Diva Urd

In the vial: Patchouli, gorgeous black patchouli! On me, some other notes are stepping in and softening up the already perfectly rounded scent of that delicious black patchouli - I believe it's mainly frankincense, and maybe a tiny bit of sandalwood. This is absolutely delectable, and even though it doesn't last as long as this combination of scents promised, I have to have more of this, as I am irrevocably in love with it. I only wish it hadn't spoiled my patchouli single note to me, which suddenly doesn't smell nearly as good to me anymore..

In the imp I get the musk with a very slight undertone of poppy. The patchouli is unnoticeable, even though it must be what anchors the scent on my skin, as white musks tend to be very short-lived on me. On me, it's about the same - it is definitely feminine, gloriously so. However, it is also icy, no-nonsense and understated, and even though it's a rather soft and close-to-the-skin scent on me, it sticks around forever. My first association when I was wearing it was "Soap opera villainess" - y'know, the lady in the elegant clothes scheming behind the other characters' backs. I adore this, and I can't wait to try the other Zorya scents! I definitely want more of this! EDIT 8/2009: I got another imp of this out of a swap, and in this one, the patchouli note is quite a bit more prominent than in my old imp. Just sniffing the imp actually scared me a bit, because it was so different from the one I had! However, on me, Vech still works her magic. The musks are beautifully bright and ice-cold, and the patchouli actually lends it a slightly earthy note in the background - only ever so slightly different, and still absolutely gorgeous. I really need to scrounge up some money and get a bottle of this already!

I received a sniffie of this in a swap with the wonderful Midnight Aeval. When I unwrapped it, I got a little on my fingers... wow! Awesome scent that lasts a VERY long time. And then, I put some on the husband... on a man, it's even better *swoons* I won't be able to keep my fingers off him whenever he decides to wear it, which is a very good thing Big bottle ahoy!

In the imp, this mainly smelled of roses to me - white roses, if I'm not mistaken. On me, the lilac comes out beautifully, the rose just harnessing it to keep it from becoming only lilac on me. Later, the wisteria starts coming into the background. It stays a fresh floral bouquet on me for quite some time and lasts surprisingly long, considering that I usually need a wood-"anchor" to keep scents around for longer than a couple of hours. Gorgeous! I love lilac, and this rose is just right to go with it. I definitely want more of this!

Oi... this one didn't like me at all. On me it smelled like a hybrid of unsweetened lemon iced tea and Ricola candy with lemon, with a generous helping of cinnamon on top. It also stuck around for a long time and stubbornly refused to come off even after washing my arm multiple times. This one is definitely not for me. Oh well, can't like all the evil oils...

Oh man... while it at first was fruity with maybe a floral hint here and there, upon drydown, it completely turned to the smell of PEZ candy on me. My husband smelled my arm and went "Whoa, PEZ!". It's way sweet and smells somewhat artificial - just like PEZ. Sometimes I like to eat PEZ, but I don't enjoy smelling like it. Too bad, Golachab...

At first, I'm also getting something musty from it, with some patchouli and possibly cinnamon underneath. After only about an hour, Nahemoth has almost completely taken her leave, the only thing that lingers is the cinnamon-like note, which I am not really fond of. Too bad, ol' Naamah sounded interesting... but she doesn't agree with me.

When I first put Sathariel on, the dragon's blood spiked up as it usually does on me until drydown. Once it had completely dried, something spicy, almost cinnamonny clawed its way to the foreground, and some dark musk made itself known as well. If it weren't for the almost-cinnamon note I am getting from this, I would probably like it a bit more, as it is, I don't think I'll order more, although I'll use up what I have.

I'm only getting the barest hint of lemon in this, the freshness in the blend seems more "minty" to me, if that makes any sense. Those two are in the background, with floral notes in the foreground. I'll have to test it out a little bit more before I really decide on whether I like it enough to get more - it's not bad, it doesn't wow me, but wearing it the next time I have to be out on a hot summer day will tell me more.

I get mainly musk with a little woody undercurrent from A'arab. To my great surprise, it's a little fleety - it's gone after only a few short hours. While it was there, it was definitely masculine, although a little bit on the generic-cologney side for me. Not bad, but I probably won't need more.

Oh Ghagiel, you have completely blindsided me, my precious! I tried it on and went, "OMG LILY!". At first until drydown, this is almost true lily of the valley on me. Upon drydown, something a little spicy in the background anchors it and there might be some other floral notes involved, but they only serve to enhance the lily. I love lily, so I adore this. A definite must-reorder!

Both in the vial and on me, I definitely get something from it that yells "male" at me. Lavender and a hint of citrus is what I mainly get, with some florals and maybe a tiny hint of musk underneath. I already quite like this on me, but I think I will have to report back after experimenting with it on the husband, since it would probably be quite awesome on him if his skin doesn't eat it up like it does so many other blends... It's definitely on my "strongly consider reorder" list already.

I'm getting mainly rose out of this (probably white rose, since it smells very similar to the note in Ophelia to me). Something else is in the background, freshening it up and keeping it from being boring or going powdery. I've been wearing it now for about 8 hours, and the rose fragrance is still with me - not strong, it also has been a "close to skin" scent for me most of the time, but definitely there. Very pretty, I like it a lot.

