AliBabble

out of the imp, it doesn't do much for me, but on my skin it's better...pine and birch trees, lovely, outdoorsy-fresh, with something almost berry-ish in the florals...reminds me slightly of snow bunny, but softer, and without the snow...it's almost soapy, but not quite...the longer i wear it, the pine and tree smells recede, while the wildflowers come out stronger. i quite like this...it really does smell like a country village with lots of wild, overgrown plants. it's a little "cleaner" than what i normally like, but i'll use the imp now and again.

in the imp it reminds me of key lime pie, with a touch of coconut...it gives me a cool, yellow-green, creamy feeling - refreshing - would be good for summer. on my skin, there's something a bit weird at first...plasticky or dusty or something...the coconut vanishes, and the florals start to emerge...they are light, pretty florals, and it almost reminds me of enraged bunny musk, in its lemony-floral springlike way. i wish the green coconut was a little more present here, but still, it's a nice, light refreshing scent which would especially be good for spring or summer.

this was a frimp from the lab - i recognize immediately the similarity to the TAL oil Dixie Love Perfume. like dixie love, love me is a disconcerting, sharp jasmine, but it also has a sweet cinnamon in it, and is slightly darker and smokier overall than the tal oil. i seem to smell dragon's blood too...it is sweet, and somewhat candy-ish. i rather like this smell - it's strange at first, but it really grows on me. another winner in the voodoo category - i'm finding that i like nearly all of these. i'll have to try this out and see if it works!

ooh, i think this smells quite nice, out of the bottle - i smell plum blossom, similar to the gentleness of budding moon, but this one is chillier and and more sinister, with a "fancy lady" sort of feeling.. on my skin it expands, and i can smell more of what's going on - very leafy green and fresh - like fresh-cut flower stems. to me, this is extremely floral, but not at all sharp or nose-tickling. the longer it's on my skin, the different flowers start to emerge, all the while staying mellowed and honeyed...almost like candied flower petals. wow. and there is something vaguely spicy and creamy too. it does go a bit soapy, but not enough to make me dislike this lovely, dreamy fragrance.

out of the bottle i do smell the wintergreen everyone's been going on about, but i equally smell something darker and mellower beneath it. as i continue to sniff, it reminds me of old fashioned birch beer, which i love. on my skin, it's a bit medicinal at first, a cross between a hall's mentholyptus cough drop, and an old fashioned root beer hard candy. not very "perfume-like", but not unpleasant either. it is fresh and snowy, with the feel of cold mountain air. somehow, i don't smell much of the flowers or berries - maybe just the faintest touch, far off in the background. overall, i kind of enjoy this scent - it's invigorating in an outdoorsy way, and i really like the way it smells like birch beer. an unusual fragrance! would be good to rub on your chest when you have a cold!

in the bottle, this smells a little weird - mellow dried fruit at the bottom (the currants) with something sharp and almost medicinal. intriguing... on my skin it's sharp, flowery incense - a little intense at first, it begins to mellow and hits a plastic phase which morphs into something a bit like dusty carnations. once all souls settles down some, it becomes a rather pleasant incense scent, reminiscent of incense found at indian groceries. i never seem to get much of the offratory cake smell. an interesting scent, for some reason it evokes indian sari fabric breezing around inside a temple...but i think it's just so-so on my skin. eta: i don't know if my chemistry has changed or what, but this scent has really grown on me since i first wrote this review - it's still primarily a dry, dusty, rose-y indian incense - but i can smell more of the cake and fruit now, and i've come to really enjoy this. very sugary, feminine - almost sultry, i always picture a beautiful rose-pink color. i like this a lot.

in the bottle, it's buttery, almost boozy, rich and orange-y, like a spicy cake batter made with cointreau or grand marnier. it kind of reminds me of carrot cake too...or like a pumpkin cake that i used to make...on my skin, it's also an orange-y cake...almost like gingerbread soaked in a warm buttery-orange concoction. it stays pretty rich for a decent amount of time, before mellowing just a bit, and allowing the cardamom to pop out more. at this point, i get more of the actual pumpkin scent, too. pumpkin queen is just a fun, warm, scrumptious scent, that i'll be wearing a lot!

