symphonyinsilence

This is sickeningly sweet on me. I love BPAL's honey note, so I decided to try this, but the orangey-ness mixed with the other sweetness gives me a nauseating headache. I don't get any sandalwood in this. Instead, I get frankincense. My mum I smelled like a temple. Weird.

I'd love to try a scent that reminds me of An Bean Sidhe by Cruachan. I tried Lilith, Mircalla - Countess Karnstein but they didn't fit...a banshee scent maybe? And Scarlet Fields by The Horrors. This song makes me think of blood red, York and London (dark and beautiful - I was there in early autumn and got stuck with this song...it has so much atmosphere). A dark red scent? Autumnal? Very English?

My favourite booze scents are: Dark Chocolate, Whiskey & Cognac Truffle - smells like chocolate martini on me. Zadok Allen Vineyard - red wine, blood and incense. Mother Shub's Spiced Lait de Chèvre - Bailey's Irish Cream! Lambs-Wool - cider, milk and spices. Grand Guignol - apricot brandy, dead on. I need to go back and try The Obsidian Widow and Nosferatu. I love them, but I can't remember if they smell boozey or not!

I know I'm being totally unhelpful here, but I ADORE Madame Lapin and couple of days ago I was testing Now Winter Nights Enlarge and I could've sworn, it was smelling like like the former on my skin. I do however blame my nose and my skin on that time of the month, though. 'Twas the second day.

From 2009: I absolutely love this and I got it because I'm a sucker for all things that have their roots in the British Isles. Mostly, I smell lots of cider and that's a good thing because I'm crazy about that stuff. After a few hours, I start getting the milk and spices aspect of it and it's just sooo comforting. A friend of mine said it reminded her of piña colada but I don't get any coconut in this...*lol* Just warm apples, cloves/cinnamon (?) & cream. Each time I wear this, I crave a cide at an Irish bar, haha.

Oooh, I like this one, surprisingly! I used to think I wasn't a foodie scent lover, but BPAL changed my mind with Athens, Boo, Hetairae, Bliss and now, this. Thank goodness I'm not getting nutmeg or clove - would be kinda weird to smell those on oneself especially in this humid weather. It's mostly apple cider and milk on me. Very much like apple pie with a hint of booze and milk on the side. Foody, without screaming "eat me." Very pleasant and I enjoy the drydown - it's comforting.

I really wanted to like this since there's sandalwood, frankincense and moonflower in it. But all I get is nasty jasmine hair oil. I had to rush to the bathroom to wash it off. Even after washing, the smell lingered and a few minutes later, I could catch the whiff of blackcurrant and frankincense. But it wasn't mind-blowing or anything. I just can't look past the jasmine note, it stays on my skin for way too long. And here I was thinking that night-blooming jasmine would never let me down.

One word: Dad. I love this so much because it reminds me of him, for the very same reason I just can't wear it. The notes in this are also similar to Ded Moroz, somewhat. But this definitely has a more masculine feel. Not sure if what I'm smelling is moss-covered wood or sage. Also, this is the only time dark musk hasn't turned to talcum powder on me.

I love gardenia and I just had to try this. I don't even mind that it's all gardenia (in varying degrees) from start to finish. At the beginning, it's very heady, in the middle it's slightly aquatic and towards the drydown, it's just very sweet. I'm still pretty bad at identifying specific notes but I'm guessing there's some crystalline musk in this. I don't get any ginger, thankfully. And it's lasts up till the next day! Need more!

This one started off boozy but ended up smelling very herbal/green much like Dirty, which is really not my style. I was hoping to get the magnolia at some point, but it never appeared.

I ordered a bottle of this hoping it would be similar to Sarah, which I only have an imp of, but it's nothing like it. Sarah is a menacing thunderstorm mixed with incense, while this one is more like a rainy day minus the thunder or lightning. Not convinced, I tried a drop on my wrist. I was disappointed since it didn't change how I felt initially. Wait a minute... Goosebumps! Not only because it's raining and freezing cold here and I should've tried this blend on a warmer day, but because this blend reminds me of a smell. It takes me back to the 90s ('cos they had fresh scents similar to this back then? I'm not sure). I was listening to Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" from the Trainspotting soundtrack and caught a whiff of this scent on my arm and it literally took me back to 1997. It was insane. Since I'm not familiar with aquatic/fresh scents, I can't identify the notes in this one. I don't think it smells anything like the story of this vampire or anything scary for that matter. *lol* In the similar vein of scents, I have Danube, which has a slight floral quality to it. This however, is more ethereal - like it's raining in some fantasy place that you remember day-dreaming about in your childhood. I'm a sucker for all things nostalgic, so I'm definitely keeping this one!

