Incendiare

I'm so glad I didn't write a review on this nearly a year ago because I wasn't feeling my fresh Dorian imp. It was so lemony sharp and almost two-dimensional. I didn't get the hype at all. But as my imp slowly aged, I found myself reaching for it more and more even though it was still on the sharp side. I finished the imp before I knew it and promptly ordered a bottle. That bottle has become so smooth, like a fine cup of tea and sugar with a squeeze of lemon. It's so comforting and can be worn virtually anytime of the year. I'd also say that fresh, the musk is what gave it that sharpness, but now it blends beautifully with the sugared vanilla which I couldn't smell at all when it was fresh. If you don't like this one right away, definitely put it away for a while and retry. The wait is worth it.

Clean and purifying, definitely, but perhaps a bit too medicinal for my tastes. The combination of juniperberry and mint makes me think of a topical treatment for sore muscles. Not something that I'd like to smell like. I can kind of smell a bit of the lotus in the background, which sweetens it ever so gently. It's unique but not for me.

To my nose, Lurid is quite medicinal due to the lavender. The thick resin smells a lot more like patchouli for me. It's musty and almost humid. Smells not much different on me. I was hoping to get an lighter, airy, ozoney atmosphere from Lurid.

This is way too medicinal for my liking. In the vial and on my skin, it smells like Vick's combined with something earthy, like patchouli, which is never my friend. I'm picking up on vetiver too, which I also despise. Worth trying if you really like your outdoorsy earthy blends.

This has automatically become one of my favourite moons. Absolutely stunning. It's a pot of honey with a squeeze of lemon. And on me, the spices, especially the ginger, just barely peek through in the background. The honey in this reminds me of the honey in Xmvlzencab. A rich, golden blend that any honey lover needs to try.

Gypsy is so unique that it's taking time for my nose to adjust to this. The first time I unscrewed the cap and took a whiff, which was not even a day ago, I could barely smell anything. Just a very faint cardamom and nothing else. I thought, "Where's the scent?" Upon application it went incredibly dry on my skin. It was like a combination of ground cardamom and dust, but again, very faint. I slathered the entire top of my hand and even when wet, had to smell right up close in order to get anything at all. As it dried, at least I noticed a hint of sweetness coming out. Probably the sugar. I'm noticing though that the more times I smell it out of the bottle, the more my nose is starting to pick up on the bourbon vanilla. Now, it smells of gentle bourbon vanilla with a dusting of cardamom. Beautiful. At a certain point, something even hit me and had me thinking that it reminded me of another blend, and one that I loved too. It took me a while before I realized that it was Pickled Imp that was on the tip of my tongue. Of course they're nothing remotely similar in terms of actual scent, but they almost have a similar atmosphere, if that makes sense, since they're both spice paired with vanilla. Both have that warm baked cinnamon/cardamom roll quality. Upon application, Gypsy still goes rather dry and dusty on me. But now I'm noticing that it gets a bit musky too. As time goes on it tends to sweeten up on my skin, but not as much as I had hoped. Normally anything with notes like Gypsy's gets along with my skin chemistry marvellously so what's gone wrong? My guess is the cardamom, which is sad since I love the stuff. Nonetheless, I'll keep skin testing like mad since it smells too gorgeous in the bottle to give up on. Ultimately though, this is a job for my scent locket.

Yeah, I like it too. It's pretty hot.

My two bottles of Cake Smash smell quite different. My first one is very cake-y with the slightest hint of Dorian, but my second bottle is like 30% Dorian. Anyone have any Dorian-heavy Cake Smash?

The first time I tried this, I absolutely hated it. Normally I don't care for frankincense, especially when it's a star note, so the strong frankincense out of the imp automatically turned me off. It was hostile, almost a bit bitter, and dry. But I wore it to bed one night and when I woke up the next morning, I couldn't figure out what smelled so glorious all around me. It wasn't until I sniffed my t-shirt and caught the most lovely floral incense which made me realize that it was Rose Cross. Trying it now, I still get the same initial reaction from the imp. But I'm finding as it's drying, the rose and frankincense balance each other very well. Both kind of calm each other down since both notes can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. I will definitely be reaching for this one more often during autumn and winter.

Habu starts off extremely fresh, lush, and juicily green in the bottle, like sweet bamboo. It instantly gives me images of a rainforest. Wet, it's practically the same, although the aquatic notes are a smidgen stronger. Almost ten minutes later, the woods join the party. They're slightly dry but they had a bit more depth to Habu. I don't really get much Snake Oil in this. There is just a touch of it at the end but it's barely noticeable. Habu is definitely very unique and refreshing, and if you like fresh green scents, give this one a try.

How about some Gollettes? It smells like a strawberry doughnut to me. And I love Pickled Imp if I want to smell like a cinnamon bun.

