jewelbug

In the bottle: Very similar to O, but less sweet, and a bit of spicy cherriness? On me: Still very much like O, so there's not much more I can say about that. Though, its definitely got a warm spiciness instead of the powdery amber of O. I think this is the first blend i've tried with dragon's blood. I must say, I think we get along. Overall: I am torn as to which one I like better (O or Dragon's Milk), but I love them both and know I must keep one (and only one, since they're so very similar on me). I'm going to hold onto both until I decide which.

Kali, really?! I've been dying to find and try that one (i mean, chocolate!!!!!), and now i've got an even better excuse to do so! Mwahahahaha! Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I was wondering, and this may be a tall order, but do any of these have the clinique happy feel COMBINED with the "boy smell" of boy deodorant. And still smell good? Wishful thinking perhaps....but then, Beth IS amazing.

Imp: Astringent orange with some background florals. Very "fumey", if that makes sense. Wet: So far it’s a sweet floral with a citrus chaser. The floral is kinda powdery to my nose, and the citrus is biting. It has great throw. Drying: Powdery floral with orange in background. Just kinda fumey perfume. Eh. Dry: 1 hour and later. Wow. This turned out beautifully--the powder is gone. It’s a sweet floral with a bitter orange-pith bite. This reminds me of my granddads back yard (he has mimosa trees--coolest flowers ever). This invokes my childhood memories at his house. Simply lovely. It lasts for about 4 hours. Overall: If I were going to wear a floral, this would be a strong contender. Sweet, light once it mellows. I hint of citrus. This is very pretty. Not at all what I expected from succubus--I expected something more devious, less sweet and pretty. But I didn't get the spice notes, which probably would have been the devious bit.

Bottle: very clean, very fresh, green, slightly sweetly fruity. Wet: Fresh, green scent. It's like a sweet fruity tea, with a hint of citrus (that's probably the ginger). This very much reminds me of the light freshness from the Dormouse. Drying: The ginger getting stronger. Ooh…ginger tea, fresh and bright. I wonder if there is lemon verbena in this as well? It's green and citrusy, slightly sweet. Overall it's just fresh and happy. Unfortunately, it's very faint on me. In 2 hours, its still there, but more like smelling fresh clean skin than a perfume--no throw. It's very clean and nice. But very weak, and will be gone very soon. Overall: I would consider this for summer--green fresh and light. But its lack of throw and staying power concerns me. Its such a lovely light and refreshing scent, though. I may look into using it for lotions and bathing recipes.

Bottle: I'm surprised by how faint this is, even with my nose practically in the imp. Mostly I smell orange, but it's very light. There is a touch of honey. Wet: orange peel, very faint. It’s a warm, cozy orange, rather than bright and energetic. Drying: Very faint. Orange and warm vanilla. I like this, but it will never last on me. I wish this was stronger, cuz it’s a lovely cuddly warm orange. It's still at the same faint stage in 1 hour so, its not fading, it just starts out weak and stays there. Nope, I was wrong, it's completely gone in 2 hrs. Overall: This was a beautiful scent, but very faint and had little staying power. I will consider this for light lotions and shower gels, though.

Bottle: Pale woodsy vanilla. The woodsy is so light, that its actually almost like a white musk, perhaps cuz its combined with the amber? Hubby and I tested this as a His and Hers. HERS: Wet: Astringent vanilla. Astringent in the manner of orange zest, though it doesn't actually smell like orange. I can definitely smell the pine, and its rounded by the vanilla, which is slight, but there. Drying: The pine is very astringent on me. It has an almost eucalyptous quality. Rounded slightly by the vanilla, which gets more prominent further into the dry down. After 20 min, there is more amber, so its amber and vanilla. It's starting to smell a lot like O, a more masculine O. Less sweet, cuz its got a tinge of sharp pine rather than honey. I quite like this. Overall: This is a lighter, less sweet O. But its vanilla smells slightly more "candle-y" to me than that in O. Its staying power was not quite as good as O, but it did stick around for quite a while. GP and O are so very similar,and both are lovely. I think, though, that I will stick with O, my original love. HIS: Wet: He gets more vanilla than I do. Also with an astringent smell, though I think his is more juniper than pine, as it was in mine. Drying: Sweet warm vanilla, with a sharp evergreen in the back. Very similar to mine, really, but he still gets more vanilla. 30 min: Piney vanilla. Its getting faint rather quickly, as well. I don't think its quite masculine enough on him, since the wood notes are overpowerd by the vanilla. 2 hours: faint vanilla, mostly gone. Overall: Too much vanilla on him, not very manly. Lacks staying power on his thirsty skin.

