fairnymph

Amber coloured oil. Slightly sour rose (rose-infused amber always means that sour rose note, I've learned, as in the Miller's Daughter and the Empress) sweetened a little by what smells like black amber to me, woefully light orange and honey and apricot, and some dry slightly spice warmth - but not that I can break down into individual notes. Powdery, instantly. A little more fruit (especially apricot), but the sour rose still jumps out most. The red sandalwood is now distinct, stronger and dryer and warmer. And the pink pepper is peeking out, bright and slightly rosy. A tiny, tiny bit of cardamom. I'm not getting any patchouli, though. The honey here is very light, like a mild-flavoured type. APRICOT. Totally dominating, with sour rose and powdery amber just below, then almost dusty red sandalwood, and I'm getting the cardamom now which also adds a slightly dusty, spicy-hot-dry bite. And a tiny bit of earthy but still very light and well-behaved patchouli has emerged. Orange is holding on pretty well, as are the other notes, but they are background. Apricot even stronger, even more dominating. Super sweet, almost candyish - a bit too sweet and rich for me, alas. Beneath it is a bit of warm dust from the amber, sandalwood, and cardamom, though only the red sandalwood can be clearly distinguished. And along with that dust is the sour rose that just won't die, and clashes with the sweetness of the apricot instead of cutting it. I really hate that rose note! The other notes are just overwhelmed or have faded away. Great throw, fades a fair bit. This is really alllll about the apricot on my skin. Sadly, not a fave note of mine, and the other notes aren't really either. I also never got anything remotely metallic.

Sniffed: Super rich, heavy, cloying chocolate - think Bliss - very milky and insanely foody, quite buttery. Eek. I get a decent bit of incense that reminds me a lot of the note in Black Lace, and then more faintly the oceanic notes. Not as salty and aquatic and seaweedy as I'd hoped for. This is 90% milk chocolate. I am scared to test it! Wet: Much more incense, and it is DEFINITELY the incense from Black Lace, specifically the resurrected (or 'fresh', if that one needs to age to resemble the original more). But I also get more ocean - delicious salt water and green, fresh kelp (which is a little cucumbery). I don't really get 'dark' ocean plants - all the oceanic notes here are bright and refreshing and really help offset the immense heaviness of the chocolates, which are less dominating but still in command. Also, less buttery, and less milky - I get more dark chocolate. Phew! Dry: Okay, bizarre. All but a teensiest hint of chocolate has completely burnt off. The initially gross milky-buttery Bliss note morphed into a deep beautiful dark chocolate note (reminiscent of Dark Chocolate, the uber-rare Gaiman imp) and then faded to nothing except a trace of fudge-tinged sweetness (unlike that DC note). Now I'm left with salty, salty seaweed - not green and cool and cucumber, but more like dried seaweed with visible salt all over it - and that incense from the Black Lace. The seaweed note is unlike anything I've smelled before in BPAL but it smells exactly like my dried Kelp & Wakame sprinkled with at on of extra sea salt. Later: The roommate caught a whiff of me and told me I smelled 'manly and woody'. Now that I think of it, I do get sort of a dry driftwood note - a la Jolly Roger - but it's fairly light, and not too dry or TOO woody. I think it's part of the incense. I agree this is quite masculine on drydown, however. It's super salty dried seaweed and the dark incense of Black Lace, with that hint of old driftwood and the tiniest suggestion of dark chocolate. What an evolution! Great throw and longevity too. Summary: This is a winner - unlike any other scent in the catalogue, extremely well-blended and well-balanced, and so intriguing. It's the kind of thing you want to keep sniffing because it's so unique and complex. I think it'd be most awesome on a man, but it works with my feminine skin chemistry - it's just not something I'd wear myself.

Golden oil. Bright, juicy-tart red currant leads the way, followed by the orange flower and then the pink pepper, making for a surprisingly bright and girly scent. The clove bud and patchouli do add darkness, but it's distant. I can't pick out the leather or fig. BAM there's the leather, sharp-chemical-powdery De Sade-style. Still, the red currant remains strong and delicious, as does the orange flower - and this is definitely orange flower, a distinct note from the lab's orange blossom, which I can't wear (it turns sharp on my skin). This stays true to life, fresh and fragrant and lightly citrusy and creamy. The pink pepper is not spicy or soapy, but adds an almost rosy note and a touch of warmth - for some reason this whole scent evokes a deep salmon pink sunset for me. I get a bit of sweet fig (the fruity note from Carnal), and more of the clove bud which adds a bit of woody sharpness, but the patchouli is extremely light and wearable - reminds me of the note in Croquet. Red currant and orange flower are fading, or else being overtaken by the greatly amping leather and clove bud. This is becoming more and more spicy, sharp, and biting. And the fig is amping too, and I don't like BPAL's fig - it's too candy-sweet and heavy. The pink pepper is turning a little spicier too. Wahh. This was so surprisingly lovely at first, but my skin just makes this a mess. Uh, wow. This totally morphed - again! Now it's alllll fig. 90% fig. It smells almost exactly like Carnal's drydown on me, with the orange flower contributing some orange note...though I get almost no orange in Carnal anyway. I can still smell all the other notes, but the fig has completely taken over and relegated the formerly intense leather and clove to the distance with the other notes, although they're still a little stronger than the rest of the background, especially if I sniff very close to the skin, then they leap out. Sweet, rich fig, chemical-powdery slick leather, and sharp clove. Good throw and fades a bit but then holds.

