saralaughs

Upon first application, this is a very salty lime floral. The lime is strong and stays that way for a good 10-20 minutes with the salty like feeling backing it up. There is just a hint of floral at this stage but it starts to emerge and is beautiful. Probably orchid, pikake, and perhaps tubersose. Maybe lily of the valley? I dunno but I get a bit of a lily-ish vibe here. Very white feeling and almost waxy floral that doesn't smell waxy, if you know what I mean? The lime and 'salt' retreat to the background and kind of hold down the floral aspect, keeping it from running into complete 'heady floral' territory. Beautiful sea spray-ish floral, very summery and cooling.

I wore Antique Lace mixed with some Hanami. Now, though? I would wear Parker Lily.

Sweet honey, rich (yet clean) vanilla, and a bit of amber. The honey is sweet yet a 'clear, golden' honey, not the richly amber one that is in Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand or the released version of O. Very pure smelling on me with a beautiful floralish backnote coming through. Beautiful.

Sweet, realistic, juicy plum. Freakin' yum. A darker plum than Sugar Plum Fairy and mulling spices, perhaps. The spice isn't really overpowering and is very beautiful. I'm not a 'in your face' spice gal and this is perfect. I do not detect any sandalwood here but maybe a bit of patchouli to ground the very sweet plums and spices. Lovely and glad I have a bottle.

The mandarin is really nice in this one. Super realistic and juicy, it adds a totally different vibe to the orange flower/blossom in here. A very smooth floral that is sweet and in no way overpowering or powdery, the amber is a bit creamy and glows in this. Very pretty and definitely feminine.

COFFEE. And MORE COFFEE. With sugar. Maybe two lumps, or three perhaps. Nicely sweetened with a hint of cream. Maybe hazelnut cream? And a hint of cocoa beans, but that really only heightens the scent of COFFEE. Beautiful and really strong and more complex as it dries. A bit of a musky sassafras note comes out into the drydown and mixes unbelievably well with the sugary coffee and bit of cream. Even more beautiful than when I first put it on.

First applied, this is lemon sugar. As in you just took a fresh cut lemon and dipped it into sugar. Quickly, a floral note asserts itself. I'm guessing sweet pea but I could be wrong and it's possible it could be actual lemon blossom itself. Still sweet with the sugar and lemon, I do not get any cake with this but it is creamy-like so maybe some of that or perhaps a bit of vanilla. This is really nice but totally different than the released version, which I love.

Very coconutty upon first application. V2 is much more subdued with added lavendar (doesn't seem like French Lavendar to me as it isn't too sharp or herbal) and coconut. The citrus is much more toned down in this, which I prefer. The tea, musk, and a bit of a vanillic quality round this blend out beautifully. Love it.

v3 starts out very citrusy on me. It's very sharp and tea-ish as well. The lemon does calm down and is joined by a vanillic musk with a tinge of coconut. Sweet, delightful but the citrus is a bit bothersome for me.

Why do I have to like florals?! WHY? And why must every other lily I've tried go to soap on me but this? WHY? This is beautiful. Not gorgeous or hawt or pretty or cute but hauntingly BEAUTIFUL. Lily and green stem, realistic and sweet smelling but not sugary. A bit of honey (like the honey in Ov5 or Half Elf v5, but NOT O or Autumn Moon on the Mirror Stand) with some musk (possibly brown and red, definitely not black or white though). It's clean and fresh, sweet and warm. Gah. LOVE.

Honestly, it could be Hermia. Age can do glorious things to a blend and perhaps you got your hands on some aged Hermia. The only advice I can give is to search out another imp and see.

This is very beautiful and just wholly evocative of the concept. Lovely, dark berry-ish red wine sweetened with honey and vanilla. The spices only enhance how sweet this is instead of overpowering the blend. Very well blended and warm smelling.

Minty, piney BO. Seriously. I even checked to make sure I put on deo this morning, it's so realistic.

Musky vanilla sandalwood. I almost smell sassafras but nothing like what is in Anti-Saloon League or Phyllocrania Paradoxa v1, just a mild, almost spice smell that makes you think 'What IS that?' in a good way. Lovely and I'm glad I got to try it but I won't hurt myself by looking for more, although I wouldn't say no to it, either.

Orange. A nice, light orange that isn't bitter but is very nice and juicy smelling. Rich frosting. After initial application though, the citrus turns a bit on me, like most do and smells a bit sour.

