Rhowan

Penitence is something I would NEVER have chosen for myself and in my mind I figured it would be a heavy overpowering scent. Not so! It is actually almost a clean, spicy smell to me and I am definitely in love. My skin really amps this - a *little* goes a loooong way! Penitence has HUGE throw and very LONG wear. This will not be a bottle for me because I don't think I would ever even make a dent in it. An imp will be enough for ages for me. Great scent though.

In the vial and wet on my skin the first thing I smell is spicy cherries? ODD... As Tintagel starts to dry down it starts to really rev up! The branches of the different woods are wonderful. No over powering juniper by the way. That is very hidden. I can make out just a hint of bayberry but it is all blended so well - I can smell the dampness of the woods. This beautiful woodiness is layed out over sweet leather, warm musk and a hint of dragon's blood. The dragons blood as well as the juniper is very light and barely there. Completely dried down, the spices have come out and given the right end to the whole blend. Tintagel smells like Christmas in medieval times. A cold castle strewn with the branches and greenery that still has it's berries, hot spiced wine brewing, the leather and armor and musk. Tintagel has great throw and long wear. I am definitely putting this on my bottles list!

I am another amber lover and I am wondering how The Lion has escaped my hands until now. Finally here it is! In the imp and wet on my skin the first thing I think of is a bag of dried mulling spices, apple, and then I get a whiff of the amber. Drying down, I start to loose the prominent notes of what smelled like mulling spice and in it''s place is just a general spiciness. I can't help but thinking of a spiced suntea that my son makes. Wonderful! Completely dried down, I am getting an orange brown, amber spice that is absolutely gorgeous! The spices aren't in your face, but a very big support to the amber. The Lion is regal and proud!! In conclusion, I have to just kick myself that I have been depriving myself of this scent for so long now. I believe this to be sexy, mysterious and prideful all at the same time without being overpowering or loud. I would definiely wear this to a power business lunch or in a seduction. So, good throw, long wear, perfect, perfect, perfect! This is a 5ml for me!

In the vial and wet on my skin Mandrake starts of smelling completely of cedarwood. I am suprised at how think and syrupy the oil itself is - I kind of like that. Drying down I am getting a bit more rooty smell kind of a sweet, dirty cedar. I am hoping this dries down more "dirty". Completely dried down I am a touch disappointed. I was expecting this to be a rooty-er scent but it is mostly cedar with just a bare hint of rooty dirt. I am ok with that because I LOVE CEDAR. What is facsinating me is where I applied this oil to my wrist, my wrist is very soft - almost as if I applied aheavy thick moisturizer. I have to say that I am very happy I got a 5ml. of this. Even though it wasn't what I expected, I really like this.

In the vial and wet on my skin, I am getting roses, lots of roses. Bad start. Roses always turn to powedery old musty grandma smell - ick! I am very suprised at the dry down! The roses fade into the other florals and the myrhh just rounds it all out. I am left with ia soft sweet light floral scent with maybe a hint of Ylang ylang and orris. The throw is pretty good and the wear is forever - maybe it is because I am so sesitive to rose smell. I don't think this will be a 5 ml but I will hang on to the imp and see if maybe I will fall in love with it down the road. I am half way there though as Erato is very lovely.

In the imp and wet on my skin, I am able to smell every note in the blend. I am hit with bursts of sweet sandalwood and rosewood, a puff of stringent juniper and an eddy of beautiful florals. As Himerous dries down, the different notes start to mingle and mesh and now I am not able to pick out single notes except for the end note of juniper which now, is not bitter or stringent - it is a sweetened juniper. Completely dried down, Himerous reminds me of laying in a mountain meadow. I do realize that most of these notes do not belong in a meadow but if I close my eyes, I can see myself in a certain meadow that I have hiked to. I smell the sun warmed sweet juniper and a soft floral in the breeze. Himerus is absolutely gorgeous and a big suprise to me. I was for certain that with the juniper, this would go straight to swaps but as I said, it is a breezy, light, sweet juniper that mingles with the rest of the notes to give you a nice spring scent. This is going on my 5ml. list.

In the vial and wet on my skin, the first wiff of Hurricane is one of vegetation and rain. All I can think of when I smell this is camping in Oregon. As Hurricane dries down, I am still getting a wet, green and woodsy smell but it is starting to turn from camping in Oregon into a secret female scent? I don't know if that makes sense or not but to me there is a hint of female sexuality in this. I don't know how to explain. Completely dried down, Hurricane is more woodsy vegetation that is wet. The smell after the raging hurricane has passed. The calm after the storm. It has a huge throw and a long wear. I love rainy scents so I will keep an imp but I think it would take me forever to go through a bottle.

