leahcat
-
Content Count
93 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by leahcat
-
-
French Love
In the bottle: honeyed vanilla faint w/ dragon’s blood (although I admit the color is influencing me on the blood count)
Wet: rather soft but stronger than in the bottle/imp. Does not have that super-ultra-sweet tang that dragon’s blood has, quite nice!
Drying/3 mins:more musky almost spice now, but still a lovely honey vanilla tone to my nose at least
Dry/15 mins: much more spicy now, it’s taken over. The soft honey vanilla is mostly gone.
-
Florence
In the bottle: very faint, barely there in the bottle
Wet: mmmm! A soft scent, if it doesn’t fade this might be rather nice.
Drying/4 mins: Amber and berries, a bit of a heady scent like waking up from a good dream, I can’t get any iris at all (which is nice!)
Dry/10 mins: deserves more testing when my nose isn’t tired out. Has definite possibilities!
-
Juliet
In the bottle: yup, that would be lilies!
Wet: more sweetness now, probably the honeysuckle and pear. Floral but not too strong... still floral.
Drying/4 mins: lily floral overload
Dry/ mins: never got this far. Nose went nuts, had to wash it off. Wish I liked florals more on me.
-
Eden
in Wanderlust
Eden
In the bottle: a surprisingly musky garden scent – not green but.. *reads the description* a ha! Toasted coconut indeed.
Wet: toasted coconut, almond milk definitely. Oh! there’s the fig leave. Unique. Complex.
Drying/4 mins: Definitely interesting... my nose isn’t sure what to make of this!
Dry/14 mins: Worth further testing.. not sure it’s for me but it’s a very interesting scent.
-
Delirium
In the bottle: lemony something?
Wet: sweet lemon, a bit lemon Pledge like though. Giving it time...
Drying/5 mins: still strong lemon, might be able to talk my nose into smelling apple in there, but it’s not the sort of apples I eat. Definitely rose, which is getting stronger.
Dry/18 mins: icky lemon. So sad.
-
-
Grand Guignol
In the bottle: soft brandy, not too booze, soft fruit. Nice!
Wet: a bit stronger on the brandy but still very mellow without the boozy of some of the other’s I’ve tried. Has promise!
Drying/6 mins: a soft sweet brandy without much bite. Definitely uplifting without being too bright or strong of a scent.
Dry/15 mins: much the same as before, it definitely fades a bit but that’s fine. I don’t really want to walk around smelling like a brandy cordial, you know? So happy with this one!
-
The Hanging Gardens
In the bottle: Green with a surprising tone of sweetness! Forgot about the fruits, but indeed this is a fruit orchard over grass.
Wet: ok, there’s that touch of rose but still very subtle (as I dislike florals...), the fruits are a nice blend of pear-plum-date-fig to my nose. Definitely others in there as this is a VERY complex scent! Impressed.
Drying/6 mins: Alas! Much more rose now, gardenias as well. *rubs itchy nose* fruits fading fast.
Dry/ mins: Gardenias and rose with a touch of sweetness. Fruits definitely take a backseat here
-
Santa Eularia Des Riu
In the bottle: bright soapy barely sweet semi spice.
Wet: floral – and while I love jasmine and lavender... not together! Oh well. Floral double punch, a bit like some lady’s soap set. Bare touch of herbs in there, the orange blossom/sweet is gone now.
Drying/3 mins: oh lookit! The orange is back, to my delight. The herbal is almost gone but the florals have taken more of a backseat now. This is rather nice, the sort I’d like a satchel of for the underwear drawer, you know?
Dry/16 mins: very soft, still floral, the orange is more gone now ah well.
-
De Sade
In the bottle: leather! Wow they got that one rather well. Not perfect, but it’s close enough. Had no idea what to expect with such a cryptic description.
Wet: ok ok, this is ‘raw’ leather. I’m used to oiled and used leather which gets a different scent from the neatsfoot oil and other stuff (nono, not S&M, from horsebackriding, bad mind!)
Drying/5 mins: raw leather
Dry/20 mins: yup, raw leather
-
Alas! The frankinscense and vetiver and deep musk knock everything else out. Sweet clove, mandarin, bourbon, lemon peel, leather, grasses, lime? Completely gone. Can I get those in a scent by itself? Sigh.
-
Aglaea
In the bottle: bright! Sweet! Fruit?
