Kittyflop

First on: Floral, dark and warm floral.

 

After a bit: Spicy dark warm floral – the floral being jasmine. It’s got a kick to it. The waft is strong – it’s hovering all around me. I can’t quite pick out the notes, not the coffee anyway, although that may be lending to the overall ‘warm’ quality I’m getting. That and the vanilla.

 

Later – still VERY spicy, very jasmine, very lovely. She's sticking around for the late show, too - I think she'll be up all night!

 

This is an apt tribute to our courtesan and spy – exotic and dangerous, and very womanly.

Hiya,

 

Agreed, Snake Charmer is wonderful vanilla-musk. Other notes there too, but these two are strong on my skin. I haven't tried most of the others mentioned here but Antique Lace is definitely on my to-buy list.

 

Not sure if this thread is restricted to bpal (please delete if it is) but if you like room scents/tarts, I've just discovered Alternative Breedings' 'Dirty Vanilla' tart - vanilla, balsam peru, patchouli and dark musk. Hoo boy it makes the house smell divine. I didn't even know there was patchouli in it at first, because if I did I never would have tried it, but what a surprise!. There's a thread here in 'retail therapy' I think about Tod's tarts.

First Sniff: Fruit ‘n flowers!

 

Drydown: That fruity note morphs quickly into something citrusy. Then boozy. It keeps changing! This is one boisterous, partying funeral. No graveyard dirt yet though.

 

After a few minutes, the sweetness from the first sniff has receded. And now – strong booze! And now the soil comes through. This is very earthy, but there are still florals standing up and saying yeah! That was the life! There is still a citrus tang to it all, too.

 

This is fascinating, complex and continuously morphing. Very apt. Love it.

On drydown, this smells like… Haunted? I wonder if this has black musk. I’m getting Haunted, plus something sweet . I’m sure this doesn’t make any sense. Checking the notes… er.. Bourbon, sugar and mint?? I guess I’m getting the sugar, but no mint at all. The bourbon might be fooling me into sensing musk. It’s warm and sweet and somewhat comforting, but not what I’d expected.

 

Throw is fairly wide, but it’s fading pretty quickly.

In the imp – wood? Something bitter, like a dark closet. Bitter wood dust.

 

On wet - Definitely grandmother-y. (But I don’t mean old-lady-scent. Not at all.) I can’t put my finger on it – dark wood furniture, with liquor spilled on it. Oh my this smells is so familiar and yet I can’t… quite….

 

Dry – it’s becoming a dark floral as it settles down, the woodsy smell recedes a bit. Still familiar. Damn. I can’t pin it down. OK I’m caving and looking at the notes in the description… Laurel and splintered woods, maybe, is that what’s in the forefront? If so the peony and mandarin are finally peeking their noses out.

 

Whatever it is it’s gorgeous. I love this madly. The throw is quite strong (says my coworker).

 

3 hours later – still going strong! This mellows, sweetens and blends as it ages on my skin. It's fabulous.

Pretty much what the description says – honey and lilies! It’s very fun. The lilies are a bit stronger on me and the honey takes a back seat, but it’s definitely there. I think I really like lily. Definitely a good one for me.

 

Throw is medium, and it lasts 5-6 hours.

This is a solemn and dry rose. What must be the frankincense lends a very earthy feel to this scent. It’s beautiful for when I want rose without the sweetness. Makes me feel… what’s a good word – contemplative? Reverent?

 

The throw is medium, and the staying power tremendous – I put this on around 11:00 am, and could still smell it the next morning!

The cucumber comes out very strong on my skin. This is very true to it’s inspiration – innocent and wistful! It’s cooling, green, and sweet. I’m not very familiar with the other notes but they blend together wonderfully!

 

Medium staying power – 3-4 hours.

This is just a fabulous honey scent. The white flowers blend with the honey for a not-too-sweet but cheerful scent. In fact it’s much less sweet than I expected, given the name, but it’s just gorgeous.

 

It stays close to the skin, and doesn’t stick around quite as long as I’d hoped, but longer than some – probably about 4 hours to re-apply.

In the bottle – oh wow, this has got to be the weirdest thing I’ve smelled yet! Not sure what I was expecting, but this was a total surprise.

 

Applied wet - a strong butter note hits my nose – almost butterscotch, maybe. As it dries down it turns into a strong woodsy smell, I can’t quite place what kind of wood, but it’s very comforting.

 

Random wafts float over my nose for the next two hours and all smell different – they alternate between woods, butter, and something else I can’t quite name.

 

Gawds I love this! I’m so glad I have a whole bottle coming.

At first sniff I disliked this as much as a lot of folks. It did smell cold, but in a defrosting-the-freezer-after-three-years chemically cold.

