Incendiare

This is delicious in the bottle. Fluffy almond cake. Wet, it goes a bit wonky. I think it's from a waxier chocolate note coming out. It smells better on me from a distance though. It holds its almondyness. Almost five minutes have gone by, and up close, it sadly smells kind of burnt. But it leaves a chocolately cupcake scent wafting in the air. I will keep my bottles and use this in my scent locket since it smells great in the bottle, but my skin doesn't seem to like it.

This is so neat in the imp. Oranges and roses. Interesting combination. On me, as expected, the rose takes over. Up close, I can't detect any jasmine, yet jasmine is definitely wafting in the air. Ugh. Yeah, this isn't going anywhere. Up close, this reminds me of Seraglio, which makes sense since it has rose and orange peel. Versailles makes me feel a bit nauseated, unfortunately.

The list of notes gave me the impression that this was going to be a surefire winner, but alas, I was wrong. In the imp, bug spray? Where's the sensual red musk? Or the Middle Eastern spices? Where are you, saffron? On my skin, it's the exact same. I cannot find any other words to describe it other than bug spray. I can't seem to pick this one apart and track down any individual notes here. I've even given this one nearly half a year to age and improve and it's still the same for me. On top of that, it lingers all day long. That's great if it smells marvelous on you, but not in my case. Boo-urns.

This is a bit strange. The unconventional blend of mint, caramel, and sage has a weird twang. The caramel especially seems a bit lost. Wet, the caramel is even stronger, and more like a minty caramel. At this point, not bad but not how I'd like to smell. A few minutes later, nevermind. The medicinal quality of the mint and sage is making a comeback and now all three notes are almost evenly balanced, although the sage trails slightly behind the other two. I actually don't like caramel but not in this blend. It just doesn't work.

Peachy floral in the imp. The florals blossom even more on me. I'm surprised I don't smell any vetiver in here. After about ten minutes, this is mostly floral. I'd say along the lines of lily of the valley and iris. The peach is barely there. Marquise is alright but not really a winner for me.

The tea is very strong in the imp, yet, at the same time, I am hit with something else from my past. I just spent a few minutes wracking my brain trying to think what it was. Shower gel, maybe? No, not quite, but the liquid bubble solution for blowing bubbles. Wet, it's the same. The tea and bubble solution are at war with each other trying to dominate the blend. After a few minutes, the bubble solution is dying down and I'm definitely starting to get wasabi. It doesn't scream wasabi, but when you know what the notes are, it makes sense. Not a drop of honey. It's unique in its own way, and not offensive at all, but still something I wouldn't reach for.

Very fresh and aquatic, along with a hint of fir, in the imp. It also has a touch of ozone à la Lightning. It goes a bit sharper on my skin. The fir is much more pronounced and an indistinct floral lingers in the background. No jasmine for me. It's much more pleasant now than half a year ago, as it was much sharper, and the fir was stronger. As it's beginning to dry down, it's heading towards the direction of soapy. Overall, better than I expected, but still not my thing.

In the vial, this smells very dark and slightly masculine, most likely due to the combination of musks. The Dragon's Blood is present, without a doubt. As it starts to dry, there is a bit of dark fruitiness hanging out in the background, but overall, this still screams Dragon's Blood and dark musks.

Not a trace of apple for me in the imp. Instead, it's very wintergreen-like mixed in with some juicy leaves. On me, the apple is starting to come out a bit more, but it still has that strong wintergreen vibe. The wintergreen goes with the crisp apple in its own way, but on me, dominates the blend throughout all of its stages. No oak at all, which I was expecting. This is interesting but not sure if it is something I'd like to wear as a perfume.

Can't believe I haven't reviewed this one yet. This is one of the few blends with plum that actually works for me. In the imp, it is plum mixed with purple berries surrounded by opium. On me, the gardenia comes out a bit more, as does the lilac, but luckily it behaves. Lilac tends to go batshit crazy on my skin. I don't remember the lilac even being there a year ago, but it definitely adds a nice touch in this case. Blood Countess smells like a rich velvety burgundy, if that even makes sense. I really like this. The notes get along perfectly and together, create a sophisticated, yet dark blend.

I like how my imp has aged over the past year. At first, it was a bit too sharp for my liking. But now, the sharpness has calmed down a bit. In the vial, it's like a sparkling citrus tea with a slice of ginger. On me, the tea is even stronger and the ginger takes a backseat. This is so clean and perfect for warmer days.

This is so white and bright in the bottle, bursting with sharp tea and bourbon. It smells glorious on me too. The opium is noticeable and the vanilla comes out more on the dry down. Unfortunately, this has barely any throw, so I need to slather this on like nobody's business. I was actually contemplating ordering multiple bottles from DD a few months back but it was the extreme lack of throw that changed my mind. It's really too bad since this is gorgeous and can be worn at anytime of the year, whether it's sweltering hot outside or frostily cold.

In the vial, this is so opium and white florals. Once I apply it to my skin, the nondescript white floral blossoms into a much more noticeable lily of the valley. I can detect a squeeze of mandarin in the background, but otherwise, the rest of the notes are not present for me. This is very fresh and I would wear this anytime throughout the year.

I normally can't stand patchouli but this doesn't smell that offensive to me. In the vial, it's all berries and patchouli. Sweet, but earthy at the same time. On me, it gets even earthier though. Combined with the moss, this smells woodsier to me more than anything else. A vague creaminess emerges from the woods and makes this even more interesting. I actually kind of like this. Creamy berries in the woods.

