kunoichi

Mercury, in the vial, reminds me of something typical of aromatherapy, perhaps lavender, with other things in the mix that I can’t pick. On my skin it becomes spiciness (cinnamon?) on a sweet, perhaps fruity, base which sets off the spices nicely. This becomes sweeter as the edge of spiciness fades, and it is a rather gentle and subtle smell.

Purification :: Healing :: Forgiveness The Astral Body :: Emotional Health :: Compassion Dream Work :: Divination :: Imagination :: Friendship Spiritual Growth :: Tranquility :: Tenderness Receptivity :: Creativity :: Illusion In the vial, Undine smells of something dark that my nose doesn’t like, and perhaps lavender. Sadly on my skin, it gets more offensive (whatever is doing it, I wish it wouldn’t! Others talk of vetiver, which could be it, I guess) but there is still a lavender-like smell there behind it, but the badness is pretty much all I can smell of this blend. Thankfully after a few hours the icky smell starts to fade, while the sweetness (which reminds me a little of bubblegum, so it’s probably lotus) lingers. Sadly I don’t think I can deal with this because it’s so awful, for so long, on my poor nose.

In the vial, this is a deep smell of something that is earthy, but the patchouli is well mixed with the other scents giving it a rounded, deep, ever so slightly sweet scent. This becomes much more a smell of green things on my skin, though it’s like green things growing in the earth – probably the moss and patchouli coming through, though thankfully the patchouli is still well mixed. Eventually, for some reason it morphs so that I can detect something that reminds me of coconut... how odd! After a few hours on my skin, I can smell the oakmoss of the blend, reminiscent of Bayou... it hasn’t really faded, as the scent is still strong and mossy.

This reminds me a lot of the Voodoo blends where I detect a sort of nut-like smell, which in this case I think is the honeyed almonds... On my skin it is an almond smell, sticky with honey; the almonds are somewhat sweet but the honey eventually mellows it out, with spice peeking out from behind it all. The spices become more prevalent, before starting to fade... And after a few hours on my skin it still is back to being a sort of almondy smell, though it has become sweeter and gentler as it fades. (I do have a cold, so I might be missing some notes.)

In the vial, I can smell the orange and patchouli mix that is reminiscent of Ravenous, but as soon as it hits my skin, there is a greenish hay-like smell that pierces through the orange. This is a truly odd scent on my skin – as time goes on, it changes to remind me of the smell of dry straw or hay (which would be the dry parchment scent), but after a few hours this sweetens up somewhat and becomes softer, like sweet green things amongst the hay, though the only sweet thing on the list would be benzoin and orange! It’s a scent that would do well on a man. I do have a cold, so I might be only picking up on certain scents, but that’s all I can smell right now.

This is a pointed, crisp but sweet scent on a base of smooth creaminess. On my skin, the crispness becomes a little more citrus-like, reminding me a little of Absinthe minus the anise (and thus not like any real absinthe I’ve had) and the creamy base note becomes a little spicy – kind of like a brighter, more powerful, citrusy version of Morocco; vanilla wafts deliciously through it all. The citrus-like note starts to fade over time, and the gorgeous vanilla-and-honey-absolute base stays behind smelling just delightful.

In the vial this is an odd mixture of sweetness and aquatic plants, which would probably be the reeds and the peony flowers. On my skin the reeds start to fade to reveal the sweetness of the peony and plum blossoms, but the reeds are there in the background as if flowers growing by a stream. This becomes less reed-scented and more wood-like and floral as time goes by, and after a few hours, this is a breathy sweetness on my skin reminiscent of gentle florals winding through a touch of wood.

From the bottle, this is a surprisingly soft and gentle blend, perhaps of rose and something a little citrus- or herbal-scented as the scent is sweet and a little spiky. On my skin, the rose comes through a little stronger, but it’s still got that citrus/herbal-like edge to it - but I have to hold my wrist very close to my nose to get the full scent! The smell doesn’t seem to more, just get softer... After a couple of hours on my skin, this is a sweetness so soft and gentle that is just a breath of fragrance against my skin, which practically vanishes....

