tidesong

In the Bottle: Lilacs, musk, and incense. On Application: Musky floral. After 5 minutes or so, it's fresh lilacs. On Drydown: This is all lilacs, with maybe a faint hint of incense. The lilac is close to lilacs that are past their prime. Not quite, but there's a touch of the 'too sweet' smell you get when they're past their prime. Comments: It's a lovely scent. I didn't think I liked it, but I've found I can't stop sniffing this wrist. It's floral, but light, and not headache-inducing at all. I don't get dark at all. Verdict: I think it's a keeper. It'll have to be reserved for special times, though, because this one's quite rare.

In the Bottle: Minty, resiny, earthy. Pine? I do get a little of the "cherry coke" some people get, but it wasn't the first thing that crossed my mind. On Application: Very, very earthy scent, reminiscent of hiking in the forests of the NW. Dark musk undertone, and above it all, mint. Very fresh scent. Very masculine. Woody notes come out even more after a couple minutes, and maybe sarsaparilla. There's a hint of something a little sweet, almost like sandalwood. On Drydown: Oh, man. This is so. Incredibly. Sexy. Very dark, cold without being chilly. Very masculine. "Like a night in the forest" indeed. Comments: It's too masculine for me to wear, but on the right person would leave me breathing deep the scent off their skin. *purrs* That said, it's not going anywhere. I love it even if I can't wear it. Verdict: Mine.

In the Bottle: Fruity musk, and sage. It's a sweet smudge stick! On Application: At first, I can smell the fruitiness, but almost immediately, sage and lavender takes over. Almost as quickly as it wafted though my nostrils, musk makes itself known. Interesting. After 5 minutes, it's mostly mango, with a faint touch of musk. On Drydown: Fruity! Very fruity. But it's an earthy kind of fruity, and not overwhelming. There's a faint touch of incensy scent to this, which I think helps keep the mango from being overwhelming. Comments: I didn't think I was going to like this because of the strong fruit scent on application. On drydown, however, this has turned quite lovely. Verdict: Keep.

In the Bottle: Rose and honeysuckle. On Application: Rose and lily, with jasmine creeping in. After 5 minutes, wow. The amber and vanilla are warming up nicely, complimenting the florals quite well. On Drydown: I think I may have found my perfect floral. Lovely blend of rose and lily, the ocassional whiff of jasmine, grounded by the lush richness of amber. Comments: Why do I keep falling in love with LEs? Verdict: I think I need to find a 5ml of this.

In the Bottle: Carnation, sweetened by vanilla and I can definitely smell the amber in it. I smell the citrusy floral of neroli, and a little lemon as well. On Application: Lemon. A little honey and amber. A little musk. Please don't Pledge out on me…. On Drydown: Pledge. Sigh. There's something very pretty underneath it, though. I might give this a few more minutes. Comments: It had promise, but it's not really working on me. Headachey and cloying. Verdict: Swap.

In the Bottle: Mmm, citrusy grapefruit. Very clear and crisp. Faint touch of sandalwood. It's making my mouth water. On Application: Musk. Sweet musk, clarified by a sweet grapefruit. Faint undertone of resin. Very, very pretty. On Drydown: This is really light and refreshing. Bright grapefruit, really softened a lot by vanilla and sandalwood. Comments: While not something I'll wear often, I definitely think it works on me and I'll probably wear it ocassionally. EDIT: I think this is what's giving me a headache. I'll have to test it again to be sure, but it might be off to the swap pile for this one. Verdict: Not sure yet.

CCCXIX (319) In the Bottle: Sugary. Musky. Light floral. Faint touch of something fruity. Maybe a little cinnamon, or some other spices. There really aren't any familiar notes popping out at me yet. It's pretty in the bottle. On Application: Musky and floral. Reminiscent of Enraged Bunny Musk with a little light powdery goodness. Slight citrus to it, and I'm still picking up spices! On Drydown: It's a lemony EBM! I think there's sandalwood in this, too. It's pretty. Comments: I'm not sure it's something I'd wear, I'll probably retest it alone on my skin with nothing else just to see how it plays. Verdict: Keep for now to retest.

In the Bottle: Ack. Civet. Dirty. On Application: Civet, civet, civet. A little dark floral, but mostly nauseating civet. On Drydown: Dirt, and cat pee. Otherwise known as civet. Oh well. Comments: Not erotic at all, this just smells really bad on me. Verdict: Swap.

In the Bottle: Mmm, sweet and peppery, a little vanilla. Pretty! On Application: Wow,, this is very very complex. Musky, spicy, and slightly sweet. There's a "clean" floral that I can't place, but I know I've smelled it before. It's almost citrusy. This is beautiful. On Drydown: Ack. Lemon Pledge. *sigh* Comments: I need to figure out what note turns to Pledge on me. Bummer! Verdict: Swap.

