stardreamer

Another Lab freebie, and one I wouldn't have ordered for myself. I'm just not girly enough to be interested in a bubblegum/cotton candy fragrance.

First impression: Yeah, that's bubblegum. Bazooka, I think.

Fresh on: I think this is going to be too sweet for me, but I'll try it anyhow.

Drydown: Ew, there's something really unpleasant that comes out later. Up close it still smells mostly like bubblegum, but the whiffs that waft up to my nose as I move around have this odd nasty undernote. If this is supposed to be the "heady womanly perfume", then that woman needs a bath!

Bottom line: Swap pile.

Interesting -- I don't get "snarling" or "feral" at all out of this. It goes on so well-blended that no particular note stands out, just a sweet/spicy sort of scent. Later on, the cedar puts in a bit more of an appearance, and is the last thing to fade. Final impression: I like it, but not as much as I liked Snake Charmer. I think I'll have to wear it a few more times before I really make up my mind about it.

I generally like fruity scents, and I like this one as well. It's a light, crisp, summery apple, with just a hint of something green underneath. I would be absolutely delighted with it were it not for two things: (1) it doesn't have much staying power, and (2) I've already tried, and fallen hopelessly in love with, Verdandi. I find that I prefer the richer cider-apple scent and long-lasting quality of the latter, so this one will probably end up as a swap or a gift. I'd recommend it to someone who wants a non-intrusive apple scent for spring and summer wear.

This was a freebie in my last order, and something I wouldn't have picked for myself. Red musk has been identified as one of the components that doesn't work well for me, and this blend is no exception. I could smell a bit of the cherry if I sniffed closely, but the overwhelming impression is the sharp, incense-y, NewAge-y scent of the red musk, and I just don't care for it. Another one for the swap pile.

This was a freebie in my latest order.

First impression: Something's awfully sharp in this one -- almost a pine smell.

Fresh on: Enh. It's not bad, but there's not much appeal either. A little on the masculine side, though that's not always a bad thing IMO. No rose notes at all, which surprises me since so many other people say it's heavy on the rose.

Drydown: This smells like a lot of commercial men's colognes. Nothing ever really jumps out at me, and the staying power is only moderate; though I did apply it fairly lightly, it's only been 5 hours and it's nearly gone. This one is headed for the swap pile.

I ordered this because I've had reasonably good luck with fig/currant notes. Unfortunately, that seems not to be a universal.

First impression: Patchouli? Something NewAge-y, at any rate. Applying lightly.

Fresh on: Now I'm getting some fruity undernotes, but they're distinctly secondary. That's odd; usually currant jumps out on my skin.

Drydown: Fruity patchouli, Batman! I smell like a cross between a winery and a NewAge store. While I wouldn't label it obnoxious, it's definitely Not Me. However, I think it's a good representation for Gomorrah; I can get both hedonism and darkness out of this blend. For some reason, it also reminds me of Lust, so I'll probably offer it to my friend who wanted that one.

First impression: Amber? Sort of a honey/amber scent, a bit like O but not as heavy.

Fresh on: Now I'm getting the spices. This is nice. There was a bit of a kerfluffle, as I had waited until I thought Russ was headed outside to dab it on -- and then he walked back into the room, saw what I was doing, and snarked at me about it.

Drydown: I like this, but it's not one of the "OMG fantabulous" scents. I think the "skin musk" must be the amber-like note; honey and cinnamon and ginger are definitely there, but the clove and peppers stay further to the background. It's actually a smoother mix than I'm making it sound -- without looking at the ingredients list, my nose just says "spices". A bit lighter than the true amber-based scents, which can have its advantages. Staying power is hard to judge, because I ran around all afternoon in a hot car, and that always skews the test. Bottom line: it's a keeper, but I might not buy a second imp after I use this one up -- and if someone else tried it and fell in love, I could part with it.

First impression: Cedar! Lots of cedar in this. Funny that, because there's no cedar in the description...

Fresh on: Still cedar, but not like a cedar chest; there's other stuff in there too, though it's harder to identify. Sort of a cedar fougere -- it's noticeably masculine, but not overwhelmingly so. I don't really get any leather or incense, unless they're part of the overall background.

