Tess

I'm having a love affair recently with berries, so here's one that's really got me interested. Let's hope that the amber is the type that I can wear. In the vial - These are wild berries, not at all overly sweet. The musk is in there deep with just a hint of amber and spicey carnation. Wet - Amber + berries = cherry Not exactly what I was looking for... Drying - The berries are dying off FAST and the carnation is coming up full and spiced with amber and musk mixing in. It's lovely, despite the lack of berries, although the musk is a little darker than what I usually wear. Dry (30 minutes) - Oh dear gods, ugh. The musk is just turning on my skin. It might be the combo of the amber, which is going powdery, with the dark musk, but it's just terrible. Even the nice spiced floral can't save it. Overall - My skin did INSANE things with this one.

Someday I'll get my hands on some Skadi and be able to compare the two. Until then, let's try some girlie stuff! In the vial - Sweet berry pine! Yum! Wet - The sweet leaves almost immediately, leaving the pine to poke out more than the berry. Drying - ...I smell like a pine tree with a couple of berrie hung in it. This is one HECK of a pine scent on me. Not a cleaning solution type pine, but just a very, very, VERY strong tree scent. It's like Beth used a pine EO in this one. My sweet berries are just lingering in the background. Dry (30 minutes) - The girlie perfume notes are coming out to play and the pine is backing off a bit. I feel strange saying this, but... I kind of like it! Overall - It's not normally my thing, what with the pine being so obvious and all, but I do find it strangely attractive. I think I'll put it as a maybe and see if I can get my hands on more of it. But I'm not so in love that it'll cause me pain if I can't get more.

Fruit, ginger and white musk! If the peony (and JASMINE) doesn't amp on my skin, this could be an incredible scent for me. In the vial - Fruit tea with a slight hit of pepper in the background. Mango is the key note to my nose right now. Wet - Mango tea with a slice of kiwi. Yum! Drying - Oh gods, here comes the jasmine. Push it away, fruit! Don't let my skin amp it to the point of being all jasmine! The ginger is just a breath mixed in with the pepper, but right now it's the florals battling it out with the mango tea. Dry (45 minutes) - Soap. Mango and jasmine soap. :/ The pepper and ginger are almost completely gone and I'm left with soap... Overall - The wet stage was great, but the moment it hit my skin, bad things started to happen. I'm not going to feel bad swapping this one out.

I hear this is a really cooling scent that most people don't tend to enjoy much. I've never had much luck with "cool" oils, so we'll see. In the vial - It's hard for me to pick out notes here... It smells medicinal, with twinges of white floral. Actually, more than a twinge. Wet - The floral backs way the heck off on my skin, which makes me REALLY know that it's a white one. Drying - There's a chilled green scent now mixing with the floral. This reminds me of something, how my grandmother's house smells, I think. In fact, that seems to be exactly what this is! I am getting the soapy/powdery scent that others got. Interesting that it's actually feel COOL on my wrists. Dry (1 hour) - Yup, this is EXACTLY how my grandmother smells! Overall - Not for me. Too pretty and light to fit my personality, but I can see it being just lovely on someone else. It's also very cooling, true to its name.

There are such mixed reviews with this one! Part of me is saying "oh, look at those yum notes!" and part of me is going "uh, ozone bad." Let's see what happens. In the vial - I barely smell anything... A faint fruity currant, maybe. Wet - Ooo, light currant and white musk, with a touch of the floral! Drying - I'm getting just a touch of the ozone, but it's working with the other scents just wonderfully. This really is coming across as mostly the berry-musk, with the other notes lingering in the background, but it's LOVELY. Dry (45 minutes) - Bah, the first thing that happened was that the currant stopped being as sweet smelling and then it started to fade. I can still smell it, sure, but it's not as strong. The throw is barely there at all by this time. Overall - I do ADORE the scent, but I really wish my skin didn't soak it up as much. This might be a scent locket oil. Because there's lots of love for it.

