pixiedoo

This is absolutely beautiful In the imp: It has a really strong citrus tang to it and a sweet woodsy smell. The bergamont is somewhat overpowering at the moment and this combined with the citrus overload is a bit on the harsh side. Wet: Pretty much the same as in the imp but the amber has appeared and it smells a little powdery. Amber can either smell wonderful on me or turn to an awful icky baby powder mess. I have my fingers crossed that it will end up wonderful. It still has a sharpness to it and the bergamont is still a bit on the heavy side. I can't detect the tonka. Dry: This is where the magic starts to happen. About half an hour in the notes all melt together producing a scent that is warm, enveloping, fuzzy and distinctly comforting. The amber has mellowed beautifully and is accompanied by the warmness of the tonka. I can smell a slight hint of vanilla that gives the scent a gentle creaminess. The bergamont and petitgrain add a brightness to the whole affair and the overall effect is truly beautiful. It is for me the perfect embodiment of a butterfly. It's a definite winner and I will be replacing my imp with a bottle.

Womb Furie 2010 Oh how you have changed with age! Here is a little tale for any of you who may be thinking your Womb Furie is not quite what you expected and are contemplating parting ways with your bottle or imp. Don't do it! When I first tried Womb Furie last year I was less than enamoured to say the least. It was somewhat stinky. Plastic, sweat and cheap vanilla ice cream. It was so unpleasant I contemplated selling my bottle. However I decided to tuck it away in the deepest, darkest depths of my box and see if something wonderful happened. My box worked its magic and Womb Furie miraculously morphed into a opulant, luscious seductress of a scent. Hypnotic, warm, lusty and rudely sexy. It's incredible spicy sex in a bottle. Sex that has been drizzled with lashings of warm, sensuous honey. I can't stop sniffing myself. Womb Furie is honey smeared sex in a bottle. I need more.

I passed on this when it was live at the Lab but curiosity and a love of blackberries got the better of me so I tracked down a decant. In the imp: Blackberries, some rather fierce sage and nuts. Wet: The sage is still a touch on the aggressive side and it's joined by some rather full on blackberries and their effervescent apple side kicks. It's a bit in your face at the moment. Dry: This is where something truly beautiful happens. The blackberries and apple calm down and blend seamlessly with all the other wonderful notes. The sage mellows out and is joined by the chamomile, rosemary and the wild nuts. The myrrh appears to give a rich resinous depth to the scent and at this point I can't stop sniffing my wrist. The end result is a sweet resinous blackberry heaven with a warm undercurrent of herbs, apples, nuts and a very subtly rich woody tinge woven with beautiful English ivy. It has the most wonderful autumnal feel to it and is amazingly complex. Somehow Beth has managed to capture the essence of autumn perfectly and put it in a bottle. I don't know how she does that but it's genius! It reminds me so much of how the hedgerow beside my house smells during the autumn months. Needless to say I have already tracked down a bottle and it's on it's way. Mabon 2010 is love x x x

I was a little wary of VILF due to the leather and dark Eastern florals but thought it was worth a try as the patchouli infused honey, red musk and smoky vanilla elements sounded yummy...when will I learn that leather doesn't work on me! In the imp: Slightly astringent flowery, leather Wet on my skin: Still very astringent and vaguely chemically. I can still smell flowery leather. I am hoping that red musk, honey and vanilla step in to save the day. Dry: Soapy, flowery leathery perfume of doom. My skin chemistry really has managed to make this rather unpleasant. It still has an astringent tinge to it and reminds me of something your nan might use to freshen the toilet with. Yep that's it...definitely cheap, floral air freshener. Off to the swap pile it goes...damn you leather!!

This is the first time I have purchsed a 13 scent and I couldn't wait to wrestle it out on the box this morning to test. In the bottle: Sweet, spicy cocoa. I can smell the sweetness of the cocoa and the honey combined with the kick from the pepper. Wet: Dark sweetness, spicy warmth and a hint of champaca flower. It smells wonderful already. Dry: Utterly amazing! It smells sweet, spicy, slightly smokey and almost creamy. The cocoa and honey give it a beautiful sweetness but they are kept in check by the spiciness of the pink pepper and paprika. In the background there is a smell of incense that gives the scent a richness and depth. All the notes blend seamlessley into one another and the result is outstanding. It is an incredibly complex, warm and sexy scent that I have fallen in love with. I haven't stopped huffing myself since I slathered it on this morning. My only regret is that I only ordered one bottle.

A swirling, hypnotic perfume of black currant, poppy, red and black musk, lilies, nicotiana, and patchouli. In the imp: Heavy, heady, very sharp and musky with a hint of floral. Wet: Very much musk and patchouli with a subtle floral scent lingering in the background. Dry: Other reviewers have mentioned that this has a perfume vibe to it. On me it smells very similar to Dior Poison but maybe a little more fruity. On further dry down it turns a bit powdery and the floral elements come out to play more. I'm glad I only put a little on as I think slathering this would end up rather headache inducing! It's quite pleasant in a strange way but is maybe a bit too floral/perfume based for my liking....off to the swap pile.

