Casablanca

I have two versions of this now, so revising my earlier review to compare them. I have the imp I got a couple months ago, and an old imp I got in a lot on eBay. I don't know how old it is, but the label is yellowed. Here's the review on the imp I got a couple months ago: Bottle: I love the apricot and orange flower. Wet: A sharp golden-orange apricot floral and melting candle wax. Maybe that blendy beeswax smell is the musk, or an unlisted note. It has the home comfort of linen without that actual smell. Instead, this fragrant woman curls up to sleep in a bed of soft honeycomb. The fruit and flower are fresh and lush. Dry: Much the same. Lots of the white musk and a little melting beeswax, with fruits and flowers in the background. Here's the older imp: Bottle: The smell in bottle has diminished considerably compared with the fresher version. Actually, it's barely there. I mainly get the light musk, with the more volatile fruit and flower smells gone. Wet: Katharina's nectary orange blossom and juicy apricot are barely even traces left in the scent. This is just a light musk and a touch of beeswax now. Dry: A plain skin musk similar to Neutral. Conclusion: Katharina doesn't age well. If you pick up this fragrance, don't wait or be sparing. I already got a bottle of this, and I love it when it's not aged!

Bottle: Shadowy pine in the forest depths, and a dark, seductive musk. Unfortunately something in this is hitting the spot in my throat that's red-raw from being sick with colds for 5 or 6 weeks so far this year. It triggers a massive coughing fit. But in the second before that happens, it's mesmerizing. Forest scents feel like home for me. I'm going to push on, carefully and armored with cough drop. That may influence things. Wet: Again, ancient pine and faint dark musk. This pine note seems more rich than others I've tried -- a very dark green, almost blackened, and heavy with sap. It pairs with this musk beautifully. Also the juniper adds a deep, cool blue scent. I only get a hint of cypress, based on my separate essential oil of it. Luckily, it doesn't assault my throat like it did when concentrated in the bottle. Dry: The pine mellows out, leaving barely a trace, and the faintly sweet (and still sexy) musk remains, with a little calm cypress. This is just lovely. It seems to me more of a concentrated evergreen forest essence than a realistic walk-through-the-forest smell, which would have a bit more going on, but it's no less evocative for that. Maybe it's more so. It's also fabulous paired with Elf!

Bottle: Mainly rosin -- to me, it's a smell partway between amber, pine and earth. I'm reminded of violins. Leather, soft and barely there. Wet: Whoa. The rosin is mighty. More soft leather, and yes, now hemp rope. Dry: Stronger on me than many BPAL scents I've tried, and lasted all day. Leather and hemp seem to come out more as time goes on.

Bottle: Something cool -- like cucumbers but without the bio-matter. It smells like metallic blood spilled on blue-grey slate. Wet: Cold steel (how does that have a smell?), like blue metal, and clean leather (compared with Orc). Dry: The same, but some coppery asphalt now. Oh, new-car smell! With leather seats. Interesting and intensely leathery. The sharp, clean leather gives a modern, industrial flavor to this.

Bottle: Overwhelming rotting vegetables. This reminds me of the vegetable smell of Witch's Garden, without the freshness, carrots and sharp medicinal absinthe thing that one has. I'm a little nervous. Wet: Musky, earthy rotting zucchinis. Nauseating. Dry: Dirty leather, grassy juice, and zucchinis off-gassing in a compost heap. It's true to a version of the theme. I don't personally see green skin and an angry, toothy face and think of rotting veggies. I think, "That's so vicious and cute." :-) But that's me. I'm glad I at least tried it. I'd have loved to go see Warcraft wearing this when it comes out, but I can't deal... Too bad.

Bottle: Opium and something dark and fruity, probably the plum. Wet: Smoky opium and plum. Once I look for it, I very much smell the tea. Dry: Tobacco comes out, and then the whole goes salty and leathery, and maybe a bit rubbery. A chewy scent. Not exciting by itself, except in adherence to concept, but then I'm not an opium person. Goes pretty well with my maroon dress today. :-) It should be fun to mix with other RPG scents as the creator intended.

Bottle: White musk. Faint vanilla and honey, if I search… Wet: Soap. Dry: Rubbery plastic and soap. Not so Good for me.

Bottle: Juniper and pine, with a little patchouli, and other earth elements. Wet: Wild, dewy juniper and pine. Other woods and earth are in the background. Dry: Mellows into a woodsy and sweet skin musk. A lovely woods scent. Must try a bottle for use alone and as an additive.

Bottle: Skin. Clean, but not soapy, with a faint, warm sweetness. Wet: My skin but better. (Skinnier?) And sweeter. Dry: Lovely, mellow skin, lightly floral. Must try a bottle for use alone and as an additive.

Bottle: Amber and old forest, like cedarwood, and a little sweetness like honey. Wet: Much stronger resinous incense. Dry: In place of the cedar forest, there's now an Old World temple pumping out smoke like a 19th-century industrial plant. Sandalwood amps up to join this myrrh and frankincense incense, with a little vanilla sweetness. For your inner smoky, back-lit priestess, I think? I love Ceylon cinnamon (and get it for my parrot), but I catch very little of it here.

Bottle: Jasmine la la jasmine. A little almond. Wet: A light, playful jasmine. A little more almond, but it's there and gone again. I get sandalwood, oakmoss and musk blending together nicely under the other notes. Dry: The jasmine is still there, and the musk comes out stronger. As this dries, it becomes mostly sandalwood on me. This turned out to be more of a jasmine floral perfume than an almond perfume. A plain sandalwood base note at the end is never exciting for me.

