melrose

Why, yes, it does put me in a melancholy mood - because my skin eats it up just at the drydown stage. I had high hopes, because I love all the listed notes, especially the sandalwood and musk. On, wet - lovely herbs and grass - I smell mostly the clean, sharp lavender with a touch of wisteria. Then - 30 minutes later nothing - not even a trace.

I've worn this on 3 different days, and, like the legend herself, her scent has many faces: Day 1: It's a soft, creamy rose from start to finish. I actually get a picture in my mind of a bouquet of pale pink roses, shading ever so slightly toward lavender. The scent is pleasant, but nothing special. Day 2: My name is JASMINE! Smell me! Smell only me! I'm the queen of the woooorld! Day 3: First 4 hours on: Sharp woods and herbs, with the rose and jasmine trying to make an appearance, but getting swatted down. Far drydown: Smoke (the coffee bean?) and roses - who would have thought these things would smell amazing together? They do, though. So, to recap: Day 1: Pleasant, but unremarkable. Day 2: World domination by jasmine. Day 3: Sharp herbs in the morning, friggin' amazing in the afternoon. So, bottleworthy or not? This is a puzzler.

When wet, it's nail polish and a hint of sharp herbs - and, surprisingly, I don't want to wash it off. It quickly dries down to a warm day on my parents' farm, the sun is low on the horizon, the hay bales are giving off the aroma of the day's worth of sunshine. The grass is waving in the breeze and the smell of sweet feed for the cows is wafting in and out. There's also a hint of honeysuckle. I love this - it's not at all dry to me, and not particularly hot - just warm, soft, and lovely. This scarecrow doesn't scare me in the least!

I'm on a mission to try imps of all Beth's blends except LE's - I was leery of Jack because I don't like the taste of pumpkin pie, or pumpkin anything. Also not a big fan of nutmeg and clove usually doesn't like my skin chemistry. Still, Beth can do magic with blending, so . . . I have a big problem with Jack, but it's not what I thought. I smell no pumpkin or nutmeg - on me, Jack smells like buttery burning plastic with a hint of pepper, which is probably the clove. What's worse, I'm itching badly everywhere I applied it. Must go scrub it off!

Wet, on: Strong, sharp fruits - not sharp as in going bad, nor as in fresh, but as in in-your-face-peach (I guess this is the mix of peach and pomegranate). Near drydown: Fruity, but not sweet and with a nice spicy, herbally edge. Far drydown: Nada. This one disappeared so quickly I couldn't believe it, and I slathered (I'm right aren't I? 1/3 of an imp would be considered slathering?)

ACK! Plastic, super-sweet flowers, and a whiff of rotting fruit. I wish I knew what was in this because it and my skin chemistry are at war. It reminds me of Ysatis - this is not a good thing.

In imp, and on, wet: Well, slap me in the face! This is STRONG - black pepper and dirt. I like it. Near drydown: Almost immediately changes. It smells like a shop where high-end spices are sold. The shop is in a very old building, all wood, creaky floors. This is getting better and better. Later: Whoa, it completely changed again. It's as if I wandered outside the shop to a swiftly-flowing stream. People are selling fruit next to the stream. It smells of ozone, with aquatic and light fruit notes. Far drydown: So good. Woodsy, spicy, just a hint of something sweet. I bet this would be great for layering. I never got a sense of desolation, or cold, dry bones, even though I wanted to. This smells warm through and through.

So excited to try this, as I love leather and am crazy about the John Dee story . . . On, wet: LOVE this. No leather yet, but this smells like a magic forest - a fairy forest - too perfect to be a real forest. I smell clean woods, moss, and trees, but drenched in sparkling crystal light - also light flowers, but so soft and natural. Near drydown: The florals come to the front - I'm in the middle of the forest, but standing in a flower garden that's been planted there. Far drydown: Is this the parchment? Wow, smells like tobacco. I thought I would hate tobacco, but I frickin' adore this - I think this might be what tobacco leaves smell like before they're cured. One small quibble: Why can't I smell the leather like most of you? I'm jealous. Nevertheless, there's a big bottle of this in my future.

I tried this on before I read the description - huh, I can't believe there's no dragon's blood. In imp and on, wet: Super-sweet dragon's blood (or so I thought) and spices. Pretty nice. Near drydown: Spices, woods, and sweetness - Dear God, I'm in love. Middle drydown: Oh, rats. Powder and dirty diapers. Far drydown: Spices, powder, and play-doh. This is the first time I've encountered the play-doh smell other Forumites have posted about, and it's pretty yucky. Verdict: No.

In imp and on, wet: Yum. A lush bouquet of creamy roses and a few other unidentified flowers. Near drydown: Lemon has come out to play, but rose is always there. Once in a while, I get a whiff of something funky - like a bouquet of cut flowers in a vase that's starting to go bad. Far drydown: Lemony-rose goodness. I never smelled a distinctly apple note, but I'm sure that's what's making this smell creamy. When Delirium is good, it's very, very good, and when it is bad it is horrid. But, it's mostly very, very good.

