bellumed

Base and earthy, yet glittering with golden notes: patchouli, heliotrope, copal and oakmoss.  Greed! It's the sin of the season! A very brown scent, warm incense and dark vegetation. There's an almost sickly-sweet note piercing through. On skin, I got the more powdery side of heliotrope and incense. I like it more on drydown, comfy patchouli dominating over sweet-and-powdery heliotrope. I sense no greed here. Friendliness and cuddliness, maybe. Nice.

Very clean lily is the dominant note. I actually thought the word "sour," and then second-guessed myself only to later see that other reviews described it that way as well! So yes, it smells a little sour at first. On skin, the rose is stronger than lily. Rose soap. More incense shows up on drydown. It's all clean and a little sharp. Not chemically, but otherwise it's more like something I'd use to clean my house than something I'd wear. I don't think the floral/incense combo works for me.

This is just a really nice, unobtrusive scent. Soft and brown musky hay. The leather and fig are more obvious on skin. On drydown, there's a bit of cinnamon kick, nothing overpowering. Unisex but tbh I bet this would smell amazing on a man.

White musk and pomegranate are two scents about which I have very clear impressions. Any blend with prominent white musk tends to come off laundry-clean and borderline sharp. And pomegranate is very round and juicy and as dark as a fruit can possibly be. Neither are bad, neither are favorites. Having said that... I'm impressed by this perfume. Apparently these notes can combine and dovetail in way that so nicely balances both. The florals add a surprising creaminess that really elevates the experience. Seems weird to say, but I felt moved, smelling this. Effronterie is a quietly dignified fragrance, and it is greater than the sum of its parts.

So few reviews! I guess this one wasn't too popular... Not sure why, smells lovely to me. Honeyed apple is the strongest note upfront. It remains that way while it is wet on my skin, though patchouli starts to open up in the background. Figgier the drier it gets. This perfume is simple, pleasant, and likable. Foodie but doesn't hit you over the head.

I've held onto this imp for a long time. I keep opening it, sniffing, and saying "eh" before throwing it back in my tester box. Foodies are generally a BIG YES for me, but something about this particular combination of sweet-spicy and apricot (not bad but, IMO, peach's inferior cousin) just... fails to interest me. It's sweet in a flat, uninspiring way, with the cayenne pepper adding a weird tickly factor in my sinuses. There was a minute, while this was wet on my skin, that I actually perked up a bit and enjoyed it. Very bright and cheerful! Then the drydown kicked in, and it's worse than the imp scent: generically sweet and Play-Doh-like. Not a win for me.

In the imp: a sweetly herbal tree. Smells more like a tea than a perfume. Comforting but otherwise nondescript. Rose emerges more on skin, then the drydown is a very quiet herbal rose scent.

I am testing this to wear to my OB/GYN appointment. Once the idea struck me, I was physically unable to choose any other perfume. The scent in the imp is clean, maybe even soapy skin with coconut and a soft floral note of ylang ylang. As I apply, there's an immediate, bright pop of orange blossom that passes quickly. On drydown, the effect is a a breezy, coconutty, beachy perfume. Not exciting but sometimes you just want to feel like a lady sitting on a quiet beach with a big sunhat, and this is a good one for that. I concur with the above review that this smells like an expensive coconut-scented lotion; there is a distinctly creamy tone to the scent.

Are you tired of being a person? Would you rather just be a tree? Well, you can't! But now you can smell like one! In the imp: bitter green wood, a bit harsh but not overpowering. It opens up a little on skin and becomes a gentler, "brown" tree, and the leafy note is detectable at this point. A bitter undertone remains on drydown, but it recedes very slowly until it evens out to a powdery wood scent. Very natural smelling.

In the imp, the first whiff is a bright and clear, springy lemongrass before I get the hit of heady honeysuckle and frankincense at the base. Well dang, this is nice. On skin: POW! Lemongrass and honeysuckle are a LOUD combination! I don't mind it, but they sure make themselves known. Honeysuckle comes to the front on drydown along with a fruity backdrop. Over time the base that reveals itself (first frankincense, then the barely-there wood) and lends a bit more complexity. The vibe says "traipsing around in the botanical gardens." Not my favorite of all time, but this is a pretty blend.

Copulating Mice includes a whole bunch of notes I like, so I was expecting good things and they were fulfilled! Comforting like sliding under a fuzzy blanket with a mug of hot tea-- it even comes with a little lavender sachet under your pillow. The fuzziness reminds me of Tarantula Fascinator, though this is a friendlier version IMO. I can see myself wearing this to bed for as long as my imp holds out.

Smells spicy-peppery and dry in the imp, an herb garden blooming in the desert. On my skin, I enjoy the combination of pepper and rose more than I would have guessed! It's fun. I'm smell like I have a tendency to bite. At this stage in the game (this imp is about 14 years old), the musk is very mild and smooth, not "severe" in the slightest. The blend reads as comforting and fiery at the same time. I can't explain it but something about peppers and florals always dries down with a tinge of "bubblegum" on me-- I remember the same effect in High-Strung Daisies. I'm getting that here after drydown, as it starts to fade out.

