squishycat

Ooh, wow. My love for this one cannot be described. This is a gorgeous, lush, greenish rose, a bouquet of red, red roses in full bloom, covered in cold dew. It's a great addition to my rose blend collection, as it's not as sweet as Two, Five & Seven or Persephone, and more appropriate for an evening out. It doesn't change much on my skin, which is fine, because it's perfect right out of the bottle. I think I'll wear it out to the theatre tonight.

I love the book Lolita. I had a bit of an obsession with it in high school, which turned into my current obsession with Nabokov in general. I couldn't wait to try this scent. I was so, so disappointed - no smelling like Lolita for me. In the vial: WOOSH. Something in here really, really doesn't like me. I don't know what it is - the only listed ingredient I'm unfamiliar with is heliotrope. I'm going to try it anyway. Wet: It smells...perfumey and harsh. It's okay, I suppose. Dry: Now I'm mostly just getting orange blossom, which I like, but which gives me headaches sometimes. It's faint, like orange blossom water, and kind of harsh still. Verdict: I'm sad. I really wanted to like this, but I just can't. It seems very un-Lo-like to me.

In the vial: Fresh, almost sharp green grass. Something behind it, but I can't tell what. Wet: Still green and grassy, but I'm picking up some florals behind it and - oh, the florals are going soapy. Meh. Dry: Sweeter, still a little soapy, but nice and light Later: The berries come through and it stops being so soapy. Sweet, fresh, fruity and grassy, but so light as to be kind of faint. I wish it lasted longer. Verdict: Nice, light, and springtimey, but not necessarily the best for me. Still, I might get a small bottle.

In the vial: Herby peppermint and lavender, with sharp lime undernearth. The peppermint is on top, with the lavender making it a little bitter. Wet: Mostly the same- cool, cool mint and herbs, with sour lime. It's...different. I don't dislike it. Dry: This fades quickly. It gets softer, less sharp, more lavender. Verdict: This is wonderfully cooling, and I'm definitely keeping it around for hot weather. It's very, very interesting, but I don't think it's really me. It doesn't seem to last very long or have much throw, either.

Lily of the Valley, Calla Lily, stephanotis and a drop of cherry. This one was a frimp, and it and I are not friends. I didn't think we would be. In vial: Sickly sweet, artificial, and STRONG. Like a vial full of maraschino cherries. Yuck! Possibly the one fruit I *don't* like. Wet: The cherry disappears, leaving... old lady perfume. It's very much department store counter. Dry: The cherry is back, faintly. It's not an improvement. Final verdict: Yuck, yuck, and more yuck. I'm glad it works for other people, but not only is it not me, it smells awful on me. I'm trading this off for a partial decant of Midwinter's Eve. I can't WAIT to get it out of my house. QoH gets a resounding .

In the vial: a sharp, almost biting rose. I think the tang comes from the pomegranate, but that's all I smell of it. Wet: It's rosy with a tang. I'm not sure I *like* the tang, especially as I was hoping for juicy. Dry: mostly the same, though it's a little softer now. 4 hours later: It's still there, and it's softened to a juicy, sweet rose, with just a faint tartness to it. I like this a lot, but I'm not sure if it's worth the wait. Verdict: I'm definitely keeping the imp, but I'm not sure if I'll order a bottle, and if I do, it'll be 5mL.

This made it onto my "order sample *now*" list right away. I love roses - all roses, any roses, and I'm fond of grassy scents as well. I was not disappointed in this scent. In vial: ROSE. Oh wow, rose, with something light and sugary on top. Wet: The sweetness drops for a bit, and it's just rose, rose, rose - strong, but not heavy. I was in a hurry and just finished putting it on as I got in the car - everyone else could smell it (the rest of my family complained, but none of them are fond of florals. My brother's girlfriend agreed with me that it was WONDERFUL, though.) Dry: The sweet, grassyness is back, and the roses are still going strong. I can pick out multiple rose notes. Final: This scent lasts forever on me, and is an absolutely beautiful sweet, sugared rose, with maybe a little spice. A nice daytime, outdoor scent that I am buying 10ml of. Good for a date in the park or a picnic.

Dublin came out very sweet on me. The woodsy notes were *there*, but pretty much overpowered. (My father said, when he smelled it on me, "how many little old ladies did you have to osterize to get that?") So I might be careful with that one.

My cat tried to eat my arm when I was wearing this. Initial reaction: Oof. This is sharp and musty, like cheap patchouli, and while I like the smell of basements, I don't want to smell like one. Later in-vial reaction, after my nose had calmed: It's much nicer now. The patchouli isn't a sharp, and I can smell a whif of peachy sweetness underneath, along with something else. Wet: Oh, the peach is coming through. The amber is making this glow, and the patchouli is just the way I like it. The musk is combining really well with the others, which is good, as I'm not always very fond of it. Dry, and later: Oh, this is SEX. It's playful, teasing, all-over-the-place sex. With peaches. Oh wow, I love this. And it's STRONG - I'm a little afraid to wear it out, but I want to, though I'm not sure I'd be able to concentrate on anything but how good I smell.

First review! I like this one. I'm a huge fan of fruity and foody smells (although sometimes I don't actually want to smell like them, just have my house smell like them), and this seemed like it would work well from the description. Inital reaction : It smells like apricot salt water taffy! Yum! (Mom thinks it's awful, though, but she hates fruity. Possibly not the best choice of testing partners.) On application: The apricot is gone entirely! Boo. Where'd the yummy go? All I smell now is spicy clove, which is too much for me. Dry: The apricot is back! *rejoices* It's not a strong as it was, and the spicy note is more apparent than in the vial, but it's still mostly the juicy, lovely scent I liked in the first place, and the clove adds just enough depth to make it interesting. It's still very strong. Definite keeper, and I'll probably order a bigger vial. It lasted quite a while on me, and stayed tasty.