bellis

I picked up a bottle of this because I've loved the Asian themed moons and I have a deep, nostalgic love for peony, but I didn't have the cash around to grab a bottle at the update. At first sniff, it's all fresh peony, leaves and all. It's a really lovely crisp clean floral, with a touch of the crystal clear stream aquatic that I love in Amsterdam. Once on, the peony fades after a few minutes and the plum blossom (which I love so much in Budding Moon) takes center stage. Then, after about fifteen minutes, it fades to almost nothing. I love the initial stage of this, but the plum blossom drydown is to similar for me to keep this bottle around when Budding Moon lasts much longer.

In the bottle, it smells almost indentical to Egg Nog, boozy creamy vanilla. Yum.

Wet on my skin, the sandalwood comes out a for a few minutes there's something spicy and burnt. That fades, though, and dry it's mainly saffron and vanilla. Which is AMAZING. Really. I LOVE the smell of saffron, my parents were given a tiny jar as a gift when I was little and I used to just stick my nose in it and breathe for minutes at a time. Add a bourbon vanilla smell and I am in HEAVEN. The butter doesn't go evil on me, luckily, and I couldn't be happier.

Sometimes you just have a hunch about scents. I convinced myself not to buy it at the Lupercali update because coconut and I do not have a good history. In both Elegba and Black Pearl it completely took over the scent and made me smell like pure maccaroon. Now, I enjoy coconut in food, but it's something I do not enjoy smelling like. Still, I was intrigued, and kept it on my wishlist even though I didn't actively try to find a bottle. Then I was offered a bottle in swap and thought, what the hell.

 

Oh. My. God.

 

I looooooooooove this. It's an amazing spicy-sweet caramel cream scent on me, but not foody at all. I love the tobacco and currant combination and the opium makes it dark and sexy. Best of all, there's just a teeny tiny hint of coconut in the background. I doubt I'll wear this as much when it gets cooler, but right now I'm reaching for it almost every day. If this is a brothel, it's the most expensive one in the city, and the women who work there enjoy their work.

Omg. I put this on my wishlist when I decided that I needed to try everything with tea notes. I was not expecting it to be this delicious. It's a very tart floral, I almost think there's a bit of lime but it might just be the combination of the tea and slight spiciness of the carnation. It's fresh and the rose reminds me of dried rose buds rather than fresh. I really really like this. I've only had this on for about an hour, but if this continues to be as bright and lovely as it is right now, I'm going to have a hard time convincing myself I don't need ANOTHER rose scent immediately.

Grandmother of Ghosts: This is sharply woody when I first put it on. It’s all cedar with a peppery spike to it. Then it starts to soften. Still mainly woody, but there’s moss and a bit of light floral as well. I can smell a little bit of tartness which I assume is from the mandarin. This is, however, another blend where the wood takes over completely. Oh well, off to someone else who’ll enjoy it more.

HELLO CHERRY. Whoa. This is intensely, intensely cherry for the first half hour or so. Then the sweetness dries up a little and I can finally smell the anise. I’m not a fan of licorice, but I really like the way this smells. It reminds me of a kite and knick knack store I used to frequent when I was child. At the same time, it seems like a dress up scent to me. Glamorous and intriguing, but ultimately not me. I’m glad I got to sniff this, though.

I really wanted this to work for me. Growing up in the country, I have all of these lovely memories of climbing around in hay lofts and fields on hot summer days. I wanted that smell. Instead, it goes all burnt plastic after a few minutes. In the imp it's grassy and warm, but evil on my skin.

This is a lovely, crystaline floral on me. The moonflower, iris, and jasmine blend beautifully in this, making me think of wandering around a garden in the middle of a cold spring night. I only got a touch of ozone. I like this a lot, but it's just not something I'd wear.

This is a lovely sweet floral with a touch of myrrh. This is gorgeous, but the rose and resin element is too similar to Parlement of Foules (which I LOVE) to have a big bottle of this as well. I did enjoy wearing it to a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, though.

