brilliantcat

OMG! In the imp, this smells EXACTLY like these lime-creme-filled shortbread cookies I was obsessed with in college! On me, there's a blast of almond that turns into lime and herbs with a tiny hint of lilies. I no longer get that fantastic cookie scent I loved It turns to sour lilies in short order. Why couldn't I get the lovely almondy lime cookies?!

In the imp, it's a beautiful creamy sandalwood, a combination of the wood note, candle wax, and ice cream. It is simply gorgeous and I can't wait to get it on my arm! On me, it does not disappoint. That fabulous smoky, creamy, delectable candle wax note takes center stage with sandalwood providing a nice woodsy base. I don't get much if any of the spices at this stage and there is just the tiniest hint of sweetness to indicate that the ice cream is indeed present. On drydown, it's smooth, slightly smoky, creamy, a touch sweet, and incensey. Unf. Definitely bottle.

I haven't had the good fortune to try the released version so when I saw the proto on Etsy I grabbed it unsniffed. In the bottle, it's dry cocoa with spices (nutmeg or allspice?) and the cinnamon-y whiff of the cassia. It's very similar when first applied and I don't think foodie so much as gourmand. It doesn't have the gooey richness I associate with the foodier blends. But I take my foodiness straight up or in gourmand form, I don't discriminate! The cassia picks up steam and takes over a bit, though I can tell there are other spices in there, cardamom I think because I am reminded of masala chai. On the drydown, the vanilla and coconut start to peek through and it becomes a truly gorgeous blend. It feels cozy, like a giant cable-knit throw blanket that you've wrapped around your shoulders while you have hot chocolate with masala spices and read a beloved novel. I will definitely be on the lookout for the released version now to compare!

This has nearly all my must-have florals, and I am not a floral lover in general. In the bottle, I can definitely smell the orchid and tiare with a touch of smokiness. On me, it blooms (haha so punny) into a sweet, incensey floral that's heavy on the tiare and orchid with very little gardenia. The vanilla lends some sweetness. This is lovely and feminine and I can see myself wearing it for "date nights" on the regular.

First applied and in the bottle, I definitely get the Lambs-Wool comparisons as there's that spiced cider grabbing my attention. But on, oh when it's on me... there HAS to be patchouli in this and possibly some sort of musk (if it's red it's very very muted because I amp that) because it turns to deliciously earthy pine and mistletoe with a smidge of herbs and the smoke from the hearth wafting over. There's the barest hint of the spiced cider peeking through now and again. It's GORGEOUS. I thought nothing would ever become my signature Christmas scent like my beloved Waltz of the Snowflakes (RIP my decant, I miss you) but this might just do it.

In bottle, fruity and bit... fizzy? There's also some enticing wafts of coconut. I do so love coconut. On me, I get a muzzy soft coconut blended with fruit. Something is giving me the impression of woodiness, perhaps the vegetal musk. At this point both the peach and vegetal red musk don't smell at all like their "normal" counterparts as others have mentioned. It's more like dried peaches than juicy ripe fruit and the musk is earthy and little herbal without the fruity whomp of regular red musk, which is fine by me as I amp red musk. Once it warms up, it's a soft, warm skin scent with nuances of coconut, cranberry, dry peach, and musk. It's one of those "my skin but better" scents and I'm so glad I bought a bottle unsniffed.

No funky animal scent, no pee, so apparently civet is my friend! I get thick red musk that, if it were edible, I'd call chewy. It has texture, it's gritty. It plays off the cinnamon nicely and I'm put in mind of gingerbread as others have mentioned. I don't think it's necessarily masculine and I wouldn't feel strange wearing it as a female. I do want to slather some on the man though. It's just deliciously spicy and warm and sexy.

I didn't realize this was a voodoo blend until I came here to post this so I can't speak to the utility for that purpose. As a scent, it was all wrong on me Herbally rose that just amped into crazy roses everywhere. I desperately wanted to like it because I'm a crazy cat lady and I adore black cats, but no. Just no.

This is one of those I fear is just going to be bad because of my track record with rose notes, but I am determined to try all GC imps when they come my way, sooo... In the imp, yep, that's rose. I think tea rose as that is one of the varieties that *can* sometimes not be awful on me, but it's the only note I can find. Where is the twisted wickedness? This is so clean and light it verges on soapy. In fact, it reminds me of a bubble bath I used as a teen/tween that was heavily rose-scented. Oh ergh, it dries down to bitter, soapy rose. Nopenopenope.

I could have sworn I reviewed this one because I seem to recall it not behaving on me but I can't find it, so here we go again!

 

Sticky vanilla honey in the imp, yum. On me, it has a bit of that Snake Oil-y vibe with a side of Play-Doh Yep, I remember now. I hate to put it like this, but it's the most accurate description I can think of... it smells like baby powder and vomit on me I am so disappointed because it really smells wonderful in the imp but my skin chemistry hates it.

