hackess

Imp: Why does pink Phoenix smell purple to me? In the imp, it smells like tiny purple flowers, lilacs, peonies, violets. *checks description* Sweet pea. Ah. Wet: Iris, I think. Another purple flower. What the hell? Plasticky. There's the sweet pea I remember, turning horrid. Dry: Is my nose all screwed up? Faintly fruity, but mostly plastic flowers. I don't think I can entirely blame the vanilla for it, this time. *eyes sweet pea warily*

In our paean to all the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic number, there are thirteen lucky and unlucky components: cocoa and vanilla beans, Mysore sandalwood, star fruit, orange rind, red amber, fig leaf, mimosa, rooibos tea, bourbon geranium, rose otto, nutmeg, and lavender. Imp: Light chocolate (or maybe it just feels light because of the vanilla bean), orange...and something that feels just a bit spicy or richer. Nutmeg? The tea, maybe? Wet: The sweetness of ripe juicy star fruit just under the cocoa, and a slight woodsiness from the sandalwood. Dry: It's foodsy, for sure, as I don't get any of the floral notes until the very end of the scent's life on my skin. Then the geranium comes out in full strength and I can't stop sneezing. 13 is pretty, but not something I'd wear and risk aggravating an apparent allergy.

Imp: Floral girly perfume; a little sophisticated, but like Greed, it really gives a sense of false status or power. Wet: This is a totally vapid scent. This is the most "perfumey" BPAL I've tested. I'm pretty sure I remember at least one of the "popular" girls from high school wearing something much like this. And yet it reminds me of something about to go sour... Dry: ...And then I realized it smells like our current bathroom deodorizer. Appropriate. This is incredibly well designed. It is exactly what I'd expect a selfish, vapid debutante to wear.

Imp: Vinegar and fruit. Wet: Orange juice, occasional wafts of what could be Smarties candies. Effervescent! Dry: It's much prettier than I thought it would be from the description and from my initial sniff of the vial. Overall very much like fizzy candy.

Imp: Hahahaha! This is a seriously sugary blend. Watermelon Airheads candies and strawberry lip gloss. It just feels like a "wet" scent. Juicy! Wet: Still very heavy on the watermelon. It's like I jumped into a big vat of fruit juice, and I'm floating on a lemon slice. Just a tiny bit sour, but it takes some of that hypersweet edge off. Dry: Ooh, strawberry lemonade! I was afraid this might be too candy-like for me, and it yet might be. It's making me crave a roll of Starburst candy. 15 minutes later: I'm still sniffing my skin but I think doing so is giving me a cavity. It's a very fun scent, but it's not my type and I'll end up passing it on.

Imp: Wow! If someone asked me what spring smelled like, this might be my answer. Sniffing it calls to mind green hills with tiny yellow flowers popping up in clusters. The herbs (thyme, mint) are the last thing I smell, or what lingers the longest. Starts out with tons of fresh white apple blossoms, none of the darkness of violet and no headiness of rose. Wet: Ah, there's the violet. It's less sweet now, but still makes me think of springtime blooms. I'm no longer detecting the green bite of fresh mint and thyme. I don't know what columbine flowers smell like, so I can't speak to their scent contribution. Dry: Much more violet than anything else. Turns sort of darker - the transition into hazy summer?

Imp: Primal musks and dry grass. Wet: Very musky, a touch of cinnamon spice. For a scent named after something so sticky and moist, this is an exceptionally dry scent. Dry: It's more the scent of the hunt before the blood is spilled. Pheremones and spicy musks at the edge of a forest in the chill of an autumn dusk. I feel like sinking my teeth into somethingone. It's very sexy if you're a fan of musks. I haven't decided if it's my type of musk, but indecision usually results in a second test that sends me reeling in either direction.

Burners With Fire. Tyranny, violence, destruction, injustice, revenge. Governed by Asmodeus, the Beautiful One, a King of Hell, Overseer of Hells Gambling Halls, and Demon of Lust and Immoral Political Power. Imp: Apricot blossom. Wet: Sweet, a little resiny, a little smokey. It's very, very faint on my skin. Dry: I was hoping for spice, for the fire others were experiencing. I got just a touch of it on the drydown, but it's mostly a powdery fruit, like KoolAid mix without all the sugar.

