Trish

This had the potential to be so right (sandalwood, musk, saffron, nutmeg) or so wrong (rose, bergamot, amber) on me. But it sounded good! In the imp: light floral woods, I can barely smell it. Wet: rose and citrus, quite light and not very strong. Drydown: It gets a whole lot stronger, especially the rose. This isn't a good sign as rose tends to amp on me and I don't particularly like it. However after 10 minutes or so the sandalwood appears. The citrus has gone. In the case of bergamot this is a good thing as it can sometimes turn very sharp and almost sour on me. 30 minutes: This is still mainly rose on me, but it's a rather lovely light rose. The sandalwood and musk are keeping it under control and make me keep sniffing my wrists (I'm somewhat obsessed with sandalwood). The saffron and nutmeg finally make an appearance, lending a light soft fragrant spice to it. There's a dry sweetness appearing too, I think this is the amber which is otherwise undetectable to me. 1 hour: Rose and amber, with a touch of sandalwood. It's threatening to go powdery on me. 2 hours: Pretty well all rose now, with just a touch of sandalwood and amber (which thankfully hasn't gone to powder afterall). I won't get a 5ml of this, but I'll probably keep the imp. This is definitely the best rose blend I have ever tried, but I can't help but wish I got the spicier version.

I nearly ordered a 5ml of this unsniffed, but I was a little doubtful of the amaretto. In the imp: Sweet, juicy berries and wine. Why didn't I get that bottle?! Wet: Sweet, juicy berries, wine and plum. Plum loves me. Why didn't I get that bottle?! Drydown: More of the same, almost dangerously sweet but there's something just stopping it crossing the line. Drinkable and intoxicating. Then the sweetness starts to back off and an almost musky note appears. Why didn't I get that bottle?! Dry: There's the amaretto, just lending a smoothness and creaminess. It's still sweet wine and plum though. Why didn't I get that bottle?! This barely changes on me from start to finish which is good! It also lasts a lot longer than I thought it would. This is another that after a few hours I can barely smell it on my wrists, yet I still get occasional wafts around my nose. To me it's more flirty and suggestive than bawdy, not to mention happy. This is also one I can wear year round, not like my other faves that are more suited to the cooler months. Needless to say a 5ml of this is definitely the very first thing I order next time. If I can wait that long!

In the imp: Sweet floral, nice enough but a bit non descript. Wet: Jasmine! And another floral I don't recognise. But jasmine jasmine jasmine! I love jasmine. Drydown: This really warms up a lot, and all the other notes rise up to meet the jasmine. I can't pick individual ones out, it's just too well blended. The jasmine is still the most dominant scent though. Dry: The most subdued jasmine I have ever met. I can pick up the lightest of musks now, along with the other florals and the warmth and sweetness of vanilla, even though it doesn't really smell like vanilla either. It's almost powdery, but in a very good way. Amazingly the vanilla doesn't "separate" and outlast everything else, which it often does on me. This is incredibly well balanced and blended. This is quite a feminine scent, and is sexy in a quietly seductive come hither to bed way. It's also a perfect first day of Spring scent. In short I love this in all it's stages, and this will be a 5ml for sure.

This had so much promise... I liked it in the imp, incense with a touch of floral. On my skin however it went from very strong and somewhat sharpish frankincense with a touch of floral and the briefest tiniest hint of cinnamon, to very heavy and cloying violet. And I normally like violet. I had to wash this off.

