coulrophobe

In the bottle: Sweet and lemony.

On: Er... what? Why's it gone all funky? I'm getting the same dish-soapy effect that I got from The Hamptons. And while dish soap isn't offensive, it's also not what I enjoy smelling like.

Eventually it settles down a bit, but the odd green note still lurks in the background, and I get no fruit whatsoever.

On reading through the other reviews, I think I agree with Laurel the Woodfairy - this is like the offspring of Dorian and Skadi; what I'm thinking of as "dish soap" is actually a lighter/sweeter version of the lab's snow note. It ends up much nicer than it starts off, but I think I'm just a bit burned out on the snow note, after Talvikuu, Nuclear Winter, Snow Bunny, and Snow Moon. I'm waffling on whether I want to swap it or keep it.

When I first tried Undertow last spring, it was horrible on me. Seriously, I smelled like I was slowly rotting on a hot day - it was a cloying, unhealthy scent. Lotus mixed with herbs was definitely the problem, as I had a similar reaction to Paris.

But I recently retried Paris, after working on my relationship with lotus (I find it to be an acquired taste), and lo and behold, Paris was much better than I remembered. So I figured I'd try Undertow again as well.

While it no longer makes me queasy, it's still not very good on me. The weird bubblegummy lotus is OK, but the juniper... not so much. Just not a combination of notes that interacts well with my chemistry.

In the imp: Woody.

On: Yes indeed, woody. Not piney or cedary, not dry wood, but rather richly polished heavy wood furniture.

Then the incense kicks in - I smell the smokey-syrup of myrrh (often too sweet on me, but it's really working nicely with the wood in this blend). All in all, a very pleasant and comforting blend.

In the imp: sharp, minty pennyroyal.

On. Still pennyroyal. I love minty scents - to my nose, they somehow manage to be soothing and invigorating at the same time. I can't smell the lavender very much, which is OK, as it's an iffy note at best for me. The initial sharpness wears off, and I'm left with a mellow minty herbal scent with an underlying sweetness.

Reminds me a lot of Mad Hatter, another pennyroyal blend I find comforting. I just wish the minty scents would last longer on my skin.

In the imp: Piney.

On: Not at all surprisingly, this is... piney. I know there are differences between all the notes I consider "piney" (pine, fir, cypress, juniper, etc.) - but I'd have to test them side by side to tell the difference, and even so, I'm not confident in my abilities to tell one from the other.

Loup Garou certainly isn't offensive, but I'm just not a woodsy sort of girl.

In the bottle: Leather, patchouli, a bit of spice.

On: I'm trying to form coherent thoughts, really. But then I snuffle again and all my brain can come up with is "Uuunnnnnnnngghhh," with accompanying slobber.

With my chemistry, Spanked is exotic and spicy, with a hit of leather. It reminds me quite a bit of Loviatar, one of my usual going-out blends. Wearing this, I feel strong and sexy... I shall definitely hoard my bottle.

It smells so good to be so Naughty.

Hmm, good one. These aren't necessarily my favorites, but what a month just... smells like. My least favorite months - January and November - were the most difficult. I *love* spring and summer, tolerate fall, and hate winter with a passion!

January: Skadi (sweet piney snow)

February: Prague (crocus!)

March: Dublin (green... that about sums it up for waterlogged March)

April: Empyreal Mist (smells like sunrise... which is happening earlier and earlier, yay!)

May: Snow White (I'm in the minority, I don't find it wintery at all, but rather verging on summer)

June: Chuparosa (it's all honeysuckle-rose and buzzy hummingbirds on me)

July: Morocco (warm, dry musk - perfect for day or night)

August: The Lion (warm pleasant lazy days) or Scarecrow (scorching hot dry days)

September: The Hesperides (apple harvest!)

October: Mabon for early in the month, Pumpkin King for Halloween.

November: Bow & Crown of Conquest (winter gloom settling in, but this one smells like a sexy boy in a leather jacket rubbing my feet with vanilla lotion - yep, that cheers me right up)

December: Yuletide, of course.

Maybe I'm odd, but I wear scents out of season. I personally like spicy scents in the hot summer weather, clean florals like Pele in the winter. And Morocco, Antique Lace, or Al-Araaf all the time.

In the bottle: Bright, screaming apricot! Very juicy and sweet. And I love apricot, so this is a good sign.

