Gateau

I loved the early phase of this--sweet almond and spicy cinnamon, with neroli creaminess, like Eclipse but wilder. Then it went all cinnamon candy on me and lost that almond. Within minutes I got the red, itchy, burning irritation that so many others described. This is the only cinnamon sensitivity I've ever had. It really is a strong one, no joke.

Grassy, herbal, hay, wildflower. I don't really pick up the purple ( it's not violet or plum). As others have said, it's got a quality that would make for a very nice scented soap.

Plummy, winey, honeyed, grapey. It's sweet and sort of heavy, swirling together andcwith a darkness. I see the appeal but it's not for me.

This reminds me of both Belle Epoque (lily of the valley, citrus) and Donna con Ventaglia (bergamot, violet leaf). It's a very classic perfume, in the Chanel No. 5 vein. Very well blended and sophisticated, with a certain sharpness.

This starts out as St. Joseph's baby aspirin. Unfortunately for me, I'm about the only kid in America who hated those. Stays creamy, citrusy, with something that comes off a touch musky, probably the tangerine and grapefruit. I wish I liked this more, but it just doesn't work on me.

This is all cranberry and currant on me. Usually pink musk does dubious things on me, and it doesn't here, but it isn't doing much exciting either. I can't really make out the pink pepper either. It's just a sweet, slightly tart, juicy fruity scent. Not sure I'll wear this much.

This is insanely gorgeous, beeswax and honey and the smoke of candles. It's a rich, warm, smoky scent, sexy and evocative but not threatening or very dark. It really is very similar to The Lights of Men's Lives, so if you like that you'll like this. Just now trying to decide how many bottles to hoard.

At first, honey with gorgeous floral notes, but then the dragons blood pops up and, as it always does on me, turns into something at reminds me of mothballs. I don't make out the ginger grass or turmeric. If you like Dragon's Milk and honey scents, definitely get this. I just wish it didn't have the dragons blood, because the honey-gardenia-orchid phase, though short-lived, was divine.

If you like rich wood notes, this is for you. Even though many of the notes sound foody, they don't add up to a food sort of scent. The chocolate and coffee are dark and in their bitter forms. I don't get the tobacco note as an individual note, but it adds a dark warmth. The Osage orange is bitter and aromatic, more like citronella than an edible orange, but recognizably citric. The ebony is rich and dark. Together it combines into something rich with recognizable tones, but not something you'd want to lick off. I think this would be a very good one for men or women who are attracted to these notes, but I don't think it's that wearable for me. It might be a good room scent if I could get past the idea that someone left the coffee pot on too long.

Decant and Wet--Tons of blueberry, almost fake in the intensity of it's blueberry-ness. Drydown--The blueberry tones down and the florals and white tea pick up. I don't pick put lilac specifically, but its sweetness is there. I get a powdery and sharp cologne smell that makes me a little fearful. that often comes from white tea in my experience. No real citrus hit. Dry--The orris keeps asserting itself, and that's a note I love that can really hold a scent together for me. The longer it's on my skin the more I like it, and the more I think a bottle of this would become a much-loved summer floral.

Like many others here, UTM is very chocolately in the bottle and immediately wet on skin, but then starts going fruity within seconds. This is fine with me, as I think I prefer chocolate scents more in theory than on my skin. The fruit turns tangy and tropical in the tamarind or passionfruit vein. It's like eating the jelly inside of a chocolate with a fruit filling center. pretty fast fade on this too. I have a partial bottle from my decant circle, so I'll probably keep it, but I don't think this will be a go-to scent for me.

Rather than a "Top 10" list, while driving to work today I got the idea that it might be more illuminating to come up with favorites for different scent types. Rose--Two, Five & Seven Woodsy--Tree of Life Green/Grassy--Amsterdam Resinous/Incensy--Great Vampire Bat Boozy--Halloween: Las Vegas Fresh--Boober Floral--Lorelai Fruity--Blue Morpho Honey--Pussy Spicy--Mourning Lace Vanilla--Celeste Sexy (Day Division)--Lady Una Sexy (Night Division)--Black Lace

It's hitting 99 degrees today (it was 88 when I left the house this morning!) and the freshness of Boober is really hitting the spot.

Though this was in the Halloweenie release, I immediately knew I wanted to save this for summer use, and June has turned out to be the perfect time for it. The apple note is dominant, and it's definitely red and juicy. Backing that are the fruit blossoms, and then there is a nice green grass note enveloping the whole thing. Like all these soap collaborations, it lathers very well, and I do detect a hint of that sort of Play-Doh-like soap base. I don't find that there is much scent that sticks to my skin after the shower, but it scents the bathroom nicely and I enjoy using it.

