mishi-bear

This one takes a really long time to develop on me, for a good hour it smelled mostly like a vanilla candle. Very waxy, fake, and not at all gourmand. Thankfully that finally let up and this became full on gourmand, but still fairly vanilla heavy on me. But given time it becomes two distinct vanillas... one in a cake batter smell, the other in a buttercream icing smell. The spices take a long time to show up for me also. It's mostly chai, with the cinnamon barely there. They're both also more 'sweet' than 'spicy' to be honest, and a little nose tickling, but pleasant. Overall this one is pretty decent, but not my favorite. I'll definitely use up my decant but I'm not going to get a 5ml.

I was given an old bottle of this from a friend. There's an in joke we have that this is a cursed scent... it's been handed down quite a few times within our friend group because it just didn't work for anyone. So it was my turn. And of course, I'm the one person who actually really liked it. This is a very strange gourmand and I can see how this is highly affected by body chemistry. I think I lucked out in that I get no cherry from this at all, which seems to have come across as 'medicinal' to my friends who tried it before me, and on an in-bottle sniff I could see why. Definitely a medicinal cherry scent. But meanwhile on my skin, there is no cherry at all, and instead the scent is strangely Christmas-like. There's definitely a cinnamon note to this, and honestly, there's something that ALMOST reminds me of pine... it could be my body's weird cherry interpretation plus the cinnamon and cardamom.. Anyway, it's pretty much that, plus musk, and a LOT of chocolate. This made me crave chocolate chip cookies like you wouldn't believe. I seriously went out to the supermarket and bought some of those brick-break cookies to bake just so I could satisfy the chocolate craving this perfume instilled in me. So overall, it's a winner in my book. Definitely a nice chocolate smell.

The East is a fine perfume. But to me, it just wasn't that interesting when compared with all the other floral perfumes I own. Unfortunately all the notes were just kind of muddled, with only the passion flower being slightly distinct from the other florals, and the mint being the only 'green' note that stood out as well. It's not bad, just a pleasant floral with a touch of clean greenery. I just like a lot of my other floral oils a lot more, so this one will be getting swapped.

I tried this one a while back and found it underwhelming, but I let it sit nearly a year before recently trying it again. With some time to age, this has become wonderful. It does require a very liberal slathering to be as strong as I like my perfumes, though. It's a very warm, comforting gourmand. Creamy, milky oatmeal sweetened with honey, with buttery sweet almost cinnamony breads on the side. There's also a touch of fruitiness to this, a little sweeter than raisins but similar. Overall this is a keeper for me. Not sure I'll spring for a big bottle anytime soon but maybe once I use the imp up.

I thought I'd love this one. The only note I was iffy about was the heliotrope, and unfortunately that's the note that was strongest in this on me. On me this is a very almondy vanilla and amber, with a touch of floral from the peach blossom, and barely any sandalwood. The almond note from the heliotrope unfortunately makes this smell slightly medicinal if you sniff a little too closely. Overall this wasn't that great. I have vanilla, amber, and sandalwood oils I like much better, and I have much stronger smelling peach blossom and peach oils I prefer. Not that interesting, and almond/heliotrope isn't a scent I always enjoy.

As someone who loves vanilla florals, I had high hopes for this... that were unfortunately dashed. On me this has a weird smokey smell to it. It reminds me of cigarette smoke. Slightly sweet, but not super pleasant. It's pretty much all white florals, less sweet than jasmine, a touch green and bitter, with that cigarette smoke smell. the vanilla is really only detectable far, far in the background, and on a deep wrist sniff. this actually smells kind of masculine to me. So yeah this is one that's getting rehomed. That cigarette smoke scent kind of kills it for me, and this bitter green note is not pleasant either.

This is a really really nice scent. It's mostly the florals, the pikaki and the plumeria, which both manage to not be too white and sweet. They definitely smell tropical, even almost fruity. I think the moss adds a slight aquatic touch to this but is mostly not there. The sandalwood is pretty faint as well, but it's definitely there, just kind of quietly in the background. Overall a winner in my book. It was also fairly strong and lasted a good long while on me.

