Northernminx

The dreaded lemon makes an appearance here so I'm a bit terrified of this blend...

 

still, onward the intrepid scent whore presses!

 

A sharp green herbal, citrus tang beneath it. This doesn't turn into pledge on me like most lemony things do (Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay) but there is a definite citrus sharpness to this. Roseemary and bergamot are keeping this very green, but the narcissus and iris are adding something just a touch softer. This is somehow gender neutral and while I'm wearing it without a problem I can picture my boyfriend wearing it equally well. Refreshing, clean and green, though I'm going to wait to decide if I'm keeping it. It's lovely but I don't picture myself wearing it often.

Primarily peach on application this smooths out with a solid dose of amber, smooth and elegant. This is feminine without being overly floral, although the jonquil and other flowers make an apparance as this dries down. There is very little vertiver showing up in this, something that is more stiff and grounding, giving this a backbone along with the florals. Feminine but packs a punch!

Lots of incensey resin and spice to this, dark and warm and bright without being "sunny yellow." As this dried down I got a lot of amber and then clove. This was a little too incensey for keeping but it was fun to try.

I was very surprised I liked this as much as I did usually civet is not so nice and vertiver hates me. This was actually surprisingly earthy and light in the bottle and the anise was the most prominant on me, making this a little sweet. It had a dangerous, mysterious edge to it though that was definitly unsettling. Very much a sweet, luring scent with something darker beneath it.

Almost anything perfumey has the chance to attract bugs however after a week of no hair products, it seems like the hair products have been more the culprit for me than the BPAL. I've not really noticed anymore bug issues wearing BPAL than not EXCEPT for Dana O Shee which had a small flock of bees attracted to me one time. However they were also attracted to half the yard.

 

Well that was vague and useless

Lots of sandalwood, sweet, dry and faintly herbal and powdery. This was lovely and light and delicate, very befitting its name, but white sandalwood tends to be sweeter than I really like on me and so this one isn't really me. Off to swaps.

Herbal and green in the bottle, this wasn't as floral as I expected on me. It was a very smokey, green scent on my skin. Initially there's a burst of anise/licorice that fades off into a sort of subtle floral underneath a lot of green herbs. Lovely and refreshing and a bit mysterious.

Sweetpea is predominant in the bottle but the sage is a front runner on me at application. This is herbal, clear, clean and very wet spring morning in the woods. As this dries down the sweet pea comes into play, but I can't really classify this as floral though it did seem feminine to me. The tonka wasn't very present until the very end where it makes for a sort of vanilla floral combination that's just lovely.

In the bottle: Sweet pine. Wha?

On me: No more pine thankfully (guess my nose is just wierd today) this turned into a clean, bright floral with a lot of sweetness but not a lot of floral. Very reminiscent of fresh spring air off a meadow rather than white flowers. The predominant notes were the lillies, but they were very light and not at all powdery or overwhelming. The sage started to peek in towards the end and left a nice clean herbal smell behind on my skin. Very pretty!

Lupa was kind enough to get me a bottle of this from Alternate Realities in Rhodes Island and I'm so very happy she did.

 

I'm reviewing the scent first as I've yet to try using this in anything.

 

This is gorgeous, light, cooling, very green and a faintly sweet aquatic. It reminds me very much of blue moon, but a little stronger, a little more mysterious and powerful.. Calming, and lovely.

 

ETA: Ritually (yah I finally had a chance to use this) I've used this in centering and ritual and meditation preparation. I usually annoit the four quarters of my space and this worked wonderfully in setting up a calming, centered, guarded area. Definitely in love with how this one smells AND works.

I had such high hopes for this that my chemistry rather crushed. it's gorgeous, rum filled and sultry in the bottle and while there's a touch of bay rum and yummy sticky exotic goodness, something in this quickly turns to powder on me. so sad.

Leanan Sidhe sadly didn't last very long on me. This was a pale, soft fresh herbally floral, not white flowers, but soft dew covered pink ones and fresh hair. It was refreshing and pretty without being overpowering and was soft and feminine. Sadly it didn't last very long on me at all so off to swaps.

Tons of dark green pine, a little brighter than Black Forest was on me, which was a pleasant surprise. Deep green woods and dark earth, this was like wearing a christmas tree for the first ten or fifteen minutes. As it dries down I get a rich berry scent, and then that's gone as well. Now I can barely detect anything, just a touch of earth and moss. It's kind of creepy, like something visited me out of the woods and left just a trace behind.

