seamor

I wanted this when it was available, but wasn't able to get my hands on it it until now. I know I liked the ingredients listed, but don't remember what they were. Trying it without checking on that. Rose. Just rose. Pure, simple, unaffected rose. Not the candy-and-chemicals rose ... Not your Granny's rose perfume ... Not that deep, luscious, velvety red rose with a twang of clove and citrus ... An elegant, perfectly formed, tall white rose, wearing a few tasteful dewdrops in the early dawn light. Clean, gentle rose, with just a hint of spice ... And that was it for the entire two hours it lasted on my skin. I adore this scent. The only thing I'd like better would be if it could last longer. ETA: Now that I review the ingredients, I see there's not a drop of rose anywhere in it. Isn't that something? On me, it's rose. Huh. Love it!

The lab sent me this imp and several others!! Such largesse! Thank you so much!!! I tried it without looking at the description ... At first I get an intense spicy incense note that dries into something gorgeously resinous and sort of green - Cedar? Cypress? It is strongest close to the skin, but does have a moderate throw. In the throw I begin to smell something sweeter - flowers? I don't expect that will last long - my skin eats flowers. Dry: It is a floral! Quite strong (even a little overpowering) at first (Lily? Tuberose? A heavy white scent.) but after about five minutes it backs off a bit and becomes softer. The resin comes in again, playing hide and seek among the flowers, and - Oh my goodness, this is just lovely! 2 hours later - A soft, graceful white floral with a gently resinous interplay. So lovely. And it's still with me - I am amazed! 4 hours later - It's softer and closer to the skin, but it's still there! This lasted overnight! I could still smell it a bit the next morning. Finally a floral that does not die on me. It's difficult to believe. And such a beautiful one, too! Happy, happy, happy!

A frimp from the lab! Thank you, thank you!!! On me this is pure, sweet, cherry blend pipe tobacco. As if I have my face right inside a pouch full of new, moist cherry blend ... Not a morpher. Warm, homey, brings back peaceful memories of a lovely man long gone. Mmmmmmm ... Wonderfully evocative.

I have an imp of the older Beltane, and although I like it, it is very soft on my skin and just doesn't stay, so I could hardly wait to try the new one! Wet: A distinct sweetened mint. Dry down: Mint ice cream. Dry: The mint has backed off some, and - Yup! I smell broom! Woo hoo! I probably wouldn’t recognize the broom separately if I hadn't been looking for it, though. This is very well blended - nothing is jumping out individually, now that the mint has calmed down. I’m getting an overall gentle herby scent with soft florals and a bit of a woody tang. The remaining mint lightens and freshens without being obtrusive. Definitely a light, bright, decked-in-flowers-and-giggling-my-way-through-the-forest scent. I am not kidding about the giggling - this is a genuine mood enhancer for me. Exactly the right feeling for Beltane! I will most certainly be wearing this one often! Hee hee! Update: Five hours later, Beltane is still with me. A couple of hours ago I noticed it had mellowed a bit, becoming a bit warmer with a hint of incense, though retaining much of the original mood. It even kept a gentle throw which wafted by my nose several times during the afternoon, a wonderful surprise. I can see that I am going to have to change my methods and start tracking my Top Ten. I had a Top Three, but too many beloved scents have been bumped downward lately, and with Beltane 2008 they are being bumped again... A Top Five isn't enough ... The Dormouse, Chrysanthemum Moon, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, The Death of Autumn, Dragon Moon, and now Beltane 2008 have moved in and taken over - all new to me, each better than I could have imagined. I can hardly wait to see what Beth will come up with next.

