Christine Daae

In the bottle, sickly-sweet floral. And I’m someone who loves sweet blends and florals. Wet on my skin, it’s the vanilla from Antique Lace (which, unfortunately gives me a headache D:) and a sweet, dusty rose. This smells very dry to me, for some reason. It might be the “dusting” of sugar, but it definitely comes off sweet and dry on my skin, hardly any rose to speak of. After a few minutes, the high-pitched sugar smell calms down a little and starts to smell a bit warmer on my skin. It becomes more and more rosey and less and less sugary as it has time to sink into my skin, but the sugar doesn’t go away entirely. After the initial shock of sugar, this is gorgeous, and I’m keeping this bottle. <3

I can't believe I never reviewed this. Must amend that! In the bottle, it's almost aquatic and hardly floral at all, which is not what I remember from the last time I wore this. Wet on my skin, the linden flower shows up, all wispy and cool and clean-smelling. But this reminds me of the time I wore this when my Grandmother went to the hospital, so I think that scent memory might be too strong to let me enjoy the pretty scent of this anymore.

In the bottle: boozy, sugared cherries. Wet, on my skin: YUM. A waft of sugared fruits. As this dries it becomes more and more sweet, until I'm left with candy fruits. Almost bubblegummy in character. Sweet and creamy, with a bit of vanilla. So yummy, and sweet, and girly. Other scents that come to mind when I smell this are things like Lolita and Hollywood Babylon and Jailbait. Another one of my favourites.

There's not much that I can say about Poisson d'Avril that hasn't already been said, but here goes! (This is what I get for waiting so long to review!) This is my go-to springy, happy floral. It is just gorgeous. Soft, light, clear and with just a hint of extra sweetness from the sugar and honey, it is absolutely stunning. It's youthful and bright and it lasts forever, with just a waft of throw surrounding me. I absolutely love this, one of my all-time favourites. <3!

In the imp: coffee!! Wet on my skin: still coffee!! As it dries, this is still mostly coffee on me, with only the teeniest hint of something floral (the jasmine, probably) and a bit of the tonka bean turning it into sweet vanilla coffee. I was wearing this a while ago and when someone hugged me they said I smelled like Starbucks. Which is fine with me!

In the imp: the rose that didn't get along with me in Persephone. The instant that it hits my skin, that rose (which smells like nothing more than "feet" to me) disappears, and what is left is a lovely, glowing floral-apple blend. It's really gorgeous - reminds me a bit of Eos, actually, that rosy-golden glowing scent. This has an incredible throw of honey-tinged floral. I just love this stuff. I think I'll want more eventually.

In the imp, this is faintly almondy sweetness. On my skin, it's almost the same, with a bit of the creamy/milky note I love so much in Alice. There's hardly anything to this scent, on me! It's very subtle and sweet, and that's really about it. I don't get any one scent after the almondness dies down a bit, it's all just like a big sweet mush. It's really nice and comforting, though.

Another imp I've had for over two years and never written a review of. In the imp, this is sharp and incensey. Wet on my skin, this is still incensey, but with a sour undertone. I don't remember that being there, so it may have gone "off" in aging since the last time I used it. As it dries, it becomes sweeter and more floral, that sour note disappearing. Again, this has been a scent that I use in my hair, though I use this one less than I've used Seraphim.

The imp I have is over two years old now, but I guess I must never have gotten around to writing a review! In the imp, this is holy-smelling lilies. (Incense, especially frankincense always translates in my brain as "holy.") Wet on my skin, it's a white floral heaven. And I love white florals. As it dries, it becomes increasingly more incensey and sweet. I feel like I smell of churches and incense and holiness. This has been one of my favourite imps for scenting my hair for a long time, though obviously I don't reach for it very often.

In the imp, this is sharply herbal. Whoo. Here goes. On my skin, the juniper is the most present. Honestly, my skin is turning this one fairly unpleasant, which is too bad.

In the imp, this is all lavender. No lotus, no spice, just lavender. Wet on my skin, it continues to be a sharp, herbal lavender. I'm getting a bit of the sinus-clearing that someone else mentioned as well. As it dries, the lavender calms down soothingly and the spices come into play. I still don't get any lotus, which is too bad, as I like it (...I think?). Eventually, a hint of the lotus shows up as a sweetness in the background. This is lovely, calming and sophisticated.

The fiery, volatile scent of cinnamon, thickened by myrrh, honeysuckle, and copal. Two words for you: CINNAMON BUNS. Chimera smells like sticky-sweet cinnamon buns on me, and I love it. I've been searching for a sweeter cinnamon scent than I've found, and it must be the honeysuckle in this that turns it into such sticky sweetness. I don't even really get any floral. I need more! <3

In the imp, Eos is jasminey floral. On my skin, Eos develops into a sweet, sunny floral, with almost no jasmine. It's really, really pretty. As it dries, it becomes a bit more perfumey, but it's a very bright, pretty floral that smells a bit like Poisson d'Avril to me. Very springy and soft and glowing. This is, indeed, sunshine in a bottle. It's gorgeous. (I should also add that I believe this was a frimp last time, but it's one that I'd been meaning to try. So pretty!)

In the imp, it's all almonds. Wet on my skin, it's a slightly musky blast of almondy-cherry sweetness. I like the sickly sweetness of almond, but at the same time, not when it completely overpowers every other note, which it usually does on my skin. As it dries, it smells a bit like...almonds, of course, but with a tinge of suntan lotion? Dry on my skin, it's warm and golden and faintly spiced, and not a hint of almonds.