 

Complex and interesting and I love the scents, but it's not quite me so off it goes to swaps (still very glad I tried it)

I was expecting something with a lot more oomph from this, something a lot less fresh and light. Not that I'm complaining this is a gorgeous scent, jasmine, tangerine, and carnation being the most identifiable notes on me. The Jasmine was veeeery prevalant at first but has calmed down, leaving this a faintly spiced, clear floral. Very pretty!

I'm rarely an insomniac but this week, thanks to the house being unnervingly quiet and my mattress wearing out, I've been having a wretched time sleeping. The other Dream Formula's haven't done much for me but i've yet to get over the smell of some of them to try them properly so I can't blame the oils.

 

I dabbed Somnus on yesterday and was surprised at how herbal and strong it was. It dried down quickly though, leaving a lavender and herbal smell that I loved and was very soothing. This stayed on all night, but I wasn't awake to notice as once I fell asleep I was out like the proverbial light. Attribute this to whatever you like, but it works for me and since it's so clean and soothing a scent, on the big bottle list it goes.

covet covet covet... oh am I getting a 5ml of this. I agree with the comments that silk road is complex and so well blended that I've not a hope in Hades of picking out the scents. It reminds me strongly of a milder sweeter version of India Bouquet, which I adored and was quite sad to see go. This starts off rather woody and herbal but soon sweetens with a touch of cinnamon and spices that I can't begin to define.

 

It's not a sweet scent persay, although it is nice and light on me, but rather softly exotic, the silk covered interior of a wagon train from the east where the spices and dust and cool shadows are protecting you from the scorching sun outside.

 

Gorgeous.

Sad sad sad, as I love mint juleps and this smelled amazing, boozy with a touch of mint and sweetness, in the vial. Sadly it just doesn't work with my chemistry and something in this turns into baby powder.

 

Oh well, off it goes I guess.

 

(still sad!)

Gorgeous and clean and smooth. This is butterscotch in the bottle, as has been noted, but that fades almost immediately on application. There's a faint sweetened cream touch to this with a very very light and soft floral beneath it. Gentle, pure, and soothing, This was absolutely wonderful and perfect for todays bright spring weather.

There is a certain dusty, soft worn leather smell from a tack room, just a touch sweet and salty with sweat... it's the same scent when you press your nose into a man's neck when he's wearing a beat up leather bomber jacket.

 

 

This is that scent bottled. Like it?

 

I cannot decide if I need to keep this or give it to Jake but I think I need to go find another bottle. Now. Because my nose is attached to my wrist and I refuse to move it.

 

Wow.

Wow.

 

A little berry fruity in the bottle, this utterly surprised me as I was expecting, by now, a lot of flowery notes.

 

This was warm,a ctually vibrant, glowing warm (I've no other way to describe it) with a faint cherry/berry undertone and lots of...well I don't know. It's frankly so well blended that I can't pick much out note wise. There is a touch of floral but it's rich, spicey warm florals, hot house forced orchids or jasmine. Rich and warm and glowing and decadant. I love this.

Rich, spicey, and so thick you can almost feel it in the air. This was heady and sensual without being overly feminine. Definitely lust in a bottle. I’d love to be able to wear this more but I find it just a little too … present… to consider as a general scent though I may keep an imp handy for stay in bed with the boyfriend days.

One of the few oils I’ve ever had to wash off, this was all that weird herb in Highwayman that kills me. Something in my chemistry makes this turn into a sort of sour icky diaper smell so while that nice smokiness in the bottle is lovely, on me, not so much.

Vanilla, but not the rich golden sort from Snake oil. This was light, aged, fading vanilla and a touch of dust and my grandmother’s perfume. Pretty and nostalgic but not really something I wanted to smell like, this would have made a nice room scent in my mind as my skin made it go a little plasticy at the end.

Lemon pledge. I can’t say much more as my chemistry did the weird thing again and I never got anything else. Sigh. Oh well. Short and sweet review because when my skin does this, there's not much else to say.

This is the first time Dragon’s Blood has smelled properly spicey on me. Lots of sweet resiny spice, a touch of myrhh and a little clove. I only got cherry out of this in the vial so it’s now a heady, sweet and spicey blend that’s pretty much guaranteed to make my boyfriend chew on my neck for a while. Mmm nummy and quite likely a keeper.