Casablanca

Bottle: Sickly sweet and fruity -- peach and heliotrope paired with a buttery amber. Wet: Heliotrope and peaches in syrup. I still get the amber but the whole is quite trounced by the sweetness while wet. Dry: Relief comes as the volatile top notes drift off. The amber remains and the vanilla and sandalwood come out. I like this particular sandalwood. A little of the peach does linger for a while, and it's nice at this volume. Such sweetness, though, was overbearing and seems strange for the character of Tamora. Even though this blend becomes more pleasant when dry, it's is a nay for me.

Bottle: White lily and musk soap. Wet: O soapiest of scents I have tried! It's also a pretty white floral and musk. I don't pick out heliotrope and I don't know sweet pea, but I can get faint honeysuckle and pear. I'm not sure where the soapiness is coming from. When I smell this, I feel like an unpalatable film of white soap has coated my mouth, even though my mouth isn't involved. It seems this Juliet is tragically clean. Dry: On me, honeysuckle and musk gain strength as this dries. The soapiness subsides, so I guess that was associated with a top note. Still... the rest fades quickly. This is a nay.

Bottle: A faintly sweet, woody aroma, and frankincense. Wet: Mostly frankincense and sage, although there's the sweet, woody thing going on that I'm guessing is the lab's vegan or synthetic replacement for ambergris (labdanum or ambroxan?). The blend then becomes quite musky before it dries. I can smell leather and a little background basil at this point. The basil smelled to me at first like dried grasses. I'm not sure if grasses are a separate note. Dry: The leather and herbs are mostly gone, but the frankincense and sweet woodiness hang on. Eventually, they start to veer toward baby powder, but for me, never quite get there.

Bottle: Faint, sweet, and warm candle flame and newly melted wax. Wet: Warm, potent, rich candle wax: beeswax and vanilla. Maybe even a drop of honey. Dry: The same, but with a little smoke. I think there's a little skin musk. I'll get a bottle.

Bottle: Something earthy, and a little blood orange on the back end. Wet: Waves of vetiver and patchouli; then ylang ylang comes out, supported by a little blood orange. Erm. Each scent that I'd like to be soft is strong, and vice versa. Dry: Bone-dry -- almost burnt -- vetiver and patch. This one is a dud on me. I'm bad at evil. Pass.

Bottle: The liquid is a curiously bright candy-orange color. The smell reminds me of my memory of actual DB resin, but sweeter and much more cherry-orange. I get the sandalwood. Wet: Initially no change from the bottle. Straightforward. The orange smell in the DB fades quickly. Dry: Faintly sweet sandalwood. I'd like to try the version with leather.

Bottle: Spicy red musk and patchouli. Maybe red sandalwood. Definitely red... and earthy. Wet: Red, earthy and animalic. Patchouli and musk. Is that civet? I think so. I don't find the civet unpleasant at this stage. It's sweet but not sharp, and balanced by the spice. Cinnamon and nutmeg (maybe even a little allspice) come out. All the sex things. Dry: My skin amps the animal stuff as this dries, throwing musky civet to the front. At the same time, it turns more pee-like. For this mood of a scent, I'll reach for Snake Oil or something else instead. May the civet treat you better.

Bottle: Almond, and then honey. Just a hint of spice. Wet: Strong creamy almond with a drop of honey. This is hyper-nutty -- almost all almond at this stage -- definitely an almond lovers' blend. Usually almond turns to amaretto on me, but this is steady. Dry: This becomes a comforting honey musk, with lingering almond. I like this one, though I wish I were getting a little more of the spices. It might be worth layering with a spicier blend.

Bottle: Almond and vanilla, a little cinnamon. Wet: Amaretto – the almond goes boozy on me. The vanilla smells like a rich vanilla extract. The cinnamon goes strong and bright. What seems like the heliotrope is a faint floral behind everything, kind of cherry-like. I don’t find frankincense. Dry: Cinnamon mostly. Vanilla amaretto lingers. This is the scent of a cordial. Delicious, but too foody for me.

Bottle: Cinnamon and a little almond. Wet: A hot, dry burst of cinnamon and bitter almond -- the bitterness has come to the front. The almond turns to amaretto on me, but less so than usual. Soon I get something else, which seems unpleasant at first, but then resolves into a dry neroli. Weird transition there... Now I get lots of neroli, and nothing but neroli. Dry: Does my skin amp neroli? Other reviewers get cinnamon in the dry phase, but I mostly smell neroli, with just faint cinnamon, like a memory. A nice orange-brown scent. Nothing hellish here -- it's pleasant and turns into a surprising floral for me. I'm not getting a skin reaction from the cinnamon so far.

