KesHiro

Frimp in one of my orders. In the vial, wet, drydown, and dry: Lots o' orchid. Lots o' *pretty* orchid. But far too much orchid for me. This went single note on me, with a brief cough syrup appearance during the drydown stage. Not sure where that came from but it vanished within three minutes. If you like orchids, then this is your scent. It's very floral, pretty, and feminine. Sadly, I like more than one note swimming around on my skin, and I'm not big on florals as the main note, so I'm going to have to pass on this one.

Frimp in one of my orders. This is one of those few oils that stayed the same in the vial, wet, drydown, and dry stages. In all four, I got soft delicate florals with a hint of "something" in the background. Now that I'm reading the other reviews, it appears that this "something" would be dragon's blood. This scent is pleasant enough . . . it's one of the few pure florals I can wear without feeling like a walking flower store advertisement. It stayed very close to my skin and smells very feminine and pretty. But I doubt I would wear it all that often. I'm glad I got a chance to try this, though.

Frimp in one of my orders. I tested this with some trepidation; I love leather notes but the lab's has been iffy on me. It ping pongs between being drool worthy or me shrieking that I must wash it off, wash it off NOW!!! Fortunately, Perversion decided to be nice! In the vial, I get a very sweet wine note; I suspect that this is the chardonnay, as I immediately pictured white wine. Wet, I get the wine note, with tobacco, leather, and possibly the tonka emerging. This is where things could have gotten very ugly; I sometimes amp booze notes into wino territory, leather doesn't always want to play nice, and tobacco on some very rare occasions goes ashtray. This could have been a disaster of perfect storm proportions . . . and yet all the notes behaved themselves! I guess this is an example of bad notes canceling each other out. During the drydown, the scent stayed pretty much the same as the wet stage but with a vague fruity note emerging. Dry, this was sweet wine with touches of tobacco and leather. It's very light and . . . spring-like. I like this quite a bit! Perhaps the perverse nature of this oil is that you *think* you'll be getting something dark and extremely sexual but instead end up with a cozy but sensual fragrance. Going on the potential bottle list! Edited for grammar issues

Frimp in one of my orders. I really wanted this to work because the notes sounded wonderful. I'm a big fan of vanilla - wood scents, but sadly my skin chemistry borked this one up. In the vial, I get a very sweet, slightly spicy vanilla; it's quite nice at this stage. Wet, I get a creamy spicy vanilla with a touch of something in the background. It could be the balsam or the sassafras, I can't tell which as my newbie is still learning how to distinguish individual notes. It's quite nice at this stage too. During the drydown, something funky happens and this goes straight into vanilla candle territory. This stage . . . not so nice. It's not bad but I don't want to smell like a Glade vanilla candle. Sadly, it stays this way once dry. I'm so disappointed because this was such a nice scent during the first two stages. I suspect that either the balsam or sassafras did not agree with my skin chemistry, as I've had great luck with both the lab's vanilla and cedar notes. I'll try this in a scent locket or use it in my oil burner, but I doubt I will revisit Tombstone anytime soon.

I'd been eyeing this scent for quite sometime, so when the lab announced that January sales of this would go toward the Red Cross Haitian relief fund, I figured it was a sign to go ahead and buy a bottle unsniffed. This move proved to be a good decision. In the bottle, I get coconut rum. Blargh, I want to drink this even though drinking perfume oil is bad! Wet, it smells exactly the same, a lovely buttery coconut rum . . . and by buttery, I mean something along the lines of butterscotch or those Werthers caramel candies. During the drydown, this lovely tobacco note starts to emerge; for a brief minute, it threatened to go ash tray on me but then it subsided into the background. Once dry, this is like having butterscotch candy while smelling coconut pipe tobacco. It has foody aspects but the tobacco keeps it from turning into coconut cake. This is going to be a fantastic scent during the summer, although I think it also works during the colder weather. This would also layer well with Villainess' Decadence scent. Very nice, I'm glad I bought it, and thank you to the lab for your generosity! Edit: had to correct the candy company name

Hi Ishianti! When you said you got shipping notification from CCNow on 1/15, do you mean that you checked the order status and it said "Shipped Jan. 15th?" If that's the case, that just means that was the date when the lab harvested the order. The lab itself hasn't actually shipped it until you get your CnS. Hope this helps answer your question!

