angelamaria

In bottle: whoa~ floral. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised--this many floral notes, I'm bound to not recognize any one of them. It's a complex, heady bouquet, multicolored with deep slashes of color. There are dark, heavy, and almost dragging floral notes mixed with bright and breezy ones. If this was a sound, this would be nearing cacophony...in my opinion anyway. I can't really get at the white chocolate, but there is a definite creamy base here. The other notes just might be too distracting for me to really get that white chocolate scent.

Wet on skin: heady florals with a hint of chocolate. Not exactly what I was hoping for--the florals are threatening to make a racket in my head. Actually, at this stage, the florals are on an even ground with the chocolate--I can definitely get whiffs of that lovely chocolate--but it's like they're competing with each other. The florals keep swamping the chocolate while the chocolate keeps bouncing back.

Dry: okay, I had to give this like two, three hours to settle on my skin. Honestly, wet and newly dry, it's a crazy heady mix of flowers. But about two hours in, the florals have actually tamed considerably, and the blend that I've been looking for comes out--a spicy, creamy chocolate with an almost tropical feel, but nowhere near being foody. This part--this part is divine. This part is what I want that wet and newly-dry phase to be like. A non-foody but delicious chocolate, spiced with flowers, sweet and silky and with faint slashes of color.

Verdict: totally on the fence with this one. The wet and newly dry stage is overwhelming for me, I wouldn't be able to wear this as it is--I'd get a headache right at the start of my day, and that would be horrible. I'll have to age this as see how the florals turn out.

So is it just me or has anyone else had the great fortune of having Morocco smell nearly identical to Antique Lace on their skin??? I sniffed it at a Will Call a few months back and did a test and ZOMG, it's really, really close! I'm relieved because I adore Antique Lace so very much and don't have nearly as much on hand as I'd like, so I'm just thrilled that Morocco is an almost dead ringer for it!

Lucky you! Sadly Morocco doesn't do that for me. It was nice in small amounts but I slathered a bit once and that's when I discovered carnation turns to cloves on me and I amp cloves and I can't stand cloves.

I did skin-test this one, but the review is incomplete since I had washed it off a shade before drying. I figured it might be helpful anyway to folks who like the notes I'm staying away from (or, well, to those who also don't like them?).

It's a very almond blend, with a hint of persimmon, and that continues on my skin. The almond is quite foody, although the musk tempers it a tiny bit--but not wholly. I had to wash it off a shade before completely dry--the almond and persimmon is topmost and they're a rather, well, odd combination. It's sweet almond and almost-sweaty persimmon, and it's just not sitting well with my nose.

I didn't skin-test this one, but I figured it might be helpful anyway to folks who like the notes I'm staying away from (or, well, to those who also don't like them?). So it's not a full-blown review!

This was full-on strong anise seed, and makes me think of old Chinese/oriental medicine shophouses. It's rather musky for me, and almost sharp, too--that furry brown musk isn't cuddly! Someone called it "feral" and I agree. Definitely not for me.

I didn't skin-test this one, but I figured it might be helpful anyway to folks who like the notes I'm staying away from (or, well, to those who also don't like them?). So it's not a full-blown review!

The first sniff I got from this was vetiver, which was an immediate no. It wasn't a rotten sort of vetiver, but still definitely vetiver. The patchouli and cumin probably didn't help my impression of this blend, too.

In decant: cool apple, hint of the red currant, and a touch of green. This is sweet, almost candy-sweet, but the apple is fairly "crisp" in feel so it doesn't go candyish.

Wet on skin: this is really nice, although a tad soapy on my skin. It's a sweet and cool refreshing apple, with soft greens and a touch of red currant to give it a bit of sass. This could have been part of the Apples collection during the last Halloween round--if you like apples and/or that particular collection, this would be an interesting try.

Dry: definitely soapy on me, which is a bit of a shame. It keeps its coolness, but softer and fading away as time goes on. I think I am also starting to detect the champaca flower, but a definite yes on the greens here--it's more pronounced than in the decant/wet phase, although still primarily an apple blend.

Verdict: soapy apple, sadly, is not for me.

In decant: sage, oakmoss, and musks. Definitely masculine, but there's an unexpected sweetness here.

