starfish327

lab fresh imp in the imp: cherry and orange blossom. this is nice- it does actually remind me of orange blossoms, which doesn't always happen with floral notes for me. wet: light cherry and orange blossom. this is really pretty. it's not overly strong either. this is the cherry that i like in suck it but not nearly as searingly loud or sweet. dry: sweet sweet florals without being overpowering. i'm not getting chocolate from this at all. which makes me quite happy. i'd replace the imp. not sure that it's bottle worthy though.

lab fresh in the imp: OH HAI THERE BLOOD ORANGE I LUV U WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE. this is one of the few blends that i've tried that i've liked straight from the imp. it smells like bubble gum, like really sweet fruity bubblegum. it's all overly sweet berries and citrus. and my beloved blood orange, imo one of the most under appreciated citrus notes. wet: more wonderful citrusy goodness. it's sweet and happy. i guess if temptation is coming in the form of fruit and florals then i'm hooked. dry: this is nice. i mean, this is nice. mid range white florals that are not bugging my sinuses, the blood orange, berries, and citrus. this will be used, and it will be replaced. and then probably used and replaced again.

decanted today in the botte: clean. it's hard to describe- it's not like soap or cleansers, it just smells...clean. i'm guessing it's the lab's snow/frost note (i've never tried any snow blends before today) wet: mint and snow, still clean. it does smell like middle of winter when i'm at home and there's not as much traffic. dry: water and watermelons, still with the same biting cleanliness. crap this is pretty. it's not delicate though, this is definitely a guy-ish snow and not a girl-ish snow like the snow maiden was.

2009, decanted today. in the bottle: light mint, sweetness, and berries. i'm not getting any florals at all, just mint and berries. wet: more minty sweetness. it reminds me of frozen mixed drinks actually. dry: light, still sweet, and almost boozy. i'm hoping that some of the florals come out more as this ages.

Tested without the note list, but the notes don't surprise me either. Graham crackers. stale, spicy cinnamon graham crackers all the way through the scent. i was underwhelmed. i need a much more assertive spiced fruit blend, and this just didn't stand up to my chemistry.

(res version) i wasn't going to try spooky because it sounded way too sweet and foody for my tastes but it turned up at testacopalypse that i had this afternoon so i gave it a shot. in the bottle: good coconut rum. this has perked my interests, which is odd because i don't normally like coconut scents. wet: warm coconut. it's comforting. it's not foody though, or it's not registering as foody. i'm actually excited to see this dry. dry: MOUNDS BARS. YAY YAY DANCE DANCE MOUNDS BARS. this is EXACTLY like mounds bars on me, and three hours later i think i know why- i'm getting a scent memory now that i think about the smell (i couldn't place it then). my grandfather used to take extended hunting trips in the winter when my grandmother was still alive, and the female family members would get together and make cookies and candy for christmas. this smells like the part of the night where we would make candy. a decant came home with me.

in the bottle: chocolate. maybe a hint of cherry. mostly chocolate like. very foody. not liking this at all. wet: pastry. lots of sweet flaky pastry. not as fruity though, but creamy. dry: sugary, slightly musky, creamy, pastry. it's not as foody when dry as it was wet though. beaver moon has always fascinated me and i'm glad that i tried it, but it's way too foody for me.

lab fresh imp imp: dark florals. i have no idea what florals, definitely dark and definitely not white. wet: same dry: still just dark florals, just lighter than in the imp. it's a nice floral...but it's very floral on me and florals and i don't normally get along (and they make my partner sick) so pass.

oh, ladon is absolutely lovely. this imp is lab fresh, traded in with a bunch of florals that i can't wear. imp: apple! apple! and some apple! did i mention that i got apple? .... and that's it. just straight up wonderful glorious red delicious apple. wet: boozed apple. hard cider. kind of jagged overly sweet fermented apple. nom nom nom. dry: granny smith apples. yay apple! i don't normally like really foody/fruity scents but this is glorious. i had really hoped to be able to try ladon after i saw it scroll by on the reviews yesterday, and it got frimped to a friend of mine i did a massive imp test with today. this will be replaced, and probably layered with every spiced scent i own at some point.

in the imp: pine and something sharp, but not too sharp- just enough to be noticable. wet: pine. just pine. dry: sweet pine. this is a lot less intense than what i had feared after my run in with wolfsbane- i had been afraid to try any of the rest of the garden series. this isn't an overpowering pine but i don't know how much i'd actually wear it. it's not an instant trade item but if i were offered something for it i'd trade it.

