asciident

A small, furry, sharp-toothed scent that will nuzzle you curiously in the black hours before dawn: dusty white sandalwood and orris root, dry coconut husk, creeping musk, and the residue of ceremonial incense. Wet: Sandalwood, a bit of sweet incense, and a bit of orris. First on: The coconut warms up, and the musk becomes more pronounced. Suntan oil (a scent which honestly I quite enjoy) and sandalwood incense. Dry: Less suntan oil and more dry, warm coconut. My skin is amping the musk, but sweet sandalwood and incense is in the background, and there's a faint floral air to it. I love this blend.

A wonderful antidote to an all-nighter oozing with drunken, addled perversion and debauchery. A fresh, crisp white linen scent: perfectly clean, perfectly breezy. Wet: Warm breeze and clean laundry. First on: Plumeria, strong and crisp. Dry: Still madly plumeria, but also a little citrusy and a hint of sweet ozone and linen. Pretty, clean, light. Not so much laundry at this point, just a hint of fabric.

Wet: Sugar and spice. First on: Sugary, very sweet incense. Dry: I had relatively high hopes for this, but I get the dreaded plastic sugar smell out of it. Plastic sugar and incense. It also smells vaguely of soap and leather (don't ask). Meh.

... Oya's ofrenda is a Nigerian potion of love and war, sweetened by darkest plum. Oya winiwini! Wet: Almonds and plum. First on: This is too complex for my nose to discern anything specific. It's gorgeous and complicated, a little fruity, but dry. Air/ozone perhaps. Dry: The fruit is gone, leaving just the smallest tinge of sweetness to this. It's both musky and stormy(?) now. It's also a little spicy, and any hint of almonds is gone now. Very interesting, and a pretty scent. Like classic perfume. I'm not sure if it's very "me" though.

Wet: Liiiiime. Super lime. First on: Oh man, this smells delicious. It's like my favorite raspberry limeade drink, except not raspberry (it's just fruity like that). Very summery. Dry: Rose! A pink rose, I think, and very soft and gentle. Patchouli and sage keeping it down to earth. There's the tiniest hint of nectarine, too. It's less blaringly lime now, but still tangy, fruity, PINK. So very pretty.

Wet: Moss, patchouli, amber. A little wary at this point, because the moss is quite strong. First on: As soon as it's on my skin, the moss is gone; the cloves, ambergris and pepper amp up. Mmm! Dry: I smell the smallest hint of vanilla now. Amber's gone a bit powdery, but not in a bad way. This is so gorgeous.

Wet: Mmm, honey! First on: Honey and jasmine, with an herbal tinge. Dry: OMG! This is amazing! I smell sooooo good. Lots of honey, not too sweet -- maybe the thyme keeping it down to earth -- with a tiny hint of spicy ginger, & plenty of jasmine and gardenia to lend a floral air. Sweet and perfect for spring.

Wet: Ginger! Warm, almost peppery ginger. First on: Ginger and ambrosia, and I would guess the milk and honey are making the lovely cream background. Dry: This is so pretty and warm. The ginger isn't overly spicy, though it does lend a bit of a pepper feel, and behind the ginger is just this golden creamy scent. Mmmm.

Wet: Dark cocoa. Mmmm. It reminds me of Bliss, but it's definitely different. First on: Lighter than I expected; maybe my skin soaked it all up. The cream starts coming out more. Dry: Ugh. The cream has gone plastic. It's not strong enough to be offensive, but pretty much all the gorgeous chocolate smell has gone. I suppose I'll stick with Bliss and Boomslang for my chocolate scents.

Wet: Dragon's blood. First on: Dragon's blood is amping up, but I do detect something dark and floral. Dry: My skin has amped up the dragon's blood so much that it's all I'm getting. Eh. Off to the swap pile.

Wet: Cocoa and dirt. Not as bad as it sounds. First on: Cocoa and a touch of vanilla, drowned in dirt (vetiver) and something...oh, there IS lavender in this. Herbally chocolate, and I'm surprised how well it works. Dry: Hmm...just nice chocolate and lavender. Not something I'm coveting, but I'll keep my little partial decant.

Wet: Sugar cane and orange blossoms, light and springy. First on: Sweet orange tea, with a hint of mint. Dry: A beautifully soft, springlike tea scent. Sweet minty tea with citrus (orange and lemon have melded). I love it.

Wet: Sandalwood, musk, cinnamon and a twinge of metal. First on: Something smells, well, grainy or woody. If the blood is dragon's, it's very subdued (my skin would normally amp it up, but it's not here). The metal twang is gone, and so is most of the cinnamon. This is a much more low-key scent than I would have expected. Dry: Eh. Woodsy, grains, herbs. Just a hint of musk. Not really what I was expecting; I think I'll pass it on.

