keltic

In the imp ~ super strong berry with a hint of sweet spices wet ~ the berry is still there with its sweetness, but it isn’t overpowering or cloying as i would expect from it’s strength in the imp. the rest of the notes warm up, giving it a far more complex smell than i expected. i can’t pick them out individually, instead i get a soft, gentle, soothing scent that is perfectly light. it's like a spiced cream has been poured over a bowl of sweet summer fruits, and you are now tucked in fron of the fire, spoon in hand. . . dry-down ~ amazing, the “wet" scent holds. the berries mature slightly, as if they have gone almost over-ripe, giving a slightly intoxicating sharpness to their soft, sweet note. my skin is trying as hard as it can to eat this, and i hope it is just the dry weather. something in this blend makes me want it to hang around, strengthen it’s throw and play all day.

in the imp ~ mmmm, almond and myrrh, making this the most interesting incense-y type scent i've ever smelled. wet ~ almond. and more almond, and honey sweetness. oh, this is lovely! dry down ~ the myrrh comes out more, actually holding a lovely incense note on my skin that usually does awful things to incense blends. the mandarin starts to peek out as well, giving this just the right balance of sharpness to the almond sweetness. pretty decent throw, allowing me to swoon in my own deliciousness. this is such a winner!

'Oof', thank goodness this blend does work. i feared i was down for the count yesterday after fighting my sinuses all week, and now had finally entered migraine from sinus land. yes, it is a bit menthol, just like that famous teal-green jar but this is a good thing. because it cut right through the pain in my cheek and around my eye, and let me concentrate on making the pain go away. i beat the migraine, and with my little imp at my side at work, i was able to keep the sinus pain at bay. this morning, it's a new day, with just the slightest hint of pressure under my cheek. oh yeah, there is a bottle of this on my next order for sure!

in the imp – oh my! i’m not sure of the notes, but i can detect a soft, delicate and sweet floral that must be the violet. the rest is crisp and clean and ... pure. this is utterly enchanting. wet – sweet, and crisp and cold, but cold not in a negative gowing-up-in-20-below temps. cold as in fresh, clean, and holding promise. i’m not sure what orris should be, but this has a teasing note of something between floral and sweet. dry-down – i’m light and buoyant from this scent. i also want to shove my wrist under everyone’s nose so they can experience this delight. it has become a bit sweeter, and more mature at the same time. i am in LOVE with this! verdict – oh yeah, bottle ordered right away! i just wish this ad a bit more throw and staying power. perhaps if i slather it on in obscene quantities. . .

i have this thing about incense. especially high church expensive incense. it’s a scent-memory woven in there, along with too many a year as an acolyte, sacristan. i used to love going home from high mass with the smell of the incense still lingering in my hair. i’d feel seductive and sexy all day and night as the faint cloud of the incense floated around me. “if they could just make this a perfume!” i would say as i would shove my nose into the tin of extra fine blend. . . alas, i have yet to have it in oil form work on my skin. in the imp, this is perfection – incense without the coal smoke. but on my skin, it turns acrid, losing it’s sweetness, and then rancid. i fear my true heathen nature as i posed all those years as a solemn, dutiful believer has been found out, and this is some kind of punishment. i guess one shouldn't feel sexy and naughty when smelling like church. . . .

::eyes notes cautiously:: oh, patchouli. we meet again. i shall best you at least once, i swear. and this inspiration, the other notes are too perfect. i will be able to wear this. in the imp – fresh vanilla-brightness of the lemongrass, and the smoky notes of the sandalwood. wet – pure sharp lemongrass and sweet incense. god, this is lovely! dry-down – patchouli, you bastard! the scent begins to go cloying and then here it comes, the big brute patchouli with his big stick. serenity is destroyed.

the description sounds heavenly, and although musks usually make me shy away, i’ve learned that white musk is a good thing on me. until the imp of Nuit and i meet, that is. as sweet and delicate as it smells in the imp, on my skin, it is instantly a harsh and acrid musk single note that continues to amp up until i have to wash it off. phooey.