Bottle: Mandarin with something earthy, but I don’t smell much fig in the bottle. Wet: Woah. This is a bright orange and reddish-brown scent of mandarin and sugary fig (like the fig jam from a Fig Newton). Dry: Mandarin with a little bitter peel. The fig seems sticky sweet on me, and later a little clove-spiced and powdery. I've worn this three times and have liked it twice. Once, it had an overbearing figgy sweetness. But overall this is good and it's a full-bottle contender.

This came as a frimp, but I was curious about it anyway... Bottle: Honey-ginger and cotton. Dry pepper. Wet: Honey-ginger and cotton, warmed up, as though flapping as sheets in the sun. Then a lot of pepper comes out. Dry: More vanilla comes out, and then bam! Dryer sheets and pepper. Bleh. Well... potentially interesting. Like a pepper shaker, and then vanilla ice cream, at a picnic bench for a sunny day in a rural backyard. The vanilla and pepper trade places with some overlap and the rest blends separately. It’s like two scents in one, and a little frenetic, White Rabbit-like. But I don't like black or white pepper and the rest goes all dryer sheet on me. This could be fun for someone else.

Bottle: Oranges, peaches, and misty grasses and greenery. Wet: Orange and lemon flowers, cold stone, grasses and greenery. Dry: Musks and dry sandalwood come out, and a more tart citrus. Sadly, after an hour, it's mostly gone. A faint powdery floral lingers (meh). This was a free sample and I didn’t know what to expect. While it's fresh it’s lovely. Delicate and light, a misty orchard just a little brightened by the muted scents and colors of citrus. Unfortunately these light, green scents often take off from me like little birds released back into the wild. This just doesn't stick around.

Bottle: Green tea and lemon. Wet: The lemon amps up, but I also get aloe now within the green tea. This reminds me of how By Kilian's Bamboo Harmony sits on me, with lemon replacing some of Bamboo Harmony's green woodiness. The part that seems like the musk softens this and blends it with my skin. Dry: Lemon is strongest now. This has become lemonade with green tea in it, and a little aloe when I look for it. (We used to keep an aloe plant for sunburns. Very familiar with that smell!) After a half day, it's all gone.

A frimp to love! Bottle: Pale blue-green aquatic, light and beautiful. Eucalyptus freshening it. Wet: Like eucalyptus and wild orange trees by a pale and breezy sea. Watery, light and soothing. Dry: The same. Somehow this reminds me of The Magus by John Fowles, set on a Greek island. The island had a lot of pine but I get the same feeling smelling this blend that I did reading the book. The scent doesn’t last long on me, though. This is really lovely! It would be nice to wear out near any water or to sleep. I just wish it hung around longer.

Bottle: Sweet cherry wine-like musk and almond. Wet: Strong musk, fig, warm summer cordials: cognac and amaretto. The almond is somehow boozy for me. The mix is sweet and bold and cherry red. Dry: Red candied fig. Later: By four hours of wear it had turned to a powdery vanilla on me. I’d like to get more blood orange in this. For me, the blend is just too red and heavy, and I think I want more citrus... or something that lifts. I might add the blood orange oil I have to a sample and see what happens.

Bottle: Wet and musky. Cherry-grape heliotrope, and red muskiness in it. Wet: Musky sweet sage, red grapes and cherries. A little wasabi, like a texture, but nothing I would've noticed without reading the lab's notes. And sometimes I smell pee. That's not in the notes. Dry: Musky sage, dried heliotrope and red rooibos. There’s a lot going on in this, but the forces of Chaos are musky and berry-red. Sometimes the pee comes back, here and gone again, like I just passed a recently hobo-freshened subway stair. And then, after an hour, the whole scent is gone. Not too much of a fan.

This came as a frimp, and that was cool, because it was on my interest list. Bottle: Spicy lily! This lily blooms with cinnamon and a trace of clove. Wet: Spicy lily with orange blossoms and plums. Dry: The cinnamon strengthens for me as this dries. Occasionally I also get something tart, like cranberry. I can’t smell this from my neck until I’ve been still for a bit, so the throw isn’t too much. I like the spice; my taste for florals is limited, but lily resonates for me. This combination works for me for some moods.

Bottle: Pine, and another wood, probably aspen, violets and yellow grasses on sunlit hills. Wet: Pine, aspen, green hay and violets. A heavily pollinated meadow of wild grains, sun-baked woods, and yellow and purple flowers. Dry: Lilies are opening in the field, just detectable at wet but blooming once dry. They seem to blend with the violets. A few berries of different colors come out. This is aridly sweet. Later on it’s mostly a dry, light floral. The smells are woody, dried green and violet, and pale yellow sunlight. I feel sunlit, mischievous and fearful for my allergies. I want to try layering this with my only other RPG scent, Chaotic. Why didn’t I get Ranger?

Bottle: Heavily honeyed almond cream and darkly toasted coconut. Wet on me: Honeyed almond cream, toasted coconut and vanilla fig. Dry on me: Honeyed almond cream, with coconut and fig fading. Later it simplifies to a sweet but plain almond cream, and stays that way for hours. Smooth, steady, summery. All cream and brown tones. I wish the coconut and fig stayed in play a bit longer, but I was looking for a nice almond and found it. My money is going to fly out of my wallet of its own volition. I like this, but it gets close to foody for me, so I'll wear it situationally. Mostly that situation is the beach. I also put this on two coworkers. On one it went sweeter, on the other it went nuttier, and on me it's comparatively amaretto. It must be my healthy diet. ;-)