angelamaria

In imp: a pink tangy, aquatic floral--pretty much what I expected, which is nice. I'm not sure which floral scent is topmost, I have "rose? :s" in my notes, but what I was smelling might be gardenia (as I also wrote down). "Icy scent" seems spot on as at the end of the whiff, but it's not minty, just...brightly aquatic?

Wet on skin: that same topmost bright floral note I found in the imp is here (more sure that it's gardenia). It's coming on a bit strong, a bit sharp. It's very pink, sweet and aquatic.

Dry: strong, pink floral that is a bit more indistinguishable than the imp/wet scents. It's almost heady, just a bit more and I'd probably get a headache. Tangy and aquatic, like if you're near the mouth of a river, almost near the beach (but not as "beachy" as actually being there). It feels quite true to the poem in that regard. Later, it's softened considerably, retaining it's sweetness but it's definitely a lot quieter now, not as strongly aquatic--definitely smoother.

Verdict: I'm pretty pleased to enjoy this scent a lot. I love the poem and I'm happy the scent works for me! It's such a beautiful scent, and very evocative of the poem. A definite keeper.

In bottle: sticky sweet chocolate and vanilla. Pretty heady, but usually scents of this kind usually feels heady to me in the bottle/imp.

Wet on skin: this kind of disappeared on me for a bit, so throw is not that fabulous for some reason. I added a bit more, and I'm getting the chocolate--sweet and very candyish chocolate. The marshmallows are also coming out, likely lending that candyish quality to the whole scent.

Dry: the coconut has come out now, but it's faint and I can only catch whiffs of it. It's almost all marshmallow to me, and a dash of the white chocolate--this should be named "marshmallow, white chocolate, and a sliver of coconut". Much later, it's gone to pretty much a candy-sweet, marshmallowy scent. There isn't a lot of depth to it for me, and it's difficult to get the other notes.

Verdict: I'll have to pass on this one, maybe my skin is eating up all the notes!

In imp: this is fruity and sweet, a clean, bright, and citrusy blend. The notes are well blended together, I can't really pick one from another.

Wet on skin: the citrus notes come up first, but it's not overpowering--it's light and clean-smelling. It's slightly minty to my nose ("dry biting scent of night air"?), a white summer scent. As it stays longer on my skin, a sweeter scent is wafting up, softening the tartness of the citrus--looking back, it's likely the melon/honeydew and the white amber softening things up. It's almost foody.

Dry: this has turned into a sweet--melony, I suppose-- and faintly citrusy white blend. It's almost ethereal, and very promising. Every time I go whiff this, it's sligtly different: sometimes I get the sour citrus notes, and sometimes I get the melony and foody notes. It confuses my nose, but in a good way. Light throw.

Verdict: I will keep this, and order a bottle, but it's not yet that high on my list of must-have-nows--but it's beautiful enough and wearable enough for me to warrant a bottle.

In bottle: whoa, vanilla and mint! Heady, absolutely nomnommy. It's caramel and butterscotch with a hint of bright yummy mint. Maybe I should try to find caramel or butterscotch mints to join my chocolate mint stash in my fridge--this is absolutely fabulous.

Wet on skin: it stays true to the bottle smell, with more minty goodness. Sweet candy-mint, yummy caramel. Absolutely loving this one.

Dry: it's toned down to a softer vanilla and mint blend, not the high caramelly sweetness wet and in the bottle. Still foody, but not overwhelmingly so. Not too sweet, not too strong, and not too minty. A little bit later, the vanilla becomes a bit grainier to my nose for no apparent reason--but it still smooths out nicely. I can't stop sniffing my wrist, and I realize what I'm smelling: vanilla ice cream! (After which, I have three exclamation points, and "LOVE", and ♥ in my notebook.)

Verdict: I was absolutely lucky to get a bottle of this. Absurdly lucky! It was a bit of a gamble--I love vanilla, and I love mint, but don't really know how they'd work together. I'm so happy to have gotten it and how wonderful it smells! Throw and longevity is good--one of the best foody scents ever. Definite keeper!

