Category: Rappacini's Garden
As with a lot of the Garden scents, I get a lot of 'green' from this -- bark, roots, even a little bit of dirt. There is a bit of sweetness there, as well, as if the deadly tree has bait to lure victims in to sleep forever at its base. It has a nice amount of throw and lasted most of the day.
Category: Doc Constantine's Pharmacopeia
I don't really get a 'dirty' vibe from this (when I was initially reading reviews, people were all (OMG it smells like dirt and mud and violets!)...it's more of a *sweet* violet, perhaps one that has been squished to make, well, bruised violet compound. It's a pretty straightforward violet scent, IMHO. Has a wee bit of throw once it dries (and it is especially lovely once it does), and has good staying power.
Category: Bewitching Brews -- The Conjure Bag
As many others have said, this is very cinnamon-fruity, like a liberally-spiced apple treat. It works better than, say, All Night Long on me, and is very similar to Alice's Evidence. In spite of its aromatic components, it tends to have very light throw, and dissipates after a few hours.
This is a moist, white, freshly-made cupcake with a thick layer of cream-cheese frosting, adorned with a juicy dollop of strawberry pulp. And, as if that wasn't delicious enough, every now and then there is a redolant little whiff of spices...like nutmeg and cinnamon. Did I order a bottle? Are bears Catholic? YUM.
Limited Edition -- Yule 2009
Rather nutty and warm -- I don't get any berries from this at all. It reminds me kind of like dry cereal...whereas Gunpowder was more warm, moist oatmeal. It was fun to try, at least.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Scents
I get lots of spicy carnation. In fact, it alternates between spicy and creamy, to the point where I'd be pretty convinced that there is honey in this blend -- and a nice, sweet honey at that. For some reason, I wasn't liking this very much at all when I was testing it...there was a weird edge to it that I found off-putting. Now that it has had time to settle, it smells much nicer. Alas that I should discover this after it has been taken back to the graveyard of discontinued scents! I guess I will just hold onto my decant, then, and see how it ages...
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Blends
Man, this one is *not* for me. The peppermint and coconut meld together to create a really nauseating scent, like Dimetapp cough syrup. There's a faint hint of dry chalky cocoa behind it, but mostly it's just that weird, gross syrupy scent. Eeek.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Blends
I really wanted to like this one, because I don't run into pear a whole lot as a component, and when it works it's really divine. However, this one didn't click with me. The pear and moonflower were almost sickeningly sweet and cloying, and eventually succumbed to the fate of all the phoenixes on me, turning into generic cologne and fading away.
I do give it major props for giving an aura of sweet, gleaming silver -- so themewise, it captured the aura of silver quite well.
Limited Edition -- Yule 2009
When I first tried this, I got a spiced plum smell mixed with something like oats...like a warm fruit/oat bread. It wasn't bad, but wasn't great, either. And now, I'm getting boozy spiced prune wine. And wish I could drink it.
I don't recall it having much throw or staying power, though, so it's probably for the best that I didn't get more than this decant.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Scents
I actually do get straight up lettuce leaf from this! It's so weird. It does do well in evoking lead, as it has a dull gray, soft, almost smokey sort of aura to it. Unfortunately, like almost all the phoenixes, it quickly turns to generic cologne and then fades away.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Scents
I get sweet, slightly lemony florals from this...and then it poofs away and dissipates. Even hard huffing at my skin doesn't seem to reveal much! Which is puzzling, because a couple of people commented on it smelling nice...so I'm wondering what they hell they were smelling! I suppose I'll hang onto my decant for a while, but it seemed pointless to buy a bottle of something I can't even smell.
Category: Limited Editions
Sort of funny...I got an imp of this in a swap from one person, and then a bottle in another swap, and for a while I thought I might have been lucky enough to have both versions of Libra, since they smelled so different!
In the bottle, it's a very sweet scent...fruit scents dominate, with florals sitting very humbly in the background. For a while I thought it was very sweet apple I might be smelling, but research revealed that the bottle is the 2007 version. So, I get to smell the sweet cherry and currant and plum, and it's suuuuuper nice there.
On my skin (and in the imp), however, things switch places. The fruit quickly retreats, and rose shoulders its way forward, with carnation acting as its adoring sidekick.
Thankfully, this version of rose isn't the kind that turns into MUA HA HA DIE on me, but it's still Rose Liek Whoa. It comes juuuust short of getting crazy a lot of the time...which, come to think of it, describes me rather well, too.
While not the sweet light fruity blend that I think I would have adored, this is still a pretty scent...not one for every day wear, but definitely one worth hanging onto and breaking out when I feel like basking in the wonderfulness that is Libra. (And we are quite wonderful, yes. *preen*)
I can see right away why this one is popular. It's dark and resinous, redolent with patchouli and spices and musk. I personally get a hell of a lot more 'incense' than 'vanilla' with this one, though I can also sense the vanilla; it wafts up every now and then in teasing little strokes, like a beckoning finger.
