kakiphony

In the imp: Coconut, but sharp and green. I'm betting the green is the fig leaf. Wet on skin: Hmm. The coconut is actually fairly faint, and upon application the green rises to the surface. There's something a little alcoholic/antiseptic under there as well. Early Dry Down: This is REALLY interesting. I'm getting an almost lemony note coming up through the coconut. It has sweetened some, but maintains that green edge. At this stage, this is one assertive little oil. It's saucy! Late Dry Down: As this dried down, it got sweeter and sweeter. The coconut got smokier, and the fig became dense and earthy. After a few hours it had faded considerably, but left behind an absolutely delicious faintly milky, faintly coconutty, but also very earthy and spicy scent. This is a clear winner at every stage.

In the imp: Fascinating. This is sweet and sharp at the same time, smoky, and has amazing depth. I can't pick out a single note, but it intrigues me. Wet: Pine. Pine, pine and more pine. Hmm...I guess my chemistry amps pine. Early dry down: All the intriguing sweet and smokiness I got from the imp is gone. Pft. It's now Pine-Sol, extra strong. I smell icky. And medicinal. It's like Pine-Sol with camphor! Late dry down: Confesion: I did not make a full hour. After 30 minutes I had to scrub this off as it was literally making me gag. I smelled like vapo-rub and pine-sol. Ew.

In the imp: This is much sweeter than I was expecting and smells vaguely like chinese restaurant tea to me. Jasmine? Wet: Very soft and sweet on first application to my skin. The sandalwood peaks through to ground things, but the florals are there, just not at sneeze inducing levels. At this stage, I actually like this, which is kind of a shock. I never do florals! Early dry down: Twenty minutes later, the florals have kicked up quite a bit. The jasmine has gone from "mmmm, tea" to "achoo! that's a floral!" level. Late dry down: After an hour, the florals faded some and it settled into a sweet jasmine scent. The sandalwood gives a bit of background. It's by FAR the best floral I've tried to date. Not, mind you, that I plan on buying a bottle. But it does not make me sneeze much and actually smells pretty good on me.

In the imp: huh. Much sharper than I was expecting. Almost bitter. Wet: Still quite sharp. I second the adjective "astringent" I saw someone else use. This is full of sharp, bitter herbs and grasses. I don't scent a single berry or floral yet. Early dry down: This has faded a bit and the bitterness has mellowed. However, this is still mostlly herbal on me. It smells like the OLD version of Clairol Herbal Essence -- the green shampoo with the mermaid on the bottle. Late dry down: After an hour, this pretty much faded away completely. I was left with just a bit of the shampoo scent against my skin. It's not unpleasant, just nothing to squee about.

The first whiff was ozone and wet yards in the spring. On application it became Irish Spring soap and stayed that way for about an hour. After the first hour it tamed and sweetened a bit, but stayed quite soapy. I was hoping for a thunderstorm, but instead I got "generic rain fresh soap scent". Rats.

Strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen. Test site: Left elbow. Wet: There's more floral to this than I expected. I assume it's the clean linen. It smells like dryer sheets. Early Dry Down: Sweet, sweet florals. I'm getting something like a cross between magnolia and honeysuckle. The tea is there at the base, but I get no vanilla or ginger. Late Dry Down: After an hour, it's still mainly dryer sheets on me. The ginger has come out just a bit, but it doesn't make the dryer sheets any more desirable to me. This one is just not for me.

Test site: Left wrist. From the catalog: A twisted teatime tart: apricot and sweet clove. Wet: Apricot syrup. Early Dry Down: This smells like peach potpourri. Late Dry Down: After an hour, this still smells like potpourri. I smell like a craft store. Yech.

Test site: Right elbow. Wet: A light, subtle cinnamon. It's warm and pretty. Early Dry Down: Red hots. There's a faint floral undertone that tempers the cinnamon. Late Dry Down: Sweet, a little syrupy and very cinnamon. None of the other notes are detectable except as background. It's a very warm, comforting scent. It feels like a big, fat wool sweater on a cold, damp fall day.

Application point: Left elbow. Wet: Sweet, plasticy, fake fruit. Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Early dry down: A sweet fruit with something smoky. It's settling into my skin and losing the plastic smell. Late Dry Down: Oddly, this has a very smoky undertone on me. It's sweet strawberry candies laid over a smoky musk. Pretty. Too sweet for me, but definitely a nice, complex scent.

