kakiphony

In the imp: More sharply woody than I was expecting. It's sharp and polished. This is what Buffy's stakes smell like. Wet on skin: There is more vanilla than in the imp. There is also a cologny, pungent scent that I was not expecting. At this stage it almost seems as if this has some unrevealed ozone or perhaps mosses in it. It's making me sniffle a bit. This is kind of reminding me of my grandpa (a classic Aqua-Velva man) at this stage. I'm anxious to see how it dries down as others have remarked that it improves dramatically from wet to dry. Early dry down (10 minutes): Hmm. This is starting to turn powdery on my already. It's a kind of musky powder, with a hint of vanilla tobacco in the background. Half hour mark: It's almost completely gone at this point, so I doubt I'll check back in at the 1 hour mark. It's powder on both wrists. Straight-up baby powder. Edited after several hours to add: My wrists still smell like powder when I hold them to my nose, but I keep getting random whiffs of old man/grandpa cologne. Something amping oddly -- I suspect the teak. I'm very sad because out of all the Steamworks this was the only one I suspected would be good on me. It's not, so that's one more whole catalog section eliminated. Boo.

In the imp: Black licorice with a bit of vetiver. Wet on skin: Much soapier than in the imp. A bit floral. Something pungent and a bit spicy at the base. Civet? This is much more standard cologne smelling than I expected from the imp. Early dry down (10 minutes): Hmm. This is getting spicy on me quite quickly. There's something high and astringent against a backdrop of something deep, woody and a bit peppery. I can see how some folks think this smells "bad." The high astringent thing has a bit of an ammonia vibe to it, but it's not nose stingingly bad to me, just odd for a perfume. It's like ammonia mixed with musk! It's definitely not one of the skin wedding bpals that make me smell like "me" only better. This is definitely its own thing. I get very little annis from this at all, if anything I'd call the annis a grace note. The dominant note is vetiver, and that high ammonia-like scent which I'm betting is how civet develops on me. Half hour mark: I'm dithering about whether or not to wash this one off. It's not horrid and hasn't made me sneeze yet, which are my two usual benchmarks of wash-off, but it's...not right. My right wrist is very soapy with that musky ammonia over it, and my left is vetiver with molding leaves. I'm finally getting the whole "dank" vibe that other people have mentioned. This doesn't smell awful, it just doesn't smell good or appealing to my nose. I can equally understand why some folks despise this and others find it to be a surprise hit. I'm ambivalent, but leaning toward not liking it because I'm afraid others will smell it on me and not like it. This scent makes very self conscious, which is the opposite of what I want a bpal to do. One hour: Still not my favorite, but still not hideously awful either. The right wrist is now all deep woods (cedar closets) and just a hint of the musky ammonia. The left wrist (watch hand) is actually milder and more dank. This is not one I'll ever use, but I'm glad to have tried it.

In the imp: High, light and sweet. Reminds me of sweet tarts mixed with coconut candy. The lotus root is definitely prominent to my nose. Wet on skin: The incense notes immediately bloom on my skin along-side the already noted high, sweet smell. Early dry down (10 minutes): On my right wrist (the no watch side) this is strong incense notes, but I can also smell sweet nut butter at the very front of my sniffs and a slight syrup/honey note. On the left wrist (with the watch) it incense mixed with Dial soap. Half hour mark: The right wrist has turned into a delicate, sweet blend that doesn't have intense individual notes. It is sweet, a bit thick/syrupy, and a bit like how my house smells a DAY after burning Fred Soll's Honey/Amber incense. It's delicate, yet distinctive. The left wrist is now all deodorant soap. It's not unpleasant (on a boy it might even smell clean and nice), it's just not terribly interesting. Neither wrist is a strong scent or amping much at all. I can now be reassured that I did not miss my holy grail by not getting a bottle.

