Dianora

I got this thinking blackberry leaf, white rose and bitter clove sounded delicious, and was a little put off when I finally had the bottle open for sniffing. Is that the balsam and bitter clove that makes this smell so much like Winter of Our Discontent in the bottle? I think it must be, and I almost didn't even want to try it because last time I wore WoOD I got a terrible headache. But I did try it, and within a few moments that manly balsam was gone, the clove had mellowed, and the rose and frankincense came out. When wet, this is very aquatic and strangely sweet. As it dried, a herbal note and the wood of the driftwood came out a bit more, leaving the rose to give it just a hint of underlying sweetness with just a bite of spice. All in all, I'm not sure about this scent. I love the end result of the spicy wood, but it might be too dry and masculine for me. I'll hang on to it and see.

I went through a mini-aquatic craze after huffing the hell out of Undertow, and during that time scored a bottle of this from E-bay. I'm not a big honey fan, but the lure of another aquatic mint with seaweed was too much to ignore. I've had this bottle for a couple months, and every once in awhile the right mood will hit and I'll dig it out and slather it on. In the bottle, this smells sweet, minty and slightly salty. It is very aquatic and almost masculine, but sweet enough to be unisex. On the skin, the honey comes out and blends smoothly with the mint and seaweed, giving it a salty-sweet smell. It goes through a dangerous phase where it smells a little off, but luckily it is very short lived. When it dries, it's silky honey with a dash of sweet mint and the barest hint of ambergris. It's lovely and clean without being astringent, and definitely sweet and sexy enough for a woman to wear. In short, it's a beautifully blended scent that deserves a lot of love.

This is the smell of fresh, damp earth. It's that smell exactly. If I really sniff, I can pull out something like moss and a note that reminds me of damp tombstones. It's just... delicious. (Yes, I know I'm strange. I used to eat dirt when I was a kid.) However, to be honest, I didn't go on a hunt for this bottle to wear it on its own. Instead, I recently found myself wearing Jazz Funeral more and more, and really loving that dirt note. Then, as I was wearing other scents, I'd say to myself "you know what this is missing? Dirt". Right now, I'm sitting here typing while slathered in Sin and Graveyard Dirt. It's divine. It's Sin in a Graveyard. I have a feeling that this is going to be a new favorite layering note, for when I'm craving that freshly-crawled-out-of-the-grave smell. (Graveyard Dirt '08, if it matters to anyone)

In the bottle this smells like... butter. And cherries, but mostly butter. On my skin, this goes on really thick and, like Snake Oil, leaves a yellow smear till it's rubbed in and dried. Wet, it smells like more butter, with a hint of wood. It's kind of sickening, and I was thinking I'd have to wash it off before I left the house. However, as it dries down, the buttery smell morphs into a sweet wood smell, which melds nicely with the cherry. The blend becomes reminiscent of Antikytheria Mechanism, but without the tobacco and smoke, and just the sweet, dark wood. It's nice, but I'm really not sure if I'm a big enough fan of the dry result to stomach that initial butter phase. We shall see, I will have to try it again once it's settled.

I get really excited about roses. I'm not sure what it is with me and roses, but I am so absurdly happy that BPAL rose likes me. As soon as I saw the Bards series, I knew The Dole of the King's Daughter and I were destined to be. Luckily, I was right and this is a gorgeous blend. In the bottle, Dole smells strongly of roses, a hint of lily and a cool, sweet aquatic. When I put it on my skin, the rose bloomed right away, but not in a heady, in-your-face kind of way. It plays very nicely with the other notes, allowing this to become sweet and complex and a touch spicy. As it dries down, the earthy smell comes out to temper the aquatic notes, and the rose becomes spicier and darker as the dragon's blood comes out. I was reminded strongly of my beloved Blood Rose, but Dole is darker, richer and more melancholy. Final verdict on this is love. I have enough lovely rose blends that I should be satisfied, but I am resisting strong impulses to buy a backup bottle.