I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I ordered this, seeing as florals tend to destroy me, but we'll try it anyway. In the vial - Lots of rose with a touch of freesia in there. It's a sweet rose, too. Oh, I'm worried... Wet - ROSE. Oh my gosh, all I can smell is rose. Drying - I can get some of the lotus now, but it's still very rose. I also pick up a hint of what people have described as "dryer sheets," although I tend to associate it with the scent of green, freshly cut stems. Dry (45 minutes later) - I never thought I'd say it, but... I really LIKE this one. It's staying with the scent of freshly cut roses surrounding the bloom of a single lotus, all floating peacefully in a bowl of water. A very white and feminine scent that I'm finding myself addicted to. The throw is nonexhistant, though, which is sadly normal for me. Overall - This reminds me rose water when you get down to it, with a few notes of lotus kicked in. It's very soft and feminine and I oddly like the sweetness to it. I get images of victorian ladies from this soft scent. I'll keep it around for awhile to see if it continues to bring these lovely, womanly images to mind. The scent of long flowing skirts and soft laughter...

Patchouli and I aren't great friends, although cinnamin and amber both are, with sandalwood having no effect on me yet. Will this work out? Who knows! In the vial - This isn't at all how I imagined it, but it is interesting. The scents are meshing to something... odd to my nose. Wet - At first I could have sworn I got a whiff of civet... Drying - Dear gods, patchouli is stomping around my nose, dragging cinnamin and amber behind it! This smells exactly like an incense stick that a friend of mine has to cover up the smell of her 420. Only this little guy has a sour note to it, which I assume is from the sandalwood. Dry (25 minutes) - Well, it's true to the description. Patchouli with that other stuff in the background trying to break down the wall. But it's patchouli. Strong patchouli. Overall - I can see some people really liking this, but I stand by my opinion that patchouli just isn't me. It just makes me feel like a stoner. This would be great for one of my friends, but it's off to the swaps for this little guy.

Upon the Sea of Glass, glowing with the perfection of spiritual union and the radiance of true wisdom, rests the throne of God. A scent of inimitable purity, crystalline grace, and limitless light. I don't remember off the top of my head why I wanted to try this one, although I have better luck with aquatics than other florals. Let's see if this stands up to my Skin of Doom. In the vial - Strong floral, one of which reminds me completely of Japanese lilac. There's also the ozone and the salt in there. Wet - I am the floral, I am the floral! Dance, dance, dance! Drying - ...I know exactly what this reminds me off. This is the scent of the Silver Sea from C.S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. There is citrus here (not one that I can easily identify) and the white floral I can easily imagine as lily, although the touch of salt isn't completely fitting, but who cares. Dry (15 minutes) - This stays surprisingly close to the drying stage, other than the lily isn't quite as strong and there's a touch of carnation now, I think. It's gone softer, lighter, and a little bit spicey. Overall - Very lovely and feminine, but not something I would wear. If I were more of a Chronicles of Narnia fangirl, I'd wear this all the time, since it really does fit the feeling of the Silver Sea. Maybe I'll be able to swap it to someone who'll really love it.

...why did I want to try this one? The notes sound so incredibly floral. Well, I suppose it can't hurt to try. In the vial - All the listed notes are right there, although it's more spiced jasmine than anything. Wet - Huh, I don't think I like the lemon with the florals in this. Or with the spice for that matter. Drying - Whoo, do the jasmine dance! It's not as strong as it normally is on my skin, not yet anyway, but it's the strongest note of the bunch. In fact, that's almost all I can smell. There's a touch of the spice and lemon and a breath of honeysuckle, but it's almost all jasmine to me. Dry (15 minutes) - Crazy throw, this. And it's all spiced jasmine. ALL. Overall - Why did I even think I could wear something with jasmine...? The lemon is so subtle that it gets overpowered. It's pretty much spiced jasmine from start to finish and I just don't like it.

