isisonearth

#168 Knock your socks off sweet. Honey, honeysuckle, yellow roses maybe jasmine very yellow. There is a woodier base note too. Have to think on that one. It reminds me of New Orleans without the spice. It fills the whole room when you unscrew the cap. On the second try I think that what I thought was a woody note is pollen...a big huge lot of pollen.Stargazers I think. I really love this one!

Absolutely amazing. The fluffiness did not disappoint. It is gentle, close and warm. Right out of the bottle the snap of carnation mixes with the sandalwood in something a bit like sweet tarts (in my locket if I hold it close and sniff that stays). It dries down to a slightly vanilla sweetened sandalwood. It is very nearly a skin scent but cleaner if that makes any sense. None of the darker, mustier feel I thought might happen with the clove and massoia bark. Beth just has a way with feathers.

Imp: Sweet but astringent. Something reminds me of eucalyptus, laurel maybe. Wet: I can smell the lilies but the laurels are drowning out anything else on me. Dry: I get the sharp pepper on a long inhale and a minty tingle. Rather woody actually. Yep...woody, minty pepper. Overall: It sounds brilliant but I don't think my skin chemisty allows it a good full expression of its notes.

Bottle: Milky and just a little sour but the blackberry is strong! Wet: Warm milk, a bit of minty snow and the tart blackberry. So evocative of the first stirrings of Spring. Dry: If I sniff it close its minty and fresh but that heavenly milk scent tinged with fruit. I can't stop sniffing. Overall: I picked this one yet again hoping for a Milk Moon replacement. When it first came I thought it wasn't right in that respect but now I'm totally getting that same slightly sour milk note that I had such a visceral reaction to in Milk Moon and it combines with just the right amount of fruit. I'm giddy with joy. Such a comfort scent!

Bottle: Warm and smoky. I love the scent of this, such promise of good things to come. Wet: It goes on a light patchouli and the smell of really expensive vanilla extract. Dry: Dark and rich with a whispery feeling that evokes feathers. It has ages to be almost seamless. There is a little snap of the raven's beak if I inhale deeply that must be the chili. Overall: Swoon!

Bottle: It sort of pokes at the nose. A piney sort of sharpness full of resin. Wet: Sweet, salty, pine resin...lots of very snappy notes. Way underneath is a smoother base of the tonka, tobacco and tea, a smoky, creamy sweetness but you really have to close your eyes and reach for it. Dry: It smells like the sea. It really does remind me of the smell of the ocean. I love that it stays salty to the end. Overall: I feel really lucky that I had a friend who was able to pick my up a bottle.

Bottle: Green, sweet and fresh. Mainly thyme and pear. Wet: I get a huge rush of pear and , now that it has had a few weeks, tea. Almost too fruity for my taste but there is something compelling about it. Dry: As it dries the herbal quality comes out and there is more of a sharp green quality to it. The musk adds a round feathery quality to it. The big surprise for me is the lime. No sugar here. The lime is bitter like the rind. Overall: Not what I expected but it is unusual and has that sharp green quality I love for summer. It also seems to me that it keeps improving.

The pinnacle of wealth, luxury, self-indulgent pleasure, voluptuousness and sensuality. Bright violet with sweet clove, Mediterranean incense notes and tonka bean. Imp: Almost pure violet...like Choppard's mints. Wet: The violet becomes creamier and richer with a nice counterpoint of spice. Almost a little on the dry side after a minute. Dry: Very pretty violet incense. It has that great violet characteristic of popping up over and over through the simple baseline of spicy incense. I really like it. Too bad I already promised it away.

Imp: I'm totally going with Bailey's or some other cream liqueur. Wow...that wakes you up. Wet: A little smoother and creamier on. You can smell those Crimson Desert spices (nutmeg?) grated on top. Dry: The coffee starts coming out. A nice spiced coffee with lots of fresh cream. Overall I was hoping for a little more goat but it lacks that slightly sour note in favor of confectionery delight. This is another one that is too sweet for my usual taste so I'm happy enough to have an imp for the holidays and leave it at that.

Imp: Soft rose and vanilla almost old-fashioned but a little too foody for that. Wet: There is a flash of powdery vanilla then it amps the rose like mad. Reminds me of the Tea Rose perfume I wore in high school. Dry: The foody vanilla comes back and the scent is very pretty but also really frilly and pink (no surprise there). I'm going to have a great time wearing my imp this Yule but I think a little goes a long way.

Imp: Sweet spicy orangy scent with pollen heavy lily. Wet: Amazingly very much the same as in the imp. A bit less fruity but still the lily laden with musky pollen. Dry: Finally a talking flower that agrees with me. The dry down is honey sweet lilies and spicy pollen. It is striking but close to the skin. Plus over all it just has a feeling of a rich orange color. Perfection!

Imp: Gorgeous sweet floral...strong on the jasmine and water lily. Wet: The roses are much more pronounced on my skin. More like a florists cooler. Yet there is something rare and strange too nearly carnation spicy. Dry: Dries down to a surprisingly simple rose.

Imp: The first breath is very purple! Floral and juicy with a green finish like violet leaves. I'm also getting a powdery sort of musk. Wet: Almost a single note violet on me like old fashioned violet water. Dry: Pretty but so very faint.