In imp: I couldn't recognize any of the scents when I tried this one. It's slightly oily to my nose--overall it's a mix of sharp, spicy, tangy, and sometimes there is a sweet note that disappears quickly. The sharpness isn't very promising--I thought of felt tip Pentel pens when I smelled it, although the smell is not the same.

Wet on skin: oily! Somewhat clay-ey. Not sure if I can stand this scent for long, but we'll see how long I can stand it. There is some tang and sweet notes coming out better now, but it's still overshadowed by the heavy, oily scent. I can get the frankincense sometimes, but again it's kind of lost in the background most of the time.

Dry: OIL. That's the only way to describe it--granted, it's now woody oil, but it's still oil, heavy and thick and difficult. The woodiness increases the longer it's dried, but the oiliness doesn't seem to be going away at all.

Verdict: Obviously not for me. An interesting thing about this scent though, I washed it off shortly, and when I checked my wrist to see if it was gone, I could smell the same after-drying smell I got from Ulalume, which I loved: cypress! Will definitely be looking for cypress notes now, it seems promising as a woody base note for me.

In imp: this is a bittersweet scent, a sad but beautiful floral. I'm not sure what flower I'm smelling, something along the lines of orchids or lavender. It's slightly salty/aquatic, like tears.

Wet on skin: mostly sweet now, the white notes floating up, and I feel surer of the lavender. It's melancholy and sad, but calm--after you've no more tears left and are just lying there feeling calm, with your mind blank and at rest.

Dry: definitely calm, relaxing, and soft. It's sweet with a bit of spice--that slight bitterness. There's more of a sampaguita tinge here, or that's what my nose is telling me. It's slightly soapy later on, but it adds to the clean and calm feel of this scent. It makes me think of white floaty dresses and flowers and just staring out a white-curtained window.

Verdict: bottle-worthy for me. I'd usually go for more happy scents, but I can see myself wearing this when I'm needing calm and serenity, or when I'm feeling down and sad and need a bit of calm strength.

In imp: this is a sweet and heady blend, with a bit of booze that sometimes is very faint, and sometimes strong, but not altogether unpleasant. I suppose the dandelions are giving it the floral tinge that I am getting.

Wet on skin: something that is decidedly green is coming out now, on par with the floral scent. It's bright and clean, with only a touch of weediness--no sleaze here! Slightly fizzy to my nose, there is a faint beer-y smell, but it's more of an afterthought than the main attraction.

Dry: unexpectedly good! It's a nice light floral with a dash of green and booze, rather enjoyable. The headiness in the imp is gone. Later on, there is a sour note at times that I can't place, it's worrying me a little.

Verdict: I'm actually still undecided on if this one warrants a bottle for me or not. I tested it twice and I'm still not decided--on both times the faint sour note is there. It's not unpleasant, per se, but it's not wonderful either. I'll have to give this a pass for now, but it's still a very nice, surprising scent.

In tester: the first note to hit me was the vanilla, sweet and foody. I didn't look at the description when I started sniffing, but also right off the bat I could smell something I put down as "masculine", although not entirely. I looked up the description after this, and found what that scent was--leather.

Wet on skin: wow, smoky leather! The smoke and the leather does jump out strongly here. There are a few floral notes in the background--what flowers they are, I have no idea. The yummy vanilla is also there somewhere, but the latter two are almost overpowered completely by the smoky leather note, but it peeks through enticingly now and then.

Dry: smoky leather dipped in floral vanilla. Dry, the notes are all on the same level of strength, and in pairs--sometimes you get the smoky leather and sometimes you get the floral vanilla. The strength and grittiness of the former is sweetened by the latter, and the foodiness of the latter is strengthened and emboldened by the former--it's a beautiful combination. It's somewhat incense-y (duh, smoke!), but it's so beautiful.

