Miss_Unicorn

Unfortunately, my skin turns this into pure bitterness, with a hint of wood. With time it sweetens up a little, but alas it stays too bitter for me to enjoy.

Wet, it smells very juicy and round, almost fruity. An image of red silk curtains blowing mysteriously and beckoningly in the night desert breeze. Dry, still very juicy, with a spicy undertone. The spices come out less than I'd hoped, but it's still nice. It threatens to go a bit soapy, but the spices keep it in check. The musk stays quite fresh, and doesn't go sour as I'd feared it might. On the whole: nice. Red musk isn't really my thing, but this is one I could wear. Will probably save for nights out when I need something slightly louder and more seductive than usual.

A strong and almost overwhelming blast of melons at first, but it soon chills out to slightly lighter melon and a bit more perfumey. This is delicate and sparkly, and will be perfect for springtime!

Very marine, very foamy. On me, Y'ha-nthlei smells like fresh but slightly sinister shampoo. It's pleasant, but not quite interesting enough to wait and see what it turns into.

At first, the Queen of Hearts is quite heavy on the cherry, but the florals quickly come out and lighten it up. After a little while it is quite sparkly and light-hearted, like red lipstick and a summer dress. I'd sort of expected it to be heavy and slightly intimidating (like Her Majesty) but it's quite a light scent, perfectly suited for a summer's day. It disappears disappointingly quickly on me, too... but it's nice while it lasts.

It starts off very vanillary with cedar on the background, and a hint of something I can't quite place. It warms up to become more woody, and rugged around the edges. The vanilla is prominent, but without being sweet. This scent balances between being foody and wild, and it confuses me! But in a good way. The imp I got only contained enough for one test, and I might have to purchase a full one.

This smells just like a perfune I could imagine Lolita wearing. It starts of sunny and girly, a lot of citrus and a hint of floral. Very pretty. Unfortunately, on me it fades to nothing on drydown, and turns to powder. I blame the honeysuckle. It's too bad, because the book is one of my favourites.

Oh wow, this is quite lovely. In the wet phase, the carnation threatens to go soapy, and there seems to be a risk of "too incensy" and "too sweet" tor my liking. I decided not to wash it off because of all the good reviews I've read, and it paid off! I kept stopping what I was doing to sniff my wrist... On drydown, it warms up to sandalwood with spices, warm and golden. It smells like something mysterious and delicious waiting just around the corner. It is quite sweet, but the sweetness is balanced out by the spices. I was surprised that vanilla isn't listed as an ingredient, but perhaps vanilla's obscure Arabian cousin is hiding in there somewhere? I can see why others have made comparisons with Snake Oil, but this is way lighter. Later, it reminds me of middle-eastern baked sweets, but without being foody. I agree with paperdoll, it does smell like a tasty exotic baked good one moment and a tasty exotic seductress the next. Some people have mentioned Marocco disappearing almost immediately, and I was afraid that my skin might eat it right up, since it does that with a lot of blends. But no; it's two hours later and it's still going strong! Verdict: Delicious. I know I'm going to love this even more in winter! I will be cherishing my imp, but not sure if I'll get a bottle.

Most peculiarly, I don't get any fruits from this, or flowers, and especially no plum. (That's too bad, because I love plum.) All I get is bitter herbs. "Herbs" can go two ways with my skin chemistry, and sadly, this is the way to swaps.

Eat Me starts off smelling like slightly burnt caramel (in a good way). After a few minutes, something playful and juicy comes out (the berries?). And then the vanilla arrives, lightening it all up and making it even more delicious. I was worried that this might go buttery and cakey, but it doesn't. It's delicious without being overly foody. Oddly, there's something about it that reminds me of Bastet (perhaps there's almond in the three white cakes?). Very nice, and definitely one for regular use. When my imp is gone I might contemplate a bottle.

Tweedledum almost works for me. It starts off with bright mango, and is quite refreshing. The fig gives some depth to it, and the patchouli adds an earthy tone. Unfortunately, as usual, the patchouli turns quite bitter and ruins it for me. Still, it was worth a try. This is an interesting, fruity and indeed quite absurd scent that I'd highly recommend to anyone who isn't enemies with patchouli.

