CrazyPretzel

In the imp: chilly, fruity. Wet on me: Smells a little like melon. No, let me rephrase -- it smells quite a lot like melon, sweet and almost icy-cool. Floral musk as well. After a few minutes: Faint melon. I can feel a slight headache coming on from the florals -- this happened with Arkham too, but was much, MUCH worse with Arkham. Drydown: Cool, slightly soapy, headache-inducing floral. It's super-faint already, and I applied quite a lot. We might not be cut out for each other, The Ghost and I. ETA: OK, late in the drydown, this does become a tolerable light floral; still seems melony to my nose. It's not a favourite, but I don't hate it either.

In the imp: rose! Wet on me: Rose rose rose. Summer garden rose, huge and lush. After a few minutes: Rose and something quite bitter. What the heck could that be? Drydown: The sour/bitter note seems to be lingering, unfortunately. The rose is pretty but besides that Helena simply doesn't smell good on me. I have other lovely rose blends from BPAL, so I guess this one is for swaps.

In the imp: tropical fruit! Passion flower and the pink pepper, which smells like sweet cinnamon to me. Wet on me: Juicy passionfruit and sweet spices, like you'd get from gingerbread or cinnamon toast. After a few minutes: Passionfruit, with a sharp tingle from the pepper. Drydown: Passionfruit and now, finally, some amber. Predominantly fruity on me. Not bad.

In the imp: carnation and mouthwatering fruit. Yumyum. Wet on me: Lemon + honeysuckle = lemon meringue pie, at least to my brain. This is scrumptious! I can definitely smell poppy in here too. It's, like, the foodiest non-foody scent that I've tried. After a few minutes: Still sweet lemon (it's not very lemony though) with slightly narcotic poppy and a little bit of carnation. This smells like something whipped that I want to eat. Drydown: Poppy and honeysuckle; the lemon has mostly faded. A creamy, elegant, yet warm and sweet fragrance. It's classy without being too snobbish; like a lady in a cocktail dress and gloves who has a good sense of humour. Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's would wear it. I like it very much!

In the imp: water lilies (mmmm...) with a bit of carnation spice. Wet on me: Soft, watery, fluffy, sweet. Smells like a little girl's perfume. After a few minutes: Well, I don't know what sweet pea smells like, but I can identify water lily and carnation. I don't smell any carnation but can pick out water lily; I guess what's left over is the sweet pea! It's a bit like floral soap but very soft. Kind of lily-of-the-valley-esque. Drydown: Sweet, soft, powdery. It reminds me of a floral version of Alice, and I rather like it. It's not particularly outstanding, but it definitely is innocent, soft, and pure, just as described.

In the imp: manly aquatic with a little bit of leather and woods. Wet on me: refreshing ocean scent; the musk is noticeable and makes it quite masculine. After a few minutes: Leather and spice start to make their presence known and give the scent quite a bit of punch. I am getting that washing powder that yeahbutnobut mentioned! I did think this was a masculine scent but my boyfriend thinks it smells like women's perfume on me. Drydown: Ocean spray and leather. Hm. Not bad, but it's not that amazing on me and the leather is a teensy bit too strong for my tastes. It smells like department-store scent on me... I think I can't do this one justice and will probably swap it to someone who will enjoy it more.

In the imp: sharp, clear green notes, and a little bit of Fig Newton. Wet on me: The ginger and fig is a slightly strange combination to my nose, suggesting...biscuits? And then there are all these grassy green notes, which are so *not* food. I'll have to wait this one out and see what it becomes. After a few minutes: Green tea, mossy greenness, cool and moist. Like the undergrowth of a forest after the rain. The ginger is mild but sharpens things up a little. It's become much less foody now and I'm starting to like it. Drydown: Does it make sense to say it smells like menthol without the mint? That's how cool and green this is. It's as minty as you can get without any mint at all. It's moist, sharp, cool, green. The ginger and fig that weirded me out at first are just perfect now. Delightful!

In the imp: sharp, green -- my brain immediately goes 'green tea incense!' Wet on me: Mmmm delicious. Makes me think of the sweets from Minamoto Kitchoan. Sweet and delicate with a little bit of sharpness to it, but not a sharpness that could ever be called soapy. There's something quite cool and almost minty going on here. Refreshing. After a few minutes: Mint and green tea and sugar. Delicate, subdued cherry blossom. Reminds me a *lot* of Gennivre, but with very delicate florals in place of the lemon. Drydown: creamy cherry blossom and a touch of bamboo, lilac. Florals blended with a wet woodsy scent and a little bit of sharpness from the rice wine. Nice! I'll wear the imp more and decide if I want a bottle. ETA: In the long drydown, this turns into the dreamiest soft lilac and green tea incense, no more sharpness. Wonderful throw, too. I absolutely love it!

