Teamama

This lovely scent is tricky to wear, because it's got an oil that disagrees with the more sensitive parts of my hide. If I put it on my neck, chest or abdomen, it stings. The prime suspect is the orange rind, which also keeps me from wearing Ravenous. Patch test if you're sensitive! That said, I like it. Wet, the almond is in my face. For about five or ten minutes, it's like MARZIPAN and some spices. After the almonds have gotten over themselves, the spices, rose and orange rind show themselves. I like Seraglio, but the Orientalist harem image isn't what I get. For me, this is the outrageously feminine smells that would have signalled preparation for Christmas in the kitchens of my Norwegian ancestresses. Ground almonds, grated orange rind, rose scented cold cream, and all the spices. This is about a 4 hour fragrance on me. It dries down into a spicy whisper with no throw.

Wet and dry, I got a subdued (damp?) rose, but only the faint echo of leather. My imp was from a forum purchase, without an age, so I'm going to reserve judgement. Whip gets a lotta love on the Rose Apologists' forum.

In the bottle: Granny Smith apple skin, after several months in storage (I'm from an apple-growing state, and that's NOT a good thing for me.) Wet: Granny Smith apple skin. Tantalizing hints of the other notes occasionally, overwhelmed by the apple. Dry down: After about 4 hours, the apple skin smell simmered down enough for me to detect the tobacco and tea, occasionally. Verdict: I have finally found a note (besides vetiver,) that I "amp." None of the Lab's other apple scents have done this . I'm going to have to swap it away for someone else to love.

Magical smell, but the orange is too strong for my cheap Scandinavian skin IT BURNS!! Had to wash it off, and the areas I applied it to are totally red (redneck city.) If you're at all sensitive, patch test this one! I will have to get a scent locket if I want to wear this, or use it as a room scent. So sad! The patch and the orange come together in a resin-y, vanilla-like way that is just magic.

In the imp: apples and green bitterness (the birch?) Wet: Wow, this is FABULOUS! Wet, just-sliced tart apples, with some bitterness like bark, or leaves. Dry: It's close to the skin, not a lot of throw, but still FABULOUS! The apple smells real. Dry, it's more like apple skin than juicy cut apples. The bitterness is in the background. I don't have enough experience with birch to know how true it is, but it does seem like it could be wood or bark. It's subtle, like the bitterness of tea. The apple blossom is also in the background, and hard to find, but it's there. I really like this, and need a bottle. Edited to add: lasts longer in a scent locket. Super for summer weather.

Mmm! This is the rose that I love in The Place Wherein Love Grew. It's very sweet, with a lemony note (that could be coming from the olibanum,) like some of my favorite red roses have when they're full-blown. During the dry-down, I was sure that I smelled cumin! I didn't see anyone note that in their review, so I'm going to revisit another day, in case this was coming from me (we do love our cumin in refritos at my house.) The incense isn't smokey to me, which is good, because my daughter is a major smoke-hater. I'm not getting honey today, just sweet roses. A total win! I'm happy I bought a bottle. Update: I'm now confident that cumin is part of Hedylogos. And I love it.

Edited to rave a little more. Harlot is MAGIC. Roses & Cinnamon are a fabulous combination. Roses are related to apples, and there is a tart, fruity note in Harlot that confused me at first. Then I recognized rose hips! Swoon! This is totally my jam. This is sweet, fruity roses, with spicy cinnamon. I've gotten a lot of compliments while wearing it, it's definitely in my Top Ten. Foody sidebar: My teen son compares Harlot to cinnamon jelly bellies, and complains that hugging me while I'm wearing it makes him crave cinnamon jelly bellies.

In the imp, pineapple butterscotch! On me, butterscotch, heavy on the candy, light on any hint of booze. My teen son LOVES it, and has taken custody of the imp, which is just as well because it's too foody for me.

Sweet, dry Tobacco leaves and vanilla, with wood peeking out in the background. No smokiness on me, thank heavens. This is sweet and butch, so I want to try it on my honey.

I have an imp of reddish-colored oil. In the imp, I smell strawberries (!?) On me, wet and dry, I smell soft Amber and vanilla with a hint of sandalwood. No sweet pea, alas. It lasted around 4-5 hours, not a lot of throw. Gentle, sweet, and unexciting. Edited to add: Mouse's seems to vary some, because I encountered another imp, which was a LOT more interesting. So I purchased a bottle from forum sales, and I enjoy it and get compliments when I wear it. The Sweet Pea is definitely a player in the second & third versions I got (imp & bottle.) Maybe my first imp was a weak mouse. Anyway, I have become a convert :-).

Alice is all foody on me? Where's the rose? The carnation is lightly spicy, like cinnamon, so on me, this was cinnamon-honey cookies and milky bergamot. Not a success for this rose-lovin' gal.

I was intrigued by the notes, and risked buying a bottle unsniffed. And, hey, I'm a sitting duck for the whole Scalia project. Snarky jab at the Supreme I love to hate, coupled with support of excellent organizations, AND BPAL? As they say, shut up and take my money! In the bottle I smelled peppery root beer. That was the way it smelled on me, too. Disappointingly simple. However, on my man, it's a very different scent (rowr!) The leather is there, the pepper is there, the patch is there in the background with a bass line. This is sweet and butch. On me, meh. On him, a definite keeper.

