miss_rynn

WOW. I've not tried any of the previous Samhain blends, so I can't compare '06 to anything other than GC blends and such. A friend of mine ordered a bottle, and I tried it (not really expecting much from it, to be honest). I was very surprised by it, because I can't stand patchouli and I'm not a fan of fruity scents. In the bottle I found it to be a rather subtle apple blend, not like Les Bijoux (much as I like it in small doses) which is a bit like an appley smack in the face. In the bottle it was sweet and dark, like the scent of apples on cold night air, but a little sharp, like the scent of cider rather than stewed apples. On the skin, it starts to work magic. The scent of apple is there, but it is by no means the main scent. It becomes dark, woody, spicey scent. To me, it smells like an *idealised* Samhain wood at midnight - there is none of the dirt or dank smell you would get from an actual forest, but the feel of the forest remains. It borders on being a boy scent at times, but, at least on me it becomes a simply divine mix of sweet woods and spices with just a hint of apple. It's not a girly scent, but it is certainly a womanly scent. I love it to bits, and was on the verge of having to buy my own bottle when my friend gave me hers - her poor skin chemistry rejected it!

I often wear Alice at martial art training - it's not too sweet and not too soft, and works well with sweat.

I use Sudha Segara for a very bright and clean but warm and 'zingy' room scent.

As I recall (from the long time ago I studied chemistry), water is the only substance which expands when it solidifies. I *think* that oils tend to shrink as they are cooled, moreso when they solidify (because they shouldn't cointain any water). If that were the case, it shouldn't be a problem to freeze them in terms of expansion... but then again, you would certainly want to test it first.

This took me by surprise! YOWZA. The rose is sweet but not cloying, and the leather is just the right combination of soft and sharp. It is at first a rose scent, lush and dark without being too strong, then the leather slowly but steadily comes up to accompany it - not over power, not as an undertone, but almost to *mirror* it. The scent is surprisingly complex for only having two notes, and rather than screaming it makes its presence known subtly, and makes you feel like it was *always* there, but you only just noticed it.

Sniff Test: HUBBA HUBBA. The naughty honey note in O paired with Alice's rose and a whisper of sandalwood to stop it from being 'girlie' rather than 'sex-kitten'. Skin Test: On the skin, it is much sweeter than O or Alice, but is obviously related to them. The husky, sexy honey from O, the not-too-sweet, not-too-fresh rose from Alice. The pairing with orange blossom is very nice indeed. I dare say that Jezebel is a more elegant, grown-up sort of a scent than the other two. I am very fond of it!

Bottle sniff: Hmm. Not particularly strong, and quite... musky? That must be the saffron. Sweet and musky. First on skin: Yowza. I puzzled over this for a long time before I could work out what it reminded me of, but in a flash of inspiration it came to me; the damp, discarded panties of an aroused girl. I'm sorry, it's probably the mix of saffron and sugar, but all I get is that intimate girlie musk we all know and love. A little while later: The saffron is a little... *too* saffron, if you get my meaning. For me, there is not enough of the other notes, and certainly not enough sweetness to it. It feels like it wants to give me a headache, which makes me sad. Even later: The sandalwood finally begins to show, which is nice. I think this is nice, but I also think that for me it is probably best layered with something like O or Dana O'Shee to give it the sweetness kick to help play down the saffron.

Imp sniff: Jasmine and candle wax, with the barest hints of cardamom and patchouli. Quite nice, but I don’t trust it… First on skin: Overpoweringly strong jasmine, which fades to a more civil note pretty quickly. A dusty, earthy undertone, which I suspect is a mix of musk and patchouli. Hints of a woody smell, too, maybe cedar. I was concerned it would be too strong and headache inducing, but it settles very quickly to be more of a... modification of your own scent, not an obvious perfume, while still having some strength of its own. A bit later: Musky, dusty, and sweet. Like dried grass or tatami matting. It has a musky, grassy smell. Woody and sweet. The jasmine is still there, but fainter. It actually reminds me of dried jasmine flowers - the faint scent of the flower clinging to sweet, dusty smelling dried petals. I must say that I am quite surprised with how it has adapted on my skin, morphing from a very moist, damp sort of a fragrance to a dry and dusty one. Not dusty in a bad way, mind you. It is very nice, and has only faded a little bit. An hour later: More of the same again - dusty, sweet dry grass smell. It's hard to get across how nice it is, though, from that description. It blends so well with my normal smell that it's just like I have been laying out in dry grasses all day. The woodiness and the muskiness combine so well together that it is hard to distinguish between them. There is something in it that I don't like, though - possibly patchouli. The dustiness of the scent is not as pleasant as it could be. The whole lot is sweetened by the remains of the faint jasmine scent - certainly not overpoweringly so. Its a nice, subtle scent, not a punch-you-in-th-face scent. Much later: After a long time on a very hot day, some of the scent remains, but it is mostly what I have learned to recognise as the typical BPAL perfume base smell - a sweet kind of musky floral which I am not too keen on. However, with Sacred Whore it is less pronounced and... interfering, I guess is what I am looking for. It tends to blend in with my natural smell, much like it has done all along. It smells less grandmotherly and more womanly (mother rather than crone). It is a very nice perfume, I've decided, but one that should only be used for out-doorsy occasions. It smells like late summer.

