Verios

I really enjoy this, for all that I was worried that cardamom would overwhelm everything! This is mostly leather, but with a melange of herbs/spices that I couldn't begin to pick out individually. It definitely tends toward the masculine, but that's okay for me, because there are days that I want something like this. I think this may just have made its way into the keeper box!

I can remember when my bottle of this first arrived (courtesy of a very kind friend of a friend who picked it up for me), I thought it was intimidatingly sharp and green in the bottle (which seemed appropriate for a dragon scent, but not necessarily wearable). On initial application, it remained a sharp greeny sort of smell (maybe the sandalwood and green musk? I don't know for sure what it is/was)...but then, after a short period of time, it morphed into everything I hoped it would be: that sharp greenness was still there, but it smooths out, and the musk marries up with the smoky vanilla and tobacco, so it ends up as this gorgeously musky, smoked vanilla (it's not heavily smoked, but I think some of that does come through) & tobacco, with that hint of biting green scales, as if to remind you that this IS a dragon. This dragon also has a generous throw to him - I don't find it overpowering, but I do catch frequent whiffs. With aging (since I just tested it again today), the initial sharpness has lessened, and the time before it hits the stage where I start sniffing appreciatively, with a contented sigh is lessened. Absolutely love this, and I may end up trying to hunt down a second bottle.

On me, all I get from this is the most delicious strawberry - it smells a lot like when you slice up strawberries, add sugar, and put them in the fridge overnight to get that syrupy, sugary strawberry goodness to put on something like strawberry shortcake. I also get the most wonderful whiffs of it throughout the day (gorgeous amount of throw!), and it lasts pretty much all day. When it comes to perfume oils, I usually don't find overly foody scents as wearable, but because this is a hair gloss, and so not quite as present, it's wonderful, and I can easily see myself reaching for this fairly often. The only downside, that I can think of...is that now I'm really craving strawberry shortcake.

I picked up a bottle of this off of BTBP's etsy when it went up, because in spite of my usual dislike of overt florals, every other note listed is one that I usually adore. In spite of promising myself I'd give it a few days to settle after receiving it, I ended up wearing it today (I got it yesterday), so I may update this review when I re-test in a few more days. Straight out of the bottle, this is all night-blooming florals (I definitely get jasmine, but it's not as sharp as that can sometimes be on me), but as it settles in later in the day, some of the musk smooths out the florals more, and it's become a floral I would actually wear - the beginning stage is not something I'm in love with (and I'm still sad that I can't get any of the blackcurrant or clove that I can distinguish), but this is a lovely, lush, feminine floral that i can see myself reaching for when I want to have a nice evening out, preferably semi-formal. Not sure this will be a keeper, but it's definitely one I'm glad I gave a try! Edit: I did end up not keeping this, because the initial jasmine overload was too much for me - however, when I gave the bottle to a friend, we both noticed/commented on the fact that the jasmime was not nearly as overwhelming on her, so I clearly amp the heck out of it (which explained a lot as to why that note tends to be a death note for me, LOL)

I just bought a bottle of this off of etsy, and wow am I glad I did! (I actually sprayed it, sniffed for awhile, and immediately went on to order the last one posted as a backup). One of the most evocative scents imaginable-I feel like I'm in a library at an upscale brothel, as I get a slightly comfortable dusty scent (we all know those books aren't being read very often!), a the lingering smell of rich cigar tobacco, and the supple leather of comfortable chairs. So in love with this!

This one was amazing in the bottle - I get a strong whiff of buttery cookies with an underpinning of something sweet and creamy (it's lovely, and foodie!). Once on my skin, the cookie fades, and some of the tea starts to come forward (and surprisingly, it doesn't have that anise/licorice undertone to it that I usually get with tea scents, so it's a gorgeous creamy sweet cookie soaked in earl grey tea). Unfortunately, this doesn't last long, and it sort of fades to a smell that reminds me of play-doh. Not particularly unpleasant, but not something I'll be keeping. Off to my swaps.

