astraelly

Blarrghgbhhhh. Ugh, wow. Super fecal florals in the vial. Less so on the skin, but it still reminds me of baby powder on top of a shitty diaper. Dries down to something soapy after a couple hours.

Similar sort of unrealistic, green soapiness as in Murcia in the vial, but it's reduced and markedly more floral. On the skin, it's less artificial and there's a stickiness that gives off the impression of dandelion sap. I get generic wildflowers and a golden, warm sort of sweetness. Gets progressively sweeter as it sits longer on the skin and if that's the honey, then it's a thin, clear, and bright honey. It reminds me of something I might find at Crabtree and Evelyn. It's fresh and pretty, but not something I need.

Fresh and grassy in the vial, but it doesn't smell realistic. There's something that's almost like a chlorine bite in there, like a green-scented cleaning product used near a pool. That effect goes away after about five minutes, but there's still something unpleasantly soap or aftershave-like about this. It's almost minty in an artificial way?

This is jasmine (I think?) and something really weirdly fruity in the vial. On the skin, it's the same and I'm beyond confused at the fruit(?) note. After about 10 minutes, I get some vanilla peeking in around the edges as the fruitiness lets up and the jasmine gets a chance to settle into a drier state, but at this point the entire thing becomes rather faint. The vanilla is strange, threatening to go playdoh on me. Meh. My quest for a jasmine tea fragrance continues. Tbh, bourbon vanilla always does weird things on my skin. Lesson learned, I guess.

Holy shit, this is strong. This isn't the summer-day-in-a-green-garden breed of floral that you'll find in something like Alkemia's Desiderata. This is a full bouquet of rich, heady flowers you'd find in the boudoir of an aging, but expensive courtesan. Maybe my nose is just immature, but this doesn't smell like any gardenia or honeysuckle I've smelled before. I get a lot of powder (of the velvety amber variety, not baby powder). This is definitely a mature floral and smells a lot like a classic perfume. Sophisticated, but not me.

On the skin, it's creamy coconut and lemongrass in equal measures, weighted down by a lovely earthiness that could be the patchouli. This is warm, sweet, spicy, and complex, a rare gourmand that doesn't come off as too young or immature. The coconut makes it a nice summer fragrance, but the spiciness can carry it into fall. Also, probably the best label art ever. Really liked this and bought a bottle!

Mostly plum in the vial and on the skin with a slightly green background. Depending on where I apply it, the dry down progresses differently. On the wrist, it went powdery, probably due to the honey (similar to 'O' in its powdery quality) -- not entirely unpleasant, but not the clear sort of honey I smelled in Verticordia. Can't detect green tea on my wrist. It may have been crushed by my wrists rubbing against my desk? In the crook of my elbow, the green tea is much more apparent and it sort of floats above the rest of the notes. Elbow-scent is pretty, but the inconsistency between fragrance on different application points rules this out for me,

2015 edition! Clean, cool florals in the vial -- very fresh. On the skin, I cant pick out any distinct flowers except for a slightly soapy lily mixed into a serene aquatic background. The white musk here isn't as obnoxious as it can be elsewhere, but it does bring to mind a (nice) laundry detergent. No frankincense, which might've rescued it from generic clean white floral territory. This one lasts quite a while. Put it on before bed and woke up with it still going strong 8 hours later.

Freshly floral in the vial, like an expensive soap. Initial skin application is slightly fruity, mostly (rather sharply) floral. Drydown is soft, plush, slightly powdery tuberose. I was hoping for vetiver to make this more interesting, but as it is, it's pretty but forgettable.

Almond single note in the vial -- straight up sickly cherry almond. On the skin, it's marginally more complex, with the mimosa adding a strong powdery component to the fragrance, but not enough to rescue it. I was imagining something more creamy, given the notes, but the words that come to mind are 'shrill' and 'thin'. It's all sharp, spiky sweetness, like the toothache you get when you bite into a sugary dessert. Not much of a throw, thankfully.

Strange stuffiness/sweatiness on the skin, like the heavy sweetness of skin on a hot day, which is a little bit gross. Probably the musk in combination with the clove, the latter of which always reminds me of dentist offices and sadness. The apricot is there as a sweet (rather than tart) leaning, fleshy pit fruit, but it's overwhelmed by the aforementioned stuffiness. Don't get much bergamot or vetiver.