On: The blend grows more complex as it begins to dry down. There's a clean smell that's just on the verge of being both soapy and manly lurking underneath the fruity notes - it's the musk, and to me it smells similar to the musk notes in Vechernyaya.

I use Depraved for my apricotty going-out scent - but this can be my nice comfy reading-in-bed apricotty scent. Very pleasant and soothing.

In the imp: Sharp, sweet lemon floral.

On: Huh... all those notes, and all I can really smell is rose and jasmine. Stupid chemistry.

It's not horrible on me or anything, but it goes rather generic on my skin. I smell sweet heavy floral, but little else. I really wish I could get more of a sandalwood/plum/orris vibe from this - but my chemistry just likes the jasmine and rose too much. Pity my chemistry and I don't agree!

When I first tried Paris last summer... well, I hated it. The herbal-lotus smell made me smell like I was slowly decaying on a hot day - a heavy, putrid smell.

Today, when I realized I hadn't reviewed it yet, I gave it a second chance, and it wasn't so bad.

Maybe my nose has grown to appreciate lotus more. I'm probably never going to be a huge fan of lavender, but maybe I'm a bit more tolerant. Or maybe my chemistry was just off that day.

Regardless, it's not so bad on me now. The initial wet stage is still a little jarring, but it's mostly the lavender's harshness mixed with the gummy lotus. I'm not about to scurry over to my paypal account to buy a big bottle, but I'm also not repulsed by Paris anymore!

In the bottle: Hooo boy, that's sure some strong honeydew... makes me a little nervous that this will turn out like Fruit Moon (a.k.a. the only Lunacy I just can't wear).

On: Luckily, the honeydew takes a beating from the vanilla, settles down, and plays nice with the other scents. I'm getting a definite vanilla-tea vibe, with bits of fruit and floral around the edges. I agree that this is Titania mixed with Dorian.

Tea scents tend to be extremely subtle on me and get lost in my chemistry - so while Fée is lovely (and the Nice scent I was most excited about), I do wish it was a little stronger.

In the imp: Clean, white floral. Not soapy, just... clean.

On: Ditto. It's making me think of lily of the valley and bluebells; maybe a little lilac or wisteria?

The color associations - definitely white, against dark earth and foliage. I find this one clean, calming, a little bit wistful; it's a quiet kind of scent on my skin, though not at all faint. It's pretty. Probably not knocking my socks off enough for a big bottle, but maybe if I need a good sleep/relaxation scent or linen spray.

In the imp: Is this even the right oil? Sharp with a slightly decayed smell, but still dry-smelling.

On: This smells like a combination of jasmine, lotus and herbs to me. Lotus works on me if it's mixed with fruit or some other florals - but mixed with herbs, it has a tendency to produce a "rotting" smell to my nose. And jasmine is just not a note that works for me.

After the herbs start to fade, this isn't quite as bad - but the initial smell is just too unpleasant for me to suffer through. Really not a blend that works with my chemistry - and the mere thought of spiders makes me scratch compulsively.

Arachne, it just wasn't meant to be. It's me, not you. Really.

I personally find Embalming Fluid, Apothecary, Spirits of the Dead, and Shanghai to be much more green tea than lemon, though I guess green tea scents typically have lemon in them, too. Of the others mentioned, Phantasm is floral-lemon, and Severin is leathery-lemon on me (both very nice).

My weirdest lemon experience was when Haunted turned into lemon Pledge on me - very unexpected.

The lemoniest I've encountered:

June Gloom (which I can't seem to ever get rid of)

Eidolon

I'm relieved to see I'm not the only one who got the peanut butter reaction! Because initially, that's exactly what it is on me. But it's damn sexy peanut butter.

Though it strikes me that if I ever blended it with one of the wine scents like Madrid that always go grape jellyish on me, I'd be irresistable to children. I'm pretty sure that's not the effect I want.

And as it dries down, whatever it is that's causing the extra chunky associations (I'm thinking maybe the cognac/honey?) fades, and I'm left with a delicious sexy musk scent. Er, not peanut butter delicious, but the more expected decadent perfume delicious.

Seriously, once I get past the initial wet phase, this is a gorgeous, sexy scent - one for the evening/going out category for me.

In the imp: Leather and lavender... kind of a strange combination.

On: The lavender fades quickly on my skin, which is definitely a bonus for me. I can smell the vanilla and the slightest hint of white musk sweetening it up; and if take a huge, deep sniff - the vanilla really makes itself apparent, with a little carnation thrown in for good measure. I never smell the cedar or sage at all, and the sweet notes become more prominent on my skin as the scent dries down. My chemistry tends to sweeten anything I put on it, so it's probably not as masculine on me as it is on other people.