Wet: a soft fruit, not sweet though. A plum sort to my nose, oddly enough. Perhaps that’s the myrtle or wine? The bright tone is definitely gone now.
Drying/3 mins: barely spiced fruit with that overtone I tentatively ID as the wine. Amber is very much a back seat in this, but I like amber a lot so it doesn’t stand out as strong to my nose I admit. (she who bathes in Bastet....)
Dry/15 mins: almost overly sweet now! Oh no! overripe PEACH over the head. Ouch. Must test again later to see if this keeps happening.
-
Kunsthammer
In the bottle: oh how nice! Nothing like what I would have expected, but I also have no clue what benzoin or olibanum is either! Barely sweet, I can ID the orange in there but little else. It’s impossible for me to describe.
Wet: definitely the deeper scent of the blood orange, with something I’d describe as a complicated light musk. Very interesting!
Drying/5 mins: this mellows out considerable, as the layers blend together. It’s almost like the softest of incense with a spicy but light musk... all barely sweet with the blood orange. Rather nice!
Dry/12 mins: A very sophisticated scent, this is one I’m happy to have an imp of!
-
Yerevan
In the bottle: sweet! Um.. fruits? Floral? Hard to tell.
Wet:sticky sweet something. Pears? Touch of apricot? Currently too much for this stomach.
Drying/4 mins: this has soften CONSIDERABLY, oh my. A bare touch of floral (rose by the description), soft sweetness that isn’t at all overwhelming. When I breathe very deeply I get dead fish ... um, not sure about my nose right now. So normal breathing gives me a VERY nice scent. Wow.
Dry/12 mins: soft vanilla fruity sweetness. No idea about the vanilla, but that’s what my nose says now! Definitely for more testing!
-
Perversion
In the bottle: I... just cannot find words for this. It’s nice, but I can’t tell WHAT it is.
Wet: still not sure. Soft, perhaps a light musk? Barely sweet, but not fruity nor floral. Okay, going to go get the description.... my nose needs help!
Drying/3 mins: a ha! It’s that tonka that my nose isn’t familiar with (at least so far as to name it), but it’s a very nice layered scent – the rum isn’t boozy at ALL (thankgod) and the tobacco isn’t strong either.
Dry/10 mins: Very fun but while not sure it’s for me, it’s definitely worth testing further to see how I like it and what other scents come out.
-
Snake Oil - had heard a lot about this and got an imp at last!
By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.
In the bottle: oh dangit. It’s very musky with that tone of something I’m 99% certain I dislike passionate. Makes my nose itch!
Wet: warm, sweetish, is that amber? The musky/incense tone is definitely less now
Drying/6 mins: Still very incense – but not that specific one that was making my nose go nuts. Very warm and sweetish, a nice blend but I suspect something I wouldn’t ever wear.
Dry/15 mins: Soft amber and vanilla with a touch of something else – I’d call this a softer Bastet, sweeter perhaps. Not bad but not sure if it’s something I’d wear. Definitely keeping for a round 2 of testing.
-
Vice
A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom.
in the bottle: chocolate + cherries, ayup! With an orange tang. This seems like a rather straightforward scent. (cherries = NOT cough syrup cherry but definitely black cherries)
wet: tangy orange chocolate over cherries. Spot on.
drying/5 minutes: wow, this is dry already. Fast absorbing with my skin and faded a bit already. Sweet chocolate scent. I can pick up orange and cherries if I sniff a bit more.
dry/20 minutes: faint chocolate. Might have been absorbed faster since I used the underside of my arm – I know some scents last longer on ‘tougher’ skin like the back of the hand, etc.
-
Blood Countess
in the bottle: Ooo, sweet yum plum. Floral? Not yet.
wet: sugared plums and berries ....several sniffs more and I get a bit of lilac. This is so NOT floral. Yay! Let’s see how it dries.
drying/5 minutes: much more spicy now, which is odd... no real spices in the description. Might that be the opium? Still sweet cooked plums (not fresh ones) and berries. I get both lilac and gardenia now, but it’s a faint after-note. Not sure about the roses but perhaps... if I talk to my nose long enough it tells me that perhaps they are there.
dry/40 minutes: musky spicy plum. Not as nice as I’d hoped from the start, but I’m sure it suits other people.
