Penance

Got this as a freebie from the Lab. I never would have chosen this on my own, but that just proves why Beth is my hero...I'm in love. First sniff: This smells expensive. I can't put my finger on what exactly it smells like, but I'm picking up fruit (the wine, I guess) and something that smells vaguely like tobacco. It's not something I would normally have picked, but this is looking promising! Wet on skin: The fruit is disappearing and it's being replaced by something naggingly familiar. Something that I love the smell of, but can't identify. I know what it is, but every time I try and put my finger on it it disappears. Whatever it is, I love it! Dry down: Clove cigarettes! That's what it smells like! On a hunch, I compared it to USP's Clove Cigarettes perfume and, sure enough, that's what I'm smelling. I'm absolutely addicted to the smell of clove cigarettes so this is a very pleasant surprise. The bottom line: Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. I never would have picked this one out on my own, but I can't stop sniffing myself! This smells almost identical to USP's Clove Cigarettes on my skin and that alone makes it a winner in my book. This is going on the big bottle wishlist.

It's my fault for not reading more thoroughly, I admit it. I've been studying for a psychopathology midterm these last few days and I've gotten into the habit of skimming things. ~ Penance

Love, love, LOVE this one! First sniff: I smell the forest...pine trees and loamy dirt and a hint of eucalyptus. This is exactly the sort of scent I love. I can't get this one on fast enough! Wet on skin: Oh, yes, this is what I love in a perfume. It smells like I'm standing in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. I'm getting the urge to put on a flannel shirt and a rabbit fur bomber hat and chop down some trees, but, strangely, it's not too masculine, either. It's unisex. It's woodsy. It's gorgeous. Dry down: The pine has really picked up, but the eucalyptus is still there, lurking in the background. I don't know why I'm getting pine from this, but I am, and I love it. I'm also smelling the cypress now, it's giving it a sort of earthy, woodsy smell that I absolutely adore. This reminds me of my first year of college at the University of California in Santa Cruz, which happens to be in the middle of a redwood forest. This scent holds a lot of good memories for me, it's immensely comforting. There aren't words to describe how much I love this. The bottom line: I think I have a new favorite. I'm going to have to buy a BIG bottle of this immediately. It's everything I've ever wanted in a perfume and more. Love isn't a strong enough word for this one.

Normally, I'd do a real review, but unfortunately I couldn't even put this one on because of my infamous almond aversion, so I'll do my best to say what I smelled in the bottle and leave it at that... In the bottle, I get almonds...in your face kind of almonds, too. I seriously physically recoiled from this, but that's because of the aforementioned almond phobia, not because it smelled bad necessarily (at least I imagine it wouldn't smell bad to other people). Being the brave little trooper that I am, I gave it another go, breathing shallowly and trying to stick it out and I got almonds and...cherry cola. I would have guessed this was going to be cinnamony or have dragon's blood in it based on the color in the bottle, a lovely cherry red. Now, I love cinnamon, it smells beautiful, and maybe there is some hiding in here, but I couldn't bring myself to put this on; the almond was there, mocking me with it's very presence, and, as much as I love to try unreleased scents, I just couldn't put this one on. So, the bottom line? On someone else I'm sure it'd be gorgeous, but it lost me at "almond."

I had to try this because, I'll admit it, I'm obsessed with Louisiana and New Orleans in particular. I tend to be a little fanatical about things... First sniff: This is really interesting. It's aquatic and mossy and floral all at the same time. I smell salty water and moss mostly, but there's some flowers hiding behind the greens and water. This is quite nice, although I expected it to smell more like moss and, say, cypress or some such thing. I can tell right now that this is going to be one of those scents that I love and most people are going to either hate or dislike. I tend to pick scents like that. Wet on skin: The flowers have died down and been replaced by mossy water again. It's a nice scent, very peaceful, I can almost hear the bullfrogs. The flowers aren't a big loss in my book since I'm not a floral person. This actually reminds me of Machu Picchu only less tropical. I like it. Dry down: The flowers have made a reappearance, but they're not intrusive and they aren't making my head hurt, which is a very good thing. Other than the flowers' unexpected reappearance, this is a very linear scent on me and one that I find very soothing. I can see myself wearing this in the summer when I'm cursing the midwest and aching to be down south. I love it. The bottom line: A great summer scent. Not too floral, not too aquatic and not too "swampy" (that's mainly for other people's benefits, since I like swampy.