In the vial this is pure rose, backed with a tangy scent – probably the spices – that reminds me of metal. On my skin, the rose scent takes on a stronger tang which reminds me of blood – in fact, I felt uncomfortable wearing it on the train because it was very reminiscent of the blood smell of menstruation! The coppery blood tang soon fades, and after a few hours on my skin this smells like metallic-backed sweetness. But the remaining scent continues with a slight metal tang sharpening it, though it is no longer a blood smell. The blood smell is appropriate for Lucy, being her vampiric ‘kiss’, but this is not an everyday wear fragrance – but it’s something to wear for a LARP vampire character!!

In the vial, this is a sweet, creamy and warm scent like a warm drink made of sugar syrup and vanilla. On my skin, the sweetness seems to instead come from fruit - it becomes a much juicier and fruity scent mixed with cream (which one of my friends commented smells like “tutti-fruity”!) ... kind of like a fruity ice-cream turned into a smooth, warm drink! Yet there is no fruit, just the stephanotis flower, in Regan! The fruit scent eventually fades over time, bringing to the fore the sweet and creamy vanilla scent, which is just delicious.

In the vial, this is an almost bubble-gum like sweetness of juicy things; perhaps fruits and florals (I am guessing there is lotus in that) and something else that I can’t pin down, something that it fighting a losing battle against the sweetness of the fragrance. My skin changes the scent to create warmth that runs through the bubble-gum smell... but that background note starts to dampen the sweetness with something perhaps a touch bitter. After a while, it becomes a dryer scent, slightly boozy, taking over from the sweetness which eventually mellows. This is a strong scent that lasts for quite some time.

In the vial, this is a cool, piercing scent that is more herbal than anything else, though there is a floral touch beneath it. On my skin this warms up and becomes more rounded and deeper, with a sweet floral of the sweet pea coming through the herby smell of the sage. After a while this is a creamy blend (perhaps the tonka), maybe a little musky, with a touch of floral scent to it.

In the vial, this is a sweet, spicy scent with the florals giving the sweetness and, one would guess, the palmarosa herb producing the spice-like scent. On my skin, the florals amp up, and the spice fades, to leave a clear, if ever so slightly cloying with a dark scent in there, smell of flowers. After maybe half an hour, it starts to soften as the vanilla changes it and another floral comes to the fore. The whole scent then seems to fade quickly after a few hours (due to the sweet florals fading) though at a closer sniff there is a very gentle whisper of floral vanilla still lingering on my skin.

Ah, I had such high hopes for Sed Non Satiata! The dominant note on me is patchouli... At least it isn’t myrrh! I thought maybe red patchouli was okay, because I really like the sexy Ravenous, and I do like it more than regular patchouli. In the vial, this is a boozy, musky patchouli scent with a slight sweetness behind it. It’s a dark scent. But it's just patchouli on my skin (with something a sweet under it - this would be the florals and honey) until it has faded after a few hours. There is something soft on my skin after the patchouli has disappeared, possibly the musk, but it's too subtle and gentle for me to be able to tell. It does have a sexy edge, but I think that (for me) Ravenous still wins in the sexiness stakes!

And that's actually what I'm after. Thanks!! ^_~

In the vial, Crossroads is a scent of sweet floral and green things together, quite a nice scent. As it goes on my skin, the floral starts to fade, yet the sweetness and the green things stays, and it the scent of newly turned soil starts to make itself known beneath it all. This scent still smells of soil and green things (probably the moss as it reminds me somewhat of Bayou) even after a few hours; it’s sweet and green over soil.

In the vial, this smells strongly of a powerful hit of sweet almond (which would actually be the cherry). On my skin this sweetens up, and the strong cherry scent fades back, revealing a sweet anise smell, almost like a black jellybean. After a few hours, this becomes a very gentle, sweet, pretty breath of anise on my skin becoming fainter and fainter until it fades...

This is a sweet and spicy scent from the vial – almost juicy with sweet bergamot and mandarin; the nutmeg and saffron giving it the spicy kick. On my skin this changes to be musky, with spice layered over the musk; it’s warm and the sweetness may not work with the musk on my skin completely, but it’s okay. After a few hours, this becomes a cool (probably from the floral note) but slightly spicy scent to it, much gentler now that it has faded somewhat.