Light slightly peachy golden oil. Cucumber! Loads and loads of cucumber with a soft herbal sage note, a fair bit of dry, dark teak and a little redwood...not getting tonka clearly, and the coconut is light. Softly sweet. Much nicer, gentler, and more composed than I expected. Still veryy cucumbery, deliciously fresh and aquatic and green and juicy - perhaps the most cucumbery BPAL I've ever smelled! The coconut is unfortunately a little more apparent, but it's still not too bad, and it's much less foody than other coconut notes. Same note from Tiki King. More redwood, which gives this is a woodsy freshness that goes really well with the cucumber - sage reminds light, and I get only a wink of tonka. Oh wow, this is evolving beautifully! The redwood - an underused note I adore - is amping, which gives this a cool deep forest sort of feel, while the still-strong juicy, very green cucumber makes me think of heavy cool shade from green leaves. This is the one of the most wearable sages, not harsh, just a little masculine hint of herb. The teak and coconut add an exotic feel (meh); the teak makes this warmer and richer (boo) and the coconut makes this creamy and seems to have absorbed the tidbit of tonka to add a bit of sweetness. I'd love this without those last two notes. Apparently this is also making my skin itch and react...eek. This is itching REALLY badly; must wash off. Also, the coconut was amping further and further, and the teak too - becoming far too tropical, warm and sweet for me. The tonka was exceptionally well-behaved at least, as was the sage. I'm sad this doesn't work because the cucumber and redwood are so gorgeous here (and remain strong!) and this is a really beautifully blended unisex scent. Good throw, too.

Extremely pale virtually colourless yellow oil. Sweet, sugary carnation (smells pink or white to me, not too heavy or spicy) and the grape is surprisingly fruity and bright, not as syrupy as I'd feared. Tarter, juicier! I get some definite citrus - it reminds me of clementines or tangerines, and I get tart juice and peel both - it's so tart it could even have some lemon too. Delicious! It's less sweet though I still get a lovely sugar note, crystallized - it really does remind me of crystallized edible flowers. The carnation is very soft and delicate and surprisingly green, with milky-stemmy note that makes this scent super fresh in combo with the citrus. Here's the carnation! it's still a very soft/light carnation note, but it has amped up to be the strongest note, and is accompanied still by that lovely stemmy green note. The fruit has faded greatly, almost completely, and most of the sugar has too - this is still sugary, but it's much less sweet than it is in the bottle, and overall this is not anywhere as sweet as I'd feared. I don't think I'd guess there were grape in this, btw. STEMMY, very green, planty carnation with a little spice that finally emerges. The sugar remains only very lightly, the fruit is long gone. Not a very sweet scent in the end. The greenness of the carnation is interesting (and unique), but I usually like 'fresher' green scents and this is more of a dry, almost powdery green scent. It's just not *quite* good enough to keep. Decent throw and longevity.

Dark reddish cola-brown oil. Dark, earthy, dirty, spicy, resinous and harsh....eek. The smoky vanilla is a smooth, sweet pinpoint amidst it all, and the ginger and cistus brighten it a bit too. The patchouli is SO dirty and rooty and headshoppy, the myrrh bitter and dusty, the clove & saffron spicy and sharp, and the sage is that harsh dry kind. Much softer and sweeter! The cistus and ginger take the fore, with smoky vanilla (and it really is smoky, in a lovely way like a bit of tobacco has crept it, reminds me of the vanilla note in Storyville)...wow, a lot of vanilla! Much sweeter and almost creamy on my skin. The ginger is the same fresh, sparkling note from Loaded Gun. And the saffron smooths out into something pleasant and cola-ish. Still, the other notes are all-too-present in the background. Sweeter and smokier. The smoky vanilla is really forefront (and the sage, which won't die), followed closely behind by the spicy, vegetal pimento (a note I clearly amp), super-earthy sorta-dirty patchouli/oakmoss combo, and loads and loads of dusty, incensey myrrh. The clove and saffron are both distinct but they're mellow notes here. The cistus has burned off and the ginger faded. Ubermasculine. Smoky, spicy vanilla and earthy incense. Much too dry/dusty/dark/dirty/spicy for me, but I am impressed by how the scent comes together on my skin, and turns into something quite unisex. It smelled absolutely vile to me in the bottle but improved greatly on my skin. Lower throw, good longevity.