In the imp: Flowers and herbs. Very pretty, if not my thing. Wet: Oh yes that's iris, I recognise it from The Raven, although it's a lot clearer here. There's also some herbs giving it a slightly green scent. I surprisingly like this a lot. Drydown: As it dries the sandalwood comes out, deepening it and giving it a touch of incense. The iris is still very present however, giving sweetness and light to the warmer darker notes. The herbs are also still present, subtle but giving it a slightly spicy and clean air. Dry: Hello myrrh. It emerges, bringing a trace of bitterness. Now I like myrrh, but not when it takes centre stage. Here it doesn't, it's just peeping around the curtains making it's presence felt but letting the iris and herbs remain in the spotlight. And the stage is made of sandalwood. After a while the myrrh disappears again and it turns into a soft almost watery floral but with the strength of the sandalwood behind it. Unfortunately after this it starts fading away quite rapidly. Although I love sandalwood, and like myrrh and olibanum/frankincense, I had my doubts about this one because I don't do well with florals, nor do I usually like herbs. But in this they all come together beautifully. Quite simply this is one of the best florals I have ever tried. I just wish it lasted longer and had a little more throw.

In the imp: Red musk and a tiny hint of floral. I got quite a few blends containing red musk in my order, and I've discovered that I love it! Wet: Red musk over sandalwood. A touch of pine? There's slight sharpness to this, possibly the sandalwood. It's definitely masculine, but that's a very good thing as far as I'm concerned. Drydown: The sharpness disappears quite quickly. This is reminding me lot of Schezerade but darker and with less spices, no doubt that's the red musk. A bit incensey, but mainly deep woods and musk. And is that a hint of patchouli? Dry: Mmm this is good. Has barely changed at all except to lighten a little and become a little spicy. In it's end stages it is very like Schezerade on me. Medium last, but with a lot of throw. I put one drop on and it was wafting around my head in clouds! I like this a lot, but it reminds me of Schezerade too much to get a bottle. However I will be keeping the imp and testing it on my partner!

I ordered a 5ml of this unsniffed because I knew I was going to love it. In the bottle: Soft warm golden spices. Wet: Exactly the same. Drydown: After about 20 minutes it warms up and starts to waft round my nose; a warm soft sweet spiced creamy sandalwood. I adore sandalwood. Dry: Exactly the same until it eventually fades to a soft warm spiced creamy vanilla - I never get the carnation. I know I keep using soft and warm, but that's exactly what it is. Surprisingly for what is such a soft and light scent it lasts ages on me - I've had it on for nearly twelve hours and can still smell it on my wrists and am getting the occasional waft. It doesn't have a lot of throw, just enough for me and those I let close enough to sniff. It's a very calming and relaxing scent, one sniff instantly makes me feel calmer and I wouldn't be surprised if my pulse rate dropped. This is gorgeous and I absolutely love it. I am so thankful I bought that bottle!

First test: In the imp: Sweet cinnamon with a tiny touch of floral Wet: Sweet sticky honeyed cinnamon syrup. I don't like sweet foody scents as a rule, but I also love cinnamon so this is the exception to that rule. Drydown: The honeysuckle fades and the myrrh pops it's head up briefly. Still very yummy. 1 hour: Not quite as foody now, but still oh so delicious. Sugared cinnamon (I had to go make some cinnamon toast!) with a warm golden almost buttery almost vanilla underneath it. Is this copal? I like it! The myrrh has gone. 1 1/2 hours: The cinnamon is starting to fade now, and while that would usually mean much disappointment it doesn't this time. It's a warm slightly spicy golden soft vanilla type scent. And by vanilla I mean vanilla but better, this is just adding wonderful warmth and smoothness instead of taking over. I must go check out other blends with copal in it. This is what I had hoped the amber in The Lion would be like. In fact this reminds me a little of it right before it went powdery on me. I really love this stage. From there it doesn't change, just gradually fading until it disappears after about 4 hours. I love this. I was always fairly confident I would, but I didn't realise I would love it this much! It would make an amazing room scent too I'm sure. I don't know if I'll get a bottle yet, as much as I love it I'm not sure how often I'd actually wear it. That super sweet syrupy stage could be a little much on a regular basis. But I plan to always have an imp of it at the least. Second Test: Too sweet. Way way too sweet. It went through the exact same stages but obviously I wasn't in the mood for anything quite so sweet this time. Yes it dies down after a while, but by that time I just wanted it off me.

