ktesedale

In the bottle, this is very aquatic - I couldn't smell the lemon at all. Wet, the lemon comes out, and it smells like... watery lemon juice, actually. But the lemon isn't as strong as it should be... like Morrighana, I think it might be lemongrass. Dry, there's a distinct floral quality to the scent. There's still a lemon edge, but it's not nearly as aquatic as before. I've never tried Blue Moon, so I can't say if this smells like that or not, but it is a lovely, clean, fresh scent. I like it, but I wouldn't wear it often enough to get a 5ml if it becomes a general catalog scent. Edit: After about two hours of wear, I think this scent is what's giving me a headache. I don't smell any ylang ylang (which I'm allergic to, and gives me headaches), so I don't know what note(s) it might be. Still, I washed it off and it's going into the swap pile.

Like others, I was hesitant about ordering this. I ended up getting it on the very last day Yules were available. In the bottle, this is very raw musk. Wow. Wet, this is still very musky. None of the woods that other people got. Dry, it hugs my skin very close, and I can faintly catch the wood scent other people mentioned. To me, this smells very clean, actually - like an animal you just washed and are now cuddling with. It's a very masculine scent, and I wish I had someone to put it on to see. I like it, but I think I'm not going to keep the whole bottle, assuming I find people who'd like imps. Also, note that this scent lasts a loooooong time - it lasted well over nine hours on me, though you had to sniff near my wrist to smell it.

In the bottle, this is hairspray. Wow. Not something I really want to put on my skin. Wet, this is very sharp smelling. And then, uh-oh - I have to run and read the description more closely. It has ylang ylang in it. Why did I miss that? Dry, I get a headache from the ylang ylang, as I think I'm mildly allergic. I washed this off ASAP.

A winter’s horror: smoke and stillness, faded incense and the metallic tang of blood. In the bottle, this is a nice incense. I can't find the metallic tang yet. Wet, though, this turns to baby powder. It doesn't go away, either, like some scents do - it lasts for over an hour, when I finally had a chance to wash this off. Off to swaps!

Like others have said, this is pure dirt - fresh and wet. I was expecting something a bit dustier from the description, but no, this dirt is alive. It's totally not my thing for a scent to wear, but I've already used it a few times as a room scent. Specifically, I used it while playing a scary game and when reading a horror novel. And yeah, it really added to the mood.

This is a lovely scent, a mixture of the orange and the florals with a bit of vanilla. I really, really like the scent, and normally would consider hunting for a second bottle. Unfortunately, this scent makes me want to sneeze and hurts my nose. I don't think there's ylang ylang in here, which is the usual culprit, so I'm not sure what's causing this reaction. I had to wash this off. ::sigh::

In the bottle, this is a sweet white chocolate scent. Wet, it's still white chocolate, with a hint of that tangerine in the description. Dry, this changes into a lovely scent - is there orange blossom in this? I love orange blossom, and I swear it smell like a mix of that and white chocolate. Floral with a little foody sweetness. Yum. There are a few other things floating in there - the iris can be found, and maybe the tea, though I'm not sure of that. It's nice, though! Overall, I like this one! I was surprised - I thought it'd be too foody for me - but no, the chocolate doesn't overwhelm and the fruits don't really come out. Additionally, as I said, I love orange blossom, but most of the scents it's in don't work for me. This one does. It's not a top 10 favorite, but it is up there, and I'm really glad I risked getting a bottle.

Well, it's exactly as advertised - it's gingerbread. That's seriously all I get - in the bottle, wet on skin, and as it dries. (Well, in the bottle it smells a bit more sugary - almost dough-like. Once it hits the skin, though, it becomes regular spiced gingerbread). It has a decent throw (but my skin has been amping stuff lately - not sure exactly why. It's weird, but the past four scents I've used have all been pretty strong. Strange). The staying power is all right - four or so hours. Not the best I've used, but not the worst, either. Lovely scent, and I do like the smell a lot - but not as a perfume. I got a bottle of this, and I'm going to use it as a room scent, I think, but not very often on me.

