maewitch

I'm so pleased, another amber scent I can wear, and wear beautifully. And sandalwood! So beautiful and rich, yet subtle. I was a little afraid this would be a heavy or nauseating scent, but it's so sweet and light that it just smells like pampered woman-skin. The peach was noticeable at first, but dissipated quite quickly, as did the amber, fading gloriously into a background note. The heliotrope is barely a whisper. What's left is just a touch of vanilla, a very tiny bit of sandalwood and the suggestion of a sweet floral. A uniquely gentle and feminine scent. Definately goes on the big bottle list.

I get almost nothing but pure honey out of this one. There is a leeeetle bit of tea at the very begining, and possibly some ginger which my nose interprets as a citrusy note. And then the honey. A pure honey that gets stronger as the tea and ginger fades out completely. At one point, the honey is so strong that it develops this almost gardenia-like note that reminds me of Honey Moon, and with significant throw. This is perhaps my least favorite part of the dry-down, but I can't say that it was unpleasant, just unexpected. I guess my skin just amps the heck out of honey! A few hours later, the scent is softer and closer to the skin, the honey picking up a little vanilla. I don't think I would get a bottle of this, but I will enjoy my imp.

I'm pretty 'meh' on this blend. It's not offensive, but it's not doing anything for me either. I can't really pick up the chocolate note, which is disappointing, and the rum is kind of sickly. It reminds me a bit of Juke Joint and, in moments, of Perversion. It's the alcohol note, possibly. Ultimately, there's nothing here to maintain my interest and enough to turn it off. This one goes to the swap pile.

I've been testing various fragrances with amber components, and have started to worry that amber may be one of those notes that I just can't wear in any significant quantity. It doesn't go to powder, it just seems...age-inappropriate on me, somehow. Like heavily rose-based scents, it seems far too mature for my skin chemistry (but sexier than rose...like, Catherine Deneuve mature). But now I can revel in the ambery goodness that is The Lion. This smells tawny, sweet, sun-warmed, faintly spiced. Not quite predatory, this is a beast at rest, langurous in the heat.

This smells almost exactly like my boyfriend just after he puts on clean clothes fresh from the dryer...clean, clean, clean. And warm. The linen note is exactly right, and I assume there's some ozone and very light floral of some sort, though I'd be hard-pressed to guess what it might be. Though this is arguably a perfect neutral scent, this is actually just a shade too masculine for me. It's that ozone quality, it just doesn't work on my skin the way it does on others. HOWEVER...I wore this along with a vanilla body lotion on my legs, and sitting in the car, I got the waft from both and deargodsopretty!! I think other people have suggested that a dab of Dirty with a vanilla single note is the closest thing to Antique Lace, and if so, damn am I sorry I missed that one. Conclusion - I won't be getting a bottle of this, but I think I will always keep an imp on hand to mix up with some vanilla.

Whoa la, with the floral! First few sniffs and I was already consigning this to the swap pile - cloyingly sweet and chokingly rosy. But I restrained myself and was rewarded for my patience with an orange-glazed, honeyed rose. It smells like some exotic dessert, the sweetness tempered by the sandalwood. It's one of those beautiful scents that makes me admire Beth's skill, but that just isn't 'me'. Maybe I'll hold on to it for a little while anyway, since I've found that my taste is still evolving. Or else I might use it as an anointing oil in ritual, since it definately has the right associations for a certain goddess of Mesopotamian origin. EDIT: I got another shot at this one with a frimp from the Lab and it's much nicer fresh - heavier on the honey and the sandalwood. In fact, I barely get any rose from this. Very lovely.

This was too strong out of the bottle and wet on my skin; I could smell the amber and nothing else. Drying down, I can pick up something else in here, something just a touch verdant and tropical. I really don't get fruit from this, except perhaps as an overall sweetness. Further on the dry down, I get more of the 'breezy' factor - the strong amber smell settles and fades, and the overall scent softens into, yes, a fabric softener sort of sweet perfume. If one did their laundry in the tropics anyway. It's nicer dry than wet, but I don't see myself wearing this very often.

