Dymphna

Chaos Theory III: Strange Attractors (MCCXXXIX) In the bottle: Eh, smells like the unbearably green, fresh note in Sleepy Moon that I think is bamboo. Yech. Wet: I can almost taste the greenness in the back of my throat. It's like biting into a flower stalk. Juicy and almost, but not quite, bitter. A bit of lemon--verbena!--peeps out as it begins to dry. Dry: The verbena becomes more pronounced once it's dry, but it fades quickly and the green bamboo comes back. If it weren't for that, I'd really like blend. Unfortunately, the verbena doesn't seem to be coming back, and now a sharply soapy scent is coming out. Woe. This was my third and final CT, so I was hoping I'd love it, or at least like it. Alas. Well, I didn't like my first but I loved my second. One out of three isn't too bad, I guess.

In the imp: Flowers--jasmine is definitely one of them, but it's not the only one--and a bit of sugary candy. Wet: Mostly floral, but a bit soapy. Not in a sharp way, but a bit like an expensive floral-scented shampoo or soap. It's pleasant, but more incidental, like a nicely scented toiletry item rather than a perfume. The candy scent is nowhere to be found. Dry: Gag. Once fully dry, this becomes a *really* bitter, soapy floral. It's actually giving me a headache and making me sneeze. And I'm starting to wonder if this bitterness is from orange blossom. I don't think it was listed in the description, but I can't think of anything else that gives me this combination of headache and nausea.

In the imp: Very lemony, almost like cleaning fluid, but saved by...white musk, I think. But my husband thinks it smells like Fantastik. Wet: Undeniably lemony, with that powdery white musk, and something sweet like cookies. Dry: Something unpleasantly sharp and oily (light oily rather than the dark oily of red musk or patchouli) comes out and ruins the lemon scent. This ends up smelling like the lemon oil used on wood furniture. This started out smelling rather odd, got better, and then went south quickly. Grumble, grumble....

In the imp: This is the one that, during my initial sniffing orgy when I got my CD package, my husband and I both thought smelled like lemon cookies. This time, at first sniff, it's citrusy and sweet, like an orange-flavored candy, but not as syrupy as an orange soda. Wet: There's something dry in this that adds an almost powdery quality, and something creamy that grounds the sweetness. Smells very much like a hard candy. Dry: Once fully dry, it smells just like a lemon cookie, almost exactly like Tarot: The Star, but without the occasional wisp of coconut I get from that blend. It's just a little softer, because it's lemon rather than lime. I love the smell of lemon cookies. Nice and sweet, but with a little zing.

In the imp: Very strong, reminds me of incense and heavy ritual oils. The red musk is there, but drowned out by a dark, fruity note (the pomegranate and plum). Wet: Whoa, red musk. Not rampant, but very much present, thick and oily (that's how red musk usually goes on me) and predictably reminiscent of Snake Oil. There's something almost piney along with it, too. Dry: In addition to the red musk, there's now a sharp, woodsy scent like pencil shavings. It's weird and not much fun to smell at all. I knew this would probably smell a bit like Snake Oil, but I needed to try it anyway. I mean, a card reader scent! How could I not? But this is no good on me. It actually smells rather bad on me--just like Snake Oil. Sigh. Edit: I'm editing this two years later, though I'm not sure anyone will see the edit. Does anyone but me read the long review threads from the beginning? Anyway, two and a half years after I got the decant, I tried it again and fell. in. love. I've hardly been able to wear anything but this since it started working for me...hmmm...eleven days ago. The red musk is sort of there in the imp and for the first minute or two after I put it on, but it's very subdued. And the patchouli leaf is DIVINE, like spicy herbal incense. The plum and pomegranate aren't very prominent, more a rich, velvety, purple-red background. The vanilla only appears far into the drydown, and it smells like cookies! OMG, this scent rocks. It morphs from sexy to cozy and back again. Mmmm, I love it! I've already begun hoarding more so I can age it.