Bottle: Buttery spicy pumpkin pie. I want to drink this. Wet: Butter and spice. Super autumnal foody smell. Very homey and tasty. Drying: Buttery pie with cinnamon and a hint of peach. There is also a syrupy smell (good syrupy--like a dark brown sugar sauce). This settles into a buttery spicy peach smell that is warm and comforting. It fades to almost nothing in about 3.5 hours. Overall: I adore this scent. I just don’t think its something I'd want to smell like all day. But I would really love to have my house smell like it. It's so yummy and homey and warm. Makes me wanna cuddle with the hubby. I will look into oil burners for this, I think. And a larger bottle!

Bottle: Honey and Orange Blossom. Yum. Wet: Honey and orange blossom (but strong on the orange, rather than floral) there is a hint of rose (hope it doesn't amp). Drying: The honey is getting lost in the quickly amping rose, and its getting a little rose-soapy. There are still hints of honey and orange, but they are much weaker than the rose. Luckily, the honey comes back a bit further into drydown. The honey note is much like the one in O, which is a great thing. Its stays at a very rosy honey for quite a while. Think O with the rose substituted for the vanilla note. If I liked rose, I'd love this.. At the very end of a long sniff, I get a bit of sandalwood. Very late into the drydown (3 hr +): Still pumping, great lasting power on me. The rose has even mellowed and is no longer soapy powder. It’s a soft rose dripping with the honey note from O and just a touch of sandalwood. Very lovely. A rose I can stand. Impressive! Overall: For a floral, I actually like this one, but only after it mellows. Very surprising, especially since rose usually pumps out like crazy and annoys me. I think someone who likes rose and O would really love this, since its their love child (on my skin, at least). While the orange blossom was strong in the vial and wet, it's not around on my skin after the drydown. This was pretty, but it took too long to mellow into the rose tinged O smell that I liked best. I might as well just wear O. Still, kudos to the lab for creating a rose I actually liked!

Oh, wow! So many great suggestions! I have been wanting to get my hands on some Kumiho (for me), so I will definitley keep looking for that one--seems to be a majority recommendation for her too! Shanghai sounds great too, but I think the jasmine in New Orleans might scare her sneeze-prone nose away. Is it strong (i'm horribly biased against jasmine, so i'm probably projecting my fears onto her)? I'd forgotten about apothecary, cuz I actually did try that, and it was like a sweet ginger tea on me. It faded very quickly, though, so I'm not sure. zenvodunista, I tried jezebel, and while it was lovely (like O with rose), I know that the rose notes would overwhelm her until it mellowed. And mellowing took a long time on me. I also tried Vixen. I even liked it--despite patchouli, so you're absolultely right about beth's patchoulis! I suppose I should ammend my profile, eh? I have a feeling Vixen would be a bit stong for her, though. I have succubus in my to try box right now! I will do that right after my shower. As for any other suggestions, I just talked to her, and she said this: "I like floral scents, but they're very hit or miss. I favor citrus and spicy scents, since they rarely bother my nose. My favorite lotion was one somebody gave me that smelled strongly like ginger. I'm not that keen on vanilla, coffee, fruit, cinnamon (for wearing). " And then, the curve ball: "I actually sometimes like wearing "boy" deoderant so I smell like one." Hmmmmm....any suggestions for that last bit? That boy deodorant bit?

Bottle: Very sweet almond oil. Wet: Very strong almond, with something biting in the back. Its actually kinda like Christmas cookies. Drying: The almond tones down, now there is a warmth in the background, I think its myrrh. And yes, as per the lab description, it is buttery. Almond (neither bitter nor sweet) and warm myrrh. Christmas incense and sugar cookies. I think it, but there is something about it that hits me the wrong way. Its nice and warm, but not quite me. It also doesn't last very long on my skin(1-2 hrs). Overall: Pretty christmas-invoking blend with myrrh and almond cookies. But its not for me.

Have you tried Pink Moon? Its an LE, but its certainly up for grabs a few places in the Swaps section. Its: This Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, dogwood and muscari, dusted with pink sugar, carnation and honey, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season. I'm a fan of it!

