smallvoice

So my mom and I are a member of the organization TOPS, which is for weight loss. Since she joined in March of last year, she has lost approximately 130 lbs. There was a regional meet up in October, which my mom attended, because our chapter's leader said she'd entered all our numbers into the contest, and it was likely my mom would gain some recognition. The leader had lied, however, and had not submitted the paperwork. She'd filled it out and brought it with her. Dumbass. But every year, the organization recognizes someone on a national level. Each state crowns a king and/or queen, and then several of them are published in the monthly magazine. Now, the new year is pretty hard to miss. I would think that the paperwork would be well and truly filled out and ready to go by then. No. The woman calls ME to find out if I have my mother's membership information, and crap that she should have already, and I swear that if this woman fucks this up for my mom, I will tell her exactly how I feel about the situation (during a meeting), and then see if anyone else is okay with this turn of events, and then walk out. I'll find another damn chapter to attend. Screw them. And then I'll write a detailed letter to the national organization and hope for the best. Also, this seemed too petty to start a new topic over, and I'm no longer reading the confessional or the how are you feeling threads. I'm really bummed out about my local used bookstore that I've been going to since they piled everything into one small room. They've expanded, and have recently gotten a lot of new staff members. So I was in there the other day, and I asked one of them about Richelle Mead. I suppose I've been spoiled by the owner, who can cite titles based off a description of a cover, and list authors like woah... and even if she doesn't know, she'll go look herself, and check the computer. Nice things, right? But this woman asked me what genre she was, and I explained that it was paranormal, but it might be paranormal romance and she was like, "Ohhh. Well, I don't really know a lot about that genre, but the name doesn't ring a bell." Chompchompchompthegum. Uh, okay. Thanks for the help. I couldn't find her book anywhere, but that doesn't mean they didn't have it. That's kinda okay- she might've been really busy with other things or something, but here's what really makes me mad. While I'm looking for Succubus Blues, I overhear her talking to another customer, and she's saying, " ... I don't really read paranormal stuff, but she's really good- I read a little bit of that book and really liked it." That's compelling. So the customer asks if they have it in used, and the woman immediately says, "Oh, no. We NEVER get anything back by her. Everybody loves her." And I'm like, "Bullshit." Seriously. Not aloud, of course. So I walk past the customer and glance over and see that she's looking at a Patricia Briggs book, and I roll my eyes, because my mom is a huuuge fan of that woman and buys the used books all the time. So I take the time to walk the ten feet to the shelf, and sure enough, the book is there, in used. So I go up and ask the customer if she had been looking at Moon Called, and she said she had. So I raise my voice ever so slightly and say, "Well, they've got it in used." So she asks if I'm going to buy it and I'm like, "Nope, please have at it." I get that you might want to be selling new over used, but that shit is only going to piss people off. People like me. The owner, however, will go out of her way to see if they have a used copy of something- I've been at the register, and she's asked me if I want it used and then pulled a used copy for me, because I'll always take used books. That makes me sad.

I've found Ivanushka to be really comforting lately.

First of all, welcome! There's a whole thread on seductive scents here that you should peruse at your leisure, but to address your specific concerns... hmm. If you don't like fruity scents, I think Lady Macbeth wouldn't be a great first choice. The wine scent is fruity, in addition to the currants and the berries. Thyme won't balance it out that much. The first recommendation when someone talks about sexy scents will always be Snake Oil. It's not one I can wear personally, but it is the bestseller for a reason. If you are looking for something darkly sexy or sweetly sexy, it makes a difference. (Most people wouldn't put Alice in the sexy category, but I feel flirty/sexy when I wear it, for example.) For passion, a lot of people go the route of spicy scents- Port-au-Prince, Bengal, Eclipse, The Lion and Morocco all spring to mind- or heady florals, like Medea, Euphrosyne, Hunger or Black Dahlia. Some like sweetness: O, Dorian, Queen of Sheba or Bien Loin D'ici, and finally you have musky scents: Scherezade, The Raven, Hell's Belle, Bastet, Loviatar (more leather than musk, really), or Spellbound... lots of those cross into other categories, those are just vague outlines of scent families. Anyway, I hope that helps a little! The more information you can provide about what makes you feel sexy, the better!

Tomorrow I trudge back to school with statistics and A&P waiting for me... I'm pondering what to wear. I'm thinking it might be an Et Lux Fuit kind of day... I could use some sunshine. ETA: And it's Sugar Skull '07, FTW this morning.

Water of Notre Dame smells fresh and green to me! Very clean.

