storme

In the imp: citrus and lavender, sweet and jammy and rather good. On me, wet: lots of sweet, sugared lavender and fizzy citrus. This is very chirpy as a scent - the cat is alive, and very very playful. On me, dry: This is quite light now, but still has that bright, sweet tangy citrus/lavender to the exclusion of all else. Verdict: Keeping the imp, certainly, and I see other folks get different reactions each time so I'm sure I'll be retrying it again.

In the imp: wow, fruitier than I expected, with a muskier warmth underneath. On me, wet: dark, rich fruits with a musky rich earthiness beaneath. Very delicious. On me, dry: everything seems to take a turn at centre stage before it all calms and merges into a rich, dark, floral-fruit-musk-earth. Verdict: mm, very nice, and the SO approves too - glad I managed to get a bottle of this!

In the imp: peppermint creams. oh god, that's delicious. On me, wet: I'm not a big Snake Oil fan, but somehow with the mint - well, it's just drinkably gorgeous, a voluptuous, sinuous sweet mint slithering around my sinuses. On me, dry: the mint cools down a little and lets the citrus out to play a bit, but mostly it remains a brightly sweet mint sensation and the citrus is just a tinge of lightness. Verdict: I was longing to try this, since I'm a sucker for minty scents, and my instincts were correct - it's utterly ravishable. Mmmmm.

In the imp: wow, powdery lemon and - is that cotton blossom? very fetching. On me, wet: this is very like Enraged Bunny Musk, that pretty powder (I say as someone who hates powdery scents otherwise) and lemon and general flounciness. On me, dry: hmm, it's turned a little soapy on me, but that lemon and girly powder are stilll there being all cute and quietly feisty - they're just extra-well-washed now. Verdict: I'll keep my imp around, I guess, but I don't think it'll replace the Bunny for when I want this sort of frilly powder scent.

In the imp: a fresh, bright, almost ozone-ish floral. On me, wet: yup, still bright and green and sort of ozone-y, with a breath of a soft musk. It's just verging on soapiness, though. On me, dry: this reminds me of a dry cleaning product, talc or soap powder or something, and very faint. Clean, I guess, but not much else. Verdict: Pass - not really what I want from a scent.

Pale musk, green mandarin, neroli, benzoin, citrus peel, blue lavender, narcissus, stephanotis, crushed green stems, willow branch and cedar. In the imp: very green and herbal, with a jag of lavender and neroli too. On me, wet: oooh, that warmed up nicely on my skin, sweetening and softening and smoothing out to a beautiful creamy floral. Beautiful. On me, dry: Hmm, and the citrus and the woods have really come forward, but wit the greenery and floral it smells a bit.. false, I guess. Verdict: doesn't quite gel into a scent I'd wear, and the SO didn't like it either.

In the imp: dark, boozy chocolate, very rich and heady. On me, wet: wait, where'd all that richness go? it's stripped right back to light, sweet perfumey florals on my skin. On me, dry: urgh. those sweet florals and a powdery honey note and some heavy booziness lurking beneath. Verdict: No, this is not good on me, I think I shall go scrub this off before the booze really turns my stomach.

In the imp: a sticky, dark, herbal resin blend. Hmm. On me, wet: a dark, spicy, herbal resin. It's sort of smoky and pungent, but in a sexy way. On me, dry: Ye gods this has quite the throw. A smooth, mellow, dark-wood-and resin blend with a touch of spice and musk and pepper around the edges. Verdict: This is lovely - but my SO probably won't go near the stuff, and it's a bit butch for me personally to wear.

In the imp: cassia and red musk swamping everything else - pleasing but hmmmm. On me, wet: red musk makes me giddy as a note, and cassia is good too, so this is all good, even if the other notes are more or less absent. On me, dry: ah, there's the lemon peel and mango, sort of cutting sharply through the haze of musk and spice. I'm not sure it works, though - I think I'd rather have the pure cassia/musk. Verdict: Hmm, I already have Blood Moon, and I think that's more what I would want from this sort of thing. If I didn't, though...

In the imp: fresh misty greenery and herbal notes. On me, wet: soapy wet greenery and shampoo-ish florals. Dammit. On me, dry: yup, all soap and shampoo - florals and herbs and aquatics, I guess, but my nose just reads it as soap. Verdict: I think I'll pass, probably unsurprisingly.

In the imp: hmm, a sweet, slightly creamy floral. On me, wet: Slightly lily-ish and with a weird, powdery store-perume note hanging around. On me, dry: s soft, sweet creamy almost-lily-ish note. But fading very fast. Verdict: Rather pretty, if a bit gentle and faint for my taste.

In the imp: hmm, lots of vetiver and sandalwood - very masculine-smelling. On me, wet: Somehow it's almost aquatic and cologney, with woods and vetiver amping up the butchness behind it. On me, dry: All men's cologne, all the time. Nice enough, but really - a men's cologne. Verdict: Well, no, not really worth keeping around since I have plenty of masculine BPAL scents I'd rather slather on the SO.