Bottle: Impressions are wood, and then mint, and then cool root beer. Wet: Minty, woody root beer -- blended, creamy, and root-beer-sugary. I can totally picture an underaged Thor drinking this. Dry: More wood coming out. I think we had birch, and now is that the teakwood from Antikythera? Less root beer and mint, and more tangy wood furniture. This dries close to the skin, settles into something homey... And then my skin eats it.

Bottle: This oil is the darkest one I'm testing today: a deep honey, almost buckwheat. First impression is syrupy-sweet opium. Then I get red grapes and a little rose. Wet: Woody sap and syrup, a little opium and grape wine. This smells like a little light debauchery in the woods. Since opium is involved, it's a lazy debauchery -- why do anything, when it's so much more lushly satisfying to imagine it? Dry: Lazy summer vices in amply flowered woods. More florals come out for me once it's dry. The opium smoke curls 'round the rose and lily, blending into a syrupy-sweet trio, but the grape is still quite present. There's something nostalgic in this for me. It's not very me -- especially the grape -- but it has a memory lane thing. It's not topping my list for a bottle but not out of the question either.

I like pine, juniper and musk. I hope this isn't the freshly turned grave and rotting grass kind of solemn (a la *Burial*). Bottle: Pine, and then musk, both tinged with blue from juniper and maybe spruce. Thankfully no recent graves. Wet: The same but with heavier pine and more earth. Solemn is a good word -- it's even joyless -- but not necessarily dysfunctional. It's a motionless dark pine and blue conifer forest. The juniper-spruce is cool, but the musk smells warm. This place feels outside of any season. Dry: This first time I tried this, I got a little red swelling at the spot of application about 30 minutes in. This was a surprise since I normally react to cinnamon and maybe clove, and don't get anything like those here. Trying it on a different spot today... and not seeing a problem. But something weird: I can imagine the tiniest bit of clove or maybe cinnamon in this when I smell it again. There is a bit of spice here. But it doesn't show on me until after drydown and even then it's faint. I'm not sure if I need a bottle of this but I'll enjoy this imp.

Usually when a lot of reviews list a note, I get it too, but not in this case. No grapefruit here. Bottle: Dark, metallic and salty ocean. A deep gray, darkly green-tinged scent. Does this have vetiver? Wet: Goes extremely salty on my skin. Then I get something like metallic rotting kelp. Dry: This reminds me of the zucchini in Orc, but metallic and super-salty. I found Orc nauseating and have about the same reaction here. I'll try to avoid putting this on for date nights.

Bottle: Dry, sunlit pine, bleached sand and a little tomato. I live near (and have lived in) the Pine Barrens and this really smells like the area! Wet: First off, the pine: more wood now and less sun. Tomato's juicy red water is there next. (How strange to get that from the leaf?) There's a faint dark berry almost completely hidden in the tomato at first, but it starts to come out more with time. Dry: Dried, this turns into a darker and simpler Elf. I like the way the dark berry blends with the pine. I guess tomato is a top note like citrus, because I don't smell it at all once dry. I get more cedar at this point. I'd been curious about this and passed by it because of the tomato. I received it as a freebie and, actually, at first it evokes the Barrens to an almost scary degree. And then it becomes an easily wearable dark berry, pine and cedar forest, albeit one with a short life on me. I think I like Elf better for my berry forest purposes, but I'm glad I tried this!

Bottle: A deep, reddish-brown wood smell. Wet: The wood is there but the tobacco comes to the fore. I'm not usually into tobacco scents, but at least this says "new bag of Drum" rather than "ash tray." There's a slight impression of oil that reminds me of Oil Fiction from Juliette Has a Gun. Dry: Smoky, dirty vanilla against a background of wood and tobacco. This is my favorite stage for this blend. It feels more like a dark brown scent once dry. A lovely blend for those who like all the notes, but not a blend that converts me to tobacco. I'll see how it ages. Addendum: Actually this smoky vanilla is growing on me. I can see getting attached to it.

