Diva Urd

In the vial: Soft, humid tropical floral On: Very soft immediately after it dries, goes faint within half an hour. Also a bit soapy. Pleasant enough, but no staying power whatsoever and VERY close to the skin after half an hour at most. Sometimes good for after a bath, but otherwise...

A friend gifted me with an imp of this, since it really wasn't for her. In the imp: Phew, vetiver, plus greenery... a bit intimidating. On: Vetiver with powder... and I don't hate it. Not at all. In fact, the powdery note, whatever it is, turns the vetiver into something manageable - it's like putting a cute, frilly pink tutu on Cthulhu, and the result is, well, unique I might like this enough for a bottle.

Bottle: Very perfumey with a metallic note in the background. On: Getting the musk and frankincense, with amber softening the mixture and especially the metal note. It's a nice scent, but it feels somewhat incomplete, which makes sense, considering that the Witchblade needs a wielder. Later: The scent gets a bit more body, probably thanks to the musk warming up on my skin. At this point, it works as a standalone perfume, although I bet it'd be even better layered. Since the husband also likes this a lot, the decant is a keeper, and we will decide about a bottle later.

Bottle: Exactly what it says in the description: Honey, musk, leather. On: Worn leather with a little bit of sweetness. Reminds me of hugging some leather-clad female friends - badass jacket or coat plus perfume. The leather ends up winning out over the other notes, which I don't have a problem with Later: This scent really mingles with my own natural scent to where I end up with ever-so-slightly sweetened leather. It smells just like skin after wearing a leather jacket. I will definitely keep the decant around for personal use (the husband isn't too enamored of it on himself, but that's understandable - the scent screams "badass chick", not "male").

Bottle: Huh. Smells a bit mustardy. How strange. Wonder what's doing that - my guess would be the bourbon geranium or the porcelain note. On: Thankfully, the mustard scent goes away on skin contact, just leaving an underlying sharpness. Tonka and musk are definitely in the foreground, and there is a dustiness to the scent - crushed porcelain? Later: This goes rather dusty after only about half an hour, although the geranium is keeping it from completely descending into Swiffer territory. Will have to do a daywear to make further decisions on it (and try it on the husband, although knowing his skin, I bet he'll amp that mustardy thing that's going on in the vial), but for now, the decant stays.

Bottle: Unbelievable. I don't have synesthesia, but if I had to describe this scent in one word, it would be "tawny". Seriously, I smelled this and got an image of an African landscape in my head. I definitely get the scent of hides (not as strong as regular leather) and some amber with a hint of clove. On: Clove and sage with hides and amber in the background. The scent seems pretty elusive, I'm not sure if it's going to last long. Later: Hides lightly scented with clove and sage. The scent is very close to the skin, which is nice on occasion. It doesn't bowl me over, so I doubt there's gonna be a bottle, but I'll keep my decant.

Bottle: RUM! And something that resembles clove a lot. I don't know which of the notes it is, as I am unfamilar with massoia bark or wool notes. On: Citrussy clove? What the...? Thankfully, the lemony bit dies down upon drying and the opium begins to creep out. The clovey scent still dominates. It's an interesting scent, although I am not sure whether I like it or not. Later: Clove. I don't think this is working out for me. There'll be a test on the husband later, but I have a distinct feeling this one is bound for the swap pile. Even later: Hm. The clove is finally stepping back a bit in favor of bay rum and opium. I might have to try around with this some more. Still not a favorite, but not "ick" anymore. Much later: Now it's actually rather nice, but it took a while to get there... I probably won't need more.

