akiko

Oh, wow. Why did I wait so long to order this??

Imp: Softly resinous.

Wet: Initially, it's a fruity, sweet plum, then the musk & carnation come out to play and give a very sensuous smell.

Dry: It's fruity, but it's also got this sexy depth behind it.

Verdict: Bordello didn't give me the plum I wanted, but Bathsheba does. If Bordello reminds you too much of a Jolly Rancher, give Bathsheba a whirl.

(edited to insert lab description)

Where's everybody getting the almonds from?

 

Imp: Very faint. Sweet.

 

Wet: Still faint and sweet.

 

Dry: Doesn't last very long.

 

I like this, but I think it'll get better as it gets a little older.

Another frimp.

 

Imp: Nice enough, I suppose. Honey and rose.

 

Wet: Rose. Yay

 

Dry: Rose. For once, it didn't turn into that fake rose hand lotion smell, which is a mark in its favor, but I'm generally meh on smelling like this. Pleasant enough if you like rose. I don't.

I got this as a frimp. It's mainly a bunch of sweet florals that smell like Shadow Witch Orchid when dry. It's nice enough, and I think I'll keep it a while, but I don't need yet another perfume that smells like SWO.

I like this much better after it dries.

 

Imp: When I first took this from my mailbox, I sniffed the imp and said, "ooh, citrus!" and made my SO sniff it. He said "eew." I was perplexed until I sniffed it before applying it this morning. It's a weird, metallic, icky smell.

 

Wet: The weird icky smell persists briefly, until the citrus kicks on. Slowly, cedar makes an appearance.

 

Dry: Gets softer and softer, and I don't think this will last very long, unfortunately. The cedar fades out, and this becomes a strictly resinous scent.

 

Imp: sassafras. Which doesn't quite smell like root beer, but it's a descriptor that people know.

 

Wet: Sassafras! And something sweet - the vanilla, likely.

 

Dry: Poo, the sassafras is gone. But the vanilla lingers, and something creamy (the butter extractive, probably). It hasn't gone cloying yet, thankfully.

 

I bet this would smell really good with Tombstone.

This is extremely unusual. I think I like it, but I'm not sure. The lab imp labels are cute, too!

 

Imp: Very sharp and biting, kind of like Kumiho in the vial.

 

Wet: Still sharp, and it smells more like green tea than black. Sometimes I get a whiff of honey.

 

Dry: Hint of honey, maybe some tea, and a lingering sharpness.

 

Try this if you like Kumiho but want a black tea version.

This might be the almond blend that doesn't go wrong on me.

 

Imp: almonds.

 

Wet: orangey and almonds, and a bit of snake oil.

 

Dry: soft, hint of almond, maybe myrrh? Nice.

I like this better than plain Snake Oil. (Heresy and sacrilege, I know...) I just wish my wrists didn't have an orangey-brown tinge to them where I applied it.

 

Imp: Cocoa and the snake oil scent.

 

Wet: Oh, nice. Goes through a phase of being pure cocoa, then cocoa and sandalwood (which I guess is supposed to actually be teakwood...).

 

Dry: The sweet notes balance out the astringency of Snake Oil. Mmm. Though I'm still wishing it weren't turning my skin orange.

I like this

 

Imp: strongly caramel, and some vanilla

 

Wet: Same, with a hint of sandalwood and presumably iris.

 

Dry: Almost entirely vanilla & caramel. No iris, no patchouli that I can tell, and no sandalwood, unless it's hiding in there. It hasn't gone plasticy yet or to the Yankee Candle shop (2 hrs). Let's hope this continues!

Intriguing.

 

imp: initially, a strongly foody nutty smell, then a floral note.

 

wet: still nutty, but as it dries the mandarin comes out, as do the flowers. I'm thinking it's the mandarin that gave Spider the generic cologne smell on me, because there's a brief phase of this that includes the generic cologne smell.

 

dry: fairly balanced floral and nutty. I hate florals, but this doesn't seem to be the kind I don't get along with despite having magnolia *and* lily! (As much as I love magnolia trees, magnolia perfume tends to give me a splitting headache.)