I like carnation but I do not like roses, plus they have a tendency to amp on me a bit. I do however like Lush's Potion. In the imp: rose and carnation. I'm getting both quite clearly. Wet: Wow this carnation is really spicy! Combined with the rose it's a very spicy floral. I don't get tea at all. Drydown: Pretty much the same. Dry: Bah! It's nearly all rose now, with just a hint of the spicy carnation. Still no tea. Mind you for a rose it's pretty good, but it's so not me. It's too feminine and pure. I'll give it a go with Potion though. I think I might like this better in a bath or lotion.

In the imp: Floral with a citrus kick. Wet: Ooof definitely lime! Drydown: The lime disappears and I'm left with a floral that although nice enough isn't me at all. I can't detect any notes in particular, not even jasmine which I love, it's just a rather non-descript floral. Nor does it give me the brief stabbing headache that jasmine does. (disclaimer: I have a bit of a hangover today so my nose mightn't be working at 100% ) Dry: Oh there's the jasmine! And there's the headache. Oh this is nicer now. The jasmine is light but heady and is dancing just on top of the other notes. It reminds me of a jasmine oil I got in a swap a while back, but lighter and less old fashioned. Verdict: Not a bottle scent (I'm just not a floral person), but I'll keep the imp afterall. This would be nice on a hot summer's day or evening. This would probably be a good one for people who like jasmine but tend to find it too strong. It's definitely there, but it's light and not cloying at all.

Sin reminds me a lot of Lush's Spice Mountain during drydown. I got some Peitho in my order that I haven't tested yet, but if it smells like Silky Underwear/Alkmaar I will be in heaven!

In the imp: light sweet incense with a touch of cloves and sandalwood. Mmmm I love both. Wet: Oh so pretty! Very similiar to the imp. Maybe a little frankincense too. Dry: Is that a floral in there? Carnation? The sandalwood is dominant, but it's a very light and soft sandalwood. It's still a little spicy and incensy, but it's fading. And sadly within an hour it's all gone . It's such a stunningly beautiful scent, much lighter than my typical favourites.

Note: I'm not at all familiar with amber. In the imp: slightly spicy, warm and golden. Nice. Wet: Extremely sharp and almost medicinal. Spicy, almost incensy. After a couple of minutes the cinnamon - and maybe cloves? - makes it's presence felt. Dry: The cinnamon gradually fades, and with it some of the sharpness. I normally love cinnamon but there's something about this I don't like so much. There's a slightly musky golden type scent underneath too. The amber? 45 minutes: This is starting to get much better, a lightly spiced warm golden scent. It's gradually becoming softer and warmer. 1 hour: It's gone to powder. A softly spiced powder that's not bad mind you, and my partner prefers it now than at any other time. So I'm assuming it was the amber that turned it to powder, although since that didn't happen to me with Sin I'm guessing it won't happen to blends with less amber in it, or a different type. This will probably go into the swap pile, although I'll give it another go before that.

I'm still new to deciphering notes so this might be a little vague. DCCCLV (855) In the bottle it is aggressively sweet fruit. I'm not sure what it is, but it makes me think of strawberries. On the skin it almost immediately becomes more floral. I'm not a floral girl but thankfully this isn't overwhelmingly strong. As it dries the fruit peeps out again, just enough to tell it's there, and I also get the sense that there's a tiny bit of wood buried underneath. I can't smell it, I just sense it's there. All in all though this is a light floral with a touch of sweetness and fruit. I can't tell what the florals are, but it's not lavender or rose, unless the rose is very subtle. It's not really me, but it's nice all the same. This would be a very nice springtime scent I think.