black moon has really been growing on me in the short time i've had it - at first it seemed a bit too coy and girlish - the fruity pear and the florals seemed so clean...but its complexity and mystery is beginning to unravel, and i see there's more to it than meets the first sniff. everyone keeps talking about "blue" smells, and perhaps it's power of suggestion, but i too get an almost pale aqua color, like moonlight on a lagoon. my tomboy/aggressive side was digging the power of schwartzer mond, but now i'm being seduced by black moon's feminine wiles - it's very dreamy and cool - the cucumber, lotus and orchid i'm pretty sure i'm smelling...all the florals blend into one thing - i keep picturing pale aqua chiffon blowing over a dusky lagoon..ahhhh

ahhh, this is delectable, and definitely my favorite of the two black moons. in the bottle, i think i am first smelling deep, rich opponax - it is reminding me of cola syrup (when i was a kid, doctors would sometimes prescribe "cola syrup" for nausea - a dark rich concentrate, i haven't smelled it in years!) - and a touch of something root-y and black licorice-like. patchouli is often a problem for me, but not so in schwartzer mond - this patchouli is so smooth, and manages to be so dark and rich, without turning sweet or powdery. spicy cola amber patchouli incense is what i'm getting, but so smooth. will we perhaps be seeing more blends from brian??

dixie love perfume has a very intense smell - i identify it mostly as jasmine, but it is not a soft lilting jasmine, like i am used to...it's rather harsh, sharp and dizzying. perhaps , as someone noted, there is ylang ylang here as well. i wasn't sure i liked the scent at first, but i've found that it's grown on me; it's unusual. and does sort of pull you under its spell. for effectiveness, i'm not sure yet. i wore it to a party one night, and while i didn't meet the love of my life, i had a lot of people flocking around me, though it was more just socializing, than romance. still, i feel like people i had never interacted with before were almost "latching on" to me. hmm. interesting. since then i've *just* begun to use it with candles, but it's too soon to know if it's working yet. i like this oil! it's not what i usually choose to smell like, but it does seem to have some sort of magnetic thing going on, and puts me in a nice mood.

i dug this one from the first sniff. when i put it on my skin, i see why: almond! i love almond, and uruk at first gives me scent memories of the honeyed almonds of queen of sheba. pretty soon though, slightly sharp herbally notes start coming out, and i recognize the bergamot - another note i'm finding i consistently like. it's hard for me to sniff the other individual notes...the jasmine, red patchouli, saffron, etc...i'm not sure what i'm smelling exactly as it dries down, sort of like a middle-eastern spice market - not overwhelming or overly sweet, in fact it becomes increasingly lemony, which i guess is the bergamot? and then somewhere in there is the watery greenery of waterlily - more like green stems in water, than super-florally. really unusual, and i like this.

i was excited to try this frimp from the lab, as i have liked pretty much all the ars draconis scents that i've tried. this one smells good from the imp - sort of smoky/florally. then, when i put it on, it becomes very leathery - not a problem, as i really like leather scents. as it wears on though, there's something that doesn't blend right between the leather and the sweet, almost floral-smelling dragon's blood. i get the image of scented feet in new leather shoes. i'm not a foot fetishist (tho i do love shoes!) - but this "foot in shoe" image i cannot separate from the scent, and it's kind of disturbing. other than that, it's got a lovely smokiness, i just wish the sweetness wasn't so prominent.

very realistic yellow-green apples. juicy, slightly pear-like as well. it's mostly crisp apple on me at first, but as it dries, the hyacinth comes out more, as well as the white musk. very pretty! i have to say, the more it dries and wears on me, it gets a bit soapy - still quite light, pretty and feminine, but it begins to remind me more of a pretty-smelling soap than a perfume oil. as to the dragon's blood - it's there, but not at all overpowering. this is a very pretty oil, and one that i'll wear when i'm in the mood for something light and feminine.

