urraca

Laundry. Not laundry soap, just lovely, clean laundry possibly cleaned with the Ivory Snow I used to use on my boy's clothes wehn he was a baby. Reading the other reviews I feel like a mutant. Ginger never comes out on me and I do get some of the muguet but there is nothing tropical about this at all to my nose.

Bon Vivant. More Strawberry Fields forever.

This was a frimp from the psychic lab --- it's an instant big bottle purchase for me in my next order. Although I love amber I never would have tried it on my own. Peach wine? Sounds like a candle scent. Bright musk? Sounds like the dreaded white musk. But it's none of that. I don't find this scent too sweet. The peach scent is tempered by the wine note and also by the herbal scent of the myrtle. When wine and myrtle fade, then it is the turn of the amber and musk. The drydown reminds me of a peach scented Gypsy Queen, and I'd swear they share the same musk (and that it isn't white musk).

This was a lab frimp and it smelled soooo good in the box with its little lid on. I'm less crazy about it on me. The chocolate is lovely and the orange blossom is light, just there so the whole thing doesn't get too sweet. But I find the cherry a little chemical smelling. I'll pass it along to a foodie scent lover.

This is very much like Shanghai on me except the tea note is further in the background and the lemony scent is much sharper and more biting, just as the description promises. Yeah, I can see that what I perceive as lemon might actually be ginger. It vanishes very quickly and completely. After an hour or so there isn't a trace left.

Straight off I get very high quality fresh ground pepper, which is odd since pepper never comes out on me in scents that do say they have that note. I suspect here it is the juniper. Then the violet, the myrrh and the cajeput blend into a sticky sweet resinous scent. I get hints of the muguet and the juniper/cypress in the background. I adoe violet and this isn't a string violet on me. It is interesting --- an imp-keeper rather than a bottle-buyer, but we'll see.

On me this is all narcissus, except right when I first put it on when I can detect a little rose. This is too bad because while I like rose I find narcissus a little intense. It is the perfect combination to evoke this particular sin, however. It even feels haughty when I first have it on.

This was a kind lab frimp. I was surprised to find it not on my wishlist because I love rose in all its manifestations. I think I feared the pomegranate and the dreaded scented candle smell. Not to worry. The pomegranate is lush and tangy and the rose is beautiful. Alas, somewhere in mid-drydown it goes kind of rotten vegetation on me. This may be my chemistry right now, so I'll wait and try it again when the moon is in a more auspicious phase before I swap it away.

I swapped for this as an experiment. After an unfortunate episode with Desdemona which went plasticy, I wanted to try another scent with sweet pea in it, to see if I might want to order Annabel Lee. Unfrtunately Juliet went plastic also, so I think it is confirmed that me+sweet pea=bad. Juliet would not have been a favoutie in any case because me+white musk=bad too. Sigh, well at least I can still wear rose.

I like the lavendar but it is fleeting on me. Somnus on my skin turns to soap, sharp Dial soap and underneath it, the scent of someone who needs to use soap, a really unclean scent. But does it work? Alas, not on me. I have tried it twice now. Once I woke frequently in the night and the second time, I woke in the morning much sooner than I wanted to.

I reviewed Dia 2004 a few weeks ago and I just adored it. Today is the second time I've tried Dia 2005 and while I like it a lot I do agree it is different from 2005. I just don't agree with the reason why. I found Dia 2004 very much a sophisticated floral, "perfumey" in a word, blended with a burnt caramelly scent. I wouldn't describe 2005 as more floral; it is just a bit lighter in every respect. You know how all your different kinds of Halloween candy smell together when they are all in one place? That's how Dia 2005 smells. Lighter and less smoky that 2004 and a little like the sugar hasn't been cooked quite so long. They're both lovely, both have me constantly smelling my wrists, and both will no doubt attract different loyal fans.

Out of the decant I received, the first thing I smell is a candy, I think they are called butter mints --- chewy caramels with a slight mint flavour. I don't get a strong mint from this but it does have a hint of greenness over the buttery caramel scent. Once I put it on, it morphs through a whole series of sweet milky scents. If you cook milk down for a long time, its natural sugars do what sugar usually does, which is to caramelize. So what I smell is a series of Indian desserts --- gulab jamun, fudge, etc. Lovely. I also sometimes get a waft of , well, breast milk. It is a pleasant scent, sweet amd milky.

