nekhbet

In the bottle: Something sharp and sour... vinegar? On me: Dirt and vinegar. And no rose. I'm sad now. I may cry.

Apparently, rose scents hate me. Which is unfortunate, 'cuz I love them. Talk about unrequited obsessions... Whip turns soapy on me almost immediately. It's not as bad as the soapiness I get from Rose Cross or Persephone, but it's definitely there. It may be tempered by the leather, although that never comes out as a detectable note... more of just a background warmth. This is wearable in that I don't feel I might DIE if I don't wash it off (as with the other aforementioned scents) but it's definitely not right for my skin. Poo...

Berry shampoo... yes! That's exactly what this smells like at first. Not a bad kind of soapy scent... rather a very clean and sweet scent of berries. As it dries, the berries take on a sweeter note on me... still smells very clean. That freshness must be the greenery in the background, although it never comes out strong enough for me to pick it out as an individual note. I like this scent... but I'm not sure it's me.

Bounce dryer sheets. That's what I get from application to drydown. It doesn't really morph on my skin. It's certainly not a bad scent... very fresh and green and sharp... I think I may smell some light floral tones on there. Hmmm... kinda smells like taking laundry out of the dryer. Interesting scent, just not for me.

This one is wondiferous! On me it starts out as a very cool, smooth, fresh scent. The pine is noticable, but is velvety and dark-- it lacks any sharpness at all to my nose. It's just clear and fresh-- like chilly night air. On the drydown, the musk really begins to take over, but it is not a deep, murky musk. More cool and crystalline and sparkling with an undercurrent of heavenly sweetness that must be the ambergris. Oooohhh.. heaven! I've already ordered a big bottle!

As soon as this touches my skin it explodes into very heady white florals... not a good thing for me. I love white flowers... on their respective plants, but I have yet to find a white floral scent that compliments my skin chemistry. Shroud's white florals are not 'light' on me at all. Very heavy and sweet... gardenia perhaps? Or maybe it's the lily. A touch of a csweet citrusy scent that could be magnolia. Whatever it is, it overpowers everything else. Very cloying. As the drydown begins, the sandalwood comes forward. Wow, suprisingly true to the dried saldalwood pieces I have for making incense. Quite a lovely scent. It's still competing with the florals, which have died down some but are still very present. As it fades, the white flowers fade altogther (thank goodness). The sandalwood seems not so dry now... instead it has taken on a sweet, carmelized note. Finally, now, a green and grassy fragrance comes through. This scent finishes off quite beautifully on me, but I'm not sure whether it's worth waiying through the initial white flower explosion.

Ooohhh.... nice! In the bottle I get mostly vetiver... very strong and earthy. But, once on, the violet comes sweetly out. It smells similar to a violet-flavored candy I liked as a kid. The vetiver is still there, barely. As it begins to dry, the candy-sweetness of the violets fades a bit and allows the vetiver to come more to the front. It smells like lying on the damp forest floor in springtime with dozens of deep purple violets blooming near your head. Later, the violet totally amps up and sweetens. Super-sweet as a matter of fact. Hmmm... I like it! At the last, it fades so that the violet is no longer so sweet or strong, but soft and darkly spiced by the earthiness of the vetiver. Lovely!

First impression... butterscotch candy? On the skin, the initial butterscotch smell fades quickly and the coconut comes strongly to the fore with a rich buttery undertone that must be the rum, although it doesn't have much of that alcoholic 'twang' to my nose. It wears fairly true to the original buttery coconut scent until it begins to fade, leaving a sweet, smoky tobacco fragrance in its place. It smells similar to those mini-cigars the BF smokes... mmmmmm, good.

This is the first imp I tried from my first order. From all the great reviews here, I almost ordered a 5ml... but I'm glad I tried it first. In the vial... I get a pure sweet rose scent. Wet on skin... turns almost immediately into soap. Smells exactly like the decorative rose soaps my grandmother keeps in her bathroom... rosey, sweet, soapy. After about ten minutes, the frankincense comes to the fore, very sweet, earthy and grounded. The rose/soap scent is very faded at this point. Alas, when dry, all I get from this is powder. Soapy powder. I'm so disappointed. I really wanted this one to work. I'll let it sit by for awhile and try it again. ETA: What a difference a week makes! Must be some hormonal chemistry thing, cuz I've tried this again in the past two days, and WOW it's wonderful. The rose is very sweetand the drydown is a smooth, mellow frankincense. Got my first compliment from this today when the SO came home from work. He walked in and said, "Ooh, you smell good! What did you do?" Uh... put on perfume?