zankoku_zen

Oh god, the pepper! So for me this is a fruity peppery blend. And I do mean peppery. And then it transitions into a rose pepper blend. It's kinda off putting actually. I was hoping the Crypt Queen would be a stealth hit (a la Ice Queen and Voodoo Queen) but apparently, not.

This one was a lovely, soft resin. I got an almost 'rose' overtone to it - it was warm, soft, feminine. The cedar wasn't too much. I found this to be a very 'skin' sort of scent. The kind that invites you to come hither. It's a pretty scent but it didn't knock my socks off.

This one is a soft, rosey floral with just a touch of herbs. It also goes a little soapy on me. Meh.

God, this is so heavy and dark. On wet, it kinda smelled like smoked bacon. As it dried the bacon went away, and now it smells like a campfire and wood burning. I also get a little touch of wool. Very dark, very masculine. Very smoky. Kinda like an extreme version of lapsang souchoung, minus the tea. You want smoke? This is it.

I think I'm a fan. This one is a sweet, violet and lily of the valley blend. Not too floral, and the juniper and myrrh aren't overwhelming. It's just a very... funeral scent. I would wear this to a funeral because it's regal and somber, but it's not depressing. It very much reminds me to the funeral bouquets, which I always thought smelled pretty.

A gloriously elegant representation of Lady Death. Dry, bone-white orris, black musk, serpentine patchouli and our murkiest myrrh. This is so heavy and woodsy. I get a very heavy patchouli incense blend. Dark, penetrating, gritty. Not for me.

I have to say that we don't get too much of the citrus, it's more of a soft floral with a light citrus overlay. The scent, however, is perfect for a bath - when you want it to smell good, but not too much like any particular thing. It was nice and moisturizing and afterwards the bathroom smelled like spring flowers. What is not to love?

This one, oddly enough, is a sweet orangey blend. I have no idea why I thought this wouldn't work but it works beautifully. Very light and pretty. I see this as very appropriate for a young girl. Or even a baby. It's a slightly sweet orangey floral blend.

Woof. Definitely honey and roses. It's a very voluptous scent. I like the combination of honey/rose on the sandalwood, despite how aggressive this blend is on me.

Again, light resinous floral. On me however, the wispy ethereal florals (the part that I liked) burns off almost immediately and I'm left with an incensey resinous blend. Which is very pretty, but not what I wanted from this blend. I dodged the bullet? Yeah, I think so.

Ah yes, water logged florals. I get a very strong woody/nutty base from this though. I like aquatics, but not swampy ones...

This one is definitely a creamy sasparilla. On wet, I got more of the pine note out of it, but it dries down to a very strange, slightly fruity milky scent. In fact, it kinda reminds me to Milk Moon 07. Except not tropical.

WOW. This is a pine tree. Like pine and juniper berries, and the sticky sap. You know how you can buy a 'fake' Christmas tree fragrance so you can spray your plastic tree and try and pretend it's a real pine tree? Yeah, it's kinda like that except a GAJILLION times better. Because this ACTUALLY smells like a real tree. God, part of me loves how 'sappy' and 'green' this tree scent is. The other part of me wonders why would I ever want to smell like a Christmas tree.

Wow, I really get the grape/strawberry on dragon's blood. This is a sweet, spicy scent. Sweet, but not in the sugar way. I wish I got more of the florals in this one...

So this one was a green floral at the beginning, and it's dried to a super sweet hibiscus and powdery sort of floral. Erm. Yeah, not very helpful. But I don't like how cloyingly sweet this has become.

CCCXX - 320, previously reviwed by fairnymph Yup, definitely get ginger and coconut. It's not the coconut of death, but more of the coconut you get in a tropical drink. This one could have very well been part of the Atomic Tiki Lounge. It's got that jungle tropical vibe, the ginger and coconut with a fruity floralness. Meh.

This is a very light blend on me. It slightly berryish, the jasmine is soft and subtle.... It's light, pretty and feminine. And I find it to be NOT what the painting evokes. At all. And after half an hour I can't smell a damn thing. My skin ate this right up.

This is Snake Oil and black musk. The black musk is the most prominent characteristic. The Snake Oil considerably sweetens the black musk on me.

Definitely vetiver - this is dark, deep, dank and just... dirty. I think this might also have some black patchouli on me. Strong. Dark. Sinister.

I see why people get a strong pencil shaving from this one --- it's very cedary with strong undercurrents of patchouli and dirt. Yup. It's like a freshly sharpened pencil on me.

Guh. This is so good. I think I might have to spring for a partial, or something. Cuz this smells like spicy apple cider. And it's delish. Mmm.

... A gossamer scent, as light as a spider’s footfall, touched with sighing mists: pallid flowers, dusty woods and soft herbs. For me this started as wispy green scent. That dried to dust. Seriously, that's all I can smell now. SAD.

Grr. There is something here I don't like. It might be the sage. This sort of smells like cough syrup on me. Ugh.

Oh man, this was ever so faint on my skin at the beginning. Very wispy, kind of Irish fog among the heathers green sort of scent. It's masculine in a cool green foresty way. Unfortunately on me, it kinda goes a little Irish Spring. Ah well.

I don't get as much of the carnation from this blend as I would like... this is an interesting patchouli --- just a bit powdery, with hints of carnation and orange blossom. I think this is a good starter/newbie patchouli blend. I can't believe I missed it. I'm not a fan of patchouli but this blend is almost pretty to me.