TheIceMaiden

I love roses and was really looking forward to Rose Moon. It didn't disappoint although I was initially wary of some of the notes. This one has been hard to review for me because I'm not familiar with all the notes. Rose Moon starts out Bulgarian rose with something darker, earthy, and a bit woody - definately patchouli leaf and bois du jasmine and I'm not sure what else. As Rose Moon dries, it lightens to tea rose with a dusting of honey and a hint of lemon peel. I really wanted to love this as rose is my all-time favourite note, but the earthy/woodsy notes are too much for me, alas!

I'm loving this scent but its a little difficult to review because the notes are very well blended together. Its a little floral, a little fruity, a little musky, a little ozone-y and aquatic, and very mysterious and green . Its refreshing and light, perfect for summertime wear.

Mmmm, I think I've found a new favourite in The Garden. Blood Rose starts out lush red wine with a little red rose. It pretty much stays that way into the drydown but with a touch of dragon's blood underneath it. Just gorgeous!

Delicious!! Wet, this is cherry vanilla ice cream. Dry, its lightly sugared cherries. Its a light scent but lasted a few hours on my skin. I'm so happy I got a last-minute bottle! ETA: Now that this has aged, its more candied cherries in powder sugar. Its still delicious and one of my favourite Monsterbaits.

Bigger Critters starts out grapefruit with jasmine and just a smidge of gardenia. The vanilla joins in and the florals disappear. The vanilla gets warmer and fuzzier but the grapefruit stays and keeps it in check. This is really nice and not overly foody to me. Sadly though, it vanished pretty quickly from my skin....so I guess I'll have to keep reapplying it!

Les Bijoux starts out with a quick blast of the resins with a touch of orange blossom. Those fade out and next comes apple with a bit of rose and musk. Honey and peach join in next. The final drydown is peach with musk and just a smidge of honey to sweeten it. I find Les Bijoux to be both sweet and playful as well as very sexy and feminine.

Ahhh another miracle scent in the Mad Tea Party line. Patchouli, which tends to both amp and stink on me, does NOT show up in Croquet. Instead I get alot of lime with some grapefruit and nectarine when wet and rose with a little fruit and musk when dry. This is a gorgeous, fun, summery scent and I really love it!! Alas, its not perfect as it fades fast and is very light. (But that just means I need a whole bottle to slather with!)

Mama-Ji starts out spices, but its not foody spice cabinet spices. Rather, as other reviewers have noted, its an incensey-spice scent. After a bit, the florals come out and mix with the spiced incense. I can smell a touch of rose in there but can't pick out any other floral notes. The drydown is a spicy-floral. Incense scents normally don't work on me, but Mama-Ji does. Also, spicy scents sometimes irritate my skin, but this one doesn't. So yay for Mama-Ji!!

A feisty bouquet of golden, warm, gently honeyed lilies. As a flower, I love lillies. As a scent however, unless lily is a subtle supporting note, they tend to amp and cause a headache. But I wanted to try Tiger Lily because of the honey. And I don't know if the honey worked a miracle or what on me, but Tiger Lily is gorgeous!! Its soft, golden lillies lightly dusted with honey. Its a light scent and doesn't amp on me (whew!) but it doesn't last long either. Another winner in the Mad Tea Party collection for me!

Garden Path With Chickens, Gustav Klimt. Damp grass, ivy leaves, morning glory, daisy, rose geranium, heliotrope, white gardenia, climbing roses, peppery nasturtium, phlox, begonia, verbena and sun-warmed herbs. This is the scent of a backyard on a summer's day. Its fresh green grass, a little ivy, and a hint of florals. I'm not familar with all the notes but grass, ivy, and rose are what I can pick out most. In a way then, its Two Five and Seven in reverse - lots and lots of grass with a teeny weeny bit of rose. No herbs and surprisingly, NO verbena which usually amps on my skin. Garden Path With Chickens has medium throw but doesn't last overly long. But I do love it and it will be in heavy rotation this summer.

Lady Luck starts out a soft, slightly powdery rose that reminds me of The Peacock Queen. The honey comes in next, but its a very light note that adds just a touch of sweetness to the rose. Lady Luck Blues is a very slow morpher on me - the honeyed rose scents lasts for a while before I detect any other notes. And she's fickle as well, as sometimes the drydown is the other florals, another time just peony, and once I swore I could smell a little plum. Overall, the scent is pretty light and doesn't last more than a few hours on my skin. But its a very lovely scent and I'm happy I snagged a bottle.

The Lady of Shalott is such a gorgeous scent! It starts off as a strong gardenia floral. As it dries, the florals back off and I get a lovely water note with a hint of ginger. The drydown is a gorgeous clear musk. Aquatic scents usually don't work for me, but this one is perfect.

