Meg

In the bottle: sickly sweet citrus musk Wet: Lemon, white musk, a hint of neroli and sandalwood. Drydown: Powdery musk with vague citrus notes. Some citrus is a bit green, I'm guessing the neroli, some is sweet. The floral is very little-old-ladyish powder. I get a lot of sandalwood as a base note. Overall: Ick! A very sickly blend, not sharp enough to be really citrusy, just vaguely "fresh" like some colognes, with lots of sandalwood and very powdery florals. Absolutely not my thing.

In the bottle: Florals... geranium, muguet... I'm not sure what else. Wet: geranium and another floral, violet coming through. I get whiffs of muguet, too. Drydown: Leaves! Sorrowful falling leaves. Violet comes back out, as well as muguet. I think that there's a backdrop of rose, somewhere in there. After a while it starts smelling like what I call toilet cleaner, which is in fact chamomile - it must have been in a deodorant spray I used to have. Overall: I like the leaves part, but I realise that I don't like chamomile so much, it gives an "old lady" touch to the blend, on me. I would have also liked to see some other florals come out a bit more, like the muguet and rose. Very meh.

In the bottle: Mosses and mints, as advertised. Wet: A fresh green mint, very marine from abergris underneath it. Drydown: Still mint and ambergris, and slightly gummy mosses coming out behind it. I get a rather sweet and powdery but also earthy scent from the oakmoss, with mint hovering above it and the aquatic ambergris at its core. Overall: This is like nothing I've ever smelled before. It's earthy from the oakmoss, marine from the ambergris, and fresh with mint. It's very intriguing, it smells both familiar and very different from what I know. I think I quite like it, but I'm not sure what feelings it evokes for me.

In the bottle: Bitter, citrusy, herby and minty. It smells like a herbal tea my mother used to make when we had indigestion. Wet: Lemon over anise and cardamom. Drydown: I get hyssop, with a hint of lemon, some anise... scratch that. After a while I get pure green anise, very much like raw fennel. It's too strong and not very pleasant for me. And then it fades down to soap. Overall: I really had trouble with this one, first it had a strong association with a tea that I used to drink when I had an upset stomach, which is never a good thing. Then it smells like raw fennel, not the nicest of smells. And then it's just a powdery whisp of a smell. Nope, really not a good trip for me.

In the bottle: Boozy honey, myrrh, musk and florals. Very intense, hmm! Wet: Honey and patchouli. Drydown: The honey sweetens and becomes very pure honey, with hints of booze, and lots of body musk. I think that there are florals whispering on the edges of the scent, I get the geranium which is green and unusual in such a sensual blend. I get wafts of patchouli, too, dark and bitter and spicy, it complements the honey very well. Overall: This seems like a variant of O, a bit more sensual than sexual, though, a bit more refined somehow. It's O all grown up, with refined taste. It perfectly describes the heat, the desire from the poem and it's one of those "can't stop sniffing myself" scents for me. I only had a tiny sniffie, but I'll get my hands on more.

In the bottle: whoa, this packs some serious kick. Red wine and cognac, I believe. Wet: Red wine, cognac and elemi, possibly also the gurjum balsam. Drydown: It doesn't change much, still wine and cognac dominating, with lemongrass coming out in small touches, the elemi also going strong. I think I get a hint of palmarosa, too. Finally, as it dries down, it goes much sweeter, honey and wine mix in a pleasant sweet blend, with hints of bitter herbals around them. Overall: The blend smells very much like the darkest edges of the painting. It's all in red and browns and golds, and smells very somber and a bit bitter, at least in the early stages. Then it mellows slightly into bittersweetness. There's a hedonistic side to it, but generally I percieve it as rather gloomy. A very interesting blend, though not one that I'd wear.

In the bottle: Very gentle musk with a hint of rose. Wet: The same, it's a very "skin" kind of musk, nearly salty. Drydown: I get a very soft, slightly sickly rose that wafts up mixed with spices. This smells very much like something know, but I can't remember what. Definitely a commercial perfume. It gets richer and deeper, and nearly has an orangey tang to it, it's a bit sharp from the musk and possibly some spices. Overall: A unisex blend, one that would suit a man rather well, even. Arabian musk is a little bit like white musk, but with a warmer feel to it and less citrus. It's soft and sinuous, sensual but clean and... somewhat regal. I see it better on a man than on a woman, really. Not my thing, but I like the imagery I associate to it.

