Dianora

I just got a lovely bottle of aged 06 Samhain today. I was quite excited as I was looking for a nice autumn scent to wear these days. In the bottle, it smells like buttered rum and sweets, though I'm not quite sure where the vaguely alcoholic note came from. Wet on my skin, the sharp pine and heavy forest smells mixed to form something a little bit skunky, but not so bad I felt the need to wash it off. Dry, this smells like dried leaves and dried apples, with a hint of something smokey and autumn behind it. It is much sweeter than I expected. It also seems a lot more faint than many people have said, but I have found that my skin seems to eat scent. I really like it though, it's sweet and spicy at the same time. I can smell the apple, but it isn't at all foody. Note: when I put this on, I admit that I slathered just a bit. I put some on my wrists and a big swipe on either side of my throat. During the dry down period, there was a definite burning sensation on the skin of my throat. I've checked, and there is no broken skin there. It didn't cause any skin irritation, and it may have been caused by the spicer oils getting into the pores after a hot shower. Still, I have fairly sensitive skin so this may be an irritant to those with sensitivities. ETA: About 30 minutes after I posted, Samhain changed again on me. Just a bit, but now it's pumpkins and apple and spice. It is sweet and just getting more gorgeous as it develops. I'm thinking this is a real keeper! ETA again: I ended up having to swap this. After wearing this a few times, it started smelling acrid and giving me migraines. I'm not sure what changed about my chemistry or the way it reacted, but sadly we could not stay together.

In the imp, this was sweet and slightly spicy, with alcoholic tones. Interesting, but not sure I'd like it. Wet on the skin this was pure dirt. Dark and sharp, wet earth. Almost immediately, it began to dry down into something sweet, spicy, slightly alcoholic with a bit of flowers. Dry on the skin, this has become something lovely and completely unexpected. It's floral without being cloying, alcoholic without being sharp, and the faint whiff of fresh dirt is buried somewhere deep in the scent. This fragrance does not seem heavy or overpowering, the flowers give this a fresh sweet scent, while the underlying booze and dirt make it memorable. I need to stop finding things that work so well on me, I'm afraid this must may be another 5ml bottle I NEED to buy.

I got this in a pack of imps while trying to figure out what notes work well with my skin. So far, Rose smells fantastic on me, which I find surprising given that I've never been fond of floral perfumes. This is definitely a full blown floral fragrance, but I am just loving it. In the bottle, it's syrup-sweet, like a thick rose and cherry syrup. I don't know where the cherry comes from, or if it's my nose playing tricks on me, but it's lush. If it were edible, I'd put it right in my tea (it isn't, so don't, of course). Wet on the skin: A blooming garden of roses, with just the barest hint of incense twisting in. On me, it seemed a little faint, so I slathered a bit. Watch out though, within a few seconds the smell had totally bloomed, and I was wearing a very strong, intense scent. Dry: Full, blooming roses and incense. This is the scent I've been scouring incense vendors for years to capture. Beautiful, full blown roses, sweet without being insipid or childish. Later: A duskier smell, like dried rose pedals with the incense. Still heartbreakingly sweet roses, but now the red wine has tempered it with just a hint of dryness. This is astonishingly lovely, perhaps the perfect introduction to rose fragrances for someone who loves spicy, incense-like fragrances. I never expected to like wearing rose, but I'm going to be buying a 5ml of this in my next order.

I got a decant of this as a frimp when I purchased several imps. In the bottle, the sweet smell of cherries and slight tang of citrus make this mouth-wateringly gorgeous. Wet on the skin, the citrus and cherries turn into slightly tangy orange candy, which intensified as it dried until it smelled like a lovely orange candy, but not sickly sweet. An hour or so later, this has mellowed to the point that I can barely discern the scent when I smell my wrists. It is still orange, but the patchouli has added an almost furniture polish element to the scent. It is very faint, and not offensive, but no longer that mouth watering aroma that I'd loved so much within the first fifteen minutes. This is a lovely candy fragrance that seems a bit more adult, but fades very fast on my skin. Fifteen minutes after I'd put it on, I was certain that this would go to the very top of my list for a larger bottle. However, given the very small amount of time it lasts on me, I will content myself with my little decant. ETA: I decided to try layering it with Haunted. At first I thought it was a horrible mistake because the citrus and anise hated eachother. I refrained from washing it off, and when the anise finally went away it actually smells pretty nice. It is Haunted with just a hint of orange under the vanilla and amber.

I have been wanting to try this for quite some time as I am quite enamored with the Baron, and Rum is my poison of choice. I got my hands on an imp of it, and I'm glad I didn't go straight for the 5ml. In the imp, it smells divine, like almonds and liquor. I couldn't wait to try it on my skin, so I put a few drops on my inner elbow. Wet, it still smelled quite sweet, but something weird was happening, something bitter floating on the edges of the sweetness. As it dried, all the sweetness was gone. It became entirely bitter, and the alcohol scent tinged the smell with something harsh and chemical. My eyes watered, and my first thought was to get it off as fast as possible. I'm quite disappointed. I know that scents don't work out for everyone, but I really wanted this to work on me.

In the bottle, Haunted smells sweet and warm, and very slightly tangy. The sweetness is soft, and the warmth of it makes it a lovely full scent, not at all insipid. When wet on my skin, I smell sharp anise or black licorice, which almost completely overpowers the musk. It smells like tramping down a trail overgrown with ferns and wild licorice. I wasn't at all sure I'd like it. Almost immediately, the dry down began and the scent mellowed back to a rich, warm sweetness. The amber and a hint of vanilla made their way to the forefront of the scent. A few hours later, the scent is soft and warm, like vanilla chai tea. It's faint, but still quite nice. Overall, a very nice scent for someone like me who wants something slightly sweet, but not overpoweringly floral. I was afraid it would turn to baby powder on my skin because there seemed to be faint hints of it under the amber and musk during the drydown, but it mellowed out to something quite yummy. On my skin, the name Haunted is quite apt, as it isn't a strong aroma, but something I catch soft whiffs of throughout the day, then just as quickly it's almost unnoticeable again. I also got complimented on how nice I smelled while wearing this for the first time, which is always quite nice.

In the bottle this is very dark, strong and almost bitter, but with a incense like spiciness. Wet on the skin, sin is very warm scent, like sacred incense. To me,this smells like old altars. During the dry down, this got to be very sweet on my skin. The sandalwood mellowed out, and the patchouli dropped out almost altogether. It was still a warm smell, and not flowery. I like it very much. Several hours later there is still a sweet, warm scent on my skin. It seemed to have faded a bit quickly, but it still smells nice. Overall, I am quite pleased, I'm not really one for floral scents and was looking for something with some spice. I am a tiny bit disappointed that the cinnamon notes don't seem to react to my skin, but it's still very lovely. I was also afraid that the patchouli would be too much for me, but the amber and sandalwood mellowed it so that it was just beautiful. I've got a 5ml of this one, and I can see myself wearing it on a regular basis.