In the imp: Very rich chocolate with an added sweetness that's delicate and almost floral. Wet: The chocolate is richer, but that floral note is there, making for a really strange combination. I'm feeling the beginnings of a headache. Dry: This smells like some kind of light, sweet candy. Maybe chocolate-covered, but not deep chocolate. I guess the "heavy cream" note decided to masquerade as "fruity water" on me. Nice, but not me.

In the imp: Dark, heavy leather with a citrus-y men's cologne note. Wet: The same, a balancing act between the two. There's something that smells like tobacco, too--the cedar smoke? I'm starting to smell the fir needle, and I definitely smell the black amber, which is giving it a slightly more feminine feeling, albeit a heavy, powdery one. Dry: No, this ends up smelling like a grandpa cologne on me. The citrus-y scent from the beginning is gone, but so is almost everything else. All that's left are the leather and heavy, powdery black amber. Then, about an hour on, it's all woodsy. A cross between delicious real woods (live trees) and the dreaded pencil shavings. Bummer. I tried this on my husband and it smelled so much better on him, all leather and musk with a bit of amber. I'll have to try it on him again at some point and, if he likes it, we'll order a bottle for him. I'm gradually building a little collection for him.

When I saw the Jersey Devil on the "coming soon" list earlier this year, I was so excited! I've had a soft spot for that little guy since I first read his legend and saw a drawing that showed a pixie-ish being sitting on a rock, looking wistfully out at the water. I knew I'd order it no matter what notes were involved. When I read pine and cedar, I figured I was doomed, but I still had to have it. Surprise! This has become one of my favorite blends EVER and I immediately put it on my big bottle list. Fortunately, since my GC Order of Doom earlier this year I only have one other scent on that list, so it's right there at the top. Which is good, because my imp is dwindling rapidly. Impressions: In the imp: Very pine-y and soft. Reminds me a bit of Nocnitsa. Wet: A lot like Nocnitsa, but not quite the same thing. Reminds me of Christmas, that wonderful, cold-but-warm scent of a new Christmas tree that fills up your home as soon as you bring it in. It's so soft and welcoming. Dry: As it dries, I smell some rich, brown warmth from the cedar (no overwhelming cedar-stink, yay!) that makes for a nice, subtle base, plus something sweeter that I think is the blackberry leaf and a tangy hint of cranberry. I have no idea what tomato leaf smells like, but maybe that's the peppery feeling I'm getting on my tongue. Whatever the case, I really, really like this scent a lot and can't wait to wear it around Christmas time. The longer I wear it, the creamier and more rounded it gets, less sharply pine-y and more like, as I said before, a tree brought indoors. The indoor scents of berries and sweet treats are blending with the bracing pine and making a beautiful, fresh-yet-warm winter scent. How this scent makes me feel: I forgot to mention the most important part. Once this has fully dried down, that cool/warm pine scent reminds me of going outside very early on a summer morning when you're on vacation somewhere and inhaling deeply. It's that quiet, cool, soft, green scent that makes people say things like, "Aaah, smell that fresh air!" I see bright blue skies and tall, shady pine trees when I smell this. (Wow, I guess my love for a blend is directly proportional to how long my review ends up being.)

In the imp: Strongly woodsy, piney scent, though not as sharp as I'd expected based on the description. It actually makes me want to try it rather than wanting to close up the imp and back away, and I regret letting the imp languish for so long. Wet: At first, it's just like in the imp. Then, after a minute: Ohhhh, pine! It's like sticking my face into a Christmas tree. It's not really pine, it's the juniper, but all the wintry trees tend to blur together in my head. Dry: It gets sharp for a moment and then softens up beautifully. The throw is minimal, so I have to really stick my wrist to my nose to smell it, but it's worth it. After about ten minutes, it becomes this very soft, woodsy scent with a hint of masculine (but not overpowering) musk. After another twenty minutes or so, it's all but gone, with just the barest hint of a cool, dark, woodsy fragrance, like sitting at an open window on a winter night and getting a waft of scent from the woods. I have to try this on my husband. On me, it smells beautiful but very faint. It reminds me of walking on a winter night, when everything is cold and silent and the air is crystal clear. It certainly doesn't make me think of werewolves at all. There's nothing fierce or dangerous about it. (Also, bonus, no eucalyptus on me!) On my husband: It does last longer on him, and the throw is slightly better. The pine scent lasts longer on him and goes through all these phases--including moments of coconut!--before settling into a soft, close-to-the-skin scent. I'm trying to think how to describe it. I was going to say dusty, but it's not dusty because it's not dry. And it's not earthy because it doesn't smell like dirt. I guess it just makes me think of the soft, inches-thick carpet of leaves and needles that make up the floor of a forest. It's really beautiful, not scary at all.

