Miggins

Or anyone else's, really. You would have thought that a perfumer with 20 years' experience would have far more fun creating their own scents rather than duping other people's. If you really want to recreate other people's perfumes, why not pick ones that are long discontinued, like Serena at Ava Luxe? FilShad, we've spoken at length about this previously, but I wanted to give you my support. This is an excellent blog entry which has opened up a fascinating debate relatively untainted by drah-ma and emotion.

I was lucky enough to get an imp of 13 from that lovely ole AlectoNox. In the imp, I smell a Bliss-y sort of smell - as magikfanfic said way back at the beginning, chocolate digestives. Hmm. Wet on my skin, I get a lovely buttery note. Just like the buttery note in Jack, but without the *ahem* "rotting fruit" as someone told me. I love the buttery note! But it fades way too quickly. Bah. To be replaced by - noooo! - powder. Poo. But I stuck with it. You have to give it at least an hour, right? Within about 20 minutes, I'm thinking "Black Pearl" and I don't know why. Aha! Iris. The iris has elbowed its way right to the front. But wait, the fruits are fighting back! For an hour, I get a lovely fruity smell, but not a falling in love type smell. And it's fading. Oh well. Then whilst I was queueing at the Post Office, I was surreptitiously smelling my hand (I know it looks weird so I was trying not to do it too much!), I started to smell a more foody smell. And it's getting stronger. This isn't good. I can smell the Gingerbread Poppet/Sugar Cookie smell that turns my stomach. But I stick with it because this one seems to be changing about every 30 minutes. At the end of around 3 hours, I'm left with a vaguely buttery, chocolatey, curranty deeper smell that's bounced back after I thought it was fading. Really quite lovely. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle in January, but I've got a few months to decide. But I'm glad I got to try it - it's a helluva complex blend.

Cairo, because it's so rich and lovely and warm - red wine, honey, vine fruits.

Kabuki was *very* almond/cherry on me.

I think it would go really nicely with potion - but I think it would be complimentary, not really really similar, because potion does not have the plum. I though bathsheba was only 'ok' because of the plum, which is not really me, but I love potion... I tried ahathoor the other day & I think it will go REALLY well with potion - there must be carnation in it! I'm so happy I've got the solar collection on order <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think Desdemona would go pretty well with Potion as well.

Cairo, although not overly complex, has that evolving gourmand feel to it (for me, at least).

Leapy, it comes with the usual mail. And very helpfully, the box is a perfect size to slip through your letterbox if you aren't there!

I e-mailed Kenedy two days ago about my 5 Jan order, and he replied saying the storms had delayed international orders (presumably because they couldn't actually safely get to the post office). I don't think it would hurt to drop them a quick e-mail. You might be lucky (like me!) and get a "shipped" notice as well as a reply.

I have the problem that my skin amps up musk over everything else and it seems to be more "red" musks that do that. I love Black Pearl - it's a lovely soft "blue-tinged" musk under the coconut notes.

I was so lucky to get a couple of imps of this from babykitty after she spotted it on my wishlist... A beautiful scent, strong but not overpowering, and sweet, spicy and sexy. I'm gutted that the single note of this had to be discontinued, but on the other hand, it's so concentrated that you only need a dab or two, so my imps will last me a while!

Morocco is *very* red to me.

I am still wondering how I managed to overlook Black Pearl for so long... Black Pearl, on me, is the summer partner of Snow White. I get a lovely a nutty vanillary coconut that smells like coconut biscuits, with a hint of a blue-tinged musk (as opposed to the red-tinge of Morocco or Dorian), which balances it nicely. Definitely a keeper. Definitely hankering after a big bottle. Simply gorgeous.

Baba Yaga was a gift in a swap. I spent ages scanning my "BPAL Catalogue" until I realised it wasn't a permanent scent! I don't get any pineapple with Baba Yaga, but definitely pomegranate. Dry and juicy. Smells like Swank but without the martini note. Into the drydown, I get jasmine. On my skin, they both have an almost soapy note, but it works well here. As the drydown goes on, the soapiness recedes and I'm left with a pomegranate/jasmine blend. Which is very lovely. It seemed to dry quite fizzy and fruity, but that was in middle of the night when I woke up briefly, seemingly just to sniff my hand! I'm not sure it was really the right time of the year for it - a chilly February night - but if it makes it to the permanent collection, it'll be perfect for a balmy summer's eve. Fruity but not zingy, calming but not soporific.

I've now got a vision of Ctrlfreak and Tugs in uniform on a parade ground with all the group order people awaiting inspection and imps! I'm really glad that the orders are trickling through - I have a vested interest in the Yule one.