CCXL (240) In the bottle I smell... violet and lavender? I think that's what it is. It's very faint, I almost have to stick my nose in the bottle to get a strong impression of it. On the skin, the florals and vanilla take center stage, making this a much more feminine, girly version of Dorian. Once it starts to dry down, it reminds me of Dorian with Jazz Funeral, minus the fresh dirt. Somewhere in there, the vanilla seems to bow out just a bit and it becomes much more of an "old lady perfume". I'm not really that fond of florals, but I do like this blend; the vanilla and florals are really nice and sweet together. It's an understated, more feminine version of the scent I know and love. If my bottle of Dorian is any indication, I think with a bit of aging, the vanilla will become more full and the wonderful notes in Dorian will develop more fully, making this a bit more sophisticated. Edit: On second wearing, I think I detect a bit of pomegranate in there with the florals. After several hours of wearing, it now smells a bit like a more floral version of Candy Pheonix mixed with Dorian. Very yummy.

I was a little leery of some of the notes in this, but I got it as a frimp and decided to give it a whirl. My first impression of this was, quite honestly, generic "white florals" perfume with a hint of citrus. On my skin initially, I got a lot of citrus, which made it bearable, but once it started to dry down I got a sophisticated, well blended, old lady perfume. It hasn't been on long, and already all those shining citrus top notes have faded. Definitely not for me, but could be a good choice for someone who likes sophisticated florals. I also wanted to add that, much like cthulhu, this was surprisingly clean and fresh smelling to me. Is pure, unadulterated evil always so freshly scrubbed?

Oh, this is absolutely gorgeous. In the imp, it smells like cocoa and warm vanilla. When I put it on my skin, it bloomed into a rich, warm vanilla myrrh with just a hint of cocoa to make it smell swoon-worthy. For a few minutes there, a hint of something slightly off crept into the scent, and I began praying to the perfume gods to please, please make it go away because Velvet is one of the most amazing scents I've ever tried. Luckily, my prayers were answered and it dried down to a beautiful, deep warm myrrh scent that just glows with sophistication and loveliness. Also, I realized that it smells exactly like a tobacco and cigar shop that I used to lurk in when I was a child, the same smells of almost-incensy exotic cigars and flavored cigarettes. It's just breathtaking, I love, love this.

I tried this before bed last night, but unfortunately I didn't keep it on long enough to get any dreams from it. In the imp, it smells deliciously lemony with a hint of sharpness and lavender. It was perfect for all of about thirty seconds on my skin, but then it started morphing into something that was... awful. It inexplicably started to smell like an old campfire that someone had extinguished with a bucket full of lemon pledge. I tried to ignore it and just go to sleep, but it actually got nauseating. I was forced to get up, scrub it all off, and slather on some Dorian before I could get to sleep. Sorry Nanshe, you are most definitely not for me.

This was frimped to me not once, but twice. I took that as a sign and looked at the notes and started to get a bit excited-- patchouli? Sandalwood? Lime? Oh hell yes. I was a bit concerned about the vetiver and bourbon, but there was too much good stuff packed in here to ignore. In the imp this is sharp, but in a good way. The vetiver and patchouli are whip-like, but the lime makes it interesting. I slathered some on, and got a nice whiff of the sandalwood. Funny thing about bourbon and it's cousin bay rum. They eat everything. Less than half an hour later, all I could smell on my skin was slightly bitter nothingness. A void where all the lovely things should have been. It was a bit of a disappointment, but with a heavy heart I consigned these imps to the "for swap" tin.

Based on the description of something dark, slithery and aquatic, I was all set to love this scent. I mean, I imagined something forebodingly evil that was redolent with the sharp tang of the sea, seaweed, and unspeakable things raised from the depths of the ocean. On getting a frimp of this though, I was very glad I didn't order a bottle unsniffed because it's absolutely nothing like that. In the imp, it smelled-- fresh and clean? That can't be right. Surely the almighty elder god can't smell like laundry soap! But that's exactly what it is. Instead of the dark green slithery scent I'd imagined, I can't help but think of fresh laundry blowing in the breeze under the summer sun. That isn't to say this is bad, it's a very nice laundry scent, but I'm pretty sure Cthulhu doesn't do laundry. I dabbed some on, and woah, does this amp. Look at me world, I totally just washed my clothes! It gets pretty soapy as it dries, though again, in a pleasant enough way. After about six hours of wear, I can still smell this scent going strong and still soapy. This isn't terrible, by any means. If this fragrance were in a laundry soap, it would be the best, freshest smelling laundry soap ever. However, this really isn't what I was looking for in an elder god, and I can't help but think that the description is a tad bit misleading. Ah well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

