Serrated_Angel

I'm not terribly familiar with ginger as a note, and the only other time I've encountered it is in Saw Scaled Viper, which is a completely different creature to Siren. Smelling this in the vial and applying it wet, I get a very sharp medicinal green scent. It's bordering on the smell of the unflavored Halls cough drops on me. So yes... a very bright, sneaky green. It's remarkably similar to Van Van, from the Voodoo sector, which means I'm getting a bit of vanilla as well, but it's subliminal. Letting it sit for a few minutes, you can tell that it's starting to warm up and soften, but both today and yesterday when I tried this it's held to the green guns for at least a good half hour. Then, it turns PINK. I don't know how else to describe it, but it hops over to the opposite end of the color wheel and suddenly, it's approachable and slightly sweet, but not in a candy way. It's a very nice scent, but I don't know if I'll ever be in the mood to wear it. Siren, it seems is just not really my style. This is a flowy skirt and strappy sandals kind of scent, not the combat-boot-and-jeans fare I traipse around in. Also, the throw is fine... but the scent as a whole doesn't really last with my chemistry. About two hours after applying I couldn't smell myself unless I huffed my wrist. An errant cuddle and kiss got The Boy close enough to to smell and compliment it around the same time, so I may have just been desensitized to it. If you went out and about with this, I'd take an imp with me and reapply... tactfully avoiding folk for the first half-hour or so afterwards. I know a good number of girls that would adore this smell, but it's just not me.

Hoyeah. It's cinnamon alright. Putting it on, it smells just like catching a whiff of a freshly opened jar of cinnamon red hots. That's great for me. I always loved those things, but trust me when I say that you can practically taste them. Now, earlier today, I dabbed some on my neck, in the crooks right below my ears, and on the middle of my inner forearms. There was a small amount of burning sensation, but there was no rash... however, for the forearms, I always rub the oiled parts together to release the scent with a little warmth. I was fine for a little while, but I ended up with rash on my arms that lasted for at least half an hour. It was a spread of red dots where the oil sank into the pores a bit much. The area on my neck however, that was fine. I'm trying again, but without rubbing, and on the upper part of my forearms. The slight burning tingle is there, but there's no rash thus far. I know it must sound terrible to folks reading this to hear people typing "I got a rash OMG!!!", but as long as you keep it away from more sensitive skin (softer parts, insides of joints, etc) and don't slather it on and rub it in hard, you should be just peachy. All else fails, it's perfect for putting in your hair. It lasts longer, doesn't sting at all, and you can earn Anchorman quotes in the process. Personally, I think it's worth it. Cinnamon like this isn't a common scent at all in a perfume, and it definitely makes an impact. Even if it doesn't last long, it's great for putting on when you know you want an impact. Without being sickening or wafty, I can imagine someone wearing this, sitting down next to me, and giving me a fantastic Look and Smirk that says "Well. Hello there."

I wouldn't worry about not trying anything different than your preferences. With every order, you get free imps (we sometimes call them frimps or lagniappes) While I assume they're just randomly tossed in before the box is shipped, I would swear that I end up enjoying those more, despite them being utterly different or the opposite of what I ordered intentionally.

That's odd. While it has the same medical label I'm hearing about, mine comes in one of the amber bottles. Hm. That said, it's time for ~*~Serrat Can't Identify Notes So You Get Really Abstract Descriptions Theatre~*~ In the bottle: A very light, clean fruit scent. There's something sharp in it, but not in a "Ack, that hurt" kind of sharp. It's more a sense of clarity. Wet: The ginger comes to the fore, for me, while the fruit notes everyone else is talking about are off dancing together in the distance at such a gleeful pace as to make them a blur. It's a very dewy and happy scent at this stage. Drydown: *poomf* Huh? Where'd it go? We were having so much fun. Sadly, this sticks around on me for little over an hour. I'm testing from a 5 ml, so purchase isn't key to my judgement. I'll certainly use up the bottle, since it's such an excellent scent to wear during classes and meetings without distraction. I really do like it, but due to its flighty nature I'll be used to going without when it's gone.

On me, this scent is all vetiver, clove, and animal. It contains the sharp sting of clove cigarettes and the deepest musk. It was very, very pronounced in the bottle, and during its wet stage on my skin. The sweetness mentioned in the description of the blend tries to makes its presence known, but all that comes out is making it like a bitter, almost licorice-like candy. It's like the vanilla and honey are a small child looking up at you from the bottom of a clove and vetiver well. It's so close, but I can't reach them, that's for sure. Even at its sweetest stage, if this scent were a song, my chemistry speeds it up to make it a high screech. Alas, the quest for a vanilla scent continues.

