Kmye Chan

In the imp: mostly cococa - not chocolate, but dry, bitter Dutch cocoa powder. Something slightly woody underneath. Wet: Uuuuuuurgh. This smells like warm plastic - like the inside of a car that's been in the sun for a while. It's stomach-turning to me. I tried keeping it on for further review, but this one was awful on me and I had to wash it off. Sorry Velvet, but you'll have to go. :/

In the imp: Woah. This smells very, very sweet, almost candyish and fruity? I assume it's the sweet pea. I can't discern vanilla. On the skin: Very sweet sweet pea, with some vanilla and sandalwood. It's quite lovely, but so very sweet. Dry: the sandalwood comes out and takes over for a little while. Then it reverts to a sweet vanilla/amber/sandalwood scent. This is nice, although a bit too sweet for my tastes. I'll keep my imp though, I can see myself wearing this from time to time. It's a nostalgic scent that reminds me of these scented sandalwood balls my grandma used to place between sheets in the cupboard (in a good way).

Stately, bold, aristocratic and cruel. Opulent galbanum and amber, glistening peach, and a bouquet of French florals, with a merciless undertone of jonquil and heartless vetiver. In the imp: peach and undistinct flowers. Sweet but not sugary. Wet: the peach dies down almost instantly on me, and this is full-on flowers and amber. I can also smell the vetiver underneath, which gives the scent a bit of depth. Drydown: lovely spicy yellow flowers with a bit of sweetness and wood underneath. Rather perfumey but not soapy at all. I really like this. This one is a winner for me. It does seem to be pretty dependent on skin chemistry though, because the first time I tested it I remember it smelling more strongly of white florals (I liked it both ways).

In the imp: this smells oddly floral to me, which may be the clean linen note. There's more, but I can't really make out the other notes. Wet: tea, ginger, pepper. This is lovely, much more soft and rounded than other tea/citrus scents I have like Kumiho or Embalming Fluid. I'm not sure about that floral clean linen note, which gives the scent a tiny bit like an undertone of cleaning product when wet. I don't get any vanilla or honey. Dry: oh, this is lovely. Tea, vanilla, pepper, honey and a subtle undertone of white flowers. This smells very clean and cosy, and not at all too sweet. Throw: medium on me, I can smell light wafts when I move but nothing conspicuous. I like this one. It's not "OMG love it must have bottle!" but I'll definitely use my imp.

This one was a frimp I received second-hand. In the imp: very sweet cinnamon, and now that I read the other reviews, it does smell like cola! Wet: cinnamon, spice, and something sweet and fruity that I can't quite place. It makes me think of Christmas. (My boyfriend thinks I smell of mince pies.) Dry: the sweetness and cinnamon dies down after an hour, and I get an incensey scent with musk and amber underneath. It reminds me a lot of a softer, hippier version of Dior Addict (much more so than Snake Oil or O, which are often mentioned as similar but do not smell anything like Addict on my skin). Throw: this one has good throw on me. Lasting power: excellent - it was still definitely floating around after 8 hours. I like it, but I don't love it. I'll have to test it again though because I can see this one growing on me.

In the imp: Lots of violets - not candied violets, but green, fresh flowers with the stems and leaves and all. Some white florals lurking behind, but not too intrusive. Wet: ooooh this is lovely. Leafy violets and white flowers, like it says on the bottle. It smells very regal, although rather young and gracious to my nose. In fact, it reminds me very much of Penhaligon's Ellenisia, which is sweeter but has a similar violet/white flower combo going on. Drydown: this doesn't morph much as it dries, just mellows a tiny bit. So so beautiful. My favourite violet perfume I've tried from the lab so far. Considering a bottle of this one.

I got this one from tallan's destash - I picked it up because I remembered it had violets, and I looove me some violets. In the imp: uuuuurgh. What is this thing? I get some violet mixed with strong, acrid, smoky woody vetiver. I'm not actually sure I want to put this on my skin but eh, FOR SCIENCE. Wet: this is awful on me. Pure vetiver. It's actually making me nauseous. Scrubbing this off right away. Uuuuuurgh.

I ordered this as part of my quest for the perfect vanilla/sandalwood scent. [spoiler: that was not it.] In the imp: this smells very warm and biscuity. Like a vanilla cookie. I was not expecting something so foody based on previous reviews. Wet: salty, ambery vanilla. Still very foody, a little bit play-doh-ish. Dry: the wood/musk base starts peeking through a little bit, but still salty ambery vanilla. It does loose its foody edge though, but remains very warm and kind of play-doh-ish on me. After an hour or so, the vanilla goes away and I'm left with a soft, lightly powdery amber/sandalwood scent. Throw: stronger than most, I can really smell it floating around me. Lyonesse is too sweet and warm for my taste, although the scent lingering after the first 1-2 hours is quite pleasant. I haven't reviewed all the vanilla scents I've sampled and tested yet, but I'm beginning to think that the vanilla note used by the lab doesn't agree with me and turns everything too sweet and sticky on my skin.

I can't remember if this was a frimp from the lab or whether I impulsively added it to my order. In the imp: strong, sweet rose, more rose jam than fresh flower. There's something chemical and slightly unpleasant about it. Wet: okay that's nicer. A rather juicy rose. Dry: pretty much straight rose on me. The pomegranate sweetens it a bit, without lending any real scent shift. No throw or lasting power review because I washed it off. I don't like strong rose notes, which tend to get a distinct toilet cleaner smell on my skin. Persephone is no exception. Swap.

