solcita

A nutty, meaty sort of floral, which unfortunately makes something in my hindbrain recoil. Had to wash it off. :/

In the imp: all woody and patchouli. On the skin: lemon peel, tangerine and saffron are the top notes initially, and while I kept thinking that something else would come forward, it pretty much stayed at that spot. It's pretty, a bit powdery but nice. I've been trying to find a lemony scent that wouldn't go to Lemon Pledge on me, and this doesn't. I could wear this and will probably consider getting some of my own.

In the imp: Sharply gardenia. I'm worried about this one at the outset because gardenia always amps up majorly on me, and not in a good way. On the skin: Strongly herbal and GREEN, though thankfully it calms down a little when fully dry. I can make out the chamomile, but I don't get the 'honey' scent from it that I usually do. The gardenia is restraining itself, but I can tell it's there. Not much throw here; I have to get my nose right up to my wrist to detect it, but when I do it's a little sharp, still. Pretty, but not something I would wear.

Apple blossom, fig, white peach, honey absolute, red sandalwood, and wild thyme. In the imp: Herby apple blossom. On the skin: Wow, this is very complex! At first sniff I got flowers, second, a honeyed fruit; third, spicy sandalwood. I don't wear honey scents well, but this one is promising right away. It changes every time I smell it, as if the notes were all swirling around each other. After about 10 minutes, it settles into a honey-fig-sandalwood, light but very lovely. This one, I need to get.

Definitely ivy and grass and herbal, this one is very green. Gardenia usually amps badly on my skin, but this one is kept in line by everything else. It's pretty! I might wear it on a summer day when I would be outside all the time, but I think it might be a little heavy for close indoor quarters.

I tried this one against my better judgement, as I have bad luck with daemonorops/dragon's blood scents, but I have to say that I'm actually pleasantly surprised. I'm getting mostly the orchid with a little vanilla and sandalwood, and a wisp of a few other things underneath, melded nicely so that the individual notes can't be picked out. This one I could wear, so onto the wishlist it goes. Just goes to show that you never can tell just by reading the notes.

I AM PEACH, HEAR ME ROAR. No, really. Very strong fruity scent to it at first, with a woody undertone and some light florals. The lavender is non-existant (good, as I think it would be too harsh here) but it does have a sort of... pale hazy blue feeling. I really like this one, and have already obtained a bottle for my very own. (Some of my co-workers have been enabled by me, and some just like seeing what new scent I'm wearing -- I love the look on their faces when I tell them what this one is called)

Wet, this is all pepper and mandarin. No vetiver at this stage, thankfully, though as it dries it starts to come out a little more. Once dry, it's sort of powdery -- must be the amber, though I usually have good luck with that note -- and takes on a bit of a tart citrus tone. It's not really unpleasant, but is not a scent I could see myself wearing for long periods of time.

In the imp, I get light carnation floral touched with a warm sweetness, but the caramel overpowers everything upon application. Which is fine to me, because I love caramel scents! After a few moments on the skin, the sweet foodiness is tempered by rising floral notes. When it dries, the sandalwood comes out to play and the florals are much more prominent (almost too strong), but the caramel still lurks in the background. I think it might end up being similar to my beloved Red Lantern once it has a chance to wear a while. I do like it, but not enough to get a bottle right now.

I had acquired 2 imps of this from various decant circles, but after just a week of using it I had to acquire my own bottle (a kind soul picked one up for me at Will Call). I work nights, and I sleep very poorly when it's light out. I have blackout curtains up in my room, but they're not perfect (the window is too large for the pole I have, and the magnets that hold the panels together against the light make the whole thing too heavy to stay up so they're not installed, and my cats constantly knock them down). Also, I have sleep apnea, the condo complex has landscapers during the day, and I have two rambunctious cats, and my phone rings constantly, and there are a whole host of other things that keep me from sleeping. I used to use Somnus and it worked pretty well -- not to mention that it is the only scent my husband *volunteered* a positive opinion on -- but it was a little too harsh sometimes. Nocturne's scent is lovely lavender-rose. I emptied both my decants into a small roller-bottle, which makes it much easier to apply. I use it every night (well, day -- I usually get to bed around 9am) and I sleep like a rock, almost always. I have a decant of TKO and I haven't even bothered to try it because Nocturne is so good. Two feather pillows way up!

