aine

This is overwhelmingly VANILLA!!1! on me. The kind with sharp claws and pointy fangs. This is so similar to Snake Oil on me, just without the soft spices. It's loud and rubbery - very latex-y. I've washed this off, and washed it off, and washed it off. And it is still shouting at me.

This is my Holy Grail scent. Perfect in every way. Nothing I would change about it (other than a magic limitless supply ). Minotaur smells amazing on me. Black musk and resins are always fabulous, but this is really something else. This fragrance makes me feel wonderful and garners compliments like no other. The myrrh is almost smoky and there is a beautiful dry incense feel to the resins. The musk really adds to the throw and longevity. Everything is perfectly in its place and I couldn't be happier with this fragrance.

Damn, I love the Stations of the Sun. And Ahathoor is my favourite of them all. It's hot. Dry. Arid. Like an open plain under the scorching sun. I especially love the absence of sweetness or softness. Ahathoor means business. This oil absolutely shines on my skin. It's so perfectly blended that I have trouble distinguishing the notes but I am reasonably confident I am smelling sassafras and heliotrope primarily. There are dry woods, a dry but soft vetiver and warming spices. Maybe even a dry carnation note. Did I mention it's dry?? I just adore Ahathoor, so unique and so evocative. It is a perfect representation of the midday sun. This scent was in my Top Ten for ages, and has only been bumped by the recent influx of magnificent Gaiman scents. I think I'll have to have a Top Fifteen just so I can squeeze it in!

Subtle, but gorgeous. Mr Jacquel is just the most beautiful combination of some of my favourite notes. The patchouli and hyssop are nothing short of divine, and the amber is in its most fabulously tempered form. The embalming spices are gentler than I expected. I love that its quite dry, I can almost smell the pages of ancient books. And the strangest thing is that I can smell something that reminds me of the not-quite coconutty note in Death Cap. I've scanned the reviews hoping someone else found it too, and was more eloquent at describing it, but no joy. Mr Jacquel is an outstanding scent, although I wish it wasn't so subtle on me. Oh well, just means I have to slather.

Add me to the list of those who love Ides of March. It is a very evocative fragrance for me, it reminds me of the green scented winds blowing across grass and through gardens. The gentle scents of herbs, citrus trees, fresh springtime flowers. It is a fresh spring fragrance without being girly or stereotypical in any way. The rosemary and vervain give it such a gender-neutral herbgarden edge and the bergamot and lemon peel add a gentle but present citrus dimension. The resin notes and even the florals seem to be there only to ground Ides of March, they don't alter the feel of the scent. All in all, Ides of March is a fabulous oil. I love its oldfashioned cologne feel and its uncomplicated nature - I really enjoy wearing it.

Wearing Jacob's Ladder 05 is an adventure. Will today be the day it smells a little like a powdery baby's bum on me? Or will it be its usual resinous goldeness? This is such a beautiful fragrance when it works, the resins are almost luminous. The tonka and benzoin add a smoothness while still allowing Jacob's Ladder to be about golden light. There are touches of floral but amber is the focal point at all times, refracting brilliantly at the centre of the scent. The first half hour or so can be a little dicey, but it blooms into gorgeous golden scent and a beautiful interpretation of amber. Lovely.

As Schwarzer Mond opens, it is all about the bay rum, myrrh and patchouli. Dark, perhaps a deep maroon if it were a colour, but syrupy also. A sweet spicy incense. When it dries the black amber and opoponax start to shine. So rich, syrupy, resinous. This is such a distinctive oil, and it is just getting richer with age. Love it - fortunately I have a couple of backup bottles of this one because it is firmly placed in my Top Ten and I wear it often.

How could I not love Dee? The six notes listed are six of my favourites - I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that this would be sensational on me. And it is!! It is sweet and lickable in a masculine way, but certainly not unwearable for a female. Warm and sexy. Dee smells like a huge soft leather armchair surrounded by books and antiques in a private library. A Top Ten fragrance for me, I love wearing it.

I adore Dracul - it's a Top Ten GC for me and an oil I wear regularly. The notes are blended so seamlessly it has a real sense of chocolatey smoothness even though it is not chocolatey in the slightest. The black musk, tobacco and balsam of peru provide a delicious warm roundness on which the clove, mint and orange stand and attract attention. Nothing sharp or dominating in this blend, even the clove is smooth. It's like standing close enough to a gorgeous man in a nightclub to realise that he smells clean, sexy and warm. Mmmmmm.....

Big, big, big herbal lavender blast when first on - wow, that is powerful! Fortunately I adore lavender so this is perfect for this Gemini. The lavender calms pretty quickly though and a resinous orchid makes its way to the forefront. The juxtaposition is gorgeous. Gemini is a big scent, when dry this is primarily rich wafting orchid, a thick floral sweetness that catches my attention throughout the day. Lovely.

Clove-aliciousness. I agree with previous reviewers that this is similar to Count Dracula, but The Smiling Spider is more straightfoward with a more biting clove note. The clove most certainly dominates, and the black musk tempers some of the almost-smoky spiciness. The woods add layers and depth to the fragrance rather than standing on their own. I love The Smiling Spider and the label art is fabulous. It's an oil for days when you want to be noticed.