In the bottle, Pussy is a warm, fuzzy honey with a touch of saffron. It pretty much remains the same on my skin, but I find as it dries, it warms up even more due to the combination of honey, tobacco leaf, and saffron. I sadly can't smell any tonka. Pussy has great staying power too. I catch wafts of it throughout the entire day. It's not really foody at all, but more like a warm barely-there floral, but more like pollen than actual flowers. It wasn't what I was imagining this would be like based on the notes, but it's still beautiful and glad I bought a bottle.

Smut 2008 - this automatically reminded me of Snake Charmer Res, but more sugary. When I smell this I think of purple, and fruit too. The musk is sweetened and altogether, it smells a bit on the flat side to me, but that is what SC Res does too. The staying power is really good. It lasts all day, but after a while, it can make me feel a bit nauseated. This one is difficult to really pinpoint notes, as I get feelings from this blend instead. Again, purple along with damp. Dull and flat. I get no booze from this whatsoever.

Lavender with a touch of lotus in the background. On me, it's medicinal lavender but there is something else that I cannot put my finger on. I can't figure it out, but nonetheless, when I sniff up close, the sharpness of the lavender almost burns my nose. That unknown undertone is turning a bit smoky on me. Not for me.

This is so light in the imp. I first smell an indistinct creaminess immediately followed by lavender. On me, it's not different: light butteriness layered over medicinal lavender. Weird, I thought I would get more nuts out of this? To my nose, it is like a creamier version of Paris. I'm normally not a fan of lavender, but I'll admit that the longer it's on me, the more I am enjoying it. Glad I only have a decant of it, though.

My initial impression of Lolita in the imp was nothing but lemon verbena, but wet, I initially get a white floral more than anything else? That quickly changes though and it morphs to a more obvious orange blossom. I can smell a bit of the lemon verbena in the background but it is almost not even there. It's nice, especially for the spring and summer. I would never buy it but I'm sure I'll use up my imp eventually.

This is so metallic in the imp, and I can catch the slightest hint of frankincense. Wet, the metallic notes are fading and the resins are more prominent. This is smelling better on me than I would have ever expected. There is something sightly medicinal in the background, but it is still so warm from the resins, and slightly sweetened too. I don't even smell any star anise in here. The leather is very faint, which is surprising since I amp that stuff like nobody's business. It is staying medicinal on me with a hint of frankincense. While it is better than I imagined, I ultimately wouldn't wear this.

Whew, is this ever heavy on the civet and musk. I've had this imp for two months now and it is still so sharp on the musk. It reminds me a lot of Scherezade. I can smell a bit of the opium in the background, which blends well with the musk. On me, it is basically the same. Again, reminds me a lot of Scherezade. Very sharp and musky, reminding me a bit of bugspray, unfortunately. As it's drying, the civet is definitely the star note. Sorry, not for me.

Faith is, without a doubt, the sweetest deep purply violet in the bottle. On me, it is even more sugary. It reminds me so much of violet-flavoured candy pastilles. This smells just like the taste of them, if that makes sense. Faith also has excellent throw. I can catch whiffs of it throughout the day but it isn't too overpowering either. It is such a simple blend, yet so classy and beautiful. I automatically feel better when I put this on. I really hope the twins will be back when CD returns so I can pick up another bottle.

Smelling this for the first time, it was on the wonky side. One second it smelled like one thing, the next, something completely different. My initial reaction was "ech." Sniffing it more, my nose is starting to separate the notes, and the ginger is warming up. Next, I detect something in here that actually reminds me of Snake Oil. It takes me back to when I got my first fresh imp of SO from the lab and it smelled like a head shop to me. That is what I got from it, but I couldn't figure out why since I didn't even bother looking at ingredients. It can't be red musk, then what is it? Whoa, it's patchouli! And you mean to tell me I'm not recoiling in horror? I normally hate the stuff, but here, it is playing very nicely with the ginger (actually, I've noticed in the past that the few patchouli-containing scents I like are loaded with spice, so there is a correlation there). On me, it's mostly ginger with a hint of earthiness from the patchouli. I could detect a hint of orange in its initial stages, but after only a few minutes, it's gone. I actually kind of like this. After around ten minutes, this is kind of getting dry. And a little sharp. It's still better than what I was expecting but ultimately, I can't see it ever being bottle-worthy. I'm very curious to see how this one will age, though. One thing I got out of Vixen is it has shown me that there is a definite chance that SO contains patchouli. Before, I never believed it since I could never detect it, but now? I swear they both have the same patchouli in there.

Peach liquor, almond syrup, orgeat syrup, and pineapple cream de cacao. Totally almondy in the vial, with the tiniest drop of pineapple. Wet, it smells a bit more tropical, but it is still like 90% almonds. After a few minutes, I can finally smell the peach. The almond is calming down a bit. I am liking the final dry-down. It is bright and tart. Although I do like almonds, I think I would like this more if they were toned down in this blend. This is probably my favourite of the Atomic Luau Lounge scents that I have tried.

This is one of the few moths and butterflies I tried out this year. Just couldn't pass up the red musk and fruits. Sounds like a great combination. In the bottle, it is a combination of mango and pomegranate, and basically, it is the same on me. I don't smell any red musk in this, unfortunately. When I catch a whiff of this, I get the pomegranate first, then the mango. It kind of reminds me of a tropical gum, and very juicy too. It's the kind of scent that I could reach for on days when I have no idea what to wear since I don't see needing to be in any sort of particular mood in order to wear it.