boxinghelena

I ordered Brood XIX even though it was more than likely that it wouldn't work on me. The reason... cicadas. Everyone that knows me, knows how much I loathe summer BUT I love the sound of cicadas in the summer. I've lived on the East Coast my entire life & the sound of cicadas during the heat of summer is actually soothing to me. I have always loved this sound. It brings back VA summer nights sitting in a field with my sisters staring up at the stars comforted by sounds of the ever present cicadas. Anyway, this started out like strong hay/hemp & morphed into resinous sweetness as others have mentioned. I don't know if I would seek this out often but I'm glad I have a bottle. ~

Cohen v. California: Something in this blend has turned to medicinal lemon on me. I hate lemon. Not fond of medicinal scents either. Possibly getting it from the saffron or balsam. You know what, it could also be the tea. I'm so bummed. I thought for sure this one would work on me. ~

Berry Moon 2011 smells wonderful! I don't get any berry whatsoever. It's straight up boozy red musk on me. I love it! I'm so glad I bought backups. ~

Sugar Plum Fairy v3: I slathered myself right before I went to work & it's very strong sugary PLUM on me. I just looked up my review for the released version & it was very candyish on me, not very plummy. I really love plum scents so I am very happy with the prototype and I love it more than the released version. ~

CD: Alley of Games v6 is an odd one on me. It's very hard to tell exactly what I'm getting from this blend. It's also very light and didn't last long on my skin. I smelled the faintest trace of cotton candy or something sweet. I didn't detect grass as others have mentioned. I need to let this age before I try it again. ~

I agree about the vanilla. UOH2 does have a similar resemblance to Banshee Beat but with vanilla being the dominant note. I think I prefer this blend to the released blend. ~

Grand Guignol v4 is amazing!!!! I knew I would love this once I saw the mention of Hellion. I see where it's similiar but not quite the same. It's much lighter in my opinion & maybe a tad more musk. I love it!! ~

Cake Smash v6 is very Beaver Moon 05 on me which is divine because I hoarded BM05 like woah when it came out. I have to dig out the released version of Cake Smash to compare one day. Edit: I also wanted to point out that though it is very similar to BM05, Cake Smash v6 is more in the way of CAKE than cream cheese frosting. I love it. I always want to smell like cake. Yum! Wish I had about five more bottles of this. ~

I got a goblin squirt of The Queen's Croquet Ground in my ebay package and just tried it. OMG! This smells amazing. This is exactly how I want my rose garden to smell. I need to order a regular room spray asap! ~

I don't know why I bother with leather scents when nine times out of ten, it just doesn't work well with my skin chemistry. Out of the three, Hochelaga is the one I like the least. I should have also known that the shagbark hickory wouldn't work either. Leather & any type of wood...*shudders* not a fan. But if you like leather or wood scents, you'll probably love this. EDIT: Oh wow, it only took eight hours later but the stench of leather & woods have morphed into gorgeous wildflowers. I don't think I can stand waiting that long for the end result but it's really nice now. I keep sniffing my wrist. ~

Une Folle Entreprise was the one I wanted to work on me out of the three but unfortunately, the licorice root & anise are ruining it. That's all I can smell. I've never been fond of licorice. I was hoping the black currant and patchouli root would step up but they don't. Sad. ~

Out of the three, Ville-Marie is the one I like the best. I love lily scents. I'm getting a touch of vanilla with lilly and lilac. I would love for the lily to be dominant but the longer on my skin, the more the lilacs are coming out. Not bad but it's not a scent I would wear often. ~

I love the smell of roses so much but most rose scents tend to turn soapy on me like in Harlot. I was hoping Blood Rose would have the rose that's in Rose Red or The Peacock Queen. Thank goodness I think it's a similar rose because it's amazing on me! I definitely get the wine too, not so much dragon's blood. This is a keeper! ~

Holy freaking COFFEE Batman! I normally stay away from coffee blends because although I love the smell of coffee( HATE the taste), I don't necessarily want to smell like coffee. I took a chance though just to try something new and it's not bad. I've had it on a while and the coffee smell is still pretty strong. I'm hoping it will morph into something I can wear. ~

PRC12, I got a little scared trying this one on initially because I thought I smelled black musk which is horrible on me, HORRIBLE I tell you BUT there is definitely something divine in this blend. Resin/sandlewood/patchouli, something earthy as others have mentioned. I love it!!! I'm so glad I bought this off etsy. ~

Cleric v2, Son of a bitch! I was hoping I'd get a nice resiny incensey-type scent but it's soapy lemon/citrus which I hate! Boo!!! ~

Box 116, upon first sniff was definitely chocolate. After initial application I could smell cherries right away like in the previous review but on drydown, I don't smell chocolate at all but maybe the butterscotch everyone has mentioned or possibly caramel. I like it. ~

I was hoping to get blueberry pie crust but all I smell is Lemon Pledge sweet tarts. No Thanks. ~

Knockout Drops is straight up Lemon Pledge on me. Pass. ~

I received Celeste today and the moment I dabbed it on my wrist, I knew it was instant love. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is I'm smelling but it's very unique. I think it's the vanialla orchid. it smells fantastic! ~

The Arbor has most of the notes that I love... musk, patchouli, gardenia and champaca flower. Yes, yes, yes and yes. So then, what happened? I thought this blend would be absolutely beautiful on me. Something is just off. I bet it's the freaking massoia bark that is killing it for me. It turns into generic old lady cheap cologne. Wah! Damn you woody-type notes! ~

Note to self: Never buy another blend with any type of wood. It just doesn't go with my skin chemistry ever. I thought I would give The Phoenix in Autumn a chance thinking the teak won't kill it for me. I was wrong. It turns into a cheap cologne type-of-smell. Big fat disappointment. ~

Holy Ginger-Cinnamon Batman!! With just a wee bit of cookie. I wish I were getting more cookie and less cinnamon. I don't mind the ginger. I hope this ages well. ~

Midwinter's Eve 2010 version: Yummm... I love this one. I was puttering around the house catching wisps of plummy goodness and it struck me that it reminded me of a similar scent yet I couldn't quite put my finger on it until just now. Remember the Strawberry Shortcake dolls from the 80's? Midwinter's Eve 2010 smells just like the doll Plum Pudding. Awww, memories. ~

Red musk & patchouli! This smells exactly how I hoped it would. Like other reviews, it is on the light side. Definitely a keeper! ~