap, soap. It faded completely away within an hour or so. Sigh.

In the imp, this smells like the color green. I don't know what I mean by that, really. On the skin, it has a strange tang - I'm not sure what note would qualify for this title. It was very earthy and kept that tang throughout. It wasn't horribly unpleasant or anything, but it just doesn't stand out as one of my favorite scents, so I think I'll pass on this one.

In the bottle and wet, I can smell the honey, I think. It's a thick sweetness. After it's been on my wrist 15 minutes or so, it smells more powdery, like baby powder. It also smells like a clean infant, or like the plastic head of the doll I had as a child. As it dried, it went to plastic-y powder. The second time I tried this, even in the bottle, it smells even more like a plastic doll head. As it was drying the second time I tried it, I got whiffs of Deep Woods Off. My friend was sure I would like this, but it just didn't do it for me at all. Apparently, innocent scents are not my forte. They hit my skin and scream "No! This skin is not innocent!" I like my scents heavy, musky and completely corrupt.

In the bottle: wonderful mulled cider in the bottle. Wet on the skin, it broadcasts that wonderful mulled cider smell, though on the wrist it smells like there's more to it, but I can't identify just what. I don't get any specific sense that it's bark or leaves, and I'm not familiar enough with galangal, poppy juice and nutmeat to know if I'm picking those up. This cider smell stays through drying and seems pretty long-lasting. This one is a definite winner on me.

In the bottle, a syrupy sweet pumpkin. And I can pick up the vanilla and the honey. Wet on the skin, I smell like a candle store. Not a cool candle store. A lame one in the mall in the 80s. Waxy pumpkin. Yuck. On drying, I still smell like cheap pumpkin candles. This one is a no-go for me. (Which I'm rather relieved by, since I've been liking the limiteds lately and didn't want to add another)

In the bottle, this smells like oranges and commercial perfume. Eek! Me and orange = bad. On the wrist, it's completely different: the subtlest of lilacs! Which is lovely… until it starts drying. As soon as it starts drying, it smells just like commercial, chemically perfume. I'm not sure what note that is - I'll have to do some cross-checking to ferret out what my nose identifies as that vague smell "commercial department store counter perfume." Once it's at full dry, I can smell the wood or maybe the frankincense? This is lovely for the moment that it's there and then, without a warning, gone...all gone. Overall, a few lovely hints here and there, but not worth wading through that chemical smell.

Wet and in bottle, I can smell the amber, I think - a cloying sweetness, but it doesn't smell good. I don't know if that's amber or...something else? Verbena, maybe, since amber usually seems to work on me. After a few moments on the wrist, it smelled like rain the first time I tried it. Drying, I can begin to smell the light touch of sage and the amber? Fully dry, it's almost not there. Just a slight touch of amber and sage. The second time I tried this (first time was during hormonal shifts, so I wanted to give it another shot), it gave me a headache. I'm not sure what I'm smelling, but it smells like spoiled flowers? This one is a pass. It just never smelled quite...right. I'm at a loss for a better description as to why.

In the bottle, a strong rose. Wet on the skin and for the first hour or so of drying, a strong rose scent plus what I assume is the leather underneath. It mellows the rose nicely. I'm not sure if I like the smell of the leather, but it definitely has leather undertones. It smells like the inside of the leather bondage bracelet I used to wear; I'm not sure I could say that I 'like' that smell, but it's not unpleasant. At full dry, I can only smell the leather, but someone else told me they can smell the rose and not the leather, so my nose must have just gotten used to it. Overall, I like it, but I'm not insane over it like I am with some of the other scents. I could take or leave this one.