Drydown: Wow, this is like the bastard child of Villain and Tombstone! It's a lot like what I was expecting Tombstone to be, but with the sophistication of Villain's "high-class shaving cream" scent as a modifier. I think I like it, though I'll have to be VERY careful about how much I put on. I like the sharp cedar note softened by the whatever-it-is underneath. This would be a good scent for women who want to feel a little butch or to put themselves on equal footing psychologically with a group of men. Staying power appears to be good; after 7 hours, it's still very present on my wrists. I think this one's a keeper.

Oh, and if you happen to have read Enchantment, Inc. by Shanna Swendson, this is what Owen wears, unmistakably. (If you haven't read it, I recommend it highly.)

Oh, my.

I've been saying all along that Golden Priapus felt like a "power scent" to me. Now I know where the power is coming from -- it's the amber. This is almost pure amber, deep honey-golden and warm, and it's nearly an intimidation scent! It says, "I am someone Not To Be Messed With." For Diane Duane fans, this is the White Lion of Arlen, looking down over Freelorn's shoulder at the people wanting audience.

I wouldn't wear it to a job interview -- too strong -- but in other situations where you might feel that you're starting from a one-down position, I can see this being very useful for balancing the scales. It will work on the wearer as well as those around her; when you feel powerful, that reflects in your body language and others tend to react to it with respect. I will definitely be wearing it as my evening scent at Bouchercon, where I'll be mixing with Moneyed Persons.

This scent doesn't change much in wearing. The spices are just a well-balanced sweetening of the amber base; I don't get any particular identifiable note. Staying power is excellent -- I can put it on early in the morning and still notice it at dinnertime. A light application of it also layers very well with Queen of Sheba; this will probably be my first experiment with scenting a lotion, to be used for layering purposes. I see a 10ml of this in my future!

First reaction: This is a lot lighter than I was expecting, though maybe that's just because I had Snake Charmer on yesterday. There's some floral, but it's not overpowering; carnation is one of the few florals I really like. I can definitely pick up a bit of the sandalwood, too.

Drydown: Oh, this is nice! It's mild and sweet, very relaxing. I don't get any individual spice note, but I'll bet it's got mostly the sweeter ones -- cinnamon, clove, vanilla, maybe cardamom.

Long-term: The florals gradually fade, leaving the musk and spices behind. This will be lovely on a long, hot summer evening, maybe at an outdoor concert. It might be a good meditation scent, too; for some reason it evokes feelings of "relaxed and centered" for me. Staying power seems to be pretty good, though it's harder to tell because I touched it up several hours into the test period. Definitely a keeper!

My first Carnivale Noir review!

Apparently there was a batch-labeling problem between this blend and House of Mirrors, such that some people got a bottle labeled as one which actually contained the other. One sniff was enough to convince me that I did NOT get a mislabeled bottle. This could be the bastard child of Snake Oil and O -- what I smell is a mix of honey, amber, and a light incense-y note which is probably the musk. The other components don't present themselves specifically, but I think they combine to make it a bit lighter and sweeter than Snake Oil; and while it's still a very sexy fragrance, it's not quite as much "sex on a stick" as O. The scent goes surprisingly well with the flavor of the "Asian Spice" gingerale I was drinking earlier!

Staying power appears to be excellent; while I've only had it on for about 6 hours, it's still very noticeable. It doesn't change much over time either, except that perhaps the amber becomes a bit more prominent. I'm definitely glad I ordered it; this one's going into the regular rotation.

I got an imp of this from chai_girl, forgetting that I'd ordered one with my CN order! But that's okay, because I like it enough to have two imps, one for home and one for travel.

Lots of amber in this, which is good -- amber works on me. In the bottle and fresh on, I get more of the floral notes; however, they fade faster than the amber and incense. After a couple of hours, it's like a sweeter, less forceful version of The Lion, amber and spices, clearly in the same scent family. I like it better once the florals have backed off a bit. Staying power appears to be moderate to good, given that I only put on a tiny bit this time. Definitely a keeper, and one to consider wearing to RenFaire!

I like jasmine, clove, and vanilla; sadly, what I got from this was a mix of floral and musk. It's not by any means an unpleasant scent, but it's a little too sweet and floral for my taste. The vanilla did pick up a bit after I'd had it on for several hours, but that wasn't enough to save it. Another swap candidate; someone else will be much more than lukewarm about it, and they're welcome to my imp!

