cranberry

pumpkin smash too.

I don’t always have to be sinister, do I? Here’s to finally being able to hit the slopes again! Soft white powder snow with a touch of youthful girlie perfume. This is all snow and sweet pine. As it dries, florals come out, just gorgeous and so clean and fresh. There’s a touch of bulbousness to this scent, reminiscent of the daffodils in Snow Maiden. This reminds me strongly of some of the other great winter scents: Snow Moon, Talvikuu and even Skadi (but without its spiciness). To me, this does not make a very good Skadi substitute. It is missing the spiciness that Skadi has in its drydown and retains in its place the freshness of spring that makes me think of Snow Maiden. I think it’s simply wonderful.

This really is the perfect vanilla mint, and it’s one of the few mint scents that I like. This is a wonderful buttery minty vanilla. This is more vanilla than mint. It’s so creamy and sweet. This truly is the *perfect* vanilla mint scent. Far above and beyond any other I’ve tried.

One of the last to try from the Civet Evangelism Circle. Wet: a touch of grape or fruit, lots of musk and maybe a touch of civet Dry: as this dries, it gets really soft, and seems to melt into my skin. There’s a soft floral note here, but still lots of musk. The civet is here too, not obtrusive, but there at the base of the scent when I smell my arm deeply and close. At this point the musk is most prominent. There’s most definitely red musk here, and black too I think. Overall: sometimes civet can go pretty wrong on me, here it behaves itself, surprisingly enough. Over time, this scent goes a bit powdery from the dark musk, but sexy too. Baudy is good word for this scent.

hmmm, that would probably be midway or snake charmer. but did I get a compliment today wearing tiki king. but yeah, I'd have to say Midway.

Wet: The first note I notice is wine. Sweet, spicy wine. Dry: as it wears, there’s a touch of evergreen and lots of musk. This smells very much like a fall time scent to me. It smells of crisp autumn days, dried leaves swirling in the wind, a touch of smoke from last night’s bonfire and remnants of wine. Chunks of fruit sit on the picnic table. And we’re definitely outside, there’s a smell of dirt and loam here too. Musk is there too, but slightly muted. This is all about autumnal scents. Overall: this is so evocative of fall time. The first time I tried this a long while ago I got so absorbed by the wine that I didn’t notice anything else. I’ve so glad that I had a chance to retry this and this is a gorgeous scent! Thanks to moonarcana and the civeteers!

I’ve been putting off trying this one again because my notes indicate that I didn’t like it the first time. Of course, that was quite a long time ago. So, trying to have an open mind, I dab a bit onto my right wrist. First impression: mmm, opium. I lurve me some opium. Second impression: red musk. Wow, great combination! Now there’s something almost grape-like in here, which I believe is the sweet smooth opium blending with the red musk. Wow, this is really good, sweet, sexy, smoky, musky. What’s not to love? Thus far the civet hasn’t come out in full force but I’m sure it must be adding to the sexiness of the scent. It is quite sweet now. The smooth powder smoke of the opium remains and mixes with that high sweetness. The red musk provides an oh so sexy base. This scent was such a shocker. I had it colored in dark grey, meaning this oil could not be too far me. I’m amazed at how my nose has changed over the years. Wow, thanks civet circle for prodding me into trying this one again!

Mmm, this smells pretty good. I mainly smell red musk and patchouli. The combination is gorgeous and this is dark, sexy, languorous, thick type of scent. The ylang ylang is coming out now – not overbearing as it is sometimes likely to do, but adding a floral lightness to the scent. There is a sweetness to this scent, but it is not a characteristically sweet scent, no, this is a musk scent for certain, right up there with Smut and Fenris Wolf. The more I smell this the more that I like this and I’m kicking myself it’s taken, what, a long time to actually try this. Gorgeous!!! Thanks Civet circle!!

wet, this smells of clove, and a touch of cinnamon and pine. the pine burns off quickly though and you're left with sweet clove, with a bit of cinnamon. this is absolutely delicious! it reminds me of Three Witches but softer and much sweeter. without the edge if you will. the vanilla blends really well with the spices and adds a wonderful sweetness to this scent. I really love this but I'm not sure if I need a bottle. I've got Three Witches and that pretty much takes care of my spicy cravings. Though, I do think this is more wearable than Three Witches with the addition of vanilla. If you like spicy scents, you will love this!

What a surprise. I tried this one a long time ago, but then got more interested in other oils and never touched it again. The Civet Evangelism Circle promoted me to try this one again. First applied, this smells of red musk, a touch of pine and a sweetness in the background, which I think has elements of vanilla. This is quite lovely. Behind the pine/juniper and the sweetness, it smells almost waxy. This reminds of Golden Priapus but somehow brighter. I think there is black musk in here. It is behaving thus far but on the edge of going powdery. Luckily, it’s just teetering there on the edge and never turns to powder hell. What surprising oil. It’s surprisingly bright and sweet. I like this a lot!

