shibagast

Love makes monsters of us all: faded red roses and a glimmer of garnet with black lily, ylang ylang, smoky plum musk and black amber. (I'm on a review spree!) In the bottle, I can only smell the amber at first. If I keep smelling, I get a hint of florals and a bit of plum. The amber discouraged me, initially, but there's just something about that I actually find quite pleasant. First application, I still smell mostly amber. Not for me at all... but as it dries, I'm getting a little more of the floral notes. I'm terrible at picking them out, though, sorry ): The plum is so strong now! It smells like I'm sniffing the skin of a plum, a little green. Upon further dry down, it is much more musky. I'm not getting much smoke, but I bet it's lost to the musk to my nose. I was really nervous at first, but this just smells so lovely and elegant. I feel like I just need to drape myself in the darkest of Victorian fashion and stroll through the park.

… I find myself thinking of you – at the most inopportune moments of the day. I feel as if a link – a thread exists between your heart and mine… And that, should that link be broken by distance or time… Well – I fear my heart would cease to beat and die… and you’d soon forget about me. Heartwood bois de rose and vanilla-touched rose. First? Oh no... >: In the bottle, I smell mostly roses. Reading the description online, I was caught by the vanilla-touched rose, but first sniff, I don't get any of that. First application, rose at first, grounded by the smell of wood. I do smell the vanilla now, very faintly in the background. After dry down, mostly roses.. I think my skin just amps rose since London stays forever on me. It's roses touched by vanilla and wood, like a breath of wind. The scent is very delicate and light. It makes me think of when Edith and Thomas first start courting each other, a very delicate situation lest someone be frightened away.

[No additional description provided.] First ahhh I tested the bottle straight from the mail because I couldn't wait haha. In the bottle, it smells like mango syrup, like melted gummy candy. Wet and initial dry down is more of the same. And then! It becomes a little green and less candy like, such as when you eat a mango and you eat the flesh that's closer to the skin. It is now a very ripe mango, perhaps overripe, and it takes on a creaminess that reminds me of...sunscreen? (For whatever reason, this scent reminds me of Disney World, Animal Kingdom in particular.) A few minutes later, no more candy; it smells as if I have my nose to the skin of an overripe mango. I'm pretty happy that I got the bottle. I found this to have fairly decent throw as I only applied the tiniest dab to my wrist and I was getting whiffs of it as I went about the house doing things. I don't find this to be foodie at all. At the end of the day, it's a bit floral/perfume-y on me.

These… spectres – may be all around us and only the “developing agent” – those with the specific aberration can see them… Or perhaps we only notice things when the time comes for us to pay attention to them. When they need us to see them… The scent of a pierced veil: misty white petals drifting through ambergris and frankincense. In the bottle, I smell the ambergris and frankincense first. First application, I can smell something very slightly floral. After it dried, mostly floral and frankincense. If this is the ambergris that I'm smelling, it really rounds out the scent. It's very subtle and delicate. If I were going to slip past the veil to the other side, this is what I would be smelling.

Very incense-y in the beginning, then grows smokier as it dries. I feel like I smell like the back of a metaphysical shop at this point. I don't really get any of the sweetness or anything! edit: I super lied and was impatient - this actually mellowed out to something sweeter somewhere in hour 2, though I still smell like the back of a metaphysical shop. (Maybe a long time ago this was a bad thing for my nose, but I think it's changing and I quite like it as I find it rather nostalgic.)

There must be something about orange blossom that makes it smell like sunscreen to me as this has also happened with an Arcana blend... or maybe I just don't know what orange blossoms smell like haha. It starts off very strongly jasmine, then tempers down into light florals with a hint of sweetness. I'm honestly just getting all sunscreen though. ):

Very green upon first application! Now that it's dried a bit, it's basically just wet soil, as if I've just pulled a plant from the ground. Interesting, but not for my skin chemistry, I suppose!

All I'm getting is soap that makes me think ocean. >: Fresh from the mail, though! I hope I get the other notes once it settles.

Horrible for me. ): I don't know if mine is formulated differently or what. Nothing sweet at all. I'm not great at picking out smells, but it's very woody, musky patchouli-y to me. No thank you!

Creamy coconut apple goodness. It smells like fresh cut apples dipped in coconut cream. The figs really ground it for me, making it not too sweet. I'm not sure what tiare smells like, but there might be an edge of it since there's something I can't really identify.

