cuervosueno

I get a bit of eucalyptus in the imp too, though it must just be the pine notes. On, it is quite sharp pine, and I also get a hint of fruity berries. I don't mind that early stage, but uh oh, then comes the dirt stage. I don't like earth scents (by which I mean dirt scents, not earthy scents) because they almost always smell like beets to me. This does too. Hmmm...considering washing it off..... well, this was a freebie, so I can't complain. I did have hopes for it--I love piney scents. But actually, I have enough anyway....my horde of Skadi and Alecto (which smells piney to me) and then there are so many others, so the fact that this wicked Slavic witch doesn't work for me doesn't matter....(though hmmm....Slavic witch....beets...I'm seeing a connection here...)

Pain. Seems to be an acquired taste. It is very sharp in the imp. But on, its quite pleasant, though I don't know that I'd wear it much. Pure pennyroyal for me, and the most interesting thing that came out of trying this frimp is that I'm pretty sure the mint in The Fool is pennyroyal....smells very similar to some of the topnotes of that oil, and since I quite like that blend, I'm enjoying this in a way. I also compared it to the other frimp I got, Envy, and Envy is much sweeter--I'd thought the dominant note I got in Envy was spearmint, but I liked comparing the two side by side. Both fade quite quickly though--perhaps mint just doesn't have much staying power on me. Also interesting to discover that if there is mint in the blend, my skin amps the mint, not the lavender which is cool with me because I don't like lavender on my skin. Well, Pain is an interesting scent, and I'm glad I tried it.

Got this as a frimp. Mint! woohoo! Very minty, and I was surprised to find there was anything else in it when I looked it up, but it makes sense, because there is a sharp underlying greeness, a freshness, that was more than "minty freshness" (sorry, I couldn't resist that!). Hence, the lime. Luckily for me, I don't get much of the lavender which is a surprise because my skin usually amps it up. Instead I get a lovely spearmint (the dominant mint to my nose) and lime.... Don't think I'll wear it a lot, but it is cooling and pretty, and I'll use up my imp. And it is, somehow, suitable for envy....though I think of mint as a happy scent...

acquatic, yes. In the imp, cool watery notes, and cucumber. Put it on. Nothing at all. After a few minutes, I began to smell something that smelled like bitter cucumber rind. Wierd, and not appealing. Then I figured I had to know what was in it, so I looked up the reviews. Grapefruit? WTF? But now it does kind of smell like grapefruit, but not the sweet notes for me, but like the rind of white grapefruit. Bitter. Something else in there too, also bitter. I like grapefruit scents. I like Yuzu. I didn't like this.

I didn't order this initially because I don't usually like crystaline scents, which this was described as, but early reviews convinced me I might like it so I ordered a bottle. Alas, too light on the amber for me. it is lovely, and does start out slightly floral, slighty ozone, but it is hard to pick up individual notes. The amber is just not as strong and sweet as I would like. Still, it is perfect for House of Mirrors, because the amber is there, but in a distorted reflection....a memory of amber, a reflection of amber rather than the sweet resin note itself....Well done, just not me.

As I suspected, Numb was not a good choice for me. I guess I was in the hoping for mint category too, though I don't know why because mint doesn't usually work on me either. I guess I just wanted it. but it is violet dryer sheets on me. So sad!

Hmmm....I wanted this one, but why? I'm not sure now. It smells exactly as described....apricot brandy. But more apricots than brandy. In fact it smells mostly like fuzzy sunwarmed apricots. which is fine, except I don't like fruit scents. Well, I tried it, but like I said, I'm not sure why I felt I needed to.

Let me add my Midway impressions, though they are not so different from others. I love gourmand scents, and this is a good one. The vanilla of the funnel cake is what I smell at first, and that has a lovely cookie/cake sort of scent. I worried at first it would go a bit plasticy like Snow White did on me, and for the first few minutes, it did have that slightly plastic scent. But then on me the salt water taffy comes out and that slight salt edge takes away the plastic note. What I'm left with is lovely, heavy on sugar tart and funnel cake, but quite tasty...er...tasty smelling! The problem is, it fades exceptionally fast--one the quickest fades of any BPAL on me. But I do have two bottles, so if I decided to keep both, I can slather away as necessary. I've only worn it today, so I'll have to see what my opinion is over the long run, but so far I'm enjoying this the most of all the CN's I've tried yet.