Application point: Right elbow. Wet: Apricot. Very sweet, but a bit Jolly Rancher-like. Early Dry Down: Apricot. That's all. I seem to really be amping it. Late Dry Down: I'm really disappointed in this one because I adore orange blossom and was hoping it would show up strongly in this blend. Unfortunately, all I get is apricots. It's a very sweet, candy-like scent and is juicy and young. I can see this one as a young, shiny haired cheerleader. It's nice, but not for me.

Application point: Right wrist. Wet: Cough syrup and ashtrays. Early Dry Down: Cherry Swisher sweets. Late Dry Down: I think that for some reason my chemistry is turning musks smoky today, because this scent is also very smoky on me. As it dried down, it lost its sweetness and took on a bitter note, laid over a fruity tobacco. It's like being in the inside of a pouch of cherry pipe tobacco. I think that for someone who loves it, this is distinctive enough to be a true signature scent. Unfortunately, that person is not me.

Test site: Right wrist. Wet: It's a perfumey scent that I associate with deodorant soaps and cheap conditioner. The one "marine note" candle I have smells the same way, so i assume that's the marine notes. Early Dry Down: Irish spring soaking in a tub of rain water. Late Dry Down: This is still soap-like, but has sweetened. This is how sweetgrass deodorant soap would smell if there was such a thing.

Application point: Left wrist. Wet: Perfume. Horrid, horrid, sneeze inducing, grandma-wearing perfume. Early dry down: Complicated florals. I think I smell lily of the valley in there, but it's too overwhelming to be sure. Late Dry Down: Gone. One hour later I can't smell a thing. In my world, I guess that may be the best floral there is!

In the imp: Sweet Tarts. Wet: Sweet tarts. Early Dry Down: I finally started to get some morphing after about 20 minutes. It lost the sugar candy edge and started to smell a bit boozy and a bit tart. The boy said, "Nice citrus. I like it." It made me feel invigorated. Late Dry Down: This is one of the most interesting oils I've tried to date. It started out a generic fake fruit and ended up a wonderful, boozy, juicy, tart and refreshing scent. It started out 6 years old and ended up a sophisticated 33. It seems like a great summer scent, for when I want to be refreshed, with a little boozy undertone. I'm not sure I'd buy a bottle of this, but I bet I'd go through an imp or two in a year's time.

I tried this last night. It was the first I tried for the general catalog circular swap. In the imp: Vanilla, but a less high and sweet vanilla than some. It doesn't have that extract edge to it. But it is also not buttery vanilla like Underpants. There's something dry underneath. Wet: Vanilla with the slightest hint of dry sandalwood. It's already a bit powdery. Early Dry Down: Dusty vanilla. Vanilla scented powder that has been sitting in a cedar chest for 50 years. The boy likes it, I'm less convinced. Late Dry Down: The dusty/dry/powdery note is very dominant on my skin. It's a little sweet, but mostly dusty. Nice, but not a "wow!" scent on me.

In the imp: Bug spray. I shuddered as I put this one on. Wet: The bug spray smell was still there, but I could get a little sandalwood with it. Early Dry Down: After less than five minutes the jasmine in this had begun to amp itself and all I could smell was jasmine with a sharp, dry undertone. About five more minutes and the other florals had begun to come through and sweeten the blend. Unfortunately, they also made me sneeze uncontrollably. Late dry down: I will admit that this late dry down description is not quite as late in the process as most of my reviews. After about 45 minutes I had to wash the oil off or risk a vision-clouding migraine. This seriously had me seeing a halo around my vision and it totally filled my sinuses. Logically, I know it did not smell bad. It didn't smell like rot, or garbage, or cat piss. It smelled like flowers. Perfectly lovely, perfectly evil flowers. The jasmine was the dominant note and it was paired with other florals. This gave me the same sort of reaction that traditional perfumes have always given me. It was like being stuck in an unventilated elevator with Mimi from Drew Carey. Conclusion: Thank god this is going out in the mail in the circular swap. I don't think I could even stand to have it in the house. Seriously. Horrible.

