fiddledragon

Scent in bottle: Mmm...foresty and moss and patchouli and juniper and myrrh. Scent on me: Wet -- myrrh, moss, patchouli, juniper Dry -- myrrh, patchouli, juniper Conclusion: Yum! Dark and cozy and woodsy.

Scent in bottle: A very soft incense with a hint of rose. Lovely! Scent on me: Wet -- Sandalwood, incenses, and moss Dry -- Incense, sandalwood, and rose again. Conclusion: I like the rose note in with the incense and woods. I think I'll keep this for a meditation focus. It does evoke death well, but it's a merciful, gentle, sleep-like death, rather than the description's cruel one. It's more like the description for Wings of Azrael. (So don't worry about me using it for meditation!) I'm definitely keeping the imp, and possibly having this be one of my core incense-blends.

Scent in bottle: A very soft incense with a hint of rose. Lovely! Scent on me: Wet -- Sandalwood, incenses, and moss Dry -- Incense, sandalwood, and rose again. Conclusion: I like the rose note in with the incense and woods. I think I'll keep this for a meditation focus. It does evoke death well, but it's a merciful, gentle, sleep-like death, rather than the description's cruel one. It's more like the description for Wings of Azrael. (So don't worry about me using it for meditation!) I'm definitely keeping the imp, and possibly having this be one of my core incense-blends.

Scent in bottle: A very edible spiced orange scent. Scent on me: Wet -- Mmmm...incense and spices and the orange becoming much less sweet. Dry -- Very dark spiced incense fruit. Conclusion: Yum! There are several like this, though, so I may swap it and keep one that has a less...disconcerting name. Why is it that the demon/antichrist/etc ones always smell so glorious on me, but the angelic ones are these wimpy floral things?

Scent in bottle: Acquatic floral...meh. This was a freebie that I wouldn't have chosen. Scent on me: Wet -- The acquatic notes go away and the flowers are much sweeter and nicer. Dry -- But as it dries it goes back to a nice, but uninteresting, generic floral. Conclusion: Inoffensive, but I'm not the floral type. Off to swaps!

Scent in bottle: Cinnamon and almond. Attack cookies! Scent on me: Wet -- Cinnamoncinnamoncinnamon...and just a hint of almond and neroli. Wow, my skin likes cinnamon. Dry -- Cinnamon and almond. Conclusion: It's not a bad scent, but there's no sweetness to it at all. This is definitely another in the "evil cookie" category. It wants to be layered with Sudha Segara or Alice or something. Though then I might just smell like a bakery.

Scent in bottle: Ooo...dragon's blood, leather, woodsmoke, and something that smells vaguely like black pepper. Scent on me: Wet -- The leather and smoke and dragon's blood resin all combine to make this wonderful warm spicy smoky scent. Dry -- The dragon's blood sweetens up as it dries...I like the wet stage better, but this is still very nice. This would be a good thing to wear when I'm feeling fragile...it does in fact smell "protective". Conclusion: If I ever get a scent locket, this will be something to put in it, since I like the bottle stage better than the dry stage. It's still quite nice as a skin perfume, though.

The bottle is a pale red color; much less disturbingly blood-like than Dragon's Musk. Scent in bottle: Lilacs and dragon's blood and some other sort of light floral. Scent on me: Wet -- Wonderful fresh sun-warmed lilacs, plus dragon's blood. Dry -- A garden of lilac bushes. With a dragon sitting in them. :-) Conclusion: This may be my favorite girly-floral one. I'm still not sure I need more than an imp's worth of girly-floral, but I am very fond of lilacs. It's very strong...my hand has this cloud of lilacs floating over it.

Scent in bottle: Dragon's blood and sandalwood. My skin's been really amplifying sandalwood lately, so hopefully the dragon's blood can tame it a little. Scent on me: Wet -- I am Sandalwood, hear me roar!. But the dragon's blood adds a sweetness to it that keeps it from going dry and harsh. Dry -- The sweetness has almost vanished, leaving dry woods and a hint of resin. Conclusion: Very well named, and it's a nice scent, but it's still mostly sandalwood on me. I'll test it against the other sandalwood things I have and see which of them I want to keep.

