zankoku_zen

In the imp: Spicy On Skin: spicy orangey carnation-like floral. Did I say incensey? It's got that vibe. It kinda reminds me to Frumious Bandersnatch Drydown: Spicy loveliness Verdict: This is what I was hoping Bakeneko would be. Love it.

In the imp: Lily and iris Wet: Jasmine, cereus. It's a heady and pretty floral Drydown: Pretty white floral, creamy Verdict: Pretty. A bit heady at the beginning. I'm torn on whether to keep it or not. I might have to test it again before I make up my mind.

In the imp: Sharp green shoots smell On Skin: The sharp green shoots smell that kind of reminds me a little of how BPAL iris smells on my skin. After a minute, I get jasmine wafting out at me. On Drydown: Smoky like and sexy. It's a heady floral without being too floral. It's musky without being musky. Verdict: Perfectly blended because I can't seem to pick out any of the individual notes. Dark? Check. Dangerous? Check. Exotic? Check. Sexy? Check. Overall though, it may be a smidge too dark on me. If I was more prone to vamping it out, I would love this in a heartbeat. Knowing myself, this is more in your face dark and sexy than I think I can pull off. It's a gorgeous scent though.

In the imp: floral and opium On Skin: Floral and smoky. The smoky aspect actually makes me think of the smokiness of bacon fat frying. Drydown: Smells very lily-like and alot like F5 which I tried yesterday. Interesting. Verdict: Lily power. I have other lily scents that I prefer. I was hoping more for the smokyness factor in this blend.

Much thanks for ForeverLastcXs for a generous sample of her Dorian soap! Dry: It smells like a softer Dorian In the Shower: Lathers up well, smells very much like Dorian while lathering. Smooth texture. Yes, very nice. Toweling Dry: The scent lingers slightly on the skin and it's fairly moisturizing. I have oily skin and most soaps tend to strip all of the oil off, leaving me fairly sensitive and in need of a good moisturizer. Verdict: I've been a shower gel girl since college. Occasionally, however, I do crave some soap on my skin. And for my money, I'd definitely pick Dorian for those occasions. The soap isn't so highly scented that you *have* to wear Dorian after it, but it makes a good base for it.

A refreshing scent! GET IT?! Aloe, white musk, lime peel, fresh mint, seaspray, verbena and green tea. In the imp: Fresh smelling and green vibes On Skin: Clean and refreshing. The verbena is the most prominent note. On Drydown: Still clean and refreshing. The verbena calms down a bit and I get a bit of the sea spray. Verdict: Fresh and very clean. So clean in fact, it reminds me to dryer sheets! It's a soft and comforting scent... but I'm not sure I'd like it as a perfume. I can see this being a great room scent, or using it to scent laundry products with.

In the imp: sugary woody fruits On Skin: Leather and musk? On Drydown: It's musky and masculine. There is a definite woody component to it and the cassia is just too much on my skin. Verdict: Not for me. I was hoping for a fruitier spicy blend. Instead I'm in the OMGCassia camp I suppose. This flighty bird is for someone else!

In the imp: Sharp lavender On Skin: Sharp lavender and pizza herbs. It's very herby. Slightly unpleasant. On Drydown: The lavender fades and I get more of a warm herby sort of smell with perhaps a touch of almond. It's herby and bitter. Verdict: I don't think this scent is for me at all. Most of the time I don't mind the way VD blends smell but I really don't enjoy this one.

In the imp: violet On Skin: I get iris, violet and a touch of juicy mandarin. There is a soft musk underneath. Very feminine. On Drydown: It gets mildly soapy, which I think it's the violets. It's bright, pleasant, violet-dominated and slightly sweet. After about an hour, I get a slightly woody undertone. Verdict: I would like this if it were slightly sweeter... or if it wasn't so violet heavy. I was hoping more for iris and vanilla musk with a woody undertone. This is still a pretty floral, simply not what I was expecting.

I'd suggest something like High John the Conqueror. Even though it doesn't make you smell "smart" per se, it always makes me feel more confident, and when I feel more confident, I also feel smarter.

In the imp: fruity and cakey On Skin: I get a bit of the grape, but I get honeyed cakes layered on it. On Drydown: Still very cakey, but after about forty five minutes, I get more of the myrrh and frankincense popping out. Verdict: This is a very heavy scent in my mind. It's very rich and thick and gooey, and very foody. Too much for me but it's delicious to smell.

In the imp: iris and something green On Skin: something green, like fresh cut flower stems, and the iris. On Drydown: Still very iris oriented, but I get a musky woody tone from it that turns very powdery after an hour. Verdict: The amber turns too powdery on me in this blend. I do love the iris note though.

In the imp: orangey citrus and woody patchouli On Skin: The lavender tickles my nose a bit and there is a citrusy herby smell to it. I get whiffs of patchouli as well. On Drydown: I get smells of musty parchment and woody patchouli. There is a faint lavender herbal scent as the top note, but that changes to parchment/patchouli toward the end as I inhale. Verdict: I'm not a fan of the patchouli and it's a good base in this scent. It definitely evokes books, parchment and critical thought. As an embodiment of the Muse Clio, it's a great perfume. As something I would wear, I'm not completely sold on it. It's a pretty scent, if you like patchouli.

