Brianne

My Mata Hari was amberish in color if I remember correctly lol. I want to think that my imp of Dragon's Heart is mislabeled, because it's so NOT what I was expecting and also doesn't seem to match up to what other people think of it in the review thread. However, I know that it could just be a case of "different nose, different smell". I thought I'd ask though. My imp of Dragon's Heart is a deep red, and smells very floral in the vial and on me for about 10 minutes. It dries into a soft powdery, vaguely floral scent with a tiny little bit of spice to it - but more like the kind of "spice" you get with carnation. Does this seem to match up with other people's impressions on Dragon's Heart? Is the color at least right? (it seems so since I think I read somewhere that it was supposed to be a deep red).

Black Pearl and The Raven! Both were almost entirely Iris on me, with a little coconut for measure in Black Pearl, and a little violet for The Raven

A scent pulsing with vitality, warmth and insurmountable strength: dragon's blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant. In the bottle: This seems really floral to me, I'm a little confused about that On me: I feel like maybe this isn't Dragon's Heart I have here because I'm getting a pretty different impression of this than other people are. Either that or I just really cannot identify the smells in this. When this first goes on me, it's pretty floral smelling, it kinda threw me off since I wasnt' expecting floral. It makes me think of carnation actually. As it dries down it becomes a little more powdery and musky. The warmth is pretty subtle, just a nice musky warmth. After about 20-30 minutes this is very soft and feminine and pretty, with a a powdery/slightly floral spicey thing going on. I never get anything figgy or currant like from this scent at all Final note: I really like this, whatever it is, it's so pretty. I just hope it really is Dragon's Heart!

In the bottle: creamy peppermint! On me: Ooh Spooky my love! Where have you been?? *hugs her bottle of Spooky*. Spooky is everything that I had hoped Milk Moon would be. But better. It is straight up creamy coconut with sweet vanilla and a nice light peppermint. I adore this scent, it doesn't do anything funky, it doesn't go to baby formula, it doesn't fade too fast. It's perfect. Final note: If I was able to buy more bottles of this from the lab. I would. In a heartbeat.

In the bottle: Straight up cinnamon, in fact this is SO cinnamon-y that when I opened my box with about 4 bottles and 15+ imps, this is what I smelled more than anything else. On me: There really isn't too much to say about this one, at first, it's a sharp kick of almond - despite the fact that this says "bitter almond" there is nothing bitter about it on me. It's sweet and warm, and foody. Then in comes the cinnamon, it's also quite foody in my opinion, and makes me think of the cinnamon in Three Witches. This is a lot like Three Witches actually, except no clove. Final note: I love this. Anyone who loves cinnamon should love this (unless you have something against almond, and then maybe not, but the almond barely lasted on me). Definitely a bottle of this is in order. EDIT: I should mention that I never got neroli out from this

In the bottle: Woah Iris @_@ On me: Normally, the Iris would probably have scared me away from this blend. Iris tends to come out really strong on me. However, I LOVE sandalwood, and I was hoping it would be more sandalwood than iris. Sadly, it isn't. THis is pretty much all iris and violet on me, for about half an hour until it fades out into a soft floral with a touch of sandalwood. It's so soft by then though that I can barely smell it. Final note: Too floral for me, but anyone who likes Black Pearl, might really enjoy this for the iris factor.

In the bottle: Not what I was expecting, somewhat of a sharp floral smell On me: This continues to surprise me, in fact, I have had to try this scent on 4 times before I was able to do this review. It's just been really hard to develop my opinions about this particular scent. At first, this scent is much more floral than I expected, and yet it isn't unpleasant at all. It's primarily carnation and apple blossom on me - like what apples would smell like if they were flowers After a while, a warm, powdery scent starts to take over - it's not powdery in the way that makes me go "ugh this went to baby powder on me" it's powdery in a soft girly way, and that carnation adds a little floral spice to it. The longer this scent is on me, the more I like it though. Whereas I think it's nice for the first half hour, it's not something I'd really wear. But after that half hour, it's this soft, warm powdery spicey scent that is just lovely. For that stage of the scent I plan on keeping my imp. Final note: I found this to be one of the more complex scents on me, but I do like it. I actually like it *because* it's complex. I am keeping my imp but I am undecided about whether or not I need a bottle yet. I think I'm gonna have to just keep wearing it and see if I miss it when that imp is gone!

