kunoichi

This is a soft, piercing crystalline scent with perhaps a touch of a citrus edge to it. On my skin the citrus becomes more noticeable, and it still has that same crystal-like quality to it – very cool, hard yet it is a quiet scent and perhaps a little aquatic. This fades quietly, and doesn’t change very much as it fades.

From the vial, this is a cool blend of violets. On my skin, a bitter note starts to creep through along with other notes like musk, though it isn’t a dark scent on me – it’s rather odd, because it has both sweetness and bitterness to the fragrance. After a few hours on my skin, this has become a soft yet still a little bitter blend, though I’m not sure what is causing the bitterness.

In the vial, this is a light, semi-sweet cool floral and musk scent. There is something tangy and piercing about this blend on my skin, but the base note has become a warm, light musky scent behind the tang. After a while on my skin, I can smell a beautiful cloud of powdery sweet musk around me. Sniffing my wrist, the piercing note has practically vanished, leaving the soothing, sweet muskiness on my skin; it’s quite pretty.

This is a rounded deep musky scent – with a hint of oranges blended into it – from the vial. On my skin this is still a rounded, deep musk that reminds me of another BPAL (perhaps Al-Shairan when I first put it on? It smells nothing like Smut to me!); the musk is sweetened just a little with the plants and orange peel, making it quite nice if deep. After a couple of hours this is still a deep musky fragrance though it has lightened up, and my skin has caused it to sweeten up just a touch more – probably the orange peel – to give it a lift as it fades, though it is still quite a prevalent fragrance.

This is a cool scent, somewhat piercing, and perhaps a touch fruity in the background. On my skin, it warms up and begins to smell of sweet pea over sugary, juicy fruit... Mmm, delicious. After a few hours on my skin, this is a quietly soft, sweet floral scent that has cooled down and become rather gentle.

From the vial, this is a sharply scented fragrance of bitter-sweet herbs. On my skin this is a strangely light scent as the bitterness disappears, like sugared herbs and very subtle red dessert wine over a slight soil-like scent that gives it a tang. The soil smell is nowhere near as strong as in Nocnitsa, but it’s there underneath it all. Nosferatu becomes a rather soft, sweet smell intermingled with a fainter, lighter version of the soil smell in the background.

This, from the vial, is a rather dark toned scent, perhaps from the ginger, which is the strongest scent I can smell over the other scents listed. On my skin the ginger continues and mixes with the other scents to create a rather dark smell – in the vial, it was a much brighter scent than on my skin – and perhaps there is a hint of apricot peeking out now and again, amongst it all. (Others like this on me more than I do!) After a few hours Siren is very faded and soft with a sweet hint left of what it used to be on my skin, but quite pleasant if very soft...

A scent that is both coquettish and sinister. Exotic and lush, brimming with grace and viciousness: almond with star jasmine, oakmoss, red sandalwood and Egyptian musk. In the vial, this smells rather strongly of almonds and little else to my nose. On my skin, this becomes less almondy and slightly sweeter, and the base of the moss, sandalwood and musk starts to become apparent, though the jasmine never makes it’s appearance on me except perhaps to sweeten up the fragrance somewhat. After a couple of hours, Salome has settled down to a faint version of what it used to be – almost too soft to detect on my skin...

In the vial this is a gorgeously sweet floral, almost bubblegum-like sweet so it reminds me of lotus though it has none in it, as well as sweetly delicious jasmine. On my skin, the sweetness is quietened somewhat by another scent – that of the musk, and perhaps sandalwood and thyme - underneath the jasmine flowers giving it a touch of sensuality and much less girlish edge. I don’t smell the fruit in the fragrance. After a few hours, this is a soft and lovely sweetness on my skin that is just so gentle and very pretty.

From the vial, this smells of a tangy, salty scent complemented by a somewhat sweet scent of the roses and possibly the calamus. On my skin this starts smelling like soap that might be rose scented, which soon gets a salty tang to it and perhaps a watery note of the calamus reeds. After a few hours on my skin, this is a very soft and subtle floral blend with a slight tang of the salt and incense underneath it all – it is a scent that will soon fade completely.

In the vial this is a sweet, uplifting floral over a rounded base – it is not a cold floral, rather it is soothing yet prevalent. On my skin, this lovely scent starts to warm up as sandalwood and musk sometimes do, while the sweetness of the florals - and the bourbon vanilla which peeks out - are gorgeously blended to give the warm scent a deliciously sweet lift that becomes more rounded over time. After a few hours, this is a sweetly floral, warm, musky scent that, though faded, will continue to last for quite some time on my skin.

In the vial this is a strongly spiced (probably the black pepper people speak of) scent that is backed by something faintly floral so. On my skin it immediately changes to release a the usual Voodoo nut-like smell, and the pepper takes the back seat to the nutty scent, and soon the sweet floral starts to assert itself and the blend becomes a lovely spicy, sugared floral – “sugar and spice and all things nice, that’s what little girls are made of”! After a couple of hours this is like a softer sugary sweet floral with a very subtle whiff of pepper and maybe a very slight touch of the nut-like smell underneath the lovely sweetness.

In the vial this is a strongly scented fragrance of green things, berries and sweetness yet it also has an earthiness to it, perhaps from the musk, ginger and spices. The cranberries sweeten up on my skin, and the earthiness fades to spiciness in the scent making it just delicious. After a number of hours on my skin, this is a faded but still rather discernable sweet smell, like sugared berries. It's dark, juicy and lovely!