interesting scent. this starts off well enough - reminds me somehow of other moons...harvest moon without the apples - must be the chrysamthemums, and there's something of blood moon and even sleepy moon, but somehow i'm not grasping its character - it's a darlky sparkling floral, at this point, a bit spicy and yummy. as long as this phase lasts, i love it - but at some point, maybe an hour into it, the opium takes over. against my better judgement, i hoped the opium would not screw it up for me, but like other opium-containing oils i've tried, it goes rather old-lady perfume on me. still, i do like this, up until the opium takes over. i'm gonna stick with it for a bit, and see if it grows on me. if not, i know a few opium-lovers who will enjoy it...

this did remind me of smut at first, but the patchouli is very prominent on me, which is not the best thing to my nose. when it dries down it's a a bit spikey and smoky, i get a touch of the vanilla bean, but i was hoping for more. also, i'm not getting much plum or pomegranate - it's primarily patchouli with red musk, on my skin. i dunno...i love smut and snake charmer, but this one is a bit too patchouli for me, closer to snake oil which was not a favorite. it smells nice when it settles down - it's a strong one though - just a little dot of it gives all the scent i need, for this one. eta: well, almost two months later, i've come to really love this one. i dunno if the patchouli has mellowed out or what, but it's become much more wearable for me, and a favorite for wearing to bed at night...it's dark, rich, smoky and sultry, but also much more comforting to me now than when i first smelt it! i've become sort of addicted to it...

i don't think of white light as 'floral" but i guess there is something sweet in there. to me, it smells very cold and silvery somehow, reminding me almost of tiger balm or other chinese medicinal oils i've smelled...there is something very familiar smelling about it, but i can't place it - it's like a mystery from my past, but i have no idea from where. anyway, this is not a perfume, (although i find it a pleasant, invigorating, and peaceful smell), this oil is a used as a tool for me to work with, and its scent means "serious business" to me, so i try to let the scent sort of "guide" me,..in my case, it's an aid to fighting a lot of negativity within myself that i've been battling lately. it *does* seem to work, some occasions better than others. if nothing else, the purifying quality of the scent, and it's cold, clear quality act as a reminder to "stay positive and calm", even when i am having an internal battle...there is also a palpable physical reaction to the oil that others have noted - a "floaty" quality, for me, slightly removed from the world, with an inner calmness. i find it very helpful as a tool in an ongoing battle to fight my inner demons and stay on track!

in the imp it smells like bright green, tart, granny smith apples - on my skin it is still very apple-y, but eventually it starts to sweeten more...maybe it's the skin musk and honey i'm detecting, but super-subtle. my nose is searching for the other notes, and it does get the tiniest bit more flowery with time...but the apple and peach are most pronounced here, eventually becoming a fruity-musk. this is a very pretty, lively scent - makes me think of springtime -bright, colorful and sort of youthful in tone. the musk makes it a bit sexy too. somehow, i feel like it might be too cheery for me, but i do like it.

lyonesse is a luxurious scent - in the imp it is quite light. on my skin it becomes an almost buttery, sugary vanilla, but with a touch of beautiful light flowers (the lily i suppose) and deepened with the amber and sandalwood - it just grows and blossoms on my skin in this lovely way - again, like many of the newer scents, it is so well-blended - for instance, i know there's sea moss in there, but no one note is jumping out, it's just a feeling of "sea". this is an extremely beautiful scent - girly and womanly at the same time, it just kind of wraps around you making you feel pampered and pretty.

ohhh, delicious. in the imp it is darker and boozier, a buttery, toffee-ish caramel rum cake. but on my skin, it is more cake, less wine/booze. a dark cassia-honey cake. gingerbread poppet is not a bad comparison in tone, as there's definitely a molasses-like smell, but not so much ginger. really this is a honey cake - dark honey and spice. a bit creamy, i suppose but not milky. goddamn, this is good.