Initially this is very strong cologne, and impassive hit it on the head- it does smell very familiar, but it's not evoking a specific time in my life, so I couldn't tell you what it is. As it dries, it comes down very close to my skin. Is there something like House of Mirrors here? I think there is a grounding note coming through that will deepen with age. It's masculine, but wearable. I like it more and more as it dries, but I am not getting a sharp metallic/motor oily scent, which I wanted. I'm not sure I love this one, but I'll have to see how it settles into its own skin, so to speak. I think it might be something I can wear during winter. Sorry this is just a random stream of thoughts! I was hoping to give a more helpful, coherent review. I may update later with how it settles. I will say this (again): The more it dries, the more I like it.

I wore Egg Nog on Christmas Eve (which is when my in-laws did all the Christmas stuff). Think I wore Death Cap on Christmas, but I don't remember- heh. I wore The Perilous Parlor to Christmas 2.0 with my family, and I'm wearing Sugar Skull tonight, because I love it right now.

I haven't tried it, but you might like Plunder- it's been described as being chai without milk and sugar. Lab description: tea leaf, cassia, cinnamon bark, clove, allspice, sandalwood, tobacco, peppercorn, and nutmeg. ETA: It's in Bewitching Brews.

I was going to pop in to mention 51 and Yemaya, because those two sound perfect, but I've been beaten to the punch. Yemaya is more floral than 51, which is a fresh, crisp green. Embalming Fluid is another one that is in the same family as 51, for me. If you can get any, she might like Snow-Flakes, but Snow White is a decent alternative.

You might like The Unicorn or The Lion- The Unicorn for the herbs, and the Lion for the creamy amber. Leanan Sidhe is a beloved, green herbal scent, and I've seen The Apothecary and the Dormouse mentioned in the company of Mantis. Garden Path with Chickens is a very grassy scent, but there's not that creamy undertone, to my nose. Still, it could be worth a shot. 51 and Embalming Fluid are green scents, but they're not herbal like Mantis. I'm thinking the orange and amber are making it creamy for you, which makes me lean again towards The Lion, despite the lack of neroli. I'd suggest Black Hellebore, just because I like it and it's a lightly herbal blend, to me. A search for neroli brings up a few that I hadn't thought of off the top of my head: Zephyr, Desire, The Caterpillar and maybe Phantasm. You'll have to experiment and then update with your findings! ETA: 51 does contain neroli and is a very green scent. I highly recommend it.

Do you ever really get over that person who evokes the first exhilirating burst of love? Not your first crush, nor the first person you went out with whenever that began, but the first person you could actually feel in your soul; the one you could see yourself with, growing old together, the very first person to take your breath away and make you rethink everything you've ever heard about the concept of love? Does that one ever really heal? I love my husband with all my heart, truly I do. I don't want anyone else. So why do I find myself still looking for this other person? Actively looking. It doesn't make sense.

No- I'm still pretty giddy-in-love with my husband right now, but the first person I fell in actual love with really messed with my head, and I feel like it took something away from me, something innocent, maybe? I feel like I don't love as well as I did, like I'm more wary at some level. There's a guard that was never there. Either that, or my heart never did get fixed right. So I guess what I'm describing is worse, because it's about an actual person, and not a nebulous ideal, if that makes sense?

Carnal might be one to consider, and I'd also suggest Perversion, Blood (especially aged), Hunger, Scherezade, Shub Niggurath, The Great Sword of War and you absolutely must get her Dorian. And O.

Soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods and dusted by dry leaves. I totally get where the pickle smell people are mentioning is coming from, but for me it's totally in a background sort of way. Is it just me, or does this smell a little like Doc Buzzard? I might be crazy, but it really smells familiar to me. It really is a lovely, sweet musky scent. It is much like others have described; very sort of woodsy and musky and... I don't know what else to say. I wanted to see if anybody else had noticed a note in common with Doc Buzzard. How odd! I think this one will age beautifully, as well. UPDATE, from the Hidden Treasures thread:

Okay, so I don't like lilies all that much, but dude. This is a-freakin-mazing. It really does have the same violets that are in Faith and do NOT be scared off by the listing of charcoal. This is going to sound strange, but I can smell it in a pretty way. It's there, but everybody should try this blend. I don't even have words for this, but if you liked Faith, you owe it to yourself to try this. I must have a bottle. Also, much love for the free-cant. UPDATE 1/3/08: I've tried Sugar Skull '07, and it smells very similar to this. UPDATE 4/7/08: I don't know if it's a "time of the month" thing or if it's an aging thing, but I have yet to get back that amazing experience that evoked the above review. It smells...... bad. Like, litter box bad. I'm beginning to suspect violet is a note that doesn't like me. I'll submit it to some more testing, though.