A nocturnal bounty of fae dew-kissed petals and pale fruits: white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon. In the imp/bottle: sweet fruit and flowers. I smell pear, a bit of grape (true grape, not grape candy like in Lady Macbeth), and I would have sworn there's melon in there. No peach that I can discern. Some sweetpea in the background. Wet: this smells a little bit sour and soapy when first applied to my skin. Dry: Oooooh my goodness. The most wonderful blend of light, airy fruits and flowers. Sweet but not at all sticky, floral but not at all heady, clean but not at all soapy, fresh but not at all sharp. This takes about 15 minutes to come into its own on my skin, but then it is fantastic. Throw: moderate. I can definitely smell it on me and on my clothes, especially when I move. Lasting power: this lasts amazingly well on me. It's still hanging around 10 hours later. Well, this is true love. To this day, Titania is my first and only 5ml bottle purchase. This scent makes me feel like I can work magic, very uplifting and empowering and I love wearing it when I need to get things done.

In the decant: sorta creamy, sorta sweet, but no distinct notes that I recognize immediately. After looking up the notes, I can distinguish the coffee and something more earthy (oud?). Wet: a little bit sweeter and spicier, but again, nothing very distinct. Unlike previous reviewers, I get almost no coffee. Dry: this gets so faint that it is almost undetectable on me. Just something vaguely incensey and creamy if I sniff reeally deep. No likey. This really does not agree with my skin chemistry. I also tried it in the crook of my elbow, since others noted a difference between wrist and elbow, but got the exact same bleh-ness.

In the imp: in-your-face white floral, but one I woudn't have placed as plumeria. With something lightly citrusy and bubbly in the background - champagne probably. This smells both joyous and clean. Wet: still mostly white floral/plumeria. I don't get much pear out of this. This smells a bit *too* sharp and clean, like detergent. Dry: smells like nondescript fancy soap on me. Lasting power: it hangs around for a long time - I can still smell it on my skin 6-8 hours later. Heh. Sniffing this one in the imp, I thought I'd love it, but alas, it was not to be.

This was a frimp from the lab. In the imp: very woody, like sandalwood and something a bit smoky. Wet: a lovely, very warm woody scent, like the inside of a slightly dusty outside, but well-oiled inside, wooden treasure chest. There's something slightly sweet, which must be the fig, but I don't get any cocoa, which is fine by me. Dry: much the same. Throw: low-medium, I can smell it faintly on myself. I can't really see myself wearing this much, but I think I'd like smelling it on a man, or as a house fragrance. A very lovely, mysterious scent.

This was a frimp from the lab. In the imp: musk and apple (which I initially mistook for pear), very sweet, almost rotten. Wet: lots and lots of earthy patchouli, with fruity apple and rose in the background. Eww. I don't really like this. Dry: apple-scented cleaning product. Eww eww eww. Decidedly not for me. Rose is a note that makes everything turn to cheap cleaning product on me, so unsurprisingly, this didn't work. I washed it off, so no throw/lasting power review. Swap pile!

In the imp: this smells exactly like violet syrup, the kind you can order mixed with white wine in Paris. It's one of my favourite drinks, so no complaints here. If I look for it I can smell the gardenia behind the sweet violet. (PS: it seems my olfactive receptors for violet saturate quickly, because I resniffed after applying and couldn't get any violet out of the vial, while the scent was strong and crystal clear earlier. Strange!) Wet: The violet retracts behind the gardenia, and there is something a bit sour coming out, which I suspect is the vanilla playing tricks on my skin. Not sure I am going to like this. Dry: The violets are back. Candied violets and gardenia, with vanilla underneath rounding off the scent. Throw: low. I quite like this, but as far as violets go I much prefer the colder, non-apologetic Queen Gertrude. This is a bit too candy-like for me. I'll probably keep my imp though.

In the imp: Ooooh goodness this smells nice. A floral that reminds me of delicious clean laundry (probably the freesia), a hint of citrus, and something green. Wet: Much the same, very clean and absolutely gorgeous. Dry: the musk and neroli peak out, and something vaguely salty that reminds me of the seaside in the background. Otherwise still that beautiful, fruity floral scent. Throw: average. I can smell it on my decolletage, but it's not obxonious. Lasting power: the throw dies down after a couple of hours, but I can still smell it on my wrist 8 hours later. This was one of the only imps, with Titania, where I went all "OMG MUST HAVE BOTTLE" the instant I tested it. A huge hit for me, as it's also utterly gorgeous or my skin. I just wish the throw was a tiny bit stronger. I'll just slather it on! PS: out of curiosity I went to the department store to test Thierry Mugler's Alien side by side, since the comparison came up in previous reviews. The two do smell very similar at first, however after about an hour Alien dries down to a sticky sweet scent on my skin and I like the clean feel of 51's drydown much better.

In the imp: cake! Sugary vanilla sponge cake. Wet: still vanilla sponge cake, and something berry with a hint of bitterness and depth - more raspberries than currants to my nose. Dry: okay I smell like raspberry jam roly-poly now. Throw: medium, I can smell it on myself but it's not obnoxious. This is a funny little number, but I don't really want to smell like cake. Stuff my face with it? Hell yeah. Smell like it? No thanks. Too sweet and sugary for me, I'll pass this one on.

In the imp: More fruity than floral, slightly soapy but in a good way. Wet: Sweet white florals, in which I distinguish the lilies, and soap. I like it, but it does remind me a bit of a scented cleaning product. Dry: This gets a lot more soft and delicate as it dries, and looses the soapy, cleaning product edge. Sweet and clean, but a bit non-descript. I still like it, but it's one of those subtle, barely there clean floral scents that I'd rather like to smell on my laundry than wear as a skin scent. Throw: low. I need to sniff my wrist to smell it. Lasting power: below average on me, about 3 hours.