Voleuse

On first application, this is all Juicy Fruit to my nose, but in a good way. Sweet and thirst-quenching and bright. There's a hint of pepper behind it, but mostly it's fruit and warmth. Yum!

Tea with a hint of mint, a bit of honey, a bit of sugar. This is a very light scent on me. After a minute it morphs into what a tin of Moroccan mint tea smells like, except it's elusive and faintly astringent on me. Nevertheless, it's pretty. Too bad it doesn't match my chemistry. =(

The verbena blooms first, quickly followed by the lavender. Pretty, though a little bath-gel-ish. As it dries, I get a bit of musk...but that's it. Alas! This is pretty, but not for what I'd hoped.

The cardamom leaps out at me on first sniff, spicy and glowering. Yum! The patchouli is in the background, lending a pleasant dirt note that never overwhelms the sweet spice. I don't smell any of the other notes, but I'm happy with cardamom and patchouli. This is a gorgeous scent, dark and sensuous, and more powerful than I expected.

 

After a very long while--five hours, I think--this becomes sweet and heavy incense on me. The throw isn't very much, but it's definitely long-lasting.

On first sniff, this is sugar and perfumey florals. It's pale and sweet, but the blend soon turns to fancy soap on me. Alas! Off to swaps with this one.

On first sniff, this is sweet lemon drops, cool and a little tart. After a while, I can smell a bit of vanilla and floral behind the lemon, but not very strongly. The lemon dominates this one, though the blend itself is light and airy. This is pretty.

Cocoa, powdery and soft and subtle and round. This isn't nearly as sweet and foody as I expected it to be, but it's still rich, almost elegant. This is a fancy chocolatier, where the shop name is written in gilt whorls, and the shopkeepers murmur their answers to your questions. This is a truffle presented singly on a platter.

Oh! There is something in this that reminds me of the snow blends, Ice Queen and the like. It's a cold, slushy, piney note that I always love. Pretty! As it dries, the aquatic notes mingle with the snow. After a long while, hints of warm earth surface, far beneath the slush and sea. I don't get any of the other notes, not even the incense others mentioned, but I do like this.

This is a little eucalyptus-like to me, on first sniff. Not eucalyptus, but that sort of open, take-a-deep-breath sort of smell. Vaporous, but nice. As it dries, the notes of the blend emerge more. There's a heavy, sweet greenness to this blend, with hints of tropical flowers. The faux-eucalyptus note never goes away, though--it lurks behind the jungle, appearing at will. This is a neat scent, verdant and clean. I like it.

This is smoke on first sniff, and rocks, and a hint of ocean. Definitely elemental, definitely primal. This is tough for me to review! After a long while, the rocky note mellows into a dirt blend, similar to Zombi, but without the floral notes. Instead of rose, there's a minty/aquatic note, and a hint of acrid smoke overlaying it all. This is a great scent, and very evocative.

Oooh. On first application this is rich vanilla cake, drizzled in honey. This is less spicy than the Monster Baits, but just as heady and delicious. As it dries, the vanilla fades and the cake mellows, but otherwise the blend stays true. This is warm and sweet and comforting. I don't smell the wine at all, but I definitely like what I get.

On first sniff, this is so golden I'm tempted to claim honey. After a moment, however, I can pin down the amber and vanilla, warm and sweet and surrounding. There's a hint of musk as well, and an lapping of the ocean.

 

As it dries, somehow the sea note gets stronger on me, a green hint of ozone washing over the sweetness. This remains a golden scent, however, sensual and quite feminine. There's a bit of a "perfume" aspect to it, but it's still gorgeous.

Whoof! This is an amazingly strong blend, earthy and powerful. It's sweet on first sniff, all patchouli. The vetiver and musk deepen it, but it doesn't dominate. After a while, the patchouli steps back for the sandalwood, though it doesn't disappear completely. It ends up being warm and earthy, and never stops being bold. I don't know if I'd ever wear this blend, but I do like it.

