Kippy

Sigh, I really wanted to love this one. On wet, it was gorgeous as the earthy moss was balancing the florals. But the moss left and I was left with a mash of unidentifiable floral. I would have loved Pikaki or Plumeria alone, couldn't really pick out either of the scents. Off to a home that will give it love!

I was hoping for more cereus (cereusly!) but I amp incense, so that's what I got. For those of you getting a bit of a jasmine or a heavy floral, that's the cereus talking.

Blood rose is a rich, deep rose. I've smelled this before - Jerome Arizona, an old mining town. The old town brothel had been turned into a lingerie shop. Red velvet walls with a burnt out damask pattern, red silk hankerchiefs over the lampshades, lace and velvet curtains. There are headless maniquins dressed up in fascinating and frightening undergarments. Mom grabs your hand and pulls you the hell out of there. This isn't everyday office wear, unless your office is a lingerie shop or a ren-faire.

A nice, well rounded rose. I find most rose scents to be too one-dimensional owing to the fact that most use your basic damask rose attar. The varieties in this one really make the scent 'round' if that makes any sense - it's like standing in my rose garden and getting that whiff of mingled tea, fruit, damask, and myrhh rose scents wafting around. Would have wished for just a leeeettle more green peeking through.

I really wanted a good grapefruit so I overlooked the dark musk. Unfortunately for my grapefruit craving nose, it disappeared pretty much immediately. The rest of the notes thankfully kept the dark musk from going dank on my skin, but it's not true love without the grapefruit.

I admit I bought this one based on the name alone. I get a busy floral from this, not really any notes specifically, but an overall impression of a posh lady's perfume. She's a woman who follows fashion but not trends, she appreciates quality and knows how to spot craftsmanship, she smells good but with a scent that's not evocative of any one time, place, or emotion.

Violets and roses, roses and violets. That's all there really is to say about the scent. As an aside, it tastes pretty good. I have a bad habit of biting my fingers when I'm pensive (not nipping, my fingernails are great, thank you) and I kept tasting it all day long after it had faded. Candied violets and rose petals. Took me right back to my grandmother's tea cakes.

I got this one as a frimp and was totally blown away. I like the ozone and lavender notes, but would never have thought they would go well together. I too don't think this one is really true to it's name at all, I also would have expected Lurid to be darker. Imp: Ew, strange. Not something I would want to wear. Wet: Neutrogena soap but a little purple. Dry down: The lavender and ozone are playing back and forth with the currants and musk supporting them. Dry: Ozone usually smells masculine to me, lavender too has a manly tone to it. This is not masculine at all. It's clean but not crisp. It's shocking but civilized. It's a conundrum but not mysterious. Big bottle on it's way!

Wet: powdered fruit punch Kool-Aid Dry down: going even fruitier, there's some booze in there at the back. Wearing: it took a couple of hours but the pomegranate is now fully formed. This scent reminds me of children more than drinking at a swank club. It's not child-like, but it's something children would love the smell of.

At drydown, this scent seemed to have two distinct layers. There is a jasmine asserting itself on the top, and a musky soapy thing going on at the bottom. I liked, but then, two hours after application, the jasmine is gone and it is pure bug spray.