jennythereader

First worn on: 10/13/2009

In the imp: Cloyingly floral

At application: Strong floral, slight chemical undertone

When dry: Very sweet, chemically if I get my nose too close, but pleasant from a distance.

Rating: 2 - use up but don't replace; tradeable for something amazing.

Date first tried: 8/14/2009

In the imp: A very bright, sharp fruit. Citrusy

At application: Slight spice note, still very citrusy fruit.

When dry: Dries to a unpleasant sour fruit smell.

Rating: 1 - Get rid of. In fact, I've already traded this one away.

Comments from me: I really like how this smells when it's wet, so I may give it another try after I get around to getting a scent locket.

Date first tried: 11/14/2009

In the imp: Citrus with cooking spices. Maybe clove?

At application: Sweet, juicy oranges, with spices and a ... green tone to it

When dry: Still a faint citrus scent, mostly incense spicy/herbal green

Rating: 3 - get another imp when this one is gone

My comments: I was never able to pick out the honey or rose, although I suspect their added sweetness was what made me think of fresh oranges rather than orange blossom.

Comments from others: My husband likes this one but doesn't love it, and he thinks I should get more scents that are similar to it.

First Worn On: 6/17/2009

In the Imp: Masculine; leather, woods; sort of harsh

At Application: softens a little, smells like my dream library; nice as a smell, but not great as a perfume

When Dry: very masculine, sort of soapy; 3 hours after applying it's faded down enough to almost be pleasant; This one is OK if I apply very little. (Noted later) Very nice when I remember to apply a small amount

Rating: 2 - use up, but don't replace; tradeable for something amazing

My Comments: I received this imp as a gift several years ago, but only got around to wearing it this summer.

Comments from Others: My husband thinks he could grow to like it.

First Worn On: 7/5/2009

In the Imp: Warm, spicy, slightly sweet

At Application: Soft cinnamon, like a cinnamon candy being eaten by the person next to me.

When Dry: Decent throw after drydown, I can smell it even with my arms away from my nose, very smooth cinnamon with a little sweetness (which I think is vanilla) mixed in.

Rating: 4 - Get a bottle

Comments from me: I was actually given this imp as a gift several years ago, but never got around to wearing it until this summer.

Comments from others: My husband walked into the room and asked what I was wearing.

First Worn On: 10/26/2009

In The Imp: Like a bunch of other people, this reminds me of SweetTarts candy.

At Application: Sweet, tart, and almost a little floral.

When Dry: Dries a little soapy, but still pleasantly sweet/tart.

Rating: 2 - Use up, but don't replace. Maybe swap for something amazing.

On me, Violet Ray was ridiculously soapy.

First worn on: 6/14/2009

In the Imp: Fruity/chemical

Wet: A little fruity, tropical drink smell

Dry: It smells like the "White Ginger" soap that the (I think Mariott) hotel Arisia (a SF convention in Boston) is in provides. Goes away fairly quickly.

Rating: 1 - get rid of it! In fact, I already traded it away.

Comments from others: My husband says: soapy

First tried on: 6/19/2009

In Imp: Sweet and spicy

Wet: The spices start to smell more like food spices, the sweet still doesn't smell like anything particular

Dry: Spicy vanilla, a little harsh for the first hour or so; I keep getting whiffs of this all day long. It lasts longer than most of the others I've tried.

Rating: 4 - get a bottle

Comments from others: My husband says: unique, but he doesn't really like it.

Comments: I've worn this about a dozen times since June, and each time I like it better. The slight harshness has mostly gone away, and it's just lovely sweet spices. I can't wait to see how it ages.

I got this as a freebie from the lab.

In the imp: It smells like root beer & wintergreen

Wet: I think it smells like root beer with a pepto-bismol chaser.

Dry: The wintergreen fades, but the root beer lingers. Not awful, but I don't love it.

Rating: 2 (Use Up But Don't Replace (tradeable for something amazing))

First Worn On: 7/9/2009

In The Imp: Spicy, soapy

When Wet: Sweet incense

When Dry: ? (I didn't make any comment in my spreadsheet.)

Rating: 2; use up but don't replace; tradeable for something amazing

First Worn On: 8/24/2009

In Imp: Strong vanilla with a sharp undertone

At Application: Strong vanilla, the undertone is sort of woody

When Dry: Soapy, faint food smell left but it isn't anything specific

Rating: 2 (Use up but don't replace; tradeable for something amazing.)

First Worn On: 6/30/2009

In Imp: Lemony vanilla

At Application: Stronger lemon, still some vanilla

When Dry: There was a faint tea scent for a little while, but it went away

Rating: 2 (use up but don't replace; tradeable for something amazing.)

First Tried On: 7/4/2009

In Imp: Chocolate, slightly bitter and spicy

At Application: Hot chocolate mix!

Later: Still hot chocolate; traces of this were still noticeable 12 hours after application and after a bath with a Lush bath bomb

Rating: 3 (Get another imp when this one is gone.)

First Worn On: 7/16/09

In Imp: Floral with a zing to it.

At Application: I'm not sure what the "zing" is, but it becomes dominant on my skin. The floral element is pretty faint. (Looking back, I suspect that the "zing" is the mint and maybe the sandalwood.)

When Dry: Goes soapy. Not "I washed my hands 10 minutes ago," but "I started to wash my hands, but forgot to rinse the soap off."

Rating: 1 (Get rid of it.)

I love mint, and I love violets. I really wanted this one to work for me.

Date First Tried: 7/1/09

In Imp: Fruity spicy, maybe a hint of incense

At Application: Less fruity, but still a rich sweet spicy scent

When Dry: Fades to a sweet blandness.

Rating: 2 (Use up, but don't replace; tradeable for something amazing)

First Tried On: 6/16/2009

In Imp: Floral/fruity; slightly chemical

At Application: Still floral/fruity, chemical smell goes away

Later: Faint, sort of spicy, fruity

Rating: 2 (Use up but don't replace, tradeable for something amazing.)

First Worn: 6/26/2009

In Imp: Lavender, but nice. (I'm not usually a big fan of lavender.)

At Application: still lavender, still nice, faded fairly quickly; the second time I wore it, it lasted for quite a while

Later: I don't really know. I fell asleep and it was gone by morning. Overall, it didn't seem to help with falling asleep in the first place, but I didn't wake up as often during the night and fell back asleep more easily when I did. It also seemed easier to get out of bed in the morning.

Rating: 3 (Get another imp when this is gone.)

First tried: 6/21/2009

In imp: Spicy

At application: Still spicy, there's also an incense smell

Later (at least one hour, maybe more): It faded pretty quickly, but was pleasant as long as I could smell it; when I applied more in the evening it was way too intense

Comments from others: My 15 year old sister liked it.

Rating: 2 (use up the imp but don't get more; maybe trade for something amazing)

Look for similar: Yes

Overall: I never smelled the plum juice or lilac. I think my nose was interpreting the herbs as "spicy" and the leather as incense.

My very first review!

First tried on: 6/13/2009

In the imp: Like a bakery. Yummy

At Application: Strongly vanilla, slight fruity undertone.

Later (at least one hour, sometimes more): As it dries, it morphs to vanilla frosting on a very fruity cake.

Others Comments: My husband thought he smelled cinnamon.

Rating: 4 (Get a bottle) and look for similar scents