pandorasmuse

In the decant: This is fall all over. Leaves, leaves, leaves! Wet: Wet leaves in early autumn. Maybe ones that have just fallen. Drydown: This really is fall in a bottle, isn’t it? Later: This is a cheery fall blend, but there’s a bit of melancholy at the finish—fall won’t last forever, you know. Winter is just around the corner.

In the decant: I don’t know about swans, but I do get a mental picture of walking by a still lake in the fading day. Wet: Astringency. Drydown: Much nicer—the aquatic note comes out. I do like aquatics. Later: As I wear it, it just kind of goes meh. It’s not bad, just not particularly good, either. Too bad, as I thought this would be a surefire winner.

2010 iteration. In the decant: Very musty dead leaves. Wet: Dried leaves and sap. The description is spot-on. Drydown: Masculine. It reminds me of the way my husband smells, actually. Later: More smokiness. I like this, but I think I’d have to be in a special kind of mood to wear it. It's a wrap up in blankets, stay inside when it's warm kind of smell. I’m definitely keeping my decant. I tried it on my husband, and it didn’t work at all—very surprising, as it smells very much like him. I thought it would amp his natural good-smelliness, but no dice. Now regretting not springing for a bottle. I may have to seek one out.

In the imp: The pear’s definitely coming out on top. Beth is so amazing—it smells like a pear’s skin, before you bite into it. Wet: Perfect pear. The pear you’ve been searching for your whole life. And a touch of musk, too. Drydown: More florals now, but that pear skin is sticking around to hold everything together. Later: Lightly fruit, lightly floral. Very balanced. This is a nice one. After wearing it all day, I’m not sure if this is a must-have, made-for-me scent, but it’s VERY nice… maybe good for spring.

In the decant: Ominous, indeed. Pretty flowers with something swampy and indistinct hovering in the background. Wet: Very very green, with lotus and linden featuring prominently. Drydown: This smells like the sort of mist you would run from. And I think I like that. Later: The swampy greenness disappears on me, leaving just the florals. It’s nice, but I liked it better when it first dried.

In the decant: Hey! What smells blue? Answer: this does. Wet: This smells very spicy to me. All I smell is spice and the faintest hit of sugar. No pumpkin, no blackberry. Drydown: Still just spice. If it stays like this, it will probably be re-homed. I wanted unspiced pumpkin and blackberries! Later: Nope, just straight up spices. Pass.

In the decant: Wow! Lots of cherries, lots of almond. Not really getting much coconut, except right at the very end. Wet: Very very strong. Lots of cherries. Drydown: Super-cherries! This is fun, but there’s no way I’d ever use up a bottle. A little of this goes a very long way, and it laaaaaaaaasts. I may or may not keep the decant—I have to think about it, and maybe wear it at least once more.

I loved The Monk. I read it on my own first, then in a Gothic Lit class in college. In the decant: Sharp, aggressive, musky sweetness. Wet: Less sharp. A distinct afterscent of crayons, oddly enough. Drydown: Isn’t red musk nice? I find this scent oddly comforting. Later: This is nice, but I can’t see myself wearing it very often, so I don’t think I’ll need a bottle. I’ll hold on to my decant, though. I think this suits me better than Smut does.

In the decant: Just a whiff of the cigarette smoke, thank goodness. A bit of the flowers, and some things I don’t recognize. Wet: Wow, LOTS of things I don’t recognize. Drydown: This is really hard to describe. It’s kind of sweet, but kind of not… that’s not very descriptive, I know. It’s pleasantly unusual, but has a bit of a darker edge to it. Later: This is doing something odd to my skin. It’s very tingly, and I seem to be sweating where I applied? This is a little disconcerting—I’ve never had a reaction like this with anything else, even the super-spicy things. Think I better wash off. It’s too bad. This is like nothing I’ve ever smelled, and I do like it—but if a blend is making me physically uncomfy, I know I shouldn’t wear it.

