Elrianra

In the bottle, this is wood and moss with a dash of nuttiness - a bit darker and smokier than I expected, actually. On me wet, the cypress and hazelnut compete for the strongest note in a heady attack of wood and nut that leaves me dazed and astounded at the sudden power of it. This was not very strong in the bottle but once on me, it gains enormous throw! Drying, the throw is gone and this has turned powder soft and faint - not powdery, mind, just faint. I have no idea how to describe this after it warms... woody and smoky and nutty all at once, the moss dusts the woods. I looked up oude and found that it is manufactured from agarwood - a wood that is basically bitter and heavy - while the cypress is a slightly whiter wood tone in this, it is the oude that I am finding the oude to be the darkening factor in this blend. After only an hour or so of life, this has faded to almost non existence on me which is both a disappointment and a relief: I cannot say that I was fond of this scent, but it certainly was memorable. However shortlived the scent was, it was brilliantly blended and a very interesting take on the theme.

In the bottle this is interesting, slightly herbal... I have to guess that it's the frangipani that I'm detecting that's mixing with the jasmine. On me wet, it's nothing floral I've encountered before... the rose and tuberose are a sweet base and the jasmine adds a sensual tone to this while the frangipani is slightly spicy and most definitely exotic. I'm not sure I like where it's going on me, but I definitely want to go there and find out more either way. Turns out that frangipani is a fancy name for plumeria - which like a few other florals (namely sweet pea) goes sweet rot on my skin within a very short time. By the time this has dried and warmed, it's overly sweet and the roses have died. Heady plumeria and throat grabbing jasmine wrench my poor sinuses this way and that until my eyes are watering and I have to call enough. Unfortunately, I had no idea what frangipani was before trying this on. Serves me right and next time I'll do my research prior to application.

In the bottle this is all crystalline notes that I recognize from aquatic blends such as my Chaos Theory II and Lightning, ice-like notes similar to those in The Evening Star and Snow Moon... very odd. This is airy and light and ... vaguely floral. I think I detect lilac and wisteria with a dash of water lily and possibly some sweet pea or carnation as well... hmm. On me wet, I know that there is lily in this blend because it comes to the top with a bang. Drying, there's a good deal of is that crocus?! in this... and once it begins to warm, the wisteria settles as a strong pale base that the lilac can flitter over as it desires. This is very whimsical and light... not exactly unpleasant but decidedly airy spring florals that don't mix well with my chemistry at all. After a time, this goes to a vaguely powdery old lady's perfume and after that it's just not pleasant anymore.

Roses, deep red roses in their full bloom absolute pour out of this bottle. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. On me, it's wet red roses with dew glittering off the petals. If wine were so sweet, I'd drink it by the gallon. As it dries, this goes heady robust sweet wine-dark roses. I could get drunk off this scent and never want to come down again, absolute heaven as this rolls up and down my arms, coyingly curling around me and just sucking me down. It warms up to sunshine and red roses - this is just... ROSES!!! WHEEE~ On the die down, it softens to honey and roses, no longer the imperial reds and crimsons but a softer velvet-y amber toned red rose. I cannot stress enough how lovely this is. Just... heavenly. I'm in bliss.

First off I must say I love this scent but that it was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from what I anticipated. Serves me right for having expectations. In the bottle, this is a silly mix of brownies, citrus, and white tea. No joke! The currant and white chocolate mix with the tea to smell like the scent of brownies baking over a glass of lemon and rose hips tea. How very strange this smells... On me wet, the complexity of this scent begins to show itself: chocolate, tea, citrus, florals AND herbs all coming out to play on various levels. Musk... a clear bright white musk... mixes lightly with the chocolate and suddenly I'm sniffing at a thick lusciously creamy pot of drinking chocolate - with the little marshmallows to go with it. This is sweet and playful, a little foodier than I usually tend to go for but, really now... there's no saying no to this. And really? This stays brownies on me for HOURS... just sweet, chocolatey, rich gooey warm brownies. With a dash of orange zest in 'em to make for a tangy desert.

