galahad

In The Bottle Tea (yay tea) and moss On Application Tea with quite strong ginger and some aromatic herbs. What I thought intially smelled like Shanghai has become more potent. Dry Down The grass and the mosses add an earthy "liveness" to this. The tea stays strong on the initial drydown. Not exactly fresh, more freshness with a deeper earthy undertone. I like very much, especially when it tones down. Rating (0-5) 4.5

In The Bottle Whoa, that's musky! This is the first scent with heliotrope where I can really smell it but it is fleeting. On Application Musk and anise!? Dry Down The peach peaks out about 5 minutes into the drydown to sweeten and soften the mix. What started of scarily strong musk for me softens down pleasantly. Still getting an anise vibe, which is fine for me. I think I like it but on the fence. Rating (0-5) 4

In The Bottle Aromatic herbs and slightly resinous On Application Pleasantly herbal and slightly sweet. Dry Down Much lighter and airier than I expected. Definitely a soft forest scent. Don't really know what to make of it. This one has me stumped so may have to revisit. Rating (0-5) 3

In The Bottle Slightly fruity and earthy On Application Very pepperminty on application and then the earthy vetiver kicks in adding some interest for me. Quite light though. Dry Down Still very, very soft and faint and minty. I am going to let this age a bit and try again. Rating (0-5) 2

In The Bottle Fresh coconut. Faint in the imp. On Application Faintly sweet and buttery with a faint coconut scent. Dry Down As above. Doesn't really do anything and is so faint I can barely smell it. Rating (0-5) 1

In The Bottle Really gentle rose. His might be a rose that works on me! On Application Dusty, candyish rose. Lovely! Dry Down The musk is beautiful and blends nicely with the rose and the spices, taking the edge off the floral note. This is definitely a masculine rose scent. I am totally in love with this one. Who would have thought that a rose scent would make it into my top 10? Rating (0-5) 5

In The Bottle Definitely not melon in the imp but I do get the chili and the juniper/gin On Application Juniper! Dry Down Holy cow. This gets hot and spicy a minute or two into the drydown. Almost a woody/cinnamon aspect to it. 5 minutes into the drydown the tobacco emerges, rounding out the scent. This is really unusual. Further testing is required bt so far, kind of like it. Rating (0-5) 4

In The Bottle Lemony cypress. Quite soft and crisp On Application A quick blast of cypress and then the flowers amp up. Dry Down Initially, the combination of cypress and the flowers is unsettling, but then the moss starts to tone everything down and ground the blend. 5 minutes or so into the drydown, this becomes a bit more aquatic in feel and the flowers become sharper and sweeter. This is going in my "not sure" pile for the moment and I will try again. Could benefit from aging. Rating (0-5) 2.5

In The Bottle Tangy citrus/grapefruity On Application Bitter citrus. Wonderful Dry Down I love grapefruit (along with black pepper, clary sage, yarrow and chamomile oils) but this is even better! The Yuzu is delicious. The tea is playing it's part by giving a depth to this blend. There is very little sweetness to this, which is quite refreshing. Mandarin (Mikan) tends to be sweet, very pale and ephemeral as an oil and it gets lost in this blend. This goes straight into my top 5! Rating (0-5) 5

In The Bottle Difficult to get much out of the imp. A soft green smell, slighly rank On Application Coniferous, probably cypress, as it is quite soft (unlike pine) Dry Down The florals emerge softly as the oil warms, but the flowers smell like they are past their prime, starting to fade, over-ripe and starting to decay. This really is very, very soft and faint - ghostly - but not cold. The overall feel is warm and comforting. I like this but it might be a bit soft for general wear. Rating (0-5) 3.5

In The Bottle Dry soil with something very acidic in the background On Application Very dry, powdery soil. Thin Dry Down Dry and thin, but with a sweetness and perfumey quality. Strange. Methylated spirits/weird acetone, kind of. And most strange of all, I actually like it. Rating (0-5) 3. 5 for the artfulness!