Bottle: Rose, Jasmine and something earthy and almost burnt smelling. I think that last part is the coffee. I must be honest. I really don't like this in the imp. But I promised to try everything I got on my skin. Usually jasmine goes cat-urine on me. I'm dreading this. *swallows and applies* Crossing my fingers for fig and vanilla to dominate… Wet: Yup, the jasmine is going kinda urine-y. In fact, that combined with the burnt coffee smell is invoking some very nasty bathroom that someone has tried to cover with rose and lysol. Oh dear…. Drying: Less burnt coffee, at least. Too floral (very very bad floral on me). And yes, still that tinge of jasmine urine, though it’s a bit less horrid now. There is also something vaguely anesthetically numbing in this scent. Is tonka a numbing smell at all? I have no idea. After about 20 min, there is no more numbing, its still slightly urine, with rose and a bit of wood (mahogany, I guess). I am still getting a tinge of burnt coffee. After 40 mins: Husband: (walks up timidly) "Honey, I don't mean to be rude, but will you please wash that off?" Me: "okay" Husband: "And promise to never ever to put it on again?" Me: "okay" I gleefully washed it off, cuz I didn't like it either. Overall: Even if I loved it I couldn't wear this. When I had hubby smell me, he literally said "If that's what mata hari smelled like, she was incontinent". I was rolling. Good thing I don't love it. To the swaps. Perhaps someone has more friendly skin chemistry than I do.

Bottle: Initially, orange, and then very strong eucalyptus. Very menthol-y. Medicinal like a cough drop. I am testing this as a his and hers. Him: Wet: eucalyptous with something warmer under--citrus--orange, but somehow limey as well. Drying: Slight orange VERYVERY faint (medicinal cough drop smell gone). Wow, never had one fade so fast. In 1:45, its still there, but you have to stick your nose right in it to smell. It’s a slightly powedery orange. Not for him. Me: Wet: Strong eucalyptus. Menthol, cough drops. Very pungent. Nothing else yet. Drying: It gets more orangey, in about 30 min, its less blatant as cough drops, though they are still there. Its fading very quickly. By an hour in its but a very faint orange. Overall: Fades too quickly on both of us and was too medicinal for my tastes, anyway. Though, I think it'd make an awesome scent for a facial steam or something--especially if you had a cold. To the swaps.

Bottle: OMFG. Butterscotch and coconut. Reminds me a drink I make with Baileys, Parrot Bay and Buttershots. I am so tempted to chug my imp. Wet: More buttershots. My favorite liquor. Blissful. Tinge of coconut, and something a bit more unfamiliar. I guess that's tobacco? Drying: Less buttershots. Still warm and sweet, the coconut is a little suntan lotion actually, and I'm afraid its going playdoh, but I might be overreacting. After 20 min, I realize that yes, its going play-doh-y. It's still coconuty, but now it smells of fake coconut because it's meshed with playdoh. Fades in a bout 2 hours. Overall: I ADORED this in the imp. Sadly it just doesn’t work with my skin chemistry. I would love this as a room scent, though. 12/07/05: Thought I'd try this again, since I got a new imp from the lab, and was hoping maybe my last one was just wonky. No such luck. Once again, stunningly beautiful in the imp, playdoh suntan lotion on my skin. Curse my chemistry!

Bottle: Almond and orange with an undercurrant of neroli. Yum. Smells like an exotic cocktail. Wet: Almond! Its mostly amaretto smelling. Mmmmmm…. Something citrus in the back? Maybe even some musk. Drying: Muskier floral scent coming out. Uhoh. Crap. All rose. Where did the almond go? 20 min: Yup, rose, but something underneath that is so familiar, but I don't identify it as any of the listed notes. Actually, it smells a lot like the Lush henna hair dye bars. Weird. Let me explain that while I love the effect of that henna, the smell is a bit funky to me. I think it’s the clove and nutmeg, actually, but they don't smell like what I was expecting. 1 hr: Mostly rose--less of the henna funk now. Sigh. Rose is so tempermental on me. It is mean and bullies the others from the playground. Overall: This fades to distant floral powderness in about 3 hours. I really wanted that almond, dammit! To the swaps.

Bottle: Green and fresh. I get a sweet smell with a tinge of citrus and a bit of cut grass. On, wet: same as in bottle, but much fainter than I expected. Drying: Earl Grey? And something floral, or maybe that's what clean linen smells like. I think I'm getting some ginger, too, that sorta lemony citrus smell that ginger has. It's getting to smell a lot like tea, actually. As it dries, I get more pepper (but its nice, not overpowering). Tea with a kick (but no, its not chai, like I hoped). Floral clean tea with a ginger pepper kick. No milk, honey or vanilla yet. After 1 hour: Oh, THERE'S the honey,a nd just a hint of vanilla. Sweet and syrupy. These are overtop the clean linen and tea. Sweet and Pretty. But it's not something I'd need to live. 2 hours: sweet honey, tinge of pepper/spice and a little vanilla. The linen is far in the back, and I don't smell tea anymore. Pretty. Similar in feel to tzadikim nistarim, but, but with honey as the sweetness, instead of fruity. Lasts a while 6ish hours? It settles into a vaguely sweet nice smell. Overall: I like this, but it reminds me of O, golden priapus and tzadikim--all of which I like a bit better, so I don't think I need this one. Last night, a friend and I had a meeting wherein massive amounts of tea/lush were swapped, and I gave her White Rabbit as well, I hope she enjoys it!