-
Morgause
Earth sorceress and mother of Mordred, she is, in essence, the harbinger of King Arthur's doom and the downfall of Camelot. She is a sister, or sister-self, to Morgan Le Fay. A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses.in the bottle: floral! Yes indeed. However, it’s a sweet floral, not quite an icky badly scented bath soap floral.
wet: Floral. Hmm.. my nose isn’t being more specific than that right now. Violet? Sure, I can swing with that.
drying/15 minutes: Floral in my face. I don’t think this is going to change :S
-
in the bottle: sandalwood and peaches, not much else, but Oy! That’s strong.
wet: the sandalwood is still dominant but not along. The sweetness of the peaches is very much there, and I believe I can get the vanilla as well, since there’s a warmth to the peaches that normally isn’t there. A few sniffs more and I can get the amber, no clue what heliotrope smells like though.
drying/5 minutes: I’m getting more spices than peach or vanilla. It’s nice but a bit heavy on the incense/resin odors.
dry/35 minutes: a sweet tinge to sandalwood and amber. Ah well. Not as peachy/vanilla as I’d hoped.
-
A Latin word that means to sigh or draw a deep breath, that also suggests longing, desire, yearning, and a passionate wish. Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley.
in the bottle: hit of very floral, either lily or jasmine, I cannot tell which yet
wet: Definitely lillies! Calla lily is a muskier scent and I can pick that up, the sweetness of lily of the valley is there but underneath it. A few sniffs more and I can find the brightness that is jasmine, I'm not sure about white plum, white orchid or ylang ylang (the last of which is a complete unknown to me)
drying/5 minutes: Floral still, but it is sweetening up on me - is that the plum? It might be! These are all very 'sweet' floral scents as well, which I find I'm rather enjoying
more dry/15 minutes: it's warmer now, toned down but not fading - a bit like what I might get on a lazy summer late afternoon, hot day, flowers that have been in the sun... this is a lovely combination!
Jasmine and lillies are some of my favorite flowers to smell (I LOVE my jasmine outside! still blooming and I inhale deeply every time I leave/come back home), so although I HATE FLORALS, I was willing to give this a try. Nothing in here made my nose itch like 90% of the other floral type of scents do, so that alone is a huge plus.
and that's all for now! -
in the bottle: sweet happiness! faint strawberries and nothing else overwhelming
wet: yum. yum yum yum. .. I mean, strawberries, but yummy cooked in a tart sorts, not overly sickeningly sweet like Bon Vivant was.
drying/3 minutes: More promise now, I get touches of something else with each sniff...a hint of floral so very very faint I barely notice (me = hate florals) It's enough to add depth without overwhelming
dry/15 minutes: fades a lot of me... ack! a sweet touch of sugar, touch of strawberry, touch of floral. VERY nice blend without any one note standing up and screaming too much. Will test all-day tomorrow
-
Aureus
in the bottle: eep! incense notes. erk.
wet: heavy heavy incense. Where's the light? golden? dark musky room odor to me
drying/5 minutes: softening but still *cough*incense*cough* and my nose doesn't like that sort so heavy. oh well
dry/ minutes: just not for me
-
Incantation
in the bottle: Oo! sweet bright scent. I can't ID anything in it though. Just danged nice
wet: My nose is still as a loss, but it's happiness for me. Reading the description I can ID the lemon now, but it's very much NOT overwhelming or even at the forefront. I am no sandlewood fan but I can barely get it in this oil. Just... loveliness in a bottle
drying/5 minutes: it's darkening now, not quite as bright/lemon. What a change... and yet much the same. The lab description nails this quite well - profound, entrancing, deep....best I can do is echo what they have already written, as it's spot on for me
dry/25 minutes: still warm, I think I can almost ID the sandlewood now. This is definitely a wear-all-day and see how it changes scent for further testing
Numb
in Limited Editions
Posted · Report reply
in the bottle: wow this IS interesting...not very strong but has a crispness to it. Almost smells warm through, not cold.
wet: I certainly cannot ID a single note in this but it's not offensive at all, not sweet, not heavy, not crisp, not cold, not warm, not ...huh.
drying (2 minutes of heavy sniffing): ok, there might be a very soft touch of something I hesitate to call floral - mostly because I haven't found a floral I can tolerate and this is different. It'd be something like the barest trace of a calla lily or some such.
dry: sophisticated and I'll be danged if I know what's in this. However, it's very mild so I can see this being one of the 5ml bottles I actually use up since it needs a bit more for use. I'll do more testing on longevity later