This is strange. Wet, I get a strong floral, red, sweet and a little spicy, but not quite carnation - something deeper and muskier, somehow. Completely unexpected, since I was imagining pure cinnamon and pepper in my head. I think it must be the dragon's blood, though since this is my first time wearing it I'm not sure. There's a suggestion of the cinnamon, clove and pepper, which deepens upon drydown, but I can't pick the individual notes apart at all. I am completely turned around by this blend. And greatly intruiged by dragon's blood. I now must hunt up some more oils with this component to verify this spicy-floral note.

Does the lab ever combine pending orders for international customers? Since they have to wait for there to be the time and an accumulation of orders to make it worth the time, it would seem to make sense to combine orders that are no more than a couple of weeks apart and send them together. Especially when they are earlier orders in the queue than those already going out, no?

This is similar to Pink Moon, at least to my nose, since I'm not so great at picking apart different florals. They basically fall into four categories for me: light, sweet, lush, OMG wash it off NOW. This one has that sweet floral component and it's very nice. It has the same girly vibe that Pink Moon had. Wet it's a little more green than I was expecting, like Beth got some of the leaves as well as the strawberries in there. This fades slightly but enough sticks around to give this a little kick and to save it from becoming saccharine. Because this IS sweet, all juicy, smear-your-chin-with-pulpy-goodness strawberries and that floral note. The green (I assume the sage) really adds something just a touch wild. This is nicest when it wafts, and I just catch the edge of it. Sticking my nose too close to sniff means I pick up a little too much of the floral for my pleasure.

This is very soft and very pretty. Ethereal, even. It's a close cousin to The Unicorn, with delicate white flowers and a faint touch of green to it. But it also has something faintly fruity to it, sweet and a little tart, like citrus or berries. I really can't pin it down, since wet it seems a bit more like lemon - or rather, lemonade - and drying down it becomes sweeter even as that fruit note becomes fainter. I've always hated commercial perfumes that proclaim to be 'clean' or 'citrusy', as they are invariably acrid and nauseating on me. After the fantastic run of luck I've had with Embalming Fluid, The Dormouse, The Unicorn and now Empyreal Mist, I am officially converted to Beth's light blends.

There's a wonderful floral sweetness right out of the bottle and wet on the skin. The violet I presume. There is a brief skirmish between this and the spices, which turns the violet too sweet and the spices too sharp. But then a resolution emerges, and this becomes an exotic spicy-creamy scent, very feminine and rich. I'm on a mission to find scents that match up with the character of Inara (fom Firefly/Serenity). This can go in that box. For now, anyway...I'm still looking for the perfect one.

I was frankly a little worried about this one, what with all those references to 'dusty' and 'musty' in other reviews. I'm glad I didn't listen to those doubts. I used to have this desire to study something fascinating but completely useless at a university like Oxford. This smells exactly like my fantasy. Sitting in an old library with stone walls and polished oak tables, stacks of mysterious books around me, sipping coffee with Bailey's from an antique silver service set. And then Mr. Gilles comes out - Er. Right, back to the perfume. Lovely, it is. Sweet creamy, whiskey-touched coffee, softening in the dry-down and becoming just very faintly woody (but not dry - creamy woody). EDIT: The boy pronounces it 'burnt caramel'.

The first 20 minutes or so are nice enough, but just too floral for my personal taste. It's powdery-girly with a faint undertone of rot, but not in an unpleasant way. Drying down, this is pure sugar-dusted pinkness. It's super-feminine and innocent and just so pretty, with that shimmery note I associate with the lunar oils that saves it from being too adorable. Quite unexpected.

Ah thank you! I have no doubt they're worth the wait. I'm keeping an eye on the click-n-ship thread, and my nerves are about to give out since I'm seeing all these notices from folks who ordered near the same day I did.

Hey, I was trying to figure out if the international package days are regular (like every thursday or whatever) and if they happen every week, or if they happen a bit more sporadically. Any clues?

