catattack

When I first received my imp, this was what I'd written in my notes: Imp: Slightly medicinal vanilla Wet: A tart, medicinal vanilla and burnt plastic. Drydown: Smells of bitter oranges covered in burnt plastic. Well, something told me that I needed to let the imp rest for a couple of weeks, and try again. After all, how could orange blossom and vanilla amber be a bad combo? Retest: After leaving this for a couple of weeks, it's settled to a fabulous scent! It's sweet and resin-y. The vanilla amber is so rich and enveloping. The orange blossom has mellowed and adds a floral to the scent to keep it interesting. It's like a giant fluffy orange capsule has surrounded me. This scent has become one of my favorites. Multiple bottle-worthy!

Imp: Lavender! Wet: Lavender! Drydown: Lavender, but mellowed a bit. I smell only lavender. This is lavender through and through. Nothing else here on my skin. Overall: This lasted a couple of hours on me. I don't generally wear lavender out of the house, so it doesn't matter that it doesn't last very long. Usually, I put on lavender scents when I'm getting ready for bed.

Bottle: Sweettarts. Wet: Limes and flowers. Drydown: Florals with a hint of lime, and something smoky and earthy (fitting, considering this is an earth sign, I think). The lime note is keeping this from being too heavy. After a couple of hours, it's soapy. Overall: The initial stage is so good. I haven't worn this in about a year, and my skin is reacting to it differently than I remember. I don't recall this going soapy. I'll have to try it again.

Imp: Boozy and herbal Wet: Spiced apple blossoms. Drydown: Spicy apples. After a while, it went soapy/waxy. Overall: I don't really care for the lab's apple notes, so I didn't have much faith that this would work. This scent just didn't do it for me.

Imp: Smells like Autumn! Pumpkins & spice. Wet: Spicy pumpkins. Drydown: I'm amping the spices like crazy. Overall: Not bad, but maybe a little too spicy. It smothers the pumpkin to the point I couldn't smell it after a while. I'm going to keep this and hope it mellows with age.

Imp: Tropical forest & flowers. Wet: Tropical forest & soap. Drydown: Nothing left but soap. Overall: My skin destroyed it.

Imp: Earthy sandalwood. Wet: Sweet sandalwood and cedar. Drydown: Sweet sandalwood. But something mossy and murky makes an appearance. A hint of dirt is here. Overall: It's been a long time since I first tried this. I didn't like it then. But now, I'm enjoying this blend. It's much sweeter and lighter than I remember it being. It's a sweet, almost carmel scent. A previous poster said "vanilla pudding & dirt". Yup. It is. And it's actually very good.

Imp: Clean soap. Wet: Light citrus. Drydown: This scent is very light. I smell mostly citrus with a hint of clean florals. I can hardly smell this. An hour later, this is a beautiful old-fashioned floral perfume. The citrus note has disappeared. Overall: Very light scent with no throw. It's a pretty scent. Very "woman-ly".

Imp: Tart, yellow, amber. Wet: Citrus-y amber. Drydown: This is initially an earthy, resin-y citrus scent on my skin. About 30 minutes into drydown, the amber amps and the black musk appears, obliterating all the bright citrus notes. It's awesome. I love my black musk! Overall: Although I'm not sure about the initial stage, I love the black musk in the drydown. I'm hoping that as it ages, the citrus-like note will fade/mellow.

Imp: Coffee and raisins Wet: Smells the way lukewarm black coffee tastes - coffee with a slight sour flavor. Drydown: Slightly spicy, herbal, burnt sugar with a tang. This scent reminds me of Sugar Skull, but less sweet. Overall: This scent grew on me while I wore it. It's a "harvest" type scent. Probably good for cooler weather.

Imp: A sharp perfume smell. Wet: Herbal with a hint of evergreen. Drydown: This scent is very herbal and dark green. There's a hint of "spice" waaaay in the background. Something like cardamom. Maybe it's the bark? Overall: This isn't bad, but I don't think I'd wear it. It's gender-neutral leaning on the masculine side. Smells slightly x-mas-y.

Imp: Reminds me of an oil blend I used to wear in college called Aura. Wet: Still similar to Aura, but with an edge. Drydown: There is a note in this that I've smelled in other blends, but I don't know what it is. There's a slight cherry blossom note. Overall: Love this! On my skin, this is a masculine version of Voyeurs Among the Cherry Blossoms. This stuff has throw! A small dab will do.

The essence of pleasure heightened by pain: the raw scent of leather. Imp: Salty leather. Wet: Leather. Slightly smoky. Drydown: Smoky leather. It smells like there might be a teeny bit of vetiver in this. The smokiness is very faint. And fades during furthere drydown. Overall: This is very nice. I just wish that it would last longer on me. I've been on a leather scent kick lately and this is just perfect!

