fufu_berry

On wet: Pine, yay! Drydown: Candy canes and powder - it's not too sweet, but it's extremely powdery on me. Boo After a while: Pine is back, but still quite powdery. I like the overall profile (pine and mint) but the weird powderiness is making my nose feel twitchy. I'll probably test this again, maybe layered with something a little more woodsy to see if I can tame the powder. If not, it'll have to go. ETA: This just got more and more powdery and sneezy until I had to wash it off. Bummer!

Ughhhh, of course I managed to get sick right before Christmas and not be able to smell anything until after the Pickmans came down, so I couldn't test my decant. And of course, that means I loved this scent! On wet: A little bit of something like menthol or eucalyptus; very natural and herbal. Drydown: New tires on asphalt. I love this smell - I almost bought Bvlgari Black just for the new-tire topnote even though I am deathly allergic to jasmine and hate vanilla, so I am pretty much on cloud 9 with this. Somehow it still manages to smell very natural and not cloying even with the rubber note. Dry: A little bit of a spicy floral coming through (assume that's the rhododendron) - very dry and earthy, so I definitely can "feel" the stone/clay notes. I will definitely be seeking a partial of this!

This pretty much stays the same on me throughout. My skin chemistry seems to tame scents that are really harsh on others (hence my undying love of vetiver), but I was still a little surprised at how soft and smooth this was on me. It's super well-blended - a little touch of earthiness from the vetiver, deep smooth patchouli and clean cedar, with just a touch of spiciness from the cinnamon. If I didn't know what was in this, I'm not sure I could pick out notes beyond "woods." It's very cozy and comforting to me, so definitely a keeper. It has a very light throw, so it'd be great for close quarters or days when I'm not feeling super outgoing. Love it!

In the imp, on wet: Avon Skin-so-Soft! For whatever reason, Anne Bonny smells exactly like Skin-so-Soft. That's a smell I like, but I have pretty much a lifetime supply of SSS thanks to my mom who is an Avon junkie. Hmm. Drydown: A little bit of the same Mary Jane smell I got with Laudanum...not sure what it is since the two don't seem to share notes. I actually kind of like this smell (don't tell Johnny Law). Dry: Ooh, now it's getting nice and salty. I love salty smells but don't much like the way most aquatics go floral on me, so this is awesome. Definitely a keeper. A little sweeter than I might ideally want (probably due to frankincense), but this imp looks fairly new so I think with aging this will become very nice.

Perhaps Hetairae? The description of beautiful, independent, witty, and worldly seemed fitting to me. The scent is feminine, but also earthy and has that little spark from the ylang ylang. I am reposting this because my personality sort of changed after people did this for me the first time back in like 2010. Then the second time, I was skipped- just curious for opinions. I forgot to add that I do have a fiery streak. It's quite calmed now, but it's there. thanks

This is the third attempt in my quest to find the perfect roasted coffee scent, and definitely the closest so far. I was fortunate enough to get a 5 mL from the exceedingly generous and lovely razzlecupcake. Bottle: Coffee predominant, with a good measure of dark chocolate. On wet: Chocolate comes out strongest; fortunately it's a dark chocolate, so even though it's sweet, it's not so cloying that I have to wash it off. Drydown to about 45 min: Whiskey! It doesn't smell like I've been drinking whiskey, but rather like the strong, rich, almost caramel scent of bourbon out of the bottle. I like the smell of bourbon, so this isn't a problem for me. Chocolate and coffee have receded, but something is keeping it from being too boozy or sweet. Very sexy. 45 min +: The whole thing starts to fade, but coffee does come back a little bit. Very close to the skin and cozy. This wasn't the black roasted coffee I was hoping for, but it wasn't too baked goods or candy-foody for me, so I really liked it. A great scent for a gloomy day or a pick-me-up. Glad to have it!

I definitely got a sunny feeling from Entangled - I think it's all the different kinds of ginger. It's kind of fizzy and almost citrusy without actually having citrus notes in it. Some folks got a smoky/charred smell though, so you might want to try a decant if that is not your bag.

