nevermore

I'm not normally one for foody blends, but Drink Me (with pineapple, one of my favorite notes) was one I had to try. It's interesting, to say the least. I don't really get any of the notes listed, except for a bit of cherry in the wafting part. Mostly, Drink Me smells of Banana Bread, especially right close to my skin, maybe with a touch of toffee. It's not at all what I was expecting, but very different. Imp shall be used up, but Drink Me is probably not a candiate for a larger bottle.

I don't know what note it is, but there is something in Grandmother of Ghosts that reminds me of the solution used to set perms. I find it's very noticable when wet, but as it dries, it becomes less prominant. Oddly enough, the first time I wore it, I got none of the "perm" note, just a light floral (which was very nice). But the past few wearings (over a couple weeks) have all ended in me washing the perfume off because the perm note bothers me. I think this one may have to be swapped, alas. I had such high hopes for it.

I find Old Scratch to be very cologne-y, rather like Villain, but warmer and a little bit sweeter. I smell mainly lavender, rosewood, and a tiny bit of tonka and patchouli. While Villain was too masculine on me, Old Scratch is just right - perfect balance between the "cologne" and the vanilla/rosewood. I need a bottle of this for winter.

Whis I first put Kitsune-Tsuki on this morning, I was like "WTF? This smells fruity, and I remember no fruit in the description, or from the last time I wore it." As it turns out, there is plum in it, which I've never smelled from it before. Normally, it's a light floral, mostly orchid. But, today, being that time of the month, it's far more fruity, which is interesting. Overall, quite a nice scent, but not one I need a bottle of - my imp will do for now.

How have I not reviewed this? Séance is one of my favourite perfumes, despite containing roses. Luckily, rosewood and rose leaf don't dominate and turn loud the way rose does, which can ruin a blend for me. Séance smells of dried roses and wood, I find, which is quite enjoyable. This one has been on my "Buy a 5ml Bottle" list for some time now - I need to get around to buying it.

Antique amber frames a series of distorted, eternally warping clear crystal and glass notes. Not something I would normally try, but I figured, why not? House of Mirrors is clean, fresh, and almost aquatic - not something I normally wear. I was hoping that the amber would come out a bit more, but it never does. This perfume remains mostly true to the in-the-imp scent (clean/aquatic) which is abnormal for me. What surprises me most is that I enjoy wearing it. Not something I'd wear very often, but I like it enough to keep it around, at least for now.

I didn't order this when it was avaliable from the lab (either time), but reading reviews comparing it to Antique Lace made me want to try Bearded Lady. While florals are not something I normally do, this is lovely. The floral notes are very well blended, and the rose doesn't get amped up as it normally does on my skin. It's simply sweet vanilla-y florals without being too perfumey. I can see where the comparisons to Antique Lace come in - I find Bearded Lady to be Antique Lace with more floral notes and less vanilla. I don't know that I'd use it enough to justify a bottle, but I'll certainly use up my imp.

The Bow and Crown of Conquest is undoubtedly my favourite of the Come and See series. Smells mainly of leather, vanilla, and musk to me, with a bit of sage and lavender. Oddly, I couldn't pick out the leather note until my girlfriend pointed it out to me - I couldn't really figure out what I was smelling. I'm not normally one for leather (Whip, Dee, and Lovitar were all sorts of bad on me), but this is one that I actually enjoy. I must have a bottle of this.

I'm going to have to agree with the many comparisons to 13 - I find that The Great Sword of War is very like it, with the orange/cocoa/tea combination. However, I find it much less sweet than 13. In the bottle, it's mainly orange and cocoa. On my skin, some tea and tonka are added to the mix. I don't really get any musk, herbs or tobacco at all, which is fine with me. I have a bottle of both this and 13, but I find myself wearing Great Sword of War more often, because it isn't as sweet/chocolatey.

In the vial, Death Cap smells like my garden in the spring - freshly turned damp earth. I'm not much of one for earth scents, but the reviews were so intruiging, that I had to try it. On my skin, it's earthy for the first 15 minutes or so, and then turns into a strange, but lovely, combination of vanilla pudding and dirt. It's strangly addicting. I may need a larger bottle of this one.

Devil's Night reminds me of Samhain, though without the pumpkin/apple and whatever note in Samhain that goes sharp on me. Devil's Night is much more wearable, if applied with a light hand. I mostly smell the sugar, with atouch of smoke and a touch of musk. This was another impulse swap, a 5ml bottle, and it surprised me. I wasn't really expecting this to turn out as nicely as it did.

Rather similar to Neo Tokyo and Embalming Fluid, though less tart/somewhat warmer than those two. I mostly smell the bamboo in Holiday Moon, which I quite like. I find it wonderful for summer because it's so light. I've got an imp, which is probably all I need - Neo Tokyo and Embalming Fluid are very similar, and they're GC. I'm very glad I've been able to try this though, and will certainly use up my imp.

Undertow has been cut from every order since my very first - replaced with some new scent that I must have. I finally swapped for some of this, and I'm very glad I did. None of the notes should work on me (lotus goes very bubblegummy, I don't really care for mint, aquatics in general are bad), but it's lovely. From the bottle it reminds me of a very crisp, juicy apple - though it doesn't smell like apples. It dries to something light and fresh, and slightly piney. I love it. It's so good, it actually makes my mouth water when I put it on. I should have tried this long ago.