In the bottle: Definitely rose and a little bit of mandarine, and woods. Wet: Ooh, mandarin and myrrh, an interesting combination. Spanish moss starts taking over. Drydown: An earthy, slightly woody scent comes out - I can clearly smell the elegant rosewood and the rougher sandalwood, with some spanish moss. Rosewood really starts to dominate the blend, with hints of rose coming over it. Mandarin has disappeared. Overall: This is a very subtle, warm and elegant blend. On me the woods dominate, along with rose, and it just smells like an elegant ray of sunshing, it's vary radiant and grounding. A very pretty blend.

In the bottle: White rose and aquatic florals. Wet: Rose, a very aquatic floral and lotus, I think. Drydown: This is definitely very aquatic, and unusual. I normally hate lotus, but mixed with the slightly astringent, ozonic aquatic, it seems to work much better. Rose is also predominant, clearly a white rose, with some greenness to it. There's something generally citrusy that becomes quite clear in the blend, a nice tartness. Overall: I've always loved preraphaelite paintings of Ophelia drowning surrounded with flowers, it's such a fascinating theme. This is definitely a very good way of illustrating the story, it's wistful but at the same time... bright? There's a brighness from the florals and citrus that makes the blend all the more interesting. Besides, this is the first blend to ever make me tolerate lotus. A romantic, feminine scent.

Lusty myrtle and jasmine with red sandalwood, stargazer lily, and clove over an opulent, rich bed of warm musk and bourbon vanilla. In the bottle: Red musk and bourbon vanilla and something woody, sandalwood, I guess. Wet: Sandalwood and jasmine, very perfumy and warm. Drydown: Lily comes out, it's slightly aquatic and mixes well with the jasmine, which is soft and creamy. Florals dominate the blend, with hints of vanilla. The sandalwood is a nice base, it stays quietly in the background, you only smell it if you look for it. As it dries down, red musk starts to emerge and give it a really naughty vibe. Finally, the boozy vanilla comes back out again and dominates the blend. Overall: It's predominantly a creamy yellow-white floral of lily and jasmine. Very sensual and feminine, it's a scent I'd associate with luscious body cream. It's not at all foody, and there's something a bit intriguing about it. It definitely represents a goddess of seduction very well, it's a warm and inviting scent.

In the bottle: Almond and lavender, hmm, strange. Wet: Strong lavender with the underlying softness of almond, and possibly also with white musk. Rosewood comes out shyly. Drydown: It turns subtle, with some rosewood and specially a dominating white musk. Lavender soon evaporates and turns into a subtle scent. Red musk and rose seem to hover deep beneath the surface. Overall: It's a white musk blend, which smells fresh and... that's about it, really. The white musk eats up most of its complexity and takes over everything, making it smell soapy clean, and that's it. There's just a hint of sickly sweet rose beneath it, deep down. Not something I'd wear.

In the bottle: Sickly wine and red musk, just like in Blood Rose. Wet: Absolute bubblegum, grape-flavoured. Is there orange blossom in there? Drydown: Red musk, definitely, and sweet wine ala Lady Macbeth, with a discreet floral in the middle. It clings close to the skin, dark and a bit mysterious, with a very sweet fruity component, and aquatics from the lotus, definitely. Overall: I'm surprised, this isn't as unpleasant as I'd anticipated. Blood Rose beat me in the face with ghastly red musk and sickly rose, whereas this is a very subtle blend although I recognise similar components. It's mostly sweet wine on me, too sweet to my taste, but certainly not the catastrophe I was anticipating, seeing as I hate lotus usually.

In the bottle: Light, bright, nearly citrusy pine. Wet: The citrus is pronounced, but very strong resinous pine seeps through. Drydown: It dries down as sweet, resinous pine, which smells exactly like pine resin sweets taste like, refreshing and sticky, a bit citrusy. There's a slight ozone breath to it, a little bit misty around the pine trees. In fact after a while the citrus-ozone part of the blend completely overtakes the pine and dominates in a very bright CITRUS way. After a while, something close to an indistinct floral emerges. Overall: Pine scents are hit or miss on me - I adore Yew-Trees, for example. This one is a bit too bright for me, it is certainly sticky, but I would have liked something darker and woodier rather than sharp and citrusy like this. I found out that slobbering pines are in fact a nickname for a type of Sundew, carnivorous plants, and I think I understand now why this smells so shrill. Not something I'd wear, but great for pine lovers.

