theseagrows

damn, i was really hoping to love this one, but i think the ozone component ruins it for me...i am not a big fan of ozones or aquatics in general, and in this scent, i love all the notes but the ozone, which turns this into a sweet soapy scent on my skin. combined with the vanilla, it is just too sweet for my tastes.

this is the first hair gloss i've tried! i have fine but frizzy hair and used this on my hair dry, not too much, then worked it through my hair with my hands. my hair looked instantly polished and smooth but didn't lose any of it's body, thankfully (fine haired gals know what i mean!) onto the scent-it's luscious, very warm and inviting. my boyfriend hasn't smelled this yet, but i have a feeling that he will definitely swoon when it happens. it's a honey-musk, not too strong or overpowering and very warm and sexy. i love it now, but i could see loving it even more during the fall/winter months when my warmer scents come out. i am intrigued by this and now i want to try more hair glosses!

i am re-reviewing this one- at the outset i think i get benzoin and honey. i dunno, it's so familiar but doesn't really smell like any of the notes separately. the musk is a cooler rather than warmer musk to my nose, interestingly enough, if that makes any sense. later on i get some odd nuttiness. now cedar doesn't often work for me, but it never smells like this, so i don't know what is going on here, but there is an element of sogginess to this. i don't know how else to explain it-damp and a bit dank. not sure what could be doing that. is it an odd sort of musk? maybe large amounts of benzoin don't work for me! i am so confused.

this smells a bit like my dad! must be the dryer sheet-scent others have mentioned, except my dad has the added scent of tobacco instead of licorice the licorice adds a nice sweetness. this is a gentle, close to the skin scent, and doesn't have a huge amount of throw. i don't find it overly masculine or feminine, more gender neutral actually, and a rather interesting scent.

this is a very youthful scent indeed. a soft, cottony musk mixed with honey and just a hint of gardenia to balance it out. very soft and comforting, but my skin amps the notes way too much and it's a bit overpowering on me, particularly the powder-cottony musk.

i had high hopes for this, but sadly from the outset the strawberry-marshmallow combination just does not work on my skin. i was hoping this would be mostly rose sugar and vanilla, but my skin is amping everything else. the strawberry smells overripe on the verge of rotting and literally almost makes me gag. my skin does not do foody scents very well, but this one is particularly bad there is an almost alcoholic note after about 5 minutes, which doesn't help things much.

yep i get oak and leather primarily with the vanilla and almond in the background. very pretty yet i am amping the leather a bit in this. i don't seem to get any patchouli for some reason...it is really mostly oak and leather but i like it wafting around me, because when i smell it on my arm the leather is pretty potent and almost feels like it burns my nostrils! as above is similar, and for some reason it works a bit better on me, but i still like haute macabre too. ETA: i get patchouli after it's been on my skin a much longer time, and it adds a nice earthiness but is not overpowering. also, at this point the leather is tempered a lot and i like it better.

i love the idea of vintage musk but the biscuit bits, not so much...as usual they turn rancid and weird smelling on me. but with a hint of something like white musk!

a lovely fairy picked this up for me! this is a beautiful, light and slightly creamy scent, and thankfully the sandalwood does not turn to pencil shavings on me, as it sometimes does. in the beginning i am getting mostly musk and tobacco, with the amber in the background adding a bit of warmth. i think this scent is absolutely beautiful, perfect for warm days. I knew I would love this scent, since it seemed reminiscent of Dia to me, which, as you can see from my signature, is one of my favorite scents. this does remind me of Dia a lot but with a bit more warmth, due to the amber. also, I swear there is oakmoss in this...the underlying scent is the same in Dia, and I attributed it to the oakmoss, unless I am wrong! I am SO glad I got a bottle of this. I knew i would love it and i do! ETA: i am wearing this again today and my reaction is completely different. i don't get any creaminess now, i just get slightly aquatic/cool musk and tobacco. it's a bit too strong and aquatic. i wonder why i am having a completely different impression now?! it is reminiscent of dia, one of my favorites, but i think the coconut in dia helps soften and warm up the scent. this scent doesn't smell warm to me at all now. maybe i was testing several and got them mixed up, who knows.

another frimp i received. this starts out quite bright and herbal, with the white sandalwood and clary sage at the forefront. it has a white musk feel to it a bit. after awhile it gets a bit more floral and resiny, it blossoms nicely. there is a slight sweetness too, which must be the beeswax and adds a nice element. also, i am thankful to have the beeswax in this work for me! often times it doesn't with my weird skin chemistry. the violet is beautiful on my skin, which is good with florals. i like this more than i thought i would. it's more herbal than what i usually wear, but that adds an interesting element that usually isn't present in the florals i wear.

another frimp i received recently. this is definitely a fall-winter scent. i think my skin mostly brings out the tonka, leaves and ivy, which generally reads as ozoney or aquatic on me rather than herbal. there is a bit of slight floral to this, the hyssop i guess. if i sniff very deeply i can make just a wisp of coffee in the background, and i can't seem to smell any patchouli at all. i think this would be a nice scent on someone else, but on me it's a bit too ozoney and gives me a bit of a headache. i think i am amping the ivy, unfortunately.

got a frimp of the 2011 version, and it's a prime of example of why i can't do/dislike foody scents. some spice in this, that seems really familiar, is reminiscent of cat pee on me. not sure what it is though. so it's like a spicy cookie with a hint of cat pee. most foody scents always find a way to turn rancid on me.

