Meg

In the bottle: It smells extremely clean and a bit woody. Oh, and the blend is a stunning dark green colour. Wet: Salty, clean woods and hints of spices, very much like a spice cabinet that's just been cleaned and still has slight remnants of spices. It also reminds me of laundry detergent, but I have no clue where that vibe comes from. Drydown: It doesn't change very much, it's a woodsy, salty blend which also has a scent in it that I've found in sun screens. It smells clean and white, to me, except for this salt note that keeps on coming up - possibly the saffron. The patchouli doesn't make an appearance at all, surprisingly. Overall: Salty sweet clean sheets, waiting for you to go to bed and slip into oblivion - this is how I see this blend. It doesn't smell at all like the description, but it's an intriguing and soothing scent all the same. It'll probably urge me to try and figure it out more. And the colour... wow, still!

In the bottle: Pure rose. Wet: Hmm, a rather green tea rose, not unpleasant at all. Drydown: Rose and narcissus, becoming stronger and stronger. Narcissus is quite a tart, green and perfumy scent. The rose comes back from time to time behind the narcissus, actually they blend rather well. Overall: It's a very green rose blend, with just the right amount of narcissus. This really represents pride and haughtiness perfectly, it's beautiful, and it revels in its own beauty. It's heady, and a bit invasive and very long-lasting. And it never veers into gross territory, as narcissus sometimes does. Very true to its name and a pretty blend.

In the bottle: Soft woody tones and a little bit of pineapple peel, yes! Wet: Very woodsy, and oooh, olive tree. That's a lovely scent! It smells just like the South of France. It starts sweetening with frankincense, and developing all kinds of vegetal scents. Drydown: This smells like all kinds of things... olive trees, incense, wood, and generally it makes me think of the scent. It does smell a little bit like a pineapple fruit, including the peel and leaves, but that's not the first thing it makes me think of. I'm reminded of wooden boxes from a market that have taken on the smell of the herbs they contained, early in the morning. Overall: It's a nice scent, but the incense does come on a bit strong after a while. I think I'm allergic to frankincense, so this'll probably be going bye-bye. Still, it's an interesting pleasant scent, with a vegetal feel that reminds me of bananas, pineapples and other things you'd find on a fruit&veg market. It's soft and comforting.

In the bottle: Violet and very strong mint and eucalyptus. The fumes went right into my throat, like Vicks Vapo Rub. Wet: Mint, mint, mint and sweet violet in the background. This certainly wakes you up! Drydown: I get sweet violet, menthol, and something leafy and green, possibly a side-effect of the mint. Behind the mint it's really VIOLET, no doubt about it, very sweet, nearly candy-like. If there's neroli in there, I can't smell it. Just an opening note of mint and then pure violet, which dries down into a bittersweet powdery soap smell. Overall: Well, this really works in two phases, like most mint blends. First it's extremely volatile menthol over violets, which seriously attacks gets to your throat. Then it's pure violet. So if you dislike either component, it's not for you. I'm not overly fond of violets, and as the blend name spells out, this is really ultraviolet, violets spiked with mint. They're flashy violets, but end up still being just violet-soap.

In the bottle: Patchouli made rich with cinnamon. Wet: Vetiver and cinnamon! It reminds me a little bit of Saturn. Then dry patchouli starts coming out, it nearly becomes peppery. Drydown: Vetiver and cinnamon make a strange combination with patchouli. Vetiver dominates and, as usual on me, goes very sweet and powdery. Cinnamon brings a spicy feel and patchouli is there, wafting in and out of focus with a rather acid woody note. It smells very spicy, I keep on getting this nearly peppery scent from the patchouli, I guess (or could it be the cinnamon?). Overall: A dark, woodsy blend with spices. The cinnamon has a warm quality to it, and all the different elements get along quite well. The vetiver is a very important base note, it comes out when you least expect it. It'll be great for patchouli and cinnamon lovers, it's sophisticated enough to smell perfumy even. But it's really not my type of scent.

In the bottle: Wow! shockingly strong boozy sugar and butter. Wet: Mostly it smells like burnt sugar and salt with a hint of vanilla. Drydown: It doesn't smell all that boozy anymore, and the butter has vanished. It's quite a foody blend and reminds me of the sugar note in Sugar Cookie - on me it's burnt sugar. The buttery note comes back out after a while, discreetly. Like many foody blends, it turns to cardboard in extreme drydown. Overall: Strangely, this reminds me more of pecan/walnut ice cream with maple syrup than of rum. It's a foody scent without a doubt, and as it smells mostly like Sugar Cookie on me, it would be a perfect substitute for an LE. I don't drink alcohol, but when I made people who know the rum smell, they all agreed it was spot on, too.

