Meg

In the bottle: Very sweet and juicy plum. Wet: Plum and soft powdery musk. Drydown: Hmm, this is gentle and spicy. Carnation becomes the dominant note, a creamy soft floral with a hint of spice. Around it there's arabian musk, which is a bit powdery to me but not unpleasant, a bit like skin, really. Plum is hovering around and adds fruity sweetness to the blend. Overall: It's a pleasant, sensual and clean-smelling blend, fresh and sensual at the same time. It's delicate and refined, and clearly womanly - it represents its description very well. It's not my type of scent, though, I find it too muted for me.

In the bottle: Chocolate, honey, and wine, with light florals over it. Wet: Something a bit like camphor, possibly tobacco and balsam, over the honey/chocolate. It fades and softens as it dries down. Drydown: Hmm, this is a complex floral/foody blend. I get a number of flowers including rose and hibiscus, some herby scents, and deep in the background, the chocolate/honey combination. It smells light and fragrant, and reminds me a bit of tea, somehow. Overall: This is a truly lovely scent, not that far from Dia De Los Muertos, in that it has a backdrop of foody chocolate and honey, with flowers and smoke as main components. It contains one of my iffy notes, lotus, but I don't even smell it. I think I mainly get rose and hibiscus over tasty offerings. A delicious, comforting blend.

In the bottle: Melon and the boozy gin note, with a hint of pepper. Wet: Chili pepper *cough* and the gin and/or juniper notes start smelling like detergent. I think that there's melon there, deep down. Drydown: It smells like... er... a dirty lavatory that was sprayed with an inefficient deodoriser. Ick? On sniffing again, I think it also smells very metallic, which is the point of this ofrenda, I'd think. Harsh, cold, and steely. I really can't discern any notes, but it's mostly salty and weedy. Overall: I think I understand the link with Ogun, it smells very harsh and foreboding, and not so far from gunpowder and metal. It's absolutely not something that I'd ever wear, because on me it's also reminiscent to something gross and organic, but it's certainly an interesting scent.

In the bottle: Tree bark and herbs, nice! Wet: Sweet herbs and woods, that has some kind of aftershavey muskiness to it. It's also very green, which is yummy. Drydown: I get mostly very spicy woods, that become rather sweet and perfumy as they develop. There may be some red musk here, very discreetly. It goes quite powdery and sweet, as woods tend to go on me. Overall: My skin really isn't made for woody blends. I only get one really insistent woody scent and possibly some red musk, and it goes all powdery on me, which is very unpleasant. Really simplistic on me, I do see how it could represent a robust god, but that's pretty much it.

In the bottle: A sort of bitter, almondy plum. A bit like plum liqueur and amaretto. Wet: Same as in the bottle, mostly bitter almond, which slowly gives way to... clean sheets? Yep. The smell of clean sheets drying in the wind. Drydown: It dries down to a very soft, discreet scent of clean sheets in the wind and hints of jasmine tea, strangely. I know plum often has a "clean" scent to it, but I don't quite recognise it anymore. There are some strong aquatics in there, the sweet kind that tend to make my sinuses ache - that's the plum for me. I get some spice, I think it's cinnamon or clove, it adds a bit of a bite to the blend. Overall: It reminds me a little bit of Snake Charmer for the plum and spice quality, but it's also its opposite because it's clean and fresh, mostly. It's windy, definitely, but it's a tropical wind with fruits and jasmine. It certainly seems to fill Oya's description well, and it's a pretty blend. It's not "me", but it's very pleasant and interesting. Also, it makes me sneeze.

In the bottle: Very sweet, milky and aquatic at the same time. Wet: A very light aquatic scent, sweet and slightly floral, like nectar. I recognise the shea butter, and a hint of ozone. Drydown: The scent becomes thicker, like liquid honey over coconut. The coconut is not at all overpowering, it smells like an ingredient in a cake. The shea butter adds an exotic touch, a scent that reminds me of sun lotion and beaches. There's constantly a scent reminiscent of water, but it's really hard to explain or capture, which adds to the beauty of the blend. Overall: A really lovely blend, wonderful for foodies, but also enjoyable for those who aren't, I think. There's this floral, aquatic element of it that keeps on wafting back, like water running over stone, which is just lovely. I can see this as a perfect soothing and comforting blend, soft and pure.

In the bottle: Pleasantly sweet coconut. Wet: Rather green coconut, probably some tobacco and rum. Drydown: Rum becomes stronger and dominates over the rest in its typical "burnt sugar" way. There's still something green and herby at the back and finally the coconut makes a comeback, very foody. The tobacco just adds a bit of a smoky edge, but I don't really smell it much. It thickens as it dries, becoming foodier still, with hints of tobacco. Overall: This reminds me quite a bit of Port-au-Prince. The dominant notes are rum and coconut, which place it in the foody category, specially as I don't get any tobacco out of it. I don't find it particularly evocative or interesting, but it'll certainly make coconut and food nuts happy.

