Magycmyste

In the imp: a very sharp, woody scent. Not horrible, but I was hoping for some of the other notes. Wet on skin: ok, this is actually rather lovely on me. I think I'm mostly getting the carnation and pink pepper, with something else in the background. Possibly the vetiver or ginger. No sign of the jasmine or cinnamon yet, unless jasmine sambac and heartwood cinnamon are different from the regular versions. Very spring flower with a light bite. Dried down: similar to before, but the woody smell is amping up again. I think it's the vetiver. Again, not bad, but I think I liked it better when it was wet. There is still a hint of the floral in there, but not enough to balance the vetiver, and I'm losing the pepper and ginger fast (and those were the two notes I was most excited about in this blend). Throw: it's got a little bit of a throw on me, but not a whole lot, and not overpowering. Verdict: *** 1/* I do like this scent, and if the pepper, ginger, and carnation had lingered longer, I would have said I loved it. I really, really wanted to love it. That said, I'm still almost tempted to get a full bottle to see if it would hold on to those notes more as it ages, but I'm not sure yet.

In the imp: I'm getting a very dark, almost sour rose, with a little bit of jasmine. I kinda wish I could smell more of the coffee, but I guess Arabian Dance works as a good coffee scent for me. And maybe I might get more of it on my skin? Wet on skin: the sweeter floral, the jasmine is coming out stronger now Dried down: back to the strong, almost sour rose. I'm wondering if the imp I have might be a bit aged, or if my skin is just amping up the florals above everything (I don't think it usually does that). Rose and jasmine do have a tendency to be strong on me. Throw: decent throw. I definitely don't need to hold my wrists up to sniff. Verdict: *** 1/* This is a nice scent, and I know a lot of people who would like it, but I don't think I'm going to seek it out. It's a little too close to traditional perfume for me to think I'd wear it often.

Stash rec. In the imp: I'm getting a very sweet smell, somewhere between a sweet floral and candy. I'm probably getting mostly the peach blossom and vanilla here. Wet on skin: Still a sweet, fruity peach blossom. None of the notes really stand out particularly. I mean Dried down: Same. This hasn't changed at all, really, from imp to skin. Throw: I get a nice hint of it without having to sniff my wrists. It's like the barest presence of a scent. Verdict: *** 1/* This is really nice, actually, but maybe a little too sweet for me. I didn't get the amber or sandalwood at all, and I think if I had, it would have rounded out the scent for me. It is very well blended, though - I can't really pick out the individual notes at all. I may try it again at some point, but I don't think I'll be getting a bottle.

My Stash rec: In imp: A very lemony woody scent, if that makes sense. Wet on skin: I'm getting the same scent as before, except a little mintier - not enough to be mint - more like kalpuram (little rocks that get burned in the pujas at my temple - look like whitish rock candy). Dried down: Same again, with the kalpuram scent a little stronger. Honestly, I've pretty much lost the lemony part of the wood scent - now it's just wood and kalpuram. Throw: I don't get much of a throw from this at all. I can't smell more than the barest whiff of kalpuram unless I sniff my wrists. Verdict: **** This is actually a very pleasant scent, but I don't think it's going to go up against my favorites. We'll see how often I reach for it.

In the bottle: A little bit of heaven. I'm definitely getting the hit of rose off of this, but there's also the sandalwood and something else tempering it, making it almost powdery. I'm thinking the vanilla musk? Wet on skin: Soft, powdery floral - that might be getting tempered by the coconut and vanilla. I'm still in heaven. Dried down: the sandalwood's coming out to play again, and overtaking the floral notes. I can also pick out the coconut note if I sniff my wrist. Throw: light, but present. And pleasant. I ended up putting a wand cap in this one because a couple of dabs on my wrist weren't enough for me. Verdict: ********** I WANT ALL THE PERFUME!!!!! Ok, granted, I really, really wanted to like this because it was The Last Unicorn, and a limited edition. It did not disappoint. I will be hunting down more bottles of this for backups. It makes me SOOOO happy!

Another My Stash recommendation. In the imp: this is a very sweet floral smell. I smell the jasmine and the barest hint of lime, but I'm not entirely sure where the sweetness is moving from. I'm thinking either the lotus or tuberose (because all of a sudden, I've blanked out on what tuberose smells like). Wet on skin: very light, sweet floral, same as before. I can only pick out a lime note if I try really hard - it blends in really well with the jasmine. I wish I could smell the lime a bit more, but I love jasmine, so I'm ok with that. Dry: even more sweet and faint jasmine. Throw: this really doesn't have much throw at all. It's just sweet and pleasant. Verdict: ***** I'm almost wanting to take it down a little for being too sweet, but I actually love this. Also, I'm not entirely sure how old this imp is, so I also don't know if a lab-fresh bottle might give me a little more of the lime, which would be perfect. Even without, though, I think I love it.