How about some Gollettes? It smells like a strawberry doughnut to me. And I love Pickled Imp if I want to smell like a cinnamon bun.

How about some Gollettes? It smells like a strawberry doughnut to me. And I love Pickled Imp if I want to smell like a cinnamon bun.

Asp Viper sure takes me for a ride. It simply smells like almond Snake Oil in the bottle, yet as soon as I apply it, it turns into freshly-baked super almondy biscotti on my skin. The Snake Oil basically disappears at this stage. But as it starts to dry, the myrrh is taking over, but it smells rather flat. Luckily on the dry-down, the myrrh is a bit incense-y. The almond took a major chill pill a long time ago and at this point, it has practically vanished. I was hoping that the almond would hang around but this is still nice. It's like a very faint, slightly sweetened Snake Oil layered with myrrh.

For me, the Infernal Lover showcases red musk beautifully. Boomslang is another must, and not just for its red musk awesomeness. Recently, Satyr has really impressed me.

This is so great in the bottle. Like a cool fluffy strawberry shortcake with a dot of honey. I don't like it as much on me, though. Wet, the strawberry comes out even more, and there is a slightest hint of florals. On the dry-down, the sandalwood makes itself known. It balances out the overly sweet combination of the vanilla and strawberries, but overall, I still feel like this is a teensy bit too cloying for my taste. I'll have to try this in my locket.

Celeste is a blast of sugary vanilla in the bottle. It's not a warm vanilla though, but rather a lukewarm vanilla, although the saffron adds a bit of warmth. Wet, a soft floral protrudes. I find that all of the notes in Celeste stabilize early on in the wet phase. I'll admit that I also find the vanilla to be on the slightly plastic-y side, probably due to its lack of warmth. Excellent throw. This lasts for hours. I think I'll have to start experimenting with layering this one with others, as it's a bit too sweet on its own.

As soon as I sprayed this into the air, I thought it was nothing but herbal lavender, but give it a minute or two and it's totally TKO. I didn't even read up on the notes before I sprayed this so I had no idea what to expect. Jasmine haters, don't fret, there's none to be had. Nice stuff!

Latex and lily, you say? That's what I get directly out of the imp. I reminds me of balloons more than anything else. Wet, it's kind of the same. The latex dies down a bit but now my nose is picking up on dry dirt. Perhaps that's the ho wood rolling in. The mint tingles my nose a bit but it's not a prominent mint. I should give it some credit for calming down a bit, though. I bought this nearly eight months ago, and when I smelled it then, I got nothing but latex from it, so at least the florals are slightly palpable. As it's drying, I can detect a very faint tea note. Despite the flowers and tea making an entrance, I still nonetheless find that this primarily smells like latex. Perhaps a bit more age will get rid of that once and for all.

So very fresh, green, and breezy, both in the imp and on my skin. The florals are sweet and innocent and evokes images of gardens in the countryside with an assortment of delicate flowers. This even smells slightly aquatic, but it isn't overpowering, like the grass and flowers are dotted with droplets of fresh water. Overall, Garden Path with Chicken is a delicate blend and I can't see this one having much throw. I've only had in on for a few minutes and I can barely smell it when my nose is a few inches from the spot on which I've applied the oil. But that's ok. It'll be good for a hotter day when I won't want to envelope myself in any of my headier, heavier blends.

The description pretty much says it all. For me, it kind of goes back and forth for a while between being lemon icing sugar and and a sharper lemon candy, but it doesn't take long for it to stabilize itself and end on the lemon icing sugar note. This is such a fun blend that could pick up virtually anyone's mood. If I'll ever be feeling down or slightly anxious, I know I'll be reaching for this one.

A blast of grapes! The wine is sort of there in the imp but to me, it is still leaning more towards juice than wine. The honey shows up to the party once I apply Anthesteria to the skin. It's quite shy though. Dry, this smells like a certain something but I just can't put my finger on it. Damn it Beth, this happens way too often! All I know is this smells very purple. Come to think of it, the sugariness in the background reminds me of the sugariness in Faith.

Juicy and slightly boozy apricots straight up. On my wrist it kind of smells like apricot gum (or what I would imagine apricot gum to smell like). It's a pleasant but very simplistic blend. If you're looking for a juicy apricot blend that isn't tampered by other notes, this may be a good one to check out.

Pretty much powdery dragon's blood in the vial. It's practically the same on my skin. The amber is sort of there but the dragon's blood is far too domineering to really notice the amber. Dry, the amber is peeking out a bit but the dragon's blood is still nagging in my ear.

Weird. This blend caught me off guard at first whiff. It's a sharp lemony lavender. It has a medicinal quality to it but I am not sure if it from the lavender (as lavender can time and time again smell medicinal to me) or the rosemary or what. The verbena is more pronounced when wet and the lavender is still hanging around. This is alright, but it's just not me. The verbena makes this blend more interesting. Nice if you really like anything citrusy.