zankoku_zen

In the Bottle: It's like a mixture of Hollywood Babylon and Centzon Totochin. On Skin: I smell cherries and vanilla, the wine and a hint of musk. So delicious. The wine and musk are definitely more predominant in this one... I'm getting a whiff of clove at the end now. This is very in your face lustful. Very feral indeed. On Drydown: There is a duskiness to this. Still slightly sweet. Still pulsatingly sensual. Verdict: This works on me. I don't love it like I love Hollywood Babylon but it's right up there with Lust. Will definitely use the imp.

A scent swirling with dark rage, unbridled jealousy, and murderous intent. Violet, lavender, white musk and vetiver. In the Bottle: Lavender and something salty... like ocean salty. Very piratey. Unfortunately I find it a bit unpleasant, but apt. On Skin: Sharp lavender. There is still a briney afterscent to it. After a minute, it seems to calm down a bit. On Drydown: Very faint. It fades fast on my skin. Verdict: I'm not even going to try this on the boy. I don't know... it just doesn't suit my nose. But I do find the name very apropos.

I can smell the cherry goodness from within the envelope. In the Bottle: Cherry nail polish remover??? On Skin: Gawd. Sweet smelling tasty cherries. It's a bit overwhelming. Smells like... cherry Jolly Ranchers. On Drydown: This sweet fruity thing. After 15 more minutes, the scent turns almost sticky on me. Verdict: Loved it at the beginning and was hasty in my profession of love. But it gives me a headache at the end. Sad... but I will have to swap.

In the Bottle: Something musky. I can't really place the scent. On Skin: There's something almost peppery about this. It's musky. It's very... masculine. I have some very ambigous feelings about this... I'm getting a herbal tinge to it at the end. On Drydown: Yep, definitely masculine. There's this incensey/cedar like smell to it. I'm not sure if it is cedar though. Verdict: Smells. Like. Man. But I don't find this scent attractive. I wouldn't want my boy smelling like this.

Smelled this in the DC BPAL meet up and decided I have to try this! In the Bottle: smells like chocolate rumballs! On Skin: Warm bittersweet cocoa. Ever taken a whiff of chocolate before you make hot cocoa the old fashioned way? Yeah... that's what I'm getting. On Drydown: Some of the cocoa smell fades and I get more of a liqour smell, either its the rum or the red wine. It adds a spicyness to it. It fades fast though. Verdict: I'll keep the imp but I will doubt I will require more. Ah... I wish the dusky cocoa would have lasted longer.

I have high hopes for this one! In the Bottle: Strawberry sweetness... and something else. On Skin: Strawberry with a hint of bitterness, which I'm either going to attribute to the carnation or the black poppy. This is a nice counterbalance, I was going to worry if it was overly sweet. It's deceptive. The strawberry fades quite fast on me as other florals come to play... florals I don't think I have sniffed before. On Drydown: This scent fades fast from my skin. The strawberry is gone and I think I'm mainly smelling black poppy and hibiscus, and perhaps the orange blossom, but I really can't tell. It's floral but there's a certain darkness to it. Verdict: I had worried that this might be too sweet or innocent on me and it doesn't. However, it fades so fast from my skin that I would have to douse myself in it. So off to swap.

In the bottle: Lemony rosy, with a hint of sweetness. It smells bright and cheery. On Skin: Lemony sharpness, there is the heavy rose floralness. There is also a powdery note to it. On Drydown: Very rose. Too much rose. Verdict: Too rosey for me. Off to swap.

From the previous reviews, its seems that Dragon's Blood Resin is a component. I don't think I've ever had a DBR scent yet. In the Bottle: Musky... On Skin: Its very warm... but to me it smells a bit like cough medicine. Maybe its the color association since the color of the oil is this strawberry red. There's a floral twinge to it. Drydown: I can't identify a single note. I don't find the smell unpleasant, but it doesn't strike me as alluring. I don't feel alluring. In fact, smelling more of this is starting to make me dizzy. Verdict: I'm a bit confused on what exactly there is in the blend. I don't think this blend is me, esp since after a few sniffs my head starts swimming a bit.