Imp: Very heady and sweet. Gardenia or honeysuckle. It reminds me of New Orleans in a way. Wet: Dry dirt and those hot house florals...quickly begins to dry down to a dust note that makes my throat dry. Dry: The dirt and moss really spoil this for me. They are evocative but really repelling to me. I'm backing away from the Crossroads.

Imp: There is something very lemony about it. Sort of a herbal lemon. Not at all what I expected. Wet: The sweet myrrh rises like incense from offerings of lemons and oranges. Yes the sun warmed citrus fruit notes are becoming more pronounced. Reminds me of Wild Sweet Orange tea. Dry: It is starting to go very lemon furniture polish. That makes it sound bad but really it isn't. There is a wood smell but it is bright warm and shiny and the lemon is still pervasive. Hmmm...after looking at a description of Kyphi it seems the wood is cedar, the bright is frankincense and I'm wondering if the lemony isn't spiknard. Yep...its cedar. After about 20 minutes it begins to go horribly wrong.

Imp: A lovely, warm rose. Not at all soapy. Not at all green. Surprisingly simple. Wet: Wet it flairs momentarily brighter. I almost begin to catch specific spices but it quickly retreats to a more demure skin and roses scent. Dry: Warm skin and the memory of roses as though I spent a warm afternoon in a rose garden. It rounds out a bit fruity but I'm guessing that is rosehips. The spice may be a touch of sandalwood.

Imp: A plasticy sort of sweet. Wet: The daisy is really the strong note here. It starts out very cold and fresh. No bite of pepper or spice from the carnation. Dry: The daisy develops sort of a floral musk on me. Not at all what I like. It reminds me of pollen. Overall: I had imagined this might be a replacement for Pink Moon 07 but I couldn't have been more wrong.

Imp: Very faint. Sort of a slight mint and chocolate I guess. Wet: Gah...chocolate and cedar. Then is starts to give way to pistachio (shells not ice cream). Dry: It is clearly chocolaty now but not thrilling. The pistachio note is a bit stale. Overall: Nothing to compare to any of the 13s I've tried.

Imp: Lemon-lime sparkly, champagne bubbly, melon sweet...lovely! Wet: Something a bit odd an musky along with, sadly, Jolly Ranchers. Dry: Total sadness...the melon amps to sugar-high heaven. I can barely detect all the wonderful notes that should be there. Overall: I really wanted to smell toadflax but it didn't stand a chance against the melon of doom.

Imp: Very outdoorsy. Fir with a bit of sweetness...like a memory of honey. Wet: Sweet, sweet myrrh and warm amber but an overall dry sort of feel that seems masculine. It starts to fade fast. Dry: In minutes it is a faint but delicious skin musk with just a hint of resins if I put my nose right to it. Overall: I'd like to smell is on a man. I'd like it on me if it were just a bit louder and the sweetness stayed.

This is going to be very stream of consciousness. Bottle: Warm amber, fragrant woods and roasting herbs. Wet: The woods seem to be cedar and pine to me. The herbs must include rosemary they remind me of roasting potatoes. A fair bit of lavender as well. I think it is burning in the fire with the woods. It smells like something browning. There is a fire smell that seems like clove to me. Overall it puts me in mind of Thanksgiving. Dry: More offertory than culinary...a golden brown sandalwood incense with lingering bit of herbal green.

Imp: Wow...this really packs a wallop. Amber but so dark and rich it must be that brown musk...its like velvet.The barest hint of rose. Wet: On the skin it is a bit woodier than in the imp but still very mysterious and appealing. I'm really not getting much in the way of rose. Dry: That brown musk is still just wowing me. Obviously a note I need to explore further. Whoso makes me thing of a dark wood armoire full of brown velvet gowns that hold a lingering touch of their wearer...skin musk and rosewater.

Imp: The milk note is very similar to Milk Moon 07. Maybe not quite as strong though. Wet: Initially it is very, very similar to what I remember but less complex. I had a very visceral reaction to MM07 that I'm just not getting here. It is lighter and doesn't seem as ancient as MM did. The sweetness is pretty though. Dry: It sort of puts me in mind of some sort of savory desert made with whipped and sweetened goat cheese and figs. I like it but not enough.

Imp: Hot house rose that blends seamlessly into the piney bite of fir. It puts me in mind of a xmas wreath my mom had. Evergreen boughs with big, velvety red roses. Wet: Drier more mellow notes of tobacco and spice join the evergreen and rose. The tonka adds a creamy note that is very complimentary to the White Rose companion scent. Dry: Warm and complex. The red rose is only occasionally noticed in its rich envirnoment. It reminds me of a holiday party with expensive tobacco, cloved oranges, guests in costly and exotic perfumes of the East and crystal cut vases of perfect long stemmed red roses decorating the tables.

Imp: Sweet and creamy with just the slightest sharp edge. Wet: A delicate almost foodie rose like frosting made with rosewater. Dry: Enticingly sweet and girly. Just a hint of musky orris keeps it interesting. I actually don't get much rose at this stage, more vanilla cream.