In the bottle, thick and - well, there's no other way to describe this - RED. Dragon's Blood resin, possibly some rose, lichens and woods and frankincense I think. I smell smoky-throaty-lusty redness. On my skin wet, this is copper and honey - metallic but sweet and smooth - with a floral and woods tone that spins my head. I think it's oak, that golden wood note, and there's musk - oh yes, I smell musks. As this dries, the musks (I was wrong, not a lichen or moss but musks) and dragon's blood come shooting straight to the top. Unlike Dragon's Musk however, this isn't the heated throated sensual musks, this is body heat and smoke over a bed of florals. Warm, it's all dusty red musk and florals - oh my yes! There is a pepper-spice scent that I want to call cloves but I know it isn't; no, I think that may be tonka hiding in there. Hmm, this one can't make up it's mind at all and just keeps shifting. It's delightfully warm with just a tinge of sensuality to it. There isn't much throw to Mars, but it's powerful once you're close in. It stays warm and reserved for hours, not at all cloying but close-lying instead. Mmmm, one 5ml of this is NOT enough!

In the bottle, the copal and labdanum make a heavy dismal base while the gladiola and lily hover in the middle it is the heliotrope and iris that rise to the top of this in tonka-warmed breath of cautious joy. Once on my skin, the florals really light up into an airy blanket while the tonka and labdanum do just enough to soften the copal to a sulking base note. As it dries, the florals go slightly powdery while the base notes flare up into a smoky veil. As it warms, the incense notes become even more pronounced and the florals fade to a back seat in this - vaguely there but shy and soft. After a time, the powder/smoke tone dies down and leaves a dusty floral blend that reminds me strongly of dried bouquets. On the die down, it's all soft florals and tonka's vanilla-pepper tones again. This is sweet and friendly and I love it very much.

In the bottle this smells EXACTLY like grape Bubbiliscious bubble gum, it's sweet and has just a very faint tang of snappy to it but overall, it's liquid candy. Once on me, the melon comes out a little more and I begin to think this smells a lot like watermelon bubblegum. What's going on here?! Once it's dried, the florals are a very faint note over the melon and grapes, the mosses add a slightly salty-green tone but all around, this is just candy-sweet. Very foody and while I normally don't mind a little foody, this is TOO foody for me.

I pop the cap off the bottle and take a whiff; suddenly I'm sitting at a picnic table in the desert with a can of cream soda in my hand and the foam on my lips. First sniff is cedar with a tangy note of balsam coming up fast, almost bitter, then playful sassafras and warm vanilla swirl in to the picture and this goes sweet and naive all at once. My skin grabs the cedar and vanilla in this one and a close sniff is very woody - then a moment later the sassafras lifts off and there's a caramel and cream note just floating about a half foot above my wrist and informing me politely that it is there. This is a very confusing scent, on me it's at once cedar and sassafras - which I would like to tell you is a complicated blend to try and explain! After it dries (and there is no need to WARM for this one), it's all woody and vanilla with a background note of sassafras which is truly unfortunate because it's a sweet caramel but not food sort of note that I would definitely kill to get a single note scent of.

Sticky sweet in the bottle, there's a minty backdrop with anise/licorice and almonds layered on top. Reminds me strongly of homemade candies or molasses. Once on, the wet scent is nuts and a touch of licorice. Very light and cool, I'm not sure this scent enbodies "The Star" of my tarot deck, but it's open and closed almost at once; like a top with notches in it, continuously spinning. The effect is very much like that, open-close-open-close. The minty scent comes to the top as it warms, keeping this ethereal and cool despite the warmth of the other scents in this blend. It's at once inviting and disinterested. As it wears out, the scent completely changes! After a few hours, all there is left is sun-warmed milk chocolate. CHOCOLATE! From nuts to chocolate?! Insane as it sounds, it's delightful and slightly badass smelling. It tells you to your face that it's chocolate now and get over it. Very cute.

