requieminblack

First sniff from the bottle-Straight up Magnolia. After 15 minutes- I was scared of this at first because it has rose and jasmine in it which I generally don't like. I admit that this is a bit more floral than I normally prefer but I do adore magnolia and orchid so this is a tolerable floral. As it dries down my skin starts to amp up the jasmine like it always does and it over power the soft lemony scent of the magnolia. Now this is just too floral for me to bare. Summery- Way to sweet and too much jasmine for my taste. I like Hells Belle much better.

First sniff from the bottle- Grapefruit? Starfruit maybe? After 15 minutes- Mmmm this is so refreshing and citrusy! This smells just like a freshly peeled grapefruit. Just a little bitter and sour, but strong and sweet at the same time. I'm not getting anything floral or tea like from this, just a big juicy grapefruit. Summery- I love how clean this one is. It's is a keeper.

First sniff from the bottle- Mmmmmminty! Just like Thin mint cookies! After 15 minutes- At first this is all chocolate mint. After a few minutes the coconut comes out in full force drowning out all the chocolate . The mint stays strong on me for several hours and then this fades to a sweet coconut. Summery- Seeing that I adore foody scents I just loved Spooky. My boy however hates coconut and vetoed it on me right away saying I smelled like suntan lotion and minty chewing gum.

Before I give my review, I have to share my Chaste Moon story with you. Now I know this is going to sound hokey, but I swear that every time I wear Chaste Moon it is like some kind of good Mojo for me. When I wear it everyone is nice to me and goes out of their way to complement me. Old ladies who usually snarl at me because of my hair will smile at me and call me 'dear'. Boys whistle at me and random dogs run up to me to be petted. The mean lady that works at the Post Office smiled at me and called me 'baby' when I was wearing Chaste Moon. I swear it is true. And I know it's not the clothes I am wearing or anything because I am dressed as I normally do when everyone is usually rude and snarly to me. So it has to be the perfume. Chaste Moon is my good Mojo oil! I think I will definitely be stocking up and hording this one. It's a good thing I really like the way it smells ....And now for the real review- First sniff from the bottle- Some describe this as butterscotch, but to me it is more like a cross between sweet vanilla soy milk mixed with lots of mint and a faint light floral. After 15 minutes- The vanilla mint soy milk is the dominate note here, but there is a bit of a muskiness to this. White musk maybe? It is very light and mixed with a pale soft floral. The floral is so soft it is almost undetectable. This one actually stays creamy on me and the mint stays strong and lasts forever. The musky babies breath flower scent mingles and swirls around the milky mint. Summery- I absolutely adore Chaste Moon. It quickly became high up on my top 10 list.

First sniff from the bottle-Right away I smell moss, pine and vetiver. After 15 minutes- This smells like pine floor cleaner, acetone and bug spray on my skin. There must be patchouli in this because my nose always associated it with bug spray. If I force my brain to concentrate and I close my eyes I can see this smelling like a dark, damp forest. But when I open my eyes it becomes the cabinet under the sink that houses all my cleaning products and bug spray. Summery- Nocnitsa, as the legends dictate, I am going to draw a circle around my bed and hide a poppet under it to protect me from you and your icky smell.

First sniff from the bottle- Hay? A field of weeds! After 15 minutes- Ok, this smells like driving through the open country roads of Texas in the summer time in an old beat up truck. The truck is really old (a '68 Ford) and there is a mountain of old beer cans on the floorboard that have just enough leftover in them to make the truck REEK of stale beer. You are driving past mile after mile of cow fields so you can really smell the hay, dandelions and tumbleweeds. (But you can't smell the cow poo...thank goodness ) On this little adventure down country bumpkin road you just happen to be with someone who dips and has a fresh pouch of chewing tobacco open. That is exactly what this smells like to me. Summery This one took me down memory lane of growing up in rural Texas. Not something I want to smell like but fascinating nonetheless.

First sniff from the bottle- Bitter apple cider After 15 minutes- This smells like fermented apples. It kind of also smells like beer to me. It's sweet and appley but bitter like a can of stale beer. After 30 minutes- I'm not getting any of the yummy candy apple out of this as others did. I do detect a hint of floral creeping out of it as it dries, but it is still bitter apple beer for the most part. Summery- This stayed true to it's apple base note for a long time and faded to a soft sweet milky floral on me. I liked the fade out of this one, but I don't care for the boozy initial stage.

First sniff from the bottle- Very faint frankinscense and cypress. After 15 minutes- Hmmm, I wonder if the imp of this I acquired is really old? The scent is very faint and a bit musty. From what I *can* smell, I can make out a soft whisp of frankincense and a touch of cypress. I am not getting any of the hazelnut or oakmoss which usually knocks me off my feet. Summery- I think my imp is past it's expiration date. I will order a fresh one from the lab and then review this one again.

First sniff from the bottle- Yowza that is strong ambergris! After 15 minutes- ::sniff:: This has that olive juice smell to it so it must have oakmoss in it. ::sniff:: yep- Ambergris and oakmoss all the way. This sort of smells like a cross between Bayou and a dirty martini. After an hour- The mint and orange blossom has come out a bit but I still don't smell any of the jasmine, geranium and rosemary. This is not as eye bulging strong as it was when I first put it on but it does still smell like a dirty martini to me. Summery- Shaken, not stirred. I can't help but think of James Bond when I smell this. I am not to keen on smelling like a martini though. This one is getting swapped.

First sniff from the bottle- baby powdery violet After 15 minutes- Do Ravens smell of babies bums? This one is all baby powder on me. Summery- Sorry Mr. Raven, you are getting swapped.

