devilot

Golden Wave

In the Vial: Fruity! Bitingly fruity. Sharp. Guessing it's the "fizziness" of the gin and tonic mixed w/ the citrusy tangerine.

Wet: Loads of fizzy sharpness. The sharpness settles down quickly and the passion fruit and guava make themselves known as a more grounding v fruity presence.

Drydown: Still a little fizzy, still v brightly fruity.

Verdict: It's nice, it's just not really me. I don't see myself wearing this at all. If there was a drink like this? By all means, I'd drink it. But as a perfume, I'll have to pass.

Gennivre

In the Bottle: Mint, all mint, baby.

Wet: Still very minty and then the lemongrass appears.

Drydown: Whoa, the mint is totally gone! As is the lemongrass. Now I'm getting the warm sweetness of the sugar cane and honey (bet orange blossom, too). And yes, tea. Tea that reminds me of Severin's tea but obviously much more subtle and unobtrusive.

Verdict: This is nice, but I don't see myself wearing it often to justify keeping this partial bottle.

Fire of Love

In the Vial: Vetiver?! Smoky.

Wet: Whatever my nose detects as earthy smoke dissipates quickly. Turns warm, and yes, a bit fiery and spicy!

Drydown: Very dry and spicy now. Reminds me a bit of Sekhmet v5 or Nagarjuna v2. Or you know, many of Beth's desert-like hot and dry, spicy blends.

Verdict: The drydown is pretty damned nice, much better than in the vial or wet. But it's not a scent I'd personally sport as a perfume, and especially since this is part of the Conjure Bag and I don't see a need for this. Swap!

Bien Loin D'Ici

In the Vial: Red musk and then something sharp and "classically perfumey."

Wet: Ugh, super duper "perfumey." Like a bottle of old-lady perfume I found on the playground as a little girl. Ooh, red musk is comin' back around, sweetened a bit by the caramel and honey, but whooaaa nelly! Talk about the Morrocan spiced unguents (whatever those are), it smells spicy.

Drydown: Still sort of an "odd" scent.

Verdict: Really not for me. Too bad, as the notes sound to die for. Swaps!

In the Vial: boozy fruit, I want to say a purpley fig, but according to the lab notes, it's likely the quince-cassis and/ or prune my nose is detecting.

Wet: Whoa fruit! Whoa RUM! It settles into that super fruity rum for a minute or so and then shifts into super spicy mode (the black ginger, I guess) but it's almost minty given how spicy it smells.

Drydown: The fruit has come back a little, but it's still all spicy ginger on me. Ick.

Verdict: I'm so glad I got to try this blend, but it's really not for me. Off to the swaps ye' go!

TKO

Definitely lavender. It also seems, grassy somehow. Only sometimes can I get the slightest hint of smoothness. All in all, my personal scent preferences really go against lavender notes. TKO in perfume oil form is not for me. I prefer the massage oil and so have passed this partial bottle on to a better home.

De Sade

This is such delicious leather. I absolutely adore the smell of leather. Walking into a leather shop? I swoon. De Sade is that. De Sade is the gorgeous soft leather interior of a new fancy car. It's amazing, but my skin amps it until I get a migraine. Alas, Beth's genius leather note in "single note" form (as I think of De Sade) is too much for me. But I definitely love Beth's leather notes in other, more complex blends. So sexy, though.

Black Forest

Pine. Ugh. That's already too much. And the juniper and cypress are "piney" to my unsophisticated nose. And I really dislike blends w/ piney scents. Pass!!!

Absinthe

Mainly getting anise and lemon. Not "good" lemon on me, either. Pass, pass, pass. Ugh.

Mag Mell

In the Vial: Green. Not foresty green, meadowy green. Oh duh, "green grass" is one of the notes.

Wet: Whoa, verbena! And ginger, for sure. I can see how this could easily be someone's favorite blend already (though this isn't my usual cup o' tea).

Drydown: Still greenish, loads of that verbena. Occasional whiffs of sage.

Verdict: A nice blend, probably gorgeous for some folks, just not for me. Swaps ye' go!

Jabberwocky

In the Vial: Whoa. Menthol? No, eucalyptus! *reads notes* Holy moly! I was right. That pine is really in your face, too.

Wet: Ugh. Loads and loads of eucalyptus and pine. *gag*

Drydown: As it dries, the pine seems to be slightly more prominent than the eucalyptus. Ugh. Still too much of both. Really dislike these notes.

Verdict: Pass, pass, pass. *retch*

Carnivàle

In the Vial: Chemical fruit?!

