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MissMercurial

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Everything posted by MissMercurial

  1. MissMercurial

    Vial of Holy Water

    Weirdly enough this turns into lotus-y bubble gum on me! Perhaps it's the age of the imp (probably at least a year old) but maybe not. It does start aquatic-y but that quickly fades in the face of the all-consuming lotus, presumably water lotus for the association alone. The base is a white musk of some kind and there are other florals to temper the lotsa lotus, but overall it is too linear for me to enjoy. Maybe in the diffuser I'll get something else out of it.
  2. MissMercurial

    The Wretched Rose Window

    This is almost overwhelmingly dry, faded roses and a touch of violet, maybe a squirt of plum juice when wet. It feels rather heavy on me (the "leaded glass"?). It's a shame that it's so heavy and old-lady-esque (but a damn classy old lady, you betcha) because I really loved the grey musk left after the drydown/the next day. Similar to white musk but less "clean," kind of murky.
  3. MissMercurial

    Iole

    I mostly get jasmine accompanied by leather and vanilla in the background from this. The drydown brings out some oak, kind of old-paper-esque; the fig, red sandalwood, and black amber add a powdery, barely noticeable fruitiness to the edges of that latter stage. I agree with angelamaria that it's almost smoky.
  4. MissMercurial

    The Heinous Hedge-Maze

    This is almost eerily accurate on the recreating boxwood as a note. Like, freshly crushed boughs of it accurate. It's dark and definitely green, without being heavy, which interests me. Despite the fact that boxwood is normally relegated to the realm of men's cologne this still feels mostly feminine to me. Probably 70-30 feminine to masculine. There's definitely some white florals on the border of this to help with that perception, I think. As a side note, this sucker lasted forever on my skin - probably at least two days.
  5. MissMercurial

    The Apparition

    This leans masculine IMO. Not TOO strongly, but certainly a bit - like 60-65% masculine and 40-35% feminine. I had a chance to smell/test Bed of Nails at a recent MnS and to me Apparition is very similar to it; perhaps less complex/layered and a little softer (like, maybe less densely packed, dulled nails, haha), but it definitely hits the ozone-leather-woody button.
  6. MissMercurial

    Pandy

    Oh, this was a happy surprise! I tend to amp honey so I was wary of that at first, but apparently honeycomb is another matter entirely. Instead of being drenched in honey, I get drizzles instead, hooray! Or maybe the pink pepper is making it play nice, I dunno; I've only tried one other blend with pink pepper before. The apricot is definitely prominent (a lot like Thaleia's apricot) but not syrupy - fresh fruits, not canned or dried. The orange blossom and white musk make it a little more complex, less one-note-ish, and the overall effect is very...sunny, I think is a good word for it.
  7. MissMercurial

    Jezebel

    Wet, Jezebel has a lush, almost syrupy rosiness to it that I like. But sadly within a few minutes on skin it turns powdery. Old-lady-powdery I think sandalwood is to blame for this, because a few minutes later I catch a sharpness that strikes me as orange blossom-y. The other notes are almost enough to outweigh the powderiness but it's a pretty aggressive note on me. Maybe it'll be better on my wrist.
  8. MissMercurial

