maribouquet

This starts out promising with a fresh, spring-like berry scent with a smoky hint, but the dry down reveals the snake oil, which as per usual goes to play-dough on me. Lovely, amber play-dough, but sadly not something I can wear and enjoy. Oh well! The acaí is such an interesting note - I hope we'll see it again in other blends.

imp: pepper! wet: mmm, pepper pepper pepper and warm citrus dry: this is totes pepper and mandarin for about 10 minutes, and then something starts to smell weird, like dead leaves - I'm guessing that's the vetiver, though I've never gotten this reaction from it...maybe it's the vetiver/tobacco combination? The amber comes up after about 20 min, but I'm still smelling that strange dry funk. Sorry to say this one's just not working on me. I like the pepper, but it's overwhelming me and the vetiver/tobacco/? is being weird and ruining my Gorgons. Wah.

Mmm, frankincense and something a little bit fruity and mossy. I don't smell any violet (yay!) and the ylang-ylang is behaving...

Wow, I would have sworn there was violet in this - it has that 'bubble bath' smell that I associate with violet. Hmm. I'm not familiar enough with most of these flowers to pick out the notes. The rose is not discernible. This has a sort of pollen-like smell, the way lily sometimes gets on me. Kind of oddly bitter on me in the dry-down.

In the imp I smell vetiver and something mossy. Wet, the vetiver is surprisingly soft and kind to me, and the pine pitch is sharply refreshing and plays above everything else. Clove smoke! This reminds me of Death of Autumn (which I didn't like), but I like this. It's so different from what I usually go for. Vetiver? Me? And basil! I've been wanting a basil scent for ages but I was sure this wouldn't work on me because of the vetiver. Oh, I'm thrilled! I'm a girly girl...I wonder if I can get away with wearing this...I will try! ETA: omg, there is the cumin! I love this. ETA2: (3 hrs. later) Hmm, I may have spoken too soon. The dry down is suspiciously pot-like. Must re-test!

This smells like a grapefruit carmel in the imp, and on my skin the grapefruit really amps at first, plus sort of a candy powder floral note - the wisteria? And then comes that sort of mid-tone green tea note that always smells sort of like a green tea sherbet powder on me. Hmm. Where are you honeysuckle? Light, evocative citrus floral that ends up too bitter on me. But that's appropriate for ceaseless longing, no?

Mmm, I like the tonka and lilac musk. However, something - maybe the lime? - smells kind of sour and off on me.

This is nice! The pine is present but not overwhelming and the blackberry leaf and cranberry give this a sweet tang. I think I can pick out the tomato leaf - tomato plants have such a interesting, distinctive smell. This definitely puts me in mind of wet, tangled plants off the highway. Kind of cheerfully ominous! The cranberry ends up being a little strong on me in the drydown.

I'm digging the sassafras and nutmeg, but opium smells like band-aids on me.

... Cypress, ginger, fig, dried rose, red patchouli, tonka bean and cyclamen. This reminds me a whole lot of Sri Lanka because of the woods/patchouli combination, I think. As it dries I start to smell the fig and a little rose. It's not really me, though - the fig is strangely too sweet and combined with the patchouli it's not working for me. I've tried this one several times and there is something about it that is almost amazing but it ends up being something I don't like. Er, how's that for a vague and unsatisfying conclusion? Nemesis! *shakes fist* I think I could get something similar by layering Sri Lanka and Wanton...hmm.

Ultimately, this dries down too sweet for my tastes, but I do love orange, and I will always love this scent for helping me figure out what fig smells like as a note. It's a yummy scent, though - I am tempted to get the Carnal soap.

imp: citrus? wet: oh yeah, tea and bergamot. nice! dry: the leather comes out a bit after 10 minutes. It smells a bit sour on me.

imp: musky, grapey scent (resin?) wet: wine with a little spice dry: leather? Color me purple with surprise! By the list of notes this should by all rights be a giant, pulpy, disgusting mess on me. Rum? Leather? Wine? No freaking way. Two nights ago I dreamed that I smelled this on a friend and it was creamy and sweet and delicious. So I took it from the pile today intending to send it to her, but decided to give it a test run first. As it dried, it teetered on the edge of sour, I think from the leather...but the drydown is so good...the grapey wine note is good on me for once, and the tonka comes up - this is creamy, a little sweet and very smooth. I really like this! Wow.

imp: mint, like an Andes mint candy wet: mint and something pine-like (juniper, I see) dry: slow dry down, and I don't smell the lotus until later; it's uncharacteristically subdued! Unique, not bad on me but not my cup of tea.

imp: bubblegum sweet wet: I...have no idea what I'm smelling. :/ dry: sort of a weird sweet-sour smell, kind of chalky How puzzling.

imp: almond! wet: sweet almond and rose dry: too sweet for me at first, but the far drydown is nice and these are all notes I adore. Not sure how I feel about this one, yet...

imp: musky herbs wet: reminds me of my mom's Fendi perfume dry: the Fendi-like note has faded nicely, and this smells dry, a little smoky...I think I smell cedar? It's soft and warm, like the smell of a sauna. Very comforting to me. Odin is a protective figure for me, so I'm happy that I like this scent and that it matches my sense of him. It is a little masculine for me to want to wear as a regular scent, but I am definitely keeping my imp for times when I need to feel protected/comforted.

Sooooo gross and poopy on me. The far drydown is interesting - I think that's the musk? But overall this is just horrible with my chemistry.

imp - lemony tea wet - light, lemony, like a sharp version of Alice dry - light floral This is nice and very pleasing, but I'm not crazy about it.

imp - marzipan wet - almondy sweet and sort of musky dry - just meh, on me, and fades quickly

When wet, this smells like cut roses in a dusty vase. The hazel, and rosewood in particular, read as 'dusty' to me, and this is very evocative of my idea of a séance as something that occurs in an old, Victorian parlor. There is a sweetness to this rose, as ClareN noted above. As it dries, the dusty/woody smell gets stronger. I'm really enjoying this, but I'll need to test it some more to see if I'll really want to wear it - I think it's more of a mood scent for me.

Oh YUM, this is fantastic! BPAL chocolates don't usually work well on me, but this is just divine! The throw is great and tasty - hot cocoa, and I definitely smell the coffee while the sugar and cinnamon lurk quietly in the background, popping up occasionally, whiff to whiff. SO GOOD! I'm so glad I ordered a bottle unsniffed. (Between this, Gingerbread Poppet, and last month's Swan Maiden, I'm on a roll!)

Mmmm, fresh baked gingerbread! I can see why this is so beloved! It is just delicious and spicy and OM NOM NOM NOM! I love the label! It took me a minute to figure out but now I can see it: the face of a gingerbread person!

I really, really love this! Truly tricky - as usually booze and smoke are killers on me, and pumpkin is often too foody in an off way. First on this is screaming pumpkin, with a strong cider-like tang. It hangs out like that for a while, and then dries down into a lovely, soft, pumpkin scent. Not too sweet, but the beeswax lurks underneath with a wonderful smoothness. Thank you Puddin'! You managed to surprise me anyway. p.s. and I LOVE my Trick shirt.

Usually when I'm sick I like soft, comforing scents like TKO or maybe Alice (which I just discovered I actually like!). But then again, if I'm "tummy-sick" then sweet scents might be too much. I'd go for soft/herbal scents, like Bitch, maybe Odin...