Lady_Ell

This is the only rose scent that hasn't screamed ROSE ROSE! DO YOU HEAR ME? I'M A ROSE! - but the rose has been present and accounted for, just not obnoxious. The musk is really stand-out on me, and combined together it makes a heady and sophistocated blend that sticks in the back of my throat. This stuff has some STAYING power, too. I put what to me is a tiny bit on (cause it was from the imp vial, not a big bottle) and that was 12 hours ago and it's still going strong strong strong. I was starting to get a bit woozy from it so I put a teeny dab of Snake Oil on over it, thinking it would be an interesting layering thing, and I almost knocked myself out. I smell good, but very very potent. I like Spellbound a LOT, but it's going to be a special occasion thing. It's just too strong and sophistocated for everyday.

Yeeeeeeow! King of Spades is SO AWESOME! It goes on fruity, a little candylike sour edge, like mango pulp. The tart bite dies down after about 5 minutes and a glorious dark, unsweet, unfoody coconut comes out. There's a tiny bitter edge underneath that I cannot figure out - maybe tobacco? Maybe a leaf of some sort? Maybe not, I can't tell. Anyway, the bitter edge keeps it from being too much like Spooky or something else that's sweet and sugary. It's really really wonderful.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what's in here. But it's green and brown and herbal and grassy and woody and a bit astringent. Something in here smells a lot like an herbal medicine my mom used to give me and my sister for strep throat and colds, and something else smells like another sharp yet dusty herb that pierces your nose when you walk into a health food store into the herb/tea section - goldenseal or marshmallow root or eyebright something like that. I think I'd like this a lot more if it didn't have sickroom memories for me.

This is such a strange scent - it's like apple-blackberry-spiced cider, but with a slight woody edge on it keeping it from being a foody/fruit scent. I like it, but it fades really quickly on me, which is strange considering that other people say it's very strong on them. It's a great fall scent, for sure! I'm going to keep it and slather it on. ETA: this is hormone-sensitive on me. The other day I put it on and nearly knocked myself out by the overpowering dragon's blood floral/cherry tones. This is a very wet smell to me - wet and kind of fizzy-sticky, like apple-grape cider that's starting to turn and get that fizz going on. It also didn't fade at all, and kept bopping me in the face for the next 12 hours, even though I only had a tiny smudge of it on the back of my hand. I like it better when it's more fade-y.

Excerpted from journal review... I got my Haunted in the mail today and it smells OK on its own but layered with Aureus it's much better. I think I don't care for musk, or at least not as a topnote. On it's own Haunted is a bit too musky/powdery. But I really like how it softens Aureus up, and makes it less woody and more sexy, by sending the musk off to the background and letting the wood notes of Aureus stay in charge. Combining the two is very "me" - in charge and austere up front and on first acquaintance, but with a playful, loving bit upon getting to know me better. ETA: Two parts Aureus to one part Haunted is now my signature scent. I have more bottles/imps than I can count and don't even want anything to do with them anymore. This combination is so perfect on me that it's rendering everything else obsolete.

Wet: starts out smelling just like Children's Tylenol - kind of orangey peachy and artificial Drying: sweetens up a bit, and the artificial orange/candy thing goes away Dry: Alls I get is VANILLA, with maybe a hint of orange blossom. No patchouli, well, maybe the barest hint to keep it from being just straight vanilla. I think it's the orange blossom. Hunger did the exact same thing. I like this a lot, but it smells almost exactly like Snake Oil on me. Weird. Since I already have Snake Oil, I don't think I'll get a big bottle of this. But it certainly is nice.

I don't wear Black Forest as skin scent, but I loooooooove it in the bath. Just plain hot water, no soap bubbles or anything. It's the most calming thing.

Or you can go the "overboard" route - what is one that works OK on you, that's one that makes you feel matter-of-fact and no-nonsense, and slather it on. Make yourself seem cold and disinterested, and wear a cold/disinterested scent. I find Bluebeard works well for this for me. ETA: duh, I forgot to add that you should overpower yourself in unsexy perfume so that he won't want to be around you - thinking that you wear too much perfume and that he'll never be able to kiss you without suffocating.

