catrinella

Imp: Clean wet greenery. Oddly, it's not floral at all to my nose. More ferns than flowers. Wet: The tea rose is strong, although there's definitely violet in it. More muted than, say, Nocturne, but the violet and rose notes are obvious now. Drydown: Interesting - I know there's violet and rose here, but it's blended to the point where I can't pick one over the other. Clean floral, almost saucy, but not overwhelming. 1 hour: Much softer, but still the clean violet/rose blend. It's incredibly feminine, as expected. 3 hours: Very, very faint violet. Verdict: It's less knock-you-on-the-head violet than Nocturne, but it's a bit girly for me. I'll use the imp but not search for more.

Imp: Green and herby with almost a vetiver tone. No berries. Wet: There's the berry, along with the herbs! Drydown: The herby note continues, but with a layer of berry juice (not crushed berries, but straight juice - odd, but specific to my nose!). It's lighter and fresher than I'd expected. Reminds me of the LUSH Blackberry bathbomb, without the frankincense note. 1 hour: Faded a lot. It's gentle and soft, about the level of a scented lotion. The herby/berry notes haven't changed since the drydown - it's remarkably consistent. Verdict: I haven't had good luck with Lab fruit-based oils (Carnal, Swank, etc.), so I was delighted to get a berry note that didn't immediately turn to scented candle or candy. The fast fade was somewhat disappointing, but I think I'm going to add this imp to unscented lotion or bodywash and enjoy it that way.

Imp: Calla lily warmed by cedar. It's gentler and more floral than I'd expect from the description. Wet: Cedar and black orchid, warm and blended with a hint of lily. It's austere without being unfriendly. Drydown: Mmm, it's shifted to lemon grounded by the wood. I can see how this lemon could turn artificial or soapy on some, but it's (lucky for me) clean and juicy here. 1 hour: Mostly cedar with a subtle hint of lemon. Lovely. 3 hours: Gentle cedar/citrus. It's softened quite a bit although it's definitely not girly. Verdict: LOVE. All the shifts in scent worked for me, and the final cedar is comforting and energizing. I got a lot done while wearing this, even with the breaks to sniff my wrists! Will use up the imp and probably buy a bottle.

Imp: Musk with an undertone of sandalwood. Warm without being sweet. Wet: White musk and vetiver, but surrounded with wood. Remote without being austere. Love this. Drydown: The musk is in the forefront - I am waiting for the woods to come back and for amber to show up. There's a high white floral note to this as well. Right now, expensive commercial perfume. Doesn't smell like Samael at all. 1 hour: Musky with a distinct powdery edge. On me, it's very much an expensive perfume for someone in her 60s (and I'm not quite there yet ) Also, it's making me sneeze! 3 hours: Muted musk. Verdict: I'm not sure what happened here. Amber and sandalwood are reliable on me, but the musk and florals jumped all over them. Not for me.

Imp: Greens and calla with a warm base, probably the sandalwood. Wet: Ooh, rose! That wasn't in the imp. I expect it to disappear soon as my skin is frighteningly efficient at eating rose. Drydown: The sandalwood and frankincense has come up to mingle with the fading rose. At this stage, it does smell like a complex commercial perfume, although I don't have a problem with that. 1 hour: Rose and strong sandalwood. It's still throwing quite a bit, although I applied very little. 3 hours: Faded a bit but still obvious. It's now sandalwood with a warm frankincense undertone, which I like a lot. Verdict: Unsure. I can get the warm wood notes elsewhere without the hour or so of commercial perfume, but I do like it even in that phase. I'll put this in the "try again" pile.

Imp: Leather and burning leaves. Wet: Stronger leather and burning leaves, with an underlay of shoe polish still in its can (which actually fits with the leather, so that's not necessarily a complaint except that it's a wee bit chemical). Drydown: At the start, it was very like my Doc Martens after polishing - heavy black leather that's cared for. By about 20 minutes, the smoke came up again, shifting between burning leaves and unattended cigarette. At 30 minutes, the scent level dropped dramatically and it smelt of my Docs again. 1 hour: Faint black leather and smoke. It reminds me of the way a leather jacket smells after a long night in a smoky bar. 3 hours: Very faded, but still smoky bar. Verdict: Not for me. Without the smoke note, it might have worked, but De Sade on me turns out to be all about the smoke and not much about the leather. Edited to add that I had a skin reaction to something in this, bringing up small hives over the application area. Will definitely be swapping it now.

Imp: Lavender and lilac with something almost minty hinting underneath. Wet: Restrained lavender with a wee bit of citrusy musk coming up. Drydown: The citrus is sharpening, and it's starting to smell a bit medicinal. 1 hour: It went soapy/cleaning product - an expensive soap, but soapy nonetheless. 3 hours: Very faded and smelling a bit like the lingering scent of hospital antibacterial handwash, of all things. Verdict: I am really bummed by this. Villain had been near the top of my to-try list for months because it has all the notes I love. I still like Beth's "masculine" scents the best, but alas! Villain and I were not meant to be.

