Iceblink

I love every note in Inez except for carnation. Guess what Inez smells like on me? BAD INEZ. (To be fair there's some sandalwood in the mix too, and a faint vanilla sweetness. But mosty it's carnation, carnation, carnation. TARNATION!)

I had to see what all the fuss was about! Pinched is yummy. I see why it's so sought-after. I don't get much coffee from it (yay)--instead it's sweet cinnamon and tobacco!. It's warm and cozy; this would be a perfect chilly winter day scent. The more it dries the more candy-like it's getting, too. Mmm. I don't think I'd ever *wear* this, especially not at Ebay prices, but getting to try it was a treat.

Herbal OVERLOAD! Nero smells medicinal. The bay is really strong. I might eat something that smells like this, but I don't really want to smell like this myself. It's overpowering!

The apple blossom is jumping out at me from Ladon. It's not nearly as dragon's-bloody-sweet as a lot of blends in this series are (and it's also lighter in color, so no red stains!). I'm also getting the hyacinth from this (so it's probably going to crumble into powder soon), and an appley background. Very little throw. But it's pretty.

SERIOUS leather. If you love leather get this immediately. On me it just makes me smell like a tire.

One of the few rose blends I've actively disliked. I usually can stand them even if they go a little soapy, because they still smell like NICE soap. But Lucy's Kiss smelled like soap from the clearance aisle down at the Wal-mart on me. And gave me a headache. Not good.

All right. Let it never be said that I am not willing to give an oil a second chance. I first sniffed Shub right after it was made GC and it made me so ill I 1. wouldn't even put it on my skin and 2. went to bed early. (I got really sick after eating gingersnaps once as a kid and I have some lingering ginger issues.) BUT the Lab put a frimp of it in my order I got today and I thought...well, we'll see. Things change over the course of a year and a half or so, right? Well. Shub now smells to me like Gingerbread Poppet. Warm gingerbread with something sort of dark in the background. It's...well, it's quite nice actually. I don't think I could ever wear this in a million years, though, since it would probably overwhelm me and also the spices won't like my skin (Poppet didn't either). But it smells good and would probably make a fantastic room scent. I'm glad I tried it again. Never say never!

I saw leather in the notes and was instantly suspicious. But I tried it anyway and oh my--this smells great! Tobacco and sweet incense and honey? really? Wow...this is fantastic. I'll have to wear this alone one day and see how the leather behaves but for now, WIN.

Nicely fruity when wet but the drydown is almost all gardenia on me and gardenia is a note of doooooooooooooooooooooooom. The opium's trying to break through but the gardenia's all I'M IN UR IMP MAKIN U STINK. Dammit.

Oooh. How come I never tried this one? It's delicious--coconut and almond and a hint of fig to spice things up. The milk gives it a creamy-sweetness that I really like. This smells like something you'd wear to bed for the comfort quality. Very yummy!

Penumbra has a gorgeous bottle label. What's inside the bottle makes me think "purple candy"...but it's not grapey, just sweet and candy-like. I'm going to guess the neroli is doing this since there's almost a hint of Jester going on here. The musk and sandalwood give it a nice background so it's not tooooo sweet. It's a quiet blend, very pretty, and I like it a lot.

This had me at the mention of blueberry, since I love Blue Fire and have been wanting more blueberry scents since it was released. Crawdad is DELICIOUS! Wet, it's...well, it's blueberry cereal, sort of in the way Beaver Moon '07 was strawberry cereal. Personally I dig the cereally BPALs so I was fine with that...but as it dries, Crawdad gets even fruitier and sweeter until it reminds me of nothing so much as blueberry syrup. YUM! I'm getting a faint hint of tea underneath it all, and I'm sure with some aging the red musk will be more prominent. But I love it as it is right now. It is very very very sweet and foody so if that's your thing, this is made of awesome.

Powdery (that would be the narcissus) and myrrhlicious. This could easily go old-lady perfume but that myrrh keeps it in line, mostly. Not what I'd think darkness would smell like! It's pretty and womanly but not overly sexy like some myrrh blends. Nice.

I'm getting the spicy/resinousness from this too. No flowers (not that I mind as lily doesn't work on me). It's perfumey and dark, but not heavy and overpowering. Hmm...maybe the merest hint of florals is poking through now. Will be interesting to see how this wears over the course of a whole day sometime.

So faint I can barely smell it, but it's a light peachy scent on me. Aglaea is what I'd compare it to. The wisteria isn't making it go powdery on me, which is a nice change.

This oil is the most gorgeous shade of green! Lovely. If I had it I'd want it in a clear bottle. I get herbs and eucalyptus from it. Actually it smells a little like Vicks! Not something I'd wear but fun to sample. .

Bananas! And tropical florals. Manila smells *humid* and really feels tropical and lush. It's very sweet when wet, almost like banana candy, but the florals come out more as it dries and keep it from feeling too sickeningly sweet. Really interesting, this one.

A light, light, light floral. And it's not turning to soap! This is very delicate and pretty. Not much throw but would be great for someone who likes their perfume to be a whisper instead of a scream.

Strong red musk (woohooo!!) but the mimosa is rapidly taking over. I think the florals in this are going to kill it for me, sadly. BPAL's iris and magnolia don't work on me at all. And I don't get any clove or vanilla! This may need a little aging, as red musk blends usually do. Will try it again at a later date.

This one starts out not unlike Blood Phoenix (which I liked but ultimately found too sweet), with the grapey wine dominant. As it dries the oak and leather are coming out and the sweetness is calming down, thanks to them. There's also a hint of green in the background--ivy? The darker this gets, the better it is. Good but I need to test it more.

I usually avoid bay rum but I have a new love for black musk, thanks to Tiki King, and I like tobacco, so I had to try Knucklebones. This was a good call. Wet, it's quite boozy and manly but the drydown...the drydown!! Dry black musk with a slight citrus bite and a sweetness from the tobacco, and it's sexy as hell. And not exclusively masculine, either. Not that I wouldn't love to cover a man in it! I'll definitely consider a bottle.

That description of "a whisper of spices" is so perfect; Queen of Sheba is very strong almond but those spices are there to keep her from being too sweet and sticky. When wet this is great on me but the drydown...I have problems with the almond note turning funky on me after a while with several blends and it smells like this one's headed the same way. Rats. But it was fun while it lasted!

Hibiscus syriacus, white sandalwood, lily of the valley, apple blossom, and green fig. I'm getting a lot of hibiscus from this one. It's almost like a light/no-sugar-added version of Tiki Queen in that respect. But much fainter (someone told me last week they could smell my Tiki Queen a mile away and I don't think I'm in any danger of that happening with Lililum!). It's pretty but I don't think I'd really wear it well.

Very soft, green florals that are going a bit soapy. I think I get jasmine and rose from this. It's...eh. Might try it as a laundry freshener to see if it lingers on my clothes a bit and works its magic!

Harlot starts out as pure red hots, with the rose only coming forward after a few minutes have passed. Even then it's faint. I do like this blend but the cinnamon's irritating to me so it'll be a room scent.