pandorasmuse

Received from a forumite. It's the color of dark dark honey. This was recommended to me based on mainstream perfumes I have worn & liked. In the imp: Smoky incense and woods. A little bit of a floral "aftertaste" and lingering smokiness. Wet: Whoa. Weird and musty. Drydown: When my nose is close to my wrist, I smell some florals. When my nose is away from my wrist, I smell smoky incense. And patchouli. And moss too, I think? I'm not really sure. As it continues to dry, I get potpourri and bug spray. Not good. Later: The smokiness dies down a little, but incense & patchouli still seem to be stomping on the flowers. I'm also getting powdery weirdness. I don't like it. I kinda smell like a cross between a box of incense and a basement. It's not as aggressive as when I first applied it, still. When I reached out to pet one of my cats, he sniffed my wrist and recoiled. That and my husband hating it seals it--this is not for me, not at all. Plus, I think it's making me sneeze. I might have a problem with the moss, as there have been mosses in two scents I've really disliked, but I haven't tested enough to be positive yet. Off to the swap box!

Received as a Christmas gift from Mr. Muse. In the bottle: Very aquatic. Sweetly green-smelling. I'm thinking of the sun warming the crushed stalks of sweet rushes. A very happy scent. Wet: Less aquatic, more herbal. Very lush plant life--exactly what you'd expect from a river. It almost smells like palmetto leaves, too. Drydown: The smell of just-crushed plants has faded. It smells like plants do after their stems have been crushed. A little of the initial aquatic scent has returned. Later: Balanced aquatic and slightly drying herbs, against a backdrop of rushes. This reminds me of visiting swamps in certain regions of the South: very wet, very green, very alive. I wish it had a little more throw, though. By this stage it's very faint. This is beautiful. I love my bottle!

Recieved as a frimp from the lab. In the imp: Wow! Butterscotch and boozy chocolate-covered cherries. This is making me hungry! I think this is going to be either very good or very bad on my skin. Probably no middle ground here. Wet: Whoo! Maraschino cherries, with a touch of rum. Yum. Drydown: The scent is warming up. The cherry-ness of it is subsiding, but it's still there Later: As it dries, it picks up a bit of powderiness, but it's not bad. The foody elements largely disappear. It's warm, incensy muskiness with a touch of cherry sweet lying underneath. I'm learning I like foody scents. Good to know. I like this, and I'll use the imp. It's not for every day, and I probably won't seek out a bottle. I might change my mind if it ages exceptionally, though.

Received as a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Piney and a bit spicy. I think I might smell a hint of orange, but it's faint. Wet: This reminds me of Christmas tree farms where they serve hot cider. It's all fresh green evergreens and spice. Drydown: More eucalyptus-y now. The spiciness is still pretty predominant. It smells like an orange studded with cloves. Later: The orange is dominant when I have my wrist close to my nose, otherwise it's still pine/eucalyptus. My sinuses are feeling nice and clear. Later still, the orange seemed to disappear completely. I really like the way this smells. BUT. I do not like it on me. A room smelling like Jabberwocky is fantastic, but not my own self. I'm fascinated with the real pine scent. Like Lupin1 said, it's really like pine sap. I'm glad I had a chance to try this one (not sure if I would have tried it otherwise, it's not on my list), but it's not working on me.

The goblins deemed me Nice in '09! In the bottle: Gingersnaps, peppermint candy, and... cough syrup? That must be the rum/cognac. Clamorous indeed! Wet: Minty candy, with a soft (but faint) vanilla undertone. I smell like one of those candy dishes with a whole jumble of stuff in it. The mint is just knocking all the other scents out of its way. I smell the tiniest bit of booze. Drydown: Oooh. The mint's fading, and some really nice notes are emerging. There's the ginger and the star anise, and a bit of the vanilla and tea. This is becoming very nice. Later: The mint comes back a little, but it's not as pushy as it was. The sweetness of the vanilla, star anise, and gingersnaps are more apparent. The tea's gone. There may be a bit of rum/cognac, but it's very faint. I never really got much of the smoke. I really like this when it's dry. It's an intriguing scent--assertive with a touch of sweetness. I will admit that I was afraid this was not going to work at all. Smelling it from the bottle was kind of scary. An olfactory swat on the nose, what with the mint and cough syrup. My husband hated the bottle smell, too--he said it smelled like Robitussin, which he hates. It doesn't work for me when it's wet, either. I was relived that it dried down so pleasantly.

In the bottle: Lots of florals overlaid by some sort of woody, musty smell--I'm guessing that's the oakmoss. This kinda reminds me of the house my four maiden great-aunts lived in. Old-smelling and a little musty, but filled with the sweetness of flowers. I'm getting a hint of the musk in the back of my nose. Wet: Sweet flowers, a hint of musk. Much less musty than in the bottle. Cool and distant, like wind in the branches. Drydown: Hmmm. More florals. And it's starting to smell a bit like soap... please go away, soap... Later: Everything is kind of muddled together now. The florals smell very musty. I'm really not sure about this. I don't think this one is for me. It reminds me too much of my great-aunts' house. The floral notes are a bit heavy for me, too--I suspect it's the lilt of the valley, but I don't know enough about what works for me yet to say for sure. This is really too bad--I love the bottle art and the evocative description. I even ordered the shirt. I'm keeping the shirt, and I guess I'll let the bottle age a bit longer and retest before giving up, but I suspect this will be going up for swapping in the not-too-distant future.

In the imp: Piney mintiness. I'm feeling a bit of a bite in the back of my nose. Very wintery and clean-smelling. Wet: Still piney, but with soft edges. No more sharpness. It smells like a Christmas tree in a clean room. Drydown: There's that honey I've heard about! Dried pine boughs with the tips dipped in honey. Very comforting and holidayesque. Later: The evergreen scent keeps fading, and the honey is coming out stronger. I will miss the pininess, but the honey is very nice. This one's a keeper. EDIT: I don't know what's changed, but after wearing it successfully several times, it now smells like a latrine on me. I tried wearing it more than once to make sure it wasn't a fluke. All the deliciousness is gone. Wahh!

This is my first review ever. In the imp: Candy and nuts. I can definitely smell hazelnuts in there. I agree with abejita--I smell cherry as well. Pure sugary holiday goodness! I want to taste it. Wet: Yummy! More sugar. The nuts aren't as pronounced, but they're peeking out in the background. Drydown: The sweetness has subsided somewhat. Toasty nuts, a hint of crystallized sugar. Mmmm! My husband says I smell like cake. Later: Soft hazelnuts and walnuts sprinkled with sugar. It smells very warm and comforting. I want to take a bite out of my wrist! Oh goodness. This is delicious. I LOVE it!