Bottle: Mostly the frankincense, but it's kind of soft, and there's an overall impression of red. I wouldn't have picked this freebie on my own, or thought that I'd favor these notes, but the first impression is good. Wet: A red, resinous blend. (Just earthy red in tone -- the liquid itself is pale tawny yellow.) Patchouli dominates, which would make me wary in a description -- but it's a nice patchouli. I seem to get a little unlisted vanilla. Dry: As this dries, a rusty-red, woody sweetness comes out on me. I want to say it's the sandalwood, but it's so sweet, and I'm not distinguishing the "red" notes clearly. I don't have the vanilla impression anymore, so maybe that wasn't it -- vanilla is usually around after drydown. This reminds me of Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. It's not really me, but I like it and will enjoy the imp.

Bottle: Fir, flowers, and a drop of ocean. Wet: A lightly oceanic floral, with impressions of cool sea spray and frosty fir at the top. In a minute the fir mellowed out a bit and jasmine stepped in, but the jasmine was balanced and this didn't lose the fir freshness. I liked Egle a lot for this pretty spring morning and applied a second dose to a different spot before the first one dried. Dry: In less than two hours this faded to a sweet, barely there musk. After two hours, it winked out. Regardless, I kinda wanna bottle.

Bottle: Warm sweetness, and then ginger. No ocean of milk. Wet: Lots of ginger, and some honey-like sweetness. No milk until I apply a lot of it -- then I get a little warmed milk. Dry: Faint ginger. I'm not quite getting the magic I'd hoped for in this one.

Bottle: Clean, watery, green-tinged floral. Water lilies and lime? Wet: Aquatic lime. It reminds me of a gin and tonic. It seems I need to visit Notre Dame. Dry: As this dries, something really unpleasant comes out on my skin. It's like sour brown lime meets dirty sock. That was a change... Not my cup of water.

Bottle: Bubblegum. Hi, lotus. Wet: The mint and juniper combo could give an impression of green sea spray, but the mint is so strong and identifiable as mint that it's a stretch. The juniper doesn't have the presence to give a dark side to this water while wet. Dry: More juniper. Still too much mint. Pleasant for a mouthwash.

Bottle: A rounded blue-green aquatic – these waters run deep and are alive with algae and other life, but there’s nothing moldy. It’s heavy, motionless and sweet. Wet: The same but stronger and sweeter. Are those swamp blooms honeysuckle and a little magnolia? The blooms are in front, with moss behind them. Definitely cypress. Dry: Honeysuckle and magnolia in a swamp: a little salty, but not oceanic. The bog florals are strongest in the blend, but I still get some cypress. This is a heavy but lovely scent for the depth of lazy green summer. I admit to wanting a bottle of this for its mood.

Bottle: Violets, a touch of orange, and then a mix of other flowers and woods. The smell starts blue with orange hints, and turns green. Wet: Orange and woody florals. The bergamot leads for me here. After a half-minute I can pick out pine and cypress (I don't know the other woods listed), and the greenery comes out more in general. The violets are much quieter on me than they were in the bottle. These are much less playful and welcoming woods than in Elf, not morose like in Burial, and less rich than in Black Forest. They are flowery woods, likable but not totally comfortable, like the woods of a neighbor with a bad rep. It seems to be an earthy or even mushroomy smell doing that. Maybe it's the moss. Dry: Dries down to a slightly woody wildflower blend with no single distinct note. I like this frimp, but I already have Elf, Ranger and Black Forest, and I'm not sure I like this more than any of those. Wood lovers: this is more the wildflower than the wood, but there's both.

Bottle: I hardly get anything from this in the bottle. A little faint ginger and lily of the valley. Wet: Mm. Mostly the muguet (lily). Light and refreshing, like the flowers are floating in a spring-fed tropical pool. Maybe hibiscus and gardenia? The impression is very "white flowers." Dry: Ginger comes out to play but is never out of balance. This is a nice, light ginger, nothing like the high-pitched whining and powdery ginger in Siren. Very pretty scent. Potentially a nostalgic boost for Hawaii lovers. It smells very top notey, and I have a feeling it won't stick around. ...Sure enough, give it 20 and it's mostly gone.

Bottle: First grapes, then melons, and lastly a drop of cool ocean. Wet: Holy mother of melons! The melons romped out when I was just applying this with the wand and not trying to smell it yet. Also, white grapes, supporting the melons. I don't get anything else at this stage. The notes say there are flowers and I believe them, but these melons are taking no prisoners. Dry: The frothy ocean and sea spray smell comes back in. This note is especially restful after the melon nose-punch. Well, on days when you're in a melon mood, Yemaya's your girl.