I got a package from a forumie, and as I was digging out the goodies I discovered that she'd enclosed six rare or LE decants! My mouth must have dropped open in shock, and after I'd divested them all of the bubblewrap I lined them up and caressed them lovingly. My eye was immediately drawn to the decant of Three Witches, which I had been wanting to try since I first heard it described as the clove Holy Grail scent. It was surprisingly light in color, given that the ingredients make it sound like it ought to be a swirl of golden brown oil, not very pale yellow. I struggled to get the lid off the vial without beheading it, but in the end it popped off and I got my first whiff of Three Witches. Clove and cinnamon HEAVEN! It is very strong and spicy in the vial, the cloves unmistakable and very front-and-center, while the cinnamon gives this a spicy, playful kick. I am instantly reminded of smoking clove cigarettes outside of a club, perhaps in the first shivering chill of autumn. I put some on my skin, and the cinnamon amped up just a bit, and it was pure love. I am in utter and perpetual lust with cinnamon, and every other cinnamon blend I've tried has left me going "but where is the cinnamon?" Not so with this blend. As it dried, the cloves became a bit more prominent again, and it settled down to become more of an 'old clove cigarettes' fragrance, you no longer have the lit clove in your hand but the fragrance clings to your clothes. I have to disagree with those who call this foody, for me it doesn't smell like baked goods at all. For a moment when the cloves were their strongest, I was afraid of smelling like a baked ham, but it never came to pass. Instead, I get the perfect balance of cinnamon and clove. Easily makes the Top Five for me, I think.

I have been increasingly drawn to water scents (despite being a Taurus I have been a 'water baby' all of my life), and took a chance on ordering Water Phoenix before it came down. I have been practically living in my new bottle of Undertow, but today I gave it a break and pulled out this bottle. At first sniff, this is like bottled ocean breeze. It reminds me of standing on the high cliffs in Russian Gulch in Ft Bragg, looking down at the water as the wind sweeps up and carries the scent of fresh plants and saltwater. Perhaps the fragrance isn't exact (there is no rotting seaweed or fishy smell), but it imparts the same kind of fresh, clean feeling. Wet, on the skin, this definitely has some of that high-end soap or aquatic cologne going on, but I think it's even better because it has none of that "manly" musk that most of those products have. Dry, the similarity intensifies, but I am very pleased. In the past, I've been known to steal a spray of cologne like this, only to be turned off by the faint whiffs of eau de sweaty boy in it, and this has absolutely no traces of that. This is lighter and much more blue than a lot of the aquatics I've tried, and definitely softer and more temperate than say, undertow. It's gorgeous, I love it.

I couldn't let the Anniversary pass me by without picking up at least two phoenixes, and after much deliberation chose Candy Phoenix as one of the two I ended up with. So, in a whimsical mood today, I thought I'd try this pungently pink perfume. In the bottle, this reminded me strongly of Bordello, which I'd really liked but had ended up not liking me. The pomegranate made it even more of a sweet-tart fragrance though, and the black currant made it mouth-watering. So I eagerly slathered it on. It almost seemed effervescent, sweet and tangy and good, like the taste of pixie sticks and pop rocks when wet, and it didn't morph much when dry. Overall, I am very happy with this scent. It is undeniably pink and very much a candy scent, but with enough tartness to make it interesting and save it from being an insipid little girl scent. Yum!

How strange you are, Eustephanos. At first sniff, you don't appear to be as advertised on the tin, at all. In fact, in the bottle you are strangely reticent. Are you there at all? So I put some of you on some bare skin and waited to see if you would put in an appearance. Oof, you certainly did, and you smell a bit like burnt hair when wet, not at all charming you cheeky minx. It carries on that way for awhile, with me sniffing and disliking you more and more, until you suddenly reveal yourself in all your rosy glory. When I say rose, I mean ROSE, you smell not unlike my beloved Blood Rose, though perhaps deeper and darker, leaning more toward her sophisticated cousin, Black Rose. The pomegranate lends you a tang of tart sweetness, the amber gives you an alluring warmth, and the frankincense gives you a delicate spice. Oh, despite the vileness of your first impression, you are a gorgeous, sultry lady under it all, Eustephanos. I think I shall keep you. Just a note: I love rose, and rose loves me. If roses turn bad on your skin, you might want to look elsewhere as this is a first and foremost Rose scent. The other notes do not mask or hide it at all.