in the imp: something vaguely earthy and whiskey. it's good. this is the first imp out of several that i've tested recently that didn't make me cringe in the imp- most blends strike me as wrong in the imp. this didn't, but it was definitely a good top shelf alcohol- i'm surprised that there isn't one listed as a note. wet: OH HAI THERE OLD SCHOOL SCENT MEMORY. this smells like Ferndale. oh crap does this smell like Ferndale. I was born in newfoundland and then my parents were stationed in Ferndale CA for awhile. Ferndale was all painted lady victorians and small little specialty shops. there was one that sold a lot of imported german products- and this smells like that store. it's spicy without being foody, it's herbal without being green (thank goddess- i normally amp herbs into a giant green hell), and it's warm. it's quite nice. dry: now it smells like the candy store that was across the street- it smells like good black licorice, but not necessarily annise. it's sweeter now and warmer bordering on hot. it's comforting. i'm getting the sassafras without smelling root beer per se. there is a vague floraly note which i'm guessing is the black poppy. i'm not sure that i would ever wear this enough to want a bottle and it doesn't have the type of knee jerk, must replace the imp reaction that i've had with some blends but this nice. this is really really nice.

It will work that way, but the Lab states on their website that they prefer people not to use Paypal through CCNow. When you do that, they get hit with processing fees from both CCNow and Paypal, instead of just one or the other. We wind up paying the same amount either way, but they receive more of our money if we just go straight to Paypal to make the purchase. oh crap. you know i've read the site for years and i've never noticed that and that's what i did this morning. well, i know now what not to do next time...

this was in the trade pile and i'm not sure why since i apparently never got around to even reviewing it. imp: whoa, chai. really strong black chai. i rarely am ever actually able to tell what a blend will smell like from the imp, but this is definitely chai. this was recommended to me based off of a search for a certain spiced scent from another company and i can see why. wet- all chai all the time. actually though it reminds me more of clove tobacco but without the tobacco. i'm starting to amp the pepper too. dried- chai, but it's fading fast. this one doesn't have the much staying power on me but i'm hoping it's one of those weird ones that seems like it's fading but isn't. for some reason i'm trying to convince myself that there's something really sweet in here too but only from a distance. i like this one but it's going to have to be layered with something else. i wish it were much stronger on me.

in the imp: apparently the danse macabre smells like pine trees (the cypress i imagine) and tea tree oil (i need to find what note keeps registering to me as tea tree oil). wet: more pine trees. not much else but pine trees. dried: the other notes start to come out, but this blend fades really really fast on me. it warms up a little and it doesn't go powdery, and the pine-y scent recedes a little. this one is meh. it's not bad, but it's not what i would have thought the danse macabre would smell like- and unfortunately (and unfairly) that turns me off of the scent. the pine note is a little strong for me too. i'm going to hold off on trading this imp out though and try layering it under something.

in the imp: without a note list i know that it's ceder and lavender with a couple of other herbs thrown in for good measure and a good dash of vetiver to boot. it smells like a smoky version of an herbal blend that i used to use for my woolens. it's a good smell but it's STRONG. wet: all smoky and woods- strongly cedar with vetiver and incense. not sure that i like it at this stage. dried- wow am i glad i waited. this won't make it to my all time favorite list but it's really really good regardless. it's incenssy and spicey but it's sweet too. i've never tried a blend with fig but if this is the sweet note i'm going to have to track down more. the lavender is there but it didn't do the bizarre meaty thing that i've gotten from the last few blends (the last couple i tried turned to steak and flowers, very weird). this is the type of dark blend that i like.

in the imp- rose and alcohol. wet- rose and something that smells like rubbing alcohol. dried down- spicy rose. this has incredible lasting power on me though. i applied it for testing at 11 am and i could smell it easily at midnight.

in the vial: sharp sharp sharp. there's something in this that my nose is interpreting as astringent. wet: sharp green medicinal-ness. there's nothing floral or red about this, it's all green. it reminds me of an herbal bug repellent actually, not a bad scent but not one i'd want to wear normally. dried down- i'm really hoping that it's not the lab's lavendar that i'm having problems with because i'm getting the same weird sour note that i got from farewell to false love. i know that people have said that rose can go sour but i'm not sure that it's the same rose in both or if farewell even has rose. i'll have to look. but regardless it's turned to weird sour florals and powder.