In the imp: sweet, soft roses and a jumble of other florals. On me, wet: whoops, something is going soapy here. I think it's a jasmine-ish soap, and it's blocking out most of the other notes. Grf. On me, dry: powder, plastic, soap and spices. I can detect a hint of some other florals but they're mostly lost in the mix. Verdict: Alas. Stupid skin chemistry.

(whoops, inadvertently reviewed A Great Cry In Egypt here instead - edited to put in the right review) In the imp: smells like cola spilled on sandalwood. How peculiar. On me, wet: yup, still coca-cola, but this time with hot resins and musk behind it. On me, dry: ah, the cola note's gone - it's all dry, dusty hot incense and woods now, drizzled in musk and a cloying sweetness. Verdict: I like it more than I thought from the notes, but I think that sweet-dusty combination is going to mean I pass on this one.

In the imp: sharp, powdery ick. Wow is that not what I expected. On me, wet: ew ew ew. A bit like powdered candied violets gone off. Not good. On me, dry: Still sort of violetish - and very powdery and sweet-sharp. And giving me a headache. Verdict: No, no, a thousand times no.

In the imp: hmm. warm amber and heliotrope, and maybe a hint of lavender. On me, wet: mrf, a powdery tang emerges immediately - there's probably some honey in this blend - over the amber. On me, dry: this has a lot of throw - alas, it's that baby-powdery note with warm amber behind it, not anything more appealing. TAL purposes: well, I wore this to an interview which I apparently aced, and was very up and positive about. Though I was self-conscious of smelling powdery at the same time. Verdict: well, no, I don't think I'll keep this.

In the imp: fruity sweet honeyed apricot and orange. On me, wet: oh, yuck, this went foul as it hit my skin - the honey went powdery, and the fruit went rotten On me, dry: mrgh, no, the notes in this combine into a nasty rotten fruit smell and even the frantic hints of gardenia attempting to break free don't lighten it enough. Verdict: pass - it hates my skin chemistry.

In the imp: mm, cakey! and a cheesecake tang, which is a little offputting with the sweetness but we shall see. On me, wet: lots of red, moist, berrylicious vanilla sponge cake. On me, dry: mm, vanilla and cake. Man, that is very foody and sweet - it reminds me of Eat Me, but less berryish. Verdict: I'm glad I got to try this, and it's quite nice, but I am unlikely to ever wear it.

In the imp: limey lemongrassy brightness softened by mint. On me, wet: sharp sharp bright citrus. On me, dry: sharp, almost sweet candy-citrus with a breath of soft powdery mint behind it. Verdict: this is fairly refreshing - I'm not sure it's helping focus my thoughts, but it might not hurt. A keeper.

In the imp: very perfumey, and slightly soapy. On me, wet: quite soapy now - I sense a little lavender in here, and maybe some lily. On me, dry: okay, well at least it's stopped being soapy. Now it's very light, and what's there is sort of sharp and sour with a shimmer of champagne desperately trying to glam it up. Verdict: Alas, not a keeper for me. I think I will rely on Nihil for my perfumey scents!

In the imp: a sweet, wet, fruity aquatic. On me, wet: lots of juicy, dark fruits and aquatics, with a musky, spicy floral in there too. This is a complex scent on my skin. On me, dry: musky spiciness - is there spicy carnation in here? - and a sort of plummy tang. Gosh, this is awesome - and hard to come by, naturally. Verdict: Oh, I think I'll be keeping my half-imp.

In the imp: sharp metallic tangy ozone. Wow, that's a bright, airy scent. On me, wet: mm, river-wetted rocks, smooth and cold, with a bright breeze over the top. Very clean and very ozoney. On me, dry: ozone and wet rock. Sitting by a stream in the shade on a summer's day, with washing drying on a line nearby. Verdict: this is rather lovely, but I like ozone scents. I never wear them, though, so I'll probably trade it so someone else gets a chance to try it.

In the imp: lots of white florals, slightly sharpened by sappy greenness. On me, wet: lots and lots of white florals, very heavy, heady and slighty soap-tinged. Hrm. On me, dry: very heavy white florals, in the soapy, waxy sort of sense. Blerf, I was hoping for something crisper and brighter to emerge. Verdict: Nah, this one didn't go in the direction I wanted it to go. Not a keeper for me.

In the imp: very sharp and manly - bitter lavender and citrus reined in by a hint of warm amber. On me, wet: that lavender now smells a little soapy, but that amber is working away to make it sexier - every sniff is better and more masculine. On me, dry: mmm. This is very nice indeed - lavender and amber and yumminess. Very much a scent for a man with plenty of confidence and rakish charm. Verdict: my only complain is that this is perhaps a little close to a commercial cologne sort of scent. But it's deeper and more mischievous that those. The imp is staying.

In the imp: lots and lots of strong, crisp citrusy neroli. Possibly a *hint* of other florals too. On me, wet: sweet vanilla and sappy green carnation coming out strongly to mingle with the neroli, but it's still a bit kitchen-cleanser-ish. On me, dry: hunh, this is weird. lots of mingled florals (primarily neroli, but the sweet pea is pretty assertive too) drizzled in vanilla syrup. Verdict: this is very much not my style, and the wet phase is really offputting. Not a keeper.