ooh, there's that fern again...a cool, pale green, very plant-like scent. it's not super-ozone-y on me, thankfully, but has the feeling of salty sea air - a sort of robinson crusoe, deserted island feeling (my fantasy). i have to say i really hardly smell the wine, maybe veerry faintly at first, then it comes out more later. it is mainly the cool green of the ferns and palm - an almost cucumber-like scent. this is a very calm, relaxing, breezy one. i love the ocean and islands, so it would make sense that i like caliban too - a mini-vacation in a bottle! (or imp, in my case.)

hello jersey devil, my old childhood f®iend. in the imp, you smell wild, like cranberries mostly, and the pine of your homeland. on my skin, you smell like pine and cranberry cologne. you waft around powerfully for a while, but when you calm down i can smell your gentler aspects: the fresh tomato leaf, blackberry leaf and cedar. this is indeed a wild, bright and fresh outdoorsy scent, full of evergreen sap. i like it, but the cologne-y phase is a bit too strong on me, and my imp will probably be enough of this oil to last me. a great interpretation of the infamous JD.

ooh - ferns! i love ferns. and something slightly fungal..like mushrooms growing on a forest floor (not dirt-like, tho). this smells exactly like a florist shop - lush, frechly-cut leaves and flowers. i get a lot of the lilac - very present and "real" smelling. luckily, the rose is not too strong - this is well-blended. i do get a sugar-y sweetness, but not too much of the classic anise absinthe smell, this is more along the lines of la fee verte's absinthe. upon re-application, i'm getting more lavender, and maybe a touch of black currant - but it is like berries growing in the wild, rather than a real fruity, juicy smell. this is just very fresh and wild, like the french countryside. i like it a lot.

in the bottle - and almond-y cologne. on my skin - first off, it is actually cooling on my skin, the way mint can be, but i credit this to the pine. i get the sarsparilla - refreshing, with the splash of lime someone mentioned - this really is an usual blend. i think i was expecting something"milkier", due to the almond milk, but that is not what's going on here - this has a bracing, "tonic" sort of quality to it - definitely masculine in tone, but i'm really digging the pine in it - it's refreshing (would make a good soap!) and the sarsparilla, patchouli and almond add a touch of sweetness. this has an olde timey feeling to it, tobacco in an old leather pouch, sarsparilla from a soda fountain, etc. very evocative. so manly or not, i'll probably be wearing this one on occasion.

in the bottle - chocolate covered nuts, with a smokiness in the background. the smokiness is what makes it most delicious. on my skin it changes, quite completely, becoming more perfume-like, less chocolate-y, and i do get the faint plastic smell that others have noticed. it does get very creamy and sweet, and smells "oily" to me, the way obatala does...sort of like a creamy chocolate suntan oil, if that makes any sense (i know it doesn't). a touch of the hazelnut/almond nuttiness remains, which i really like. i also get the slightest tinge of a vanilla-mint butteriness, like a buttercream center. i like the way this scent has surprises in it. yummy.

my first impression of this perfume is that it is very sophisticated, grown-up and more "perfume-y" than i usually feel comfortable with,...but it softens and warms up considerably on my skin, becoming creamy and almost vanilla-ish, (probably the honey musk and almond flower). it strikes me as very glistening, like antique gold. like liber amoris, i also get a connection to la fee vert (which i love) and which i had hoped for, when i saw that it contained hyssop. it's actually more mellow and resinous than la fee vert. i'm really loving this one - it is so smooth and feminine, and not at all powdery or soapy - it's like golden honey dripping onto an antique gold candle flame. the amber in this is amazing, and it is indeed so well-blended - no florals poke out in an obvious way, but they just"sit" really well in an overall luxurious "wash" of scent. a beauty!