zankoku_zen

I got this imp as a gift from the lovely lj kamyra!

 

In the Imp: Spicy cinnamon, cloves and a wee hint of honey

On Skin: I get whiffs of peppers. It does smell like chai. So yummy.

On Drydown: Still smelling like chai. I get more of the honey note though.

 

Three hours later: This has turned into honey and musk. It's very similar to O.

 

Verdict: At the end, it smells like a spicier version of O. It last about 4 or 5 hours on my skin. I like it alot but I've figured out that my skin amps up the honey note in both blends.

 

It's a good thing I like honey....

I got this as a gift from the lovely lj user kamyra. Thanks doll!

I've been wanting to try this one for ages.

In the imp: Spicy pumpkin and apple and something that smells woodsy.

On skin: I get something smokey and spicy, which I think is the clove but I can't be sure. It makes me think of a bonfire... with apples and other yummy things being roasted in them.

On Drydown: I get florals. Something a bit powdery, woodsy and even kinda ashy.

After two hours: I get something almost chocolatey. Like cocoa powder. Its sugary and yummy.

Verdict: This one morphs. Alot. It's not quite what I expected but it is a very autumn scent. I love the after two hours smell even if I'm not supposed to smell like chocolate!

 

ETA: This was Samhain 2005.

Thanks to the lovely lj user kamyra for the imp!

 

In the imp: Intense brooding florals

 

On Skin: Floral overload. I get rose and a hint of gardenia. I hope gardenia behaves because she and I don't get along at all. There is a touch of sweetness to it, which could either be from the vanilla or the heliotrope.

 

On Drydown: The florals tone down quite a bit. Now its like a deeper version of Spellbound (the combination rose/red musk).

 

Four hours later: I can finally smell the orange! It smells like orange tea!

 

Verdict: The four hours later is beautiful. I love the orange smell. However, at the beginning I'm vastly overwhelmed by the floral notes. The drydown is too similar to Spellbound and Lust (granted, Lust has a bit more of an edge).

 

I guess my skin loves red musk too much to let it play well with the others.

 

Again, I'm in love with the four hours later part but its not a scent I would wear constantly.

Thanks to the lovely ljuser kamyra for the imp.

 

I've been looking forward to a minty extravaganza

 

In the imp: Smells minty sweet

 

On Skin: WATERMELON?!?!?! Yes ladies and gents, upon contact with my skin, this smells just like a watermelon.

 

I had this problem with Snow White. No snowy goodness for me. Instead, pina colada on the beach sort of smell.

On Drydown: Very crisp, slightly minty watermelon. There is something almost floral peeking out. There is still that note of sweetness.

 

Three hours later: Light floral. Slightly sugary.

Verdict: So much for minty and chilly annihilation! This is still very chilly and cool, but in a 'ooh! ripe watermelon on a scorching hot day!' sort of refreshing. It's a good thing this is summer because it's a very summery scent. I have to say I do like it... but not because it's a winter scent.

 

Rats. Damn wonky skin chemistry!

 

 

ETA: I swapped for another imp, in my desperate search for something more like IQ. This does share some commonalities with it --- and I think its because it has peppermint. I think NW has more than IQ does. It's also missing the berries --- not to say that it doesn't have a fruity kinda tone to it. But it is more pepperminty and sweeter than IQ.

Thanks to jewelbug for sending this!

 

In the imp: Musky floral. I don't identify it as any floral I've smelt before. Possibly the magnolia?

 

On Skin: Very floral, but with this smoky undertone. It has a spicy note to it that took me a little getting used to.

On Drydown: The floral note has faded and now I have this slight floral, highly musky and very ... it's hard to describe. It's sexy but almost tauntingly sexy. Like "neener neener look but don't touch even though you'd cut your left arm to do so".

 

Verdict: It's got alot of throw. I put some on this morning, just a dab to try it out and its still going on strong. Admittedly, I had a bit of a headache this morning so it might not have led to a favorable review because of that. I think I'll give it another whirl since I haven't made up my mind.

I find Alice very calming and soothing.

 

For a pick me up energizer, I like Lustration or Baobhan Sith.

 

Hmmm... I don't think I have a "cheery" BPAL scent. Must fix that.

The only scent that truly screams at me from the top of my head is

 

October: Jack.

 

I pretty much agree with Finny on this one.

 

My list will probably a bit whacky since I'm currently in the Southern Hemisphere and the seasons are inverted.

 

I'll come back to the thread after I've sniffed for a bit.

I figured that this would be a good place to look for recommendations... and I wasn't too sure if I should start a new thread or not. I guess I'll let a mod decide because I'm not sure since my question is a bit of a tangent...

