Iceblink

I swear this smelled of rose when freshly applied (huh?) but that stage faded quickly; this then becomes a gorgeous, complex perfumey scent that's so well-blended that it's hard to pick out individual notes. Amber, sandalwood, tobacco. Just the teeniest bit powdery, and in a good way. This makes me think of an old-school lady's boudoir--it's feminine but in a mature way, not a sweet or girly way. Really beautiful!

Cold, slightly sweet white flowers, with a watery touch--I guess on my skin, the snow's melted? This is lovely and light and crisp, and staying very true to its wet stage long after it's dried. It's a bit too light for me but it's very pretty.

This smells really nice--like lilies and maybe moonflower? It's very light and slightly powdery. I put a bit on this morning and almost immediately had a hell of a time getting my lipstick on straight. Not exactly the shielding I was going for, but amusing. I then had 3 people nearly collide with me on the sidewalk on the way to work. Better be careful with this one as it seems to work quickly.

Now this one, I like! The fresh stage is intensely herbal but it dries quickly down into a gorgeous plummy lilac, with the leather just there to butch it up a bit. The lilac's not turning to powder and the leather's not stomping all over everything else--this is wonderfully blended. Beautiful and unique.

I love the gold note that this opens with. It's reminiscent of some of the steampunk blends--warm and polished. Next I get a lot of rosy powdery amber--very strong stuff! Finally the straw comes out and this gets very...weird. Like rosy hay with a hint of salt. I don't dislike it but it's really odd and it's got so much throw that I think it could get me headachey. I may let it age a bit and try again.

Wet: ocean water. Very aquatic-y. Appropriate, I suppose, but... As it dries--ooh, fir! And here comes the jasmine. This is a really weird collection of notes and there are two here (water and jasmine) that rarely work on me. I was hoping for more hyacinth, and I do smell it but it's very faint. Ultimately this is sort of an aquatic/jasmine and not for me.

A light green floral--but with *tons* of throw. A bit soapy on my skin but if it weren't I'd like this. It's very fresh and spring-like and the lettuce makes this more interesting than the average floral blend.

A very strong, sweet plum that's gradually calmed down a bit by florals. But I have trouble with plum blends--I love plum but most of the oils that feature it tend to smell like candles on me, unfortunately, and I don't think this is an exception. The wet stage is a fabulous fruity explosion but the longer it dries the more mundane this becomes. If you like plummy blends like Frumious Bandersnatch or Bathsheba this might be a winner, though.

Herbal and fruity--there's a terribly soapy stage that this goes through about 30 minutes after application, but it seems to have passed. I'm definitely picking up the green musk here; it reminds me of Area 51. A "perfumey" blend, not too sweet and not too green. I have to admit I have no clue what snakeskin would smell like, though...

Unexpectedly nice--I love dragon's blood, but it can be so very sweet on me. The saltwater note here calms down the cloying power of the dragon's blood and makes this quite wearable. Unisex, strong, nice throw.

Mmm, BBQ! The spices in this combined with the fire and ash give this a distinct whiff of something cooking. It's very vetiver-heavy when fresh but the spiciness comes out more and more as it dries. The smoke/ash note here is a lot like Smokestack but this is much less industrial and more foody, dare I say? Not something I could wear as perfume but a really neat concept oil

Very similar to Rose Red, but The Rose is greener and fresher. The green aspect of this is a little too sharp on me and is getting progressively stronger, so Rose Red wins the battle of these two--BUT if you like Rose Red and need a close substitute once it's no longer available, this should work nicely!

Aquatic + slightly sour milk=this is everything that could possibly go wrong on me. I love the concept; it's lovely, but...eeek. Very soapy.

JASMINE CONQUERS ALL. I get a bit of fruitiness from The East at first but soon the Jasmine of Doom takes over and...yeah. There is a slightly herbal-ness floating around, thanks to the thyme, but otherwise this is just jasminejasminejasmine. To its credit it's a nice jasmine and not horribly overpowering like that note can often be on me.

Red musk dominates, with the mango coming out to play after a few minutes. I get the black musk in the background, sexing things up even more. With two great musks in here this is going to age fantastically.

This is a very old-school, cakey gingerbread. I smell rum and candied fruits and just a weeeeeeeeee bit of musk in here too. This much less spicy than the likes of Gingerbread Poppet, which means I may be able to wear this without my skin crying for mercy. Great throw, nice and strong--this is delicious!

Starts out green and grassy. Is that the coriander? Later the patchouli and woods start to appear--but that greenness is still here too and it's making this smell very masculine and outdoorsy, too much so for me. This does evoke the character and setting fabulously, though.

There's a refreshing burst of lime here at the start that's really fun and fruity. Mr. Nancy then dries down into a very very VERY sweet sugar/tobacco blend. Really it's nearly too sweet. The tobacco seems to be coming out more and more though, so maybe with a full day's wearing this wouldn't be quite so cloying. As it is though it's a bit overwhelming. Reminds me a lot of Incubus, which I also liked but ultimately found too sweet.

I've not worn this out in public yet but I just want to talk about the smell first--it's *beautiful*. The rose is so much like the rose in Phantom, which I love, and the incense is just gorgeous--it's like Phantom meets Rose Cross. Very strong, too. I can't wait to try it out for real. Edited: I wore this to the movies today and the ticket seller charged me the student price. I haven't been a student in over a decade. Interesting!

Fascinating--this is incredibly foody when fresh--honey, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon! After a few minutes I get the sandalwood and champaca--it's more of a honey/vanilla incense at this stage. Really deliciously sexy. And although jasmine tends to loathe me, I'm not smelling it here at all. This is really beautiful! Very sweet. Lots of throw. A definite winner!

I was ready to write this one off as another lily-induced soapy mistake, but...it's better than that. (Yay!) There's a lovely watery quality to it and the lotus sweetens up the otherwise powdery lily. It's very, very feminine and delicate and wistful. I'm not going to be able to wear this as a day-to-day scent or anything but just to sniff, it's nice.

The Coil opens up with a bracing minty blast, with a bit of eucalyptus. The mint doesn't stick around long, though, and the ozone takes over in a major way. The end result is total men's deodorant. Very strong, lots of throw, but I don't wanna smell like Right Guard.

Mary Read starts out typically aquatic on me but whereas most scents in that family tend to be overpowering and strong, this one starts to fade rather quickly. The drydown is a vaguely green, slightly soapy leather. Not my thing, but the leather note makes this at least a different sort of aquatic.

Tombstone light--if Tombstone is a rich, decadent rootbeer float, this is the diet version that's still pretty tasty. Mostly sassafras and vanilla, with nice staying power.

Wet: very sweet honeyed oranges with a touch of pine. As this dries, the patchouli and amber come out gradually and the pine note fades. The drydown is a sweet musky amber, but I'm starting to pick up some of those floral notes too. I don't know if I've tried anything with brown musk before, but the musk note here isn't familiar. This is a bit of a morpher--that initial fruity stage turns into something quite different--and hard to describe, but I like it.