This has lavender in it, there is no question in my mind. It smells identical to my Bath&Body Works "Sleep" Lavender Pillow Mist I got myself around Christmas. It's floral but cool and soft, like petals brushing along your fingertips. Once on, it layers cooly with something herbal that I think is chamomile. Not really all that surprising here, it's to help you relax and sleep after all. I dotted this one on just before bed time and laid down with my wrist in close proximity to my face to see what impressions I would get as I fell asleep. Well, to tell the truth, it stayed soft and cool and decidedly lavender-with-maybe-chamomile, it warmed and cooled and sighed gently, but really didn't seem to change much. Before I fell asleep, it had toned down a bit from it's overbearing floral wet state, and as a dry scent, it was light and airy. I like this and want a bigger bottle... really, that's all there is to it.

This one smells the way a honey-lemon cough drop tastes - not the medicine taste, the sweet citrus blend. In the bottle, this is clearly a soothing blend with just a faint touch of medicinal to it that's so faint I don't catch it until I've put the bottle back down. And, really, that makes utter and complete sense: citrus to purify? Hell yeah. Once on, it smells like a combination of lemon zest and lemon drops; mein gott, this is strong! Oddly, as it dries, the scent fades to almost nothing... there's a very faint citrus tang on my wrists and nothing more. This is the most bizarre scent ever, instead of the citrus maintaining a nice hold on my skin, it just fades right off into nothingness... there's hardly a trace of it on my arms after less than 20 minutes. Seriously what the hell, I realize that I eat lemons like candy but when did my skin pick up the habit?!

The first whiff from the bottle is cold night florals, the lily and ivy blend into an overly sweet melancholy smell. It goes powdery on contact, but pleasantly so; the rose and lily are the high notes in this while the ivy has sunk down and is a soft green base. I'm not getting much lotus while it's wet, but as it warms and dries, it starts to darken into a truly night scent: smoky and cool but overwhelmingly floral. Almost an incense scent, but not quite strong enough. Once it warms up, it tones down immensely - no longer a slap in the face with a bouquet but now like a warm breeze coming in from a summer's eve garden. Sweet and heavy but in a friendly way. This scent is entirely too young and sweet for me, by way of florals - it needs something to ground it, which isn't there. Over all, after it dries, it goes super sweet and gets overpowering

In the bottle, this is roses and dew, with the barest breath of moonflower to sweeten and fill it. On and wet, it's a big bouquet of white roses and moonflowers with a sweet tang like powdered sugar. It's not in the least foody or unpleasant, but it's a scent of night flowers as the sun heats the petals with dawn-light. It's cool but not cold, just slightly chilled like evening flowers always are. As it dries, there's a brief powder phase wherein all I smell rather like an old lady; thankfully it only smells like that for about ten minutes before it's dried. Then there's a warm rush of roses and the moonflower politely sits back in the wings. It still smells wet, which I expect is the dew keeping this tender and light. Even as it warms, it's light and airy. I could really lather this on before it got too floral to be stood, and seeing as it has little to no throw to it during the wet and aged phases, it wouldn't be noticable until about half an hour after I put it on. Yes, dry and warm this is very strong but still incredibly pleasant and once it ages out, it goes soft and dusty like crushed rose petals skittering along out the window in a breeze. As I stated when I first got this, it was a used imp - only half full. I fully intend to get a full bottle of this one as soon as I can because it's lovely and oh so pretty. I want to try mixing this and Two, Five and Seven soon... I think it will be a very pretty blend. Mmmmmm, I love roses. <3<3<3!

