Tess

I've heard this smells killer on men, so let's see how it smells on someone slightly less man and slightly more butch. In the vial - ...mental note: read reviews before getting imps. *sighs* I didn't realize there was dragon's blood here until I just opened it and got that whiff of lilac that I always get. The amber IS tamping it down nicely, though. Wet - LILAC. Not as sweet and overpowering as most, but LILAC. Drying - The amber is keeping the lilac under control, but it's still THERE. Lurking. Dry (1.5 hours later) - It's dried down really smelling like dragon's blood and amber, with not a lilac in sight! *grins* Ah, this makes me very happy. However, the amber is really getting drowned out and the whole thing is very dry smelling. If only the amber would blend a bit better... Overall - It's one of the few dragon's blood scents I can wear without being killed by a giant lilac bush, so that's wonderful, but it just wasn't all that mind-blowing. I'll be keeping my imp, but it's not great enough for a big bottle.

Dragon's blood. Please, oh please let this be one that works with me. The other notes sound absolutely wonderful! *prays* In the vial - Oh dear, it's lilac all the way. I'm so very, very afraid. Wet - Ayup, lilac. I think I can grab a hint of pepper back there, but goodness is it a floral wash. =/ Drying - ...ooo! The black pepper, cinnamin and CLOVE are coming out and mixing with the lilac in the most bizarre ways. It's becoming a super spice floral WHAM! which I don't completely disapprove of. It's STRANGE, but not altogether bad. Dry (1 hour) - And we're back to straight lilac with just a touch of pepper. *sighs* Too bad the drying stage didn't stick around longer. Overall - This had so much promise and it just didn't deliver for me. I know that dragon's blood is touch and go on my skin, but I was just hoping against hope this would work...

Ah, something straight from the Tree of Life. It's bringing back childhood memories... In the vial - VERY commercial perfum smelling to me, something floral, although it's hard to tell. Wet - Rose perfume, not very strong or sweet, really. Drying - Not a single waft of jasmine, despite what other people have said. (My skin HATES jasmine and usually amps it to insane amounts.) I'm just getting a very, very, VERY soft rose from this, like I splashed myself in some rosewater. Maybe it just needs to be given time...? Dry (15 minutes) - Oh, guh. There's the jasmine. I'm DRENCHED in jasmine and rose. It's gotten really cloying and overpowering for me. Must... wash... off... Overall - Jasmine strikes again. =P The rose in here could have saved it, but just turned too perfume on me and attacked my head and sinuses. Time to swap this one.

I've heard really good things about this one, so let's try it out. In the vial - This reminds me very much of a sweeter Oisin, only with fewer herbs. It's sweet, faintly floral and a little musky. Wet - The green foresty leafy scent really comes out now. Whoa, it's a strong green! Drying - Wow, I don't get any of that sweetness or muskiness at all as time goes on. A strong, strong "green" smell with a healthy dose of white rose behind it, around it, through it. Very much the way I would imagine a crush rose, steam and all, would smell. It's calming down from that BAM! wet stage and becoming a more mellow rose. Dry (1 hour) - This is just like a greener version of Oisin on me. =) Musk came out a little, the sweet white musk. So, needless to say, I really like it! Overall - Soooooo going to try this on the Oisin loving boy. The white musk clung to me for 8 hours, although it in general only stayed around for the normal 3-4 hours. (My skin eats scents.) I'm most likely grabbing a bottle of this, just to keep me from using up all my Oisin. *grins*

Let's go firey scents! Need a pick-me-up right now. =B In the vial - Oh, I like this! Sweet cinnamin and... something. I can smell the honey and I THINK that's the copal peaking out. NICE. Wet - Yeah, that's the copal. Super yummy and sweet. Drying - The cinnamin's coming out stronger, although the honey and copal are still the strongest notes. This is like candy on me! Dry (1 hour later) - I can see why people say this is like Big Red gum, although I happen to really like it. It's a spicy cinnamin with just that hint of sweetness in the background. Overall - I really do like this one, although I'm not sure if I like it enough to get a bottle of it. I'll at least keep my imp to use up and see how others react to it. It helps that the honey and copal rather clung to my skin after the cinnamin wore off. =B