Wet on skin: a simple, almost straightforward blend, but definitely lovely. Slightly understated herbs and lovely musks, and inching away from "masculine" and move more into "gender neutral" category. It's difficult to describe the blend. The sweetness is still there. I'd say it's musks and herbs.

Dry: VERY unexpected. I actually really like this. This stays close to my skin, the sweetness is very pleasant and keeps this from being heavy. I remember thinking while signing up for decants that this blend seemed to not be on anyone's radar, but I think a lot will like it. I definitely do, although it really is rather quick to disappear.

Verdict: there is time yet, so I may continue to test this blend on and off and see if a bit of imp-aging will improve the staying power and the throw. Definitely take note of this blend, it's a bit of a surprise!

Revisited 21 May: I gave this another run today, a full-day in the office. Right off, throw is a lot better. I could catch whiffs of it on and off throughout the day, and 8/9 hours later, I can still catch a bit of it on me, a lovely, creamy, gentle sweetness. It's not even a month and it's aging like a champ! Definitely a keeper.

In decant: minty, but soft, with a pleasant herbal mix: lavender, chamomile, and a bit of honeysuckle. Quite pleasant!

Wet on skin: the mint is very soft, subdued, with a pleasing sweetness to it, with the herbs wafting about. Now I'm getting lavender and thyme most of all. It's very well-blended. The mint is fading every so slowly as the blend dries.

Dry: soft herbal, with only a hint of mint, but it does retain that coolness. The raspberry has also come out for me now--the sweetness mentioned before has a definite "red" tinge to it, but it doesn't push this blend towards the fruity side. Definitely more like an herbal blend with a touch of red, raspberry-ish sweetness. Sniffing this maybe thirty minutes on, something is giving this blend a "grandmothery" feel for me.

Verdict: I was a little on the fence about this blend, but the grandmothery note that pops up here does tip this towards the "really nice, but not for me" category. Otherwise it's definitely a very pretty blend!

In decant: oh yes~ this is absolutely lovely. Dorian (that is, lovely sweet creamy tea), but less sweet and foody, and a very present leather. Definitely more masculine, but relatively gender neutral, just hinting on the masculine side.

Wet on skin: yeap, definitely a more masculine Dorian, but I think that's mostly the leather. I'm really liking this! Leather and a whiff of creamy tea. If Dorian is gender neutral but leaning towards the feminine side, this is the same, only leaning towards the masculine side.

Dry: you know what? This is like a Liz'd Dorian. Seriously. I actually busted out some Liz to see, and while the leather note is not the same (but then, my Liz is aged, this new fairly new I'd suppose), the leather note here does the same thing as the leather note in Liz. Lovely, sexy, but so wearable. Leather with a touch of creamy tea and a hint of sweetness. I did a full-day test of this and it's got decent staying powder, and all soft lovely leather at the end of the day.

Verdict: my, I WRESTLED with this blend. Yes, this is almost at the brink of "too masculine" for me. But gosh, I am liking this a whole lot better than Dorian, which I'd been feeling guilty about. I waffled big time, telling myself I will be good and not get it, that is IS a touch bit masculine for me, but the next moment I'm all "it is SEXY and YUMMY and FARK I WANT IT" lol.

In decant: this has a tropical fruity feel, but is quite cool, cold! Iced drinks, anyone? I'm getting peaches, persimmon and mango--not too heavy, almost light.

Wet on skin: this is so cool and breezy and fruity, and yet NOT "fruity" right when it hits my skin--I think it's the coolness that is keeping it breezy. Soon enough though this coolness is fading somewhat and the fruits come out more, and it's getting a rather car freshener quality for me. The coolness is kind of helping this along, I think--air conditioned cars, anyone? Pleasant enough, but not something I would wear.

Dry: yeah, this is mostly peach, cool and almost iced, but slightly melty. Whiffs of persimmon and mango and a hint of a pleasing greenness, which I'm assuming is the shishito (a type of pepper, I see) and osmanthus. Those last two components is a great note to have with those fruits--without this greenness I can see this being quite like a tropical juice blend. The car freshener feel never truly goes away for me.

Verdict: interesting blend, but not for me.

