ziggystardust

Preconception: Half excitement, half apprehension. Lemon verbena, green tea, evocative of springtime? I'd bathe in it. Unfortunately, jasmine and I do not get along, and my skin amps the stuff like crazy, and then it won't go away. From the imp: I'm getting a light floral, with a tinge of lemon. Wet: If I sniff my wrist, I can detect lemon tea, a bit reminiscent of my beloved Severin. If I move further away, though, I get hit by a cloud of jasmine and neroli. Dry: Wow, that's.. a lot of jasmine. Skin, you suck. To be fair, the neroli also stays put for a little while longer - although it does fade before the jasmine does. Overall: I really, really wish it had stayed in the wet stage - if it did, I would be all over a bottle. Unfortunately, my skin doesn't like it, so off to the giveaway/enabling pile it goes. ._.

From the decant: It's not similar to fresh, sharp, salty sea spray - it simply is. How can this be? Wet: The sea spray remains dominant, but I can detect a bit of jasmine underneath. Now, I'm not normally a fan of jasmine, but here it's just perfect. It doesn't make the blend particularly gentle on me, just.. gives it that little extra kick (finslap?), and makes it more interesting overall. A scent memory! - accompanying my uncle on a tiny fishing boat at the age of five, leaning over the side trying to look for fish as a light breeze blew over my face. Subsequently falling in the water, and forcing said uncle to jump in after me as I had no idea how to swim. He was freaked out, but I thought it was incredibly cool (at least, after the fact, when I was happily able to resume breathing.) Dry: Said sea spray tones down a bit, and becoming more balanced with the jasmine. There's also resiny note peeking out - I'm guessing this is the benzoin? On me, this lends a slightly soapy quality, and I can see why some people have made references to Irish Spring. (But then, I like Irish Spring...) Overall: Definitely a keeper, yeah. The 5ml is on its way! : D

Preconception: It's Miskatonic University. I would have bought at least an imp if the note description had said "socks from the bottom of the laundry basket." Wet: Yep, Irish coffee all the way. While I'm not a fan of Irish cream - and this had enough for me to find it a bit cloying - I am a fan of coffee. So all is well. Also, boy, that's not throw. That's.. a machine ball-belter.. thing. Dry: Aaand a spicy(!), woody note, which I'm guessing is the oakmoss? With a bit of dried parchment paper. <3 These lend a dignifying, grounding quality to the Irish cream. The girl waiting for her date in the library is now a fulltime grad student! Also, while it lasted for quite a long time (around 10 hours?), but in this phase, it began to peacefully stay close to my skin. Overall: 5ml. I also want to add that Miskatonic University got me jumped.

I bought an imp with my very first order with the Lab, well over a couple of years ago. I was excited about the concept and the tea note. Knowing then what I know now about creamy scents and me, I might have been extra wary of this - which just goes to show that ignorance can be bliss, as this blend.. works. Wet: A few drops of Darjeeling tea. You know, they were inside a REALLY BIG cauldron of milky vanilla. I have come to identify this as the "Holy hell!" stage. Dry: Ah, there's some clean laundry beside the cauldron. The vanilla and milk never go away, not even by half. Still, in about a couple of hours, I do start to note the tea and ginger (oddly, I don't find it in any way similar to lemon.. ) It's still a really sweet, clean scent, but a bit more.. not grounded, but rather.. confused? Playful? Overall: For me, this is the olfactory version of comfort food - while definitely not an everyday affair, every once in a while it's exactly the thing that hits the spot. I've considered getting a 5ml in my last order, but decided not to - the 3 imps I have on hand will last me a while, I think.

Preconception: Love Yvaine, love lavender, entirely terrified of magnolia. I gambled on it anyway, hoping that this would be a surprise blend where a note I don't care for turns into one that works. From the imp: Astringent lavender. Sharp, wet, cold, and reminiscent of my precious Oneiroi. Happy was I! Wet: Pretty much true to the imp. Joy, joy, etc. Dry: Pretty much what other people here have experienced - after a couple of hours, the lavender calmed down and and the magnolia went to party. Sadly, this was exactly what I was afraid of, as my skin amps so many florals. Still, it's quiet enough to be tolerable, and I felt no particular need to wash it off. Plus it wore off after about a couple more hours. Overall: While Yvaine and I got off to a great start, she dumped me in the end - guess I'm no Tristran. ._. To be fair, the floral didn't make me run screaming, so it was an amicable breakup. We may get together for an occassional fling, though - I figure if I use her as a sleep blend, I'll be out by the time she gets her clothes and leaves. 5ml Purchase Possibility: For the scent, no - I'd be happy with the imp I've got. But for the utterly gorgeous label art? My bank account is sad due to sheer possibility.

When I first opened the imp, I thought, "Holy cow, it's mansweat." - I noticed a little bit of vetiver, and a whole lot of tamarind. I gave it this, though - as a concept scent, I found it perfect from the get-go. Wet: To my surprise, I did not smell like an octogenarian's gym bag - I got the pencil shavings beachbabealways mentioned. I felt like I was hanging out with Anne Bonny's morose twin brother. In fact, I think I may like it just a little bit more. Dry: The pencil shavings are fading a bit, and seem to be acting as an anchor to something bitterly herbal and fruity. I'm getting none of the sweetness yet, but we'll see how it goes over the next few hours. I wasn't expecting to like this scent as much as I do - I got it solely because I like the story. I don't know that I'll be buying a bottle, but unless it morphs on me in a bad way, I'll definitely be open to a replacement imp or two in a future swap.

I play the piano, and sometimes I wear a scent to go along with practicing. The few times I've done this, I've worn Laudanum, which for some reason instantly snaps me into the "zone" (i.e. "Holy crap, it's 3:00?"). Anyway, I've been thinking of branching out into other scents. Surely I'm not alone in this boat, so I was wondering if anyone could recommend other oils which do the same thing? (I've tried Euterpe, but I'm not really a fan of the florals or - gasp! - white musk, so..) (Addendum: Even though I'm looking for a general "playing mood" scent.. for whatever it's worth, right now I'm learning the Mozart K310 (first movement), and if I could find a scent which suits that, that would be wonderful too!)

I had a few imps in my purse the last time I visited family, and strangely, my four-year-old cousin turned up her nose at Fae, but adored the Peacock Queen. Go figure. Still, I'm nth-ing the Alice, I'll bring it over next time just to have fun.