Diva Urd

Vial: Similar to "War", probably because of the ginger-patch mix, but sharper. On: About equal parts ginger, patchouli and orange blossom. What I was hoping "War" would be like. It has a bit of sharpness, a bit of sweetness and clearly says "I can kick your butt". It softens as it dries - hopefully not as much as "War" did, though... Later: Gingery, slightly sweet patchouli. This is nice. Definitely keep the imp, maybe a bottle later.

Vial: Holy Opium, Batman! But there's something darker... probably Vetiver, judging from my experiences with that note. On: Whoa, thick and smoky. Dense, gray-black smoke. Strong, too. I don't know yet if I approve of this. Later: Smoky opium. Not bad now, but the "gray smoke" phase was a bit overwhelming.

Vial: Lime and Nectarine, nice and fruity On: Mostly lime, but the underpinnings are kinda making it a bit dusty and soapy... the non-fruity notes might clash with the fruit on me. Let's see where this is going. Later: Soap and nothing else. This wasn't meant to be. Swap.

Vial: Floral and a bit fruity On: Gardenia and something fruity-green adding a hint of zest - apple, maybe? I'm enjoying this. Turns more creamy as it dries, but stays beautifully floral Later: Slightly powdery floral. Quite pretty. I don't know whether I want more, but the imp will stay with me.

Vial: Rose with something slightly sour underneath On: Rose Rose Rose... I don't get the other notes. Shame on you, rose! Later: Rose Rose Rose. I should have known by now... Swap.

Vial: Chocolate cherries...? Definitely heavy on the chocolate/cocoa. Curiously, it doesn't strike me as foody. On: Maraschino Cherries with chocolate sauce. Holy moly. Now it smells a lot more foody than in the vial... nommy, but I don't know if I want to smell like that all day (not a big foody/gourmand perfume person). There is a minor undercurrent of something more-floral-than-foody that peeks out more and more as it dries... let's see how it develops. Later: About 3 hours later, I get a cherry-ish floral. This isn't horrible, but I still don't think it's me at all.

Vial: Sharp ginger and something creamy, with a hint of patchouli On: Almost nutty, but with a background that's both creamy (musks going powdery?) and sharp. Reminds me of marzipan. Not a lot of throw. As it dries, the creaminess turns more powdery and seems to fade into the background, and I smell something floral, probably the honeysuckle. Not bad so far. Later: This turned into slightly gingery dust shortly after complete drydown. How sad... me and War don't seem to get along.

Whenever I want to appear the way you describe, I reach for Vechernyaya: Three white musks with poppy and patchouli. It's cool and somewhat removed, yet feminine, has good staying power without bowling anyone over by mercilessly assaulting their nose and, for some reason, says to me, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Vial: Chocolate liqueur and woods. Interesting. On: Initially a blast of chocolate, then the cocoa goes into the background and lets the wine and the woods play. Later: After drydown, this smells almost like "Fenris Wolf" on me... must have something to do with the red musk in this. I wasn't all that fond of it, so I can live without this one.

Vial: Fresh, ethereal flowers and a little crisp fruit On: Exotic, dusky flowers and apple. Softens a slight bit as it dries, but does not change significantly. Later: Light, floral apple. I quite enjoy this. Don't know yet whether I'll want more, but it's a contender, especially since it never goes into powder and seems to last well even though it doesn't have huge throw.

Vial: Sweat pea and pear On: Wow, quite sweet and fruity when wet. The pear and sweet pea are the strongest notes, followed by the lilies. Ends up as a one-note sweet pea upon drydown Later: Sweet pea. Not really complex enough on me to be interested in more.

I tried the 2008 version. Vial: A sweet almond note on top, grounded by woody and green notes, most notably patchouli On: The same combo as in the vial initially, although the almond gets even stronger. Upon drydown, the almond lets up, and I am left with lots of woods. Later: A note like clove when first sniffing, which then spreads out in my nasal passages and turns into beautifully dusty woods. I quite enjoy this and might try to get a bottle if I can afford it.

Vial: Hazelnut, Coconut and floral freshness - weird, but interesting On: Lots of nuttiness with a floral background. Still very interesting, similar to the way "Black Opal" is interesting, although they aren't even close to the same scent. I probably compare the two because of the mixture of foody and non-foody notes. If it lasts for a while, this might have to become another bottle list inhabitant. Later: Still hazelnutty, with a swirl of coconut and floral in the back. Beautiful. Bottle list.

Vial: Lavender, fruity sweetness and a fresh overtone On: Lavender at the base, providing sharpness, pear in the middle and frankincense wafting from the top. Very relaxing, not extremely strong but not too weak. The scent feels purplish-green. Upon drydown, I get a woody note - possibly the ho, but I'm not sure. Later: Gone very soft after about an hour. Was sadly not interesting enough to warrant slathering. Swap.

Vial: Fruity notes over a vanilla base. Since it's a bath oil, it is weaker than your average BPAL oil. On: Fruity creaminess. Smells pleasant, but is totally not my kind of perfume. Seems a bit like a mixture of "Siren" and "Hymn to Proserpine" to me. As it dries, it loses the creaminess and is straight-up, very sweet fruit. I don't think I approve. Later: Fruity. Still surprisingly strong - but still not my case.