the inspiration of this blend alone is enough for me to fall in love with it. reading the notes, i have my fingers crossed this can work on my and my skin doesn’t eat it all. in the imp – so light, it’s almost nothing. just the faintest whiff of incense. wet – all i can get is a very light incense. can this be for real? and incense note working on my skin? dry-down – some leather coming through now, but the scent stays light, warm, with just a hint of dustiness. and the incense is still there, delicate and sweet. not overpowering, which is perfect. hmm, i may have to take this one out for a few more spins and see if a bottle is in my future. tell me dear John, what do the stars say for the likelihood of this?

in the imp – a hit of almost overpowering sweet buttery almond that almost puts me off trying it, but knowing how rich and different other almond scents have turned on me, i brave the sugar note and give it a dab. wet – yup, completely different from in the vial. it is instantly all honey mead and rum! no almond or sicky-sweet sugar. just warm, rich, intoxicatingly velvet. . . maybe i can eat my arm. . . whoa! this is amazing stuff. i love it – mead is one of my favorite food smells, and i can’t believe i’m liking this on my skin. dry-down – oh, this gets deep and mysterious now. the honey of the mead fades a bit and a spicy bite that must be the hazelnut starts to come through. wow. wowowowowow. . . oh man, i need to ravish someone NOW. . . . verdict – Hellcat has a holding power on me that i love. a soft. war, buttered mead with a glace o spiced rum, and hours later, a deeper richer tone with the almond finally peeping through – that mellow, not sweet note that i life – has drifted in. this is for evening in front of a fire, a seduction, laughter with friends and pure temptation in a bottle. oh yes!

the description here holds so much promise for me – i am a lavender fiend. in the imp - ::swoon:: lavender! sweet florals! wet – oh my, i am in heaven! a hit of sweet and bright florals, and then running steady and sure underneath, the sharpness of lavender. please make it last, please make it last. . . dry-down – too often jasmine can run amok and dominate a scent. and honeysuckle can bee too sicky sweet. but here, each keep the other busy so they don’t have time to drown out the lavender. all three end up blending into a perfect balance of calm and peace. not too sweet, not too floral, just right. the only problem is it doesn’t last nearly as long as i would like!

...A gossamer scent, as light as a spider’s footfall, touched with sighing mists: pallid flowers, dusty woods and soft herbs. in the imp – soft green!! spring on a sunny hill of long grasses and flowers, i may be falling in lover. . . wet - this is a sweet and light perfect mix of floral and herb. but not too strong, just a careful and delicate mingling of notes. dry-down – a few herb notes pop out to become more prominent, and there is one that i cook with all the time, but every time i go to name it, it slips away from me. arg! perhaps sage, which would account for the earthiness of the scent. there is also a vaguely peppery note that comes in after a couple hours. sadly, through is not as strong as i would like, and the scent is so delicate, it doesn’t last beyond four hours on me. verdict – i think i’m going to keep working through this imp, and probably convince myself to order a 5ml. . .

in the imp – sharp bite of white tea, grapefruit peel and a hint of ginger. wet- wow, a quick spray of citrus that gets quickly overtaken by the tea. no hint of ginger or apple. the tea continues to amp up and eat the citrus dry-down – even though the tea is a very acrid note, it does lend an air of ‘clean’ to the scent as a whole. still, not the scent i expected, or first smelled in the imp. alas, it is a quick courtship with my skin and vanishes within a couple hours. verdict – damn my skin.

The Lady of Shallot has long been one of my favorite archetypes of literature, and i've devoured or collected everything i could get my hands on in relation. so when this mp arrived, i could not wait to try and it and take the archetype to a whole new level of experience. new level is right. i had one of the most unusual reactions to this imp -- something i've only ever experienced once before with a scent memory. it's so charged an experience, i can't even break down this scent by notes, and the physical of what it smells like on me. all it is is experience. the crisp almost ozone smell of the aquatics for me bring in a rush of some long forgotten memory of standing someplace special, someplace charged, someplace between time. it’s a haunting and desperate feeling, and something in this blend is ties to this scent memory, yet i still cannot untangle the threads to remember what exactly the memory is. this is so poignant, and almost too powerful a scent for me because of the memory factor. certainly not something i can wear casual – it remains sacred and needs to be respected.

