Saliekat

In the imp - Dusty flowers...the dusty must be pepper, I think. Slightly repellent. Wet on the skin - My skin warms up the floral and gets rid of the dusty notes. Dry - It's cooled down again! It's a fresher, greener scent but it reminds me of fabric softener. Peony? Amsterdam has the same fresh linen scent. G of G reminds me of the laundry room in my halls of residence at uni, though. Odd socks everywhere. Maybe it's Bounce I can smell, rather than Lenor. Le hub says - "It started off smelling vaguely of cherries, and the then subsequent sniffs brought through the odour of paraffin. It's not hideous. 6 out of 10."

In the bottle - Hairspray, or some sort of alcohol-based toner - it reminds me of Clinique's clarifying lotion which makes my skin burn Wet on the skin - Better than in the bottle. Sweeter and maybe even with some green, herby notes. Not unpleasant. Dry - It smells sort of musky, like a dark, hot, wet cave with animals living in it. But there is something sweet there, too. I don't like it, though. Le hub says - "It smells like the stuff they sprinkle over corpses so they don't smell bad in the coffin. Scented formaldahyde. Reminds me of the local goth hangout. 3 out of 10." I know when I review I don't mention the notes unless I can smell them. I hope that's OK I never look at the notes first, because I prefer to follow my nose, and I'm not very good at distinguishing between them anyway.

In the bottle - Medicinal cherries. Wet on the skin - The cherries disappear and it's all about the medicine....something for clearing sinuses. Dry - It's not unpleasant, but I can't understand why anybody would ever wear this as a perfume. At least, not anybody with my skin chemistry! Le hub says - "Cherry Tunes! Great if you want to smell like a throat lozenge. 5 out of 10 for being a good mimic."

In the bottle - A dusty, fruity smell - like muddy cherries. Wet on the skin - I am amazed I get such a strong cherry scent from this. It's like cherries and almonds with a hint of dirt to it. The cinnamon comes out quite quickly. I am waiting for the patchouli to come out at bite my nose off. Dry - No patchouli! I'm impressed. A nice light cinnamon with a little fruity sweetness in the background. Le hub says - "Looks and smells like food colouring. 0.0001 out of 10." (he hates ciannmon....)

In the bottle - Sweetened herbal tea Wet on the skin - Quite green and a little herbal, but with some round fruitiness, that must be the verbena. It reminds me of some kind of lemon drink from a health food shop. Dry - Fades mega quickly! Gets sweeter as it fades. A pity, because it's quite lovely. Le hub says - "It's unfortunate. Rotting honeysuckle smells a bit like piss, and this smells like that, mixed with superglue. If you want to go out and not be bothered by blokes, this is the one to wear. Don't put it on or I'll have to divorce you. Not worth rating." Just as well it fades quick

In the bottle - Laundry detergent. Reminds me of Bon Bain Bonnard by Lush. Wet on the skin - Lots of tulips. Loads of tulips! Fields of them! In the rain! Dry - Sweeter flowers - the same flowery scent, but in the sun after a long hot day. Not as fresh as when wet. It smells more like fabric softener now. A shame, because the wet scent I could just sniff forever. Le hub says - "It's like going to British Homes Stores and sticking your face in one of their bowls of pot pourri. 4 out of 10."

In the bottle - Sweet pink bubble gum, but there's something buttery in there as well. Wet on the skin - Sweet and plasticy to start with, then comes through a little bit fruity - that must be the pear, or the strawberry. Dry on the skin - It dries down to something quite fruity but with a sweet tangy scent like sherbert - it almost makes my mouth water. It's really well-rounded and there's a lot underneath the sweetness - fruit, mainly. Le boyf says - "Bubblegum with a hint of feet. Based on the smell in the bottle, I'm tempted to superglue the lid down to stop you from wearing it. It's better on. 3 out of 10." (This is longest I've ever seen him sniff a bottle!) On second try, this smells different - perhaps that's a hormonal thing. I like this far more than I expected to - I'm not a fan of really sweetie sugary scents and had resigned myself to passing this on when it arrived, but I think I might like it more than Red Phoenix

In the bottle - Cinnamon, fruits, maybe a bit of bark or some herbs. I get a hint of almond every now and then, too. Wet on the skin - Spicy and hot - it *almost* tingles on my skin and I was worried it might cause a rash but it was fine. The fruit rounds it out and the patchouli is almost undetectable, which is great because normally patchouli amps right up on me and overpowers the other notes. Dry - Dries down to a soft, creamy cinnamon - not sweet like cinnamon toast, but more like a cinnamon stick. It's not overly strong and doesn't have much throw but it does last quite well. Le boyf says - "It's a shame the NHS can't afford it - they could use it to wake people out of comas. 3 out of 10, but I like smelling salts so..." This is inoffensive and quite nice, but doesn't blow my socks off. ETA although, it is growing on me quite quickly

In the imp - Marzipan! With an added bit of fruit or booze or something...it's like the marzipan you peel off the Christmas cake. Wet on the skin - Smells like an Amaretto Sours - this smells exactly like Tarot: The Star smells in the imp when it first hits my skin! It stays pretty true to that for a few minutes and then calms to something much less tart. It's almost like a cat that's fighting you and then starts purring and rolls over when it realises it's beat Dry - The butter comes out when it's dry, and it's almost spicy - there's a sort of roundness to it, and a little fruit. I wore it yesterday and it seemed much fruitier! I would have guessed it had cherry in. But today I haven't put on as much and I'm not getting any of that from it. Le boyf says - "Smells of almonds. But then again, so does cyanide. On, a faint hint of almonds - but worse. 2 out of 10." I like! Lots!