I am a sandalwood freak, but when I ordered this I had never tried dragon's blood. Since then I have and liked it a lot so I have extremely high hopes for this one. In the imp: Dragon's blood with a touch of sandalwood Wet: Same, but the dragon's blood is stronger Dry: Sandalwood! Lovely soft, smooth, dry sandalwood. Plus a touch of resin from the dragon's blood that gives it a little edge and sweetness. This is absolutely lovely. It has almost no throw but seems to meld with my skin. Gorgeous. Unfortunately however it starts to fade very quickly. But oh it is so lovely while it lasts. EDITED TO ADD: I don't know if I just used too little or my nose was off when I first tried this (possible, since I was having an orgy of testing), but upon wearing it since I've realised it lasts a lot longer than I thought it did. It actually lasts a good 4 hours or so before having to touch up, and this has now moved to my probable bottle list. For a sandalwood freak like me this is wonderful.

In the imp: Sweet spicy patchouli. I don't like patchouli but this smells good! Wet: Patchouli tinged with sweetness. Reminds me of Snake Oil. 30 seconds later: The cinnamon explodes on my skin. I can still smell the patchouli, but oh cinnamon!!! Drydown: The cinnamon subsides a bit and mixes with the patchouli. This reminds me a lot of Lush's Spice Mountain soap, one of the few patchouli products I really love, along with their Hot Toddy and Christmas Kisses bubble bars. And they all contain cinnamon as well as patchouli, coincidence? I think not. It doesn't smell exactly the same as Spice Mtn (luckily I have some in the shower to compare it to), but it is very similiar, but warmer and deeper. Dry: It doesn't smell like Spice Mtn so much now, but it is still very very lovely. Still mainly patchouli mixed thoroughly with cinnamon, but every so often I can pick out my love sandalwood. It's a little incensy as well, and now reminds me a bit of Schezerade. It has some throw and is quite strong while it lasts. Unfortunately that's only a couple of hours. My partner really likes this one, and he doesn't always like cinnamon. He does however like patchouli. I don't know if I'll get a bottle, but the imp is definitely staying.

I ordered a bottle of this after sniffing a q-tip. Then I got a frimp of it in a later swap from the same person! In the imp: Sweet spicy incense. Wet: The same, but with musk. Dry:Still the same, this really doesn't change on me too much. It's sweet but dry, warm, musky and spicy. It also makes my skin very hot, but doesn't irritate it either. 1 hour: Still pretty much the same, but it has softened (in texture not strength) a bit and become rounder and smoother. It's a very warm golden brown scent, and definitely brings to mind a middle eastern market stall and dry desert breezes. When I sniff my wrists it doesn't seem very strong, but it's got a fair bit of throw and I can smell it wafting around me. I am so glad I have a bottle of this on the way! I absolutely love it. So does my partner judging by the way he kept sniffing me last night!

I'm lucky if anything lasts more than 5 hours on my skin, but I've found a few that do. Hellion and Hades last about 7-8 hours, and after applying Dragon's Heart this morning at 5am I am still getting wafts from my cleavage. It's now nearly 6pm.

In the imp: Reminds me a lot of Hades (in the imp, not on skin), must be the labdanum and/or cypress. Sweet, slightly sharp floral with a touch of incense. Wet: The sharpness disappears and ooh I like this! I can't really pick out individual notes, but it's floral and incense. Dry: Yep, definitely floral. But a good floral, one with a touch of incense and spice. And the tiniest touch of fruit. It still reminds me of a lighter Hades without the dark earthiness, and I suspect it's the labdanum. I love Hades so I don't mind at all! This is very good. Warm but not quite as dark as some of my other favourites. Doesn't have a lot of throw. Probably not a bottle scent, but the imp is definitely a keeper.

In the imp: Sweet, a bit sharp. Not bad, but a second sniff reveals something lingering underneath that makes me wrinkle my nose up. Wet: ARGH! Burning plastic! 15 minutes: Still burning plastic. I have to wash this off now. Ok, something in this hates me. It's definitely not nutmeg, and I doubt it's poppy or myrrh since I have Medea on my other wrist which also contains them and I really like it. So I suspect it's the sassafras. Off to the swap pile with you Laudanum!