In decant: huh, boozy? Definitely rice wine, and a rather spicy floral. I'm not quite sure what I'm smelling, to be honest. I looked up what "lilium speciosum" is, and it's Japanese lily, but this is not like any lily I've smelled so far (and I like lilies, for the most part). It's not grapefruit, definitely not vanilla or vanilla orchid. It doesn't fit lotus root either. It's just...unplace-able.

Wet on skin: yes, definitely a huge splash of rice wine there. A hint of grapefruit, and a spicy tone--almost clove-like, but I have no idea where these darn spices are coming from. The floral is spicy and almost pungent. If it's really a mix of all these components, well, whoa there, this is really, really well blended.

Dry: the vanilla has come out, but this spicy/boozy floral is just really bothering me a bit, because while it seems like it could be the seamless mix of components, it's just...very different. The grapefruit is very understated and is a light note, but the ric wine kind of drowns it out. It's not a "heavy" blend, but it has some weight to it, a kind of lazy lethargic kind of weight, if that makes any sense. Aside from the rice wine, all the other notes are just hints and whiffs, fleeting and quickly gone: vanilla, lily, grapefruit. All dry, this is a decidedly masculine blend for me, slightly musky.

Verdict: I did have high hopes for this blend, but I guess the rice wine just couldn't let me have it. A bit of a shame, really--Loosening of the Obi has rice wine and vanilla bean and I love that--but this is a heavy, aged rice wine, methinks.

In decant: one word for this: melonnnnn~~ it's a fresh, ripe melon--not too sweet or syrupy. Lovely and yummy.

Wet on skin: that same melon in the decant, with a hint of musk, and a touch of honey, making it a shade bit sweeter. Right now, as much as I love this, I know I wouldn't wear it...but I was told I should give this about thirty minutes so I'm settling in to wait. It's 21:42!

Dry: well, one thing I can definitely say, it's not as highly melon as it dries. It does soften considerably, and go from that ripe juicy melon to a softer, muskier melon. Duskier, I'd say. Still definitely recognizable as melon, but this one for sure would have been a keeper when I started. If I needed to find two words to describe it, it would be "melon musk". A friend told me it reminded him of Fee, and I agree, it's a more "present" Fee. I don't have any Fae with me as well, and it's been a long time since I've tried Fae, but I was reminded of that as well. I did wait thirty minutes and an hour over, and while it certainly grows softer and softer and less fruity, it really is a bit too fruity for me.

Verdict: melon lovers rejoice! This is a wonderful, wonderful melon blend, and if I only wore fruity blends I know this would be a keeper straight off. It's a very beautiful, fresh and balanced melon musk blend. Lovely all around.

Edited for grammerz.

In decant: herbal, cool and a touch sweet. Of the herbs, I'm getting sage and lavender; a hint of magnolia and woods here gives a nice depth.

Wet on skin: this is slightly powdery-soft on me, but not in a bad way--it's almost cuddly which is weird given it's a dragon moon It keeps its coolness and sweetness along with those herbs, but it really smoothes out and blends even more. The dragon's blood resin gives this an understated cherry sweetness. The patchouli is not recognizable to my nose.

Dry: sadly, that soft powderiness in the wet stage just keeps going on and on...the other notes just sort of disappear and hide behind it. Slightly smoky, although not in an incense way, and it's gone slightly soapy. It's a nice enough blend, but these powdery-soapy cherry-ish herbs isnt working for my skin chemistry or me.

Verdict: no, not for me, but I'm not surprised. None of the Ars Draconis line has worked for me, despite a momentary fling with Dragon's Eye.

In bottle: somewhat perfume-y, but mostly gentle creamy flowers. Yes on the sweet honeyed lilies. It's pretty, but feels a bit too floral for me.

Wet on skin: wow. I think that dry lotus root just needed a bit of warming up--it's not as all-out floral as it felt in the bottle. There is a slight "muskiness" to the blend that gives a good base to the flowers, sweet and pretty. Man, I had this bottle in my "to test" box for a loo~oong time, why did I not test it sooner?! This might actually be in the running of surpassing Evening Star as my favorite DIMV-to-wear scent.

