lupidog

Decided to test this one tonight despite it smelling really foul to me in the imp. I think that's the vetiver, which I -think- smells like beef jerky/nasty meat to me. Wet, yes, all beef jerky/meatiness. That begins to fade to more reasonable levels fairly quickly, but it's still quite prominent. The leather shows up and is yummy, but it's a ... meaty leather. A little while later the straight up MEAT smell recedes significantly, and is less recognizable as such while it lingers in the background. It is mostly leather, which is hit or miss on me. Something is also making me nose feel twitchy, which may be the musk. I REALLY wish I weren't getting that unpleasant tickle, because otherwise this now smells like having your face buried in the neck of a man wearing a leather jacket on a cold night, perhaps during a lingering hug goodnight. Which makes me want to keep huffing, but then there's something in there making me just a touch sneezy (and maybe queasy). I may just have to hunt down the real thing. ETA: Iago is also a persistent fella. I washed my wrist w/ soap and hot water in order to accommodate another smell to test, and he was just like... nope. At first I couldn't smell him but he returned w/ a leathery vengeance. Get outta here, mister leather coat wearing guy! We hugged GOODBYE. =P

Imp's almost spent and I'm super sad. Definitely need a bottle. Occurs to me that mebbe I should review it. When I first tried this, I though it stunk to highest heaven. TOO sharp, TOO sweet. When I got around to trying it again, I had learned of my love of pine and the wonder of a good vanilla. And that's what this smells like (that and Dorian's way hornier cousin come into town to cause sexy sexy trouble while Dorian stammers and attempts to come up w/ some excuse for GP's totally inapprop behavior). Starts off with a MEGA blast of vanilla pine, and then dries down to a somewhat more gentlemanly but roguish vanilla pine. Super sweet, but devilishly handsome. I would swoon if my man would wear this, but he's not into wearing smells (boo) so I'll just have to swoon over myself. It's a "masculine" scent, possibly, but it's so sweet that I think it can play the field. Again, need a bottle!

I have struggled w/ this little lady for a while now. I want to love her, I ALMOST love her, I decide to keep her, but I don't end up reaching for her, then I feel like I should test her again. I test her, I decide, nope, not for me, need to pass her along... but then I end up keeping her for another few months, then test her... ETC AD NAUSEUM. The reason for this is undoubtedly the orange blossom, a very nasty little note with whom I have a complicated relationship. On the one hand, I can't stand it, can't do it, I don't have many death notes but good lord does orange blossom sting my nose. Feh, bitter, yucky. On the other hand, it was a pretty striking revelation to figure out just what note was associated w/ that nastiness. It smells like this old German perfume my Omi had that was in this bizarrely ornate, baroque style bottle that smelled so ancient and bitter - but she loved it (mostly for the bottle though, she didn't wear it that I can recall)! Due to the nostalgia factor, even though I kind of hate it, I sort of love wrinkling my nose to it now and again. All that said, after the wet stage, the orange blossom steps back and the really yummy stuff that I love comes to the fore... fruity (I agree w/ the strawberry assessment, though in my mind this is cherry bubbleyum pinky red) floral candy sweetness. Unfortunately it just doesn't have the throw and clarity I would need it to have to make up for that initial nasty orange blossom chomp. I think I've finally decided to go ahead and part with her... but who knows how I'll be feeling tomorrow!

