orangepoppy

Before reading the ingredients - In the imp it’s somewhat astringent with a hint of sweet green. Honeysuckle and jasmine. Iris maybe. Drying down there’s something really soapy. Oh dear, is there lotus? After reading ingredients - Ok, so I’ll never be a “nose”! Apparently it’s the stephanotis that smells like jasmine. Anyhow, this isn’t working for me. I can’t think of any other scent that smells so soapy on me and it’s even burning a little. Darn! ...and I don’t get the slightest bit of rose.

Good heavens! I put on Tenochtitlan about 5 minutes ago and it's just astounding!! I ordered it mainly because I've loved Beth's other Aztec blends (Centzon Totochtin and Xiuhtecuhtli) to distraction. I was afraid of the fruit and sweet factors, but Lordy Mercy, it's delightful! I think it's the coriander that makes it airy/slightly minty without going ozone and the prickly pear that makes it juicy/watery without going aquatic. As it dries down, I'm losing much of that as it goes a bit drier and sagey. Really amazing for something that smelled like bubblegum in the imp. ...Ok, twelve minutes now and it's fading really fast.....noooooooooooooooo! Over an hour later - It's still there, thank goodness. (I think I experienced a "false fade" due to having my wrist attached to my nose for so long. How embarrassing.) I think I'll have to get a bottle of this to have a cute little collection of the Aztec blends.

(I tried The Caterpillar about a year ago and forgot to review it and sadly, forgot what I thought about it, so retried it today - therefore I'd consider this imp to be a bit "aged") First on I get a sharp blast of grapefruit, which is odd since there's no grapefruit in this blend. Must be the neroli/bergamot. I think it's the iris that gives it a sparkly quality. As it dries down a softer and sweeter quality emerges. My husband hugs me and says, "You smell good." I say, "I know" The jasmine is barely detectable. I really like this one - it smells freshly sweetly cleanly.......deviant.

This is beautiful! I was so happy when rose made its appearance after drydown. It's like I'm not wearing "perfume" ~ on me, Psyche takes on a "second skin" quality. It's sort of strange, but the area of my wrist right before my hand (where those "bracelet lines" are) smells like wonderfully sweet airy rose, and then farther away from my hand, the white musk is stronger and pulls it back to earth. Maybe the skin is thinner there, I don't know. I can wear frankincense well, but I can't really single it out....there's just a whisper there. I tend to avoid incense/resins in the summer because my body heat turns them into smothering blankets and then I scream. Aside - I'm not sure what orchid smells like, so I can't comment on that part, but something tells me it's a bit of a "sparkly" scent? I'm a huge fan of good rose scents and it doesn't matter if it's an airy rose or an earthy rose, if it's good rose, I'm going to like it. Psyche is both airy and earthy. I'm amazed. This is a rose scent that I can wear even on the hottest day of the year (which I think is today). Kudos to Beth for such a beautiful creation. Wow.

From the description, I thought I'd love this. I've tried Mata Hari two times now in an effort to love it. Jasmine can be wonderful on me or it can go wrong. In this instance, it went wrong. I know lavender isn't an ingredient, but I could've sworn I smelled lavender throughout the drydown and in the end it's just all jasmine. Sort of a rotting, ill-tempered, cloying jasmine that is borderline nauseating. More rose, less jasmine might make it all better.

Twilight, I can't seem to stop sniffing you. I absolutely adore the "cooling" quality of this scent. Whoever said Twilight is the cool side of the pillow is spot on. I'm one of those that has to be very careful with jasmine as sometimes it can almost smell stinky on my skin. Not in Twilight. The star of this show is the lavender, with the jasmine taking off the sharp edge it wants to have and the honeysuckle sweetens it just the right amount. A great scent for when you want to feel cool and relaxed on a stifling hot muggy summer day.

Black Pearl and Lush's Absolution aren't exactly alike, but complement each other very well. I love this combo

in the vial - sweet, somewhat soapy honeysuckles. Interesting. wet - smells almost like vetiver or something else smoky and sweet. I think I like this even though I usually don’t like things quite this sweet. drydown - I don’t know if it’s the color or my association with Blood Rose (one of my faves), but I’m getting a bit of rose. This is very interesting and pleasant. dry - mmm, zingy and salty sweet and rosey. Fresh yet with a faint musky/smoky undertone. It seems to be almost activating my salivatory glands. *blush* I don’t know how much I’ll wear this oil, but I have a feeling I’ll use up my imp. I'm very hip to the rosey nature this oil assumes on my skin.