In some cultures, the Dragon is benevolent, bestowing blessings and granting wishes. In others, the Dragon is an icon of destruction and harbinger of catastrophe. In all its incarnations, both baneful and benign, the Dragon is a symbol of strength, authority, and the raw power of nature. Our Dragon Moon represents the forces of rebirth and the vigor that springtime brings: dragon's blood resin, galbanum, blue sage, lavender, peppermint, sweetgrass, frankincense, moonglow magnolia, bergamot, and green cedar. Yipes ... I've never done a first review before. Please bear with me (and put this post where it belongs if I've failed to find the existing thread). * * * * * Indescribable, really. But I'll try. In the bottle: A strong, sultry, musky, amberish scent. Wet: Subtle ambery musk - very quiet on my skin. I am fearful that it will simply disappear, as has sometimes happened with other scents. Drydown: Blossoms rapidly into an intoxicating herby sweetness. Good throw of the sweet notes. I can pick out the peppermint close to the skin if I really try, but it blends so well that it is registering mostly as a clean freshness. Marvelously blended - none of the individual notes stand out. I get an explosive, almost overwhelming sense of lush new green growth and blossoms of all varieties, multiplying joyfully in a golden galbanum light. This is just perfect for Beltane, the day I received it, and this test definitely pepped up my personal celebration, LOL! A couple of hours later, the remaining scent is quieter, closer to the skin. Not much throw now, as far as I can tell. What's left is definitely dragon's blood, but a sweet, lightly floral, faintly herbal version. The undercover peppermint is still there, keeping the overall effect cool and fresh. Wow, I sure do like this! Beth, you are on a roll - It seems like my top five list changes almost every time I try a new scent these days! Kinda sorry now that I only bought one bottle, but I'm sure glad I've got the one!

Wet: Peach with warm depths - kind of reminds me of Mme. De Merteuil. I have no idea what either rice flower or benzoin smell like, so please bear with me on this ... Drydown: Peach still present, but something more herby coming through, kind of a dusty tea-and-herbs scent and a honey-ish floral sweetness (the locust, I think). Dry: More of the tea comes through. Republic ginger peach tea with locust flower (kind of like a heavier sweet pea), honey, and maybe drop or two of vanilla. And a hint of distant sandalwood incense. Yum! Later still the peach fades, leaving a flowery tea and incense scent, very sweet and almost edible. Tamamo-no-Mai stuck around for several hours (even through a major parrot cage cleaning ). Good stuff! I am so lucky to have gotten even a partial bottle!

A lab frimp. Thanks, lab! This is great scent, and oddly doesn't strike me as at all desolate. Solitary, perhaps. A bit wild. Definitely outdoor. Makes me think of hawks. Also makes me think of my erstwhile husband when he came home after a day out doing construction work (back when we were very, very young). Mmmmmmm ... It isn't something that I would wear myself, but slathered all over a lovely man, now …

Intriguing scent. The frankincense note I get first is deeper, more faceted that frankincense usually seems. I think I can recognize lavender in it, and probably the other notes are present but not making themselves individually known. Very well blended. I can't recall smelling anything quite like this before, and I am enjoying it very much. Later I get a stronger rose with the frankincense, etc, behind it. I never do pick out the orchid or musk separately, but I'm sure they are in there helping to make this scent fascinating and complex. I like Psyche a lot. Sadly, it only lasts me a couple of hours.

Wet: All that citrus does screech a bit at first, like a not-quite-ripe tangerine - intense, tangy, a bit sour. I'm not getting a booze note at all. And I'm sure the pineapple is in there, but I can't quite separate it. In spite of the initial sharpness, this seems to be a mood lightener for me - probably all that snappy citrus. Dry down: Not so intense now, and I would swear I'm getting tropical flowers - pikake? It's not listed, but .. oh! It's the ginger! Ginger blossom! DUUU-uuuhh! I was expecting ginger, the condiment! Okay! Wonderful! Fabulous! I love ginger! Gradually getting sweeter, sort of sugary, and milder, with something creamy playing hide-and seek among the flowers and citrus fruits. This definitely strikes me as tropical and celebratory. The perfect scent to wear to the luau! Two hours later: The ginger has gone. Of course. It's a flower scent, and it was on my skin. Almost goes without saying. Now I smell a lot like a pina colada. Mmmmm ... I am walking around smelling like coconut-pineapple-something-or-other with a twist, and I like it. Screeching Parrot is just plain fun. I'll probably wear it a good bit this summer. It definitely appeals to my somewhat neglected festive side.