Verdict: okay, can you tell I was excited about this?! I got an empty/low tester from a sale and goggled at the pretty label art, and decided I HAD to try it immediately. Now, I'm not an incense person, I dislike smoke in general, I don't wear leather. BUT I LOVE IT. Totally unexpected. This isn't "me" either--I'm about the farthest you can get from "smoky leather", but this was almost immediately a keeper after only a few minutes on my skin. I would like a little more vanilla here--obviously not a huge fan of incense--but even without any other layering, this blend is FABULOUS.

In imp: definitely rose with a touch of woody frankincense. Sharp and lush.

Wet on skin: true to scent, it's a sharp rose with the frankincense. The scent is very strong, I'd imagine a little goes a long way here. I'm liking the frankincense here a lot, though I don't usually like incense.

Dry: powder and frankincense on my skin. Newly dry, it's a lush, almost spicy rose, very pure and pleasing. That's before it turns straight to powder.

Verdict: This is actually the first scent I tried where it hit me that rose turns to powder in my skin--noticed likely because of the "pureness" of the scent. I continued to smell the spicy woodiness of frankincense but the rose was completely gone and replaced by powder. Verdict, roses are bad for me. :/ I'm still hoping that a different rose might work, but not too hopeful.

In imp: ugh, rotting wood indeed. My stomach is complaining here. It's kind of powdery-spicy to my nose, and there's a slight sweetness. I want to skip testing, but I'll give it a try.

Wet on skin: mostly the same, but...it's turning cleaner and brighter, when I can get past the initial "ugh, rotting wood" notes. The longer it stays on my skin, the cleaner it does get...until it's morphed into freshly washed sheets. O_O

Dry: yep, linens and soap. I'm impressed! All traces of the swampy, rotting wood are gone, and it's just a clean, nice, freshly-washed scent, faintly herbal.

Verdict: The drydown is definitely nice, but even if I was able to get past the rotten wood notes at the start, I'm not sure I like it as a perfume.

In imp: this is heady and luxurious to me, it feels quite spot-on in terms of personality. It's a mix of floral, fruity, and sweet all around. It's a flirty sort of scent, colorful and inviting, like a wink.

Wet on skin: I'm getting the sandalwood first, but then I'm getting the sweet orangey note--honey and orange blossom? It's pleasantly tart, sweetly citrusy. I can't get the roses out. This is quite promising--the orange is very delightful. Some powderiness is seeping in, but maybe it will all be under control, it's still a nice, sweet, orangey scent.

Dry: And rose turns into powder AGAIN. Rose does not like my at all. Jezebel has turned into a powdery orange, slightly nice, not overpowering. But oh, the powder. Why why why.

Verdict: Maybe I should give up on rose altogether. It turns everything into powder for me! I absolutely loved the orange note here though, I should try and look for neroli in future tests and see where that takes me.

In imp: milk is the first thing I smell here. It's not always pleasant--sometimes it's sweet and nice, sometimes it's sour. Otherwise, it's a clean, bright, young scent.

Wet on skin: oh no. Ugh, sour milk. Sometimes it's a slightly pleasing spicy-sweet blend, but I wished the milk was always the faintly sweet note instead of just plain sour and old. And of course... there is the rose. We shall see how the rose takes it.

Dry: UGH. The rose goes powdery, as I was afraid it would--pretty quickly powdery. Powdery sour milk, UGH MUST GET THIS OFF.

Verdict: Definitely not for me. It's making my stomach churn and I feel rather ill from sniffing it again and again.

In imp: Eh? It's very faint, I can't smell anything. There is a sliiiight sweetness in the air, but also a slight plasticky note. I don't get it.

Wet on skin: Clean, herbal, and faint. I still can't detect a lot, and it can't be my skin eating it up when I couldn't smell anything much from the imp too? The plasticky note, a shade before burning plastic, is also there. Ugh.

Dry: It's turned into a clean, somewhat powdery scent, not so herbal. The plastic is still hanging around. I wish I knew what the actual notes are present here so I could check. Still very faint, I really have to pull in order to get any scent in.

