damuddymeg

On me, this is very much like Dorian's sexy little sister. Must be the white musk. I get musk and coconut and the powdery sweetness of amber. It's light, it's sweet, but the coconut is making enough of a show to add some depth. I love it.

Some others have mentioned maple, and I definitely get that in this blend--maybe from the coconut? I don't get much fruit, more spice and pumpkin than anything. It doesn't change much--I smell pumpkin bread or gingersnaps. Decent throw, lasts quite awhile. VERY yummy.

This one was NOT what I expected--at all. In the bottle, it smells like pumpkin and citrus. Wet on the skin, and for the first half hour or so, it is richly pumpkin and VERY green, the parsley extremely dominant. Slowly, the citrus notes peek out, and then they're gone within an hour. Then I'm left with just pumpkin, lightly spicy and buttery on its own, which has little throw but lasts for a good 6 hours. Definitely one I'll wear when I'm looking for a fall scent that isn't too "spicy".

Wow. I was a little wary, because this is such a strange-sounding mix of notes, including some that normally don't work on me (yes, I'm looking at you, vetiver). In the bottle, this is heavy on the lavender, sage, and a wee bit of cocoa in the background. On the skin, wet, it's lavender, chocolate, with a dirty bite of vetiver. Gods be praised, it's just dirt and not soggy ashes like vetiver normally goes on my skin. Dry, this has a great life--decent throw, and lasts for hours. It can't quite decide whether it wants to be foody or herbal, and in the end, it's neither. It's lightly musky, barely civilized, and quite feral. I cannot stop sniffing this. So complex, and keeps changing. I'm so glad I took the gamble on this one.

In the imp: Green. Clean, fresh, light... On, wet: Weird. I'm totally getting lilacs. Drydown: This turns into greet with a side of lilac soap. Not bad, just... Odd. And it fades away in a matter of minutes. Oh well. Off to the swaps.

Oh, this is so much different than I thought it would be! I had imagined it to be very masculine, and that perhaps it would be better on my husband than myself. Let's just say, it's mine! All mine!! In the imp, and initially wet on the skin, it's all about the musk and the leather. But it's not overpowering, just mmmmm. Warm and a little sweet from the musk. As it dries down, the tobacco comes out, and it is gorgeous. Warm, lightly sweet, and almost a dark vanilla in it's depth. The leather fades back to a faint, well-worn smell, and for me, the musk amps to swirl around the tobacco. I am treasuring my half imp, and am planning on seeking out more!

At first I thought either my nose or my skin had broken. Where was the fruit?? That was what I remembered the notes having... *scratches head, confused* What this becomes is a soft green scent, all sage and musk, clean and slightly sweet. There is a hint of floral, but no citrus or patchouli or overt rose ever manifests for me. Not what I expected, but a gorgeous clean scent all the same.

In the bottle: Sweet, ripe blackberries, dark and juicy. Lavender, slightly sharp and herbal. Also, something peppery, which must be the dianthus? Wet: Wow. The lavender stands out and this is not at all what I'd expected. There's a faint amber smoothness of honey, and I'm getting a tiny bit of the berry, but really, this is all about the lavender at the moment. Dry: The lavender really seems to steal the show for maybe a half hour. Then, slowly, it calms down and drops into the background. There is a point here that the scent is really reminiscent of Xanthe, which is good, cuz I love it. An almost peppery sweet fruitiness is what I'm left with, which is honeyed at the edges, and just lasts and lasts. Gorgeous.

Warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon. Initially, I was a little worried about the cherry blossom, and given the other notes, I REALLY shouldn't have been. Satsuma orange is one of my all-time faves, and I'm a sucker for black tea (Dorian is my staple ). Plus, spices and I get along really well. Right? Oh yes. Yesyesyesyes. In the bottle: Strong black tea, a little citrus, and spice. Commence drooling. Wet on the skin: As this starts to warm, the spices are cavorting like playful kittens. The musk begins to purr, the amber glows, and all is right with the world. Dry: This does morph a bit. Satsuma, in this blend, just cannot stand up to the other scents, so it slides into the background, keeping things lightly sweet. The cherry blossom never seems to put in a huge appearance, though every once in awhile I get a slight hint of floral. The tea maintains a low, dark hum throughout, and it's really the spices that shine in the end. The musk in this is gorgeous and golden and barely fruity. This is an intimate scent, warm and comforting, the cinnamon not taking over but slinking over and around the cardamom, flushed with warm amber. I am in love.