I'm having a run of non-happy scents, so I'm hoping beyond hope that this doesn't go the route of the Queen and actually works on me. In the vial - Lots of herbs. Slightly medicinal smell here, the same that I picked up initially with Oisin, so I'm certainly not worried. Wet - Very sharp scent so far. Herbal, medicinal with a subtle hint of dirt. Drying - Dark, dark, dark this. I deffinately get the tobacco and the leather. Bitter almond and moss are here, too... This is a very complex and MASCULINE scent. Dry (1 hour later) - This reminds me more and more of Graveyard Dirt with herbs (mint especially, along with tomatoes) and a hidden note of smoky leather. I like it. Overall - Well, I got an unasked for "you smell nice" for wearing this, so I'd say it's a keeper. A bit more manly than what I normally go for, but very grounding.

I'm not sure if my nose is ready to try out something new, but my new imp is just sitting here looking at me, so I must use it. In the vial - This is actually really astringent and "perfume" smelling to my nose. I do get the rose coming through, along with something woody (rosewood), but the "perfume" smell is just strong. Wet - Still very, very perfume-ish rose... Drying - Ah, the pure floral is battling that off now and it's drying to woody bundle of roses. Tea rose is really coming through here, with it's powdery under tone. There's something giving this an herbal bite to it, too, that I can't place. But, really, it's VERY faint on me overall. Dry (1.5 hours later) - Still very faint and almost dusty. (Rosewood turns that way on me, it seems.) It's a dry, Victorian rose scent with a woody undertone. And very, very faint. Overall - I DO like it, but I don't think I like it enough to keep and/or get a big bottle of. I'll most likely swap this off for a different Tarot oil and think about getting a bottle for myself at a later date. It's just such a mature scent, I don't know if it's for me.

Lovelies, I am in NEED of a scent that smells exactly like Oisin, something I can buy en masse. (It turns out that the lover smells absolutely to DIE for in the stuff and I'm regretting only buying a single bottle of the stuff. Orgasm in a bottle for me.) Either than or I'm going to need to lose my life's savings to somehow stock pile the stuff. Le sigh, the things I do for lust.

I've been having some issues with oils recently, but I just HAVE to try this one, if only for magical reasons... In the vial - For about two seconds I could smell the moss and incense... and then the florals took over my brain. =/ Wet - This is nothing but a sweet (and burning! Owwie) floral. STRONG. Gah. Drying - ...there's jasmine in this. *siiiiiiiiiiighs* Jasmine, jasmine, jasmine. Bit of incense just barely clinging, but strong jasmine. Dry (15 minutes) - After sitting around in agony, hoping the jasmine would back off, I can't take it anymore. SO STRONG. Overall - Complete swap material for me. This is the strongest jasmine I've come across yet.

I just had a bad, bad burning reaction recently to Snake Oil. I know it's due to the fact that it was MASSIVELY hot in the apartment where I was getting ready and my pores were probably opened up trying to cool down, but I thought I'd say something. My skin is normally hardcore, so it took me very much by surprise.

A sudden surge of hormones hit me and I just felt the need to try something SEXY... In the vial - Gah, it's official, I don't get along with jasmine, especially when it's mixed with rose. And this is HEAVY jasmine to me. Wet - Oh, there's myrrh! My hero, dampening the jasmine! Drying - The neroli and the musk are peaking out just a little bit and the myrrh is doing it's best, but it's still really heavily floral. And whoo, does this thing have throw! I am a cloud of floral! Dry (1 hour later) - Meh, it's still really jasmine with a little of the musk and myrrh. Wish the bergamont would come out... Overall - Jasmine and I have never been friends and this faded really fast anyway. Into the swaps with you.

My first ozone scent, yeehaw. Don't remember if this one was a frimp or not (I'm vaguely sure it was), but let's try out this experiment. In the vial - Lime and... pine? There's something herby in here, but I'm not sure what. It's an undertone right now, buried under the lime. Wet - Lime and some other evergreen, not pine. The lime is still in the forefront, though. Drying - Will the mystery herb please stand up? It's become almost over-powered by that herb, whatever it is. It's not a culinary one, that I can tell. It's a wet smelling herb, like rain falling on crushed leaves. Dry (15 minutes later) - Okay, I can place it now. It's balsam and grapefruit seed that I'm smelling and... I don't like it. *sighs* Overall - This fades fast, which is good, but I really, really don't like it on me. It's not ozone on me at all, just that strange combo of evergreen and citris that doesn't work well. Swapage.

