shadith

For the first few minutes this reminds me of a gorgeous oil I had for my oil burner- a somewhat christmasey orange blend. Unfortunately my skin chemistry turns the lilac into soap and amps it up, so that's it for me.

I love rose, and I love incense- so I ordered a bottle of this unsniffed. Unfortunately my skin turns this into soap right away, and it doesn't get better over time

I'm so sorry that I have to say this, but Pickled Imp just screams YUCK to me as soon as it hits my skin. Usually I love the notes which are listed (well, I don't know about the pine sap), but this one somehow reminds me of sitting in a car while feeling a strange sickness in the back of your throat, one of those little vanilla tree air refresheners are dangling from the rearview mirror, and you can't open a window which makes all worse. I think it's the intense creaminess that doesn't work for me there

During summer I like to wear: Aizen-Myoo: Yuzu, kaki, and mikan with cherry blossom and black tea. Absinthe: An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon. They both are light and fresh and work for me even when it's hot and humid, when other scents feel too heavy easily. I also like to wear Kabuki: a luxuriant, exotic blend of cherry, red musk, and star anise when I like it a bit more fruity- the anise keeps it from being sticky sweet; and Perversion: Smoky rum and black tobacco with a whisper of steamy leather with a splash of crystalline chardonnay, layered over a sensual, sweet, and deceptively magnetic base of tonka- which smells light and somewhat coconutty on me (with lots more going on underneath, but the feeling fits). They're all from the GC btw.

For me it's also Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo that always makes me smile when I put it on. Ironically, Xanthe, The Weeping Clown does that too But just in the initial stages, because it smells very similar to ACJM on my skin then- after a few minutes it goes bad, so I don't know about the drydown for others. It's LE, but you can still get it from the Lab atm. ETA: I completely forgot about Bewitched (smells like a bush full of sweet wild berries on me) it lifts my spirits immediately upon application.

I can second the recommendation for Katharina: it's white musk with apricot and smells so lovely. The musk in it has quite a throw too.

The first impression is minty and a little like vinegar-based cleanser Wow, I expected something completely different. Despite the mint it is more soft and round than sharp or stingy. A bit like a well chewn mint chewing gum. The sourly smell gets lighter after a while, but it keeps floating around. I don't like this one, it keeps reminding me of cleansers. Too bad

I had high hopes for this, I love all the notes that are listed and the reviews sounded so great, but somehow it didn't work for me. From the first sniff on I have an aversion to it. On closer inspection it's a very hot blend, I get the cinnamon, clove, peach and something dark underneath I can't define (which also is the smell that I don't like I guess). The first time I tried it it was summer so I thought I'd give it one more try when it's cold outside (it feels like it's more for the colder months), but it didn't work. It feels so /wrong/ to me, I could never wear this.

I can only agree with the others about the scent- there is something sharp and unpleasing about it. I noticed this too late and put on a little too much- the next time I know that a few tiny dots will be enough of this oil. But damn, it worked so fine that I even didn't care that maybe anybody else may smell this oil on me Usually I'm so paranoid about bothering others with my smell, especially if it's a little off-putting like this oil. I additionally put a BPAL-blend on as my perfume, but of course it couldn't mask the smell of the TAL. The reason I tried this oil was an event where I knew I'm usually nervous. I'm shy and always afraid of meeting new people- especially if it's a big group where my friend knows everybody and the only person I know is my friend. I have fears of not knowing about what to talk, and usually just stay in the background and wish there was a big black hole that would swallow me. I was not sure whether to put on Charisma or Brass Balls, but I decided to go with Brass Balls since I thought I'd need an oil that has an effect on me and my confidence instead of giving the others a different perception of me (and me still feeling unsure). And this is the third TAL where I can say 'hell, it worked damn fine'. I was not nervous, I said hi to everybody and smiled, I felt at ease even when I just sat there and didn't say anything, and didn't have the feeling that I'm invisible. I laughed with the others, joined conversation and sometimes said a few things myself to the whole group. I was able to look everybody straight into the eye and show my interest instead of hoping for a black hole, averting my eyes and staring at the ground. I had a great time this afternoon and felt very confident with myself, all the things I usually worry about were not so important (and those are a lot since I have many hang-ups and tend to feel low about myself). This is a great oil if you need some help in situations you're usually afraid of.