This is my favorite fresh-washed scent I've ever tried. Often they contain something creamy, musky, or very soapy that doesn't agree with me, but here the linden blossom and the bit of vanilla combine to make this smell very fresh and not at all cloying, sour, or sticky. Basically, it's like the nicest laundry detergent in the world. Just lovely for a hot summer day. I also think this would make a very nice perfume for a young person just getting started with scent.

This smells like nothing so much to me as a slightly more vegetal version of the original Clairol Herbal Essence shampoo we had in the 70s, with the drawing of the lady with flowers in her long hair. It instantly sends me back to summers in camp in the Berkshires. I've washed my hair and am now sitting in the grass, maybe with a handful of wild strawberries or blueberries I've picked. Not a scent for every day, but it really transports me to a moment that is fresh and young and green and clean.

Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss.  You can count me among the hordes who love Lyonesse. On me it's a real morpher. When it's wet it reminds me of Chex Mix, in an odd way. Something sort of cereal (probably the vanilla) and the sea moss saltiness combined. Then that impression fades away and I get that golden beach impression so many people describe, and then I end up with something that smells like a very expensive perfumed powder, which is probably the sandalwood. But it's not an offputting powderiness, so I really like it. There is also something to it that makes me think of Black Lace Lite. It's not that they have so many overlapping notes, but there is a character to it that feels similar, with the vanilla present in both. Both have a sophisticated, smoky, perfumey feel. Lyonesse is a good GC choice to get that feeling, and for when you don't want to go full seductress mode.

I tested this last night, and my 10 year old came over and sniffed me, then pronounced the smell as "toxic licorice." Exactly! I said. Totally nails absinthe. Wet, I get a lot of herbal, licoricy, minty absinthe. While I was never much into mint scents, anise has been growing on me, and this blends those and the alcoholic hint perfectly. It's very cool smelling. As it dries, I smell a lot of sugar, which really helps evoke that sugarcube on the silver absinthe spoon with liquid pouring over it. Fully dry, I get the smoky underpinnings of tobacco and the vanilla Lace base. It's a fantastic blend that really evokes the idea behind it. It's like a fresher, more herbal Black Lace. Sadly, this doesn't last terribly long on my skin, so I'll have to experiment with slathering and scent lockets. I'm glad I got two bottles.

Oh god, this is orchid-incense perfection! It smells tropical and sexy and mysterious and very damp. It smells exactly like my honeymoon in Bali, in fact. Bless my Bat Fairy for sending this to me, and so glad I went for two bottles--may need to search for another backup too.

Sweet and bready, with lots of sweet grapey wine. Don't get much meat, but there is a touch of something earthy that could be it. Not really my thing, but very interesting one if you like foody and wine scents.

Got this as a frimp from the Lab. Full of death notes, but it smelled nice in the imp so I gave it a whirl. Mostly pine, which I amp. It's smoky and earthy. I don't really get any of the spices or scorching. I think it would smell great on a guy, and if mine wore pine I'd test it on him. There's something body-heated about it. If you liked the pine in The Jersey Devil but not the potpourri-like berries, try this.

A few more ideas: Endymion (no honey, but pear is such a honeyed kind of fruit) The Vine (no floral, but pear and honey) Josie (magnolia and honeyed peaches) Jezebel (honey, roses, sandalwood, orange blossom) and remarkably soft and non-powdery on me

Wet, I got the impression of a ginger root, maybe still with dirt on it, which has just been cut open. The ginger is so fresh and spicy it tickles my nose. It has that woody smell of a fresh ginger root. Then the cider picked up, and for a brief while the ginger went a little disinfectant on me. Eventually it settled down into a cider-ginger mix, not particularly sweet. I'm not wild about cider scents on my skin (love as room scents, though) so this isn't a bottle purchase.

In the decant--Huge, bright, juicy, sweet honeydew. Wet--Very ripe, realistic honeydew with a sharp, almost cologne edge. That edge must be the musk. It smells almost overripe and has a ton of throw. Dry--After the wet phase passes, it all settles down into a sweet but not overwhelming fresh honeydew. Pretty good throw for at least an hour. An hour or so after that, the honeydew fades into the background and I'm left with mostly musk. Musk and I don't really get along all that well. This isn't bad, but it leaves a sort of rough edge I don't love. I think I might enjoy the decant once or twice in the summer, but I don't need a whole bottle.

I usually avoid snow notes, which are wither too aquatic or too minty for me, but this one came in a swap so I gave it a try. It's a real morpher. Wet and into the initial dry down, it's softly minty with a touch of vanilla sweetness. If it stayed like that it would be a keeper. However, once the mint wears off, a light musk comes out, and something floral emerges. It no longer feels particularly cool, and becomes a warmer, musky, sweet perfume that isn't very distinctive. Pretty enough, but not something I'll wear.