mirutai

This was a frimp, and I would certainly never have sought Nyx out, seeing as how jasmine and I are not exactly bestest buddies. And I don't usually care for myrrh or rose, either. My, the omens are certainly sparkling for this, aren't they? ... yep, soap. I am confirmed in my dislike of jasmine. On a side note, though, this is a distinctly dark and smoky jasmine blend, so those looking for a heady yet ominous floral might want to try this one.

White musk and florals with a distinct fruity edge - I can definitely smell the pear. I can't pick out individual florals; they all blend together into one light, white, sweet scent. I think the musk stops this one from becoming _too_ sweet. It's a skin-scent, so one would have to slather it, but I find this quite lovely.

On me, with my amazing fruit-enhancing skin, this is an incredibly strong, artificially-sweet fruit punch. It is quite, quite horrible! *runs to wash it off* One to be wary of if you tend to amp berries/sweetness.

This is _exactly_ the scent of just-baked pumpkin pie - filling, pastry, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Unfortunately, I _loathe_ foodie scents (so why did I try Jack? Because it was there! *grin*), and have no desire to smell like pie. Though now I want to eat some. Mmmm, pie...

A sorrowful graveyard bouquet of somber blooms, funereal boughs, dismal green and laden with grief. Hmm. This is just a generic floral perfume to me - light, inoffensive, but nothing special. It's too well-blended to pick out any indivicual notes, although there is a fairly "green" feel to it. Not bad, but boring compared to BPALs many other stunning, individual scents!

On me, this is very sweet, sticky, and boozy. Smells like cherry liqueur with a side-order of strawberries! There's a hint of spiciness that suggests cloves. My skin chemistry amps up fruit notes into a nasty artificial sweetness, so this one does _not_ work on me.

Whoa. Very, _very_ herbal. I have no idea what particular herbs this smells like - sage? - but it's extremely green and pungent. Not unpleasant... but I don't think I actively _want_ to smell quite this much like a herb rack!

I get more musk than amber out of this one. It is _extremely_ dark! It actually makes me feel a bit uneasy - the musk is quite feral. So a very good match for the name, but not something I'd wear!

On me, this starts off as damp, wet earth, but eventually dries down to a combination of dry earth, hot spices, and a bare hint of floral. I think it fits the name _very_ well, but it's too masculine for me personally. Would love to smell this on a guy, though!

This smells very complex to me. There's hints of white florals, plus woods, plus musk, with a strange edge that I can't quite put my finger on (maybe the pepper?). The only thing I don't get is any hint of fruitiness or citrus - can't smell the mandarin at all. Despite the complexity, this is a very light scent, not heavy or deady. I like it a lot!

In the imp, I smell white florals, and also something woody and faintly bitter than must be the cedar. Wet, florals dominate - I can pick out the lily. However, as the scent dries it morphs into a strong sandalwood soap. Er, no. Not for me!

In the imp: Whaaa...? Dark chocolate? Fruity dark chocolate? I guess this is what fig smells like! Wet: Fig. Figgyfiggyfiggy. Dry: Weird - the intense chocolate/fig scent has died down, softening out to a lovely sweet, warm, brown scent. Not an everyday scent, and not entirely "me"... but surprisingly pleasant!

On me, this was entirely smoky, bitter sandalwood. VERY not my thing. Off to swaps!

A brilliant, ethereal scent: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss. In the imp: Bright juicy peaches, with a hint of bitterness underneath. Wet: Mmmm, peach juice! Dry: The peach scent dies back a bit, allowing a greener, darker scent to come through. This is the whole peach tree,not just the fruit. Delicious!

In the bottle: Lemon, but tempered with something musky and herbal. Wet: Lemon, lemon, nothing but the lemon... Dry: ... which abruptly turns to pure white musk. Hello, tea? Lemon? What happened? Pity. I had high hopes for this one.