This was a bottle I picked up as much for the artwork as for the actual scent - while soft, delicate, feminine scents are something I usually think smell lovely, they're not something I typically like smelling on myself, and florals (barring some rose scents, especially when it's a green/more real smelling rose) aren't usually my cup of tea either. With that said, WOW. I get marshmallow-y vanilla with candied rose and maybe a hint of the lavender buds. I think the musk is in there as well, which may be what saves this from leaning into the 'this smells nice but is totally not me' territory. I'm not sure what peony smells like, so that may be in the delicate, sweet floral mix as well (I don't get any apricot, but it's still gorgeous). It's delicate and girly, and all of the things that I usually don't like on myself, but it somehow manages to be an absolute keeper in spite of that. Also, usually these light, delicate scents stick close to the skin, but this has gorgeous throw - it doesn't feel overwhelming, but I do catch whiffs of it as I sit at my desk at work, and it makes me so glad I opted to purchase a bottle.

I purchased a bottle of this off a fellow forumite, because the notes sound exquisite (I don't think I've ever had passionfruit in a bpal scent before, but I LOVE the scent of the real deal, and I had a bottle of the single note King Mandarin at one time and it was gorgeous), but I also was a little bit concerned that this would be a scent that would fade from me super fast, as the reason I didn't keep my bottle of king mandarin single note was that my skin positively ate it up (it would disappear in under a half hour...) With that said, I tested this a bit last night, and then ended up wearing it today, and so far, maybe because it's got other notes to back it up, I'm still smelling it going strong hours later! On initial application, I got very little of the passionfruit, but I had that lovely king mandarin coming to the forefront, backed up surprisingly nicely by the rose, and something else (maybe the musk and/or labdanum? I'm not overly certain what it is, but something that prevents the initial scent from being straight mandarin + rose). Within a few hours, the mandarin does fade, but it lingered a lot longer than the single note ever did, before settling into a really nice moroccan rose scent. This is one of those that morphs a fair bit on me as the wear goes on, but I like all stages of it (even if I had expected/hoped for some of that passionfruit to come through!), so I'll definitely be keeping this bottle.

In the bottle, this is straight up banana: I think someone else summed it up almost perfectly for me when they described it as over-ripe banana (although for me it's just on that border between really ripe and over-ripe, like when I'd usually freeze it to save to make banana bread with later), although you can catch a hint of the other notes in the background...but it really is just the barest hint. Once it goes on my skin though, the banana promptly disappears, leaving behind this amazingly smooth combination of the tobacco (which is one of my favorite notes), with hints of the cocoa and what I think is the vetiver...on me it's not an overpowering scent; it sits close to the skin and is just lovely and subtle and makes me so glad I gave this a try.

This scent is addictive (I actually immediately ordered a backup bottle after my first day trying it out!) I mostly get a buttery, nutty chestnut when it first goes on, backed up by what I think is the mahogany, and then the vanilla and tobacco to round it out. After initial application, some of the nuttiness fades, although it stays right near the forefront. I don't detect any black coconut, at least that I can pick out. (Edited to try to add a little more detail, although I am terrible at describing scents ) This is the kind of smell that has me periodically huffing at my hair to try to catch a whiff of it.

tea notes have yet to work on me--either I can't pick up on them at all, or they seem to go weirdly licorice-y...and not in a pleasant way. It makes me particularly sad, since I love drinking tea, and the smell of it is one I really, really love. as for coconut commentary...my favorite coconut blend has to be Tiki Princess, of the ones I've tried...not that I've tried all THAT many, but I just love the way the coconut comes out in that blend.