Sweet pea with stargazer lily, calla lily, heliotrope, honeysuckle, white musk and a touch of fresh pear. Wet: Sweet, light, and fresh. Perfect for the mood I'm in. First on: Wow, I didn't know sweet pea and pear could smell so nice together. The pear is stronger than I was expecting since it was just a touch. It's got a gorgeous white musk, the heliotrope is behaving itself, and the lilies are wonderfully soft. Dry: This is so not the type of scent I would say I love, but I do love this. To me, it's the perfect soft floral, just enough sweetness without going saccharine, never going powdery or old-lady. Calming and light, but still has some throw. This is a classic scent, and very appropriate for Juliet. eta: description.

Wet: Vanilla and cherries, with a whiff of pineapple. First on: Buttery, toffee, and the pineapple and cherries seem to have switched places (by which I mean, strong pineapple, faint cherry). Dry: Nutty, but at this point I'm getting that disappointing burnt plastic smell.

Wet: Soft vanilla and a light floral. Clean. First on: A bit of what I think is linen, though it could just as easily be a nice dry flower, and a wonderful vanilla. So pretty! Dry: Light and perfect for spring or autumn, a beautiful true vanilla that doesn't ever get too sweet. Linen and flowers add a nice touch without taking over. A new addition to my list of favorites.

Wet: Light and spicy. First on: Sugar, spice. Very very light. Dry: Something is off, and I'm tempted to blame the phlox, but I'm not sure. It just doesn't quite smell right...it's almost like flowers crushed in dirt or dust. The rest of it does smell very pretty and springlike, but this dirt/dust/must is retch-worthy. Hrmph.

Wet: You know, I get the distinct feeling that eucalyptus and I don't really get along... in other words, ow why does this smell like cleaning fluid? I'll be brave and try it on anyway. First on: Pine, and orange cough drops. Dry: As it dries, it's not quite so, er...toilet bowl cleaner and cough drops, but I don't think it's for me at any rate. It's become a sort of creamy pine with an orange underlayer and a spike of eucaplyptus just to wake you up. I think I'll pass.

Wet: Citrus, cherry, ginger. First on: This is a lot lighter than I was expecting. I think my skin just ate it up. I get the vaguest hint of citrus, plumeria and ginger at this point. Dry: Umm...hmm. It's very light and clean, and by clean I mean...why do I smell like a bar of soap? There is basically no throw either, I can't smell it unless I stuff my wrist against my nose. Ah well... I will swap it for something else I suppose. It was nice to try it anyway.

ETA: '05 version Wet: Butter-laden pastry. First on: Whoa, completely unexpected spices. Something with booze as well, maybe rum? Loads of vanilla. Dry: Sugary for sure. Unfortunately it's starting to do that plastic thing that Beaver Moon did, which is highly unfortunate. I'll wait it out, though...hopefully it's just not done morphing. Ew. No. It's sort of lightly burnt plastic now.

Wet: LIME. And a bit of lemon, and I'm not sure what it is but something is minty. First on: I'm mostly getting lime out of this, it's hard to tell though.There is a definite sour/tangy fruit note separate from the lime. Dry: How odd and fleeting. For about 10 minutes I had screamingly loud lime, but it's dried into a nondescript sort of powdery scent. There is really not much of anything left! I don't think this is for me, sadly.

Wet: Vanilla and honey. First on: Vanilla tea with lemon and honey, warm but crisp. Dry: Sugary without being cloying; warm sweet tea with fresh lemons in it. The musk develops as a sort of undertone to the tea and sweet notes, without managing to overpower anything. Unexpected and beautiful.

Wet: Wet leather. Or maybe a saddle. First on: The leather's got a bit of spice, but it's gone all sagey-herbal on me. A little soapy? And manly. Dry: Leather is so dominant -- I do get tonka and sage, but they are definitely in the background. I need to start accepting that I don't like leather as a scent on me. Ah well, off to the swap pile.

Wet: Apples! And florals. First on: Kinda like walking through a blooming orchard. It's very strong at this point, with no hint of Snake Oil. Dry: Strong red delicious apples, and a nice light floral in the background. I think I'm picking up more plumeria than gardenia. Strangely, not getting any lemon or blood orange scent, or even any snake oil; this is a great springtime scent though! I smell fabulous.

Wet: Dewy and herbal. First on: This is just so much more herbal than I was expecting; I was expecting floral. It's also sweet, with a sort of watery quality. Dry: As it dries, it does indeed get a bit more floral, but also a touch sweeter. Not in a cloying syrupy sugar way. I don't know what white honey is like, but I'm getting the vibe that it's lending a nice light sweetness. It's gorgeous in a way I can't describe, but it's so light and subtle with so little throw that I'm not sure how much I can enjoy it without slathering on tons of it or permanently sticking my wrists up to my face.