Colourless oil. Tea, lots of tea, soft milk chocolate, a lot of cake that smells a little musty, buttercream frosting, and yes, some musk! It's lightly creamy but not buttery, thank god, and I don't get too much chocolate. The berry note is light and a bit artificial smelling. Still lots of tea, but more cake, and it's more musty. This is very food but it's not that rich or heavy or super-sweet - it's a light scent overall. Now I get where people are smelling citrus - I think it's the tartness of the berry note and also the tea (which is so strong and tea has sort of piney-citrus overtones to my nose). It's definitely raspberry. Less creamy, in fact, no longer creamy at all. Sweeter. The fruit is gone, but the tea is still going strong and it cuts a little of the foodiness. This isn't creamy, but it's dairy-ish, it's gone a bit buttery, which I think is the milk chocolate amping and turning on me (MC being a nemesis note on me). And the cake is quite musty indeed in that baked goods weird powdery way. The musk is rather sweet, and it reminds me exactly of the sort of ambery musk in Berry Moon. I can't handle the rancid milk chocolate and musty cake in the final drydown, though the tea note is nice. I'm also not a fan of this type of sort of dusty musk. As the milk chocolate turns on my skin this really amps up and has tremendous, nauseating throw and lasts for quite a while. Yeah, milk chocolate is fail on me.

Golden oil. LAVENDER, strongly herbal, a little medicinal - very much like an aromatherapy or Panacea type blend, followed by a bit of citrusy-sour elemi, and piney-resiny mastic - okay, actually the mastic is pretty strong, almost as strong as the lavender. The white sandalwood is a light smooth musky note, distant. Instantly soapy. Oh this reminds me GREATLY of Temple of Dreams, it's the same lavender note, and there is another shared herbal note too - basil, I think. Yes, definitely. Very masculine. The elemi is *poof* gone, and sandalwood still extremely faint. ToD also goes soapy on my skin, but this is soapier. Lavender, mastic and basil all on about par right now. There's also a sort of unplaceable spiciness tot his, maybe it's the cinnabar? It does smell a tiny bit metallic, but I'm not sure I'd get metal from this blend in a blind test. The lavender has calmed down greatly now; I'd say the mastic is now strongest, then lavender, then cinnabar, then basil. And that cinnabar note has amped, still spicy but more metallic - it's definitely noticeably metallic now. This no longer really smells that much like ToD. And the sandalwood has amped up a little; this is sweeter and more musky and more rounded. Still, that soapiness (which is quite powdery) remains...it reminds me of lavender-herbal laundry soap now, somewhat. Drydown is all about the mastic and cinnabar; very spicy, deep, resinous and quite woody-dry from the sandalwood, which also adds musky depth. Only faint hints of those strong herbal notes from earlier remain after a few hours. It is quite metallic, but in a way that reminds me of dark/rusty/corroded metal. Definitely a masculine blend. Fades down to moderate throw and has great longevity.

Dark amber/golden brown coloured oil. Sharp, harsh, STRONG. Manly! Quite bitter, very dark and heavy and earthy. I get a lot of hemp and tobacco ad some patchouli (though it's not listed) - the black, very dirty-gritty-rooty kind. Eek. Also the red musk, which is mentholic and untempered, and loads and loads of spicy bitter clove. And sweet, heavy, cloying tonka. No peach blossom or black currant and only a whisper of redwood. Radically different instantly upon touching my skin - much softer and nicer. The peach blossom and especially the black currant immediately emerge, sweetening and brightening the blend. The patchouli and clove and red musk are all much smoother and less harsh. Only a bit of that gritty dirty rooty soil aspect remains. Best of all I can smell more redwood, clean and woodsy, almost citrusy. Unfortunately I also smell some regular old Pinesol-y pine. With the fake vanilla-esque tonka, this kinda reminds me of a cheap xmas candle now. Uh, this is going soapy. What? And the hemp is amping, and I really don't like hemp. It smells like dirty weeds. THAT's what I'm mistaking for patchouli, I think. The black currant has amped up, and it's that masculine, slightly dusty, slightly sour sort of black currant note - not my favourite. The clove has amped up and the red musk is mentholic again. Also, this makes my face itch. The tobacco and redwood and peach blossom are nice, and they're here, but they're just overwhelmed. The tobacco and clove really take over in the end. This gets darker, woodier, smokier - it reminds me of the Pinched, same type of tobacco note, and the tonka is similar too, though not quite as sweet here. The clove is the really sharp kind that my skin amps in that bad, bad way, and the red musk continues to be all-to-present. Still not liking the black currant and still hating the hemp, though they are background notes now. Only the tobacco, very light peach, and light redwood redeem this at all, but not nearly enough. Good throw and longevity.