Frimp in one of my orders. I wish this had some notes listed because my nose was totally lost during the testing. In the vial, I get a perfumey floral that somehow also evokes crystal clear water. Wet, this became perfumey green florals. During the drydown, it turned into total perfume; it smelled like extremely high end scent kept in beautiful clear cut crystal decants, and remained the same once dry. This is very lovely and does indeed conjure up images of clear glass, crystal, and something soothing. I'm not sure that this is for me; as lovely as I find it, it's not the type of scent I would imagine myself reaching for often. Still, I give it very high marks and would recommend it for anyone looking for something cool, clear, and aquatic.

Frimp in one of my orders. Very interesting and truly evokes its namesake! As I was testing this oil, the words "pale" and "dry" kept popping up in my head. I wasn't sure how you could go about imitating bone, but the lab has pulled it off. In the vial, I smell wood with a touch of floral. It's not a big creamy floral or something bright and cheerful. This is, for lack of a better description, a desolate floral. Like the one single bloom that remains after a fire or nuclear blast. Wet, the sandalwood emerges and this turns into a very dry blend. During the drydown, I get primarily wood and resin; the blend remains that way once dry. I imagine bleached wood and dry desert sands when smelling this. I like Dragon's Bone because of the images it conjures, and it is very nice, but I doubt I'll wear it all that much.

Frimp in one of my orders. In the vial, I get off florals; they are pretty but also smell a little sweaty. I was really hoping to get that "purple" scent, but I could smell only the night blooming flowers. Once on, the violet begins to emerge and it is absolutely lovely! Now I can smell that regal purple! Unfortunately, it turned a bit perfumey during the drydown and once dry, it became violet scented candies. It is by no means a bad scent; in fact, it's quite nice. But I was hoping for the fruit and incense to come out and round out the oil. Lovely, but not for me. I imagine that this one would have a powerful, royal, and feminine aspect when worn by the right person. Sadly, that is not I.

Frimp in one of my orders. Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about this one. In the vial, this is very smoky. Maybe it has a touch of wood . . . I smell something else in there if I inhale deeply enough. Wet, it smells like smoky wet wood and continues to get smokier through the drydown and into the dry phase. I have visions of embers and a smoldering camp fire that has been doused with a bucket of water. Very interesting, quite evocative, but not for me.

Frimp in one of my orders. So excited when I got this sample. Vanilla? Ooo, I like vanilla! Gardenia? Ooo, I like gardenia! Violet? Ooo . . . wait, I don't know but it sounds nice! In the vial, this is "HELLO, I'M GARDENIA!!!" It's lovely but also a little scary, like an entire gardenia bush suddenly uprooting and running straight at you because it wants a hug. Eek! Wet, the violet and vanilla instantly beat it back. During the drydown phase, all three are getting punch drunk on my skin as they begin to meld together. Once dry, I'm left with violet and creamy gardenia (some of the creaminess from the vanilla and some from the bloom). It's very lovely and very feminine. Sadly, I don't see myself wearing it that much. I would have loved it if there had been some wood grounding the florals but I don't really do solid florals all that often. Still, I'm keeping my imp and will use it on those days where I'm feeling super girly. If you love florals, I highly suggest trying this one!

Frimp in one of my orders. Hm. I wonder if this oil has some common ingredient with Sacred Whore of Babylon because I got the same weird, nasty off note that I did when testing the latter. In the vial, I get peach (and it's a very beautiful peach note at that!) and something . . . off. I don't know how else to describe it other than sweaty. Maybe it's some of the florals? Wet, it's peach and florals. I love the peach in this blend because it is so juicy and true to the fruit without being too sweet. But something weird in Marquise keeps rearing up and creating this off note. It vanishes with the drydown phase (thank goodness), but then so does the peach and I'm left with only florals and some of the other notes. Once dry, this is florals with a faint off note reappearing. Maybe it's the vetiver? I don't know what is in this that does not agree with my skin chemistry, but I will not be purchasing this oil. It's a shame it didn't work because that peach note is so pretty and I imagine that this would be fabulous on someone with the right skin chemistry. Sadly, I'm not that person.

Frimp in one of my orders. Very interesting! I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this blend but it turned out to be quite nice. In the vial, I get patchouli, black musk, and something . . . floral? Maybe this is the orris? I'm not sure, but it's a nice mix and smells feminine without actually kicking you in the face with her spiked heels. Wet, I get mostly black musk with another note beating it back. I honestly cannot tell if it's the orris or the myrrh, but it is definitely not the patchouli. In fact, the patchouli has been completely swallowed up by the other notes, which is a rarity for me. The drydown phase is quite bizarre in that this suddenly switches over into a more masculine territory, with the black musk making this smell like high end cologne. It's not unpleasant at all and quite nice. Once dry, I actually get a spicy unisex myrrh fragrance that reminds me of incense. The blend does indeed to an odd little dance on my skin . . . but I like it! I don't know if I'd actually wear it, hence the hesitation in putting it on the upgrade list, but I'll definitely keep the imp.