First of all, I should say that I find even just the description of this scent scary. Eeek, I'm a wimp. It is also fascinating to read the reviews of this scent; it seems like it is very hit or miss depending on skin chemistry. Alas, I am one of the ones this does not work on at all. I don't get the straw or the grass or the musk; I just get the chemical scent, kind of sharp and green. Glad I could try it though. I still see that scarecrow leering at me.....

This is an absolutely must-try scent for anyone who likes, or is curious about, plumeria. The plumeria is beautiful in here and the pear works perfectly to temper it. This is how I like fruit in my scents. No one will ever walk up to you and say, "Oh, you smell like a pear," but the tartness of that fruit balances the sweetness of of the flower. I don't get any champagne but that note is usually elusive on me.

I'm wearing Medea because I want to be just like Beth. I'll probably stick a witch's hat on this evening to go with it.

This is very much like its description --- mandarin and white musk are on top, with some sweetness added by the mango and the sandalwood bringing up the base. BPAL has made me less phobic about musk than I was, but I still don't care for white musk on me, so this was a miss. Glad to try it though.

I find all the voodoo blends slightly disquieting. This one starts out cherry/almond/arsenic and then fades to something more herbal and almost mediciney

On me it is all cinnamon and I don't want to smell like cinnamon because I am afraid I smell like a scented candle Postscript: when I read that people find Hamadryad appley, I wonder if they got one of those few imps of Hesperides that were mislabelled Hamadryad. I (knowingly) swapped for one of those and they are very different from the real Hamadryad which seems to have no apple at all.

With two of the heaviest hitters of the base note world, vetiver and black myrrh, I feel kind of like I am watching a sumo wrestling match on my wrist. Will vetiver go for world domnation again, or will myrrh win out this time? It makes me tired just to sit on the sidelines, so the name is perfect. And Beth blends so well that this match comes to a draw.

Unfortunately the patchouli in this makes it difficult for me to wear, because it has so many lovely elements to it. Straight off I get a wonderful cucumbery lettucey scent (the gladiola? the white tea? And close to my wrist it is all ambery rose. Beautiful. I can see this would be gorgeous on someone whose chemistry cooperated with patchouli.

Oh dear, stupid chemistry. The first thing I smell is plastic baby doll. That recedes a little and the apple comes out. Rose is deep in the background and lemon is on the surface. These three notes just do not seem to want to meld on me and together they make for a somewhat disjointed scent.

On me, this smells virtually like single note black narcissus, the same note that is in Darkness and Hades (so, given the descriiption of Asphodel, my identification makes sense. I get a little of smething sweeter, like freesia or even the hyacinth that someone else mentioned, around the edges. I like it, but it is a little overpowering. Apply sparingly.

Mmmmm, this was a good pick for my first Demon scent. When I first put it on, I get tea and a citrus scent which I would describe as a light lime (lighter than Envy) mixed with lemongrass. Immediately I thought of Shanghai and anyone who likes that, will love this. As it dries down it goes through a series of changes, sort of like variations on a theme rather than 90o turns. The tratness softens and some sweetness comes through, bringing out more of a real linden scent. Linden trees are called Lime trees in England but they don't smell exactly like limes. The linden scent is sweet and light and flowery and...aquatic? I didn't expect an aquatic scent from this because of the coffin wood (which I don't get, by the way), but there it is --- perhaps from the papyrus which I am guessing is calamus. It is a light scent, but it lasts without fading for four hours or so. Perfect. Thank you, Beth!

The drydown of this is a lovely mix of white rose and labdanum, two of my favourite notes of all time. The only thing that would delay a big bottle for me is that the orchid is slightly sharp on me at first, as orchid sometimes can be.

A classic men's cologne but ten times better than commercial ones because Beth's use of real oils rather than chemicals. Very white-musky. A great thing to use to ween your guy off Aramis