jidabug

Hm... I guess I had a weird reaction to the notes in this, because I didn't get mint. I didn't get anything pleasant, actually. It came out of the bottle smelling like feet. Teenage-boy-after-soccer-practice feet. It quickly turned with a bit of a plasticy, doughy kind of thing going on. I'm very disappointed, as it sounded really good in theory.

In bottle: Minty! Exactly like a peppermint candy cane. On skin, first impression: Delightfully minty. Feels cool on the skin, like Ben Gay, but without the medicine overtones. Second impression: I love the scent of the sweet mint and the feel on my wrists of the peppermint oil; very cool and refreshing. Perfect for holiday cheer and summer heat.

In the bottle: Apples, sharp and crisp. A hint of something sweetly spicy. On, first impression: Cinnamon and apples, like a fresh-baked apple pie or a warm cup of cider. On, second impression: Some smokiness comes out at the end, which ruins it for a while, but it eases off to a mellow autumnal kind of scent. It's definitely evocative of the autumnal season and I think will be a staple fragrance of mine when the leaves start to turn.

In the bottle it's very much as people described, very sunshine and lovely. I picture running through hills dotted with wildflowers. First on, it's very sweet in a flowery way but without being cloying about it. However. On drydown it goes directly to baby powder, do not pass go, do not collect any other scents. It must be the amber in it, since that usually goes a bit powdery on me. Oh well. It was very nice in the beginning, but I'm not keen on the powdery end.

DCCXXXI (731) In the bottle: Citrus. Lemon and orange, with a bit of something sharp and metallic underneath? Wet: Still very citrus, and just a little soapy. Like really fancy guest soaps you put out for decoration. Drydown: The soapiness mellows out into a bit more of a creamy undertone and keeps the citrus nicely in hand. For some reason all I can think of is creamcicles. Very nice in the end. Huzzah! Now I wish I'd sprung for more than one bottle to try a few more surprises.

This started out very light and bright; aquatic and a touch of crisp lime. Tart apple and a hint of vodka came through after a while, actually it all kind of blended to a light G&T kind of fragrance. Very nice, but it vanished without a trace.

Starts off with sweet, bright fruitiness. Definitely strawberries, but other notes are mixed in there. Unfortunately, it turned into fermented strawberries after a while. And then it disappeared very quickly, which is just as well considering the fermentation.

I was very keen to try Uranus, as I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Aquarius. So I was pleased when this started off warm and spicy, all cloves and cinnamon candies. There was a hint of something medicinal lurking in the background, too. As it dried, it still strongly smelled of cloves and something metal, rather funky actually. But after a while the clove scent kind of grated on me and smelled more like a Christmas pomander than anything else. So, I liked Uranus, but I think it's more of a room fragrance than one I'd wear.

Started off as a strong, powdery floral. Definitely some jasmine in there, but the rest is kind of a blur. Eventually, it mellowed to a creamy, slightly spicy floral, which wasn't too bad, but on the whole it was a bit too heavy floral for me.

All I can think of to describe the first whiff of this is: Yellow! Okay, a bit more descriptive: Sunny and light flowers. Maybe a hint of lemony goodness. On drydown this had a light, bright herbal scent coming through. Sundew is the sweet essence of springtime; a creamy smooth floral. Very nice and refreshing.

Started off very dry and woody. There are touches of sharp juniper and something kind of darkly bitter. It eventually (after about 4 hours) it mellowed to a kind of musky, sweet, creaminess with very light bitterly woody overtones. An interesting, masculine blend, but not something I would wear normally.

I lucked out and won a bottle of this fabulous scent in the forum raffle. This really does start out as a whap-you-upside-the-head floral! But as it dries down it mellows into a gorgeously vibrant and feminine floral with just a touch of dark to keep it from getting too frou-frou. The comments of it being kind of perfume-countery are justified, but not at all in a bad way. This was very reminiscent of Poison to me, which is what I used to wear in high school and college. The throw is pretty strong, so it's not a scent I would slather, but it's very pleasant with just a couple dabs. In the end, this was all bountiful flowers, with no particular bloom or note sticking out above the rest. Just generally very sultry.