Haunted is beautiful. The sweet amber hits the nose first followed up by the sorrowful black musk. Haunted evokes an image in my mind of a darkened hallway in an very old house with a sorrowful image in white floating in the darkness. Haunted is very aptly named. It has a duality that is both light and dark, joyful and sorrowful. Haunted has a pretty good throw to it and an ok wear. You might have to reapply once during the day. This is defintely a 5ml. bottle. Haunting indeed.

I need to preface this by saying that I have always been very connected to my dreams, even as a very small child. I have always solved my problems in my dreams and have counted on my dreams to lead me in the right direction in life. My dream life is very important to me. I also need to add that my husband and I have been happily for 24yrs.... I recently recieved an imp of Nanshe as a frimp. I would have never thought to get any of the Somnium simply because I have such good sleep and am so connected to my dreams. I decided that it couldn't hurt to try Nanshe could it? After all, who is to say that I didn't need dream help any way? Right? That night, as I went to bed, I put Nanshe on my temples, my wrists and a bit on my arms where my head lays as I sleep. At first I thought that it was to bright of a blend to go to sleep with - a very bright orange/yellow that kind of made me perky rather than sleepy. But I persisted and finally fell asleep. That night, I dreamt so much I couldn't even keep up with it as I usually do! The dreams were so chaotic that I woke up half exhausted! I could remember bits and pieces of the dreams but not enough to do what I usually do - sort it out and figure out what my dreams were trying to tell me. Of course, I gave it a second night's try. Same as the first night. My hubby told me that I was thrashing around so much in my sleep and suggested that I lay off the Nanshe. The third night I put my Nanshe on and did some relaxation techniques and tried a bit of self hypnosis to focus. That night, I had the worst NIGHTMARE a woman can have! Here is my dream: My hubby was coming home an hour late here, or 2 hours late there. When we were shopping we kept running this woman he worked with. Any how, to make a long story short, I was out running errands one day and came across them coming out of a restaraunt, arm in arm. When I confronted them they laughed - both of them. My hubby turned to me and told me that he never loved me, that she was his soul mate etc... I was DEVASTATED. I was sobbing and pleading and both of them were laughing. My husband was saying horrible mean things to me. It was awful. Now, I think every woman out there has had a dream like this. I have had one and woke up so pissed that I couldn't talk to my hubby the first 5 minutes until I woke up fully and realized, "OK, it was just a dream" NOT THIS TIME! I wept for 3 days straight, I called my hubby at work to check on him. I knew that when he was a 1/2 hr. late home from work, he was with HER. It was so vivid and real. I couldn't snap out of it. My hubby handled it all in good cheer the first day, the second day he was pretty annoyed and the third day he was really angry of being accused of having an affair. He made me swear off the Nanshe! I know where the dream came from and I knew then too. Just recently, two people I know have had the same thing happen to them in real life. Hubby comes home after 15yr of marriage and says - never loved you, I want a divorce. That in my head along with the worry that I have this illness where I can't really keep up with my hubby and that feeling of unease that comes with it - well *POOF* instant nightmare only to be magnified by the Nanshe. Things are back to normal now, I am back in touch with my dreams, my marriage is still great, and I know better than to try the rest of the Somnium or anything else that will help with your dreams. Now if Beth could just make one that would help me loose some weight!

In the imp and wet on my skin white musk, violet, a hint of lavender with a very strong last note of vetiver. Bluebeard seems to almost get stronger as it dries down. I am almost reminded of driftwood when I smell this because of the vetiver and how it is mixing with the other notes. I can catch a wiff of violet,but this is turning all Lavender and vetiver on me. Bluebeard is much better when it is completely dried down. It does remind me of driftwood and the coolness of the seashore. I swear this has a salty breeze in there somewhere! This is a very cooling scent, in fact my arm feels almost colder where I applied it. Good throw and great wear. I think it maybe better on a man but it's pretty good on me.

