jidabug

This was my first Tarot Oil, received as a frimp from the Lab. Wet, this was definitely mellow and yellow. Very citrus, especially lemon. Dry, there's a bit of ginger or something spicy like that coming out, still lemony on the outside, though. I found this very refreshing. Slightly sweet and fruity, but mostly just nice.

As it usually does, the lavender smacks me right off with spicy, sharp woody bits. On drydown, the sharpness eases revealing lemon verbena and rosemary, with a slice of neroli. It went kind of oily citrus fragrance in the end, kind of like furniture polish.

Overall this was sweet milky tea. With some spiciness from the ginger and pepper notes. I was just kind of "meh" about this one, even though it was nice enough.

Wet: Dark and sweet. Musky brown sugar. Drying down: Uh oh. Turning very smoky and upleasantly musky. There's a touch of fermentation going on. It's a bad sign when my husband, who normally can't smell anything unless I put my wrist under his nose, says to me "What's that burning soapy smell?" Final: It started out promisingly, but sweetness didn't the musks and they went to a bad place.

Wet, this was a deep floral, very tropical. The tuberose was strong intially, making this very perfumey at first. It dried down to a soft, sexy sweetness over flowers and the perfumey-ness has mellowed. This is definitely a scent for sexy, seductive days.

Wow, but this was very jasmine. And I like jasmine...but on me, this just went old-lady floral. And far too strong, at that.

Starts off bubble gum sweet, but not overly so. Seems like a fun, fruity, flirty fragrance. Dries down to very sweet, candy and flowers. This is perfect for days when I want to act my shoe size, not my age, and have a bit of fun.

This was a smooth, sweet floral, very light and bright. Not cloying, as some sweet florals can be. Very girly. I think I'll keep this to use as a light floral for days when I want to feel more feminine.

For some reason wet lavender hits me as sharp and kind of peppery at first, and that's my first impression of Twilight. The honeysuckle was just barely there in the background. The lavender softened a bit as it dried, but it didn't work well on me.

Oooh, yes. This is the kind of floral I like: bright, sunny and sweet. Overall there is impression of summery flowers, but it faded very quickly. I think this seemed similar to Eos, so I will have to compare the two at some point. Very nice.

To start: Sweet flowers, almost buttery. But then, holy baby powder, batman! Overwhelmingly powdery, which eventually softened, but the floral elements I was looking for never materialized.

Reminiscent of hothouse blooms on a humid night, ripe, but touched with decay. Sweet honeysuckle and jasmine with a hint of lemon and spice. Jasmine and honeysuckle are very potent. So much so, I'm not getting anything else. After a while, it's still a very strong floral, with lemony bits underneath it. It came on a bit too strong, but then faded very quickly. Not bad, just not the floral I'm looking for.

Firstly, the jasmine comes out swinging, but there's something bitter and unpleasant behind it. Then the rose conspires with the jasmine and backstabs her, taking everything for itself and turning all to bitter powder.

Lemon, lemon, and more lemon. As strong as the lemon was intially, it disappeared very quickly, leaving a vaguely sweet, candy scent kind of like Pez. Rather like a young girl entering puberty, it starts out fresh, innocent, and sweet before going vaguely sour.

Oooh. This is a sharp, clean, bright citrus. This is exactly what a guy should smell like, to me. Very clean, with just a bit of rugged musk and cheeky citrus to it, smooth in the end. If my husband were the kind of guy to wear cologne, I'd buy many bottles of this for him, because I really like it. Alas, he isn't, and as much as I like this fragrance, it's too masculine for me to wear.

This was completely medicinal and sharp, with the aloe coming out strong. After drydown it smelled like the stuff Mom used to put on burns and cuts to numb and clean them. Bactine? Something like that. Anyway, it's very clinical and dry, with a bit of powder to it.

This was a overall a very crisp, white floral with mucho strong jasmine, which I usually like. Ligeia also had a very powerful throw, but dried down to be a bit soapy for me. The jasmine was nice, but kind of overpowering in the end. A very floral, perfume-y kind of scent.

I remember the first time my mother gave me a piece of "real" chocolate, the bittersweet kind. It smelled so good, and then I bit into it. So not my thing. The Tell-Tale Heart was a lot like that. Right away I detected cocoa and something bitter. Then it really became bittersweet chocolate, with a sweetly cloying overtone, and a nasty, spicy, sharp afterbite. Still not my thing, unfortunately.

Right off this is dark and musky. Eventually a sharp citrus-like scent comes out before turning a bit soapy/powdery, which I blame on the rose because that's what it usually does for me. Later, the rose has worn off, and now it's hello honey! Rich and deep with a touch of spiciness. This was a very complex and interesting morph from the deep musk, but survived the rose onslaught to become a rich scent of mystery. Probably my favorite of the Maelstrom scents that I tried, but it's a too dark to be a "keeper" for me.

Whoa. That's a very dry sherry. Just a bit of fruity overtones and a bit of mustiness. Dries down to be sharply boozy still, with some fruit notes coming out, but they're very bitter about it. The patchouli darkens the whole thing...and makes me want to sneeze. Overall this was bitter and boozy, dark and musty. Perfectly suited to its name, but not for me.

Fruity and boozy, but in a cherry cough syrup kind of way, not a grown-up kind of way. On drydown it goes somewhat medicinal, but still sweetly cherry. There is a sort of sweet, dry chocolate note in the end which evokes a rich, dark, red wine. A bit too rich and dark for my tastes, but it's not bad.

Mmmm! Sweet lemony cookies. This is all lemon zing, mellow musk, and androgyny (it makes me think of David Bowie, the early years). Dries down to a clean lemon and restful tea scent. Perfect for a day when I’m in a "sweet" but not "girly" mood.

This starts out as beautiful jasmine and tropical flowers. But unfortunately, the rose once again takes over and turns it soapy. I love jasmine, but so many of the jasmine fragrances include rose, that the field of good ones has been severely limited for me. Too bad, because this one started out so promisingly.

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts...they'd be Gluttony. At first that's all I get, sweet, creamy, nuts. Eventually it dries down to more buttercream and caramel, with just a tiny bit of hoppy bitterness. So divine. Makes me want to nibble my wrist. Absolutely perfect for a chocolate-craving kind of day. All the sin without any of the caloric load. Huzzah!

Tulips, peony, fresh flowing water and crisp green grasses. When I was younger, my grandparents used to take me and my cousins to Skagit Valley in Washington every spring when the tulips were at their peak, and so I've always had a love affair with the delicate little beauties. So I had to try Amsterdam. Boy, did this every capture the essence of spring and its associated flowers. To begin, this was a light floral, very fresh and green. Upon drydown I could definitely smell the tulips and a crisp, sweet, watery scent. Alas, like most delicate flowering bulbs of the spring, this had a very limited life and quickly vanished.