Deep root beer brownish oil. Super sweet, deep, resiny, musky. I get lots of honey and vanilla and red musk, the caramel and patchouli and galbanum, and a little champaca and ylang-ylang and quite a bit of nutmeg. The florals are deep and languid. And this is more than 'traces' of caramel. Not getting the petitgrain, however. Almost nutty. This reminds me a lot of Snake Oil blends, with the vanilla & red musk & resins. Definitely a dark, earthy patchouli though it's not quite rooty or dirty - not quite. The ylang ylang is a lot stronger and headier on my skin, but the brigthness of the also-amped (though not quite as much) champaca tempers it. Still loads of honey and loads of caramel and this almost makes my teeth ache. The nutmeg is still quite present but playing nice so far. The sweetness is fading really rapidly - this is calming down, smoothing out, and becoming much more unisex. My skin appears to be eating this (literally, can't see the spot where I applied the dark oil). It's hard to pick out notes because everything is so seamlessly blended at this point. I'd say the red musk and resins are in command, but the florals are definitely there too. This reminds me of the NVPR4 drydown! If I didn't know it, I'd never guess there were patchouli at this point, it's been so integrated and lost its distinct earthiness. Also, I can finally detect a little petitgrain, a little spot of slightly sour, citrusy brightness, like a little candle shining in a dark velvet room. The nutmeg has lost its spicy bite, too, and is much gentler. Still plenty of vanilla and yes, red musk, but this is one of the nicest red musk blends I've tried (and I hate red musk). In the end the caramel seems to amp back up, resulting in vanilla-caramel, red musk, soft nutmeg and resins, with a little sour petitgrain and some deep but not overwhelming florals - I imagine these would work well on those who can't normally wear most florals. It's a fantastically well-blended and balanced scent, but too dark, rich, sophisticated and resinous for me. Fantastic throw, and great longevity after initial fading.

Light lemon yellow oil. BENZALDEHYDE, WHOA! Loads of almond extract and fake maraschino cherries. Eeek. Beneath its boozy blast I can detect a little actual cherry fruit and some apricot, but not really any pastry, actually. Not as sweet as I expected. Much more nutty - now I get more marzipan and toasted almond flakes, or maybe something like bear claws - a definitely flaky butter pastry note, but not gross-buttery. The apricot is much stronger and it's the same note from Katharina - but deeper, jammified. The cherry is still fake/maraschino and while the benzaldehyde is softer it's still a very strong note. Wow, morph! That benzaldehyde burns off more and more - in fact after 15 minutes it's totally gone! Apricot jam now dominates, with a little cherry (more like real glace cherries now, only a hint of maraschino). But it's very light cherry - the apricot is really in command. The pastry is a light note, not too sweet or rich, though this blend is much sweeter now than it was in the earlier stages, it' s still far from cloying. The only almond I get now is that toasted almond one. Apricot jam smeared on a bear claw or an almond croissant. Except this is 90% apricot, and I get fresh fruit as well as jam - it's a rich as well as bright, almost but not quite juicy apricot note. I get a teensy bit of spice in the distance - a very well behaved, softly sweet and woody clove that's not too spicy. The cherry is brighter too, it's actual cherry now, completely, no artificialness. The pastry note is exceedingly light and totally wearable even for a non-foody like me. This is just a tad too sweet in the final drydown, and I'm not a huge fan of apricot or cherry in perfume, and while it's not that foody, and I actually quite like the sort of vanilla-custard I get mixed with the flaky pastry in the later stages, I'm still not a foody girl. This is shockingly nice and quite a morpher, and almond haters should not worry as that almond extract burns off very rapidly. This is all about the apricot, which amps over time and becomes tarter, juicier, more realistic. Great throw and longevity.

Bright golden oil. Sweet, fruit, tropical. Very bright and indeed colourful. I get all the fruits, the coconut, the slightly heady frangipani, and the slightly powdery violet...the caramel is fortunately very light. It's a bit on the syrupy sweet side, but we'll see. This makes me think of really good candy, or fruit punch. Also Pez, because there is a disctint powdered sugar sort of note. This is by far the strongest blood orange note I've ever gotten in a BPAL blend. The gauva and pear and sugar cane are also all gorgeous, and I find the black plum a tad heavy, but I don't mind it. This is both juicy and tart and I'm still not getting caramel, yay! I do get the slight spicy vegetalness of the pimento and I am not a fan. Also, the coconut is apparent, and I hate coconut in perfume. Otherwise this would be fantastic - I'd even suck up the powdery violet. Pimento amping and amping, more and more vegetal and spicy and peppery and not at all what I want to smell like ever. It's completely dominating the delicious fruit notes, but the coconut is standing up to it a little better (of course, ugh). Sweet tropical fruits and bell-pepper-y, spicy-hot pimento with creamy sweet coconut and a hint of violet powder. The fruits hold really well and I actually like the powder from the violet here, but the pimento and coconut are absolute dealbreakers. Good throw and longevity.