This is a very lovely blend, a soft pure rose with just a tiny bit of spice for some complexity. Unfortunately, as much as I love the smell of roses, this is just not "me". This scent stays absolutely true and in the abstract I appreciate its appeal. On me, it somehow remains like a layer over my skin, never truly blending in with me. I've noticed this with rose blends in general, and some other florals as well. After about 5 or so hours though, it has faded enough where it is barely perceptable. I can dig it then, but that's really a case of too little, too late.

This one made me all confused. For the first 15 minutes, I was sure this one would be a pass. It smelled like orangy-floral furniture polish, albeit very elegant furniture polish. Then the strong florals and the overwhelming orange died down, and the clove starting warming up a bit. I think I may have strained my nose trying to catch the simulataneous changes. Dried down, this was an airy mix of florals, faint orange and barely-there clove. I never though I'd describe something with clove as 'airy', but there you go. Final verdict: I'll wear it (along with an expression of bewildered pleasure), but won't be getting a bottle.

I work in a bookstore, which sometimes requires quite a bit of physical labor. The scents that help me feel fresh are Dormouse, the Unicorn and Embalming Fluid, and they're the only ones that aren't potentially offensive to others, according to co-worker opinion. I would be quite conservative with scents at a gym though. I think I would only apply to my shoulders, which would be close enough for me to enjoy the smell, but not a pulse point likely to amplify the scent. If absorbtion into open pores is an issue, you can use a terry wrist band or something, or put a little in your hair (not scalp).

This was a lot more mellow than I was expecting from the description. The scent that wafts up is pure stewed apples, lightly spiced and sweet. This is my favorite aspect of the blend. It smells deliciously homey and just a bit creamy. When I sniff up close, I pick up a woodsier and slightly more bitter note, which is probably a combination of the fir and the patchouli. By itself I'm not sure I would enjoy this undercurrent, but as part of this blend it provides a much-needed depth. This is indeed a very autumnal scent. It makes me think of an evening spent baking, with the windows left a little open to let in the smell of fall leaves and earth. ETA: This just kept getting better the longer it was on. The dark, woodier notes and the foodier notes blend together into a fantastic sweet-earthy-slightly-spicy scent that is a close, more innocent, cousin to Hex.

Ok, I'm looking for something similar to Hexennacht's smoky, fir-y, incense-y goodness. (Why why WHY do I keep jumping on these LE imps, only to search desperately for something to take their place once they are gone?) Any suggestions?

Oh. My. Gods. I was a little wary of this one, what with the woodsy and the smoky. I'm more of a vanilla kinda girl (as far as scents go anyway), but...whoa. This is that sweet languid feeling that comes after sex, with that shiver of knowing that this was the last person you should be alone in the dark with. This is lying in the dirt, the sky obscured by the fir branches above you, warmed by a smoky fire.

The mint fades within minutes, as per usual for me. What's left is a strong sugared booze scent that is almost a little spicy. It's nice when it wafts up from my arm but is far too cloying at close sniff. This one will likely move on to someone who will appreciate its potential julep-ness.

Ohhhh, I LOVE this. This is plums and red berries and candy-sweetness. This is purple glowy goodness, a lovely shimmer of pure, juicy fruit. This is staying up christmas night when you're a kid, sniffing those sugar-covered fruit jelly candies.

The amber necklace of Freyja, Norse Goddess of Love, Sex, Attraction and Fruitfulness. Her magnificent necklace was bough from four Dwarves [Alfrik, Berling, Dvalin and Grer] at the price of four nights of her passion. When Brisingamen graces your throat, no man can resist your charms. A glittering mantle of rich golden notes: five ambers, soft myrtle and apple blossom, myrtle, and carnation. Oh, this is one I really wish I could have liked more. There's something a little too sharp in the opening stage, which I suspect is the carnation. Dry, this is too heavy and goes slightly to powder on me, with a strange sort of acrid sweetness. I hate using this expression, but it does make me think of old-lady perfume. It's not entirely unpleasant, but the powdery-sweetness combined with the heavy quality does have that old-fashioned vibe I associate with Well Kept older women. You know, the sort who were a little rambunctious in their youth, but who married "up" and are always well-turned out. It definately has that sexual quality to it, but it's one I associate with a completely different generation. It just doesn't quite work for me.