Bottle: I smell mostly the black herbs, I guess, cuz I can't smell the fruit. Very cut grass smell, but darker Wet, still predominantly black herbs, but now its developing sweetness, the sweetness is fig, I think, cuz it reminds me of my beloved intrigue. Early Dry: Very dark herby smell, but with the earthy woodsiness of fig (fig goes cedar/woodsy on me--which I love), and something vaguely fruity (nonfig) way in the back. So far, so good. Very warm smelling. It develops a slightly sweet and fruity smell (currant?), but its got dark and dirty florals Intrigue is round and smooth, this is its less refined cousin--its definitely "gritty" like the description says, but in an oh-so-good way. Later Dry: Its mellowing, still very warm, and still like a "dirty", earthier, smokier intrigue with a hint of berry. I also am beginning to think that the herbs in this smell a bit like the herbs from the lunacy I've tried (which admittedly only one--pink moon). 3 hours: fades a lot, but it's also on my "mouse" hand. Overall: I think I like it. I love Intrigue--it's a slow seduction in the dark corner of a Caribbean spy club. Its cousin, Gomorrah is a debaucherous romp in a dirty open-air market, after hours . Glad I bought a bottle unsniffed.

Bottle: Initial whiff is mostly floral and musk, second impression gives me coconut, but no hazelnut that I can distinguish. Wet: Musky floral with hint of coconut, but it’s a dark coconut--almost smokey. Drying: mostly musk and floral, coconut is very slight now. Actually, I take that back, its more coconutty from far away and more musky floral close up. Still not as much coconut as I expected, though. After 30 min: mostly floral musk. Not so much me. Goes through a very musky/floral phase from here until about 2 hours. After 2 hours it settles into a creamier sweet smell with a slight musk. Similar to dorian at this stage (at least on my skin),but takes much longer to get there, and not quite as awesome. I like dorian better, and its yummier from the get-go. Overall: I thought I'd love this, but I am just ambivelant about it. This is simply not for me, not enough coconut, no discernable hazelnut, and too long to get the creamy sweet part of the adventure that I like (which still isn't as nice as the musky vanilla of dorian, and has less throw). The musks and florals are pretty, but my skin just amps that iris like crazy for the first 2 hours, and I don't handle amping florals well. I was hoping for such coconutty goodness, but sadly my skin is against me. I know I wouldn't wear this often, so it will go to swaps.

Bottle: This was a sweet floral (I think that's the wisteria) with a biting floral underneath. For the record, I'm bad at identifying floral notes, so apologies! Wet: This is a green fresh floral with a slight bitterness. I think it's either the violet or mum standing out the most, but it's very "perfumey". Drying: a dry, bitter, but green floral. Have you ever tasted the milk from a dandelion stalk? That kind of bitter. But very interesting, cuz there is also something reminiscent of a minty coolness (is that what delphinium smells like?) 30 min: very strong. From a distance it smells like sweet wisteria. Up close its is more bitter and perfumey and has that cold edge. This is the final phase for me, though it does mellow to get a bit less bitter and cold. Overall: Well, I know I'm not a floral gal, but I had to try it. Very interesting how its sweet but also bitter and cold feeling. Successful blend, but not for me. A floral lover who likes "kick" would love this, I think.

Bottle: Cranberry (very strong, lovely berry note), and something warm, musky and smoky underneath. Wet: gets REALLY sweet and berry. This cranberry note is lovely. But it’s a little to sweet/fruity for me so far. Drying: still very berry, but I can smell a bit of darkness and warmness--musk and spice? But only very slight. Is it just my imagination, or am I getting the occasion whiff of bread yeast? Weird. This is interesting, since from far away its very strong berry, but up close its smoky/dirty smelling. Very apt for the name, I think. Uhoh, after about 30 min, this turns to fruity berry bubble yum on me. In about an hour, it's still bubble-yummy, but with a slight floral. This lasts 4-6 hours on me, and at settles into a sweet berry with a light floral. It's pretty. Overall: My skin obliterated the musk and spice notes. The smoky mixed with the berry was fascinating, but overall this was too berry for me. It is already winging its way to a new home. Lovely "dirtied" scent for the fruit loving types, though!