Imp: Cedar, but with a bitter edge. Wet: Sage. This is a hit-or-miss BPAL note for me (love it in Antony, hate it in Aeval). We'll see. Drydown: Ooooh, cedar coming in strong. This is bouncing between sage and cedar, though toward about 30 minutes the bay leaf is coming up. 1 hour: Cedar with an undertone of bay. Very woody and dry, which I happen to like. 3 hours: Still cedar, but softened and with an edge of sage and bay again. Verdict: Keeper. Austere, but appealing - I love Beth's masculine scents, and this is like Antony's stern uncle.

Imp: Cocoa. Wet: Cocoa and flowers. Drydown: The cocoa dissipates rather quickly, while patchouli and leather show up. This is a less-harsh leather than, say, Whip, and it blends quite well. During the first 30 minutes, patchouli and myrrh waft in and out over the leather. 1 hour: Primarily myrrh/leather. 3 hours: Faded, light myrrh. Verdict: Try again. It's nice but I'm not sure it's in my top five.

Imp: Spicy with a bit of green, but a dry-green if that makes sense, not a lush vegetal green. Wet: Cinnamon and nutmeg, with the almost bitter dusty edge of cinnamon bark that I got in Bengal. Drydown: It's sweetening up a bit - still quite spicy and woody but with some florals coming in (light/white floral, nothing heavy). There's also a distinct whiff of Golden Delicious apple, an echo of Hesperides without being too sweet. 1 hour: Very quiet and woody. It changes between cinnamon and a drier wood, but it's basically a second-skin scent now. 3 hours: Faded. Verdict: Keeper. Although there are heavy and sweet elements, Hamadryad stayed dry and crisp, and not overwhelming or foody in any way. It's a complicated unusual scent that I really like, even with the early fade.

Imp: Clean and white, with a whiff of ozone. Wet: White floral - not quite the plumeria others have gotten, but floral. Drydown: Laundry softener. It's not quite soapy and not quite as chemical as Downy, but it definitely smells like laundry. 1 hour: Light and clean and not perfumey at all. Still smells like laundry. Verdict: Not so much as a skin scent. However, in this current heat wave, I'd consider cutting this with alcohol and making an atomizer spray to keep in the icebox. It does smell like laundry, enough so that it seems redundant next to freshly-washed clothing. Possibly a linen spray - if I want cold white floral, I'm more likely to wear Szepasszony.

Imp: Citrus and tea. Wet: Very, very lemon. Almost verging on furniture polish but not quite. Drydown: The lemon remains strong for about 20 minutes, then the tea shows up. 1 hour: Some warm brown suede has appeared (not harsh black leather), and the bergamot/lemon has dissipated a bit. This is lovely but it's starting to fade already. 3 hours: Gone. Sigh. Verdict: Keeper, but a fast fader. I like this well enough to put up with the reapplication, though the initial burst of nearly-chemical lemon is a bit much. It's fresh and cool, as opposed to the warm tea of Dorian.

Imp: Warm sweet tea. Wet: Honey - I almost thought I'd put on O by mistake. Drydown: Vanilla/honey/tea - very nice indeed. After about 10-15 minutes, some musk starts to appear. 1 hour: Warm vanilla/amber/honey with a subtle musky undertone. I like this very much - it's quite understated. 3 hours: The same as before, but much faded. Verdict: Keeper. For me, it's in the same family as O and Chimera, but much softer. I never got the ferny/lavender green note that other people report, nor the lemon. It was just warm vanilla and honey with a bit of amber and a hint of musk. A comforting scent, really.

Imp: Buttery and warm - slightly boozy and very very sweet. Wet: Butter-rum LifeSavers! *gnaws wrist off* Drydown: Something sharp and almost burnt comes up very quickly, accompanied by the odor of cheap rum. I hope this dissipates 'cause I smelled like this in college and don't need it again. 1 hour: The burnt smell (not quite plastic or rubber bands) continues. It's still pretty strong. 2 hours: The burnt smell disappeared rather suddenly, along with the strength of the scent. Now it's just a very quiet butterscotchy smell. Pleasant, if sweet. Verdict: Not for me. I don't generally like foody scents anyway, but the weird ashtrays-and-cheap-rum effect sealed the deal.

Imp: Sweet and spicy, but not particularly cinnamon. Wet: Cinnamon and - is that butter? Ah, it mellows out into copal/amber almost immediately, but for a brief moment I smelled like cinnamon toast. Drydown: Spiced honey/amber - O with an assertive twist. The honeysuckle dissipated almost immediately (yay, I hate honeysuckle's insistent syrupy sweetness) and the myrrh has warmed up. 1 hour: Yummy! Spicy and warm and honeyed. Extremely sexy. The myrrh peeks in and out to ground it. 3 hours: Heresy, but I like this better than O (and that is saying something!). Verdict: Keeper. I put off trying this because the mix of cinnamon and copal sounded a bit intense and possibly allergenic, although my skin likes myrrh a lot. Silly me! Big bottle list.