Super tart grape jelly with a hint of booziness. I got some Port Wine flavoured jello while I was in Australia and this is exactly like that. Juicy, a little artificial-hard-candyish, but with enough tartness to make it more than just Fake Grape Candy. Spicier! Where did the spice come from? I get clove and allspice, sort of like mulled port jelly. The sweetness is a bit powdery/Pez-like, in a kind of nice way - because it's so tangy, it reminds me a lot of Pixie Stix. Grape Pixie Stix, but with spices. Also this is sort of woody/dark...oak? Yeah I'm almost positive I get an oak note. It reminds me a little of the dark oak note in the Antikythera mechanism. Going dusty. The oak and spices have amped greatly and the juiciness/freshness of the fruit is long gone, though there is still plenty of Grape Candy Pixie Stix, it's more artificial, less real grape, and I don't get any booziness at all now, though I may have imagined the initial booziness. Dusty spices and dark oak over fake grape candy flavoured powdered sugar. Not at all my sort of thing. Strong throw and longevity. I would suggest this for kids, except the spices and woods...honestly I don't see who would wear this.

Straw coloured oil. Wow! Tons and tons and TONS of geranium! This is the strongest geranium scent I have ever smelled in BPAL. How exciting! It's also very sweet from the benzoin, richy honey-ish, almost a crystallized honey note, and I think the black amber is contributing some sweetness. I get the lavender too, a very nice lavender. The poppy and rosewood and incense are a little too dry/dusty but are tolerably light. Even sweeter, TOO sweet. I think more from the black amber (this is always really sweet on me) than the benzoin - it's a little sickly. Also, this is INSTANTLY powdery on my skin from the damn poppy and incense, and drier and dustier from the rosewood, too. Damn. The lavender is the same note from TKO, in fact, the way it's sweetened also is very reminiscent of TKO. Sweet lavender unfortunately makes me feel ill. The geranium (which is utterly gorgeous) is trying valiantly to make this blend work but in vain. Soooo strong. Soooo sweet. And sooooo powdery. It is actually dark in feel, a horrible evil dark strong sweet powder. The lavender has amped up a bit, and it's just FOUL sweetened like this ( I also hate TKO). Overall this really reminds me of TKO + geranium + evil incense. And it's making me feel ill so I'm off to the sink.

Pale metals, crackling ozone, hyssop, white mint, tonka, and lemongrass. Ozone and chrome with light mint and a fair bit of lemongrass. There is sweetness from the tonka, but it's not too heavy. I'm thrilled with how the ozone and metal are the strongest notes. Wayyyyy more lemongrass, by far the strongest note, and then the hyssop is also apparent, and almost sort of grassy here - a very pleasant, fressh green note. Still lots of ozone, but less metal. The white mint is still there, lightly, no less or more than in the bottle. This is almost aquatic - it's very light, fresh, luminous, clean - if the lemongrass calms down I'll be a happy girl. More metal (yay!), but the lemongrass is still really strong, and the tonka has amped on me, becoming slightly buttery, and much too sweet and rich altoegther. I also particularly dislike tonka + lemony notes for some reason - I find it an unpleasant combination. The mint, which was never strong, has faded under the dual assault of lemongrass and tonka. This is going suprisingly musky on me, and the metals have returned are beautiful. Definitely silvertone/chrome, which is my favourite metal note. This is not a dull scent at all. The tonka has faded and lost its initial heaviness, and the lemongrass is now a supporting player instead of an attention whore. The final drydown is quite nice. The lemongrass finally burns off and the tonka smooths out, and most wonderfully, the metals really amp up. I also get some white amber, so this reminds me of a sweeter, citrusy Torture Queen or actually it reminds me most of the House of Mirrors - it's very unisex. I wish there were more of a mint presence, but I'm pleased with the green-herbalness of the hyssop. The middle stages had me hating this, but now I'm thinking it's quite nice. Great throw and good longevity.

