ephemera

I really want to find a perfume that's based off an ancient formula. Unfortunately, Rome is not that perfume. For the merest of seconds on my skin, this smelled like lemon verbena with a gorgeous, low undernote of something sweet & mellow. Then, poof. Tea Rose. (I find myself wondering what it is about a rose note that causes so many "fresh & floral" scents to turn to an exact replica of my great-aunts Tea Rose perfume from my childhood.) This was a frimp, as I wouldn't likely have tried it on my own. To the swaps!

This was a frimp sent to me by a forumite. Defintely not a bottle scent, but the imp is nice, if not my style. The prominent smell coming through is greeny-leafy. Wet leaves on the ground, mouldering slightly. I can't seem to get any of the smoke, nor the sap. This is all rainy-afternoon-leaves smell on me. Not unpleasant, and I'm glad to have tried it, but I don't see myself wearing it often really.

This blend is all rose, all the time. As a child my great-aunt wore a perfume called Tea Rose, and this smells so exactly like it that I half expect to see her coming in the room. Unfortunately, I don't care for the scent except in the actual flower, and thanks to my great-aunt I associate this with the elderly.

In the bottle this smells like a very light, shiny fruit note, but not citrus. After a couple of minutes on my skin a smell like the one you get when you break the green stem on a plant comes to the surface, along with a smattering of grassy notes. After a while it just sort of gets biting and herbal, but not terribly... good. I already knew herbal scents dont generally work on my skin, but this was a frimp and I wanted to try it out. The way it smells in the bottle might be worth trying out in a scent locket though... *ponders*

In the bottle this is spicy and wild and a little harsh, but once I put it on my skin it morphed within seconds to some sort of gummy, plastic-y scent. After about 20 minutes (my skin burns scents fast) the ginger and pepper were more evident, but the unpleasant smell was still foremost. I'm not sure what note was doing it - I suspect the red musk is to blame, but I'm not sure on that one. I'd need to see what other blends had the red musk in it that I've tried. This scent is clearly not for me.

This starts off bright and sharp and citrus-y on me. All lemon verbena & grapefuit, which I love. After a few minutes the musk starts to come out and mellow the sharpness and citrus of the scent. After a little while this scent starts to go Dorian on me - wha-huh? Fresh, brand-new Dorian, when the bottle is new and the scent is just dabbed on. There's a hintof grapefruit still, which saves this from beign too sweet. Even after an hour it doesn't seem to lose the lemon verbena, which is my favorite part of this scent. It's just been mellowed a bit by the musk. I'm not getting any of the Fruit Loops or cleaning products that other people are, which I'm relieved about. This was a frimp from the lab, and not a scent I would have bought on my own. However, I think I might like this one and want to wear it more, but I don't think this will be a bottle scent. (Then again, come the hot, sticky days of summer I may change my mind.)

I second the Spider suggestion.

I recently put some Spider on my husband and then nearly nibbled at his neck in front of company, if that helps any. I'm also test-driving Titus Andronicus on myself today and I think it could probably work on men or women.

Reading the list of scents for Bastet, I was sure I was going to love this scent. I adore amber and cardamom, I like almond, and certain musks work very well on my skin. I have to assume that the golden lotus is what disagrees with my skin, because on it gets a little... thick-smelling on me. I can't quite describe it. It's like underneath I can smell the amber and the cardamom and it seems like it would smell nice, but there's this one discordant note and it's the dominant one. About an hour after putting it on I layered a little Body Shop Africa Spa lotion over it, and it is starting to morph a bit into something rather pleasant, but I don't think I'll be wearing this again. I know a lot of people do like it, so it can be a swap. Actually, now that I've thought about it I think the almond may be that discordant note.

This is very fresh and sensual to me... on my husband. On me it gets a little sharp and unpleasant, but I'm quite seriously considering buying a bottle to hand to The Boy, because on him this is bright and sexy and different and just... mmmmmm.

Oh uck. It's just sickly, cloyingly sweet both in the bottle and moreso on my skin. It sounded like a risk, but on my skin this is just like being doused in too-sweet flowers.

In the bottle this smells really yummy. Tobacco & lilac and frankincense goodness. On my skin it just goes straight to white musk. It does not stop, it does not pass go, it does not collect $200. It just hits musk, skidding in sideways. *pout*

I was leery to try Cathouse, because some of the scents listed (magnolia, jasmine) are not good friends with my nose, but some of the other scents (tobacco, vanilla bean, bourbon vanilla) are the kinds of scents I tend to buy in candles a lot. I tried it out last night and it was overpoweringly floral. It smells like a hothouse in the deep south (or how I would imagine that to smell.) I don't get any of the tobacco or vanilla at all, just the magnolia, jasmine, etc. I sprayed Doc afterwards in the adjoining room and that scent has staying power like whoa, so I'm going to wait until later on tomorrow and try Cathouse again and see how it does after a while, but my first impression is not a positive one.