Excited to try this as I love the scent of roses and oranges. in the vial - painfully sweet almond extract wet - painfully sweet almond extract with powder drydown - The painful sweetness calms down immediately and then there's the rose. I love rose. This reminds me a bit of Jezebel, one of my favorites, but with less rose and something spicier in the background and the tiniest hint of neroli. The warmth of this oil is nice. Somewhat high hopes. dry - oh no, is that dill? Intrigue and Seance both turned to pickles on me and this one is trying to do the same thing. I was hoping to get orangey rose goodness, but alas, I can't get past the picklish smell, no matter how faint.

The Star is just gorgeous! In the bottle, it's bright and fruity. The "fruity" scared me a bit, but dissipated as soon as it dried on my skin and was replaced by a lovely toasted coconut topnote with something "Fae-ish" underneath. Really spectacular! The only reason I won't be buying a big bottle of this is that it has almost completely disappeared after only 5 minutes. I'm going to try it again when I'm more moisturized. eta: I just noticed the comparisons to Spooky and I want to add that though Spooky was quite disagreeable on me, The Star is fantastic. I hope I can figure out a way to make it last longer.

Shroud was lovely sandalwood and white flowers at first. Within 5 minutes I got the same dill pickle smell I got with Seance. They don’t have any ingredients in common. I’m truly mystified.

I really like Amsterdam, Neo-Tokyo, Szepasszony, and Moon Rose for Spring.

Sometimes it's almost scary when the Lab sends imps gratis and they work better than the ones I've researched and chosen for myself. Penitence is one of them. It's glorious and strong and grounded. Grounded yet very "higher plane" feeling. Completely gone from my skin after two hours, but what a fine two hours it was.

In the bottle Wolfsbane is slightly sweet and minty green. First on, a sweet floral lemon-pepper...hmmm, what’s next? Vetiver is next, rising to the top as in Saturnalia. Luckily the vetiver pulls back quite a lot over the course of a couple minutes and a rose blooms, it’s a sweet almost powdery rose, but with some greenery ala Rose Red. Wow, I don’t get any woods at all, my skin tends to eat them, alas. After drydown, Wolfsbane is an expansive (seems I always want to use the word “expansive” with vetiver scents) clean clear rose with some spice. Yes, I do like this quite a lot, but would like it more if it were woodsier. Oh, and it’s fading fairly fast, too. Will definitely use my imp because I'm going to have to slather this to make it last. Oh wait, now the rose and a great deal of the sweetness is fading to the background (I've had it on about 20 mins) and there's something almost like spiced violets in there (!) and I think I do detect a bit of cypress or juniper? Wolfsbane, you are quite a changeling, and I'll try you again, you mysterious canine, you. eta: Tried you again, and Wolfsbane had tremendous throw. I was outside late last night and thinking I was smelling some new spring flowers on the breeze, when I realized it was me. Wow. Tremendous. I'm going to have fun experimenting with this one. Very natural scent, to me.

Shattered - Out of the bottle and first on, it’s sharp and lemony with a bit of sweetness in the background. Oh dear, as it dries, I’m getting something I don’t think agrees with me and it’s somewhat unsettling - which would make it true to its namesake. It smells like fresh mint, very green and kind of not so pleasant with my chemistry - it’s almost like licorice or even cilantro. When completely dry, there’s still that unsettling note, but also a mustiness. I was hoping for a refreshing “cold” scent for summer, and it is those things, but there’s a particular note that is putting me off.

I tried this oil with a tad of trepidation because of the associations I have with Hemlock. However, being the woods and trees lover that I am, I couldn't pass up giving this freebie a try. First on, it was a very strong mint and I glanced at the sink and wondered if it needed getting rid of. No time, had to walk the dog. After walking for about a half hour I smelled my wrist again and was amazed at the change! Hemlock had mellowed out considerably to a soft yet "bright" cedar - it reminded me immediately of Kathmandu without the spices and with something else I couldn't pin, maybe pine, eucalyptus or lemon since that's what everyone else is getting. An hour later, it's a soft cedar sort of like Hamadryad but without the flowers, but there's now a faint spiciness in the background. I'll enjoy my imp, thanks Lab!

Oh my dear heavens, I tried Hellfire today and I love it. Thank you Lab for including this as a freebie in my last order, I probably would've never ordered it on my own. Silly me was put off by the name.... The scary part is that I came very close to not even trying it on my skin. (I should know better by now that scents can totally change once applied.) From the bottle, it was a dash scary, but an intriguing I-can't-help-but-look sort of scary. On the wrists it went and there was a bloom of tobacco and huh? cinnamon? I don't know what ingredient smelled like cinnamon and tickled my nose, but it soon went away and was replaced with leatherrrr. Purrrrrrrr! mmmm, men....yes, it smells like all the wonderful things I love about men fabulous men! This is cozy and intimate. There's a sweetness in this blend that keeps it from being too "too" ~ I wish I knew what ambergris smelled like. And how in the world does Beth create the scent of leather? So many questions, but what I do know for sure is that this is going straight to my big bottle wish list.