I am so, so glad I hung onto the imp of this that I swapped for some time ago--at the time I wasn't overly impressed with it, finding it struck me as almost a bit sharp...but after having left it tucked away in the imp box for close to a year, now, I decided to give it another try...and it's exquisite. I definitely get the soft sugary vanilla that I love about black lace, but without any sort of boozy note, and just a hint of red berry that, thus far lingers in the background, rounding out the scent. I think I might be picking up on just a bit of the red musk in the background, as well, but my nose isn't good enough for me to be certain. All I know is that I'm glad I hung onto this--it's gorgeous enough that I recently decided to try getting ahold of a bottle, as I think I'll be finding this to be pretty wearable, overall--it's not a hugely in-your-face scent, even just after application, so I can see myself enjoying it even for something like work. (with that said, I'll update later if this morphs/fades really fast on my skin; I haven't had it on all that long, at this point).

This was exactly what I was hoping it would be, when I swapped for this from a very kind forumite! It smells just like a freshly peeled clementine--it even manages to catch the amazingly real smell of the peel being right there and present as well--I'm really hoping my skin doesn't eat this scent (I just put it on to try, because I couldn't wait after practically swooning when I first opened the bottle--I'm going to enjoy layering this with some of my other scents, to see how nicely it pairs! EDIT: and alas, it fades in like...an hour. But it was so, SO amazing while it lasted. <3

I get a lot of red musk (which is awesome, as that's a winning note on me!), but it's so much deeper than that...I get hints of the amber, as well, but I can't even pull out a lot of the notes (sorry, I'm not as good at that as I wish I was, lol), but this scent is amazing--I definitely see the similarities mentioned to Panther Moon, or The Infernal Lover on the musks..it's that kind of sexy (but also soft, and sweetened by the other notes) musk. I can't seem to stop sniffing at my wrist, it's just that lovely. It's got a floral tone to it, as well, which initially had me worried--however, these ones are nicely grounded, and not at all overpowering! Sooo glad a very kind forumite swapped me a bottle of this, as it was one of those blends that sounded like it could be amazing, but I didn't think I really had a shot at ever getting to try (plus, a number of these notes are ones I'd never tried before, so I wasn't sure how well they'd play with the notes I DO know and love)--to find it's as amazing as I could have hoped, and to actually have managed to snag a bottle makes me very, very happy! So far, it also has a fair bit of throw--not so much that I'm worried about offending anyone with the strength of my perfume, but enough that I catch lovely whiffs of it as I move about (I've only had it on for a couple of hours, however, so while I'm hopeful, a lot of scents fade fairly quickly on me!) This was a total winner, on me!

This one was disappointing on me--I was hoping for something magical, that reminded me of the time I spent in Thailand while in college...but alas, while this was okay, it was mostly floral on me, and not in a tropical, heady lush way--it's slightly soapy, and I got none of the other awesome notes I'd been hoping would be the more dominant...so while I may keep the partial imp that a forumite very kindly frimped, in hopes that with age some of the other notes will come out to play more, this wasn't what I was hoping it would be (at least on my skin).

I really like Selkie during the summer months--I'm not usually too keen on aquatics, and this one feels very aquatic on me...but I loooove me some Selkie.

This one surprised me (I expected to like, but not as much as I ended up doing)! On initial application, it reminded me fairly strongly of a slightly less aggressive Count Dracula (which I love too, so this wasn't a bad thing!)...much more clove than I expected. However, it mellowed quickly, with a really sweet, cigar/tobacco shop tobacco note balancing out the clove nicely. I can easily see myself reaching for this often, when I'm wanting to feel confident and outgoing--but not quite aggressive enough for my Count Dracula (a bit more of an everyday scent, at least on me). I think I may need to hoard a few more bottles of this. EDIT: backreading, the clove cigarette description others have mentioned is spot on (there's a bit more sweetness/something vaguely vanilla in this, but that just makes it even better)! (and explains part of my love of this scent--I remember trying clove cigarettes when I was studying in Thailand in college, and they were AMAZING. The smell brings back memories of a fantastic experience for me.)

This wasn't a snake oil blend that I originally thought sounded all that appealing to me...however, it's a gorgeous cherry amaretto snake oil on me--really glad I got a chance to try it (and I'm thinking this may be a bottle buy for me, at some point!)