Wet: Bubblegum. Ick. I didn't think anything could be worse than bubblegum, but boy was I wrong-- it's shifting quickly into smoky bubblegum.

Drydown: Carnation fleeted by and didn't last more than 2 full seconds. Major bummer as I'd love to get some more carnation action. And I love my musks, but it just doesn't seem right here. It's finally starting to show up, but it's not playing well with the residual bubblegum.

Verdict: I'm terribly sad this doesn't work better on me, but I guess it saves me the trouble of acquiring a bottle, right? Though, I love the labels for the Carnaval Noir. Sigh. Alas, if I become Oprah-rich, then I can just ignore the blends and buy whatever I'd like for whatever reason, no? But 'til then, Carnivàle will be for others to enjoy.

Mr. Jacquel

In the Bottle: All patchouli. *gulp* Scary!

Wet: Nice! Where did all these spices come from? Silly scary patchouli couldn't block all the goodness. Yay! Oooh, gorgeous warm amber is making an appearance and swirling together with the "embalming" spices. If this is how good embalming smells, guess I wouldn't mind being embalmed (eventually).

Drydown: Gorgeous blend of spices and just enough patchouli to add depth. The amber is NOT powdery (or if it is, it's not noticeable and it's a great negotiator in this blend).

Verdict: Absolutely gorgeous. I wasn't too sure I'd wanna keep this blend, because at first (when wet) it smells a bit BPAL-generic (think I blame the patchouli), but as it dries, it really stands on its own. Lovely!

ETA: Okay, it's been a little longer, and now the spices are man-handling everything else. The spices have taken over and I'm not sure I'm liking this now. Bummer.

Mr. Ibis

In the Bottle: Light, so light. And clean. I'm not sure how aloe ferox differs from aloe, but this sure smells like aloe gel/ extract.

Wet: Still so light! Barest hint of vanilla, I guess that's why it's the vanilla flower as opposed to straight up vanilla. And looooads of aloe. Er, interesting. *blinks*

Drydown: Now something that smoothes it all over, it's a combination of musk + white sandalwood (starting to recognize this from Bony Moon and Smoky Moon); but neither of those two notes stand out.

Verdict: I thought these notes would spell amazing true love, but alas, it's just too damned light! I need scents that are a bit more noticeable than this. It's lovely, when I can smell it.

Nosferatu

In the Vial: Fruity dirt? Eh? Ah, the wines and the "gritty earth."

Wet: The wines are still very present as well as the lab's dirt note. Ick.

Drydown: Oddly enough, what had seemed like two separate notes, has now melded into a general greenish blend with a plummy background.

Verdict: I obviously have issues reading, as I only noticed the "wines" and didn't pay attention to the dirt notes. I really dislike dirt notes. This is definitely going elsewhere. *shudders*

Twilight

In the Vial: Lavender! Something, sharply "perfumey." Me no likey. *reads notes* Ugh, must be the lab's evil jasmine I'm smelling.

Wet: Lavender, lavender, lavender. Which I don't happen to love, either. Jasmine manifesting itself as super perfumey, and at the same time, dusty. Ugh.

Drydown: I think the honeysuckle is trying desperately to be "heard" here, adding the slightest warmth through sweetness, but it just can't fight off the lavender and jasmine.

Verdict: Not for me, not at all.

Hunter Moon 2007

In the Bottle: Something really sharp. I can't define what it is; but it tickles, no, it almost makes my nose hurt. Uh oh, not a great start.

Wet: Still, that overwhelming sharpness. Like super apples mixed with super pine. Ugh. Ooh, finally a shift, now I'm getting the red wine (except if I didn't have notes, I'd probably mistaken it for plum).

Drydown: Oooh musky! Is this the "feral" aspect? I looooove musk and I love this now that it's much more mellow (after 15+ minutes).

Verdict: So I'm not a fan of the blend wet. And only like it when it's really really dry. The problem? By the time it gets to the stage I like? It's almost completely gone from my skin. Guess I'll have to give it another earnest skin test and slather it, too. See how it might differ then. For now, I'm so glad that FallDaze generously gave me this bottle and that I didn't spend money on it. But we'll see, I might just fall in love with it yet.

ETA: Yes, the drydown in this is soooo similar to the gorgeous musks in the DD Blockbuster, Creature Feature, which I love love love. So awesome! Definitely keeping Hunter Moon.

In the Vial: Rose. Patchouli. And something is tickling my nose. *twitch*

Wet: Something seems green. But I can still smell the rose and a bit of patchouli. (I figured it out, the 'green' scent is palmarosa, which google tells me is similar to lemon grass.)