 

I just tried it again, on a whim, and it has definitely improved. Or my expectation was lowered. Hmm, it's not so bad after all. The 'waft' is much nicer when it catches me unawares than what I smell when I stick my nose right to my wrist.

 

Clean, cool, definitely powdery. Odd, but it is growing on me. I'm glad I kept it.

DDLM 2005

 

I've never tried the '04 version, so cannot compare the two.

 

What I get strongly from this is sweet pipe tobacco and honey, with florals weaving around in the background. It has terrific staying power. I don't get much chocolate; I've read a few comparisons to Kali (which is one of my two all-time favorites) and agree that the chocolate is stronger in her than in this. But I adore it! This will definitely compete as one of my top autumn scents.

Oh sugar-coated naughtiness! Crimson and pink, satin and strawberry wine. Bordello isn't candy-sweet, but rather boozy sweet. I love the fruitiness of it, and it's got a sassy-tangy edge. Delightful.

Received a sample as a gift from sixthsentinel - thank you again!

 

I've tried this a couple of times before setting down a review and am still not sure what to say. This is absolutely lovely. I don't get any of the sweetness that others have had. It's very earthy, eerily quiet, subdued. Like walking through a dark, damp, labyrinthian library by candlelight.

 

A 5ml will be on my next order.

And Haunted smells like baby powder.

 

Funny - many of you have said this, but I've gotten almost exactly the opposite! O is very sweet, both vanilla and powdery, whereas Haunted is all amber and musk - very little sweetness to it.

 

Then again, I think I'm the only forumite in history that didn't smell chocolate in Centzon Totochtin, so if I were you I wouldn't trust my nose.

Hmm.. I absolutely adore Haunted (sexy and comforting, at the same time! ??? ), but don't know O well yet. I recently received a gift imp of it - I think I'll try it tonight and see how they compare! Reporting back tomorrow....

The cherry in this is wonderful. This reminds me of my first impression of Red Queen, before she turned all sawdust on me. The anise on me is very subdued, luckily (I was a little afraid of that) and it offset the cherry just perfectly.

 

This didn’t last as long as I’d hoped, but I’ll try it again with a lotion base and see if it holds on longer.

For some reason I’m drawn to this at bedtime. It’s my favorite night scent, comforting. A soft, warm, amber rolled in moondust.

In the bottle, it reminded me of Fruit Punch. Once on, though, it became a little less sweet and more tangy. Not sour, exactly, but definitely a tangy edge to it. It was citric fruit without the overpowering sweetness I was expecting. Juicy and clear and fruity. Very nice!

It lasted fairly well (4 hours), and the throw was medium-strong. Like many fruits, I didn’t want to re-apply once it faded. It’s great for short-term enjoyment, but as I’ve discovered with many foody scents, as much as I love them, I don’t want to eat the same food all day, and I don’t want to smell the same fruit all day either.

A very green floral. It’s crisp and not too sweet. Lovely clean flowers – I really like this! It’s perfect for this warm overcast rainy day. (I often wear scents that are the exact opposite of the weather….)

 

After 2 hours it has faded quite a bit but is still lingering. I may have to replenish a bit more often than normal, but it’s worth it.

email the lab (answers @ blackphoenixalchemylab . com, without the spaces) and tell them. Sara, I think her name is, who handles these things is REALLY nice and they're always good at correcting their mistakes.

 

In the bottle and on first application, this is sweeeeet. On drying the sweetness immediately starts to subside and it gets tangy-spicy. Something sharp is tickling my nose and making me almost sneeze. Clove?

 

Two hours – the tang has softened and the vanilla is (finally!!) starting to emerge. Now this is the scent I was hoping for – Vanilla and honey with spice. Too bad it took so long to get to it, but if it sticks around for a few more hours I’d say it’s worth the wait..

 

Four hours – still strong! I’m getting more and more enamored by this.

On first application: Sweet almonds, with a boozy backup. After a few minutes the booze evaporates leaving a lovely, not-to-sweet almond aroma. I think the musk/myrrh deepens the almond, grounds it and keeps it from being too sweet

 

Throw is pretty light, duration only about 3 hours. This is nice enough to keep re-applying though. I like it!

This smells like hot fudge. Pure hot fudge. I don't think I'll wear it much, but this imp will definitely go in the aroma dish when it’s time to sell the house

 

Throw is medium, staying power quite long, lasted overnight.

I’ve worn this twice, and each time was different. The first time I caught a slight whiff of chocolate-mint, but the mint faded and I was left with a lovely cocoa-sandalwood aroma – very comforting. The second time, thought, it was all Andes Mint Chocolates, from beginning to end. It wasn’t bad, but not something I’d wear much. I’ll give it one more try (hoping it was a chemistry thing) but then will probably move on to another chocolate scent on my list.

 

It did last a very long time though – I put it on in the evening, and could still smell it very faintly in the morning.