Gauzy, flowing white florals swimming through the air. No sign of the "screeching" feeling that sometimes puts me off of floral blends. At first, The Ghost smells a bit like one of those "clean cotton" or "fresh linen" candles/air fresheners, though with a more distinctly floral bent- it smells fine but doesn't interest me. However, on drydown, a grassy-green note develops that provides some depth and genuine freshness, improving the overall scent. It's much more appealing at this point, especially as the flowers unfold into a more fragrant, nuanced perfume. If you like florals but fear sharp, "high-pitched" blends, give this a try! Also definitely recommend this to anyone who likes very clean scents.

Woof. Strong smell of pickles with cigars. On skin, the vinegar lowers itself to a dull roar and the scent becomes all musk and smoke, bitter and a little sweet, too. Traditionally masculine and super comforting, like giving your dad a big hug-- it helps that mine is a cigar smoker. A very realistic old wool note shows up on drydown. Would be a nice atmo/linen scent!

Delicate sugared fruit in the imp. On skin, it's clean, stark, white carnation with just a bare hint of dessert in the back. A twist emerges on drydown, a distinctly sharp floral (the iris, I suppose). After a few hours Zarita settles down into a pleasant, spiced sweet-cream scent. The iris tipped it over from "nice enough" to a pass for me.

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This crone performs her rituals on metal countertops scrubbed with militant vigor. Musky, smoky lavender and citrus. Soothing without being soft. Unisex. On my skin it develops a nutty, green wood overtone that I, unfortunately, like less than the imp scent. Then it shifts to something like... metallic marshmallow?? Surprisingly sweet. It's hard to pin down my thoughts about this one! A lot of morphing from this oil-- an interesting scent that's worth a test, IMHO.

A soft, dark rose scent. On skin, powdery rose over a dark base of musk. I'm used to rose amping up a lot, but this rose is very demure! It's not one of those blends that disappears on skin, it's just modest, it stays close. Old-fashioned without (in my opinion) bringing to mind any dreaded old lady perfume that sometimes gets mentioned around in rose reviews. This is pleasant. If you like rose but sometimes experience it as overpowering, I highly recommend giving this one a shot.

Murky green musk that seems aquatic. Herbal but not quite a clean scent-- maybe there's a cleaning product involved, but a good while ago, as the dusty smell of age has resettled. Develops more of a citrus edge on skin and a plant-like base. This is an offbeat cologne that (fittingly) just manages to blend in. Somewhat masculine, non-obtrusive, nothing special for me.

Woody cocoa powder. Reads "cozy" but not "warm" so fuzzy is a good descriptor! On skin, the cacao has a touch of bitterness, and the base of hay keeps it from being foodie. Overall, though, this one is a gentle, chocolate-and-fruit-tinged scent. A subtle crowd-pleaser rather than a standout, in my opinion.

Well, someone likes their hot chocolate on the bitter side! Starts off as barely-sweetened cocoa powder. There's also this thick layer of something else. I suppose that would be the cream... only it smells vaguely sinister? Not how I normally think of cream... On skin: Oh, did I say barely sweetened? Any hint of sugar has fled. There's still some cocoa present, but it's gone sour. It gets softer on drydown, but S L O W L Y, so slowly, at a goddamn snail's pace The Candy Butcher becomes less bitter. And as it does, it's a little more wearable... but I'm also getting the dreaded plastic undertone. It's all just dull. As someone who unrepentantly adores foodie scents, this one is a bit of a bust. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on the original version at some point.

Our interpretation of Dolce Stil Nuovo is a blend of rose otto, carnation, vanilla flower, lavender and jasmine with the clarity of crystalline white musk and the warmth of golden amber. Comparison review: 2007 and 2011 Floral blends tend to make me nervous as they can end up smelling sharp and nearly chemical, just LOUD FLOWERS shouting on top of each other. Dolce Stil Nuovo 2007 sidesteps that neatly on first inhale, unfolding in an impressively orderly fashion: spicy carnation, cuddly lavender, a blessedly tame combination of jasmine and rose, all softened up, all playing nice. 2011 is just not as nuanced at the first sniff, jasmine stepping up and announcing itself right off the bat alongside, I suppose, a backdrop of white musk. 2007 is more jasmine-forward on skin, not my favorite note, but it stays reasonably pleasant. With 2011 on skin, a sweet, powdery amber moves up and jasmine rescinds a bit. On drydown: 2007 is pretty and sophisticated, well-mixed and mild, though there's still a little more jasmine than I'd really like. 2011 just doesn't quite works as well, it reads a bit more discordant, powdery and sharp.

A spicy, snuggly scent. Captures the "doggishness" well without being too literal. The vibe here is friendly and casual, best for flopping down on the couch with a blanket and a movie marathon.

Resin and roots and tree sap. Doesn't smell foresty, more like a young green tree. Masculine to unisex but does not strike me as "cologne-like." Pleasantly moderate in strength.

In the bottle, the combination of sweet and herbal makes me think of some indie brand of ginger ale, emphasizing that it's Made with Real Ginger! Somehow it's soft and sharp at the same time, pleasantly so. As others have suggested, the ginger fades off a lot on skin, so I mostly get sweet lavender with just a fuzzy little bump of spice in the background. Subtle, cozy.