This has been one of my Top Ten GC blends for such a long time, and I can't imagine it moving anytime soon. Omen is a magnificent blend - mossy, earthy, green, woody. The patchouli is smooth and deep and the other notes bring to mind swirling greens and browns. In the most divine way, it smells like the depths of the forest without smelling pine-y. It is not a dank or dirty scent, rather it is green and alive. Oakmoss, juniper berry, myrrh and patchouli are some of my most loved notes and in Omen they blend beautifully. The dark green waft lasts for the longest time on me. I am a devoted fan.

Tamamo-no-Mae is all creamy peachiness on me. I was seduced by words like tea, ginger, benzoin, smoke and sandalwood in the description, but I couldn't have pegged the 'feel' of this one more incorrectly if I tried! It is a little like an asian milky jelly sweet that a workmate used to make (I know, not so helpful when I can't remember the name of it ). Overall, a lovely scent and I can absolutely understand why it is so highly sought-after. And one of my favourite labels ever. But alas it is just not something I can see myself ever wearing.

I love tea rose, so I was keen to try Victoria even though I didn't hold much hope that it would work on me. I felt quite sure that the tea rose would be completely overwhelmed by the other notes because I don't like vanilla musk and lilies aren't favourites either. The tea rose is lovely, the vanilla aspect of the musk is surprisingly tame and even the lily is behaving. This is a nice but very fleeting scent on me, and Victoria disappears leaving nothing but a single lily in her place.

This is mostly plum, calla lily and ylang ylang on me. These aren't typically great notes on me and I'm thinking it might be a little too 'big' on my skin. It almost gets a metallic feel, and if I slathered it on I'm sure it would give me a headache, but the incensey notes are really amazing. I can't smell the beeswax, which is a little disappointing as it is one of my most loved notes but also a little amusing because Tristran is the one that has a waxy note for me. That 'sinister purple-hued incense smoke' is gorgeous though, and keeps me going back for another sniff.

The words 'high' and 'crystalline' in the scent description for Yvaine worried me a little, particular about ten minutes after applying it when it looked like it might develop a sharp 'white musk/ozone' kind of note. I loved the lavender and got some magnolia, but I got a sense that something was threatening to spike. I needn't have worried though, it quickly softened to a very serenely beautiful fragrance. I wouldn't describe this as a lavender scent (it's definitely not herbal) or a magnolia scent (not pow-in-your-face). It's absolutely a starry scent, and these are twinkly stars rather than sparkly stars. One to wear when you want to smell ethereal.

Spring and candy! There are a lot of performers in this fragrance but none are claiming centre stage. The grass note is soft and quite faint, the candy note is sweet without being sickly or foody, the florals are pretty and airy. There really is something about all the Stardust scents that makes me want to describe them as smooth. The Fairy Market is a pretty scent, but not really the 'style' of fragrance I reach for often. I do kinda want to send it to the major perfume houses though, with a note saying - This is what you are trying to do......

Wow - I can't believe there is not more love for Tristran. It's a gorgeous fragrance - so smooth, gently masculine and yet so complex. I love that it is such an unusual take on 'masculine' when it's wet. Mostly rounded woods and tonka with peeping lemon and mint. In some small way it is reminiscent of Dracul, it doesn't necessarily smell like Dracul it just behaves similarly. As it dried though I started to wonder whether this is very different on me than others. The one word that sang out at me is not even mentioned above. For me Tristran is the most delightful wax fragrance. It smells waxy, like warm pools of candle wax, without being honeyed in the slightest. I love the warm waxiness, and Tristran will be in regular rotation.

This really is "crushed green stems" with a smattering of floral notes rounding out the edges. There's something that makes me think of water although it's not a watery note. It smells alive and I almost want to say 'clean' but I worry that that might hint at soapiness and I don't find this soapy at all. Orpheus is a perfect scent for after a shower. I can definitely see the Ides of March comparisons but this is much prettier. Whereas Ides is a very traditional fragrance, this is fresh and modern. It is what I would like my hair to smell like forever more..... (okay even I think that's a weird way to review a fragrance - but it's true)

I wore Serpent's Kiss for the first half and Dragon's Hide for the rest.

Sexy musky leather. Musky, lip-licking, back-arching, thigh-clenching leather. And did I mention sexy? Sure it's like Dee, but with a raging erection and a devilish look in his eye. If I wasn't so overcome with Crowley-lust, I might actually find that image disturbing. As it is, I can feel my toes pointing already. My husband has no idea what is about to hit him.

Gorgeous. Just gorgeous. I can kinda see the Cathedral comparisons, but Aziraphale is much lighter and somehow more about pages than pews. The musk is very gentle and I swear I can smell the dusty Bible accord. If you had asked me yesterday what that smelled like I wouldn't have had a clue. But now that I smell it, it's like I always knew exactly how a good dusty Bible smelled. Aziraphale stays very close to the skin, but it will be perfect for unfussy days in bookshops.

Hmmm, I came to this thread with grand plans for my Habu review. But apparently I'm the only one who thinks it smells like rockmelon. Litta bitta snake oil. Whole lotta rockmelon. *slithers away in embarrassment*

My vote is for Dance of Death too - but I think you might be needing this thread.

My clean and fresh variety-six-pack of imps would be - Szepasszony Kumiho Embalming Fluid Moonrose Maiden Sea of Glass All different kinds of clean and fresh.....