moon_lemming

Oh, dear, sweet, lovely Lab. I love getting blends I'd never try on my own as frimps. For some reason, I feel this drive to try all of the Voodoo blends. But this one, I've never thought about ordering, since a lot of peeps noted that it had a hint (or more) of jasmine, and well. Jasmine and I will never get along. In the imp, Red Devil smells kind of like a fruity version of Windsong (the commercial perfume). It's nice; yeah, yeah, I like an old lady perfume, phear me. But, uh, there's really no need to describe what happens once it hits my skin, other than: JASMINE. Damn it, jasmine. Why does one flower hate me so, so much?

WTF? I dunno what to think about this one. I hadn't even noticed this blend before (it was a frimp), and I was reading the description when I opened the imp. I read all that bit about god of iron, lord of war, etc., and just then I smelled the oil and ... HONEYDEW? But once on, it makes a lot more sense. The honeydew is in the front seat for the first few minutes, to be sure; as Ogun -- the oil, of course -- dries, though, it takes on a complex throw that is pretty awesome. It reminds me of chili powder, but there's also some tobacco in there, and the honeydew never really goes away. It's sweet (in a honey-dipped way) but substantial and spicy. I have a problem with wearing blends that heavily involve spices I cook with, though, and I know I won't be able to wear this one. It makes me feel like I'm marinating. But damn, it is good. I can't believe I haven't heard people raving about this one.

To continue my trend of thinking blends smell like totally weird off-the-wall things that have no bearing on their actual content, Saturnalia reminds me of fresh corn -- the green cloak that it's wrapped in -- or pea pods while it's wet. Dry, yes, it just smells GREEN and herbal, even though it's supposedly got a "purple" smell to it according to other reviewers. Wait. There is a little smidge of violets in there. That must be why it smells sweetish. Oh, here we go. After about fifteen minutes, the violet is rising up and overthrowing the greenness. It's sort of morphing, I guess, into a violet scent with a smoky background. Yeah, it's like wearing Faith while sitting around a campfire. Hmm. It's interesting, but I don't think I'd wear it often enough to get a bottle, at least not while I have good amounts of both Numb and Faith around.

YOU KNOW WHAT? I THINK THERE MIGHT BE SOME ROSE IN THIS HERE BLEND. Hee. Whip shouts out, "ROSES! ROSES! GET YER FRESH RED ROSES HEEEERE!" in the vial and first on my skin. As it dries, it picks up a syrupy note. I swear, I smell actual pancake syrup. The Lab's leather is always weird on me, but this is the first time I've gotten syrup from it. Okay, okay, as it dries, it becomes more leathery, but there's still a drop of sweetness in there. The end result is nice, a balanced blend of red roses (similar to Rose Red but without the greenery) and rough leather. I like it. It's not as overpowering as I thought it would be at first -- the loud rose quiets down as it balances with the leather, and it has moderate, but not headachey, throw. Overall, I think Whip is a pretty good scent on its own, and as a "layering note". I will keep the imp around, but I'm not sure whether it's worth a bottle yet.

This blend smells remarkably nondescript in the vial, like a generic men's cologne. Once on, though, the lavender in Casanova amps (on my skin, anyway) to medicinal proportions. As it dries, it becomes much nicer and less single-note. The lavender steps back and the leather pops up, along with a little patchouli -- I think -- and something that mellows it out a bit, probably the tonka. It's good, but definitely masculine, and I can't really pull off masculine. This seems like one of those rare blends my husband would actually wear, even as perfume-oil-averse as he is. I might try it on him, although I think it would go over better if the lavender wasn't so obvious in the beginning. Maybe it will show up less on him.

SHOCKINGLY, I get rose out of The Empress. It's a round rose scent, like others have mentioned, with something anchoring it and keeping it from going into blowsy annoying FLORAL FLORAL EVERYWHERE rose. Something a little fruity, but faint enough that it's hard for me to identify. I really wanted to love this one so that I'd have an excuse to get the bottle (ha) but I just don't wear rose scents often enough to justify a 10ml.

I originally had imps of all of the Tarot scents, but I had to do some major selling, and ended up only keeping the ones I connected with the very most to test. The High Priestess was one of the three. Unfortunately, the blend really isn't too great on my skin, although in the vial it does seem to fit the card. In the vial it's a strong cherry/almond with a bit of an herbal, fresh feel hidden underneath. I'm always bad at explaining notes, but I feel it is pretty well matched to The High Priestess. Unfortunately, on my skin, it has a five-minute life. It goes like this: superstrong cherry/almond --> sweet almond with a squish of herbs --> baby powder, almonds, and a slightly minty herbal underglow. I can't stand that baby powder smell, so I have to pass on this one. eta: After about half an hour the baby powder goes away, and it's toasted almond with a little hint of mint underneath. It's actually way delicious, but too faint to justify buying a bottle. I'll keep the imp, though, I think.

I tried The Wheel of Fortune a long time ago and never posted my review, but I figured I'd go ahead and do it -- it sure sticks out in my memory well enough -- since the oils are coming down. So here you go: it's the same in bottle and on my skin to my nose -- VERY VERY STRONG spearmint and carrots, of all things. My hand to god. I was not a fan. It stuck around, too, for quite a while. I could still smell it the next morning. I really wanted to love it, as it's one of my soul cards, so I didn't wash it off, hoping it would shift after a few hours. It didn't. I did keep the bottle, though.