This is all spice and vegetation on first application. It's sweet, but not fruity to my nose. After a few minutes, I get whiff of smoke overlaying the blend, and the mandrake note gets stronger. This smells dangerous, even through the sweetness. It's a bit gritty, and slightly bitter. Interesting.

Wine and honey, sweet and more sweet. Wow! What a heady blend this is. The musk adds a nice, warm halo to the blend, and after a while I can detect the sharp carnation in the blend. This is pretty! It reminds me of Athens, except the wine is dominant instead of the honey. Intoxicating.

This is a dark, cherry syrup on first sniff, and it gets more sugary, more sickly as it dries. I get a strong almond note as well, which quickly turns the cherry to full-on medicinal. This could be a gorgeous, lazy blend, but on me, the notes go all wrong. Alas! Off to swaps!

From the bright redness of the oil, I was afraid this would be overwhelming cinnamon. Instead, it's actually a heavy, sweet patchouli. Nice! The cinnamon keeps it the blend mobilized, while the patchouli keeps the cinnamon from taking over. Martial, I think, is an excellent descriptor. This hovers perfectly between earth and fire, undeniable and imposing.

I expected this to be super-sweet, but on first sniff, it's dry and a little bit peppery. Huh. The musk is as expected, light and warm. As the blend dries, I get a hint of the orange, but none of the mango. This reminds me of tea, faintly sweet and thirst-quenching. Interesting, though not as fruity as I'd hoped.

This is dusky lavender on first application--so dark, in fact, that I didn't recognize it. After a moment, however, it clarifies. There's an open, almost-aquatic note behind it, round but not salty. This isn't masculine to my nose, but it's heavy. The heaviness mellows a bit over time, but mostly, this blend stays the same for the duration.

This is sharp smoke on first sniff, acrid with a cold sweeping behind it. As it dries, the coolness becomes sweet, almost fresh. Like seeing a lush lawn through the haze. In the end, this morphs into a slightly bitter, sweet incense. Neat!

Interesting. I'd expected this to be a brighter scent, based on the lemon verbena and woods, but the patchouli does lend a murky, earthy note to the blend. It's clean, but dark. Dark, but not heavy. Subtly sweet. The verbena is dominant, but it's nowhere near as sharp as it usually is. I like it, but I don't understand it. (I mean that in a good way.)

I get light rose on first sniff, but it's quickly shored up by the woods behind it. There's something spicy and dry in this, subtle but noticeable. The lilac is a nice balance to the rose, as well. Though the blend leans toward soapy florals, but the woods keep it from tipping over that way. In the end, I get rose/lilac and lingering smoke, like a feminine sort of room that someone smoked a pipe in, hours ago. Definitely a Victorian scent.

I expected this to be all rose, but on first application, this is chamomile and lily. Pretty! There's a hint of smoke behind it, the crackle of leaves underfoot, and the less-sweet violet blooming over time. This is a cool, wistful scent on me. It doesn't disappear quickly, as I would have predicted. Instead, it lingers. It feels unrequited. It's beautiful.

Hm. This is rather soapy to my nose, clean and roundly sweet. The orange blossom brightens a lot, and it feels...more than cheerful. A hint of mad grinning, maniacal grinning. Swirling fabric and dust and heels tapping. The patchouli is grounding the blend, the earthiness warming the blend, keeping it from going completely to fancy soap. I like this.

This, for the most part, strikes me as an incense blend, except when it reminds me of furniture polish. Not in a bad way--the lemon and wood notes leave me with the impression of antique furniture, heavy and dark, polished to an impossible sheen. It's clean and dark and dignified, but not a heavy scent itself.

 

At first, I don't smell the vetiver at all, but I suspect it's providing the anchor for the other notes. After a long while, the vetiver comes out as a deep, masculine musk. It's not strong, but quite evident. Intriguing.