Delectable! A wonderful vanilla sweetness with an amber/sandalwood foundation. I wasn't able to pick out individual notes until I read the description, and then thought "Oh! Of course that's what that is!!!" Of course. The sweet pea disappears almost immediately on me; naturally, being a flower note. The rest dries to a very stable, velvety, vanilla-sandalwood with a warm amber shimmer and a soft throw, and it stays on my skin for a long time - over eight hours! Nothing, literally nothing, has ever stayed with me that long before. (Except anise, but let's not darken our happy time with unpleasant memories ...) I like this so much, and am so comfortable and happy wearing it, that every time I think of trying one of my other new imps I just end up putting on Mouse's Long and Sad Tale again instead. I haven't worn anything else for a couple of weeks, and ordered two 5 mls this morning. Top three for me are now Mouse's Long and Sad Tail, Chrysanthemum Moon, and The Dormouse. Beth, you just get better and better!

Wet: A really, really good citrusy, spicy rose. Not sweet or submissive as I would have expected, but self-possessed and challenging. I LIKE it! Drydown: More of the same, with a bit less edge. A brief threat of the candy-rose effect that so often happens on my skin, but it passes. Mmmmm .... Dry: The citrus and the rose are eaten, and I am left with a warm almond, sandalwood, nutmeg, clove combination which is perfectly lovely, and lasts an hour or two. I like it, but am disappointed to have lost that first wonderful spicy rose scent. Maybe in a scent locket? The whole thing lasts about three hours on my skin, with rose for the first hour or so. Not too bad. For a minute there I thought I'd found a rose I could wear, but no ... If you you like rosy, spicy scents and do not have the flower-eating skin, I highly recommend Seraglio. Hey, can anybody make me an icon in which a many-toothed (in rows, like a shark) skin monster is seen gluttonously devouring bushels of flowers?

Wet: Stargazer lily. Dry down: I smell something red (musk?) coming up through the lilies. Dry: A nice - and yes, she is feisty! - combination of lily and red (musk?). Only lasts on me about an hour (leaving behind a hint of the red note), but that was only to be expected. After all, I'm the one with the ravenously floriverous skin. Even fiesty Tiger Lily doesn't stand a chance.

Wet: Oh! Apparently that sharpish spicy note that I have been thinking is red patchouli is actually sandalwood! (Further nose training desperately needed.) I like it! SOOOOooo much! The flowers come up on drydown - a little too sweet for me but, with my skin, they won't be here long. Dry: I was right. Now I have frankincense and sandalwood. This is a great combination! Probably not what Beth intended, and not particularly seraphic, but pretty darned yummy, ja, you bet! Uh-oh - I thought the flowers were gone, but now I'm getting wisteria. Well, gosh, that's not bad either. (Wow! Wisteria actually smells purple!) But again, too sweetly flowery for me. I guess I really just wanted that frankincense and white sandalwood combination. Maybe my skin will eat the wisteria pretty soon ... Yikes! The wisteria just keeps getting purpler and purpler. There's almost nothing left of the other notes. If this doesn't fade soon, I may have to wash it off. Bizarre. My famously flower-eating skin amps wisteria? Well, I love wisteria an' all, but this is just getting to be too much. I don't think I actually like smelling purple. Red, okay. White, okay. Tan, green, orange, yellow, yeah. Purple, not so much. Just not cut out to be a seraph, I guess ...

Wet: Red Musk! Red Patchouli! Take No Prisoners!!! Aaarrrrggghhhh! Drydown: The frankincense comes through now, but the reds are still very much in evidence. Dry: These notes blend very well, none overpowering the others, with one or another rising temporarily to the surface every now and then. Simple, straightforward, and very, very interesting. I love the listed components of this scent (which is why I wanted to try it) and I certainly do like the result. Very feisty. Very sexy. Very "Sit up and take notice." while not being what I would think of as a "loud" scent (at least, not after the first few minutes ...)

Wet: Smoky, herbal, and somewhat sharp, like a sharp incense. Dry: Primarily a lightly musky orange blossom, maybe some rose (but not the one I'm allergic to - yay!). No rosemary that I can find. Not much throw as far as I can tell. A very nice orange blossom scent. I continue to get a faint incensy note now and then, which keeps it from becoming too sweet. Could that be the rosemary? It doesn't smell on me like rosemary - more like a whiff of burning myrrh in the distance. It blends in so well that I can only catch the separate incense note every now and then. A surprisingly pleasant scent for a murderess, but I suppose the ability to appear pleasant and innocuous would be a a primary requirement for long-term success. It doesn't look like this will last long on me. After an hour, it's fading fast. If it suddenly resurrects (as a couple of Beth's scents have done on me), I'll update.