Imp sniff: APRICOT! Orange Blossom. whitemusk. In that order. It is a rather nice scent, if you are into the whole fruit thing, but for me it is a little too much like bathing in apricot jam. First on the skin: Indeed, I was hoping for the fruit-smell to die down a little… but it just doesn't happen. While the apricot smell is very true, I don't really want ot smell like a jam jar. The white musk is hardly detectable. A bit later: Much the same. It is a very nice fruit smell, but too heavy for me, I think. The apricot is too sweet and too true for me to really carry it off.

... His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods. Imp sniff: A musky, incensey scent, which is not quite comfortable but still pleasant. First on skin: The muskiness is from the leather, which settles to a more suede-like scent rather quickly, and the rose wood begins to come through. There is a sweetness from what I assume is the tonka, and the incense quites down to a whisper. It becomes, surprisingly enough, a very comforting, sweet and smokey scent. A bit later: It's a beautiful, enveloping, caressing sort of a fragrance… like being embraced in the arms of someone bigger and older than you. It is smokey and sweet, but not too much of either, with a hint of leather and woody notes. It smells like someone you can trust to look after you. Hours later: Dammit. I do very much like it for the first few hours, but then… the dreaded head-achey incense smell from All Saint's comes into it. It's not too strong, I suppose, and it is probably the combination of that lovely smokey smell and the incense which does it... which is sad.

Imp sniff: Sweet and musky - BAM! Temple-throbbingly sweet and musky. Cherries bathed in animal musk. It is so syrupy that it seems to slide into my lungs and not want to come out again. And the musk… it seems like it is going to be too much. It is definitely man musk, not girl musk. I will try it, but with trepidation. First on skin: SO MUSKY. It has to be the vetiver. Shortly thereafter, sweetness comes through, and some of the cherry scent. It is like honeyed cloves; sweet, but stingingly bitter with a hint of sharpness to it. A kind of woody note. And then, a bit later, the throat catching fragrance of honey. Settling down, definately honey and cherries, with clove thrown in for spice and a hint of a musky base. It is actually quite beautiful once the musk quiets down. I can't stop smelling it. A bit later: Way sweet. It smells just like honey, with the barest hint of cloves, amber and musk. It packs quite a punch, too - I had to wash off the majority of it, because it was threatening to give me a headache. It is a very nice scent, it is just a very heady, cloyingly sweet one. I suspect a little will go a long way. An hour later: While it is still undeniably a honey scent, little whisps of cherry and vanilla are sneaking in. It has an almost woody tang to it, with the faintest hint of orange. It is quite a complex fragrance, but a truly lovely one (even if I did have to wash off some of it).

Imp sniff: Nutmeg and cloves, and husky pumpkin. The peach glistens moistly in the background, but it is definitely there and bold. First on skin: Jack is quite pretty when it goes on - a nice balance between spice, pumpkin smell, and peach. Later: The longer Jack is warmed, the more it seems to go through an odd maturation process… it becomes more spicey and more juicy-peach, but there is an odd muskiness (possibly the pumpkin) which tends to catch in thr throat. It is pleasant enough at a gentle whiff, but a little too much for constant contact.

Review in brief: Lovely thick, sweet cinnamon. The spice is most likely sweetened by the honeysuckle. Thankfully, there is no nasty myrrh smell. It seems to be very reminiscent of O, but with a strong cinnamon note to it. It's very nice indeed, and goes right into my top scent list. Another one I need to get 5mL of...

First on skin: Very nice, very creamy. To me, it smells like light and soft honey cakes, or tea with milk and honey. Something I will definately be trying a whole lot of, I'm sure. Half an hour later: After a while, it settles to a scent reminiscent of sudha segara, with that almost citrussy-ginger. It smells like little honey cupcakes, soft and sweet and delicious. An hour later: The honey note is very similar to that in Honey Moon; in fact, I wish that I had got a 5mL of this rather than Honey Moon, because it has a more rounded, foody smell to it. Hours later: The scent is kind of like a girlie version of Dorian - sweet, creamy vanilla with that undertone of white musk in Dorian. It is rather nice indeed - definitely moved into my top favourites. Yummy.