The raw, untamable power of chaos. Rosewood, amber, red musk and a dribble of red sandalwood. Sandalwood is the first thing you smell and is the most dominant thing about this oil. The red musk is close behind though. The combination of both is just gorgeous – warm, sultry, musky, full bodied and rich smelling. The amber is not noticeably here, but adds the warmth characteristic of amber, as well as a touch of sweetness (but not a cloying candy like sweetness). This is absolutely gorgeous. A superb red musk/sandalwood blend. many thanks to Baitu and the Civet Evangelism Circle!!!

Mmm, juniper. Cedar. This is lovely! It reminds me a bit of Golden Priaprus. It has a sweetness to it. As it dries, there’s something there behind the wood. At first I thought that it was something a bit yeasty but I think it’s a combination of the orange and civet. It’s been on for a while now. It dried to a very soft, slightly powdery, sweet, musky scent. It’s absolutely lovely. I’m thrilled I got to try this scent. Thanks SueDonym and the Civet Lovers Sniffing Circle!

Tempest, have you tried The Antikythera Mechanism? It's so similar to Glowing Vulva, not so much on the cream note and with tobacco, but it's damn close. Like a masculine version. It's so delicious.

((many thinks to ifinena for the sniffie of this wonderful scent!)) Damn, I should have paid attention to this scent when it was re-released. I think the heavy civet reviews scared me off. What a silly thing I am. The first thing I smell are grapes. There’s something herbal in background, it must be the sage. No civet so far. This is wonderful. I never thought I’d like this scent so this is quite a surprise. Oh, there’s a whiff of something animalistic, but just for a second. As it wears, I think I’m developing an olfactory blind spot or this scent is just really faint (this may be the case as I’m testing from a sniffie). The grape is pretty much gone by now. I can’t even smell anything now (~ 30 minutes). Weird. No civet, no oakmoss. Nothing - it's gone. I hope to try this one again. eta 7-13-08: now courtesy of SueDonym and the civet sniffing circle I got to try this one again. overall, as I would expect since it is the same oil, this experience is pretty similar to the first. the main difference is that the grape smell is not as strong in this iteration and I'm getting more oakmoss and musk/civet. It's still quite lovely and I like this a lot. I still seem to develop a olfactory blind spot to this oil, after a bit I can't smell anything.

Wet: sweet flowers, slightly watery, a touch of mint. Dry: This is actually reminding me a bit of Kindly Moon, which is crazy, but I like Kindly Moon more. This is a soft, pretty, fluffy pink type of scent. It sticks close and doesn’t have a lot of throw. Overall: this is a really pretty scent. I’m finding myself loving florals more and more, but this is not a scent I can feel strongly about.

At first sniff, this reminds me of Trick 2. They shares common elements. It’s got to be the pink pepper. Looking at the notes, I believe they also share pine resin, vanilla, crushed berries and of course the pink pepper. At this stage the reminder is quite strong. On the skin, I can smell the blood orange behind all that pepper and it adds a bright cheeriness to this scent. The vanilla and honey add sweetness and the pepper and ginger add their spicy warmth. As it dries, it becomes less and less like Trick 2. It becomes more fruity-floral with a kick of heat. I like this stage less but it’s still quite good. After some time, it becomes even more floral, but the orange is tenacious and hangs on, as do the berries, vanilla and honey. The pepper and ginger at this stage are quite subdued and just add a spicy edge. Overall, this started out great, making me think I had found a substitute for Trick 2. It’s not quite there, but I did enjoy trying this scent.

This is one my all-time favorite oils, so it’s about time that I review it. Before even applying, the first impression is green. Once applied, this is all opium poppy and bamboo. Mmmmm. There’s the spiciness of lavender and the sweetness of ylang. The sandalwood blends so well with the opium and adds such a sensual, narcotic aspect to this scent. As it wears, the lavender becomes stronger and comes to the front. I love lavender and Beth does great lavender blends. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s pepper in here too, although that is not listed as a note and doesn’t really fit with the theme of the oil, but it has a spiciness that is a bit stronger than what I can attribute to lavender alone. Maybe it’s a titch of carnation. Whatever it is, it’s so beautiful. I’m thankful that this oil is aging well too, for I absolutely love it and I would be gutted if it were to turn on me. So gorgeous.

