Category: Excolo
I definitely get lots of grapefruit from this one; the plum gives it a sweet, rounded edge after the initial bite of the citrus. To be quite honest, it reminds me of Cheshire Cat, only without that creamy, ultra-sugary note to it; while Cheshire Cat hunkers down and grins at you, Meg is higher up, sulking jealously. If you thought that CC was too sweet or thick somehow, you may want to try this, instead. Also, I feel it's a perfect sort of perfume for the height of the summer months.
Category: Limited Editions -- Halloween 2008
The rose note made me super-leery, but the other notes sounded so appealing that I had to at least try a decant. As anticipated, the rose amps hugely on me. However, it never really gets all that obnoxious. There's a fresh, wet side to it, and that may be the agave nobly leaping in and keeping the rose from ruining my day. I don't smell the copal too much, alas, but it is there, lurking in the background along with the woods. It's really lovely, and after Karl complimented me on it, I'm convinced that I need a full bottle.
If rose doesn't normally work for you, don't be afraid...this could be one of those pleasant exceptions, for you.
Category: Diabolus
Very sweet: strawberries and poppy, definitely. It's more evocative of slumber parties and lipgloss than orgies, but...that's just me. Pretty decent staying power.
Category: Diabolus
While this shares the same note (red patchouli) as Malediction, it's sweetened considerably by the myrrh, making this a scent that's earthy in a sensual way.
Hm, odd. The first time I tried this, I got all clove and spices and balsam and a hint of orange punch. Not wicked at all, but certainly yummy. Over the day, it morphed into something woody, and by the end of the day was getting a bit soapy...but it behaved so nicely for the majority of its stay that I was willing to forgive that.
Now that I'm sniffing it again, I get primarily bitter mandarin orange, with some balsam or cypress...something sweet but woody. That's a bit more...wicked, I guess. Perhaps things had settled -- I didn't really bother with rolling the imp or anything, this time around.
In both cases, however, I very much like it. I'll need a bottle.
Category: Discontinued Scents
Initially, there was a very strong lemon smell. Then the thyme and verbena and lavender insinuated themselves into the yellow haze of scent, giving it a peppery kick now and then. Mint and bergamot were faint, but there; they sort of phased in and out throughout the day. Overall, though...it was just...too...lemony! I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't work out completely.
Upon first application, it smelled like what I fancy an old-fashioned licorice candy would smell like: vaguely bitter, but with enough sweetness in its scent to lure one in for a tooth-achingly good time. I actually envision a licorice-flavored 'coal' candy with this one.
It is decent staying power and throw, and is pleasantly-sweet throughout; I can definitely pick out the licorice and leather notes. The coal dust makes it just a tad dry or powdery around the edges, without the whole thing crumbling into powderiness. It's very interesting, but an imp is most likely enough for me.
Fresh on, it's very strong and strident with an air of cinnamon to it, as well as sweet florals. Like a spark, it flares up, and then settles down to the grim business of burning. It smolders all day long, and hugs my skin like the ember-flames of a fire licking at wood.
It was really pretty, so I think I will hang onto the imp for a little while, at least.
Limited Editions -- Halloween 2009
Primarily, this one is like a spiced bread or cake to me. The beer gives it a sweet sort of nutty aroma when I inhale *super* deeply. Alas, I really wanted to like this one, and it's not a *bad* scent, but it just can't hold a candle to my favorites from last year, Huesos De Santos and John Barleycorn.
Category: Marchen
I get a lot of peach from this, though this perfume is in general a very light scent. There may be some other florals hovering around, but they never really seem to take anything over. The faint aroma lingers all day long. This reminds me of the Gaoler's Daughter, but Belle Vinu is braver and possesses more personality.
Category: Limited Editions -- Halloween 2008 -- Sleepy Hollow
The prevailing note here is beeswax...it's a very warm, homey scent. It is complemented nicely by the tea, cream, and, yes, wool. Over time, it fades into a golden, perfumey amalgam that is classy and very, very pleasant. I really like this, and need to remember to get me a bottle.
Peachy flowers. While the peach note is really pretty, on me the notes just all meld together into a very generic sort of sweet-fruity-floral scent. It's a bit like a girl who is very pretty and sweet and demure, but also very vapid, and easily-forgotten. I'm sure the character this is based on is *nothing* like that, but it's the personality that seems to be put forth by this blend, to me at least.
Category: Bewitching Brews
Oh, wow! It took me a while to figure out just *what* this smelled like, but once I did I was in love. It smells *exactly* like those little round pieces of charcoal that you buy in rolls of six, wrapped up in white paper like Ho-Hos. (LOL) One can practically hear the gunpowdery crackle of it as it lights and gets red-hot. It's just the charcoal -- right before you drop the incense in. Absolutely fantastic
Category: Ars Amatoria
Initially, I got lots of syrupy cherry with a hint of cinnamon; subsequent uses brought out the licorice. Now, it's blended (in that very mysterious way that a lot of scents seem to have gotten their shit together a month after I originally tested them) into a nice mix of cherry and anise, with the licorice smell diabolically present and tempting. I was on the fence about getting rid of it, but now that I've read the reviews again, I think I'll hang onto it. :love!: It stays and throws decently.
Category: Wanderlust
It's a strong, pungeant, incensey scent on me...sort of like frankinsence, maybe. Something very woody and cedar-y. Unfortunately, incense just does not seem to love my skin. There's also a sweet note, or pack of them, lurking underneath the smokey, dust-covered surface of it all; and though sometimes the sweetness comes out to assert itself, it never quite reveals just what the heck it is. Could be florals, could be herbs, I really can't tell.