I've had this bottle since the CN was revisited, but for whatever reason, I'd never tried it. I'm making my way through ALL of my stash to determine what stays and what goes, so... In the bottle: This smells a lot like unisex cologne to me. Very heavy on the ozone and aquatics, along the lines of CKone and Cool Water. Hmmmph. Wet: On, this is slick and crystalline, clear high citrus sharded with sharp ozone and gleaming aquatics. Dry: The sharpness slowly, slowly dies back, the gleam becomes a glow, and it becomes increasingly more wearable as time goes on. This lasts forever (8 hours and still kicking), with an initially moderate throw becoming progressively lighter. It becomes this beautiful, gentle scent, vaguely floral, still aquatic and ozone-dominant, with a hint of citrus. I don't know that it will be a staple over the winter, but I think it will get it's fair share of skin-time come spring.

I've looked back through reviews, and what strikes me is how different this is for different people. Chemistry is amazing, ain't it? To me? In the bottle: I immediately think "Smut!" Which is a good thing, because I quite like Smut (yes, you may take this however you'd like...). It's sweet and I think I'm getting red musk and maybe some dragon's blood, but it's too soon to be sure. Wet, on the skin: I only apply a little dab, since I'm working today, and if it's too much like Smut, it may be a little overpowering if freely slathered. It's warm, and I get a little spice. Maybe cassia, maybe clove, perhaps a bit of both. I still get the muskiness that I associate with Enraged Orangutan and Smut. Perhaps a bit of dragon's blood after all, which would explain the almost fruity spiciness. Dry: This morphs hugely during the time it lasts (about 5 hours for me, with dwindling throw, though that's not bad for a small dab). While this starts out very much like Smut, it develops an almost coconutty creaminess for awhile once dry. Maybe there is some tonka in this blend? I never really get anything decidedly floral from this blend, which is ok. I love it just as it is. Eventually the creamy, almost foody, note dies back and I'm back with hmmmmm.... Amber? Vanilla? It winds up losing the musky quality and ultimately dies back to a vaguely fruity spiced vanilla. I cannot believe that I have had this since early summer and have only just reviewed it! I really like it!

Finally got my hands on the elusive Queen! In the bottle: This reminds me of Pumpkin Patch #1. Pumpkin and a bit of spice. Wet and initial drydown: This starts out truly edible. Spicy pumpkin with a hint of orange, like pumpkin bread spread with creamy frosting and sprinkled with orange peel. This one had enough throw that my husband trailed down the hall after I'd put it on, and began to demand I make him some cake, because this had made him hungry! Dry: The buttery pumpkin notes have anchored this, but it becomes less foody and more sophisticated as time goes on. The citrus and ginger hang around, and I get a steady warm thrum of amber through it. Beautiful, warm, comforting. However, after about an hour, this loses most of its throw and becomes a spicy skin-scent.

In the bottle: Sweet, buttery, a little nip of orange. Wet: Oh wow. Coconut and a little earthy fig. Still buttery, but in more of a buttercream way, as opposed to the buttery note in Jack. The mint is up and gone in a flash. Dry: Oh. Oh my gods. *takes a moment to compose self* This is so perfect, I can't stand it. The chocolate in this never really surfaces on me. What I get is sugar cookie-like, with a spiced buttercream spread over it. It is warm and sweet and spicy and foody, sinful and absolutely decadent. I can't stop sniffing it, and neither can my husband! Of course, now he's demanding I bake him a cake. LOL

In the bottle: Creamy, almost buttery. I'm not getting the pomengranate much at all. Wet: OMG. Pumpkin cake. Not particularly spicy, but still creamy. Dry: Honestly? This reminds me a LOT of Monsterbait: Closet. It has the same berry-ish note (the pomengranate finally made itself known with a sweet fruitiness) and almost buttercreaminess that I get from the Closet Monster. Definitely a great comfort scent for me.

In the bottle: Wow. Way more floral than I'd expected. Wet: Still floral, but this is beautiful. Normally I'm not a "typical" floral kind of girl. But this is just amazing. It's mildly sweet, I can totally pick out the lily and osmanthus in the beginning. As it dries down, it begins to acquire a slightly creamy quality, which may be the musk and honey coming into play. Dry: This morphs hugely over time! The florals back down one by one, until I'm left with this creamy, musky, lightly spicy skin-scent. It smells like honeyed cardamom on me at the very end. For me, it lasts a good 8 hours, and has moderate throw at the beginning, drying down to a very light throw at the end. I am in LOVE.