alicia_stardust

Trick 1 was my first Inquisition verdict and it is absolutely stunning. In the bottle I get a dark, smoky, and foody mixture. It smells very deep and almost sensual. On my skin I get a strong cloud of pomegranate, red and juicy. Behind that I can smell a touch of vanilla, which sits on top of the patchouli. This is a swarthy little patchouli and it dominates the blend. Upon application I get the pomegranate and vanilla, and after the patchouli does its thing I get a touch of pine pitch and a berry-like twist. This is so hard to describe, because in some ways it's mischievous, in other ways it's very refined and elegant (possibly from the quality of the oils used in this), and in other ways this is so damn sexy and naughty. Good throw, very long wear-length. Like I said, stunning! It gets better as it ages, too!

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! Alice is a lovely scent. It is soft and almost-girly. Unassuming. Curious. The carnation lends a nice floral-spice to it. Floral with a bite! And from there, a cloud of sweetness rises up. As an accent, there is a touch of soft rose and a touch of zest from the bergamot. This is a light scent, but it wears for an average amount of time on me. I will always keep a bottle of this on hand, not only because I love the scent, but because my name was intended as a fancied-up version of Alice.

This is, first and foremost, the typical red and tingly dragon's blood resin. Just behind that sits a lovely mix of musks, much lighter than Dragon's Musk, and with just the barest hint of the signature red musk scent. The fig really warms this up and rounds it out, giving it a warm and glowing sort of aura. I can't individually detect the currant but I'm sure it's lending itself subtly to the other notes. This is one of my top three Ars Draconis scents.

When I wear this I get iris and musk, with a whole lotta coconut on top! Those three things mix together into one after a while, to the point that I can't distinguish the notes separately. Even through that, though, there's a strong vein of coconut. I like this scent, but it was overwhelming for me. Very strong throw! If you like coconut, try this!

The Unicorn transports me back to my childhood: innocence, imagination, the hope of magic. The scent evokes images of a white unicorn in a forest, the light filtering down through the trees, and small fluffs of cotton and seeds floating through the air as they fall from the trees. I smell mostly linden, a white and fresh scent, a touch of aquatic but only in the sweetest and lightest sense, and a very bare hint of citrus. This is very feminine, soft, innocent.

Knave of Hearts starts out all foody to me. It's like a crumbly pastry with layers of currants and deep red fruits. After a while, though, it becomes less foody. The rose warms up and then competes with the tartness and dessert-like quality. This is great for foody scent lovers and it's a stunning little interpretation of the Knave of Hearts from the story.

Dragon's Musk smells like magic to me. It's a deep red scent with a strong, almost sharp tingle from the dragon's blood resin. The musks are beautiful in this; they border on strong but it's not too much. And if you can't wear musks, you must try this as a room scent! It fills multiple rooms full of gorgeous, musky, sexy, magical scent. It's very warm and tingly.

Eat me is very much vanilla cake on me. The rich and decadent kind. In fact, for a while it has a very sweet, rich scent to it that reminds me of the taste of raw cake batter. I only get a touch of currant but it's there and sits behind the cake in a perfect little dance of scent. This is a foody/dessert lover's dream. It also seems to be a cousin to some of the early Monster Bait scents like Closet and Underbed.

This smells a bit like butterscotch while it's wet. After it dries I start to smell a lot of the coffee, but it is definitely shadowed by the dust and books smell. It's a perfect scent for a rainy day. I spent many years in Portland and rain = books and coffee.

Dee is a very loaded scent for me. It defies words when it comes to trying to express how perfectly this scent pays homage to John Dee. I stumble when I try to explain the way this smells to me, other than that it brings to mind magic and incense; old dusty tomes, paper and fountain ink, shafts of filtered light that fall upon a messy table full of papers and leather bound books. Dee has become my husband's signature scent. He is no stranger to John Dee, but he is also a math major. In the highest form of compliment possible, he says that Dee smells like "math homework". Namely, it reminds him of that point in the middle of the night when you've spent hours pouring over a problem and then, in a flash of inspiration, the answer comes to you and you fly through your papers to get the numbers down. Papers are piled about, pens, a candle burns at the edge of the table... I smell mostly leather in Dee; it's mostly masculine but not so much that I can't wear it. The parchment, smoke, dust and incense surround the leather just perfectly. 5 out of 5.

I am convinced that Snake Oil is otherwordly and can only have been created by a Goddess. It is truly that magical. Snake Oil, to me, is a slinky and sexual scent. It is commanding and exotic, with just the right touch of vanilla, sweetness, muskiness. It is alluring and mysterious, ready to hypnotize you or anyone who gets close enough to get a waft of it. It envelops you in a sensual cloud of scent and lingers behind you as you leave. If you like the mood of Snake Oil, consider trying Mme Moriarty, Snake Charmer, any of the Snake Pits, O, or Chrysanthemum Moon.