Initially I completely dismissed this scent when I read the update due to the presence of black liquorice. Then in a moment of boredom I stumbled across the reviews and thought it sounded worth a try so I found myself an imp. What a wonderful surprise it turned out to be. In the imp: Bertie Bassett's Liquorice Allsorts and coconut...rather scary to be honest. Wet: I smell like Bertie Bassett!! Full on, in your face black liquorice yuckiness...still scary. Dry: After about 30 minutes this morphs into something just divine. The liquorice slopes off elsewhere (thank feck) and what is left is creamy, spicy, sexy, slinky wonderfulness!! The amber and ginger cream come out to play, drizzled with creamy coconut and a hint of slightly spicy sandalwood, backed up with a subtle kick from the cinnamon bark...WOW!! It really is one of the most beautifully complex scents I have tried so far and I love it I am so glad I decided to give it a try and got past my fear of the Bertie Bassett stage. I have already ordered a full bottle and I am contemplating a back up. It's amazing!!

This is a strange one!! In the imp: Slightly spicy orange...smells promising. Wet: I think someone else has mentioned orange candy...orange flavoured Pez is spot on. Dry: Orange Pez and washing powder. A really sickly sweet, synthetic orange smell. I smell like freshly laundered orange candy. It has a really strong throw. The boy said from a good few feet away "Whoah that's strong, what the hell is it, you smell like Tango or Fanta"!! Even after a couple of hours I can't pick out any of the other notes and it still has a sickly orange candy thing going on

I purchased a bottle of this from eBay unsniffed, purely based on the reviews and had very high hopes for it as it contains a whole load of note I love. In the bottle: Dr Pepper laced with turpentine...a wee bit scary!! Wet: Dr Pepper, pine and turpentine...still scary!! Dry: PINE, PINE, PINE. I hate pine!! I smell like cheap disinfectant that has been mixed with sticky golden syrup. The wonderful resins, musk, amber and patchouli never make an appearance, the sweetness disappears and I'm left with...you guessed it...pine I am very sad as I was convinced this would be a favourite but this was a major fail for me. I tried wearing it again just to make sure but it wasn't to be. Back to eBay it goes

In the imp: caramel, honey and apple-y sweetness. Wet: WHOA there celery where did you come from!!! I nearly washed it off as I don't like eating celery and smelling of it was a bit scary. Dry: The celery stick from hell lasted a good half an hour but I am so pleased I stuck with it and didn't wash it off. It dries down to a wonderfully warm complex, glowing, comforting scent. I think a previous reviewer compared it to a caramel apple that has been dipped in honey and cream and to me that's what it smells like. However it's prevented from being too sweet with the addition of the amber, musk and teak. They give it a warm, rich, slightly spicy feel that complements the creamy, honey coated caramel apple perfectly. Without the perfect balance of notes this scent could easily end up too sickly sweet and girly but it truly is beautiful. It's a warm, sexy, grown up scent and I can quite happily put up with the half an hour of celery of doom for the end result. Sed Non Satiata is one of my favourite GC scents and I can see the similarities. I will definitely be picking up a bottle of this...it's gorgeous!!

Wet and in the imp Midnight Kiss is chocolate covered fruit and I was concerned it was going to be way too foody. On my skin it morphs into something quite outstanding. A rich sweet heady smell that is stopped from being too foody by the presence of the sandalwood and patchouli. It is luxurious and damn sexy. It's intense, dark and musky but at the same time sweet and somewhat fruity. It has a similar vibe to Blood Kiss but is slightly darker, sexier and more complex. Needless to say I have already tracked down a full bottle!!

Soap!! I think leather is my note of doom as I get the same soapiness from Krampus and some of the Labs other blends that contain leather. In the imp I can smell rum, leather and woody goodness but my skin turns it straight into soap...and not even an expensive yummy soap...just cheap, generic soapy soap. The boy sniffed me and said I smelt like the hand cleaner he uses at work...off to the swap pile for you Marquis...we are not meant to be!!

This really is a beautiful scent. A warm, rich, sweet and spicy incense. It's perfectly balanced. I was a little concerned about the clove, pimento and seaweed being a bit on the harsh side but they blend seamlessly with wonderful rich, sweet myrrh. It's a far softer scent than I imagined it to be, it has a really warm, enveloping, almost comforting feel to it. I am wearing it as I type this review and I can't stop huffing my arm. It reminds me very much of Priala when fully dry but that must be because of the myrrh. It has a very similar feel to it but where as Priala has spicy cinnamon, Ekhidna has amazing sweet clove. One of my favourite GC scents so far and definitely worthy of a full bottle purchase....gorgeous!!

Patchouli usually loves me....and I love it.....we get along exceptionally well. Subsequently I had high hopes for Masquerade. However something went very, very wrong.......I'm not sure what happened but my beloved patchouli turned into a yucky, sour, dirty and grubby sort of smell....and definitely not in a good way. Don't get me wrong I like dirty, sexy scents but this didn't fall into that category!! I couldn't pick out any of the individual notes.....I just smelt unwashed!!

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed based purely on the glowing reviews and due to the fact that I love some of the individual notes and I am so glad that I did. It is the most amazing, sexy complex scent and I think my favourite of all I have tried so far. Mme. Moriarty is a wonderful balance of sweet, sultry sexiness coupled with a dark, brooding mysterious muskiness that is blended with absolute perfection. It is exactly how I have always wanted to smell if that makes sense......like I have described my dream perfume to someone and they have made it especially for me. It is scent heaven and perfection in a bottle. It has attracted many compliments from both men and women and I have had people come closer for a better sniff!! I have one bottle and I need more!!