Surreal

And it was then that Nyarlathotep came out of Egypt. Who he was, none could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked like a Pharaoh. The fellahin knelt when they saw him, yet could not say why. He said he had risen up out of the blackness of twenty-seven centuries, and that he had heard messages from places not on this planet. Into the lands of civilisation came Nyarlathotep, swarthy, slender, and sinister, always buying strange instruments of glass and metal and combining them into instruments yet stranger. He spoke much of the sciences - of electricity and psychology - and gave exhibitions of power which sent his spectators away speechless, yet which swelled his fame to exceeding magnitude. Men advised one another to see Nyarlathotep, and shuddered. And where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished; for the small hours were rent with the screams of a nightmare. Brooding, yet electric: the scent of buried secrets, roiling nightmares, the essence of the Crawling Chaos, the Father of Knives and Locusts, the Hunter in the Dark. This is the blackest of ritual incenses charged with flashes of ozone. Wow! I can't believe I'm the first one! In the bottle: citrusy with slightly heavy undertone. Wet: Much more citrus (not lemon, maybe lime. I'm not really good with scent notes.) I'm beginning to smell the incense and the tang of the ozone. Dry: This is a dark, mysterious scent. The citrus has calmed down and the incense has moved to the forefront. I can still smell the ozone but it blends so well with the incense. This seems like a masculine scent to me and I like it very much. Now I'm off to dab some on my male friends and drag them to write a review as well.

(2005 version) In bottle: Mmmm, it's lighter-smelling than I thought it would be but I can definitely smell the sugar with a little liquor behind it. On skin: It's a smoky-sugar now with (I think) musk beneath it. It's creamy, too, with a touch of ginger maybe? I love it, love it, love it. Mmmm, I want more of it....

In bottle: buttery rum with some almond. It makes me think of liquored-up marzipan. On skin: I can definitely smell the rum and now the hazelnut, too. It smells toasted and the almond has all but disappeared. I can finally catch a hint of the buttercream with a richness behind it. Ahh, there's the honey mead. God, that is an awesome note! This one is a winner! I'm so glad this is a GC so I can hoard to my heart's delight. *chuckle*

In bottle:Very sharp green , with sweet lemons with a touch of spices. It really reminds me of the GC Absinthe. On skin: Ooo, lemonheads! Yum! It has a delicious sweetness to it and the sharpness is beginning to mellow out. I can still catch that hint of spice but I can't place it as it's so light. As it dries, it's moving towards a creaminess like a lemon curd. Gods, this is delicious! It's very bright and I can see me wearing this as a wonderful pick-me-up. It's lasting a good while, too. I adore it. A definite keeper.

Sekhmet In bottle - Minty On skin - A strong mint combined with a sweet cinnamon, with a slight smoky undertone to it. It definitely has some dark tones to it. Oh, how I wish I were better at identifying specific notes! It's very pretty though and I will cherish it as it works very nicely with my chemistry. A definite keeper!

Ginger-Snapped with Gingerbread Poppet or Shub.

First sniff A nice, clean smell. Very green. Wet Wow! The carnations are popping out at me. This has a lovely base between the mosses and the amber. This is sexy, but understated. I can barely smell the lavendar though. Drydown Yum! The carnations have calmed down and the lavendar is very subtle but I can smell it now. The amber and mosses have blended so well. This is uber-sexy but refined. I must try this on my male friends. Mmmmm...

In the bottle, this smell sharp and spicy. Wet application: Still sharp and spicy but now I can smell the foodie scents: pumpkin, clove and apples. Mmmm, nice. Drydown: Heavenly! Even though I didn't think I'd like ANY patchouli, this was fabulous! All the scents have blended to smell just like a perfect autumn day. I love this one!

Tamora - Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean First impression (wet) : sweet and gentle blend with very warm undertones. Drydown: I can't tell which of the five elements I smell more but it's a light, subtle scent. They blend so well and it reminds me of an expensive, high-end perfume, like something I would pick up at Hove in New Orleans. I love this one and I plan on getting a 5ml as soon as I can.

I was really excited to try this as I had been looking forward to it for quite a bit. First Impression: I can smell the warmth of the woods and a hint of the flowers. Drydown: The woods are taking a backseat to the flowers. I can definitely smell the lilac and roses. And it's not as if the woods' scents are gone; they seem to give a very subtle foundation. All in all, this is a lovely scent and it is one of my keepers.

First sniff from the bottle: Wow! So lemony and sweet! First impression/wet: strong scent of lemons. Almost like lemon Pledge. Drydown: I smell like Lemonheads candy! And this is some strong stuff. This has lasted longer on me than any of the other scents I've tried so far. I think this is a great scent but it may be too lemony and strong for me. I'm going to give it another shot though.

This scent is very floral. I love the honeysuckle and the lavender but the jasmine is bringing it down for me. It's probably because jasmine and I don't really agree. Ah, but it does smell so nice and I'm going to give it another chance.

This smells very flowery in the bottle to me with a tad of sharpness behind it. When I first applied it, it smelled like a huge bouquet of smoky orchids. After an hour, the vanilla swirled up to blend with the orchids into a sultry scent. I love this one and it smells so good on me.

Oh, I had been dying to try this one. I love roses. First impression: roses with a hint of light sharpness. Drydown: understated, elegant sexiness. A woman's scent. Lots of rose. This smells divine on me. I love the rose but it didn't last long on me. Another keeper for me.

First Impression: strawberries and florals. Drydown: very sexy. The strawberry warmed up and the flowers are more pronounced. What a lovely scent. I loved this one. It reminds me of sultry summer nights. This is definitely a keeper.

A feisty bouquet of golden, warm, gently honeyed lilies. Wet: Smells like pure, sweet lilies. Dry: I can smell warm, delicious honey heating up the lilies. I feel like I'm surrounded by its powdery softness. It smells wonderful! I love this scent. I will be wearing this one often.