A very pretty floral, definitely a lily-based floral with something a bit more tropical feeling. Perhaps a stargazer? Anyway, this goes on very much a sharp, soapy floral. It's strong and very kinda screamy. What happens to that in drydown is amazing. The floral element is still a bit soapy but gets less and less so over time; it becomes this light, almost intangible thing that holds together the vanilla like background that emerges to take over the blend. It's a bit musky but not really. It's also a bit resiny but again, not really. Very pretty, delicate, and light. White light.

I have to agree with the above on this. It's a light, dry sandalwood on me that is a bit creamy but mainly dry. It is sharp, with a floral element that drives it into dry powder for me. The vanilla, if there is any in this blend, is very, very light and barely adds to the perception of 'creamy' to the sandalwood. Very refined though and light/airy feeling but without any warmth to me. That is the big difference in v2 and v3 to me. ETA: The floral in both v2 and v3 is CARNATION! I have no idea why I didn't know that but I tested them side by side yesterday after I had just worn Hod the other day. OMG. DUH! V2 is definitely the drier of the two; less creamy with the carnation note popping out on drydown. It's a pink carnation as well; not deep red or anything as the floral element is a bit more creamy instead of spice yet it does still add a bit of a spice element to it, you know that almost clove effect? Yeah.

Very powdery, soapy floral with a bit of wood or something in the background. Not good on my skin.

This is very sweet, almost honeyed baby powder on me. There is definitely a floral note there that is 'behind' the powder, jasmine perhaps? And a slight bit of wood or sandalwood. Very dry as well as sweet and powder-ish. Clean, too. ETA: Now that I have my own bottle, I can tell you that the floral note in here reminds me of night-blooming jasmine. There may be rose in this but it's way, way in the background. So much so you can't really tell it's there...so maybe it isn't. This is a heady, tropical fuzzy floral note. Maybe ylang? Anyway, beautiful!

I feel like this should be titled 'The Life of an Orange; Backward' First application is bitter orange; the zest. But that quickly goes away and is replaced by the juicy and it's not just oranges but mandarin. YUM. Juicy smelling and realistic, it's about the only kind of citrus I look forward to in blends. This is really the star for a bit and then it softly and slowing transforms into this glorious blossom. OMG. I love orange blossom. It's beautiful and heady and light and fresh and just floral enough. This is the note I get in Ravenous. ETA: I wore Ravenous today and it is dead-on to the orange blossom in this. Those that can't get Orange should definitely give that a go. Just beautiful. And a huge thanks to the lovely (crazy bitch) lady who sent me this.

Intial application is all white mint. The absinthe does peek out and doubles the astringent power of the mint, making it almost cleaner-ish. Very clean smelling thanks to the absinthe and mint, which I'm finding is a very nice note. I usually do not like mint but maybe white mint is different for me just like white rose. The vanilla is very soft and not at all strong but more of a cream smelling. I think this would be a good one for mint vanilla lovers to buy now and age.

First application, I get woods; teak and maybe oak? I'm unsure but they are very smooth. For some reason, I smell leather in this but it's very light, not at all the strong chemically leather that I am familiar with. I think that the leather that I percieve to be there may not be and is just the combined patch in this mixing with the woods. This reminds me of how I thought Spanked would smell like. Woods, a bit of leather, glorious patchouli that is slightly sweet and herbal with a bit of vanilla and spice. It's bold and assertive but not aggresive at all. Seemlessly blended and lovely.

Immediately after application, it's very creamy lemon. I do not get any of the blueberry at all. At one point it was almost edging into 'lemon cleaner' territory but it shied away from that. I get a burst of butter as well. Not so much the crust but butter. The butter calms down but is still there. Turns out to be a very creamy, fluffy-like lemon with a bit of something (hemlock maybe) in the background to keep it from being OMG FOODY. Like it a lot and this tells me not to be afraid of the hemlock anymore. May get a bottle.

Thunder & Blazes reminds me of how a rodeo clown would smell, which I think was Beth's intent. Dirt, sweet grass, a little leather, and I get a hint of apple? Must be the dragon's blood on me in this. Anyway, this is mainly sweet grass and dirt with that hint of leather way in the back. If you're a dirt lover, you need this.

OMGWTFBBQSAUCE!! No, I'm being serious. This is BBQ sauce on me. This is the kind of honey that was/is in Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand. Unfortunately, that honey (with the addition of mayhap a bit of spice) turns to BBQ Sauce on me. Slather me and stick me on a damn spit because DAMN. It smells like good BBQ Sauce but still... IMO (and definitely compared to Ov5), this is a very sweet, cloying, heavy honey. Definitely sweet and sticky. There may be some amber in here as well but I doubt it. I agree with the bit of tea assesment though. And maybe, just a bit, of carnation. If you can't tell already, this is not for me.