pekeana

In the imp: Seraglio is nutty and sweet -- like almonds that have been dipped in sugar and roasted. On me: Nothing. Not even a hint of sweet. My arm sucked this up so fast poor Seraglio didn't stand a chance.

Let me preface this by saying that I love blackberries and I love heather. They apparently, however, don't love me together. Separately, they do, but together? Not at all. In the bottle, Old Glasgow is big, ripe blackberries that are getting ready to fall onto the heather-covered ground. There's a slightly acidic note like the berries are just a touch overripe, but it's not unpleasant. On me, for the first five minutes, it was nothing but heather -- no sweet, no berries, just strong heather. I loved it! And then, at minute six, it all turned bad on me, and I had to go scrub my arm with dishsoap and rinse it with vinegar to get rid of the scent that was nothing if not Old Dirty Diaper. I really wanted to love this one, and on my mother, it's nothing but sweet, sweet ripe blackberries. But on me, it's just... indescribably heinous. I don't even want to try it again because of the evil smell that came off of my forearm.

In the bottle, to me, Old Athens is wine -- very overpowering, expensive wine. But even as I sniff it, it morphs into something sweeter and spicier to my nose. So, I dabbed a little on, and WOW! It was strong, overpowering, thick red wine. No spice, no sweet, just heavy red wine. But after about five minutes, some of the sweetness of honey poked through and I decided to persevere. Am I ever glad that I did! After about an hour, the wine retreated to the very back of the scent, and the sweetest scent of honey and spice took over. On me, Old Athens lasts about eight hours, and as the hours go by, the fragrance mellows even further until all that's left is the sweetest, softest honey note I've ever smelled in my life. I'll definitely finish my imp of this, and put it on the list for future big bottle purchase.

In the imp, Masabakes smells very tart and clear -- spicy and picklish without being overwhelming. On my skin, it took on a new life. It was spicy, musty, and utterly delicious. On drydown, it's mhyrr and currant, with a hint of clove that I know isn't in the notes. I'll be keeping and finishing the imp, and putting a 5ml on my birthday list! ETA: I wore this to bed, and it soothed and calmed me into sleep without overwhelming my dreams. I slept the deepest, sweetest sleep I've slept in months last night, and awoke to the softest, gentlest smell of clove-dipped currants on my wrist.

I really wanted to like this one, and out of the imp, it was a beautiful rush of grapefruit, ginger, and apple blossom. But then it hit my skin and turned into instant baby powder. And after a while, it's gotten more strangely floral on top of the baby powder. I'll put this one aside and try it again later -- this might just be one of those scents I can't pull off, though.

In the bottle, it smells like apples and floral. On me, it smells like caramel apples resting in a dew-kissed flowerbed. I love the delicacy of the apple -- apple is usually a scent that turns my stomach, but wow, I'm in love with this scent. I must have a big bottle.

Pele -- In the imp: I opened it and started crying, because it smelled just like walking out the front door of the house I used to live in when my family lived in Hawaii. On me: The white ginger fades to the back, to be replaced with a combination of plumeria and baby powder. Dry-down: The baby powdery smell has faded out to a sweet floral like honey over white ginger, plumeria, and bird-of-paradise. The verdict: *adores* I'm in love. This is the floral to replace that $45 bottle of white ginger essential oil my mom wasted.