All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun -- darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon. In the imp: Almond extract and cinnamon. It smelled like someone got confused about whether they were making cinnamon buns or almond cookies! It's a bit medicinal and lacks the warmth or depth of some other almond blends. Wet: Astringent almonds. It was not as rich as Queen of Sheba or as soft as Dana O'shee on application. It was a sharp almond note. The cinnamon is there, but barely, and everything is overwhelmed by the bitter almonds. Early dry down: The astringency of this toned itself down quickly and the vanilla began to show up along-side the almonds. I couldn't pick out the heliotrope, but the frankincense lent a golden background to the sweet notes. Late dry down: By two hours after application, this scent had faded and morphed. I lost all individual notes and the almond was almost undetectable. Instead, what it turned into was a faintly powdery, spicy sweet scent. It reminded me of a Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Conclusion: Pleasant, and akin to several scents I've quite liked. However, it lacks the staying power or complex spicyness of my favorite of the almond blends, Queen of Sheba. I suspect I'll use up my imp and would be willing to swap for it again, but doubt I'll ever buy a full bottle.

In the imp: Hmm...I had to sniff this one at least three times to make my brain register what I was smelling. It's not that it's a particularly faint scent, just that it's so complex it was hard for me to form a quick impression. It was sweet, but not cloying, and was definitely fruity. It had a bit of a medicinal quality to it, but nothing as gag inducing as the cherries of the Red Queen. I put it on with reservations. Wet: This was quite fruity on initial application, but the smell was not (thankfully!) cherries. It reminded me of fresh damson plums. There was something fresh and green under the fruit, and I suspected it was the bamboo. The whole scent was also very wet. It reminded me of walking in my uncle's fruit orchard just after a spring rain. Early dry down: This turned into something very pleasant, and it has made me a lot less nervous about Dragon Moon. (The cherry blossom note intimidated me, but if this is it, I'll be quite pleased.) There's a floral-musk undertone and the fruit and green note have combined to smell almost exactly like Twining's Summer Fruits black tea. The boy's comment was a non-committal, "Nice," but he kept asking to smell it again, which is usually a good sign. Late Dry Down: This didn't really morph anymore from the early dry-down stage; it just faded. By about two hours after application, I had to snuffle my wrist repeatedly to get any sort of hold on the notes. It was fruity-floral, but definitely musky as well. Back when I was making inquiries about the cherry blossom note to decide whether or not I should buy a bottle of Dragon Moon, someone told me that cherry blossoms are musky, so I suspect that the cherry blossom is the strongest note on me. It's a very refreshing scent, and I suspect it might get spring/summer wear. It also made me feel young and rather hip, which are usually good things. Conclusion: I like this. I'm surprised by just how much I like it since it's definitely not at all like my usual spicy/foody/rich/sweet scents. It fades quickly, which is a possible draw-back, but the scent it leaves behind is musky and fruity and all together gorgeous. It's enough outside of my current preferences that I doubt I'll order a bottle for myself, but I'll happily put a bottle of it on my Wishlist for swaps, gifts, etc.

In the imp: Generic sweet floral. I immediately crinkled my nose and sincerely did not want to put this on my skin. But, I'm committed to trying everything, so I buckled down and applied to one wrist (my right). Wet on skin: Still a generic floral. I sneezed three times in rapid succession. Between sniffles, I think I smelled honeysuckle. Early Dry Down: After twenty minutes, I finally stopped sneezing and could sniff my wrist without an allergy attack. I got a very specific floral note that drove me nuts because I couldn't quite place it. My first thought was honeysuckle, but then I second guessed myself and wondered if it's lilac? In any case, it's a sweet, fresh floral that I KNOW I've smelled in my garden. It's quite pretty, and very feminine, which is usually the kiss of death for me. Late Dry Down: After two hours, this was still floral, but developed a powdery undertone. It reminded me a bit of how I used to smell after staying the night at grandma's and washing with her floral scented soap. I'm almost positive the floral is honeysuckle, and, aside from the fade and faint powder, it stayed amazingly true on my skin. I had no more sneeze-attacks after initial application, which proves to me that it's the combination of florals and alcohol in traditional perfumes which do me in, not the florals alone. The boy's comment on this one was, "It smells like my mom." This is not a good thing. (She's partial to cheap commercial perfumes like White Diamonds.) Conclusion: I have to admit that this is a pretty scent. It's not overpowering or obnoxious, both of which I tend to expect from florals. However, the Irish muse is still, sadly, not for me. I'm just not a girly-girl or a wearer of florals. On its way it goes. Hopefully, it will find its own true love somewhere along its route.