In the imp: violets and a bit of spice. Wet on me: TONS of violets. Ack. After a few minutes: Violets and sweat. My spirits, they are not lifted! Drydown: Ahh, here we go. Still violets, but more tolerable. I'm not a fan of strong violets, but I find I actually *like* the smell of this now, even though I can't pick out anything else but violets. It's worth adding that when I applied this I was stressing out over my exams and my thesis, which is due in a few days, and I feel a lot better now. Hooray! ETA: After a while, I do get some spiciness from this: I'm reminded of the violet and clove combo in Lush's Skinny Dip shower gel (another weird scent that grows on you!) ETA2: And as for the rush of good luck, well, my Singing Moon t-shirt arrived just now and it's gooorrrgeous

In the imp: white wine, strawberry candy, and a little bit of peach. Wet on me: dewy pear and grape; smells like fruit candies, but a little more subdued. After a few minutes: dusty, musky, mysterious; the fruit is still there but it's quieting down. Drydown: Shoot! It's dried down to plain ol' peach candy. Something similar happened with Aglaea. I seem to have fairly bad luck with peach blends; the only one I really like is Fae. Generally the peach gets quite strong and I can't discern anything else. Not unplesant, but it makes the whole thing less special. Oh well.

In the imp: almond frosting and butter rum. Wet on me: A blast of buttery booze! Reminds me of sniffing almond extract. There's something a little bit acrid here, a burnt-sugar like I got from Gluttony. After a few minutes: Still almond and burnt sugar. Drydown: burnt demerara sugar. Unusual, a little acrid, but pretty damn good!

Warm musk and bourbon vanilla should definitely be good on me; jasmine and red sandalwood may or may not, so anything could happen! In the imp: jasmine, no surprises there! Also vanilla and clove. Mmm. Wet on me: jasmine and warm sandalwood. Not as strong as I would have expected. Drydown: non-soapy jasmine, musk, a little bit of vanilla. It's warmed by the clove and sandalwood. Everything in here seems very subdued and warm. Ordinarily I like my perfumes to have a little more oomph, but I like how the jasmine in this isn't getting soapy on me. Vanilla and musk is also a favourite combination of mine, so I'm going to keep the imp. It's a languid, sexy kind of smell without being at all aggressive.

In the imp: fizzy lemons, not quite as sharp as I was expecting. Wet on me: lemons, still sweet and fizzy. Neroli too. Reminds me of a sweeter, friendlier Phobos. After a few minutes: I can do citrus; if this were just *slightly* less lemony I would like it more. Drydown: Ah, now I can smell a little bit of green tea -- it's faint, though. It also smells sugary sweet to me, which might be the jasmine. This is still predominantly a lemon-neroli blend. I find that at this stage I really do like it, though it's making me a bit lightheaded! On me it smells like sweet iced green tea with lots of lemon. A bit weird, but I like it.

In the imp: jasmine, honeysuckle. Wet on me: Rose, soft jasmine and soft neroli. Everything that's usually sharp seems a bit muted by the musk. After a few minutes: The jasmine is a little soapy. I can smell some citrussy bergamot in here. The soap seems to be amping.... Drydown: Shoot. It's turned into almost pure soap on me.

In the imp: hello, O! Wet on me: Still really very much like O. A little bit darker, stickier, more cloying. After a few minutes: This has become quite pleasant; still sweet like O but more powdery (ylang ylang) and with a deep honey scent. Drydown: Dark honey and powdery ylang ylang. If you really hate powder then clearly this is not the scent for you. It's sweet, musky, and sexy; to me the powdery sweetness of the ylang ylang keeps it from smelling too smutty. A delicious skin scent. ETA: As time passes I keep liking this one more and more -- super-sexy lickable powder; I think comparisons to honey powder are spot-on!

In the imp: peach, very sweet. Wet on me: mild peach; I can't smell too much else...something sort of starchy. After a few minutes: Gentle musk, and just a little bit of peach. Drydown: A very pretty, soft, musky peach. There doesn't really seem to be a lot going on with this, but it is pretty. It seems to be fading now, though; whether I keep it or swap it depends on how much longer it sticks around.

In the imp: delicious florals and coconut; very tropical! Wet on me: Yes, it *is* hard to pin down. Notes I can smell include coconut, iris, lime, wisteria. It's awesome just because it's so *busy*. After a few minutes: Eee! It makes me sneeze. Strong coconut and heady flowers; the citrus scents are present but thus far not amping very much on me. Drydown: The early stages of the drydown are very strong coconut and iris on me, with a tiny bit of lime and lemongrass. I'm not a huge fan of iris, so I'm a little disappointed with how this has dried, but I'm going to wait a bit longer and see what it does from here. I do really want to like this scent ETA: Unfortunately this seems to be getting less complicated rather than more so as time goes by; it's just straight coconut-iris on me now.