Oh, amazing ToT Inquisition! I got Treat #2, which is the one I was desperately coveting. In the bottle, it's a gorgeous mix of rich milk chocolate, coconut and orange rind, with just a sprinkle of candied ginger on top. On the skin, the ginger, mint and cardamom come out much more, and the chocolate takes a back seat, but it's still very present. I second what SueDonym said, about it being the delicious scent of the empty box of chocolates. It's lovely.

In the bottle: Sweet but herbal and very green, this one intrigues me. The sage gives it a sharpness, but it doesn't overwhelm the berries. On the skin: The sage comes to the top immediately, and now it does overpower the rest of the scent. I detect just a hint of fruit underneath it, but as it starts to dry the blackberry, in particular, really amps up. I can finally smell the green tea now (couldn't find it at all in the bottle). This one morphs all over the place, and rapidly, because it dries much more quickly than some others have. Verdict: It finally settles into a very sweet, creamy scent. In my mind's eye, it's like sipping a relaxing cup of green tea while eating berries and yogurt for breakfast on a sunny desert patio, with the light scent of sage drifting along the breeze. Sometimes the wind gusts and the sage is stronger, and sometimes it's very light. I came by this one originally through a swap with a friend on LJ, and then got a bottle for a good price at the bpalseattle Meet 'n Sniff last Sunday. I hadn't actually had a chance to try it in the imp that Jen sent me, but I got to sniff and test it Sunday and loved it, so I purchased it on the spot. This is the third General Catalog scent I've liked lately, which is much better for my pocketbook too.

In the bottle: I get fresh-cut ginger pieces rolled in cinnamon, just a hint of sweetness. It smells nice, but not really something I'd anticipate liking -- Three Witches and Bengal both were strong like this, and neither one worked on my skin at all, so I'm wary. And more than a little skeptical, because of all of the hype I've seen around this scent. On the skin: The initial application smells quite herbal, surprisingly green. Very unexpected! Not sweet at all, initially, but very peppery. The cinnamon scent is strong, but this one doesn't burn my skin like Wrath and Inferno. There's also just a tiny hint of soil, but rather than being harsh like vetiver, it's soothing, like working in the garden on a warm spring day. And then... it starts to warm up, and suddenly it's so delicious that I want to gnaw on my wrist. I get the scent of fresh-out-of-the-oven gingerbread squares, the kind my aunt used to use to make gingerbread houses during the holidays, heady with molasses and spice. The spiciness is like Sugar Cookie, but it's not as sweet. I want to say that I smell amber, too. Verdict: This is incredible. I want to bathe in it right now, it's so good. I'm kicking myself for even trying it, because it's so rare and expensive, and I do not need to start coveting yet another Springtime in Arkham oil (too late!) . I had Gingerbread Poppet 05 on my other wrist, to compare them.. and I could not stay away from the wrist with Shub on it. GP was nice and all, but... wow.

In the bottle: Amber and neroli overlaid with incense. Maybe a hint of the carnation, but otherwise not floral. The neroli is the strongest of the notes by far. Smells lovely. On the skin: Orange/neroli very strongly at first, then that fades and the amber and carnation come out (it reminds me a bit of LUSH's Potion at this stage). It changes even further as it dries, and I can really smell the bergamot now. The rose and incense are there but not overpowering, and there's a lovely creaminess to the final dry-down. Verdict: It's a pretty complex scent, spicy and floral and just a tiny bit fruity. Medium throw. I do like it initially, but I'm not sure I'll wear it much -- it isn't an instant favorite. We'll see, though.

