anomie

Bottle: Very discordant: something smoky - maybe the tonka? - and a hint of citrus behind it. Wet: Oh hey jasmine and grapefruit! Where were you guys hiding? Dry: Floral and citrus. It doesn't smell particularly interesting, unfortunately.

Bottle: creamy sugar goodness! A hint of booze; in the bottle it reminds me of Underpants. Wet: It smells like eggnog. Rich and creamy and eggy and delicious. I can smell the nutmeg, too. Dry: Weird, sort of a nutty note as it's drying down. But it's still om nom nom.

Bottle: Green and somewhat astringent. Maybe it's supposed to be the mists but there's something that's hitting me in the back of the nose. But not in a bad way. Wet: Evanescent. Definitely herbal, but I don't know if I'm getting any specific herbs out of it. And it's very weak. Dry: Wet, green, definitely evoking a walk across the hills at night.

In bottle: Rose! And a dustiness that I'm not sure whether it's coming from the rose or the black currant, a scent I always identify as musty. Wet: Whoa, where did the black cherry come from? It's morphing quite quickly - there's the carnation, and the rose is moving into the background a little. And honey. I hope this doesn't go ick on me as honey often does. Dry: Rose, honey, dustiness... it's actually quite lovely.

All right, my nose seems to have recovered from this latest hell-cold, so let's give this a review a whirl. In the bottle it's just overpowering wet purple lavender. Like when the flowers are fresh, not dried out. As it settles down I get sweetness, vanilla and powder and a little roundness. Once it dries down? Musks and incense, but in a wonderfully sweet and light way. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. Definitely a keeper.

Bottle: Whoa. Amber and honey, I think? Aggressively warm and sweet. Wet: Spicy, weirdly. Dry: OM NOM NOM it's like Sugar-Slathered Candy Apple's big sister, who is all tarted up and ready to kick ass and take names. I think I need a backup, if only because this is one of the few scents where honey does not go Evil on me.

In the bottle: very dark, with the musk and the woods and the blackcurrant coming out. Wet: Sugar, and there's the rose and the violet. And still a dusty note that I think has to be the blackcurrant. That fruit always tastes dusty to me. Dry: Whoa. Dusty rose and violet. Suddenly floral. A lovely one, but totally unexpected. This is more mature than other feminine scents like Bearded Lady that I love. And yet it's also quite reserved. Not just in terms of throw - though this seems to be a light one - but it's also much less fresh and buoyant than the florals I tend to gravitate to. Dried rather than fresh flowers.

In the bottle: Strawberry syrup. Gooey and thick and cloying. On, wet: I put this on this morning but didn't get a chance to take notes, but as I remember it was pretty much the same, less cloying and more just sugary. Dry: The berry note backs the hell off and goes from bright red to a sugary pink, with some straight sugar and possibly a marshmallow note cushioning and softening it. This is really pretty when it gets to the drydown, but it's really very strong when I apply and takes a long time to get there. I don't know if the final stage is compelling enough to keep it around when there are a lot of sweet foody scents that are nicer more immediately.

In bottle: The lavender's coming through really strongly. It actually sort of reminds me of laundry detergent. Wet: Where did the lavender go? Now it's much sweeter and floral - I think that's the magnolia, and the sugar cane rather than the lotus root. Still detergent-esque, though. Dry: Very light, slightly sweet floral. I think the orchid's here, and the crystal musk, maybe? And the lavender again. I like it as a nice clean scent - it reminds me a lot of Dirty, and I think it'll be good in this neverending muggy heat that's masquerading as a fall.

Nom nom spicy gingersnaps! There's also a hint of something rounder, almost like oatmeal cookies tossed in the batch. And pepper. I think I have a new fall/winter scent!

2007 edition. In bottle: ALMOND. Blech. Not at all what I was expecting. Wet: Faintly almond, some cream. Drydown: Creamy almond, and that's it. Major disappointment. Off to the swap pile with this one - I can understand why a lot of people love this, but I personally can't abide the smell of almonds.

In the bottle: Juicy red fruits. Perhaps it would help if I had more experience with real pomegranates? Wet: Fruity bubblegum, ack! Drydown: Oh, thank goodness. The sticky sweetness has vanished, replaced by a deep and more earthy fruit scent. But it's going very, very quickly, and I'm not much of a straight fruit scent type. Probably going to the swap pile. edited for complete lack of spelling ability

In the bottle: it's all apple. I definitely get the sweetness, but to me it's more of the natural sugar of a sweet apple like a Honeycrisp with just a touch of candy-sugar. Wet: Caramel! And nothing but! Mmmm, sugar. I love sweet scents. Dry: The apple comes back, in a subtle way. It is so delicious, seriously. I want to bathe in this. I want to roll around in it. I want to go get some caramel dip for the apples I have in the kitchen. Anybody got a good caramel-apple pie recipe?