Imp: Florals Wet: Sweet floral. I can smell the orchid and the violet. I don't smell the ylang-ylang. Drydown: I think the frankincense is tempering the florals. Overall: This is pretty, but ultimately it's a floral blend. Because I don't reach for floral blends often, I think my imp will be plenty.

Imp: Light sandalwood Wet: Sandalwood, tangy herbs. Begins to smooth out after a minute. Drydown: A slightly creamy note in the background. This is turning into a creamy sandalwood. Not sweet. Just creamy. Further drydown, it turns into a sharp floral. WTF! What happened to the creamy sandalwood?! Overall: The end is all bad. What a disappointment. Stupid skin!

Imp: Fruity, tart, floral Wet: A light scent. It's fruity but refreshing. The apricot and sake combo is working well for me. Very fresh. Drydown: It became deeper and sweeter. I like this. Overall: This is a very understated scent. Not too sweet, not overpowering. It's perfect for spring.

Imp: Fruit punch Wet: Fruit and something I can't put my finger on. My son said it reminded him of the smell of the novacaine used on him at the dentist when he was small. (I didn't know that novacaine had a scent). Drydown: It's fruity, warm and fuzzy. lter, became slightly spicy. I can't really pick out any of the individual notes. This is well blended on my skin. Overall: Not bad. Don't want to wear it because my son hates it.

Imp: Tombstone with something tart. Wet: Tombstone with sharp florals and something tart and sour. Could be frankincense. Drydown: Tombstone & Penitence. After several minutes, I turns green and plant-like. Overall: This is going horribly wrong on my skin.

Bottle: Sweet and salty leather Wet: Sweet and salty leather Drydown: The scent has mellowed and the different notes are distinguishing themselves. Lavender is there adding a slightly clean and astringent feel. The vanilla is now very noticeable. This is really amazing as it dries down. After a little while, you can smell the herbally sage for a little bit before he retreats. The carnation is also there, but stays put in the far background. I never got the cedar. Overall: I am so glad that I accidentally purchased this from the sales section. For some reason, I was confusing this with The Great Sword of War (I know, I know, they are nothing alike). This is a wonderful leather scent. It is not as masculine as some other leather scents (like De Sade or Western Diamondback). This has a sweet side. If you added a buttery bakery note, this is Le Pere Fouettard (on my skin. YMMV obviously). I want to bathe in this!

Imp: Very strong red fruit Wet: Strong fruity blend, but has something plasticky in the background. Drydown: Hello Rose! Wow! She appeared with a bang! After a few minutes, the rose went funky and sour. Overall: In the imp, it smelled promising, but on my skin, blech.

Voluptuous and indulgent! A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom. Imp: Cocoa powder covered orange blossoms. Its a bit dry and bitter Wet: Chocolate-covered orange blossoms. After a couple of minutes, it sweetened up. The orange blossom is the dominant note on my skin. Drydown: The cherry made an appearance briefly, but then it went back into hiding. The chocolate has also faded away. I'm left with a sweetened orange blossom. The orange blossom has continued to sweeten. Overall: This is a sweet, sugar syrup drenched orange blossom scent on my skin. I don't know if I need a bottle as I already have a sweet orange blossom scent I wear (Khrysee). I'll have to revisit this scent again to make a final decision.

Imp: Thick brown resin. Must be the black amber and vetiver? Wet: Thick smoky resin. The vetiver is definitely there. But it's very good in this blend so far. Drydown: Thick, heavy, smoky resin. Overall: Wow! This is a serious resin blend! It is so smoky and dark, it invokes an image of a cave where a dark formless creature stands in front of a pile of orange smoldering coals. This stuff has throw. A little goes a long way. I'm happy that this blend didn't go sour or "liquid smoke" on me like some resin blends do. This is a scent to keep me feeling "grounded".

Imp: Dragon's blood and fish oil Wet: Fish oil and dragon's blood Drydown: There's something oily and stinky in this blend. I don't smell any myrrh or cherry. Overall: Big bummer. It sounded like it had so much potential.

Imp: Sweet florals Wet: Sweet heady florals. Drydown: Sweet heady florals. I don't get amber or peach. Overall: This is way too heady and smothering for me.

Imp: Non-descript flowers. Wet: Very faint. It's slightly sharp on my skin, but I can't figure out what it is. Drydown: After a couple of minutes, this became powdery and soft. The scent is an image of a little sparrow. It's a powdery brown scent. I can't figure out the notes at all. Overall: It's not a bad scent at all. It's just very faint on me. I don't know if I'd wear this.