i can see why this is an electrical/ozone scent but unfortunately i got gentle rain after the first storm of spring instead of the tesla coil that i was hoping for. in the imp it reminds me of something but i can't place what- it's very medicinal. wet- it doesn't smell like anything on me. at all. nothing. not a thing. it's very odd. dry down/dried- ozone and a white floral. i'm not sure why i'm getting white floral out of this unless there's jasmine lurking in this that i didn't know about. this may be the only blend that i've had go to 'hairspray' on me- most of the reactions that people describe as being hairspray don't remind me of hairspray but this one definitely does. after awhile there's a touch of ginger but it's so barely there i have to be sniffing my wrist to get it. and i just remembered what this reminds me of. there used to be a brand of spray gel that smelled like this years ago. i'm going to have to think about this one. it's not a bad scent but not what i was hoping for, but i may try layering it with something.

in the imp: this really reminds me of a floral blend that i used to use to scent candles with when i made them in high school. it's not a bad association, but it's slightly more perfumey than a lot of the blends that i really like. wet: yep. there's rose in this. i have no idea what else is in it, but there's definitely rose. it reminds me of a good, upscale rose scent soap- it doesn't go soapy so much as just reminding me of soap drying down- spicy rose. i guess i'm getting the sandlewood out of this. dried down- slightly sweet, slightly rosy florals. it's not a bad floral, it didn't go soapy or cleanerish the way that a lot of rose blends do on me. it's pretty enough. i'm just not sure that i'll get a lot of wear out of something this...feminine (and i also don't think of a blend this feminine when i think mab either but i may just be an odd one) but i could see myself wearing this in spring before it gets too warm. it's not going on the auto-swap or friimp pile, but i'm not really attached to it either. reading the note list i was hoping to get something closer to mata hari (though i know it couldn't be that warm).

queen mab the coil akuma laudanum yew trees hesperides danse macabre catherine marianne incubus ded moroz hurricane black lily grand guignol vice the snow maiden 4-13-07 spooky res beaver moon morgaouse ladon king of hearts plunder nephilim the coil

I'm hoping that this year will be happier and sweeter than last year so i'm wearing suck it today.

i think that farewell to false love may be one of those scents that i have to try to ride out the first five minutes and then i'll like it. if anything, surprisingly, farewell to false love doesn't have a strong enough lavender scent for me. in the imp it's an odd lavender mix that reminds me of lavender candies. wet though there's something that reminds me unpleasantly of meat. i have no idea what there could be in this imp that smells like meat on me. the only thing that i can think of is that some of the scents i tested yesterday managed to survive multiple washings and are interacting. dried down and after several minutes i get something like the lavender and violet candies that i got in the imp. it's a fairly light scent and i was really hoping for more lavender. i have lavender oil that i may end up layering with it, because the actual scent isn't bad. i'm just not getting that much lavender out of it.

this is another surprise for me. i normally dislike foodie scents on me, and i especially dislike grains on me (the closest i normally get is pumpkin spiced anything). this is nothing but hazelnut coffee on me. it's amazingly good. i worked coffee bars while i was working on both my BA and my MA, and this smells exactly fresh coffee with hazelnut syrup and a touch of cream. it's really really dry- i'm assuming that it's the hay- but it's still sweet enough that it keeps from being too dusty. i don't get berries at all and i'm not sure what it is that's making this creamy. this is a really good blend for me though, it's foodie without being disturbingly so. i find it comforting too because i honestly loved working in those coffee bars and it reminds me so much of that. i'm not normally a fan of nuts but this blend just works. i'm going to be looking for another decant or two of this one.

Sexy and suckable: black cherry brandy. This was another massive surprise for me- I should have hated this blend with my prior history to cherry but I really enjoy this one, and it'll be going on my to replace list. This is nothing but cherry koolaide on me (those packets of sugared drink mixes that you can use to dye yarn with and kids are obsessed with). bright screaming fire engine red cherry sugary goodness. I get nothing else- it does really remind me of a cheap cherry lollypop, but it never goes too sugary or cloying on me. I get nothing of brandy or booziness out of it, and it's definitely not a dark cherry. But I really enjoy it, and it's going to be a pick me up scent.

In a word: nummy. In two words: absolutely unexpected. I have a very hard time wearing most food scents, and I especially have a touch and go relationship with citrus. This is straight up lemon in the imp, and it smells exactly like a lemon jolly rancher on me. Dried down completely it's an intense, almost blisteringly bright lemon on me with a very subtle spice undertone. And it's absolutely amazing. It doesn't turn into cleaning products on me like some of the other citrus blends that I've tried have. This may be the biggest surprise from the last update yet.