phedre

In vial: smoky incense and musk, with a touch of woody leather.

Wet: This is very masculine, yet untouchable. Remote and haughty.

Drydown: Black leather and musk. This priest has a kinky side underneath that robe.

Yipe, something's turned this to soap! Off to someone who'll appreciate it more.

In vial: Peppermint schnapps and fake coconut.

Wet: This smells like fake peppermint and coconut, with a plasticky undertone.

Drydown: Nope, still plasticky. There's a light floral note coming out for some odd reason, but it's still not nice.

In vial: patchouli, pepper, and pine pitch. Very alliterative.

Wet: Tobacco leaf and patchouli. This is rough and dirty.

Drydown: Oh so dirty, but in a wonderful way. There's a touch of everything here: patchouli, tobacco, fruit, and pepper. It's a bit too masculine for me, but still absolutely gorgeous.

Vial: Whoa. This smells absolutely dead on like egg nog. I adore egg nog as a drink, but I'm not sure about it as a perfume!

Wet: Wow. This is less eggnoggy and more creamy sugar. There's still a touch of brandy and nutmeg, but it's been taken over by the cream and sugar.

Drydown: the brandy is gone. This is a sugar candy, thickened with sweet cream. Unfortunately, there's a note of plastic coming out in this, like new tupperware. Not a lot, just enough to be noticed.

In vial: myrrh and moss.

Wet: There's a sharpness to this, like olives crossed with incense. The greek incense maybe? It's not unpleasent, but it's leaning that way.

Drydown: Definitely olives and incense. Unusual. Eep, it's turning to pickles! Off to the swaps for this one.

In vial: mandarin and magnolia.

wet: Oh pretty! The mandarin's staying crisp, and the magnolia and oleander are sweetening this nicely. The musk is gorgeous.

drydown: This is well balanced, with tart mandarin and sweet magnolia. The musk is wonderful! I really like it.

In vial: Sweet fruits, lots of pear, pomegranate, and fig. A touch of plumeria.

Wet: Even sweeter, tons of ripe pear in this.

Drydown: Sickly sweet. It smells like one of those scented children's dolls. Not good.

Wet: bergamot, mosses, and patchouli.

Wet: very mossy and dark, indolent is a great descriptor for this. Patchouli and sweet jasmine.

Drydown: Oh pretty. This smells like a hookah bar with incense drifting over everyone. This might be my first Mad Tea Party bottle!

In vial: Spicy musk, sour plum.

Wet: This is all plum on my skin, with a bit of spice peaking out.

Drydown: Musk is coming out on this, and a slight olive note. Carnation is finally making an appearance and toning down the musk. Overall, this is very pretty with a sultry, sensual spice. I really like this.

In vial: clean light florals, a touch of creaminess, and cold at the same time.

On skin: Oh this is lovely. Creamy fresh floral, reminds me a bit of jasmine.

Drydown: Sweet, pure, and creamy, tending towards soapy. I wish it stayed at the wet stage!

In vial: honey, cherries, and coconut.

On skin: definitely that cherry almond smell. something creamy too, maybe the coconut?

Drydown: The cherry smell is fading, and now it's more honey and milk, with notes of coconut. I don't get the sandalwood, but I do get the fig. This is nice!

In vial: It smells like laundry that's been hung on the line to dry.

Wet: lavender. plumeria. Very light, clean, and fresh.

Drydown: this stays the same through drydown: crisp, clean, fresh, but it has a touch of chemical drycleaning solution that's turning this off on my skin.

In vial: Potent, dry spices. I get petitgrain maybe?

Wet: musky, a bit dirty. Pungent.

Drydown: the musk is going plasticky on me. Definitely not for me.

In vial: strawberry cheesecake!

Wet: Definitely cheesecake, rich, sweet, and designed to go right to your hips. I can even smell the graham cracker crust! Talk about irony: Graham crackers were invented to stifle sexual urges.

Drydown: This stays the same: strawberry cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. So fun!

In vial: Musk and clove, a bit of amber.

Wet: Wow. The clove comes right out, and the vanilla is sweetening it up nicely. Gorgeous!

Drydown: This reminds me of a cross between Snake Charmer and Smut, but doesn't go nasty on my skin like Smut tends to do. It's a lovely mix of amber, vanilla, and musk that's just perfect. I love this, and if I didn't already have a bottle on the way, I'd be scouring for one!

In vial: Strawberries, sugar, and honey. This SMELLS pink.

Wet: there's something a touch rotten here, like spoiled strawberries. Just barely, though. I definitely get the phlox and sugar, very strongly.

Drydown: This is overwhelmingly pretty and pink. The florals are nice, the strawberry is mellow and sweet, but not too sweet. I really like this!

In vial: myrtle and amber, lovely florals.

Wet: Pretty! Creamy myrtle and bright florals. The amber in this is just perfect.

Drydown: Carnation is finally starting to peek out. It matches perfectly with the myrtle, one of my favourite green plants.

I'll need to try this once more to decide if it's a keeper or not.

In vial: earth and roots, like a plant being repotted. Much like Danse Macabre, but sharper, with more vegetal notes.

Wet: Same, rooty earth.

Drydown: More earth and roots. I can practically see the maggots squirming in this. The florals never appeared at all. It's interesting, different, but I'll stick to Jazz Funeral for my earthy scents.

In vial: Dirt. Fresh, clean garden topsoil.

On skin: there's a sharp, vegetal scent, like carrots being pulled out of a garden.

Drydown: This is still mainly topsoil and vegetals, but an interesting smoky scent has emerged, like a campfire.

Not for me.

In vial: coconut and musk. This reminds me of Lush's King of Skin, the old one with the gold dust.

Wet: Pretty! Definitely coconut oil, but also cocoa butter. Soft musk.

Drydown: Definitely King of Skin. Something's going a bit off on me, likely the musk.

This smells EXACTLY like King of Skin now. It's eerie.

In vial: dirt and green herbs.

Wet: fresh roots in topsoil, green herbs and a touch of florals.

Drydown: The soil smell has disappeared, and this is now very floral, like a light orchid.

Later: This has gone oddly perfumey. The earthiness is gone completely, and it's just too orchid-like for me now.

In vial: Pure cherry.

Wet: maraschino cherries, and a touch of cinnamon. Definitely a touch of alcohol burning off.

Drydown: Much better. The cherry notes are fading, and the cinnamon, vanilla, and frankincense are coming out. Very sweet.

In vial: I get something orange scented here, and the cedar too.

On skin: Neat! There's something in here giving my skin a cooling sensation, like peppermint. I'm not familiar with a few of the notes listed, and nothing's jumping out at me. Perfumey, for sure, with the musks and the violet. A slightly sweet floral with a wood background.

Drydown: The evergreen's finally coming out. Normally this dominates on me, but not here.

In vial: Patchouli and red musk. This is incredibly dark and sultry.

Wet: The musks remind me of smut, which isn't a good thing. I'm also getting a root beer note.

Drydown: Ugh. Definitely the same icky burnt plastic and root beer musks as smut. Ew!

In vial: Lemon, neroli, and sweetness. This really is liquid sunshine.

on skin: Neroli is the dominant note for me. A touch of daisy, but no carnation unfortunately. I get a bit of the honeycomb too.

Drydown: Golden. This is just yellow, happy, pretty fun. It's nice, but not for me.