jidabug

A crisp ozone-tinged breeze. The scent of the first gentle rain before the storm. Firstly, a very sharp ozone. It dried down to more ozone with a bit of saltwater thrown in the back, but was crisp and clean overall. I'd tried Lightning a couple weeks before and this seemed so similar that I did a little experiment later in the evening, putting Tempest on one wrist and Lightning on the other. I honestly couldn't tell the difference, scent-wise. They both had a strong ozone, aquaticness about them, but the Lightning seemed a bit stronger and had more staying power. By the time bedtime rolled around, the Tempest was but the memory of a summer storm, but the Lightning was still crackling. I think I'll love them both as a mother would love her twins of different temperments. ETA: Lab description.

This started off intensely floral, with the jasmine coming off strong. The jasmine backed off a bit and the ginger came through with a sharp bite. I could just detect the vanilla being shy and lurking in the background. The ginger was a bit too sharp for my taste at first, but it mellowed out after a while. Okay, I'm probably going to hell for this, but it kind of reminded me of a perfume I used to wear in junior high, Exclamation by Coty. It had the same tropical floral, fruity zing to it. So this was very nostalgic for me.

There are many sins I have a personal affinity towards: Gluttony, mostly. I would have put Greed in there, not because of the desire for money, but to parphrase Bernadette Peters in The Jerk, "Because of all the stuff." So Greed started off with dark incense, and a touch of something sweet. The sweet lure of capital and the dark underside of wealth acquistion, blended together. And then it happened: What's that burning, campfire smell? Definitely something smoky and not at all pleasant going on. So I guess, in the final analysis, Greed and I do not mix. Phew. One less sin to worry about.

Very sweet cherries with a bite of spiciness. Sexy! Very red in scent as well as color early on, then turned to a deep, dark incense with bits of clove. Overall this was a very thick and mysterious scent, intense and powerful.

Right off this one was all flowers and incense. I really should learn to steer away from the incense fragrances. They turn very head shop, then darkly powdery for me. There were flowers underneath everything, but the patchouli overode them all. I'm not having good luck with the Mad Tea Party blends so far.

I've seen Alice compared a lot to Dana O'shee, and rather coincidentally I happened to try them one after the other. However, to me, they were nothing alike. Whereas Dana O'shee was all sweetness and warmth, the Alice contained the dreaded rose and that's all I could smell. Rose and I don't get along at all. Pretty much as soon as I put it on the rose turned to obnoxious powder with the barest hint of anything else underneath it. Pity.

Wet: Sweet almonds. Dry: Milk and honey definitely coming out. Very sweet and heady, but not cloying. Final: Tasty and soothing. Very nice. It reminded me of a nice mug of warm, spiced milk.

A light, invigorating floral and citrus blend. Tuberose, lotus and jasmine with a hint of lime. Wet: Definitely floral. Jasmine comes out first, but there is definitely more to it. Dry: Tuberose, mostly. Hint of jasmine and something sweeter underneath. No sign of the lime Final: Very tropical and lush. Tuberose always takes me back to Hawaii, which is nice. Whenever I get a waft of this it takes me to a happy, relaxing place.

Wet: Crisp, fresh floral. I can smell rose, in particular. Dry: You mean there are supposed to be other notes besides rose? Now it's pretty much just baby powder. Final: As usual, the rose came out and stomped on everything else in its quest for powdery world domination.

Wet: Sweet iced tea with lots of lemon. Dry: Still lemony tea, but there's a medicinal quality to it now, which I'm guessing is from the aloe. It's not bad, though. Final: I like it well enough now in the middle of February, but this would probably be very refreshing on a hot day in the middle of August, so I'll retry it when the weather is more appropriate.

Wet: Jasmine! And some other flowers. Dry: The sweetness of honeysuckle balances the jasmine nicely and also there is a light, smooth, buttery scent in the background. Final: Gorgeous springtime floral, heady with jasmine but well tempered by the other elements.

Wet: Vanilla nuttiness! Dry: Definitely sweet vanilla, a bit of cherry/almond and a hint of spice. Final: I can certainly see why this is such a popular fragrance. It is, quite simply, sex on a stick (or in a bottle, as the case may be). I just feel so good wearing this one, and I think it would be impossible to be in a bad mood while doing so. I normally like to wear florals, but I'm definitely going to get a big bottle of this in my next order.

