birdiefu

Wet, this was spice and florals. Cloves over bitter neroli, with some other light florals floating around. Very soft florals and the spiciness made it a scent that I thought I could like. Until it dried and then smelled like the tiny soap bars you get in cheap motels.

In the bottle- Sweet and slightly 'perfumey' patchoutli. Wasn't sure if this would turn out well on my skin. Wet- Patchouli, oakmoss, a touch of juniper, and just a hint of honey. Dry- OMG soooo wonderful!! Mostly oakmoss and musk with a good dose of honey and beeswax. The patchouli is still there, but not very obvious and rounds the blend out well. I think I'm getting a balsam note here too if it's a sweet resiny thing, but I'm not terribly familiar with that so I could be imagining things. I love this scent! It's very earthy without being 'dirty' (Burial was too much dirt for me) and that honey note compliments the darkness beautifully! I am soooo happy I got a bottle of this! It's a very sexy scent in a dark way, and just my style with that bit 'o honey.

I got Bess as a frimp and it was a nice suprise! Wet, it's lemony-mint with an herbal background. As it dries, the sweet grape comes out- not a cough syrup grape, but high quality grape juice. I can *just* barely make out the roses and they compliment the grape beautifully (never thought that would go together!) and I'm happy that this rose doesn't go rotten on me. Fully dry, this is a well-rounded and soft fruity/herbal blend with no one note taking over.

1. Snake Oil (of course!) 2. Dorian 3. Cockaigne 4. Fae 5. Anubis 6. The Unicorn 7. Alice 8. Czernobog 9. Tintagel 10. Dragon's Milk 11. Golden Priapus 12. And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt 13. Chrysanthamum Moon I think that's a pretty good mix of fruity, musky, woody, floraly, spicy, resiny, and foody. I like almost all of those scents so maybe I'm being a little biased, but they are all well crafted and represent a variety of BPALness. I tried to stick with all GC, but Mum Moon is such a masterpiece that I had to throw it in for a baker's dozen!

This is gorgeous! My first impression for some reason was fruit salad, though this isn't foody (I was just looking for ambrosia recipes before I tried it, so it could be that, too ). I think that must be the citrus that makes me think that. It's so hard to really pick out the notes, but this is a very white, refreshing, and delicate scent. Very oriental feeling, and I smell something tea-like and what must be the 'seven herbs' that give it the oriental flavor. There is a sweetness to it, but I can't tell if it's just the sugar cane, vanilla, or mixture of both. I don't get woods or smoke, but I really really enjoy this scent all the same! ADDED 10/7/08: This is a very delightful scent, and barely morphs at all. When I first put it on, it has a fuzzy sweet note, along with a green, reedy smell. It is very fresh, yet sweet at the same time. After a minute, I get some green tea (but I don't see that in the notes) and a tinge of woodiness. From this point on, the scent doesn't morph anymore, and lasts quite a while. Yummy almost-foody sweetness over fresh green tea and plants, and a touch of warm wood. It manages to be soft and ethereal without being nonexistent on my skin. Very nice!

There must be a drop of civet in here, it comes to the fore right when applied to my skin. Initially this is very musky , then as it dries the civet fades away and the ambergris, orange, amber, and some florals come out. It's very light when fully dry and less musky than floral/citrus on me. Nice blend and I will hang on to the imp, but it didn't end up as musky as I had hoped.

Not preggo or on BCPs, but I'm not a fan of ylang-ylang at any time. Though when I was pregnant, I had an aversion to pretty much *any* smell. It's amazing how your sense of smell becomes so keen at that time. ETA: I don't think the hormones in BCPs are at the same level (or include as many hormones) as actually being pregnant. Early pregnancy is quite a yucky stage and theres no way I would use BCPs if they put me permanently in that state!

At first, Whitechapel is all bright lemony/lime. After about 10 minutes the lime dies down and leaves behind what I guess is the lilac. It smells to me like old dead rose petals, not the most pleasant scent. 20 minutes more and the lilac fades, leaving just a trace of white musk on my skin. Very odd morphing as it goes from note to note and I don't get anything mixed together- just lime, then lilac, then musk. The white musk stage is nice if I can refrain from smelling myself until it shows up, but by then the scent is so light it's barely detectable.