In the imp: A deep, very dark mint, against a backdrop of lemon. Surprisingly, I get a sensation of dry from the combination. Wet on skin: This blooms almost as soon as it hits my skin, and the scent becomes rounder and fuller. The first impression is of lemon balm and a hint of something flowery/herbal that I can't quite place. Early dry down (10 minutes): As usual, my chemistry is giving me two different scents on my right and left wrists. The left wrist is dry, hot tea with a hint of lemongrass. It's a bit sour, but there is also something bright in the background. The right wrist is sweet and light. It is amping the honey and orange blossom, with a hint of mint grounding it. The right wrist is wonderful, the left is so-so. Half hour mark: This is fading very quickly on me, so much so that this may well be the latest dry-down phase I can accurately assess. The left wrist has begun to amp the lemongrass while the right continues to be a delicate balance of honey and orange blossom. The right wrist actually reminds me of the very late dry-down phase of Hetairae on me -- the barely there sweet, delicate floral that is grounded enough that I don't sneeze. This is a very gentle scent. More pleasant than I expected and it never gave me the sneezes the way some herbal and floral blends do. It would make an excellent scent for shampoo and conditioner. However, I think that I can forego a bottle.

In the imp: Sharp and astringent lemon over a suntan lotion base. This smells like it would get you clean. Wet on skin: There's an immediate left/right wrist difference with this one. At the initial application the left wrist is much sharper and more lemony with a metalic tang. The right wrist is dry, dusty coconut with a hint of something feral and musky. It will be interesting to see how this blooms. If the right wrist develops as I think it may, this one might break my heart since I only have a wee imp... Early dry down (10 minutes): Oh. This is Not Good. Not the scent mind you, th scent is drying down to something approaching divine. The Not Good is how very little of it I have and how dreadfully hard/expensive I expect it will be to ever get any more. I mourn for my stupid budget and lost opportunity. But onto the scent... The astringent quality of this has already faded almost completely. Both wrists now have a dry, almost dusty quality to them. For the first time I can sense the "nut" in coconut. It's a deep, rich, lush smell which reminds me more of nut oils (think macadamia nut oil) than of nuts themselves or of nut butters. It's sweet, but the musk is making this more a skin sweetness than a suntan oil one. The left wrist is a bit sharper, although the lemon is not discernible as an individual note. The right wrist is grounded and woody with an overlay of the sweet, rich, dry coconut. There is simply nothing to which to compare this... I'm stumped except to say that it is Love. Late dry down (30 minutes): I am a sad, sad, sad girl. I am said because this beauitful and I only have an imp. I am also sad because the imp is unlikely to last long as it also fades pretty quickly. But, ah, while it lasts! Dry, rich, woody, coconut! It is heaven.

I have a "bad" bottle of Organ Grinder. It wasn't purchased from the lab, so I can't send it back, but the person I swapped for it was swapping (straight from the lab for her) because she wasn't getting the expected notes on her skin. She thought it just didn't work on her, until it came to me (who owns 6 bottles of OG), and I could clearly tell that it is off. It's almost as if it's lacking most of the scent notes and is just carrier oils -- the smell is so minimal as to be non-existent.

Before I even start, I want to admit that this one scares the pants off me. Florals make me sneeze. Badly. I don't like them and can't wear them. But every once in a while, a floral mixed with patchouli will work. Vixen (patchouli and orange bossom) is heaven and Hetairae (patchouli and ylang ylang) is my "little black dress" of bpals. I also like citrus scents on occasion, especially for summer. So this has the theoretical potential to work, but well also wind up as a wash-off in ten minutes scent if it triggers the rhinitis. In the imp: Terrifyingly old lady floral. Rank gardenia and other moldy flowers. Ugh. Am I really going to try this? Wet on skin: Yes, I really am taking the plunge. At first application this is gardenia with a bit of citrus (I would say something like mandarin orange -- sweet, but a bit tinny), with something sharp I can't identify on the back of the palate. I have not sneezed yet, but boy does this ever not smell like me at this stage! Early dry down (10 minutes): Well, it's not quite a wash-off-immediately-or-the-sinuses-will-die. Which is good. The bad is that it is still VERY floral, and not showing many signs of being richened or tamed by the patchouli. The top note is decidedly gardenia and a vry true to life one at that. This is a smell I happen to enjoy very much outdoors where it belongs. On my wrist, however, it makes me think of 60-something Junior League Members with blonde washed hair of the type that is "set" rather than styles. The citrus has pretty much disappeared on me, and what is left behind the magnolia is a damp, green leaves kind of smell. At the moment, this is like rain in Georgia. Late dry down (30 minutes): This never hit "wash me" territory, but it certainly isn't a favorite for me. It's ALL gardenia, and that damp, almost moldy smell behind the floral has lingered. I smell like an old lady. It's not one I'd ever wear. Too bad.

