Invidiana

There is a bit of a cat pee undertone to this wet but here's hoping.

 

:leaves swatch alone to dry down:

 

Okay, now it's really starting to take shape. I was afraid of either cat pee jasmine or dry rose death but apparently night-blooming jasmine behaves quite well on me. The rose notes are also the voluptuous type and not dry at all. My favorite thing about this scent, however, is the thick sweet myrrh and warm, sensual musk that really shine in the drydown. This might just love me.

This is pretty sharp wet, but it dries down into the loveliest ethereal white musk touched with shadows of opium and patchouli. It's almost like opium and patchouli made "clean", if that makes any sense at all. It is a sophisticated scent with enough innocence from the white musk and mystery from the opium and patchouli notes. I can't quite take my nose away becaue there's something about it drawing me in that I just can't put my finger upon. So glad I got a bottle before it was discontinued because it's really unique and beautiful.

This is all fluffy and lightly buttery vanilla cake studded with juicy currants. There is a perfect balance of just enough currant to accent the cake but not overtake it. The extra vanilla in addition to the cake notes gives it the feel of equally fluffy frosting. Yum.

I typically don't do well with honeysuckle or geranium, but this is pink geranium which doesn't go sharp, and I barely get any honeysuckle at all. Thankfully this is mostly orchid and pikake on me, with gentle touches of the other florals in the background and a soft base of white amber. It actually smells really fresh and clean and uplifting, perfect for a hot day or any day when you need something to lift your spirits. Surprise win!

Luscious boozy berries. I am so, so tempted to lick my knee since I ran out of testing room on my arms...there is no one fruit that dominates here, it's just like a sticky melange of dark berries doused in booze and shot through with sexy red musk. This is not one of those artificially sweet berry scents that goes all cloying but really rich and true with just enough tartness to balance out the sweetness, plus the apricot adds a little something special to the background. It's definitely a cousin of Bordello with more of a fruity punch and without the almond note. This was a no-brainer for me since I knew it would be a win.

Damn this is sexy. It's delicious red musk and amber in the bottle, and only gets better once on my skin. If you love Snake Charmer like I do, this is in that Snake Charmer family of thick sweet resinous incense that screams sex from half a mile away. Once it dries down it the sensual warmth of the sandalwood and golden musk emerges as well with a hint of smokiness from the tobacco. I don't get much orris or sunflower but there is the very faintest hint of florals somewhere in the background. Instant win, nuff said.

I didn't think this had a chance of working on me because of the cumin and cedar.

Boy was I wrong.

Sometimes I can amp cumin, true, but here I get only a tinge of it wet and then none at all. Cedar can alo be problematic but instead of the cedar death I expected a la Sacrifice, I get a surprisingly soft woody background. The real stars of this scent are the resins and mandarin, especially the amber. It's a rich, full-bodied "expensive"-smelling amber that is just sweet enough and thoroughly sophisticated. The frankincense and myrrh add even more golden resinous body to it and the mandarin adds to the Oriental luxury of the scent. I get a hint of spice from the cinnamon and maybe the faintest trace of floral from the osmanthus, but these are just details that round out the whole picture. It's a complex scent that reflects the ornate nature of Klimt's painting. The bottle I am testing from is not mine, but I'm definitely picking up one of my own with the next Lunacy. This is just way too lovely to pass up.

In the bottle this is a little odd and sharp with an herbal and citrusy edge. However, like a tree in bloom, on my skin it morphs into something completely different--and amazing.

This scent has elevated the classic pairing of chocolate and orange to new heights. It isn't foody per se but more in that lovely sweet and earthy vein of Brood XIX and Atlas. True that it's a little sharp from the matcha tea at first but upon the drydown that disappears entirely and is replaced by cocoa and mandarin on a bed of lush woods and earthy moss with a vanillic undertone of tonka. What I'm guessing is the Kashmir wood really smell amazing on me, deep and warm and sensual very much like oude. The mandarin is there though not a prominent citrus scent per se, more of a contribution to the overall luxurious feel of the scent. There is a bit of smokiness which I'm guessing is from the galangal, and the sage behaves in the background, not amping to herbal death but entwining with the moss to fill out the overall idea of a great tree rising from the shadows of the forest floor.

I am so glad I took a chance on a bottle of this unsniffed. It's gorgeous.

I am really happy to have finally gotten a bottle of this because it's so pretty. It does stay close to the skin as others have mentioned but it's a warm and sensual skin scent. I get lots of sweet golden amber and sandalwood backed up with creamy vanilla and slightly spicy florals. I can sometimes amp cinnamon like nobody's business but there is just the barest hint of it here. The florals are warm and dry in an autumnal way and add to the overall golden feel of the scent. Lovely.

Though I do like all of them I have to say this is my favorite of the Pretty Indulgent scents. It's predominantly a vanillaed white musk on me with a soft floral background in which I can definitely make out the orchid and lily with a hint of lilac. The lilac is actually pretty subdued, just enough to make its presence known but in no way overpowering. Apple blossom can be iffy on me but this one doesn't go to soap. I have no idea what begonias smell like because I've never actually stuck my nose in one when I had the chance but in any case it's working. All I know is I'm amping the vanilla musk and I'm all over that.

I was worried about the combo of leather and sage being a masculine blast but this is beautiful. The leather is most prominent in the wet stage but sweet balsam resin quickly comes out to play followed by the hickory (which thankfully doesn't amp like cedar), and the musk keeps warming up as it dries down. I do have a tendency to amp many resins, especially the sweeter ones, and in this case it's working in my favor. The leather here is a soft and well-worn leather note, true to the description. Finally the soft wildflower and herbal notes emerge, not in a medicinal-herbal way but rather like a golden usmmer field with wildflowers blowing in the wind. I'm really quite surprised at how much I like this one.