Another leather blend? In the imp, it's almost all leather with a bit of sage and vanilla. On my skin, it's all woodsy and herbal, with the undertone of leather. (Apparently my skin likes leather. Too bad it doesn't generally get on with my nose...) As it dries, it becomes both sweeter and drier, somehow. The cedar and the vanilla. Not one of my favourites. A bit masculine for me.

Well, the notes are certainly interesting... In the imp, this is all slightly-musty orange blossom to me. I keep getting that effect today. Ah, on my skin, that slightly-musty smell becomes the leather. Sweet, orangey leather. As it dries, the amber warms it up a little bit, becoming less sharply sweet. I don't get much rose at all, but I think I can detect the incensey bits underneath the leather. Despite the badass-itude of the leather (leather always smells badass to me, which is probably precisely why I can't wear it), this actually does smell really "holy" to me - but then, incense almost always translates to "holy" in my brain, somehow. This is actually quite nice, though I'm left wondering what "virginal French blooms" are. If I were ever to wear a leather blend, this would be it.

In the imp, this is a sugary, lemony vanilla. :cries: I so want to love this, but I'm sure the lemon will ruin it for me. On my skin...the lemon disappears. Hooray! It smells a bit musky and a bit sweet, and altogether lovely. This is just stunningly pretty. A bit of tea, a bit of vanilla, a ton of sugar and musk, and it's sweet and...is that a hint of lemon creeping back out? I think it is. And yet, it plays nicely on my skin (shock, horror!) and it's just a bit of brightness lightening this blend a bit. It's sweet and sugary and oh-so-pretty, and I want more!!

Apple, rose and lemon, eh? Well, we'll see. In the imp, it's mostly lemon, with a bit of apple. On my skin, the nemesis lemon! emerges, smelling the way that lemon Pez taste. Brittle and sugary fake lemon. Urgh. Lemon always gives me a headache, but I thought maybe the rose and apple could save this. Unfortunately, they don't - it's all fakey sugary lemon on me. Which is too bad, it sounds like it could be quite pretty.

In the imp, this is a bitter, green aquatic. On my skin, it instantly develops into a light, refreshing, tropical aquatic. Interesting. This smells very much like tropical greenery, with a hint of something floral underneath. I, like some of the other reviewers, don't get much of a wine scent from this. Actually, none at all, really. This is actually really pretty. We'll see if the boyfriend can handle it - the only other aquatic that I've worn around him has been Sea of Glass, which I loved, and he thought smelled "like hairspray." D:

In the imp, this is seriously almondy. Mostly that sweet, cherry-almond scent. A bit like how Black Phoenix starts off, actually. Wet on my skin, it's still a blast of that heady almond scent, and that's it. Eventually I do get a bit of the neroli and the orange peel. I don't smell any rose at all, which is too bad. I do get a bit of the spices, but not much. It's very sweet and once the almond backs down, very pretty. I don't know if it's really for me, though, as it takes a bit to get to the pretty stage from the "holy crap almonds!" stage.

Okay, I'll admit it: I bought this stuff purely for the name. I don't normally go in for "green" or "fruity" scents, but I had to try this stuff. In the imp, it's sweetly cucumbery. Cucumbery? I don't know why it smells like that to me, but it does. On my skin, wet, it's...gorgeous. Wow. Again, not usually my thing at all, but this is fresh, sweet, lightly fruity and crisp-smelling. It's watery and clean smelling, and so, so, so pretty. It just keeps getting lovelier and lovelier. Clean without smelling soapy, green without smelling bitter, fruity without being cloying. I absolutely adore this stuff, and a bottle of this will definitely be in my next order (whenever that may be!).

"The Pretty Era", France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. In the imp, sweet citrusy something. On my skin, it's still that sweet citrusy something. ::peers at notes:: Ah, probably the mandarin. I, unfortunately, have the distinction of really disliking most fruity notes and yet amping them up terribly at the same time. Ooooh. As it dries, it gets sweeter and creamier - I think that must be the vanilla. I can smell what must be the opium making it sweet and woozy-smelling (I was really afraid of what it might smell like, since I've never tried a blend with opium in it before). Other scents that come to mind as I'm smelling this: Moscow, Lucy Westenra, other sweet-and-orangey blends. This is definitely a keeper.

In the imp, this is all cherry. Almost like cherry cough syrup, actually. Wet on my skin: cherry. Cherry cherry cherry. As it dries, the florals show themselves more, but it's still mostly just cherry. A haughty, regal cherry, and not at all like cough syrup anymore. The lily of the valley gives a soft, pretty floral quality to it, but...still mostly cherry. Sweet and lovely for someone who enjoys cherry.

In the imp, Baneberry is fruity-soapy with an undertone of something that hasn't agreed with me in other blends. Wet, on my skin, it develops more of the fruity/berry-ness, with the undertone of something soapy still lingering. Hee, this really does smell like berry-scented candle. A really nice berry-scented candle, but still a berry-scented candle. I'm not a huge fan of fruity scents in general anyway, and and this is probably much more suited to someone who is. As it dries, it becomes lighter and sweeter, but it's still not quite my thing. Off to the swaps with you!

Another imp that I've been holding onto for a long time and never properly tested/reviewed. In the imp, the oil is very dark and...smells like the rose from Persephone that didn't agree with me. Oh, dear. On my skin: ROSE! So much rose. And...a nice rose that's playing well on my skin. Hmmm! As it dries, the red musk warms it up in the background. It really does smell like roses on a hot night (as someone else pointed out), with the red musk and the amber sweetening it and grounding it from being too rosey. (I really like rose, I should add here, so my "just rosey enough" might be someone else's "too rosey"!) This is really pretty and sultry, very voluptuous and sexy, while still being ultra-feminine. Love it!