The scent of the throes of violent passion: entangled limbs, teeth on flesh, furiously grasping hands, the taste of blood and sweat. Golden amber, white honey, red currant, daemonorops, kush, and Arabian musk. In the imp: Amber and musk. The musk is predominant, and it's a dry, harsh musk to my nose. I'm not getting any of the sweet notes. I wonder if that has to do with age or a decanting batching issue? Wet on skin: Musk is still predominant, but now I'm catching something a bit sweet and thick against the back of my palate as I sniff. This may be the honey, but there is a sharp spiciness to it rather than the rich honey of some other bpal scents. This is very middle eastern to my nose at this stage, filled with spice and dry musk. Early dry down (10 minutes): Hmm. This is definitely a strong one on me. The musk is more aggressive than I expected, and I can't help but think that musk smells WAY more like dirty hippie than patchouli does on me. This reminds me of an old college friend from India who wore some super strong Indian perfume that seemed to draw men to her like flies, but which always made other women behave like mean cats. The amber is definitely there and is trying its best to tame the musk, but none of the other sweet notes seem to be doing much. Late dry down (30 minutes): Some of the sweet notes have finally come out to play with the musk. On my left wrist this is still a FIERCE scent, with musk and something vaguely woody and peppery under the musk. I'm calling the left wrist my "dirty hippy girl wrist". The right wrist is a much milder, but also more complex scent. The powdery amber is predominant, and there is a syrupy almost tart sweetness underneath it that reminds me of Swank -- I'm guessing that's the red currant. Verdict: It's not a wash-off horror story experience, but I'm quite glad that I only swapped for a decant of this. It's too aggressively musky for my taste for everyday wear, and I know J's reaction will be a nose wrinkle. (My husband loves patchouli, but hates musk. I've trained him well.) I wish the amber were a bit stronger in this and the musk a bit milder. If both wrists smelled like the right, I'd be more apt to wear it. As it stands, I think this may get reswapped.

I would say that LP is much foodier than Underpants. Underpants was sexy, woody vanilla with saffron. LP is sweet, creamy (and a bit plastic on me!) vanilla. Underpants is teh sex whereas LP is a more "innocent" kind of scent. It's like a babydoll dress (LP) versus a body skimming sheath (Underpants).

In the imp: Cake batter. Wet on skin: Boozy vanilla with the hint of something almost fruity behind it. The slightest hint of plastic sweetnes -- like the old, scented Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Early dry down (10 minutes): Vanilla, but there's something scorched in the background. Can this be my first experiece with the dreaded burning plastic scent so many have fallen victim to? It will make me feel more a part of things, but I'll also be awfully sad. I was so hoping this imp could replace that beloved Underpants that I was forced to sell like a ruthless capitalist when I was working part time last year. Late dry down (1/2 hour): As usual, my left and right wrists have done totally different things with this scent. On the left wrist, I have something smokey and vanilla (rather like Arcana's Devilish, but a bit sweeter) with the barest hint of plastic behind it. On my right wrist the scent is much sweetier, much creamier, and the back-not is powder rather than plastic. This has turned out to be pleasant, but with any real WOW factor. It's the kind of scent I could see layering, but not having my husband swoon over. On the whole, I'm no longer sad I failed to buy a bottle. It's nice, but probably not so "me" that a bottle is necessary.