In the imp and wet on my skin all I can think about when I smell this is when I was in 7th grade and Bonne Belle had those huge Lip Smackers - I had the big watermelon one- Yep! this is watermelon Lip Smackers all right! As this dries down, just a bare hint of soft, white florals emerge in the back -ground. It's definitely not an overpowering floral but just enought to temper the Wow! of the watermelon. Completely dried down, Eris smells like a beautiful cool summer scent. Slightly melon, slightly floral and a hint of a note that I can't quite make out - it's just not strong enough- but it rounds out the scent. I really like Eris. I imagine wearing it during a hot summer day. Very light, cool and just enough floral to take it from a kids watermelon scented lip gloss to a sophisticated perfume oil. Very nice...

Underbed reminds me of a spice market, where all the spices are in open containers layed out on the same table. Like you are standing by the cassia and cocoa and raw sugar are next to the cassia. This isn't foody in anyway to me. Very spicy! I am in love with it!!! Underbed is a scent that needs to be very carefully and slightly applied. A little goes a long way with this! The throw is incredible and so is it's wear. This is going down as one of my top favorites!

In the bottle and wet on my skin, I am getting a very heavy pink floral. It may seem heavier on my than on most people because I am not really a floral person. As Peony Moon dries down the rest of the notes start to come out and temper the over powering floral. I can just catch a hint of plum blossom which is great becasue it takes the scent from a solid heavy pink to a more fluid morphing pink. Completely dried down, the water reeds and woods are just a hint in the background- but they are there. Peony moon is still very in your face, floral to me. Conclusion? I think this bottle will last me forever. I had just *barely* touched my wrist to the rim and I can definitely tell that I am wearing it. It is very beautiful, almost overpowering to me. Peony Moon has HUGE throw and LONG wear - APPLY CAREFULLY!

I have seen some mention of dragons blood being in Blood Lotus. If that is the case it is a very different dragon's blood from what usually turns very sickly sweet on my skin. Blood Lotus dries down on my skin to an almost "perfume-y" scent. It is the dark side of Lotus blossoms. Deep, black red is what I am getting of this - very sophisticated perfume like. No sickly sweet ick of Dragons blood to be seen. I will be buying a 5ml. of this one!

In the vial and wet on my skin, the first note I get is a nice warm cocoa with a hint of leather, note of sweetness and an end note of spices. As this dries down, I get more incense and cocoa with the floral note sharing the same space with the cocoa. The leather sweetens and warms the whole thing and it's laid out over a beautiful patchouli that isn't heady at all. At complete dry down, I get a very soft patchouli base, laced with a hint of spiciness and a light floral all sweetended with leather. Great throw, long wear. I have to say if you think patchouli doesn't work for you - try this! This is lovely.

In the bottle and we on my skin, Baobhan Sith is the most amazing scent. I am usually a very heavy, heady scent person but this is beautiful. Each note is very present when this is first on the skin As this dries down, it starts to loose it's in your face sour grapefruit and the appleblossom kicks in to sweeten it up a bit. I can get just a *hint* of ginger at the end. It's all supported by the lovely background of white musk. Completely dried down, it stays about the same as the initial drydown, just a bit softer. Great throw, great wear. I have to say that I am going to order a bottle right now!!

I wasn't around when this was released and didn't actively go looking for this as with all DX'd scents I am always afraid that I will fall in love and then not be able to order it. Well, guess what?! I am in love with this and .... well you know the rest. In the bottle and wet on my skin, Shub smells like very sharp gingerbread cookies to me. This is what I expected Gingerbread Poppet to smell like. As Shub dries down I am expecting some dark resinous notes to appear but not here. I am still getting the wicked gingerbread. mmmm... I LOVE GINGER! Conclusion - Do not get me wrong when I say gingerbread - this is the ginger in gingerbread but not the sweetness. All of the other notes just blend in perfect. I cannot smell them except a quick end note of a dry herbal-y scent. Of all of the DX'd scents out there, I would have to say, this one needs to be remade. I would BEG Beth to make this again if I had a chance. This is definitely a 5ml. (but , where would I get one...)

In the bottle and wet on my skin I am smelling sweet evergreen boughs and a warm wood. Drying down I have to emphasize sweet! This isn't a pine sol smelling evergreen. This is almost like when you are chopping wood for the fall - that dry sweet wood smell. In it is a hint of berries. Yew Trees is absolutely beautiful. I am looking forward to layering it with Deathcap to give it an earthy tone. I think it would be great like that and alot better than Nocnista where the pine is overpowering. Conclusion? Completely dried down, Yew Trees is a very warm, woody, sweet scent. I think it is gorgeous. I wish it had more throw and longer stay than it did but I would still buy a 5ml of it.