A friend of mine was married in December, and the first the she asked me when she got out of the shower that morning was "can I use Snow White?" It was a lovely choice, crisp for a winter wedding and light enough that it never cloyed or was overpowering. Eyeska, you might try Voodoo Lily, it is incredibly green and spicy and deliciously sexy. I adore it, but it doesn't seem to last long on its own. It might last longer when layered, though.

I got this bottle in a swap, unsniffed, based on the notes and what I was hoping it would smell like. I'd hoped it would smell of oranges and roses and have a hint of warm amber. I was deathly afraid of the gardenia, as it has meant the premature death of many other fragrances for me. I got the swap in the mail earlier today and immediately opened the bottle. Heavenly! In the bottle, I smell delicious, mouthwatering orange and full blown roses. It's bright and scintillating, and perfect. Just perfect. I immediately put it on the back of my hands (my favourite testing/smelling location), and promptly tried to inhale my hand. The tang of citrus is full and juicy, and the roses are lovely and full while the amber in the background begins to temper it into something warmer. The musk lends a soft fullness to the scent, without detracting one bit from the freshness of it. As it dried, the citrus melded further with the roses and the other florals came out to lightly harmonize with the other scents. I can detect the heliotrope and gardenia, but they barely register as anything more than grace notes. Fully dry now, this is a subtle skin fragrance on me. I can still catch whiffs of oranges and roses, and I feel like I'm surrounded by a lovely aura of good things. I'm very glad I went for a bottle of this. It's gorgeous, and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect citrus scent for my chemistry (which loves roses).

I have quite a few happy scents to suit different moods, though some are perhaps more comfortable than ecstatic joyfulness. Dorian: My comfort scent. Warm vanilla and light creamy tea make me feel safe and warm. Maybe not bottled glee so much as cozy goodness. Katrina Van Tassel: Something like Dorian. It's honey roses instead, but its a very happy scent. A GC like it is Alice Lines Written Among the Eugenian Foothills: It's an LE and very wintery, but the mint and berries sparkle. It makes my day. I don't know of any GC quite like it. Undertow: Again, it's that mint that gives me a bit of a lift. Aziraphale: Light and woodsy, the smell of dusty old books and sunshine makes me smile. Knave of Hearts: Omg spice cake! It's like being in a delicious bakery. I'm a child at heart, I still go nuts for sweets.

In the imp, Tempest smells fresh and clean. On the skin, it didn't morph or change much, other than developing a slightly "perfumey" kind of undertone. It seemed really familiar to me, and as it dried I finally figured it out. When I was younger, I used a bottle of Cucumber Melon lotion that smelled almost exactly the same as this. In the end, this is a pleasant scent. It is a little perfumey for me, though it is fairly light and simple. Simple, clean cucumber melon isn't really what I think of when it comes to a Tempest though, and I can't see this as something I'd wear on a regular basis.

I got this as a frimp in my latest order, which seems perfect considering I'm going crazy for both citrus and aquatics right now. In the imp, this is fresh, sharp orange zest layered with a hint of salt. I think my eyes just about popped out of my head when I sniffed this, and I started slathering. I should know better, really. As soon as it touched my skin it morphed. I think the ozone and the citrus were to blame, because suddenly I smelled like I'd been slathering WD-40 on my wrists. I almost washed it off, but endured by keeping my wrists well away from my nose till it dried. Once it was dry, I sniffed again. The citrus had mellowed out just a bit, and the ozone wasn't so sharp, but there was still a slick of WD-40 floating atop the ocean waves. I am very sad as I write this and plan to go scrub my arm up to the elbow. Sea of Glass seemed utterly perfect for me, but in the end it is just not meant to be. Toss in the swaps pile, I think.