this was a frimp. what an interesting scent! at first it almost smells fruity to me, in a gummy/candy sort of way, like the red airheads candy. i don't know why i'm associating it with that, it's not that sweet. after it dries, it stays sweet but is less fruity. i'm not sure what it is maybe the honey + cumin? i am not that familiar with cumin in a scent. it's kind of a nice, autumnal scent. sweet and syrupy, but i am having difficulty picking out single notes. it does seem sweet and a bit woodlike to me, although there is no wood listed, so i'm not sure.

another frimp. i remember seeing this one and being curious about it, but figuring it might not work for me. it's very earthy, as is to be expected. the carrot seed adds an interesting element that is earthy and slightly sugary, but not sugary in the usual sense at all. it's mostly patchouli with a hint of tea and carrot seed, i think. i am never really sure of what peru balsam smells like. this is a very interesting scent, kind of difficult for me to describe, in all honesty. it leans to a more masculine scent, but it seems innovative and atypical to me, which i like, as i find so many "typical" scents for men to be offputting. maybe i should try this one on my s.o.

got a frimp of this...what an interesting scent. i certainly wouldn't have tried this on my own, since plum, honey and sometimes patchouli don't work with my skin chemistry. i am kind of liking this though, it smells very unisex to me, but my first thought is that i want to smell this on my boyfriend. i do like it on me though-it's very autumnal, as implied by the name. i think i am mostly smelling the maplewood and green cognac, with just a hint of honey and fir needle? it's a very green scent, but in a autumnal way, like fig. it doesn't smell like fig but it's "feeling" reminds me of fig, it's lighter and more airy. i will definitely keep this imp-would love to try this again in autumn/winter, where i think it would really shine.

this is a soft, comforting scent. it's mostly clove with a hint of sweetness. i love both these notes, so this is quite an enjoyable scent for me. reminds me a bit of mure et musc when it dries down, after about half an hour. it's pretty and light, and perfect when you want to wear something soft and uncomplicated. good scent for work.

this starts out as all beautiful, bold orange blossom, which is one of my favorite notes.after awhile the sandalwood comes through, and as it happens often, this one turns to pencil shavings on my skin. the champaca is very subtle, i just get a slight sweetness in the background, which i am attributing to that. it's mostly just orange blossom and pencil shavings. too bad that sandalwood is so hit-and-miss for my skin chemistry!

this is a great scent! at first it is all lavender, but later the blood musk and black orchid come to the forefront-two of my favorite notes. i love warm/musky florals, and this is just what this is. the patchouli is not overwhelming at all and the lavender seems to blend in after the initial blast of it. it's a nice complex floral scent and all the notes are blended expertly.

on my skin, this smells like one of those slightly foody-floral scents, which i tend to love. quite possibly really the only foody scents i like. i suppose it's mostly rose, musk and coconut on me. i think either the coconut-musk combo is in some other bpal scents, because i recognize it from other scents that i really like. it's creamy and soft, and honestly the rose is pretty subtle in this, at least on my skin. i don't even think of it as a really rosy scent because it is well-blended. the rose is strongest at first, but then fades back into the coconut.

this is a dark floral scent. i am a sucker for rose, orchid and tobacco, so that's what drew me into this one. plum and opium can go wonky on me sometimes, but in a complex blend like this, they often work. in the vial i just smell cypress and maybe tobacco. however on my skin, it's mostly orchid, plum, tobacco and a hint of rose. i'd say it's mostly orchid on me though, with the other notes supporting in the background. i think there may be rose coming out, but as a supporter to the orchid. it's not a very outwardly rosy scent on my skin. this seems to be a very sophisticated "perfumy" scent. i like it, because i really like orchid scents, but i'm not sure it's one of my favorites. i will have to give it another try again soon.

ooh this is one of those earthy, warm, sexy scents. in the beginning it's mostly vanilla amber with a bit of honey, then once it's dry the patchouli comes to the foreground, adding a bit of earthy spice to what is now a warm vanilla-amber. i'd say this is a pretty unisex scent. sexy on both sexes!

got this as a frimp in a swap. this is a strong, soapy floral on my skin. i am getting the lettuce and camphor definitely, perhaps with some jasmine and narcissus. it smells like a flower shop but with a definite perfuminess added in. it's definitely very green and sharp floral smelling on me. glad i got to try it

ooh sexy! is my first thought upon trying this. thanks to the amber, musk and leather, which are all notes i like. especially together in the same blend. this scent is beautiful, as all of the notes are balanced perfectly. thankfully the black currant is subtle and doesn't turn plasticky on me, and the vetiver is not strong at all. something in this almost reminds me of tobacco, but i'm not sure why. it is a bit masculine, but not too much so. it seems actually quite unisex to me. i may have to get a bottle of this one.

i admit, i was apprehensive about this one. custard and cocoa often don't work for me (or i just don't like foody scents) and white rose can be hit or miss, even though red rose works well for me. anyway, i really like this! i like it the best out of this year's lupercalia's that i've tried so far for this year. i don't even smell the rose, but it's mostly cocoa, vanilla and oudh with skin musk. very sensual and warm-one of those kind of foody sexy scents (how thirteen from june '06 is on me.) i may need a bottle of this.

damnit, unfortunately i am amping the jasmine in this, which often smells kind of funky on me, as it does in this scent. besides that, i think i'm getting the osmanthus and orris. maybe mimosa? there seems to be some other floral in here that is not working for me. i was hoping this would be a more amber-resiny scent with hints of the florals, but alas it is a strong, sweet white floral on my skin primarily. off to swaps.