In the bottle: Hmmm, wood! Cedar, I think. Wet: Definitely cedar, but it's subdued, somehow. Compared to Jupiter's joyful cedar, this one is solemn and somber. Nice! Drydown: The oil seems quite thick, it takes a while to dry down, and doesn't change very much, either. It's a dark, ruddy, thick cedar, soothing but mysterious too. Overall: It's really a simple cedar blend, if there are any other components I can't recognise them immediately. It would be the perfect companion to Jupiter - happy cedar and gloomy cedar. It's definitely soothing and homey, though, and I like it.

Orchid tubers have been used extensively by witches in their love philtres, both to promote amorous attention and the attainment of true love, and, conversely, to wither misplaced passions and sever romantic bonds. This perfume is a dusky orchid, subdued and ethereal. In the bottle: A very rich, heady orchid. Powerful. Wet: much gentler, vanillaish orchid. Dusky and ethereal are the right words, yes. Drydown: a very pretty floral, rich and sensual, but not overpowering at all. There's a vanilla edge, and the usuall rich sharpness of orchid. It smells like a multitude of tiny bubbly flowers, if that means anything. There's something slightly aquatic to it that adds something ethereal to the mix. Overall: A pleasant floral blend, warm and unusual. It has a honeyish and vanillaish feel to it, but mostly it's just orchid doing its thing. It's a sophisticated type of floral, womanly. Not sure if I'd wear it, but it's very pretty.

In the bottle: A very dusty, dark, slightly bitter rose. Hmm. Wet: This smells like rose and dark smoke and something very bitter. Drydown: The bitterness subsides a little bit, and rose peeks out, but it smells different, rough, dark. I still can't tell what this darkness is, because it's not like musk or amber, it's more like smoke, opium or something. Overall: It's definitely a different rose blend, and perfect for its name - a musty, dry, dark rose. However, it's not really the kind of scent that would see myself wearing, pretty as it is. An intriguing blend.

In the bottle: A fresh, sweet floral that reminds me a bit of lily of the valley Wet: It nearly has a fruity bite, and possibly a bit of spice. Drydown: This is a beautiful floral. It's slightly fruity and rather green, though I couldn't really say which fruit it reminds me of. More than lily of the valley, the floral reminds me of hyacinth. There's a hint of aquatics, too. Overall: It becomes rather discreet in the drydown, and just says there at the edge of my nose, fresh, floral, slightly fruity. It's a very beautiful floral, just a little bit of bite, lots of greenery, and yes, heady. Great summer blend.

In the bottle: Jasmine, mostly, with hints of something else Wet: Very warm bright yellow jasmine, becoming a little spicy. Drydown: I think that heliotrope dominates completely, and I'm really not sure if I like this floral. It smells a bit woodsy, powdery and sweet. I get the rose and jasmine subtly, the jasmine is glowing yellow, and the heliotrope is glittery, in a way. Overall: Pretty true to its description, though I'm definitely not a fan of heliotrope, I find it smells weird. This is pretty woody, in fact, and the jasmine goes rather shrill and acidic on me. It's yellow, like a feu follet, in my mind, but that's pretty much it. It doesn't speak to me much.

In the bottle: myrrh, red musk and dragon's blood, possibly a bit of florals too. Wet: A surprisingly light mix between red musk and dragon's blood, with civet coming into the mix and making it a bit earthy Drydown: It's a little bit plasticky from the civet, with definite rose and a hints of ylang ylang, but mostly red musk dominating the blend. I think that the dragon's blood has also gone a bit floral, it's definitely noticeable. I think I get the patchouli, too, as a backdrop. Extreme drydown is sweet and powdery from the black musk and rose, not very pleasant. Overall: It's a warm and sensual blend, I'd say pretty seductive if red musk and civet are your thing. It's an interesting mixture, too, of "base" sensuality in the musks and more refined sensuality in the florals, which fits the description of Glasya very well. It's a pity it isn't stronger on the myrrh, because I find it a little bit tame and not quite "me" (I can wear civet without ill effects, but it's not my thing).

In the bottle: LEMON!!!! Not the lemon of Embalming Fluid, this is a very sharp, nearly bitter industrial-cleaner-like lemon. Uck. Wet: It immediately softens, on the skin. There's something hazy and dewy about it, all of a sudden, although it's still quite strong citrus. Drydown: It's all tangy with ozone, nearly metallic lemon. I don't get any florals, but I do get the morning mist and rain impression, but the difference is, it's on a bowl of lemons rather than on flowers. Then I get a hint of a sickly sweet floral, way in the background. Maybe rose water stifled with lemon. Overall: It's always the same for me with these blends: at times they smell like dew or fresh air, but most of the time they have definite toilet-cleaner smells, specially from the mix of ozone and florals. And unfortunately, the more it dries down, the more it smells like toilets. Ew.