In the Bottle: Hm, whoa. There's a lot going on here. Toffee, yes. Cake, or a crème filled doughnut, topped with canned pineapple. On Application: Very strange. Pineapple upside down cake, with a little coconut. Slightly buttery, but not like butter rum. More like melted margarine, actually. On Drydown: This smells exactly like I remember Underbed smelling on me. German chocolate cake. Buttery, cakey, with a little coconut. Comments: Meh, I'm not impressed. Verdict: This was just a sniffie. I won't be getting more.

In the Bottle: Coconut mint, with a touch of cocoa. Almost like a Peppermint Patty! On Application: It smells like I have a Peppermint Patty on my wrist! It's clearing out my sinuses, that's for sure. A few minutes later, I smell a bit of booze. Almost like bourbon-spiked peppermint cocoa. On Drydown: This has morphed into a chemically minty scent. It's cold on the sinuses. Comments: Eh, there's not much else to this than the chemically minty smell on me. Verdict: Swap.

In the Bottle: Mmm, sweet, smoky musk. On Application: Very rich, smoky incense, with something very sweet underneath it. Almost fruity sweet, not like Mitzvah sugar sweet. It's dry; resiny and musky. There is a touch of spices; almost like cinnamon, but real cinnamon, not the Red Hot I usually get. After a couple minutes, some clove is coming out, but it's very subtle. A few minutes more, and the clove is taking over. I'm trying not to wrinkle my nose thinking of the dentist. On Drydown: Oh I wish the clove hadn't completely taken over. It's the predominant scent, and it's totally washing away the delicious smoky, cinnamony incense I got when it was first applied to my skin. It's still there, but completely overcome by the clove. It'd have been perfect without the clove. Comments: Well, probably better I didn't fall in love with this, seeing how rare it is. I'll spread the love with this imp. Verdict: Swap.

In the Bottle: Mostly patchouli and a touch of sandalwood. On Application: I could swear I smell the BPAL leather in this..unless it's the same patchouli that was in Spanked and that's what's jogging my memory. No, it's not quite as sickly sweet. Cinnamon is starting to come out now, fiery, like Red Hots. Damn, this is still reminding me of Spanked though. On Drydown: Red Hots and what must be patchouli. It still smells like Spanked to me. Comments: Meh. Verdict: Swap.

In the Bottle: Musk, musk, musk. Rose, musk, rose. On Application: Rose, fresh on the bush, mingling with a deep musk. After a minute or so, it's pure, rich rose and not much else. On Drydown: This is mostly a very strong rose scent, with just a hint of musk to it. My nose isn't getting any amber from this unfortunately. Comments: It's a lovely rose, but it might be too strong of a rose. It would probably make a lovely bath oil. I'll keep it for that. Verdict: Keep imp for room scent.

In the Bottle: Rose, white pepper, and a touch of incense. Underlying scent of lavender, at the very end. On Application: Lavender, mostly, with a little of the pepper overtones I smelled in the bottle. Faintest touch of incense, and even fainter rose. After about 5 minutes, the rose is taking over with a vengeance. I'm hoping the musk and frankincense will keep it from turning cloying. On Drydown: Oh good, it didn't turn cloying! This reminds me a lot of Sophia, actually. It's not as spicy, and a lot more resiny, and I like it. It's a very soft rose, with a touch of other gentle florals, without being heady. The frankincense is present, but not overpowering. Comments: I'm pleasantly surprised by this. I'll have to compare it next to Sophia! Verdict: Keep. It might replace Sophia as my rose blend!

In the Bottle: The first thing that hits my nose is musk. White musk. Then, gentle powder. Soft, sweet. Not what I expected from an 'enraged' scent! On Application: Mmm, faintly lemony; fresh and clean. Very soft and fluffy. Bunny indeed! It's only after about 5 minutes or so that any musk comes back out. Again, a very soft musk. After about 10 minutes, the musks come out very strongly, in that they start to dominate the scent. They're still definitely a white musk. Slightly powdery, slightly lemony still. On Drydown: It's much stronger now than when it was first applied to my skin. It's a soft, floral musk, slightly powdery, slightly lemony. Comments: Very pretty, but rather strong; I'd only need a drop or two of this to wear. It's very soft, and very feminine. I like it. Verdict: I'm definitely keeping a bottle for when I want something very soft and feminine. I don't think I need two bottles, though.

In the Bottle: Irish cream! On Application: Mouthwatering butterscotch, then it morphs back to Irish cream. After that, I pick up a very faint touch of coffee, and a slight woodiness. After 10 minutes, there's a smoky, slightly sweet cocoa-coffee, with a drizzle of caramel. On Drydown: Mostly cocoa coffee, with that slightly caramel swirl to it. I want a frappucino now. Comments: I wasn't sure I'd like this once the coffee came out, but I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It's strangely wonderful smelling. It reminds me very slightly of my beloved Red Lantern. Verdict: Agh, I didn't want to like this. But I do. Keep!