If you have a bottle of lemon juice around, try a squirt of that. Lemon juice breaks down most odors that won't leave no matter what (I use it after cutting onions to get rid of that, for example), and it usually has no problem breaking down BPAL oil. You might get a bit of citrus scent lingering on the skin, but I prefer that to rubbing alcohol.

I bought a bottle of the resurrected to see what all the hubbub was about. In the bottle, it smells sweet, like vanilla with something faintly buttery underneath. On my skin, the spices, vanilla and coconut start out smelling pretty good, but shortly into the drydown process I get nothing but burnt marshmallow. I was bewildered, and the first time I wore it I was away from home and didn't wash it off. Many hours later before bed, a sniff of the wrist revealed that the burnt mallow smell was going strong. Thinking my skin chemistry was wonky, since I had tried Snake Oil for the first time around the same time and it had changed since then, I tested it again, weeks later. It was exactly the same even after settling from the shipment and I had to scrub it off because it was turning my stomach. I wanted this to be delicious and covet-worthy like it is on so many others, but it's off to the swaps to someone who will love it.

I got a frimp of this in my last order from the lab, and thought I'd give it a shot. At first sniff in the imp, it was sweet and tart and berry, and I got strong flashbacks of eating pixie sticks in the summertime. It seemed like pure candy, but tart enough to be mouthwatering instead of insipid. I put it on, and wet it was much the same, the top notes shimmering and sparkling sweetness with something languid and sexy underneath. I was sure it was to be a bottle purchase. However, within a few minutes my skin ate most of the interesting notes and I was left with something that reminds me of a cheap berry bodyspray I owned as a child. Slightly alcoholic, very sweet berry, and just kind of flat. It lasted quite a while, but never got back to anything interesting or sophisticated on me. Due to my skin chemistry, I am disappointed by how flat and one dimensional this turned, especially after such a promising beginning. Alas, it was not meant to be, but I put a few drops in my oil burner and now the room smells of that delicious complex sweet-tartness that I was hoping for. Not a total loss.

I have been kind of antsy lately, having been completely won over to foody scents by some gingerbread soaps I've been using and swooning over. I didn't have any bottles that were very foody, other than perhaps Lady Una, which is sweet and creamy. I wanted something dense and spicy. Today, I opened my imp box and picked up a frimp of Knave right off the top and gave it a sniff. I have to say, the Knave and I fell in love instantly. In the imp I smelled deliciously dark spices, almost a hazelnutty ginger cake. I eagerly slathered it on and oh, it was exactly that! As it dried, it became slightly sweeter, as if a sugar glaze were poured over the top of the delicious spice cake. The throw was good, the staying power seems phenomenal. Many hours later and it's lingering, brown sugar and spicey. I usually amp rose like crazy, but in this blend there was nary a whiff. The final verdict is absolute lust. this has shot up to the very top of my must buy list, I've been scouring sales posts looking for bottles since I don't think my imp will last until I can get a whole bottle. I must have this.

After the disappointment of yesterday's Snake Oil, I decided to run in the opposite direction and dug out this little frimp the lab sent me. It intrigued me from the first because of its color. Amongst the pale yellows and soft ambers of my imp box, this is fantastically, vibrantly green. I took it out and slathered it on the back of my hands, which is my favourite place to test smells. In the imp, it smells deliciously like fresh cut herbs from the garden and something very spicy and delicious like the fresh cut stems of a tomato plant. I admit, I adore fresh cut herbs so I eagerly slathered some on. I wasn't really that overjoyed initially. It smelled like a blend of fresh oregano and rosemary with a hint of pepper, which are delicious in italian cooking, but I do not wish to smell like pasta sauce. However, as it dried those smells faded and I got back that extremely fresh pungent herb smell, like walking in a forest of ferns and trampling pungent plants underfoot. It still has the slightly sharp undertone of fresh rosemary, but it doesn't smell like food anymore. It also developed a tiny bit of citrus tang, not quite lemons but maybe lemongrass instead. It is scents like these that make me wonder if perhaps I am wandering down the wrong path when I seek out mainly resins and dark, smoky fragrances. There is something joyful about this fresh, pungent, green scent, and it just may send me in a frenzy for all things "green".