In the bottle, this is almost pure lime. Wet, this is again lime. Very, very limey. Dry, this starts to become a bit more complex - mint comes out and though the lime is still the main scent, the mint is a strong backdrop. There's also a hint of coconut, and after a few hours, a bit of what I think is vanilla. Overall, this scent is just wonderful. It reminds me of Shattered a bit - the citrus/mint combo. The Star could easily become the closest thing I have to a 'signature' scent, especially since it's so much happier and uplifting than another favorite, Dorian. Tarot symbolism-wise, this isn't quite what I'd imagine a Star scent would be - I expected something a bit more aquatic, perhaps - but it does fit well with the theme of the card.

In the bottle, this is strongly floral. Wet, it's rosemary. Then there's the night-blooming jasmine (which smells so very different on my skin than regular jasmine). Dry, it's a strange blend of florals and musk (I can't tell the difference between this musk and other dark musks, but I'm still pretty new). On me, this smell very much like a commercial perfume my mother used to where. It also made my roommate sneeze until I left the room she was in (and I only put a tiny bit on!). Strong throw, though it didn't last that long on me (less than two hours - one of the shortest yet, just lasted a little longer than The Unicorn and Wrath). Overall, it's not me in the least, and I'll be happy to swap this out.

After hearing everyone talk about this scent, and seeing how fast it was snapped up in trades and sales, I just had to try it. I'm glad I did. In the bottle, this smells like coffee. It's a terrific, lovely scent, and if it stayed like this on my skin, I would never wear another perfume. Wet, it still smells like coffee. Yum. Dry, though, this scent morphs like crazy. It starts out as coffee - but at about a half hour, it changes to a very dusty note - like breathing in an old room, filled with strange objects. Truthfully, at this point this scent smells just like a museum's storage room - that sort of woody dust smell. Then the coffee comes back - and wow, it's just like being back in college in the class where we met in the museum every day. Then the wood note starts to come out and the dust dies down a bit, so that all three scents sort of blend, with the coffee taking the high point. This scent is lovely and comforting, and I'm so, so glad I managed to swap for a 5ml. At the same time, I don't think I'd ever need more than that - this is a rare scent for me, though I love to put it on while reading.

A lovely mint blend - I've been on a quest to find the 'perfect' mint scent for me, and this is currently at the top of my list. In the bottle, it smells like peppermint oil - not quite like the herb, not like peppermint flavored things, but with a fake-ish note. Wet, this is a lovely mixture of sweet vanilla and cool peppermint. Dry, the two scents mix - they don't quite smell like a candy cane, but then I don't like the smell of candy canes that much. One strange thing - at about three hours in, it took an almost sour turn for about an hour, and then smoothed back out in the lovely vanilla mint. Huh. It was strange, and I've only worn this once, so I don't know yet if it'll happen every time. Overall, a terrific scent, and I wish I had bought more than one bottle. Swaps, here I come!

I love Samhain as a holiday, and I love pumpkins and apples in my perfume, so I decided to try this, even though it has my second arch-nemesis, patchouli, in it. Alas, I wish I hadn't. This is the 2005 version. In the bottle, this smells nice and fir-y. That was fine, I love tree scents. Wet, the apple starts to come out. Also good, though I was hoping the pumpkin would be a bit more prominent. Dry, the whole thing takes a sharp turn for the worse. The apple gets sweeter and more cloying, like it's rotting. Then the patchouli comes out, making it smell like a rotten apple that's been kicked around on the ground. No fir, no pumpkin, no clove or nutmeg. My skin hated this scent. It has tremendous staying power (don't all scents we don't like?), and even scrubbing my arm four or five times didn't stop the sickly apple smell. I am looking forward to passing this on to one of the people who loves it.

