fairestrocza

Not quite the sweet pear I was hoping for. I can smell it when wet, but by dry-down this is all chocolate all the time. On the plus side, white chocolate is my favorite chocolate note, and this will be great for layering. Powerful throw.

Red musk, orris root, and bergamot with blackcurrant, pink pepper, and red leather accord. Sweet and spicy. Dan Les Coulisses is dominated by red musk (the drier variety from scents like Witch Dance rather than the juicy red musk from Smut), with a prominent spicy note in the background. I'm guessing the spicy note is a combination of the pink pepper and red leather accord. I can rarely pull off leather notes, but this one is behaving. I can't pick out the orris, bergamot, or currant. Medium throw. Fits the image well.

Cedarwood, orange blossom, Florentine iris, and golden vanilla. Beneath the Kotatsu is absolutely beautiful. The cedar is very subtle, and grounds the scent without playing a prominent role. The vanilla is warm, with no hint of plastic. The orange blossom and iris are sweet and subtle. This began as a subtle floral with medium throw, and settled down to a slightly closer scent dominated by vanilla. Truly a beautiful blend.

The throw: Not root beer, but Sarsaparilla. Sweet and effervescent, with a hint of Tombstone and Smut. Up close, there is a touch of coffee, some of the incense, and a more flat, slightly bitter smell. The 5-year-old says I smell like "you and honey." The husband says I smell like a fox (he didn't know the name of the scent). He tried to eat my arms. It is fairly complex, and I think I like it, but I'll want to wear it again a time or two before making any final decisions. I'll definitely be enjoying the decant.

This starts out as a sweet/spicy floral. Just when I thought Cordelia might go into the keeper box, it turned soapy. I now smell like I washed with the purple seashell soap at grandma's house. It is a nice, fancy soap scent, but not what I am looking for from a personal fragrance.

On me this was almost pure sandalwood. Sandalwood is a scent that I like, but I find it to be a bit too dry here. I didn't smell anything that made me think leather (a note that is generally not my friend). I did, however, have a major allergic reaction to something in this blend. The sneezing, watery eyes, and nasal doom mean this one goes in the swap box.

This one is mainly plum, with a touch of fresh ginger. The plum is a little too (sickly) sweet for me, and I've never done well with the lab's fresh ginger note (though I love the spicy/foody version). I'll have to pass on this one.

Fresh and outdoorsy. I get mostly evergreen, with just a bare hint of the other notes. I'll use my imp, but probably don't need a bottle.

This one seems to be just on the edge of greatness, but something goes just a little cloying and soapy. The lily is probably the biggest problem here for me. The cassia is lovely, and not overpowering. The myrrh is behaving. Pomegranate and tamarind are always just a little off for me. I'll probably need to wear this a few more times before I know if it will behave or not on a regular basis.

Starts out as a surprisingly nice, but shampoo-ish, smell. It starts to take on a vegetative scent up close, with some nice rose in the throw. The skin scent takes on a bitter quality, and the rose starts to turn. This one had some potential in the beginning, then dried down into the hot mess that was always doomed to be based on the notes of doom.

Wet: sweet lemon candy. Dry: lemongrass and sandalwood. Beautiful, but a bit bland and uninspiring. I'll keep my decant, but won't need a bottle. (eta: ... except that there is a subtle complexity here that is pretty enthralling. I might actually need a bottle. I'll see how quickly the decant disappears).

An odd combination of fruity-sweet and peppery. At first, there was a wet-burned-vegetation scent, and I thought I was going to hate this, but after that note faded, and I wore this a bit, it started to grow on me. The different aspects of the scent seem to be at war with each other. In the end, I think this may be a bit too masculine for me.

Jasmine and lilies are not my friends, so it is no surprise that this was terrible on me. When an aquatic aspect emerged, it was the final kiss of death. This is the anti-me scent.

I will be wearing Vixen tonight for our first Holiday party. It is one of my favorites, and seems to fit the holiday mood. Maybe my toddler will sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in homage to my bpal

This starts out very foody. The rice note reminds me of one of the Shungas from a few years back (Ronin? Harmise?). It starts to develop a borderline plastic vibe a la snow-white-gone-wrong. As it dries, the cream turns into the evil sour milk of Candles Moon 2010 (granted, that one did mellow out, but it took over a year to get there). I never notice anything that I identify as cherry. Part of me is tempted to hang on to my decant to see what happens with that cream note in time, but I just don't think this one likes my skin chemistry.