This is for the resurrected version of Hod. I bought a decant of this last year because I had discovered that carnation was quickly becoming one of my favorite notes. I'd heard that this was basically the go to carnation scent and so I was quite interested. When I finally tested it, however, I could barely smell it all - my skin just ate it up. What I could smell initially was a very "low" carnation note, with a slightly metallic edge, but it went away POOF too quickly, far too quickly to really come to any conclusions. A year later, I decided to give this guy another go, and either my skin chemistry has changed (totally possible, taking different medications than I was a year ago) or age has improved Hod for me. I still get that very low pitched carnation, but it is stronger initially and doesn't disappear! It has less of that metallic bite, but a little is still there - I picture this scent as a very dusty but still luminescent silver (so much so that I keep being surprised when I'm rooting through the imp box and the handwriting on the label is in brown ink and not silver). This doesn't scream, but has enough of a throw that I'm catching lovely, sweet lilts of it as I go through the day. Several hours later it is still distinctively carnation, sweet, and slightly powdery (but not too much). It hovers ever so slightly above my skin. This is a really pretty (if somewhat subtle) blend, and if I weren't 1)lazy and 2)poor, I'd probably track down a bottle. As it is, I'll happily use up my decant when I'm needing a carnation fix. St. Germain disappeared out from under me when I wasn't paying attention this summer, and while Hod isn't exactly the same (lacking the citrus bite, less spicy, more creamy), they do share a yummy soft carnation note that I really enjoy.

I first tried this over a year ago, and found it to be a little too cherry for my tastes. I tried it again last night - The first thing I smell upon application is the cherry again, a little medicinal/robitussin-y, but that mellows pretty much instantaneously. Then the lavender + rosewood comes to the fore, and I just love it. Really really love it. My imp of Villain has been dry for some time now and I've been missing a nice masculine lavender scent. There is a similar feel here. Unfortunately, the lasting power of this stage on my skin is nearly zilch. In less than a half hour, the wonderful complexity has disappeared and I'm left with a very dusty, less appealing lavender. THIS stage lasts forever, seemingly, and smells like faint lavender scented baby powder. It isn't bad, but it isn't true love, either. It's a really cold day here and I've been leaving the heat off, save for a lone space heater. It is possible that my freezing cold skin isn't the best landing site for this oil, but I also tend to completely eat up anything that could be remotely described as delicate. Additionally, it could also be the cold that is keeping the cherryCherryCHERRY in check. Regardless, I don't think the King is my new main squeeze.

this smells pretty decadent in the imp, but going on it is too strong and alcoholic for my tastes. as it dries, that booze edge softens and it becomes a really rich peach, which i mostly like, but is somehow just a tad off for me. after it is thoroughly dry, it smells like a very soft sugared peach... though it drove me crazy, because it also smelled almost exactly like something i knew was related to my pets. after much huffing, i realized it smells almost exactly like ferret ear cleaning solution. um.... okay. this is where i start to fear i'm going mad (though not really, this stuff does have a very particular odor and josie oddly mimics it) because hilma reminded me of horses/stables. who knows!

when i first smelled this at will call, all i could think is "oh my god, this smells like horses." not in a -bad- way necessarily, but something strongly conjured up the smell of being around horses, interacting with them, which I haven't done since I was maybe 10 years old. testing it again, it is the same. i can't tell you what it is - my friend said maybe it smells like the hay. i could see that, the smell of walking through stables. regardless, while it isn't a BAD smell, it isn't really one i think of as perfumey, nor do i think that is what was intended for this oil. after it is well dried down, it becomes a faint and sweet floral, very light but pleasant. i can't decide how i feel about this one, and will definitely test it again, if only to marvel at the strangeness of my association.

I was gifted a decant of this by a generous BPALer, and was quite curious to try it. It was not one that I would have selected for myself based on the notes (I don't dislike any of them overtly, but none jump out at me), but that often is where the best surprises come from! Unfortunately, the second this was on, it smelled badly of some kind of pee/body odor. This one note, high and keening, lifting itself from the others - which all smelled fabulous under the top layer of funk. It was sad. I kept hoping that shrill top note would fade, but it stayed quite dominant. I've been trying to figure out which one it was so I can avoid it in the future, or at least have an awareness of the potential for rankness. Was it the mint? The orange blossom? The blackberry? I just don't know. I'm not super well versed in sandalwood, but I've tried enough blends with it to know it isn't this pee smelling thing. Alas! I wish my skin didn't amp mystery note, or this would be quite beautiful. If your chemistry is different, you may find a unique and elegant blend with good throw and lasting power.

