Shollin

First sniff: Light and ethereal, but much sweeter than I expected. A hint of sharpness that's almost citrus but not quite--on second sniff it seemed a bit cocktailish. I like that this is named after a dangerous but beautiful woman...it seems appropriate, like the sweetness might lure you in before you get stabbed in the back.

Wearing: Still sweet, but not loud or unpleasant. It's a bit honeysucklish. After about half an hour it shifted into yet another of those very specific scents I recognise but can't pin down, maybe a sweet frozen drink.

Phantom Queen, from Diabolus:

 

First sniff: The same berry idea as in Bewitched, but much darker, stronger, warmer and wilder. There’s a hint of something that reminds me of the slinkiness of Ravenous. I cannot wait to smell this on my skin. (And again I’m smelling fruit that isn’t there, because there’s no berry in the description.)

 

Wearing: As strong and heady as this is in the bottle, it just doesn’t want to stick to my skin. I can smell it if I sniff my wrist, but it doesn’t waft up to my nose at all. Drat.

 

Diffuser: Can’t smell it here either. I’ll let it all burn off, because I did put it in water (silliness), but I’m disappointed.

 

I swapped for another imp of this scent after deciding I hadn't given it a fair chance.

 

Trying again: I must not have put much on the first time I tried this many months ago, or my chemistry was out of whack or something, because now it’s sticking to me wonderfully and is just gorgeous. Dark wild berries and deep purple blooms, with just a hint of powder sprinkled over. This is Unseelie’s older and more assertive sister. It behaved on me the same way Jezebel did, in that after several hours I couldn’t smell it on my wrists but I kept getting wafts of the aura, which stayed surprisingly solid throughout the night. I’m so glad I gave the Queen another try – she’s mine this time.

First sniff: Utterly gorgeous. A storm rolling in over the Chesapeake when you can watch the lightning come in from miles away across the bay – very fresh and windy with the cool blue-green scent of salt air.

Wearing: A whisper of citrus on the breeze. Soft turquoise. Faded quickly – I'll put more on next time and hope it sticks a bit better. Failing that, I might be persuaded to carry a bottle at all times so I could top it up, because it really is gorgeous.

Ravenous, from Love Potions:

 

First sniff: Only thing I can think of is “it smells like an evil orange.” Made me giggle, but that might just be at my own craziness.

 

Wearing: Orange liqueur, but the sharpness seems to be less on my skin – not softened, but swallowed up in something warm and velvet-soft (if that's red patchouli I need to get me some more!). It’s a teensy bit reminiscent of the “feeling” of Snake Oil – not the same scent, but the same sort of warm slinky feeling. It’s definitely warm, but warm like drinking whiskey on a cold night, not warm like baking cookies in your grandmother’s kitchen. Ravenous and Lush's Karma are both orange and patchouli, but Karma is bright and bubbly and cheerful – this might be Karma’s older sister who wears black eyeliner and tall boots. I think I’m wearing this one to New Year’s Eve.

 

On second wearing (New Year’s Eve) this is now my official “wear when I want to feel sexy” perfume, and will probably go in my car for slinkiness emergencies. I want to roll around in the stuff. It’s still a bit sharp on first touch, but it gets warm and velvety so quickly… mmmmmm.

First sniff: Incensey and ecclesiastical, but bright rather than mysterious - a wood church, not a stone church, on a weekday afternoon when no one is there and the sunlight is turning the pews stained-glass-coloured. It's a bit Cathedralish, but lighter, and with a bit of a bite.

Wearing: I just don't think these resiny scents are for me, unfortunately. Wish I knew what it is I don't like about them on my skin, but I'm guessing it's the amber, in which case I know to avoid it in future. Aureus isn't offensively bad on me, but it's definitely not overly pleasant. Too sharp and something my nose wants to define as "sweet" but isn't really.

I got another freebie imp in a recent order, so:

Trying again: It really is a very golden scent, warm and enveloping – it's warm like the warmth of sunlight without being a sunny scent. The incenseyness of it still doesn't agree with my skin, sadly, and it seems like there's a hint of cedar too, which I haven't noticed before and might be making up just because it smells sharp and a bit woody. Oddly, toward the end of the night, the scent directly on my wrists started smelling decidedly bakery-ish and made me a bit hungry.