While redolant and persistant, it's just not doing anything for me. Off to a home that will appreciate you, little imp.
Category: Picnic In Arkham
This is another one I really wanted to like, and I do...I just don't know how well. It has a really nice, coconutty air to it, along with what smells like hints of chocolate...I think that sandalwood smells like that to me sometimes. I think it ultimately must bow down to Death Cap.
Category: Illyria
In the imp, it smells very strongly of tea and ginger, with some sugar thrown in.
As it goes on, a more herbal sort of tone comes through. As it dries, though, I smell the tea/ginger again.
It's a lovely smell -- I really like the smell of tea. Unfortunately, this scent is so light and fleeting that it will not work for long on me.
I think I actually like this better than Aizen-Myoo. The grapefruit in the other scent isn't necessarily unpleasant, but I rather like the gentleness of the ginger in this one better. Just wish my skin didn't suck up tea so well!
Fig, walnut, and bamboo mingle together to evoke images of freshly-peeled bark, twigs, sticks, tendrils of curling greenery, and underneath it all, the moist, sheltering earth of a burrow. It's warm and sweet, like a little brown rabbit curling up somewhere safe. As if that lovely imagery wasn't enough, there is a teensy bit of caramel that gives it a chocolatey sort of feel...like a chocolate bunny, almost! (I was born in the year of the Wood Hare, so that must be where all the rabbity imagery is coming from). I really liked it, a lot! And I will probably rue the day that I decided to pass up on getting a full bottle of it.
I really loved all the Phoenixes. They are so very evocative in their own respective ways; I haven't had this much mental imagery from scents in quite a while. I really enjoyed my experiences with the Anniversary scents, and am grateful to have been able to sample them.
Category -- Diabolus
*gack cough* This is aggressive, all right. Vetiver whispers unkind things into the ear of patchouli, who otherwise is my friend, and together they are stalking across the way to rearrange my face. I think I shall be leaving by the back door, now...
And you know what's ironic? Besides being so angry, it smells like the Queen Of All Hippies. Talk about a paradox.
It actually reminds me a lot of my experiences with Crossroads and Lust...and those weren't very pleasant, either.
Category: Excolo
In the imp: Oh my goodness, this was a beautiful scent. It actually brought tears to my eyes for a moment because it was so lovely. Very sweet, definitely redolant with peach, though I could also smell the warm tones of the musk and, I am assuming, amber around it as well.
Wet: Very sweet and peachy. The fruitiness and sweetness predominated.
Dry: The muskier tones come back, but the peach is definitely not to be undermined, and conquers all. It is *almost* a little cloying.
Verdict: I really like this scent, though I am almost thinking that it would be better as a room scent, as unfortunately I think it tends to get a little sour and cloying on me. I'll be willing to try more of it, though.
What I liked: The peach, and I think I liked the amber.
What I didn't like: The fact that yes, I think musk likes to misbehave a little on me. Though thankfully it's just a little.
Overall, I can live with this scent, I just don't feel like it's *perfect* on me. It's so gorgeous, though, that I can't give up on it. I wonder if it would work in a locket, where it is warmed by me but not in contact with my skin. I'll keep the imp around but hold off on getting a bottle for a while, I think.
Category: Ars Amatoria
In the imp I could smell musk and a hint of lemon. It was a very elegant mix.
As it joined with my body chemistry, the lemon grew a little bit stronger. Unfortunately, it grew faint and wore off really quickly. Just not for me.
Category: Marchen
Initially, this is plum, leather and musk like woah. After a bit, it softens, and the lilac comes out. Believe it or not, this is a fairly manly sort of floral. I am discovering that plum is one of my favorite notes, and this perfume does not disappoint. It has good staying power and some pretty decent throw from time to time.
Category: Bewitching Brews
In the imp: Patchouli and incense.
Wet: I'm thinking I detect mostly sandlewood -- it has a much lighter air to it than I thought it would. This scent never gets heavy or thick, like I'd thought that it would. The other notes are there on the edges and the overall fragrance is very nice.
Dry: As it dries, I would swear that it gets a bit of a gritty, smokey tone to it, like gunpowder. It's not bad by any means, though...it rather intrigues me. The scent is never overpowering, but it's pretty tenacious; I could smell it faintly on myself all day.
Verdict: I don't really need a bottle of it, but I'm also quite reluctant to get rid of my imp...so I'll hang onto it for a bit. This is another popular scent that I can admire, but not necessarily claim for my own. I'm intensely thankful that the patchouli behaved itself, as I figured if any blend was going to go all militant, obnoxious patchouli on me, this would be it.
What I liked: That cordite smell. Was kinda cool. Also, I'm slowly building trust for patchouli again.
Nothing that I didn't like, especially.
Category: Ars Amatoria
I had a hard time envisioning plum as an appropriate scent, but this fits the bill entirely. It really does seem like the sort of perfume that a five-dollar whore would wear (in 1880 dollars). It's sweet and feminine but definitely not innocent; it's one of those ladies that makes a point of putting a roll in her hips to make sure you keep following her up the stairs. Lasts all day, like a working girl should. Another winner!
Category: Limited Editions -- Samhain 2008
There are definitely dry, dead leaves here, but they are accompanied by sweet, warm apple cider and poppies. It's a very nice autumn scent -- right smack in between the earthiness of Chant D' Autumne and the warm deliciousness of Fearful Pleasure. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long on me, which is why I'll just content myself with an imp.
