provocateur

in bottle: spicy, golden amber on skin, wet: amber, amber, amber! on skin, dry: amber powder. why is it that some amber goes powdery and others stay strong and brilliant. Gah. conclusion: this is lovely, but I'm deterrent from powdery drydowns. rating: 3/5

in bottle: Sharp floral on skin, wet: floral with mandarin. It's citrusy. on skin, dry: Very sharp, yet undistinct floral. conclusion: while i'm surprised that neither the rose nor the jasmine came out and tried to kill each other (they have a tendency to do that with me) I couldn't really find anything I liked about this blend 1/5

In bottle: Ginger, a watery ginger on skin, wet: I wouldn't call this sharp or biting, it's a delicate ginger. on skin, dry: white tea is definitely an interesting note, doubly so combined with ginger. conclusion: this didn't do a lot for me, it's a pretty, delicate blend, but definitely not my style. 2/5

In bottle: amber? soap? It's so faint it's hard to tell. On skin, wet: Soap. On skin, dry: Leather and amber, that morphs again to a soapy powder. Conclusion: While I could see this as a more effeminate version of Loviatar, it doesn't love me like Loviatar does. 1/5

In bottle: Mm, mango! On skin, wet: Fruity mango tea! On skin, dry: patchouli, and fruity mango tea. Conclusion: in less than an hour this went from a lovely fruity tea with some patchouli to.. faint faint patchouli and fruity mango tea. It's absolutely lovely and adoring, but gone way too fast. *sigh* 4/5

In bottle: Raspberry leaf (one of my favourite under-appreciated notes), some olive leaf and a hint of the cedarwood. On skin, wet: Vetiver! and Cedarwood. On skin, dry: Vetiver, raspberry leaf and cedarwood. It further goes on to olive leaf with hints of vetiver and cedarwood. Conclusion: I love this, it's off to the boy. I may have finally found a non-rose blend (since he can wear them, and I can't) for him. 4/5

in bottle: odd... fruit and what i'm considering is the mimosa. on skin, wet: bursting wet fruit, just ripe enough. on skin, dry: herbal fruit. conclusion: mm! 5/5

in bottle: Pomegranate. I love pomegranate. on skin, wet: Pomegranate and something soft. I know it's the rose, but it's not giving me the typical rose scent. the pomegranate is just softened. on skin, dry: this doesn't really morph at all, it remains a soft, somewhat ethereal pomegranate. conclusion: the most amazing reaction I've had to a rose not (no super powder soap!). Absolutely lovely, 4/5 - because, as much as it's wonderful, I can't see myself wearing this.

in bottle: a heady, thick sweetness, and something akin to cherry candy. (I had to double check the imp to make sure I had it right.) on skin, wet: somewhat akin to Luden's Cherry Cough Drops. on skin, dry: it fades to an odd plastic, sweetly burnt cherry powder. conclusion: What the...? 1/5

in bottle: slightly powdery. on skin, wet: soapy and antiseptic. on skin, dry: there is a strong, sweet floral that develops but is overshadowed by powder. conclusion: It's a new development (for me) that the florals begin to show when it's dry; however, they're entirely too sharp for my chemistry. 2/5

In bottle: Sweet. There's a slight tinge of anise. On skin, wet: The bergamont holds true of smelling like orange on me, and t here's still a touch of anise-like something clinging around. The peach is sweet and sticky, almost like candy. On skin, dry: It develops to... I know this. Oh! The perfumed doll smell - like when Barbie had something that was supposed to smell. The plastic-y doll smell. Oh, and there's something going soapy. Perhaps it's the same thing that was giving me the anise before. Grah! Conclusion: It was getting very sweet on me, and I'm not one for sweets, so I guess that it turned into nostalgic plastic toys fro me wasn't a bad thing... 1/5

In bottle: Resin. It somewhat reminds me (as a former altar server and sacristan in a catholic church for 10 years) of more of the ritual incense that was used for masses, rather than midnight mass proper. On skin, wet: Oh, wait. there it is. I can't tell you how many Christmas masses I was exposed to with this incense in the burners. On skin, dry: Oddly, this dried down to a resinous frankincense. Conclusion: It's an interesting mix. I love this as a room scent, but I have a lot of incense room tarts/oils/sticks that it would seem a waste to hold on to this for that sole purpose. 3/5

In bottle: Grandma? Uh-oh On skin, wet: Spring florals, very lovely with a hint of underlying... I'm guessing this is what happens when apple peel and sandalwood intertwine. I'm liking where this is going. On skin, dry: Damn you jasmine! No, really. I'm back to smelling like grandma *headdesk* Conclusion: Old lady and spring florals are just not my thing. 2/5