I recently bought a goblin squirt of this to try out. I spritzed it in the computer room and it lingers! So! Long! It's very --- manly. After it settled it has a slightly sweet scent with an earthy kind of scent over it. It makes me think of standing in a very still forest on a very hot summer day with nary a breeze to move the air around. It smells like deep earth and moss and something else I can't pinpoint. I think I may have sprayed too much of it, I admit. Two spritzes in a small room - whoops! I think this will be a great scent if used sparingly.

I had so loved this character, and I thought the description sounded like it could be fun. (I need to learn though, that bay rum is not my friend.) It didn't smell like sugar cookies to me - it smelled like some kind of old powdered sugar bowl - like, really old. Look at it sideways old. The lime came out and kicked around for a few minutes and then vanished on my skin and all that was left was old sugar and bay rum, which does not smell good on me. I didn't think this scent would work on me but I had to try it out.

Whoa. In the bottle this is like 100% patchouli to me. No nuthin' else, just patchouli. However, I am not letting Crowley go without at least trying it out on me. At first it's still all patchouli, but after a while it slowly starts to seep into a lemony patchouli... then what I think is the mahogany comes out and mixes in. I was nervous that the leather would overpower on me, because leather is usually the scent that my skin burns right up to the exclusion of all else, but I can't catch even a whiff of it on me. I think the one smells on my skin like I would want a cologne to smell on my husband. This isn't to say I won't wear this, 'cause I will, but I'm trying to think of ways to sneak this on his skin without his knowing. Hee!

I almost didn't get this oil when I did my last imp order, I'm not sure why. I'm glad I did though. I smell very little of the floral in the bottle that a lot of people mention. Maybe a blossom, hidden waaaaaay underneath all the spices. On my skin the floral starts to come out, getting stronger as times passes. Luckily on my skin it seems to (at least so far) be balanced out nicely with the spices. I can definitely smell the cardamom - no nutmeg really, this is heavy on the cardamom on my skin. Definitely a keeper, but possibly not a bottle.

I think I may have to agree!

Let me start by saying that I love Antique Lace, but I decided ages ago that it's best when it's aged some. This is aged Antique Lace on my skin. I don't know what it is, exactly, but on my skin this scent is immediately rich, creamy, honey-and-vanilla smelling with just a light hint of something floral - probably the sweet pea - to keep it from being unrelentingly sicky-sweet. In the bottle I thought this was soo floral, but the red-hot second it hits my skin it's perfect. I might need a bottle of this!! Later edit: I have found that this has zero staying power on me, and if left for too long it turns to powder. I'm fence-sitting on if this scent is gorgeous enough to buy a bottle and carry for frequent reapplications or not.

Oh my goodness, this Excel sheet Hackess did... words fail. Thank you so much for doing it and sharing it! Now, is there an easy way to add the new items to it when they come out? I know Hackess adds to it and updates it, but if I were to DL the new one each time I would lose my own notes. Just curious!

I have a nearly-empty bottle of this in my little perfume box that I pull out every now and then. It's incredibly aged - I'm guessing 5 years at this point. Aged this is so much better than new on my skin. It has a creamy, rather sweet scent that smells almost fruity - but not like a fruit I know, if that makes sense. It smells like someone took an exotic, luscious fruit and baked it and covered it in thick cream and let the concoction sit. The lasting power in insane on this, too. My skin usually burns oils up fast, but this lasts nearly all day on me without losing power.

I just got this scent from a forumite (it was like instant gratification!) so of course I had to try it right away. In the bottle it's a little... offensive. Weird, and I can't pinpoint what it was. There was enough of a hint of vanilla for me to try it though. I put it on and it smells like... Skin-So-Soft? This is a short phase though - it quickly turns creamy and warm with vanilla hints and a feminine touch of flowers without getting floral on me. This stage lasts about an hour, then it starts to fade. I think I'm going to try to put some more on and see how I like is as the day progresses. The warm, creamy vanilla/amber/light flower stage is really lovely, and I like it.

This is one of my all-time favorite blends. One that I keep coming back to over & over again. It could go on a man's skin without missing a beat, but on my skin it's powerful without being overpowering. The tobacco comes out and whispers around me, and it lasts throughout the whole day without turning thick or too-sweet or musky.

I get a lot of smoke. And something that smells like burnt grass. It's rather overwhelming. After 15 minutes I was getting a headache from it and had to scrub it off. It's sad, because this was the only one of the Marchen that struck me and it just doesn't work for me at all.

I recently got a scent locket and decided to try this scent out in it. (On my skin it vanishes away in a puff of baby powder.) I smelled this all day long - the throw is incredible! It smells exactly like those New Age shops that you find along the coast and in Salem, MA - dim and a little self-conscious and incense-y. Despite that, I found that I liked the scent. I might not go beyond buying imps periodically, but it's a nice change for me.