batsy

In the vial: Musky, clean, with a whiff of sweetness. Promising! On the skin: My skin amps patchouli. Actually, it's kind of playing the patchouli against the orchid and musk. It's very soft, yet I could smell this on a guy. That might be because of the juniper berries.

Earth sorceress and mother of Mordred, she is, in essence, the harbinger of King Arthur's doom and the downfall of Camelot. She is a sister, or sister-self, to Morgan Le Fay. A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses. In the vial: Incense with a hint of purple fruity-ness. On the skin: Oh there's the violet. At first I was thinking 'plum?' but it's violet. It's very much a floral; I've already lost the incense. All flowers and violet. Oh well. It's pretty in its own way.

In the vial: White resins. I know that sounds odd. On the skin: It's almost a citrus, faintly lemon. It's a floral, but very light. It's turning to furniture polish on me, unfortunately.

In the vial: I think the sweetness is the narcissus. Kind of sweet and dark. On the skin: It's hard to describe accurately. It's dark and clingy. More of a floral on me; the narcissus is amped. Not bad.

In the vial: ...I'm not going to repeat what just came to mind. Not promising. On the skin: Yipe. The carnation, bergamot, and vetiver are seriously killing me. This is seriously not for me.

In the vial: Lilac, berries, and gardenia. A good mix. On the skin: Holy cow, my skin just amped the gardenia to 11! I'm not getting anything else. Okay, as it dried down, I'm not sure what happened but it wasn't good. Again, strange memories associated with scents happened. Dang. Oh well, it's a good gardenia scent!

In the vial: The smell of the children's cold medicine I used to take as a child? What? *stares at the imp* Wow... On the skin: Well, huh. If I push hard enough past horrible medication-related memories, I get fruit. There's a whiff of amber, but it's really just a bunch of fruits. Unfortunately, all I can think of is that junk they gave me to take, so I won't be keeping this. I hate when this happens! Eep.

In the imp: Definietly got the frankincense going on. Kind of dark and dry like smoke, too. On the skin: Oh, that's rosemary. A very dry, woodsy/earthy mix. I'm sure the hyssop and oakmoss are what's making my eyes water. After the dry down it went all patchouli on me. Meh.

In the bottle: Fruity patchouli. It sounds hilarious but it smells delicious. I think I picked both of the "fruit" bats. (Virtue being the other.) I think the heliotrope is a little stronger on second sniff. On the skin: I'm deducing that's bergamot. It's the strongest, battling with the heliotrope. On the dry down the blackberry comes out, very subtle like berries in the sun. It's quite a blend going on. Then it morphs into patchouli and I'm not sure I'd wear this much. Still a lovely scent for a little bat.

In the bottle: Strawberries. It reminds me a little of the My Little Ponies that were "fruit scented". It's got a tinge of plastic-ness to it, but it's not terrible. Just overwhelmingly strawberry. (Irony for someone who is woefully allergic to fresh strawberries.) On the skin: To be honest, it smells like delicious strawberry freezer jam, the kind my dad's sister made when I was a kid. It's deeper then straight strawberry, and I'm pretty sure that's because of the rose/huckleberry. It has a similar rose component to The Unheavenly City, which I love. The dry down brings out the frankincense but overall it morphs into such a lovely scent. A very beautiful little bat!

I bought this based on reviews that it was akin to Snake Oil/Snake Charmer. I also love orange blossom and amber, so it was a done deal. In the bottle: Well, it's so faint for me I didn't get much from sniffing just the bottle. Faint amber, a little whiff of vanilla. On the skin: Where as Snake Charmer is dark, Khrysee is light. The same spice, the same exotic notes. A very feminine blend. Unfortunately it's also very faint on me so I'm going to have to slather it on. For a minute it was a bit Fruit Loop-y but I think that's just the vanilla amber. A golden, faintly orange winner of a scent. Boy am I glad I got a backup bottle.

In the vial: Violets and lilac. Very purple. On the skin: Still very purple. It's a light scent on my skin so it's hard to get a hold on the notes. It actually invokes images of a real violet ray, at least what I remember about them. Very pretty in a sci-fi, fringe science way. It's just musky/floral enough, a nice balance.

In the vial: Blood red oranges. Yum, this is promising. On the skin: Very orangey. Like orange juice splashed on your skin. The orange really stays with me, even though the red patchouli is trying to come out and play. I'm not usually a fan of patchouli (although I love Czernobog) but I think I could learn to like red patchouli. And I love orange (Hunger is one of my favorites; Ravenous is a lot lighter) so I think I've found another scent to really love. Hooray for orange!