    The Dormouse

    This is very strongly reminiscent of Envy on me to start, so, the same green tea note is there. Apparently my skin is good friends with that note because it's the majority of what I get from this for a long part of its duration. It's like Envy's sweetened sibling - the peony definitely adds a traditionally feminine feel to it. Underneath is some bergamot and herby stuff that keeps it from veering off into crazy-sweet-floral territory, but they're not as prominent to my nose. "Dizzying" is an apt word, I think - all of the Wonderland blends I've tried have a certain "off-ness" to them, IMO, like something underneath all those pleasant and generally familiar notes is a little bit odd, fittingly enough. While no exception to this rule, Dormouse felt the least like that of the ones I've tried (Alice; Croquet; and Two, Five & Seven, that I remember clearly and am sure of). It's unobtrusive but unusual, maybe enough to make most people tilt their heads and wonder "now what was that?" in mild interest if they caught a whiff of it and be memorable. The "memorability" of it isn't a distinctly harsh/soft impression, which is unusual in and of itself I think (to be memorable without being on one end of the spectrum or another). I don't get much throw out of this, but I rarely get much throw in general. It didn't permeate or last past a shower (tested on the crook of my elbow).
  9. Hi folks! I love that there's a trio of blue moon scents this month, especially considering my circumstances. You see, I turn twenty-one on this month's blue moon (August 31st). Exciting in my book! So I was hoping some people who have experience with previous Blue Moon incarnations can help me choose one of the three. I've italicized the notes that sound most appealing to me. For reference, I adore Urania ("moonflower, Moroccan jasmine, benzoin, white musk, iris, moss and a flash of ozone"), which is moon-like at least concept-/note-wise IMO, and have determined what draws me most to that scent are the Moroccan jasmine, white musk, and ozone (possibly moonflower as well). I've had so-so luck with iris/orris root, frankincense, and lavender (I consider the plants iris and lavender two of my favorites, more's the irony.). White and skin musks tend to work well on me. BLAUER MOND - Brian's interpretation of the Blue Moon. A glimmer of hope emerging from a sea of dreams: sea buckthorn berry, terebinth pine, frankincense, hyssop, white sage, Neptune's night-blooming jasmine, cucumber, lavender, ambergris accord, and violet leaf. BLUE MOON 2012 - The spirit of the full moon is capricious, intense and passionate, yet still distant, aloof and cold. Luna herself governs glamours, bewitchments and dream-work, innocent wonder, transient pleasure and delight, the Moment, impulse, mystery and veils. The Blue Moon is one of her rarest manifestations, and this scent is formulated to encapsulate her most complex and profound nature: Mugwort, for psychic sensitivity... Calea Zacatechichi, yarrow, and mastic for divination through dreams... Frankincense and hyssop for complexity, wisdom and noscere... ... with a potent lunar-charged, oneirongenic blend of blue musk, exquisite woods, moonflower, evening stock, Madagascan ylang ylang, Florentine iris, Greek cypress, green tea absolute, palmarosa, cucumber, rose milkweed, Clary sage, lavender, lemon balm, and passion fruit. LUNA AZUL - Ted's interpretation of the Blue Moon. This is the scent of star-crossed love, folly, and passionate lunacy: white mango, French lavender, orris root, fig leaf, ylang ylang, mugwort, styrax, oakmoss, camphor, and black opium tar. (Side note: what the hell is a "white mango"? If anyone should know mangoes, it'd be me, seeing as I'm half-Filipino, but I've never heard of them.) ETA: Removed Luna Azul from the running based on the wise advice seen below. ETA II: ordered Blauer Mond and Blue Moon. Thanks for your input, y'all!
  10. MissMercurial

    Help me choose a Blue Moon! (CHOSEN)

    ...The cadet's logic is sound*. When you put it that way, it does make a lot of sense to cut out Luna Azul. Though I thought you could combine BPTP/BPAL orders vis-à-vis shipping? No matter - the rest of your reasoning stands. Adiós, Luna Azul! (I have removed that option from the poll.) *sorry, couldn't help that one - I am a huge Star Trek fangirl and working show/movie dialogue into non-fandom conversation makes me giggle ETA: all of the blends have lavender in them so I'm hedging my bets on that note regardless of which one(s) I choose, but lavender is much less iffy on me than orris root, so I'm still okay with cutting out Luna Azul.
  11. MissMercurial

    Help me choose a Blue Moon! (CHOSEN)

    *groans* You guys just had to make it all tied up, didn't you? ARGH D: I'm giving this til 8 PM tonight, then ordering. (Thank you again, though, for the votes, although I do terribly wish some of you gave explanations to go with your votes!)
  12. MissMercurial

    Help me choose a Blue Moon! (CHOSEN)

    Happy birthday to you as well ! And yeah, I was tempted by that notion for a bit (ordering all three, that is) but I know that as soon as I got to checkout I wouldn't be able to finish the order because that big total would scare me, haha. I'd just look at it and freak out a little inside, unsuccessfully try to justify the purchase to myself, and end up buying only one of them, if not skipping out on ordering altogether. So I figure might as well skip all that indecision/anxiety phase and ask for other people's recommendations/opinions ^___ ^ Thanks for all the replies/votes so far - I really appreciate it!
  13. MissMercurial

    Help me choose a Blue Moon! (CHOSEN)