In the bottle, I can smell mostly the light, spring and summer fruits tempered with the autumnal breezes. Putting it on, I smell a bit of cold, and I would swear there's some of the ozone I smelled in scents like Storm Moon, but nowhere near as sharp and soapy. Minutes later, the fruit comes gently back, bringing along a quiet and willing rose by the hand. Dried down the notes meld together for me too much to discern them independently anymore. It smells like something old and expensive from the ladies behind the snootiest counter of the store. It's perched high on mother's vanity in the beautiful cut crystal bottle you're afraid to get caught touching. That's odd...this scent evokes images and notes from all the seasons at once. Throughout the application, it did each stage individually, and upon drydown melded them together. Very nice, but a bit too traditional and ladylike for my tastes.

The scent of sexual obsession, slavery to sensual pleasure, and the undercurrent of innocence defiled utterly. Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla. I had gotten an imp of this to wear with the visiting beau, who loves vanilla in the worst (ie: best) sort of way. So, after picking him up, we're sitting on the train and the first remark was "Hmm...you smell kind of like baby powder." followed by a few more quizzical sniffs at my neck. This was only an hour or so after I had applied. Baby powder. Nuts. It seems that, despite my love of them, most milk-honey-vanilla blends turn to dust when met with my chemistry. Curses! However, some time later, he was sniffing the same spot on my neck, and said "Okay, now you smell like cocoa butter." BPAL's capacity for morphing was driving him mad, even after being applied 5 and a half hours earlier! Later, the minimal sleep he had on his trip took its toll, and he nodded off while we were curled up. Baby powder, cocoa butter, or whatever his brain decided to make it drew his nose up to the little crook behind my ear where I had applied and sleep with his nose pressed against it. It was an awkward position for his sore neck and smooshed nose, but no matter if he shifted unconsiously or I shifted deliberately, his nose always tucked back into my neck. Not only that, but his breathing noticeably quicker than usual. I might have to get a 5 ml of this anyway, if I test its subliminal effects more thoroughly, because sleeping with his Lord Vader "kooooohishhhhhhh kooohiiiisssssssssssssh" was endearing.

Initially, when in the vial, I smelled neither rose, nor leather. It was a strong, pleasantly acrid scent not unlike the ozone scents I've sniffed. However, upon application, this comes out as almost pure rose. I say almost because I thought it was straight rose, until I realized I had an actual bouquet of roses on hand to compare with. The fresh red roses were a cool, bright scent, but "Whip" has an antique feel to it. If roses stayed fresh for generations, and you climbed up the attic of a victorian home to find a vase full of them in a room where everything is covered in sheets (Kind of ...creepy, actually...), this would be something comparable. "Whip" has an added layer that makes it palpably warm and kind of sexy, but that in itself doesn't smell like leather in a literal sense, but what the idea of adding leather to the romantic ideal of rose is. Holy Abstract, Batman. Okay, how about I add that, if you're looking for a leather scent, you might have better luck elsewhere. If you're looking for rose with a dirty little secret, "Whip" might be the cat up your alley.

When wet, I can smell the warm, sweet, soft undertone of the white musk with an icing of clear, juicy, crisp apricot taking the fore. I really enjoyed the dichotomy, but as it reached drydown the apricot mellowed greatly. When I say mellow, the fruity overtone merely assimliated into the gentle warmth of the musk. I'm not familiar with orange blossom, but the scent isn't pure apricot anymore. I will say that in my mind's eye, this scent is a pale (but not fragile) light orange, or even a coral color. Overall this is one of the more accurate descriptions I've come across, and while it isn't overbearing or screeching as her namesake could be, I'll say I love it very much the way it is. I might be getting a 5 or even a 10, because my roomate adores it.

Wet in the imp, this was ... bubblegum? I smelled it myself, thought that, and after dispelling it as crazy my roomate took a whiff and gleefully exclaimed "Bubblegum!" as well. It mellows out a bit drying down. While I recognized the sweetness, it took a peek at other reviews to realize the other element I'm sniffing is herbal. It's not a drugstore, mortar-and-pestle type of herbal, and it really tempers the "whoa, nelly!" sweetness that you get during applying. Overall, it's very bright, warm, and sweet without being cloying. I'm not familiar with notes by any means, and in light of that the first thing it reminds me of is the smell of skin that's been in the sun most of the day, and I'm not talking about suntan oil, but the actual skin. That said, this is a very subtle scent, and even with me supposedly slathering it on it's remained remarkably light. In more abstract terms this scent is a saturated golden green in my mind. Whether or not I get a big bottle, I'll definitely use up the imp, and probably a little too quickly, too.