In the bottle, this is very strongly dragon's blood, that almost cherry-like smell. Wet, it's pure dragon's blood on me - spicy and sweet. Once it dries, it smells similar to Dana O'shee - a little spicier, less grounded, but the main notes are the same. Dana is earthy while Dragon's Milk is fiery. Overall, I was hoping for something a bit different - perhaps for the dragon's blood to come out a bit more on me. It's just not different enough from Dana O'shee on me, and I prefer the other scent just a smidge more. I'll see if it's better as a room scent, and I'm not going to get rid of my imp, but it's not a big bottle for me.

I got to try this at a Sniff & Meet - thanks, Astburygrrl! It was funny - two days after the Sniff & Meet, I got a lab order - and they'd included an imp of Silentium Amoris, despite it being discontinued over a year ago! Huh. Anyway, this review is of the aged imp. When I first put it on, I had no clue what was in it, except for roses. I learned. Oh, how I learned. In the bottle, this is strongly roses. Wet, it's still rose, but a sweet one - almost like how I wanted 2, 5, & 7 to be. Dry, my arch nemesis ylang ylang comes out to raze my home and steal my cats. It creeps insidiously into my sinuses and screams 'Death to all who come!' It then sets up camp, in order to better follow through with its cruel promise. Any who try to resist are beaten down with no mercy or quarter given. In other words, it gives me a headache and makes me sneeze. I hate ylang ylang. Overall, I'm going to pass this lab imp off onto someone who was sad it was discontinued.

Milk, honey, roses are really great on me, and lots of people love Alice, so I had high hopes for this scent. ::sigh:: In the bottle, this is a lovely, sweet floral. Wet, I can easily pick out the milk, honey and roses - yay! There's also a sharper note. At the time I wasn't sure what it was, but I know now it's the carnation. All together, the scent is a bit like sweet, milky roses. I really liked it. After it's dry, this goes all wrong. About an hour in a smell like bug spray starts to fill the air. It gets worse and worse, giving me a vicious headache. After I wash the perfume off it gets better, thank goodness. Overall, I wish I could wear this scent, but the carnation does me in. I've since tried two other scents with carnation - The Caterpillar and Maiden - and they both go bug spray on me. It's too bad - I'm glad there are so many other great scents.

Inspired by and created for my beloved Tedwin: my eternal, beautiful, wicked Dorian Gray. Refined, elegant, and lovely, with a noble bearing and seemingly gentle air. This blend is an artful deception: a sweet gilded blossom lying over a twisted and corrupted core. A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea. Ah, after nine pages, what more needs to be said about this scent? Won't stop me from reviewing, though! In the bottle, this smells lemon-fresh. Wet, again, this is very lemon, but now with a strong tea scent. Dry - oh, yum. I can see why this a favorite of so many people. Black tea with loads of sugar and lemon. Just that by itself would be great, but then you add in the musk, giving it depth and warmth and a 'human' scent. I didn't get much, if any, vanilla, which is strange since vanilla tends to amp a little on me. Huh. Overall, I really enjoyed this scent. I have a rule that I have to try everything twice before ordering more of it, and I'm glad I do - otherwise I would have gotten a 10ml just an hour after applying. I hope I can wait until the next moon. I'm glad this one wasn't a let-down for me - after Alice, I'm sort of wary about the scents everyone loves.

In the bottle, this smelled almost minty. WTH, nose? Wet, this was pure chocolate. Chocolate and I don't mix well (but I had to try the scent anyway!) Dry, though, this was a lovely orange blossom/vanilla scent, with chocolate and cherry staying mostly out of it and only adding a hint of scent. Unfortunately, this only lasts about two hours, at which point it morphs into pure milk chocolate on me. Overall, it's not a 'me' scent. But thank you so much to Astburygrrl for letting me snag an imp at our Meet & Sniff!