Hmmm...we must be in the same zone, because the same thing happened to me. I threw the new imp into my swap pile, then while the perusing the fragrant fellow thread, I read more about it and became intrigued....so put it on. And its lovely. I don't get the cherry, thankfully, though the dragon's blood and clove come through beautifully, and it all combines to smell like spicey carnation on me. I like it! Guess it goes from swap pile to my imp box!

so I was getting ready to swap this away, then noticed how absolutely intriguing it looked in the bottle--that lovely deep dark brownish red. so even though I knew I was pretty sure I didn't like it, I decided to swipe some across my arm, where it left a titalating brown-red streak as of blood. And smelled like.... Ack! Roses! Quick, wash it off! What was I thinking! So, um....I'm not spellbound. I don't like roses. can you tell?

In a word? Bliss! sorry, couldn't resist. but it is pure luscious chocolate. What I thought velvet would be like. Makes me happy everytime I where it, though it doesn't really last that long on me. so I ordered a bottle for continued slathering.

There is something in the imp that made me wonder if this had chocolate in it, but I see it was the sweetness of vanilla and cherries that was fooling me. I don't get much else--a slight powder from the musk, and while I can't smell the vetiver per se, there is something under the sweetness that I suspect is the vetiver (I like vetiver quite a bit, but it doesn't come out too much in this blend). A lot of things I like in this, but all together, its just not a fave.

A foreboding, tenebrific death rattle; the scent of a dying breath as it wafts into the marshland: Spanish moss, cedar, black pepper, oakmoss, juniper, bamboo reeds and cardamom. I didn't expect to like whipporwill, but I do. first I had an imp, and it was ok, but greeny and kind of aquatic when I smelled it so I forgot about it. Then I had an opportunity to get a bottle, sniffed the imp again and said, well, its ok so.... I got the bottle. and I really do like it, though I'm not sure I'll keep the whole bottle. Its green and mossy--the oakmoss definately stands out, which is the element that makes it (and other scents) seem more masculine to me, because oakmoss shows up in men's colognes. But I love the peppery cardamom goodness--which adds another element to it. The greens die down fairly soon to spicyness. I can see why people compare it to Silk Road, though it is green rather than sweet in its spicy level. Still, unexpectedly nice, and I may have just the perfect guy friend to pass some of this one to....

I was really looking forward to this, because I love all the things in it, including rosewood. In the bottle it smelled...like nothing much at all. How odd. Maybe a hint of citrus I thought. (when I tried it I didn't have the list of notes, so I was sniffing blind). I put it on, and all I could smell was the faintest slightly citrus scent. I put more on. Still nothing. When I checked the notes, I was surprised, because there are so many things I like in it, but I wasn't getting any of them. Tried it again later, and all I got was a faintly green scent with something slightly citrusy-sharp in it (elemi? didn't smell like ginger, but that could add the sharpness). Even in my scent diffuser it did virtually nothing. Wierd. I've read reviews in which people say some scents just disappear on them, and I guess I'm experiencing that. I'll try it again and see if it changes, but I'm afraid my Medicine Show will likely hit the road.

I got a partial bottle of this in a swap, and my review won't add much to what has already been said, because yup, its pure evergreen....smells like pine to me, but I've never smelled mistletoe itself so I wouldn't know about that. No, not complex, and I wouldn't wear it as a perfume, but I love it as a room scent. (my friend Marisa, whose goal is often to smell like a tree, loves it as a perfume, though she loves the complexity of skadi more). I put it in a little clay diffuser in the car, and it knocked out the previous wet dog smell, and left my car smelling piney and fresh, and SO much better than those gross cardboard pine tree things.....

