emilynicole

Ooh this is a nice one! It starts out as a sunshiny citrus blend that is not too astringent or pithy. It is all happy yuzu with a hint of a creamy backdrop. I'm not sure where that bit of creaminess is coming from, but I like it. As time passes I get just a hint of carnation joining the party and the blend warms and sweetens on my skin. Perhaps there is a touch of wood backing things up here too. Mmm. The citrus is still here, but it has softened and the thyme is peeking out. This starts out upbeat and joyful and settles into a more serene happiness. I'm impressed.

Wet: This is fruity, but does not smell summery - it is a little darker and more autumnal than many fruit scents. There is a bit of something bakery-like here. Is there bread baking at the goblin market? Drying on skin: I'm smelling primarily quince and perhaps some musk. This is not as juicy smelling as I expected. I'm getting the sense of stewed fruit. It is sweeting up on my skin a little and some of the other named fruits seem to be appearing: apple, maybe raspberry, and after a bit more time a fleeting wisp of peach. Later: Back to primarily quince and musk. Overall impressions: Goblin Market is all about the quince on my skin. I like it, but I'm not sure I love it.

I love Midwinter's Eve so much that I plan to order a backup bottle. To me, the scent is sweet, almost candied plum, with just a whisper of florals. Sugar Plum Fairy is yummy as well, but to me does not scream PLUM as much as Midwinder's Eve. The musk makes it seems a bit dustier and maybe even more "perfumey" if that makes any sense at all.

In my decant and immediately upon application the white chocolate is very prominent. It is very clearly a *white* chocolate here, a rich creaminess tinged with chocolate. After a bit of settling on my skin the fruits emerge. I can tell that the fruity components are apricot and raspberry but the fruits don't smell juicy or "just picked": this is a dessert for sure. My overall impression is of sniffing an already bit into fruit filled chocolate truffle. Spot on!

I get a lot of beeswax from GV as well and I just skin-tested Light of Men's Lives over the weekend and immediately thought of GV. I would recommend checking it out!

In the imp I smell the bergamot and blood orange with frankincense in the background. Right after I apply this to my skin, this smells like citrus oil from the rind along with some pith too. It is a somewhat dry citrus, not a juicy one. I get just a little kick from the ginger. The rose geranium becomes a big player soon after application, toning down and tying together the citrusey elements. After less than a half hour, The Season of Ghosts smells just like expensive, lovely soap. I like the scent, but it reminds me exactly of a soap one would buy at an upscale shop. I'll keep my decant for sure, but it is not a bottle purchase for me.

In the bottle and also wet right after application I smell a light, milky, sweet honey mixed with a bit of powder and, oddly, a sweet fruit that made me think of watermelon. The fruity aspect fades quite quickly which is too bad since I liked that little pop of fruit I sensed through the honey and powder. Dry, this reminds me a great deal of a time back in college when I used Burt's Bees Baby Bee lotion every morning. It was easy for me to place the Burt's Bees lotion memory link, yet there was something else this sent reminds me of as well. It took me a while to place it, but now I've realized that Stinky reminds me a lot of Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids soap! Stinky stays very sweet on my skin, but the sweetness hovers below the cloying mark. Some honey scents seem almost floral, but this one does not. I get the image of ribbons of honey swirled through a cold, thick cream. I am glad to have taken a chance on this one!

One whiff of this in the bottle made me grimace. I get booze and nuts and nail polish remover. Wet on my skin Pomona is powerfully boozy. I still get nail polish remover and perhaps some nuts while wet on my skin. I dabbed only a bit on the crook of one arm, yet as it dries on my skin the scent whacks me every time I move that arm near my face. The alcoholic nature of the scent is really stomach-turning. There is no sense of fruit here at all: no apple, no berries...unless of course they are rotten and fermented into an alcohol. As I was contemplating a shower to wash Pomona off me, it began mellowing a bit on my skin and I noticed a berry-like feeling mixed with nuts. The scent still hinted at nail polish remove though. The fully dried scent is much more mellow than when wet. Apple pulp finally appears paired with nuts and the other fruits, which to my nose are not particularly distinguishable from one another). I still get the boozy sense when I sniff my arm. This is not a bright, sweet, fruity scent, but is instead is a scent the truly hints at the darkness that autumn brings. I really wanted to love Pomona, but it is certainly not a winner for me.

This starts out as spicy carnations. The spicyness fades somewhat rather soon after application, so I worried that Queen Alice might fade away to nothing much too quickly, but then the cider became apparent as rich apple. The apple is there for sure, but does not scream of fruitiness. After a few hours I smell a wonderful blend of spicy carnation, warm apple, a hint of molasses, and maybe some posy. The throw is light to moderate on me. After about 4 hours after application I smell a soft sweetness, akin to cake, along with a gentler version of the carnation, apple, and molasses. This is a winner!

In the imp Gluttony is sweet and buttery. As soon as it hits my skin, though, all I smell is a super sweet, foody candle. I can pick out pralines, buttercream, a spice (maybe cinnamon?) and brown sugar, but no chocolate. The "whoa candle" aspect does mellow a bit after about a half hour or so, but I can't get the candle association out of my head. Sure, I'd like this scent if it were indeed coming from a candle and not my wrist, but it IS coming from my wrist. I'm a little sad to say it because I wanted to like the scent, but this one imp will be enough.

My first review This is not one I would have picked out on my own, but the lab threw TWO imps of it into my last order. Oh, they made a good choice! All at once this conjures images of the sparkle of a glimmering streak of mineral in a stone, a gauzy, cream colored veil, and a soft, soft piece of cashmere. Black Opal is sweet, but non-foody vanilla caressed up with a gentle musk and something that whispers of stone. The scent stays close to my skin but does not fade away for several hours. This will be great for work since it is lighter and inoffensive and will be ideal for those days I want to wear a scent but cannot quite decide which one. At the same time, though, Black Opal seems like it would work when I want to feel sultry and sexy, but don't want my scent to scream out to all who surround me. It is very "me" in many ways: somewhat understated, yet still complex, comforting, and a touch sexy. I can see myself turning to this often.