Is it wrong that I really want a scent called Sodom? But this has fig, date and currant notes, all of which I love. This has so much potential for me! In the vial - Holy wow fig. I'm getting some of that herb and a touch of patchouli, too. Wet - This is warming on my skin, but in a good way, and I'm picking up a touch of tobbacco in it, too. Drying - This is a whole lot richer and darker than I originally thought. It's mixing with my natural skin scent in the most unusual ways, getting a touch of a salt scent from it. Dry (45 minutes) - This is like a fig single note on me. All fig, all the time. Overall - Well, it wasn't as interesting as I was hoping, although it may work really well with layering. Regardless, I just don't like it enough to keep it around.

I know for a fact that this was a frimp from the lab, since I made a point not to order anything from the Garden. Floral and herbs scents just don't work on me unless they're mixed with other notes. However, since I have it... In the vial - I'm getting an icy plumera from this or perhaps freesia. Wet - There's a dusty floral in here that I can't put my finger on. Something that's related to the rose family, but isn't a rose... Drying - I have to join in the "I know this smell from somewhere" group. This is the scent of some flower that I've bent over to smell, one that I think was yellow. There's that cold tinge to it that makes me understand why it is a flower in Hades. Dry (30 minutes) - Yup, I'm sticking with the freesia and plumera scent. It's... giving me a headache. Overall - Now I remember why I don't do the floral gig. Ah, well, it's a nice one for the swappage.

This was a frimp which I'm happy to try out, but oye. Patchouli is usually just too strong for me. (Even in Depraved it was too much on me.) We'll see... In the vial - This just smells... dirty. Not happy Graveyard Dirt, but unwashed. Uh-oh. Wet - Dear gods. Patchouli and tea together on my skin is just gross. The florals do NOT help, either. Drying - I smell like poo, I'm sorry to say. The florals make it smell like those strong, fake flower roomsprays over the very icky smell of unwashed bodies. This is just absolutely wrong on me. Dry (15 minutes) - Arg, I just can't take any more of this. It hasn't changed a bit, other than to pick up an odd rotten banana feel. Overall - So not for me, probably due to my skin chemistry. Too much amped floral while my skin did amazingly bad things with the patchouli and tea.

White, white and more white. I have a love affair with all of these notes, so it's just a matter of seeing how they work together. This is supposed to be a very short lived scent, so we'll just have to see. In the vial - More lemon verbena than pure lemon, with a whiff of the florals. Wet - Ooo, the notes are all present and blending perfectly! The vanilla is very light, with the sandlewood and florals being most present with the lemon verbena. Drying - For something so light, there is a whole lot going on with this scent. The notes are so smooth and running into each other. Only problem is that it's getting somewhat soapy, but in a very yummy way. I sure hope this doesn't completely soap out. Dry (25 minutes) - This is so nice. It's very light and airy, but the white florals only make it slightly soapy. It reminds me of clean sheets that have been hanging out on the line. Divine! Overall - This is a lovely spring/summer scent for those times when you're wearing just a sundress. I'm so getting a big bottle of this and putting it on my sheets! I wonder if there's a way to use it in the laundry...

I'm a big fan of the book Many Waters, or at least I was as a kid, so I'm hoping that I'll like this one. Plus, fig! In the vial - This IS complex. I'm really picking up fig, oakmoss and vetiver. I forgot how much I don't like that note... Wet - Wow, rosemary just made a big enterance, a la Broadway. Drowned out the vetiver completely. Drying - I swear, I can identify every note EXCEPT the fig and frankincense. It's damping down as time goes on, but I don't get one whiff of my figgy goodness. Poo. Dry (30 minutes) - Headache. >_< The notes that were so very in the fore earlier have gone down beneath the frankincense and, yes, the touch of fig. But something is making my head hurt. BAD. Erk. Overall - I actually have to say that I actively DON'T like this one. Normally, I'm more neutral or my skin is the culprit, but I just really don't like this scent. At all.

