diabolique

i've just got to say that this is pele with big freakin' cajones. i get the dreaded air freshener note my skin loves to do with florals when first applied. there's a sweet note that takes the forefront, and it's gorgeous. this is the stage where the air freshener smell begins to fade into the distance, and a warm smell floats to the surface. there are brilliant, vibrant colors in this one: peachish-orange, lush green, pink sherbet, and maroon. this smells very forbidden; it's the way you feel when walking through nature and discovering a path in the forrest that looks like it hasn't been taken for years. i was going to order a bottle of this unsniffed, but i got an imp of it from miss chupachup! i'm positive i wouldn't have been disappointed had i ordered the bottle without having tried this scent, because it's just what i was looking for.

jasmine and violet are two evil components that must be avoided at all costs. ..except in this blend. the oil smelled muggy, damp, and cloying. i was afraid. i was petrified. i put a small dab on my wrist once curiosity got the best of me, and mmmm. it's a tad sweet, but it's still muggy and dark. it's sexual and evil. this is the perfect oil for a malicious, gossiping southern belle. ETA: for the record, this doesn't turn powdery on me like it does on others. this is a product of my skin chemistry being COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY FUCKED; it makes beautiful unpowdery blends turn to powder, and beautiful powdery blends seem normal. another ETA: it is such a shame this was discontinued. i really like it, and probably would've ordered more.

opening this vial, i thought it smelled dirty, gritty, and ugly. it was rough and rugged. i kept putting it away, then going back and opening it up, though, because i was drawn to it. it's morphed into something entirely different for me. i don't wear it because of the way it smells, but because of the way it feels. it helps me earth and center myself. it's a running conceit for how i feel about the world sometimes; it has its fair share of dirt and grit, and it's certainly not an easy place to live in, but that's the beauty of it. this is a reminder to me that i'm a small fraction of this world, and, in turn, the world is a small fraction of the ever-expanding universe. this is a protective scent, it's warm and enveloping. i'm a little sad that my imp is almost out.

what's funny is that i haven't tried any of the scents i recommended you to stay away from. i just did a search through the reviews section for "almonds," "almond," and "almondy." if i saw more than two people say their bottles smelled like almonds, i jotted it down!

hahaha, i like how we totally just PMed each other at the same time!

i wanted to wear zombi too! that would've been so killer, but i can't find anyone to trade with for it. ah well. i'll just wear samhain if i like it, or dia de los muertos if i prefer that one (and if you can get that one out to me before halloween. i keep forgetting that you ordered it for me!). it might just depend on however i feel that day.

i'd stay away from: horn of plenty the up-and-coming decadence march hare tarot oil: high priestess black phoenix three jacks haitian lover also, i saw sudha segara described as "dana o'shee without the almonds," just in case you feel like you're missing out by not being able to smell it.

thus far, i've gotten the most compliments on wanda, kali, and lust. it may just be because i wear these quite often. most of the guys i know seem to like the darker scents better than the lighter, fruitier scents. ETA: bordello. i always manage to get some major cuddle-action and eye contact when i wear bordello. it's the alcohol-ish scents, man.

I agree with everyone else when they say this isn't the slightest bit Carnal. I received this as a wonderful gift from Mandarin. It's been sitting in the "unused" portion of my oil box. It was on my wishlist, but I didn't like the way it smelled in the vial. It smelled almost urinal to me, but it didn't smella acidic. Just very, very light, somewhat like an aftertaste of something, and I only really like scents that waft around me. I never put it on. I've been in a mood today where I want to try new things, so I put a tiny amount of Carnal on. Immediately I noticed that it smelled much more presentable on my skin than it does in the imp. It's very cathartic and clean. It's slightly sweet, not cloying at all; this would be great for steamy, humid weather when all you want to do is jump into an icy pool. I don't know if I'll wear this often, but I'll use my imp in the warmer months.

basically, what tart said. but if you're using ccnow, when your order status says "shipped," it means your credit card/debit card has been billed for the amount and that the lab has received your order information. it's very misleading.

i pinpointed the civet immediately, as i did with debauchery. this dries down to the smell of dr. pepper. not very elaborate, i know, but that's about all it smells like: warm, flat dr. pepper.

i recognized the civet immediately, even though i had never smelled it before, and i compared it with my new imp of bacchanalia (i received both in a swap from aijin. thanks, babe!). i definitely smelled that, first and foremost. when i sniffed it again, the heady thickness of it reminded me of the caterpillar, but a much more sensual version of it. i didn't like this at first, but i'm warming up to it. when i smelled it 10 minutes after application, it reminded me strongly of something that i couldn't pinpoint. upon much contemplation, i've realized this smells like my ex-boyfriend's room. the smell of incense and candles mixing together, the atmosphere of dimmed lights. debauchery lives up to its title, i suppose. the civet is still making me afraid of this, though. civet reminds me of bad breath.

well, i ALMOST wore ophelia because today is horribly rainy, since it's the only aquatic scent i've kept, but i decided that i was chilly and needed some warming up. i put on hellcat layered with jack ii. this guy sitting next to me in my third period class was like, "man, i could really go for some brownies or something."