At first it is soapy, with a resinous undertone. This can go two ways. Potentially promising. It warms to smelling sweeter and silkier and slightly powdery. Floral with a hint of spice. Unfortunately, it confirms my suspicion violets don't work well for me. I see (or smell) how this can be nice; but not my cup of tea.

First sniff from the vial: Hmm. This smells interesting. I'd dismissed it on the discription, but I will have to try it. On first application, it's earthy and sweet. On the immediate drydown it gets very sweet and flowery, but in a dark way, like a blooming garden at night time. The smell of earth is still strongly there on the background. This smells like the perfume of a female magician doing her magic in a night garden, digging in the earth, surrounded with blossoms and herbs. Not one I'll wear much, but one I'll keep for magical occasions.

A decadent, deep perfume, lusty and luxuriant. The scent evokes images of velvet-lined Old West cathouses, tightly laced corsets, rustling petticoats and coquettish snarls of pleasure. Bawdy plum with amaretto, burgundy wine and black currant. Upon first application, I didn't think I was going to like this. (Although goodness knows, I really wanted to!) It was a little bitter at first, and spicy in a way that vividly reminds me of being in clothing shops India. (I think I'm getting the incensy-ness others mentioned, but only in the inital wet stage.) The plum slowly comes out and steps to the center stage, rounding everything out with lush, luxurious PURPLE. There is a tiny hint of tartness along the edges. A splash of amaretto, too, but without booziness. With time, it just becomes more and more delicious, in a dark and fruity way. I am in love.

When first applied, Evil briefly threatens to turn evil, which it to say: diapers. However, the plum soon comes out and saves the day, turning the scent round, purple, and almost fresh. I can definitely smell the plum, without it smelling like plum. (Too bad. I like plum.) The purple centre is shrouded with swirling dark grey smoke. My evil character would definitely be smoking a pipe, right now. I get quite a lot of opium, and something that reminds me of leather. Overall, it makes an incency impression, and it is fresh and smoky at the same time. Verdict: interesting and nice, but a tad too incensy for me, as I tend to amp opium. Something for occational use, perhaps. I might keep the imp...

Smooth. Sexy. Dark. At first, I get something swirly and dark, just about as dark/sexy as I care to smell. (Snake Oil is too much for me, and this one tiptoes on the edge.) The honeysuckle threatens to go powdery for the first 20 minutes or so, but when dry, it settles into a sweet, sinful smell. Nice. The opium makes it quite dark (as mentioned before), and it has a very cologney feel to it. Dry, it's dark and sweet and lasts for hours. I think I would prefer this on someone else, preferably a gentleman...

Hmm. Upon application I get sweet violet, which quickly turns into something that smells a lot like velvet. I thought I had misread the description, but it turns out that I hadn't, and somehow this just turns into velvet on me. It smells very clean, like freshly washed velvet. While that can be nice... it's not quite for me.

Such good notes, all together. Such potential to be sexy and cuddly at the same time. Alas, the patchouli had to go and ruin it for me, as always. This just smells bitter on me. At least there's someone else out there who would appreciate it. Swaps it is. *sigh

This is not a blend I would normally try, due to the rose. But I got it as a frimp, and Viola is a character I adore, so I had to try it. Wet, this is pleasant. The dreaded rose is made less prominent and a lot more interesting by the woody notes. I even actually get some mandarin! Very promising, despite rose being really not what I enjoy smelling like. As it dries, it oscillates between fresh, citrussy mandarin and (oh no) rose. Very lovely rose, though, I would highly recommend this to.all rose lovers out there. Drying, it threatens to go soapy (sandalwood and florals do that on me) but never quite does. It settles into a combination of rose and mandarin, , and the woody notes and amber lend a warmth and roundness to the florals. I’m not sure if I’m not smelling the rose as prominently because of wishful smelling. But this seems like a rose scent I may be able to wear. In any case, it’s working for me on a breezy spring morning, and I will be hanging on to (and perhaps even using up!) my imp. An unexpected and quite pleasing success.