In the imp: jasmine and something dark, wet, and smoky. Wet on me: Much the same, along with a slightly bitter, cloying note. I think my chemistry might be disagreeing with this one... After a few minutes: Alright, this has settled down into a much nicer jasmine. Sadly I still can't smell any amber or rose. There is something heady and faintly toxic-smelling which might be orchid -- I'm not familiar with the scent and so I can't really say. It sort of sticks to the back of my sinuses in the same way that violets do. Drydown: Feels to my nose like jasmine disguised as violets, if that makes any sense. Quite faint. ETA: I should add that this one has actually grown on me over time. I'm farther along in the drydown now and find that I can't stop sniffing my wrist -- it's blossomed into a very soft jasmine with some powdery amber. I still can't quite discern most of the other notes, but it's a gentle, sultry floral that's ended up being surprisingly appealing.

Damn internet ate my first review >.< Again, in summary: In the imp, it's fresh and cool. Wet on me, it's a soft, dewy flower, a little bit herbal, which dries to a slightly soapy, creamy/musky floral. I like the initial stages better than the drydown, which is less unique, but I'll keep it and try wearing it again. ETA: And then, in 15 minutes, it's gone. What the heck? *applies again*

In the imp: pomegranate! Wet on me: peach! Not too bright though. Some soft, wistful rose. After a few minutes: Aquatics start to come out and blend with the fruit. A little soapy, but not bitter. Drydown: Still soapy, unfortunately. I can smell rose and peach but they're *very* mellow and this is a sad scent rather than a bright one. A sweet, pensive scent; unfortunately the soapiness means that I wouldn't exactly want to douse myself in this stuff.

In the imp: vanilla, dark and silky. Wet on me: vanilla with a little edge of toasted coconut, and possibly musk. And yes, smooth, wet rocks. After a few minutes: A creamy scent with a slightly sharp edge. There may be moss or something herbal in this that keeps it from being a foody-vanilla. It's mineral. Drydown: A very unexpected vanilla -- sweet but cold and a little dangerous-smelling. You would not, I repeat not, want to eat this, no more than you would want to eat a real black opal! This is the scent of a girl who is very beautiful but reserved and rather chilly. Or the scent of a cold, tumbling mountain stream. Lovely.

After reading reviews of this one I snagged a 10ml bottle before it was discontinued. Wet, it's resinous carnation; maybe there's frankincense in there. I think I can smell just a little rose as well. In the initial stages of the drydown I can smell cream and honey. It's not as incense-like anymore; more foody now. I can't tell if there's amber here or not; I know other reviews have mentioned it but to me this is mainly carnation, a little rose, honey, cream. It's a lot heavier and more exotic than just those ingredients would suggest though, so there must be something else giving it oomph. I like it very much and I'm glad I have a bottle.

In the imp: herbal, musky. Wet on me: Uh-oh, woods coming out straightaway -- this might not be good. There's a strong musk note as well which actually overpowers the woods. After a few minutes: Musk and crushed herbs -- that's nice. Still pretty woodsy, but not turning on me yet. Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky. Very Manly. Like a butch version of Ochosi. Drydown: Rather creamy and yes, still musky. Unfortunately for me, it's STRONG woods, which don't suit me as perfume. *sigh* Anyone who loves musk and woods should get their paws on this one. I suspected it wouldn't work on me but have great interest in the Old Man and so wanted to try it anyway -- I may use it as a room scent/on my altar. ETA: Hang on -- maybe this is wearable after all! The woods aren't coming across so foosty this time; maybe the musk is helping the blend on my skin. Smells more like a pile of freshly-chopped wood. Good stuff!

Straight from the imp, it's lilies with a touch of carnation. Wet on me: violets??? They're not listed, but something smells like 'em. There's a small rose like tea rose. Dewy sweet lilies. After a few minutes: Hmm, soapy flowers. I can definitely pick out carnation and rose. Drydown: A little overwhelming. It does definitely have an air of floral soap/shampoo/hairspray about it, unfortunately -- I'm getting a slight headache from it. Swaps...

In the imp: Reminds me of sticking my face in a huge, creamy magnolia blossom. The Southern magnolias, that smell like just a hint of citrus... Wet on me: The ginger in Sudha Segara was too strong for me, but this is bliss. Just a hint of beautiful ginger iced tea -- and grapefruit, which I love, sweetened by apple blossom. Very different from the juicy pink bitter grapefruit of Aizen-Myoo (grapefruit and black tea.) After five minutes: It becomes a little less sweet, sharpened by the white tea. The apple seems to have faded. Grapefruit is still dominant, along with the ginger, which is still not too hot. Drydown: Light and pleasant grapefruit-ginger. Smells like something I'd wear out to a posh brunch along with a white dress and gloves