Verdict: Maybe I need a second fresh imp to test before I give a verdict. I don't know how old the imp is, but I don't know, I just don't smell anything much :/

In imp: this is just like what the description says: it's a mix of scents, and quite a tickle to the nose. It's spicy and softly sweet, a very clean scent. I can't pick out specific notes, but after a while of sniffing, I realized what I was remembering from this scent: the gum Trident! I was quite pleased, because I have somewhat fond memories of Trident. I think it is the Original flavor.

Wet on skin: the Trident association is reinforced. Definitely Trident. I feel suddenly homesick and wanting one. It's spicy, sweet, and bittersweet, also a very refreshing green. Can I have my Trident pl0x?

Dry: well, it's still Trident! It stays true on my skin. My notes on this scent have"Trident" written a couple times, and on every repetition, it keeps growing larger. It's a very pleasant smell, the sort that I keep smelling to try and figure out what is so pleasing, when it's all quite pleasing.

Verdict: well, as much as I like this scent, I don't exactly want to smell like sugarfree gum so it will be a pass for me. But I'm definitely keeping the imp, and maybe someday I'll be able to pick out the notes.

In decant: straight up strawberry. I can't catch the other notes, they're all pretty well blended together into the sweet and tangy strawberry scent.

Wet on skin: well, guess what? Strawberries. It's slightly minty to my nose, bright and fresh--likely the dandelion sap? It's sweeter now, less tangy--it's kind of like what Kool-Aid would smell like (do they have a strawberry flavor?), sweet and sugary strawberry juice. There is that phantom oily smell on my skin, although it's not too strong.

Dry: there is something that is vaguely off with the drydown for me. Something missing, or something just weird. It's still that sweet strawberry smell, but the phantom oily/plasticky scent hanging about it bothering me too. I can't get at it; it may be the mintiness I'm getting that's warring with the faint vanilla notes and producing that oily/plastic smell. I still don't know where the minty bright note is coming from.

Verdict: Not for me. Even without the oiliness, it's a bit too candy-sweet for me; and while I love strawberries, it's a "childish" scent for me to enjoy wearing it.

In imp: oh, I'm loving this scent. It's bright, slightly tangy, and the rose is topmost with its sweetness. It's an innocent, bright-eyed scent, not exactly light, but quite uplifting.

Wet on skin: this is sharply sweet on my skin, a strong scent. Rose is still topmost, but I can detect a little lavender, I think. The musk and the frankincense is nice, grounding out the sweetness. It's a very, very nice rose scent! I love florals, although not necessarily rose--I usually think it's too "womanly" for me--but I can see myself wearing this.

Dry: the rose has faded a little, letting the other flower scents shine. In tandem, it's a very nice, sweet floral, not overpowering or overbearing, with a bright, pleasing note. It's a little generic, but intriguing enough, with the rose edging out slightly at the front always. There is a bit of powderiness, but it's such a beautiful, light floral. I hope this stays well on me...but alas, an hour later, it's gone all powder. I am sad panda.

Verdict: sadly, no. I really wanted this to work, it's such a delicate, bright floral. It's perfect...if only it didn't get powdery. Maybe frankincense doesn't like me? Or is it really the rose?

In imp: quite tart and spicy--it definitely woke me up when I smelled it. I'm not able to pinpoint the almonds, it seems like a fairly even note with the spices here. My nose is not experienced enough to know what those spices are, though.

Wet on skin: wow, this is very nutty--the almonds are out full force here. I can get a bit of honey, but the nuttiness and the spices drown it out almost completely. I was trying to think of what it reminded me of, and the image that came to my head was a box full of old pretty antique-y things. There is a bright note here somewhere--I'm not sure what it is, but it's very pretty amidst the earthiness of the other notes. I keep sniffing to get at it.

Dry: the almonds are retreating a bit, to the same layer where the rest of the spices are. Honey is still hiding behind other spices, but pretty soon the scent is almost all gone, disappearing on my skin; I can hardly get at it now, although there is something still nutty hanging around somewhere, very faint. Also, after a good fifteen minutes on my skin, at some whiffs I am getting a burnt plastic smell! Very faint, but it's there, maybe one out of five sniffs. This is odd, I don't like it one bit. I wish I knew which note was doing it on my skin.