Wet: Soft, fresh spring flowers after a refreshing rain. Slightly rosy without being a strong “rose,” which is good because rose itself tends to overwhelm me. Dry: Very pink and floral. Tending towards soap, though. That's a pity. Otherwise it's a nice, lively, and girly floral.

Very sweet frosting and toasted nuts. The nuts turn out to actually be toasted coconut and there is definitely a vanilla cakey sugary sweetness around the edges. If it was possible to get cavities from fragrances, this would certainly do it. Very sweet!

This smelled so good in the bottle--like butterscotch candies, sweet and lovely. As soon as I put it on my skin, however, it turned to cat pee. I couldn't even wait for a further dry down because it was just too strong. I'm so bummed, because I was really looking forward to the Monsters.

Wet: Coconut and something earthy and tangy. A little later: Sweet almond milk is becoming more noticeable, with coconut fading to the background. There is still something sharp and earthy I can't quite place. Quite a bit later: Eventually all the different notes mellowed out and I got whiffs of fig, coconut, sweet cream, and just a touch of the sandalwood to round it out. My cat, Pi, really liked sniffing my wrist, too! Definitely a keeper if she likes it.

This was all sweet coconut with just a hint of lime occasionally, and overall simply beautiful, soft, and tropical. Definitely improved my mood and outlook today.

Starts off all honeysuckle, but then there was coarse soapiness coming out over the honeysuckle sweetness and the whole thing headed towards darkness. To finish with it was all icky soap and mustiness that just doesn't work for me at all.

Going on, this was light mint and ozone...and then something smoky, which I think is the moss. Very unpleasant. Fortunately, the burning scent didn't linger, and left the very light ozone alone. Not bad, but I think I like Lightning and Tempest better for my fresh, outdoorsy, ozone needs.

A strange, disconcerting embrace… to some, alarming, and to some, intimately familiar: fig, pomegranate and cocoa bean with lemon, bergamot, vanilla, mellow honey musk, calamus and tonka. First impression: Spicy and sweet. Definitely food-type fragrance with fruit and chocolate being the most predominate notes. Dries down to vanilla and fragrant spices. I get a bit of the sweet fig and just a touch of cocoa. The whole thing kind of reminds me of a Dr Pepper. Very tasty. If this is what a freak show is like, sign me up! ETA: Lab description.

First on: Peaches! Deepening to peaches and cream, with maybe a hint of something spicy. Laster impressions: Smooth and creamy, reminds me of St. Ives Apricot facial scrub and moisturizer, which I loved using when I was younger. Still later: After reading the other reviews I was very puzzled. I didn't get any licorice/anise at all. Just sweet creaminess. So I reapplied, trying hard to detect it. Very fresh on I could just barely smell a bit of licorice, but it went away in favor of the peachy smell as before, which is just as well since I hate licorice. Love the peachiness, though.

Wet: Jasmine and sharp floral notes. Dry: Very strong jasmine, but the rose is developing its usual soapy smell. Something kind of acidic going on in the background. Overall, this was very soapy and sharp on me.

One of my favorite things when commuting by bike during the warm months is passing this empty lot filled with blackberry brambles. In the afternoon, after the sun has warmed them all day, they give off the most delicious fragrance ever, and I breathe deeply not just because it's at the top of a hill, but because it smells so good. This is what Glasgow started off for me, but there's a woody, herbal scent in there too, and in the end it went cloyingly soapy, probably because of the heather. Too bad. I really wanted that summer blackberry fragrance to stay.

Wet: Light and sweet. Kind of honey-like. Dry: Soapiness coming out, but the fragrance is overall still very light, despite slathering it on. Final: Started off nice and floral, but the soapy sharpness it became just doesn't work.

Fresh out of the imp this was nothing but sharp lavender. It eventually settled down to a powdery softness. There's something smooth in the background which was nice enough, but the lavender really is a turn off for me.