Soporose and lenitive: opium-laced golden lotus with rich amber, pine resin, and rose otto. In the bottle: kind of a sharp scent, a cross between floral and fennel - which I think is actually the pine resin. Wet on skin: same as before Dried down: ok, I'm losing some of the fennel now. It's just a very strong floral. I think I can detect the rose otto note - I'm figuring what's left is the opium-laced lotus, but I kind of wish I could smell it on it's own. I'm not sure if I'm getting any of the amber, or I'm just not picking it out properly. Throw: there's a very pleasant scent emanating from my wrists, and I don't have to hold them up close to smell it. Verdict: **** I like this a lot, but it isn't perfect for me (which is a little disappointing, since I've always felt kind of connected to lotuses, at least visually. I've never had the chance to smell them before. I may try out some other lotus scents, and hopefully some single notes, but I don't think I'll be searching out another bottle of this one.

This is a lab-fresh bottle - I only received it two days ago, if that makes any difference to anyone. Scentwise, in the bottle, and on my skin, I smell Red Hots - so, primarily cinnamon with a kick. I think the kick I'm getting is the clove others have mentioned, but I feel like there's a sugar rush added to it. Also, it's got a definite throw. I feel surrounded by a mild cloud of Red Hot candy. In practice - I put it on last night before going to meet a friend at a coffee shop to work on our books - a dab on the throat chakra and one on each wrist. (I had also dabbed on a little Charisma and French Creole as well, but that's another story/review). I did feel like the Red Hotness was a little too overwhelming for me at that moment, so I layered it with a bit of 13(orange label). Chocolate and cinnamon are marvelous together in my opinion. Just before I left, though, I received a phone call that put me in a different state of mind than creative. I tried very hard to get my head back into writing, and it did work somewhat. I was able to nearly finish the scene I was working on. I did get distracted from time to time, however (I just discovered the BPAL marketplace on LJ ::sigh:: ), and didn't manage to finish the scene completely. So I feel it was a partial success in this case? I'm not ready to judge completely whether Hand of Hermes works for me or not yet - I know it took a couple of trials with Charisma for me to notice any effects, and this was my first with HoH. I'm trying it again (this time staying home, and not layering it with anything else), so we'll see how far I get. Edited for clarity.

Stash's suggestion to try today In the imp: I'm actually not entirely sure what dragon's blood smells like, but I'm smelling the cinnamon and, I think a bit of patchouli in there. Not too sure about the Verviers, as that's another note I'm not too familiar with. Wet on skin: a little incensed, with one of the notes I can't really identify, though I'd guess the dragon's blood or red musk. Or both. Dried down: this is really soft, but not a light scent. The incense-y note is still the only one I can pick out properly, but it's not the only one I can smell. Throw: very light - I don't think I would want this scent to be too heavy on me, so this works for me. Verdict: *** 1/*, I think. I like it a lot, but I wish the cinnamon would stay around a bit more on my skin. I may try it as a room scent, also, and see if I can convince my fiancé to try it. If it works better in either of those respects, I may bump up my rating.

In the bottle: the first scent I get out of this is a little lemony/floral-y, along with a very light mint (probably the eucalyptus). Wet on skin: This is still a light scent - more of the winter flowers, less of the eucalyptus at this point" Dried down: Still light florals with a hint of mint. Throw: this is a very light scent - I don't get much throw from it, but there's a hint of flower and mint in the air. I do have to lift my wrists up to really smell it, though. Verdict: **** 1/* . I really like this scent a lot, but there's something about it I can't quite place that's keeping me from giving it a five. I'm not quite sure what it is, except I feel like it falls just short of other scents I have given a five to. ::shrug:: I still like it a lot, though.

Was wanting to try one of my frimps, and my stash suggested I try this one. In the imp: this is... pleasant. I get the sandalwood, but also a sweeter smell, almost as if the sandalwood was honeyed. I'm pretty sure that's the amber. If this one doesn't work on me, I may have to get myself a bottle to use as a room scent. Wet on skin: The rose-infused amber is a bit stronger now, and the sandalwood a little less so, but I'm still enjoying this one a lot. Dried down: The sandalwood is definitely coming out again, with the amber going back to the background. But it's still there. Throw: I can smell this reasonably well without lifting my wrists up to my nose, but it's still a mild, pleasant scent. I do have to lift up my wrists to pick up individual scent notes, though. I do think I used a little more oil than I normally do. Wiping the imp wand across my wrists (in a reasonably full imp) seems to hold more oil than just pressing the nub from the inside of the bottle cap to them. Verdict: ***** I'm a little bit surprised by just how much I like this scent. It's well balanced, and just strong enough for me to know it's there. And my fiance sitting next to me says he just gets a hint of it (you know, without having to be an inch away). This is going to go on my repeat buy list.