I absolutely adore honey and vanilla, so I was glad that I got this as a frimp. But jasmine is a note of death for me. Also the vanilla and honey together smell more like cotton candy. Wet, I get honey/cotton candy/jasmine. I'm not a fan of candy-floral mixtures. Those types never fail to give me a headache. My mum told me it smelled overpowering. I was really hoping the jasmine wouldn't be so prominent, but knowing my luck, it was. About an hour later the jasmine started to disappear (thank God!) and I was left with the honey and champaca. Absolutely gorgeous and smoky. I only wish I could smell the other notes as well. I didn't get cinnamon or sandalwood from this. Not sure what olive blossom smells like since the jasmine was taking over everything. As much I love the drydown of this, I'll have to pass this on since the top notes give me a headache anyway.

Not being a foody scent lover, I decided not to order an imp of this no matter how much I was influenced by this forum, haha. I'm glad I didn't. I got this a frimp anyway. It reminds me of the cupcake doll I used to play with when I was little. Sort of a fake berry scent mixed with plasticine. I love scones and jam but I sure as hell don't want to smell like that. Even in the imp it smells almost sickeningly sweet, but not in a realistic scones way.

Okay, so I don't remember what a typewriter smells like but I smell lots of baby powder, incense and clay. This one smells exactly like Kenzo Amour Indian Holi. I have no idea why. It's quite pretty.

Wow, this one reminds me of Athens. I was afraid it would turn to grape soda or something. But I get wine, honey and dark florals. I even get champa, not sure why. This is similar to Urd (where the grape soda was too prominent on me) but with the honey note. Overall, gorgeous! I'll absolutely need a bottle!

I'm a huge orchid lover so I decided to try my first non-commerical version of the scent. This one starts off smelling as strong as Tiger Lily but begins to mellow. Unfortunately all I get from this blend is the rose and the labdanum. There's an extremely faint note of some other floral towards the end, but it's way too faint to identify. Overall, it just disappears too fast. Hopefully Event Horizon won't let me down.

This is absolutely beautiful! Wore it for Hallowe'en last night. I have been on the hunt for something that evokes memories of a rain-storm and this one fit the bill. Reminded me of a feminine version of Nyarlathotep. The best part was that it worked really well with my chemistry. I was afraid of the ozone as I hadn't tried it before and was worried it would turn soapy, but it didn't! Not only did it smell like a rain-storm, it also actually felt cold, if that makes sense. Smells exactly like the description, although I'm still lousy at identifying individual notes. The ozone and lithurgical incense stood out for me. Probably froth as well. I've ordered a 5ml of Countess Dolingen Of Gratz and hopefully it'll be better than this or just as good.

Samhain '06 I really love this one! Received it as an imp and I'm now dying to get my hands on a full bottle. I don't even mind if it's from this year. I'm usually not a foody fragrance lover, but this is a perfect balance of various notes. On me, it evokes the scents of apple cider, patchouli, clove and wood. It has a slightly smokey quality to it.

Okay, this was an utter disappointment. It started off with a really strong chestnut note and remained there for about an hour until it turned into incense of some sort. I love the smell of chestnuts roasting but it's not like I'd wear it on myself. I was really hoping for the violet leaf, white musk and florals to pop up at some point, but they never did.

I got all the imps from the Literary Vampire series except for 3. Of course, I had no idea then that roses hate me that much. Blame my noob status. This does smell very Victorian, though. Pity about the rose. I passed it on to a friend who loves roses more than I do.

Rose and baby powder is all I get. So I gave it to a friend. Note to self: no more rose scents for you.

Apparently the drydown of this reminds me of the smell of my wardrobe door. Maybe I'm weird like that, but I love strange nostalgic smells. I'm guessing it was sprucewood? It also smells like something else, but I can't put a finger on it. I'd totally buy a bottle if it didn't have the shea or the fruity top note which I didn't like.

... Her scent is rife with pathos, and inspires us with the ability to express our grief, loss, and the pain in our souls in a cathartic, creative fashion: dark cypress with mint, geranium, Bulgar lavender, orange blossom and passion flower. Got this free and realised it's been discontinued. I think I mostly get lavender (which is my least favourite flower smell) from this one. It also has a herbal quality to it. Doesn't have much throw on my skin, I find it disappears really fast. Oh well.

Oooh, I really like this one. The icy fog description is spot on! It's a very wearable scent for hot and humid days since it's aquatic but somehow retains the "dark" floral quality. I'm usually not a fan of aquatics in general (prefer dark florals, resins, woods and orientals) but gave Danube a try and disliked its soapiness on me, so I was skeptical to try this, but this is beautiful. The drydown is almost cologne-y, but I don't mind it. I feel like this particular aquatic was made keeping me in my mind, haha.

Voluptuous magnolias strewn over orchid, star jasmine, black amber and smoky rose. Magnolia, orchid and black amber. Sounds glorious. But what do I get? Blasted jasmine and powdery rose. Good thing I got this free. I think I'll pass this to my mum since she likes it.