storme

In the imp: cocoa, caramel, and cherries. Like very rich and hideously unhealthy cookies. On me, wet: cocoa and cinnamon and cardamom, almost acridly dry. On me, dry: this is almost mustily dry now, in a spicy baking powdery hot cinnamon way. Makes the back of my throat itch. Verdict: not for me. The SO flees in horror (he doesn't like any BPAL cocoa scent yet), and I'm not happy either. Edit: and it's burning on my wrists. Ow ow ow.

In the imp: soft warm spices and florals. On me, wet: soft warm spices and florals - and this seems to be fairly sandalwood-ish, to me, that same dry warmth. On me, dry: ah, nutmeg and cardamom, dry and spicy and with that dry sandalwood warmth. Verdict: this is very nice, but ultimately I don't think it's a scent I will reach for often. But I'll keep the bottle for now, and see.

In the imp: fruity fruity! oddles of bright, sparkly sweet fruits, not unlike Fruit Moon. On me, wet: oh, this is like a blend of Fruit Moon and Hungry Ghost Moon - the bamboo and the peony are cutting across the bright fruitiness and leavening it a little. On me, dry: the bamboo and peony are more prominent, giving this a wetness and lightness that stops the fruits being too sugary - more of an asian feel than at first. Verdict: This is tailormade to appeal to my SO on me, so I think I'll keep the bottle around.

In the imp: wow, that's nice. Musky and fresh and sweet all at once. On me, wet: soft black currant with a skin musk behind it, very faint. On me, dry: this feels somewhat like a red musk scent to me - I think it's the way the resin and the currant and the musk work together. It's very faint on me, though. Verdict: it's really way too faint on my skin, alas - and the lavender didn't show up as much as I'd like.

In the imp: soft warm florals, with a tinge of sage that works rather nicely. On me, wet: soft, slightly soapy florals, with a green sappy feel. The warmth is almost entirely gone, along with the sage. On me, dry: faint soap with a herby tinge. Grumble sigh. Verdict: so promising in the imp, but alas my skin didn't want to share the sage with my nose.

reviewed on scent alone: In the imp: almonds. that cherry marzipan-ish scent, and vetiver. On me, wet: almonds drenched with vetiver and tobacco. On me, dry: oh, there's a really strong honey note in there - interestingly it's actually honey, not the powder than BPAL honey notes usually go on me - and almonds and vetiver and so on. Verdict: novel though it is to smell a honey scent that works on me, this combination isn't one I'd choose to wear.

In the imp: sweet, strong vibrant orchid. On me, wet: a very wet, rich orchid smell with a hint of soap. And then the whole thing fades very swiftly. On me, dry: soapy floral blandness, almost bamboo-like. Verdict: not one for me, alas.

In the imp: that's a LOT of vetiver and a tinge of musk and no leather yet. On me, wet: Ah, leather, sweet leather, I love how my skin amps you. The musk blends pleasingly with this, too. On me, dry: sweaty leather and musk. This is not really much different to something like Dragon's Hide now, to be honest. Verdict: Nice enough, but I have leather scents I will probably choose above this.

In the imp: oh my word that's sweet and soft and pleasant - a rich coconut with lime and a hint of mint. On me, wet: coconut and citrus and sweet mintiness and another sweet fruit in here - pineapple? On me, dry: lime! coconut! mint! pineapple! Like Spooky with bright citrus instead of chocolate - the same coconut-mint combination, I think. Verdict: Teetering on being sweeter and sharper than I'd like, but I can't stop sniffing my wrist - I think it's a keeper.

In the imp: hmm, much lighter than I'd expected - more honey, less cinnamon-and-resin. On me, wet: sweet honey and a very mild but warm cinnamon. On me, dry: ah, baby-powder-honey-smell, how I'd forgotten you. Alas, this isn't to my taste at all, though it was quie nice wet. Verdict: Swap pile.

In the imp: sharp, almost herbal florals. On me, wet: lots of narcissus and various light crisp florals - with a nice warmth from the ambergris. This is less male than I expected from other reviews, not as dark. On me, dry: it smells like a commercial perfume, but not quite in the way that something like Nihil does - the florals here feel quite false. I also get a hint of something a bit urine-ish in the background. Verdict: Started off promising, but I think that urine tinge would kill this for me if nothing else did. Swap pile.

In the imp: yup, earthy fusty patchouli and sweet apricots. On me, wet: hmm, less earthy, sort of a woody patchouli now, and the apricot has vanished. On me, dry: lots and lots of slightly gross fusty patchouli and a lovely apricot note occasionally flitting to the surface. Verdict: oh, well, patchouli is always risky on me. Swap pile time.

In the bottle: quite a sharp citrus but very well-tempered by the amber musk and cherry blossom and spices. Very warm-feeling. On me, wet: a warm cinnamon-cardamom blend, less citric but still rather pretty. It's pretty faint on my skin, alas. On me, dry: Mrf, this is terribly faint on my skin. What I can smell of the warm spiciness is still good, though. Sigh. Verdict: Grr, stupid skin. I think that what's left is similar enough to other scents I have that I'm not too sad about passing this onto someone who'll like it more, however.