In the imp: Musky On Skin: Powdery amber and musky Drydown: The powdery amber is still there, but there is an edge to the musk that makes it almost bitter. It's like bitter powder on my skin. Verdict: Okay, I like amber and now I'm pretty sure that black musk isn't my friend. This is a good scent to figure out what musk works on you and what doesn't. I'd been curious about which musks work on my skin and this was a great blend to figure that out. And definitely something to keep if you're a black musk fan.

In the imp: Cherry musk On Skin: Bananas?!?! On Drydown: Burnt sugar, cherry and woody musk After an hour: I think I smell the cassia (which is probably translated into my head as slight woody/spicy) and the patchouli underneath which give the smoky undertone. I get an occasional whiff of the cardamom around the edges, which amps up the spicyness. Verdict: If the sweetness of the cherry had stuck around for longer, I would be mightily pleased. This is more of a spicy/woody smell on my skin. And honest to god, I smelt BANANAS for twenty minutes while it was on wet. Wonky skin chemistry FTW.

In the imp: Lemony Dorian On Skin: Lemony Dorian! Yum! Drydown: Still lemony, but with a more woody and a bit smoky Dorian. After an hour: No more lemon, woody and smoky and yes, a more masculine version of Dorian Verdict: I don't like this as much as Dorian, but I think it might be dead sexy on the husband. Definitely more of a 'masculine' bent on this one than Dorian.

I feel like I should add that Nuclear Winter is icy watermelon on my skin. No. I don't know how my skin does it either.

In the imp: greeny like floral On Skin: Green, like the smell of fresh cut shoots, and floral, the lilac and rose standout. I smells whiffs of ferns, which provides a backdrop to the florals On Drydown: It sweetens a bit, but it's primarily a white floral blend. I don't get so much of a 'green' feeling to it. Verdict: This is a pretty blend, and if you like lilacs, this one is for you. The lilacs pretty much stayed all the way from the beginning to the end. After about three or four hours, lilacs are pretty much the only thing I get from this blend.

I got a bottlecap sniffie from mountainwitch! This is bright, sugary. I get whiffs of melon and cherry. Whoever said this smelled like Nerds candy was right on. That's what it smells like to my nose. I wouldn't want to try this out on my skin because I'm not into these kinds of scents. But it's definitely a pretty sugary smell!

In the imp: Minty On Skin: Mint julep! Wow. I had one when I was in college during a Southern Cooking night that my roommates and I held and the drink HAD to be mint juleps. This smells just like my mint julep did! On Drydown: Alcoholy. Verdict: Wow... the Lab basically bottled up a mint julep. I'm not so fond of the drydown since it's like a warm ambery alcoholic smell on me... but I'm amazed at how it represents the life of a drink olfactory wise. Bravo Lab! If I enjoyed the drydown a little more, I would definitely keep the imp.

In the imp: Mint! On Skin: Cucumber and mint mixed together. Very cool and refreshing. On drydown: Minty toothpaste. Verdict: It's cool and refreshing. I would love it if the cucumber note stuck around for the drydown and beyond. But on the drydown, somehow it ends up smelling like toothpaste. I like mint, but I don't fancy smelling like toothpaste. I guess I need some sweetness to balance the mint out, and will have to stick to Lick It and Lick It Again to deal with my mint cravings. Nuts.

In the imp: Fruity floral On Skin: Fruity floral. I get more of the amber. On Drydown: Gets funky. Floral and sharp. The fruityness and amber disappear. Verdict: When I waved it in front of the husband he went "EWWW... that smells like cat pee!", I knew that it really really didn't work on my skin. Even when he doesn't like it, he'll say it's "interesting" and let me decide if I want to keep it. I thought it smelled funky on me, but he thinks it smells REALLY bad. So it's a no winner. On the other hand, patchouli didn't take over. Yeah! But the upside of it, it's still not something I can wear because of my wonky skin chemistry. Again, I think it might be the gardenia.

In the imp: honey and lilies. On Skin: the lilies soften a bit, but they are sweet and have a fresh, green cut edge that prevents this from being too sweet. It's very strong though. Drydown: Still gorgeous lilies. Verdict: This is such a simple, girly and clean scent. I definitely see this as a springtime scent and something very appropriate for either young girls or teenage girls. There is a quality of light, airy and innocent in this scent that I utterly adore. I already knew I loved lilies and that my skin loved lilies, but this is really lovely. This is a pretty and cheery scent and at the moment, I can't stop saying good enough things about it! :luv:

In the imp: strong earthy patchouli On Skin: the same earthy patchouli and a very sweet apricot. It's both sweet and earthy at the same time. On Drydown: Still very much the same. The earthiness of the patchouli actually makes me think of dirt. It's sort of like dirt, patchouli and apricot at the same time. After about thirty minutes, the patchouli recedes a bit but it's still a very earthy apricot. Verdict: This is a very well done scent, sweet and earthy at the same time. I'm not typically drawn to either earthy (dirt smells) or patchouli in general but this is very nice considering my current bias. It also helps me narrow down which kinds of patchouli I don't like. Black is definitely one of them. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes patchouli.

Dorian, O and anything with red musk gets my husband's attention. He likes both Hollywood Babylon and Mania on me. Dorian is the big winner in the household so far because it smells so good on both of us. It smells slightly more floral on him... but I'm okay with that.