I think I really like this one. I'm getting an image of a bad boy with a heart of gold - wearing a leather jacket while baking cookies. Or better yet, giving me a foot massage with vanilla lotion.

It'd be great on a guy, but hell, it's fabulous enough on ME.

In the imp: Pure chocolate - I can't smell anything else (and while I love the smell of chocolate, I know it's not a note that works well with my chemistry... eep).

On: Now I'm getting a huge blast of citrus, and just a little bit of chocolate. It's a little like Freakshow to me, but more orange; with the hints of tobacco and musk, it's a warm orangey scent that isn't too foody. As it dries, there's a wee bit of spice or incense to my nose, as well.

It's not the type of scent I usually go for, but it's definitely interesting; one of those scents I can't stop sniffing, and it seems different every time I sniff my wrist.

In the imp: The ginger definitely makes itself known - sharp but sweet.

On: The milky notes are a nice counterbalance to the ginger's sharpness, and I'm having a hard time smelling the honey at all. It's a light, clean, peaceful blend that sticks close to my skin - a little soapy, but in a good way. It definitely seems like a healing/purifying blend - it's having the same calming effect that Dove's Heart did for me.

In the imp: Definitely rosey, but in a green/leafy/herbal way.

On: Whew, super rose! My skin amps rose like nobody's business - which is unfortunate because while I love roses, I don't like how rose oil smells on my skin.

Seance doesn't smell dark or mysterious to me, but rather extremely pink and feminine.

Then it goes soapy. I just don't think rose is a particularly good note for me.

In the imp: Patchouli-ish.

On: Like most, I get a cedary scent (could actually be cedar, or sandalwood mingling with the patchouli perhaps). A bit of underlying amber.

This is one I'd probably find irresistable on a guy, but on me... I just smell like I've been sharpening pencils all day.

This might be great to layer with something that's lighter and sweeter... I keep thinking of how it would add an interesting depth to something like Antique Lace. I might have to experiment a bit!

In the imp: Sharp and clean smelling.

On: I'm getting a lot of lavender out of this one, which isn't a good thing for me. Lavender is harsh to my nose, and puts me on edge a bit - I've never understood why it's regarded as a soothing scent, unless it's mixed with something that tones it down a bit. But I digress.

As Saint-Germain dries down, it softens a little - it ends up rather soapy on my skin. It's not particularly masculine on me - just kind of clean.

In the imp: Patchouli, with a bit of juicy sweetness.

On: More cedary, with a definite fruit note. As it dries, it gets much smokier and incensy.

I had to laugh at Shollin's coment about this smelling like walking past Cowri on Capitol Hill in Seattle - that store is right down the street from me, and she's absolutely right! I'm left with sweet incense smoke.

Urd isn't the type of scent I usually go for, but I find myself liking it. It's warm and comfortable, and makes me want to curl up in front of a fire with a good book.

In the imp: A bit sharp, but not offensively so - I can definitely smell the neroli, but it's made more complex by the other notes.

On: This one goes very powdery on me (neroli and patchouli both have a tendency to do that on my skin, in some blends). But powdery is not necessarily a bad thing for me. Tisiphone smells like soft, dark, mildly sweet powder - a clean, comforting, peaceful scent. Very different than what I expected.

It doesn't really stand out too much on my skin, but pleasant nonetheless.

In the imp: Strong juniper, with a bit of dark musk trying to soften it up.

On: The juniper/pine notes are very strong and sharp on me; this is a very masculine blend. As it dries, the musk is a little more apparent, but it's still to earthy/green/sharp for me.

To my nose, this is Czernobog without the civet/poo note. Which is definitely an improvement in my book, but it's still not a scent that works for me.

In the imp: Woody, but sweet.

On: Like the majority of people, I get a fruit scent. My first impression was banana-ish, but juicier... then pineappley-peachy. Then the woody and green notes make a subtle appearance, underneath the sweet, fresh fruit smell. I'm reminded of an entire fruit tree - the branches, leaves and blossoms as well as the fruit. And the fruit itself is something familiar, but nonexistent - I'm picturing golden non-citrus fruits, with the texture of green grapes - very juicy and slightly transluscent.

I never would have ordered this based on the notes. What a great surprise!