Nice. Fresh, light and inoffensive (which is great, because in my study environment, people are super sensitive to perfume). Elegant, ladylike without being overly feminine. (I can see this working as a unisex scent.) In the vial I get mostly rosemary, but once applied it tones down to a florally orange. On the immediate drydown it reminds me of Lush’s Karma, only more subtle and without the patchouli. (This is a good thing. Patchouli and I are enemies.) Later, the “five rose variants” appear but never really get rosey. Tempered by the rosemary and mint, they only make a “floral” impression and fail to do that dreaded old-lady thing roses sometimes do to me. (Phew!) All-in all, a fresh, slightly citrussy, slightly herbal floral. Nice for Spring, though not as season-specific as some other blends. Throw is not medium, enough for me to smell it, but without feeling like it reaches very far. or is the wear length very long (about three hours), but that's fine with me as well. It’s pleasantly elegant and elegantly pleasant while it lasts, and morphs interestingly. Verdict: 3 out of 5. I will enjoy using up the imp but I doubt I'll get a bottle.

An instant favourite. It's really too bad this is discontinued! Fresh/wet, it smells like green (lime) jellybabies with something weird going on on the background. Effervescent, sparkly and green, with a sharp edge to it. As it dries, the redcurrant comes out a bit, making it a bit sweeter and fruitier. The green musk stays on the drydown, as it does with 51, smelling like sunshine. (Compare to 51, I'd say Serpents... is a bit sharper, less floral, more citrusy.) This will be a hit for the summer. 5 out of 5!

I got this as a frimp, and dismissed it at first, because it seemed to light. And now I am very glad I saved it to be tried again in spring! This smells like spring and like cake and like perfume. Wet, lemon is prominent, with something else going on around it. As it dries and warms up, the vanilla comes out more, and blends beautifully with the lemon. There is something duskier hovering on the background... Later, it is a light, vanillary musk, that stays around for surprisingly long. A light, pretty, yellow&white spring scent! I will be sad when my imp runs out.

The Seventh Daughter, Daughter of the Oath. She was King David’s lover, and the mother of King Solomon. Her scent is breathtakingly lovely, exotic and powerfully sensual in its innocence: carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk. Very lovely indeed. There is a round, purple Plumness, a slight spiciness from the carnations, and just a hint of musk. The only downside is that my skin eats it right up, and after 20mins there isn’t much left. (It lingers beautifully on clothing, however.) When my imp is finished I'll probably just get a bottle and slather away. It’s that lovely.

This is one I would never have gotten myself, but the lab gave me a frimp and I'm very glad they did. Wet, it smells like slightly burnt, warm, brown sugar. (That would be the rum.) A little later the leather comes peeking out, and there is something sweet going on. There is also a hint of tobacco that I don't care for at all. Dry, still a lot of brown sugar, backed by leather and something woody. There is also a hint of spice, and the tobacco disappears (phew). It is quite a masculine scent, but in a sweet kind of way that I can totally pull off. On the whole, the scent is rough but also comforting; perverted in a most charming way. Despite it not being entirely my style, it's a lovely scent, and I will be keeping the imp. I think I'll save it (and age it) for the autumn, when it's my beloved leather coat's time of year to be worn.

Brisingamen is absolutely gorgeous, from start to finish. Wet, it’s delicious amber with something juicy going on. It could be either fruit or floral, it’s not yet quite obvious. On the drydown it’s amber with apples. It smells juicy and red and slightly sassy. It reminds me of DKNY’s Red Delicious, my first “real” perfume about 10 years ago, and associated adventures. Brisingamen is far more sophisticated, though. Besides the delicious amber and apples there is also something slightly sideways about it, just a hint of dirtiness. (the myrtle?) This is the smell of confident femininity. Later, it is faint, a little spicy and slightly dusty (but in a good way, like golden dust). It smells very slightly naughty, in a way that is reminiscent of the last stages of O. (My skin does musky things to amber, I think.) Wearing it makes me feel like a sensual, juicy, playful goddess. (And that in a week when my hormones are off, go figure!) My autumn shall contain a nice big bottle of this.