Desolation. The remnants of an empire, shivering with forgotten glories, a monument to megalomania, sundered power, and colossal loss. Dry desert air, dry and hot, passing over crumbling stone megaliths and plundered golden monuments, bearing a hint of the incense of lost Gods on its winds. In the imp: Vaguely perfumey. This is faint and hard to smell in the imp. If I had to pick a fragrance category I'd say it was citrus, which does not seem right...but it's so faint that it's a guess in any case. Wet: This is still faint on application. In fact, it's so faint that I ended up slathering more on. I even tipped the imp directly against my skin which I never do. Once I could smell it, I detected something faintly citrus overlaying a sandalwood-eque dryness. The notes are too faint for me to be sure of them though. Early Dry Down: After about fifteen minutes, what I'm getting from this blend is a very dry wood -- but it's so faint that it has almost ceased to be wood and has become dust. There's a sweet, powdery note at the base that I'm betting is amber. I've read other people's reviews and they keep talking about Chanel No. 5. I wonder if I'm wearing the same oil? On me, this is NOTHING like a traditional perfume (at least at this stage). It's much fainter, doesn't have any floral notes, and seems more shifting-smoke like than anything else. Late Dry Down: All right, after an hour I finally understand the traditional perfume and Chanel No. 5 references. I still don't think it's exactly like Chanel, but it has certainly developed a much more traditionally perfumey note than it had at the beginning. However, it's not a straight-out floral note like many lady's perfumes. It reminds me more of the way certain spices (like saffron) sometimes develop on my skin. It's a golden scent laid over the dry wood and powder, and I'm also detecting a note that I've noticed in a lot of men's colognes, but that I can't identify. (It kind of reminds me of the winter white earl grey tea I drink in the morning. Maybe it's bergamot?) It's less faint than it was in the early stages, but the throw is minimal. After about four hours, this scent is pleasantly part of the background of my skin. The golden perfumey note is still there, but it has become secondary to a dry, powdery amber. Conclusion: This is pleasant scent, and I might wear it now and again, but I don't see it becoming a staple. (I certainly don't need a bottle, thank goodness!) It's too traditionally perfumey in the dry-down, and doesn't make me feel powerful or sexy the way my favorite bpals do. It does evoke the description nicely. There's the richness of an empire, but muted, as it would be after a fall. However, I have to say that, to me, it seems more like wandering through a Queen's ruined chambers than it does like the scent of the "King of Kings."

In the imp: Somehow, I'm getting cocoa from this. It doesn't smell precisely like chocolate, but it feels like cocoa if that makes any sense. I suspect that what I'm smelling is the Sudanese black coconut since I'm familiar with the lab's caramel, and it doesn't usually cause me to salivate and fire off tons of serotonin the way this smell does. It's making me want to slather, but I only have an imp of this, so I will not give in to that instinct. Wet: When I apply this to my wrist, I am immediately hit by the tobacco. Combined with the still detectable Sudanese black coconut note, and sweetness of the caramel, this smells like a foody pipe tobacco blend. I would love it if the boy smoked something that smelled this mouth watering. Early dry down: Something floral starts to peek out of this blend within a few minutes of application, and it continues to amp itself for a while. I assume it's the delphinium since that's the only floral note listed, but it reminds me an herby floral...kind of how my geranium pots smell in the summer. The amber is finally kicking in and adding that peculiar body/powder sweetness that I love on my skin, and combined with the floral and the foody tobacco smells, it's just lovely. This is rich, rich, RICH, and has more throw than I'm used to in my bpal. Late dry down: After about two hours, the throw has tamed itself and the blend has settled into a well coordinated blend without any individual notes that jump out at me. The overall impression is dark, rich, and sweet. If I had to compare it anything, it would be dark chocolate dipped in German chocolate frosting. But it's not really that sticky sweet. It's more like how a German chocolate pipe tobacco might smell. This is sultry, yet somehow comforting at the same time. Interestingly, I'd been smelling something floral all afternoon, but when I would sniff my wrist the floral odor was not present. I finally realized that some of the wet oil had gotten on my sleeve. Where the oil has not had a chance to react with my skin, the floral note is much more pronounced. I have to say, I like the way my skin makes the oil smell a lot better than I like how my sweater makes it smell! Conclusion: I know I'll use an imp of this, but I don't exactly regret having sold the rest of my bottle. While this is a lovely blend, and quite flattering on me, it's enough like certain other blends (and combinations of other blends) that it doesn't have a Holy Grail feel to it. I will say though that it makes me eager to try anything else the lab releases with Sudanese black coconut. I can't wear cocoa/chocolate blends (for some reason they all smell like burnt toast on me), but the black coconut has a cocoa feel, even if the scent is really quite different.