In the imp, this smelled so strongly of clove that I didn't want to try it at all. I like cloves, and have smoked the cigarettes from time to time, but this SHRIEKED at me. I bit the bullet and gave it a go. And.... all cloves, all of the time. And pretty much nothing else. I wish I got the sweeter Tombstone that someone else mentioned... that would be poifect!

My go-to Daffodil scent is The Owens' Tomb. It has a slightly "grey" edge to it (sorry, don't know how to describe the smell!) that is supposed to be representative of tomb dust, but I don't find that it detracts from the prettiness at all. If anything it keeps it from smelling as overwhelming as florals usually do to me. I have the same problem with Amsterdam vanishing nearly instantly on me, but The Owens' Tomb has a much better wear length, in my opinion.

I have to chime in and add my love for Roadhouse. I DO get a hoppy smell, but I find that it blends beautifully with the dandelion. It's in my top ten and I've been really loving it for early spring!

Sniffed from the bottle and just going on, this smells totally of dirt (think Zombi). As it dries, flowers start to peek through... This really smells like rural GA on a hot spring or summer day. Eventually the dirt note fades to a very quiet whisper and it is all the light florals. They are light and sparkling but very sweet. Totally dry is my favorite stage. I am passing along my bottles to others and there is a tinge of regret in my heart. Not too much though, because the dirt note lasts just a LITTLE too long for my preference. I think dirt lovers are really going to dig this! Yes, I said dig. Like in the dirt. *slaps forehead*

I bought this bottle at a reasonable price on ebay, unsniffed, because I have a very serious relationship with pancakes. After several years of the Atkins diet (I know, I know...) pancakes came to represent all that was most decadent in all the world. I have also come to realize that it is my absolutely favorite post-coital meal... How's that for far TMI? But it cannot be helped, as it is a direct reason I went for this impulse buy. Smelling this from the bottle - well, it's dead. on. Delicious, perfect pancakes. It is almost eerie, the level of accuracy. It brings me to a happy, well fed cat place... I just want to roll around in bliss! Unfortunately, Pancake Breakfast plays something of a cruel trick when on... The butter note, which is problematic for me in many blends, gets really loud and proud. Also, their is a strong sort of ... dough note, very similar to the cake note in Eat Me, that also presents very strongly. These things aren't bad, but they are stronger on my skin than they are wafting up from a stack of the real thing. The butter is indeed a musky goat butter, which may be a bit too rich for some. As for the syrup, I never really get boysenberries specifically, just sweet sweet maple or perhaps butter pecan syrup. I don't wear this often, and when I do it is a small amount just for that rush of seratonin... but I'll never ever trade my bottle away, just being able to sniff from it is a dream!

Though it is an LE, I will second the recommendation of Vampire Tears. It smells SO salty to me, but is also very floral. The salt helps take that super flower edge off, and it is one of my favorites. I've seen many decants floating about the for sale forum, so maybe you can snag one to try without TOO much trouble...

This is in a category of scents that I tried, didn't like (but didn't hate), took a few notes on, and then vowed to test again. Except the testing never happened because I spent more time with new and more intriguing scents. I was with several friends when I initially tried this. It reminded me immediately of something VERY specific. I was practically doing the crazy dance while madly huffing, trying to figure out WHAT in the heck it was. It wasn't a bad smell, but it wasn't a perfume smell to me -- it was a very specific scent memory. Then it hit me! DOG SHAMPOO. The "green" kind that we always used in the 80s and 90s. I was much relieved to figure this out, but it made it really hard to take the oil seriously as perfume after that. Even without the association, I have a feeling Blood Kiss would not be for me, as I am not a big cherry fan, and cloves are dangerous territory. It wasn't offensive by any means, and I can see cherry lovers really digging it.

I hate leaving these kinds of reviews, but all I can muster is: Cinnamon rose soap. Gross. I just can't do the sickly sweet cinnamon thing. Too many stupid nights in my college days with that dreadful beastie known as Goldschlager. Yech.

