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I am enjoying this much more than I thought I would. This is sweet almond cinnamon cookies. Definitely almond and cinnamon, with a warm, sugary base.

Okay, this is based off Beth saying that lots of Talvikuu + drop of Yew Berry can mimic Skadi, Yew Trees is a GC, but what can substitute in the GC catalogue for Talvikuu? ETA: For me, a good substitute for Winter Stress Relief Elixir is Rome.

This one is incidental - but still. I managed to purchase a Money decant off Lycanthrope's decant circle. His package arrived and in the mailbox was our long-awaited, and oft delayed, tax return. Maybe it was just coincidence, but it was a gratifying one nonetheless. I will post here once I actually use the oil, but I felt that it's arrival was worth the mention in the meantime. ETA: Dec 2008 So I used it the other week, hoping to have my sales pick up ----- AND THEY DID. Way more magnificently than I imagined. I was just about cleared out. And wow, yeah, it works. The smell is kinda metallic, herbally. It wasn't unpleasant per se, but it wasn't perfume either. And I just used like a drop. ... Perhaps I should invest in a bottle.

Hmm, so this smelled intensely of Jolly Rancher candies in the vial. On wet, the strawberry bloomed, and the sweet pea made an appearance. And then I got what usually happens with either strawberry or vanilla = plastic death. Yup smells like a Barbie doll.

Oh man, this scent was TEH YUM when I put it on. It was like burnt caramelized sugar with a tiny whiff of violets. Think of melting violet candies, with the sugar syrup. Unfortunately, it has almost no throw and no lifetime on me. My skin just gobbles this puppy up. I'd have to toss on the entire 5ml and be constantly reapplying.

Oh man, this blend makes me wish that my husband could wear leather scents. This is a smoky, herbal leather with a hint of pine. It's medicinal and manly and dead sexy. It's got this almost biting spicy top note, and the underneath is sleek leather. I would make Doc Constantine my doctor. I totally would go see Doc Constantine ALL the time - headaches, slight colds, lacking my daily eyecandy fix, you name it. Just to stand there and be able to catch whiffs of his manliness. ETA: I have a little sniffie of the proto. Huzzah. It's been a while, but again the smoke and leather obviously made it to the released version. No pine in this one though. It's a smoother, more rounded blend - I would say this blend is a little sleeker and more urbane, which is probably why changes were made to the released version...

On me, this is sweet, white cotton floral. I feel there are certain similiarities in the floralness of this blend and Blue Moon 2007, like they share a number of floral components. If you like sweet, fragrant white cotton flowers, this one is for you.

Okay, so this at the beginning, smelled like a food market to me. It was a blend of exotic smells - both foreign and familiar. Then it settled into this woodsy jungle. And now it's a smooth, blended cedar. Uh... what? Yeah, for me it was like finding a native guide in the food market, having him take me to the jungle and then me, felling a fragrant tree and making off with the goods. Yeah, I said it. I felled a tree.

This one was more floral at the beginning than I thought. It's a musky clovey vanilla, with amber, which is resinous and a bit powdery. Interesting. ETA: Okay, on a second try - on wet, this was more of an 'animalistic' musk overtone to the vanilla/clove smoke that was going on. In fact, it also had a floral tinge that I didn't like. But as it dried, the florals have burnt off and what I'm left with is a clove/vanilla musk that in certain whiffs does remind me to Voodoo Queen. So... erm. Yeah. LOVE IT!

I agree that this is like a fruitier version of Red Lantern. Except without the caramel being overwhelming. On me, it's a tag team of patchouli and blackberry. It's very sweet, and musky. Not my kind of scent.

Hmm, manly. This is a citrusy musk at the beginning. Now it's something dark, and brooding. It kinda has a spicy edge to it. The leather is prominent right now, and BPAL leather is a hugely dominant note for me. This one is definitely vampy, male leather. Guh. If only my husband could wear this, I'd be all over him. Unfortunately, it's not his kind of blend. Sad, but true.