The first scent that came to mind was Pele, as she is a goddess known for her dancing and associated with volcanoes and a rather impressive temper. She is ready to quarrel with her siblings at a moment's notice (hopefully here and there for a just cause ) and her scent has both sharp and soft aspects (a hint of paradox), all of which are non-foody (the ginger in this does not seem overly foody to me). Her godhood would account for the "old soul." As for me, I am a German and Japanese double major. I am not very creative, I am sad to say, but I have a very strong work ethic and will choose study over social life. I am always punctual and will keep my nose to the grindstone to the bitter end, through weekends and breaks, if need be. I pride myself on my intelligence. If I actually choose to get together with friends, I party HARD. I like bizarre and surrealist humor, but am also easily amused by stupid knock-knock jokes and vulgar word play. I am extremely curious and can spend hours reading up on some topic on Wikipedia and associated source links (for example, just yesterday, I spent what little free time I have during finals week reading up on Kyrgyzstan, Uyghur writing, juvenile diabetes and calculus). I love video games, but I kind of suck at most of them. People usually think I'm younger than I actually am. I'm not big on sweets.

This is for the 2008 version. In the vial, this smells very offputtingly of burnt caramel. However, I'm not one to be put off by how something smells in the vial and put it on anyway. Within minutes, the burnt caramel softens into this amazing, slightly caramelly but somehow not supremely foody sweetness with a bit of fruit. It's almost but not quite floral in the end, and very wearable even for a confirmed foody hater like me. I'll keep and cherish the decant.

I agree that this is quite similar to "Snow White", only with roses providing a little extra. At first, the rose threatens to go into soapy territory, but never gets there, for which I am profoundly grateful. This is quite nice. Alas, as it is so similar to "Snow White" and I don't have a lot of money, I will probably order that and love the hell out of my "Pink Snowballs" decant and leave it at that.

This is warm and lank, as stated in the description, the predominant notes are the citrus, with the florals in the background. Sadly, something in this goes soapy on me as it dries down, it also doesn't last very long. Will test some more to see if the first time was a fluke, but this might go into the swap pile.

Huh. I don't get red peppers from this, nor any appreciable musk. It's this somewhat generic, cool aquatic. It lasts forever, but the scent is really underwhelming on me. I think this decant is for the swap pile. Too bad, it sounded so interesting, and a lot of people seem to get the notes involved...

This is beautiful, spicy and almost-but-not-quite fruity patchouli. I put some on my hands and it incredibly lasted through multiple handwashes with soap (no, I wasn't trying to wash it off, I was cleaning around the house) for over 24 hours! Bottle currently strongly contemplated.

Huh, fresh, this smells like a forest floor in a predominantly coniferous forest. I quite like the smell, although I'm not so sure it's really perfumey enough for me to wear on a regular basis. As it dries, it ends up a slightly more musky "Kroenen", which I definitely approve of. I'll definitely hold on to the imp, even though I'm not gonna upgrade to a bottle.

This smells like creamy Bailey's with extra vanilla. Once it dries, a little bit of holiday spice comes through. I'm usually not a foody person, but this is quite nice. I'm contemplating a bottle, or at least swapping for a decant (I tested from an empty).

I'm getting minty ozone aquatic from this. I was hoping for a bit more floral coming through, but it's strong minty ozone aquatic. It smells very similar to "Evening Cicadas and Red Peppers" on me, which also didn't really work for me. Sad

Of the blends I recently tried, Lilium Inter Spinas was extremely soapy on me. I am not usually a person who finds that lily always goes soapy on them, so I was a bit disappointed since I'm not that big on soap. But maybe you'd like it!

Vial: What an odd mixture. The dominating note is rose, with something creamy, something woody and something deep (musky?). And for once, the rose doesn't seem soapy. It reminds me a little of Pothon Meter, although that was a more peppery rose. On: At first, the rose amps a bit, as it usually does on me. Nevertheless, it never starts going into soap territory. Everything else that's going on in this blend reins it in. As it dries, the rose calms down again and mingles with the other scents. The results are tangy, deep and quite seductive. Later: I've been wearing this all day today, and it lasts forever, has good throw without being unbearable for others and smells quite interesting. I got this as a frimp, and I'm very happy I did, as I probably wouldn't have ordered it. Right now, I think the imp is enough, but as I wear it more often, it might make the bottle list yet.

