OctoberGwen

I looked forward to this one quite a lot, but when I finally got my hands on some I was disappointed. Something in here doesn't work for me; it may be the linen note or possibly the cognac; whatever it is, it's sharp and unpleasant on my skin and I don't care for it at all. I'll stick with my beloved Red Lace...the Black just isn't for me.

The Orchard was extremely plummy and thus much too sweet on me - I can't do super sweet fruits. I only got a hint of the chocolate and wood, and no rose (which I can almost always detect.) Not for me, but plum fans will love this.

I thought I would love this but there is just way too much going on here: the SO vibe, the extra musky musk, the choc, the mint.... Nope. Not for me.

Mmmmmm. This is the first blend with leather in it that I've really liked, maybe because it's balanced with natural forest and musky smells rather than booze or hairspray or what have you. This is brown and deep green and gold, comforting and furry and gorgeous. I get a piney smell but not an overwhelming one - it's more a sense of pine needles nearby. There's just a hint of sage that's really nice with the underlying patchouli. None of these stand out as individual smells to me, rather they all blend together to create something else. Actually, SadariEvenstar described it perfectly: wearing a soft suede jacket while crunching through the sunlit woods on an early Spring day. It's just wonderful. I'm not big into wearing masculine scents, but I will definitely be keeping this.

I always love the concept behind these types of 'fairy' blends much more than the scents themselves, I'm afraid. This smells exactly as it should: soft and magical. I get only the barest hint of what has to be the wine note; mostly it's a fuzzy meadowy scent that is pretty but not something I like to wear.

This is a soft, sweet, mossy aquatic - very pretty and definitely evocative of the poem. It smells like a wistful seaside garden. I love honeysuckle, but can't wear mossy aquatic smells at all. Lovely for someone who enjoys this kind of scent, for sure.

This is absolutely beautiful. It's saved from floral sameitude by the white sage and the musk; their freshness combined with the softness of the honey myrtle and lilac is simply lovely. I would absolutely reach for this as a Spring fragrance choice. Depending on longevity, I'm considering a bottle. ETA: Alas, this faded fairly quickly on my skin and in the scent locket it smells very soapy. I guess I'll just have to enjoy my imp.

This is the most gorgeous, sexy room/linen spray EVER. The cinnamon is of the subtle, woody cinnamon bark variety, and combined with the fabulous Egyptian musk and the rich undertone of the bourbon vanilla it's just to die for. My bedroom and sheets will smell of this forever more, amen. I smile every time I walk into the room now. Another bonus: it is VERY long lasting. One spritz and I can still smell it hours later. Still, I just ordered TWO backup bottles. ETA: March 1, 2012 The musk continues to emerge in Kypria, so for those who are under the impression that this is all cinnamon, allow me to waggle my finger at you: I would say sophisticated cinnamon bark 55%, sexufab Egyptian musk 45%. There's a hint of vanilla undertone, too.

I was curious about this one because of the rose geranium, which I love in real life (as a plant smell.) I detect it here, along with the French lavender and a hint of lime. I do not find this overly floral. I agree with VioletChaos: on top it's a very "Victorian gentlemen" scent with something else entirely happening underneath. I do also find it rather haunting and I think it fits the theme of the scent very well. This isn't something I'll wear, though.

This is lovely, a classic perfume: demure, rich, ladylike. The tea rose is most prominent on me and lends it a nostalgic air, but it's a deep and rich blend with a lot of subtlety - not straight up rose by any means. I'm not getting the bittersweet chocolate at all as a separate note.

This is an interesting scent; at one point I was getting something that made me think "bananas" - which is sort of appropriate. I also understand the bubblegum reference, although this is not a pink schoolgirl sort of vibe at all. "Slightly spicy bubblegum" seems apt. I do not detect chocolate or pepper (and pepper usually jumps right out at my nose), and the clove is a subtle presence, too. This blend is unique and I suspect it will have a loyal following. Madness is quite pleasant, it would seem.

I love this. On me, it's a perfect blend of woodsy, resiny, and musky. The red musk (oh how I love you, red musk) adds just the right touch of sweetness so it's not too masculine. Gorgeous.

This is nice on me, very well blended, which is good because honey can go either way. Primarily I get red musk and carnation, with myrrh underneath. In general, I like my red musk with a dollup of danger (Lucy, Kissed; Witch Queen) or intrigue (Pirate Moon). Passion is lovely, as anything with red musk is, but it's not terribly exciting to my nose. With time, it may deepen. In fact, I'm counting on it. 2/16/12 ETA: As with pretty much every bottle I buy Lab fresh, this just needed some time to "set". It is now a gorgeous, sexy blend of myrrh and carnation with just a hint of honey and my beloved red musk anchoring the whole. I really, really love this and I believe it will only get better with age. And it is FABULOUS with the matching bath oil! 10/10/12 ETA: This only gets better, folks. I'm pretty sure the carnation is the Spanish Red variety, now that I've smelled that as a single note. Passion is absolutely gorgeous and beautifully blended, and for once the honey stays firmly subdued on my skin (just the way I like it.) SO happy to have a bottle of this.