In the imp and wet on my skin I get a beautiful dark sandalwood. As Umbra dries down, other notes start to come alive on my skin. I am getting a hint of cedarwood, the black patchouli, and the vetiver smells like it is supposed to smell to me, very woodsey. The very end note is a sharp note of cinnamon. It doesn't linger at all but just gives a great end to the blend. I am a very earthy, woodsy person and some of my favorite scents are mens (I don't care, I wear them anyway!) This is beautiful, woodsy, without a single note being over powering. Awesome for your man, just as good for you. Umbra at complete dry down is almost a part of you - as if walking through black as night wooded area, your skin had absorbed the scent. It is warm, soft, and sexy. It doesn't scream at people it seduces. Good throw (not overpowering) and long wear. I need a bottle of this!

In the bottle and wet on my skin the very first thing that hits my nose is LEMONS! and then ugh! fish? I thought the prior reviews to mine were full of crazy people when they were mentioning fish. It's not an overpowering fish. Fish is just like a touch of a end note - still, it's not very pleasant. As this dries down, the fish scent leaves on it's departure, I am left with nothing but lemongrass. It's a very strong lemongrass. I can see why lavendar wouldn't be used in a physicic sleep aid but still, a bit would be nice to temper down the lemon. Completely dried down and I am still getting a mighty powerful scent of Lemongrass. Lemongrass doesn't smell like beautiful fresh lemons, it kind of has that end note that is bitter and something else I can't put my finger on. Like I said this is still very powerful after complete drydown. Conclusion -Definitely not to be worn as a perfume oil - this is for dreamwork and I will be trying it tonight. Nashe has a wonderful throw and long wear - unfortunate because it is a bit stinky.

In the imp and wet on my skin - PURE PEACH! As this dries down, the peach is still there but there is a nice sharp end note of myrtle that balances Algaea out so it isn't a sickly sweet peach. Complete dry down - I am a bit disappointed. The myrtle has totally dissapated. What is left is a sweet peach. The musk just lends to the sweetness. Don't get me wrong, I love peach but if this had more of the myrtle, I think it would just be balanced out better. I think this one is a swap.

In the imp and wet on my skin the major smell that hits my nostrils is burnt ozone and wine.... not so good. As this dries down, that nasty smell dissapates and what is coming to the fore is a nice sandalwood, ambergris with a hint of leather. Wow, drying down it becoming very nice. Completely dried down, The Black Tower smells feminine one minute and masculine the next, with a lingering note of a deep red wine. This is a very dark and complex scent but very beautiful too. A tiny bit goes a LONG way with this and if you are not careful applying it can go from beautiful to overpowering stink - so be careful! I am more excited to see how it smells on DH! I think it will smell even better on him than me.

I can't stand the smell of anything Dragon's Blood -ick! But with all of Beth's stuff, you have to try EVERYTHING because something will suprise you... In the bottle and wet on my skin Dragon's Milk is VERY resiny. I am not getting the usual sickly sweet gagging scent of Dragon's Blood - Good thing! As this dries down I am getting a hint of vanilla but the resin is still the main note. This is a very dry resin. Not the wet sweet of dragon's blood. The vanilla never does come out like I thought it would which is a disappointment but it is still very nice. I love it because it is so dry. This is not an oil I would buy for myself but it is very nice. Great throw, great wear too.

I wanted to try Prague just because of the visual it gave me- In the imp and wet on my skin I get a very bright floral with an almost aquatic end. This is where my visual is probably getting in the way of what I am smelling. All I can think of is crocus peeking their little heads out of the snow of late february. As this dries down the floral softens but I am getting an unusual scent just at the tail end of my sniff. I want to say it reminds me of ozone - could be the snowdrop? I don't know what it smells like, but whatever it is, it's a bit unusual - not in a bad way though. Wow! Complete dry down - I LOVE THIS! When this is completely dried down, I get a most beautiful light, soft, floral. It blends beautifully, no one note sticking out on it's lonesome. This suprises me because I would have thought the lillies would be overpowering - and my skin amps lillies but not in this. Conclusion -Prague is very very clean, light and unusually beautiful. The throw is pretty good and the wear is okay. It's also very girlie. You would probably have to take your imp of this with you to reapply during the day.

I find that right now for spring, I am reaching for Kitsune-Tsuki - it reminds me so much of spring with it's asian plum, orchid, daffodil, jasmine and white musk. Just lucious! Long wear too - at least for me. The other two I personally am wearing for spring are Bewitched and Spirits of the Dead.