In the imp, smokey wood and aromatics. Can't pick out the lemon. Wet, more of the same, with an undertone of plastic (?) that faded quickly. A little powdery, the way sandalwood can be powdery. Dry, the lemon is there in the background. I'm catching a hint of ponderosa pine up close on a hot summer day, walking on dry needles. Overall, it's perfumey sweet dry wood with a little bit of citrus way back there. Nice, but I'm not inspired to need a full bottle (yet.)

Grants courage under extreme conditions, helps overcome fear of death, and strengthens the fortitude of artists and businessmen, enabling them to further their goals. Thank you to the many forumites who reviewed Wolf's Heart--I bought a bottle unsniffed, and am SO glad I did. This is a big hit with me, my daughter, and (unexpectedly,) my son. The oil is a beautiful clear coral-red color (I know because I had to split the bottle with my daughter, and decanted hers from the amber bottle into a clear glass one.) In the bottle, I could pick out dragon's blood and jasmine and spice. It's really well-blended, so none of those predominates. Wet and dry, the scent stays close to the skin, and feels very personal. It's not a "signature" scent, it seems to blend with the wearer and change itself to match the wearer's chemistry. The reviewer who said Wolf's Blood is like a blanket is right--both my kids are attached to comfort objects, and the comforting effect of Wolf's Heart is just like a special blanket.

In the bottle: Jasmine, a little bit of incense, and a hint of the same "soft" note that's in Wolf's Heart. Wet on my skin, the jasmine and incense have TREMENDOUS throw. My incense-averse daughter has forbidden me to put it on in the same room as her. The jasmine's still the easiest note to pick out, but the incense, the other florals and the bergamot are definitely involved. The bergamot is more citrus than herb. Can't find the vetiver at all. Dry, the throw is much subtler. The bergamot and the incense are on top, the vetiver is in there, and there's a powdery sort of iris. It's not very long-lasting on my bare skin indoors by the fan on a 90-degree summer day. I've had some world-class photosensitivity with bergamot oil in the past, so I do not plan to wear this blend anywhere that the sun can shine if I'm outdoors. Update 2 months and 1 bottle purchase later: The Caterpillar is wonderful. I get compliments on it, I love the way it smells, and it plays well with Wolf's Heart, my go-to fragrance for work. Back-up bottle, here I come!

In the imp, I was not able to pick out any one note, mostly it smelled sweet and oddly chemical. Wet, the oak reveals itself as the source of the "chemical" smell. It's not the sweet, woody smell I know from laying or sanding dry oak floorboards, and I've never smelled green oak wood. The rhubarb note is nice. Overall, this is pretty subtle, not a lot of throw. I don't think I can wear it, through, because I'm feeling a little queasy from it. Yep, had to wash it off.

Sweet roses, sweet figs, sweet honey. The orange blossom is in there, but it's lying low. This reminds me of the best baklava...it's baklava for the home! I really like this scent. Edited to add: I cannot say enough about how gorgeous this is. Thank you, Puddin, for letting me buy this as an atmo, HG, & perfume. It's my favorite honey, musk & florals blend, which is saying a lot considering how much I love the Lab's & Trading Post's honey, musk & florals .

In the imp: Sweet and complex, with milky, amber-y notes. Wow! Wet on me: Aw, shucks. It's almond extract and sugar with musk. This is NOT good on me. Dry: The almond has faded, there's a little bit of amber, but mostly this smells like musk cookies. Sigh. Another example of my chemistry wrecking a really interesting foody scent.

Spicy bay rum, with a LOT of tobacco. Maybe a hint of leather in there somewhere? As it dries, it gets sugary. Nice.

So sweet! The notes are well-blended, and interesting in the imp. However... Wet on my skin, it was an immediate mismatch. It smelled unpleasantly like I'd spilled some kind of coconut-rum-butterscotch drink all over myself. The rest of the notes vanished. Time did not improve matters. Not for me.

I love sandalwood, patch, jasmine and rose, and I was really looking forward to Namaste. The imp smelled like 100% lemon. Wet, it was mostly lemon. It didn't smell like lemongrass, more like straight up lemon extract. I could hardly detect anything else. The lemon dominated for over an hour. Eventually, I could smell the other notes, but faintly. This isn't a good one for me.

Foody all the way. In the imp I could smell the spices and the myrrh. That was the only time I could find the myrrh. Once I put Chimera on, it was very, very sweet. It started as a sort of amber-y cinnamon, with some vanilla and cherries. The cherries started out low-key, but gradually took over completely. Where did they come from? Darn cherries.

My kind of party! Rose, jasmine and myrrh? I'm there! I like this as an evening scent. I can't quite imagine wearing it before late afternoon. That would be like having liqueur and cheesecake first thing in the morning in your jammies.

My imp is a mid-amber color. Somewhere in Gnome there's a note that's related to the good dirt smell I like so much in Yorick. The ginger is faint. It's nice, but I'm not very taken with it. My daughter the Elf-wearer reacts very strongly against this scent (go figure,) so it's going in the swap pile.

Note: my skin wrecks aquatics. A pretty coral pink oil. In the imp, it smells complex and salty. On me, wet and dry both, all the complexity went away. My skin turned it into something sadly like Irish Spring deodorant soap. I guess I soaked up all the blood, leaving only seafoam. Not for me.