Invidiana

This is definitely one hell of a sexy blend for a special guy--dark, shadowy, mysterious and loaded with lip-smacking evil --and while I love to smell it, it's just too strong and too butch on me. Maybe it would work applied with an extremely light hand and layered with some vanilla. However, I'd definitely consider getting a bottle for my future boyfriend...whoever that is.

If there is a color that comes to mind when I smell this, it's a deep, velvety blackened purple with just a hint of red iridescence. It's a lovely and darkly delicious concoction of sweet resins, dark currants and night-blooming flowers that create an irresistable veil of mystery. There is a gorgeous vanilla undertone, which I think is brought on by the benzoin. Love!

Oh yes, I'm getting shrouded in shadows I love All these notes just meld harmoniously into a smoky black veil, and the anise, which does spicy-sexy wonders on my skin, is definitely making itself known. Melainis just envelops me in a wonderful bittersweet blackness, like sinking my teeth into deep, dark sweets in a somky room.

This makes me think of something spicy and fruity--like a sort of a light spiced punch, except without any boozy notes (not that I'm opposed to boozy notes ). For those afraid of baby powder, I'm not getting any prominent baby powder at all; maybe it just adds to the sweetness without invading my nostrils. The honey is definitely a plus; it gives a "golden-sweet" feel to this blend. Yum!

This really does remind me of an abandoned castle, and I can say that in earnest because I've been to the Tower of London. It's got a very similar stony, mossy feel with the whispered memory of roaring fires in the now-dormant fireplaces...and also an added element which you can't smell in the Tower of London; the blood. It's there alright, sharp and haunting, adding a tangy edge to this blend that you can't stop sniffing.

This is very difficult to describe--I think Beth just hit the nail on the head best with "gellid coldness". I know this isn't physically possible but I *swear* my nostrils freeze momentarily whenever I sniff it. Numb doesn't come out antiseptic on my skin, just like a blast of wintry ozone; makes me think of standing outside in the middle of a snowstorm when the temperature hits ten below and not a trace of green is in sight.

Gibbous Moon is in the same vein as Blue Moon but more watery and breezy. Like Sportive Sun, the notes here come together towards the same end of evoking "the innumerable days"--in this case, miles and miles of moonlit ocean stretching towards eternity. For anyone afraid of cucumber *raises hand* it isn't a prominent "cucumber" note at all, just an element of the coolness in this blend.

This is in the same vein as Gibbous Moon, but slightly sweeter and a bit more mysterious. For cucumber haters--and believe me, I'm one myself--the cucumber in this isn't prominent at all; it's just an element of the coolness in the blend, not detectable as a distinct "cucumber" scent. The bouquet of night-blooming flowers is sweet enough but not cloying, and the Asian woods account for a good part of the allure. For some reason, it makes me think of blue fairies flitting in the woods on a summer night

Dia is light and feminine but at the same time still manages to throw on a veil of alluring mystery, which keeps it from being a pansy scent. The first four notes are all white but not a floral whisper that fades but rather more like white seduction The tobacco flower seems to add a slight bit of smoke that will make him want to come hither just a little more....

This really does convey the essence of a huntress in the forest with the woods and musk, but there also seems to be a certan tang that makes me think of blood-soaked berries I know there's no such mention of a thing like that in the notes, but maybe the combination of the other notes makes for this feral and alluring touch that evokes the heat of a pounding heart approaching danger.

I would have to put this one on the pedestal as my favorite of the Bards of Irleand series. If you have a thing for bottled decadence like I do, you *must* give it a try. It's the memory of gilded opulence, velvety luxury with plates of sticky, delectable desserts (thank you honey and redcurrant!) lingering around a desolate, windblown place whose splintering buildings have been all but abandoned. The patchouli, labdanum and black musk really make for a lovely dark shadow over the Deserted Village.

Peat and rolling grass-covered hills, with wine-dappled heather, white clover, cloudberry, juniper berry, bluebell, dandelion, and cross-leaved heath. I'm definitely getting the berries and greenery as the two prominent notes here, and how I love juniper berry I've never even touched, let alone smelled, a cloudberry but itmust be responsible for the delicious fruity backdrop. With time there is a sense of a springy floral background, but not a headache-inducing one; more like wildflowers in a cool breeze. Bluebell is enchanting on its own, and it definitely adds an enchanting touch to this.

This reminds me somewhat of Irish Spring, except more complex. The cold rushing waters and surrounding evergreens are definitely there, but unlike the soap there's a dark side to this fragrance, and you know me and anything with a dark side I think that mainly the clove, oude, and frankincense are responsible for this wonderful depth, and for anyone afraid of rose, I didn't get any at all. Eanach Duin is very much like a night during that transitional time between winter and spring when the snow is just starting to melt into damp earth and river waters are bursting through the ice again.