Visions of smeared candy red lipstick, torn fishnet and searching, sunken eyes. The scent of an all-nighter: cognac, tobacco flower, dark musk, black rose and clove.

 

Formula 54, a limited edition offered only to forum members. The version I tried is a prototype.

 

First sniff: A brainteasingly familiar scent - I think it smells like something Ive drunk. Its like cherries, but darker and I dont mean black cherries, I mean like Maraschinos dressed up in leather and carrying switchblades. Weird and unsettling.

 

Wearing: The cherry scent is brighter on me its a bit giddy, but theres still something off about it a bleary drunken giddy, not a happy laughing giddy. Not happy at all, actually its a staggering, desperate scent, and its freaking me out a bit so Im going to go wash it off now.

 

EDITED to update scent status, and moved this thread from Up-and-Coming.

First sniff: Ooh. Something fey about this one. It smells like camping or the mountains or something outdoorsy and rugged without being overly macho. A wild scent, wind-tossed hair and sunlight filtered through pine needles.

Wearing: I just tried on my Oberon, and it’s so impossibly YUM I have to add to my previous review. (I’m trying to find a word other than “beautiful,” because while it is, that word just isn’t right - far too soft and feminine. This is manly-beautiful like a guy you’d drool over from across a crowded bar.) It’s gorgeous! There’s an evergreen sort of smell that I can’t pin down – it’s not pine or cedar, it might be juniper. Woodsy, but in a wild stormy way, not in a peaceful reflective way. It does kinda remind me of rain – but again, a primal downpour thunderstorm thing, not a gentle April-showers-bring-May-flowers kind of rain... primal is definitely the word. Mmmmmm. I’d love to smell this on a guy (and I wish I had one I could buy it for) – I doubt I’d be able to keep my hands off him. Not so overtly masculine that I feel uncomfortable wearing it, but I’m betting it’d be terrifically swoon-inducing on a boy. Seems to be getting brighter, fresher and greener as it dries. Definitely a keeper. A clean scent – not sterile hospital clean, but mountain air clean, rain-washed clean.

Ingenue, from Love Potions:

 

 

First sniff: Very innocent, very young. Bright and floral -- floaty floral, not heady floral. Something watery and turquoise too. A May Day bouquet floating on a clear lake.

 

Wearing: Definitely watery floral, and very ethereal, but brightly, not darkly like Unseelie. Lily of the valley was my first thought on my skin. Despite all my protestations that I'm not a floral girly-girl, this one is so pretty and delicate I might just have to keep it. After reading the description a lightblub flashed and I yelled “Melon!” That's exactly the note I couldn't pin down -- white honeydew, and very wet. It's girly, but not silly giggly girly... there's something a bit wispy about it, like the ghost of a little Victorian girl carrying a porcelain doll. But not at all sad... maybe nostalgic, but not melancholy. It's very pale aqua-coloured. Doesn't last very long, alas.

Lolita, from Love Potions:

 

First sniff: Sweet - I smell oranges more than anything else. Voluptuous.

 

Wearing: Very citrus at first touch, somewhere between orange and lemon, a sharper lemon than the soft misty Phantasm. After a bit I can smell the florals winding around the fruits. Growing on me, but not a favourite.

 

Diffuser: Bright and bubbly. Once the initial orange wears off I can definitely smell the juicy strawberry.

Venom, from Diabolus:

 

 

First sniff: Warm and elegant. I smell alcohol in this one too, like an upscale cocktail in a room full of ladies in high high heels and black dresses. Definite sharpness.

 

Wearing: It's nice -- I definitely smell the lime right away on my skin. Elegant but somehow ominous. Though pleasant, it's not exactly pretty... it's more of a haughty scent, like something an ice princess would wear. It's a much cooler scent on my skin than it is in the bottle, and somewhat green -- neon, not woodsy.

First sniff: Very masculine. Incensey and cologney. A hint of citrus. Second impression in the bottle: cedarwood.

Wearing: Too sharp and dark to be me. Might make a good Halloweeny oil-burner scent.