In the bottle, I smell jasmine, verbena and ... is that mimosa? Floral and pungent with a whiff of vanilla to it, slightly herbal but sweet. On, the jasmine and verbena battle for dominance - both are notes that my skin amplifies and this blend is just utter chaos on me. I let it dry and it settles slightly, to vanilla and verbena - very soapy and powdery at once. The florals rise again as it warms to a jasmine and mimosa over verbena mix that's nice but altogether too strong. It maintains a soapy aspect for several hours before toning down to a powdery floral scent similar to the body puff my grandmother uses. In short, this was gross - not because of the scent, which would have been pleasant if it didn't go so damn soapy on me, but because of the absolute reverse of what I expected this to smell like. I expected something delicate and romantic or heavy and musky... not this strange herbal/floral soap that I ended up with. Alas, no.

In the bottle, this is soothing and very faintly medicinal or herbal; thre's an almost citrus note minus the actual citrus-y tones that's cold and sharp. I'm reminded strongly of the way the air smells just before a thunder storm, after the wind dies and everything's gone still and you can count the moments before the first lightning blast or raindrop comes falling down. On, it maintains that sharp ozone note that's a little salty and a lot wet. There's a bitter and sweet combination to this that is a little disorienting but pleasantly mild. Wet, this is a mood scent if I ever encountered one. Once it's dried and warmed up, it is actually warm - like a hot summer afternoon thunderstorm just about to let loose. Warm and yet slightly chilled with a vibrant tang of sea salt and ozone that the air always smells like just before a storm no mattter where you are (it is my personal opinion that thunder clouds carry sea salt with them just for this purpose). Heady but lacking the throw to make this formidable, Lightning is tantalizingly direct and hard, this isn't a scent that changes much at all and it never loses a single iota of conviction. Definitely a keeper though I won't be getting more of this. (I can hope for frimps though)

In the bottle, this is tender and sweet - a shy scent whispering softly about it's beauty, telling itself how lovely it is and waiting for another to see it as well. Once out and wet on my skin, the poppy trickles along and sends vines of spicy floral trailing from wrist to elbow and tangles around my fingertips despite the fact that only a tiny amount was dabbed onto my iner arm. As it dries and warms, lily and orris and moonflower swirl up and through the poppy, leaving a base of timid gladiolus to ground them as they hover truly inches above my skin like a light silk sleeve that the breeze is lifted off my arm. Another whiff a moment later and the poppy and gladiolus have mixed, leaving me giddy and eager for nightfall. Still calm, but sophistcated, this twirls in and out of the mists of definition and demands I go put on my blue silk dress and those high heels that are classy and I hate, that I dot color over my eyes - silver and pale blue like moonshine through nigh-clouded sky and shine my lips with cool mints. This is flirtatious but tentative, sophisticated but withdrawn. Once dried and faded, there is a slight powdery scent to it, but not unpleasant. It's cool yet friendly, very clear and precise. Each floral is delicate but distinct and they mix like a heavenly night garden cocktail, just heady enough to make you consider asking somebody else to drive you home - just strong enough to let you consider handing over control for a bit, to be the passenger and the enjoyer.

In the bottle, this is all smoke: wood smoke and fume smoke and a touch of incense smoke - it's hot and chill at once and thick and dark but not menacing. Once on (and boy did I slather it) this enticing little potion flares to a smoke-musk as the leather jumps to the surface; the dragon's blood isn't the sticky residue it normally takes but instead a spicy sweetness that shimmers like crystals under the smoke and leather. Drying out, it's leather-leather-LEATHER and warmed up, this scent is smoky leather like a forge or metal worker: sun-heated leather that's been too close to the coals. There's no denying the power of the leather in this, a dark musky heavy leather; brown leather that has been tanned and beaten but hasn't been cured with butters or chemicals - this is animal and by animal, I mean predatory leather hide. Hours after hour of smoke and leather bliss followed wherein the only real difference was the smoke and dragon's blood gradually climbing back to the top and then a final burst of smokey leather before the dragon's blood ended the scent's life with a sweet and tangy finale of flame and smoke as the leather withered and faded away. Oh, this is SOSOSO nice. I am definitely in love with this scent, oh my oh yes. Can I go again now please?