In the imp: Hmm. This is way more traditional cologne than I was expecting. I'm a bit scared that it may be a sneeze trigger. Wet on skin: Holy musk, Batman! This smells like an old man's cologne on first application. I'm really hoping that the amber starts to round this and I get some wood notes. But if it doesn't develop quickly it may be a wash-off on me. We'll see how long I can hold out. Early dry down (10 minute mark): Thank goodness, this is toning down some. The throw off my wrists smells like a "chypre" style perfume -- specifically is reminds me of Ma Griffe by Carven, which I used to buy in Canada and wore in high school (it's not available in the states). I stopped wearing it because of the sneeze factor, but this seems to be playing nicely with my sinuses so far. Holding my wrists up to my nose, however, produces a slightly different scent. I'm getting cedar mixed with powdery amber on the left and almost straight-up musk on the right. The saffron has not yet appeared unless it's adding to powder whiff on the left wrist. Late dry down (half an hour): Hmm. I thought this was starting to work, but I was wrong. All the right notes are there (amber, woods, saffron), but somehow the musk is winning and making me smell like a middle school boy drenched in the celebrity perfume du jour. The waft is pretty strong and it's making my throat feel tight. Sadly, this is a wash-off scent for me.

In the imp: This strong, strong ginger. Not foody ginger exactly either, but an aggressive medicinal tincture of ginger. It smells like the inside of a Chinese apothecary hole-in-the-wall place I used to sell ad space in the student newspaper to in College. It never smelled good exactly, but it smelled like something in there would clear out your sinuses and make you better. Wet on skin: The aggressive ginger/tincture is the immediate top note, but underneath I can barely pick up some musk and pepper. This is not sweet at all at the moment, and the honeysuckle I feared as not yet made an appearance. Early dry down (after ten minutes): The musk is rounding this out and the honeysuckle has started to sweeten it. Interestingly, the sweetening is taking on fruity tones rather than floral ones. (Someone below mentioned berries and I concur. It's a dark dry berry smell, like a cranberry or a pomegranate -- not a strawberry smell.) As usual, my left and right wrists are reacting differently. On my left wrist the fruit and ginger are predominant (like a pomegranate tea with ginger) while on the right the pepper is playing nicely with the musk. The right wrist is a more "me" scent, but the left is pleasant and summery. The left is also throwing more than the right. Late dry down (after 1/2 hour): All right, this is bizarre. My left wrist smells like gin. Dry, fruity, a bit junipery, gin. My right wrist smells of lightly sweetened pepper and musk. I may need to try this one and revisit this review because... GIN?! Edited the next morning to add: J came home about an hour after I finished this, hugged me and remarked, "You smell really good today." I sniffed again, and suddenly Lady War was the spicy fiend advterised. She was all playful and sweet ginger, rounded out by red musk with just a hint of extra spice. Very, very nice. I'd say bottle worthy nice. The only problem is the rather long amount of time she took to settle down on my skin. And the gin note still throws me for a loop.

2006 version This was gift to me ages ago in a SW round, and until today I had only sniffed it and loved it. But I accidentally slipped it into my pocket rather than the imp of Samhainophobia which I meant to grab. (I usually don't apply bpal until mid-morning when my allergy meds have kicked in. First thing in the morning it results in a sneeze-attack.) I decided to try it on my skin rather than go scentless. Here's the results. In the imp: Oddly floral and sweet. It is makes my nose crinkle a bit, which is why I hadn't yet tried it. Wet on skin: Well now, that's better. The floral is gone and I get sweet, sweet, sweet smoke. Rather like caramel when it's really dark, just before it burns. I like this, yes I do. Early dry down (10 minutes): Smoky and sweet on my left wrist (application point), but musky on the right. Late dry down (60 minutes +): True to its usual behavior, the musk amps on me. I smell something like an old man wearing Aqua-Velva, standing in front of a fire chewing caramels. It's not a bad smell, just a bit masculine and...feral...for me.