 

I'll be attending a wedding in April with my family and my boyfriend. I want to wear something appropriate, feminine but demure, and more importantly something that is relatively calming (since there will be the everpresent question - "When are YOU getting married?")

 

Any suggestions? I'm asking in advance just in case I need to make a lab order

 

I apologize again if I should start a new thread. I suppose the mod spanking will come later if I did make a mistake...

High hopes for the highly seductive category...

 

In the imp: Floral and fresh

 

On skin: Hmmm. Very light and citrusy. I think its the bergamot, which happens to be one of my favorite clean smells.

 

Over time, the entire blend just ends up smelling light, floral and fresh. Very innocent.

 

Rats.

 

I so wanted this to be highly seductive.

 

Unless you think knee-socks and pleated skirts on a budding young woman who hasn't been kissed yet is seductive. Its feminine and approachable and light and fun.

 

I'll give it another try but I get pretty instead of sexy from this.

 

ETA: So I've been using Succubus these past few days. I've been reaching for something light, feminine and floral.

 

On the third day, I got a whiff of something, for the lack of a better term, darker out of the scent. I've been sniffing at the drydown and its very subtly seductive.

 

I think I've fallen in love. Again.

I have to say I'm a floral girl myself. And this is continuing into my incursion of "warmer, spicier" scents.

 

In the imp: Something floral and vanilla-ish.

 

On Skin: I can't help the comparison's to "O", which what I have dubbed the vanilla sex scent. This is less aggressive than O, more mellow and instead of in your face sexy, the floral tints make it more coy and flirty. However, the musk makes it all the more present in a latently sexual way.

 

I like how this smells. Enough to get a 5ml.

 

Whereas I can't see myself wearing "O" all that often, I can see myself wearing Peitho more regularly because it's subtly sexy.

I third the opinion on Blood Kiss.

 

If you're a vanilla type of girl, I would give O a shot. Just read the descriptions. Nothing like a scent that screams sexual slavery to another person to get the message across.

 

I also recommend a full blown out make out session in front of said person. But then again, I'm the type to go horribly violent on someone's ass if they prove that they can't play nice or can't listen to directions.

I got this imp from jewelbug. Mad love babes.

In the imp: it smells like honey and something sweet.

On Skin Mighty Morphing BPAL Rangers! This... turns into something smokey and lascivious. Definitely smokey. Like "I have just come out of hell and I'm gonna give you a grand old time but I'm so getting your soul for this!"

Maybe I'm partial to O in this scandalously seductive category but for me, Hellcat is the perfume equivalent of dressing up in latex... and only latex... and then going out on a prowl. Maneater style. Oh yeah.

After several hours, I still had the smokey hint of it on my skin... and the distinctive impression that I should be out doing... something naughty....



ETA: I finally got a better sniff of this the other day. I mainly smell the rum and something almost tobacco-y about it. There is something sweet to it... but it's like whisky sweetness as opposed to sugary sweetness.

I wonder what it will be like layered with Jack.

O smells on me like vanilla and sex.

 

And it lasts forever.

 

At the beginning I get more of the honey tone to it. It's sweeter. But after a few hours, its the perfect union of vanilla and amber, which is what I assume makes it smell like I've dipped myself in vanilla and have proceeded to have sex for hours.

 

It also lasts forever. I put it on at like 4PM, went to work, slept and at 10 AM the next day after teaching I was STILL smelling like O. I'm not a slatherer but a little of O goes a loooong way on me.

 

I wouldn't wear this scent too often. This is strictly a "I'm frisky and you're gonna get so lucky you wouldn't believe it" kinda scent. In other words, highly dangerous to have on.

Comparison-wise, I find that Nanshe on me smells more similar to Temple of Dreams. However, Temple of Dreams tends to have a warm, chai smell to it.

 

Nanshe is a bit more biting and I do get whiffs of the ginger underneath the lavender. I get occasional whiffs of the lemongrass but as a whole, I have to categorize Nanshe as a warm Somnium scent.

I feel like I should start this review saying that Oneiroi is my favorite Somnium blend, and therefore I am biased.

 

Somnus smells like a sharp herby lavender. I'm not so keen on the lavender smell myself and I do agree with the other reviews on the citrusy note.

 

All in all, its a bit too sharp for me for sleeping.

 

ETA: Maybe because it has aged a bit or perhaps because I've unwittingly slathered this on myself the past few nights thinking it was Oneiroi in my exhaustion...

 

But last night I got a whiff of a GOLDEN PEACH smell. Very warm and inviting. I drifted off to sleep in warm goodness.

 

And yes, I made sure that I wasn't hallucinating and saw that my bottle of Fae is neatly tucked away in the closet. Not in the bedstand... where Somnus was...