I'm not sure what saffron smells like, but I love incense and spice, so here goes. In the vial - I can already sense the complexity. Heavy perfume alcohol scent with back smokiness and spice. Wet - Sweetened perfume alcohol? Eh? Drying - It has to be the saffron that's throwing me off. I can smell the hit of incense that's mixing with just the tiniest bit of spice, but there's something in the foreground that I just can't place. Not to mention I can't explain what it smells like. It's like a clarifying and somewhat soapy floral. Is that saffron? Dry (15 minutes) - Well, it's an incense soap and it's barely there. And I mean BARELY. Overall - This is neither interesting to my nose nor does it stick around enough to really have any effect me. Sorry, Scherezade, you're a great character, but you get a "no" from me.

I've never tried a tea scent, but this just sounds yum to me. Let's see what my skin does with it. In the vial - Oh, this is lovely! The sweetness of the honey mixes with the ginger and makes it just creamy. I can barely smell the tea, but the linen is great. Wet - Lots of ginger and not nearly as sweet as I originally thought. There's almost a lemony feel to this. Drying - It's got to be the linen that's giving me the lemon scent. I'm not sure if I smell the tea (since I'm not sure what tea smells like, exactly, seeing as I mostly just drink it) and the pepper is just barely there, but this is lovely so far. Dry (15 minutes) - This is fantastic! A gentle smell, yet it has that slight kick of the ginger and the pepper. The throw is even decent, which amazes the heck out of me. Overall - I think I've found another big-bottle scent! It doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of staying power, but it smells so great on me that I forgive that. 'Specially seeing as nothing has staying power on my skin...

I know this is dearly loved by many, many people, so I thought I'd take a stab at it and see what's what. In the vial - Wintergreen gum? Um... what? Wet - Yup, wintergreen with just the slightly touch of cinnamin. This is odd. Drying - I have the distinct feeling that there is supposed to be just a TOUCH of wintergreen and that my skin has grabbed hold of it like crazy. Because that's almost all of what I'm getting and I'm getting it super strong. You know, it smells exactly like Pepto-Bismol... Dry (15 minutes) - Well, the florals are out. Kinda. It's FAINT, incredibly faint. Barely around at all. Overall - Either my nose is screwed up or my body chemistry is. Either way, passing on this.

(Original '05 version) This was actually the CN scent that most caught my eye. Something about citrus, musk, leather, incense and booze all mixed together just makes me want to squeel. In the vial - This reminds me of cleaning solution after it's been used to mop the floor. Not the most appealing image to come to mind... Wet - It's near impossible for me to pick out notes here. I can feel a dark citrus, but it's all jumbled and confusion. Drying - Whoa, hello lime and clove! The leathery-musk is hanging out in the background, but it's lime and clove all over the place. It's not at all what I had expected so far. Dry (15 minutes) - I officially don't like this. The lime and the clove have taken on an odd sweetness, with musk lying underneath it as a smokey hidden secret. It's just a strange combo. Overall - Not for me. The scent just comes across odd and jumbled on me. Plus, I don't really like lime all that much on me, especially as strong as this comes across.

(Original '05 version) I hear this is the bastard child of O and Snake Oil. Yuuuum. Let's try it out! In the vial - Spiced amber with something incense. No vanilla yet, though. Wet - A deeper, darker version of Snake Oil. Like it's goth older brother. Drying - I'm getting more O out of this now, with a heavy incense note hanging out. It isn't nearly as sweet as I thought it would be, No vanilla at all to my nose. Dry (45 minutes) - I have to admit, I can't the difference between this and O at this stage. Well, maybe I can sense a slight incense in the very background, but other than that, it's a spiced, non-sweet amber, just like O on me. Overall - I like it, I really do, but it just turns into O after awhile, so it's really not worth keeping the both of them.

(Original '05 version) One of those scents I could never see myself wearing, but as I also said that about Graveyard Dirt at first and completely changed my mind after trying, I'll try not to prejudge. In the vial - I'm mostly getting the toppings and only faintly the popcorn itself. Wet - There's the corn. Geez, this isn't just popcorn, it's MOVIE popcorn. Drying - Holy GODS, does this stuff throw. On me? Throw? I think I'm in shock. It's staying true to the buttery movie popcorn scent, with the salt fading quite a bit. Dry (20 minutes) - This is fading pretty darned fast and as it does, it's losing its buttery flavor. Bah. Overall - Darned interesting scent, but not something I'd want to wear, even if it did last longer.

