Invidiana

I definitely get the rose, but it's not overpowering; rather, it blends beautifully with the other notes to really encapsulate the feeling of longing. In relation to the poem's title and theme, the cinnamon in this is perfectly appropriate, like that spark of passion not quite extinguished but still drowned in too much sorrow to blaze fully. The frankincense and musk contribute to this blend's ghostly quality of lost love, and I do get the trace of bay rum that might be the last drop in a bottle that had been drunk down all the way out of misery the night before. Beth certainly has a way with scenting literature, and this is no exception

Not moldy at all, but more of an "antique" white fabric scent that isn't your great-aunt's mothball-filled closet. Julia Stone is delicate but still manages to be eerie (eerieness being my personal prerequisite for florals as without that element they just get way too girly) just like, say, a rotting once-white antique wedding dress that has been exposed to the elements for a long stretch of time. This isn't the stench of rotting fabric, but rather the evocation of such an image, and definitely deserves some attention!

I was a little worried about the rosemary and tomato--I can't stand rosemary in food--but since my skin amps sweet stuff and the pumpkin is the sweetest note in here, turns out I didn't have to worry after all It's like sitting outdoors in a pumpkin patch on a crisp fall day eating a slice of pumpkin pie; there's enough foody goodness in here to balance the sharpness of the rosemary and tomato, and the pitch adds nice depth. This one is strong, so unless you want to be a walking human pumpkin patch, just a dab will do ya!

Chunky fruit punch with a generous splash of booze! Fruity and tangy with splash--but not an overpowering amount--of booze; just plain mouthwatering; I just can't stop sniffing my wrist; there is definitely blood orange in this, or some sort of dark citrus that adds a heaping dose of sexiness There defintiely has to be cranberry in here too, probably with other tart red fruits. This is delicious, flirty and slightly naughty, just like a Halloween party spent in a provocative Catholic-schoolgirl-gone-bad outfit acting like a tart around the boys and secretly spiking the punch!

Holy sex. Because this basically is sex in a bottle with a melange of many of my favorite notes all swirled into one incredibly provocative blend It's a fiery scent with that "languid, melancholy" air added by the balsam, which nicely balances the brilliant crimson eruption of red musk, the deliciousness of vanilla, the mystery of incense and the earthiness of clove and patchouli. It's like blazing embers on a winter's night, a flame that just won't quit no matter how anyone tries to extinguish it. Mircalla is pure intoxication

Yes, I do believe I detect a *hint* of white rose but it just blends so harmoniously with the rest of the notes there's no trace of Grandma in this whatsoever. It's just what the titlie implies by "unheavenly"--a "heavenly" sweet, creamy blend with a dash of sweet spices corrupted by a haze of some sort of smoke; makes me think of a beautiful city full of majestic Gothic marble buildings and ornate storefronts that appears otherworldly from a distance, but upon closer inspection the visitor realizes this place is actually full of brothels and disease and general madness. Reminiscent of the moral price attached to luxury in Dreiser's Sister Carrie. Beautiful!

Nice, another creepy floral! If sphagnum moss and peat sound scary to you, believe me, it just adds an eerie earthiness to this blend and by no means makes it end up smelling like a swamp. The earthy notes actually make it sexier, something of a white floral haze shrouding a murky, moss-covered graveyard. This ghostly and mysterious scent brings to mind spirits materializing in the mist. Anyone who's sworn off florals obviously hasn't given the ones in the Literary Vampire Series a try!

Wow--this is an out-and-out sexy, slightly spiced berry, made only more delicious (but not cloying) by the honey and more alluring by the dianthus and lavender. Like a really expensive top-of-the-line jam or cup of berry tea. I think the lavender lends it a sort of intoxicating "lover's swoon" type feeling which is very evident int the poem and highly alluring. It's one of those juicy, reddish-purplish "eat me alive" blends that is just incredibly gorgeous and sensual

Oooooh, this really is a cold, abandoned Gothic church which at the same time has a very "touchable" feeling; I believe that's the white mist congealing into flesh note, which probably has something to do with white musk or skin musk, both of which I love . It's a beautiful clash of cold stone and warm flesh, dark and light, life and death. Sarah is a very mysterious and come-hither blend, another one that's going to make him want to come just a *little* bit closer to see what exactly that perfume is. For those of you afraid it might smell too much like Sunday Mass, fear not; the liturgical incense is just a faded memory in the background and doesn't invade your nostrils.

This is an eerie dark floral along the lines of Midnight. I was a little worried about the grave soil, but no dirt shows up on me; it's probably a background note that tempers the heliotrope and blood accord to keep them from getting cloyingly sweet. The way the blood accord turns to a berry-spice scent on me adds an edge to this blend; definitely not a pansy floral, but more of an evil garden waiting to eat you alive

I was a little nervous about this one, but finally caved because of both my love of vampires and the blood accord and knowledge of what wonderful things dragon's blood does on me. The gamble was worth it. Again, maybe it's my skin that amps sweetness--and dragon's blood is sweet and turns into a deep spiced berry on me--but Lord Ruthven isn't butch on me at all. I'm really getting that wonderful sweet and spicy blood accord at the top, with shadows of leather and a faint whiff of cologne in the background. I'm not letting any guy borrow this when it comes out as such a deeply sexy womanly scent on me!

Wow. This is the apple to peel, core and otherwise mash all other apples into sauce . I do have the type of skin that amps sweet stuff, so apple is one I especially have to be careful with since it can potentially turn into pure sugar on me. Not here. The ruby-red cranberry blending beautifully with the apple in the forefront and *hint* of cider in the background make this into one juicy and delicious treat that I'm so tempted to take a bite out of, except I need to remind myself that if I did that I'd actually be taking a huge chunk out of my wrist. It's the Apple Queen to that same year's Pumpkin Queen!

Fear not: this isn't a gaudy 70's perfume dominating your nostrils but rather the faintest whispers of one, wrapped in the haze of white musk and covered in a certain frostiness. For some reason it makes me think of a glittering disco that suddenly had a window break and a blast of snow come rushing in. An icy, come-hither scent.

On me this is a melange of sweet, spicy and shadowy dark fruits; if there was such a thing as a "firefruit", Rage would be it. Dragon's blood comes out like tangy, bloody spiced berries on my skin, and that fruitiness furthered by the mandarin and blackcurrant turns absolutely delicious, with the black amber keeping it in sexy, not cloying, territory. Not really getting much floral stuff, but I don't think something too floral would be appropriate to embody the scent of rage anyway. Considering seeking a bottle of this...if one ever surfaces.

Eris is a very fierce candylike scent--I'm particularly getting Watermelon Jolly Rancher--but the spices still keep it in "fierce" territory. I have no idea whether watermelon is a prominent note or the watermelon-like essence comes from the mingling of one of the florals with the fruit; usually I'm not a huge fan of watermelon, but the way it's fired up by the spices here makes this blend an exception. This is where I thank my skin for amping things like cinnamon

This is exactly what it says--frosty night-blooming flowers . The whtie mint isn't too overpowering or antiseptic, just gives the right frostbitten touch to everything else. I could swear there were juniper berries or some form of juniper in this, but it must be the mingling of other scents playing tricks on my nose. It reminds me of going Christmas tree shopping on a frosty night with the previous week's snow frozen over to ice; cool, crisp and enchanting.

Oh yes. I love almond, and almond loves me. I'm getting the sense there is also almond flower in this because there seems to be a light floral backdrop, as if this is one of those wedding croquembouches studded with white flowers. And the caramel just makes it flat-out decadent. I need to resist biting myself!

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