In the bottle: perfumey and heady, not quiet what I was expecting so far On me: This is very incensey on me, the patchouli is pretty strong in this, but I can definitely smell the vetiver underneath and the jasmine just a little bit too. I think the mosses are lending a little green kick to this otherwise incensey smell Final note: I normally like incensey smells, but I think this one is just too much for me. I believe this is what people are referring to when they say it smells "headshoppy". Not a bad smell, just not for me

In the bottle: Spicey and sweet, with a slightly medicinal tang to it On me: Oooooh this is so nice!! That spicey sweet kick is the star anise which I quite like. I wouldn't picture myself wearing anise, but for some reason, it just goes really well with the white sandalwood and cherry blossom. I don't find the cherry blossom to be particularly sweet, it offers a nice balance to the star anise, and the white sandalwood rounds out and warms this up nicely. Final note: I would buy a bottle of this, it's such an interesting scent! I can definitely picture Kyoto when wearing this, it's wonderful! I actually LOVE the star anise, and usually I wouldn't wear something with anise in it.

In the bottle: a soft floral, with hints of something sweet On me: Despite all the floral notes in this blend, this scent doesn't come off as particularly floral. The plum really does a great job of toning down the floral notes and bringing something cool and playful to the mix. This scent is soft and feminine, yet playful and almost effervescent. It's bubbly and girlish one moment, and wickedly aloof the next. The white musk is just lovely in this, in the later dry down stages of this scent, the musk really comes out to play, yet never drowns out the other notes. Final note: This is a great scent, I wouldn't have thought that I would like this scent, but I really do! It's the kind of thing I could see myself wearing to a formal outing with friends, or even just to the movies. Very pretty and it works for me and I don't even like florals!

In the bottle: Ooohhhh I love this already *swoon* So coconut-y and warm! On me: This is already one of my favorites. This is warm and buttery sweet, but not too much so. It makes me think of Grog but it's not as sweet or heavy, and the coconut lends a tropical, beachy feel to this one. It does wind down a lot after just 15 minutes or so but that nice coconut and rum smell is complimented nicely by just a faint hint of spicey tobacco. This is wonderful. Final note: Big bottle for sure, I adore this! I just wish it didn't fade so fast on me. Oh well, I'll just have to reapply a lot!

In the bottle: Not to sound crude here, and believe me I know sometimes oils can smell kinda foul in the vial only to morph into something beautiful on my skin - but in the vial this smells like a warm cat litter box. It's frightening me. On me: Ehhhh....I'm worried here, it's not litter box now, but it is diapers, and I just know that's the rose. For whatever reason, there are some roses that end up smelling diaper-ish on me. It's not pleasant. Underneath that, this is strongly floral, though I'm not detecting any floral in particular, especially not gardenia which is usually very easy for me to pick out. The amber is accounting for the "warm" smell here I think, but I can't really decide if I can pick it out otherwise. After about half an hour this turns into a primarily Amber scent, for which I'm thankful for. The amber is warm and slightly sweet and powdery, and makes a lovely companion to the florals which are barely there at this point. Final note: I'm not sure if this scent is for me, or if I want to keep my imp. I like it enough at the point where it goes all ambery to consider keeping the imp, and my Mom smelled it and went "mmmmm!" so she clearly likes it. I just don't know that this is really very "me", though it is lovely in the long run.

In the bottle: Very sweet and fruity, kind of an appley smell, but like an artificial apple smell, not a fresh tart or juicy one. On me: This is very sweet and has a general fruity/berry smell to it. It strikes me as kind of a candle-y smell, the fruit doesn't come off as smelling really "natural" on me, and smells rather artificial (at least on my skin). The neroli never seems to come through on this, just what I'm guessing is the huckleberry and currant. Final note: Too sweet for my tastes, but this would make a really nice room scent, which is exactly what I intend on keeping this imp for! EDIT: I think there must be some apple in this at least, because the more this wears down, the more I catch an apple smell.