In the imp: Almond extract and vanilla. This is much higher and sweeter than Queen of Sheba, and seems like a thinner version of the lab's sweet almonds. Wet on the skin: The almond note is still dominant, and my initial impression that this is a lighter, sweeter scent than Queen of Sheba is borne out as it hits my skin. The vanilla I smelled in the imp is not immediately present on my skin. This all almond extract. Early dry down: After about fifteen minutes, the almonds have toned down and a sweet vanilla-cream scent has begun to mingle with them. This smells like almond pastries to me. Again, comparing to Queen of Sheba, this is a tame scent. The Queen's spices start to come through at this stage and I get saffron's subtle floral and a peppery tang with my sweet almonds, but this scent is simply gentle and sweet. This is almonds in "play-nice" mode, while my beloved Queen is almonds in "I-am-woman-hear-me-roar" mode. Late dry down: This scent doesn't morph so much as it fades. By an hour and half after application it has very little throw and the individual notes have blended to form a subtle sweet base scent for my skin when I snuffle my wrists. The sweetness is mainly almond, and the undertones are all cream. Conclusion: This is a pretty blend, and certainly smells nice, but it doesn't wow me. It is, in fact, just a tad dull. I don't think I'd wear this on its own except at times when I'm particularly sensitive to smells (the first day of a cold when my throat is raw or when my allergies are kicking up), but it might make a nice layering blend to sweeten up particularly spicy or musky oils.

I tried this oil this morning as I was having an utter panic attack that my boss was going to ream me for not having my time sheets filled out and for not billing enough hours lately. I thought a little Charisma might help me turn a confrontation into a positive discussion than a scream-fest or a crying jag. I did a quick ritual in which I anointed my chakras (or there general vicinities) and asked for strength, power, calmness, decisiveness and charisma. The smell of this oil is, as other have said, much less like a traditional perfume than regular bpal. I expected that since it's a ritual oil and not just perfume. But the scent is NOT awful. It's actually pretty pleasant: sharp, pungent, and herbal with a smoky resinous note under it all. I'm not getting patchouli, it smells more piney or minty to me... But it may simply be a type of patchouli I'm not familiar with. I would guess that (likie patchouli) whatever the base to this is, it is a resinous evergreen of some sort. There's something kind of peppery-spicy in there too. As for the results... It's hard to tell how much is my own attitude and how much is the oil. It turned out that my boss was out sick today (although my time sheets are ominously missing from their drawer), so I can't go his attitude. My secretary is the same as ever and when I went to the bank and coffee shop nobody treated me any differently than normal. However, I FEEL more charismatic than usual. I'm alert, calm, and productive. And I really shouldn't be since I had crappy sleep last night. I'm also optimistic and centered. I'll definitely use this one again and keep track of my results. Edited on 5-16-06 to add the following: I used my Charisma in a similar fashion one day last week when I had a motion hearing in an unfamiliar court. It was not strong enough to make me feel comfortable hanging out with the 50 year old pompous men in the attorney's lounge, but did seem to help when I was actually speaking in front of the judge. I had none of the usual sweaty palms, and I think I less confrontational than usual in my arguments. In any case, the client was happy with me at the end of the day, and I more or less got my way in front of the judge. Again, whether it was the oil or me is hard to verify. But I think just knowing I'd done the ritual and having something to focus on helped me be more charismatic than usual. As a total aside, my boy thinks this one smells great on me. I realize it's not a perfume, but both days I've worn it he has commented on it and tried to jump me at inappropriate times. At HE thinks I have more Charisma than usual.

Oh! I second this one. I don't wear it often because I only have an imp, but it is VERY sexy. It dries down to a rich (unlit) pipe tobacco smell on me. And what's sexier than a sexy man smoking a pipe?

I bet a young boy might like Jack. The story is cool and it smells like pumpkin. (Except on me. On me, it smells like microwave popcorn.)