reynardine

Wanted to try this one because both mandarin and fig notes tend to do well on me, but I’m not sure how it’ll work together… In imp: Very citrus! Wet: Certainly getting the mandarin orange-y scent, very bright and fresh. No fig at all. Drydown: Going into a light, pretty citrus, again almost one-note. No fig. Later: Very light citrus. Pretty, but faded off to nothingness within an hour.

Note: this isn’t one that I was attracted to through its notes, but I’ve been sent two samples of it and everyone raves about it, so I thought I ought to at least give it a try. In imp: smells like dark chocolate Wet: whoa, nasty mess of smells. Powdery chocolate, some musk and what I guess is tobacco? I’m surprised my allergies haven’t kicked in (tobacco usually sets them off), but maybe it’s the smoke that gets to me? Drydown: Now it starts morphing? Weird. Almost a sharp, clean scent like alcohol? Wait, that is fresh tobacco. Overpowering everything. Later: It turned extremely sweet on me, almost floral. I’ve no experience with black musk, so I’m not sure if it was that or just me amping tobacco. Interesting experience, but not a scent that I’d wear. Off to swaps with this one.

In imp: spices and resin Wet: Very spicy, sharp smell. Same kind of spices that I smell in Snake Oil. Drydown: The resin smell goes into the background, leaving a thick spicy scent. Later: Now it smells like spicy lilac. Very strong lilac, just like you’re standing right next to the tree. Late spring/summer scent for sure. It’s interesting, but not quite me.

In bottle: buttery pumpkin Wet: fir and tomato with a touch of rosemary Drydown: pumpkin is barely there, mostly under botanicals. Later: Very clean, botanical scent. Fir and rosemary dominate. Autumn scent for sure. Very light, will have to slather this one.

In bottle: roasted apples Wet: roasted apples with a lot of ginger mixed in. Drydown: Getting some sugar and clove into the mix as well now. Roasted apple dominates. Sorta smells like mulling spices that you put in apple cider. Later: Interesting scent. Settled into mulled apple cider on me. Very autumn-like—can’t really see me wearing it any other time of year. Not sure if I’m won on it or not, though. I do like apple, but this one is spiced. I want to hold onto this bottle and see how it ages.

Snake Oil with acai berry, amber, cardamom, neroli, and smoked vanilla. In bottle: gorgeous berry smell Wet: berries and almost an orange smell (neroli?) with the spices of Snake Oil behind it. Drydown: Barely any Snake Oil at all. Berries with a touch of spice. Later: Oh, this is a winner. Moderate throw, bright berry scent with a touch of spice underneath to give it some interest. Will love to see how this ages!

In bottle: pomegranate, a bit of musk and incense. Wet: more pomegranate, orange blossom, musk and incense. Drydown: Coconut with pomegranate, the incense calms down Later: Coconut with pomegranate and orange blossom, very pretty, lasts several hours. I’m so glad I went ahead and got a bottle!

In bottle: Smells like Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies. Wet: Mint, chocolate and cookie, medium throw. Drydown: Vanilla has, for once, stayed pure. Still quite minty. Chocolate has calmed down a bit, but there’s still a bit of a cookie smell. Later: Minty vanilla, with a touch of cookie. Love this!

In bottle: sharp apple scent Wet: snake oil with apples. The spices are really coming out. Drydown: spicy apple scent, lovely. Later: I like this better than Snake Oil, actually. The sweetness cuts into the spiciness. As the scent settles, more of the orange and apple comes out. Will enjoy seeing how this ages. EDIT: 2014 (5 years later): the fruit is not quite so in-your-face, but still there. The drydown on the aged stuff is incredible. More Snake Oil now, but still has the spicy apple and orange in the back.

In bottle: mess of florals, hard to pick out individual notes. Pretty, though. Wet: Almost an incense note here (although there’s not incense in this blend). VERY floral at first. Drydown: the grape/berry texture starts coming out now, but still with the heavy floral Later: Moderate to Heavy throw, morphed into lovely grape/berry scent with floral undertones. Beautiful once it settles down.

In bottle: fermented honey, smells a lot like real mead Wet: Something sharp here that cuts through the honey smell, that I didn't care for. Drydown: Fortunately, the sharp note (lemon, maybe?) retreated, leaving the honey/nutty smell I was hoping for. Later: Moderate throw, very nice warm scent. Excellent for winter.

In imp: rich, almost buttery cake scent Wet: reminds me a lot of Eat Me, the same sweet foodie scent Drydown: Now I’m seeing the difference. Eat Me was plain sweet, Cake Smash is more like cake mix. Later: Bit of a spicy smell comes out to give a bit of a kick to the sweetness. Seems to last a bit longer than Eat Me, but the two are very, very similar.