Decided to go with the "My Stash" suggestion tonight for trying out a new scent. In the bottle: This is definitely a sweet scent. I'm getting the honey mead, and I think a touch of the rosemary and lemon. There might be a few of the other spices in there, but they're being overpowered by the honey and lemon. Wet on skin: On my skin, this is a very soft scent - almost floral, but not quite. I think it's the spices coming out to play. Dry on skin: More of the same. Still very soft and mild. Throw: Very little: I didn't think my nose was too stuffed, but I have to hold up my wrists to smell this well. And I keep doing that. Verdict: ***** I almost wish the throw was a little bit stronger, but really, this is perfect for me when I need a mild perfume. Which honestly, is often. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about the mead (mostly for honey, which I like a little bit, but I usually have to hide it in my food in order to be able to eat it (which I've done with some local honey in an attempt to tone down my allergies)). But the honey scent is so mild in this, and plays with the other notes nicely. I'll be looking forward to trying my Honey Moon next. If that wins me over, I'll definitely be in for some more honey-noted perfumes.

In the bottle: Pure, sharp mint - somewhere between the spearmint and peppermint Wet on skin: Mint, mint and more mint? I can't even pick out the other notes, though I'm starting to get a hint of lemon Dried down: The mint smell continues to linger in my nose, but when sniffing my wrists, I get more of the lemony scent, and possibly a bit of floral and chamomile. It's just hard for me to pick those notes out with the mint in the way. Not that I mind to much. I like mint. This definitely smells like stress relief, which I can appreciate. Throw: Again, the mint just kind of lingers in my nose, so I might be off on this. I don't think this has much of a throw on me, otherwise. Verdict: **** 1/* for pure mint heaven. I like the lemony floral scent as well, but I'll be opening this bottle for the mint.

In the bottle: There's a sweet smell, almost licoricey, but not quite. I think I'm mostly getting the peach tempered with something else, but I'm not quite sure what - maybe a little sage, or possibly the cypress or verbena. Wet on skin: Not getting near as much peach - more of the verbena now, and maybe a little lavender. Dried down: I'm mostly getting the verbena and lavender on dry down, stronger on the verbena. Throw:I can get a hint of the verbena as I'm typing, but I have to take a deep breath to catch it. Verdict: *** 1/* This scent is a little sharp and medicinal, with a little bit of sweetness. I like it, but I'm not in love with it. I could see it being a strong "energy" scent for me, because of the verbena - I might use it more often for that.

In bottle: definitely a woody scent (the patchouli, I guess?) but I can smell a bit of the cocoa shining through, with a little bit of sweetness that may have come from the vanilla. Wet on skin: this scent didn't really change much for me, it's still that woody smell, with the chocolate and hint of vanilla in the background. I'm wondering now if the woody smell is a combination of the patchouli and tobacco absolute (I have to admit, I am not fond of tobacco smell at all, but that mostly comes from hating the scent of cigarette smoke). I'm not really familiar enough with the smell of patchouli by itself, I think to be able to identify it properly. Dry on skin: I'm getting a little more of a "smoke" smell now, along with the other scents, but the whole thing is much more subtle on me now. Despite the smoke smell, i kind of like it. Verdict: *** 1/* I don't know if I would wear this on a regular basis or not, since there are other scents I like better, but.... I'm definitely interested. Is it weird to say I find this scent intriguing? It makes me want to explore its notes, even if I might not like what I find.

In bottle: Daaaaaark chocolate.......mmmmmmmm....... There is a hint of turmeric, but I'm mostly getting chocolate. Not complaining, though Wet on skin: the chocolate's still there, but I'm definitely getting a stronger hit of the turmeric now. I'm not getting any tulsi or ginger yet. On dry down: the tulsi and ginger blossom (yay!). The dark chocolate and turmeric have pretty much faded for me (awwww), but they've had their moment in the spotlight, and I can still detect a hint of the chocolate in the background, especially if I'm trying. This scent really makes me want to sniff my wrists. Throw: um.... I can barely smell it if I don't lift my wrists up, but the tulsi and ginger kind of linger in my nose, so.... I can take a wrist-sniffing break, I guess? Verdict: ***** Honestly, this scent just makes me happy. It's spicy and sharp and lifts my spirits - I may have to try it when I'm in a bad mood sometime (was in a fairly neutral mood when I put it on).