In the decant: Light and girlish. Quite pretty. Wet: Wow! This really is white tea! I drink quite a bit of it, and I’m very familiar with the smell. Fabulous—I like! Drydown: …lemon? Really lemony lemon, not Lemonheads lemon. Later: Fading already? In this case, "later" is less than half an hour… I don’t think this works for me, sadly.

In the decant: Whoa. Something intense is coming out of that oil. Wet: This is much spicier than expected—the spruce and pine are really the most dominant things in there, aren’t they? This might be good on Mr. Muse. Not sure if it’s for me, though. Drydown: I smell some of the other things in the blend now. Nice, but I still suspect it will be better on a dude. Never gets that much better on me, and it doesn’t work on my husband, either. Oh well. Can’t win 'em all.

This is the 2010 version. Clear oil. In the decant: Smells like rock candy. I don’t really smell any fruits, just sugars for the time being. Wet: Super-sweet! And a touch of booziness, for some reason. Drydown: Just a touch of fruit at the end. Mostly sugar, but it has softened somewhat. Later: After wearing for a whole day, I can definitively say that this is a great scent—and it LASTS! Bottle, please!

This is the 2010 version. I’m sort of surprised at myself—I ordered something with patchouli in it! This is something I usually avoid. In the decant: It really does capture the smell of an autumn night, doesn’t it? It has that hint of darkness you get at Halloween, too… Wet: Euugh. Patchouli, and pretty much nothing but. Drydown: There’s apple in here? And pumpkin? Really? I’m not smelling it at all. Just the patchouli and woods. It’s weird—I kind of like it, but kind of don’t. I have a feeling I’d never wear this. It’s too aggressive for me, I think… erk. And it’s making me itchy. I think I don’t do well with super-spicy blends. My skin’s too sensitive. Later: There’s elements I like, but I know in my heart that I’ll never wear it. It’ll be better served when it’s re-homed with someone who will love it.

This is the 2010 version. In the decant: I smell apples and clove. "Grape Smarties," says husband. (Really?) Wet: Potpourri and some sort of cleaner? Other reviewers say "craft store," and I kinda have to agree. Drydown: Eh. Craft store… candles…. No milk or ale at all, at least on me. Later: As it sits on my skin, it smells like food. Specifically, like stewed apples with cream, which is my go-to winter desert But it’s also kind of itchy-burny. Afraid that puts it into the chemistry fail category for me. And husband still thinks it smells like grape Smarties. Sigh...

Just opened this soap today! It's my first Villainess and/or BPTP soap. Very exciting times! The first thing I noticed when I opened the bar was a whiff of hot sauce. Up close, the soap is spot-on apples and dried leaves (not the sweetest or crispest apples, but apples for certain). But if I walk by the bathroom, I still get that hot sauce note. Very interesting! I like hot sauce, so that's OK. My husband did ask if the new soap would burn his tender bits. He's safe, though--no burning. Just soapy goodness when you get up close and personal with it.

In the decant: Kind of woody, and darkly sweet. Wet: Smoky and citrusy, with a hint of florals. Drydown: Lemonheads all the way. Something in it seems to burn a bit, too. Maybe the smoke? I haven’t had trouble with any of the other notes. The burning sensation is not going away, so I think it’s best if I wash this off now… All in all, this is blazing Lemonheads on my skin.

In the decant: It smells like autumn treats. Cinnamon rolls and pie. Yum! Wet: A lot of brown sugar up front, with sassafras as the ending note. The clove’s spiciness lingers in the back of my nose. I don’t smell plum, exactly, but therre’s a bit of fruitiness lingering around the edges of the scent. Drydown: The cloviness makes me nervous. I’m afraid it’ll clobber all other notes into submission. It’s done that with several other promising scents. So far so good, though. I’ll have to remember to use a light touch if I hold on to this one. Later: This reminds me of a spicer version of Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand. It’s nice, but I already have a bottle of AMMS, so I don’t need a bottle of this one.