In the bottle: Ick, ick, red musk, coconut, banana and pineapple. Sickening. Wet: A rather sour pineapple/apple/banana mix, with some pomegranate and still a red musk base. Coconut peeps out, and apple becomes more obvious after a while. Drydown: Hmm, I get fresh apple, coconut, and an impression of juicy fruit over mashed banana. Red musk is still very obvious in the background, but the top notes are clean and fruity. After a while it gets a bit spicy from the chili, but very softly. After a while, most of the fruit evaporates, leaving a muted coconut/musk mix. Overall: If you like musk and coconut, this one is for you. The fruit is very pleasant as the top note, the apple is particularly realistic, and then it all turns into a mixed sweet scent. The pomegrante gets quite tart and bitter after a while, which isn't very nice on me. It reminds me a bit of Red Lantern or Snake Charmer, it would be great to replace those blends.

In the bottle: Boozy sweet mint. Wet: Ooh, very fresh mint and sugar. Drydown: It's a rather thick boozy and sweet smell, with a hint of mint that's slowly fading. It reminds me a bit of the mint filling in After Eight chocolates. Then one of the ingredients does something rather weird and turns all incensy, which was quite unexpected. Overall: It's a bit of a strange scent, the bourbon smells a little bit like sweet orange liqueur after a while, and the mint has completely disappeared. I've never been big on boozy scents anyway, but it was fun to try it out.

In the bottle: Sweet grapefruit and bitter yuzu. Yum! Wet: Same as in the bottle grapefruit and yuzu, with maybe a hint of sweet florals. Drydown: This smells good enough to eat, like a delicious citrus cocktail frosted with sugar, yum! It's not too bitter or too sweet, and it's all in tones of grapefruit, maybe a hint of orange from the kumquat. The florals seem to have died down, but I was mostly there for the citrus anyway. At certain moments it even smells a bit spicy, which is just yum. Overall: A delicious citrus blend, akin to Aizen-Myoo, but sweeter and fruitier, maybe a bit more playful in fact. It has more of a mysterious bite to it, things I can't quite put my finger on, and seems more orangey from the kumquat. Definitely a keeper, and great for any citrus lover.

In the bottle: Sandalwood, smooth and a bit perfumy. Wet: Thick resin, with dry sandalwood coming through. There's a slightly floral vibe in there, too. Drydown: It becomes a soft woody scent, very discreet but clearly solid and present. It makes me think of ivory, for some reason. Then again, it also has the famous "pencil shavings" scent, which I like. After a while, it becomes quite perfumy again, fragrant sandalwood. Overall: A very good blend for wood lovers, and I don't get much dragon's blood, which is definitely a bonus for me. I don't really like sandalwood that much, but this blend definitely makes me want to try other Ars Draconis blends to find the ones that might work for me.

In the bottle: Apple, very fresh apple! Wet: Golden apple, indeed, a very realistic scent and for the time being, pretty much a single note. There's a slightly woody note in there too, very nice. Drydown: Aha, the apple blossom comes out, adding a nice floral note to the golden apple and wood. I think I also get the hyacinth, but it's quite discreet. The dragon's blood also makes an appearance. Overall: It dries down to hyacinth and apple, and a very gentle apple blossom. It's more of a floral blend than a fruity one, very soft with the musk, in fact. As much as I like the golden apple from the beginning, I'm not a huge fan of apple blossom and musk, it's too gentle for me. It's a very pretty blend, though, and a very nice evocation of Ladon. Its apple part is actually reminiscent of The Hesperides, like a sister-scent.

In the bottle: Herbs, very strong, with something acidic, probably the lemon. Wet: Herbs, specially bay. Drydown: The bay becomes stronger and stronger, completely dominating the blend, it smells herby and a bit salty. Then I get the lemon and a bit of pine, and somehow they smell clean, a bit like soap. I think there might be some rosmary hovering in the background, too. At some point it smells a bit sweeter and softer on me, which is an improvement. Overall: A very aromatic blend, sort of salty and clearly masculine. It's not at all something that I can appreciate, too herbal for me, a bit spicy from a note that reminds me of cloves. It doesn't evoke much else than cookery with herbs, either.