...And the one person who actually kind of wanted fishiness gets flowers. ;_; No incense, no fish or saltiness, just light inoffensive florals. I'm hoping that this is just because it's that time of the month and when I try it again I'll get fishy weirdness, but for now, yeah, just a generic flower smell. Yuck. ETA: Took a while, but now it's kind of a tangy salty smell - not quite the ocean incense I was hoping for, but definitely better than flowers!

I don't get anything smoky from this, but my skin tends to eat smoky notes so that's not a big surprise. This was very bright and spicy; the honey gave it some sweetness, but fortunately honey (especially raw honey like in this) doesn't get cloying or foody on me. After a few hours, it was mostly raw honey - almost musky and rather animalic. I like that, but for those who find honey goes "funky" on them, this is probably not the honey note you want. Overall, I really liked it - it's very different from anything else I have, even though I love and have a bunch of ginger scents. I can see really wanting to wear this in the spring and summer.

Like some of the other reviewers, I'm from San Diego, and since 2003 have always associated Halloween with fires - the whole county was on fire for several days, and Halloween was the first day we were allowed to go outside due to the air quality. Wet: This smells *just* like Mad Meg from the Salons. Lots of sage and burnt grasses, and a little bit of something sweet (in MM it's the mandarin, not sure what it is here). Drydown: As usual, my skin mostly eats the smokiness, but the herbal quality is nice still. Dry: Lots of delicious herbally sage smell - I think I probably prefer Mad Meg just a little since it has the vetiver (which helps the smoky scent last longer on me), but this is nice too. I have a bottle of MM so I don't think I need to track more of Halloween: LA down, but it's lovely.

Oh man, this is one of those scents that I'm sure would be lovely on other people, but is terrible on me. I was hopeful that the smoky jalapeno and copal would be most prominent, but this is a buttery, stale, vanilla-cajeta mess on me. Strong vanillas smell really weird on me, and the extra sweetness from the cajeta is overwhelming. This stuff has a powerful throw, and stays and stays and stays. It's very foody on me and not very spicy, which was the opposite of what I wanted, but others will likely enjoy. Bummer that this didn't go well for me.

Wet: Pumpkin pie - not too cloying, but definitely foody. Drydown: Coffee coming out - I like that the coffee is very distinctive in here, but it's more Starbucks-y than straight-up roasted coffee. Dry: Sweetness is slightly tempered by the woods; coffee still prominent. I don't think I'll need a bottle of this, but it felt very appropriate to wear for some holiday decorating. Not bad overall.

Wet through 1 hour: Perfect spicy dry ginger! It has a little bit of a nostril-searing quality from the cayenne and sulphur that is awesome. 1 hour plus: Lots of frankincense and amber sweetening it up - I liked the earlier stage better, but this certainly isn't bad. Perhaps a candidate for a scent locket; I've also heard that frankincense mellows as it ages, so I'm looking forward to spending many years with Fallen Angels in Hell.

Frimp from Ella LaRose, who can't unsmell Dr Pepper after reading the reviews. :/ In the imp: Dr Pepper (sorry, Ella LaRose!). But I like the smell of Dr Pepper -- it's the only soda I really enjoy, so not a problem. Wet: Ugh, a big slap of sweaty, stale vanilla. I have come to the sad realization that vanilla and I are mortal enemies. It ruins everything I might otherwise love, and it's in so. many. things. Drydown: Some pine and vetiver coming through, perhaps they can tame the cloud of vanilla nastiness emanating from my wrist? Dry: Fizzy woods - I think that's a little bit of the lime. Vanilla seems to have been subdued by friendlier notes. Is this finally a vanilla scent I can wear?! I'll have to give it a few more tries, but right now I'm (shockingly) liking it!

In the imp: Orale, epazote! I love the smell of this stuff - not sure how to describe it except that it has a kind of medicinal smell like I really like. Wet: Mostly prickly pear fruit (we call them tunas in Spanish; not the fish though!). I love to eat it, but it has kind of a bubblegummy, light pink smell that I'm not super into. Really sweet. Drydown: Still sweet prickly pear, but also some "fuzzy" notes from the sage peeking through. Much later: Still a little sweet, but much more herbal and desert feeling. I like this, although the middle is a little sweet. It has great staying power; I might try layering it with something a little earthier to see what happens.