Apples and honey with a touch of goat's milk! The milk is sweeter than I'm used to in milk/cream notes. I only get a slight dusting of hay enough to make my nose twitch in anticipation of a sneeze haha.

It smells a bit fizzy to me! I'm only getting champagne and musk though. The rose has come out! It smells like the roses from London, like there could be something darker lurking underneath. I think that's as far as it's going to get on me. ): I amp the roses in London like crazy, and I think it's going to be the same here. No vanilla for me. I lied! The vanilla musk is there! It smells so delicate.

I was really unsure sniffing this from the bottle, but I love this so much! Wet, it smelled like sandalwood, but as it dried, the vanilla came out subtly. It's a very warm, sweet scent; if I were to attach a color to it, it's a lovely golden amber.

Once again, I was unsure from the bottle! It started out dark on me whilst wet, like the darkness settling in as you go to sleep. Dry, it is how I would picture sleeping to smell. I can pick out the gardenias and the lavender, but it's so well blended that I am not sophisticated enough to pick out the other notes... Ah, this must be the moonflower! So pretty... I can scarcely smell the gardenias now. Morph away, it just gets better...

It went sour on me. ): It started out lovely, then turned into a sweaty, sour man. I'm not sure what it could be as ambers and fougeres don't tend to do this to me individually. Into the sales pile it goes...

I only get patchouli. ): I thought the vetiver would carry over like Lucille, but alas, it's too sharp and bitter for me. I'll be selling this.

So foodie! In the bottle, it's cream cheesy pumpkin goodness. I was sold on first sniff. I liked Frosted Pumpkin Spiced Cookies, but this smelled so much creamier and less in your face spice. Wet, I can smell the crust of the cheesecake. This is like smelling cupcakes when you first pull them out of the oven. I'm not getting much cream though... I can smell.. apples?? There's something fruity coming out as it dries more. No cream at all, though. Sad panda ): It still smells great, but I wish it would have stayed the same as it was in the bottle! How could you do this to me, skin chemistry.

So sweet in the bottle. Mostly vanilla, but I'm willing to try for the pumpkin! All vanilla sugar on first application. I'm getting a little bit of the honey and pumpkin as it dries... I smell the smoked vanilla bean! It's a bit woody/earthy to me. Maybe plastic? It's tempered by the vanilla, but the pumpkin has disappeared. Fully dry, it just smells a bit plastic. ): I still like it, but is it the smoked vanilla bean that's getting me?

It smells syrupy at first and then it devolves into what I consider to be a grape jello shot. (But now that it's dry, it smells like bubblegum?? What in the world...)

Headache inducing. No thank you. ): It smells like I just huffed some incense and then tried to fall asleep on a pew. Is it the resin and the wood that's disagreeing with me?

I love this so much that I wished I'd gotten a bottle instead of just the imp. ;n; Alas... Straight coconut from the imp and lovely, creamy coconut on the skin. (It reminds me instantly of Thai curries, though, haha.) It's a very warm scent and it stays ages on my skin. It also has decent(?) throw as I could catch whiffs of it as I puttered around before bed despite wearing so little. I actually fell asleep with it on and I could still smell it on my wrist when I woke up 10-12 hours later. (I love sleeping!) I layered this with Eden and found my signature scent. I really want to layer this with Lavanila next! Edited for word.

In the imp and on me, straight almond. Actually, it's sweeter and creamier than just almond, so more like almond jelly (the Chinese dessert!) at this point. I layered this with Obatala and keep huffing my wrist.

Irish Spring for me as well! Sad, as I'd hoped it would be the ocean I was waiting for... As it dries, it smells a little more like dryer sheets that I dipped in the ocean and allowed to dry in the sun. At least it smells clean.

I get dryer sheets with a hint of citrus from the imp. Possibly the yuzu and grapefruit? On, it just smells like more dryer sheets, but as it dries, I can smell more of citrus and floral notes. (Still can't identify them, though!) I can't decide if this is worth a bottle, but I like how it smells after I've been wearing for it and it's mellowed out.

v 2009 In the bottle, it smells like strawberry rum concentrated. I don't like heavy scents with amber or booze, but I'll try it anyway just to see what it ends up really smelling like on me! On my skin, it just smells like as if I left those hard strawberry candies there to melt... I'm not sure if it's the greenery I'm smelling, but not my kind of scent at all. I'm super sad as I hoped this would be my holy grail of strawberries. I really wanted to love this one, but I think it just gave me a slight rash as well. ): Will try again to ensure that it was from this bottle and my skin isn't just weird...