Hopes & fears: I was hoping this captures that feral vampire hunger with a cold sanguine note. Scared that it would be too metallic or smell like "that antiseptic, metallic, gauze-pad scent" that Miss Despair described.
Sniffs: Strangely, this smells very "green." A bit like vetiver with a little pine or cedar wood, some conifer needles, and a bit of lemon balm. Very refreshing, but totally and utterly unexpected.
Wet: Still green. WTF? lol
Drydown: Extremely fast 180 morph and very strong. Spicy, like nutmeg and clove, with a musky incense hit and bit of metallic that I can almost taste. Also a medium-light amount of fruity sweetness, maybe orange? That woodsy scent is back and weaving in and out of the top notes. (I'm not great at picking out the varieties of wood notes.)
The smell as it's drying also has a very feral, intoxicating feeling to it. I think that's the spices and incense, combined with a touch of fruit. The metallic tang also smells really good on a hot day.
Dry: Very spicy, a little bit like tiger balm, but not in a noxious way. That metallic (now almost coppery) scent is still there, as is the woodsy scent. Just a hint of fruit. Definitely oranges.
Later on: Um, this went full tiger balm (icy, hot, spicy) on me. Complete with that waxy balm scent. But the utterly magical rollercoaster from wet to dry might make it worthwhile. Will continue to test to see if maybe it's temporary body chemistry or something.
Of note, this bottle just arrived a few hours ago, so it might need to settle a bit...
[Note to self: re-test and see if this changes over time or with hormonal cycle]