I got to try an earlier version of this, though I thought it was the '05 version, this topic only lists '04 in the title. At any rate, the version I tried was buttery and thick and smelled of curdled milk, thanks to my chemistry. It was a little overwhelming even without that. The 2007 version is LOVELY. It is spicy and creamy and noggy... but it is SO light. My skin just eats it up. I will have to play around with how much I apply. If you're a fan of gourmandy/spicy scents, this one could work out well for you! I am so pleasantly surprised, and will be scouting out a bottle of this in swaps, if at all possible.

Let me start off by first giving much, much love to the person who free-canted me this. You know who you are! I'm also going to say how much I love it, right off the bat. It really does smell exactly how I hoped and expected it would. The notes are balanced really well. I feel like it isn't as complex as some scents are; like this might be really good in a lotion, but I felt that way about Bliss. I think this one will deepen beautifully with age, however, and that will be breath-taking indeed. I am so glad I swapped for a bottle already! This is coffee and chocolate and cinnamon. That's just what it is. If you don't like foody scents, this probably won't work out for you- then again, the cinnamon could totally ground it for you and make it gourmand, so don't take my word for it!

For ozone/aquatics, you might try Danube or Szepasszony. I haven't tried Szepasszony, but I've heard it raved over again and again. You might also think about something like Shattered, Dirty, Whitechapel, Aglaea or Embalming Fluid, for clean. Hope that helps, at least some!

I got this as a gift from a lovely, lovely forumite. Huh. I wasn't sure about this, because of the nicotania and black musk, but I didn't review the notes when I first put it on, and here's my initial response: Creamy and nutty. That's odd. VERY smooth. Then I went and checked the notes. Creaminess and smoothness must be the carmel. The nicotania must be doing the nut part, I guess. I never, ever got ANY mint out of it, and the sage was very mild. It's an intriguing scent. I'll have to be brave and see how it wears over the course of a day. I'm glad I'm not the only one without mint!

I sniffed the imp, and promptly put it back. I wrinkled my nose, because it was sharp. SHARP. That didn't seem right at all- so I looked up the notes, swiped it on my skin, and wrinkled my nose again. UGH. Wha-huh? This has all the elements of a scent I could love, except for the sandalwood- citrus, white musk, fruits... yum, right? That must be why it was starred on my wishlist. It's a white musk blend. So I left it on my skin for just a bit. It calmed down into this creamy, orange-y delightful scent. The sandalwood grounds it, and nothing else, thankfully. I'll have to try really wearing it before I leap into a bottle, but I certainly like it more than I thought I would. It isn't similar (on my skin) to any other blend, either.

If you want fruity with your chocolate instead of woodsy, you could consider July's 13. It's tasty.

If you haven't tried Velvet, you might. The sandalwood tends to ground the cocoa.

Once I got over the fact that this is not the original formula, I was able to be a little more objective about it. I kept asking my husband if I smelled like strawberry shortcake dolls, to which he replied, "Uh, not that I can recall, but seeing as how I didn't have one of those..." Heh. I get a plasticky scent that really does remind me of those dolls, though. It's sort of like fruity hard candy, when it first goes on, and then plastic. I have a feeling that this will age well, and I can't smell the plastic unless I'm huffing my wrist. Otherwise it smells like creamy berries. I'm hoping it gets cheesecakier as time marches on. Hoping! The label is so cute, and it's a very pretty scent- it will be wonderful in the springtime. I will be holding on to this one.

I'm doing a weekly weigh in, and I'm going to record stuff about it in here. Loss Today: 4.0lbs Loss in August: 7.8 Cumulative Loss: 11.8lbs Long term overall goal: 99.6lbs Short term overall goal: 35lbs Updated Long and Short Term goals to address weight lost: 87.8/23.2

I am SO behind on reviews, but how did I miss this one? I love this scent! I love the Snake Pit! I'm not a fan of Snake Oil, but almost all the little variations (that I've tried) are crazygood on me. Seriously. Crazygood. This one is sexy on me, but it's not so sexy that I can't wear it lounging around at home all day in my sweats, or at school with people around me. The leather is SO good. It makes the Snake Oil... fantastic. The sandalwood doesn't go dusty, and the sage is barely noticable on me. The tonka smooths things out and adds a bit of sweetness to the leather, in addition to the wonderful spices from SO. :D I can only imagine what aging will do to this scent!!