This is one of my favorite scents, and was one of the first big bottles I ordered. In the imp, it smells like warm myrrh with a suggestion of perfume-y floral and a hint of almond. Aside from that almond note, it smells a bit like a cleaner, younger version of Brisingamen (which I like, but not as much as this). On my skin, this has the clean, sexy skin scent that I've come to expect from myrrh. It's almost soapy, but in a good way. It smells like freshly showered, warm skin, with just a bit of beautiful perfume dabbed on--ready for bed, but not for sleep. This has a good degree of staying power on me. I can usually still smell it several hours later. The throw isn't particularly strong, but then again I'm a dabber, not a slatherer. And I like knowing that I smell delicious, but that someone else would need to be standing rather close to realize it. It's a very intimate scent in that respect. I wear this when I want to smell sexy, but in a discreet, clean way, and I can wear it for a day out as well for a night in.

Sin is one of those blends that makes me never want to get rid of anything, even if it really, really doesn't work on me on the first try. Or on the second. Or the third. The first few times I tried it, I liked it on first sniff. It smelled musky and sweetly spicy in the imp. Even though I thought I caught a whiff of red musk in there (it's not, though, it's the amber fooling my nose), I liked it because of the spicy cinnamon that (YAY!) doesn't burn my skin. Then I'd apply it and, after the spiciness mellowed out a bit, I'd get hit by the black patchouli, which unfortunately smells old lady-ish on me. Still, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. And I'm so glad! I just tried it again the other day and I it smells SO GOOD! Sweet, spicy musk, with no old lady powdery note from the patchouli. And even though the amber is pretending to be red musk, it's not doing the evil thing on my skin that red musk usually does. And yet it smells really sexy, almost as sexy as the only red musk scent I actually can wear (Loviatar). I'm going to save this one until the weather gets a little cooler. I think it'll be a great late autumn/winter scent.

In the imp: Heavy, damp flowers and something sharp (the bay rum and/or bourbon?). Smells a bit masculine, despite the flowers. Wet: Fresh, like a garden after the rain, but heavy, like that garden is in New Orleans, I guess. The spicy scents of the bay rum and bourbon are definitely present. Dry: Very spicy and somehow mysterious. Makes me think of a dark man with dark eyes on a dark night. He's standing on a terrace (excuse me, a verandah), beckoning you to join him on a walk through the shadowy garden. Who could possibly resist such a tempting invitation? I do think this is a more masculine scent than I can wear. I'll have to try it on my husband.

In the imp: Oooh, it smells a lot like the ginger in Shub, plus something that reminds me of cool night air, plus sexy musk. Wow. Wet: Yay, the ginger's not going to air freshener on me! And the musk is very sexy, but cooled down a bit by the night-air note. There's a sweet note coming out, mingling with the ginger (to make gingerbread!) and it's not going stale on me like the Lab's sugar notes usually do. Dry: Drying, the musk gets kind of old-ladyish on me. It's too bad. It sort of goes back and forth between being sexy and being too cloying and heavy. Weird. I guess I'll have to try this again before I make up my mind about it. I don't want to give up, but I'm not sure I can handle the yo-yoing between sexy little devil and cloyingly perfumed old lady.