In the bottle: Soft, fruity and slightly dusty notes, I think I get ivy and apple blossom most. Wet: A musky berry sharpness, blackberry and sage coming through apple blossom. It smells very clean. Drydown: The blend becomes richer as it dries down, I get more of the apple cider which is soft and sweet, and the blackberry loses some of its tartness to play along nicely with the apple. I get hops very obviously, and I think I can smell the myrrh hovering around the edges of the blend and adding its own little sparkle to the scent. After a while, a green aquatic that I guess is ivy, just springs out and takes over the blend. Overall: This blend is very much in keeping with blends like Harvest Moon (all three of them), with warming, comforting fruity scents to represent the harvest. The myrrh in this one adds a little bit of a mystical aura to the scent, and the apple blossom makes it a bit powdery. It's a pleasant scent, but I prefer Beth's current blackberry (The Oblation, Bitter Moon), and I'm relieved that I'm not deeply in love with this one.

In the bottle: Earth, with red currant peeking through. It's Lady Macbeth's red currant, and that's not a good thing, for me. Wet: Still red currant and earth, and unfortunately it's that currant smell that reminds me strongly of bubble gum. It smells really sickly, combined to earth. I can smell something a bit aquatic in there, too, maybe the pomegranate. Drydown: As it dries down, the redcurrant also quietens, but the earth note stays strong, a good thing for me. Other things start to peek through, pomegranate is much more obvious now, and there's this airy scent of incense. The base of the scent is very gentle vanilla. Overall: It's a surprising scent, because it has all these fruity, vanilla and generally foody and warm elements, and then the very glaringly different earth note. At times, I feel the earth note adds a very gloomy sense to the fruit - as if it's rotting. At other times it just feels like a warm fruity offering to an earth goddess. Definitely an interesting blend, but not one that I'd find myself wearing, the mix of earth and food is just a bit too jarring for me. But it's definitely a good representation of the Queen: domestic/abundant, and... earthy.

In the bottle: A deep, complex and dark earthy blend, with oakmoss, bitter leather, fig and other things I can't quite identify but that seem very familiar. Wet: A lovely mix of oakmoss, leather, sage and very discreet earth notes that start coming out more and more - yum. Drydown: A very deep herbal and earthy blend, sage dominates with clear touches of tobacco and fig, possibly some vetiver but nothing too obvious, leather hovering bitterly in the background, and earth notes wafting above. Hmm! Overall: It dries down to a musky, dusty earth blend that sort of glows with warmth, but also has a sharp, strong and a bit bitter side. The sage is clearly the master of the blend, it's strong and herbal, fresh and earthy. I really like this blend, it's very well balanced and represents lots of things I like in a man: strength, stability... and a bit of bitter snark.

In the bottle: A marine breeze - light salty ozone, mostly. Wet: Citrusy freshness, which becomes sweet with ambergris. I smell a tiny hint of eucalyptus. Drydown: Hmm, this is subtle. A sea breeze with a lot of salty-sweet musky ambergris, very smooth and gentle. The bergamot and eucalyptus are extremely discreet, I can't even make them out. There's something nearly misty about this blend, at times, several aquatics playing together. Overall: This reminds me of other marine blends like City in the Sea or Cthulhu, but it's subtly different. The salty ozone really dominates the blend and smells very fresh. It's a bit masculine, not really something I'd wear, but I'll keep it for its atmosphere. It somehow smells like a cool grey sea, and salty-sweet, gentle.

Monastic incense, blood musk, black leather, cypress, pimento, white pepper, and Roman chamomile. In the bottle: This is strange... some kind of spicy herb, cypress, and I think some leather. Wet: Salty leather and cypress, with a definite bite of pepper and pimento. Drydown: This is mostly pimento on me, very hot and spicy and somehow meaty. Then I get chamomile, a very strong floral chamomile that pretty much takes over all the rest. It settles on a background of musk and leather, and sort of smells like honey. The pepper has become gentler after a while, and it's nearly like a chamomile single note. Overall: This is a very weird blend, hard to describe (as per its name). It's mostly chamomile which I find very invasive and sickly sweet, with dark leather in the background which makes it hard and gives it a sort of rubbery feel. The pepper and pimento don't suit me, they constantly make me think of burnt meat. It's a bit of a jumble