I'm the same way- I love mandarin and tangerine but I don't like the citrus to be the main character (usually way too bright). My mandarin love is The Great Sword of War . There are enough deeper notes to round it out, but the citrus is still noticeable. Rather than being a very sharp 'cleaning product' citrus or foody citrus (despite cocoa being in that blend too), it turns into my perfect deep orangy scent. Ravenous is also deeper- orange paired with patchouli, but I find it very odd. I get a bright citrus contrasted with dark patchouli and they don't seem to mix well on me without other notes to blend that contrast. But it might be worth a try for you.

Chrysanthemum Moon was very honey on me . Dried down to a smokey, spicey yummy honey

Whoa, Swank is strong! Wet, I get a very bright, sweet, and citrusy pomegranate with some vodka. This stuff is just wafting off so much that it makes my eyes water if I put my face too close to my hands. I can see the sweet tart comparison and as it dries it gets a chalky sort of feel to it, like orange and berry flavored Tums.

Mmmm Blood . This scent is very straightforward on me but very nice all the same. I get juicy dragon's blood and spicy cloves (which have a cinnamonish edge to them) with no morphing. Dragon's blood has a slightly sweet cherry smell to me anyway, so it's hard to tell if the extra cherries really come out. If they do it's very subdued, which is great as the cherry note usually amps way too much on me. This scent does make my skin a little tingly when first applied, but vanishes after about 10 minutes. Overall, I find this to be a very silthery sensual scent. Something a vampiress would wear.

This little kitty was nice, juicy grapefruit. I couldn't pick out any other notes, which is good in the case of lavender, but I would have liked to have the musk appear. This scent didn't last very long at all and practically faded away right after drying. A nice pick-me-up scent while it lasted.

This smells like expensive perfume that a high-class sophisticated lady would wear. I was hoping this blend would go along the lines of vanilla, musk, wood, amber, and mandarin (pretty much all but the flowers). Wet, it's a powdery floral- at first I thought it was an odd type of rose but realized it's most likely the violet. I haven't really smelled this type of floral as a headliner before and it's interestingly unusual to me. As it dried I got a quick whiff of vanilla but it didn't last long. The Kashmir wood lurks beneath the flowers and wow, I like this wood! The violet still dominates with a powdery/soapy feel. I think the other notes that I can't pick out are silently giving depth to the blend, too. What I get from Lucretia is so not my style, but for some reason I can't stop sniffing and marveling at the very unique combination of notes. If I were to dress up in Victorian attire, this would be the scent to wear. I probably won't end up wearing this much, but I just can't let it go.

In the imp- Don't smell much of anything other than a little sharpness. Wet- Sweet floral smoke. I didn't know demons liked flowers this much, and there it is...a dreaded white flower which I think is ylang-ylang dominating over everything else. Dry- Oh yes, the demons crushed the pretty white flower under their feet! I get a deep dark amber and musk, something sweet and almost honey-like and just a touch of something sulfuric. The floral is still there but just barely, and the darkness envelops it nicely. This smells like a tropical volcanic island and you are trapped deep within the rainforest with unknown monsters chasing you. Overall the flowers scared me very much until they dried down and the magic of the Isles of Demons came to life. I love it!

In the imp- Honeyed peaches Wet- Crunchy apples with a hint of rose. A faint peach eventually joins the apples, but thank goodness doesn't turn the scent into all peach like Tamora and Fae do to me. As it dries, a bit of honey comes out but not as much as I was hoping for. At one point I can detect the resins in the background. Dry- Everything melds together and it's hard to pick out individual notes. It's a light floraly, fruity, white musky mix with a touch of honey. Very pretty and warm skin scent. If this had more honey I would be very very happy, but the imp is still a keeper.

This is a nice scent on me. It's pretty straightforward with the description- amber and dark fruits. The scent is light, though the feeling is darker- the fruits have a deep winey smell and blends evenly with the amber. I'll definitely be keeping the imp, but may end up layering it more than wearing it by itself.