    Thank you! You may officially say you're the first person to wish me a happy birthday I did some Internet digging and white mangoes seem to be fairly uncommon, so I don't feel too bad about not knowing what they are, haha. Apparently they smell/taste similar to mangoes mixed with either strawberries or jackfruit. Thanks for your input - I'm happy to hear it smelled cool/"blue" to you, and the hyssop-for-orchid substitution makes me a happy camper anyways! I was a bit turned off by the fruits from the descriptions of these blends because I generally don't like mixing florals with non-citrus fruits and don't like passionfruit as a food.
  14. MissMercurial

    Araw Ng Mga Patay

    I'm half-Filipina so I just HAD to get an imp of this. I can only report on wet stage rn, so edit TBA. First impressions: Plantains! Bibingka! Turon! Sago! OH MY GOD, THIS IS AMAZINGLY ACCURATE. It smells like Goldilocks (a Filipino bakery/restaurant) when they've just finished baking, with flowers (mostly sampugita & daisies). Maybe a little langka (jackfruit)? Not getting any champurado (chocolate rice porridge), though. It kind of all blends into a sweet-flowery-foody-starchy scent. For reference, I'm usually not on the foody end of the spectrum; I gravitate to white musks and clean/grassy/fresh smells. But omggg this is amazing so far. A lot of caramel-y-ness, which I expected (turon = fried banana "spring rolls," i.e. has eggroll wrapper around it; leche flan = caramel-y custard goodness; bibingka = Filipino equivalent of pancakes. All adds up to lots of caramelized sugars, haha.). I'm not sure if it'll perform differently once I test it when my body chemistry's back to normal, nor am I certain I want to smell like this, but Beth/BPAL, you blow my mind. This is pretty much exactly like the description; I'm floored that all of that could be so accurately recreated. In the words of my mum (my Filipino half): "It smells like you've been making maruya (fried plantain fritters)." PINAY APPROVED.
  15. MissMercurial

    The Green Apple Of Venus

    Very bright and fruity, as angelicruin above said. To me this smells REALLY similar to Lush's Sandstone soap when first applied/wet, then the pomegranate gets sassy and brings along her entourage of strawberry and tea rose. As you can imagine, it's quite a sweet scent; it's tempered/grounded slightly by the red sandalwood, but that's only just enough to prevent this from going off the deep end of "generic fruity floral" (perhaps because I tend to amp roses). What I register as similar to the Sandstone soap might just be the crispness of the green apple. Different apple than that of Snow Glass Apples, however. That said, the notes all blend quite well together. I'd say this is a winner for those who like playful, candy-like/sweeter scents.
  16. MissMercurial

    A Murder of Crows

    Very slick and subtle - hard to catch a real sense of it, to my nose. I guess my skin soaked it up to some extent, because I had to sniff reeealll close to smell it. But not a real attention-grabber; swapped it to a loving home.
  17. MissMercurial

    Iambe

    Wet: Resiny, pale and sweet floral. No specific notes I can catch, just a vague "flowery-ness" to it. Wearing: Same as before, florals more prominent. Had to wash off soon after applying because my nose was just too damn itchy, and it was the only cause I could think of. True enough, my nose stopped itching about five or ten minutes after scrubbing my wrists clean. I think I might be allergic to amber, oh noes
  18. MissMercurial

    Amsterdam

    Very clear, fresh floral! Not too flowery since it has a nice grassy/aqua note. Pleasant enough to wear, just rather generic. Really consistent, didn't morph once on me. Google "sphene;" that's the color and clarity I think of when I smell this.
  19. MissMercurial

    Katrina van Tassel

    Swap with artofsuicide! GENERAL This comes out strongly rosey and creamy, then in a couple of seconds all I can smell is honey with a tint of the aforementioned, although the rose eventually claws its way back to the forefront. Throughout is a creamy undertone, smoothing it all out. Oddly enough I find myself thinking of Turkish delights... COMPARISON Don't try this if you like light or mild scents - Ms. Tassel is anything but subtle. It was the one imp I could smell from the package without opening it OR removing the plumber's tape. Although some reviewers have compared this to Alice, I personally hated Alice - it had none of the same qualities that this has going for it (I got no rose-and-cream love from Alice). Apparently, I amp anything bee-related: Ms. Tassel resembles To Helen very strongly for me. I'm going to guess that I amped the beeswax in that one, and for this one the honey, thus the similarity (sans the "rocky/cold" thing that I attribute to "opaline" notes). SUMMARY Very simple and (nearly) cloyingly sweet. Probably a keeper imp-wise
  20. MissMercurial