I'm always hesitant to order a bottle unsniffed, but I think the reviews here gave me a good idea of what to expect. And Cairo also has Kyphi in it, so that was something I could compare to.

 

Bottle: Smoke, with something oddly sickly sweet. Was a bit nervous at this point.

 

Wet: Growing sweetness with an incense kick

 

Dry: Very pleasant. Incense & something fruity. There's a slight powdery note, probably part of the incense.

 

This is about what I expected, and it's definitely a keeper.

Yay, gingerbread!

 

Imp: yummy ginger cookies

 

Wet: Ginger cookies with cinnamon?

 

Dry: ginger. This goes sort of plasticy/playdoh on me, but not revoltingly, so ... yay.

My original post of this got lost in the database fail, so here it goes again

 

Imp: bitter orange

 

Wet: sweet, orange

 

Dry: faint, orange & raspberry

Oh, nice.

 

Imp: Dragon's blood.

 

Wet: softer vanilla with DBR

 

Dry: DBR softened with vanilla

This is a phased one for me.

 

Imp: Hello, cherries

 

Phase 1: Sweet, juicy cherries

 

Phase 2: black licorice (which I enjoy, really, though I'm not sure I want to smell like it...)

 

Phase 3: Balanced cherries and licorice

 

Phase 4: very light red musk.

I want to love you so, but you're gone already!

 

Imp: Wow, sweet. A hint of cherry? with cinnamon. Reminds me of what I wanted Wrath to smell like.

 

Wet: More cinnamon here, still sweet - all the vanilla & heliotrope being nice

 

Dry: gone? If I sniff really hard, I can catch some cinnamon. A scent locket or room freshener, perhaps.

Very nice!

 

Imp: sharp, vaguely citron, pleasant - clean & summery

 

Wet: more citron - reminiscent of Phobos, but with an added depth

 

Dry: I'm getting more of the tea now, and it's still vaguely lemony. This is definitely something nice for spring or summer.

This is very much not for me.

 

imp: nail polish

 

wet: strong, headache-inducing florals

 

dry: washed it off

I can't get past the initial smell in the vial. It's this horrid, acrid stink, and I'm not putting it on my skin. I'm sure there's someone who wants to smell this way, but it's not me.

imp: sweet & aquatic.

 

wet: ginger & aquatic

 

dry: pleasant enough, reminds me of Amsterdam a little bit, but not really for me.

But neither is nail polish -- wonder what note that was?

 

I'm looking for heavy, heady, sophisticated overwhelming bowl-you-over tropical florals.... Reading the reviews of Marae, I think I've crossed it off my list since everyone seems to think as you do about it.

 

Did you happen to try Tiki Queen?

I can't handle strong florals (massive headache), so I avoid them. I also strongly dislike coconut, so no Tiki Queen for me.

 

I don't have any idea what the note is. I checked my spreadsheet, and Veil is the other one that smelt like nail polish, and they don't share many notes (except white sandalwood, which doesn't make sense.) Euphrosyne was all violet and something, so I thought it was the violet... now I'm just confused.

Okay, I may have narrowed it down to

 

Tupapau: White sandalwood, pikaki, 'umi'umi-o-dole, and plumeria

 

OR

 

Marae: Vanilla orchid, Monoi tiare, gardenia, and light incense

My 2 cents: Marae. But Tupapau smells like nail polish to me (as did Euphrosyne and another floral I can't recall), so I admit a heaping dose of bias there.

 

Marae reminds me a bit of Shadow Witch Orchid - soft, faintly sweet, and just really nice. It's the first all-floral scent I'm buying a bottle of.

Eh.

 

Imp: Juicy. That's about all I can come up with.

 

Wet: Still juicy, but getting an aquatic quality.

 

Dry: Aquatic, definitely. Pretty enough, but I don't really like it.

Oh, yum. Move over, Love's Philosophy.

 

imp: sweet, spicy vanilla.

 

wet: ginger & vanilla

 

dry: soft, gingery vanilla. I love you, Opuhi.