Vial: This is a strange mixture. I primarily get lavender, vetiver and lime from the vial, although I can tell that there is a lot more going on in there. It smells strangely familiar, but I can't for the life of me tell where I've smelled this before. On: The same three notes I get in the imp predominate. I think I know now what this reminds me of... for some reason, I associate this with hospitals. Which is fitting for the "death" theme, I get, but... er, yeah. But even if it wasn't for that association, I wish there was less lavender in this. Later: It gets very faint, the lavender is the most prevalent note and the one that sticks around the longest. I don't hate this scent, but I don't think I want any more.

Vial: Slightly lemony, VERY licorice-y, with a dark undertone and slight booziness. Reminds me a lot of Ouzo, or black licorice Jelly Bellies On: Beautiful citrussy licorice. I always heard absinthe was very bitter, but the scent does not convey bitterness at all. This is fresh, clean and herby, very much yellowish-green. Too bad the husband isn't fond of it, since he doesn't like licorice... but I quite like this so far. Later: After an hour, it gets very faint. Maybe it'll work better when worn on my clothes. I do like it, but since I'd have to constantly re-apply and the husband isn't enamored with it, I think I'll stick to the imp.

Vial: A giant bouquet of fresh tropical flowers. On: I remember some people saying in their reviews that this is somewhat banana-y. It kind of is, but not in a foody way - there is an undertone of "fresh bunch of green bananas sniffed at the supermarket", fringed by orchid and a slight zing, which might come from the ginger. This is drop-dead gorgeous and would make for an amazing summer scent. Now to see how long it lasts. Later: Fresh creamy floral. I enjoy this quite a bit. Not Top-10 material, but low-end bottle list.

Vial: Smells kinda familiar... Robitussin cherry flavored cough syrup? On: At first, it stays loud cherry cough syrup, but as it dries, the cherry blossom and star anise stop fighting and manage to coexist. The resulting scent is ever-so-slightly licorice-y and fruity without either note being fully in the foreground. It doesn't have a lot of throw, though, and I'm not sure how long it's going to last... Later: It's still there, but it smells sort of dusty-generic. Apparently, in this combination, sandalwood might actually not be my friend. It's also still very close to the skin, while I prefer scents with more throw. I'll keep the imp for trying around, but no bottle for me at the moment.

Vial: Whoafruity! Almost fizzy, bright orange scent On: On, something fresh is joining the kumquat, and I'd guess it's the white tea. I might be getting a slight whiff of pepper at the end. It smells a bit like satsuma body butter from The Body Shop. I actually kinda like it, even if it's quite far in the foody range for me. It's a very happy scent. Later: Orange-y and slightly peppery, happy and peppy I don't know if I like it as a perfume, but it's definitely a great little mood enhancer. I'll hold on to the imp.

Vial: Lots of cocoa with a woody undercurrent On: The cocoa goes into the background less than 30 seconds after I put this on, but instead of sweetness, it lends an almost spicy note to the remainder of the mixture. I definitely get the incense and patchouli, and maybe a hint of leather. The flowers stay in the background so far. It starts going a little dusty on me as it dries, hopefully that won't mean it vanishes on me... Later: Slight woody spiciness, the cocoa is pretty much gone. This reminds me a lot of some other blends I've tried, and at this point, I think I'm gonna keep the imp and not get more.

Vial: In there, it smells... almost identical to Thierry Mugler's "Angel". I had read about that in various recommendation threads and didn't quite believe it, but it's really uncanny. It's floral and slightly fruity, fresh and yet still sultry. On: It gets slightly more citrussy on me once it hits my skin, but the resemblance to "Angel" is still quite noticeable. However, I like this a bit better than my dupe (I can't afford the original), so if it lasts a decent while, I'm going to get my fix with this Later: It's a bit faded after 1 1/2 hours, but still there. It's taken a bit of a turn towards the generic now, though. I liked the beginning, but the end warrants further testing before I finalize my decision on whether or not to get a bottle. MUCH later: I did a day-long wear test, and putting a bit of it on my clothes and my hair has the desired results. No generic, pretty all day. Bottle list.