Frimp in one of my orders. Definitely not the type of scent I'd associate with a giant slimy alien with multiple eyeballs. In the vial, this is creamy coconut with soft creamy florals. Wet, it's coconut with lemongrass. I'm sorry to say that my first reaction was, "Ooo, yum, Vietnamese food!" I suspect the coconut/lemograss combo reminded me of a very nice sauce that topped an excellent dish I ate a few years ago. Once the drydown hits, this morphs into coconut and gardenia and stays that way when fully dry. On me, this turned into a very pretty, tropical scent. I noticed that quite a few people here said they got green/yellow out of this scent, but my skin chemistry completely whited it out. I had visions of drinking a pina colada while resting in the shade, surrounded by big white soft smelling blooms. I'm a bit on the fence when it comes to upgrading to a bottle, simply because I already have one tropical scent and I don't need anymore. Otherwise, this would be in the top five to purchase. Very nice!

Frimp in one of my orders. Urmmff . . . I'm not really the biggest Lovecraft fan out there. His stories happen to highly disturb and unsettle me (which was probably his goal/point), but I love reading and so am game to try any literary inspired fragrance. In the vial, I get perfumey seawater. It's actually quite pleasant and just about the last odor I would associate with Cthulhu (well, the perfume part), but it's nice. Wet, it smells the same but with the addition of seaweed -- still nice and pleasant. Sadly, it turns at the drydown and becomes pure soap, staying that way once dry. I like the initial stages of this scent, but the soap makes it a no-no.

Frimp in one of my orders. I love the scent description and since I'm given to wanton acts of minor mischief every so often, I had to try this. In the vial, I get a creamy coconut with bitter incense. I suspect this is the coconut and patchouli mixing together. Wet, it has an indistinguishable sweet-dirt odor; it's not bad, just a pleasant combo of sweetness and dirt. At the drydown phase, I get a faint coconut with incense in the background. I think it's the benzoin doing this this? Once dry, Goblin pretty much turns into a coconut single note with a slight "something" (probably the benzoin) in the background. I'm not a single note type of gal, but this is nice. It's not too sweet and not too strong; just pleasant coconut. I happen to like coconut, but if you're not a fan you may want to stay away from this scent. This is going on my maybe list, mostly because I don't need any single note oils.

Oh God, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought "animal cage" when I first smelled this. Frimp in one of my orders. Red musk and opium usually work on me but I was leery of the civet. Sadly, I was right. In the vial, this has a strong animal musk odor. I was hoping that the other two notes would beat it into submission once I had it one, but it instead started turning into an animal cage. I had to abort the scent test after ten minutes because it went fecal and kept getting stronger. An interesting concept and it sounds as though it would be amazing on the right skin chemistry, but I'm afraid Debauchery and I do not play well together.

Yep, I had the same problem just now. I wanted to check my order status and it would not recognize 2010 AT ALL. I finally got around the problem by skipping the order date and instead put in the order amount. Being a complete technological nincompoop, however, it took me about ten minutes and a lot of hissing and spitting at the screen before this occurred to me. *head desk*

Frimp in one of my orders. Without notes, I'm kind of flailing here because I'm still training my nose. So, forgive the rather generic description that follows . . . In the vial, I get a soft, creamy floral. Maybe gardenia? If I smell deeply, there's a vague soapy note in the background. Wet, it's still a soft gardenia, but now there is something powdery emerging out of the oil. It's not an unpleasant powdery (ie, baby powder), just something soft and gentle. During the drydown, I get the dreaded pickle note but fortunately it lasted only a few minutes. Once dry, I'm left with a soft creamy floral with something "green" in the background. This is nice! I'm not sure I'd buy a full bottle of this, as it's not something I would wear all the time, but it's pleasant. I cannot testify to its luck bringing abilities, as I did not test it out during a bad luck period. I was, however, feeling down and it did lift me up a bit.