In the bottle: Sweet mandarin. Wet: Mandarin, something a little soapy that could be the Lily of the Valley, and opium. Drydown: A very pleasent sweet scent, I think most of it is the sweet but green opium, underscored by a rather soapy Lily of the Valley. I get hints of mandarin but it's mostly faded into the background. There's also a spicy element coming out, and that's from the red sandalwood, I think. Overall: It smells very perfumy, in a good way. It's feminine, light but sophisticated and deep,. This completely confirms that opium is a note I like. It's maybe a little too soapy to my taste, though it smells pleasantly clean, I tend to prefer Anathema, which is it vetiver-grubby counterpart. And it becomes a little bit sour after a while.

In the bottle: Hmmm, very sweet, nearly floral ginger. Wet: The ginger turns dry and spicy and - dammit - chalky. Grr. I start getting undercurrents of honey, different from the usual lab honey note. Drydown: Ginger and honey. It smells very citrusy and tart, not even that spicy anymore, more like fresh ginger root, soapy and lemony. The milk slowly develops, as a creamy undertone to the ginger, it's surprising and works well with the rest of the blend. The honey also comes out once the ginger lets up a bit, and everything comes to a pleasant balance. Overall: It's quite a soapy blend, in that fresh ginger tends to smell soapy. The milk and honey add a soft creamy feel and I certainly wouldn't mind drinking a glass of something that smells like this. However, the ginger is too tart on my skin instead of being spicy. Very pleasant, but not my kind of blend.

In the bottle: Ozone, fresh and green-smelling. Wet: Ozone with fresh green and woodsy touches. It does smell like sea spray, and it gets saltier as it develops, but it's sweet too. Drydown: As it dries down, the fresh green ozone gives way to warm, slightly spicy woods surrounded with greenery. Then the leather starts coming out, it's a soft, worn leather. The woods become dryer and spicier. Overall: On drydown, this is a definitely masculine blend. It's fresh and salty, and very woodsy, bordering on spicy. Certainly a pirate's scent, you can nearly smell his sweat in the heavy musk of the leather. Very evocative, but not something I'd ever wear.

In the bottle: Rose, rosewood and hazelnuts. Wet: Same as in the bottle, starting out with a strong burst of rose before all the woods stifle it. It's nearly a green scent from the wood and hazelnut. Drydown: Delicious rose starts coming back out, along the spicy woodsy rosewood. The hazelnut is fresh and crunchy, it reminds me of eating unripe hazelnuts picked off a tree when I was a kid. The rose mixes wonderfully with the woods, softening them and giving them a fresh greenness. Overall: This has a very special atmosphere... dark, mysterious, the smell of abandoned dusty houses with antique furniture and just a bouquet of roses there. Another of these blends that smell like England to me - and an immediate love. A perfect balance between floral, woodsy and green.

In the bottle: sage, and something sweet. Very herbal. Wet: A sweet strawberry smell develops over the sage. Drydown: Creamy strawberries with ylang-ylang and sage hovering around them. This isn't foody at all, it's rather perfumy on me. I think I get a bit of the bubblegum lotus, you'd actually mistake it as part of the strawberry scent if you didn't pay attention. After a while I mostly get ylang-ylang over creamy strawberry. Overall: It's a pretty, perfumy strawberry blend that works out pretty well. It has a bit of a sticky scent, and it does smell slightly fake and a bit too aquatic for me. Not something that I'd wear, but a lovely, pretty idea for a blend.

In the bottle: a salty-sweet, thick smell of flowers, grapes and smoke. Wet: Clematis, and still a rather salty fresh scent that I can't pinpoint - pumpkin, perhaps? Drydown: All I get is this salty vegetal scent, and nothing more, like pumpkin and smoke. In the background, if I sniff hard, I get a little bit of something sweet, lily and clematis probably. A berry scent pierces through, pretty red and tart. Finally narcissus then lily come out and make the blend very perfumy and a bit powdery. Overall: I have to say that I'm not a big fan - it seems to have lots of lovely ingredients, but they don't really mix all that well on me. While I don't get any horrible butter notes, and find the blend rather intriguing, it doesn't really paint a harvesty picture for me, unlike Harvest Moon 2005. Pretty, though.

