vthesiren

Lab-fresh imp. In the imp: Vanilla-chocolate with a woodsy undertone. On my skin: For a few seconds, I thought "hey, is that almond?" Then, it became THE FUNKIEST FUNK TO EVER FUNK. Like a mixture of sweat, pencil shavings, and plastic. Vanilla peeks out and tries saying "o ha --" and then gets PUMMELED INTO OBLIVION by the atrocity that is this sandalwood note on my skin. It is like this both where I swiped the imp wand and where a bit of oil splashed on my fingers. What on earth happened here? No, just... no. I am lucky enough to have The Other Hot Chocolate for my cocoa needs, thus: TO THE SWAP PILE WITH YOU. Since everything I tested that day went terribly, which I thought was strange, I wound up retesting this the following day. Turns out that yeah, I just had an awful skin chemistry day, because this was MUCH better upon retesting - it was still a bit too heavy on the sandalwood for my liking, but it didn't amp and take over everything. The cocoa-vanilla came out really well and actually made it smell fantastic. I'll still rely on Other Hot Chocolate for my cocoa needs, but I'll keep this one around because it's nice.

Lab-fresh imp. In the imp: Vanilla and clove, with a hint of florals in the background. On my skin: Abandoned musty head shop. :| It's very dry, makes my eyes water, and there's a weird muskiness to it that's just... eurgh. Nope.

Lab-fresh imp. In the imp: spiced raisins and a buttery note. Mmm! On my skin: unrepentantly tart candy-fruit and meat fat. Damn, this is bad on me. I am sad now...

Lab-fresh imp. On me, this was mostly VETIVER with a background of orange - the patch didn't come out until much later, and then it sort of smelled like an orange-tinged Malediction (which is a blend I love). I'm gonna stash this away and try it again in a few weeks, because I have a feeling it'll improve with aging.

2013 version. Warm, spiced apple and pumpkin. There's an apparent woodsiness when I take a deeper whiff. Even after it's dried down, it never strays into "craft store candle" territory like other spiced fruit blends. This was one of the first blends recommended to me by a forumite, and I'm so glad I finally got to try it.

This smells fantastic - at first it's pumpkin pancakes sweetened with maple and honey, and then it settles down into something boozier. Alas, one of the spices didn't agree with me - I tested it on the inside of my elbow, and there is now a bright red welty disc. Sadness.

This is such a strange scent! I was rather surprised when I opened the imp - I was expecting a soil note like Zombi, Yorick, or The House, but while it was earthy it's definitely not in the same category. It starts off as a soft earthy scent (I swear I placed it as chocolate), but then it turns into high-pitched screeching sweetness - there must be a vanilla or something in it that doesn't agree with my skin. Sadness.

Sweetened leather with a hint of greenery. This is nice right out of the mailbox, but it'll probably be even better with some aging. If you liked the Marquis de Carabas, give this a shot.

Decided on The House.

Dorian-infused gingerbread cookies. Foody and spicy, with good throw. It's a very pleasant and comforting smell, but I'm not sure if it's necessarily "me".

In the imp: Musk and smoke. When I first smelled it, I said, "Yes," out loud. On my skin: blooms into smoke, clove, and black musk. Faintly metallic. I definitely get the "copper feathers" part of the description. Strongly reminiscent of Count Dracula, but without CD's coffin wood and cinnamon. I'm very pleased with this.

First thought: Moist, rotting leaves. Second thought: Celery. There is an undertone of pleasant roses somewhere under there, and maybe that'll come out later with time. But it's going to be tough to stick this one out. :| edit: An hour later, the roses have come out, and they're gorgeous. Which makes the opening stages of this even sadder. Probably swapping this.

This is a gorgeous blend - the spices at first definitely remind me of being at an open-air market in the desert. Upon drydown I mainly get amber, saffron, and juicy mandarin. It stays very close to the skin. Subtle, yet evocative. I am super-sad that this is discontinued.

