Dominique

In the vial: The oil is a pale, yellow, almost clear. I can smell the coconut, and sandalwood, and a kind of creaminess that’s probably the almost milk. It’s odd that I like it, because I typically have a furious aversion to almond scents of all kinds. On me (dry): (Applied to back of hands.) I can still smell the sandalwood, the almond milk. There’s a vague herbal note that’s probably the fig leaf. It’s a lovely scent, though warmer and more gentle that I typically wear. After a while: The coconut has faded some, replaced by a sweet fruitiness that’s probably the fig. The green, herbal note is gone, leaving a gentle, creamy scent. Verdict: Eden is a beautiful scent. The dry down is warm and mellow, with overtones of almond milk and sandalwood. It’s a more feminine scent than I typically wear, but it’d be something nice to wear in the mornings.

In the vial: The oil is a warm yellow with a faint touch of green. My first impression on smelling it is that it’s a sexy cinnamon roll. It’s warm, it’s gently spicy and it’s sweet. As far as individual notes, I’m aware of the musk, cinnamon and honey, with the cloves in the background. The ginger and pepper aren’t immediately noticeable. On me (dry): (Applied to inner wrists.) The scent is slightly sharper – the cinnamon has mellowed a little bit, and the various spices melded, making picking out notes more difficult. Not quite as sweet as in the bottle, but still very much a cinnamon-roll scent. (Possibly an evil Cinnabun, with only a little frosting?) After a while: It’s been a few hours, and between handwashing and work, the perfume has faded. It’s still there, though not nearly as noticible. It has not morphed much since drying on my skin- still sweet, musky and with a strong dash of cinnamon. Verdict: It’s not a particularly loud scent, even wet, the scent isn’t that strong, and the throw isn’t that incredible, but I don’t mind reapplying Bengal every few hours. It’s sweet, musky and cinnamony – and that’s a good thing. When the imp runs out, I’m planning on getting 5 ml. Mmmmmmm…

In the vial: Grapefruit and apple blossom, with a touch of white tea. It’s a clear, clean smell. In a perfect world, summer mornings would smell like this. On me (dry): (Applied to inner wrists.) The scent is sharper now, the ginger giving the grapefruit more of an edge. The apple blossom is faint, but still there. I definitely like the smell, but I’ve always had a weakness for ginger and grapefruit. After a while: The grapefruit and ginger have faded some, replaced by the white tea. The apple blossom is very faint, but still there. Verdict: A pleasant scent. It’s citrusy, clear and almost sweet. A very good smell for a bright summer day. That said, I have a deep and unholy love for citrus scents, so if the smell of fresh grapefruit doesn’t make you happy, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

<b>In the vial:</b> In liquid form, Rose Red smells very much like the inside of a refrigerated flower display – in the best possible way. There is definitely a floral tone, but major impression is of green – cool, spiky green. Not so much the rose petals as the stem, leaves and thorns. <b>On me:</b> (<i>Applied to inner wrists.</i>) (Fair warning – I don’t know if this is a personal effect due to my skin chemistry or not, but Rose Red is powerful just out of the bottle. Apply it outside or in a well ventilated space, or you’ll choke bystanders. It’s a pleasant scent and it behaves eventually, but when wet it’s very strong.) The scent doesn't noticeably change on my skin - still a cool green herbal with the aroma of roses. <b>After a while:</b> A few hours after applying the scent, Rose Red is still definitely there, though it’s lost some of it’s kick. The scent has warmed somewhat and become more floral than spiky greenness, but the green remains a strong part of the scent. <b>Verdict:</b> It’s the smell of a tightly budded rose, dripping with dew and just snipped. It’s a strong scent, with very little change during dry-down. The various times I’ve worn it, the Rose Red remains cool and green – never becoming powdery. I’d strongly recommend it, but it’s not an average floral scent (in the very best way).

In the vial: The oil is a very pale yellow, almost with a green tinge. The initial whiff is a clean floral, with a citrus behind it. I don’t quite catch the amber, but it’s not a scent I’m very familiar with. It’s a pleasant smell, though a little more girly than I typically wear. On me: Applied to backs of hands. I’m smelling what’s probably the amber. It’s still wet on my skin, and the scent is noticeably different. I know some people’s skin reacts to the perfume, but I haven’t had such a dramatic change before. The citrus vanished, replaced by the amber and a faint floral. Not a bad smell, but I’m not entirely certain what to make of it. After a while: The citrus hasn’t made a reappearance, but the amber has mellowed some over time. The florals are still a faint note, definitely not the main scent, but it’s still a pleasant perfume. I can’t identity any of the flowers (though I don’t notice rose or jasmine), and it’s more of a mellow perfume than a ‘notice me now’ kind of thing. Verdict: Forbidden Fruit is a kind of soft, gentle smell. The lotus and amber are the primary scents, so if that sounds appealing I’d recommend it. Not something that I’m overly fond of, if only because amber and florals aren’t my favorite, but it’s a well balanced scent. I never really got the bubble-gummy scent that other reviewers did, so that seems to be based off of prior-experience or skin chemistry, maybe.

In the vial: This was an imp I received as an addition to an order, from the description, not something I’d typically wear. That said, I’m trying to go through my collection, if only to get an idea of what oils sit well on my skin. The oil is a mid-tone yellow brown, not really pale and not orange enough to call ‘warm’. I’m not entirely certain what it smells like. It has a note similar to the smoky myrrh of Priala, but it’s not as warm as the Carnival scent. Other reviewers mentioned that it smells like smoke, so apparently I’m not completely off base. There’s a strong note of what’s probably vetiver. It’s a gender-neutral scent, but either because of how it’s blended, or my own unfamiliarity with the ingredients (I haven’t worn vetiver or dragon’s blood before), none of the notes really leap out to me. On me (wet): Applied to inner wrists. Oh. Wow. I just discovered why I don’t typically wear vetiver – I can’t bloody stand it. The scent itself isn’t bad, but the dominant note isn’t one that I’m fond of. I’ll see if the scent changes during dry down. After a while: It’s been about half an hour and my nose wrinkles every time I smell Thorns. I hate to scrub off a perfume without giving it enough time to settle, but if I have to go through an hour of ‘I can’t stand the way I smell’ to get to a workable scent, I’ll wear a different perfume. Verdict: Doubtless, there are some people who like Thorns and who can deal with vetiver. I’m afraid I’m not one of them and that I won’t be wearing Thorns again.

In the vial: The oil is a warm amber-brown, the color of light sarsaparilla. I don’t smell much vanilla, but I can smell the musk and wine. I think I can also smell a touch of the clove and cherries. It’s a decadent smell, similar to Lilith, at least in the bottle. On me (dry): Applied to inner wrists. Still no sign of the vanilla of cherry, but there’s a scent that’s probably the vetiver. The clove and wine remain distinct, though the cherry has faded some. After about 10 minutes – the musk has lightened some, and the cherries begin to make an appearance. From the description I found of vetiver, I’m probably smelling quite a bit of it. After an hour – no vanilla. I’m beginning to believe that I was misinformed… The wine, velvetier are still heavily present. The clove is faint, and the cherries are long gone. After a while: The vanilla never appeared, to my disappointment. The velvetier, clove and musk created an . . . almost oriental scent, similar to what you’d get with sandlewood. Pleasant, just not what I was expecting. Verdict: The absence of the vanilla and cherries was something of a bummer, but the scent was still quite pleasant. I’m going to try it in a scent locket, to see if it was something with my skin. I’d recommend it, though with the caviat that it seems to be unusually sensitive to skin chemistry.