phedre

Definitely one of the more masculine scents I've tried. Spicy, herbal, and deep with tons of warmth. I ended up handing it over to a male friend of mine to give it a try as it's really not for me, but one of the lovelier deep BPAL oils in my opinion. There's all sorts of resiny spicy notes in this bottle, and I highly recommend trying an imp just for the experience!

Gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! What more can I say? In the bottle this smelled candylike and sticky sweet, but I went ahead and tried it anyway. Was it ever worth it. On my skin, the roses really came out and balanced the tart-sweet pomegranate. As it dried, the scent stayed true and just lovely. It's now officially one of my favourite scents!

Bottled happiness. Helps reverse misfortune, brings light and laughter to even the most troubled and discordant place, and aids in alleviating the stress and discontent that accompanies so many of life's daily trials. This on me turns to cherry gum sweet sticky candy with a cough syrup overtone. Really doesn't work at all! It softens as it wears, but unfortunately, not enough.

This one's a changechild. Every time I sniff my wrist, I find something new. Initially it's a creamy spicy scent with very light florals in the background, maybe even a bit of candy sweetness. Then it changes completely, into this musky, almost body-odour type scent, kind of like when there's too much patchouli in something. At this stage, I really don't like it much. It's not offensive, just.. not right. Thankfully, that changes. Once it's been on awhile it turns into a gorgeously soft complex sweet but not at all cloying floral with that original spicy cream scent teasing around the edges. I do so love this! It stays very close to the body so I have to really put my nose to my skin to smell it. Perfect!

Wet, I get the caramel in spades. Rich, luxurious, high quality caramel that'll stick to your teeth and then melt into deliciousness, with an undertone of spices. On my skin, the amber softens things up and the tobacco comes out to play, turning what could be a sickly sweet scent into something so much more. The spices balance things out nicely, and it smells kind of like a mix of deep musk, maybe saffron, and the rich smoothness of caramel and amber. Every sniff seems to lead to something new. Definitely one of my top five! Glad I have a bottle of this one.

There's something about this scent that I absolutely adore, but I can't put my finger on it. In the bottle, it's slightly astringent and sharp, though not overwhelmingly so. I can definitely smell the mint, and a touch of that cat's pee type scent that sometimes accompanies it. On the skin, that disappears immediately and the grapefruit makes an appearance. But it's not just grapefruit, this is grapefruit peel, sweetened with sugar. There's a nice mint/grapefruit combination going on, almost a candied peel smell. Honestly, the wet stage isn't that great. It's not until about an hour or two after I apply it that something comes out and makes it gorgeous. It's slightly floral, a bit of that heady champagne scent, and a touch of leftover candied grapefruit. There's no sharpness left at all, and all the scents blend into something that just works on me.

I'm one of those silly people that paid a fortune for one on ebay. I read all the reviews, and my impression was of an amped up antique lace. I adore antique lace, so I thought, wow, I MUST try this! I bought an entirely unopened, untested 5ml bottle and waited eagerly for its arrival. When it got here, I opened the bottle, so excited, and sniffed. Hmm... buttercream. Sweet. Caramel. Overpowering. But perhaps it'll morph into something lovely on? So I applied, and waited, and sniffed. Gas. More specifically, kerosene. UGH. I put this on yesterday afternoon, and I can still smell kerosene on my wrists. I'm going to give it a few days and try it once more, but I think this one will end up going away. Just looking at it reminds me of how much I spent on it and how badly it turned out on me Update: Well, I gave my body chemistry a few days to settle down and tried this again. Oh dear. It's as lovely as I expected! Its staying power isn't as good on me as others have mentioned, but on my skin, I smell like a caramel buttered rum sexpot! I love it! Update 2: Previous gorgeousness was a fluke. This one's getting swapped. Bleh.

CLXXXVII - I'm in on Gypsy's circle, and this is my first review of those scents I'll add the others to this post as I try them. This one was what I hoped gingerbread poppet would be. Whereas gingerbread poppet is pure ginger candy, this is smooth ginger ice cream layered on top of spicy florals. Lovely! Previously reviewed by GypsyRoseRed.

This one doesn't change on me a bit. From bottle to skin to dry down, it's pure rose. And not a sleepy old english rose, this is a bouquet of long stemmed, perfect red roses, complete with baby's breath and lush greenery. Conclusion: Once in a while scent, not something I'll wear often. Update: Tried this a few more times and fell in love with it! It took some time to grow on me, but now it's one of my top 10.

I just got an imp of this, and I am SO happy I did! First sniff out of the bottle: nothing put pure candy cane. How on earth can I wear this as perfume? On skin: Same. Pure peppermint candy. A lovely scent, but as perfume? Drydown: Oh. What's this? Creamy vanilla, lush and rich, almost buttery, with a cool peppermint note on top. I want to eat my arm! Conclusion: WILL wear. Lots!

In bottle: White floral, patchouli in minute quantities. spicy and warm. a little sweet and musky. complex. wet: very men's cologne-ish. brighter than in the bottle. Something like eucalyptus maybe? It's rich and earthy. Dry: A bit powdery with a warmth to it. There's an undertone of spicy patchouli that's just perfect; patchouli overwhelms so easily but this is balanced. A bit of sweetness, from the myrrh perhaps? Not sure. Definitely makes me think of a green earthy smell, like compost. Decay turned to something rich. This one's a keeper.

In bottle: Typical honey smell. Sharp. Undertone of dirty diaper. ew. I find honey has a scent to it of almost bile. I really don't like the scent of clover honey at all because of it. It's very evident in this blend. Wet: Diaper still there. Honey less evident. The sharp scent is present, but not as overpowering. Dry, about an hour later. Sharpness is gone. Diaper has disappeared. Now it just smells like mild honey without that bile scent (thankfully) and vanilla, kind of creamy powdery, with amber softening it up. It's nice, but not something I'll wear.

In bottle: Flowers! Tons of flowers. Rich and soft. bit of floral spice. Some roses, maybe carnation or geranium? on me, wet: a bit sharper and fuller, but in a nice way. I'm getting peonies, I think. Tons of flowers and a hint of deep spice. 15 minutes later: it gets cloyingly sweet. It's heady, and not in a fun way. The sweetness overwhelms everything else. About an hour or so later: wow. Morph. It's softened completely, and the cloy is completely gone. There's a fruit undertone coming out, like warm apricots. The peonies are still there, as is the spice, but both have mellowed. Overall, this scent is lovely. I don't like the initial flower blast, but once it settles down, I really like it.

In bottle: rose overwhelms. light hints of lemon. apple non-existant. On me, wet: rose dominates, but lemon becomes more evident. still no apple. dry: apple is finally appearing, but still hidden behind tons of rose. Lemon is fading quickly. 15 minutes later: the lemon is making itself known again. It seems to come and go. There's a slight hint of apple, but it's completely overwhelmed on me. A few hours later: It's more balanced now, with the rose fading slightly and the lemon & apple coming more into play, but very subtle. Overall: It reminds me of soap, that old rose guest soap my grandmother always kept in her bathroom. It's taking me right back to being a kid in her home and playing with all those little shapes in the dish on the washstand. It's nice for the nostalgia value, but not something I'll wear on a regular basis. I do like how light it's gotten over time though.