This is an interesting one. The bad news: This oil does have a green sourness to it, which I don't necessarily dislike...it smells familiar to me, somehow. To be fair, it's only Day Two since it arrived from its cross country trip, so it may change and develop a bit, too. The good news: It layers quite well with the Passion perfume, offsetting the latter's sweetness to create something really complex and rather lovely. ETA: I've been getting whiffs of this on myself all day, and it's such an odd scent. I honestly don't know what to make of it. EATA: It's been another day, and I think this blend really just needs some time to settle down. It smells better now; still strongly whatever-that-sharp-green-thingie-is (neroli, is that you??), but it's starting to smell more blended. Once the other notes come forward I think this will be okay. 2/13/12: Much better now. I also used it in water for the first time (as a pre-pedicure foot soak, actually), and it's very nice. The bitter orange (neroli) still takes center stage, but it is much more balanced with the sweeter notes now, and I can definitely smell the carnation. You need to give this one a chance - don't give up on it! It really is gorgeous with its partner perfume, too. I'm very glad I gave it a chance.

I love Tennyson's poem, and the Woodhouse print of the Lady in the boat is on my wall. This blend nails it, and it's lovely. I generally don't like aquatics but this one works on me, and I'm very glad. Beautiful, sad, watery floral. The musk and ginger really ground the scent, preventing it from being too overwhelmingly flowery or aquatic. Everything just flows together. Exquisite.

This is absolutely beautiful, complex and fresh and fabulous. I am so, so happy to have squeaked in a test of this in time to get a bottle! I don't want to use any more of the tester since I've promised it to another forumite, but I will come back and leave a more comprehensive review after I have my bottle and can wear it properly. Truly lovely scent, though; love the poem and the theme, too.

This is the scent of a freshly assembled gingerbread house, with swirls of multicolored icing, spice drop lights, meringue snow, pinwheel mint accents, chocolate roof tiles, candy wafer pavers, and jelly candy stained glass. We used a French translation for ‘gingerbread house’ as the name to make it sound fancier. French adds +40% Fancy! This smells delicious, but gingerbread is not something I want to smell like. It really does smell exactly like a gingerbread house, icing and candies and all. Very yummy, just not me.

I've been dying to try this and was thrilled to get a sniffie/tester from schackjj's forum sale. Celeste turned out to be not so great on me, which I'm actually thankful for since it's well nigh impossible to get one's hands on her. There was a weird plastic note in there, not so bad as what I've experienced with the Monsterbaits but similar.

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed on eBay and WOOOOOOOO! am I glad I did! I must say, I don't think I've yet to smell a red musk blend that I didn't like. Pirate Moon is really unique in that the red musk doesn't take over, it just anchors the whole thing. Others have described it so much better, but it really is a masterfully blended, beautiful scent that evokes a pirate ship docked in the warm waters off a Caribbean island. Absolutely gorgeous; it's probably in my Top 10.

Roses are hit or miss on me, and this one is unfortunately a big miss. I quite like bergamot, and sandlewood & musk are nice in general, but...all I get is rose with an unlying twinge that gives me a headache.

2011 version Initially I got the same plastic note that most of the Monsterbaits give me, but it smoothed out after several minutes. A soft, pretty rose and light-vanilla scent, very fluffy and dainty. Nice, but not my cup of tea.

2011 version Ugh, here is a rose that I don't like at all: it's way too green and sharp on me. Almost nausea-inducing. This must be the 'dewy' quality; I'm discovering that most wet scents don't work on me in any way. I had to scrub this off. Thank goodness for Peacock Queen!

2011 version I like this very much: it's soft and white and pretty, without the dreaded snow/slush note that I was expecting. Sadly, my skin devours it in a matter of minutes. I'll use up my tester in my scent locket, but won't spring for a bottle.

OH SWEET BABY JESUS. I love me some red musk. This is....fabulous. Deep, sensuous and just delicious. Yeah. Big, big win.

For some reason, when I selected a Phoenix from the Lab I chose Dawn, which is not 'me' at all. Sure enough, it was too sharp and bright and I traded it away without even giving it time to age properly. Then I bought Dusk off a lovely forumite, and I am so happy with it. Thematically, this one is much closer to me and I also happen to love how it smells: it's a soft, wistful herby floral, beautiful and melancholy, capturing the sense of the 'in between' perfectly. I was a little concerned about the Spanish moss, but I can't detect it. This Phoenix, with its muted flame, is just my cup of tea.