Wench457

Carnal ITB: very slightly citrussy, though it smells more like lemon than mandarin to me. It has almost no scent at all to me in the imp. On: citrussy - but now more like grapefruit, which I have discovered is how my nose interprets mandarin. Dry: a lovely, light citrus scent, which for some reason I read more as grapefruit than mandarin. Noses are funny. Either way, it's beautiful, and definitely onto my bottle list.

Bathsheba ITB: sweet, like lillies. On: something dusty and a bit sour underneath, like violets sometimes go on me, though I don't think this is really violet. The throw smells like freesia, which I adore. Dry: lovely spicy, clovey carnation. It was headed for the top of my "buy a bottle quick" list, but after a half hour, it morphed into bubblegum and resin.

ITB: Baby oil. On: Dry and vegetative - like straw. Dry: grassy, with just a hint of sharp florals. Really, I almost think I have a mis-marked imp, because I get no lemon, musk or sage whatsoever. Perhaps just the sandalwood, though not as strong as usual on me, and the jasmine going sour. Did not work on me at all.

Sybaris ITB: Sweet, like honey. On: heavily fruity and floral, with a bit of spice. Dry: sour and stale on me, rather unpleasant actually. Another beautiful-in-the-bottle scent ruined by my wacky chemistry.

Machu Picchu ITB: fruity with a spicy edge. Delicious! On: jasminey, but not as bad as jasmine usually goes on me. There seems to be another floral softening it - white ginger perhaps? Dry: a lush floral with a lot of spice. Very smooth and pretty and incredibly well blended.

Gomorrah ITB: fairly sweet, like far-off honeysuckle. On: smells like resins - myrrh perhaps. Still has that hint of sweetness though. Dry: Much sweeter, like ripe peaches, must be the dates I'm getting. Has a hint of something spicy - almost sandalwoody.

Eden ITB: Sweet and almondy. On: slightly burnt almond cookies. Dry: The fruit is starting to come out, followed by the coconut. Smells like apricot macaroons, if there is such a thing. Heck, if they smell like this, I'll have to invent some! This is really nice and fruity, without being overly sweet. For a wonder, the sandalwood stays in the background and doesn't take over the entire scent. Just shot to the top of my "get a bottle" list!

Cairo ITB: honey and citrus fruit with spices. Love this! On: Sharp citrus and resins. Dry: Lime I think, and perhaps myrrh. Very enlivening. Has a touch of cedar as well perhaps. Warm and dusty smelling. Unfortunately, after a mere half hour it was all resins and wood. A nice smell, but not one for me.

Bayou ITB: Sour and a bit masculine smelling to my nose. On: sharp - like lilies fresh cut. Dry: definitely lets you know that this is an acquatic scent! It is highly floral as well, with something a bit musty underneath. Another amazing rendition of a theme.

Amsterdam ITB: a sweet, faint floral with an aquatic edge to it. On: Definitely an aquatic scent, but still sweet. I can't pick out any of the notes in this yet. Dry: very faintly floral and aquatic, faded quickly to almost nothing on me, and was gone in a half hour.

Hellfire: initially sweet, like honey, but quickly followed by a sharp, alcholic note. Intriguing. On me, it is a lovely leather and brandy with a hint of cigar smoke: altogether a very rich and evocative scent. Not one I am likely to wear however, as my preference tends toward light florals.

Cathedral: Churchy - frankincense and sandalwood. On: So my power to amp sandalwood totally out of control remains strong. Good to know. Dry: Ditto. It is a truly lovely scent, but not on me, since the sandalwood overpowers everything else.

Alecto: Strong Vetiver, which is usually a no-go on me. On: Cedary, but with a hint of vetiver which keeps it from being pleasant on me. Dry: cedar with a hint of sweetness - perhaps the raspberry leaf? Thankfully, the vetiver has faded away, and now I only smell like a linen chest. Which at least is a pleasant smell, but not what I want to make people think of when they hug me.

Zorya: sweetly floral with a very slight baby oil tinge. On: the baby oil smell amps up initially, but then the florals begin to assert themselves. As I did with Mi-Go, I'm getting a bit of a popcorn smell. I wish I knew what that was. Dry: A nice floral mix. Amazingly, the jasmine behaves itself in this one, but overall it doesn't wow me. And there's so much BPAL, that I can afford to be picky.

Tezcatlipoca: instant sneezes. Might at well be sneezing powder to me. On: Sharp and incensy - with a hint of smoke. But still sneezing. Had to wash off before it even got to the drydown.

Terpsichore: A sweet, light floral - a bit lemony. On: something grassy underneath the lemon. Dry: seems like there is some resin in here. I go back and forth on this one. The throw is intriguing, a hint of sasparilla. All the notes sounded lovely, but this is ultimately not a scent I'm in love with.

Grandmother of Ghosts: a scary very dark brown - it smells earthy with a hint of spice. On: Earthy and woodsy - reminds me just a bit of Gnome, then it starts to sweeten up - I'm guessing the peony trying to assert itself as peony tends to be quite lovely on me. Dry: sweet and spicy - I can definitely pick out the pepper, but it fades very fast, and never really settles down to a distinctive smell on me.

Aizen-Myoo: Of the five listed notes, I only know what two smell like. This winds up smelling fruity and floral on me, and very, very pretty. I'm thinking I need a big bottle of this one!

Thaleia: sweetened citrus. The honey and blood orange are leaders here. On: this is great! The blood orange smells almost like grapefruit on me, though not quite. The throw is gingery. Quite lovely! Dry: Fades considerably to a bland floral. I need to try this again, to see I can get the wet stage to stick around longer. If it does, this one will be a definite 10ml!

Ulalume: sweet with a hint of spice, like mint gum - must be the lilies. On: I have no idea where wintergreen came from, but there it is. Dry: minty and floral. I know mint is not listed, but that's what I get from this. It's actually almost unsettling. It does mellow after 30 minutes to a fresh, clean summery smell. No cypress or oak on me whatsoever.

Phantasm: Floral - probably jasmine, which may be problematic. On: Sour and definitely jasmine. There's a woody, citrus smell as well. Probably The lemon verbena - that part is very nice. Dry: Exactly like tangerines molding in the bottom of Christmas stockings. Don't ask me how I know what that smells like, but I do.

Leanan Sidhe: Perfumey, for want of a better word - floral with an alcohol edge. On: Strong floral, quite pleasant. Dry: Strong floral, which soon becomes soap. Stupid body chemistry.

Dana O'Shee: sweetened vanilla extract. On: the alcohol smell gets stronger, but softens again very quickly. A bit of a plastic smell. Dry: Pure plastic - and stale plastic at that. The same note which ruined Snowblind for me - must be a milk thing. Eventually, I got the faintest whiff of vanilla and grains, as though to tease me with what might have been. If that's what most people get, I can see why this scent is so popular. Unfortunately, this is yet another one ruined by my wonky body chemistry. Oh how I wanted to smell like marzipan!

Bon Vivant: very sweet and light, makes me feel cheerful just sniffing it! On: Strawberry candies - this is wonderful! Dry: the candy note has mellowed, though it is still recognizably a strawberry scent. The champagne adds a richer and deeper note to it, though it is still light and effervescent. I definitely need a bottle of this. The longer I wear it, the better it gets.

Blood: Sweet DBR. On: still sweet, but spicy, definite cloves. Delish! Dry: And then myrrh comes charging out - spoiling the party. Something else sour up close, but an all myrrh, and oddly, sandalwood, throw. Eventually mellowed, but ended up very masculine and spicy on me.