Mr. L loves Aureus on me. And Old Shanghai. And Dragon's Milk as long as I don't put too much on. But he likes Aureus best. I've gotten random compliments on Snake Oil. I've gotten sexy girly compliments on O, Chaos Theory XXI, and Aureus. Really depends on your chemistry, though.

This smells like those little yellow-green low-lying weedy things that look like fuzzy tiny strawberries, and grow in the dry grass/fields in New England. I don't know what the name is, but when you rub the flowers that look like little fuzzy strawberries or acorns, an herby pineapple/mango smell comes out. Tzadikim Nistarim smells just like that. It's really good - a bit too fresh/green herby for my usual tastes, but still really good. And then... I forgot I had it on and layered some O over it. Hooooooooly shit. It smelled amazing. Completely amazing. Made the fruit part settle down into a mellow fruity smell, and O became less sex-fluids, and the green part disappeared. It smelled like the best dessert ever, but not foody. Hard to describe and completely heavenly.

I'm pimping this one all over the place because I LOVE it: Aureus - goes sweetish spicy on Mr. L and my Aureus-loving friend, goes woody-spicy on me... it's great all around. Also... Old Morocco Scherazade Old Kathmandu Haunted (I've yet to try it but it should be arriving soon) Three Witches Kali ETA: oh, and Bloodlust is great, too. Spicy and red and warm and mysterious.

Lixolux, I'm glad you had such a nice day with this oil! I only wore it for a little while, because it was SO strong (just one dab on my right wrist and I was reeling, and it lasted all night) and it contained some kind of floral (I think it was jasmine, maybe?) that just overwhelmed anything else that was in there. I'd get hints of something apricoty/fruity, but it was always in the faaaaaaar background. It was very pretty, but not for me.

I am wearing this today because Mr. L just made out a huge check for 2 months rent for his new apartment, and we are poor. Hoping this will send some good $$ luck my way... Wet, this smells very "red" - kind of artificial and a little plasticy. But not in a bad way. It reminds me of cherry-scented plastic toys, and the memories it invokes are pleasant and nice. Drying, a hint of a smoky smell comes out, and the plastic smell fades. It smells like Carnal, but smokier. I really like it so far. Dry, it still smells red and smoky, with a hippie head shop edge that I really love. And vanilla peeks out at me every now and then, and goes back to hide. This is like smoking weed while wearing Carnal and burning Nag Champa. Final Thoughts: this is really great, but I already have a big bottle of Carnal and it smells so similar that I'll probably just stick with Carnal, and maybe fiddle around with some layering if I want to recreate the smoky aspect of Horn of Plenty. Then again, this is some STRONG stuff - I don't anticipate needing to reapply any time soon. So the imp will probably last for a while. Very, very nice.

Damn, glampyre! I wish it did the same for me! Alls I get is baby powder with a hint of cocoa. I ascribe that to red sandalwood, which goes powdery on me the same way this does. It smells nice after about 2 hours of wear, but the first few hours are overpowering POWDER. This is very strong on me, and the sandalwood overwhelms anything else that might be in the mix. Oh well.

Hmmmm. I like the idea of smelling like apples, but trying this one out made me realize that I don't actually like smelling like apples. This does indeed smell like Granny Smiths, like the juice that dribbles down after that first bite. Problem is, it's SO strong on me and it doesn't settle down. It overwhelms me after a while, and meanwhile feels very young and bubbly and crisp - but not in a way that I associate with myself. It's how I imagine a stereotypical cheerleader would smell, for some reason. It smells good, but it's not really me.

Old Athens had the same wafting honeysuckle/floral sort of smell that Red Moon has on me - maybe layer it with some Dragon's Blood to get that reddish Red Moon undercurrent?