The first thing I smell is bitter blackberry, narcotic opium poppy and a touch of sage/greenery. There’s a dry feel and smoothness to this scent that I attribute to the poppy. Although perhaps the lotus root is contributing to that as well. I just reviewed Sugar Moon and have it on my other wrist. The two scents are indeed related. Sugar Moon is a much sweeter, girlier blend, whereas this is older, herbal, more restrained. The bitterness hides just how sweet this scent is. It shares this somewhat with Sugar Moon, though this is not nearly as sweet. As it wears the scent deepens and there’s a roundness to scent. The rose comes out now and perhaps the tonka too. The opium poppy is not nearly as strong now, but still present. The blackberry at this point is not at strong but no where near gone. The bitterness and other notes combine beautifully with the rose. Mmmm. This smells so good. I want to bury my nose in my wrist and breathe in this scent forever. I miss not getting the T, but I’m so glad that I got of bottle of this wonderful oil.

Wet and first applied: Sweet, sweet sugar. Berries. Light musk. Booze too. If smell had a color, this would be a medium-deep pink color, like a Cosmopolitan. This smells like candy. Dry: The berries are a bit more discernable now. This smells like blackberries and liquid sugar. There’s a depth there too, a light base of wood and musk. Mmmmm. This smells so delicious. This brings to mind summer days, warm sunshine and warm skin. Lovely!

Wet and First Applied: Ozone, lots of ozone. Sporty is a great description to this scent. As this dries the amber comes out and this is just lovely. Flowers too, but they are faint. This is gorgeous at this stage. The ozone in the opening was a bit much but I love the drydown.

Black Lily is gorgeous. it is a gorgeous dark lily scent. Tiger Lily was ok too, not as good as Black Lily imho. it has that honeyed note that I don't always care for and I preferred the clear lily of Black Lily. I can't remember ever trying Queen of Hearts, so no help there, but Black Lily is wonderful.

First on, this smells like black tea sweetened with honey. It actually reminds me of the Scent Works Iced Keenum Tea, of which I already have a pound. As it dries, there’s something vaguely anise smelling; it’s a combination of the tea and something I can’t identify. This scent has a body to it, full and round. I like this scent a lot, but I’ve got other tea scents that I like more. The wasasbi never shows, which is too bad as I was really looking forward to that aspect of the scent.

Wet, I got a blast of leather. Once applied, cedar comes to the front and that’s all I can smell. Mmmmm. As it dries, the leather is coming back and the cedar is taking on a lighter tone. This is a bone dry scent – arid and stark. It smells like there’s something peppery here, too, in addition to the cedar and leather. The tobacco and incense really never show themselves, which is too bad as I love both those notes (but especially tobacco). While I didn’t put too much on, this scent is not strong. This is more of a quiet scent – sticking close to the skin. It's been maybe, 45 minutes? And it's already quite faint. That being said, I really like this. This scent is in line with great wood scents. The leather is a wonderful addition. I like this a lot. Maybe not enough for a bottle since I’ve already got loads of wood scents, but I’ll cherish my imp and look for another when this one is done.

When I first sniffed this in the vial I thought that maybe the imp had been mislabeled. I never expected a poppy blend to smell like this. Maybe I’m assuming that all poppy notes will be like an opium poppy. Anyway, that is definitely not what is going on here. When first applied, this is a bright, cheery oil, makes me think of the color red. I could easily see this scent being used in a candle or other type of home fragrance and I think this scent is better suited to that than being used as a perfume. It’s a very cheery scent, and something in there makes me think of a big, red cherry slurpee. I think it’s the acai berry. That association lasts only briefly. I can smell a titch of honey, just enough to add a soft golden sweetness. The floral is there, slightly spicy, and conceptually brings to mind tulips, even though it doesn’t smell like a tulip. The acai berry is a stronger smell than either the honey or floral. I love poppies but never really noticed a smell before. This summer I’m going to pay attention. This oil was quite a surprise for me.

The first thing I smell is incense and sandalwood. Dry and slightly sweet. It reminds me of the incense in Midnight Mass - it has that same sweetness. The coconut is not really apparent, nor is the orris, but there’s something else besides all the incense that is very subtle. I’m convinced this must be the coconut and orris. There’s a slight powder there that I think must be the orris, and the coconut combines beautifully with the incense. The coconut gets stronger on me as it dries and wears, and it’s a very different note than how coconut is typically portrayed in BB products. At this point it’s about equal with the incense and seems quite strong. If this were slathered, watch out! It’s almost like a vanilla note now – it has that same sort of richness and body. After some time, it is quite sweet and has an almost alcoholic bite in addition to the richness and body of the vanilla-like scent. The incense is buried, as is the sandalwood. This is no longer a dry scent. That alcoholic vanilla-like note (maybe it’s a benzoin?) is the strongest thing now, overtaking everything else. Maybe the musk turned sweet on me, combined with a particularly sweet resin? I really can’t say but this is so unexpected. It’s close to how Marshmallow Poof was on my skin. I like it, but this is just so strange. Looking over the reviews it looks like I’m the only to have this reaction. Very, very strange. I’m going to have to retest this and see if the same thing happens.