harlot, which i think is perfect for autumn. unfortunately, i swapped it away because i can't wear rose. i second or third spellbound.

this smells like highly concentrated soap to me. there's something very tingly about it, which i'm guessing is the grass, and i'm getting the ever-so-sexy (-cough-) rootbeer note that i pick up with some scents. my skin hates me, this i promise you.

this may sound weird to some of you (read: every single one of you), but i establish the mood of beth's oils by the way that they flow. they either flow positively or negatively, that is, they seem to lift upward or drag down. that smell that you get the last few seconds you smell your wrist deeply is what i'm talking about. the sadness of this scent is apparent by how its direction seems to flow down. i agree with laurel. this is not the insane ophelia, but rather the aftermath of ophelia's madness. this is a bitter, slow-motion whirlwind of depth and moodiness, which i feel is entirely appropriate. ophelia has amazing dual personalities. there's a twinge of bitterness and hatred as the madness dies down, but it's amazingly placid.

could someone inform me how in the hell you pronounce r'lyeh? ;x also, how many of you say "sam-hayn" rather than the traditional "sow-when?" when i talk to my friends about halloween (or the oil), i pronounce it sow-when, and even when i say sam-hayn they have no idea what i'm talking about. just curious.

this smells very orange-red to me. i didn't enjoy the way maenad smelled in the bottle. when it hit my nose, it was obtrusively sharp and it reminded me of vegetables because there's definitely a hint of greenness. maenad retained the smell from the vial on my skin for about 20 minutes. i forgot all about it, and i smelled something really good. when i realized it was maenad, i flipped. this did almost a complete 180. it's very sweet now. i can smell the orange blossom, a hint of strawberries, and an underlying note of hibiscus. if i smell it long enough, i get that leafy, green smell again. this one definitely surprised me. i like it.

on first sniff, this was sweet, creamy orange blossom and honey. there was something slightly deeper to it that added a warm, almost undetectable base. jezebel smells gorgeous. on my skin, it darkened up immediately. it's very sweet and very dark, with orange blossom still being the prominent note. i can't smell the rose at all, which is a good thing, given my chemistry. jezebel doesn't waft around very much, it stays very close to my skin. within a minute of having it on, it gets very powdery, moreso than any other scent i've tried. it smells like i poured the juice from an orange on my skin, and dusted myself with a copious amount of baby powder immediately afterward. it's a shame, because this almost made it to my big bottle list. if it smelled the same as it did in the vial or as it does on my skin right when i put it on, i would probably have ordered a larger vial of this. as it currently stands, i'll keep the imp around, but i don't suspect i'll be able to order it anymore. it's just way too powdery. i hate my skin.

this was straight champagne on the wand of the vial. i didn't expect to like this one as much as i do. as soon as i put it on my wrists, it went straight into my "big bottle" wishlist. i am simply amazed at beth's talent. it took me back to sniffing those first few oils and thinking, "what kind of divine creature could compose something so good-smelling!" it isn't so much that i like the smell of it (which i do, of course) as much as it's how well she managed to capture the scent of champagne and strawberries. on my skin, the first thing i could smell was deep, juicy berries. it wasn't the artificial strawberry note from lollipops, but it wasn't the somewhat tart smell you get from the actual strawberries. this is how they actually taste when you leave them in the refrigerator until they're almost too ripe and pour cream all over them. immediately following the strawberries was an ultra-fizzy champagne. this is what all of those cheap "champagne and berry" body sprays aspire to be.

the guys i'm around seem to pay much more attention to me when i wear lust. coincidence? perhaps.

i couldn't smell anything in the bottle except for a faint whiff of watery flowers. as soon as this hits my skin, it turns into a nauseating air freshener, but that may be because i have to apply a lot before i can smell it. i had high hopes for this one, but ah well. i have two imps of this. i might pass one on to someone else and keep the other for layering purposes.

i can vouch for this one. it's what i put on my cleavage in the morning when i'm in a bitchy, bitter, holier-than-thou mood, otherwise known as the, "don't fuck with me. i'm a bombshell and i'll break your heart" mood.

tintagel was fairly happy on me. it wasn't at all mysterious or dark. three witches and snake oil are a must. i'm a fellow wanda lover, so DEFINITELY that one. on my skin, it's bright and boozey, but does dry down to something fairly dark. here's what i would recommend on top of those: carnivale scherezade inferno old morocco hellfire debauchery bloodlust bacchanalia haunted glasya deimos lust ETA: hypothermya always beats me to the punch! luckily, we tend to recommend the same things.

i received this imp as a gift from the beautiful silverangel. i put it on pretty much immediately. on the wand, it smelled EXACTLY like autumn to me. everything was in perfect harmony, the oil was balanced. on my wrist, the cinnamon kicked up pretty hardcore, and all i can say is that i'm glad my skin isn't sensitive to cinnamon! it smelled beautiful. 15 minutes later, i can smell the cloves, and the cinnamon has softened. overall, this is an absolutely stunning scent, and i'm glad i have a bottle of it on the way.