This is a very subtle blend – in the vial, it’s like a breath of vanilla-like musk with a touch of spice; soothing, cool and gentle. On my skin, it is still so soft, a fragrance that is barley there, though it does warm up and becomes a little more obvious over time; the spice is very subtle and runs sweetly through the scent to make it rounded. As time goes on, it doesn’t morph on me... instead it becomes softer and gentler over time. This is beautiful when mixed with Smut – the Morocco’s sweet musk scent overcomes Smut’s patchouli smell, and it’s a lovely vanilla-musk fragrance. One of my friends noted that it smells like one of the spice stalls in Morocco.

I’m not sure what to make of this one. In the vial it’s a sweet, milk scent; creamy and soft. On my skin this almost smells like milk, but milk with something... perhaps milk that has scalded. Perhaps it is the honey, or perhaps it is the cream, but it’s definitely a creamy scent that isn’t quite what I expect milk to be. It’s a rather strong scent that lingers, too. After a number of hours on my skin, this becomes a much milder version, but it still smells like milk and scalded milk. This is a toss up as to if I like this scent or not, because of the smell of almost burned milk... I’d probably not wear this on it’s own, but it would be interesting to see how it layers with other scents.

The TAL Temple of the Resurrected God is something that I bought in an effort to help focus my prayers. As a Christian, I wanted a scent to link to praying, so that I would remember to pray whenever I smell that scent. The name of the oil struck me more so than the others, reminding me of Jesus. It felt ‘right’. I am using it as a way to clear my mind whenever I smell it, so that I can concentrate more fully on praying. With this in mind, when I received the bottle, I prayed over it so that God uses it for that exact reason and through it His will is done. I started using it on Sunday in my oil burner in my room. I light up the oil burner, and when I get back to my room I am surrounded by the powerful scent that does indeed remind me to pray. When I entered my room last night, I breathed in and for some reason I thought of it as the scent of the Holy Spirit. That was a surprising thought, because I’d never even considered that before. So now that association is in my mind whenever I smell the oil, and I believe that it will continue to help my prayer and worship.

In the vial this is a strong, sweet gingered scent of spices, piercingly delicious with cloves. On my skin this immediately smells like gingerbread as it’s cooking in the oven! It smells exactly like it - mouth-wateringly delicious!! Mmmmmm. The cloves peek through, but they’re in amongst the gingerbread yumminess. This calms down, after a few hours, to a yummy sweet scent, like gingerbread that’s cooled down after coming out of the oven. It’s sweet and tasty! Yum.

From the vial, this smells like gorgeous fruit! I can’t quite determine what fruit exactly, so I presume it’s the apricot and orange blossoms, but it’s like rich, ripe, ready-to-eat, juicy nectar. On my skin the white musk starts to smooth down the juicy nectar smell, making it a calmer smell... while still bright, the scent is quieter but still lovely. After a few hours have passed, this is a sweet ever so slightly musky scent, with a breath of fruity nectar. The musk tempers the fruit, rather than revealing itself. It is quite a lovely, pleasant scent that ends up being rather subtle and uplifting.

In the vial, this is wow!! It is a dark chocolate smell, that jumps out to make sure it’s presence is felt! There is something more than dark chocolate there, like the chocolate is swimming in a base of red wine and other dark things. On my skin the red wine comes out to play, dark and with a hint of the bittersweet cocoa... it’s probably wine mixed with rum, but it’s a strong, dark and brooding boozy smell with maybe with a metallic tang to it. After a number of hours, this transforms into a gentle smell with a slightly cocoa-like base... not really sweet, but the cocoa lingers ever so slightly like a breath of dark chocolate on the skin. It’s definitely a scent for a girl who wants to be wickedly naughty!

I'm not sure what to make of this one from the vial... it's not quite sweet, not quite cologne-like, but something in between that I can't place. On my skin, I start to smell something creamy or milky in this scent, maybe even something like mint (which is odd, as there is no milk, cream or mint in it!), which makes it a touch brighter as well as milky with a base that I can't figure out. It starts to become fainter rather quickly, leaving just a sweet creamy scent behind ... I quite like this one on myself. If only it lasted longer!