In imp, and on, wet: Deep, dark cherries warmed all day by the sun. Not too sweet because something (the clove?) gives it just enough of an edge to make it yummy. Near drydown: Now I get powder and peaches - I don't like this stage as much. Far drydown: Pure licorice. I hate licorice. Is this the clove or the myrrh? Either way, I'm pouting.

In imp and on, wet: Metallic, candied pineapple (now there's a phrase I never thought I'd use). Near drydown: Powdery, spicy, sweet - yum 30 minutes later: Sigh. Gone, all gone.

In imp, and on, wet: Cloyingly sweet. Drydown: Yum - I can't pick out the individual scents, but this smells like slightly sweet straw. I like it. Later: Boo, hiss. It lasted barely 30 minutes, and I put on a lot.

I really want to be helpful when I write a review. I suspect I might not be so this time. In the imp, and wet, I get sweet cherry coke syrup. After about 10 minutes, I smell every note in the description at various times, as well as things that aren't in there, but I guess are being evoked by the combinations. At times it smells sweet, sometimes oily, aquatic, peppery, spicy, powdery - it's incredible. Every 5 minutes it morphs. I love this roller-coaster ride! I think it's in my top 5.

``Do you like Pina Coladas? Getting caught in the rain?'' Ahem. Excuse me - I was having a moment. Gotta love something that transports me the way Black Pearl does. It's not what I expected, though - all I get is coconut and hazelnut. I really wanted the iris and musk. It's lovely, nevertheless.

In imp and wet, on skin: I feel surrounded by the color gold - a dampened-down gold, not bright, but warm. Dry: Very dry, powdery, and OMG, I love it! This serpent stays coiled - it's very well-behaved on me.

This was a frimp from the lab and has everything I want in an oil - spice, powder, a bit of sweetness and florals, and bit of bite - and they meld into something wonderful and far from venomous. So, since I love it so much, naturally it's DC!

“The Pretty Era”, France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. At first, soft and lovely - the reference to White Linen made me go ''Yep, that's it.'' Dries down to soft spices and florals - man, this is great. An hour later, it's gone bye-bye. No staying power on me.

I put off reviewing this because it's hard to describe. It has great lasting power. Throughout the day , I smell the following: Sharp herbs. A new-mown hay field. Sharp, peppery spices. Soft, sweet spices. A moldy hay field. These scents aren't linear - I never know what I'll get during the dry-down. I never smelled mint. Don't think I'll repurchase, but who knows - this is intriguing.

Blood Amber: In imp and wet, on skin: An explosion of flowers in a southern garden, in warm weather, right after a rain shower: yummy. Drydown: WAH! This is all you'll get from me since my skin ate it up - nothing left after an hour and it was developing so nicely.

Beth keeps dispelling me of my notions - why, yes, I do like strawberry scents if they smell like the real thing and not that gag-inducing sweet fake smell you usually come across. And the champagne note - whoa! How did she bottle the exact smell of champagne? I guess you can tell I really like this fragrance - it doesn't last long, but it's oh-so-yummy.

I now know that spiderwebs have a scent, and Beth has nailed it. The different notes don't meld into one on me, but I smell, in turns, woods, flowers, an aquatic note (but something next to a lake or river, not an ocean), and spices. All these scents are very delicate, almost elusive at times. Simply magic - just like a spiderweb sparkling in the sun.

Cherry cupcakes with vanilla frosting - yummy! I used to think I didn't like foody scents until Beth showed me the error of my ways. Still, I don't think I'll re-purchase - the whole time I wear this, I do nothing but fantasize about baked goods!

I approached this one not knowing what to think, as it contains two scents I love (cinnamon and pepper) and one that usually gives me trouble (clove). In the imp and wet on skin: Yum - cinnamon and pepper with a little bit of something sweet. Upon drydown: the cinnamon and pepper quickly departed, leaving me with clove and dragon's blood. These 2 combine on my skin to smell like dead flowers and sour milk - good to know. Needless to say, I won't re-purchase.

I put this on after my shower last night. At first, I smelled like very sweet cherries. After a while, a touch of metal was added - this pleased me very much. After an hour, I got a strong whiff of sour wine - it was really bad, and I thought that was it for me and Blood Rose. I didn't wash it off before bed, though. In the middle of the night, I woke up and stumbled to the bathroom. When I returned to the bedroom, half asleep, I was surrounded by the most wonderful smell, like bowls of just-cut roses. At first, I thought, ``Cool - I have a ghost who loves roses.'' Then I woke up and realized the wonderful smell was me! I guess Blood Rose and I are friends after all.