This was much smoother on me than I was expecting from the notes; the tonka makes everything very creamy. The cinnamon and vetiver came through mostly, but I did get a bit of the sandalwood once it was starting to wear off. I definitely got more "cozy" than "fiery" out of this - if it was a bit spicier or grittier, or just a touch less sweet, I might need more, but I think I'll be happy with my decant.

Wet: does what it says on the tin - frankincense and myrrh. Very resinous, only slightly spicy/smoky. Drydown: Bubble gum? Yikes! Dry: Settled into mostly frankincense on me - a little sweet, but very light, cozy, and clean. I could see this working well for layering, or in a confined space where I usually don't wear scents so as not to disturb others or overwhelm myself (like a plane flight). I saw a few notes in other reviews that the myrrh comes out more with aging. I'm not sure how old my imp is, but that would be awesome if it happens; if not, I'll still enjoy it.

Wet: Astringent - getting something like eucalyptus and mint. This is kind of what I was hoping for from Dante and Virgil on the Ice of Kocythos. Drydown: Really pungent flowers and candle wax all of a sudden - still very astringent though. Dry: This smells remarkably like Dia de los Muertos on me! Kind of a smoky/candle herbal floral with a little bit of sweetness and just a hint of something acrid (this isn't a complaint, I rather like it). I liked this; the florals weren't high pitched or making me sniffly, but it ends up so similar to DDLM that I don't think I will need more for a while. But I'm always glad to find non-yucky florals!

Very sweet, but not too sugary. I'm getting a lot of hazelnut and a little bit of the same "Middle Eastern spices" from Queen of Sheba. Leather was prominent at the beginning, but wore off completely after a few minutes. No coffee to speak of. It's nice, but not life-changing - glad I don't have to hunt down more!

In bottle, wet: Wet wipes? Like the kind I use to clean my bathroom. Kind of lemony and astringent. Drydown: Grape juice??? Also, the throw on this is STRONG. 5 min: Fizzy - a little bit of the ginger coming out, very sweet. Canada Dry ginger ale (or another syrupy sweet one, not a spicy Vernor's). 10 min +: Drier, some of the "bleached stone" aspect coming out, but still bright and sweet overall. Still no sign of eucalyptus or hellsmoke. Definitely getting some of the warm/cold feeling others have described. Overall, too sweet for me, but very interesting - quite a morpher.

This went on as a huge blast of the same foody, cloying plasticky gingerbread smell that made Shub terrible on me, but the amazing dirt/loam note quickly settled it down. It's gently sweet - I definitely get a suggestion of "classic perfume" here, although thankfully it's not reading as overtly floral or aldehydic. I love the dry, earthy, gingery scent that dominates. It's a little sweeter than what I normally go for, but it's very comforting and I'm loving it.

Wet: Loud soapy florals and the tiniest hint of myrrh. After 20 min: Some of the soapiness has toned down, but still present; a little bit more herbal. After 40 min: Honey and a tinge of soap left. I don't think I'll be reaching for this again. :/

This smells really good - toasted almonds and light spices mostly on me. It's not too sweet or cloying, but has a creamy, rounded, "golden" feel. Unfortunately, I have some kind of negative association with this scent - it smells like something/somewhere/someone that I don't like, but I can't figure out what! It's a lovely scent, but I won't hang on to it due to the weird vibes it's giving me.

Dry, woodsy, and vaguely medicinal (I like that kind of scent, so not a complaint!). It went on mostly cedar; some of the beeswax and frankincense started to come out after around 20 min, and then all the lovely herbs sort of blossomed the longer I wore it. I really like this scent - very earthy and mystical.

This didn't smell like much of anything on me. It was vaguely aquatic, sort of like a very diluted version of The Deep Ones, but it faded really quickly. I didn't get any of the other notes. Such a bummer. :/