patashoqua

In the bottle: a cool, rich floral, like lilies and freesia. Hints of a light fruitiness. Wet: immediately sweeter, slightly sharper. The jasmine, lemon and waterlily, I think, come through most strongly at this stage. Dry-down: this one lasts and lasts! It's the only one I can still smell in the morning if I put it on before going out at night. Too bad it doesn't really suit me. As it dries, the rose becomes stronger and stronger, with undertones of something almost overripe. Old Venice is, as others have mentioned, a rich, mature smell. There's something almost jarring about it as it dries. It's exaggeratedly and voluptuously feminine, and there's something unwholesome under the gems and silks and pillowy flesh it evokes. ETA: I will keep this imp and use it sparingly for costume parties and other (rare) times I have to dress conspicuously and elaborately like a girl.

In the bottle: a very strong pine, with something almost that is not quite cinnamon, clove, or orange, but has something in common with each... I can't really place it. Wet: a pure, strong evergreen scent, all other notes banished by its intensity. I like it in this state. Dry-down: unfortunately, this one goes very sweet on me. I don't get any of the hints of musk other people have described; it becomes a rather cloying sweet-spice smell, with floral undertones.

My girl ordered an imp of Titus Andronicus, and to be honest, I didn't expect to like it at all. I'm not a big fan of sweet, heavy scents, and both amber and frankincense often seem that way to me. This scent is perfect, though. It is sweet, and heavy, but has a darkness and a musk to it that save it from being cloying. There's something stirring and solemn about it at the same time. It fades well too, keeping its basic balance and blending with the wearer's natural scent. I wouldn't like it on myself, I think, but on her it made me very happy.

Eidolon is a near miss for me. I love all of the separate notes, and it smells great on me for a little while, but it fades to something utterly uninteresting. In the bottle: my first impression is "sharp". I can smell the cedar and the bergamot most strongly, with only the faintest lemony hint of the verbena. Wet: the verbena/lemon scent comes through more strongly, but the sharpness of the cedar and bergamot balance its sweetness. Dry-down: alas, after no more than half an hour, it has become a powdery and faintly sweet lemon soap smell. Not offensive, but I don't much care for it. Like Envy, this one frustrates me. It smells so good in the bottle and when freshly applied, but it fades into blahness even more quickly than Envy. As with Envy, though, I will use Eidolon for aromatherapy, as both seem to perk me up and clear my mind when I've a headache.

Envy is a very near miss for me. I was so excited when I first smelled it, but it didn't live up to early promise. In the bottle: this is my immediate favorite out of the imp. A strong grassy smell with lime and mint; three of my favorite scents. Sharp and clean and soothing. Wet: when first applied, the grassy notes come through most strongly, with the mint and lime buoying the scent but not overpowering the rest. Dry-down: unfortunately, on me this lasts less than an hour, fading into a lime-soapish smell that is inoffensive but boring and very not me. I'm really disappointed about this one, as I adore the scent both wet and in the bottle, and would love to walk around smelling like it. I think it might be something to do with how my skin reacts to citrus notes, as I had a similar problem with Eidolon. I do, however, like the scent so much that I occasionally wear it anyway, even though it doesn't last, and when I've a headache, smelling it out of the imp helps to lift the fog.

Rosalind is all innocence and sweetness on me. That's not the sort of thing I generally go in for, but it can be useful at times. Fresh and crisp and fruity without being cloyingly sweet. In the bottle: it is a very sweet, somewhat concentrated berry smell. When I first smelled it in the imp, I didn't expect to like it much, and didn't try it on until some time later. Wet: the grass comes through more strongly, and balances out the sweetness. It's a balanced scent; in describing it, the words crisp and clean keep coming to mind, but there's a depth and warmth to it from the berries. Dry-down: this stays pretty much the same on me until it disappears; it fades gradually but doesn't change noticeably. Does anyone remember a scent the Body Shop used to carry (maybe still does) called Dewberry? I wore it in Jr. High (the last time I wore any kind of scent regularly). This is like the adult version of it- less sweet, more complicated and subtle, but strongly reminiscent. I like this one very much. If I order only one bottle, it'll still be Jolly Roger, but if I order two, Rosalind will definitely be the other.

Jolly Roger is the first of my imps that I tried on, and I wear it almost daily. I will be buying a bottle of this when I can afford to. It blends well with my natural scent without disappearing. It makes me feel like smirking and swaggering. In the bottle: it's a more synthetic scent than the other oils I've smelled: very sharp and tangy, not like anything organic. Wet: the first thing I smell is the rum combined with the sea air- the rum alone would be cloying and the sea alone would be too sharp, but the combination is gorgeous. I catch a faint undercurrent of something like cocoa-butter too. Dry-down: as the scent fades, it mingles with my natural scent and becomes (on me at least) an almost subliminal scent, with a rich, almost buttery undernote and that sea-air and rum tang still wafting off the skin. Interestingly, of all the scents I've tried, this one varies most depending where it's applied. Under clothing, the scent lingers much more; it actually evaporates rather quickly from my wrists. This is just about my favorite thing ever. My girl likes it too.