In the bottle: It smells almost astringent, woody and green, somehow, which is odd considering the scent description. In the bottle I can't detect any incense in it at all. On the skin: This one transforms instantly on the skin. There's the incense, and the smokiness. It's a rich, luscious scent; it's not foodlike at all and yet I want to just eat it up and drench myself in it. I keep wanting to say 'caramel', but that's more a visual (color?) description than a taste. It's really beautiful. Verdict: I only own this one because tidesong first sent me a decant of hers, and then gifted me with a bottle of my very own. I've never been Catholic and only attended Mass a couple of times, so I don't know how true this scent is to its description, but I love the perfume.

In the bottle: Sharp, indeed. And there's something I want to describe as acidic/citrus, but is probably the ozone (hard to describe, that one). I wasn't sure what to think of this one at first. On the skin: Not quite as sharp on the skin. The lemony-ozone tang is quite strong, but somehow quite attractive, like the scent of the air before a really big storm rolls through. Or after it, when the world is drenched, clean and fresh. It's really a lovely scent, unlike anything I've used in perfume. Verdict: I wasn't sure I'd like this when I first tried it, because it was a complete departure from everything else I'd liked up to that point (mostly foodie scents). However, when I spent the drive home with my wrist held to my nose, I knew I had to order a 5ml bottle that very evening. It doesn't last more than 4 or 5 hours on my skin (but I don't put on much) so I carry around a decanted imp to reapply when needed. It always gets positive reactions.

In the bottle: Lightly floral and soapy, but in a good way. Not too sharp. Just like the description says, this smells clean. First application: More floral and less soapy. I want to say gardenia, maybe plumeria? It's delicate, very pretty. Drying: Clean, white cotton sheets scented with a nice fabric softener, hung in the afternoon sun to dry. The scent is very light, doesn't really smell like perfume at all, which is kind of nice. Dry: This scent doesn't change much from bottle to skin, which is good as I really liked it in the bottle. It reminds me of pulling clean clothes out of the laundry basket, still warm. I've always loved that scent (even though I hate folding the laundry itself). 30 minutes later: Not much throw; it's starting to fade already, actually. Just a touch sweeter as it matures. Final verdict: It's a good spring/summer scent, for those bright blue-sky days, when the temperature is perfect and you wish the day would go on forever... in other words, I really like it. I'll probably get a 5ml of it eventually because I'm sure I'll use up my imp, but I know too many people who are sensitive to scents to really wear this one too often. It'd probably make a great linen or room spray.

I won a bottle of this in the raffle. I wasn't so sure about it when I saw the name, because I'm really not a floral kinda girl. I'm a foodie, particularly a sweet foodie... so I was dubious. I'm always willing to try new things, though, so when it arrived today I pulled out a toothpick and tried it out. I've let it settle for about 20 minutes now, and I'm truly, surprisingly over it. I'll echo the previous posters and say it's a lovely, dark, creamy lily. Not overpowering. I'll definitely be wearing this one regularly.

In the bottle: Very citrus and slightly sweet, but with a strong, sharp overtone that reminds me of the cheap powdered soap used at my elementary school so many years ago. First application: Lemon and pomegranate. The soapy smell isn't there at first -- in fact, this one starts out very light on the skin. Promising! Drying: Whoops, spoke too soon. It's all lemon soap now. The sweeter pomegranate note is completely lost in the sharpness of it, and it's much stronger now. Dry: It changes to a sweeter-scented soap when dry, but still more soap than anything. I can almost feel the rough powdery granules of it between my fingers again when I smell this. 30 minutes later: It fades to a lighter scent, but otherwise it's unchanged. Final verdict: So not for me. This is actually the second time I've tried it -- I tested it a couple weeks ago and hoped that maybe I was just having a bad skin-chemistry night, but alas... Into the swap pile it goes.