Citrusy-mint, like orange zest and fresh peppermint sprigs, with a faintly alcoholic scent that reminds me of a bottle of vodka. Odd, I realize, but the first impression is such. Once on, the citrus tone is far milder, there's an herbal note that I recognize as sage, as well as a wood that I don't recognize - lichenous and soft... I want to say willow bark. As time goes on, it fades out a bit and goes quite powdery on me, which is a bit disconcerting but still not absolutely unpleasant. In fact, it rather smells like a lotion now. Although I will say that it helps center and focus you for a short time, I'm afraid my mentality fractures quickly again and I find myself working on a dozen tasks at once before the scent really has a chance to settle me down... *SIGH*

Sensual, robust, and silken: voluptuous red rose bursting with lascivious red wine and sultry dragon’s blood resin. Ohhhhhh, urngh. That's pretty! In the bottle it's sweet and thick and soooo very smooth; roses and dragon's blood dirtied wine. Dark and decadent, this has candlelight and fancy dinner with a french waiter doting out the champagne written all over it. Wet on my skin, the dragon's blood seeps out and trickles along my veins, tracing its sticky sweet way up my arms and curling around me in a velvet-petals gown of darkest reds, pouring a heady wine into my palms for me to drink up and delight in. I'm also picking up a musk - not black but darker than the ones in Aglaea, I'll guess a heavy red musk then. As it dries, the dragon's blood gets a little spicy and the wine leaps to the front, giving me a heady spicy dark-wood-aged wine with enough kick in it to fell a horse. The roses smooth the wine a bit, tame the dragon's blood mildly and generally soften this from a "vicious" to a "seductive" scent. Thick and direct, but just gentle enough to skate by as proper - this is a distinctly elegant rose blend, high class is the best words I have for this. This one lasts several hours in a vague hazy blend of roses and bloodied wine that is at once intensely spicy and throaty and delicately genteel; near the end of life, there's a bit of a powdery faze that subtly dusts off with a final kiss of rose petals and then it's gone.

A faint musk bathes in floral and herbal notes. Red currant is denoted as being a rather sour to bitter red berry scent which I can detect faintly as it mingles with the mild pinkish citrus of the grapefruit. On my skin, the wet oil could very well be grapefruit juice; tangy and sweet with an underlying bitterness that I recognize as chamomile and the currant again while the musk lays smooth on my skin and the florals are pale and shy. As it dries, this goes citrus-floral and the musk disappears entirely! Suddenly I'm sitting in a sunny garden eating grapefruits, green and red is the colors this scent brings to mind - not the gawdy Christmas colors but a more orange-pink than red and the green is pale, almost white... like tainted lace. Warming, the musk slides gracefully into power, coiling around the fruit and floral in a deceptively shy and innocent manner. The chamomile is extremely soft in this but then again, I've never come across Roman chamomile before so I assume that it is a milder note than other variations. In the end, the chamomile and currant mingle at the top over a bed of musk covered citrus-florals; this is sweet and mildly playful but a lot less mischievous than I anticipated really.

In the bottle this is thick and swarthy, similar to how smut smells on me but spicier. The patchouli really has a kick and the sandalwood is heavy and smoky. The amber and cinnamon are a hot sweetness that just oozes out of the bottle. On me, the woods really stand out in a dark smoky barrier that makes me at once crave water and want to lick my wrist. Yikes. The cinnamon twists in and out of the smoke, making it spicy and heavy while the amber glides over my skin thickening this scent even further than before. It's a veritable mask of deception and desire going on here. As it dries, it gets lighter but not fainter and as it warms, the cinnamon really comes out to play! (My skin loves the cinnamon, I guess) It's spicy sweet with a smoky after image to it, like eating cinnamon honey by a campfire. Dark and heavy and naughty. This is just bad enough that I think my parents would disapprove but delightfully so. As in, I'd wear this on a night out on the town without a second thought. Within an hour, this scent has lived it's life: swarthy and bold when wet, smoky and hot when dry, and pale and sensuous on it's die down. The throw is fantastic but this scent is so dramatically short lived that it's not a feasible perfume for me.

