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.

CT3: MXXX In the bottle: Not much of anything. It smells vaguely floral, but that's it. Wet: Hmmmm. It's still got a pale white floral in there, maybe Lily of the Valley? But there's definitely a fruity-type note in here... Dry: This reminds me quite a bit of High John the Conqueror, actually. It's got a bright, slightly bubble-gummy fruitiness that is sweet and lovely. It still retains a breath of that white floral, keeping things from getting syrupy. Try number 6, and we have a winner!!!

Well... In the bottle: Smells warm and a little green. I don't get musk, which I find a little odd. Smells, actually, like I've just stuck my face in a bouquet of wildflowers and gotten a snoot-full of pollen. Wet: Hmm. Still no musk. And, um, no opium notes that I recognize either. I'm kind of getting a rancid pollen smell, along the lines of badly-dried flowers. Dry: Pee and pollen. I left it on for an hour, until I finally conceded defeat and washed it off. One of three things may be going on here, so I'll edit this if one or two is the case. Either: 1) This needs to age. 2) Even though I rolled the bottle between my palms to "mix" it before applying, I got a layer of one component applied and not a good dab of the full blend. or 3) It just wasn't meant to be.

On a cold and wet day, Beaver Moon is cheerful and comforting! In the bottle: Warm and uber-sweet. Vanilla and cake. Wet: Still a warm cake scent. Not particularly buttery, but creamy and rich and decadent. Dry: This doesn't morph much on me, and I'm ok with that. I like foody scents, and for the most part, my skin doesn't mess with them. This loses the almost overwhelming sweetness after the first hour or so. But it lasts forever on me--after 8 hours, it's still going strong! It has average throw, and still smells like warm sweet vanilla cake and cream cheese frosting. Oddly, it even kills my craving for sweets!

Initially, this is very strongly pumpkin-spicey, with only a faint hint of cider. It reminds me of pumpkin muffins, actually. After a couple of hours, the pumpkin fades a bit, and the apple strengthens, leaving me with sweet, slightly tart apple cider and spice with the barest trace of pumpkin. It screams fall, and was perfect for picking me up on a gloomy sleepy morning just as the leaves begin to change here in New England.

LOL--the friend that I enabled at work got hers mailed to the office, so I got to try hers before I get home to mine (to be delivered in a few hours! Yay!). Oh wow. This is definitely WAY different than what I'd expected from the notes listed. I expected sweet and milky floral. Instead, this is crisp, a bit woodsy, green and barely sweet. This absolutely SCREAMS for cool fall mornings and indian summer afternoons. The cherry goes slightly cough-syrupy on me, but only briefly. Then it and the wood notes die back a bit, and I'm left with more fruit, apple and pomengranate and green tea. A bare touch of chrysanthemum. A warm touch of rice milk and sorghum under a slight bite of sage. Absolutely fascinating, and sure to vie with my current autumn favorites!

It's been a long week, and I felt the need for a little extra backbone and some luck to get me through today. I'm reserving judgement atm--I would rather not jinx myself just yet. In magic 8-ball abstractness, I'll just say, Outlook good, check again later... As for scent? I got a vague whiff of almonds out of the imp, but on? This is the love child of Come to Me and Dragon Moon. I'm getting a faint blush of fruit under lotus (?) and mild sweet herbs (something's making me lean toward woodruff, but I can't say for sure). A tiny bit of the warm fruitiness I get from dragon's blood, and some gorgeous aquatic and air notes. Put it on this morning with the strong intent of a peaceful day, with no major issues or emergencies--just business as usual. We'll see.

Wha? I never reviewed this? Going to rectify that, right now! I had this frimped to me from the lab in one of my first orders. It lives apart from all of my other imps, in it's own little corner of my nightstand drawer. I tend to use Sleepy Moon when I need soothing, but Nanshe gets pulled out when I'm stressed out and in desperate need of a solid block of sleep. It does the job admirably. The fragrance itself is rather sharp, of lemony herbs and lavender. On me, it is gone within an hour, tops. Not that I'm normally awake long enough to know this, however. Effectiveness: Used it last night. Got home from work late, after an utterly hellish day. Between Mercury in retrograde and the full moon, every person I'd had contact with had been rude and unreasonable. I took a bath and applied some Nanshe before falling into bed. I was asleep in under 20 minutes (a minor miracle in and of itself), and didn't wake up for 6 hours. I also dreamed quite vividly. Not sure I'd ever need a bottle, but I'm never going to be without an imp or two.

Wow, does this ever morph!! In the bottle: Fresh, lemony floral. Wet: Lemony herby floral. Lots of lemon! A little honey. Bright and lovely! Drydown: The lemon takes a backburner to smooth, creamy floral. Eventually, the lemony note fades altogether (after perhaps an hour), and I'm left with warm, sunny daisies, carnation, and clover-y, herbal-y honey. Dry, 4 hours later: This has become an altogether different fragrance. The warmth is still there, as is a breath of honey. But the floral is being joined by a incense notes. Gorgeous in all stages!

Amber and I are normally quite good friends. And so many people seem to love Jacob's Ladder. So I snapped up a bottle awhile ago, sniffed it in the bottle, and went "meh", and stuck it in the BPAL box, where it stayed until this morning... Wet: Um. Well, kinda ew. I get the amber, but also a very traditional perfumey note that is totally taking over the rest of the notes. It's very high, very potent, and vaguely smells of urine. Dry: The throw dies back, thank goodness. But sadly, it never warms up. It stays high, thin, and vaguely unpleasant. Off to the swap pile...

in the bottle: Almondy and creamy. Buttery. It reminds me a bit of Bastet, actually. Wet: This reminds me a lot of Bastet! Very creamy and almondy, with a faint floral that starts to show up during the drydown. Dry: The faint floral takes the place of the almond note within the first couple of hours. Then it's mild, creamy floral. It sticks close to the skin, and is sweet, simple, and lovely.