In the imp: Rich, dark, spiced fruits. The plum, I guess. This smells purple, with red and brown speckles. Very juicy. Wet: Still rich, but heading toward cough syrup territory now. Is there cherry in this? Dry: Yeah, it smells like cough syrup. Very expensive, unusually spicy cough syrup, but cough syrup all the same. After a while, though, the fruitiness calms down and I get more of the spices and maybe some incense. It's very rich and interesting, and I've felt somewhat drawn to Oya for a long time, so I'm going to give this one another try to see if the spicy richness is worth the cough syrup stage. I'm not ready to give up on it yet.

In the imp: A bright, clean scent. I can't really identify any notes. It's floral, but in a very light, bright way. There's a strongly sweet note, which I think is the honeysuckle, but it's not too sweet. Wet: Okay, I can smell what's probably the lemon, but it's not the usual tangy lemon scent. It's more just a brightness. Dry: Um. I don't know what this is that's coming out as it dries, but I don't like it. Smells like a cross between soap and some kind of cleaning spray. It definitely reminds me of some cleaning fluid I've smelled...used in a hotel or motel, I think. I really don't want to smell like this. Oh, well.

CTIII: DXXXVIII (538) Now that my swap partner has finally gotten my end of the swap, I can review this. Her review is here, and as you can see, we got very different impressions of this blend! In the bottle: Before I even got the package completely unwrapped, I smelled something sweet. A sweet floral, maybe? But more sweet than floral. When I opened it, I smelled something that I immediately identified as a "forest" scent. It smelled familiar, but I couldn't place it. Wet: Wow, creamy honey goodness *and* that sharp, clean forest smell. That's an interesting combination, but it works! And I know what that foresty scent is: it's the same one I get from Nocnitsa! This smells like Nocnitsa on her day off, rolling herself in honey. Or, okay, maybe she's being domestic, cooking up something yummy. Dry: This is definitely going to make a good winter scent. There's a bit more sharpness to the green forest scent than in Nocnitsa, almost a sage-like dryness alongside the wet, cold greenery. And that honey sweetness. Very unique. This is a very green scent, but not bright, new spring/summer green. This is the dark green of a wet, cold forest in late autumn or early winter. Maybe that sweet honey scent is the berries of some evergreen.

CTIII: DCCXCVI (796) In the bottle: Oranges. Very juicy. It's not the bitterness of the pith or the sharp dryness of the peel. This is just pure, sweet, juicy orange. There's also a waxy white flower. At first, I think it's jasmine, but it's not doing that evil thing that jasmine does on my skin. Magnolia, maybe? Wet: Oh. Oh, wow. It's creamy, it's white, it's spicy. It's LILY! This is too funny. I ordered a bunch of lily blends and spent yesterday testing all of them, and they were all disappointing. I was starting to think I'd never find a really great lily scent. But here it is! The orange steps graciously into the background after a moment on my skin and I just get lily with a hint of brightness to keep it lively. It's perfect! Dry: Once dry, this doesn't have much throw. Then again, I only used a tiny dab from the rim to test it. Applying it a bit more liberally, I get a very respectable level of throw, enough to surround me in my own happy little bubble of lily-liciousness. The orange is still supporting the lily beautifully. This is a bright, orange-and-white scent. (Upon checking, though, I saw that the oil itself is a beautiful clear orange.) It's what I would expect a tiger lily to smell like--graceful and creamy, yet bright and a bit tangy. I LOVE THIS! I can't stop smelling my wrist. I'm so happy! I finally have a lily scent that I love. Now I get to be one of those people who got a CT that seems like it was made just for me! (I'm wondering...this came in the same order as my mostly-lily imp pack. I know this is supposed to be random, but I wonder if that had anything to do with me getting such a luscious lily note in my CT. Whatever, I'm just happy to have it!)