Imp: Orange heavily dusted with cocoa powder. Wet: Cherry vanilla, which quickly gives way to white chocolate tinged with orange. Candied fruit slices! (I could just be saying that because everything with orange makes me think of candied fruit/fruit-flavored gummy candy.) Dry: White chocolate coating my wrists. I want to lick them. I didn't get any floral or wood notes, but I'm okay with that. For the first time, a chocolate/fruit scent might actually work for me.

Imp: Comet brand cleanser, though not as harsh. It's like Beth went under my kitchen sink to mix this one Wet: Flea shampoo! A soft lemon-tinged scent, but very reminiscent of cleaning products. Dry: Baby powder and lemon soap, a little creamy.

Imp: Apple, very sweet and crisp. Wet: I still get a lot of perfetly ripened red apple, the richness of dragon's blood just under the surface. Dry: Sweet apple blossom and creamy hyacinth. Very pretty and springy. This dragon has been hanging out in the orchard for a very long time.

So, something with a bit of a gypsy twist. Blood Countess - deceptively pretty and floral over opium?

Puts the spreadsheet to shame. Nice!

No problem.

Full spreadsheet up to last night's update. I only include the scent notes, not the long description, if that matters to you.

I go with resins and spicy/foody scents when I go clubbing. I lay off on florals, unless it's deep rose, like Whip, because they just get drowned. Lately I've been wearing Shub and Smut when we go out. Definitely want something that doesn't fade.

Fallen. It turns into fire, embers and then ash on me. Strangest morph yet, as it starts out floral.

Ohhhhhhhhh me too!!! Helena rocks. I want that corset and black dress she's wearing in the publicity pictures. Ditto! I'm already trying to figure out if I can pull that off for Halloween this year. On topic: Pumpkin Queen. Is what I was wearing. My lips are sealed.

Sea of Glass put me in the most melancholy mood when I tried it on. It was the kind of reaction I expected from Ode to Melancholy. I used to wear Nosferatu often, but the red wine notes turned to blood on me after a while and it icked me out. Strange, because I usually have no problems with blood/raw meat/etc. The Castle gave me the creeps. It's one of the only blends that's put pictures in my head. I started seeing stone walls, desiccated towers, cobwebs and dust. Then I got the copper taste of blood in my mouth and wondered if I'd blacked out and drained someone. Any churchy scents - Cathedral, Hymn, The Cracked Bell - put me ill at ease. Something about the incense. Dr. John Seward was all medical supplies: latex gloves, rubbing alcohol, astringent. If you've seen the remake of House on Haunted Hill, there's the creepy doctor spirit wandering around, right? This scent made me think of that spirit. Puck turned my stomach. Civet is a disgusting note.

I tried Sugar Cookie with Lady Macbeth in an attempt to mimic CR. Close, though LM reaaaaally wanted to dominate.

Safari is a smooth creamy lavender that's really been helping me stay asleep lately. I put some on my favorite pillow and have been dead to the world for six hours straight the last two weeks. Unusual for me, as I used to wake up every two hours. I feel much more awake during the day, too.

I haven't tried the MiskU oil yet, so I'm sort of hopeful that it is much stronger and richer than the soap turned out to be. I like the way the bar itself smells - smooth and creamy, just a touch of coffee, rich woods -, but none of that remains on my skin after using it. I so want the oil to be coffee, coffee, coffee and just a little bit of the dusty books. As for function, I don't regularly use bar soap, as it dries out my skin. I had a brief moment while rinsing my hands that it felt like they were going to end up dried out and untouchable, but once I finished rinsing and toweled them, my skin was quite soft and smooth. Nice.

Completely agree. Sugar Skull was too sugared and even a little boozy. CR was all delicious oozing red berries baked into a pie with buttery crust. MB: anything isn't a GC Knave of Hearts was close, but there must've been some rose petals that snuck into the pie. Lady Macbeth with Sugar Cookie might be closer. I should try that...

Rich, spicy, warm and ohsoincredibly sexy. I never thought I liked myrrh, but this feels so much better than most incensy blends. It smells almost like burning wood. I tested on the crook of my elbow and I've got my nose buried there, just inhaling. It's not making me sneeze, either, so bonus points for the myrrh. I might have to take it off my hated notes list.

Imp: Dusty warm peaches. Almost like a peach candle with vanilla. Wet: More of the same. Juicy and sweet, underneath what seems like a heavy cloud of vanilla. Dry: Maybe I just don't know Georgia Peaches (different from regular peaches HOW?) but this is almost plasticky. It's like a peach-scented eraser I had as a kid -- nothing at all like the sweet syrupy peach in Jack. Perhaps it's just the aging and that I tested off a testable empty?