Oh Cthulhu! How can I be surprised that you continue the trend of aquatics not only amping, but BLASTING INTO SPACE from my skin? Don't get me wrong. I LOVE this scent. It is murky and dark blue green, but somehow clean too. I love how wet it feels. Very evocative. Perhaps more pleasing to the nose than I might anticipate Cthulhu to be, but we'll let that slide. I would define it as tending towards the masculine side of things, but definitely still unisex. Unfortunately, it goes on loud and gets louder. The next morning it was SCREAMING from my skin, and much of what I loved about it was lost in the noise. It doesn't fail, rum, aquatics, and strong food scents just are so strong on me. I like this enough that I may experiment with the teeniest tiniest dabs, but ultimately it is probably too strong for me. I put it on a male friend whose skin just absolutely eats up oil, and on him it was a light, clean aquatic. Go fig.

Sniffed from the imp: Sweet christ this smells good! Pure butterscotch schnapps. I want to eat this. Don't know if it will be good ON me, but we'll have to see. On: GAG.. Gaggaaagggg. Too.... strong..... can't ... TAKE IT! Was washed off almost instantly to preserve sanity. It wasn't a GOOD strong smell, either, it was just.... I don't know, falling face first into a boiling pot of rum and caramelized sugar, without the 3rd degree burns...

Sniffed from the imp: powerful butter rum, reminiscent of Grog. On: Wet, i'm getting something similar to Pancake Breakfast, but with the boozy rum over it. A gigantic weight lifting champion of a gingerbread man. Powerful stuff! More sugar coming through now. Smells like a Christmas cookie candle. Better if I keep my nose a bit away from my wrist, just because it is so very powerful. Definitely getting the orange rind now, which makes me nervous, because orange can be cruel to me. Mmm, but after a few more minutes of biting rum and orange, this gets VERY cozy, like I'm cuddled in blankets near a warm fire, maybe drinking some apple cider. It doesn't smell like apple cider, that's just the ambiance I am picking up on. I don't know if I could wear this out as a perfume, I feel strange smelling so identically like food, but it is really a pleasure to smell. To me this is much like Pancake Breakfast w/out the pancakes. The sugar and the syrupyness are very similar. I think future appreciation will not be ON me, however... it was too powerful for my usual tastes and irritated my crappy allergies. Still a fun thing to try out, just to appreciate the artistry.

from the imp: sweet. First time on - DAFFODILS?! That makes no sense. VERY vanilla. Also reminiscent of Dana O'Shee, but the amber gives it a deeper feel. A little cloying. Undecided. Upon a retest, I've decided I was just in a weird mood last time, and that this is indeed lovely. Someone made a comparison to VS Amber Romance in the suggestions forum, and I can see that, though AR has a more stinging and heady throw. This isn't to say O isn't a rich scent, it definitely is. The "daffodil" scent must be the amber and vanilla in combination somehow, as I am fairly sure there are no florals in here. Just happens to combine into a smell that reminds me of my beloved Daffies. ...WAIT. I realize what this reminds me of (and why I'm thinking of daffodils)! When I was little, I had a Lady Lovelylocks doll, and she came with two bottles of perfume. One Daffodil, one Vanilla. They could be used separately or layered. I LOVED that stuff and used it for years and years until it was way too gross (and honestly even after that). Little did I know I would discover it again here in the form of O (though it is heavier on the Vanilla side of things). Bizarre. Daffodil is hard to get, it is usually a bouquet of other notes... so I wonder if their bouquet had some amber or honey in it? Anyway, I like. Probably will not smell like daffodils to ANYone else, so I hope everyone sensibly disregards! I think this would be a good staple in my collection to wear, but most especially to layer. I found that it is AMAZING over Tombstone. I don't need to run out and order it tomorrow, but it will be going on my want list!