First Sniff: Whoa, momma, that's flowery! I'm almost put off by that...I hate flowers, but I need some luck today, gonna have to stick it out. I have no idea what flowers they are exactly, since I can't tell a lily from a daffodil, not being a flower lover, but it reminds me of Pele if that gives anyone a clue. My mom says lily or hyacinth. No idea what that means, but I'm just passing it on verbatim like the parrot that I am. Wet on skin: Flowers, flowers, flowers! I smell like I've been rolling around in a greenhouse. It's not unpleasant, just not what I would normally choose. But I'm not wearing this for the scent, I'm wearing this because I need some good luck today. Dry down: Yep, that's flowers, all right. It smells familiar, but I couldn't say what kind they are. It doesn't smell like Pele anymore, it smells like something we used to grow in our garden in the house I grew up in. It's kind of comforting, actually, and it's not giving me a headache, which is an immediate plus in my book...the good luck is working already, it appears! The bottom line: As a perfume, it's pretty, but not me. But as a luck-changer, I love it. So far today I've...gotten the first of my 5, count 'em 5 Lab orders in, gotten trades on 6 things I've been trying to get rid of and got some really great stuff in return and (I'm pretty sure) aced my midterm. I don't care if it's just a placebo effect giving me the self-confidence I needed to succeed in everything today, but something's working! This is a definite keeper.

First off, let me say that the fact that I love Pele should probably tell you something about how good it is because, as a general rule, I hate floral scents. That being said... First sniff: Hawaii...it's the first thing that comes to mind. I smell a lot of pikaki and some soft, tropical blooms. It's beautiful and very calming, the antithesis of what I deal with in my everyday life: big cities, dirty streets, little patches of dirty sky. It's like a vacation in a bottle, soft and beautiful and infinitely calming. Wet on the skin: Beautiful, just beautiful. It's stronger than in the bottle and that's a good thing. I like strong scents and I was almost afraid that this would be too light on me. The flowers are picking up some, but so is the pikaki, putting me in mind of a white sand beach with the wind blowing through the palm trees. I love this. Dry down: This is an absolutely linear scent, no real surprises, just an intensification of the scents I smelled in the bottle. I feel so calm and relaxed wearing this, almost like I've been meditating. It's the same sort of feeling I get from Tushnamatay and I love it, it's exactly what I need after a long day. The bottom line: Pele holds the distinction of being one of the only (almost) pure floral scents that I truly love. I never would have tried it if it hadn't been included as a freebie in one of my swaps and I loved it so much I swapped for a 5mL bottle within a week of getting the imp. A definite winner.

Guess I should add Decadence to that list of scents...got it today as a freebie and, you guessed it, almonds. ~ Penance

Thanks, Pixie! ~ Penance

Preconceived notions: First off, I'd like to say that Nine Mysteries was a complete surprise based on what I'd expect from something with that name. I would have expected something resiny and comforting like Cathedral. This is the antithesis of whatI would have imagined going by name alone. First sniff: This reminds me a lot of Ultraviolet. There's the same minty softness to it, but this is slightly sharper and brighter, if that makes sense. Ultraviolet puts me in mind of the first crocus of spring peeking through the melting show. Nine Mysteries somehow puts me in mind of drinking a glass of orange juice while sitting on the deck, watching the sun melt that same snow. Wet on skin: I don't care for citrus as a personal fragrance, but this being an up and coming scent, I had to try it. Smelling my wrist, I'm still getting mint but I can feel what seems to be a touch of eucalyptus; it's the same sort of feeling I get with Ultraviolet. Now there's a slight hint of something citrusy really coming through. It's not terribly citrusy, but there's something citrus in here, lurking under the mint...grapefruit maybe? It doesn't appear to be lemon to my nose. Dry down: The mint is still predominating, but every now and then, I'll catch a whiff of the citrusy undertone and it's not at all unpleasant, the way most citrus is on me. I wouldn't normally think of citrus and mint as going together, but this works and I have to admit I do like this. The bottom line: Ultraviolet's more citrusy cousin. More refreshing and less metallic than it's floral counterpart. It's pretty, but I don't think it's for me.

Ahh a fellow rambler, welcome to the club! You know, on the thing about Nine Mysteries...I don't know what's in it, but it reminds me a lot of Ultraviolet. There's that same sort of mint/floral thing going on, but there's some citrus, too. It's really confusing to my nose and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

I actually have noticed the almond/cherry thing when it comes to amaretto. It smells fruity to me, although it still makes me sick. I never really gave it much thought, though, so that's pretty interesting to be reminded of it like that. Maybe that's why I can't stand the smell of maraschino cherries. Now if we could just figure out why my brother is so averse to the smell of lettuce, we'd be all set. And, on a side note, it appears my almond aversion must be genetic because my mom is apparently the same way, only she gets a splitting headache on top of the nausea. Odd how these things happen sometimes. ~ Penance

Wouldn't that be great? I'd love to be unique like that. I wonder how one goes about figuring out if they're capable of that sort of thing... ~ Penance

Okay, Kabuki's already on my list because I don't care for the smell of anise, either. ~ Penance

Well, that's one way of doing it! It's actually fairly odd that I like March Hare, really, since I can't stand foody scents or fruit as perfume. I guess it's just one of those flukes. ~ Penance

Heh, it's weird you should mention March Hare, diabolique. I love March Hare for some inexplicable reason. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I'm making a list as we speak of ones not to even think about sniffing. ~ Penance