In bottle: Musky! and...balsam? is that what that is? On skin, wet: Yay patchouli! And ....chocolate? (the balsam?!), slightly powdery. On skin, dry: musky, chocolate powder. Conclusion: I hate you body chemistry! It has all the things that I adore, but yet, choco-powder? Gah. 0/5

In bottle: thick caramel and coconut... On skin wet: coconut, through and through. Nothin' else. ..and it stays that way throughout the entirity of it's duration on my skin. Coconut, I've discovered, makes me nauseous. 0/5. Sadly.

in bottle: herbal and woodsy. (I'm assuming "deep green tones" and "woody" have something to do with it). on skin, wet: Roots! Lots and lots of decaying plant material. Kind of like what happens after a rain in the autumn. on skin, dry: definite fall damp and decay plant material. I'd dare say there was a hint of fungus at this point. Overall: Not my thing to wear on my skin, but one of my favourite seasonal natural sents. 3/5

in bottle: a strange airy clove on skin, wet: Um? Where did it go? It disappeared as instantly as it was applied. There is a very faint hint of clove and not much else. alas.

in bottle: butterscotch? it's very thick and heavy, whatever it is. This is a recipe for disaster here. on skin, wet: I can't place it, but something about this reminds me of something in my dentist's office. But hello rum! It's making me woozy just inhaling it. on skin, dry: Note to self- rum, buttercream, and hazelnut, when combined, hate your chemistry. 0/5 - proof positive that foody is not for me.

in bottle: Oooh! Fruity! on skin, wet: mm! plum! just lots and lots of my one of my favourite bpal notes. after a while, the ozone starts to creep out subtly. on skin, dry: spicy plum and air. overall: i do believe that this is the first ozone blend that has decided to like me. This one is going to the bottle list. 4/5

Boy did I get something completely different: in bottle: Men's aftershave. It's sharp and uncomfortable, so it's not a nice aftershave either. on skin, wet: There's something extraordinarily aquatic that is just pushing everything else to the side. I think I can gather a hint of the resin incense, but not a lot. This was getting so unbearable that it's the first blend to ever trigger an allergy attack - watery eyes were the most prominent. I had to wipe it off before it got a chance to dry down. Overall - 0/5. I really wanted to love this. It sounded so wonderful, but alas, it does not love me.

in bottle: fresh spring flowers. It's hard to discern the orchid, jasmine and daffodil separately. on skin, wet: the florals are still amped but there is a little hint of the plum. on skin, dry: the musk makes everything a bit sharper, but there really isn't a morph for me, at first. Eventually the curse of florals comes through and my skin is left with a white musk and powder type of blend. *sigh* Conclusion: I don't like my body for not liking florals. This is great as a nice spring room blend, to help aid in getting into the spring mode, but I don't foresee me burning a lot of it. 3/5

in bottle: dark earth and smoky. The patchouli and vetiver are shining through right now on skin, wet: there's a fiery spiciness to it. My guess is the red patchouli and sandalwood and musk. on skin, dry: dry red patchouli, it's dirty and deep. all the notes seem to balance themselves out with this one. overall: I'm so glad I was able to obtain a fairly full 10ml of this along with some imps to help stack up my supply some. 5/5

in bottle: omg!orchid! I love orchids. on skin, wet: beautiful, soft dusty orchids. This smells just like a couple of the actual orchids I have hanging around my place. on skin, dry: hey?! where did it go? it's very, very faint at this point, and I can't even decipher what is peeking out or anything. how sad. Very disappointed that this beautiful blend turned into pretty much nothing. I guess that's the ethereal part of it. 3/5

in bottle: vanilla with a slight hint of jasmine on skin, wet: vanilla, jasmine and gardenia are all floating about. no sign of tea roses. on skin, dry: jasmine and a rich creamy vanilla are the main contenders. The vanilla eventually wins and masks everything else out. conclusion: I'm a bit sad I didn't get a single hint of the tea roses and the gardenia was around for a brief period. 2/5

in bottle: A little soapy and bitter (vetiver and rose, I'd reckon) on skin, wet: it's a bitter soapy astringent. on skin, dry: it just gets soapier as it dries, and the roses turn it into powder. There is a hint of vetiver left and i can smell an unfamiliar floral (the cactus?) before it fades (and it left in about 45 minutes). overall: damn those rose notes not liking my skin. 0/5