In the imp: Sweet hazelnut liqueur with an undertone of sandalwood. Wet on skin: The hazelnut is dominant, but the myrrh provides a slightly bitter back of the throat tang behind it and the sandalwood is rising, rising, rising quickly to dry the lush sweetness out. Early dry down (less than ten minutes): There's something in this taking the hazelnut and giving it a strange spicy food twist. I can't quite place whether this smells more like Indian or Thai food, but it's definitely foody in a non-dessert sense and definitely spicy. The more I smell it, the more it reminds me of being in a very small Indian restaurant where the aroma of food combines that of the waittress's perfume and some Sandalwood incense on the altar. I'm picturing gold and red embroidered linens, a haze from candles and the steam of hot food, and cool, sweet rice pudding against hot, masala tea in my mouth. Dry down (after about an hour): The myrrh is really apparent for me in this one, but I can't quite wrap my mind around whether it's a bitter smell or tangy smell or... Really it's some word that I can't quite think of. It smells like the myrrh in the original (brown) Nature's Gate conditioner, which I have always adored. On me, the hazelnut isn't the dominant note that it seems to be on lots of other folks. It's there as an elusive top note. At times I can smell it and at times it runs away to play hide n' seek. The Indian restaurant feel is fading, but only because the scent is fading on me. I have to lift my wrists to my nose to smell it, which isn't a bad thing for someone with allergies and reactive sinuses. It makes the scent more intimate and personal for me. Overall, the way the notes blend is giving me a base of sweet woods and slightly powdery amber, layered with the myrrh I can't quite decsribe and a sweet/nutty/aromatic top note that is neither quite hazelnut nor quite honey nor quite vanilla, but some wonderful melange of all three. Verdict: Yum. I knew just by reading the notes that this would work one me, but I'm still amazed by how comforting and comfortable the scent is. It smells more exotic to me than the painting would imply, and I see much bolder colors than the painting. Still, an excellent blend and one that absolutely "works".

Just a note, I seem to get EXTRA mauled (by both cats and dogs) whenever I wear patchouli blands (Samhain, Samhainophobia, etc). Last time I was at a friend's house wearing Samhainophobia the cats literally started swarming me the minute I came in the door and draped themselves over me for the remainder of the visit. And when I wore Spanked last week another friend's dog couldn't be made to take his head out of my lap for the duration of a Scrabble game.

In the imp: Deep, earthy patchouli. Wet on skin: Very deep, woody patchouli with an undertone of sharp vetiver. Early dry down: In its early stages, this is very masculine with no sweetness at all. The fig and amber have run away, but the scent is still nice. Again, this feels really dry to me. Late dry down: The patchouli does that amazing thing on my skin where it begins to smell spicy at the same time it is dry and woody. (How can patchouli morph into ginger cookies? It is a mystery.) The amber surfaces to soften the scent and lend a powdery background. This is very assertive, very dark, and very dry. I'd almost call it dessicated. It's certainly a very powerful scent. Verdict: Not an everyday scent for me, but definitely a keeper. I'm intrigued to see how it ages, and also to see how it will layer over something with a bit of sweetness -- maybe O or the Lion...

Ditto on the Lucifer love and the gutted feeling knowing I'll never get my hands on it. I'm smack dab between the two with no hope getting either place...and haven't the funds for bribing others or buying on ebay. Drat. Mad kate looks awesome too. I really wish there were more retail locations if the lab is going to do retail exclusives... In the mean time, I'm hoping for decants. (Hear that coastal people?...)

I don't exactly get it, but it made me laugh.

In the imp: Golden amber with saffron. As I sniff, I'm oddly reminded of Monsterbait: Underpants. It must be the saffron note. Wet on skin: Golden and spicy with a hint of something light and floral which I think is probably the chamomile. I don't smell the walnut at all. Early dry down: This goes a little powedery on me as ambers usually do, but I still smell the spice under it. It's turning a bit sweet. IT's very light, not at all heavy, and it still remind me of Underpants, just less foody. Late dry down: This scent is subtle, golden and regal. This is not the in-your-face roaring lion, it's the seductive Leo actress who woos you with understated sensuality. A real summer winner for me. Wish I'd bought a whole bottle rather than splitting...