I'm probably going to really really really really really hate myself for not getting a bottle, because I have a feeling it's going to age REALLY well. Honestly cannot decide if I want to trade it or keep it. Swaps only, probably, if I get rid of it.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Scents
To me, this is a smokey scent -- like smokey musk. There is a bit of herbalness...the sweet basil lurking just beneath -- but for the most part I seem to get black pepper, smoke, and dust, and if the dragon's blood is there it's acting like incense for once, instead of being ultra-sweet as it usually manifests for me. This is a manly scent, but one that I don't mind wearing...I think I can decently rock it. Smoke, stone, and iron -- very fitting for this phoenix!
Category: Excolo
In the imp: Cinnamon, patchouli, and orange...very, very warm and spicy.
Wet: It starts out spicy, peppery, a scent with bite; the patchouli attacks your nose with the spiky texture of its scent. Then it seems to dissolve and turn smokey, like a newly-lit stick of incense. There's definitely a strong note of both patchouli and orange, mixed with the darker notes of the other incense. It smells exactly like a little clothing shop that I used to go to...it's a gorgeous scent, and very 'incensey' without becoming obnoxious.
Dry: Unfortunately, it grows faint pretty quickly. The airy quality of it takes on a more woody sort of tone, and reaches a strange juxtaposition in that it's earthy and 'grounded', while the faintness of it makes it ethereal.
Verdict: I really like it, I just wish that it stuck around longer...Come back, dammit, I like youuuuu!!
What I liked: Orange FTW!!!!! Also the cinnamon. I was afraid of the patchouli, but it behaved itself quite nicely.
What I didn't like: Its throw diminished pretty quickly, and its staying power is pretty minimal.
This is interesting to compare with Al Azif; where Azif is sweeter and more candylike to me, Shairan is very much a stereotypical incense scent to me. I'm thinking if I can find a happy medium, that has decent throw and lasts throughout the day, that I'd be really happy.
Limited Edition -- 2009 Anniversary Scents
At first, this starts out as a bright, light citrus, made sweet by rose. Alas, in the end, it morphs into generic cologne. Not much throw, but it lasts a long time...I just don't fancy smelling like generic cologne. Into the trade box with you!
Limited Editions -- Yule 2009 -- Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire
I mostly get creamy fruit, so yeah, it's somewhat like Agape. I can't quite identify what fruit I think I'm smelling...I think it's more like cherries, or oranges. Nice and fun, if rather faint.
A retail exclusive from Dark Delicacies
Definitely very fruity...it doesn't *quite* speak grapefruit to me...there's a spicy sort of side to it, like ginger, and a definite ultra-sweet syrupy gooeyness to it, too. It's a weird scent. It's also rather 'young' smelling, like the sort of perfume that would permeate some kind of glittery lip gloss geared toward teens. But, it was appropriate that this was released as part of a summer blockbuster series, because its light, sweet absurdity is perfect for hot, bright, sunny weather...or evoking that sort of atmosphere, should one need it.
Category -- Rappaccini's Garden
Oh God, this is gorgeous. Beautiful, sweet lily, smooth and velvety. It has a cool darkness without being damp, more an essence of the shaded light that surrounds the flower, rather than the earth it springs from.
If only it projected. It hugs my skin and really does not throw much, and this is disappointing.
(And, unfortunately, the only day that it really seems to amp -- is the day right before my period. I can't really justify wanting a bottle of something with such a...limited window of usefulness. )
Limited Editions: Yule 2009 -- Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire
For me, this doesn't register as either 'chocolate' or 'tobacco' right away...it actually smelled like vanilla. A real sultry vanilla, the dark black of vanilla extract without the alcoholic edge to it. But that's just my nose being silly. Close up, I can definitely get the cacao, which is unlike any chocolate scent I've smelled heretofore...and the tobacco melds so nicely with it, that to me it becomes a dark, creamy, sensuous scent. And it lasts. All day long, and then some. I was actually on the fence about it for the longest time, but I realized that every time I put my coat on I was smelling the redolant aroma of the Troupe and *smiling* because of it...and so I came to my senses and ordered some. This is probably the most awesome of the 2009 Yule scents, and I'm *so* glad that I ordered a bottle!
Category: Wanderlust -- The Phantom Isles
Hmm, this is interesting. It smells like hot, smooth, black stones, with a hint of smokey charcoal (like that found in Brimstone)...and yet there's also an aquatic side to it as well, as if those stones make up the beach on a lonely island, or perhaps they're part of some natural jungle hot-springs spa. Some nice imagery there, if not as vivid as many others enjoy through this scent. This scent sticks close to the skin, and wears off after a few hours.
September 2009 Lunacy
This one is sort of a roller coaster for me. At first, it smells a little off -- almost like there's some mustyness in among the leaves, but not quite. Then it actually gets sort of sweet. At its peak, it does evoke a misty autumn day with piles of falling leaves all around; not really rainy or wet, but definitely not dry or smoky, either. It's really like nothing I've smelled before, and I can't put my finger on anything else to describe it...but all things considered, I rather like it.