Ahh, geez. I like rose, but rose doesn't always like me. When this hits my skin, it becomes an awkward combo of dragon's blood and musty rose, with a hint of wine in the background. It becomes completely resin when it dries down and is quite pleasant at that stage, but it's not worth the hours of waiting. Swap, and a shame, too - I was so looking forward to this one.

At first, it is completely PINE on me, like Coniferous Forest: Single Note. Ten minutes later, there was SOMEWHAT of a transition phase where the cranberry came through... then the cedar came to the forefront. Five minutes later, it's become wax-like, and I am a Christmas candle in a holiday store. Not for me.

In the imp, it was round, full, syrupy cherries and awesomeness. On me, it's black licorice and red musk, with a sour/tart undertone. Nooooo thanks.

Stand and deliver! Vetiver with gardenia, blood red rose, night-blooming jasmine, a dash of cinnamon and a faint hint of leather. Ahh, this is what I was hoping Cruelties Thrive would be like! There's an initial blast of vetiver, but after the first ten minutes or so, it begins to subside, revealing leather and soft florals. I am still not too sure about the jasmine, so I'm going to wait and see. I think this is one to age a few months and try again.

In the imp: I went "holy SHIT" when I sniffed this. A rich, tart wine with a hint of florals. On my skin: Leather, wine, and a breath of powder. So much yes. This just might compete with Blood Kiss for my "attract ALL the people" scent. I'm in love.

I received this from the lovely HJackson when she destashed. This is brilliant. In the imp, it's straight-up apricot marmalade. On my skin, the clove comes out, lending a lot of spice to the apricot. It gets a bit "drier", but it manages to stay fruity and spicy without veering into craft store candle territory. I'm honored that I finally got to try this, and I will cherish this imp and pray for a resurrection, even if only temporary.

I want to love this. In the imp, it reminds me of all of my favorite places - New Age shops, CD stores that sell sticks of incense... It's a fantastic lightly spiced red musk. The problem is that it has zero staying power on me. I put some on, took a four-hour nap, and it was completely gone when I woke up. I JUST applied some MINUTES ago, and it's already fading. Another Nosferatu. I'll probably keep the imp around for sniffing purposes, but this is depressing.

I got a decant of Count Dracula, and I'm in LOVE, but I've had zero luck finding more in the swaps and sales forums. Anyone have any suggestions for a GC substitute? The notes, for reference: I know that someone asked this back in 2008, but I'd like to know if any other GCs have come out that sound like a better fit (Old Demons of the First Class sounds sorta promising). (update: nope, Old Demons was not what I was looking for.)

originally posted 9/27/13: 2010 version. On me, this is a sweeter, more powdery Snake Oil - which is PERFECT, since Snake Oil (and some Snake Pits) can have a tendency to go too sharp and acrid on me. It's soft and sweet, with a touch of musk and spice. I absolutely love what the honeys brought to the table here, and I've been using up this decant like crazy and will have to track down a bottle or two soon. added 10/28/13: 2012 version. I'm surprised by how different this is! While the 2010 iteration is mostly musky honey sweetness, this is much heavier on the patchouli - the vanilla and honeys are there, but more understated. This has a very distinctive cola flavor. I imagine this is what Feed Me & Fill Me With Pleasure would've been on me had the black patch not turned that into pencil shavings. I'm enjoying both versions.

This is pretty nondescript on me - dries down to beeswax with a hint of pepper and oakmoss. Not much throw. I don't particularly like or dislike it because there's literally nothing about it that jumps out at me! I spent a while tracking this down, but I think this one will be swaps, unfortunately.

This taught me that cardamom is something I should never, ever put on my skin ever again. My skin burned and turned red where I put this on. I've never had that reaction to cinnamon blends before, so it must be the cardamom or the combo of cardamom and cinnamon. I sort of like the scent, but with a physical reaction like that... nope, off to swaps.

Starts off as a really nice, sugary lemon scent, but the florals come out especially strong on me and make it bitter and nasty. SWAP.