In the bottle: Very tart apricot. Wet: Apricot under white musk. It's a nice apricot, very fresh. You can nearly smell the velvety skin. Drydown: The apricot stays put and becomes rather sweet, with all kinds of shades of apricot - sometimes juicy, sometimes sweet, sometimes velvety. And then... it goes soapy. Classic white musk reaction, it goes too tart and soapy. Overall: A very simple blend, pretty much and apricot single note, with some white musk to ground it. Fortunately the orange blossom doesn't come out, because my skin makes it turn rank very fast. Unfortunately, I still find it too soapy and shrill from the white musk. For apricot lovers, it would probably be good for layering.

In the bottle: Rose and mandarin. Wet: Ooh, neroli and mandarin, very light! Drydown: myrrh comes out to play and warms everything up, and jasmine joins it. It ends up in a happy mix of neroli, jasmine and myrrh, with some tang of bergamot and hints of rose. After a while it becomes rather soapy, fromt the jasmine, which is a pity. Overall: The blend ends up pure sweet jasmine, with hints of myrrh. It's a pity, because I preferred the neroli and rose from the beginning. It's too plasticky jasmine for me, and so strong it makes me want to sneeze. Pity my skin didn't bring out any other notes.

In the bottle: Hmm, airy and woody musk, with vanilla. Wet: Even wet, the musk smells a bit powdery, I strongly suspect that this has amber in it. It smells "thick", heavy and unctuous like oil. I wonder if the powder isn't from sweetgrass, this note that comes back in voodoo blends. Drydown: Hm, this is surprisingly discreet. I was expecting heady musk, it smells like watery amber and musk, light and warm, not at all cloying. The vanilla is light, very sweet and slightly plasticky, and I'm more and more convinced that this is sweetgrass in here. Oh, and I think that the light, slightly green notes come from vetiver, which promptly dries to powder on my skin. Aha, spices come out, a bit... nothing really definable, just warm and deepening for the blend. Overall: A huge anticlimax. I was expecting to be either impressed by it or hugely grossed out - like the "Smut" effect. But this did neither. Snake Oil bored me, and turned to dirty baby powder on my skin, with a hint of fake vanilla. It's not even bad enough for me to hate, it really makes me go "meh". I tried this brand new and after a month or two, and it's still fairly the same thing. I'll still give it a few months, see if it gets less powdery.

In the bottle: Violet and iris, but they smell... thick, somehow. Heavier than just florals. Wet: Violet and neroli make a wonderful scent, together, bittersweet and a bit green. It smells creamy. Drydown: The violet starts drying down to powder, as usual, while the neroli starts mingling with something new, probably the sandalwood. The violet still dominates the blend, though, and I haven't yet had any sign of the iris, which is a relief. At complete drydown, I get a rather elegant mix of violet and neroli, with some velvetey black musk and regal sandalwood in the background. Overall: A rather haughty blend, certainly sleek and dark. I can really see it worn by a very elegant woman in an expensive black dress. It's soft and seductive, heady and beautiful. A great blend, even for those that aren't huge violet fans. And my bonus is that the iris doesn't rear its powdery bitter head.

In the bottle: Cool, ozoney pine with a hint of berry deep down. Wet: Very airy green pine, with tomato leaf coming out. Drydown: Tomato leaf and cedar, a very pleasant, outdoorsy green scent. There's a breath of ozone wafting around like a cold breeze. After a while, a berryish slightly gooey scent comes out, with some typical cranberry bitterness. Pine comes back, but it's a very discreet scent mingling with the berry. Overall: Hmm, it's a very pleasant smell, but it does remind me a teeny bit of toilet deodoriser between pine and berry. I love the tomato and blackberry leaf mingling with the cedar, generally it's a quiet, woody and fresh blend. Probably a bit too masculine for me, but very foresty, and very true to its description.

Sexuality, power, confidence. A meeting of modern, sleek elegance and rich, passionate history: sheer amber, black leather, white mint, lemon peel, white tea, grapefruit, kush, teakwood and orchid. In the bottle: ice tea?! lemon, tea and mint, with some woods. Wet: a bit of leather, woods, citrus, some tea and a teensy hint of mint. It smells quite like classical Eau de Cologne, at this stage. Drydown: Ah, the orchid comes right out, as well as the amber and grapefruit. It's much more floral now, with a slightly waxy scent that seems to be the woods. I read the kush is similar to cannabis, and I think that I do get a bit of a whiff of that, too. The leather in it is very soft and supple, like an expensive couch. Overall: A comfortable scent of tea, woods, leather and perfumy florals. It works very well to create the atmosphere of an extremely elegant lounge where you'd go for tea. It's very evovcative, though it's not a scent that actually suits me to wear, I'll probably keep it around and think up a way to use it.