I need to get cleaning and packing for my up-coming trip, so I thought it would be the perfect time to try out this lovely imp! In the vial - This smells like something holiday-ish. I'm getting cinnamin, clove, orange and something floral... I can't place it, but I KNOW I should know it... Wet - Sweet cinnamin and clove. The orange is there still, too, but... it's BURNING a little. The heck??? I never have issues with oils. Drying - I'm starting to think that the floral is actually orange blossom. It blends very well with the spice notes and is becoming more spicey than sweet now. (The burning disappeared too, luckily. My wrists DO tingle a little, but it could be due to magical intent.) Dry (40 minutes) - Boy, does this fade fast! It's dried to a faint, sweet orange blossom clove. It's still GORGEOUS, though. Overall - It worked, getting me going on the laundry/cleaning I had been putting off for a long time. (It also made my male roommate moan. *smirks*) I actually don't mind the short time that it sticks around, seeing as it's supposed to be for that BOOM of knocking down barriers. I forsee a big bottle of this VERY soon.

One of my favorite goddesses and it has nag champa in it! The joy! In the vial - This really is grapey. There's some red patchouli in the background, but it's a grape juice smell. Wet - Not QUITE as grape, but it's still really sweet grape with patchouli. Don't know if I'm going to like this... Drying - As time goes on, the grape is leaving, which is a Good Thing. The black patchouli is coming out to join the red, but I'm only getting the barest hint of nag champa. Come to me, my incense! Dry (1 hour later) - The grape is nearly completely gone and the nag champa has come out to play. Really, this smells of a dry, smokey black patchouli and nag champa mix. Overall - I really do like it, although it makes me sad that this is so dominated by the incense notes. It will most likely go on my big bottle list, but I'll give the old imp a few more tries, first. This smelt exactly like a New Age shop!

Eve was never my favorite biblical female, but this was a freebie from the Lab, so I'm always willing to try and give a woman another chance. In the vial - I'm getting everything other than the honey from this. The rose and appleblossom are mixing VERY well. This should be interesting. Wet - Appleblossom is really prevalent, but it's nice. And here I didn't think I was a floral girl. Drying - ...there's something here I don't like. Is it the ylang ylang? (Seeing as I've no idea what it smells like, that's a distinct possibility.) Actually, it might just be the rose. It's making my nose itch and my throat tight. It's a strong, strong rose and it's overpowering the appleblossom. Dry (1 hours later) - Ugh, this has gone strong rose/baby powder/ LILAC on me. Time to wash it off. Overall - The rose wasn't the light, feminine kind I got from Ace of Hearts and it just overloaded my nose. Once it turned to baby powder, that was it. Time to swap this.

I swapped my imp of Kali for this one (thanks, Rackham's Vanity!) and I'm looking forward to trying it. I'll be wearing it to the grocery store, whoo. In the vial - Ooo, ooo, ooo! Coconut rum, wine and tonka bean! Sweet and boozy. Wet - Alcohol notes love me. STRONG. Drying - ...I'm in love. The tonka is GLORIOUS and it making it truly a sweet booze. The leather is in the background, just hovering like a haze, although the tobacco is completely missing. Still, I love! Dry (1 hours later) - This is a night on the town captured! Smoke and booze with that sweet undertone of tonka. I cannot stop smelling myself. I lust after myself, wearing this! Overall - This is a serious big bottle. It fades a little too quickly for my liking (after 2 hours, it's down to mostly the tonka), but I'll reapply as often as I have to. It screams "lusty night out" and who can say no to that?! It does have that feel in the feminine way, do to the sweetness, which is just that much cooler. Big bottle all the way. (Thanks yet again, Rackham's Vanity!!!)

Apricot? Not usually something I'd go for, but as this was a frimp, who can say no? In the vial - Wow, you can really smell both the apricot AND the black patchouli in here. Are they both base notes or something? Meh, this promises to be a strong one. Wet - Apricot! Yeehaw! With just a touch of patchouli in the background, smells like. Drying - The apricot is really strong, but the musty scent is the strongest right now. In fact, the patchouli is dominating this one. Every moment that goes by, the apricot is getting eaten up by it. Hrm. Dry (1 hour) - Yup, this has become all patchouli (strong!) with just the barest hint of sweetness in the background. I don't have any bad associations with the scent, but I just know that it's not for me. Le sigh. Overall - ...I can't get this to wash off. I ended up having to lather in French Vanilla, just to cut it. =/ Very much not for me. Swapping this one.