I got this imp from jewelbug!

 

In the vial: I can smell something fruity, sweet and kinda citrusy. I smell the floralness of cherry blossoms.

On Skin: There's something almost soapy, but its sharp and citrusy and I think its the kaki. It's very clean and invigorating.

On Drydown: Here comes the cherry blossom. I get the same sort of smell, but more metallic from Neo-Tokyo. It's a good thing I like the cherry blossom smell. It's floral and pretty and reminds me to the Cherry Blossom festival in DC. Good times.

 

Verdict: I like citrus, clean and floral smells. There's something bright and cheery about Aizen Myoo. And yes, bright is a good qualifier. I find it very likeable

Lavender wallop from the beginning. I don't know if there is anything else I'm smelling since the lavender is so strong its almost briney.

 

But once I applied it, after maybe 10 seconds, the lavender disappears and something spicy. I'm guessing either clove, cardamom or cinnamon since it reminds me to chai tea. It's very soothing and comforting.

 

I was expecting something like Oneiroi since they both had lavender and got completely different scents. Very thrilled.

 

Again, no actual dreams that I can remember. Maybe next time.

Just the description of Neo-Tokyo made me fall in love with it.

 

In the imp: Floral. I get wafts of cherry blossom.

On Skin: I mainly get cherry blossoms, but there is a metallic tinge to it at the end. After a while, I get a bit of the fruity splash coming on.

 

On Drydown: Still cherries. In the breeze. Very fresh and energetic. And yet, oddly calm. Sort of the center of the storm. Or when you just stand in the streets as people mill about you.

Verdict: Very playful and enjoyable. I'm glad I got gifted with this imp.

 

ETA: 2010

Cherry blossom soap. Sad.

I got an imp as a decant from a friend.

In the imp: It smells herby. I can't make out too many of the notes.

On Skin: The lavender hits you with a wallop. It kinda even smells briney, like Bluebeard which my skin hated.

 

After 5 minutes: The lavender calms down and now it smells a bit like baby cologne. I sniff something floral. It's very soothing.

 

After 30 minutes: Getting drowsy at this point. There's something warm lurking underneath... like sandalwood.

 

I can't say if I had any dreams or not... since I typically don't remember my dreams. And if I do, they tend to involve particle photon accelerators the size of rice cookers. Yeah... weird.

Verdict: After the initial 5 minutes, I like Oneiroi very much. It's comforting and very soothing. It is a light smell and I did sleep like a rock the two nights I used it.

In the Bottle: The lilac is the most predominant note. It does smell a bit like Old Shanghai.

On Skin: Very floral. The lilac is pretty strong.

On Drydown: I get a sniff of something very bitter like in Goneril. Its floral but I don't think the Chinese musk works well with my chemistry.

Verdict: I think this scent would work better on someone else.

In the Bottle: Minty and earthy

On Skin: It has a minty undertone but not overly. Its very bright and refreshing.

 

On Drydown: Kinda powdery. Its a very perfumey smell on me.

 

Verdict: Very pretty, but not me.

In the Bottle: Watery, green and a tinge of floral. Very fresh.

 

On Skin: Strongly watery and green, very clean. I smell the peony.

On Drydown: This reminds me of something... I can't remember what though. It's a pretty, floral, aquatic scent.

Verdict: I like this. But I'm not entirely too crazy about it. It's a pretty, light and very feminine scent.

In the Bottle: Smells earthy and brown.

 

On Skin: There is patchouli in this. There is something that reminds me to root beer. There is a musky undertone of hands sweating. It really does make me think of money. Coveted money.

 

On Drydown: Root beer and dirty money.

 

Verdict: Interesting. Its a very evocative scent. Definitely not me though.

In the Bottle: Sweet but smells like nail polish remover.

 

On Skin: There is something citrusy to it. It makes me think of fruit cake. Like baked goods and fruit and oranges. Which I suppose is better than bubblegum explosion or nail polish remover.

On Drydown: Fruity. Although at first sniff, it smelled like just boiled noodles. Could my nose be wrong today?

Verdict: It's a very odd changing scent but very happy. I'm not sure I'll wear it.

I didn't think I would have the chance to review this scent and I'm really glad I do!

In the Bottle: Spicy rum raisins. Odd.... very odd.

On Skin: I smell spicy berries. It makes me think of the dried Chinese plum candies you can get. The smell sweetens to sun-ripened berries. It reminds me alot to Glasgow actually.

On Drydown: I smell the carnations now. The sweetness now reminds me to Alice.

Verdict: Too berry sweet for me personally but its a lovely, sweet light scent. I can understand why so many people love it.