I finally got my Harvest Moon! And I am in love with this blend! Oh, happy day! In the bottle: Oh, yes, this is definitely apple! Crunchy, dry, grainy apple, like a Red Delicious. There's some spice, but not so much that it overwhelms the apple. This is definitely a fresh apple scent rather than a cooked "apple pie" scent. There's also that fresh air scent that others have mentioned. The more I sniff, the more it seems that a breeze is floating out of the bottle, a breeze that originated in an apple orchard on an autumn day. (When I picked up my package at the post office today, I stood at a counter and just sniffed at this bottle for a few minutes. It's so complex and so beautifully autumn-y that I couldn't tear myself away for a while.) Wet: Ooh, is there pomegranate in this? I have to check the notes. Yep, there is. Mmmm, I love pomegranate! I don't usually like fruity blends, and I was kind of worried that this would end up being All Apple, All The Time, but pomegranate is one fruit that I love to smell like, and it makes the apple seem crisper and more grown-up. Oh, I'm very happy about this. Dry: Drying, I get more of the spices (is there nutmeg in this?) and then that creamy note from the rice milk, which I was really looking forward to. It's definitely not a dairy type of creaminess, which makes it seem fresh and unusual. Oh, and here comes the dry, almost woody scent of the wheat. And maybe some of the woodiness is from the red haw? Whatever, I really love it! This is fabulous. I can see myself wearing Harvest Moon all autumn long. Like many others, I wish I'd gotten more than one bottle, but I'll definitely cherish the one I have. Thank you, Beth, for putting some of the best parts of my favorite season into luscious liquid form!

I've had this imp for at least a month, possibly two, and only now have I had the nerve to try it. Every time I opened the imp, I'd get so disappointed by the smell that I'd cap it again and put it back in my box. My orange blossom phobia just wouldn't let me try it. I'm so glad that I finally did! In the imp: Sharp, not very sweet orange. Makes me suspicious that maybe the "orange" in the description is really orange blossom. Wet: Oh, that's orange blossom, all right. Why, why, why? Dry: Drying, the dry scents of parchment and wood come out, but the orange blossom is still right there. After a couple of minutes, it starts to smell sweeter and more like actual orange. I also start to smell the amber, somewhat powdery. Or maybe it's the patchouli going powdery, as it often does on me. It's not very strong, though, whatever it is, so it stays in the background. The orange seems to be almost gone after another couple of minutes, and I'm left with a dry, powdery scent with barely a hint of orange, with a sweetness that I think is helped along by the tonka (which is otherwise undetectable). It's not offensive now that the sharp orange blossom scent is gone. In fact, the drier notes are taking over, with just a slight hint of bright orange sweetness and powder softness. I'll have to try this again to be sure, but I think I could really love this scent. Fully dry, it reminds me a lot of old books. Oh, happy day! Anyone who haunted libraries and bookstores growing up, as I did, can only find such a scent comforting...and a little exciting in an "oooh, look at all these books!" kind of way. This isn't something I say often...well, make that ever, but the scent of Clio once it dries down is actually worth the first five or ten minutes of orange blossom hell. If only it had more throw. I have to go nose-to-wrist to smell it at all. If things work out, Clio and I may need to discuss taking the next step: buying a bottle.

The first time I tried Loviatar, I hated it and washed it off right away. It was all red musk and I was so disappointed. A few months later, I was pawing through my swap box and decided to give it another shot. I still didn't like it at first sniff, all that stinky red musk, but then...whoa. Goodbye, Stinkville, hell-o, Sexytown! I ordered a bottle immediately. It's always the same when I haven't worn it for a while, though. I take off the cap and sniff and I'm like, "Ugh, why did I think this smelled good? It smells like red musk and raw leather." Then I remember how good the leather in Spanked smells on me. I dab. I dab a little more. I slather. I wait. After a few minutes, I go from reeking of red musk to smelling like someone who just had the hottest, dirtiest sex and then took a shower--the sex smell is still there, but it's more of a very strong suggestion than an obvious fact. And it lasts quite a while, gradually (after several hours) quieting down to a soft, deep musk-myrrh blend that I have to sniff up close to smell. I think I've figured out what happens, too. The leather and myrrh double-team the red musk, doing a sort of sexy good-cop/bad-cop routine. The leather whips it into submission while the myrrh sweet-talks it in a husky whisper. "Come on, baby, just behave and then mean ol' Leather won't have to be so hard on you." The amber is there, but it's just sitting in the corner. It likes to watch, I guess.