I wouldn't start "worrying" until at least 14 February. My 27 October order reached me on 23 December in the UK. Have a look at this thread to give you an idea of what's being shipped when. When you placed your order, did you get an automated response from the Lab saying your order was now in a queue to be processed? If not, you might want to e-mail them, but probably wait until February when the Customer Services Demon is back in place.

Sweet, creamy - reminds me of buttercream but with something extra... mmm, sweet, lightly musky and slightly buttery but in a very fluffy kind of way. I like! ETA: On prolonged wearing, I find that my skin amps up the musk but it's oh-so-sweet and snuggly and lovely. It's hugely long-lasting, and has a nice throw. Weirdly, it reminds me of Laura Biagiotti's Venezia, Cosmetics-To-Go's Himalaya, and Lush's Snowcake and Butterball. But amazingly better. And although it's warm and snuggly, I have a perverse desire to keep it in the 'fridge!

Allamanda mentioned most of the blends I'd had in my head, so I'll just add in that if you like fruity, try Swank or Bordello. (Old) Cairo is also quite fruity, but in a soft honeyed way.

I can smell my perfume, but other people usually can't. However, two that have made a big impact were Jack (my first unsolicited compliment) and Bordello which, when I wore it the other day, broke the perfume barrier and elicited two compliments from people I've worked with on a daily basis for over three years.

In defence of this review, I do have extremely funky skin chemistry and I have a huge slab of well-matured British gingerbread lurking in Area 51 (aka the food stash cupboard). In the bottle, Gingerbread Poppet smells very clovey and very much like Jack did in the bottle. I'm not really sure about it. Once onto my skin, all other notes are shoved mercilessly to one side in favour of clove. *sigh* I was expecting something very dark, heavy and treacly, with a bite of ginger and pepper (akin to the gingerbread in my cupboard). On my skin, I got something closer to Printen from Aachen, Germany, which is not so sticky or sweet, is much lighter both in colour and texture, and definitely has more clove than ginger. Just to compound my misery at Gingerbread Poppet not suiting me at all, my skin decided to have a huge reaction to one of the spice oils and I looked like I had big scratchmarks over my arm for about an hour. Bah. Off with you to PinkPig and I hope you play nicer with her.

I'm hugely disappointed with my skin, because it seems to have taken a dislike to Paris. I put it on this morning and yet again, my neck turned red and angry, and started itching. I also get it on the inside of my elbows, but weirdly, only on the left arm. I've noticed it before, but Jedley pointed it out today so I can't ignore it now and pretend it's not happening. Anybody have any ideas why this has happened? I've been wearing it since the summer with no reaction, but in the last month or so, the itching has started. It's such a lovely blend but if it's got to go, it's got to go.

Have you tried Aizen-Myoo? It's wickedly fruity, but as most of the fruits lean towards citrus, it takes the sweet edge off. The smoky black tea makes it yummy, but not sweet. And there's always Swank - on me it's fruity, but not at all sweet.

I purchased Three Witches unsmelled from ebonykawai and I am so glad I did. Holy moly, Three Witches is g-o-o-d! The cinnamon doesn't "bite" me which is fabulous, and the whole blend smells like warm cinnamon and cloves (I don't get much of the pepper). It's so warm and comforting - the first day I wore it was very cold and rainy which was absolutely perfect. It lasts for ages as well (a good 12 hours). A perfect spicy huggy blend.

My advice would be just to keep trying blends. Alice turns to powder on me and I thought it was the carnation. However, in Maiden, the carnation stays true. If it was the honey, Cairo and O would be powdery and so on. Skin is a funny thing. On the whole, I cannot wear myrrh at all - it smells v bad - but Cairo smells wonderful. It's just trial and error. You said you were strapped for cash, but don't forget the swap boards - there are plenty of people out there with who will gladly take your imps that don't work and give you others in return.

This isn't strictly speaking Lush, more pre-Lush, but The Raven is a dead ringer for Cosmetics-To-Go's Violet Nights range. Not that you can get it any more. *sniff*

Thank you again, xochitl, for sending me an imp of Vixen. I *love* Vixen. Orange blossom and ginger both work well on me, but I was worried that the patchouli would overwhelm everything else. I am so glad it didn't. Wet, I get a good hard hit of ginger - very spicy and biting. The orange blossom peeks through to soften a little, and by the time it's dry, the patchouli is lurking in the background, but never turning to the mouldy smell I usually get. Fabulous. After about 30 minutes, I smelt my wrist and before I could even think what I was saying, the words "completely edible" had slipped out of my mouth (and yes, I was talking to myself). Just lovely. And a little naughty!