the whole Yule update was beyond dangerous for me. wave a scent name like this in front of a frustrated english major, and you know i will willing follow. add the description, and, well, you know. . . in the bottle, this held wonderful promise. just as the notes listed, it was complex and dark and spicy. almost reverent and regal. genius. but on me, it turn into nothing but huge cloying roses. the hell? roses, roses, roses. and not sweet real life bloom roses. we are talking old lady kill you with her stale perfume roses. i'm reading the description again as i'm gasping for air, wondering how in the name of all that is rosewood really smells like giant killer roses. i gave up, and had to rinse this one off since my head was starting to go with this one. massive, huge throw, and damn good staying power, because i think i continued to smell it all day, but that could be psychological. but after reading some of the reviews here and the same experiences of super-rose finally being defeated by cloves, i might give this a second, smaller try, seeing if i can experience a change over. or maybe not even get mugged in the first place.

. the description alone was enough to make me die a happy bliss, but up close and in person! ::dies a happy bliss of smellgasm:: this was my first yule bottle i tore right into. in the bottle, it is sharp pine and sweet fruit, with the apples having the tang that almost makes them smell like berries. and wet on the skin .... oh. my. god. perfect pine and balsam, cold icy air and sweet and spicy fruits. sadly, the scent does not hold well on me, and i may have to decant an imp to carry with me to reapply during the day. throw for me is almost non-existent. why is it always the ones you want to impose on others you can’t? still, for sheer pleasure of going on, i think i need a second bottle to horde this forever and ever and ever.

i've never been big on food scents, and the couple i've tried have not been big on me. smelling like a cookie all day just makes me feel like i'm gaining weight. but with all the hype on 13, and loving the number, i decided this might be the perfect chance for me try try my hand at a decant circle and a "food" scent. when i first whiffed this in the bottle, i was "meh," and glad i only got it to decant. i tried a little on my skin, and was not impressed. it was sharp and just ... too much. a lot of notes,nothing distinct, so it just stayed harsh and "commercial:' smelling. a couple days later, i gave it a try again to see if my decant was really destined to go into the swap pile. whoa. we got something completely different going on here. this time it was beautiful. just perfect, and not something i thought i would like. i was all cocoa and orange at first, but then more sweet from the currants and sharpness from the tea blending in. 12+ hours later, i'm just a hint of the sharpness of the tea with a soft powder smell that i know is the floral note (iris). and no, not that annoying floral to powder smell. this was delicate and soft. the staying power is amazing, and the throw is just where i like it: enough so i pick up gentle whiffs of myself during the day, but not so much i'm worrying about invading other people's noses. nope, i like it. not the usual scent for me, but it really works. really, really amazing. no, i'm holding on to this one.

this is one i wanted to try because, hey, Vikings! the description sounded so perfect. the Lab obviously read my mind because i got a frimp of this in my last order. in the imp - sweet, crisp herbs and just a hint of fruit interesting! wet - the rose and loganberries come right to the front on this, with the rest of the notes giving and herby tangle to the background. the rose is actually kind of nice in this, not too cloying, not too strong but definitely there. dry-down - oh, no, here we go. the rose has taken my skin chemistry and run amok with it, amping up to the sicky cloying thing it does and then suddenly burning out to leave nothing but a sharp and strong soapy scent, lingering and annoying like the fire from a plundered village. the berries and other notes that were starting to come out are nothing but poor victims in this massacre. invade, conquer, destroy. great, maybe i shouldn't get so excited abut Vikings. . . verdict - off to the swap pile

In the imp, this is as lovely and serene as the description makes it sound. but the second it hits my skin . . . dear god i’m going to strangle myself to make. it. stop. this was the learning scent: for future reference, anything with lily turns in one rancid yet cloying note that climbs up and sits under my nose, daring me not to barf. clearly it is a lily. a rotting, stinking super-strong lily. i’m thinking i am also going to allow no lilies in my garden in the future. wow, this one was not fun on me.

