jewelbug

Was it Devil's Night? I find storyville to share some similarities with that one... Oooh, I just thought of another that reminded me of Storyville--Wezwanie/Hold, perhaps?

Was it Devil's Night? I find storyville to share some similarities with that one...

I know that this blend is smoke and spice, but my nose translates it as pepperoni. It makes me want pizza, but is not a perfume oil I would wear!

A will call skin test. I wasn't expecting to like this one, and almost didn't even sniff it at wc, but when I opened the bottle it was a complete surprise--not at all what I would've expected from the description. It is sweet and tobacco-y and has an almost sasparilla/cola ness to it. Dry: A sweet, finely crafted, slightly masculine soap. Actually, it reminds me of the LUSH Sultana of Soaps soap. I like this, and will likely look for at least a decant to keep around. I'd like to smell this on DH, too.

A will call skin test review: Bottle and wet on skin: Lots of beeswax and smoke. It smells liked snuffed beeswax candles--really awesome. Dry: Same as above, and reminds me of a Hand of Glory meets haloa (maybe the olive oil note). Doesn't have the dusty leatheriness of hand of glory, or the cakey grapiness of haloa, but it shares bits with both. Unfortunately, in the later drydown (after I was home and resniffing), it took on a bit of a synthetic burning tinge. Ah well, I think I like Hand of Glory's complexity a little more anyway!

Bottle: Oooh, delicious dry cocoa. A very rich chocolate, and my nose couldn't pick up anything else. Wet: Super smooth delicious chocolate, but much lighter than I expected. Dry: A sweet, light chocolate scent with amber. The chocolate is so creamy that I actually get the feel of chocolate buttercream frosting. The amber is the sort that verges on a honey scent. So i get a honeyed amber chocolate buttercream, and the very late drydown is just a faint sweet skin scent like the late dry of so many other honey/amber blends. Overall: Tasty scent for an evening at home.

A boozy addition to the devil's bake sale! Rum-soaked butter cookies, crusted with sugar, soaked in almond and garnished with orange rind. A review from a will call skin test: Bottle: Lots of brown sugar rummy cookie. Deliciously promising. Skin: UGH! Burnt nuts. In the words of darkling "its like someone was roasting chestnuts for WAY too long." I am hit or miss with some of the brown sugar like scents, and this one went straight to burnt, sugared nuts. I was so disappointed, because this was one of my most anticipated blends of the new yules. Ah well, at least I found out that it hates my skin BEFORE I bought a bottle....

A skin test from my trip to will call: This is PINK! It reminds me a lot of the scents like pink phoenix, the first pink moon, and even midway (cotton candy?). Pink fruity candies, and yes, a bit fizzy. Unfortunatley, this has little staying power on me. After I came home from will call, many of my skin patch test were still going strong, but this one was long gone. I suppose its just as well, as I don't find myself wearing the "pink" fruity family of scents very often.

This is from a skin test at will call. This has a STRONG walnut component on my skin. Not those cheap mass produced english walnuts either. This is the scent of the rich, earthy, sweet black walnuts, high quality and delicious. The walnuts are supported by woods and a sweet earthy fig. It actually reminds me of freak show a bit. All of that above was when wet...when dry...well, sadly, it goes funky on me--don't know how else to describe the scent other than "funk". I wonder what note caused that? Anywho, it made me sad becuase this was the anniversary scent that I was most excited about and the wet phase was so promising. Stupid skin chemistry!

I posted that over three years ago, and this scent delivers my quintessential holiday scent better than I could've hoped! Bottle: Super coffee scent, definitely has that strong bitter coffee scent down pat. Wet: Immediately sweeter when it hits my skin. Strong bitter coffee plus sugar and heavy cream, with a delicious touch of holiday spices—nutmeg, presumably, but I think there may be a bit of cinnamon, too. This is SO fantastic. Dry: The spicy creaminess predominates, supported by a touch of aromatic coffee that eventually fades and leaves a delicious creamy vanilla scent behind on my skin. Overall: Fantabulously wonderful creamy sweetened nog-coffee. I highly doubt that my cola de mono scent fantasies had anything to do with the concept for this scent, but I’m thrilled to have this. It is what I've always wanted for Christmas. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! eta--my only complaint is that I know its gonna be a bitch to get more!