I ordered Himerus because of all the woods, and before I had made the connection about red musk being a bad idea for me. That note appears to be one of the primary things which produce the "ye ghods, I smell like a Newage store" reaction, and that's exactly what it did here, completely overpowering the woods and florals. This one goes straight into the swap pile.

I ordered this before I made the connection between rum and the burnt-sugar smell I get from some of the blends, so I was concerned that it wouldn't work at all. However, this one has pulled one of Beth's unexpected tricks. It goes on almost a little buttery, and quickly settles into a deep toasted-coconut aroma that I rather like! If there's any tobacco in there, it's a sweet pipe tobacco, maybe one that's had a little rum sprinkled on it in the jar -- but the dominant note on me is definitely the coconut. Staying power appears to be moderate, but then I've also been out running around in the heat today. Bottom line: to my surprise, I think this one is a keeper.

Starting to get into the new stuff from my latest shipment!

Not quite sure why I ordered this... oh, wait, probably because of my ongoing "try woody scents" paradigm. Normally I'm leery of anything with patchouli in it, but this one has surprised me. It's definitely incense-y, but not in the sharp, unpleasant way that I associate with "smells like a NewAge store". This is sweeter and not as smoky; in fact, it's rather like the incense undernote in Snake Oil. I suspect it's the cedar balancing it out, but it's not an overwhelmingly cedar scent either. It's not going to be a heavy-rotation favorite, but there will be times when I'll definitely want to wear it -- I think it would be fabulous with RenFaire garb! Staying power is exceptional; I only put on a teeny bit because it was so strong, and I can still smell it faintly more than 14 hours later.

ETA: After wearing it several more times, I'm less pleased. After the first attempt, it settled into an "all incense" sort of scent; I get a big blast of it on application, it doesn't change much, and I'm not a huge fan of undiluted incense. I think, on the whole, that this one is going to end up getting swapped.

I'm not fond of patchouli, and experience indicates that red musk doesn't work well for me, so I'd never have ordered this; it was a freebie in my latest order. And I would have been right; it's very strong of the incense/resinous notes, with maybe just a bit of floral underneath. I smell like a NewAge store.

Also as usual with these scents, the staying power is outstanding; 12 hours later, it's still noticeably present on my wrists. I wish some of the scents I really like hung on this well!

So, no surprises here; fortunately, I have a friend who tried this and says she really likes it, so this imp will be on its way to a happy home ASAP.

This is about the 4th time I've worn this, trying to formulate a review -- and, still, all I can really come up with is "light sweet fruity/floral". This is an amazingly well-blended scent; no single note ever really comes to the fore.

For some reason, I can't smell wine in any of Beth's blends; it always reads as "berry" to me, so that's probably where the fruitiness is coming from. Similarly, tobacco tends to read as "green" and not much else. I don't get any chocolate or honey from this at all, though there's an underlying sweetness. The florals are not overwhelming at all; wearing this is like being out in a garden full of subtly-scented flowers, with a fruit tree or two next door. Staying power is light to moderate, though it might have more hold in cooler weather.

Bottom line: I like it and will certainly use up my imp, but it's not at all what I would have expected for Kali; there's no dark underpinning, which makes it feel a little... unbalanced... as an expression of this Goddess-aspect. It reminds me a bit of Nefertiti, another one for which I've been having trouble coming up with a review.

(cross-posted to alchemylab)

Fresh on: Fruit (apples?) and spice, with something incense-y underneath.

Drydown: Mostly incense, something patchouli-like (I think "patchouli" is where my brain files most incense notes), and there's gotta be some musk under there.

Overall: Not unpleasant, but not really me. I don't even need to make R. sniff this one, I can tell he'd hate it. Staying power is moderate, it's still fairly noticeable after 6 hours. This will probably be re-swapped.

In the bottle: Berries, citrus, is that coconut?! This smells more tropical than midwintery!

Fresh on: Yes, a very sugary-berry smell, like fruit jam. The coconut seems to have been my imagination.

Drydown: Still very berry. There's something underneath that might be just a hint of fireplace smoke, but only when I sniff at close range.

Staying power is moderate. As often happens to me with berry scents, that note pretty much drowns out anything else and is the last thing to fade; I get no floral at all from this. There's a lot of similarity to Bordello and Lady MacBeth here. It's a nice scent, certainly a keeper, but not something I'll feel any particular need to replace once it's gone.