Light straw coloured oil. Surprisingly sweet, in a fruity way, slightly tart, almost candied - sour apple candy? Weird! Not very aquatic or luminous, although I find this very tropical, sort of a humidity perhaps? I get a strong sense of resins, but not really incense, nothing smoky. Dries instantly. There is definitely something tart here, so sour apple candy seems about right. It smells rather pink though. But something else too, maybe mango? Definitely some type of tropical fruit. More of the resin, which now does smell incensey and lightly smoky. This is a very light skin on my scent, which I guess is fitting. It smells familiar but I can't place why. Oh! There is cinnamon in this! Bizzare. Also, the fizzy dishwashing soap of Delousing Powder, which really does makes this more luminous (and also more powdery). It's only lightly powdery though and that fizzy soap note is making the blend much nicer on me, I think it would almost be wearable without the cinnamon (which is candied red hots, but not so strong). I take it back about the grapefruit, or else the grapefruit has faded. This is LOTUS which is why I got such a pink effect, and it's quite sweet and slightly bubblegummy. The cinnamon is still staying very light on my skin, but more incense has come out, and it's dusty-powdery - oh, I bet there is some myrrh in this, but it also reminds me of very traditional incense, some maybe some blackened sandalwood? Dusty, smoky incense, sweet pink bubblegummy lotus with sour apple candy, vague powdery soap and a hint of cinnamon. Truly bizarre, and not at all my sort of thing. It also makes my nose itch. Very low throw but good longevity.

Light yellow oil. Fruity-floral that's bright, sweet, and light but also deep. I get a LOT of pikaki and too-sweet, slightly buttery tonka (blech), a little soapy tuberose, and not enough citrus and peony - though I can pick them out. Sadness. Oh, and of course the frankincense is detecable, and it's also too sweet for my liking here, and too heavy. Tarter- much more grapefruit and especially yuzu - yay! Also soapier from the tuberose, and overall MUCH more floral - I get more peony, but the tuberose and pikaki are totally dominating. I like pikaki but not THIS much. This blend reminds me a lot of La Primavera, but is doing much less well on my skin. The tonka and frankincense are still sickeningly rich and sweet, even more so than in the imp. SUCH strong throw, and also, I think is is making my rosacea flare. The tonka is so incredibly strong it literally makes my stomach turn, and the combination with the soapy-powdery tuberose is dreadful. I love the citrus, but it just isn't enough with the aforementioned heavy hitters. Likewise with the peony, which is lovely. The violet leaf is sort of cologney, almost making this something more unisex. And something is going to powder in this - I suspect the frankincense, but it could be the violet leaf. Nose-stabbingly painful powder/soap with buttery-sweet sickly tonka and heavy frankincense and overwhelming pikaki and all the other lovely notes totally smashed below. In fact the gorgeous citrus almost smells BAD here because it clashes so poorly with the other notes. One of the least well-blended scents I've ever tested, and a huge disappointment. Crazy strong throw and longevity. Why do only the BAD citrus scents last on my skin? Ugh!

Gleaming chrome, fizzy/sparkling lemon and lime soda, with maybe some ginger ale too? Very effervescent, but with a pleasant extra tang from the metal. Much more ginger; more zesty, brighter, stronger throw. Even more sparkly. It has a touch of that dishwashing soap edge that most fizzy scents do on my skin, but it's light and pleasant. I get more lime than lemon, and a slightly sweet lime, not bitter or sharp - maybe that pink lime from Croquet? This is delicious! I wish the metallic note were stronger, though. Oh no. I think my skin is reacting to this - there's a burning/itching sensation. Oh please god no! It's so lovely and clean and light, sparkling and lightly citrusy and fresh gingery - gah, I will die if I can't wear this. And so far it's not going to soap - it's like huffing dishwashing powder (my favourite scent in the entire world, yes I'm strange) mixed with diluted ginger ale and a touch of lime cordial. And it's so fizzy still! No powder! This is sweetening on me (?!), in fact, I'm specifically getting that syrupy white grape note that I find much too cloying personally. It's light, so I can handle it, but I'm not thrilled about its emergence. The white grape note stays light, and this has surprisingly fantastic longevity. Not a lot of throw, but I don't mind slathering. A metallic lime & ginger soda that's super fizzy without going to soap! Mmm. More scents like this one, please! I shall be hoarding many bottles. I'm so happy I seem to be responding to this so differently than the majority!