In the Bottle: Citrusy and orange. I smell a tinge of lavender On Skin: Clean, citrusy. I smell the lavender. It's a very clean scent. It makes me think of Baby Johnson's cologne. It evokes images of purity and innocence. I get a tiny tinge of herbalness now. On Drydown: I get more of the floral and herbal part of the scent. There is something that smells slightly masculine on me, like a hint of musk. Verdict: This is great, clean, breezy scent. I'm not sure I adore it despite my love for citrus. Hmmm...

In the Bottle: Ginger and milk, with a hint of sweetness. Interesting... On Skin: Milky undertones and the sharp note of ginger. It reminds me of Alice, less floral and more sharp. I can smell a tinge of floral, which I'm assuming is the ambrosia. On Drydown: Nuts. This turned soapy on me. The ginger's sharpness evaporates and I get a milky, sweet soap. I smell very clean. Nuts. Verdict: Starts out lovely but then turns into soap. Curses. To the swap pile.

In the Bottle: There is a chocolatey, deep green smell to it. On Skin: I can smell the chocolate and something else, kinda nutty and fruity which could either be the black palm or the fig. There is a spicy note at the end. It is a very comforting scent. On Drydown: Definitely chocolately with a musky/spicy tone. It smells a bit masculine now. After another 15, my skin has drunk this all in. It's completely faded. Verdict: Lovely scent but its lack of staying power makes it a swap. Nuts. Hopefully Centzon won't do this to me. Ah... chocolate.

In the Bottle: Very floral. Delicate though. On Skin: Very floral, delicate, innocent. I would call it whispy. It has a golden quality to it, like the sun playing on your face in the early morning. The jasmine reminds me to Yuki-Onna. But where Yuki-Onna is wintry and sharp, this is gentle warmth, like waking up in spring. On Drydown: There is a tinge of green at the end, which keeps this from being overly sweet. The jasmine is more predominant at the end. Verdict: It reminds me to Nuit but I think I like Eos better. ETA: 7/29/07: It definitely reminds me to Gibbous Moon. Since I have a bottle GM, I think I'll let this imp go. On the other hand, once my GM bottle is gone, I know what to replace it with.

In the Bottle: Floral and a bit sweet On Skin: A bit watery, slight floralness. There's still that sweet note. On Drydown: A sweet floral. Like a sugar gilded lily floating on water. Verdict: Pretty scent, like a young girl being rowed down a river. There is something very reminscent about Juliet but sweeter. Not me though. Too sweet.

In the Bottle: There is a note in this scent that I love about Hollywood Babylon. It must be the red musk. On Skin: I can smell the red musk and something more incensey, either its the myrrh or the patchouli. The ylang ylang gives it a light floral touch. On Drydown: This is just a sexy scent, its a bit more muted than when wet but dear lord does it try to incite you into debauchery. It's alluring, and naughty and animalistic. I love it. Can you smell like sex? I say yes... yes you can. Verdict: Must. Get. Bigger. Bottle. But for now... Must. Find. The. Boy.

In the Bottle: Fruity sweetness and light florals. I can smell the sweet pea. On Skin: I smell something like sugared peaches. There is the sweet pea and a slight rosy floral note to it. On Drydown: This reminds me alot to Juliet. Only more fruity sweet. Verdict: Pretty scent but too fruity sweet for me. Off to swap.

In the Bottle: I smell carnations and something kinda sharpish, which would be the white tea. On Skin: I smell the carnations, and another floral, which would be the rose. It's still very sharp, I thin the carnations have a tinge of bitterness on my skin. On Drydown: A very clean scent. It reminds me of something but I can't remember what it is. It does smell very pure. I can smell more of the tea now. The bitterness has disappeared but there is still that sharp aftertaste. Verdict: Pretty. But not me. I'll trade this imp to someone who will like it more than I.