In the Bottle: Yep, that's cheesecake alright. And frosting! On Application: Hmm, white cake, with buttercream frosting. *drool* After a minute or so, the cheesecake scent really comes out. And I could swear I smell a touch of graham crackers! On Drydown: It's faded to a lovely cupcake scent. Very mouth-watering. Comments: While this smells delicious, it's not a wearable scent for me. It'd be fun for a room scent, and maybe to wear ever *rare* once in a while. Verdict: Keep one imp, swap the other.

In the Bottle: Sweet, citrusy honeywine, with a touch of spiced honeysuckle. Definitely brings to mind sunshine in a bottle. On Application: Uhoh. Kind of smells like lemon Pledge, with a touch of honeysuckle. On Drydown: The strong lemony Pledge has finally gone away, drying down into a very strong honeysuckle. I only get the faintest touch of honey from this. It's died down remarkably in a half hour. Comments: When the Pledge scent was so strong, I was sure there was no way I was going to like this. When it started to dry down, and all I got was sweet, sweet honeysuckle, I was still sure I wasn't going to like this. Why, then, can't I stop sniffing the wrist that has this on? I thought it would make a good room scent at least, but as it's dried down, it's actually quite lovely on my skin, which surprises me. Normally the sweet florals don't work. This one, I can actually see wearing. Probably not often, but I will probably wear it every once in a while. Verdict: Keep.

In the Bottle: Musky floral. Nothing in particular stands out. On Application: Mmmm, smoky pine, but not Pine Sol type pine. Very real and earthy. Earthy floral, very soft. After a minute or so, I can smell rose come out. There's still a note that to my nose says 'musk'. I'm so very much hoping the florals don't turn cloying like they tend to do. On Drydown: Oh, this has turned out beautifully. The floral has tamed down quite a bit. It's very faint, and not heady at all. The warmth richness of amber is starting to glow nicely now, accented by a very faint smokiness, and a very, very faint pine, but as before, not at all like Pine Sol, or even Christmas trees. Most like the pine you get when you're standing amongst lots of non-spruce pine trees. Comments: I really like this a lot. I'm glad I got a couple bottles. It's definitely a 'me' scent. Verdict: Hoard!

In the Bottle: Hot buttered rum. Drool-worthy! On Application: Oh how delicious. It's softened almost immediately; a sweet, creamy sandalwood. On Drydown: Mmm, lovely. The base of sandalwood is lovely, and it mixes well with the sweetness of vanilla and sugar. Comments: While this won't be an everyday scent, I'll keep it to wear when I want something a little more sweet. Verdict: Keep.

In the Bottle: Mmm, Mexican chocolate cake! In a bottle! On Application: Whoa, it smells like German chocolate cake on my skin! On Drydown: Yep, German chocolate cake. Comments: I love German chocolate cake, and this smells good, but not something I want to smell like. Verdict: Swap.

In the Bottle: Oh, man. Buttercream is right! On Application: There's the bourbon! But it's hiding behind the rich, rich buttercream. After a minute or so, it smells like a pound cake soaked in blackberry schnapps. On Drydown: Bummer, the sweetness really disappeared, and there's a plasticky undertone now. Comments: I can't see letting go of this, because, well, it's closetmonster! I think it'd make a great room scent. But I'll probably swap it. Verdict: Swap.

In the Bottle: Spicy amber! Ooooh! On Application: What a warm scent! I smell cinnamon, maybe a little nutmeg, and and undercurrent of amber. This has great potential. After 5 minutes: the amber and cinnamon are battling on my skin trying to decide who gets to dominate. After 10 minutes: hmmm, is that ginger I detect? C'mon amber, come out to play! On Drydown: Cinnamon's winning, and it's a Red Hots type cinnamon. I very faintly get amber out of this, but not enough. It's not bad, but it's not what I was hoping. Comments: It might layer nicely with something like O when I want to add a little spice to it. Verdict: Try layering, and also retest alone.

In the Bottle: It took me a minute to place, but whoa, nutmeg! A little sweet sandalwood, and a touch of musk. This is promising. On Application: Mmmm! Nutmeg, and what almost smells like cinnamon sticks, and soft sandalwood. Oh yes, and there's the amber. This is delicious so far. *crosses fingers* 5 minutes later -- I want a b'stilla. Now. On Drydown: Lovely. It's a rich, spicy amber, gently balanced with a slight sweetness reminiscent of rose, but one that didn't turn sour on my skin. It's very exotic, and very lovely. Comments: Definitely a keeper, this is gorgeous. Verdict: 5ml material!