paperdoll

Initial Sniff: Lavender! And frankincense? Odd. Wearing: This is much lighter and more subtle than I expected from the bottle. There is a light lemon smell, and a light herbal smell... it is very soft and... dessicated. It smells like crumbling relics of a romantic age gone by. Final Impressions: I liked this a lot better than I did the last time I tried it. It is not as astringent as I remember it being. Very nice, but not me.

Initial Sniff: Sage, sweet pea, musk, tonka... what a strange blend! Wearing: The sweet pea and sage dominate, making this a beautifully sweet herbal blend. The musk appears on the drydown, adding a nice warmth. It has decent lasting power. Final Impressions: I like it! I was scared that the tonka would make this go all nasty powdery on me, but it doesn't. A really different sort of floral.

Initial Sniff: ALMOND!!! That's all i can smell. Wearing: At first this is a beautiful smoky almond. As time goes by, the myrrh comes to the forefront, making this a lovely smoky myrrh. Then the musk takes over, and this becomes unpleasant. Final Impressions: I liked the first stage a lot, the second stage, was fine, but the third stage ruined it for me.

Initial Sniff: Warm and spicy iris. Very nice. Wearing: Uh oh. Iris - apparently not such a hot idea with my skin chemistry. Thi quickly becomes a warm, spicy, acrid chemical smell. Blargh. Final Impressions: I want to smell this on someone it works on, because this is just gorgeous in the vial.

Initial Sniff: Oh my. This is SEXY. In the vial, I smell The leather and musk. Wearing: This warms up on my skin - the leather and musk remain, but the amber lends its glow and the myrrh starts to sweeten. This is freakin' gorgeous. It lasts as this sweeter, warmer version of the scent in the vial ALL DAY. Final Impressions: Beautiful, sexy, and strong.

Initial Sniff: Lavender, with something wierdly spicy in the background. Wearing: The lavender faded away completely within an hour of application. I was left with a gorgeous sandalwood/incense blend which is softly spicy and slightly smoky. Beautiful. Final Impressions: Like others have said, I was expecting something a lot darker and heavier. This is pretty.

Initial Sniff: Honeysuckle and jasmine. Wearing: Wet, the honeysuckle dominates. As this dries, it melds with the other florals and forms this glorious golden scent. It is sweet and floral and just gorgeous. As it dries a little more, however, it goes very soapy. Final Impressions: I thought for a moment I was going to have to buy a 5ml bottle of this RIGHT NOW. However, I'm not overly fond of the soapy drydown, so my imp will do me just fine.

Initial Sniff: Frankincense, cloves, and oranges. This scent glows reddish orange. Wearing: I think there is maybe some red sandalwood in here as well. This scent doesn't change a whole lot on my skin. The citrus disappears, and it becomes a warm spicy glow. It lasts a long time - several hours. Final Impressions: I expected this scent to be a little more golden and a little less red. It is beautiful whatever the color, though!

Initial Sniff: Something citrus, sandalwood, and something almost astringent lurking just beneath the surface. Wearing: Wet, this is like Tarot: the Sun except not as sweet. As it dries, the sandalwood takes over. I am almost certain it is white sandalwood, as it behaves just like the single note: it morphs from a dry wood smell to a sharp cedar to a slightly sweet, spicy wood. Good staying power. Final Impressions: A very bright scent, and at a point (the sharp cedar stage) it is a blinding white scent. However, I already have the white sandalwood single note and this is almost identical.

Initial Sniff: Frankincense, something resin, something herbal. Wearing: The frankincense and amber (and possibly myrrh, too) ceate this dark, spicy backdrop around me. There is a little something sharply herbal (lavender? chamomile? both worthy suggestions) to keep that backdrop from being sleepy or oppressive. As it dries, it becomes sweet, but it still has the slightest sharp edge. Final Impressions: Fascinating. It isn't a favorite, but I am very interested in getting to know this scent better.

Initial Sniff: Very citrussy with an interesting herbal/resin bite. Wearing: True to the bottle at first. After about 30 minutes, I noticed a insect-type smell in my car. Not exactly a bug repellant, not exactly insecticide, but like I would imagine a huge pile of beetles would smell - crawling over each other and crunching under my feet. There is a slightly metallic tang to this. It is the smell of fresh exoskeletons. It fades quickly. Final Impressions: Buggy. Not my bag.