In the bottle: Apples? This may be nice.

Fresh on: Oh-oh, is that patchouli? Not so good.

Drydown: I can still smell apples, but I think what some people have been calling "smoke" is coming out very incense-y on me. It is nicely autumnal, though.

Several hours later: Staying power on this is moderate; I put it on fairly lightly about 6 hours ago, and it's nearly gone. Unfortunately, the smoky/incense/patchouli note is the last one to fade, and it's the note I like least. (Snake Oil does this to me too, the vanilla fades before the incense does.)

I think I'll keep this for a while and try it again when the weather is more in tune with it, and see if I like it any better then. This is definitely not a fragrance for a 90-degree Texas summer day!

ADDED 9/30/07:

Fresh on, this reminds me a bit of Juke Joint; I'm starting to be able to identify "booziness" in some BPAL blends, though most of the time wine still reads as berry to me. After reading some of the earlier comments, I wonder if the aging factor has something to do with this -- I've had this decant sitting around for a couple of years.

On drydown, I get more of the smokiness and some musk. This is a light musk, probably white or skin musk, both of which tend to go a bit sweet on me. As it wears on, the sweetness and wine/boozy scent come to the fore, grounded by a continuing undernote of leafsmoke. Staying power is good; it's still quite noticeable after 9 hours or so. Bottom line: this is a very nice autumn scent, not overpowering and quite seasonal, a definite keeper.

First, I join the chorus: yes, this is a pure single-note leather scent.

Beyond that, it seems that everyone has their own associations, and so do I. To me, Dead Man's Hand smells like walking into a leathercraft shop. This isn't aged leather, nor finished leather (the Wilson's Leather mall-shop smell) -- it's raw leather, tanned hides and blanks all over the shelves waiting to be selected and stamped or carved or stitched, suede and rough-finish and smooth-finish and hair-on all mixed together.

The staying power on this is very good; 12 hours after application I can still catch a faint tinge on my wrist, and I didn't apply it very heavily. I'd hoped that this might be ONE scent that R. wouldn't mind wearing, but no such luck -- he says he doesn't like the smell of raw leather. *sigh* Oh well, I like it!

Odd one out here -- I don't get any of the buttery or butterscotch or milky notes everyone else talks about. I get a light, sweet cinnamon with maybe a touch of coconut underneath! It's got pretty good staying power, and I like it a lot... but this was a decanted imp from someone who I've since discovered other people have had issues with, and I have to wonder if it was mislabeled. Eh bien, I guess I'll just enjoy my imp, since it is a nice scent, and not worry about it.

Okay, I had to go look up "fougere"...

From the French for "Fern." Fougere fragrances use the fern/forest-like notes of oakmoss combined with herbal notes such as lavender and coumarin. Coined after Houbigant's "Fougere Royale" a century ago. Very popular structure for men's fragrances. eg Paco Rabanne pour Homme -- as found on perfumersworld.com

In the bottle: Whoa, is that EVER masculine! I'm not sure I can wear this. Picked it up and put it back down a couple of times before I actually managed to put any on.

Fresh on: Yes, very masculine -- or at least, it's a scent to which I have very strong masculine associations. There's something in there that I can't quite identify that just screams "male" at me.

Drydown: Placed it. "Shaving cream, shaving cream, shave every day and you'll always look keen!" This smells like the aftermath of a good men's shaving cream. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, nor is it unpleasant -- but it's not something I want to smell like.

Several hours later: Not much change. I still smell like a guy who's just showered and shaved. The association is strong enough that it's creating a certain amount of cognitive dissonance!

Final assessment: Not for me, thanks. If R. liked scents, I might try it on him, but he doesn't. This one will be re-swapped.

Swapped for this as part of my "trying out woody scents" experiment.

Initial impression: This smells like my grandmother's old house! Which isn't bad, but it's not something I really want to smell like.

After about 15 minutes: Now it just smells like the inside of a brand-new cedar chest. Sharp, raw cedar; all the spices have vanished.

After an hour: Still faintly cedar-y, but nearly gone.

I can see this as Lear -- it's fairly masculine, and the "grandmother" association gives it the gravitas of age. Not useful for me, though. This one will be re-swapped.