In the bottle, this is sweet and sharp: the musk is a nice bed for the berries and while the sage and tea lighten and play this one up. Wet, it's herbs and musk with a mild berry flavoring that picks up a mild wood tang as it dries. Warm, it's all berries and sage with a gossamer web of musk tracing it's way over top. Slowly - so very slowly - the berries and musk smooth down over the herbs like a gloss or finish, sweetening and adding depth to the scent in a mild way. This one evolves over the course of a few hours from a luscious green aura to a complex mirage of shadows and light played out by berries and herbs with a blanket of musk over it all, adding a hazy fog to the scent. It's lovely.

This one, on first sniff, was very hard to pin down and I had to go back and double check previous notations on neroli before I figured out just what I was smelling in this bottle: the neroli is a citrus smell, like that first whiff of freshly peeled orange, and it mixes with the verbena's more lemonish scent in a confusing medley of sweet and bitter while the lavender lends a vague floral and the rosemary has an herbish quality to it. Not fresh rosemary at all but dried and then crushed between your hands. The Frankincense is mild if detectable at all. Once on, the rosemary and lavender really jump out as the verbena and neroli settle to make a bold base; the Frankincense has yet to really make an appearance as it dries. Warming up, this finally tones down a notch from the original astonishing blast of perfume to a milder citrus and florals, the Frankincense has finally made a gentle appearance, floating over the other scents and creating a hazy blanket around me. It's pleasant if a little disconcerting. On the final die-down, it's sweetly floral with a tad of smoke left to it - like the lingering after-precense of incense smoke. Everything is faintly flavored like it but it's nice and soothing. Again, this is a neroli blend that gives me a headache... I have to bid farewell to this one as well... *sigh*

In the bottle, I get a breath of florals and a touch of something dustier - must be the moss/lichen; the woods are soft and a wonderful base. Honestly, this is like walking in a forest and finding a small open area full of wild flowers - vines and ground cover and stubborn buds that refuse to be trampled by the woods... lovely! A second whiff of the bottle brings out the woods: cedar and pine and oak with birch and is that maple? I smell ferns and grass and florals as well all in one big blast of the outdoors. Wet on my skin, this is sweet and resinous: like pine or maple sap smeared on your hands. Sticky and sweet and more than a little insistant. As the scent begins to breathe, the florals really light this up; it's suddenly sunny and basking in the warmth of a mountain-forest summer - windswept and cool but lovely and so alive! The moss/lichens really play out in this one like none other - one moment they're in the background, just kissing the woods hello and the next moment you have a face full of them like you fell asleep using a mossy rock for a pillow. The general depth and range of this perfume is making me crazy: I want to go hiking, I want to go biking, I want to go horse riding - I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE AND NOT COME IN AGAIN. Ahem. As it dries and warms, the woods and moss take to the foreground again, slightly sharp but not bitter and with a touch of the dusty green that I've come to associate with the moss scent from BPAL; the florals are there but they're muted now and just a sweet inflection that blends oh so nicely with the rest of this. The final blend is woods over florals and lichens... something peppery - cedar is my guess - and something menthol-ish that I'm guessing is juniper mix to make a spicy/cool scent while the birch and oak layor softly over that and the maple (if it is maple) lends a sweet note. I wonder if there's willow in this? Oh I'm dying to know what those last few wood notes are now! After several hours, the woods have faded to a hint of the original scent but the inflections are by no means lost, the mosses lay atop everything like a heavy blanket and the florals pillow the woods in a bizarre twist - a floral BASE on MY skin?! Unheard of! This has next to no throw and is delightfully playful from the opening of the bottle to the final die down.