In the imp: Mmmm... Dark and woody, with a hint of smoke. Wet on skin: Vetiver and balsam. Very deep and dry. Something that is not quite smoke and not quite leather, but almost like wet leather steaming in front of a radiator (I wonder if that's oakmoss?) Early dry down: The patchouli is heating up on my skin and lending this the strange, spicy molasses richness that the best patchouli blends do on my skin. Paired with a very subtle vetiver and the smallest bite of clove, this smells like something I would happily smoke in a pipe. Late dry down: Wow. This is gorgeous. The patchouli is a thoughtful, woody yet sweet base, and the other notes waft alla round it like smoke in the night air. The clove is spicy and the vetiver darkens it, while the leaves add that smokey tang. I LOVE this. Why oh why did I not buy a bottle of this last year? Oh that's right...No money and vetiver scared me. RATS! This is like a dryer, scarier Vixen on me since the patchouli is behaving in exactly the same beloved way. This would have been a perfect cold day scent. I hope it comes back in 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh dear Bard, I know how you feel. But even worse than knowing how it feels to not be creating is the realization that days and weeks go by when I don't even miss it. Sometimes, I look at my life and wonder just how I got here. I don't even look like me in the mirror anymore, let alone on the inside. I used to be a writer. I didn't just want to be one, I was one. I wrote every day, filling journals and disks and spiral notebooks. I wrote in pencil and in green pen and blue pen and with the keyboard. I wrote poetry, fantasy, romance, essays, memoir, stream-of-consciousness, fanfic and plays. I kept a file on the computer filled with nothing but random lines that didn't fit into anything I was writing, but which would pop into my head, fully formed, and screech at me until I wrote them down. I'm not sure when I stopped. I could figure it out based on the last things on my hard drive, but the truth is that I had stopped internally long before I stopped trying to go through the motions. I don't know what happened... Law school, my awful job, illnesses, getting married...life. I talked to a resume coach about a year ago when I decided to reassess my job and my life. She pointed out that the one thing I sounded truly enthusiastic about was the YA novel I had in progress. She was right...but I still couldn't work on it. I open it and the file stays just as it is. There's nothing in me to pour onto the page. I mourn for what I have lost and wonder if I'll ever get it back. Some days I mourn with tears, and some days I mourn with apathy. I'm not sure which is worse.

In the imp: Soft coconut with sandalwood's dry dust. Wet on skin: Musk, with something perfumey under it. I really this develops well, because right now it smells like odd men's cologne... Early dry down: When I sniff my wrists I'm getting something floral and musky, but when I leave them alone I keep smelling whiffs of coconut suntan lotion. I'm disappointed in this one so far. Late dry down: Unfortunately, this one just doesn't work on me. My right wrist has developed a sharp, musty odor and the left is all musk all the time. Rats.

What department are you in at NYU? Have you considered a more self designed program like the Gallatin school there? Or maybe Hampshire college? If you got into NYU, you must quite an intelligent person...but it sounds like the school "format" just isn't working for you. There are other ways to learn -- and even good colleges to explore them in.

We lovingly referred to spring as "Mud Season" when I lived in Great Barrington. I think spring flowers on a base of wet earth would sum up the season very well.

In the imp: This is the most true to the original of the (admittedly few) variations I've tried. The spiciness is the first thing I smell, and then the sage. This is a fresh version of snake oil. It's also more perfumy than the others I've tried. I'm the most dubious about this. Wet on skin: Hmm. The leather is definitely present along with the sage. Together, they're kind of masculine and a bit like cologne. I'm not loving it so far. Early dry down: The sandalwood quickly develops in this blend on me and it goes from being sharp, herbal and fresh to quite dry and rounded. The sandalwood and leather together are masculine, but kind of sexy on me. I'm beginning to like this, although it feels more like a summer blend than a snow February one I think. Late dry down: Several hours later, the tonka has risen to sweeten and ground the dry sandalwood and leather. It has become faintly powdery and the spices of Snake oil have made the blend more complex on my skin. It's pretty.