Bottle: Sweet golden amber, with a slightly fruity vanilla note. Wet: Woodsy, creamy, golden amber, with a hint of spice from the carnation. Drying: Huh. Furniture polish? I think the woods and the still-fumey resins are creating that impression. Under the furniture polish I get a creamy musky amber (i think its the same vanilla musk from la fee verte). Dry: This is pretty--a lightly vanilla'd golden, resinous amber. It reminds me strongly of Jacobs Ladder. Early on, this is like JL with a woodsy (almost pirate ship-like wood, slightly masculine) note, and in the late dry down they are almost identical. Overall: Nice on dry down, but I don't enjoy the furniture polish phase, and I think I have a more skin-chemistry-appropriate super amber blend in Jacob's Ladder. I'll pass this along.

Imp: Ooooh, lovely. Sweet, perfectly blended mix of foody (kinda a buttery vanilla), fruity (mmm, peachy) and floral notes. Really fresh and pretty. Wet: juicy ripe peach flesh, all drippy, plus something almost green smelling, like floral stems. This is all supported by a light buttery ‘nilla. Drying: Initially, the floral strengthens over the other notes. After about 30 min, this becomes a really smooth, rich, deep round peach floral scent, sweetened and deepened by a touch of honey. It reminds me of aged tamora, but its more floral, not quite as “bakey”. Overall: I enjoy this--its sweet and light and pretty with some succulent peach notes. But it shares a lot of similar notes and scent with Tamora, and I prefer Tamora just a wee bit (its less floral, more rich vanilla).

Imp: A dark rich musky/resin scent with a hint of tart citrus fruits. Wet: Lots of sweet, zingy, juicy orange to start, supported by rich resin/musk. A few moments later, I get a whiff of something herbal and soapy (linden blossom? Mallow?) as the orange weakens. It’s a fine expensive clean soap smell, and this soapiness strengthens over the first 10-15 min. Drying: a pale honeyed mallow scent starts to come through the soapy scent, supported by a very nice heliotrope smoothness Dry: This deepens and develops a kind of syrupy earthy undercurrent. I don’t’ know how else to describe..its slightly foody..almost licoricey? That’s very unexpected…like herbal soap, sparkly mallow/heliotrope and a touch of anise. 2 hrs in, I get less of the herbal soap, and a darker, muskier, more resinous scent that still manages to retain the sweetness from before. Sadly, there is also a bit of a synthetic burn scent now, too. It ends in a sweet brown scent, kinda creamy/mallow-y, soft and pretty, but still with a weird burny synthetic burn on deep inhale. Overall: Much “cleaner” and lighter than I had expcted from the notes. I didn’t get much in the way of musk/patchouli/pine, but more of an herbal soap with some sweetness to it. Sadly, the tendency to go synthetic on me means I'll be passing this on.

Bottle: Very golden, lots of kinda powdery amber, a hint of gold grasses and a bit of honey and spice. Very harvesty, but light, and not harvesty in that spicy/apple scent that we usually expect. Likey! Wet: And extremely resinous/incense like amber (think jacobs ladder or inez), with gold grasses and a nice little twist of cardamom (mmm, love cardamom!) predominantly an amber blend. Very golden, and lovely. There’s also a light citrus quality to this. Dry: mostly a powdery, golden, lightly spiced amber, very resinous . I wish there was more spice! Later, this is a really dusty, resinous amber incense scent, slightly sweet, very powdery amber note. Reminds me of Jacob’s ladder. Overall: Nice, and I enjoy this, but I have several similar blends that I enjoy more. Onto swaps!

Bottle: A very generically “perfume” scent. Bitterish florals, maybe some greenness, but mostly smells like a dept store perfume. Wet: Oh, much better. That bottle scent had me sqared. Now its sorta a light, vaguely fruity tea scent with a hint of a lemony citrus. Reminds me a bit of litha in that golden scent, but this is more…green. Drying: A citrus zinged floral. There is some bitter green leafiness, which makes sense with the blend. I don’t get any of the foody notes that are listed. It’s a citrus zested bitter greenery/sweet spring florals. Dry: less bitter greenery now. Its sweeter and more rounded. I think the honey is contributing to this—so, lightly citrus (not as strong as before) gentle slightly honeyed spring florals. Honey/cream comes out a bit a few hours in, but its still predom a light tea/floral. Overall: Pretty, but not "me" so I think I'll pass it on.