In the bottle this is apple and patchouli. Then on fresh application this went.... burnt rubber on me and was absolutely awful. Luckily that passed quickly and I didn't rush to wash it off because as soon as it dried that awful stink went away and left behind the softest vanilla creaminess mixed with lavender, with a touch of bergamot sweetening it even further and the apple just barely there in the background adding a nice quiet tart note. Really nice! I really hope that age doesn't bring out more of that awfulness that happened so briefly at the start. As long as that continues to mysteriously vanish, this will stay one of my faves.

Soft, sweet, and clean. A very calming scent. In the bottle it's mostly musk and a non-foody vanilla.. On application it's very musky and sweet from the vanilla, but the papyrus becomes the strongest note, smelling like sweet clean paper (in a good way!). Then the aloe starts to peek out when it dries, lending a bit of clean green sweetness to the background. I usually prefer things that are stronger and warmer with more throw, but I can see myself turning to this to wear to bed or out on stressful days to keep myself collected. I don't even mind that it stays pretty close to me, just because I kind of -want- to keep it personal and just for me. So overall this is definitely a keeper.

In the imp it's mostly sugar, maybe with a touch of fruits in the background. Wet: It reminds me of those lollipops made out of pure hardened maple syrup. It's a much warmer smell than I expected, but still definitely sweet. It also smells like taffy in the background. Dry: The other scents suddenly burst forth, making this much more fruity, and almost sour-sweet. It's mostly strawberry and a very blue-candy smell, but it also almost smells like there's grapes in it, maybe the rock candy? There's also something to it that reminds me of dryer sheets and clean clothes. Overall: I actually quite like it. It manages to be sweet without being too sweet to enjoy. There's a complexity to it beyond just straight up sugar. The only cons to it are that I wish I got more marshmallow in this, and that the 'dryer sheet' scent to it kind of reminds me of, well, just rubbing down with a dryer sheet, or your typical scented candle that tries to smell fruity sweet. If you can get past that or just don't mind smelling like that though, it is quite nice.

Bewitched is more of a sweet and green herbal than a fruity scent. The berries are there, but they aren't the strongest part of that. It's mostly just green, clean, and sweet. Overall I like it. I'm not sure if this is big bottle worthy for me, but this imp will get a lot of love.

This smelled bizarre in the bottle. It literally reminded me of tzatziki sauce. A yogurty green scent. It was pretty hard to get past that scent and try it out, but I pressed on. Thankfully, it gets a lot better when it's actually on skin. I get no musk from this, and only one floral, which I know isn't the jasmine. It's either the gardenia or the magnolia. It's a very white-and-green scent. It really does smell like there's a milk note to this, and it definitely hangs on the edge of being yogurt like. Overall it's certainly unique. I considered keeping it, but I really don't think I'll be able to get past that bottle scent much. Hopefully it works out better for a friend of mine.

I love foodies. I love milk notes and I love honey notes. By all means, I should have loved Cockaigne. Unfortunately it was cat pee. Just cat pee. A strong, headache inducing and nauseating cat pee scent. I pretty much bathed my arms in goo gone to make it go away. The imp I had was a very old one gifted by a friend. Maybe that was the problem with it. Part of me wants to try a new imp of it to see, another part of me just wants to stay as far away from smelling that cat pee scent ever again. If I got a frimp I'd definitely be morbidly curious enough to try it. As it is though, I'll be avoiding buying one to see.

Luna is definitely white florals, jasmine specifically, but it feels like there's something else in this. There's also something herbal, and something fruity, both of which I can't at all place. Either way the strongest note is the jasmine, the rest is all just in the background making it a bit more interesting. Overall I enjoyed it but I'll be rehoming it to someone I think might like it more than I did.

Moscow was surprisingly disappointing for me. I'm generally a big fan of florals, but Moscow for some reason beelined straight to powdery soapy hell. I'm not sure what part of it made it go there since I haven't really had any issue with those florals on their own. Maybe the combination was just too much. Aside from the soap-and-powder, the strongest note to it was the jasmine. Rehoming it and hoping my friend has better luck with it than I did.