In the bottle, it's very, very grape. Wet, it's grape and some sort of strong green herbs. They don't blend together well at all. Dry, though, it's a wonderful mix of herbs, grapes, and a faint soapy scent that mixes together wonderfully. It smells delicious (as in edible), and it's really, really nice. Even without testing the voodoo nature of this, I want a big bottle - this scent is great! It's also very calming for me, though not so much with the courage (yet, at least). I have a job recruiter interview tomorrow, and I'm going to be doing a lot of job interviews in the next few weeks - I plan on wearing a little High John each time. I'll update if anything good happens.

Annihilation. The ice, desolation and barrenness of nuclear devastation shot through by a beam of radioactive mints. I expected this one to be mintier - it's too bad it wasn't, but I still loved it. And I agree with others - this is what I expected Numb to smell like. In the bottle, it smells almost bitter. Wet, it smells just like heavy, wet snow. No mint yet. Dry, a bit of something like grass (to my mind it smelled like underbrush in the forest) comes out, as does the mint. The snow turns more aquatic, to something like slush. Overall, this smells clean, but in an earthy/wintery way, not a washed way. I really liked it - but it only lasted about two hours on me. The mint faded first, and only lasted about one hour. Still, it smells good enough I don't mind reapplying.

I admit I was expecting something pretty wonderful, considering how well liked (and talked about) this scent is. In the bottle, this smells sweet. Wet, this smells *just* like Dana O'Shee when it's wet. Dry, this continues to smell a lot like Dana O'Shee, but it's lighter than Dana (it doesn't have any grains). It makes me think of a windy version of Dana. After about two or so hours, there are a few more notes - something a bit fruity, almost. Overall, I was a bit disappointed - I was expecting really different. I think I'm going to age my bottle and see if it smells different in a few months.

In the bottle, this smells floral. Wet, it's baby powder and incense. Uh oh. Ah, but once it dries, the baby powder disappears. The incense is the strongest note, but there's current there, too. Towards the two hour mark, florals come out and the current disappears. As others have said, this is a dark scent. It calls to mind deep purple shadows and murky shapes inside a church at night. Overall, this is not a scent for me. I'm not a fan of incense. I'm grateful to Rheliwen for the chance to try it, though!

On me, this is a very wet floral. It's not quite an aquatic note, but the flowers that come to mind are soaked with water. It's like going out to a garden after a strong storm and some of the flowers have been damaged by the wind, releasing their scent into the air, with the smell of fresh rain overlaying everything. It's lovely, but not for me - I'm more of a sweet floral girl. I'm glad I got a chance to try it, though. As a side note, I don't think there's any 'grass' in here, though there are certainly herbals - but on me, grass overwhelms everything else, and this scent doesn't do that.

In the bottle, cherry cough syrup. Wet, this starts out with a bang of cough syrup, but dies down quickly to strong, strong anise warring with cherry. Dry, both scents die down a bit, and the musk slowly comes out. This was my first experience with red musk, and it's a surprisingly great scent. (I never used to be a fan of musk). After a while, all three scents blend together as long as I keep my nose away from my wrist. This is really a scent to enjoy from a bit farther away - up close, it's a pretty chaotic scent, and not in a good way. Allowing it to waft, though, blends them together into a gorgeous scent. And I don't even like anise! I had low hopes for this scent, but it surpassed them by a lot. A very nice scent, though not one I'd buy a 10ml of. And like previous posters mentioned, this is a fruit scent that's not at all childish.

The first time I wore this, it turned to straight up baby powder on me, which made me really sad. I'd really wanted to like this one. However, every time I tried this afterwards, I've gotten the reaction below. Weird. In the bottle, this smells like apples and spices. Wet, this is pure apple on me - I can't smell anything else. And it's a fakey apple, like apple syrup. Once it drys, though, it smells like hard apple cider with all the spices, but with a faint touch of floral that keeps it from being too foody. This is the only scent that actually makes me want to bite/lick my wrists. It has decent throw, and lasts a long time. Yay! Overall, a terrific blend, and my favorite moon, which, considering how awesome the moons are, says a lot.