Thank you! I'll mark it down on my don't sniff list. ~ Penance

Okay, I've given up trying to wear anything with almonds in it. It makes me nauseous. I tried Baron Samedi this morning and I still feel sick (not a good thing as I have a midterm to study for). So...I know the following have almond in them because the Lab says so: Voodoo Old Port-Au-Prince Hecate Seraglio Salome Queen of Sheba Hellcat Inferno Eclipse Calliope And I can smell almonds in #20 Love Oil and Baron Samedi, but are there any other scents I should be avoiding? I'd really rather not have to go through this again if at all possible. If anything smells even remotely like almonds, there's a pretty good chance it'll make me sick, so any suggestions would be very helpful. ~ Penance

Voodoo is another example of an oil I wanted to love but which ended up having its very existence cursed. Almonds are not my friend. They make me nauseous and give me a horrible headache. Voodoo has almond in it. Voodoo is not my friend. First sniff: Oh, geez...I can smell the almond. It's not all I can smell, in fact there are some other lovely, dark woodsy sort of scents in here that I really like, but the almond is there, lurking like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. I wanted to try this, though, so try it I will. Wet on skin: The almond isn't too strong, which is good. I'm getting a very distinct picture of a midnight ceremony here and it's lovely, but I'm being distracted by the almond and the faint queasiness it's causing. I can't quite ignore it, no matter how much I may want to. Dry down: It's settled into something fairly nice, kind of woodsy and incensey at the same time, but the almonds are still there, exerting their evil influence on my stomach. As much as I hate to do it, I'm going to have to wash this off. Curse you, almonds! Curse you! The bottom line: Once again, almond has ruined a perfectly lovely scent for me. Off to the swap pile it goes.

Got this in a swap from NorthernMinx . I've been wanting to try this for a long, long time and I wanted to love it, but it was pure almonds on me. Almonds make me physically ill, sad to say. I love the smell of rum and spices and that's what I was hoping for, but somehow I got screaming, in your face almonds. First Sniff: Almonds...dear God, no. Why did it have to be almonds? I wanted to try this, though, so I'm going to give it a shot and hope that they die down like they do in Snake Oil. Please, please, let them go away.... Wet on skin: Holding my breath, I don't want to smell it for fear of the almondy evil lurking on my wrist. Here goes...ack, almonds! Okay, I can wait this out, it's got to go away sometime. Everyone else is getting lovely rum and spices. I love the smell of Captain Morgan's...just have to be patient. Dry down: Maybe there's a hint of rum and spice hiding behind the almonds, but I'm getting nauseous and I can't wait to find out if it'll amplify later. I'm going to have to wash this off, or I'll be cleaning the carpet here in a minute. The bottom line: I wanted to love this. It sounds fantastic and everyone else seems to be getting what I'd hoped for, but on me it's almonds. Cloying, nauseating almonds. I know there are people out there who love that sort of smell, but I am not one of them. Sadly, this is going to have to be swapped because I'm going to feel queasy every time I even look at it.

Nothing new to add, but Old Sybaris is a great choice if that's what you want. ~ Penance

This is my first experience with truly bad body chemistry, sad to say, because I loved the way it smelled in the vial. First Sniff: Beautiful. I can really smell the Dragon's Blood in it, it's sweet and spicy and sensual smelling. Hopefully it won't change once it's on because I really like it. Wet on the skin: Same as in the vial at first, but it's quickly becoming sour. Sadly, it doesn't look like this particular scent works well with my body chemistry, which is a major letdown because it's beautiful...as long as it's not on me, that is. Dry down: Sour, sour, sour...this is not good. I wanted to like this, I really did, and I did like it until it started reacting with my body chemistry and turned into something downright unpleasant. The bottom line: I'm sure on someone else it would be gorgeous, but not on me. Off to the swap pile, I guess. **EDIT** I just realized what it was that it turned into on my skin. Sour milk. I've never had anything react so badly with my chemistry before and I've never had any trouble with either Dragon's Blood or Amber before, either. Stupid wacked out body chemistry.

Okay, I'm in a quandry. I love March Hare. Love. It. But I also don't generally care for fruit as perfume. I'd love to try something similar, but I have no idea what to choose because I don't normally wear this kind of scent. I tend to go for woodsy, incensey and spicy scents, not foody scents. Anyone got any suggestions? I have Tamora coming in a swap already and figured I'd humble myself and ask for advice. ~ Penance Edited to fix a typo...

Mine are Tushnamatay, Old Kathmandu and, strangely enough, March Hare for some inexplicable reason. I find cedar and sandalwood very centering and relaxing...no idea why March Hare is so calming for me. I guess it's just one of those mysteries of life... ~ Penance

I hate florals as a general rule, although there are exceptions, so my favorites are: Cathedral Penitence Anne Bonny Old Kathmandu Tushnamatay March Hare (odd choice, seeing as how I hate the smell of fruit, too, but I love it) Queen of Spades (another odd choice, but it works) That's for right now, I've got a ton more imps coming my way, so I'm sure I'll have more to add later. ~ Penance