In the decant: I definitely get a zinginess from the pepper. The sweet side of the scent is almost citrusy. Wet: Zingy light coconut. Not overpowering at all. I was afraid the coconut would be the “hit-you-in-the-face” variety. Drydown: Plastic coconut. My husband thinks it smells like marshmallows. Later: Light coconut cream! Very nice. I wasn’t expecting anything good based on what it smelled like right when it dried, but it’s pretty! Good for summer and early fall.

In the imp: Sweet, almost edible-smelling… and VERY familiar. It almost reminds me of the gum I chewed when I was a kid. Wet: Yes. Strawberry Bubblicious. How odd! (My husband says I’m nuts: “That’s definitely flowers.”) It’s got a bit of a bite from the carnation and pepper. Drydown: The edge rounds out, and the strong sugar mellows. Later: Sugary florals, just the way I like. But the longer I wear it, the more pinky it gets. It works for a time, but then transforms into something that doesn’t quite work for me.

In the imp: Very pale oil. Just a hint of yellow color. I smell a lot of the wood and evergreen, but I like it much more than I have liked those notes in other blends. The berries smell like juniper berries, rather than something sweet. Wet: Very interesting! Definitely juniper-y. I don’t really know what a yew tree is. Is it a juniper relative? I smell a bit more sweetness now. This will be great when the weather turns a bit colder, I think. Drydown: Less juniper-y, more gentle pine. This is drying pleasantly. Later: The berries definitely make an appearance as time goes on. This is a nice, walk-in-the-woods sort of scent. After wearing it for a full day, I am still most pleased. This is the woodsy, outdoorsy, nature girl scent I have been waiting for.

In the imp: More nursing home-ish than expected. A bevy of grandmothers. Wet: Mmm, lilac! Other flowers as well, but it doesn’t have that elderly smack to it any longer. Drydown: This is reminding me of a scratch-n-sniff book I had as a kid. I’m pretty sure there was a lilac sticker in there. I’m liking it, but I’ll have to remember to use a light touch if I end up WEAR wearing it. Later: Mr. Muse says it reminds him of a bathroom. (Usually he tells me things smell like cake.) I didn’t smell it until he said it, and now I can’t un-smell it. That comment may be a dealbreaker.

In the decant: I definitely smell rocks in here, and fake rocks made of plastic. Amazing! I also get the Dr. Pepper smell that Ravenclaw79 mentioned, but only as the predominant impressions fade from my nose. Wet: Oof. Plastic dust. Drydown: This gets sweeter and softer after it dries, with orris and vanilla coming out on top. It’s still dusty, but not powdery. Later: For some reason (probably the orris), this reminds me of Faith. I feel like this should be a more complex than it is. It’s nice, but it’s not strong enough to warrant seeking out a bottle.

"On April 17, 1897, an alien spaceship appeared in the skies over Aurora, Texas." April 17 is my birthday. I REALLY hope this will work, pretty much for just that reason. In the decant: Sweet wildflowers as the sun is setting and a bit of charred wood. Wet: And we’re off with a soapy nose. But it’s not overwhelming or unpleasant. It’s nice soap, not motel freebie soap. Drydown: More soap. Later: Nope. All soap. I am so disappointed—this was supposed to be my birthday scent!

In the decant: Lots of sugary spiciness with a hint of citrus. A very warm scent. Wet: Still quite spicy, with more fruitiness coming forward. Spiced juicy mangoes. The pumpkin isn’t very apparent. It’s hovering around the edges binding the other smells together. Drydown: More orange, mango, and pumpkin now, and the sugar cane is stepping up. The ginger is still very there, but it’s less dominant than it was. I’m not getting any amber (I don’t think, anyway). Later: Nice! Lightly spicy, moderately foody—autumnal and quite pleasant.

In the decant: Sweet and berry-filled. It's like a mix of flavored lip gloss and this berry juice I remember drinking in Denmark as a teenager. Wet: More sweet berritude. Drydown: The blend becomes more balanced as it dries, which is nice. There’s still a lot of berries. I can't decide if I like that or not. "It's all fruit—it smells like you’re a fruit," says the Mr. Later: I do believe he may be right on the too-much-fruit thing. This is a blend that just smells like DKA to me. As a diabetic, that's an association I don't need.