In the vial, this smells of delicious, yummy toffee liqueur rather than rum! It’s the sort of drink a pirate would drink if he drank girly pirate drinks!! Either way, it’s alcoholic – on my skin this morphs slowly from a boozy butterscotch into coconut rum, with lots of luscious notes you’d expect in a drink with a little umbrella. After a few hours this a gorgeously sweet Malibu-like boozy coconut scent on my skin.

This is a subtle scent in the vial, which smells like green things – the tea and bamboo and oude (whatever that is!) combine well enough that I can’t pick out single notes. This is a green scent that reminds me somewhat of a Christmas tree on my skin – more so than any pine aromatherapy I’ve smelled before – though it doesn’t have pine in it! It’s like a Christmas tree scent wafting around me, but when I sniff my wrist, it smells completely different, though somewhat tart. After a few hours on my skin, this is a faint fragrance of what it used to be, something a little Christmas tree-like, and ever so slightly sweet.

In the vial this is a rather masculine oceanic scent that gives the feeling of strength and power. On my skin this is still an oceanic scent, though it starts to get a sweet note underneath it all – yet it still reminds me of a scent that would be perfect on a man because the sweetness isn’t overpowering, it’s just making the tang more pronounced. After a couple of hours on my skin, this is a soft blend of something like salt water behind a soft, gentle sweetness...

From the vial this smells like a peppermint lolly, be it a peppermint stick or a peppermint lifesaver – it’s sugar and peppermint combined! On my skin, the peppermint quietens down a little and it sweetens up a bit before it starts to smell a little like stale biscuits (similar to Spooky) and peppermint. After a few hours on my skin, this has faded to a faintly sweet breath of soft peppermint.

In the vial this is a cool, floral blend that reminds me of winter. On my skin, the cool florals are warmed up and made a little spicy by the musk and frankincense. After a couple of hours on my skin this is a soft yet somewhat sweet, warmed up floral blend that is quite pretty and rather soft like petals against the skin.

This is a soft scent of florals with something perhaps astringent behind it, perhaps from the autumn leaves fragrance in the scent or one of the florals I’m unfamiliar with. On my skin, this is a very soft blend of gentle florals that are balanced between sweet and sharp. After a few hours on my skin, this is an almost undetectable scent on my skin as it’s so very soft and faded – it is exactly as the name suggests – an ephemeral and fleeting scent!

Florence is a subtle, and somewhat gentle, berry-sweet yet spicy blend from the vial. On my skin it becomes a darker fragrance (either with the iris or the amber), yet that beautiful berry-and-spices scent is still there and still lovely. After a couple of hours, it doesn’t seem to change – it still smells like a softer version as it slowly fades.

A houdoun recipe dating back almost 150 years. This blend is favored by prostitutes, exotic dancers and others in the sex industry for its power to attract, seduce, and enthral. Ensures financial gain and increased profits. This smells like a gorgeous floral in the vial, perhaps jasmine and other sweet flowers, because it smells just lovely. On my skin, it’s still a lovely floral, though it becomes a bit darker but the delicious jasmine top note is still there, though there may be a touch of citrus behind it. After a few hours this is still lovely and strong, though it’s less dark and more rounded. It’s quite pretty – I’m not sure if it helps attract, seduce and enthral, but it’s just sweet and lovely.

I keep thinking of the song from the Phantom of the Opera when I see the name of this scent!! Sniffing it from the vial, Masquerade smells of sweet orange blossom mixed with something darker, the patchouli I would guess – it is a smell that lingers, and quite pleasant though it isn’t like Ravenous. On my skin, the patchouli comes through more than the floral sweetness, but it starts to meld together into a rather subtle blend. After a few hours on my skin, it fades to a dark yet sweet and ‘fuzzy’ lingering scent, reminiscent of tea, which could be the florals mixed with the ambergris (though I’m not sure what ambergris smells like)!

From the vial this is a piercing, sweet fragrance with honeysuckle on a darker base. This is a scent that wafts from the skin, giving a different smell in the air compared to against the skin: Against my skin, it becomes harsher with vetiver (though thankfully it is nothing like Undine!) and smells more like a commercial perfume because of the harshness, but the black opium and honeysuckle tempers it. Yet it is the black opium and honeysuckle that seems to float like a lovely cloud around me for a while after applying this scent – a gentle sweetness on a dark base. The harshness soon fades. After it has been worn for a couple of hours, it is a rounded and subdued scent that, though not with the strength it originally held, is still quite pervading in it’s own, quiet way. I actually quite like this one, though it is not my normal style of fragrance!

Since akuma basically means demon in Japanese, I was expecting something much more sinister, but it’s just gorgeous! In the vial, it smells strongly of neroli and presumably blood orange; not particularly sweet with the possibility of being sinister. Yet on my skin, the raspberry starts to come out, giving the orange scents a sweet, delicious boost. It becomes lusciously sweet rather than sinister!! After a few hours of being on my skin, this is a sweet, soft fragrance of delicious, faded fruity goodness. Mmm, so pretty!

This is a well mixed medium scent that has a very faint touch of sweetness (the orange) behind it. This becomes an ever so slightly darker scent, probably because of the incense: the patchouli and dark incense keeps the sweetness of the clove, peach and orange firmly in the background. After a few hours this is more clove-heavy with a current of sweetness floating in the very back.