theGreatMissJJ

I received this as a frimp from the Lab as I probably would never have ordered it on my own (I do admit I rarely choose scents based on notes alone; I go by "OOH I WANT TO BE THAT LITERARY/MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTER"). Florals and I usually get along so I decided to give it a whirl. In the imp: OMG. The flowers sort of overpower everything. I don't know about anyone else, but for me, ylang-ylang is actually rather acrid and sharp in large doses. The resultant scent from the imp is sharp and sort of reminds me of going to the floral shop by the cemetery to pick out a bouquet of flowers to lay on my grandfather's grave. Something about too many flowers is somehow funereal to me. Wet: The florals mellow out a bit and the ylang-ylang isn't so sharp anymore. However there isn't much sweetness to this blend, which is why I prefer fruit-florals. A nice scent, but not "me." Dry-down: All the notes have blended together nicely to so I can't pick out any single note above the other now. Nice, but I still can't get over how funereal this smells. Not an oil I would wear, but it certainly has its uses! Last night I took a bath with a few drops of Suspiro in the water. Diffused in warm water it's just a very pleasant white floral. I was reading my Sailor Moon manga too. I felt so girly...

I think I've found my signature scent (this completely makes sense because Alice's Adventures in Wonderland defines my childhood and current life in ways I can't really articulate). YES! I'm sad I didn't order a bottle of this right off the bat because I NEED this. This scent is so ME. It's PERFECT. In the imp: Spicy! The carnation is sort of overwhelming, but not in a bad way. I'm not a fan of "spicy" scents in the way patchouli or some other woody scents can do to me, but I love carnation. I can smell the rose behind it and a little creaminess that is probably the milk and honey, but carnation is definitely the first note. Wet: Still spicy, but less so. My roommate on the subway today said it was "tangy." The rose (one of my favourite notes) comes out more now. The milk and honey are still faint in the background. Dry-down: Ohhhhhhhhh, I am loving this so much. SO MUCH. The carnation is now playing nicely with the other notes and it's this delicious combination of creamy florals with a little kick. A very "girly" sort of scent, but I'm perfectly fine with that. ~Sigh. I'm so broke right now, but it looks as though I'm putting in an order for a big bottle of Alice as soon as my next paycheck comes in. Edited to add: Aged Alice is different from fresh-from-the-lab Alice. I just ordered my second bottle and the difference between the two is rather amazing. Aged Alice is a warm, smooth, spicy honeyed-rose that's as comforting as an afternoon spent curled up with a blanket and a cup of tea. Fresh Alice is, well, fresher, with the bergamot actually coming out as a top note, making it a bit more spring/summery and younger than aged Alice.

I'm not normally a wearer of musks or patchouli, but I tried this one on a whim (based on the description because I love being devilishly playful) and fell in love. IN LOVE! My nose is hardly the most discerning, but I will try my best in picking out the notes. In the imp: Very, very, very fruity. (And I love fruit/florals.) Peaches galore. Wet: Still peaches, but less "peach preserve" and more "Georgia peaches on a sultry summer evening" when combined with the amber and golden musk. Lovely. I can start picking out the patchouli. Hope it doesn't amp too horribly. On the drydown: Yes! The patchouli didn't overwhelm all the other notes! The amber and golden musk were light and balanced out the patchouli on my skin, and with the peach on top, this one is delicious! Throw: Perfume oils tend to be extremely strong on me. I put Imp on before I went out for a drink last night and I could still smell it this morning. This scent really reminds me of something. I can't for the life of me figure it out...

I don't quite know what I was expecting with Lolita. Nabakov and I have a bit of a love affair going on, first when I was a sixteen-year-old Catholic schoolgirl in love with her English teacher and second when I was a little older and realised how hilarious Humbert is (oh, black humour. I love thee). I wore it when my subletter gave it to me and I spent all day deciding whether or not I liked it. In the imp: Citrus! I love citrus! Growing up in sunny southern California, I surrounded myself with oranges and I love the clean "bite" citrus notes add. Wet: Where on earth did the citrus go? On my skin it's almost overpoweringly sweet, without any of the "clean" or "bite." On the drydown: The overpowering sweetness has faded and now it's a lovely balance of sweetness and tart. Lasting power: Lolita is very strong scent on me. A little goes a long way. I dabbed a little of it before I went to work and I could still smell it when I went to sleep. Every ten minutes or so for the first hour I kept smelling it as strongly as though I had first applied it. Overall impression: Normally I'm a lighter scent type of girl, especially with lighter fruit or floral notes. Lolita is heavy, but not cloyingly so. A little bit on the vampy side, but very fitting with my darling and sympathetic Dolores Haze. A scent for humid, sticky, lazy summer afternoons wearing shorts and heart-shaped sunglasses. I'm definitely keeping the imp and contemplating buying a bigger bottle, but only for days when I'm feeling childishly sultry.