Jailhouse hooch. Distilled in toilets, this vintage is comprised of chow line droppings, including oranges, apples, ketchup, and sugar. First off, I just love the little jailbar label on this bottle. Lol Bottle: Very FIZZY sort of fruits. Like, super carbonated slightly orange soda. Cool, no ketchup in sight… Wet: I can’t get over how fizzy this feels. I smell a lightly sweetened orange and a mega dose of “fizzy” whatever note that is. Its like a carbonated party punch. There also seems to be a light floral component…almost jasmine like, but not doing the horrible things that jasmine usually does on me. I know no florals are listed…but…maybe the jail’s toilet cleanser? LOL Drying: All of the above applies, still. But I think I’m getting a bit of a cool piney note. Fizzy orange pine soda. Again, the piney thing makes me think there’s a toilet cleanser note in this as a joke. Hehe. (reminds me a bit of knecht rupbrecht) Fades fairly quickly to a faint fruit fizz. Overall: A very awesome joke. And a pleasant enough scent, but not something that I can see myself really wearing. Onto swaps!

Bottle: A gentle, sweet citrus. Not really tart, just a sweet creamy citrus scent. Like ginger creamsicles. Wet: Sweet, light creamscicles with a bit of white musk . Also…the fruitiness here is a little fruit loopy. Dry: The greenness of some woods comes out and some musk, all under a vanilla fruit loops smell. It’s a truly sweet and uplifting scent, sophisticated, yet still playful. Its very “clean” but not in the soapy sense—like purity in a bottle. Gets a little powdery, but in that orris dusty way, not like baby powder. but stays creamy citrus and pure. Late Dry: ginger/fruit loop creamy candy, musk and woods. Its deeper now, more powedery/less sweet, but its still awonderful blend. Its warm sweet and innocent. Overall: I was giving this a retest and proper review. I remember liking it when I first received it, but not really loving in. Thus, I was expecting to test and then swap it for something else….only…well, I’m not sure I want to swap it anymore! Its really lovely!

Bottle: Fairly light, slightly creamy herbal scent with a subtle fruitiness. Something reminds me of lotus moon and litha a bit...sorta golden. Wet: Very clean, semi sharp floral/herbal with a tart citrusy feel. Other than the citrusy feel, its not really fruity. Drying: This really does smell bitter to me--it has a citrus pithy quality, along with that herby floral that is obviously lavender and some other stuff I can't pinpoint. There's also an underlying sweetness that must be coming from either the lotus or blackerry. Overall: A slightly fruity bitterish herbal/floral. Lasts about 6 hrs, fading to a faint sweetness. Nice, but not something that will get into my regular rotation. I'll pass this on.

Bottle: A sweet fruity (berry and a hint of citrus?) floral, a hint tea-like, with a bit of an herbal..almost oregano like? There's also something chocolate-y. Reminds me of some of the lighter 13 blends. Wet: Basically the same...sweet, tea-like scent with some fruitiness (citrusy, especially). Drying: This grows more tealike and herbal as it dries. Also...someting...squashy? Like cutting up a butternut or pumpkin. There's a light vanilla-like creaminess in the background, but it's basically a squash-tea herbal with a fruity sweetness. After about 30 min, that light chocolatey scent comes back and this reminds me again of the ligter 13 blends. This lasts about 7 hrs and fades to a sweet scent. PS: I am so PLEASED with this skin test. I didn't look up the notes ahead of time, and the fact that I was able to pick out squash floored me *pats self on back* Overall: light herbal squash/fruit tea-blend that reminds me of the 13 blends. Its nice, but I don't see it going into my rotation, so I think I'll pass it on.