Pumpkin with cocoa, hazelnut and walnut. In the imp - Pumpkin with a slightly nutty background, and an oily sweetness which is the cocoa, I think. Wet on the skin - Still quite pumpkinny, and in fact fruity, a bit like PP1. It's sort of like the shell of the nut, rather than the nut itself. A bit spicy. Here comes the cocoa! - a rich cocoa scent, like dark, melted chocolate. Dry - This reminds me of Green & Blacks Maya Gold chocolate - dark choc with orange and spices. There is definitely something fruity in there. Maybe it's more like chocolate apples. It's a bit warmer than PP1. Le boyf says - "Reminds me of toffee. 3 out of 10." I thought this would be my favourite from the descriptions, but I have to sniff quite hard for the chocolate and in fact this smells like a less nice version of PP1. PP1 is almost definitely my favourite!

In the bottle - Vanilla cookies, spread with sugared cream cheese. Someone was talking about making oatmeal raisin sandwich cookies with cream cheese frosting the other day - I imagine they would smell something like this Wet on the skin - The cheesecake note really comes out at first, followed by a cinnamony biscuity note like the base. Dry - Creamy cinnamon and nutmeg, with a hint of cheesecake. Not as foody as it is when it's wet. Le boyf says - "Smells of Baileys - creamy and sickly. 2 out of 10 - but only because you could wear it to make your enemies sick." I so wanted to love and adore this! Reading the reviews, I was sorry I'd only bought one bottle. But, although it's nice, it's not what I imagined it to be, and I think I preferred the imagined version. I'll persevere though!

In the imp - Buttery, fruity pumpkin - oddly, all the pumpkin patches smell almost identical in the imp. Wet on the skin - I get the tang of the ivy first, a very green and crisp smell. That morphs into something almost nutty, but quite heavily perfumed - it's almost cloying. It doesn't smell bad, but it has the same kind of effect as when you open the milk to sniff and it's gone off, and it's really strong and sort of pushes you back (it doesn't smell at all like gone off milk, I'm trying to explain how it makes me feel when I sniff it!) I guess, it's unexpected. Dry - No pumpkin here at all. Dusty woods and that tang. Le boyf says - "Smells like joss sticks. Puts the hip in hippie. Peppery - I like pepper. 7 out of 10" (He was sniffing it on a tissue though - it smelled much nicer on the tissue!) I love the whole patch except this one. It's just too bitter and tangy for me.

Electrifying, mechanized and chilly -- the scent of crushed blooms strewn on cold metal. Lush violet and neroli spiked hard with eucalyptus and a sliver of mint. In the imp - Sharp. I can smell the eucalyptus - there's a hint of Olbas Oil about this! But not at all in a repellant way. The eucalyptus is chased with the violet and sweetened. I like it a lot - it's chilly and very...out there Wet on the skin - Very eucalyptus, with a hint of mint and a wisp of violet. Dry - Sharp violets. This is a cold, crisp violet, like the flower frosted on a winter's night. The floral really comes out after a few minutes, but it doesn't get the chance to become too sweet because of the eucalyptus, although I can't really distinguish that now. I really like it. It almost chills my nose when I sniff it. Le boyf says - "In the imp, urinal block. On the skin, urinal block. It's horrible. In fact, urinal block smells better, after it's been used, in a public toilet, by tramps. 0 out of 10." (ooo, scathing!) I have the Raven on one wrist and Ultraviolet on the other - of the 2, I think I like Ultraviolet more, it's more interesting, although less violetty. I'd wear the Ultraviolet more (at least when I'm not going out with le boyf )

In the imp: Not particularly nice - tangy, a bit floral, but almost a bit off. I'm glad I swiped this on before sniffing the imp, or I might not have bothered! Wet on the skin: Sugared parma violets, all the way. Just like some hard candies I got in Brussels when I was a kid! Dry: It stays pretty true to its wet state. Just lovely, sweetie violets. I guess once it's dried it becomes more like the chalky parma violet candy I sometimes buy here, instead of the Jolly Rancher style violets I got that time as a kid. It's very evocative of something, I forget what. I just licked my finger and it had some on it...it even tastes a bit like the violet candy! Le boyf says: "In the imp, it smells like my nan, after she died. On, it smells like parma violets. Not a sharp smell, it caresses your nose with parma violets. 5 out of 10." I can take or leave violet, but this is really nice. My best friend loves violet above all things, so I may pass this on to her.

In the imp: Tangy, smoky and a bit sweet. Wet on skin: I don't know my notes well enough to identify them! But it smells strong, churchy, sweet and a little bit fruity, that must be the fig, then. Dry: Disappears quite quickly, leaving a fresh but resiny scent - herbal and quite sweet. I get some tea from it after a few minutes. Le boyf's opinion: "Talcum powder. Gomorrah in the bottle, Sodom on the wrist. A low 2 out of 10...maybe even 1.9" I like it, but it's not really me. ETA I like it more now! It's much fruitier once left alone for a while.