    Death on a Pale Horse

    This was frimped to me oh-so-generously by artofsuicide I was expecting good things from this since it's got a couple of notes I tend to like a lot: white musk, mint,lavender, yuzu, lime, and white sandalwood. However, the patchouli/vetiver/calla lily/geranium bourbon ganged up on me. A few seconds into the wet stage I got...baby diapers. Strange, I know, but that's the best way I can think of to summarize that powdery-baby-nursery-slightly-discomfiting smell. After that it calmed down with the white musk blending it up with the rest, but it wasn't the clarity I've come to associate with white musk - sniffing this on my wrist gave me a slight headache. Overall, not a fan of this 'un .
  21. MissMercurial

    Paris

    Ack! I adore lavender (the plant, at least) and, other than this one, have never tried anything with lotus in it. I now know that I appear to AMP lotus. I got a hint of lavender when this was wet, and about five minutes after that it was so strongly, sickeningly sweet that I had to wash it off :/ Since I didn't smell any spices, I'm pinning it on lotus. I might try this again at another time, but my first impression so far has not been complimentary D:
  22. MissMercurial

    Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills

    Skin musk has never disappointed me and continues to delight me. It's a little creamier than white musk on me. Here, it tones done the "cool" factor of the snowy note so that it's refreshing, not biting. Don't get me wrong, it's still a sharp scent. Just not painfully so like disinfectant or summat. Rather, it is citrusy and woodsy like what a real Christmas tree lot smells like. Pretty strong blackberry scent to me later on, not so flowery although the rose is there. Didn't get a CK One experience at all. I'm glad I got an imp of this - it's the closest thing I've found to the Ice Prince bath oil other than Snow Moon
  23. MissMercurial

    Snow, Glass, Apples

    This has got to be the longest-lasting BPAL ever on me, which is a delight since I love the smell so much. It lasted a good twelve hours on my wrists~! Snow,Glass, Apples is a bitingly (haha, I'm punny) sharp, crisp, Granny Smith apple to start with, then that fruity-ness settles down some into a white musk/flower bed with a smidge of mint, or ozone, or something similarly tingly to my nose There's a bit of that "snow" note in here, which I might be mistaking as mint/ozone/tingly smell. I don't get much throw out of it, but then again, I rarely do get much throw out of any perfume oils . This is a sharp and feminine scent that is perfect for someone who's a little harder to win over when it comes to perfume in general - it's light and clean, but, rather than generically so, distinctively fruity as well.
  24. MissMercurial

    Goblin

    Frimp from the lab with my 13 (June 08) order This starts off rather spicy, but not so offensively so that I wanted to wash it off. After a bit, it smoothed out into a coconutty-creamy-resiny sort of smell. It's very earthy-sweet, not foody-sweet, and I can still catch the woodsy smell of the patchouli. I give it props for smelling less horrendous than the coconut in Tarot: The Star. This one I could stand for a little while, whereas The Star made me feel like emptying my stomach (long story, but basically the smell of really fake/"tropical" coconut reminds me enough of this one time when I got majorly sick after eating some coconut shrimp that I start to feel sick again...). I'm beginning to think that I just can't wear coconut because of that one experience. Damn it! I remember liking coconut in perfume when done right >[ So, a lesson to all ye who have a favorite food that could be imitated scent-wise in the dimension of perfume: Do not eat said food when you're not sure of the state of your physical well-being! Anyway, I'm afraid this little goblin won't be with me for long.
  25. MissMercurial

    Suspiro

    This was a frimp from the lab with my 13 June 08 order First sniff: Heavy, dank floral. Dark and cool. Wearing: OH GOD I SMELL LIKE AN OLD LADY! And...oh no, not the jasmine-cat-piss-stage! After a little bit: Okay, ylang-ylang and the lilies have calmed down. Now it's a little creamy, much lighter and "whiter" (as in, a whiter floral than before). This I can handle. While this calms down to a rather wistful and heady floral, I'm not that big on pure florals in the first place, on top of which there was that scary little bit when I felt like a granny whose cats left their mark on her. I'm starting to think jasmine and I don't play nicely... Afraid that this one is headed for swaps!
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