Imp sniff: Oh my… honey and amber and a whisp of vanilla? Yes, master. First on skin: O goes on the skin with a powerful honey kick, softened at the edges with vanilla. The amber is there, but takes a back-seat role. A little later: After a while, the amber does come out. The scent is lucious, sweet and sexy without being overpowering. It is delicious and very, very pretty. A girly scent without being childish - unashamedly feminine and delicate. An hour later: The sweet gorgeosness of it matures to a discracting sex and candy smell. It is the scent of sensual abandon; a very non-threatening, yet sexually charged smell. I am inclined to say that it is not really a 'girly' smell, because it is not all that innocent, and yet it is not a predatory, wanton smell. I love it. Many hours later: It doesn't seem to have a huge staying power, but reapplication increases its skin life a great deal. Yummy. Verdict: This is very much a sex and candy smell. I am always a little self-conscious when I wear it, because I feel like I smell like I've just been ravished. That being said, though, I love O and rushed to get a 5mL of it as soon as I could.

Imp sniff: It’s all almond and jasmine and musk. I like this one, but I wonder if it will be too strong and head-ache inducing. First on skin: It's very nice! Again, the almold seems to fade or get squashed into the backgorund fairly quickly, but the jasmine remains fairly strong. There is a woody, earthy tone to it... I can pick out the slivers of sandalwood, and the other damp earthy smell must be the oakmoss. I can pick out the hint of musk to it as well. Combined, the scent has an almost frankincense sharp sting to the sweetness of the jasmine. I am very impressed. A little later: Very sandalwoody. Which is fine for me, because I like sandalwood. It *is* like wearing a sprig of jasmine in your hair, though - I can't smell the jasmine on my skin, but every now and then as I move I catch a little waft of it. It still has a very nice sweet-sharpness to it, with little smokey drifts of musk in the mix as well. Not much fading, but I did put a little more on of this oil than the last few I have tried. I have a feeling that once it mellows the almond will come through again, but the sandalwood is too strong for it right now. I am liking this very much so far. An hour later: The sandalwood is still there, but the sharpness of it has faded. It is now a sweet, almost cloying scent... not as nice as it was half an hour ago, but still quite pleasant. But when you smell it closer there is a cleaness of sandalwood to it. The jasmine is barely a whisper form time to time, but it is still there. Musky and sweet, and still very woody. Quite nice. Many hours later: Not really as nice as it started out as. That musky old-lady-perfume smell that make me cringe with All Saints is here. Not as strong as with All Saints, but it's there, and makes me fear a headache. I don't have one, and I don't think I'll get one, but the smell reminds me of the headache. It was so nice, but then the sharper notes (which I suspect I was really fond of) have faded away leaving a heavy, cloying sweetness. I'm pleased the scent didn't fade completely, but I wich the woody scen remained.

I really, *really* wanted to like this, and to a certain extent I did... In the imp, it was lovely. Bergamont with black, dry tea in the background and the hint of leather behind that. Very refreshing; the bergamont wasn't as spikey as I've smelt in other fragrances. First on the skin: Wow - very unusual! Not quite like earl grey tea - more like bergamont sitting right next to dry tea. The leather is just at the edges - it is an accent, rather than the whole point of the scent. Very nice, quite intrigueing. Unfortunately, though, I seem to amp leather like nothing else. It swiftly morphs into a very strong leather scent on me. Which is fine, but I was hoping for the tea and bergamont to hang around longer.

Imp Sniff: An ozoney, plastically smell tempered at the edges with a freshness and a slight sweetness. The bamboo notes and cherry blossom notes are very well blended, thus hard to distinguish, but work really well together. Skin Test: Plasticy, almost latext like, with an astringent scent to it… probably the ozone. Very green and fresh smelling, but very artificial at the same time. Actually, it reminds me of condoms and dishwashing liquid. Not exactly what I was expecting (and not exactly bringing good images to mind, either!). It seems to have notes reminiscent of 'Dirty', which is not a scent I enjoyed.

It's… a little intimidating. Yes, it is very sweet, with the strawberry and the orange blossom blending quite well, but then a peppery smack in the face sneaks up on you. That must be the carnation and poppy. It is strange and a little off-putting, and not something I would like to smell like.

This is what a gentleman's cologne *should* smell like. Ambergris and musk, but made sharp with rosemary and sweet with a breath of flowers. Elegant, refined, and terribly, terribly seductive. And you just *know* he's up to no good.