Mmmm, Satyr! Wet, it had a piney and nutty smell over dark musky and civety goodness. As it dries the pine fades and nuts dissapear and there is a slight whiff of cloves over the super sexy hot civet. It takes on a slightly sweet smell that I often get with civet and I can't stop sniffing myself!! It's like Czernobog's sexier brother without the poo stage or the vetiver, and gets me quite turned on. Not too strong and just enough throw to send me into throes of lust when it reaches my nose. It's a bit wierd lusting from a scent *I* am wearing, and it better work on my man or I will need a lot of 'personal' time. I love you Satyr, you hot sexy beast-man! ADDED 8/24/08: I love love love Satyr!! This is sex in a bottle for me It goes on a little strong for the first minute or two. Very musky, and a slightly bitter and leathery note. I can't put my finger on what the spiciness is- I think a touch of cloves with maybe some pepper, if there is cinnamon I'm not amping it like I usually do. Dry, this is pure sexy goodness. The bitter leather (I think that was the civet saying hi) is gone. A lot of red musk, with the civet calmed down and giving it a deeper feel. The spiciness is just enough to enhance the musk without being HIYA, SPICES HERE which happens to me a lot with spice blends. There is also that smooth, vanilla-ish sweetness below the musks, balancing the whole blend together. There is a syrupy feel here also, sorta cola-like. I think it could be possible that the spice, vanilla, and syrupy parts could be coming from a resin or resin blend- it has that dark, rich feel to it. Overall, this is a spicy-sweet deep musk blend that seems to subconsciously make me hot and bothered. I've had my imp forever, and really must get a bottle of this stuff! I'm paranoid that it will be discontinued one of these days since it turns into poop on a lot of people. I would cry a thousand tears if that happened before I stocked up.

Lyonesse is beautiful. The first note to hit my nose on applying it is amber, followed by vanilla. As it dries I can smell the lily, but it fits in very well with the other notes and doesn't scream 'floral' at me. The sandalwood rounds the blend out and a light musk intertwines with the amber and vanilla. There is a watery feel to this scent without being 'aquatic' and I envision this is what a mermaid would smell like. This is a light scent, but has a lot of wafting throw. It's just so darn pretty! For a light scent, Lyonesse is like the best of all worlds for me. I don't think I've tried a blend yet that combines sweetness, woods, musk, resins, and florals without something going wonky- but here it is. I don't purchase many GC bottles since it takes me forever to even get through an imp, but this may be going on a bottle list! ADDED 10/8/08: This is quite lovely! On, I get vanilla, but not the super-sweet cupcake vanilla, a richer, more adult vanilla. With the vanilla, I get something powdery that makes me think it is coming from amber. As it dries, that powdery note disappears, and in it's place I get a floral that, without looking at the listed notes, smells like vanilla orchid to me. Must be the lily being very good-natured and mixing well with the vanilla. I also get a light, feminine musk and a touch of sandalwood. At this stage, Lyonesse is a very pretty, feminine scent without being girly like a lot of these lighter one get on me. 1 hour+ later, This has faded a lot. However, it is quite good. The baser notes are the most noticeable and I get a bit of the sea moss, which is surprisingly not as scary as I expected. It mixes nicely with the sandalwood and ambergris (I love ambergris!), and there is a light dusting of vanilla orchid muskiness over this. But at this point, I have to huff my hand deeply to smell it. This is very nice, I am just sad that it fades so quickly on me.

I'm not really a foody person and Cockaigne crossed my foody threshold, but it's not as overpowering as some others I've tried (I'm talking to you, Gluttony!). I get milk and honey- the honey note in here is gorgeous! I also smell sweet spiced cake. Thank goodness no butter or caramel or other sticky sweetness, but the overall blend was still too sweet for my taste and made my teeth hurt. This goes through virtually no morphing and is quite a powerful scent- just a tiny dab was all I needed. Although this is too sweet and foody for me to wear on it's own, it might work well with layering. If I could get this honey note in a few other blends I would be quite happy.

