lohengrin

In the imp: Red? It's spicy, and it looks and smells red. On, wet: Spices. Later: The amber warms it up nicely. Spicy, ambery goodness. I'm not sure what makes this one so red/orange in the imp, but it's not Dragon's Blood. Whatever it is, it all works marvelously. I could wish for a little of that iris or berry, just a little bit, but even without them this is a nice, wintery-spicy scent -- perfect to warm one up in colder months.

In the imp: Clovey cinnamon. On, wet: Cinnamon. Later: The clove comes back out to play, and it's a nose-searing cinnamon-clove fireball. Not as sweet as Wrath, with the clove actually making itself known in this mix. Oh, how I wish it was not discontinued. *grits teeth*

In the imp: Grass. On, wet: Grass. Later: The flowers peek out from behind the grass, but I don't get much berry. A hint of sweetness, maybe. Which is interesting, because usually berries overpower anything else in a blend, on me. So this is a nice change of pace. It's green, and fresh, but sweeter than Dissipation.

Verdict: There have been a lot of blends I was HOPING would turn out like this. It's all pear and a touch of peach and sweet, gentle florals. Very pleased!

In the imp: Fruity floral. On, wet: Soapy, fruity floral. Later: Still soapy, but it's an oddly gentle soapy, not painful jasmine-soapy. It takes a good half hour, but eventually the soap fades into the background and I get soft florals, with an undercurrent of soap and pear. It's disappointing -- someday I will find a BPAL pear blend that works on me.

In the imp: Sweet berries. On, wet: Sweet berries. Later: Sweet berries. But it's a very different berry scent than Lady MacBeth. There's no neroli, no bite at all, but it's a warmer berry. Lady M is all cool, sharp, sweet raspberry, while this is a warm, comfy, sweet huckleberry.

In the imp: Holy citrus, Batman! On, wet: Oh my good god. The citrus, it is POWERFUL! Later: I weep for the discontinuation of this scent. *sob* This is the most powerful, lasting, kick-ass citrus I have ever smelled. Citrus on crack. DOOM CITRUS. I will treasure my pitiful little imp for all my days. *clings, weeps some more*

In the imp: Honey. On, wet: Honey. Very strong, maybe a bit of milk. But mostly honey. Later: Oooh, now there's the carnation. Little bit of spicy floral under the milk and honey. Not a trace of bergamot, but that's fine by me -- citrus would make this scent a little weird for me, I think. Spicy honey floral. *purr*

In the imp: Sweet floral. On, wet: Sweet floral, but starting to pick out notes. Orchid, apple blossom, definitely. Don't really know meadowsweet or hawthorn, but I suppose they could be in there too. Later: Now I smell the clover under the flowers. It smells like a whole field of flowers, green stems and all. A little sweet, a little floral, a little green. *happy sigh*

In the imp: Sweet and smoky. On, wet: Despite there being no coconut in the notes list, I smell coconut. Huh. Later: Coconut and tonka and smoky goodness. Maybe just a hint of rum. Oh my. *_*

In the imp: Sweetness and a bit of sour/sharp unpleasantness. o.O On, wet: Sour has faded a little already. Now it's plummy and a bit boozy. Sweet, but not as kick-in-the-head sweet as Lady MacBeth is on me. Later: Plum, currant and amaretto. Not really getting a lot of wine, this one is all about the sweet. But still, it's a more tempered sweetness. I like it, a lot.

In the imp: Cinnamon. On, wet: Cinnamon. Later: Cinnamon candy. But this is fine by me. Mm. Just have to be careful not to get my nose TOO close when I sniff. That could be painful. o.O

In the imp: Sharp and green, but not astringent. On, wet: Mostly I think I smell the ivy. No sweetness or sharpness, just GREEN freshness. Later: I actually really like this one. It's very different. It doesn't have that astringency of most herbal/green blends, but it's very fresh and springy. I like it.

The essence of pleasure heightened by pain: the raw scent of leather. In the imp: Leather. On, wet: Leather. Later: Leather. Quite similar to Dead Man's Hand, of course. But, while I hate to just repeat what others have said, if DMH is a saddle/tack room, De Sade is a brand new boot, or a leather jacket. It's a sharper, less homey leather, and I think I like DMH better, all told.