Slightly sour-fresh and herbal, presumably from the tagetes (i.e. marigold), with a smooth but strong cognac note that's more rich than boozy, and the perfumey, slightly powdery type of amber. Hmmm. Fresher, almost citrusy, with loads of marigold! Still quite sour, but in a way that I really like. Boozier too, sharper, a definite alcohol note - this is good, it keeps the cognac bright, which I like. The amber is sadly more perfumey in that sort of old lady powdery way I just don't like. I sense it going powdery already and this isn't even near dry. This isn't drying, so it isn't morphing much either, although it is amping on my skin - it has VERY strong throw and is much stronger on me than it was in the bottle. The marigold is going a bit dusty, and is a little sharp in an herbal-medicinal way - it's oddly compelling, in that I want to keep sniffing it, but it's also a bit off-putting. And the amber here is exactly the type I most dislike, boooooo. Amber amping. It's not going to full powder, but it does have that powdery edge, and it's very perfumey - old lady floral-soap-powder perfumey, but in a way that is unique to certain ambers, and that's the best description I can summon. It's been 2+ hours and this is still not fully dry! The cognac has softened a bit - some of the alcohol has burned off - and sweetened ever so slightly. The marigold's the same, and continues to dominate the blend. Hours and hours later this has turned into something quite lovely - it's gotten musky, the cognac and amber have deepened, and the amber has lost most of its perfumey and powdery qualities, leaving smooth warmth reminiscent of L'Estate. The marigold is no longer sour, but a dry though still bright sort of sage-like masculne herbal-floral note. The cognac is really shining though the most in the end, deep and rich and almost creamy, almost caramelised. A sour blend turns into a gently sweet, deep, golden skin scent. The rocky early stages are worth this glorious drydown, and I bet this would be just amazing on a man. Fantastic throw and longevity.

Lightly sweet, soft, and powdery - I definitely get the violety-orris, iris, and pear as well as the clean moonflower - some of other rather luminescent slightly herbal notes, but nothing distinguishable. Sweeter, richer/deeper, fruitier. so much delicious pear! A lot of mallow comes through and a touch of juniper, and some citrusy herbal notes - there is a gentle fresh/bright aspect to this. The powdery orris family notes are subtle, very white but not overbearing. The general feel here reminds me of The Girl, and like that scent this has notes that should result in doom but yet the scent works. Dries almost instantly. The sweet-violet thing reminds me a bit of Faith, but more fruity, more luminescent (almost feels like a lunar blend to me), much less violety powder and less sweet - so altogether superior in my book. The moonflower keeps this feeling clean and light, but isn't going to soap on me - miraculous! Soft powdery, vaguely fruity, vaguely citrusy/woodsy fresh violet. It's very clean, soft, light and feminine - not shiny, more of a gentle lustre. Low throw and it fades a lot - this is a slatherer that requires reapplying. I am totally surprised by how this worked on me considering my hatred of orris and how generally poorly moonflower works on me. It really reminds me of the Lunacies, like a Violet Moon if there were one, and it's a bit like Blue Moons 04 & 07. A very pleasant surprise!

Light yellow oil. Sweet orange and SUPER strong clove. The strongest clove note I've smelled in-the-imp ever! There's something oddly plastic here, too. Spicier, warmer, and the orange is a little lighter, sweeter, and bit less juicy/bright - though it's still surprisingly strong considering how dismal citrus notes usually are on me. Other spices emerge now too - allspice and star anise, I believe. It reminds me of a pomander mostly, but a little of mulling spices also. Very cosy. Very slow to dry. It's mellowing on my skin, becoming much smoother and more well-blended. The plastic note has vanished, and the orange fruit has morphed into almost zesty orange peel. This orange peel simmering in mulling spices. The star anise has amped up noticeably but the clove is still in command spice-wise. I'm not getting any cinnamon, but this is so warm that cassia wouldn't surprise me. And there is almost a sweet, mellow booziness here, like cognac or brandy? Not a lot of morphing, and amazingly the orange holds! Now I almost think it's orange Schnapps or Cointreau or Triple Sec something like that - could explain both the faint booziness and the orange. The star anise has faded back down a bit and the allspice amped a little, but clove still dominates greatly. Mulling spices with clove foremost, zesty-tart orange peel, and something unidentifiably warm, rich and cosy. A really lovely, well-melded scent on final drydown, which surprises me bc the clove was so overbearing at first. Not my style, though. Decent throw, fades a bit at first but then holds nicely.

Very pale yellow oil. Very sweet and cloying. Lots of sugary-creamy fake-vanilla marshmallow, a bit of lemon and honey and a good wallop of tea. I don't get any lettuce and the lemon and honey are woefully light. This pretty much supersweet super marshmallowy Boo! with tea. A little lighter. The cotton - definitely that same note from Boo - is immediately apparent. It also reminds me a bit of Antique Lace. The marshmallow is the same note from Marshmallow Poof, powdery-plastic, but much stronger and sweeter and heavier - very cloying and syrupy. I get a bit more honey now, but it only adds to the overwhelming sweetness of this blend. Lemon gone, and tea fainter. A tiny bit of light, cool, refreshing lettuce teases from the distance. This fades quite rapidly, a very good thing in this case because if it amped I'd be running for the sink. Much less cloying and heavy now, but the marshmallow note has gone that musty/powdery/plastic way that many foody scents do on me. Fainter cotton. The lettuce is holding on, surprisingly, but it's still very faint. The tea is likewise holding after its initial fading, and is quite distinct. It and the honey make this scent bearable, but can't overcome the nasty marshmallow. Tea, honey and musty marshmallows after a few hours. The honey holds best of all and wins out in the end after everything else fades greatly or completely - very interesting! So the actual end result is Honey SN, with hints of tea and marshmallow. Not bad at all, but I can't handle the wet stage and the little bit of musty marshmallow is too much. Throw starts out strong but this fades greatly and then has decent longevity.