Scent in bottle: Dragon's blood and musk. It smells a lot like Dragon's Musk in the bottle. I might be able to get just a hint of fruit, but the resin smells sweet as it is, so it's hard to tell. Scent on me: Wet -- Warm, deep musk and dragon's blood. The sweetness vanishes on my skin...it'll be back when it dries if the others are any indication. Dry -- My skin absolutely eats this. It's faded to a faint musk-resin-fruit smell that I really, really like. Conclusion: Mine. I don't think I need both bottles of this and Dragon's Musk, though, and I like DM better. Keeping the imp.

Wow. I've had mixed luck with roses, as so many of them smell lush in the bottle and then turn to this weird musty rotton thing on my hands. But this is a very light, clear rose scent, neither fruity nor musty. It stays true on my skin, and blends beautifully with the frankincense. The rose wafts up around me, while the resins stay warm and cling to my skin, remaining after the rose has faded. This stuff is amazing! It makes a truly excellent work blend, as it starts out with the clean, "awake" rose scent, then dies down to a soft, comforting frankincense just as I'm starting to feel burnt out. And there's only about half an imp left, since it was a partial imp in a swap! Must have more! Alas, no money. :-(

I tend to alternate between wanting light, minty scents like Jabberwocky, and some of the deep musks such as Dragon's Musk. My skin really, really likes musk that week, and it just smells so warm and comforting :-) My beloved sandalwood, on the other hand, I have to stay far away from as it turns scarily harsh and strong.

Scent in bottle: Yup; lavender and jasmine. This is a lot like Somnus, only without the sleepiness. Scent on me: Wet -- Still sweet but non-heavy lavender and jasmine. Dry -- And still...you guessed it...lavender and jasmine! Though now the jasmine's dominant rather than the lavender. Conclusion: A very pretty floral. If I want to smell like lavender and jasmine, but don't want it to put me to sleep, I'll use this. I don't know how often that'll happen, but I'll keep it around for a while just in case.

Scent in bottle: Deep, nutty musk and woods. This musk is going to attack, isn't it? Scent on me: Wet -- No attacking musk! :-) Instead, the sandalwood takes over and the musk stays nicely in the background. No amber yet, but that tends to come out in the drydown. Dry -- Sandalwood, musk, and just a touch of amber. It's a surprisingly sharp scent, given those notes. This sandalwood has teeth. Conclusion: Nice, but I'm not sure it's bottle-worthy. Definitely keeping the imp, though.

Scent in bottle: Patchouli, carnation, and orange blossom. It's a very green, plant-like smell. Scent on me: Wet -- Very carnation, with the patchouli at the back. Quite nice, and still very squished-flowers smelling. Dry -- This is the smell of chlorophyll! Green plants and growing things! With just a touch of patchouli. I'm very confused, given the notes and the name, but fine. I'll go with smelling green. Conclusion: Oooo, yay. This is from another swap, along with another imp of Kali, which I'd really wanted, and was sort of an impulse-swap. But this is going on my bottle-list now :-)

Scent in bottle: Standard perfume-smell, with maybe a hint of sandalwood and something that's almost black pepper. Where's my pretty frankincense-resin base? The reviews said they all had the lovely resin base! *stares forlornely into tiny bottle* Scent on me: Wet -- Sharp perfumy evil. *sad puppy eyes* Dry -- Ok, there's a bit of the resins. And the sharpness has faded. There's a lot of sandalwood in here. Conclusion: The final drydown is ok, but not brilliant. It's not nearly so beautiful as Tum. I do feel like I might be getting sick, so I'll try it again in a week or two. Otherwise, back to swaps it goes.

Scent in bottle: Mmmm....floral honey with a hint of sandalwood. This is actually a lot like Thaleia in the bottle. Very cheerful and springlike. Scent on me: Wet -- The rose and orange blossom are now very prominant, and the sandalwood has disappeared. Dry -- The honey and sandalwood come back and meld beautifully with the flowers. Conclusion: This is Thaleia's sexy older sister. :-D

Scent in bottle: Oatmeal with honey and almond. Yum, but do I want to smell like this? Scent on me: Wet -- Almond cookies. Rather overly-sweet almond cookies. *waves hands frantically to make the almond honeyness go away* Dry -- The almond has backed off a bit, and now it's a pleasant honeyed sweetness. Conclusion: I think I'll keep the imp around for days when I really need something sweet and warm and comforting; most of the time this is going to be too food-like for me.

