starfish327

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.

If we want to make a paypal order, are we still going through the Checkout process through CCNow?

 

Which I'm dumb, nevermind, I see that it redirects you to the paypal page.

 

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).

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.

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.

Yankee candle used to have a scent that I am really reminded of by this blend, and I honestly mean that in a good way. I do actually quite enjoy this blend, but I have the same reaction to it as I did fearful pleasure- it's a wonderful spicy warm blend that I like better around me than on me. It would be an excellent home fragrance for me- it does really remind me of the way that Yule 'should' smell, just not on me. It honestly doesn't remind me of the food notes that inspired it at all, especially mead (I was hoping to see what mead would turn out to smell like but I'm not getting any of the honey at all).

I was actually a little disappointed in this one because it honestly sounded so good in the note list and just didn't work for me. It's not a bad blend, it's actually nice for what it is, but it strikes me as meh when it's on my skin.

I got two sensations from it which probably won't do anyone a world of good: the first is that it reminds me of spiced cookies that have been sitting out in cigerette smoke too long. It's a weird ashy kitchen spice note that I really can't place, and I find it actually to be disappointing. I love spice notes, and I love tobacco- I especially love smelling like clove cigarettes. I think that if either the spice or the tobacco notes where stronger i would be in love with this scent, but right now it falls a little flat. Perhaps after it ages a little.

The second scent image that I get from this blend is the smell that patcholi can get if it's been on the skin too long- it's like really stale incense. It reminds of something probably smelled good fresh but the main oomph of the scent is long gone- sort of like a room can smell after a scent is used but hasn't been in awhile if that makes sense?

I find this to be one of the hardest of the scents I've tested to describe, but in general it didn't live up to what I had hoped it would be.

I like this blend. I don't love it, but I do like it and see myself wearing it. It reminds me a lot of torture king (which is probably good because it'll be easier for me to find) but without the citrusy notes. It starts out with an almost generic spice/musk type feeling for me, but then dries down into a pine-y spiciness that I enjoy. It really does remind me of torture kind without the leather and the citrus- this is a much milder, calmer blend that than but with the same spicy darkness on my skin.

I was lucky enough to receive a partial decant of this from a forumite for yule and i was quite excited to receive it. i did a partial test last night.

in the imp: oh. oh gods. nail polish?! all i smell is nail polish. this may be the oddest smelling blend out-of-the-imp that i've come across so far. i'm actually concerned. (I'm guessing that it's the lemon and the lime).

drying down: still the odd sharp sourness, but it's slightly sweeter. i'm still worried.

completely dried/slightly later: OH HELLO THERE. this is the first blend that i have tested that did a complete 180 on me. the leather and the vetiver come out in full force along with the frankincense. the clove and the bourbon balance out whatever the sour notes were, and the sourness is gone completely.

yep this is what i would think the torture king would smell like- 'toy' leather and musk and sexy things. this is what i would want my boy to wear if he ever wore scents. i will be coveting my partial imp and hunting down more, because i'm wearing this when my boy isn't around to make me think of him.

this was a free imp that someone was nice enough to pass along to me.

i was interested in seeing what this one would be like as crossroads are sacred in my spiritual path...it's not a bad scent, per se, but it has a lot of throw (my boyfriend just commented that i'm stinky- but he finds most perfumes/oils to be stinky).

i'm not getting anything chilly about this scent- it's warm incense, slightly herbal, and a lot of white florals. it's not a bad floral and it's not turning as powdery on me as most florals do. it's STRONG on me though. i'm still not getting any dirt notes though.

it's not a bad blend though i still don't prefer florals. i think that i'll hold onto it for a summer ritual oil though.

warm, vaguely floral, spicy, and kind of powdery but in a good way.

my beloved tonka's saving this blend i think. it's a lot...more delicate? than what i normally like and i did get the dreaded hairspray impression in the imp that other people talked about but i think that i'm going to hold onto this one.

2009 version

all the descriptions are saying lemon...this may not be a good thing.

in the imp and wet, yes- lots of fake lemon. lots and lots of fake lemon.

on dry down though i'm starting to get the amber and rosemary. it's kind of soapy on me though. i'm amping the spice like normal.

it's not bad on me, but i'm not seeing this one getting a lot of rotation.

Admittedly I think I'm coming down with a head cold so this may not be the best time to review this...

I'm not getting any of the notes that other people are getting for this one. In the imp I get something minty, green and sharp. I'm not getting dirt at all.

It's pretty much the same wet as in the imp-- it reminds of whatever note reminds me of tea tree oil in wolfsbane.

Dried down there is something faintly sweet, overlaid with something that reminds me of a sharp white floral. It fades down to a powdery white floral as opposed to a sharp one. It's still very green. I normally amp spice and resins but I'm not getting them at all. Admittedly, I have slightly odd skin chemistry.

It does remind me of spring, but more in a blossoming fertility kind of way than anything that reminds me of silt or flooding. It's not a bad floral, but most florals go powdery on me. It's not on my must swap list, but I'm not sure that this is going to get a lot of wear.

I'm doing homework for a friend (as a way of enabling as well). Her favorite scent was discontinued from wherever it was that she was getting it, and the notes were caramel, orchid, and musk. I was wondering if there's anything similar? I'm finding lots of recs for caramel and spice, but not so much caramel and florals.

All right folks! Get me some water, cuz there I'm noticing an awefull lot of smoldering going on lately-

my question is how do they all compare to one another? What makes you snifflers opt for the scent of Rumpelstilzchn over Djiin?

Here's the list of known suspects:

 

DJINN
 black smoke, of crackling flames, and smoldering ashes.

THE APPLE OF SODOM 
Native to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, this fruit turns to ashes when plucked as a sign of God’s displeasure.

RUMPELSTILZCHEN

Firewood and ash with an oddly otherworldly blend of patchouli, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, tonka, vetiver, and myrrh.

FIRE FOR THY STEPMOTHER'S DAUGHTERS

Flaming coals, hellfire, and blackened bone.

SMOKESTACK
Creosote, coal, and industrial waste.

THE GRAND INQUISITOR'S HERETIC'S FORK

Coppery dried blood, metal, vetiver, and bonfire smoke.

AGNES NUTTER

Gunpowder, charred wood, smoke, and rusty nails.

 

Anyone missing? Any LE's perhaps?

and then there's the question of vetiver=smoke- what say you?

and we could also muse on smokey leather's (wah! de sade I miss you!) but that might be another thread~

The Music of Erich Zahn is REALLY smoky on me, but maybe it's just me, too. Vetiver is almost always smoky on me.

In the imp and wet: woody with pine and an herbal over note

drying: still woody and the herbal note gets stronger but not over powering like it did for me in #20 love oil. maybe an herbal i can actually wear with my chemistry? then a weird creamy cocoa, tea, and saffron mix for awhile, but that fades.

dried: the herbs and the cocoa are still there, but my beloved musk and tobacco become more prominent. the tea has faded, and i still haven't gotten any mandarin at all from this. whatever the five herbs are, they're being kept in check by the other notes- which is nice, since most herbals tend to turn into screaming green-ness on me. great sword reminds me a lot more of male cologne than most of the spice/smoky blends on me (i'm guessing that it's the red musk and the tonka) but i actually tend to prefer cologne over traditionally feminine scents.

oh hai there mandarin! you decided to come play. it tones down the baking chocolate note of the cocoa and tones down the overall cologne aspect of the blend.

i don't normally rank scents because i don't have a lot of basis for comparison, but i give this a four out of five. i'll wear it, but i'm not sure that it's one that would come to mind automatically over dee or the music of erich zahn.