Sniffed from the imp: rich baking cocoa. thankfully no terrifying cherry/orange like Vice! On: For the first few minutes, it borders on chapstick chocolate, and then just.... becomes chocolate. Just CHOCOLATE! Excellent chocolate. Like sniffing Nestle's from the can. After the first few minutes, it gets pretty close to my skin, so I would consider wearing this, because unless someone got super close, they probably wouldn't peg the scent, they'd just know it was familiar and good. But it is unmistakably chocolate up close and I feel pretty inspired to get a bottle, especially since I've had a kind of sorry run with foody scents, despite liking them in theory. I'm definitely looking forward to my milk chocolate and buttercream decant now!

from imp: similar to Dana O'Shee, but without the almond bite. A VERY pale blue vanilla smell. Smells really, really good, girly and light. On: Oh. My. Goodness. So gorgeous. At first, pure vanilla, but like a memory, not the in your face stuff that vanilla can be. After a few minutes, the "long-faded perfumes" kick in, saving it from being JUST vanilla. This is the scent of my grandmother's curtains to me... They were not vanilla scented, but it evokes the feel of them, soft and translucent, gentle and feminine, and predating stark "modern" decorating sensibilities. This makes me want to hide in a clean, furnished attic reading old love letters as the sunlight streams in through the window, very Jane Austen! This is so clean, fresh laundry dried with something vanilla instead of citrus. I could see making regular wear of this, since it is so pretty but not overpowering (though if you huff it enough, you certainly can manage to OD on the vanilla, it is just the way of things!), just one step towards "perfumed" from "clean." Almost definitely going on my bottle list! The only thing holding it back is that intermittently the "linen" aspect seems to recede leaving almost exclusively the (still light and airy) vanilla... I wish the florals would peek out a leeeetle bit more to make the vanilla slightly more subdued, but I'm thinking it may not be that big of a problem. ETA: Alas, somewhere a few hours in this became Choking Death Vanilla. I won't write it off just yet, but it will be important to apply lightly, even though it is VERY light going on, lest the Vanilla Beast consume me totally. I like the smell of Vanilla, but it was just so perfect cut with the airy florals.

I tried this when I first got it and was just Not Sure. All I could really say was that it may be too sweet, and I'd need to try it again. I did know it smelled really good faded a bit, but was by that point hovering closely to my skin. Upon second try: Makes me want to be a princess. At first, the fruit is SO strong, almost too strong. Intensely sweet. Then florals and musk are allowed to come to the fore a bit more - she stays sweet but the chorus of this scent is now at a lower pitch. This makes me think of being a princess in a a light and gauzy dress sitting in a field of green grass and wildflowers - this is the scent that my attendants would have delicately dabbed on my pulse points before I was escorted to my meadow. Organic decadence! The throw, however, is THROWING ME OUT OF THE HOUSE. I smell intensely of fruit bubbleyum. But still.... I like it. After it is well dry, it feels like it finally grew up. Still a somewhat girlish woman, but a woman nonetheless. This foxlady is coyly bewitching me towards a bottle, despite being so much more fruity sweet than I think I want to smell! It is so bratty and delicious! Ten hours later, this still smells like a pleasantly faded version of the final drydown.

Sniffed from the imp: citrusy, laundry detergent, then a sweeter note comes in... After my weird experience with Sundew, I pray, "oh please no not cinnamon!" Wet, it has too much citus + floral without a grounding note for my tastes. It is very pretty, but not something I'd wear. It is the best smelling to me after it is completely dry, and made me want to dive into my arm... like I would dive into warm laundry. Ten hours later, the faintest whiff of this remains, and smells the best yet. Still, probably not a scent for me - I think the citrus was just too overpowering. A shame, because the hint of cleanliness is nice. Not TOO much of a shame, though, as I passed it on to my best friend who loves it. Hooray!

I had very high hopes for this based on reviews. I was looking for something light and springtime-y. From the imp, it smelled like clean lemony dishwater. When I put it on, it smelled like piercing cinnamon soap. Like I was being attacked by it. And whaddya know, I was, because it BURNED. Off it came, and enter my pout. Too bad.