The first part of Hungry Ghost Moon's description intruiged me, although I worried about the resins and woods mentioned. I also feared HGM might be too sweet. However, after reading so many positive reviews, however, I gave in to my curiousity and decided to try HGM. Wet, its slightly sweet ginger and soft muted grapefruit. As it dries, the vanilla joins in along with a little bit of a woodsy note and a hint of musk. I don't smell aloe nor do I get any woods or resins, which normally don't work on me. Instead I get what I hoped for - an exotic citrus/ginger/vanilla blend with just a bit of sweetness. Whew, it actualy works on me! HGM has become one of my favourite lunar blends.

Frumious Bandersnatch reminds me a bit of Blood Countess since it starts out spicy (due to the carnation) plum. Its very nice although I prefer Blood Countess. Nothing lasts more than a few hours either on me so I have a scent locket, which helps.

Plum, gardenia, rose, and lilac are some of my favourite notes but...will they work together? Blood Countess starts off spicy plum - I assume the spice is the opium, very nice! I was worried opium wouldn't work since poppy doesn't on me (they are related, right?) but it does, yay! The wild berry comes up next and joins in with the plum and opium. As Blood Countess dries, I get gardenia with a hint of lilac and the faintest breath of rose mixing with the spicy berry and plum. Amazing! This is dark and sinister but feminine as well. I'm very impressed with this scent.

Budding Moon starts out a soft floral plum with a hint of ginger. The peony comes up next, its a gentle floral that blends well with the plum blossom. As it dries, it becomes a lovely floral musk. Its a light scent but one that actualy stays on my skin for hours. Budding Moon is one of my birth month lunars and also my favourite lunar blend. It was worth the months of tracking it down.

This is gorgeous and completely not what I expected. I thought it would be masculine and dark, as the description implies. Instead I get a cheery, summery blend of bright white musk with lime and lilac.

Delirium starts out a very bright lemon. Its sweet, almost like lemonade, but no sugar. Rose comes up next and blends with the lemon. Those are two notes I never thought would smell nice together, but they do! Once its dry, I get the faintest whiff of apple underneath the lemon and rose. I like Delirium, its a bright, cheerful scent that reminds me of summertime.

Eden was a frimp in my last Lab order. When I looked up the description, I was somewhat surprised I hadn't put this on my wishlist because I adore honey and like coconut as well. Maybe it was the fig that scared me off. But anyway... Eden starts out with the most delicious toasted coconut note, yummy! The coconut is joined by a creamy honey with a hint of almond, still very yummy smelling. As it dries, the coconut and almond fade and the scent is honey and fig. I hadn't smelled fig before but its nice enough. Twenty minutes after applying this, its almost all gone. Boo. I'm on the fence about this because the wet stage is amazing, the dry down isn't bad, but it doesn't last long. I will keep my imp, however, and maybe get a bottle in the next few months. Eden would make a lovely summertime scent.

Tokyo Stomp: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/Pro...ow/HPIM6505.jpg I apologize for the quality of the pic, my camera was having a hissy fit and then died.

This is the scent of the most delicious cookie ever - but without any buttery or dough notes. Spooky starts out peppermint, which is joined by rum and a little cocoa. The peppermint moves into the background, the cocoa disappears, and the coconut comes forward with a hint of vanilla. Despite the Halloween-ish name, Spooky reminds me of Christmas cookies (as the description implies).

Oh I love Western Massachusetts! Its so pretty and peaceful. But for a suggestion...for autumn, I suggest Punkie Night. The crisp apple scent in it reminds me of apple picking and apple orchards. Edited because I can't spell sometimes

This is lovely! Poisson is a lovely mixed boquet of florals, the scent of an April garden. I can pick out a little tulip when its wet and a little daffodil when its dry but otherwise this is well-blended with none of the notes taking over at any time. I don't get any sugar and just a hint of honey when its dry. Poisson is a light, skin clinging scent. I'm very happy I got a bottle in my last order!

I love peppermint and vanilla so Tokyo Stomp was a must for me. This is a yummy scent!! It starts off peppermint, then the vanilla joins in. As it dries down, the peppermint recedes into the background and the creamy vanilla takes over. Tokyo Stomp is less minty and sugary than Lick It (Again) and not as cold or crisp. I can't compare this to Snowblind as I haven't tried it (and don't feel the need to anymore either as Tokyo Stomp is as perfect a vanilla mint as I'd want!) I really like love this and look forward to wearing it during the warmer months ahead.

I find Velvet to be a very soothing, relaxing scent. It smells neither foody nor incens-y to me - in fact, I couldn't catagorize it at all. Its an unusual combination of notes, yet it works and I really like it. From wet to dry, its sandalwood and myrrh with a hint of cocoa when wet and a hint of vanilla when dry.