I hear this is supposed to be citrus and I LOVE the stuff, so let's get to it! In the vial - Holy...!!! Wow, this is lemony! There's a hit of orange in there and what smells like rose geranium hidden in the background, although I think that's a combination of the aloe and the green tea. Wet - The aloe pushes the lemon to the side, although it still there in the background. Drying - I want to BATHE in this stuff! It really, really smells like rose geranium now, that lemony green scent. And the lemon throws like heck! I'm not getting any musk, but tons and tons of citrus. Dry (30 minutes) - The green tea really stands out now, which usually gives me huge headaches, but the lemon really tones it down. Really, it still smells like rose geranium to me. =) Overall - This faded FAST. 1 hour and it was completely and utterly gone. =/ Still, I really, really like it, so I'm tempted to get a big bottle and just reapply constantly. =P

This was a frimp that I had considered getting (vanilla!), but hadn't due to the floral notes. I have no excuse not to try it now. =D In the vial - Violet! Some gardenia, but hot damn, there's just tons of violet. Wet - Oh, vanilla! This is a wonderful vanilla with just a background of floral! I LIKE THIS! Drying - Eh, the vanilla backed off almost immediately. =/ The violet is coming back out, but there's something in the background here... something spicey... Anise?!? Is that anise?!? No, I think it's just that I'm not used to the gardenia; if I remember correctly, that's a flower with some kick to it. Dry (1 hour later) - This is rather strange... The violet has turned vaguely soapy and keeps fading in and out. It's odd. The gardenia and the vanilla are very nice underneath it, giving it sweetness and kick. Wish the violet would chill out, though. =P Overall - This is super feminine, although I think I could get used to it, despite the violet sometimes coming in violently strong. After a couple of hours, the vanilla settles in and it actually smells exactly like sugared violets. (You know, those little candies they make out of real flowers?) I'll give it another go before making my final decision, but this seems like a possible "yes."

I'm so excited to get some more earthy scents to try out! I think the lack of Earth in my horoscope really gives me that need for it other ways. In the vial - Damp earth and rotting herbs, with just a touch of booze underneath. Ack, don't know if I like this, despite my love of Graveyard Dirt's wet soil scent. Wet - Now I get some rotting florals, too. Not sure what they are... Drying - Sooo faint. I have to press my nose almost to my wrist to smell this. I'm getting growing florals in rich dirt now, though, which is a VAST improvement. The rose is light and I can smell the sweetness of the pomegranate. Dry (15 minutes later) - Gah, my sinuses are freaking out from something in this; it's like I'm having hay-fever, I'm stuffed up with watering eyes and sneezing. *sighs* I guess it's not so bad, seeing as the sense of "rot" has sprung up again. I'll give this a bit more time before I wash it off, though. Overall - This only hurt my sinuses/gave me a headache for 30 minutes or so before drying to a insensey smelling rose that was very faint with no throw. *sighs* None of the stages worked with me, sadly. Time to throw this one up for trades.

The last scent so far that needs reviewing and I'm hoping this gives off just as much power as it promises to. Time to end this batch with a bang! In the vial - Sweet white pepper. If I had to pin this scent down, it would be sweet vanilla with amber mixed with liberal amounts of white pepper. Wet - Sweet pepper POW! This stuff THROWS! Drying - The white pepper and the vanilla are really well mixed here and the amber tone is just in the background. This is power in a completely feminine form. The sting from the pepper is delayed somewhat and it's not overpowering at all. NICE. I'm really liking this. Dry (2 hours later) - It's dried down to mostly pepper and amber with a sweet hint of vanilla and something floral. The floral is really understated, so I'm not sure what it is. It's almost an herbal type floral. Reminds me of... clover, maybe? Tough to tell. The amber is giving it that powdery feel, but it's really minor. Overall - I really, really like this one. It's not something I would have thought I'd like, but it's just a powerful yet not "in your face" scent. And it has a very unusual throw, in that my roommate could smell it in the next room, but I didn't find it overpowering at all. Completely yum. This is a "big bottle" for me for sure.