First sniff: WOW. Very warm, but more decadent-warm than comforting-warm. A bit alcoholy. Red velvet curtains and raucous laughter.

Diffuser: OK, so I haven’t been brave enough to wear this boozey madness yet. It’s gorgeous as a room scent, very warm (and still decadent). The smell reminds me of a hot drink with alcohol – nothing coffeeish, but some sort of heavy heady rum concoction by the fire in the dead of winter. Definitely use it with water – it was way too strong when the water burned off.

Wearing: Sweet, heavy, felt like it was just on the verge of giving me a headache right when I put it on. I’m afraid this one is a bit much, as fabulous as it sounded. Sigh. Still boozey even after it dries, and very hyper and hectic. It almost smells burned when I put my nose right up to my wrist. I ended up swapping it to lorajc, and it works on her!

Spooky, from Limited Editions, Winter 2003:

 

First sniff: Sniffing the cork made me squeal. This is very nice - peppermint with something warmer, but not spicy - very smooth. Chocolate mint.

 

Wearing: This is flippin' gorgeous. Yankee made a Christmas Wish candle that smells something like this. On my skin I smell the warm rum-cookies more clearly under the mint, and after a little while it’s entirely cookie-ish, very little mint. It lasted and smelled delicious all night. My preciousss.

First sniff: Fruity berries. "I like that a LOT." Bright?

Wearing: A very pretty berry scent, lasted all night and strong enough to smell through my exploding sinuses the first time I tried it. This one has since gone on my "gotta rebuy" list. If y'all are familiar with the Republic of Tea, Bewitched smells like a softer, darker version of their Blackberry Sage. Entirely edible.

Malediction, from Sin & Salvation:

 

First sniff: Dark, earthy, slightly spicy - sandalwood? But pleasant, and I've discovered I don’t like sandalwood - must be the patchouli. Incensey. A hint of sweetness too.

 

Wearing: Very dark, almost wood-y. A bit much at first but gets softer and warmer - was very nice at work. Very promising.

 

Second try: For a while it’s cedarwood, like putting your head into an old cedar closet and smelling the coats. After a couple of hours there’s something sharp underneath – almost citrusy but not quite. I can’t pin it down. I might not like this one as much as I thought I did.

Cathedral, from Sin & Salvation:

 

First sniff: Hard to pin down - definitely warm, spicy, a bit sweet. An old stone church at midnight Mass.

 

Wearing: Quite sweet on my skin. Maybe a bit too much. Warm and comforting at first, but I've discovered that resin scents don't like me - it turned unpleasantly sharp-sweet within a few minutes.

 

Diffuser: Very, very incensey and a bit woody. Mostly incense. Might be too strong even as a room scent.

Phantasm, from Bewitching Brews:

 

First sniff: Smells like Lush's Avobath ballistic or lemon tea. Fresh, clean scent.

 

Wearing: Very nice, a clean fresh smell. A definite lemon, but softened and misty around the edges, so it smells like limoncello, not like Lysol. A spring scent. Very pretty. Seemed to fade a bit quickly. Must get a bigger bottle - it'll be amazing when it warms up a bit outside.

First sniff: Warm, sweet, gingery. Bakery smell. Made me go “ooh!”

 

Wearing: Sweet but not unpleasantly so. Definite vanilla. After several hours it’s reminiscent of Angel Innocent, but definitely not as WHOA! strong. Really, really like. Topping off before I go out tonight.

 

One of my favourites. I kept smelling it at work all day yesterday when I wasn’t wearing it – maybe my brain just smells like Siren now. It really smells like the ginger root, not like gingersnaps or ginger in cooking, but ginger itself.

 

Overall, I worship and adore this scent just as it was, but I can understand why it was changed - I know the gingermania was a bit much for several people. I have an extra sample of the old variety coming in a swap and I'm thrilled.

 

ADDED June 29 - let's have a review of the new version too, for completeness' sake!

 

First sniff: It’s just not the same scent at all. I have the original gingermania version, pre-apricot, and I adore it. This is nice, but… it’s just not the same scent at all, and something about it smells rather “off,” like the ginger and apricot don’t really like each other.