This was initially all sweet honey on me, but shortly after, almond shows up, with a bit of rum in the background. This is really nice for those days where I'm wanting something sweet and decadent smelling. I'm surprised I like this as much as I do (although I've had a few foodier blends surprise me in such a way, lately), because I never used to like smelling foodie--I enjoyed sniffing it, or smelling it on someone else, but didn't care for the idea of wearing such scents myself. That said, while this isn't likely to be a bottle purchase for me, I'll likely be using the rest of my imp!

I wasn't sure I liked this when I first put it on-a lot of the notes are ones I usually love, but for some reason it was sharp and uninviting in the imp and when I first applied it. However, because I know that most of these notes are usually ones that work well on me/I love, I figured I'd give it a try, wait it out and see (and truthfully, lately I've had a number of new scents smell way different/not as good as I'd hoped in the bottle, but when I've applied and waited a few minutes, they've settled down nicely) On drydown, the rose is present, the leather's not harsh or in-your-face, but definitely is there...mostly I think I get the rose, musk, and a faintly, sweetly spicy sort've thing (it's a spicy rose on my skin with musk and leather peeking through to keep it interestng). Very much a dark scent, and one that makes me feel confident and ready for anything--but it's not overpowering, or too heavy. If anything, I was expecting this to be more...outspoken than it turned out to be. It's lovely, though!

Surprisingly, I really don't get much vetiver in this--I do, however, get the most exquisitely spiced orange (and with some impressive throw!)--the licorice was present in the imp, but seems to have disappeared when it hits me (which is fine, since licorice was the iffiest note in the description, for me)...the teak seems to fade in and out. I really, really like this. Thinking this may be a must-hunt-down-a-bottle for me.

This was one of those scents that, when I read the description and reviews, I was positive I was going to love--and when a very kind forumite included a partial frimp of it with a recent swap, I was ecstatic at the chance to try it out! However, on initial application, I was afraid this was going to be a disappointment--it was almost sharp, and not at all the amazing blend on me I'd been hoping for...however, it quickly reined in, and now that it has, it's just...phenomenal. The red musk, vanilla and plum & pomegranate (not sure which red fruit I'm picking up more--but there's a distinctly red fruity note hitting my nose) are the most prominent notes, although I suspect the patchouli leaf might be helping to ground the scent. Really glad to have gotten a chance to try this (and I'm thinking it's definitely one of those bottles I'm going to have to hunt down-I can easily see myself wearing this for a night out

In the bottle, I got mostly apples...and apple-scents usually do almost nothing on my skin (apple-based scents usually disappear within the hour, unfortunately) Once this hits my skin, though, this is exactly what I find I was hoping for--this is hay and oats and musk, with the molasses sweetening it up just enough...I get no apple at all, which doesn't surprise me, unless it's so subtle that it's just adding a certain something to the scent overall. This is exactly what fond memories of a stable smell like--as another reviewer also mentioned, it's the stable without the more unpleasant smells a real stable usually has--it's idyllic, and makes me feel really nostalgic remembering the summer I worked at a stable (I loved that job, since I was absolutely horse-crazy at the time...) I'm not sure this will be one I'd wear, but I'm amazed at Beth's ability to make a perfume that smells like this!

right now, all I'm getting is whoapine...I was hoping for way more presence from the other notes. However, as it wears, if it changes I'll update this post...but if my skin keeps this straight pine, it's going to be off to swaps, i'm afraid. It's a nice pine scent (not like a piney air freshener or anything) but not my thing.

This one really surprised me! In the bottle, it was really sweet and foody, but the moment it hits my skin, I get earthy moss, with only the faintest hint of anything else. However, within a couple of moments, the currant, backed by the molasses and vanilla, seems to come more to the forefront--the morphing is really surprising! The moss/earthiness is still definitely there, but it's no longer all I can smell when I huff at my wrists. I'll update this again if it continues to morph, but as-is I'm on the fence--this is a really neat scent, and now that it's not just moss on my skin, it's really quite nice--I just can't seem to decide if it's one I'll be reaching for all that often.