I'm so excited to try this, I've been wanting to for aaaaages and a lovely swapper frimped me some

 

It's a very true candle wax scent, clean and sweet-smelling in the imp. On me, it's a thing of utter beauty. So very simple but masterfully crafted. This is definitely a skin scent, my skin but better. A very slight hint of non-sweet vanilla has me huffing my arm so hard I brought on a coughing fit (currently sick with bronchitis) I cannot adequately express how much I love this. It was everything I hoped and more and I will need a dozen bottles. Thank god it's GC!

Wow, this is sweet sweet sweet in the imp! I get the honey and it almost smells like buttered rum to my nose. Luckily the wood steps in quickly and tames that sugar rush down some. Don't get me wrong, I love me some sweet foody blends but I felt like I was getting cavities just smelling it! It develops a sort of nuttiness, like pecans; perhaps my brain is parsing the molasses and brown sugar as pecan pie so it's making me smell pecans? It seems to develop more and more depth the longer it's on. It started as pure sugary goodness, then the wood made an appearance, then hints of nuts, and now I'm getting some citrus. The sugar is nearly gone and this is such a complex blend! I don't know if I need a bottle, but the imp is going in my collection for sure

At first, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a dark, incensey, lovely rose which almost never happens to me since rose and I have a hate/hate relationship 99% of the time. Unfortunately, one of the roses remembered that and proceeded to take over and obliterate all the nice things that were going.

At first, a nice sharp herbally rosemary which very quickly becomes nothing but dusty, stinky rose. Oh rose

Sadly this one is a no-go right from the beginning. I was imagining lovely vanilla and incense but in the vial, it's floral and peppery from the nutmeg. On me, it starts floral and then dries down to dusty, powdery, old-lady perfume. I kind of want to blame the chamomile, it seems to ruin every scent I've tried with it as note.

Mmm, spicy dark and earthy with an almost dustiness from the vetiver. Hoo boy, this is a dirty patchouli! It smells like dirt with cinnamon sticks crushed into it. Gonna try this on the husbeast, but it's not working for me.

Florals and greenery, it smells like a bouquet of flowers mixed with ivy or some other green filler plant. There's a faint powdery tinge that's not off-putting. Despite my usual ambivalence toward floral blends, I like this one at this stage. On drydown, it has some vanillic tones I really like. Surprise! A floral I like! I may have to grab a bottle before this is dc'd.

Very very green and bitter in the imp. I get some of the honey sweetening things up once applied but it smells like I've been gardening. I even get a damp soil note in here. It's an amazingly true to life green plant. On drydown, the honey comes out more but it still remains pretty bitter and green. Not for me.

In the imp and wet, I get musky orange, which smells far better than it sounds. Although there are fruit notes, this isn't a primarily fruity scent and not at all foodie. It has some bitterness to it. On the drydown, I'm not fond of the way the white musk is behaving. At the same time, the mandarin is fruity sweet and reminds me of pez while the musk is trying to go old lady perfume. Overall, it's ok but I didn't love it the way I thought I would. The mango never makes an appearance, which disappoints me

In the vial, it's soft spices with a hint of leather. On me, the tobacco amps and it develops a manly cologne-y vibe. No coffee, no hazelnut. It smells like an old men's club full of tobacco smoke and leather chairs that have had ash ground into them over the years. I remember loving this one when it was new so either my chemistry is different or age has caused it to cease working on me

Out of the bottle and fresh on my skin, I get a light powdery lavender. Something about the combination of the lavender and the honeyed skin musk isn't working for me, though, as much as I desperately wanted to love this blend as the inspiration reminded me of my own daughter. I don't get any of the vanilla ice cream or hints of Dorian. It's a very herbal-smelling lavender, not as astringent as some other variations on lavender oils. In the end, it reminds me quite a bit of lavender-scented baby lotion/bath, which while it does remind me of my little girl when she was a baby, is not something I care to smell like. It perfectly evokes the lovely inspiration, it's just too sweet and childlike to work for me as a personal scent.

2013

 

Mint and a little bit of... pine? I like! Oh. And then it turns to men's cologne.

2013

 

In the vial it is a dead ringer for McDonald's Eggnog shakes, which I love. On me, it's softer and more nutmeg. It smells like Christmas. Unfortunately it's eaten up by my skin in less than 10 minutes. I can barely maybe get a hint of scent if I press my nose to the spot, but otherwise, POOF! The magic disappearing eggnog D:

2013 version

 

Gorgeous, edible sugar cookie with a hint of rum and orange. Oh dear... After a bit, the spice starts to assert itself and it's primarily cinnamon. It hasn't veered off into craft store territory but it's bullying the cookie into oblivion, which is quite disappointing because I adore the cookie note. It ends being more cinnamon cookie candle. Sadface

Despite the melange of floral notes, the strongest vibe straight out of the vial on my skin is the poppy. Glorious, smoky opium-scented poppy. I have a history of bad things happening with fizzy notes but the champagne is behaving thus far. It's smoky opium layered with a golden veil of floral that reminds me of sunshine and glitter. It warms to a smoky, slightly soapy floral. I don't dislike it actually