melrose

In imp and on, wet: Oooh, debauch me, Baby! Drydown: It turns way too sweet - WTF? I would never expect the listed components to turn sweet. Curses.

In imp and on, wet: Sharp herbal softened by a little bit of sweet. I'm having an extremely difficult time identifying any of the components of this. Drydown: Apricot candy. Not so much me, but it really lasts.

Roses+Frankincense+melrose's skin chemistry=cough syrup. Crap.

A perfume sacred to the highest of the angelic hosts: calla lily, wisteria, white sandalwood, Damascus rose and frankincense. In imp: Subtle, ethereal, flowers. On, wet: White flowers, something sharp underneath. Near drydown: Eh. Drugstore generic. Far drydown: Weird herbs. Yuck.

Yes, Dee! It nails the smell of dry parchment.

In bottle: Wow, ethereal, beautiful glittering light - absolutely the essence of a unicorn. On, wet: Mostly fruit, a few herbs underneath - but the fruit smells plastic, not fresh. Boo. Near drydown: Spicy & fruity. Now it's getting interesting. Far drydown: Have to bury my nose in my skin to smell anything - faint fruit, a whiff of something green. Verdict: Not on my skin, but would be beautiful in a scent locket.

Love mint, love lime, love lavender. First on: sharp herbs, faint lavender underneath. Near drydown: flip-flops between herbs and sweet ozone - yuck. Far drydown: herbs and cat pee. I envy those of you who actually got mint and lime from Envy.

I have high hopes for this one - I'm a Pisces and so want to find an aquatic that works on me. First on: The ozone is way underneath; mainly I smell salt and fresh air - perfect. Near drydown: Now the aquatic note has asserted itself - it's that squicky scent that makes me ever so slightly nauseous. The search continues.

On, wet: not at all like it smells in the imp. I get mostly white florals. I'm not a white-floral girl, but these smell so fresh and have an intriguing spicy undertone. Near drydown: Oh, yeah. Spicy, musky, a hint of sweetness. Yum. Far drydown: no such thing, sigh. It faded away after an hour.

Doesn't change from first on, wet, to drydown: pleasant, nice, not the least bit exciting or engaging. I could wear this anywhere without fear of offending - even to visit someone in the hospital. I will very much enjoy the imp, but not bottle-worthy.

This is so not me, but others love it on me. I'm just not into the one-note sweet, and this is what Bordello dries down to on me.

On, wet - very sharp and masculine, but just you wait - it softens to something freakin' fantastic - almost addictive - I love this!

In imp, and on, wet: Wonderful, complex, sweet and musky - can't wait to see how it develops. Middle drydown: Caramel and honey, with just a hint of something deeper. Too sweet. Far drydown: Sweet layer over vegetables just starting to turn bad. Then it fades away. What the heck?

First on: Doesn't smell like leather, but very fresh, like I'm outside on a breezy day near a herb garden. There is something underneath, though, that's unknown to my nose but quite intriguing. Middle drydown: Gorgeous - here's the leather with some spicy goodness overlaying it. If this holds, De Sade is in my top 5 for sure. Far drydown: Well, crap. Stupid skin chemistry. Now it smells like generic men's cologne, with an undercurrent of that squicky aquatic-ozone note that is proving so problematic for me. I think De Sade calls for a scent locket to keep my skin chemistry from messing up this glorious scent.

In imp. and on, wet: Patchouli and sandalwood - musky, with a touch of spicy/sweetness - yum. Drydown: Amber. That's it. It's pleasant, but smells like the opposite of sin to me. Nice, but not bottle-worthy.

In imp: clear, bright mint. On, wet: MINT! I am the clearest and sharpest of mints, and I am IN YOUR FACE! Near drydown: Here we go again. There's a whiff of sewer water under the mint, and it's getting stronger. Far drydown: The previous 2 notes are still there, plus butter - don't know where that came from, but it's evil. No fair! I'm a Pisces, and I'm longing for a gorgeous aquatic scent. Uh, this ain't it.

In imp: It smells just like Muguet des Bois, the first perfume I ever wore (to my now-husband's senior prom). I hope it smells this great on me. On, wet: Sweeter than in the imp - not as fresh. This could be interesting. Near drydown: The sweet is far outweighing the clean. Not good. Far drydown: It doesn't last. If I press my nose to my elbow, I smell a soft, sweet something - perhaps a touch of fruit. Sigh - I had such hopes for Dirty.

Well, it certainly has staying power. That's one good thing I can say for it. If only the patchouli were strong enough to fight off the vetiver; there's no way they're going to blend into something good on my skin. The drydown was tolerable, but for the first 2 hours I smelled like motor oil.

Nope, huh-uh. By turns, plastic, aquatic, and sweet ozone. My skin does horrible things to something that smelled great in the imp.

Okay, Lab, please stop frimping me with DCs, because I've fallen in love with the last 3 I've received. Clio goes on fresh and herbal. The next stage is weird - I smell Cream of Wheat. The drydown is pure powdery loveliness. I've received several compliments at work. But it's DC. Sigh.

Love this. Adore this. On, wet: Bright, fresh orange, and smoke. Drydown: Orange rinds thrown into a bonfire. Far drydown: Some lovely spices have been thrown on the fire. I never would have guessed fig, but OMG, must search out more fig scents.

Discontinued? Noooooh! This was a frimp and I fell in love! It starts off fresh and clean, becomes woody and spicy, and the drydown is soft, woody, with a hint of herbs. Why is it DC? Why? Big whine. ADDED Sept. 12: Why does the lab frimp me with something with which I fall madly in love, only to discover it's discontinued? It's freakin' cruel, I tell ya. I adore this - on me, it's sandalwood and earth after a rain. I could bathe in this. Discontinued - so cruel.

I'm floored at all the florals in this - I get woods, patchouli, maybe?, and spices. I love this - it's got some powder going on as well, and I'm in love. Lasting power too.

In imp: ROSE! and a hint of something herbal. On, wet: Normally my skin amps rose, which is fine with me. This time, the narcissus is beating the rose into submission. Near drydown: Sharp, sweet, and herbal, narcissus appears to love me, but the feeling is not mutual. Far drydown: Very faint. Rose and narcissus are playing nicely now, but it's too sweet for me.

A crisp ozone-tinged breeze. The scent of the first gentle rain before the storm. In imp, and on, wet: Bathroom cleaner. Dead ringer. Near drydown: Sharp herbs over bathroom cleaner. Also, ozone scent that's making me sick. I don't get anything crisp nor clean from this. Far drydown: sweet layered over ozone, but not icky. It smells okay. It also has great lasting power, but I'm not willing to suffer through the first 2 stages to reach the drydown.