Verdict: well, I can now safely say that I like almonds to eat, but not have me smelling of them! It's a very "true" almond scent, and it's pretty interesting, but not for me, even if the burning plastic smell didn't start to seep in at times there.

In imp: this is an interesting scent! Light floral--possibly the iris. It's already slightly powdery/dry, but the bright notes are uplifting enough that it's a nice base. There's a feeling of getting drunk in the sweetness, too.

Wet on skin: faint on my skin, but I'm really liking the bright floral note here. This is totally not the dark and ominous scent from the description--I'm liking it a LOT, it's a bright and airy white floral scent. I can get a little of the musk, but not so much. Very clean smelling, very delicate and almost ethereal.

Dry: this seems like quite a morpher. Newly dry, it stays true to the sample/wet on skin scent: light, sweet, delicate, bright, white, you get the idea. I wrote down, "bottle". It was that good. The powdery note underneath, however, gains more and more prominence as the scent ages on my skin--at first it was a really nice base for the bright floral, but after an hour it's just...baby powder. I get the violets now, and the darker notes, although it's difficult to think "dark and ominous" when you're smelling baby powder...

Verdict: started out really well for me, but ultimately a no.

In imp: I'm getting those frosty notes here. Slightly spicy-sweet, with a round kind of vanilla-ey note. It's a soft, lovely scent, white with a touch of pink and blue.

Wet on skin: huh. It turns very vanilla-ey, and quite yummy, actually. I think it's the coconut, may also be the orris, but I've had this same smell for the other coconut/orris scents I've tried (Blood Pearl especially). The higher, frostier notes stop it from becoming grandmother-y like Blood Pearl for me, the frosty blues amidst the white--the brightness is usually hidden by the coconut though. It's a heady kind of scent, and definitely foody for me.

Dry: well, it's a soft, very womanly and knowledgeable scent for me. I can't decide whether I love this scent or not. It has good throw and it's over eight hours now, and I can still smell it on my wrist without really trying. It's very heady. The coconut is still there full force.

Verdict: well, at least I know that I should tread lightly on scents with coconut. It hasn't been very good to me so far! I love the scent, but a whole day with it--it's a bit "too much" for my nose, and not very "me". It's waning now--I think a little zing and lightness to this waning Last Unicorn would be just perfect for me.

In imp: refreshing, sweet tea—slightly spicy, slightly citrusy and minty, and the vanilla all around it is just plain delicious: I can almost drink this! Definitely gender neutral to my nose. I have TWO “yummy” notes in the “imp” section of my notes, one with an underline, so it’s very yummy.

Wet on skin: vanilla is definitely topmost, and the sweetness and the citrus mesh very well together, kind of like the lemon you find in pastries, but the tartness still hanging around. The vanilla keeps growing softer and rounder as it dries, but loses none of its potency. Can I eat my wrist now?

Dry: sugared vanilla is just perfect as a description, and I really, really love this round sweetness, with the tartness of the lemon (or whatever citrus scents are in here—I don’t know yet) keeping it awake and alive and non-flat. Much later on, it’s turned really, really sexy. My notes have exclamation points in them. This is a fabulous “date” scent—a date that you’d bring home for the night.

Verdict: absolutely bottle-worthy. I’m slightly leaning towards wanting this on a man more than on myself, but it’s neutral enough to wear and I just love how it smells like on me too.

In imp: masculine! This is a wholly masculine scent to my nose, reminds me of my father, quite frankly. It’s sharp, almost piercing, green and very clean, the citrusy notes on top for me.

Wet on skin: this stays true to the imp scent to me, but the citrusy notes become even more prominent—I’m not sure which is which. Underneath everything there’s a sort of musty smell, not leather, and my untrained nose can’t pick it out or accurately describe it. It’s not a dirty smell, but it smells the opposite of the cleanness that is topmost here with me—it’s an interesting, intriguing contrast.

