Aredhel

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Spiced, honey root beer. In the bottle: Honey! Sweet, thick, rich, spiced money. On skin, wet: Root beer? The hell? On skin, dry: Root beer. Conclusion: Oy. When I first sniffed it in the decant, I fell in love. I stuck some in my scent locket and went on my way, searching and hunting for more -- all the while assuming it would be that same sweet, deep honey on my skin. And then, when I finally do try it, it's root beer with a touch of honey. Alas. I'll still keep a bottle or two for the locket, but I don't need to seek any more.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sour wine. In the imp: Sour wine, full stop. On skin, wet: Carnations, cider, and warm wine. Not bad, but not really nose-catching. On skin, dry: Sweet, floral cider and sour wine. A very strange combination indeed, this one, and not one that works well with my skin chemistry. Conclusion: Wine is wont to turn sour on me, and it does just that in Queen Alice. Beneath that sour wine is a very pleasant floral cider. Not my thing, really, but very nice all the same. The thing is, of course, that one can't get rid of that blasted sour wine.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Musky honeyed vanilla. Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: This could either be amazing or amazingly bad on me. We shall see. In the imp: Patchouli, pine, and tobacco! Nice, but very heavy. On skin, wet: Tobacco and PINE. Very aggressive pine. Pine with dominance issues. On skin, dry: Musky, resinous honeyed vanilla undercut by a deep pine. This? This is awesome. It's surprisingly faint, but I'd reapply as often as necessary. It reminds me of MME Moriarty: they're both deep, musky, patchouli-laden vanilla scents, and both are fantastic. Conclusion: It started off iffy, but I'm won over. I'll definitely pick up a bottle or 50 -- this will need to be slathered to keep going, and given that it's all-pine-all-the-time in the decant and while wet, wearing it in a scent locket is out. If you like MME Moriarty, you may well like the Illustrated Woman.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Musky burnt plastic. Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: The listed notes are all ones I adore, but the mentions of "burnt plastic" leave me wary. In the imp: Salty, slightly woody caramel! On skin, wet: No sign of plastic yet, just a very golden, woody, musky amber-caramel that I'm finding absolutely beautiful. On skin, dry: ....Burnt plastic. Musky, sweet burnt plastic, but burnt plastic all the same. Conclusion: Caramel is hit-or-miss with me. It's fantastic in Red Lantern; not so much in Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht. I love it in the vial and while wet, so I'll definitely give it a try in a scent locket.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Hazelnut coffee! In the imp: Chocolate! Slightly spicy white chocolate. On skin, wet: ...Hazelnut coffee? It can't be, but it is! Warm, rich, slightly chalky, nutty, and very slightly spicy, this reminds me of a good hazelnut coffee with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. It reminds me of the coffee house I frequented as a teenager. On skin, dry: Nary a trace of apple blossom, honeysuckle, frankincense, allspice, tea, or tonka! The chalky quality may be due to the chocolates or sandalwood: both are wont to end up that way. Conclusion: I can't fathom what combination of notes equals hazelnut coffee when combined with my skin, but it's a dead ringer. Alas, while I do enjoy a good cup of hazelnut coffee, I'm not quite as keen to smell as though I'd rubbed the coffee into my skin.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Winter! In the bottle: Something akin to ozone, strong pine, and lily. Interesting, but this may end strangely. On skin, wet: Very strong, very cold pine, and just a hint of lily. The pine begins to calm down immediately, and the plum quickly comes into the foreground, and the white musk is right behind it. This, of course, is a fantastic thing! On skin, dry: L'Inverno is a morpher. It goes from an intense pine to a slightly sweet, very cold, musky plum with the slightly sharp tang of orchid and pine beneath it. Without that tangy (that's the only word I can think of to describe it!) background, this would probably be too candyish for me. Thankfully, it's not, and I? I am completely in love with this. Conclusion: L'Inverno reminds me of nighttime in the dead of winter, just before the Christmas season, when the season hasn't yet given way to red and green and white lights, warm spices, and hot cider (or egg nog!); when winter stands on its own and isn't tied down to a holiday; when all you can think about is the six feet of snow the weatherman's promising, the 5-foot icicles hanging from your roof, and the absurdity of early-morning pledges that you'll never ever complain about the summer heat again. L'Inverno is winter -- not Christmas; winter -- in scent form, and I simply adore it.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Golden flowers. In the bottle: Sweet, musky amber and vanilla! On skin, wet: Absolutely wonderful, musky amber! I absolutely agree that it's a golden scent -- bright, shiny, and golden. The lily and sunflower begin to emerge after a few moments, which may or may not be a good thing: I don't dig florals, but this is lovely so far. On skin, dry: As it dries, L'Estate becomes a soft, musky floral. As much as I adore golden musk, as I said before: I don't usually like floral notes or scents. The vanilla and amber have faded, leaving a honey-coated bed of warm flowers. Conclusion: For a floral, it's absolutely beautiful -- everything a floral-lover would want! I'm just not a floral fan. I adore it while wet, so I'll give it a try in a scent locket.