I had high hopes for this one, judging by the notes listed. First on, Intrigue smelled fruity, perhaps like cherries and I thought "Oh, no." Thankfully, the fruitiness has faded to the background and a very nice deep rich sandalwood note with some cedar comes forth to stay. I'm glad I waited. I may not buy a bigger bottle, but I'll definitely use up the imp.

Mantis ~ in the vial first off it smells aquatic namely and also herbal. First on I think I smell lavender and perhaps a teensy bit of spearmint. It's hard to tell it's blended so well. Drydown ~ something is making this oil sweeter and softer. Maybe it's the amber. As other reviewers have said it's a fresh scent grounded by resins. Oh, and there's the neroli! I quite like this and as I've heard patchouli is great for keeping mosquitos at bay, I'm looking forward to wearing it when the weather turns warmer and the litte buggers come out in search of someone to vampirize (which is usually me). It's fading sooner than I hoped, but I'm keeping it in hopes that it will last longer in spring and summer. eta - After a couple of hours, I sniffed my wrists and egads, I smell something ashy, acrid, and "burnt" - what the heck is that? Darn.

Mmm! Chocolate and red wine! Centzon Totochtin is spellbinding ~ I can almost taste it. The cocoa takes a backseat to the wine and something spicy emerges. I really like this scent, it's complex enough. I can no longer smell the cocoa after an hour's wearing, but reslathering solves that instantly. Decadent and rich. I want to lounge in the extreme.

Most everyone who knows me knows that I love rose, so I was very surprised that Harlot didn't quite work for me. I was glad that the cinnamon wasn't overpowering, letting the rose shine, but it disappeared on me very quickly.

Voodoo has pine, vanilla, and lime ~ I really love it, but be aware that it seems to be one of those love/hate scents. Maybe try just an imp for starters.

My nose is not altogether familiar with lily of the valley, so my first impression was "ooo, honeysuckle!" which makes me think of summers as a kid roaming along the vine-bordered stream that ran behind all the houses in the neighborhood, stopping to pull the stamen out of a blossom here and there to get the little drop of nectar out. Applied to my wrist it goes a bit sweeter for a moment, then the sweetness becomes tempered by the sandalwood once dry. After a few minutes, I can barely smell it at all. I'm going to save this and try it again in the summer when I favor light scents, and perhaps it will have better staying power. But first, I think I'll do some slathering. The orange is coming out for me now. This is so lovely! It's very happy, feminine and fun. ADDED June 22: I'm so glad I tried Belle Epoque today. It's really lovely for a hot summer day like this one will certainly be. It's clean and fresh without being ozoney or soapy - I'm supposing that's the attributes of lily of the valley. I love how vanilla and sandalwood complement each other and there's just enough mandarin to make this orange-lover smile.

Kali is quite the changeling as others have described! First on, wet, I got the same sort of delectable sweet and smoky "buttery honeyness" as I got from Harvest Moon (and I love Harvest Moon). As it dried, I detected a hint of chocolate and definite wine notes. I'm not sure I like wine notes on my skin, they tend to go a bit sour. However, as time went on, there was no sourness - why am I such a cynic? Because when things turn out wrong, I won't be surprised and when things go right, I'm pleasantly surprised? bah! If I try real hard, I can pick out the rose. More rose would be good. I think this will be wonderful with a Empress "topcoat" ~~ I quite like this, it's warm and comforting. A keeper.

This is the oil I've been waiting for, surpassing even my beloved Virgo. Every time I try to put Voodoo's Fantasticness into words ..... well, I have to go back and edit all the expletives out. So, I'm starting over. When first applied, I was reminded of a strain from an old T Rex song (Bang a Gong): "Well, you're dirty and sweet Clad in black, don't look back, and I love you You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah Well, you're slim and you're weak You got the teeth of the hydra upon you You're dirty, sweet and you're my girl" oo yeah Voodoo is not to be applied heavily. This is a serious blend of serious notes. I *love* it. I thought it contained amber, as it reminded me of the sweet huskiness of O and Jezebel, but I suppose that's the myrrh? Regardless, this scent is simply divine. I thought it was too sweet at first, but not for very long. As soon as those grounding components came into play, I was GONE. I am tempted to cross myself before applying, that's how much I love this oil. Witch's Dagger said it was a "dark sweetness" and that is so true. I applied a tiny bit to one wrist and rubbed both wrists together early this morning and Voodoo is still with me over 8 hours later. Faithfulness, I like that. If I ever meet the creator of this oil, I'll firmly resist the urge to genuflect. Beautiful, wondrous, heady.....big bottle - quite! (and to think I ventured into bpal to find a "really nice rose perfume" -- so funny to think back)