I remember smelling this at the DC BPAL swap and thinking I liked the strawberry notes. In the Bottle: Smells strongly of strawberries. On Skin: It reminds me to Fruit Roll ups. Or a Strawberry Jolly Rancher. Very sweet. Where is the champagne?? On Drydown: Some of the sweetness evaporates. Now it just reminds me to strawberry jam. Verdict: Pooh. I was hoping that the champagne notes would come and cut the sweetness of the strawberry. Instead, I smell like candy. Off to swap.

Warrior, Trickster and Goddess of Magic and Poets, she is one of the Tuatha De Danaan and the Queen of the Faeries. A very complex scent, both shadowy and fierce: black orchid, sandalwood, night-blooming jasmine, osmanthus, Somalian rose, and Chinese musk. In the Bottle: Something sweet and rosy. On Skin: Almost cloyingly rosy sweet. It's like sugar and roses combined together. Potent. After a few minutes, I can smell another floral trying to wedge its way through. It's getting more complex but still dishearteningly sweet. On Drydown: Still cloyingly sweet. I'm going to go wash off. Verdict: Queen Mab is surely playing tricks on me. Instead of being shadowy and fierce, I have a bright sweetness. Almost like a watermelon. I'm wondering what note I'm just not getting along with here... Off to swap

In the Bottle: Smells clear and crisp and a bit astringent. On Skin: I can smell the green tea. There is a bit of a lemony after sniff and I can catch whiffs of something floral and sweet, which must be the honeysuckle. On Drydown: Still smells like tea. There is also something slightly spicier on me. It smells very Asian. Verdict: I really enjoy this scent. It smells like tea. It's clean and refreshing. This definitely makes me think of Asia, with its green tea smell and its purity. I enjoy this scent. Alot. I think I have a new favorite.

In the Bottle: Strong lime smell.... almost like limeade! On Skin: Very fresh. Very strongly clean. There is a whiff of a soft floral coming through which must be the lilac. On Drydown: This gets a tinge of a soapy smell. This makes me think of drinking lemonade as you watch your clothes hang in the breeze. It smells really tasty. Verdict: Pretty smell but a bit too sharp for my taste. I don't think its for the boy either. Off to swap this goes.

In the Bottle: Medicinal cherry. On Skin: Very woodsy. I think its the mahogany that I'm smelling. This is a very warm scent. On Drydown: Some of the woodsy smell fades a bit, and I can smell a fruity undercurrent. It doesn't smell like cherries. There's a slight incensey note at the end. Verdict: A pretty scent but not me. Thank goodness because these were the last drops I was able to salvage from the imp that leaked in transit.

Boy has responded well to Juliet and Hollywood Babylon. He even went so far as to agree that Hollywood Babylon smells like "devious cherries." I wore Spellbound out to meet some friends. One of them went "Holy crap... you smell sooo nice." I'm beginning to think that Beth's red musk works really well for me, since it is one of the common elements in both perfumes.

Even before opening the imp, I can smell the strong aquatic notes. In the Bottle: Something very aquatic, and very sharp. And almost grapefruity. Ooh! I'm excited now. On Skin: There is something sharp. It smells a bit like Tempest but there is something more citrusy about it. It smells clean and pure about it. On Drydown: This smell is less strong than Tempest. I think I like it better. There is a slight powdery. Verdict: I like this. I'm keeping the imp. So lovely. I don't know if I'll order more Tempest or more Sea of Glass from the lab. Hmmm...

I got to try this at the BPAL meet up in DC. In the bottle: Something very warm, kinda musky, kinda floral. On Skin: I get whiffs of the ginger, and a hint of vanilla. It's sexy. On Drydown: Has a bit of floral note now, still can't smell the jasmine or apricot. I get the idea of a confident yet elusive woman. Verdict: Pretty scent. But not me. I'm glad I got to try it though.

In the bottle: Smells musky. On Skin: This smells like Hollywood Babylon, but less sweet and more spicy. It's a bit masculine. I can't really smell the peach. On Drydown: After a few hours, its just musky, less spicy. Very warm. Very sexy. Verdict: I'm keeping the imp. It's very impish, a bit seductive, a bit playful. I think Beth hit it dead on with this scent. There's something a bit dangerous, a mischevious glint underneath lowered eyebrows, a scheming smirk. Oh yes. I like this.