I had no idea what to expect with this one, but it sounded so intriguing that I bought two bottles unsniffed, something I've never done before. In the bottle: Whoa. There was so much going on in that bottle that at first I couldn't sort anything out. It was sort of like opening the door to an apartment where a loud party is taking place. Just a big tangle of impressions. After a bit, I can identify the grapefruit, and I guess the ginger candy, because it smells fruity and sweetly spicy. Very juicy! Wet: Ping-pongs like mad between the juicy grapefruit plus a bit of tangy ginger and a fresh, green scent that I think is either the aloe or the bamboo. It's mostly grapefruit, though. At this point, it smells foody, but not in a creamy way. Foody like a fruit salad, but sweeter. This has the distinction of being the first BPAL scent that my husband has actually really liked. (Other than Snake Charmer, which I don't like.) He says it reminds him of "those fruity, candy-flavored cough medicines we got when we were kids (Triaminic) and that he finds that scent comforting. He's so cute. Dry: It keeps that grapefruit-candy scent for a couple of hours, with the "smoky vanilla" peeking out after a while. After about three or four hours, it dies down to a sort of "watery wood" scent that I recognize from some other BPAL blend--I wish I could remember which one. I don't particularly like it, but it's not horrible. It just seems weird, almost sour after all that sweetness. Nutshell: This isn't really a "me" scent, but it's sweet and I like smelling sweet sometimes. Besides, my husband likes it, so I'm really glad I have a spare bottle!

Bastet. Oh, Bastet, how I love you! Get ready for a gushing review, guys. In the imp: I ordered an imp of Bastet despite the almond (which usually goes sickeningly sweet marzipan on me) and amber (which is usually okay but sometimes old lady/powdery) because, well, it's Bastet. How could I not at least try an oil named for Her? And if I didn't like it, I knew I could pass it along to my best friend, who also has a healthy appreciation for Bastet. When I opened the imp and took my first sniff (and then immediately passed it to my friend), I knew it was different. Sweet almonds, yes, but not tooth-achingly sweet. Amber, yes, but not powdery amber. And it's spicy, yes, but not burn-your-skin-off-cinnamon spicy. It smelled good. Wet: On my skin, I get a meltingly warm, sweet, spicy scent. I have to stress again that this is not the kind of sweetness that screams OMG STICKY SWEET CANDY YUM! That always goes to stale dust on me. This is more like the sweet warmth of...home. I usually get a mental image when I smell BPAL (and other) scents. For this one, I got a very clear picture of--don't laugh--an anthropomorphic mama cat. Brownish-black fur, a white face, and a homey-looking dress and shawl. (I said don't laugh!) She's bringing a hot cup of tea to one of her sweet little kittens that's feeling a bit under the weather. There's a fire crackling cheerfully in the fireplace. All is warm and safe and comfortable. Dry: Bastet just gets better the longer I wear it. Fully dry, it's warm amber and spicy-sweet cardamom. The almond fades into the background and the musk and myrrh sloooowly begin to surface. The scent lasts a long time, but after several hours, or overnight, it mellows to just a faint trace of warm, spicy sweetness with a base of clean myrrh and deep, soft musk. Bastet is amazing. It's my absolute heavy-duty comfort scent. It smells like a cat's fur feels, soft and warm. And it feels like pure, fierce mother-love, feline style. On one of the worst days I ever had, I came home, put on my favorite nightie and slathered myself in Bastet. Immediately, I felt cuddled and cared for and protected. It's like wearing a hug. (Edited because I was stupid and forgot to mention the myrrh.)

