Leafy Sea Dragon

I figured I'd enjoy Bastet since it's fairly similar to Black Lotus in terms of the scent description. When first applied: Okay, who replaced Bastet with Dragon's Blood? That's not funny, you guys. Just starting to dry down, though, the scent shifts to that wonderful sweet lotus and myrrh smell that I'm familiar with, but with a strong spicy kick behind it (probably the cardamom). Later on in this phase, I can very clearly distinguish the saffron as the lotus runs off and hides somewhere, taking all the sweetness of the scent along with it. Eventually everyone but amber and saffron wander away from the party, leaving me with a pretty herbal kind of scent. About half an hour later the lotus realizes that it forgot its coat and comes back, then ends up hanging out with the amber and saffron for a while. Bastet is a pleasant scent that morphs in all kinds of interesting ways on my skin, but I don't think I'll be springing for a bottle. The sexiness of it clashes with my personality.

Wet: Vetiver is a really confusing hit-or-miss kind of thing for me, and with Alecto, it's really a hit! I don't get the smoky... smokiness that I expected, rather, it's more like a wooden crate full of delicious fresh berries. It also kind of reminds me of my aunt's house, which is a very good thing! Drydown: If I stick my nose right on the spot where I applied it, I can detect the vetiver. Vetiver strikes me as something of an "angry" scent. When this oil was wet on my skin, I didn't get the impression of "unceasing in anger," but now the scent is starting to get a bit irate. Later: Well now it's just up and turned into the inside of one of those pleather pencil cases I had as a kid. I kinda like it though. And I suppose you could say it goes well with the concept of anger, since I was a pretty angry kid. Conclusion: I don't think I'll be springing for a bottle, but I'll whip out that imp any time I want to feel a little nostalgic about elementary school.

In the bottle I smell Dragon's Blood Resin, which is great because I'm a total nut for all things DBR. Unfortunately the instant it hits my skin the dragon flies away and takes any touch of coconut that might've been there along with it, leaving me with... Something vaguely flowery. Probably the orris. It's not entirely unpleasant, just a little disappointing. I think I'll age it a bit to see if I can get more blood and coco out of it. As of now, I'd call it more of a "pearl that someone got a paper cut in the vicinity of" than a blood pearl.

I bought a 5mL of this unsniffed from someone on livejournal after a long struggle between Little Crocodile and Rat King. It turns out that this was probably a good decision, since the little croc is rather nice to me. This scent starts off as a blast of dry cocoa and mint with a hint of something green - like an abandoned mint brownie with a crumbled nut topping at the very edge of a forest. Or, actually, I'd have to agree with the people who said it was like an enchanted forest where the tree trunks are chocolate and the foliage is mint. A couple hours later the mint and chocolate just up and leave, then I'm greeted with a punch in the face by Cedar which demands to know where everyone else went. I don't know, cedar. I just don't know. Overall: This scent fits the verse it goes with creepily well. You're greeted with the security and charm of minty chocolate. You let your guard down and the cedar crocodile strikes!

When I first put this on, I was brutally assaulted by ROSE. It was rather unpleasant! But then about 30 seconds later it started to mellow out a little bit, and I was treated to... Is that lotus!? It's not actually lotus, but it sure does smell like it. While it was completely unexpected, it was very pleasant! It also lasted for quite a long time. I'm a fan of this scent even if it wasn't quite what I thought it would be.

When I first put Dee on, it smelled like a greasy dude in a leather jacket who practically bathed in cheap, crappy cologne. Gross! But then, the drydown happened... About half an hour later, Dee evolved into that sexy old-timey library that I had read people raving about and I couldn't stop huffing my wrists all day. What a charmer! Who knew that the sleazeball would turn into a soft-spoken gentleman in an old library with wooden shelves full of leather-bound books and a little bit of sweet wafting smoke? Conclusion: Dee initially smells awful, but the end-results are worth the wait. I'll probably save this one for times when I want to feel nerdy-hot.

This scent smells exactly like a Japanese candy called "Flower's Kiss" that I really like. It brings to mind pink candies instead of black pyramids and demons, unless they're like flower-demons. I think the scent can best be described as sugary and flowery. After a few hours the myrrh and sandalwood come in, late to the party but still most certainly welcome. The best thing about this is that I find it appealing, and I think the smell is "normal" enough that I can use it for everyday wear without weirding anyone out. It's also nice and long lasting and has a decent but not obnoxious throw. I'll definitely be getting a bottle of this at some point as well as looking for more lotus scents.

Oh my god I love this scent so much. I figured I would since I love wood and dragon's blood resin. When I put it on, I immediately get a big ol' whiff of wood. It's a little like when you walk into the lumber section of a hardware store, which happens to be one of my favorite smells in the world. On the drydown, the wood fades into the background and something like a lily steps to the front. A while later, the lily is joined by something like cherry that I can only just barely smell in the back of my nose. If you're not into "dry" scents or wood notes, you might want to avoid this one. "Dry" and wood happen to be some of my favorite things, so I find this scent incredibly pleasant.