In the bottle: Green, herbally, clean On me: That tea leaf really comes through in this, and yet this scent isn't quite what I'd call a tea scent. It's very herbally and has a nice kick from the ginger. There is something citrusy smelling in this as well, which I think might be bergamot, perhaps just lemon. This is such a unique scent in that it's so well rounded. It's very interesting with the herbally grounded notes in this, with the sharper ginger and citrus notes. Final note: Lovely and clean and crisp, it dries into a very soft scent. I will definitely keep my imp of this. Like herbal tea with a fresh helping of ginger and lemon. This scent keeps you guessing in trying to identify those notes! EDIT: This is really growing on me, and my Mom LOVES loves loves it

In the bottle: Mmm sweet and warm! On me: Not what I was expecting! The lab generously included this as an extra in my last order, and I'm so glad they did! The florals are there, but the vanilla is the true star in this scent. It's warm and almost foody sweet on me, with the gardenia just peeking through and the rose alongside of it. The jasmine never makes much of an appearance. Final note: I don't normally like florals. But what is this? A rose scent I love?? Yes! This is beautiful and warm and rich. This is a floral scent that I think a lot of floral haters could love!

In the bottle: Crisp, clean, very "white" scent On me: Exactly what it says it is - white tea and ginger. It's fresh, light, clean, and still crisp. The ginger doesn't come out much on me, but it does make a nice companion to that white tea. Final note: This is very fresh, and though I don't think I will need a bottle of this, I will be keeping my imp. This strikes me as the kind of scent I'd want to wear on a hot summer night

In the bottle: sharp and green, with a floral undercurrent On me: There is lily in this :/ That's about all I can say for it, because the beast known as lily is always the predominant note on me, and now it just smells like soapy floral. Final note: Whereas I didn't get anything from this scent, I will say one good thing about it. This scent LASTS. I applied this yesterday afternoon, and well into the wee hours of the morning, every time I would move, I would catch a big whiff of this. By the time I went to bed, I could still smell it. When I woke up today - it's STILL HERE.

In the bottle: a soft floral On me: Soft general floral smell at first, not a floral I can identify. No lily since it isn't soapy, and no rose or gardenia. It's something very soft and feminine though. Eventually a very vague fruity note pops into this, it makes me think of champage so I think it must be a white grape? There is something warm in background of this scent as well, it's warm and slightly sweet, but it's not vanilla. Perhaps it's amber? I'm not very familiar with amber so I'm not sure. Final note: This is a light, mostly floral, feminine scent. It's pretty, but not really for me. I might end up keeping this imp, but maybe not.

In the bottle: bright, cold mint with a BITE to it, that I assume is the white pepper On me: At first, the mint is predominant, and it's very sharp and cold. After just a minute though that cucumber really comes out and makes this clean and wonderful. Eventually, in about 10 minutes, this scent settles down into a soft mint with a nice clean base of cucumber. That white pepper is still there in the background, offering a little bit of an edge to this, but it's very much in the back. Final note: This is amazing, one of my favorites no doubt, I love nice clean and minty smelling scents, and this is definitely up my alley.

In the bottle: Very tangy and salty, so salty that it leaves a strange bitter taste in the back of my throat On me: I really should have known that this was not going to work for me. Generally, I don't get along well with strong aquatics, but the beachy like reviews and the description gave me hope that this scent might be an airy/breezy ocean smell. Something that would make me think of standing on the strip near VA beach and getting that warm, fresh salty breeze. This is much much much more ozoney though and very salty. The tang is a little too much for me unfortunately. Final note: This isn't a bad scent by any means, I know that people who like aquatics will love this. Sadly, aquatics just aren't usually something I'd wear and this is a bit too strong for me. I think this would smell great on someone else though

In the bottle: wow, another strong tobacco blend for me today, it's POWERFUL! On me: Hmm... so far, this isn't quite what I was expecting. The tobacco smell is quite strong on me and it's about toe to toe with the rose. Which is funny, because I didn't think there was going to be tobacco in here, but here it is, I'm sure of it. Not that I mind, I like tobacco, but this is a bit strong for me. I am waiting for some of that pomegranate to show up or vanilla. After a while, it is clear to me that those are not gonna show up on me I wish that this wasn't such an overwhelming tobacco on me, but it is and that in combonation with the rose means this scent just isn't for me. Final note: Not really what I was expecting, but I'm sure other people will love it, especially if they love rose After it dries for a good long while, the vanilla shows up a tiny bit, but it's so faint, that this still doesn't really work on me.