In the imp, this smells a bit sweet and medicinal, almost licorice-y Wet on the skin, it's still about the same. I'm not really sure I like this scent. Dried down, I'm getting the lemony scent others have talked about - this is definitely more pleasant than what I smelled before, but I don't know if it's enough. Throw: er, this is actually a bit heavy for me. I get a distinct whiff of the lemon without having my wrists anywhere near my face. It's not bad, but it is a little strong for me, and reminds me of when my mom put on perfume just before a long car ride in the sun. I'm not feel the need to puke, but I have a hint of a headache (it is possible something other than the perfume is causing this, but I don't think it's helping). I hope it fades quickly. I may try this again some other day to see if I still have the same reaction, but I don't think I'll be wearing this very often. Even though I kind of like the lemony smell, there are other scents with that note I like better. Verdict: *** Edited to add: Ok, I forgot I had asked my SO to turn up the heat this morning, and we never remembered to turn it back down. So that probably didn't help. This still smells a little too much like traditional perfume for my tastes, but the heat probably contributed more to my headache. I still think that when I get my first pile of swaps together, this will be on there.

I am Hindu, so I felt I had to get this bottle when I saw the name of it. When I read the scent notes, I expected a very comforting smell for me. I've grown up amongst sandalwood, jasmine, and rose, so those scents give me sort of a spiritual, homey feeling. In the bottle: I get a very sharp smell, almost eucalyptus-minty, with a whiff of incense and lemon. The best I can approximate this to right now is kalpuram - it looks like rock candy, and my parents and the temple priests used to light it on fire during pujas (I used to think of them kind of like sacred charcoal - except translucent white. Apparently, it's a plant extract, and is sometimes used in Indian sweets). It might be the cedar - I'm not really familiar with that scent on its own. Wet on skin: still the kalpuram, but it's faded, and I'm getting more of the lemongrass now. Dry on skin: I'm getting the sandalwood almost as an undertone now, with lemongrass as the top note. There might be some jasmine in there, but I'm not sure. Also, I've never really smelled cedarwood or patchouli, so I probably can't pick out those scent notes even if I am smelling them. Throw: I don't need to hold my wrists up to smell this one - it's pretty strong on me - again, especially the lemongrass. I see myself using this on days when I want to think of home, or get into a more spiritual mood. I love the scent, but I don't think it's an everyday one for me, just because it does evoke certain feelings in me. Verdict: ****

In bottle: I'm not sure what it is I'm smelling, but I don't really like it at all. It's a little orangey but with something added to it - it almost smells acrid. On my skin, immediately after putting it on: Oh, that is so much better. When I put it on my skin, the acrid scent goes away completely and I'm left mostly with sandalwood, I think, with a little powdery sweetness - the honey, maybe? (I'll probably have to edit this review the next time I wear this - I'm wearing mehndi at the moment, and my hands still smell strongly of henna. I can pick out the non-henna notes, but that's a little overpowering.)

I got this bottle more for what this Phoenix represents than the scent. I didn't think I'd be too crazy about a lot of the fruity scent notes, but surprisingly, I'm happy with it. In the bottle: I smell fruit. Mostly the grapefruit, a little sweetened. There might be a little apricot and vanilla in there, but I can't quite tell. Wet on skin: Still, grapefruit, but with more of the orange and lemon blossoms, and I think a hint of the sandalwood coming through Dry: I'm definitely getting more of the sandalwood now, with a little of the rose. There's still a little of the sweet, sugary smell, but I'm not sure what - It could be the apricot or vanilla again - I'm just not sure. Throw: I don't have to hold my wrist up in order to smell this one, but it's not overpowering either. I haven't worn it around other people yet, so I'm not sure how far away it can be smelled. Verdict: I like this one a lot, even the fruity part when wet. It's a nice, bright scent, and the fade to sandalwood and floral is comforting for me. I'm hoping to get some creative work done before I go out this evening, so we'll see if this Phoenix will perch on my shoulder.

This is my first review, so I hope it reads alright. I'm starting to be able to pick out some of the scent notes. This is the second time I'm wearing this perfume, since the first time, I got blown away by "SCENT!!!" when I first opened the bottles. In the bottle, I'm not sure what note I'm smelling exactly, but it hits me as eucalyptus, with a hint of lemon (I think the verbena). On my skin, I smell more of the verbena, but still some of the eucalyptus-y smell (maybe the aniseseed?). As it dries, it tones down to a talcum powder scent, which I think is the sandalwood layered with something else, possibly the chamomile. I'm not really sure what oakmoss or sassafras smells like, so I'm not sure where those notes hit me, if anywhere. All in all, I really like this scent, and moreso on my skin than in the bottle. I don't mind eucalyptus, but it's a scent I associate more with medicine than something I might want to wear out. It doesn't have much of a throw (I think that's how far away it can be smelled from), especially once it dries on me - I have to hold my wrist up to my nose to really get the scents, but I'm fine with that, since sometimes really strong perfumes can upset my stomach.