sirensea

"Creep" makes me think of something warm, slightly golden, and not entirely coherent. I did a search through the general catalogue, and came up with... Delirium: "A contrary, conflicted scent, bubbling with merry madness. Contains apple, rose, and lemon." Violet Ray: "White mint, purple musk, violet, lilac, ylang ylang, lavender moss, and sandalwood." Aureus: "True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent." I'm not sure why this one reminds me of Creep, but it does... Love and Pain: "Lavender, Balkan tobacco, black musk, dark vanilla, and golden copaifera."

I bought this with every intention of giving it to my mother. She loves the scent of gardenias, and we usually get a nice, long season full of the smell of them, thanks to the bushes growing right outside our front door. Unfortunately, that season has ended, so now it's time for perfume replacement! I dabbed this one on her and it smelled wonderful, so I decided to test it on myself. What I expected to be overwhelmingly strong floral turned out to be a soft, creamy vanilla and gardenia scent that lingers on the skin. I love this!

Wet, this smells similar to Mr. Nancy. The lime note is predominant, and the mandarin is almost overpowering. As it dries, this reminds me of a man's aftershave, maybe Bay Rum, and the nutmeg seems to be lending a spiciness to it. Overall, this is a citrusy, masculine scent, one that I hope to wear often. I'm so happy to finally have it in my Gaiman collection!

Wet, this one doesn't seem to have much of a throw. But once it dries? Wow! It smells of roses, and faintly of warm, black coffee. Not sure where that note comes from, but it's yummy!

I'm not sure what happened. It started off as a nice, cloyingly sweet cherry, which I like! But then it fades to something a little more... musky. Very similar to those cherry licorice candies, the ones that come in squares. Not a bad scent by any means, but my chemistry makes it smell... too dry and flat.

Apples! Minty apples! In the imp, it smells like an apple just as you've cut into it... fresh, slightly acidic, and refreshing. On the dry-down, it takes on more of a spearmint scent. Actually, it smells a lot like spearmint gum to me, which isn't a bad thing, but not exactly what I was expecting. Overall, a really nice, cool scent, perfect for summer days when you're miserably hot and need relief.

My immediate thought upon smelling Luxuria for the first time was that it smelled very much like my imp of Smut 06: sexy and dark. Sweet, sugary vanilla in a slinky red dress. I tried it the first time two or three days ago, and the oil soaked right into my skin, leaving behind a wonderful fragrance that I could still smell for hours after my shower. The oil leaves my skin smooth, but not at all greasy, which is a big plus for me because I have sensitive skin prone to acne. After trying it again tonight, I can honestly say there is something luxurious and self-indulgent about this bath oil. I'll definitely be taking some of this with me when I go to visit my girlfriend. And if I could afford it, there'd be a bottle of this in my bathroom right now... guess I'll have to make due with smaller decants of it for now!

This is definitely like Snake Oil with a deeper, richer twist. It's a sexy, smoldering sort of scent, but there's a hint of wickedness behind it that's fitting to the namesake.

Imagine my surprise when I tried on Bordello and the first thing I said was, "This reminds me of my childhood!" After sniffing a few more times, I realized that was probably because of the banana smell... it reminds me of those candies that came in a pack, the ones that looked and smelled like miniature fruits. Before it dries, this smells identical to the banana candy. Now that it's dried, there's sort of a floral note there that makes it less sweet. It doesn't last very long on my skin, or at least I don't smell it very strongly, but that's cool! I'm grateful for the nostalgia kick.

It starts off as a strong cinnamon, but fades to something spicy with a hint of fizz... entirely unexpected, but not the least bit unpleasant! Oww, I think it burned my nose, though.

This one reminds me of the smell that the cold season carries in. Warm, rich, like cider and chocolate. There's cocoa, but the ginger note overwhelms it, which is fine by me. It smells like winter... I can't wait to wear it then!

The amber takes over completely, but I'm not complaining! This is warm and soft and sexy, like your favorite sweater that clings to all the right curves. Very slinky, in a way... I could wear this just as easily with a little black dress than a tight sweater.

Almost immediately after trying this on, I was reminded of Dragon's Milk. It holds that same milky quality, but it's rounded off by the dragon's blood, so it's not quite as cloyingly sweet. Very nice and subtle.

This smells like a combination of three things: one, cat pee. Two, cat food. Three, the herb batter that you use on grilled chicken, full of lemon and rosemary. It's not terrible (even with the cat pee and cat food aspect), but it's certainly not one I'd want to slather on. It fades to something not quite so astringent, but it's still rather... abrasive. The sharp urine smell has died down completely, and I don't detect any cat food lingering around, so now it's mostly strong herbal. This might be better on a man. Possibly.

Pickled Imp smells exactly like a warm batch of cinnamon cookies splashed with vanilla. This is a foodie lover's DREAM, even though it does make my nose burn a bit when I manage to stop huffing my arm for two seconds. Damn cinnamon note. Anyway, I'm getting a bottle of this as soon as I get some money!

An incredibly warm, golden citrus, like the scent of freshly squeezed orange juice without the sharp tang. Someone else mentioned beeswax, and I can definitely see where they might pick up on that. It's a bit stronger than what I'd imagined it would be, but definitely not unpleasant!

Smells like pure dandelion. No mistaking the floral note in this one! After a few minutes, it dries down to a nice, warm dandelion scent, with a hint of green grass and maybe a little booze, too.

This is a perfect blend of nutmeg and cream and sweetness. There's also a kick, which I suspect is the rum... for me, this is a slightly less sharp version of Bah!, and I did love Bah quite a bit, so this pleases me. I've never actually tried Egg Nog, but if it tastes anything like this smells, sign me up.

There's lots of warm, smoky rum and vanilla and a hint of brimstone. On the dry-down, I can catch a faint whiff of tobacco somewhere lurking in the background, but not enough that it overwhelms the blend. Overall, this one makes me think of something you'd wear on a balmy summer night in the deep, deep South. Perfect for an eerie occasion when you need to smell like sex and the supernatural all at once.

I tried an imp of Titus Adronicus a while ago and found it to be an exact match for Snake Charmer: Resurrected. Then I tried another imp of it, and... not at all the same. It made me sad. I suspect the first was more aged, so maybe I just need to wait a bit longer on this one.

This is one of my favorite BPAL blends so far. It goes on as a bright, vaguely alcoholic leather... and then as it dries, it turns darker, with notes of coffee (must be the tonka) and sweetness. I can't stop sniffing my wrist!

This is a glorious, golden scent, like a fresh breath of cold air on a beautiful morning. Lots of juniper and oakmoss, with a nice, strong splash of patchouli. Perfect for a man, but just as yummy on a woman.

There's a crisp, bitter sweetness to this one. The apple note is strong, but it's rounded off with something dark. As it dries, the rose note becomes more prominent, and overtakes the rest of the blend. Pretty and complex, but not for me.

This smells very herbal, to me. Lots of pine and juniper. On the dry-down, I catch a hint of sweet vanilla, exactly what vanilla extract smells like in the bottle. It's a good masculine blend, but just like the person above me, I think it could easily be worn by a woman.

This reminds me of the scent of a freshly snapped twig. Very green and pungent before the dry-down, which brings a sweeter note, probably the honey or the lilac. It's floral, but not overwhelmingly so.