Black Opal is a slightly powdery vanilla to straight baby powder, depending on the time of the month it is. It's not a foody vanilla, as it is tempered by the "mineral" note othes have mentioned. It's quite different from anything else I've smelled, but I don't know how to explain it in words. I ordered a bottle without sniffing first, based solely on the reviews in this thread, and wasn't dissapointed.

Alone was a impulse trade for me - I had some bottles I was looking to get rid of, and swapped for bottles of Alone and Devil's Night, neither of which I had smelled before, or was particularly itching to try. I'm glad I did. Alone is mainly cardamom and patchouli on me, with a touch of sandalwood and mandaring. I can't really smell any of the flowers in it, which is sad - I was hoping for a little bit of muget at least (one of my favorite florals). This is a wonderful fall/winter scent I think, though I've been using it very lightly during the summer, and it has been wonderful. I'm very glad I've got a bottle of this - it's one of those scents that smells like "me, but better."

Underpants is delicious. I'm not normally one for foody scents (they tend to to plastic on me), but the sandalwood in this one tones down the plastic note I usually get from vanilla. It's light and sweet, not too heavy (which I was expecting, looking at the notes). I don't get any rum from this, mainly vanilla and sandalwood, with a touch of spice from the saffron. All in all, I'm glad I splurged to get a decant when it first came out, but I don't think I'll need any more than I've got.

CT2 - III, which I don't think is reviewed by anyone else. I swapped for this decant when CT2 was just new, but I haven't yet reviewed it. The best I can describe it, is that it is similar to Hexannacht, but buttery. I get a similar note from Chaste Moon. Dark, smokey, autumn leaf-y, but with fluffy creamy bits - it's a little strange. In general, I don't care for smokey scents, and they do nothing spectacular on my skin. I think I'll finally be removing this one from the imp box, and passing it along to the girlfriend, who I know will like it.

So, having tried a few new limited edition blends in the past couple weeks, I've got a few similarities worth mentioning: I find La Fee Verte almost indistinguishable from Zorya on my skin. Admittedly, I've got strange skin chemistry, so your milage may very, but I found them nearly identical. I also find that Hearth 2004 is very similar to Herr Drosselmeyer - HD is less sweet (it lacks that cherry/maple syrup scent in Hearth 2004), but the base notes are similar. And, as has been mentioned before, I find Obatala very similar to Milk Moon (which means, unfortunatly, Obabtala doesn't work on my skin), and Snowbunny is very like my bottle of Skadi.

On me, Baghdad is mostly creamy sandalwoody rose. It sort of reminds me of Morocco, but with rose. I was hoping to get more spice and citrus out of it, and less rose, but oh well. It's quite pretty, despite the rose.

I've been trying to track down an imp of this since SiA went away, but hadn't had any luck ... until now. I managed to get a decanted imp from Thursdae, and I'm so glad I did. Shub-Niggurath is positively delicious. It smells somewhat like Sugar Cookie (minus the "flour-y" note that ruined it for me), plus a good dash of fresh ginger, not candied or dried. In the vial, there's something else spicy that I cannot place (not one of the spices I'm used to smelling), which unfortunatly disappears on my skin. All in all, lovely scent, though I don't know if I'd use any more than an imp. Which is good, because it'd be damn hard for me to get more.

Very floral. I can't pick out any individual notes, other than generic "floral". Not something I would ordinarily wear, but (for most of the Voodoo blends) I don't wear them because they smell nice. Has No Hanna has been my scent of choice for the past week or so, because I've been writing finals. I wore it for my anthropology exam on Monday, and learned yesterday that I'd recived a 92% on that exam - when I walked out of the exam room expecting not more than a 70%. I find it helps me to not worry too much about the exam, before and after I've written it - and, of course, the "rush of good luck" helps too!

Delicious mulled apple cider - highly spiced. The spices are what I can smell the most, with a cooked apple note (not a fresh one like The Hesperides). I can't really smell the pumpkin a whole lot, but it adds a slight buttery note to this one, and all the Pumpkin Patch scents. This is my favourite out of the bunch, and perfect for cold blustery days.

A very interesting scent. Originally I swapped for this because the girlfriend wanted a bottle, but I got to try it first. I wasn't really expecting to like it, as I don't really do fruity scents. Slightly alcoholic, but not too much, from the bottle, and fruity on my skin. Not super ripe and juicy fruity though, more like fruit still on the tree, slightly past it's prime. Think orchard, or forest, in mid-October. I don't find it all that dark or terror ridden, but nice nonetheless. I'll have a hard time passing this one on to it's rightful owner.

Beer. Dandelions. Not unpleasant though, just odd. The beer goes away rather quickly, leaving weeds and dandelions. I had this one on my wishlist for sheer novelty factory, but surprisingly, it works. I just have to put it on a half hour or so before leaving the house, or run the risk of smelling like an old beer can in an abandonded lot.

To me, this smells like the bastard love-child of Medicine Show and Snake Charmer - tobacco, wood, amber, coconut and spices. On my skin, it is quite sweet for the first while, but dries down to mostly coconut and tobacco. No florals, surprisingly. It also reminds me somewhat (when dried) of Elegba, but without the rum. This is delicous - I'm so sad I missed it from the lab, but I think I'll have to go and try to track down a bottle in the swaps forum.