True to its name, Shattered shattered the imp cap when I tried to remove it. Oh, the humanity! Happily, half the precious was able to be saved and decanted into another imp. In the vial, Shattered is all sharp grapefruit and mint - quite piercing. Once on my skin, though, it unfurls into a clean, clear white scent. While wet, the lotus is very prominent, making the blend rather too sweet, but it quickly dies back when dry. I don't get the mint as strongly as some other people seem to have done - on me, white florals and aquatics dominate, although I can smell the mint giving a crisp, sharp edge. Cooling, refined, and excellent for summer! The only problem is that one probably has to bathe in this to get measurable throw/staying power... but it's so good I might be tempted to a 10ml (making Shattered into a vodka spray might also work well). Though I'll have to wait until I've sampled the rest of the grapefruit blends for comparison!

This is much fruitier than any sherry I've ever smelled/tasted, but there's a definate boozy feeling to it. It's a rich, alcoholic, dry berry scent. Fr some reason, I'm reminded of Black Phoenix, though Fortunato is much smoother and much less in yer face than BP. It's also quite similar to Morella, though to my nose this is more pleasant - dryer, less sweet, and not so reminiscent of scented candles. Very evocative of the name, and a match for the description... but not my thing personally.

Beltane '05 I've got '06 on order, so thought it would be interesting to get hold of '05 for comparison, as the general consensus seems to be that they are quite different. To me, '05 is a bright heady jasmine, whith a mix of other unidentified light florals and a tiny hint of green. The jasmine isn't _too_ piercing, sweet, or overwhelming, like it is in some blends, making this wearable for me (I'm not a big jasmine fan). I don't get any herbs - this is 99% florals with just a hint of grass. Nice, but not special for me. I was looking for something very green and fresh - I hold out hopes for the '06 edition to be that scent!

Berenice is very white, very ethereal, and very peculiar. The linen comes through very strongly to me, giving a dry, soft feel... yet alongside is the slightly medicinal, green scent of aloe. The aloe gives a slick oily wetness quite at odds to the winding-sheet linen - very, very odd. This may just be my individual perception of aloe, as smelling the scent of aloe makes me _feel_ the peculiar soapy texture of aloe gel on my fingertips (one of my very few cross-sense associations). I don't get the lily or musk conciously, though I suspect that they are there in the background contributing to the "white" impression. It's a haunting, weird scent. I can't say that I'm immediately smitten with it, but I don't dislike it either. I am confused by Berenice!

Artificially sweet fruity rose candy. I am wildly confused. Where are my damp leaves and misty forests? Wheeeere? I love green scents, but this isn't even remotely green to me. Maybe something weird has happened with the aging of this oil - this imp comes from swaps and may have had an extensive peregrination before reaching my eager hands! So sad... this sounded lovely. Maybe I should risk ordering a fresh imp...

To start with, Dragon's Heart is all fig and fruit on me, sweet and rich and dark and sticky. Over the next few hours, the fig burns away revealing the base of musks, and after six hours there's just a wisp of black muskiness left on my wrist. A nice scent, but too powerful and dominant for me personally.

I get no spices from this, just nose-stinging smoke and an acrid scent like wet ashes. Very interesting as a concept, but a world of no as a perfume for me personally!

Interesting. Lilac is normally a soft, powdery scent to me, but Dragon's Eye is living up to its description of "piercing". It's a bright, springtime floral scent, but there _is_ a strange clarity to it - not sharp or unpleasant, just... piercing. This dragon has crystal-clear, summery-sky blue eyes... Far and away my favourite of the dragon blends so far. Good throw and staying power! (Occassionally when I wear it I get too much lilac, and the scent turns into a soft pale purple powder scent - pleasant enough, but not as nice as the dragon eye - which stops this from being a top ten.)

Clear, light white florals and evening air, just like the descriptions says. This is cool, elegant, and understated - like a long black silk evening dress. Something about it says "eveningwear" to me, so I see Evening Star as a scent for formal cocktail/dinner parties rather than daywear.

This is mint. It is very mint. It is so very, very mint. It is, in fact, MINT. It's a fairly nice-smelling mint, but I associate mint with toothpaste, and have no desire to smell like it. Anyone who does, though, this is the scent for them!