VioletChaos

in the imp: strawberry flavored bubblegum. wet on skin: same! dry down: yup. berry candy/gum. in all: a great "child-like" scent, good if you need to get in touch with your playful side- or to use on the little imp in your life!

in the imp: lavender and a touch of rose. wet on skin: the rose has totally vanished. i'm getting a sweet floral undernote, something that is tempering the lavender but i can't place it. dry down: the lavender is soft, more subtle now, and that other floral element is still present, mixing beautifully. in all: a light floral, perfect for hot summer days and garden tea parties.

in the imp: pineapple and banana. wet on skin: a hint of the apple is coming through, for sure. not turning Yankee Candle on me, either. dry down: a fruity mix. i sadly don't get the chili note, which i was hoping for, to give this oil some bite. i don't detect it, though. in all: a great fruity mix, and if i run out of Fruit Moon, i'll certainly get me bottle of this. for now, i leave it on the back burner.

The World Ash. Nine woods, nine leaves, and three herbs each for Ratatosk and Vidofnir, with three final herbs to placate Nidhogg. in the imp: wintergreen, burnt ash, and green herbs. lovely. wet on skin: same. dry down: the wintergreen has faded back quite a bit, leaving a peculiar perfume-y scent that attracts and repels me at the same time. attracts with it's herb notes, repels in that it reminds me of old lady perfume. in all: on someone else's skin, i could see this complex blend being fabulous. on me? not so much. :shrug:

in the imp: almond and vetiver wet on skin: the vetiver is becoming stronger now. dry down: the vanilla sweetens the bitter edge of the vetiver. the almond has all but disappeared. i get bare hints of the myrrh, but nothing more than fleeting. in all: a nice earthy scent, good for a later summer or early autumn day when the sun is high and the leaves are crunchy.

in the imp: thick, resinous, gorgeous! wet on skin: wow. holt moly. ok, this is gonna sound weird, but it smells, to me, like the Bain du Soliel suntan gelee my sister used in the 80's. they've since changed the forumla, but i have been searching for that smell, and that feeling of endless summer it has always induced in me... dry down: it's Bain du Soliel mixed with Smut, i kid you not. it may have changed slightly, but the dark, sweet element remains the same- filling me with feelings of longing and bronzed summer sunsets. in all: simply put: a must have! :D

in the imp: strong indian jasmine, a bit of incense-like rose. wet on skin: the jasmine is a force to be reckoned with. dry down: this is a strong jasmine, the dark, thick sort, not the light, airy variety. this makes me think of temples, candles made with ghee and holy shrines to kali and durga. in all: a holy oil, one i would use personally when praying to the deity in the Hindi pantheon.

in the imp: skin musk and a sweet unidentifiable floral. wet on skin: the musk becomes more pronounced, reminding me a bit of Tamamo No Mae. but with honey. dry down: a combination of honey, lilac and skin musk, this is a lovely summer-time scent. in all: honestly, i don't get a post-coital orgasmic sense from this oil, but it is lovely and romantic none-the-less.

in the imp: rose, rose rose. and a tiny hint of powder. wet on skin: rose powder. dry down: powder, with some rose. in all: a light, powdery rose that would be good for those that like their florals soft and wispy. also a good choice for little ones. me personally, i like my rose scents to have a bit more teeth.

in the imp: yummy, strong peppermint, and, strangely- a hint of leather wet on skin: same! but with a bit of creamy sugar added in. dry down: the peppermint has toned WAY down, and the scent has become more of a sugar musk with a hint of mint tossed in. nice! in all: not the candy-cane i was anticipating, but good just the same.

in the bottle: sweet, creamy pumpkin, with a spicy dash or orris. wet on skin: same, but now the sandalwood is adding a lovely lower note that helps ground this scent. dry down: a nuttiness mixes with the wood and pumpkin notes, making for something wonderful, complex and yummy. not too foody, this is a good "crossover" scent for those that shy away from food fragrances. in all: sexy, sweet and spicy, this pumpkin does not require a particular season to be worn in- just a mood of feeling awesome!