... Our blend for this Moon mixes traditional lunar oils with the warmth of amber and heliotrope, the russet haze of dragon's blood resin and crushed orange peel, and a swirl of summertime herbs: chamomile, rue, elder flower and marigold. I like Red Moon a lot. It starts off like cherry syrup (real cherries, not fake cherries) and that immediately fades as it dries. I don't know why, but I get a strong honey and honeysuckle smell when it hits my skin. Like Shollin said, this is a very red perfume. I feel like it's got a red base (the dragon's blood and amber) and a translucent golden top with a lot of throw (the honeysuckle/honey/golden floral type smell that I get). It sounds silly, but I'm finding Red Moon to be really comforting for when I'm having my period. A lot of things smell "off" during that week, and this smells lovely. I also like wearing something called Red Moon for that purpose - just seems to appropriate.

Aureus is very ambery, but not particularly sweet - at least not in a vanilla way. It depends on your skin chemistry if it's going to sweeten up or not. It goes sweetish spicy on my friend, and just a tiny bit sweet and woody on me. It's one of my favorites. Old Kathmandu is very ambery, too. It's not as strong as Aureus and has some mellow spices (rather than spicy spices, like cinnamon). She might like that one, too.

Wow. I was not expecting to be into this, due to the patchouli, but this is wonderful! It's red and bracing and deep and intense. I feel very womanly in this one. I can visualize this one more than almost any other - as red chiffon draped over dark maroon slippery satin. The cinnamon is the red chiffon, which floats and dances up over the more earthy, heavy, darker, clingy satin (the myrrh and musk and dragon's blood). This is really really good! ETA: I wear this on the day I want my period to start. Works like a charm! Within a few hours I'm bleeding like a stuck pig... in a good way, of course. The powers of persuasion of one's self are amazing... but then again so are the powers of the birth control pill and I tend to know ahead of time when I'm going to start anyway. But it's a nice way to recognize my femininity.

Gotta give a quick props to Aleve (naproxen sodium). I don't get bad cramps, now that I'm on the pill, but when I do I've found that one Aleve works wonders. Cramps come from when your uterus contracts to get rid of the lining (well, somewhat more complicated) and Aleve is a low-level muscle relaxant, so the cause of the cramping is eliminated or reduced, and therefore the need for painkillers (such as Advil) in and of themselves is reduced. One Aleve will work all day for me. As for sinus stuff, I've never been a chronic sinus sufferer but once I had a terrible sinus infection and went to a homeopathic doctor and she gave me a remedy called kali bichromium and I started draining within a few hours and felt fine. My nose got a little irritated from so much blowing, but that was nothing compared to the sinus pressure! If you're interested, I'd get a book on homeopathy and read up - I've found it to be incredibly useful. I don't recommend taking general remedies over the counter - like one that just says "sinus pain" - because homeopathy is very symptom-specific and a lot of the general remedies are combinations of ingredients. It's better to go one at a time and then your immune system doesn't get confused. Best of luck! Also - I don't know how feasible it is for you, but I also find chiropractic care to be a blessing for sore muscles and bones.

I know this isn't super helpful because it's a Limited Edition, but Snow White smells just like white cake batter to me once it dries.

I love how this smells in the bottle - the sage makes the cedar softer and more interesting. On me, though, it smells just like cedar and a dude.

Another vote for Lemon Pledge. Then the jasmine comes out in fits and starts. And then it goes Dial soap. This one gives me a raging headache, to be honest. It's more synthetic smelling than the other lemon blends. I much prefer Severin and Old Shanghai and Embalming Fluid.

I've tried Succubus twice and neither time has worked, but for completely different reasons. Time 1: went straight red-flavored candy on me. Time 2: now is powdery orange blossoms and something chemical, like those wax lips you get at penny candy stores. Oh well... this will make someone else very happy.

This is a strong, green soapy smell, as any_old_actress says, and something about it reminds me of Mr. L's old neighborhood in Hawaii - way back in a rainy valley full of flowers. That, and fabric softener. Something about this goes chemical and powdery on me. It's got strong flowery and damp associations, but I think it's the aquatic smells that always go "dryer sheets" on me. This would work on someone else, but it's not for me.