Santa Eularia Des Riu is mostly a herbal citrus to me. Really didn't get much florals from it at all. Definitely a very clean smelling scent though. Ultimately not my thing, and ended up rehoming my imp of it.

The smell of this in the bottle is very strong woods, almost to the point of being astringent. Once applied though, the woods calm down a lot. It's still woodsy, but the florals actually shine through. On me it's mostly freesia. I get no honey from this at all. Overall, I did enjoy it, but I'm passing it along to someone who will appreciate it more.

Highwayman smelled awful in the imp, enough to make me not want to try it at all. Very sharp and bitter. Unfortunately, I splashed a bit on my thumb, so I got to 'try' it anyway. It loses a lot of it's bitterness on dry down, but unfortunately still isn't great. To be honest, it just kind of smelled like a very old man cologne. Not unpleasant really, but just not a way I'd like to smell.

Death Cap is dirt and coconuts. The coconut makes it smell like a fairly creamy dirt. Honestly, it's kind of pleasant. I ended up rehoming my imp of it but if I got another, I'd likely keep it.

After applying Svadhinaopatika, it didn't smell like anything at all for a good 10 minutes. Then suddenly, it appeared. Very strange! When it does finally show up, it's actually quite nice. Something about it smells almost christmas like though. I think it's just the sandalwood and massoia bark. This is definitely a mostly woodsy scent. But the wood smells almost spicy. It reminds me of opening a box of christmas decorations, the smell of old wood ornaments. Amber tends to work well on my skin, and here it's no exception. The amber definitely keeps this from being boring. I can also kind of smell the honey, but barely, and I really don't get any currant. Overall, I like it, and I'll be keeping the bottle I got. This might just be a winter-only scent for me.

This smelled really strange in the bottle, which I think was the green tea combined with the grapefruit and maybe even the tonka. Very medicinal and actually a tiny bit repulsive. Luckily it lightens up a lot when actually worn. On application it's very purple and almost candy like, mostly wisteria and probably the grapefruit. After it dries though, the grapefruit disappears and it's mostly wisteria. The other florals are there, but definitely in the background, just adding a bit of depth to the scent. The ginger adds a bit of spice to the background, keeping this from being too floral. The green tea and tonka I smelled in the bottle just never shows up after it dries. Overall, I like it to be honest. Once you get past the in bottle smell, it's a very pleasant gently ginger-spiced wisteria.

My bottle of this is an old one, so it might differ a bit from a fresh one. I like Victoria. It's definitely a keeper. It's mostly a vanilla rose, with a bit of musk. The lily doesn't show up til the dry down, and then it just kind of blends with the rose and keeps it mellow. Overall, it's not a complicated scent, but I think that's part of its charm. Its just plain lovely, a nice floral scent that doesn't feel too over the top.

De Vos' Unicorn is mostly pink florals, and vanilla. The rose is stronger than the peony. Musk is there, but gentle. Once this dries it gets a scent to it that I can't entirely place, but I think it might be the mallow root, maybe in combination with the lavender buds. It's kind of leafy/grassy... almost reminds me of tea. I really don't get any apricot from this at all. Overall, enjoyable. Probably one of my favorites. It has decent throw and lasts quite a while. The only negative to it is the weird grassy scent that shows up. It isn't enough to ruin it, but it can be a little headache inducing. As a side note, it reminds me an awful lot of Victoria, which is also rose with vanilla. The main difference is that this stays a fairly pink floral, while Victoria goes white with the lily, and De Vos' Unicorn is much more vanilla-y.

Humanite is a very sweet scent. It reminds me of honeysuckle, but I'm assuming that's the tuberose. There's a bit of vanilla to this, and a touch of sourness from the lemon peel. Overall, eh.. I wear it sometimes. But I'd pretty eagerly swap it away. It's not something I like enough to keep.

This smells mostly like jasmine on me. The other florals are kind of there, but mostly not, just adding a bit of quiet depth to it. The cucumber and pear are also kind of there, just adding a bit of kind of fruity sweetness to the background. I get no woods in this at all. The musk just kind of makes this feel extra sweet and clean. Overall, I actually do like it, even if it just kind of smells like an extra-nice jasmine perfume.