In the bottle: Ferns, very green, fresh and a bit bittersweet. Wet: Lavender, a hint of lilac, some rose and still ferns, hmm! As it dries, lilac really comes forward, which is lovely. Drydown: It's a quasi-aquatic grass scent, very fresh and green, with beautiful lilac - absolutely spot on - and other soft florals. The lavender seems to evaporate instantly, or maybe just sits in the back, lurking and giving the scent depth. It's a constant whirlwind of lilac and fern and grasses, which is just fine by me. Overall: Pontarlier isn't so far from where I live, and it's close to where my Swiss family comes from. I don't know the place, but the scent itself evokes lots of images of the Jura in the spring, with lilac and ferns that are still wet with dew. I don't get the absinthe, possibly because I have no clue as to how it smells. For me this is a happy green scent, springlike, shiny and beautiful. And it smells like a subdued and subtler version of a perfume my mother and grandmother wore, "Vent Vert".

In the bottle: A rather fresh herbal scent, hard to describe apart from "tropical". Wet: Tobacco and rum, I think, very fresh, nearly minty. I start getting florals, soft white waxy flowers. Drydown: Hm, I get a bit of almondy rum, which is the typical bay rum I got in Port Royal, and a light dusting of tobacco and flowers. The flowers are extremely discrete, the note that comes out most is the rum. There's jasmine in the florals, as far as I can tell, as well as another floral I can't quite put my finger on. It goes on to smell like burnt sugar, as rum classically does on me, and stale cigarettes. Overall: At first a quiet, warm exotic blend, that would probably work well on a man, too. It's pleasant at first, but the drydown is sickening. It smells exactly like a bar, with booze and stale cigarette smoke everywhere.

In the bottle: Very citrusy grass, a dewy mix between sage, grass and verbena. Wet: Grass, green green grass, with hints of lemon from the verbena and a hint of ginger. Drydown: It becomes a sweet, green and slightly citrusy scent, with the perfumy depth of amber. It smells clean and a bit floral, a bit like linden blossoms, sweet and full of nectar. On extreme drydown, it smells like clean sheets. Overall: This has a luscious, warm and sticky feel to it, along a lovely freshness from the grass. It smells like being in a magical land where the grass smells of sweet nectar and lovely herbs are all around you, under drying clean sheets. It's nice, but I wouldn't wear it frequently, and Enraged Bunny Musk is better in that category of smells.

In the bottle: Sweaty feet and menthol. Wet: A very strong blast of lavendery menthol, with an underlying current of salty vetiver and something that just smells putrid, possibly a herb or a wood. Drydown: Strong menthol, still this salty putrid smell that reminds me at times of feet and at others of rotting fish... possibly some smoke. It's like snow over burning waste. After a while, that putrid smell goes away, leaving just an icy cold clean smell, like an ice desert. Overall: This smells pretty much like the four elementals that have been thrown together. It's a clever concept, but I hated all four elementals, and I don't like the mix of them any better. Extreme drydown is okay, but considering what I have to go through to get to it, it's really not worth it. It's very evocative, but not of any place that I'd particularly like to visit. It certainly smells primordial, I'll give it that.

In the bottle: It smells of... cleanness. Like sweet, wet sheets. Wet: Wet flowers, a bit like freesias, and then... a strange smoky stony scent that reminds me of the volcanic gas in the description, and possibly some skin musk. Drydown: Still this stony smoke and light green florals, slightly sweet, but with a clear herby quality to it. There's a luscious nectar scent in there, from the carnivorous flowers maybe. It generally has a slightly aquatic clean scent to it. It dries down to powder, pure baby talc, with hints of something ambery around the edges. Overall: Um... rather interesting at first, it smells like a hot version of Niflheim. Dry, though, it's a very faint blend, and it doesn't really end up well: talcum powder really isn't that interesting. It really doesn't get better than that on me, a very faint soapish powdery scent. It's a pity, it seemed promising.

2005 version here. In the bottle: Tobacco, dry leaves, honey, florals... Wet: I get a bittersweet greenish floral, possibly cereus as I recognise it from Medea, and the smell of dried leaves, tobacco, and yet more beautiful sweet and fresh florals wafting around, ooh. Drydown: It dries down to tobacco, leaves, smoke and soft sweet florals. It's quite a dry scent in general, with green overtones, and just hints of honey coming in to remind that there's food as part of the ofrenda. It develops into something luscious: beautiful florals come out again and just waft everywhere. Extreme drydown is mostly dry leaves and smoke, with hints of florals. Overall: A beautiful blend. I had this bottle for a while and didn't try it on, and now I think I've found a perfect autumn signature scent. The leaves are lovely, and the florals make it exetremely special and pretty. It's not at all foody, which I really don't mind, and has all kinds of wistful, a bit sad, a bit solemn scents to it.