Dry: yes, I've definitely missed out so long by not testing this when I received it. This is a gently honey-sweet floral, with lily edging out at the front, but mostly quiet/pensive flowers, slightly vague but definitely present without being overwhelming. A muted musky scent keeps them grounded well.

Verdict: definitely a yes!

In imp: yes on the "urban metallics": a hint of ozone, light and pale flowers, and light fruits. It definitely has that Asian vibe to it (like the shungas) but also a "city" vibe, which is appropriate. I'd assume this light of a scent needs a bit of slathering.

Wet on skin: very pretty, although it's a bit dusty on my skin--something like ozone and dusty crisp air. Aside from that, the rest of the blend is very evenly balanced and well-blended--it's hard to pick out specific notes but looking at the list and sniffing, I can pinpoint each note--the orchid, the vague fruits, the bamboo.

Dry: this doesn't change from the wet phase for me, although it feels even lighter somehow--but that may just be my skin chemistry. This rather reminds me of The Unicorn, which has the same kind of "ethereality" but The Unicorn is sweeter, and this is dustier and a bit more fleeting. Closer to it would be Unseelie, if my memory serves.

Verdict: I can tell why this is so sought-after, but I'm somewhat relieved by the dustiness, as I have managed to dodge a bullet!

In imp: clean, light, and gender neutral, although leaning towards the masculine side. Mostly well-balanced notes, but I think the bergamot edges out a little bit more than the rest (but not enough to be bergamot-heavy).

Wet on skin: bergamot, orchid, and white musk. This makes me think of clean skin, freshly out from the shower--definitely more on the masculine side. Very, very nice--would love to smell this on a guy. It's an understated sexy scent, like maybe something he might wear to work but you'd like to jump him anyway. As this dries, the juniper berries are coming out to sweeten this up a bit more--but it's very subtle, almost not there, and if I didn't have the components on hand I wouldn't be able to say it's berries.

Dry: all warmed up on my skin, this is fabulous. This doesn't change so much from the wet phase, aside from that slight sweetening thing from the berries, but it's still a masculine, bergamod/orchid/musk blend. I don't get the patchouli, but I think it's definitely present to give this a bit of an "edge", a sexy base for the other notes to build on.

Verdict: not for me, but it would be a definite yes from me for a guy

I just tried Witch-cursed Castle last night (from The Last Unicorn) and oh boy that was definitely stone

Adding the description: "Weed-strewn oak, opoponax, wet stone, creaking redwood, and desolate olibanum."

In tester: when I sniffed this, I breathed, "wow". Definitely honeydew to me, but not overly fruity. A hint of creamy canilla and faint flowers completely this pretty scent in the tester.

Wet on skin: the vanilla came out quickly, although it does recede back into a creamy sweetness that just envelopes the rest of the notes. This is a soft, very pretty blend. The honeydew remains, but the fruity sweetness is tempered with a slight dustiness that doesn't detract, and the spicy carnation starts to come up lending this blend a decidedly non-fruity feel. Almost muskier. So, so pretty in this stage--I was elated AND half-panicked at the thought of hunting this blend down. Right here, right now, it's a definite winner.

Dry: and as expected--and which is why I always need to watch out for it--that carnation goes clovey on me. Dry, it's a mix of carnation, vanilla, and honeydew sweetness, maybe a hint of the oakmoss. Much later (like maybe after an hour and a half), an almost sickening sweetness has overcome the blend on the two places on my arm I put it (I was that excited in the wet/almost dry phase!!), the similar oily grandmothery sweetness I get from white musk. Though there ISN'T any white musk here. Looking at the notes list, the only note I think comes close would be the lychee, and I don't have enough experience with that note specifically to say if that's the culprit here.

Verdict: skin chemistry "saves" the day--or, anyway, keeps my wallet happy. The wet phase was definitely to DIE for, though.

Definitely incense in the decant, and some heavy dark flowers. On my skin, almost immediately evident is clove, and a nice dark resin comes inching its way forward. Somewhat unisex, and turning powdery, but that just adds to the incensey-ness of this blend. Dry, this is all clove and hints of amber and spices, and reminds me of Silk Road a bit.