I just want to note that I wore Yvaine to go see the Stardust movie last night. I'm hopeless. In the bottle it's just something sharp and cold that stings the nostrils. But once it's on, it's lavender - and metal! Reminds me of nothing so much as when I used to empty my piggy bank and sort all the coins, that same scent of a pile of cool metal. But it morphs very quickly into a delicate floral - I assume it's the magnolia, though I don't know that note very well, and the lavender's still prominent. Overall, a cool and soothing scent, perfect for watching the stars shine.

In the bottle: Smells like a basket of vegetables - earthy, green, with the watery undertone released when you slice things. Wet: All I'm getting is "green" and "herbal." No sweetness, no honeysuckle. Dry: Ooh, I think the honeysuckle is coming out to play. Still quite herbal, but now with the sweet floral blending in. Pleasantly surprised given the notes (fennel? carrot seed?), and this one's a keeper.

In the bottle: Tea with vanilla and smoke. Mmmm. On, wet: Mmm, vanilla. And still a hint of herbal goodness from the tea, and something darker too. Quick drydown: Ugh. It's gone all antiseptic - like somebody sprayed air freshener to cover up the scent of smoke. The sweetness of the vanilla is still there in the background, but it's being drowned out. I can appreciate that this is a really beautiful scent. It just isn't clicking for me.

Lemony rose, woo! Smells like a fresh spring garden when it's wet. For some reason the combination actually reminds me more of the scent of a fresh tulip - that not-quite-a-perfume smell, fresh and green and bursting with life. The more I sniff, the more I like it. I think this would be a really good room scent. But then I also don't mind smelling lemony fresh.

The rose, incense, and bergamot are giving me sort of a soapy smell. Like, a very nice and expensive handmade soap, for a rich French woman who always wears a silk scarf knotted perfectly around her neck. On the drydown... whoof, incense. A little too much of a head-shop scent for me, though it does evoke memories of my favorite hippie-and-other-cool-stuff store back home.

I had really high hopes for this scent, since I love love LOVE jasmine. Bottle: Jasmine. Nothing but. Heavy and rich and just a little soapy. Love it. Wet: Still very jasmine, with a hint of something sweeter - I don't know if it's the mimosa or the violets. Drydown: Oh, wow. The jasmine is just a whisper now, and it's a light, green, wet, floral scent. I don't even know how to describe it, but I love it. Perfect for summer - a shame, now that it's verging on October! ETA that a few hours later, my skin has really amped up the vanilla. Now it's like a less spicy Bearded Lady. But since that's my favorite BPAL ever, I don't mind at all.

I did too, Ceej! It's so heavy and smoky on me that it gave me a headache. Like somebody tossed a few cones of incense on a summer bonfire. Had to wash it off after an hour before I got a terrible headache.

Hyson tea leaf, pale mint, sugar cane, orange blossom, lemongrass, and honey. Mmm. Clean and lovely on a muggy day. Crisp and light, with just enough sweetness - I'm definitely getting the sugar cane and the lemongrass, with the tea grounding them both. I may have to use some to make body wash, it's so beautiful. Also, on my skin, it's got a heck of a throw. Which is good!

Apparently amber smells like incense to me. But not a heavy one, like patchouli... more like the faint scent of a dozen kinds combined that you'll smell in a certain type of shop. (The sort of shop that also sells tapestries, flowy skirts, and candlesticks.) The amber provides a gorgeous base for the sweet warmth of vanilla - and I have to say, I'm consistently amazed by Beth's vanilla. It smells like the whiff of an open bottle of pure vanilla extract, not the fake too-sweet plasticky odor that passes for vanilla in a drugstore lotion. And the honey just amps everything up; grounded by the amber and balanced by the vanilla, it never goes powdery and just floats around for hours and hours. I think I need a bottle of this!

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Osun and Khajuraho yet. Those were all honey on me - which is bad, since it goes powdery and gross. Also, Et Lux Fuit has a strong honey note, but it's well balanced with a lot of florals.

I know I'd love a scent for "Lilac Wine," the Jeff Buckley cover of a Nina Simone song. I'm so glad to see there are other Emilie Autumn fans here! I might see if I can send her some imps. Given her new Victoriandustrial theme some Mad Tea Party scents might not go amiss...

This was a real shapeshifter on me; it started out quite fruity in the bottle and on my skin, then all the green herbal notes popped up. And on the drydown, it was all sugar and vanilla and a little bit of something to cut the sweetness and keep it from becoming totally cloying. Gorgeous blend. And it's about ten hours later and I can still smell it on my skin. Love it! I wish I'd gotten more than one bottle.