In the imp: wow, this is very melonish - a ripe, newly-cut-open melon, with white grapes on the side. On me, wet: melon, melon melon melon and a tinge of something slightly sweet and cloying behind it. On me, dry: a plethora of melons - mostly the fresh yellow honeydew type, maybe a trace of sweet galia, and even some pulpy overripe watermelon. That last is slightly repellent-smelling to me - in real life and here - but it's fairly minimal, and subdued by the others. Verdict: I don't know that I'd ever wear this, but I might keep it around until I'm somewhere hot and want to wear a refreshing scent that's not cucumber or mint.

In the imp: oh, this is complex. there's warm wood and rich wine and leathers and a tinge of airiness above it all. On me, wet: this is surprisingly butch - spicy and sweaty and boozy - but with a freshness wafted vaguely over the top. On me, dry: hmm, my skin seems to have eaten this. Just the faintest trace of an animalish leathery smokiness left. Verdict: I might try this on the SO, but I'm pleasantly surprised that the red wine was so unobtrusive. If it had a decent throw I might have kept it around for myself.

In the imp: tobacco and hairspray and bright sparkly florals. On me, wet: hairspray and booze and a stale, cold old-smoke-and-perfume feel. Bleah. On me, dry: This feels like the morning after, when the extent of the party debris is revealed and with a hangover pounding in your head. Ecch. Verdict: No, really, I don't think this is one I'll be wearing in future.

In the imp: musky amber, reminiscent of Morocco. On me, wet: a plummy, dark scent - actually, this is more like Oblivion than like Morocco, that same spice and musk feel. On me, dry: this is very like Oblivion on me, still musk and spice and a warm dark sultry feeling. Which is a good thing. Verdict: I think I'll hang onto this and try this against Oblivion - it seems a little more long-lasting, and if so I may switch allegiance.

In the imp: woody, dry florals. On me, wet: wood, light florals and incense, but all very faint. On me, dry: powdery, light florals and woods, too faint for me to really discern much. Verdict: Enh, no, I think not. Swap-pile!

In the imp: peaches and myrrh and some very strong floral that leaves a soapy feeling in my nose. On me, wet: lots of myrrh and I think the floral is jasmine - and maybe violets too. On me, dry: hmm, maybe there's gardenia in here too - but man, that myrrh/violet/jasmine feel is acrid and cloying and soapy and blech. Verdict: Uh-uh. These florals do not make me feel lifted, they make me feel like I've been chewing soap. Fie, away.

In the imp: light, fluffy sweet pears. On me, wet: sweet crisp pear and soapy lily-rose powder beneath it, but that musk is nice and warm in the background. On me, dry: grf. The pear and musk would be lovely but lily and rose together is just too soapy for me to get past. Verdict: In its defence, it smells like *really nice* soap. Swap pile.

Slivers of warm, pulsating blood forever crystallized in golden amber resin. In the imp: mm, this is warm dragon's blood under that spicy amber. On me, wet: The amber is dry and the dragon's blood is sticky-juicy. The combination is confusing my nose. On me, dry: Mrm, this is nice enough. Amber and dragon's blood and not a lot else. A bit thin as a blend, really. Verdict: Fairly nice, but nothing amazing. I think I'll swap this away.

In the imp: ooh, lots of berry, something that smells a little like mace, and that sticky goldy amber smell. On me, wet: sweet spices and berries and sticky amber. It's somewhat foody, really. On me, dry: oh, there's the iris, but that foodiness has gone sort of powdery on me, and a little stale-smelling. Verdict: Not once it dries, certainly, and before that it was a bit too sweet for me. Ah well.

CT3: DCXXVI (624) In the imp: cherry-almond pastries, warm and thick and sweet and foody. On me, wet: thick cherry-almond with a hint of caramelly booze - this is like one of the Monster Baits. Delicious booze-infused cake. On me, dry: This reminds me of the Monster Baits, still - sweet cake with booze. There's less almond and more coconut in the cake, but the booze is still caramelly. Verdict: This is nicer than any of the Monster Baits actually were on me. Still, I'm not really a sweet-cake-perfume sort of person - I think I'll pass on my decant to someone who'll love it more. Previously reviewed by kunoichi.

In the imp: violets and thick boozy grapes. On me, wet: powdery musky wine. I can really sense the orris here, too, lurking menacingly beneath the wine - this has a dry dustiness beneath the booze. On me, dry: talcum-powdery alcoholic meh. I can just about still detect the florals, but everything else has become subsumed into the talcum powder. Verdict: I took a risk, since several of these notes are dealbreakers for me. But the violets and orris were not going to change their usual habits on my skin, so.

In the imp: lots of dark vetiver and dirty patchouli. On me, wet: pencil-shaving-ish vetiver tinged with sandalwood and patchouli. Very dark, very heavy, not really very pleasant. On me, dry: dark heavy woodsy-dirt vetiver alleviated slightly by musk and patchouli. Too heavy, really, and slightly reminiscent of dirty hippy sweat. Verdict: This certainly captures the 'earth' part. Alas, this is too much vetiver for me.