Full on white lemon cake, heavy on the frosting. The frosting, and possibly the filling between cake layers, initially came across as berry-like to me, although it turned into a vague fruit scent, mingling so much with the lemon cake scent that it's hard to distinguish.

In the decant, to my nose it's cologney, light and with very present dark flowers. Fairly unisex, slightly soapy. On my skin however, it goes INSTANTLY into soap. Initially laundry soap, and then it went to commercial bath soap--nice smelling, but, well, bath soap. This is the bath-soap-iest blend I've ever smelled from the lab. No florals, and all dry on my skin it's slightly powdery (rose, lilac, amber can all do that to me--so take your pick).

In bottle: a light floral blend--definitely luminous, a touch refreshing. The greens are a perfect backdrop to the almost-delicate flowers here, giving a bit of "permanence" to the daintiness and seemingly fragility of the flowers.

Wet on skin: sweet, dainty floral, a touch candylike but not tipping over completely. Some reviews mention a similarity to The Unicorn, and I agree, the feel is the same: clean, white, gentle, luminous, faintly shining. I started writing in caps here in my original notes: "I MUST HAVE MORE OF THIS". Definitely appropriate for a denizen of an enchanted wood. (The blend, not the caps.)

Dry: this stays true to the wet stage for me, no morphing, although as expected the throw is light and will likely need a few reapplications throughout the day. The greens and floral notes mesh together really well, without overpowering one another.

Verdict: definite keeper! I had many words in caps in my original notes

In bottle: creamy carnation and orange blossom. Dainty and soft, yet the orange blossom has that citrus bite to it at the end.

Wet on skin: this starts out as quite a faint blend on my skin. Carnation and a touch of iris, sweet and creamy. I can't seem to get any orange blossom out of this at this stage, which is a shame

Dry: sweet and creamy vague white florals with a faint touch of orange blossom. Beautiful, soft and almost childlike--the cream reminds me a bit of milk--but not innocent, no. As it stays longer on my skin, a soapiness starts to develop, and the clove note in the carnation (which always amps on me) starts to turn this blend a bit weird on me--but maybe it's not altogether unintended, because this combination does smell like a plastic doll. I wouldn't call it "plasticky", but it smells like a plastic doll, from my memories of childhood (or, well, spring cleaning old toys when I was older).

Verdict: an interesting scent, but no, not for me.

In bottle: fruity, candyish, with a fizzy champagne note. Not promising so far.

Wet on skin: okay, I think I stand corrected: is that a fizzy champagne note, or just an effervescent mint? It definitely felt like champagne in the bottle, but on my skin, it's straight mint that is leaning towards the toothpastey kind...not very promising at all. Definitely fruity, sweet, and candyish in its sweetness. Thankfully, the mint note smooths out quickly and stops being toothpastey on my skin in short order.

Dry: wow, dry, this is not as fruity as it was during the wet phase and in the bottle--not by a long shot. This one seems to juuu~ust border on the fruitiness, tempered by a surprisingly soft and "warm" mint note (I love oxymorons lately, I see). Still, it retains its refreshing tone, a bright blend suitable for a hot summer's day relaxing on a beach with a cool tropical drink beside you. As it stays longer on my skin though, there is a definite plasticky note thing going on...

Verdict: this is the sort of fruit scent that I used to say was part of my keeper list--meaning, it's not full-on fruity but very beautiful and wearable, but well, I really don't wear any fruity blends anymore :/

In imp: floral, with a crisp pear note. The florals are quite well-blended, I can't really tell them apart.

Wet on skin: this time I can pick out magnolia and plumeria from the florals. This is a heady combination, sliding more towards the heavy side for me, although thankfully it smoothes out a little as it dries. The rose seems to be gearing up to get powdery, we'll see. Even with the headiness of the flowers, I'd categorize this as a light scent, elegant--but that may be because I'm not getting a lot of throw from this.

Dry: amazingly, the rose powder isn't overwhelming the scent, but I suspect it has disappeared and is powdery in some dark corner--I can't really smell any rose here. It's a faint, somewhat elegant floral, white and quite fleeting. Definitely magnolias and plumerias for me.

Verdict: pretty as it is, but not too much of a fan of magnolia and plumeria for this to be a keeper.