First sniff from the bottle-Strong sweet resins and herbs After 15 minutes- The myrrh is really strong in this one. I love myrrh, so I am loving this. The storax and balsam give this a sort of amber like kick. The herbal smell went away pretty quickly leaving this wonderful sweet myrrh/amber/honey like scent wafting up at me. Summery- Gorgeous. If you like honey or amber scents you will love this.

First sniff from the bottle- Pear and rose After 15 minutes- The pear and rose are the dominate notes in this. This is a very soft and subtle rose, like a tea rose. The lily of the valley and musk come through after a while and turn this into a generic smelling 'department store' floral perfume. Summery- Florals and I don't get along. This is getting swapped.

First sniff from the bottle-Cinnamon and....orange After 15 minutes- The cinnamon in this jumped right out at me. Then the orange. There is something woody in this too. Maybe cedar or sandalwood, I can't tell which. I think there may be a little bit of dragon's blood in this too. Summery-The cinnamon mellowed out after a while on me and then this became all dragons blood and orange flowers. This reminds me a lot of Wrath, but I liked this one better.

First sniff from the bottle-Fruity oranges. After 15 minutes-Orange is definitely the dominate note here. It is a florally orange smell, which I guess would be the neroli. There is something else in this that is very bitter/musty. I want to say there is a faint whiff of vetiver in this. It is not listed as being in it but I swear I smell it. I am not smelling any raspberry which is a bummer. I was looking forward to smelling it. After an hour- Ok, I take that back. The raspberry DID come out in this but not until about an hour later. Then it went all raspberry! Unfortunately this now smells like the bathroom sanitizer they use in public restrooms to me.

First sniff from the bottle- Green. This smells very green, like wet plants. After 15 minutes- This smells Home Depot's garden center... or any nursery really. I can smell plants and bark and foliage, but no particular plant. Summery- As it fades I can make out cypress as the main note in this. There is a faint whiff of lilies too. They are so soft and subtle my nose could not make them out at first. This truly does smell like a cemetery at night.

First sniff from the bottle- Dryer sheets times a million. After 15 minutes- I knew I wouldn't like this one but thought I'd give it a try anyway. My gut was right. This smells like Irish Springs soap and Downey dryer sheets. With lemons on top. Summery- No go. This one is getting swapped.

First sniff from the bottle- Golden Pear and something green and herby. After 15 minutes- This is gorgeous! It smells mostly like a big green juicy pear. I can also make out a very clean, green herbal scent. I think the best way to describe how this smells would be Pear mixed with fresh chopped cilantro and a freshly snapped piece of aloe vera. Summery- I like this one a lot. It's very pretty and clean.

First sniff from the bottle- Tart juniper berries with a hint of bubble gum After 15 minutes- Hmmm, I feel the mint in this one but I don't smell it. It is all juniper and lotus on me. Oh wait...the mint just came through. Now it is minty fresh fruity bubblegum. Much better! Summery- If you like smelling like minty bubblegum you will love this one.

First sniff from the bottle-Winter minty freshness. Like winter mint gum! After 15 minutes- Wow, this DOES smell like winter. How did Beth do that? I can smell the mint and can feel the eucalyptus. There is a very soft hint of something sweet in the far background. Like frozen flowers. I was afraid this would be too strong and 'dryer sheets' like because it has both ozone and aquatics in it but it is very mild and dominantly mint fresh. Summery- Love it! Perfect for hot days when I long for Jack Frost's return.

First sniff from the bottle- Amberlicious! After 15 minutes- This is just like sniffing a sweet chunk of amber resin but while holding a bouquet of soft summer flowers. I love how the carnation gives it a slight spicy kick. This one faded on me really quickly. After 20 minutes I couldn't smell anything at all. Summery- I liked this one but my skin ate it.

First sniff from the bottle- Sweet golden honey and figs. This smells just like a Greek pastry shop! After 15 minutes- All I can think of while sniffing this is 'Baklava!'. The honey in this smells just like actual honey, not like honey scented perfume. The fig and clove mixed in is what is making me want pastries. I don't smell the patchouli and ylang ylang in this at all. Summery- Yummy. I this one! I never thought I'd like a scent with Patchouli in it but this is divine. This is going on my next order.

First sniff from the bottle- Amber and musty dirt. After 15 minutes- Ok, I like amber and I love cinnamon, but the black patchouli in this just plain gross to me. This smells like spiced amber and dirty hippy IMO. I had to wash this one off! Summery- No go. The black patchouli in this smells like funk once it hits my skin.

First sniff from the bottle- Cherry pipe tobacco. After 15 minutes- This smells exactly like cherry pipe tobacco fresh out of the pouch. The cherry fades after a but leaving the scent of tobacco leaves behind. Summery- I like this but would never wear it. All I can think of when I had it on was that it smelled like Grandpa's pipe. A nice smell, but I don't wanna smell like a Grandpa.

First sniff from the bottle- Mmmm, sweet and resinous Frankincense and Myrrh. Not too sweet, not green...just right! After 10 minutes- Almost everyone knows what these two smell like. I don't think I need to describe them. After 30 minutes- DH actually likes this one. How could he not? The smell is still going strong. I think I want a big bottle. Summery- I want a big bottle for sure.

First sniff from the bottle- Sweet floral After 10 minutes- After the initial wet floral stage the copal comes oozing out. I adore the lemon like zest of copal and mixed with the sweet orange this is smelling very citric, clean and refreshing. After 30 minutes- At dry down there is a smoky and peppery kick to this. I am getting the citrus zest of copal mixed with peppery incense. This one is full of wonderful surprises! Summery- Absolutely fantastic. This one is a keeper.