In the bottle: Very spicy, smoky wine, with a crisp green side to it. Wet: A biting leaf scent and just a hint of walnut, I think. It's a cool blend, I can't smell any wine anymore. There's a headache inducing aquatic in there, too. Drydown: The leaf scent becomes clearer, purer, and still very crisp - these are freshly fallen leaves blown in the wind, mixing with the smell of bonfire smoke. I still get this walnut smell, which I associate strongly with autumn. Extreme drydown is icy aquatics. Overall: It's a crisp autumn blend, but it's rather one-dimensional. I get cold aquatics, leaves and a bit of smoke, and hints of spice sometimes. I don't get any wine or musk. It tends to give me a sore throat, as most smoke scents do, and it's not terribly original. I prefer Devil's Night or Wolf Moon, in the same category of scents.

In the bottle: Heady roses and myrrh, whoo! Wet: Roses and myrrh, a really delicious, nearly bubbly mixture. Drydown: As it dries, the sweet pea starts to come out, a fresh smooth sweetness over the hot rose and myrrh mix. I also start getting hints of spicy ylang-ylang, but everything is covered with the smooth sweet pea. And I think the orris catches up with me and fouls up the whole blend, because it hates my skin. Overall: It smells like Wicked with sweet pea, a gentler but still very sensual blend. I'm not a huge fan of sweet pea in general, and here it tends to put a sort of waxy cool scent over warm, sensual flowers. It's a pretty blend, sensual and light, but I've smelled others that are similar and that I like better. Besides, orris seems to always turn sour on me.

In the bottle: Pear, mostly, possibly a hint of champagne. Wet: Oooh, this is fresh and cool pear and champagne, very light and sweet. Drydown: It dries down to a fruity, sparkly floral. It's a very light scent, close to the skin, with a hint of tartness from the champagne, and a lot of sweetness from the plumeria. The pear gives it body, it has a hint of buttery-woody richness. Overall: A zingy, pretty blend that absolutely makes me think of the colour if champagne with the texture of pear. It's elegant and feminine, sweet and not at all invasive, actually the pear is a very close to the skin scent. It actually has a good staying power, too.

In the bottle: Boozy raisins. Wet: Wow, very strong booze and raisins smell, it smells a bit like a traditional English Christmas pudding. And from underneath that, something woody and herby starts to come out. It's linden! Wow! Drydown: A very strong linden blossom scent, soft and delicious. It combines with the raisins, that come back, resulting in a red grape juice smell, with a touch of linden honey. It smells really like red wine with herbs, a kind of drink someone would prepare for a ritual. Overall: I can't stop sniffing myself, this is divine! I really love the wine/linden mix, to me this smells like walking in the woods on a hot summer's evening, when everything is cooling down, and drinking delicious grape juice under the gentle shade of a linden tree. Really beautiful, delicious and the lab couldn't have chosen a better frimp for me!

In the bottle: oooh beautiful and green, like grass with neroli! Wet: Very green, with lavender coming out now with the neroli, they blend really well. Something comes out to sweeten the blend, could be narcissus. Drydown: I can't stop sniffing myself! I get the green stems mostly, with hints of citrus and florals floating around. The lavender has mostly died down and narcissus comes up to dominate the blend - but it doesn't do the violetnly perfumy act I usually get from narcissus. It's tempered by something, possibly the citrus or musk. Overall: Unfortunately, narcissus ends up dominating the blend completely after a while, and I can't abide narcissus. It's a real shame, because before that, the grassy neroli smell is to die for. But afterwards the narcissus makes the blend heavy and blots out any other note. I wish it would stay as it smells in the beginning! *cries*

In the bottle: Oakmoss and possibly a bit of patchouli. Wet: Oakmoss and pepper over patchouli. Drydown: Vetiver takes over and fights for dominance with oakmoss. I get a hint of leather, and possibly champaca, a slightly plasticky smell. And then suddenly ambergris pops up and makes everything lovely, soft and smooth, and oakmoss peeps out from under it. I don't pick up the spices, but people tell me it's spicy, so I guess that's from the ginger and pepper. Overall: It's a weird blend, and a stunningly accurate portrayal of Bosch's painting... white and waxy and spicy and dark, all at the same time. The oakmoss on me invariably smells sickly sweet, but it's tamed by the ambergris and champaca. I'm quite baffled by this, I don't really like it (and it doesn't give out any leather) but I'm fascinated by it.

In the bottle: Orange blossom, tea and resins. Hmm! Wet: A very waxy musky resin scent with orange blossom. Drydown: It's a sensual resin, I think it's opoponax and benzoin, and then it becomes spicy and rather invasive. It gets hotter and hotter, all I end up smelling the the oppoponax/benzoin mix, none of the other notes get a chance of coming through, except perhaps the mahogany as a woody base. Overall: To me it's rather a masculine resin scent, it's sensual, rich and spicy, a bit sexual even, but it's not something that I can see myself wearing. I'm really disappointed that my skin didn't bring out any of the other notes, too.