I've never been a slatherer, but I've become the anti-slatherer. I don't know what's changed, but a little goes a long way on my skin lately. I shouldn't complain, but these 5mls will go rancid years before I finish them at this rate!

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Lavender. Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I don't care for lime or oakmoss, so I'm hoping they stay and bay, and dreading that they won't. In the imp: Sweet, sugary, citrusy... lavender. Crap. On skin, wet: Lavender. Sweet and sugared lavender, but lavender all the same. On skin, dry: There's really not much more to say. Lavender, like rose and jasmine, is a diva; no one upstages her (him?). I amp lavender to the nth degree, to the exclusion of all other notes in a blend. When lavender acts up, all other notes get shoved to the sidelines. I detect a vague sweetness somewhere beneath the lavender surface, but just barely. Conclusion: As lavender scents go, I do have to admit that this is probably my favorite -- sweet and sugary and very bright. That said, I don't care to smell of lavender at all, so I'll have to pass on the dear Schrodinger's Cat.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Gorgeous! Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: The listed notes are all ones I adore separately, so here's hoping they play nicely together! In the imp: Cold and sharp. Teakwood and tobacco are the prominent notes. On skin, wet: As soon as it touches my skin, the vanilla begins to appear, and the teak hangs back. Wet, this is a fantastic, dark oaken vanilla. It's surprisingly smooth, and distinctly smoky. On skin, dry: I can't seem to stop sniffing this. No, really: it's taking me ages to type this out because I hate taking my wrist away from my nose. Oak/vanilla is probably my favourite combination lately, and this is the perfect example of how wonderful a combination it is. Conclusion: The Anikythera Mechanism is smoky, oaken vanillic love. On days when I want the vanilla a smidge stronger, I'll break out one of my many (many) vanilla layering note oils. It doesn't strike me as masculine at all, but seems perfectly androgynous. I need a 5ml of this.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Surprising! In the imp: Fresh pear and a very sweet vanilla. On skin, wet: Pear! Oh, and a dash of vanilla. Something seems a bit boozy about this. On skin, dry: I definitely agree with the reviewers that got a distinctly spicy quality from this blend. After about an hour, it's a very tart, strangely sweet and musky pear, with nary a trace of vanilla. Conclusion: I shouldn't like this. I like pear notes well enough, but as perfume, I generally shy away. Besides that, musk and pear? This should be a no-brainer. For some reason, though, this is fantastic. It reminds me of a blend I can't place -- but it doesn't matter. I very much hope this returns in '08. In the meantime, I need to find a bottle!