Two hits and a whole bunch of painful misses on these scents. Time for the next one, whoo boy. In the vial - I can see why people call this a dry scent. It's a floral that's not the usual gushing flower scent I'm used to. And I can smell the resin in it, so THAT's always good. Wet - *says good-morning to the usual Dragon's Blood lilac* Not a strong version, with still that dry undertone. Not killing me with scent, yet. Drying - Lilac in sand is what I'm getting from this. The dry feeling isn't strong, but it's THERE, like a lilac bush growing over an old, dry wooden bench. There's honeysuckle in there, by golly, like normal, but it's still the normal complete lilac smell. Dry (3 hours later) - It's settled down to a dusty lilac, which isn't giving me headaches, but is at most boring. Le sigh... Overall - Oddly, when I go outside in the heat, this scent fades almost completely, but it gives a HUGE kick of lilac scent when I start to cool off, before settling down to that dusty lilac again. I'll chalk this up as another unhappy Ars Draconis scent.

I've been sitting on pins and needles about this one ever since Dragon's Blood when sour on my skin. And I soooo want this one to work out. In the vial - Bubblegumy vanilla. Oh dear... Very, very bubblegum with dashes of vanilla added in. Sweeter than all get-out, too. Wet - Slightly less bubblegum with slightly less vanilla and a whole lot more lilac. Drying - Cherry bubblegum with just a dash of vanilla layered under florals. It's fading out a lot, which doesn't tend to mean too much, since my skin likes to absorb an oil and then spit out all the wrong notes. It does seem that the vanilla and the lilac are combining in all the wrong ways on me, but I'll have to wait and see. Dry (2 hours later) - This has settled into a very sweet vanilla floral, with just a hint of resin in the background. It really comes out and throws when in the heat. The lilac is actually very hidden within the honeysuckle right now, which is WONDERFUL. Overall - The vanilla comes out more and more as time wears on and even 12 hours later (!!!), I can still smell it if I sniff my wrists. I'm very, very, VERY glad that this settles down to something non-lilac in the later stages, so I'll certainly be keeping my imp, at the least, and considering whether or not to get a bottle. So far, this is my second favorite Ars Draconis scent.

More dragon's blood, do I even dare? I'll have to prepare myself for a migraine, I think... In the vial - Odd, the overpowering lilac floral that I get from all the Ars Draconis scents is being tempered by something... It's still ungodly strong, but there's what I can only describe as a modest floral undertone that's trying to keep it all in line. Wet - LILAC. Gah, so strong... Drying - Oh! The lilac is fading and the lily is coming to the forefront! It's a beautiful light and slightly powdery floral. MUCH better. Dry (40 minutes later) - Okay, this is ODD. Suddenly I've shifted from smelling like a heady bridal bower of lily and lilac to... plastic. Or rather, rubber. I smell like old shoe rubber with just a tinge of lilac to it... What the heck is this stage? Overall - Oddly the plasticy smell faded in and out, intertwining with the lilac/lily scent all day. After about 4 hours, it faded to a very powdery and faint lilac that has been lingering about 8 hours now. I'm not a fan of lilac at all, but I didn't get a headache from it, so I'll give it another chance later, I think.

I'm not even sure what drew me to this scent, although I think it has something to do with desiring a little something to "ground" the firey scents I tend to like. In the vial - This is unbelievable! I'd read so many people say that this smells exactly like dirt, but I never really believed it. But it's TRUE! This is the scent of freshly tilled, dark and moist soil. It's the scent of my mother working in her garden when I was a child. It's so earthy, so RICH! Wet - There's a minty loam that's coming out from this. The moist dirt in the garden, catmint and tomatoes stretching towards the noontime sun, the grass of the lawn growing far too long. Drying - Oh, I SO wish there were just a tinge of raspberry leaf here! Just the slight scent of raspberries growing to unbearable ripeness. This is so incredibly close to my memories of being a child, naked toes digging into the wet earth as I bite into a tomato, mint leaves garnishing it perfectly, with fresh raspberries for dessert. Dry (30 minutes later) - I'm picking up the cedar now. It smells like walking through a pine forest, the dusty earth kicking up under your feet. Glorious. Overall - This lasted barely 45 minutes on me, but it was 45 minutes of pure bliss. I'm certainly one of those who finds that this scent is very much ALIVE, the way loam is. Most likely, I'll not wear it, since it lasts no time at all one me, but use it for rituals. This is Terra in a bottle.