In the imp: Minty lotus. On, wet: Minty lotus. Later: Minty lotus. This is not a morphing scent. Alas, no grapefruit in it for me. It's nice, but without the grapefruit coming out on me it's really not that different from Ultraviolet.

In the imp: Lemony herbal, but not offensively herbal. In short, it does not smell like absinthe -- it smells like an idealised version of absinthe. On, wet: Lemon and anise and a faint hint of soap. Later: Everything else vanishes, and this is All Anise, All the Time. Not that I'm complaining. Mm. Anise. Sometimes I catch a faint whiff of lemon in there somewhere, but mostly it's an anise party.

In the bottle: I keep thinking it smells of grapes, but it really doesn't. It just smells very purple. On, wet: Much as it is In the imp, it's fruity-plus-something. Still very purple. Later: Unfortunately, the red musk comes on a little strong for me. But I really like the rest of the scent, so I may try layering it with something offensively sweet-fruity, to bring back out that purpley-fruity... stuff... I can smell underneath the musk. Maybe Jester, or Lady MacBeth. I may also try it as a room scent, see if the musk stays more hidden like it is in the bottle.

In the imp: Fruity! On, wet: Still fruity, with a very faint hint of spice, maybe some sweet floral. So far, this is my favourite of the Tarot scents I've tried. Later: It's a really well-blended scent. Kinda fruity, kinda sweet, kinda floral, a little spice. I quite like it.

In the imp: Gentle floral. On, wet: A very light floral, slightly sweet. Daisies? Dandelion? Something like that, floral and a little bit green. Later: No, not daisies, because daisy usually works well on me and this has a very slightly soapy edge. It's not unpleasant, but it's not great, either.

In the imp: Coconut, and something else. Can't quite put my finger on it. On, wet: Lots of coconut, with a hint of mint, and still that indefinable something-else I can't really nail down. It's sweet, whatever it is. Almost sickening. Later: Not sure what to make of this one, really. Now it's mostly coconut and citrus. Whatever was making me kind of ill is gone, and so is any trace of mint. It's nice. I'll think about it. ^^

In the imp: ORANGE. Lots of orange. Powerful, super oranges. On, wet: Oranges, peel and all. POW. Later: Stays pretty true to the initial scent, though it dies down a little bit. I tried two of the other Panacea/Elixir blends, but this is the only one I can see myself using. It's a nice, clean, happy orange scent, not too tart or too sweet. Perfect orange.

In the bottle: Sweet, kinda crisp, but without being sharp. On, wet: Smells a lot like Dorian, actually. Sweet tea. This is not a bad thing, though I hoped for more pepper and ginger. Later: Just a faint hint of pepper in the background, which is nice -- now it's slightly spicy, sweet tea. Still similar to Dorian, but as I only have an imp of that and I have this bottle of White Rabbit, this is a keeper. All in all, very happy I grabbed the bottle. First catalogue scent in bottle size!

In the vial: Minty! On, wet: Oh my. Is it minty? Is it sweet? Is it floral? Yes. Later: Good staying power and oomph, and it never turns all violet or all mint. No neroli in here to speak of, but that's okay, I liiiike. It smells kinda like a mint tea blend I have, very herbal and well-blended.

In the vial: Uh oh. Love at first sniff. Grapefruit like woah, but with oomph. On, wet: I love it more every second. The musk gives it wafting power, unlike other citrus blends. Later: I knew this would happen. I am head over heels for a discontinued scent. ;_; It's just such an incredible mix of citrus and currant and POW. Never got any lavender or delphinium, but there was a nice hint of chamomile in there, too. Pity it's already going for insane prices on eBay. *clings to her imp*

In the vial: Spicy and floral, quite masculine. On, wet: That "masculine" edge fades quickly. Still the spicy floral I associate with neroli. Later: Clove! Finally, a blend with clove that shows up on me!! I <3 this one, I do! Never got any bergamot, but that's okay -- it's a fabulous spicy floral/clove kick in the teeth.