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Frustrating! Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: Someone on the LJ comm described Haloes as "sexy vanilla oak." That was more than enough for me to want to try this! In the imp: Clean white ginger, apricot, and white sandalwood. I'm not sure about this yet. On skin, wet: At first, there is the faintest hint of vanilla, buried beneath thick lily of the valley and ginger. Not great. After a few minutes, the oak is just barely discernible, and it is wonderful. Unfortunately, it's no match for the lily of the valley and ginger. On skin, dry: When dry, this is like wearing the most wonderful, slightly spicy oaken vanilla and trying to sniff it while wearing a generous dollop of lily of the valley/ginger perfume applied under your nose. Every so often I catch tantalizingly fantastic whiffs of the oak and vanilla, but then the floral and ginger reappear. Conclusion: This is most certainly a sexy oaken vanilla. Unfortunately, it's buried beneath a pleasant-but-soapy floral ginger. No matter how hard I sniff or how long it lingers, it's frustratingly pointless to get what I want out of this scent.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Dusty. In the imp: Apples, plum, and pomegranate! On skin, wet: Something very... sneezy. As in, something that's making me want to sneeze. It has a distinctly dusty, dry quality about it, like dried apples or old apple cider. Beyond that, it's just very perfumey. On skin, dry: Very little chance from wet, save that it's much greener, and I can definitely pick out the sage. A green, dry apple cider. Conclusion: Something about it disagrees with my nose in the worst way -- I've sneezed seven times (and counting!) since first applying it. Nice enough, but obviously not for me.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sexy! Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I love all the listed notes (save cubeba, simply because I've never experienced it in a perfume). Generally, this bodes well! In the imp: Rich, musky amber and the most wonderful cedar. So far, so good! On skin, wet: Musky, spicy cedar. Very strong and very warm. I'm definitely digging this, but I do hope the cedar backs of a bit -- while I do adore cedar, I'm hoping this doesn't end up as a cedar single note! On skin, dry: As it dries, the saffron begins to make more of a pronounced appearance. When dry, Fascinum is thick, warm, musky, woodsy, and very spicy. It's no surprise, then, that I'm terribly fond of it. Conclusion: Fascinum is absolutely beautiful. I don't think of this as a 'masculine' scent at all. To me, it's simply a spicy, musky, sexy scent I'll definitely be getting a bottle of.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Spicy vanilla. Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I really and truly want to hate this, because I hate falling in love with LEs. Alas, I fear I shall love it. Vanilla, saffron, and cream? How could I not? In the imp: Sharp saffron and sticky-sweet cream. I may just be able to dig this not-liking-LP thing after all! On skin, wet: Much the same as in the imp. Overly sweet cream and a very tangy saffron. There's a distinct coolness, but I don't believe it's a mint note. On skin, dry: A lovely, spicy vanilla. The cream and saffron have calmed down and agreed to play nice with each other, and the result is nothing short of divine. Conclusion: When I first tested this, I told myself -- I convinced myself -- that while lovely, I wasn't wowed by this. Over the past two days, however, I've found myself going back to my partial decant, sniffing and sniffing and sniffing. I finally wore it again this morning, and however much I may want to deny it, I am entirely in love with this. Dang it.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sharp. Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I'm terrified of vetiver by default, and can't imagine asphalt ever working well on me, so I have my reservations. In the imp: Floral and distinctly minty, with a musky undertone. Very surprising. On skin, wet: Distinctly aquatic, vaguely minty. Beneath that lurks something dark, which I assume to be the vetiver. It's definitely floral, but as deeply as I sniff this, I can't isolate any specific notes. On skin, dry: Very cold, very sharp, and indeed, smoky. Unfortunately, as it dries, it turns completely to soap. This is probably the darkest, murkiest aquatic BPAL scent I've tried in recent memory. Thankfully, I don't get much "asphalt" from this. Conclusion: Vetiver and aquatic notes are wont to turn to soap on my skin, and Black Ice is the perfect example of that. However, even during the wet stage, it was too sharp and too murky for my tastes.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Jasmine. In the imp: Surprisingly sweet almond, cinnamon, and fig leaf! On skin, wet: Woody almond. A distinct almond; not so cherry ice cream-like as other almond scents I've come across. The jasmine starts to peek out about five minutes in. On skin, dry: Woody, resinous jasmine, with a passing drift of almond every now and then. I adore jasmine lately, but jasmine notes in perfume overwhelm other notes, and Uruk is clearly no exception: this is a Jasmine Scent, without question. As it wears, the incense becomes more prominant, and by the end of its life, Uruk is a fine jasmine incense. Conclusion: True to its description, but not for me.