Vial: Oh wow... sharp, dark, woody and almost boozy. On: ... at first, the closest description that comes to mind: rotten and/or burnt Vegemite. Yeow. I must be amping Vetiver, because I don't get any patchouli, and the vetiver in this HATES me. It's close to turning my stomach. However, it stays on until complete drydown at least, dammit! Ahh... after about half an hour, the Vetiver finally calms down and I can smell patchouli, although it seems a lot more like black patchouli to me, likely due to the vetiver influence. It's still not great, though, and considering this nearly made me heave... let's see where it's going, if it doesn't start wowing me at some point, it leaves the house. Later: Still going quite strong after 2 hours, but man, I can't bring myself to like it after THAT start... swap.

Vial: Oh yeah, definitely rum, vanilla-y tonka and tobacco. On: Ewwwww, cheap liqueur! Dry dry dry to something nicer! Hm... the booze tames down a bit as it dries, but so far, it's still far from a winner. I get no leather, it's strong booze, tonka and tobacco. At complete drydown, I mainly have tonka with a slight zing... reminds me of vanilla-flavored pipe tobacco. Later: Vanilla-flavored pipe tobacco. Not my thing. Swap.

Vial: "Jolly Roger" darkened by extra patchouli On: That fresh "Jolly Roger" rum with a hint of patch and leather. Not shabby, but a bit too similar to the aforementioned for my taste right now. Later: Still a slightly darker "Jolly Roger" two hours later. I might end up swapping this, since "Jolly Roger" and "Mary Read" are enough of that particular scent family to me.

Vial: Tea and grapefruit. On: Citrus with a slightly bitter bite (but not quite grapefruit) with something sweet (cherry blossom?) and something fresh (tea!) in the background. Surprisingly, I'm not appalled - I usually don't do citrus-heavy blends. Once dry, it softens into an exotic-smelling non-floral-but-not-quite-citrussy blend. I wish I hadn't been scared of this for so long! Later: This is very faint persimmon after only two hours. Kinda sad... if this had more staying power, I might be interested in a bottle. I don't completely exclude the possibility yet - will have to see how it lasts on clothing before making the decision.

Vial: Creamy floral with a slight bit of something orangey in the background On: Quiet, creamy, rose-heavy floral with a little mandarin zest. Later: Flowery powder, similar to "Ouija" on me, but with less freshness. Gone after about four hours. I actually kinda like it, but not enough to get more.

I received a decant of this as frimp in a swap - thank you so much, kind swapper! Vial: Fresh, almost minty, tea. On: Bitter greenness and fresh tea! Reminiscent of "Nostrum Remedium", but much greener and slightly citrussy-sour, rather than slightly honey-sweetened. The tea has a bit more body, as well. Later: Tea with lemon and greenery for the longest time, and about four hours in, finally a bit of floral sweetening the mix. I quite enjoy it, however, as it really seems quite similar to "Nostrum Remedium" on me, I'll probably keep buying that rather than VC, as it is readily available. If fate threw a bottle at me, however, I wouldn't say no to it, and I'll definitely keep the imp around for a pick-me-up.

Vial: Sharp, white floral On: White roses, lilies and a little crysanthemum. I don't get any carnation. Very straightforward white floral, with surprising oomph. Let's see how long it lasts... Later: It actually lasts quite well for a scent that doesn't have a base note listed. It turns rather dusty and generic after a while though. I don't think this is interesting enough for me to want more.

Vial: Woody incense On: Patchouli, sandalwood and a few other woods, tampered by smoke. Amazing. Upon drydown, a slightly creamy note softens the still quite prevalent woodiness - I suspect it's the tonka. This is absolutely gorgeous and if it sticks around long enough, this one is gonna jump straight into my bottle list. I don't seem to get any outright leather, but hell, I don't need it, this is already wonderful enough. Later: It keeps almost all its oomph after drydown and is a mixture of woods on a warm tonka base. Bottle list for sure.

Vial: My goodness. I smell dandelion flower when it is still yellow, smoke and the bitterness of malt liqueur in the background. Impressive! On: Dandelion and hops, with a fresh, slightly bitter bite. Actually quite nice, surprisingly (I am always worried about tobacco notes, and was fearing a scent disaster from the notes quoted). Sweetens a bit more as it dries, but is still fresh and feels very original. Once dry, I get more full-fledged beer and smoke, kept in check by the fresh green weeds. Later: Turns into a brown hemp-and-tobacco scent; the dandelion and booze fade. This is quite a morpher, but might just be interesting enough to get more of. I will see as I keep using the imp.

In the imp, this is a beautiful, otherworldly floral - removed from reality by its freshness, but grounded by a hint of powder. On me, it's fresh powder, with an almost fruity undertone - apples, I'd say. Goes quite faint and more into powder as it dries... uh-oh. Later: Gone after less than an hour. Too bad, I liked it in the imp... Swap pile.