I swapped my CT2 with Subbes, so now I have CCCXXIX. It has been previously reviewed twice, and you can view Penance's Review here and then follow the link to Subbes' review. On to mine: First, my nose/skin chemistry seems much closer to Penance than Subbes. I got no spice, no dragon's blood. In the bottle, this is oddly green and slightly astringent, slightly herbal. At first, I had no idea what that scent was, though I'll hazard a guess in a moment. On, it is all creamy floral with a strong citrus note. Or not quite citrus. Its not lemon, and its not mandarin--absolutely not grapefruit. I understood why Subbes guessed lemongrass because it something that smells like citrus but isn't. I let one of my friends smell it on me and she said, yuck! too much citrus, its overpowering...then, its not quite citrus is it? The floral--creamy white--was naggingly familiar. then I read Penance's review. Of course! It's neroli! But I went and tested it against my single notes and it is not quite neroli, but matches my single note (not BPAL) called sweet orange. My understanding is that orange blossom=neroli, but I could be wrong here....in any case, the note is very like AuraCacia's sweet orange. And to test it against a BPAL scent, yes, I can smell a very similiar note in Vixen which has neroli in it. As for the astringent green? Could very well be petitgrain, which is the unripe tiny green oranges, which smell like crushed leaves. There is still a creamy note I can't figure out, and something slightly sweet which I thought might be honey at first but now I'm not convinced. I don't get spice or tea though I wish I would. So for me CT2 CCCXXIX is neroli and petitgrain, with another mystery note. Its nice, but not me, so I guess I'll swap this one too!

I got this in a swap. In the imp, I do get a hint of almond, which I love, but alas, it doesn't smell like almond at all on the skin. I do get white flowers, but not jasmine--or at least it doesn't smell like jasmine on me. It could be ylang-ylang as I am wearing another scent with ylang-ylang on the other arm and there is a similiarity. Y-Y doesn't work well for me.... Overall, it is a sweet white cloud, with just a touch of greenness. I can see how it could be associated with a summer moonlit night in a tropical place. Its ok, but not me. But I also didn't like The Tarot: The Moon, and I'm only able to wear a very select few of the lunacy blends, so likely its just me.

I'll add to the PK lovefest! I got to sniff this at Quantum Spice's house once and loved it, but never thought I'd get a chance to have any. But I swapped another rare oil for a partial imp of this with the lovely and generous Silvertree, so now I can offer my experiences with it. In the bottle: creamy spice, not so much like pumpkin pie as it is like pumpkin spice, which is, I believe, generally cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. I also get a hint of vanilla. I put it on and loved the spice, then after about 1/2 hour I got a delicious foody note under the spice...like, well, pumpkin pie, but since it was creamy too, I'd go for the pumpkin pie cheesecake. I didn't get apple notes, and this is not a scent with a lot of throw--it stays close to the skin. I liked it but wasn't sure I liked it any more than some other spice blends I enjoy. Then yesterday I read this odd tidbit: many men rate the scent of pumpkin pie very high in the sexiness factor. Huh. So last night I'm going out with my friend who is sometimes more than a friend, though its been pretty platonic lately. I put on Pumpkin King. At dinner, I let him smell my wrists and he says, yeah, interesting. Ok, so he's not one of the guys that go for the pumpkin pie I guess. We watch a movie. I'm noting PK is barely there on my wrists, but still a faint spicy pumpkin deliciousness. We leave. He walks me to my car, gives me a hug. doesn't let go. Sniffs my neck. "My god," he says, "you smell so good!" And there's a bit of lingering kiss. another hug, and a sort of thoughtful appraising look from him which I haven't seen in months. Then he calls me today to say can we go out again tonight? And will you find some of that BPAL stuff for me? Huh. Guess it works. so yes, I ADORE PK. I MUST have more! Please, Beth, please, bring it to us for Samhain! I'll buy a 10 ml! I'll buy more than one!