Virtually colourless oil. Green, minty, herbal, boozy, metallic! I get a lot of wormwood and peppermint, cognac and star anise, green tea and lubricant (which to me smells metallic, sorta). And then some sweet creamy vanilla to wrap it all up. It surprisingly sweet and well-melded and not nearly as sharp or harsh as the notes might suggest. Mintier, like a really strong candy cane! The green tea is stronger too, a little astringent, the same note from Shanghai. The cognac is rich boozy deliciousness, the vanilla very creamy without being cloying. I get a hint of mildly buttery rum but thankfully only a hint. The wormwood reminds me a lot of the note in La Fee Verte. Actually this shares other similarities with that blend, too. Something a little smoky...and less metal/lubricant than in the imp. The star anise is really amping, and it's very lovely and licorice-y here, especially in combo with the wormwood and vanilla which really support it as a sweet, rich note - but without making it cloying. I adore the vanilla in this, it's exactly as vanilla should be, and likewise for the cognac. The peppermint has faded a bit so that this is less strongly mentholic, and the blend is much more balanced as a result. The green tea has smoothed out and lost its astringent edge. I swear I get a little tobacco in this - I think it's responsible for the hint of smoke. This has faded quite a bit - initially it had powerful throw - and coalesced even further. I think the notes blend very well; the green and spicy notes cut the sweet and boozy notes. This is sort of a masculine La Fee Verte, although the vanilla is so creamy it's really a very unisex scent. It's a lot richer and less bright and pepperminty on final drydown. Not something I would wear myself but I think I would adore it on a man.

Pale gold oil. Dry, woody, herbal - masculine. I can't pick out the snow or the ambers distinctly, but I clearly get the impressions of both warmth and cold, an interesting blend. The rosewood, teak, sage and moss (a little musty as well as earthy) are all quite strong - not so much the redwood. Minty! Much colder, and this a minty sort of snow - not piney hairspray or creamy coconut/almond, but spearmint and peppermint. The sage is a bit stronger as is the fresh, almost citrusy redwood - everything else has faded, although the ambers hold. The white amber is cologney-masculine-clean, the golden soft, warm, and almost creamy. Definitely a creamy sense overall here that's very nice. The harsh dryness of the teak and rosewood and those notes themselves is far in the distance now. Still some earthy moss. An instant dramatic change on my skin, overall. This continues to get nicer and nicer on me, lighter and lighter. The sense of coolness has dissipated, leaving a gentle warmth, almost glowing. The amber is truly golden and not at all powdery - reminds me of L'Estate. The sage is the strongest clear note here, along with the mints - unfortunately, the sage is just a tad too herbal in a sort of savoury way, and with the rosewood, it gives too much dryness to this scent. The teak gives warmth but isn't clearly identifiable otherwise, and the moss has faded. White amber, redwood and tree moss hold very nicely, while the rosewood returns to add loads of warmth to the golden, glowing amber. The teak amps up quite a bit, adding warm-dry, exotic sweetness - sadly, too much for me. This evolves very beautifully, but it's just not my sort of scent. Good throw and great longevity.

Light yellow oil. VERY sweet pine and evergreen notes (the musk smells like black musk to me, heavy and sweet), the lab's piney-hairspray snow note, and some light dirty rootiness from the mandragora. Colder, softer, and much less sickly sweet, though I still find this almost candied. A little smoky. Definitely very dark in feel, and still quite heavy, too. The musk is insanely strong, instantly amping - definitely black musk, and I think maybe a touch of red musk? It really does smell like cola, as others have noted, and I get that from red musk too. This is drier and more cedary, with the hemlock now apparent. Sweet incensey piney woods/resins/musk. Unisex. Nicer - less sweet still, to the point that it's not longer too sweet for me. The piney and resiny notes have amped up to overpower the musk, though it's still a very musk blend. The rootiness has almost completely disappeared. This no longer smells warm, but more dry-woodsy, although I can still tell there's a bit of harsh snow note, so this reminds me strongly of winter blends by association. It's a lot smokier and more incensey/resiny. Very cedar-ish drydown from the hemlock; dry, warm, sauna-esque, with softened musk (not nearly as strong as earlier, and it loses most f its intense sweetness) and a tiny hint of piney woods. Quite a morpher. Less incensey/resiny after a few hours, but still very warm, woody, and dry. Masculine. Low throw and fades quite a lot.