Drydown: Sharply green and rosy. I'm not really getting the sandalwood. It's all soapy now. Ugh.

Verdict: Not a huge fan of lemon grass or roses. Ugh. Toodles!

In the Vial: V-v-v-vetiver of doom!

Wet: Vetiver! Ooh, quick-shift. Something almost brassy. Now something I'm associating with leather, but it's not. Maybe it's the coal?

Drydown: Creosote (googled) definitely is what I'm smelling. Charred wood.

Verdict: This is such a bizarre blend. It's actually a lovely scent-- if I were actually standing by a bonfire. But I can't imagine this as a perfume for me personally. I think I'm still tempted to keep the imp, but I'm not sure.

In the Vial: Something sharply green. But an undertone of dust.

Wet: Again that herbal sharpness, then quickly the amber. And now sandalwood. But still, I'm getting that dusty note and I really really hate the dustiness.

Drydown: Sandalwood and amber. Which I would love, but I'm really struggling with that dusty element. And it's all just so sharp.

Verdict: This just, is a big fat "no" for me from start to finish. Ugh. Away with ye'!

In the Vial: Piney (do laurel branches smell piney?) and grapey. Wait, does "bay" smell piney?!

Wet: Still piney. Ick. Though that might be partially honey's fault-- I recall Hony Mone almost smelling piney on me. This is making me feel ill.

Drydown: Okay, this is so sharply piney. I remember trying an aged imp of Delphi and just getting a really really sour grapes smell from my wrist. But I guess this v fresh lab frimp is all about the piney notes. It's drowning out any other notes.

Verdict: No. No. No. The aged imp I tried a few months back went horrifically wine-sour on my skin. This fresh imp is all piney. Either way, I really have to start giving up on this blend. Too bad as Delphi was one of my favorite places in Greece. God, how I love Greece. Sigh.

In the Vial: Weird, it smells more like rose to me. And a green sort of plum.

Wet: Still not getting the classically spicy carnation, still sort of a fresh rosey scent. And now the plum shifts from green to the purpley plum we're all so familiar with.

Drydown: Soooo faint. WTF is up with my skin chemistry today? Either that, or Bathsheba really does NOT want to be detectable on me.

Verdict: Well, what I am able to smell, smells great. For you know, all of twenty seconds. I'm really not sure if my skin chemistry is acting up, or if this blend just won't work with me. A real pity as I really really like the way this smells. If I ever wanted to wear this, I think I'd have to dump an entire imp on each wrist. Sigh.

ETA: Woohoo! The musk has come out finally! The musk decided to appear and it's gorgeous. It also helps to make this blend a bit more noticeable, but ultimately, I wanna be able to smell a perfume on me without having to walk around w/ my nose glued to my wrist.

In the Vial: Smells like cinnamony (?) vetiver. Ick.

Wet: Still smoky.

Drydown: Yeah, I'm thinking this is still really smoky.

Verdict: Not much more to add. Really smoky. That's it. I'm... not a big fan of this blend at all.

In the Vial: Cologney. Floral. Herbal somehow.

Wet: I wouldn't be able to name individual notes without reading the lab description; but once the notes are listed, I can better pick out what my nose is smelling. Bergamot, jasmine for sure, and thyme. The patchouli doesn't seem to be noticeable at all (and I'm not a fan of patch). I can't seem to pick up the other notes (no sweet tonka bean, no moss, or lavender).

Drydown: Still very very cologney. Man cologne. Ugh.

Verdict: Thing is, I don't think I'd like this on a man, either, it just comes across as such a generic men's cologne.

ETA: Lavender and something slightly creamy (tonka bean) comes out way later. It helps to mellow out the blend overall, but I'm still not wild for Wilde.

In the Vial: Milky, a confusingly sweetly thick yet somehow sour milk. And something else that comes across sharply. Mebbe I'm smelling the tea? Oh wait, rereading the notes, the thickly sweet note would be, duh, honey.

Wet: Sweet honey and sharp tea. And something that's tickling my nose. Uh oh. Probably the white pepper?

Drydown: The milk's not all that noticeable now. Definitely the honey and tea are most prominent. Think the pepper is still tickling my nose. And I think I'm getting a hint of the vanilla + clean linen a la Antique Lace.

Verdict: This is a "nice" blend. It's just a bit plain to my nose and on my skin. I think I'd prefer Antique Lace or Mouse's Sad & Long Tale, or even layering them w/ Dorian (or the recently discon'd Severin) to get the tea aspects. Definitely nice, but not enough for me to get a 5ml, and wouldn't mind passing this imp on, either.