Ohh, this was the one I wanted to try most of all the Qliphoth blends, and it works just gorgeously on me! A lot of people already mentioned honey, floral notes and musk, which is exactly what I am getting. It has extreme staying power - I applied it first the day before yesterday in the evening (after my shower before I go to work), and it stayed with me until I took a shower tonight. Whoa! Nevertheless, the scent never seems overwhelming, it's just there, as if it has a life of its own. Love this, have to buy more!

In the vial, this one had a rather sharpish-soapy smell. On me, it is also very soapy until drydown, then it settles into something that can really only be described as "watery" - like fresh spring water strewn with just a few flower petals. A gorgeously soft yet longlasting fragrance - and it does seem to make me calm smelling it. Will have to try a little more before I decide whether or not to put it on my bottle list, but it's definitely very nice. ETA: Hm, if I apply it after a shower or if I am sweating a lot while wearing it, it kinda turns to hairspray on me... I'm not quite sure it likes me very much, after all

My personal "femme fatale" scent is Anne Bonny. Definitely on the feminine side, but nowhere near vulnerable or otherwise wimpy. In my opinion, it screams "man-eater" (YMMV of course, depending on your skin and personal preferences). I'll absolutely have to nth Loviatar. It's kind of required to mention it, anyway, considering that it is supposed to honor the goddess of dominatrices (and does a bloody good job at it, too! )! For wispy and ethereal, Leanan Sidhe comes immediately to mind. If you like ethereal, dusky flowers, this one is very nice.

I can only speak from my own experiences, but I had the ylang note predominantly, and this is the only blend where the musk turned somewhat feral on me - not enough to be stinky in any way, but it definitely made its presence known. I'm only getting a little bit of patchouli, and if it didn't say it had myrrh in the description, I probably wouldn't have been able to guess it. YMMV, but if patchouli and myrrh are the things to worry about for you, it just might still work out.

Lust. It definitely has sex going on - one reason why I'm not wearing it that much, because I'd rather not make the customers at work think that I might be interested in them... that way

Wow, I thought I reviewed this already... weird. Anyway, since I obviously haven't, let's do it now (since I'm wearing it today)! This smells like the spiced herbal tea I always have for Christmas - it's very comforting to me. It seems to be one of the few combinations where I don't mind an overt cinnamon note in my perfume (usually, I wrinkle my nose at it, I have to admit). It makes me feel good, somewhat empowered, even though it doesn't have nearly the same effect on me as, say, Wolf's Heart (then again, right now, I don't really have anything major I need to achieve, I might try it out again if such a situation comes up). I'm not quite sure yet whether I'll be getting more, I'm going to have to try it a few more times. Scentwise, on a scale from 1 to 5, I'd rate this a solid 3.

In this one, the lily never makes an appearance on me. All I get is woods, slightly mouldy, and something sweet, almost candyish, in the background. I think I might have to stay away from oils that have "aquatic" in the description - whenever I try them, I get the candy effect. The candy fades upon complete drydown - sadly so does everything else. I can barely detect any fragrance anymore after only half an hour. Off to swaps with you, Ulalume!

Wet, this was all extremely sweet lotus on me. On drydown, the extreme sweetness went away and the rose came through. I could not detect any lily. This is a very innocent scent, which really isn't me, and I can't say I liked the initial cloying sweetness much, so I think I'll pass this on to someone who appreciates it more than me.

At first, I mainly got rose from this. In fact, it screamed "ROSE!" to me. Then, upon drydown, the weirdest thing happened... there was an underlying scent that reminded me of a freshly cut, bloody steak. The further time progressed, the more this "meaty" scent mingled with the roses until, in the end, I felt I smelled like a decaying corpse. I have absolutely no clue where this fleshy, meaty note came from, it was just suddenly there, and I've had it in both of my test runs, one of which happened directly after showering. I can't say I want to wear this or smell it for extended periods of time, even if it has the effects the description mentions. It also lasts and lasts, and only gets stronger as time progresses. Freaky...

The predominant note of this on my skin is Dragon's Blood. I believe there might be some floral in there, as well, and a sharpish herbal note in the background (judging from my experiences with "Catherine", it might be rosemary). Sweetish without being cloying, floral without seeming exceedingly feminine. Interesting. Not only do I love this scent, it does exactly as advertised! When I'm wearing it, it's much easier for me to shrug off stressful situations. It's kind of like a guardian angel for your nerves in a bottle. I definitely want more of this.

This one is definitely interesting from an olfactory standpoint. I also get roses and this faint dill smell, which thankfully never completely hijacks the scent. I also think I smell... catnip? How appropriate, and my kitty loves it! As for the effect... I don't know, this one did not have much of an effect on me. I might have felt a bit more, well, youthful upon wearing it, but it wasn't a significant experience in my book. "Wolf's Heart" does a lot more for me than this one.

Cloves, cinnamon and fruit? All the things Urd doesn't really like all that much... But since I've sworn myself to sample any BPAL scent I can get my hands on, no matter how off-putting the description might initially be, I gave it a shot. However, the predictable happens: The fruit turn into extremely cloying, sticky candy on me. At least the cinnamon and clove weren't too strong on me, since I hate both those scents, but I can't say I wanna smell like a Jolly Rancher, either, so... off to the swap/sell pile!