Frimp in one of my orders. This sounded like such a nice scent, but then my skin chemistry had to go and bork it all up. Sigh. In the vial, I get rosy herbal resins. I don't know what palmarosa smells like, so maybe this is the culprit? Wet, it turns into . . . pickle. Seriously. Pickle brine. Which I don't find off putting when it's in a pickle jar . . . but on me? As the drydown begins, it turns into a powdery pickle (?!) and fortunately, the sandalwood and patchouli come out and beat whatever is causing the pickle note into complete and utter submission (apt for this category?). Once dry, I'm left with an incensey rose. It's all right, but it isn't my kind of scent and that pickle note really ruins it for me. I might try testing this again, as it seemed to have such high potential, but in the meantime Wanton is on the no-no list of bottles.

Frimp in my last order. This is an interesting scent to say the least. While the notes on their own do not scare me, the combination gave me something to pause over. Booze notes don't always play well on my skin, although the lab's do and I've had luck with merlot in the past. Given all this, I figured it was safe to test out this oil. In the vial, I get a very sweet, almost fizzy, fruit. I can't really pick out notes, or even what kind of fruit, but this is a very red-purple kind of scent. Once I have it on, I smell fruit with a touch of leather and musk. If the musk weren't so strong, this might actually be all right, but the musk starts to take over and during the drydown, I'm left with fruity musky leather with a touch of something herbal or medicinal. Dry, it's turned into fruity leather cough syrup. I've noticed a lot of reviews that talk about musk sometimes having a cough syrup like odor and that it sometimes takes aging to knock that scent back a bit. I'm going to hang onto this imp because I liked it aside from that weird medicinal note. It's very interesting, feminine but certainly not innocent and girly. Not with the leather note swimming around in there. I'm disappointed that this couldn't be a winner right from the start but I'm hoping that will change after some time has passed.

Hi guys! I just heard back from Bill, in customer services regarding whether or not imps would count toward the relief effort. Here is the response: "Thank you for your inquiry. No, we are only donating proceeds from the sales of 5ml bottles." So, unfortunately the imps of orishas and Port-au-Prince won't count. But I'm definitely going to get Elegba -- the coconut-rum-tobacco combo sounds lovely, I know my skin loves two of the notes, and I like what he represents. Plus, it's going to a good cause. I love that the lab is doing this . . . thank you for being such a generous company!

Thanks so much! In that case, I'll definitely throw two or three orisha imps into my next order. Oh . . . my . . . this sounds heavenly! Thank you for the mini review! I have a feeling Elegba will find a place in my next order.

I was contemplating an email to the lab and asking this very thing. I'm probably going to buy a bottle of Elegba -- to me, it sounds the most appealing of the blends and the listed notes seem to work on me. I do tend to amp booze notes, but so far the lab's booze notes have played very nicely with my skin chemistry. Plus, I believe he stands for communication? (I'm not familiar with orishas at all, but like you, I kind of want to respect what they represent.) I love talking and learning about all kinds of new things, so I think this is perfect. Obatala also sounds appealing but the reviews about it being buttery scare me. Overly buttery scares me more than overly boozed up for some reason. That's why I'm curious if imps count . . . I have tried Port-au-Prince before and to me it smells like marzipan. I can't use it on my skin, though, because I get about an hour of burning plastic during the drydown phase. Weirdest thing, since it's lovely before and after. Edited to add: I just sent off an email regarding imps of the orishas and if they count towards the fund. Will report back when I hear anything!

Frimp in my will call bag. My grandmother often referred to a woman having a shrieking bat poopie insane fit as a "Megaera," so when I saw the imp, I had to smile. Apparently, the shrieking woman likes me and so I like her. In the vial, this is an extremely fruity blend. I don't smell the amber and I don't think I smell the orris. What I do get is a whole lot of plum and juicy, red fruits, like grapes and berries. Yum. Seriously, I would drink this if it weren't . . . you know . . . perfume and all. Once I have it on, this smells like a rich, luscious fruit banquet. I still get lots of dark, juicy, red fruits, but there's a faint citrus note taming it just a bit. At the drydown, I suspect either the amber or orris emerges to tame back even more of the fruit note. I can't be sure which, but whatever it is, the note gives the blend a nice, smooth feel and keeps it from turning into fruit juice. Once dry, I'm left with a fruity blend with a faint touch of "something." While it smells nothing like The Fruit of Paradise, I'm reminded most of that oil -- mostly fruit with an added note or two to give it more depth. Very nice! I'm not sure if I'll buy a bottle yet, but this is definitely going onto the maybe list.