Dry: generally the same as the imp and wet smell, this is pretty faithful, although after a while I’m starting to get a faint metallic smell from it. I’m not sure what it is, it just strikes me as being slightly metallic. It comes and goes though, and to me it gets better the longer it is on my skin.

Verdict: it’s definitely not something I would wear; but it’s an interesting, nice scent for men and I wouldn’t mind smelling this on a guy.

In imp: sharp and green, slightly floral but no one note jumped out at me. It definitely smelled like the garden it says it is--a clean, sweet garden, with a good dash of green in it. Slightly generic, but somehow still rather interesting.

Wet on skin: the first note was definitely green, sharp and alert and a good upper for a sleepy morning. The flowers come after, and while I'm not sure I can really tell which scent goes with which flower yet, the topmost scent for me seems to be ylang ylang (it's doubly underlined in my notes). The sharpness recedes quickly, becoming softer and creamier.

Dry: still quite faithful to the wet on skin experience, but without the sharpness--a mellowed out garden, with different competing sweet scents but ylang ylang usually at the top or near enough. It's truly enigmatic--it's such a beautiful mix of scents that I can't stop sniffing to try and find out which is which, or to get more of something, only to find another that's just as pretty. It's soft and sweet and young, but not in a child or adolescent way, more like in an ageless, happy way. Much later, it's turned just a wee bit soapy, but that may be because it's become a very clean, very refreshing scent.

Verdict: VERY promising! I want to give it another shot before really deciding on a bottle, as there was a hint of oiliness in the smell for me, but that may be just me today. Only a hair from bottle-worthy because of that, otherwise I'm quite sold!

In imp: my notes say, "booze! wine! liquor!", because I don't drink and thus I'm not totally sure which is the best word to describe what I was smelling. It's an interesting scent, quite sharp, and something I didn't expect at all.

Wet on skin: it started off as sharp as in the imp, but swiftly went creamy on me (within half a minute). I started getting the coconut then, with whiffs of a pleasant sort of greenness. It's a dry, soft, creamy scent, these characteristics heightening the longer it is on my skin.

Dry: it's gone to a very round, soft, creamy scent, almost grandmotherly to my nose :/ it was also, at times, smelling slightly "oily" to me. I'm not sure if it's just today, or the orris on me--I tested two scents and they both had orris (my first time with orris) and they both had a touch of oiliness to my nose. This scent seems to be warring between sharp and powdery, and sometimes I catch a whiff of something wonderfully sweet and enticing but it's very fleeting--the moment I catch a wee note, it's gone instantly. Much much later, it's turned into a definite grandmother scent for me

Verdict: Sadly, not for me.

In imp: I sniffed this before I knew the title (as the decant I received was very, very smudged), and I had no knowledge of whatever notes were inside. A strong, sweet scent, faintly musky, but definitely green in a nice way. I could faintly make out “honey” in the label, and I found the rest after and compared against available reviews.

Wet on skin: it’s turned into a dry kind of sweetness, definitely a mix of the Jerusalem cherry and honey—slightly tarty, but full and round with the honey. Interestingly, my mother and sister almost immediately said “sunblock lotion!” when they smelled it on me. Err?

Dry: slightly powdery, but sweet, with a green note, but it’s more honey than anything else right now to me—the tartness is almost all gone. It’s a very interesting scent, just a shade before “too powdery”. I’ll have to wait a bit more and see if it morphs even more after an hour or two.

Verdict: definitely wearable, but I’ll have to think first if it’s bottle worthy especially since it’s an LE.

In imp: a sad sort of sweetness, definitely. It makes me think that it could be happy, but it's a bit cloying and heavy and a shade darker to be actually happy.

Wet on skin: mostly the same as the in imp smell, but turns very powdery on me. (Likely the amber? Being only the third scent I've tried and the first one with amber on it, I'm not yet sure yet what's happening.)

Dry: very, very powdery. The rose notes are clearly coming out now, but the powderiness is somewhat overpowering--it's a womanly sort of powdery though, not too bad. Gone after two hours.

Verdict: Not yet sold on this one, because of the powder thing, but I'll probably give it another shot later on to see if it grows on me.