Papaya, blueberry, lemongrass, and gin. I was a little nervous about trying Blue Fire since me and fruit scents tend not to get along, but in the end I'm glad I gave it a chance. As soon as I put it on, it's a big blast of blueberries with a hint of something herbal. As it settles into my skin, it turns into an extremely refreshing, "cool" sort of scent with the blueberry and the gin really popping out and the lemongrass sitting in the corner somewhere. The gin fights for dominance and definitely gets close, but never quite succeeds. Even if it did, I'd be okay with that - I tend to be a fan of boozy scents. Gin is especially pleasant to me. Unfortunately, Blue Fire doesn't stick around long. I take a good splash of it and before I know it it's already gone. I totally wouldn't mind practically bathing in the oil all day long, though.

The best way I can think to describe Mommy Fortuna's scent is, "Cramming stanky magnets up my nose." There's definitely something metallic about it (hence the magnets), and the magnets are drenched in honey. Or, in my case, stank. Because that's what honey turns into on me. The good thing that came out of my trying this scent is that I realized that Honey is a horrific note as soon as it makes contact with my skin, and that I owe an apology to Rose since I blamed that for my extreme distaste for Alice. I'm sure anyone who doesn't find the honey note repulsive will enjoy this scent.

I got this as a frimp like two years ago and completely hated it at the time. I put it on and it smelled like a cherry urinal cake. Horrible! Two years later I found it at the bottom of my imp box and decided to give it another try. Honey is a death note on me, and it seems like the honey completely faded from it over those two years. The scent is now pretty much pure Dragon's Blood resin, a pleasant herbal sort of smell that I can't completely put my finger on with just a drop of cherry and a little slice of vanilla cake. Unfortunately it has like, zero throw in its old age. While Dragon's Milk didn't quite work out for me, it's made me hopeful that I'll like other Dragon blends.

Plunder strikes me as a very "old timey" kind of scent, like pulling an old wooden box out of your grandma's attic and getting a whiff of old loose tobacco with a beautiful wooden pipe that's been sitting in there, untouched, for like a hundred years. Possibly inherited from your fearsome pirate ancestors that you didn't know existed. Wet, I get the scent of dry spices and wood, as if someone dumped an entire jar of pumpkin pie spices all over a dusty old plank. It's pretty pleasant, but it gets better when... During the drydown, the tobacco comes out to play. I'd recognize that smell anywhere, and I normally don't actually like it that much. In Plunder, however, the tobacco mingles beautifully with the spices and wood, and I think it may be what gives it that "nostalgic" scent. On the whole, Plunder is an incredibly well-blended scent that makes me feel both badass and classy when I wear it. It's quickly swashbuckled its way to the top of my list - I feel like it would be the scent I'd be most likely to wear to a fancy event.

Obatala is a bit like getting punched in the face by a fist made of coconut. By which I mean, it hits hard and it smells delicious. Wet, it smelled a bit powdery and artificial. I started getting a little nervous, but then it dried on my skin and blasted me with full-volume coconutty goodness. The scent is definitely "white." As the perfume sits for a while, the aquatic touch quietly sneaks into play. The best way I can think to describe it is a glass of creamy coconut milk that someone just dropped some ice cubes in, maybe with a few Milkita candies on the side. Overall, I'd call the scent sweet but not too sweet and creamy but not too creamy, and pleasantly calming - it'd be a nice oil for relaxing or hanging out on a sunny day. I think it'd also make an amazing room scent! Obatala will definitely be sticking around in my imp box, and I'll seriously consider getting a bigger bottle.

These all sound lovely! Kathmandu especially sounds totally perfect. I didn't list notes since I'm trying to give some new things a try, especially since I've gotten some frimps of things I thought I'd hate but ended up loving. Like red wine notes. And I've tried some things that I thought I'd love (like Jack) and hated them with a burning passion.

I love the idea of this thread. Since I'm still new at this whole perfumery business, maybe this'll help me pick stuff out! I'm 20 years old and study horticulture and arboriculture, as well as landscaping. I'm a total nature freak, but in a bit of a twist I'm afraid of most animals - pretty much everything except insects, rodents, crustaceans, reptiles, and flying creatures of all types. I'm also afraid of loud noises, which is probably related. Or not. I don't really know. Anyway, on the whole I'm pretty shy - I try to be a "behind the scenes" kind of person, although I tend to get dragged into the public. I'm really submissive so I get suckered into things like theater groups and clubs. People call me a workaholic but I consider myself to be really lazy. It's true, though, that I tend to try to keep myself busy constantly. Otherwise I get bored and doze off. Among my roommates, I'm known for a few things: falling asleep at weird times/in the middle of doing stuff, being crazy-prepared or anything and everything, taking very long walks, having a tea-based remedy for anything you could possibly imagine, owning a bunch of poisonous plants, and spouting obscenities the few times I actually do talk. Despite that last thing, I'm known for being very gentle and meticulous. Often during my walks I'll pick up interesting bugs that I see and watch them hang out on my hand for a while. As a friend once put it, I'm "the least sexual person on the planet." I have absolutely 0 interest in sex and romance. Sometimes this makes me feel defective, but lately I've been coming to terms with the fact that I'd rather spend my time among trees and flowers than with some kind of lover. I consider it my goal in life to constantly surround myself and others with perfect, beautiful things. Like I said up top, I've only just started doing some soul searching for "me" scents and would appreciate all the help I can get.