So I've been looking for a sleep blend with a scent that I either like or am neutral about. A lot of the sharp lavender smells actually give me a headache or make my insomnia worse as it really distracts me. My first impression of TKO was very weird. In the imp it was herbally sweet. Right as I applied it and before I could really even consciously smell it, it made me think of when I was in elementary school and they served battered fishsticks, which I hated. Now, TKO doesn't really smell like fishsticks at all, but for some reason my brain is associating the mix of notes with it. What it actually smells like is quite nice for a sleep blend! It's vanilla scented sugar over soft herbs. There is some kind of herby floral here- if it's lavender it's very soft and light and unobtrusive. This is a pillowy scent which seems like it would be very relaxing if I didn't think fishsticks every time I sniffed myself. I haven't tried it during bedtime yet and will probably wait a while to see if the fishstick connection passes (I hate fish!). So I'm happy to say that I've found a sleep blend that isn't super sharp and mega-lavenderish, but sad that my brain is insisting that the lovely scent is dreaded fishsticks.

Frimp from the lab and as I checked some reviews I was soooo happy to get a civety blend- thank you!! Especially considering I probably wouldn't have ordered this on my own since there weren't notes listed in the description. First applied, this is OMG PATCHOULI!! Yes, a lot of patchouli- and some piney note that later turns more cedary. As it dries, the patchouli is still the dominating note- like a hippie in a cedar chest. I catch something smouldering below the hippie-in-a-box, it's musky, dark, and spicy. However, the patchouli is not playing well with others and keeping my musky love from fully emerging. If there is civet I can't detect it, which is sad as I'm a civet lover. This is a very dark blend and makes me think of having animal-like sex in a forest on the night of a full moon. It's almost like Snake Oil for men. I see a lot of potential in this blend for me if I can age the patchouli into submission.

I'm so sad that the cassia took over!! I can catch just a bit of juicy dragon's blood and a tiny amount of fruit, but that cinnamon-ish note overwhelms the blend. None of the other yummy notes comes through for me, but I will hold on to the imp and hope that the cassia might tone down with age. I can always hope...

I don't think I realized the floraly potential of this blend and bought it for the musk and vanilla. However, even though jasmine is usually totally overwhelming on me, this wasn't too bad. Bottle: Light floral, jasmine predominant. Surprisingly not very 'perfumey' smelling (that sharp high note), more like true flowers. Wet: Florals. I can detect the jasmine, but it's not *all* jasmine. There is something bitter in here- I'm guessing mimosa but I don't really know what that smells like. Dry: Mostly light and soft floral, they have blended more together and the violet has come out. I get a touch of sweet vanilla and if I concentrate really hard I can detect the musk. Not bad for an anti-floral person like me, but I'm not sure if I would ever feel like smelling like this.

In the bottle- Patchouli and musk Wet- Initial blast of patchouli, followed closely by plum. The Patchouli loses it's edge quickly but is still quite noticeable. Pomegranate shows up and mingles with the plum. Although it doesn't *really* smell like it, this makes me think a little of Hollywood Babylon + Snake Oil. Dry- The plum is the main character, though it's a very dark and brooding plum. I can just smell something that is trying to trigger a memory, but I can't figure out what it is- sorta sweet and making me hungry without being foody. The musk comes out to play and the patchouli is much more mellow. Once the scent has faded quite a bit, only the musk remains and it's a glorious musk!! I never end up catching vanilla. Overall- Nice scent, but I think it needs to age for me to wear well. Most patchouli blends don't round out nicely on me or last long until they are at least a couple of months old. Similar to Snake Oil- I don't like it fresh but love it aged where the notes blend nicely and are more noticeable. But if this ages as I forsee, it might become my favorite! ETA: 2 months later, this has aged very nicely! The patchouli isn't as sharp and the fruits aren't as sweet and out there. Everything is mingling well and it has a dark, smooth, and almost smoky edge to it. The musk is very luscious and overall Mme Moriarty is a swoon-worthy blend!