 

Wearing: Nope. Pardon the ongoing nostalgia, but… this isn’t the Siren that makes my guy growl and bury his face in my neck… this isn’t the Siren I was wearing the day I first made him my Black Phoenix guinea pig, when he smelled like the king of the faeries with every errant breeze as we stood hand-in-hand on the corner waiting for the streetlight to change. I’m not sure whether I’d like it enough as a scent on its own without the previous Siren haunting it.

 

So... yeah. I'll stick with the nonfruity version.

First sniff: Old Venice is so lush and heady I didn’t want to stop inhaling the first time I sniffed the vial. It’s like rolling around in a huge pile of sun-warmed flowers, burrowing into the riotous colours.

 

Wearing: I tried this on just a bit after I posted the initial review because I couldn't stand not to, and I reaffirm my original opinion. Burrowing in flowers, bathing in flowers, sleeping in flowers. Enormous lush wild Mediterranean blooms like a flamenco dancer would wear in her hair, not sweetie-girlie florist flowers. Sunkissed and bright and soft and decadent. I love the feel of this one.

First sniff: Snake Oil is sweet and spicy, very food-y. Brighter than Angel Innocent.

 

Wearing: More spicy on my skin, not as overwhelmingly sweet. Pretty nice, but I need to wear it again when I can actually smell.

 

On second try it’s damn sexy, and made me feel slinky all evening. No help in the man department though.

 

I really do like this one, but I think it's been supplanted by Ravenous as "perfume I wear when I want to feel sexy."

First sniff: Warm, sweet, bright. Slightly sharp.

 

Wearing: OK, I thought Carnivale smelled like cough syrup, but maybe that’s just because I’m sick at the moment. After the initial coughsyrupness it’s pleasant - warm and sweet. Will have to try again when I can smell properly. Either it wore off REALLY fast or I’ve lost my sniffer again.

 

Second wearing: Still a little bit coughsyrup at first, but that very quickly warms up and gets spicy… it’s almost a holiday sort of scent after it sits for a couple minutes! Holly berries or something. After a while there’s an undernote that goes weird on my skin, probably the amber. I do so wish resiny scents liked me better. Apart from that it's very pleasant.

Black Rose

 

First sniff: Yup, that’s a rose! Smells like my rose-petal tea.

 

Wearing: Yup, that’s a rose! Definitely… a rose. Sweet and flowery and… rosey. Yup. Rose. OK, getting over my Master of the Obvious thing now… It’s not at all powdery, or old-lady-ish, it smells like a rose out in the garden. Or maybe in a greenhouse, because it’s not a sunny outdoorsy garden smell, it’s just a ROSE.

First sniff: Compared with Old Venice, Old New Orleans is firmer and more defined with a light brushing of spice over the flowers. A well-manicured garden, greenery included, rather than a riot of floral insanity. I really wish I could pick out individual scents because there’s something in this that says holiday to me, and I can’t imagine why.

 

Wearing: Greener, lighter and spicier than Old Venice, still very soft and warm but not quite as BIG. I’m still getting the holiday scent – something like mulling spices. After a few minutes it was intoxicatingly sweet-floral, honeysuckle, and something in here is making my nose itch. Both the sweetness and the nose-itchiness toned down nicely after a bit longer, but it's still decidedly sweeter than really suits me. Goes in the “nice enough but I wouldn't mind swapping” category.

First sniff: Aggressive. Somehow bright and dark at the same time… close darkness and torchlight and incense and the creaking wood of a pirate ship. (Who, me, influenced by descriptions? Nahhhh…)

 

I haven't tried it on yet - I'm hoping the incense works on my skin, as they often don't.

 

Wearing: On first application, Anne Bonny is pretty darn nice. Warm and dark and enveloping. And I smell my wrist a few minutes later and there’s the sharp-sweet resin thing happening again. *sigh* Ah well, at least I know Cathedral and Aureus weren't flukes - I just can't wear incense. *pout*

First sniff: Feminine and floral. Very pastel, but blue, not pink.

 

Wearing: Very pretty. Delicate roses with a hint of something sweeter. It's a bit too girly-floral for my taste, but matches the character perfectly - water plants and innocent white rose. Very Ophelia.