In The Bottle Predominantly ginger with a little pepper and honey On Application The tea really emerges on application as well as the clean linen Dry Down That pepper is lovely. It pokes it's head up every now and then to suprise. Absolutely incredible - constantly changing. One moment there is tea, then the ginger is forefront, then a kick of pepper, then milky ginger/honey/vanilla then tea again. Dizzying. However, underneath it all, always, is the linen. A masterpiece and a must have. Rating (0-5) 5

In The Bottle Sharp and fruity On Application I really get the tea on first application, which is great as I seem to be having difficulty getting ANY tea in the tea blends so far. Dry Down Sweetens as it warms. This is not too fruity with the fig and the patchouli keeping it grounded and slightly earthy - almost becomes a bit peppery towrds the end of the drydown. This is really unusual and absolutely wonderful. Love, love, love! Rating (0-5) 5

In The Bottle I don't get alot of anything in the imp, just a soft waft of vanilla On Application Wow. A nice melding of amber and sandalwood with the vanilla giving a smokey roundness. Dry Down This is my first experience with white sandalwood, I think, and it is DRY and really lovely. Such a shame I don't detect the sweet pea as I love how they smell. Started off as almost masculine and becomes sweet and girly. Still, I like very much and may consider a bottle. Rating (0-5) 4.5

In The Bottle A coolish scent from the imp - cypress, leather On Application The pimento and pepper at the forefront makes for a spicey scent which catches at the back of the throat. Nice! Dry Down A brief stage of leather and musk amping up and then this starts to smell like quite strong cinnamon. This gets really dry and almost woody-spicey as it dries down, smelling more like a wooden chest that has been storing spice then the spices themselves. Love it Rating (0-5) 4.5

In The Bottle Fresh, not quite ripe honeydew On Application Honeydew with something bitter behind it. Very refreshing Dry Down Sweetens and deepens with the bitter edge fading as it warms, almost as if the melon is ripening. Very nice. Rating (0-5) 4.5

In The Bottle Light cherry (thankfully) and vanilla with an undertone of amber. On Application Very different when first applied. Amber first then the cherry with less sweetness than I expected Dry Down Really quite surprisingly light. The cherry dies down after about 5 minutes, but it is still there, and the strawberry wafts up softly. 10 Minutes in and the cherry reappears a bit stronger. I am really liking this one considering the cherry/almond notes do horrible things on my skin. Rating (0-5) 4

In The Bottle Veeery herbal bay, rosemary and pine. On Application Deep and aromatically rich. Resinous Dry Down Sharp and austere. I like the herbalness and resinous quality of this - it smells wild - but not something I would wear. Rating (0-5) 2

Jazz Funeral. I am not a floral guy but this is still my stand out favourite and so unlike anything I have tried so far. Just stunning and seems to be doing some intersting things with aging. Namaste is kind of interesting as well for me. Starts off lemony incense and goes all lemon sherbert on me. I also agree with someones else's vote for Black Annis. Vicious, violet and fantastic.

Actually, I found Namaste went kind of lemon sherberty on me. Sort of incensey then lemony and then soft and creamy sweet lemon.

In The Bottle Sweet and deep, with some green notes in there On Application I really get apple (maybe unripe apples) with some sweet florals. Unusual Dry Down Pretty much as above. There is a real green sappiness to this scent which balances out the white florals. The apple is till discernable 5 minutes into the drydown. From there it goes all sweet and powdery which is actually quite nice but so not me. Rating (0-5) 3

In The Bottle Frimp. Very floral. I'm scared On Application As above Dry Down Not unpleasant if florals are your bag. Would actually be not too bad if there was a strong earth note to this, like Jazz Funeral, but this isn't going near my skin again. Rating (0-5) 1

In The Bottle All I can smell in the bottle is butterscotch, not too buttery On Application Almond and honey. Actually quite nice but strong Dry Down The almond starts to take a back seat soon into the drydown leaving the honey and allowing the buttercream and a touch of the hazelnut through. My initial trepidation about the buttercream seems to be unfounded as it hasn't turned rancid on me at this stage. While there are stages I like in this scent it is not something I would wear. Rating (0-5) 3

This is a frimp that I have put off testing as I wasn't sure about the scent from the bottle. In The Bottle Lemon and incense. Quite strong in the bottle. On Application Really stong lemon. Lemon just doesn't do it for me but this is quite nice. All of the elements seem to keep other pretty much in check. Still stong incense (the woods and patchouli) but not unpleasant. The Drydown This becomes really soft and nice. A lot of reviewers have mentioned the calming properties of this scent which I agree with. I won't be buying a bottle but I will use up the imp and perhaps get another one when that is gone.

Thanks. BTW of the ones you have listed, I would go for Mag Mell. I think it might go interestingly with what you are planning on wearing as well - almost like a contradiction which is good. Ross