reynardine

Really getting the coconut on the first application. The pepper starts to come out as it starts to dry, giving the scent a bit of a kick. Something is going plastic on me, though. Is it the sugar? Okay, that calms down after awhile, and then I’m just getting a light, pleasant coconut with a hint of pepper. Very nice! Will test again to be sure, but a bottle of this might be in the future!

In the decant, it has this lovely vanilla, sugar scent. Immediate scent upon application is a bit, well, dry. Might be the tonka coming out? You can certainly smell the musk, too. Almost spicy? Anyway, as I don’t much care for musk or spice, I don’t like this part. On drydown, the spice calms down a bit and the scent smooths out. It’s interesting, but I’m not sure I want a whole bottle of this. Also, it faded on me very quickly—didn’t even last out an hour.

#4 (decant) With the Chaos Theory series, you always end up gambling because you never know what elements you are going to get, beyond the base, which this time is vanilla. I was kinda excited about the Chaos Theory bottles, but then realized that I needed to get a decant first, even if I didn’t know what another bottle’s elements were. I’m glad I did. The Chaos Theory vanilla note has the same issue that I have with a lot of the lab’s vanilla notes. They go horribly, terribly plastic on me. So on my skin, all that shows up is this horrible burnt smell. In the decant, I picked up vanilla with a very nice aquatic. Too bad my skin didn’t like it! So no Chaos Theory Vanilla bottles for me, I’m afraid. But it was fun to try.

I know this reply is kinda late, but I've had the same problem as you (my skin is sensitive as well.) What I figured out is that I can only test 2 or 3 scents in a day. Any more and I start having problems. The oils that I end up getting bottles for have never set me off, so no problems there. Hope this helps?

When first applied, this is PEPPERMINT like whoa. After about 15 minutes, it softens into this pretty lavender/mint blend. Doesn’t last terribly long—a couple of hours. Very nice for hot days.

Sniffie. Getting a bit of the fruit, but there is something sharp in this blend, and also something that goes plastic on my skin. The plastic phase passes and I end up with metallic fruit. Interesting, but not bottle-worthy.

A kind fairy sent me a half-decant to try, since I was very curious about this blend. I suffer from insomnia and thought it might help, but am a bit leery of lavender. Lavender is fine, but it reminds me of some bad times in my life and so I tend to dislike it for that reason. But if it helped me to sleep...and so many people recommend this! Alas, I didn’t realize there was eucalyptus in it. That stuff makes my eyes and nose BURN. I can’t get past it even to the lavender. Drying down, the eucalyptus goes away and the lavender comes out. After about 30 minutes, this turns into a gorgeous sugar. I don't know what to do!! Is it worth the few minutes suffering through the eucalyptus to get to the pretty sugar? *angst*

Someone frimped me this one. From the imp, I’m getting pure jasmine. On my skin, a bit of the citrus and musk comes out. I must amp musk, because by the time this dries down, I’m mainly getting musk and jasmine. Not to my taste at all.

Light, slightly boozy scent. The apricot is coming out loud and clear, making this extremely sweet on first application. But as it dries, a sour note comes in and it smells almost rotten. Pass.

I’ve been curious about this one for quite a while (thanks to the kind person who frimped me some!). A lot of people rave about it. As for me, I’m not sure what the fuss is about. I’m mainly getting musk, with no tea whatsoever, and it is so light as to not be distinguishable from my natural skin scent. Maybe a little sweeter, but not much difference. Pass.

Got a few samples of this from C2E2, and although there were some death notes in it (incense, sandalwood, I’m looking at YOU), in the interest of science, I thought I’d at least try a bit. Whoa, mistake. The incense is very strong (frankincense, maybe?) and my eyes started burning at once. Honestly, I couldn’t pick up anything else past the incense. It smelled like the Cathedral I attend after a funeral. Trade pile.