This, oddly enough, smelled like raisins in honey when I first applied it. I get a citrusy honey incense. I mean, honey is there. It's a little too sweet for me, but interesting nonetheless.

Cassia-caked cocoa coconut over angel food cake. Grrr. This is sweet coconut cake. Just that. Sweet coconut and cake batter. Where's the chocolate you promised me? Where? Damn you coconut.

Guh. I think I might love this. It's red velvet cake and berries (it smells more like strawberries than blackberries on me) and just a wee touch of frosting. Nyom nom nom nom.

A deranged darling, sweet and sociopathic! Clotted vanilla cream, pink pepper, grapefruit, blood lily, red ginger, English pear, and lemon-squeezed candyfloss! Bubblegum and Pez candy. This was very very bubblegummy at the beginning - sticky and sweet. Now it s a duel of bubblegum and Pez. No ginger, no lemon. And now, the cream I think is turning to plastic. Doh.

Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss. This one was interesting. It was basically a white floral bouquet with a splash of rum. It was pretty, quiet, solemn. Very thoughtful. Interesting.

Mmm. This is a lovely plum color - think like deep velvety dusky plum. Like the color you want your plums to be when you pick them at the market. I like the silver sheen it has. I have to admit a partiality to nude/sheer like colors (or I go completely brown/black, both the extremes of the spectrum) like Maiden and Hell's Belle, but this entices me to wear more violet/plum colors. I find the silver sheen on it to be more discreet on the plum color, as opposed to the gold/pink combination of Hell's Belle. On the other hand, the plum color itself is pretty wow. I find this a perfect shade for fall, and winter. Very elegant. The husband even said, "That's a pretty color." High praise, since he normally doesn't comment at all about such things.

This is a power mashup of black musk and coconut. And it should be horrible. But it isn't as bad as I thought. The black musk is powdery, but it offsets the power of the coconut. So I get this soft coconut powdery blend with a wood overlay. Much prettier than anticipated. I even have to say this might be my favorite blend with coconut in it. And definitely a lovely surprise!

Definitely herbally - and I wouldn't term it spicy because although it has spices, it's more of the traditional lemon balm, chamomile type of herbs that I would associate with calmness and healing than anything say like cinnamon. I think this must have some rose geranium, since there is a very similar component of the Stress Relief Elixir. This is a little... darker and more herbally. Not suffering from PMS at the moment, but I can see how this is very calming and soothing.

Uh yeah. I have no idea what made me think this might possibly work. Lotus, my evil fiend, is there in all her bubblegum gloriousness. I would say it's slightly minty. Which just makes it minty bubblegum sticky sweetness. Except after an hour, the gardenia makes an appearance - and she smells like wet wool. So now I have bubblegum on a wet wool sweater. So. Not. Lovely. On. Me. SAAAD.

This one is citrus fruity, and I love the awapuhi note in this. However, the 'burnt letters' is very, very forefront and center, bringing a bitter edge to the citrus fruity floralness that I love. Boo.

This has dragon's blood in it - which is soft and floral, with a touch of sweetness. It's either got violets or another light floral, perhaps a bit of neroli? This is much .... softer than I expected. I thought it would be a more aggressive or elemental blend. Perhaps because I'm a Sag, and thus a Fire sign, this seems almost soft and cuddly, but then again, a fire might think flames are cute and cuddly. ETA: Less floral, and more clove. It smells like dragon's blood and cloves. So yes, still cuddly.

Sage and cedarwood, with an overlay of bay. Oh yes, very masculine. Woodsy and herbally dark.

Chaos Theory II: CLVIII, previously reviewed by filigree_shadow and malanna For me this is honey and a white floral. It's a pretty aggressive blend on me, which surprises me considering that it should be aged. I think there may be a lavender/lavender like component to it. Yeah.

The wood is vaguely reminiscent of No 93 engine, it's rich and great smelling. But in this particular case, it's not as sweet and it's got that tobacco and dark vanilla going through. On me, mostly it's tobacco and great smelling wood. I rather prefer No 93 engine though. ETA: Tested again. Too much wood for me handle. Sad.