Elemcee

This, to me, is the quintessential 'Goth' scent. It is exquisitely dark and romantic. I'm not much of a goth, these days, but if I were ever to put on a long, corsetted, black velvet and lace dress and make myself up, again, I'd wear this with it.

This smells like gold. Not bright, sparkling gold, but deep, old gold. This probably owes to the spiciness here. I really like it. I do get the sense of ancient ritual, here, with the herbs. Sometimes these oils amaze me.

Depraved is equal parts sweet and dirty. So perfectly blended, indeed. Salacious is the word, I think. This scent makes me feel like giggling because I'm doing the most naughty things, even though I'm not. It also brings to mind that feeling of stickiness after eating a soft, ripe fruit like an apricot, and the juice is all round my mouth and all over my fingers. So, um, I like it. ADDED Jan. 21: Patchouli often has a tendency to take over on my skin. In Depraved, however, the sweetness of the apricot manages to tame it, and so this scent is a perfect mix of sweet and dirty, which is what it should be. Depraved is being taken on the muddy ground underneath an apricot tree whilst wearing a pristine white dress. Very nice.

Lucy's kiss, to me, is a creamy rose tinted with spices. Lucy isn't yet the red rose of the experienced, woman, but neither is she the pale pink rose of the innocent maiden. She is a deep, blushing pink, instead, and for some reason, I picture her wearing a dress (or at least a bodice) in this colour.

This perfume is lemon, tea and musk. Dorian is beautiful. He's so pretty, many people who see him wonder if he is a boyish woman. There's even a delicacy, there. However, there's also masculinity there, too, lurking underneath. I agree with the people who say this is the perfume that Gaiman's Desire would wear. It's definitely androgynous. I have a velvet jacket that really 'goes' with this, if that makes sense.

In the bottle, this is very much the vibrant, fresh smell of a flourishing garden. On my skin, however, while it is flowers and fruit, it's dried flowers, dried fruit, pot-pourri and filled fruit bowls, all in a cozy room in the middle of Winter. My skin certainly seems to like the spiciness, so it's probably that that's creating the dryness. It's a lovely scent, though, certainly. There's just a big different between THG in the bottle and THG on my skin.

I certainly get a silvery-ness in this scent; it does make me think of colourless, ethereal blooms. Wet, it's sharp and fresh. Dry, it softens and a somewhat 'dusty' note becomes apparent underneath. It also makes me think of a dress, with quite a plain cut, in a silvery grey, but made of a delicate, floaty material.

In the bottle, this has a very crisp, herby smell, which continues to the wet stage on my skin. Once dry, well, 'dry' is what it is, at this point. Like dry herbs. It's almost harsh, actually. Then, the herbs soften, and there's an underlying 'foody' smell, like the herbs are being used to garnish something. Eventually, it returns to being quite a crisp, sharp smell, and there's a fruitiness in there, too. From this point on, so far, these are the overlying notes, with the herbs underneath. I do agree with everyone who has said it smelt like an Italian kitchen. There is a rough undercurrent, which I find interesting. Overall, it's a lovely smell, romantic in a way, perhaps to be worn by a beautiful woman with an axe to grind.

This is lovely. Sweet (but with a kick, so it's far from sickly), and, weirdly addictive. Like, I can't stop sniffing my wrist or the bottle. It certainly has a lot of throw, too. This morning, I was sitting in my room wearing it, when my mum comes up the stares and, whilst standing at the opposite end of the corridor from my bedroom, asks why she can smell sugar with raisins. This reminds me of lollipops, though, a bit. When I was little, we used to visit Leigh-on-Sea on sunny Sunday afternoons, and my sister and I were bought lollipops. Those big red ones that were in the shape of a scary face or something and were so sticky that one couldn't attempt to eat it without getting one's hair, fingers, clothes and face sticky, as well. And then we'd end up throwing away half, they were so big. Anyway, this smells like those tasted. Except more grown up. That's an odd review, I know, but I do like the perfume.

Fenris Wolf, at first, is quite a clean wood scent, like walking through a forest on a cool, slightly damp evening. This is the sandlewood and maybe the rosewood, I'm guessing. Clean, wet earth mix with subtle florals is what this is at first. Then the red musk dominates the scent. This is the wolf. Not a male wolf; this isn't a definite masculine scent, I don't think. It's just a wolf, in general. A wolf on the prowl. Gradually, the scent mellows back to its original wood/floral smell, but the musk hasn't gone, completely.

Akuma is a very bright yellow smell. So bright, it glows. It's a very happy scent, but not happy in that sweet, contented way, but vibrantly happy in almost a chemical way. It's the perfume that Delirium wears. It does smell like sweets, but I know that I could only have a bit, otherwise, I'd feel very ill. I'm feeling sort of nervous and stressed at the moment, so I'll save this and take it out when I'm feeling more free and more likely to wear bright pink.

I ordered some BPAL yesterday and didn't receive a notification from the Lab, either. I'm kind of relieved this isn't just me, actually.

Dirty does indeed smell like clean sheets. There's also a soapiness about it, too. It is like getting into a bed that has just been changed and the sheets have that crisp, clean smell. I can definately smell the floral, and there is lemon and maybe I can detect a hint of tea, as well.

I can definately smell green-tea here, as well as lemon and the floral of peony. This is very light, greeny spring smell. It's a Victorian tea-party, held in the garden because it's a lovely day. There are flowers and herbs in the garden and a selection of teas to choose from, with an option of lemon or milk. There is a sense of chaos about this; the different notes keep flaring up. The people at the party are feeling a little giddy, even though they know they should be proper. I like you very much, Mr Dormouse.

This is the first Ars Draconis scent I've tried. There's a definite sweetness here which must be the dragon's blood, but that is layered underneath the sharp spicyness of the leather and smoke. It is a somewhat masculine smell, but there is a femininity here, too. For some reason, I can smell something floral - something like rose. It is laid back, yet dominant; luxurious, yet effortless. Also, it has already been said best by others, but I think this is exactly what a dragon's hide would smell like.

This is not a scent for going to work, nor is it a scent for when you are feeling ambitious or are really trying hard to do something. It is exactly what the name says, a scent for when one feels lazy and mellow. It is both floral and spicy, but there is a floral tone in here, somewhere. It is rather a musty smell, like some back room where you might retreat to where you can totally relax.

This certainly is very sharp, green and lemony. I love the androgyny of it. It makes me think of rain, washing all the debris of Winter away to make way for the newness of Spring. After the rain, the air is very clean, full of the scents of the herbs, fruits and flowers growing in the garden.

I am wearing Nocnitsa today. It makes me think of walking through a dark forest, smelling of pine and leaves, there being a whiff of some rare flower every so often, but you can never find it. I like it.

Blood Pearl is rather sweet in the bottle. On my skin, the musk makes an appearance. But, buried in the musk, there is definately a floral smell (maybe the orris?). I can only smell a hint of coconut. It's a subtle scent, not overpowering at all. Ah, wait, the coconut is making more of an appearance now. I like this one. ADDED June 21: I'm wearing this again today, and wearing more of it, too. I have placed what it reminds me of. A warm kitchen, on a summer's day, with the scent of flowers coming from outside, and some sort of fruit cake is cooking in the oven. It is rather lazy and comforting.