Even if that first Station of the Sun I swapped for hadn't been so glorious, how could I not give this one a try? It's "I'm a morning person; worship me!" Scent in bottle: Mmmm...that same resin base that was in Tum and Ra, plus...cloves? Coriander? Something lovely and spiced. Scent on me: Wet -- Lots of lovely spices! They're so well-blended that I can't distinguish individual ones except for this haze of clove rising off my wrist. Dry -- It dries to a very unusual almost sour spice-resin scent. Conclusion: Yum! You will love and fear the dawn people! Bottle. Definitely bottle.

Scent in bottle: So, by "unadulterated spiritual purity", they apparantly mean "mango". I am deeply confused. Sniffing further I can distinguish the frankincense and galangal, but the combination of all those ingredients results in a remarkably accurate fresh mango scent. Yum....but....huh?? Scent on me: Wet -- Still mango. I have no clue what olive, spikenard, or hyssop smell like, but it's herbs and resins and ginger and combined it still becomes mango. Dry -- Now it's not quite so overpoweringly mango and the individual scents are distinguishable. If only I knew what they were! It's a lovely sweet herbal resin fruit kind of smell. Conclusion: Mango. Bizzarely lovely mango and herbs and resins. I like it. I may have to get a bottle just because I find it so deeply confusing. And it genuinely smells good on me.

Scent in bottle: Ooooo! This is like Persephone, but better! Sweet, juicy rose and red wine. Scent on me: Wet -- Huh? Now it's gone all bitter and weird. Is the dragon's blood not playing nicely with the other notes or something? Dry -- Musky roses and a little bit of dragon's blood. The wine has gone off somewhere and disappeared. Conclusion: *sad puppy eyes* It smelled so glorious in the bottle! But on me it's a generic, if nice, rose scent. I'll try it as a room scent, and on me again in a week or two.

Scent in bottle: I mainly get dragon's blood and honey; no vanilla yet. It's quite nice. Scent on me: Wet -- There's the vanilla...it's not sweet at all! :-D The dragon's blood and honey are sweet in themselves, but the vanilla doesn't turn to that horrible oversweet baked-goods smell that I dislike. Dry -- Soft and warm and honeyed vanilla resin yumminess, but with a slight bitter tone that I'm a bit ambivalent about. Dryer -- The vanilla finally becomes dominant and the bitter note goes away. I really like this vanilla note. Conclusion: Lovely; probably not bottle-worthy, though. I'll see how often I feel like wearing it.

Scent in bottle: Yup; dragon's blood and musk. At least from what I can smell in the bottle, it seems like they might be the type of musks that don't tend to attack me. Scent on me: Wet -- Dragon's blood is a very sweet, mellow resin on me, and the musks just make it even more soft and warm. Dry -- Mmmm...it dries to a lovely sweet warm musk. Conclusion: I know it's mostly me being suggestable, but this does actually evoke "dragon" for me. It's musky and warm and protective and works so beautifully with my skin chemistry.

Scent in bottle: I mainly smell a lovely sweet juicy peach, and some herbal note in the back that's presumably the myrtle. Scent on me: Wet -- Hmm...the peach is getting a little too sweet now. Dry -- Now the peach has behaved itself, and the amber has come out along with the myrtle and maybe a touch of musk. Conclusion: Quite nice...I'm not sure I like the peach-musk combination, though. Either note would smell very good on me, but the mix is a little odd.

Scent in bottle: Yup -- orange blossom and a dab of patchouli. It's more fresh and floral than feral, though. Scent on me: Wet -- The patchouli gains more strength, and the orange blossom is still there. Dry -- Very well balanced patchouli and orange blossom. Conclusion: I really like this one -- it was thrown in with a swap, and I'd never have chosen it on my own. It's simple, sweet, and incensy. But good grief, the name! Some of Beth's blends are almost disturbingly well-named, but what this turns to on me is fresh and floral-sweet rather than ravenous or sexual.