My first dragon's blood blend! I'm praying this works on me because it really sounds like my kind of scent. In the imp: Sweet, resin and spice. Extremely promising indeed. Wet: Very sweet resin, a bit of spice. This must be the dragon's blood and I do like it. A lot. Within a minute or two the musks begin to rise. Musk and I are old friends so this is a very good thing. 10 minutes: Oh my freaking God. Warm sweet musky resin, with a touch of smoke. Gorgeous! I don't even mind that the spice is rapidly disappearing. 30 minutes: It's becoming sweeter, I'm not sure if this is the dragon's blood, figs or blackcurrant as I'm unfamiliar with all of them. However the musks are stopping it from becoming too sweet. It's quite intoxicating. Warm, with real depth. And sexy as hell. 1 hour: The sweetness has died down a little, and this has returned to that wonderful warm musky resin. And sexy. Damn sexy. Not flirty sexy but confident on the prowl awaiting the right moment to pounce sexy. After a couple of hours the musks seem to fade a bit (although still definitely there) so what I believe is the dragon's blood becomes a little clearer. Warm, resiny, musky, a little spicy and a little sweet. So very, very me. This is where it stays until it finally fades away about 12 hours after I put it on. Nothing ever lasts this long on me - incredible! This is absolutely gorgeous, and I am so glad I've got a few other dragon's blood blends on order. I think I may have found a new love.

Bastet is too almondy on my skin but in a burner it is fantastic. I added 3 drops to some wax and within 30 minutes the entire house was filled with a soft toasted almond scent - gorgeous! In a smaller area 3 drops would be too much actually.

In the imp: Sweet plum. Wet: Very sweet juicy plum at first, with the carnation and chrysanthemum following fast behind. Dry: The extreme sweetness subsides, but the plum remains the dominant note. the florals are also noticeably present, although the spicyness of carnation fades fairly quickly. There's also a slight musky note, or something that reminds me of it at least. Two hours later there's only the barest hint of it left. This reminds me a lot of Bathsheba, except lighter and more floral. No doubt that's the plum doing that. I do like this, but I prefer the depth of Bathsheba, plus it lasts longer.

In the imp: Plum! And a hint of floral, but mainly sweet plum. Wet: More plum, along with some spice from the carnation. The plum reminds me a bit of Hellion (this is a VERY good thing). Dry: Oh here comes the musk, and there goes the spicyness. However the light floral note remains, so this is a musky plum with a little bit of light floral on me. It's not a heavy musk though, it's a light soft one. It's absolutely lovely. And from that point it doesn't change at all on me, except to fade to nothing within a few hours. I really like this, which was not a surprise at all as I love musk, like carnation, and am starting to realise that plum really loves me (and the feeling is mutual). I wish it lasted longer though. I don't know if I'll buy a bottle of this, but I'll probably keep an imp around for the days I feel like wearing something lighter than my normal dark/woody/incensey/spicy blends.

I got this as a freebie in a swap, which I was very pleased about as I was curious about it as I love incense but hate patchouli. In the imp: Sweet, slightly fruity incense. Wet: Strong, sweet wine and patchouli. But despite the patchouli I really like it. Dry: Sweet patchouli. It's not evil patchouli though and I find it somewhat intriguing even if I'm not sure if I like it or not. 1 hour: The patchouli's just too strong in this one for me. The other notes are there, but the patchouli is dominant. I have to wash it off as it's irritating me (irritating as in annoying that is). This will probably be swapped, unless I find something to layer it wth. EDIT I ended up keeping this around as my partner decided he liked it, but I never went near it again. However lately I've got over my hate of patchouli, and there's a number of patchouli blends I actually like a lot! So I gave it another whirl and I quite like it now. Probably the main reason for that is I'm no longer concentrated on the patchouli alone and pick up the other notes. In this case it's the nag champa especially that stands out for me, and also a bit of muscadine. Nag champa and patchouli incense with a little fruit and soft floral.