I am feeling nostalgic for Paris these days. Honestly, though, I expected something more atmospheric. When I visited Paris, it was raining ALL THE TIME, and we did a lot of walking, so I remember the smell of warm roads and rain and grass and the Seine. That would be a great perfume. This, on the other hand ... not so much. At least, not to me. It's got the medicinal bite of lavender and as it warms up it's got a huge gob of the sugary bubble gum smell lotus sometimes brings to the table. It's just sweet in a really gross way, underscored by a nasty sharpness. This really doesn't work on me. Maybe if I didn't amp lotus it would be better, I dunno. Hey, now, as it settles in even more, the lavender leaves the scene and the lotus just becomes this watery slightly sweet scent that is, as other reviewers have noted, very innocent. It's not worth waiting through the ten-minute stage of badness for me, when there are so many other scents I love start to finish, but it's okay.

I believe she was pointed to the "bpaltm" e-mail addy on bpal anon. I don't know if that one's checked often or not.

Jellyfish! OMG I WANT MY BOTTLE NOW. The label art is becoming a big part of the anticipation for me, everything's so gorgeous! Then there's the other part of the anticipation, of course... *wanders off to review forum*

Spider smells white and fresh and bright in the vial, and on my skin, the ginger imparts a nice freshness that I adore. Unfortunately the vetiver and nutmeg (I think) amp on me, and it's a combo that doesn't really please my nose. TO THE SWAPS WITH YOU, SPIDER!

Um, yes, so I initially thought Mr. Ibis would smell kind of like a green Antique Lace. That was sort of unfounded, I find. It's a very green, unisex scent. Aloe with a cologne-ish kick. It's nice, but it seems like it's faded before it's even dry. Not for me.

HERE BE BOOZE, YO. At first, I had to resist the urge to wash Mr. Nancy right out of my hair (so to speak), because he was all HI I AM TOBACCO AND MAPLE ISN'T THIS A WONDERFUL COMBINATION and I was like HELLS TO THE NO. But as it dries, Mr. Nancy really does start to smell of sugar cookies! Awesome. My skin is still amping some sort of spice, which makes it smell pretty unusual -- more like snickerdoodles than straight sugar cookies. And there's a teensy bit of lime in there. I LOVE this scent. Unfortunately, my husband does not. I really need to train him, hehehe. (JUST KIDDING, DARLING.)

Almond and honey and apples, eh? Yum. Smells like foody goodness in the imp. Unfortunately, on my skin the lily of the valley (I believe) amps like crazy and it's a floral foody Frankenstein. Doesn't get any better with time, either. Can't win 'em all.

Hmmm. I love Mama-Ji, but I would not wear Mama-Ji. She starts off a little floral, a little spicy, and ends up all spice. Maybe a tiny flirt of floral, but not enough to notice. Lovely, sexy and comforting at the same time, but I can't pull off spicy scents often enough to commit to a bottle. Ooh, wait, a little while later (about fifteen minutes, maybe) the floral kicks up a little bit more and turns to baby powder. Nooooo. Although that makes me feel a little better about not being able to wear it.

HELLO. Those flowers aren't "gentle" on my skin by any stretch of the imagination. Kataniya is a little cologne-y at first, but within minutes it becomes just a huge HUGE aquatic floral explosion. No metal. Ten minutes later, yes, there's a hint of metal, but the flowers are devouring it as quickly as it can get to the front. It never really changes, no matter how much it teases me, it's just aquatic florals til the end.

I entered the Snake Pit warily, as I seem to be one of those rare beasts on whom Snake Oil doesn't work, not one bit. The vetiver in Death Adder stuck out on my skin at first, but faded back after about ten minutes. What's left is a slightly damp-smelling black coconut blended with a light version of Snake Oil. It's not bad, but it isn't really me, either.

Hey, this really fits the description -- sharp and almost argumentative at first, drying to a more mournful dark green herbal muddle. Really, really not for me, but an interesting scent experience. The lavender just gives me too much of a headache at first to make it worth holding through til it calms down.

Mmmm, very pretty. DAMMIT WHY. Why did I wait to test these? Jeebus. Sweet and floral without turning to detergent. I can't really pick out the tonka, but I know it's there, and I have a strong suspicion that's why these florals aren't kicking my ass. Ooh, there it is. A sweet vanilla, not the vanilla I'm used to smelling in Lab blends. Maybe that's the French vanilla? I dunno. It's good, though, and it blends with the flowers to create a fruity sweet scent that is ultrafeminine without being cloying. Verra nice.

OH GOD. Excuse me while I go roll around in this scent. Damn. I really wish I had tested my Heroine imps before the scents came down, because this is freaking glorious. Warm honey with a little bit of a dry bite, and a tiny hint of sweet/tart berry underneath it all. There's a lot of currant there in the beginning, but it fades as the scent warms up. Holy weasels, this is splendid. Can't talk, must snuffle my wrist for a bit.

Why am I trying this one? I'm honestly not sure. Cedar goes horribly wrong on my skin, generally, and Lear is no exception. There's not much I can say about this one other than pointing out that there's cedar in it, since that's ALL I can smell from start to finish.

Had high hopes for this one, as there's a song called "Cathedrals" that's in my top ten. Sadly, on my skin it's got that sharp, sweet cedar scent that just doesn't work for me. It could be cedar, it could be something like frankincense. It's just way too high-pitched for my nose. It has crazy mad staying power, though.

Hey, this smells good, both in the bottle and on my skin! Amazing, hehe. It reminds me a lot of Snow Bunny, actually -- the pretty undertone of pine in Snow Bunny shows up a lot more in Dublin. It's the only note I can identify, actually; I can tell that there's other stuff in the mix, but I can't pick it out. It's soft and tempers the pine, keeping it from being too much. I really didn't expect to like this one so much! It's lovely. It fades quickly on me, but even the half-faded phase is nice, soft and outdoorsy.

On me, Rage does smell pretty wrathful, but it's like IT'S mad at ME. The combination of black amber and ... I think it's the rose geranium ... ends up turning to bug spray on me. Not pleasant. My skin is not really amber-friendly, though, so it's not too surprising.