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Strawberry! Pre-Review Thoughts: Sounds a bit too sweet, but I'm curious! In the decant: Sweet, red cherries! On skin, wet: Powdered sugar, cherries, and a legion of red fruits I can't call out specifically, save for strawberry. On skin, dry: This reminds me of the cherry/strawberry parfaits my parents used to make me whenever I'd done something particularly good/well, complete with cream! Strawberry is wont to end up as a very plastic note on me, but it's not at all fake here. The cherry has that very vaguely-waxy quality that I've only ever come across in fruit-flavoured lip balms, but aside from that, this is fantastic, if way too sweet. Conclusion: A fantastic candy-fruit scent, but way too sweet to wear. I'll keep one of the decants I have left over from my decant circle, and I may eventually pick up a bottle to use to scent things around my apartment.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sweet wood. In the imp: Dry woods and patchouli. Nary a trace of anything sweet. On skin, wet: Patchouli and deep, solid woods, no more, no less. On skin, dry: A sweet, spiced, smoky wood. The wood is sweet, but in a general, non-descript way, which is to say, I can't pick out caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut, or butterscotch separately from the sweet quality of the wood notes. Conclusion: A nice enough wood blend, but too dark for me.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Wintergreen. Pre-Review Thoughts: I love vanilla, and I love mint. What's not to love about Tokyo Stomp? In the imp: Vanilla, and mint! Love! On skin, wet: Wintergreen and a smooth, cold vanilla. Others call it peppermint, but this smacks of wintergreen to me. I like wintergreen, but not nearly as much as I love, say, peppermint; wintergreen has famous medicinal tang to it. On skin, dry: Vanilla and wintergreen ice cream. Unfortunately, the longer it wears, the sharper, and more plastic the wintergreen becomes on my skin. All told, I'm not sure it's wintergreen, of course, but it has all the hallmarks of it. Conclusion: Me, not totally in love with a vanilla/mint blend? Alas, tis true. I'd be all over this, if it were a strong peppermint, but, as I said, wintergreen is the one mint I'm not crazy about, and this screams wintergreen to me.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Swarthy. In the imp: Eep. Black musk. Black musk and I have a strained relationship. On skin, wet: Swarthy and deep indeed! A very spicy, incensey black musk. On skin, dry: Dank, almost damp, and very earthy. Dirty. The sort of dark earthiness that usually accompanies blends with black or red patchouli. Conclusion: This is the kind of scent that leaves an acrid taste in the back of one's throat; the kind of scent that one can taste as distinctly as if you'd licked the oil from the skin. It should go without saying that I like neither the taste of perfume nor those sorts of scents.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sour rose. In the imp: Sugary roses and daffodils! On skin, wet: Rose, daffodil, and tulip. A very soapy scent already, unfortunately. On skin, dry: Rose is wont to turn soapy, and sour, and bitter on my skin; Poisson d'Avril is, unfortunately, no exception. Sour roses, and nothing more. Conclusion: A lovely floral, before it touched my skin. After that, it didn't stand a chance.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Gardenia! In the imp: Very potent frankincense and gardenia. A very strange pairing. On skin, wet: Oy! Gardenia, with a capital G. I can't get my nose around the bloody flower to sniff anything else. On skin, dry: Waxy, white, and fuzzy, this scent; an intriguing, if overpowering, combination of frankincense and gardenia. Slightly green around the proverbial edges. It's bloody strong to boot. Conclusion: This is a scent of grandeur if ever the Lab's made one, certainly. It has a very... bright feeling to it. I have to agree with the above suggestion of "glorious": while not my usual fare, and too flowery for my personal liking, glorious seems a very fitting adjective.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Brown. In the imp: Musky chestnuts? How very odd. On skin, wet: Chestnuts! Musky, floral chestnuts. Right out of the gate, it starts becoming much more a floral scent than a chestnutty scent. On skin, dry: As it dries, it starts to become a very buttery, musky, nutty floral scent indeed. I don't notice/smell/catch any sign of the King mandarin, however, which is a shame: a subtle citrus quality would compliment this existing combination very well. The entire scent has an almost velvety, dark brown quality about it, which, of course, is perfectly appropriate. Conclusion: A wonderfully fitting scent, and one I'm fond of, if not one I'd wear very often. I might, though, pick up a bottle eventually to use as a room scent.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Perfumey. In the imp: Yikes. Perfumey. On skin, wet: Leather and tobacco, and a very thick, earthy perfume. On skin, dry: Warm and a bit sunny, but with a very distinct "mixed perfumes" smell. I wager this is due to my unfamiliarity with most of the list notes, and their resultant combination. I'm at a loss as to how to describe it any further, lost as I am to the likes of cabreuva et al. Conclusion: Interesting, but not something I particularly dig. It's hard to pin down exactly what "perfumey" means and is, but you know it when you smell it, and this is perfumey. I don't mean that in a totally bad way; "perfumey"'s just not a quality I like personally.