Initial Sniff: Jasmine, moss, and a heavy dose of incense. Wearing: This is almost identical to The Caterpillar on me. A little more mellow and mossy, perhaps. It is dark and shadowy, but not scary... Final Impressions: Not different enough from The Caterpillar to warrant another bottle in my collection, but very nice indeed!

Initial Sniff: PEACH! I also get a bit of white musk and bergamot. Wearing: Sweet, light fruity... almost no throw and no staying power. I actually wore this two days in a row to try to get a feel for it, as after one day I had no impression at all. It is pleasantly fruity. Final Impressions: Meh.

Initial Sniff: Oh my. Deep dark spicy chocolate. Wearing: Gorgeous for a little minute. I like sandalwood and myrrh and chocolate, but something quickly goes horribly wrong on my skin. It starts out with the pencil shaving smell, then the chocolate disappears, then... pencil shaving baby powder. It is so bad. Final Impressions: Demon vanilla!!! You ruined this gorgeous scent for me! I shall not forgive you! (Vanilla never seems to work on me, by the way.)

Initial Sniff: Hot buttered rum in a tiny vial. How the hell does she do that? Wearing:This starts out as hot buttery rum, but it quickly loses some of its buttery-ness. It fades very quickly - it only lasts about an hour on me. Final Impressions: If only it lasted! I'll keep the imp and have a decadent bath one of these days.

Initial Sniff: Coconut, hazelnut, and white musk. Wearing: Sweet, smooth, and fuzzy. It is all sweet coconut at first, but as it dries, something goes a bit off. I think it is the white musk that starts going a bit nasty in an almost chemical way. It fades very quickly (maybe an hour?) Final Impressions: Nice at first, but... oh, well.

Initial Sniff: Beth's description is dead-on to what I smell in the vial. Translucent, ethereal, pretty. Wearing: ROSE! None of the soft dewiness remains. Final Impressions: It doesn't matter how you shake it, I can't wear rose.

Initial Sniff: Dripping honeyed cherries in wine. Wearing: When wet, this is spiced cherries with a bit of wine. Positively scrumptious! As it dries, the vetiver comes out more and more until it overtakes all. Final Impressions: It is always the same with vetiver, I'm afraid.

Chocolate covered cherries. 'Nuf said.

Lavendar and lemongrass... I wore this to bed the other night and found it distracting.

Initial Sniff: OMFG. Buttery hazelnut and caramel. OMFG. Wearing: OMFG. It starts out with dark chocolate, vanilla buttercream, and melted butter. As it dries, the hazelnut and caramel come back out, and it is just a buttery jumble of sugar. Final Impressions: OMFG. The absolute perfect embodiment of the deadly sin. Like Magpiedee said, I WANT MORE. OMFG.

Initial Sniff: Very musky in the vial, with a breath of flowers. Wearing: At first, this is all musk and sandalwood with an underlying sweetness that I assume is the amber. The florals start peeking out as it dries, and soon the violet and vetiver appear. In the final stage this is all vetiver and violet in a weird powdery sharp woody mix. Final Impressions: I so wanted to like this one! But the drydown is not for me.

Initial Sniff: Bah! It is all lillies and paperwhite! Curses! Wearing: Bah! The lovely black poppy and opium notes are trying desperately to make their presence known, but are failing miserably in the face of the evil lily-paperwhite alliance. After a few hours this scent becomes gorgeous - the poppy and smoky opium loveliness finally triumphs. Final Impressions: You know, I'm not even sure why I wanted this. Just looking at the list of notes - there is no way that the love I feel for poppies would overcome my torrid relationship with lillies or my out-and-out hatred of paperwhite. What was I thinking? The final stage is gorgeous, though.

Initial Sniff: Mainly frankincense, but I can smell the violet and cinnamon as well. Wearing: The frankincense dominates when wet, with just a tinge of cinnamon. As it dries, the violet comes out with a vengence - it becomes all violet with a tinge of cinnamon and a whisper of frankincense. As it wears, it becomes more powdery. This is a very long-lasting blend. Final Impressions: I like the wet stage, but the violet quickly becomes a bit much for me. And I really dislike the powdery stage. I always thought I liked violets, but I'm beginning to think not so much...

Rosewood and chamomile with bergamot, violet, red sandalwood, primrose and Arabian musk. Initial Sniff: Woods, chamomile, and something sweet. Wearing: This starts out so nice! Sandalwood and sweet chamomile with a touch of bergamot. Then the rose appears. And that is all I smell until it fades a few hours later. Final Impressions: Why do I keep trying to wear rose scents? One of these days I will learn.