Got a decant of this. In imp: a touch of musk, mainly honey and sugar. Wet: Very sweet, with a light musk. Not at all what I was expecting. Drydown: It stays true to scent and very sweet, but light, so light. Later: Barely there. A wonderful sweetness. However, with the lack of throw on this, I doubt I would have gotten a bottle of it. Glad that I got to try it though.

In imp: A bit of orchid and musk Wet: Very light musk, touch of orchid. Very, very light scent. Drydown: Went to soap on me. Sorry, this one wasn't meant to be. Off to swap pile.

In the bottle: Odd, fresh scent. Can’t pick out individual notes as they are all blended together Wet: I’m getting peony, bamboo and some fruitiness. Drydown: bamboo and fruits Later: One of the more interesting Asian blends that the lab has come up with. Very fresh and bracing. Moderate throw, multi-seasonal wear. I’d put it on when I’m feeling unusual and want to convey that fact.

In bottle: odd scent. I’m mainly picking up ginger? Wet: musk and ginger, with a touch of vanilla in the background Drydown: Same thing. I seem to be amping those two notes. The other ones aren’t coming out at all. Later: Mainly a sassy ginger scent. Moderate throw on me. A summer scent, I think. It’s odd, but I like it a lot.

In bottle: almost perfume-like blend of wildflowers amidst aquatics. Getting no citrus at all. Wet: FLOWERS!! So many, I can’t pick out individual notes. Drydown: Herbs coming into play now, still very floral. Pretty, but reminds me of a perfume that was popular when I was a kid (1970’s). Can’t remember the name, but it smells just like it—my mom had it. Later: Mainly aquatics with a touch of herbs. Flowers in the background. Seems like it would be a nice summertime scent, especially on very hot days. I like it but not love it. I’m going to test it again later in warmer weather to see how my reactions do then.

In bottle: a thick, creamy scent, almost fig-like (although there’s no fig in this). Wet: Divine!! Picking out the vanilla and some fruits. Drydown: Now the florals and veggies seem to come into the picture. Still beautifully complex. Later: It does fade into the background quickly, but the scent is still there, lovely and subtle. Obviously will have to slather this one. Great scent! I love it!

In imp: light, brisk rose scent Wet: rose in background, amping spices Drydown: the rose is very soft. The spices tend to dominate this one. It gives it a kick, but not one that I particularly am looking for. Later: Now the rose comes out again. This is not an innocent kiss, but one with some passion behind it. Still, it’s not working for me. Too spicy. It was a lovely dance, but it’s off to the swap pile with you, my girl.

Got a decant to try and I AM IN LOVE. Wet: Honey and peaches, with a bit of floral behind Drydown: Stays true, although the magnolia comes out a bit more. Later: This is a heavenly scent. Bottle. No, two bottles! My mom will want one!

Had to try this one out, via decant. In imp: rose and jasmine, with a touch of spice. Not getting the booze at all. Wet: Jasmine dominates, with a touch of rose. Drydown: VERY floral, rose and jasmine duking it out for prominence. No vanilla that I can pick up. The Man commented on the throw, “Strong stuff!” Later: Tea rose, jasmine and a bit of pepper. It calmed down and doesn’t throw as much, but still a very strong floral scent. I love florals, so this worked out for me perfectly. Warm spring/summertime scent.

In bottle: wine, I smell wine. Grape wine. Wet: GRAPES, omg, it smells like Bubble-Yum Grape Flavor. Please tell me that this will change! Drydown: I must amp booze, I swear. Wine. A fruity wine. Later: It morphed. Still grapey, but less with the wine and more complex. Not instant love, but I like it. Have to test it more, I think. In the summer--this is more of a summer scent and it seems off testing it when it's 20 degrees F outside!

Got a tester from a generous forumite, enough for one application. In imp: Almost smells like grapes? Wet: light musk, with some berry hints—reminds me of Berry Moon, which I adore. Drydown: the vanilla is starting to come out, but still predominately blackberry. The musk is very light. An hour later: It remains stable as a blackberry/vanilla scent. Thank goodness the vanilla didn’t go plastic on me! Light-to-moderate throw: this is a slather scent for sure. I am so getting a bottle of this!

This will be a bit of an odd review. I got this bottle back in 2005 and never bothered to review it, so this is an older, wiser Katharina. In bottle: Still the pretty smell of orange blossoms Wet: Now the musk comes out. But it’s nice, not overwhelming. A touch of apricot here. Drydown: Apricot is coming out more. So lovely! Touch of orange blossom. An hour later: Apricot and musk! The orange blossom is just barely there. Medium throw. Beautiful scent. This one's a keeper, that it is.

In imp: lilies, with something behind them Wet: lilies, but now I’m getting a touch of the woods and dried leaves Drydown: lilies in a pile of dried leaves An hour later: Odd smell, almost like wet leaves. The lilies are hard to pick out now, but the woody/leafy scents are still there. Very, very light. Interesting, but not me at all. Off to swaps with you!