Bottle: He says: citrus and burning. I say: Spicy, Smokey musk, tart like citrus a bit, reminds me of an incense shop. HIS: Him, Wet:sweetens up a bit, pipe-smoke citrus. Drying: Musky vanilla citrus, has something that smells like an incense shop, too. Dry: Oooh, gets very spicy (clove, I think) musky, still hint of vanilla. After about 4 hours, it's less spicy, more mellow, but still a spicy musk. Slight hint of powder on his skin. Overall: I think it smells like wrath without the big red fake candy smell, and improved with musky incense. He thinks it smells like old people, so he won't be wearing it. HERS: Me, wet: spicy clove/anise with tinge of dirty civet. Almost medicinal--kinda 'old peopley" on me, actually, so I finally understand what he was trying to say. Drying. I think the clove is going very antiseptic, which makes him think of nursing homes and hospitals, then the civet brings to mind dirty people in hospitals. I keep getting whiffs of it, and though I normally love spicy scents, this clove is so antiseptic on my skin that I can almost feel my tongue going numb. Overall, it really is too manly for me, and I washed it off in about an hour. I think if hubby hadn't polluted my mind to think of hospital beds, I would've just considered it spicy incense musk, but he has tainted it for me. It is a warm scent, though, and I can see some people really liking it. Also, for the record, I thought it smelled GOOD on HIM, so he and I have agreed to disagree….Neither of us really got strong civet out of it, though, and I think that's a positive.

For the record, I stink at identifying florals. Bottle: This is definitely floral, but there is something underneath, slightly sweet and green, almost like a melon covered in grass clippings--ah, just read the description, I think this is the wisteria, really sweet, but green. On, wet: Still floral, with a light, almost citrus & melon in the background, slightly soapy. Smells clean but also something slightly bitter. Drying: Flowers and more cut grass. There is something biting maybe some dirt or ozone? I really don't know what that would be, since the three listed notes are lilac, wisteria and rose. Dry: Floral floral floral. I am bad at discerning, but I think I smell mostly lilac now, with a rose underneath. I like lilac and could do without the rose, but it's nice. Not me, but nice. Unfortunately, the rose later turns soapy, like it has for me in some past experiences. This ends up smelling like lilac soap, and the wisteria is long gone. Still, it’s a pretty soap! Overall: this lasted for quite a while on me, good for 4-6 hours. For me, that is long lasting, and it was a pretty floral, despite being soapy. Very well blended, and very clean smelling. This isn't for me, but I have a friend who adores florals, and I think this will find it's way to her.

An ancient formula that inspires unrepentant decadence, lechery and debauch. Bottle: Pungent cloyingly sweet blooms (gardenia, I guess?) with something bitter and incensey. On second sniff, it's very odd, but I swear I smell bitter, banana, then pungent blooms in that order. How intriguing. Wet: Something pungent, vaguely numbingly medicinal spice (cinnamon/anise/clove?). NECO'S CANDY, but not sweet smelling. Darker somehow. Hmmmm….. Drying: This smells just like the white conversation hearts you get at valentine's day mixed with like….one lonely banana candy. It is not really overly sweet, though, actually a little bitter. It’s a warm strangely spicy scent with some pungent floral in the very background. This is really complex, and I stink at identifying notes, so that's the best I can do. Dry: More conversation hearts, numbing spice, sweetish floral that is dirty somehow. Fades in 3 hours. Overall: This was very interesting. I really enjoyed the spicy warm slightly fruity blossom smell, just cuz it was so different, and a tough one to figure out. I think I'll keep it around to give it a second try after my hormones change, and see if it smells less like conversation hearts to me then. My hunch is that it will end up in the swaps, but its defnitely an interesting one. With a booty-kickin name.

Bottle: Reminds me of snake oil without the vanilla. Wet: Similar to snake oil, but not as syrupy sweet/fake candleish, hint of powdery floral instead of vanilla. Drying: Hmmm, if this is patchouli, it is not bad. It is dark and sweet and I don't smell like a dirty hippy. This really reminds me of snake oil without the vanilla--just the spicy stuff that was underneath a day later when the vanilla faded and I liked it better. Late dry: still very much like snake oil without the syrupy sweetness, and less vanilla (but still feels like there is some). I like it. Overall: Lasts about 4.5 hours. Very nice. The spicy half of snake oil that I liked without the sickeningly overpowering candle/playdoh vanilla half that I didn’t. Great blend. I'd keep the imp, but it broke.

Oh, I second the intrigue suggestion. Its my absolute favorite. Darkly woodsy with chocolate and fig notes (which on me are not foody at all). Its lovely, dark and sexy, but definitley not piney.