In the bottle: Fruity, tangy, sweet, citrusy, flowery, bright, fizzy. Wow. This is such a happy, bright scent. I was anticipating most of the notes in this but dreading the neroli, which has the power to completely ruin a scent for me, so I didn't get my hopes up. Opening the bottle and taking that first sniff was such a pleasant surprise. There's also a bit of nostalgia, as this scent has something about it that says, "70s perfume"--or maybe even "70s shampoo." But not in a bad way! I was just a little girl in the 70s, but I know this smell. It's clean but still "scented" in a feminine way, like a young woman just out of the shower who's sprayed on a nice, light scent and is getting ready for a date. Wet: Bright, golden-yellow-orange, sweet citrus. Bubbly. Reminds me a bit of Litha's mead, without the beer-y smell. Just foamy and fizzy. And then a soft, gorgeous vanilla as it starts to dry. It just keeps getting better and better. My silly husband thinks it smells like a nice-smelling cleaning product. I don't know what's wrong with his poor nose. But he likes it, so it's okay. Dry: A beautiful vanilla musk that's both bright and soft, with just a hint of sweet resin in the background, and possibly some honey. Golden caramel cashmere is the image that pops into my head now, like a favorite sweater. Love. (Now, looking at the description, I see that the notes I definitely detected are: golden amber, vanilla musk, lemon peel, carnation, ylang ylang, and honeycomb. The neroli stayed hidden, thank goodness! I don't get any daisy or sunflower, though I'm not sure how they'd smell, and I definitely don't know what heliotrope smells like.) I'm so impressed at how well-blended this is. All those notes and none of them knock the others out. Instead, they balance one another, the deeper ones grounding the light ones, and the lighter ones brightening the deep ones. It's just amazing. Summary: I can't get enough of this scent! I've been wearing it almost every day since I got it and I'm going to be ordering another bottle before it comes down. I'll probably end up stockpiling a couple more bottles eventually. It's such a pretty, bright, joyous scent, like sunshine in a bottle. (Okay, that was corny, forgive me.) I said when it was first announced that I was grateful and touched that Beth chose to share her happiness with us. I'm even more grateful now that I've tried it! This is absolutely my Happy Girl scent.

I've been putting off posting any reviews for ages because I can be absurdly shy about the silliest things. I've kept them all saved on my computer, though, so I'm just going to start posting them, and my beloved Eden must be the first! (Of course, then I check my review file and can't find it. Good thing I know this scent by heart!) In the bottle: This has the sharp, almost-sour smell of coconut milk. I know it's supposed to be toasted coconut, but it smells like coconut milk to me. It does not entice me, and every time I open the bottle or an imp to put some on, I have to remind myself how good this will get. Sniffing a little more carefully, I can smell the dryness of the almond milk (non-sweetened almonds smell dry to me, don't ask me why) and the sandalwood. Wet: Still sharp and almost-sour. Half sweet honey and coconut and half dry almond milk and sandalwood. There's also a bit of thick sweetness from the fig, but it's very faint on me. The coconut in this is fabulously real. It's not the "suntan oil" type of coconut (which I also love) and it's not overly sweet. It smells like a real coconut, creamy yet dry and only slightly sweet. Dry: This is the best part! As the minutes pass, Eden develops more and more body and depth. After a half hour, the coconut and almond milk blend beautifully into one creamy, slightly sweet, delicately rich scent. The sandalwood sits in the background like a sober duenna, keeping an eye on them so they don't go too far. This lasts for quite a while on me, sometimes several hours, and has a nice, moderate level of throw. I love this scent. LOVE IT! Eden was my first big bottle purchase and is one of my go-to comfort scents because once it dries down it smells kind of like my skin, only better. I hope it's never discontinued. I'd cry.

CDXIII (413) In the bottle: Very strong woods. Cedar and possibly vetiver, but definitely cedar. Underneath all that wood is the scent of smoke, like actual woodsmoke. This could be good. Maybe it'll smell like a bonfire, the way I've heard Devil's Night smells. Wet: Oh, no. Flames on the side of my face. Cedar all over my skin. A touch of smoke that's really, REALLY smoky. It's like someone piled up a bunch of those cedar blocks you put in with your clothes and set them on fire. Dry: I can actually feel the smoke in the back of my throat when I sniff really close. It irritates my throat just like real smoke would. I wonder if that's just the power of suggestion. Other than that, all I get is cedar. Dang. I'm kinda bummed that my first CT didn't like me. Maybe the next one will smell better on me.