As I said in my 13 review, I have an unerring instinct for not ordering LE's that will work on me. So I didn't order this, mostly because I'd had a bottle of the honey single note and in the end got tired of it, and I was sure I didn't want all those florals. Then I decided to swap for a bottle of it, becaus the reviews intrigued me. And I like it. Definately has the rich honey note, esp. in the bottle, but I also smelled the white flowers--jasmine in particular, but together the honey toned down the floral and added a winelike richness to the blend. Its really quite nice, and I like the spicy note that the white ginger contributes....I should have remembered that the only florals I enjoy are the white tropical ones--jasmine, gardenia, and yes white ginger---any one remember that perfume hawaiian white ginger? I used to like it as a teenager. But this is nice, and complex, and like someone said, its a skinscent, sticking close so I get a whiff every now and then. And Joseybird, I am SO going to try this layered with MilkMoon--that sounds awesome! my lesson? maybe I should just order ALL the LE's....afterall I can swap... (wish I had the $ to do that!)

I have an unerring sense with the LE's. I buy the ones that won't work on me. And I don't buy the ones that will. So I didn't order 13, but did want to try it, and luckily got an imp of it. then even more luckily, swapped for a full bottle, so I guess we can say 13 is lucky for me. In the bottle, cocoa and vanilla (likely that's just white chocolate!) there is something else food in there but I don't get citrus at all...it never shows up on me, which is fine with me. On, it is just delicious foody goodness: not too much chocolate/cocoa which is what happened with bliss and some others, and I do smell something like vanilla, and yum, tea! so I agree its kind of like dorian with chocolate, and I just adore it! So glad to have gotten it.

I got this in a swap from the wonderful OriginalWacky, and now that I'm passing it on again, figured I'd better review it. I tried this against DSH burnt sugar vanilla. BPAL on right hand, DSH on the left. And, um, on my skin, DSH wins. The BPAL note is nice--light vanilla, silky. But I also was hoping for something darker and richer, and on me this is very light and sweet. It also turns a bit plasticy as others have mentioned. so I'm glad to have gotten to try it, but don't regret sending it on. I adore BPAL vanilla blends, but apparently I'm not that crazy about the vanilla on its own. (and the DSH scent, btw, is very dark and rich, like creme brulee!)

Last night, as I tried this with Peithos and Zorya, I was convinced there was jasmine in it. There is not. But there is, to my nose, a similiar floral...orchid perhaps? Sometimes fresh orchids smell very similiar to lily to my florally -challenged nose. In anycase, the juniper is very astringent on me, not unpleasing, but astringent. Then it goes floral....I suppose orchid or lilac.... I don't get the bergamot, which I enjoy...too bad. Sandalwood...not really. Not a keeper for me. It didn't alas, rouse my passion.

The last order I recieved contained an imp pack with Piethos, Himerus, and Zorya in it. Was I on a Jasmine kick or what? What possessed me? Well, I've learned that my skin LOVES jasmine. Put it on, and that's mostly what I get. All three of these scents were remarkably similiar on me, though that wasn't true of how they smelled in the bottle. This one is jasmine + myrtle for me. Maybe a bit of the lily. No vanilla, no clove, which is sad because those are my favorite notes and probably why I ordered it...well, and because it has to do with sex... Oh well.... eta: haha! Joke's on me--there is no Jasmine in Hemerus, but there was a similiar floral note to my nose in them all....

Caterpiller without the pachouli/incense scents. That's what it smells like to me. Nice jasmine--one of the florals I like--but that's pretty much all I get. And I like the Caterpiller better.....

This perfume is an interpretation of the Hanging Gardens by night, based on further accounts of its fruit and flora: date palm, ebony, fir, pomegranate, plum, two pears, quince, fig, and grapevine with plumeria, three gardenias and dry rose. Given the heavy fruit and florals, I didn't think I'd like this, but I was utterly seduced by Macha's review, so I ordered an imp anyway and... Glad I did! I really like it! I can't top other reviews here and won't try, but on me, this is lovely--green garden and white florals (must be the gardenia, and this made me realize the only florals I really enjoy are the white ones...) with just a nice juicyness beneath it all. I can't really pick out the notes, but this is a warm tropical night that I enjoy! Thanks Macha, for your great review and for leading me to this!