Chaos Theory2 - CCXXXIV In bottle: Oooh interesting! My first impression was a sweet, boozey smell. When I smelled it the second time, I got more of a foody/minty smell. I swear I smell mint in there, kind of like if mint ice cream were mixed with some kind of booze like bourbon. On me: Oh yeah that's mint!! Beth must have been psychically linked with me! I kept thinking how great it would be if I got a mint or cinnamon blend, and this is definitely minty! I'm having a hard time identifying anything else, it seems like there is something green and herbally behind the mint, but I can't tell yet. It's warm though too, not a cold mint. It's not boozey smelling on me like it was in the bottle. The mint is more wintergreen smelling than regular mint or peppermint and underneath I think there is something that smells a bit like eucalyptus, but it's so very faint! Final note: I wish I could say more about this, but so far that's all I've really gotten! It's a very nice blend, and right up my alley. I'm very very pleased and I will come back and edit if I come up with some other notes on this! EDIT: This dries into a wonderful smokey sweet scent with a nice minty kick. It's fabulous!! Chaos Theory 2 - LXI - In the bottle: Wow this is REALLY boozey smelling. On me: I'm starting to smell some citrus - I believe it's lemon. Right now, this smells like some kind of lemon liqour. It's not a bright, tart lemon - it's a well rounded, deep lemon smell. I really cannot identify the boozey smell underneath, but on me, it's not an overwhelming smell, the lemon definitely is predominant on me. As this is on me longer, it starts to make me think of Christmas. I cannot for the life of me figure out *why*, but there is something nostalgic about this smell. It's really softened now, and it's very pretty actually. Later: It's very soft now, and this scent just keeps bringing up new surprises! Now there is some kind of spice that's come up, I can't identify it more than to say it's a general spiciness, and it compliments that soft lemon smell very well! It makes me think of a Yankee Candle Company Candle actually. Final note: This is so unusual and very pretty - I'm not normally into lemon, so I may end up trading this off, but I might just keep it anyways because that nice soft n spicey drydown is very nice. EDIT: We call my Mom The Nose because she has a super sense of smell. It's true too, it turns out she caught something in this lemon blend that I didn't! She caught tobacco right away, which accounts for the boozey smell. I sometimes smell tobacco as boozey, and when the lemon dried down to a nice warm and spicey scent, that must have been the tobacco!

In bottle: Smells like Cool Water in my opinion! On me: That bergamot is definitely the predominant note on me, on my brother it was more of a warmer bergamot, which I assume was the tonka coming out on him. This is quite masculine, I couldn't see a woman wearing this, though I'm sure some may like to! It's a nice scent, very cologney. The longer I wear it, the more that lavender comes out, but the bergamot is still the strongest on me. Final note: This is a nice scent for a guy, I don't like it as much as I like some of the warmer scents, but any guy who enjoys something like Cool Water, will probably love this. My fiance loves it, so it's going to him! EDIT: After a little while, this scent has really grown on me. It warmed up a bit on me as well and there was something slightly minty underneath. Really nice!

In the bottle: ehh.... my brother sniffed this first and I think he had the same reaction I did. He said, "It smells like a grandma". And indeed it does, in that musky/overpowering/generic kind of way that I guess some grandmas smell like (? lol) On me: Ewww. Just ew. For a split second it smells nice with that musk, but then, what I'm assuming is the vetiver because I can't quite identify it, starts to make this smell really dusty and dry. I don't like it and in combonation with the leather, this ends up smelling like an old, dusty coffee table. Weird, but true. I had my fiance try this on just to see if it was just me, and it DID smell nicer on him with the musk more prominent, but it's still not one I'm crazy about. Final note: This doesn't have enough kick to it for me to like it, but I can see how other people would, especially if the leather note came out more on others

In the bottle: Lotus and juniper, it SCREAMS it and is dizzying On me: Penance likened this to toilet bowl cleaner, and I'm inclined to agree. Wet on my skin it's so overpowering it's nauseating. The lotus adds a weird note to this that really doesn't agree with me (I'm thinking I should avoid lotus after the lotus blends I've tried). I get mint after a minute, but it's very faint and the lotus is really winning out. This continues to smell an awful lot like toilet bowl cleaner until about 5 minutes in when - it just goes away. I don't mean the cleaner smell, I mean the whole scent. It disappears completely on me. There's just...nothing. It's so strange, because it's so strong at first, and I've applied it several times now and it just keeps disappearing in a few minutes. Even if I DID like this, it doesn't seem to want to stay. Final note: I really really don't like this, but I seem to be in the minority. I suspect that lotus doesn't really like me, and that could be the problem.