I was really really weirded out by this until I read the rest of the reviews. My skin chemistry is apparently in the "wintergreen" camp. I do not want to smell like a Life Savers wintergreen mint, although it does bring back memories of crunching them in closets with the lights off so we could see the sparks.

This is gorgeous, worn leather with herbs and resins. There's a bit of sweet grass in the background, as well as a smokiness. I really like this, but it's just not me. As soon as I have a willing boy I'm going to slather him in it, though!

Wine soaked berries! This is yummy, but a bit too intensely red and fruity for me to wear. It really does make me want to bake some sort of decadent tart, though...

This starts out beautifully, incensy fruits and florals with a gorgeous hint of apple peel. After about half an hour, though, it dries into nondescript fruit punch. I really liked the first 30 minutes of this, but I'll swap it on to someone who it stays pretty on.

I have trouble describing this scent, as I seem to smell all the notes at one point or another. This is complex and gorgeously blended, and as it dries down it changes several times. Luckily, I love all the stages of this. I get a sweet spiciness, then tuberose, then a more traditionally rosy vanilla. Finally, it settles into a floral/amber with a hint of musky vanilla. It's a powdery smell, but in a really good way. This is a very sophisticated sexiness. And I loooove it!

Wet, this is sharp, lemony, and very alcoholic. Once it dries, though, it's the most beautiful herby vanilla musk. Sweet, warm, and relaxing. This is the scent version of how it feels to drink a strong spirit: it's bracing and stings at first, then you feel all warm and goooooood.

 

I love this, and I love my adorable little Balthazar as well!

Very pretty. Slightly lemony green tea with a hint of honeysuckle in the background. This goes the way of The Dormouse, though, and all but disappears in half an hour. If it lasted longer I'd be smitten, because it's a perfect spring scent.

LOVE. Sweet wet grass and clover. I LOVE clover, and this is just gorgeous. I wish it were a bit stronger, but I'm more than willing to slather this one. I'd bathe in it.

Hee! This smells like a Monet looks!

 

Very aquatic, with soft refreshing florals. It really does smell like a clear river with some waterlillies floating on it. I like it, but it doesn't take the place of Amsterdam for me.

This does WEIRD things on me, dude. I put it on and it smelled honey. Intense, delicious spicy honey. I smelled like slightly incensy baklava.

 

After fifteen minutes or so, though, it turns mostly woody with a bit of light florals in the background. This is nice, but it's a bit too woody for me. I actually like the baklava smell more.

Slighty spicy and resiny white florals with currant. The lotus and jasmine aren't nearly as obtrusive as I was expecting. This is a beautifully balanced fragrance, earthy and soft. It fades after two hours or so on me down to a faint fruity jasmine, though.

Wow, this is much sweeter than I expected. I was wary of the cedar, as Tombstone ended up being WAY too woody for me, but this is niiiiiice.

 

This is mostly musky vanilla and leather on me, with a little bit of lavender and cedar in the background. This would smell delicious on a man, but it also smells delicious on me. This could definitely be a big bottle purchase, provided the cedar continues to behave itself.

 

This is the smell of the peak of summer during my childhood, with the honeysuckle everywhere and the buttercups and hyacinths my mother planted in the garden and floating in the pond. This is a gorgeous scent, what I wished my skin smelled like on its own! I'll definitely get a bottle of this at some point.

Like some of the other reviewers, this started out syrupy and fruity, but gets deeper and spicier when the wood comes out. This is really lovely, spicy and woody with creamy fruit and floral notes. I bet I'd enjoy this in the summertime more, though. I'll definitely keep the imp around.

Interesting. This is very green on me, mostly bamboo with just a touch of tart fruit in the background. It's very refreshing and smells wet like a warm spring rain. I like this a lot, and it will make a good substitute when I run out of Holiday Moon.

Oooooooooh. I LOVE this. The rose is fresh and sweet, and the resin is soft and warm. For the first two hours or so this is a perfect balance of rose and resin on me, but as it fades the resins become the most prominent note. This is rich and almost smoky, and terribly evocative. I can't wait until this summer when I have a RenFair to wear it to!