I would say this is more the love child of Silver Phoenix and Black Opal rather than B340. It is a little odd wet but I'm really glad I gave it a chance because it blossomed into a beautiful soft "silvery" scent, as others have said, with the violet, iris and musk at the forefront. I can pick out the blackcurrant though this is not a berry scent per se. This musk is a fuzzy musk but doesn't go cloyingly powdery on me like the one in Hunter Moon 07. There is a powderiness to this scent as a whole but it's a pleasant powderiness. There is the tiniest bit of anise here, but it ends up being no more than the faintest whisper, and I don't get anything soapy from the apple blossom. I get hints of patchouli and tonka as well, which add to the warmth of the musk. The final drydown of this is like a velvety grayish-purplish cloak that shifts colors in the twilight; difficult to describe but beautiful in its own right.

This is the jasmine that actually likes me; not just likes me, but really likes me. No cat pee but a soft, feminine, crystalline scent that seems to carry the essence of magic with it. Even if you don't like white florals (though I do), the florals in this are gentle and not at all overbearing. I get a lot of the Lab's gorgeous white musk in the drydown, and thankfully no spice of any kind. That could be because the spices in this are white spices, but in any case I don't amp them. I discovered this a little late but am so glad I've been able to collect enough imps to fill a bottle.

This is a very true fresh apple scent that reminds me of SGA without the snow/ice note. Fresh apple and a some misty greens in the background. On me at least it turns out to be a red apple rather than the tangy green apple I was hoping for. Not my thing, but if you love SGA you definitely need to snap this one up before it's gone.

This is pleasantly sweet and smoky on me, which I didn't expect because I thought it would be glaringly masculine. I barely get any leather. There is something almost caramelly about it though not exactly foody; I think it's the type of tobacco or maybe the snakeroot though I have no idea what snakeroot smells like. It's actually very similar to Pinched on my skin except without the cinnamon that I tend to amp in the drydown. I'm going to have to do a side-by-side comparison.

Something in this comes off like corn chips wet, I kid you not. I'm thinking it might be the sesame. As it dries down, the corn chip note all but disappears and some lovely sweet sticky fig and warm hazelnut come out with the soft creaminess of rice flower. The hazelnut gives it a toasty nutty backing to keep it from getting too sweet. I actually don't get too much spice out of this, which is good because sometimes I can amp some spices like no tomorrow. It's a really cozy scent that I can see being great for autumn. Winner!

This starts out really vegetal and off-putting wet; I think it's the horseradish, and I can't stand horseradish. As it dries down the sharp vegetal quality takes a backseat and it becomes something of a minty (I have no idea where I'm getting any mintiness from) clove blend with a bit of florals and resins. Maybe it's the bergamot that's giving me the minty effect. This ends up being a very discordant blend on my skin. Not for me.

I don't know exactly what it is but something in this goes strangely off on me. I do get the Lab's lovely frankincense with its deep resiny woodiness but that's not what goes awry; I think it's the combination of that and the other resins with the purple fruits that ruins it on my skin. I amp sweet notes and sometimes I ultimately end up amping them too much. All in all it smells somewhat like nail polish remover wet and then dries down into a sickly sweet chemical scent on me. Sad.

This is a bit odd on me at first, like rose and lime rind which don't really seem to mesh. However, the limey note fades and leaves a gentle rose with soft, airy greens and a warm bark note that I'm tempted to say ha oak bark in there somewhere. The rose isn't a really sharp or dry rose but more of a feminine pink tea rose to my nose. There is indeed something misty about this that comes off as fresh and clean, and a really romantic quality as well. I expected this one to be a disaster at first but I'm pleasantly surprised.

This reminds me a lot of Samhainophobia but a bit sweeter. I think I'm amping the olibanum, and the sweet aspect of resins automatically shine on my skin most of the time. I was afraid of Attack of the Vetiver Death here but the vetiver is actually very subtle, just adding to the earthiness of the blend. The patchouli is prominent but smooth and rich. The ash note adds a smoky touch but isn't overwhelming or masculine. Overall this is pleasantly smoky in an autumnal way, very reminiscent of the Halloweenies, and I think I'm going to need a bottle at some point.

I wasn't expecting to but I actually quite like this. It's primarily leather wet, but as it dries down a lovely vanillic tonka and just a hint of sweet booze (not astringent at all) emerges. As it dries down further it also reveals a light musky and woody background. It isn't at all as masculine as I expected and totally wearable.

I was really hoping for an onslaught of caramel and sultana raisins, but unfortunately it seems the tobacco and herbs dominate. I do get a hint of the caramelly notes in the background but this is predominantly tobacco and sage on my skin. I do get quite a bit of sandalwood as well and while it is a lovely sandalwood the blend as a whole is just too overbearingly masculine on me. However, I do imagine it would have more success on a male specimen.

This is mostly sweet honey mead and rum on me. I get hints of hazelnut, almond and buttercream but the two heady booze notes are at the forefront. It's not a blast of alcohol, just thick sweet liquor. This one badly tempts me to lick my wrist.

This is a really airy and ethereal scent perfect for sending you off to dreamland. It tart off a bit piney but soon it truly becomes a misty forest full of delicate wildflowers and a hint of woodland berry. It reminds me of the Gossamer proto in a way, not the same scent but in a similar vein. Now my room can smell like Lothlorien.

I *think* the Weisse Maus proto has linden, which was something Yeahbutnobut touched on after I'd reviewed it because I wasn't too familiar with linden at the time: Weisse Maus v4

Keep an eye on Etsy because it wasn't sold out during the WC so there must be leftovers hiding somewhere.

 

ETA link.