steffanina

Tisiphone- In Bottle: Something pretty and floral and with a hint of violets. Wet: Floral, a little bit musty in its first bloom. Dry: The dry-down on this was pleasantly floral, but it just didn't really send me. Overall: Not for me.

Venom- In Bottle: Berries and this smells JUST like Poison perfume. Who makes that again? Dior? Wet: Woo, that's not Poison. Musty-mossy, herbal-smelling. Dry: Okay, now, this IS Poison all over again. Except it's Poison with accompanying smoke, and that's kind of interesting. Overall: Interesting.

Brisingamen- In Bottle: I can hardly smell anything! Wet: Yes, that definitely smells like amber, but not as rich and sweet as a few other blends that I like. Dry: This dries down into amber but it's, I don't know, not as exciting as some. I can't help it, since I discovered The Lion all other amber scents just don't measure up. Overall: Not its fault for not being a scent I love more.

Uranus- In Bottle: Clove. Ooh, absolutely numbing. Wet: Hugely clove, but nice. Dry: Well! If I want a nice sweet clove, I'll know where to go. Not bad! Overall: Decent!

Wolf's Heart- In Bottle: Kind of spicy-soapy. Wet: Once again, sort of spicy. And clean, soapy-smelling. Dry: Goodness, this one was gone pretty quickly, with just the memory of spice left behind. Oh, well. (At least it's a Voodoo blend that doesn't go noxious on me. Just, not lovable.) Overall: Not interesting for me.

Veil- In Bottle: Sweet and pretty, a little woody but mostly pretty florals. Wet: I definitely smell the violet; there's a little hint of...mint?...there, or something that likes to disguise itself as near-mint. Dry: I think this is violet and lilac but it never got really interesting for me. That's a pity, because I do love both of those scents but they kind of...ground to a halt rather than heightening into their scents. Overall: Not for me.

Baobhan Sith- In Bottle: Citrus. I would have said orange-lime if I didn't know it was grapefruit. Wet: Now it's lemony. Lemon furniture polish lemony. Dry: I'm starting to smell the tea as the "furniture polish" dies down. Much prettier now! This is really such a "white tea" smell, and it's clean and sharp and quite cruel and lovely. Very apt name. This one will make me a little nervous to wear it; it makes me feel like a cast-iron stomp-on-your-face-with-my-high-heels bitch. Overall: Conditional but very neat.

Zorya- In Bottle: Very pretty bright florals mixed with spice. Cinnamony spice. Wet: Not so much spice. More just the pretty florals. Dry: Unfortunately this dries down fairly unremarkably. I am just not that big a fan of most florals. Overall: Not for me, but that's not the scent's fault.

Beaver Moon- In Bottle: Mm, rich sugar and other yumminess! Wet: Sweetness and cocoa! Oh, how much I want this one to work for me. Delish! Dry: This is a lovely soft sweet scent; light, not so heavy as to be cloying. (And no mustiness on me!) I see why they call it cheesecake; it's the perfect description. Overall: Really nice!

Strangler Fig- In Bottle: Oh, sweet and kind of...milky neutralness, in a nice way. Wet: That neutral mossy smell, interesting. Dry: Hm. This neutral smell smells kind of like clay to me; it's not uninteresting but it's not a smell I want on me. It's a little cloyingly milky-neutral. Overall: Not quite for me.

Fire Eater- In Bottle: Candy and some deep spiciness. Wet: A woody, rich bloom comes out. Dry: A little flowery, a little wood-like, and then the smoky scent comes out. Wow, that's interesting! I don't quite love it, I think it's more of a novelty scent for me, but I will try it again. Overall: Interesting.

Twilight- In Bottle: Lavender. Intensely so. Wet: Bright, plasticky lavender. Dry: No, this and I aren't going to get along. The lavender is plasticky and noxious for me. Overall: Not good for me.

Ozymandias- In Bottle: Floral and with a hint of amber. Wet: Very strong and eye-watering; it smells like someone's mixed the alcohol with the perfume oil already. Dry: I'm glad I waited for the dry-down on this one! This has a lovely amber dry-down, not as delicious as The Lion's amber, but still nice. The wet stage was off-putting, but the dry-down's what's key, after all. It does not last as long as I'd like, but it was pretty for that time. Overall: Very nice dry-down.

Queen Gertrude- In Bottle: Strong florals; yes, I can smell the violets. I like violets. Wet: Violet and something sharp. Dry: The sharp recedes, and I'm left with violet. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to last. I wanted this to be the violet scent for me, but it's not. Overall: Unremarkable.