Wet: Softly "green" and floral with a hint of musk. Dry: It's official, either my nose or my body chemistry is wonky. The floral has pretty much disappeared and I'm left with something earthy, musky, and kind of smoky. Final: This is breaking my heart because I really wanted the soft floral fragrance that everyone else has described. If I really strain I can just barely smell a bit of jasmine, but that's it. I'm definitely going to retest this one.

Wet: Vibrant floral, in a good way. Dry: The rose comes on strong right before it turns the whole thing to baby powder. Final: I was hoping for more jasmine to come through as rose doesn't seem to like me; it tends to turn things powdery fairly quickly. This was a nice, heady floral until that happened, and then it vanished.

Wet: Softly sweet with plum and a hint of spicy ginger. Dry: Sweet...nice floral...uh-oh. It went sour the same way Titania and Zorya did for me. They both started out nice and floral before going off. I think it may be the musky qualities. Final: I really wanted to love this one since it's my birthday moon and was hugely saddened when it turned on me.

Okay, this was a weird one because straight off it smelled like cherry cough syrup to me; roughly sweet with a bite. Eventually it calmed down into a smoky, spicy blend with soft, fruity overtones. In the end it turned to spicy peaches, but there was still a lingering sharpness underneath it that really didn't work for me.

Wet: Sharp and clean. Dry: Kind of like dryer sheets, but not overpowering. Mellowing into a very refreshing fragrance. Final: The freshness of a late spring rain without the sogginess. I think I'm going to have to buy a 5ml of this.

Wet: Fruity! No one note comes out more than the others, though. Dry: Can definitely smell the guava and a lot of melon...too bad I'm not a huge fan of melons. Final: Like a refreshing fruit salad on a hot summer day, I like it apart from the melons and wish I could pick them out and just enjoy the other fruit.

Wet: Strawberrylicious with a bit of a zing on top. Dry: Sweet, but nicely balanced with something slightly tart and creamy. Final: I used to have a little garden in which I had a few strawberry plants. There was no greater pleasure than plucking a berry fresh from the plant, rinsing, and eating it while it was still sun-warmed. This scent totally reminds me of that heady summer feeling.

Wet: Sweet, sweet flowers. Dry: Can detect the freesia and gardenia above all else. There is a bit of deepness from the rose elements. Final: Beautiful floral that evokes springtime and fields full of sunshine and flowers.

This one almost overpowered me, right of the imp. Wet: Dark and spicy. Dry: Rosy, but dark, with powdery overtones. Not a bright and clean rose, but a mysterious one. Final: Mostly head shop incense-y with a wallop of rose. Not me at all.

Wet: Sweet floral with a zing, almost citrusy. No one note stands out. Dry: Still sweet, but started turning sour and a bit fermented, kind of like a hoppy beer. Final: Sourness eased, but it's too aggressively cheerful. I like light, cheerful scents well enough, but this one is the annoyingly perky cheerleader who wants you to get up and do the wave when all you want to do is sit in the stands and make snarky comments. It could just be a mood/scent mishmash today, though.

Wet: Sweet floral with something darker underneath. Dry: Rose. Deep, dark, perfumey rose. Bit of baby powder softness, but mostly just the old-fashioned rose. Also seems to have one heck of a throw. Final: If I liked this kind of rose scent, I would like this one, but I'm not. So this is nice, but not for me. Later: Okay, I spoke too soon. A couple hours later and the rose has mellowed. I can get a bit of the vanilla and carnation coming through now and the whole thing is growing on me. It's the first time I've had a fragrance improve so much after wearing it for a while.

Wet: Citrusy w/ a bit of floral underneath. Dry: Soap! Going very soapy, probably because of the grapefruit. Can detect a bit of the bergamot underneath. Final: It most definitley went soapy on me. Expensive, fancy guest soaps that you put out for special occasions, but soap, nonetheless.

Wet: Yum! Smooth vanilla-sweet chocolate w/ a hint of fruitiness. Dry: Sweet fruit coming out and chocolate is mellowing - chocolate covered cherries. Final: Tasty! It had me craving a Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar or a box of cherry cordials. Not for everyday use, though, because that would be bad for my diet.