As I was anxiously waiting for this to arrive in my mailbox, I had my fingers crossed the entire time that it smelled just like it does outside now that it's officially November--burning leaves overcome with a heavy chill. November didn't disappoint! That's exactly what it is, the weather in New Jersey right now, frosted dry leaves with fireplace smoke wafting in the distance, and do I detect a trace of evergreen? Beautiful.

Wow, this one was totally worth the arm, leg, and tip of a finger I shelled out for it on Ebay . It's all smoky, smoldering boozy goodness sweetened just enough by the vanilla and with a touch of spice. Beth's brimstone note is as glorious here as it is in The Hell-Gate of Ireland. Sexy as hell--or, should I say, a hellhound.

Oh yes. Of course, I had to get a Shakespeare-inspired scent, and Richard III did not disappoint. This is deep, dark, smoky frozen evergreens veiled in the mystery of musk, sweetened ever so slightly by the clove and nutmeg into one villainous decadent pleasure Note that I do tend to amp warm spices, which always come out somewhat sweet on my skin--maybe they come out bitter on others', I don't know, but what my own chemistry does totally works for me. Christmas trees have nothing on this stuff!

I know this has been a hit-or-miss for a lot of people, but for some reason it just works on my skin. The barley, beer and whiskey add up to rich, sunset-drenched golden fields ever so slightly boozed up and the blood accord, which I'm sure has dragon's blood (yesss) adds something of a hint of autumn berries on me. What I take is a notoriously fickle and uncooperative scent has found its match here!

Wow. This is one sexy pumpkin. I was hunting it down for eternity and finally found it, and am I ever glad I did! Pumpkin Queen really does rank up there as one of my holy grails. It's the deepest, stickiest, warmest, just drop-dead sexiest pumpkin scent I've ever put my nose to. The amber just makes it oh-so-queenly, and the rest of the notes embellish it with jewels. If you're a pumpkinphile like I am, you must relentlessly hunt this one down. You WON'T be disappointed--I promise!

I had to try my imp of this asap because I absolutely love that poem. It's mostly rose, I'm not getting much of the bewitching seductiveness, mystery or foreboding. Based on the poem I would have imagined it to be more sinister, deeper, muskier, possibly with a cold note since she does leave the narrator to die in a cold cave at the end...ah well.

This one was worth every penny. Definitely a "me" scent, no question--and arrived at my doorstep on Halloween, no less! Gorgeous, bursting, bloody dark fruits on an earthy base that suggests something ancient and sinister. Even though there is no juniper in the description, I could swear there was some juniper berry in this, which I love...maybe the rose musk mixing with something gives me that impression, because in certain mixtures rose can come off that way, which is a pleasant surprise. It's a long-abandoned crypt oozing with bloody goodness...LOVE!

I have to think I was a little afraid of this after reading the description and put off trying my imp of it for a while...then I got a second imp and since I had it right in front of my laptop I thought oh, what the heck, so I dabbed it on my kneecap. I can't stress this enough--don't always judge a scent by what it seems to be in words. This stuff is wildly sexy! It's not nasty slimy seaweed at all but more like the "dark, unfathomable waters" in the description. I can't pull my nose away...if I didn't know the name of this scent or the impetus behind it (let's face it, Lovecraft's Cthulhu must smell like an airplane toilet ) I would have guessed it was some sort of attractant!

"ghastly" plus "garden" might make some people think of mold and rotting plants, but this is hardly the case. I do have to admit the "puterfying wet greenery" unnerved me a bit. However, far from anything decomposing, this is rather a patch of very alive twisting, twining, gnarly night-blooming things that snare hapless insects for dinner. Even better, the sap and dark berry notes keep it from being too jarringly "green". This is one garden of good and evil (well, mostly evil) I wouldn't mind walking into at midnight

Equal parts snowy and evergreen, this scent is a perfect crisp winter blend that isn't too jarring or astringent. It just makes me think of standing outside on a chill winter's night surrounded by powder-laden evergreens and endless drifts of glittering snow bathed in the moonlight. The white mint adds just a slight zing of refreshment that complements but doens't overpower it. Reminds me of the blizzard of '96 when the snow was so thick I could jump into them headfirst without hitting the ground. Perfect snowiness

This is a gorgeous, golden amber sweetened by the vanilla and made alluring by the musk and sandalwood. The myrtle adds a a citrusy touch, which is not astringent like myrtle can tend to get sometimes, and definitely appropriate for summer--but really, this could easily qualify as a fall scent without a problem, and I love anything evocative of fall It's liquid gold, sensual and spectacular!

Wow. This is so much more than *just* a cider scent. Yes, there is plenty of cider, sweet spiced ciderwith a hint of orange peel (and I absolutely love orange and spice), but it's the smoky notes in this that realy encapsulate the "fearful pleasure" Washington Irving was talking about. The chimney smoke and slowly burning firewood are very prominent, suppored by the more muted woody notes of the beer, hawthorn and oakmoss. This smoldering combination gives this scent, with all its foody qualities, a real unsettling, spooky quality--and that's even more delicious