Yemaya- In Bottle: Honeydew! Nice to have that without the usual cucumber scent that accompanies melon scents so much. Wet: Melon and lemon and...aspirin? Dry: Sadly, this goes musty and fades without excitement. Oh, well. Overall: Doesn't work for me.

Queen- In Bottle: Honey, herbs, and...urine? Wet: Soft herbs. Powdery. And...urine or sweat. Something a little noxious. Dry: I dunno, this honey-and-sour thing isn't quite doing it for me. So far Voodoo blends just don't do too well for me; only one of them has been a hit with me (out of about 14). Overall: Not for me.

Nosferatu- In Bottle: Vinegary red wine and earth, oh my God! Wet: Earth, and the wine, and a floral is starting to emerge. Dry: Hmm, this fades down into a floral but then it's gone pretty quickly. Too bad! It was really interesting at first. Overall: Fades, lost what was interesting about it.

Desire- In Bottle: Flowers and sweetness and a little vanilla. Wet: I'm not sure, but I think the sharp scent is the neroli. I'm starting to be able to recognize when it shows up. It's lemony. Dry: This doesn't work for me. The lemony floral in here isn't a happy scent for me. Overall: Not for me.

Blood Moon- In Bottle: Mmm, soft cinnamon-vanilla! Wet: Cinnamon and peanuts and something plasticky. Dry: That plasticky smell goes away right away, thank goodness! What I'm left with is a simple pleasant cinnamon, not red-hots cinnamon, but a mellower snickerdoodle cookie cinnamon. (Not nearly as fabulous as Sugar Cookie 2004, but nice in its own right.) Doesn't last hugely long, but nice. Overall: I like very much. Addendum: Wow, I did not expect this--it turns into sweet musk after a while! This is lovely.

Harvest Moon (2004)- In Bottle: Apples and grapes and cider and flowers and burning leaves! Ooh, complex. Wet: Smoky fruity soapy smell--wow, it's really light, like it's going away the second after it hits my skin. Dry: This just doesn't linger! Too bad, it was so pretty in the bottle. Overall: Fast fader, too bad. Addendum: I also had an imp of the 2006 blend; it seemed a tad more pine-like, but had the same quick fade. Drat.

Death on a Pale Horse- In Bottle: Something aquatic and cologne-y, and also a little of that wood-and-chocolate smell. Very masculine. Wet: Still very masculine and cologne-y. A little cloyingly sweet. It's desert-dry and cruel-smelling. Dry: This one's vicious, ooh. I mean, I have been waiting through this scent a few hours, now, to see if the cruel note in this will morph down to something nice, and it just won't. Do you know what this scent is? This is not the power-trippy musk of Dracul or the delicious you'll-never-tie-me-down-to-one-woman bad boy musk of Torture King. This is the guy you think is cute, but halfway through the date you're getting nervous, and you'd better get the hell home now because this scent is date rape and domestic violence. This scent is pure danger, and I don't say this lightly. It's a scent that scares me. It's fascinating that a scent can evoke so much for me, and I will not temper the above description by getting giggly or saying I love it. I don't. It's too scary. Overall: Remarkably evocative. So much so that it scares me.

Count Dracula- In Bottle: Oh, musky masculine sweet...there's something reminiscent of Torture King on this one, which thrills me, as that's in my Top Three All-Time BPAL scents. Wet: Leather and lime. I'll need to see the dry-down, but I hope this one works for me. Dry: Some black pepper is coming out. There seems to be one note in this, and I think it's the black pepper scent, that just isn't working for me. Darn. Maybe it's the leather note? The leather in De Sade is too noxious for me, but the leather in Whip and Dead Man's Hand I adore, and this one's reminding me more of De Sade. Oh, well! Back to Dracul for me. Overall: Something doesn't work for me.

Inferno- In Bottle: Almond! Mm, milky and lovely. Wet: Cinnamon blooms. Woo, really strongly! Dry: This was a lovely strong cinnamon but it faded rather quickly. I still have some of it left but it's faint. Too bad. Overall: Fast fader. Darn!

Crossroads- In Bottle: A very pleasant moist earth-and-loam smell. Wet: Earth with strong florals. Smells a little rose-y. Dry: Not as pretty as Zombi for me; it goes a little sour. And not nearly as delicious as The Premature Burial. I have to wash this off, already able to smell the sour floral here. The earth smell disappears, too. Overall: Not for me.

Pride- In Bottle: Strongly rose. Even sourly rose. Wet: Rose rose rose. Dry: Smells like a pure rose scent; not cloying, though not something that really sends me. But an honest rose scent! Overall: Not really for me.