in the imp: pomegranite juice, wine and fruit candy wet on skin: the pomm is winning out now dry down: same. in all: while this oil is a little too candy-sweet for me, it has lovely staying power and- a rare thing- stays consistent in scent, from bottle to dry down, which means that what you sniff is what you get a nice one for the little ones in your life.

in the imp: pumpkin, orange, ginger wet on skin: the orange is being a bit more forceful now, stronger than the peach in Jack, this is predominant. dry down: the pumpkin, warm and nutty, has re-emerged, sharing an equal role with the orange. not sure where the ginger has gone off to, and i'm definitely NOT getting fig or anything else. in all: not my favorite pumpkin blend, the orange note in this makes me think of a cough syrup i had to take as a child sadly, this one just didn't work out for me.

in the imp: heavy almond. yum! wet on skin: almond, and the Snake Oil peeks through just a bit. dry down: mostly Snake Oil with a hint of that almond. i get no other notes. in all: i'm sad that the almond all but disappeared. i'm going to try this one more time to be sure, but unfortunately, i don't think that this Viper bites in the way i had hoped.

in the imp: sea air, lime and men's cologne wet on skin: same, with a heavy aqua note coming into the mix dry down: very aquatic. it reminds me of the Calypso perfume, Marine. sea salt and aqua notes abound. in all: normally i really dislike anything that has an aquatic note in it, but i really like this. it reminds me of spending the day at the beach. a good summertime scent, i will love this imp for all it's worth.

in the imp: heavy apple, some gardenia, no trace of Snake Oil. wet on skin: the apple starts to recede a bit, but the gardenia comes in strong to pick up the slack. dry down: full on gardenia. in all: the Snake Oil never shows itself in this particular blend on me. in Boomslang- yes. In Australian Copperhead it goes on for DAYS, even after showering. but this, this is pure, sweet gardenia, with a trace of that apple. nothing more. for me, i'll stick to Unheavenly City for such things, but it was still fun to try this.

in the imp: wow. fabulous juniper berries. wet on skin: more of the same, with a touch of lime around the edges. dry down: more of the same! in all: anything that falls within the evergreen family tends to make me smell like a christmas tree. Twenty One does not do this- it is pure, sparkling juniper, but reminds me of being in a thick forest on a hot summer day: the "pine" is there alright, but it sure won't make you think of Santa Claus!

in the bottle: lily, sunflower and musk wet on skin: sunflower and musk duke it out for strongest note. dry down: a bit more cloying and floral than i like, this is a rich, heady sunflower-fueled scent. i get none of the more delicate notes, this is almost exclusively sunflower, with a hint of musk behind it. nothing more. in all: as with L'Autunno, I find that this oil, on it's own, is not something that i find all that impressive or would go out of my way to seek out. However, also as with L'Autunno, the brilliance of layering comes into play here, and i find that when L'Estate and it's counterpart bath oil are engaged together, something wonderful and compelling happens- the floral of the perfume and the sweet resinous aspects of the bath oil combine to make something softly glowing, warm, and yes- Summer-y. total keeper, in it's full set!

in the bottle: apple. apple-y apple, like mulled cider with cinnamon. usually i fear apple notes as they tend to go all Yankee Candle on me, but so far this smalls rather good. wet on skin: the apple has toned down, though not gone away, and the spice had amped just a bit. this is totally autumn at this stage. dry down: a nice mulled spice cider drunk in the pumpkin patch in all it's yummy, smoky glory. in all: a decent daytime autumn scent on it's own, but the magic IS in the layering- for when i smell this scent by itself, it's nice enough, but nothing grand. however, when i have it *along* with the L'Autunno Bath Oil, then *real* magic starts to happen, and the cider apple mixes with the molasses and forms something gorgeous, complex, and magnificent. worth having the set in tact!