In the vial: Cloying honey floral. On the skin: Yikes! Whatever's in the blend doesn't like me. Way over powering, way cloying, I can't even hold my wrist close enough to sniff I can't handle it. Yipes!

In the vial: Kind of a low-powered spice. Not anything to distinguish what was what. On the skin: Ow. Now it's kind of burning my skin. That's got to be some strong cinnamon. The cassia, tea leaf and tobacco are all there as well. But it just smells...wrong. All spices I like on their own but mixed together they don't work well on me. Too bad.

I'm quite excited to try this, as it was a frimp from the Lab with my order. I didn't think I'd ever try this collection. In the vial: Lemon Pledge but with a metallic tang. And a heavy dose of sage. On the skin: Yow, way too much sage for me. I barely get much else, except lemons and benzoin. On the dry down the frankincense was stronger then the sage and it had kind of a dusty smell, making the back of my throat burn. As intriguing as it sounded, and as interesting for what it triggers for mental images (I don't know why I'm thinking of the time-traveling train from the 3rd Back to the Future movie but I am) I just doesn't work for me.

In the vial: Exotic herbs and sandalwood. And berries, but I think that's the iris. On the skin: Whoa, loads of sandalwood. And heavy on the iris. It's quite overpowering on my skin. I can see the appeal for all who love Egypt and sandalwood. The iris is making my eyes water, unfortunately. Pretty, but not for me.

In the vial: Lavender. Watery. On the skin: Ozone-musky-lavender water. It's actually a pretty blend, especially if you like lavender. I could see this being something used for bed time to relax with.

In the vial: A cheap motel room scented with artificial coconut. Oh lord, that's not even one of the notes. On the skin: I'm sure the black palm is the culprit. And his accomplice fig, which never likes me. It's honestly a nice blend, with the woods and the palm plays nicely with the cocoa (I have bad luck with cocoa/chocolate blends usually) and it smells very exotic. I actually like it after the dry down, which surprises me. I think I'll keep the imp and give it another whirl.

In the vial: Yow. On the skin: I don't know what that is... I'm thinking it's the juniper. It honestly smells like hand lotion on me (which ironic, because of the name) and I'm pretty sure my skin just throws back the rosewood, lilac and the juniper. None of which are notes I like. I'm not sure I'd even like this on a guy. It is masculine, though, if you're looking for a guy scent. Bleh, juniper.

In the vial: Sugary sweet vanilla. Very simple. Kind of like a subdued Midway. On the skin: Oh I like this one. The musks are a nice blend and the hint of darkness compliments the sugary sweet nicely. This might require a bottle, for the days I want to feel girlie. And it hasn't gone wonky on the dry down, which gives it another plus in my book! Very simple beautiful blend!

In the vial: Earthy sweet, if that makes any sense. Like fresh dirt that's just been dug up but is more on the dry side. On the skin: Yargh! I have no idea how to describe my reaction to this one. It smells dirty. In a not good way. I don't get any apricot, just ugly dirt smell. Invoking weird memories of a friend of my father's farm. No, must go wash this off.

In the vial: Green, gigantic Rhododendrons in the sun. Basically my parents' yard. On the skin: Serious floral. While that's fine, I'm just not into florals. It's also definitely an aquatic floral; all flowers wet from dew or a spring rain. Can't say I'm familiar with bellflowers, so I'm guessing that's what that note is. Pretty, but too wet and flowery for my tastes.

I just missed the original Snake Charmer, so here's my chance. Snake Charmer Resurrected 2008: In the bottle: Dark, reminds me of one of my favorites, Czernobog. A whiff of amber and spice. On the skin: Very exotic! All dark spice, makes me wanna go watch belly dancers charming snakes. On the dry down it's all dark. I believe that's the benzoin, all smokey. I can see what the fuss is all about!

In the bottle: Orange glazed yellow cake. Oh yum! On the skin: Just the same, actually. It's a true orange scent, with the rich orange-y goodness that is orange frosting. A hint of vanilla, with a touch of anise that deepens it. I am in love. It's like an orange version of Beaver Moon, minus the cheesecake. Boy am I glad I bought two bottles of this! My favorite of the 2008 Hallowe'enies! *tries to eat arm*