Picked up this bottle recently because the notes sounded like they would work on me. However, although pomegranate, orange blossom and melon are usually WIN notes for me, I’m finding that Red Musk does not like me very much. The scent is otherwise nice (I do like fruity blends!), but since I amp the musk so much, I think this one will go on the trade pile.

I wanted to try this since I really like the Embalming Fluid perfume (great for hot summer days!). The soap is lovely, nice color mixture and scent, lathers well. However, the scent doesn’t seem to linger on the skin the way I had hoped. And for the price, I’d want that.

A bit sharp when first sprayed. The cherry blossom scent is heavy, with a touch of sake. I didn’t get much green tea from this. A little goes a long way and it does linger a couple of days!

I LOVE THIS STUFF!! The few atmo sprays I’ve tried tend to be a bit heavy for my tastes, but this one is extremely light and fresh. Mainly getting grapefruit with a touch of camellia. A hint of verbena, but the grapefruit is primary, I think. I am so going to order another bottle before the Underworld Cup stuff goes away! They should put this on their permanent offerings!

In the bottle, I get a sharp berry scent. Applied: MINT, REALLY STRONG MINT!! That'll clear out your sinuses! Drydown: The mint finally calms down and I get a light scent of berries in there (though still very minty). Also, just a hint of pie crust. It's unusual, but I like it. I think it would make a nice winter scent.

Fresh, clean scent. I’m mainly getting melon with a tiny bit of grape and a touch of floral. Very summery! LOVE.

Got a couple of imps at C2E2 and am just now getting around to trying this one out. Kaidan starts off as very sweet incense. Usually incense blends make my eyes water, but so far this one is not doing that. As it dries down, a lovely plum scent comes to the forefront, very pretty. Still quite strong on the incense, though. Not sure if the sandalwood is irritating me or not, as my allergies were acting up earlier today. Will have to retest before deciding whether to get a bottle.

The bluebells, poppies and magnolia sounded interesting to me, which is why I got a decant to try, but it ends up too high-pitched floral upon application (and I LIKE florals!!!) and then with the drydown, other elements (I’m looking at you, sage) give it an unfortunate twist. Another example of a “storytelling” scent that is interesting in itself, but certainly not something I would wear.

A kind fairy sent me a tester of this. It sounded fun and smells lovely in the decant. Others have said it smells like Sprite and that’s pretty much dead-on. Fizzy lemon is the best way to describe it. Unfortunately, I’m finding that I don’t much care for lemon as a note on my skin, as it goes sour—also, I think my skin is too salty and it clashes? So it didn’t work for me.

A kind fairy sent me a tester of this. On first application, it’s musky, but after awhile, it becomes mostly fruity. Mainly getting a mix of peach and strawberry. The drydown is quite lovely. I do like it a lot (although strawberry isn’t a scent that works well on me usually), but I think this will be enough for me and I won’t search out a bottle. Reminds me a bit of Josie (probably because of the peach). Very light throw. Fades quickly.

Got this in a trade and wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I do tend to like “purple” scents, so I was hoping this would be a win for me. It starts off with an almost strong floral (on me, it was lilac and wisteria) and then the boozy elements started peeking through. And myrrh, the myrrh is strong here. It’s a nighttime scent—too strong and too sexy for daytime wear.

Got a decant of this (along with Faith) and I'm having the same issue with Hope as with Faith. It smells amazing in the decant. The description of "Sugared Rose" is spot on. Gorgeous! But on my skin, it fades within 10 minutes or so. The rose bit lingers on (I amp rose), but the sugar is gone. Maybe sugar is a note that doesn't work well on me? Also, it reminds me a little of the rosewater and glycerin scent that my grandmother used to love to wear. Not a bottle purchase. I have other roses that work better on me.

In the decant, this smelled AMAZING and I couldn't wait to try it! First applied, it was great on my skin, but then it was GONE in 10 minutes. Completely. To Nothing. Le sigh. I'll probably use the rest in a scent locket, but looks like I won't be getting a bottle.

I do get very light floral with a balm upon first application. No, too much balm and ambergris. Don’t work at all with my skin, pass.