Obatala is amazingly beautiful. It really stopped me in my tracks and made me take notice of it, above and beyond many other scents. I find that the two most dominant notes in this are the shea and coconut meat, followed closely by an aquatic quality. The coconut aspect of this isn't as strong or in your face as it is in other blends. This is foody like a drink, not like something you'd eat. I find it uplifting and inspiring and incredibly refreshing. Whenever I wear Obatala, I find myself feeling the same way I do whenever I get to open the windows wide after a dark winter; spring is approaching and it's the first day that you can air things out without freezing your house. Sunlight finds its way in. The curtains ruffle in the cool breeze and you, along with your home, feel energized and happy as all the stale air is replaced with fresh air. This is a lovely homage to Obatala. If you like coconut, shea, somewhat foody scents, or anything that is breezy or spring-like, you must try this!

This one is sweet, creamy, well-rounded, and has just the right touch of resin. I love the way the vanilla and honey really warm this up. Those notes sit strongly on top of the characteristic bite and tingle of the dragon's blood. Lovely! I will definitely make sure to keep some of this.

I smell mysterious, sharp, juicy cherries and currants that have a deep and commanding presence thanks to the woods in there. This was love at first sniff, and the skin test only heightened my adoration of this scent. It is regal, dark, mysterious, strong and so very RED.

The Haunted Palace is a warm, glittering scent that has a wonderful balance of musk, floral, and citrus. The blood orange sort of warms this up and gives it a high, bright note. The heliotrope is very lovely. I can definitely detect the rose but it does not take over the scent but rather sits in the background and mingles with the other notes. My favorite part of this is the subtlety of the red musk. I love red musk and it's definitely there, but it's different here. This is my absolute favorite scent of the Demon in my View series.

I really love the way Lobban smells. When I apply it to my skin I immediately get a soft, creamy burst of lemon. That fades off quickly, though, and from there I get the sweetest, softest most feminine floral. I really can't decide if it's lilies or lilacs or some of both. Behind that I can almost, almost smell some rose but I wonder if my nose is playing tricks on me. This is so uplifting and gorgeous. Breathy. Bright.

I smell almond, but it is very light and unobtrusive. The thing that I love the most about this blend is its resinous, golden quality. This scent glows with a gentle warmth and light. It is elevating and comforting. The moment the scent dries down it is all about Amber and Benzoin. It is more gentle and more feminine than Jacob's Ladder, but they are indeed very similar blends to me. Six hours later I can still smell it on my skin. This wears long and strong. I LOVE these resins!

The power of conscious intellect within Creation, Chokmah is warm and golden with a touch of amber, a lot of vanilla, musks, and sassafras. It very much reminds me of Snake Oil with a touch of the added depth that Snake Charmer has (in its musks) and lastly, a creamy root beer smell. It wears long and strong. Beautiful!!

I smell sweet, gummy tree resins. Warmth. Water. Femininity. This dries into a slightly glowing resin with a touch of floral. The most notable part of this is the myrrh which I consider to be a feminine resin. It is shadowed and knowledgeable, layered, deep. There is just the right amount of floral and sweet to temper the shadowy resin. Beth really knows her Sephiroth to have created this, and all the others, with such insight; they accurately evoke each Numeration.

This is a gentle, refined leather. Clean and almost soapy. Somewhat smoky. Beautiful interpretation. I can't wait to work more with this scent.

I get cedar and bark, something slightly astringent and herbal. But mostly there's the cedar. I think this works really well as a scent interpretation for Chesed.

Divine Beauty, Shemesh, Unity, the Balance of Justice and Mercy. Um, something is really strange here. I have a Lab imp of Tiphareth that came straight from the Lab, but it smells nothing like the reviews here. Nothing. I get a very soft, watery floral with a sharp zing of jasmine and possibly lotus. It's very cool, aquatic, blue, feminine.

I get resins and a dusting of woods while this is wet. When it dries the roses come out to play in full force, but throughout the duration of the scent I can still always smell a touch of woods and resins. Lovely! It wears for a long time, too. I can still smell it quite well and it has been about 5 hours.

It is hard for me to pick out the notes in this because I tend to smell this as a whole rather than individual parts. The first impression I get is warm, inviting tonka. There is something spicy in there and I think it's carnation. There's also something sweet-like; perhaps vanilla or a skin musk or a touch of honey. This reminds me a lot of Sybaris, minus the violets of course. This scent is glorious and glowing. So beautiful.

I'll add backup votes for Tombstone, Golden Priapus, and Dorian. Nathan likes all three of those. And OMG I just finished reading The Picture of Dorian Grey and now the scent has tripled in sexiness.