in the imp – this is almost overbearingly sweet. fruit on the verge of being over-ripe. wet – oh, yes, this goes on as luscious ripe plum, fat and juicy with promise. there is just a hint of jasmine floating around the edges which keeps this from being too much plum. dry-down – the sweet and fruity deepens and becomes deeper as the musk starts to twine in. a hind of the orchid wafts in as well, but the jasmine and plum are still at the front, tempered by the musk. no longer super-sweet, it is more of a small coy smile with a hidden agenda underneath the pretty. it remains somewhat light and calming (and sexy as hell), with just a hint of darker, richer more mature notes to it. verdict – i love this one, and it was well worth the 5ml investment from the imp. it is flirty and feminine, yet sultry and sexy. in has a nice subtle throw, but lasts all day, which is rare for my skin. very uplifting!

this was another scent that upon reading the description, i was desperate to try. but alas, for me it falls victim of the “too many notes” syndrome. i can’t pick out any single note, or even any type of note in particular. it’s just a harsh “wow, that smells like perfume” and too much so type of experience.

the description of this scent intrigued me last year, and wanted to try it, but never got a chance. luckily i was able to get a decant for 2006, and give it a try. the notes are certainly ones i am not familiar with, and probably couldn't pick out of a line-up if put in front of me. . . on, this is sharp, almost to the point of being antiseptic. very unusual, not like anything i’ve smelled before. way into dry-down, an almost smoky note tries to come in, but it remains a very sharp -- resin? -- note. interesting, and not bad, but just not me. still, i'll hold on to the imp to try again at some point.

in the imp – this is a stronger scent than shanghai – thank goodness! i love the notes, and want this one to work on me. can definitely pick up the musk behind the burst of lemon. wet – lemon! wowza, lotsa lemon! but clean, fresh and bright and nothing to trigger a headache. drydown – the intensity of lemon fades, but the musk and the tea have come out a bit more o the front, making it a richer scent, but still this is a light, delicate scent, just barely there. it’s quiet, personal, and clean scent, more of a remainder of something delightful than “grrr, argh, i am smell, hear me roar!” verdict – i do love this one, and the fact that it can linger on my skin. i did cave and get a 5ml.

A frimp from the lab, that as i was cataloging it on my spreadsheet, i noticed the notes and went, hmm, that sounds really good! i have to try this right now. . . in the imp – rich and think with golden notes, and almost heavy. almost. there is the faintest lightness of peach lurking there that keeps it from being too much. wet – sandalwood and amber are strongest, but the peach jumps right in, brightening it all up. dry down – things get rich and luscious as the vanilla peaks through and the heliotrope warms up and keeps everything bright and golden. it is a very relaxing, calming and clean scent, just warm and luscious like a day at a sun-filled spa. even better, it has great staying power on my skin. verdict – certainly not what i would classify as my “typical” notes in the scent, despite my new found love for heliotrope. there is a certain sweetness and deep, richness to the scent. but i love it on, and love the calm it seems to invoke. if i wasn’t already drowning in bottles, i’d be ordering 5ml right now

In the imp – not too strong s a scent, but rather very clean and crisp. a perfect mix of the lemon and green tea. it smells simply perfect for a scent – very “me”. wet – this is a very faint scent, and vanishes on my skin immediately. even with another heavy slather, it seems to wafts away. it’s just pure clean, clear and fresh scent that i want to hold on to, but can’t seem to get to be strong. dry down – sadly, the scent is gone completely. not even the honeysuckle or hint of lemon verbena remain. i think the reason i love this scent to much in the imp is the very reason it doesn’t work for me – it is me. it smells the way my clean skin does so all it can do is get eaten and vanish. very unfair.

part of me has always wanted to be able to wear the perfect rose scent. i'm not sure why as they all seem to turn to something pungent and deadly on me, but this has become some kind of sick self-torturing test to find the Holy Grail of a rose scent. vial – very strong floral with spice wet – a spicy rose immediately – the sharpness of the white tea seems to really bring out the punch of the carnation spice dry down – more of the spice is coming through, but the rose is deepening as well to become very rich four hours later – scent is still strong, but the continuing amping up of the notes has made it all very cloying, more so from the carnation note than the floral, which is really odd. once again, i don’t think this is for me.