In the bottle: A fresh, sweet floral with a dash of ozone. Wet: Moonflower and other creamy flowers with ozone. Er, it smells like a toilet deodoriser at this stage. Drydown: A sweet soft floral, flowers that I don't recognise very well. I don't get lavender or jasmine, I mostly get creamy pale florals, with a sprinkling of dust (from the jasmine?). It gets very sweet from the honeysuckle, and the flowers do smell like something you'd smell at night. At some point it gets a bit greener, at last. Overall: It's surprisingly perfumy and very sweet overall, with flowers that smell white or grey and hints of ozone that pop up now and then. It's really not my kind of scent and it's much too sweet on me, with the freshness of ozone that smells more like a deodoriser than fresh air. Give me Chiroptera instead any day!

In the bottle: Strong spices, including nutmeg and cinnamon, I think. Wet: There's a bit of a rose scent to this, possibly rosewood, and cinnamon, and nutmeg. As it dries, the spices get stronger. Drydown: It's a lovely floral spice, I get nutmeg and cinnamon over rose and probably other flowers. Maybe jasmine deep in the background. As others have already said, it's really hard to describe. It's just a long flow of lovely soft spices. Overall: A very pleasant blend, and I don't doubt that it's very complex, because it's giving me a hard time picking out the notes. It goes a bit dry and powdery, which just enhances the spice factor. There's nothing too violent, even the cinnamon is gentle. Everything a spice cabinet should smell like, combined with lovely flowers.

In the bottle: Musky carnation, I think Wet: Still the same, musky carnation, sweet and a bit spicy, even a bit fruity. Drydown: The musky carnation starts getting dryer, more spicy and woody. I start smelling all kinds spices through someething a lot like vanilla. It gets stronger and stronger, peppery, and very sandalwoody. It's sweet and nearly... fruity? I keep on thinking there's plum in there. Overall: It reminds me quite a bit of a stronger Baghdad or a carnation Snake Charmer, it has the same musky warmth, and the floral/fruity element. A very sensual oriental blend, creamy, gentle despite the spices. Not something that I would wear, but I get the appeal.

In the bottle: Very complex! Lemon, rose and jasmine, as well as wisteria and possibly some violet. Wet: Very fresh florals, with jasmine coming out first, then lemon, and something quite rich, possibly the plum. Drydown: It's lemon and jasmine with some rose and sweet juicy plum. It's softened by wisteria, I think, and a woody base. It dries down to a pleasant plum and jasmine mix, which is rich and sensual. After a while, violet comes out a little bit from the shade of the jasmine. It disappears pretty fast, though. Overall: It's surprisingly simple, from all the notes given, I only get the plum and jasmine and some violet after drydown. It's a pretty, non-powdery jasmine that I like, and a delicious plum. It smells very clean, and I do tend to identify it with a laundry detergent than a perfume. Pretty, but I probably wouldn't wear it.

In the bottle: Soft violet. Wet: Tonka, eugh! It's drowning out the violet, that battles to come through. And it's getting clovey, now. Drydown: Oversweet, rather sickly tonka/violet. It starts smelling like ointment with hints of violet, extremely discret and close to the skin. The spices do come out a bit, cool clove mostly. Everything blends very well together, after a while. Overall: It's rather perfumy, rich and I'd say rather traditional. Yes, it has a voluptuous side to it, it smells sort of smooth and lazy. It's absolutely not my kind of scent, tonka makes me ill, but I can see how it represents Sybaris.

In the bottle: Oh my goodness. Kerozene. Wet: Woody turpentine and camphor. It smells very much like an Asian liniment I use. Drydown: Oy oyyy I can taste this! I only dabbed a tiny dot on my wrist and I can still taste the camphor fumes. This is extremely volatile, I hardly dare to sniff it. Finally the fumes die down and I get cedar, very pleasant, subdued. There's still a bit of this camphory smell, there's a bit of a tarry feel to it. And then I get buttery lotus. Ick. Overall: Well, it smells like a mix of Vicks Vapo-Rub, cedar and lotus. It makes me cough when I breath it too much and I think my nose is efficiently unblocked, but, um, I wouldn't wear it. I think it smells very medicinal, and I don't have trouble associating it to something I'd smell in Kathmandu. I just wouldn't like to smell like that.