I tried this oil a couple of times now. I wore it to job interviews and while I'm not sure if it worked there I had an experience that convinced me of its effect. I went to a concert with a friend and her acquaintance. This acquaintance usually doesn't like me at all- I don't know what I've done to her, it seems she even didn't like me before we met the first time since she ignores me and tries to avoid talking to me since I first saw her. I've always been friendly to her and I'm sure I gave her no reason for her behaviour. My friend said that this person just doesn't like some people and is generally a little cool and often keeps a distance. So I thought I'd put on charisma. I could use the 'help' for a social situation like concerts alone since I'm a little shy, and I wanted to see if it had any 'side-effects' on the acquaintance. It had. When she joined my friend and me she didn't greet me as always although I send Hello to her (but ok, I'm used to that), but the longer we were together the friendlier she got. She even reacted when I said something to the whole group (usually she doesn't feel spoken to), and she joined in when I joked about something. Of course we weren't the best friends but spending the evening with her was much easier than the times before. Even my friend commented the day after that me and her acquaintance seemed to be getting along way better that evening. I'm almost sure that I can ascribe this effect to the oil, since I didn't act any different than usual. Maybe it only had an effect on me, put me more on ease and made me more confident (that's how I feel everytime I wear this) so that I came across differently instead of the oil directly having an effect on the other person, but whatever it was, it helps getting others a more positive perception of you I'll definitely get a bottle of this and continue wearing it in situations where I can need a little help with my charisma or when it's important to leave a positive impression (as in job interviews etc), since it also has a positive effect on how I see myself and I immediately feel more present, open and approachable when I wear it.

Scent-wise I really like this- soft sandalwood sticks out on me accompanied by a fresher scent, I would not describe it as a floral. And it works. I had a really hard week, every time I went to bed chaotic thoughts went through my head and so many things were going through my mind that I could not focus on getting some rest and lay awake for hours before falling into sleep. The night before a job interview I decided I couldn't take this any longer and needed some rest for the next day, so I tried White Light. I applied it immediately before going to bed, and when I lay down I noticed that there were no thoughts rushing through my mind, I just lay there, felt very comfortable and at ease and fell asleep soon. I love this oil. I only get it out for the really bad cases, I used it about three times in the six months I have it now. I'm going to buy a bottle of it nonetheless, it is simply invaluable if you feel that you can't cope with a cluttered mind, worries and anxieties by yourself anymore and need a 'time out' to get some rest.

On application this smells wonderful.. I get white musk and sweet pea. Almost immediately it turns a little soapy on me, but it's not one of those unpleasant loud soap smells that I get when one note goes wrong on me. After a while it gets more clean-powdry (the sweet pea almost vanished), light and unobtrusive but comforting, actually it smells like I wished Enraged Bunny Musk would have been based on the reviews (but it had gone horribly wrong on me). The throw of Aeval is quite strong, I applied a little of it on my wrist and can smell it wafting up while I'm typing something on the keyboard. Actually the scent is quite beautiful (although I have the impression it does not smell on me like it was intended to be), but there is one little note floating around in the background that puts me off. I can't pinpoint it, can't describe it, but I don't like it. Additionally the blend doesn't suit me- as nice as it smells (without the weird note), I think I can give this one away.

I can second the recommendations for Hetairae. Athens smells a bit of honey too, although it's more of an aromatic honey mead and it's very green at the same time. Delphi is honey along with a bitter green note on me. Chimera had honey on me too, although more of a milk with honey in it. It kind of reminded me of O, but a bit lighter and more cozy than dirty and sweaty

Initially this smells sour, but it turns fast majorly into Myrrh, I don't get much else for a while. After a few minutes the slightly sour smell returns, I can recognize the rose this time. I feared the jasmine since I don't like it usually, but here it's only wafting around in the background, and never has the chance to get up my nose. I have the impression that this is a very womanly smell, very mature. It wouldn't suit me and my appearance, but I imagine it to be very good on the right type of woman.

My initial impression is fruity/orange blossom with a little cocoa underneath. Unfortunately my skin does what it always does to cocoa (I so hope I find an exception one day)- it turns it to plastic within minutes. So no more detailed review, sorry