Imp: Smoke and rusty nails, on the nose. Cool. Wet: Really really smoky. Vaguely like the smoke one would use to make a delicious ham or something. So this strikes me as smoked meats, though there isn't a "meat" note, obviously. Also, there’s a metallic iron element and even something that smells leathery, but maybe that’s just the smoke playing a trick with my nose. Drying: This really sweetens up. Its very unique, not unpleasant, but not a perfume I can see myself rocking. Later on (2-3 hrs) this gets a strange synthetic smell to it. Like burning, but not like the nice smoke of earlier…more like a burning plastic. It maintains this smokey blend of hot smoke and cold metal for the rest of the time, fairly sweet for what the blend is, but sadly, i get tinges of weirs synth. Overall: Ah well, not the best for my skin chem, and even if it were, this isn't my type of scent. That said its really interesting, unique, and I like the blend of smoke/metal a lot.

Imp: Really sweet florals, musky, too. There’s an almost bubblegum-fruity quality to this floral, and the floral is deep and cloying, more like a southern floral (magnolia?) than carnation…. Wet: Same, with a slight necco wafer quality. Dry: Slightly spicy, very sweet cloying sort of floral (magnolia, honeysuckle, mimosa?) and slight musk. There is a hint of plum, but not what I expected. It sort of reminds me of what I remember of Hell's Belle. After 30-40 min, the plum grows in strength, and it’s a plum-y, warm, slightly spicy musk scent. After 4-5 hrs this fades to a gently sweet scent, a hint of plum, with a warm musky slight spice. This phase is far different than the cloying southern style floral that I first smelled. Overall: Liked it, but didn't love it. The scent wasn't at all what I expected from the notes...it was lighter, sweeter, and I swear there's more to this than what's listed.

... This Harvest Moon oil is a merging of autumnal scents from all over the globe: chrysanthemum, pomegranate, cane sugar and dusty wheat, sorghum, green tea leaf, rice flower and rice milk, Russian sage, bamboo shoot, elderberry, black cherry, wild plum, red haw, hazelnut, red apple and shagbark hickory. Bottle: Gentle bright apple fruity scent with a red berry sort of scent, maybe pomegranate? Wet: Grassy apples and pomegranate with some green florals. Drying: Red fruits, very winey, actually, with dry grasses and autumnal florals, I get hints of wood and nuts. As it dries I get the same fruity/winey autumnal florals with occasional wafts of woods and a slight creamy nuttiness. Overall: This is pretty, but I never wear it, so I think I'll find it a more loving home.

Imp: Sweet musk and resins. Champaca? Wet: Sweet, dark and musky. There is a fruity tinge, but I really think its champaca, since it goes that way on me sometimes. There's also a creamy edge, maybe a bit of dark smoky vanilla? Its SEXY! Drying: I get something a bit piney? occasionally. Overall, though, its a powdery, musky, sweet champaca incense. Lightly spicy, but not in the cinnamon sense… Dry: Sweet musky vanilla and incense, slightly dusty. There might be a bit of leather to this, along with champaca. This is a really lovely scent, very sexy. Overall: Love it, too bad its scarce as hen's teeth.

In this imp, this is complex and hard to pick out any notes, but i can smell a sweet incensy vanilla and a bit of scary jasmine (I don't get along with jasmine, typically. Wet: Sweet vanilla, incense and jasmine that verges on cat pee, but not nearly as bad as some other jasmine blends I've tried. There is also something mineralistic to this, I think. Reminds me of a darker, smoky black opal. Dry: The jasmine dissipates, no cat pee left (yay!). What I get is a lovely dark smoking incense vanilla. Its a little fruity, but not citrusy, so I don't think its the mandarin. champaca tends to smell like a juicy plummish fruit on me, and that's what I'm getting here. The blend is complex and unique and lovely. Overall: I like this once the jasmine goes away, and I can see many others being enthralled with this beauty. Still, I have to pass this on, since I can't justify going through the jasmine phase when I have so many other scents that get along with my chemistry better.

Imp: Clean, slightly salty aquatic with a greenness to it. Wet: Its light and clean and watery. Vaguely fruity, but I can’t pick out any specific fruit. DH says, “Clean soap fruit.” Dry: Sadly, as this dries, one of the components goes to an extreme burnt synthetic smell. I really didn’t expect that from this list of notes—its usually some of the butter/sugar/rum blends that do that on my skin, and none of that is listed here. Anyway, what I get is a clean aquatic over a burning synth ickiness. I wonder which note is responsible, since none of the usual suspects are listed? Overall: Ah, well, we weren’t meant to be, 51…I’ll find you a new home!