(Original '05 version) Please, oh please let this work on me. Food scents can either go very badly or very well on me. Still, I have a love affair with them, just the same. In the vial - Sugary, buttery goodness. Just like caramel corn! Wet - The salt has slightly more body than the sugar, but still YUM. Drying - Ah and here's when the problems start. The sugar notes are almost carmelizing on my skin. You know that scent you get if you're making caramel the old fashioned way on the stove? That's what it smells like. Still yummy at this stage, just the same, though. I sure hope it doesn't go plastic on me... Dry (45 minutes) - Sugary, buttery, plastic. Overall - I had such high hopes for this one, but it looks like it really IS the sugar notes that go plastic on me. Sigh.

(Original '05 version) Scents with tobacco I tend to have a thing for, so let's see what I make of this odd little scent. In the vial - I'm getting quite a bit of balsam with rosewood and opium. Yum. Wet - There's some tobaccy for me. The balsam has immediately slipped away into near nothingness, though. Drying - This is truly an unusual and hard to understand scent. It's a combination of dark scents (opium and tobacco) with a touch of green, soapy powderness. It really is pretty soapy on me. I wonder if that's the balsam doing that? Dry (30 minutes) - I keep waiting for this to become something else, but it just won't. Soap, all the way. Overall - Well, if this WERE soap, at least it would be a good smelling one. Too bad, though, that it never got beyond that.

(Original '05 version) I hear this is orange candy. :B Nothing beats that! In the vial - Orange! Not true Jolly Rancher smelling, but a ripe orange. Wet - Blood orange doesn't do that sweet, sweet orange scent and this is very nice. Orange, with a hint of the benzoin. No pepper yet, darn it. Drying - Ooo, there it is! It's coming out slowly, giving the orange just a teeny bit of kick. It tickles my nose the way that pepper has been known to, not enough to make me sneeze, but enough to let me know it's there. Dry (30 minutes) - I don't know, this is just kinda... boring to me. The blood orange is ruling over everything else and it's just a plain, dark, non-sweet orange. I can't smell anything but that. Overall - I'm surprised, but this really isn't for me, I guess. It's not sweet enough or daring enough of a scent. Maybe someone else will like it more.

(Original '05 version) I hear there's citrus in here to be had and where's there's citrus, there I am. :B In the vial - Orange, bitter orange if my nose is right. Some floral in there, too, I think. Wet - Yeah, bitter orange. Floral. Hmm... Drying - Oh, guh! Lilac! There's still some of the orange, but my skin is amping the lilac per usual and I've got a streak on my wrist where I swiped the wand. Owie. Dry (20 minutes) - Well, the lilac doesn't have much of a throw at least and there's still some orange there, but no amber and goodness, but it's giving me a headache. Overall - Darned lilac notes... Big old "no" for me.

(Original '05 version) Hmm, this sounds like it could be quite good on me. Rose is one of those florals I tend to be able to wear. In the vial - Wow, there's bergamont and neroli hardcore in this. I can't smell anything but! Wet - Heavy, heavy bergamont, which I do love, in a creamy sort of fashion. Not at all what I was expecting. Drying - I'm not sure what a Romany incense would smell like, but I'm picking up a sweeter incense in this. (Sort of like a nag champa type.) The citrus is still very much at the fore, with the florals dancing behind it. It's creamy and lovely, probably getting the creaminess from the amber musk. Dry (20 minutes) - Well, it's fading fast. Mostly just the incense with the musk now, although it's still creamy and lovely. Wish the bergamont would stick around a bit longer. Overall - This is NICE. I really do love the smell, but it fades so fast and has no throw on me at all. If only it had more staying power, it would be a keeper for sure...