wow. the fig in this is *really* strong. i'm also getting the tea note, for sure, but the fig is the boss of this show. those are the only two notes i get from this. i like it, but i sprayed it in my bedroom, and i think this feels too masculine to be a bed scent. the fig and tea mix into something that smells very men's cologne-y to me. it's not bad or anything, but i think i'll like it better for living room scenting. there's something sort of 'clean' and bracing as well, and because of that i have a feeling it will be one i'll favor more in the winter when it's freezing out and the house feels stuffy to me. in all: a good general room scent, though there's nothing about it that strikes me particularly as autumn. if i had to pick a season, i'd say it reads more as spring to me. early spring, like tulips pushing through frost covered ground.

maybe it's just the mood i'm in, but i'm finding that the summer scents are reminding me of fall, and the fall scents are like summer. continuing with this trend, we have the L'Estate Room Spray. First off, i too, share the lamentation that this cannot be used on the skin- it's fabulous. it's the warm, complex amber-mix that i've wanted for forever. that said, i feel thrilled to have this as a room spray. the room in question that i chose was the bathroom. i was really putting this spray to the test, cause i have two kitties and whew boy, you know how THAT goes but it totally came through- it didn't so much coat the bad smells present in the bath-it actually REPLACED them . the main notes i get from this is the two ambers, the vanilla, the sandalwood and the orange. altogether, it just screams "autumn afternoon!" at me. but like i said, i don't mind. in all: i have to say, i've avoided trying the room sprays because i was apprehensive with the idea of spraying perfume into the air. but i will love this bottle til it's gone gone gone and then be sad that i didn't think to get another.

as i noted in another bath oil review-i haven't yet used this in the actual bath, but i frequently go for "off label" uses of bath oil, namely straight on my skin, and also in my hair as a sort of leave-in conditioning treatment, so i feel ok about reviewing this oil from those perspectives: in the bottle: thick, sweet molasses; just a touch of deep resinous patchouli; and a sweet spice that i identify as myrrh. on my skin: the sweetgrass is peeking out now with some skin to warm it up. the molasses has taken a giant step back, which i admit disappoints me somewhat. but overall, it's warmed up to a nice, full late-summer-in-the-barn sort of scent, which is just lovely with me. in all: i'm not sure i'm interested in using this in the bath, to be honest. but i can see putting lots in my hair after a swim at the beach, letting it mix with the sticky saltwater into something glorious and beautiful smelling.

i haven't yet used this in the actual bath, but i frequently go for "off label" uses of bath oil, namely straight on my skin, and also in my hair as a sort of leave-in conditioning treatment, so i feel ok about reviewing this oil from those perspectives: in the bottle: sweet, heavy beeswax absolute. i actually *have* a small bottle of straight beeswax absolute that i got years ago at an herbal apothecary and yes, this smells just like it. it's richer and deeper than a honey smell. more complex, more adult. on my skin: once rubbed into my skin, the beeswax stays solid, but the spicy carnation has bloomed fully. oh, i get passing touches of the peach, but nothing like the way it bloomed on me in Jack- just subtle, passing fancies. The beeswax, the carnation, and some small gobs of honey are the real stars of this show. in all: i will gladly use this in the bath, as a body oil mixed with some sort of base, or straight up in my hair for the full rest of the summer, and likely well into fall. it's just that lovely.

in the imp: yup. golden, resinous amber. wet on skin: more of the same. dry down: a strong, sweet dark amber. in all: perfect for wearing whilst crunching Autumnal leaves underfoot in late-wash afternoon sunshine, crackling log-cabin evening whilst mulling cider, and hot summer nights when you won't wear much more than this.

in the imp: totally delicious, super yummy, buttery pumpkin pie. like, holy smokes. wet on skin: the peach is peeking out, but it's just making the mix sweeter, smelling even more like a yummy Autumnal concoction. dry down: a brief pseudo Yankee Candle phase, but i find that i'm not bothered by it the way i was with, say, Fruitcake. it winds up smelling like a mild, delicious autumn potpourri blend that i'd wear on my body. in all: my first foray into the world of BPAL pumpkin scents- it will NOT be my last.