mymymai

ITB: It's woodsy, smoky, and a bit feral with the musk and the leather. I'm intrigued. Wet: I can pick up the vetiver, which paired with the oudh, lends the blend a sweet smokiness along with warm, creamy amber, woodsy cedar, supple leather, and heady musk. Dry: This is much more pleasant than I had anticipated, especially with my hit and miss history with amber notes. The amber here is slightly spiced and inviting when paired with the leather, oudh, and musk. There is a hint of vetiver, but most of the green notes has disappeared on my skin, leaving behind a combination of notes that is warm and sumptuous.

ITB: Peppermint, vanilla powder, and something that reminds me of marshmallow for some reason. Wet: Strong but enticing peppermint liquor with candied vanilla powder and crushed peppermint candies. Yum! Dry: Crisp peppermint bathed in sugared vanilla. It's refreshing while still being foody, but not oppressively so.

ITB: Heavy, heavy pitch and a background of pine. It's a bit strong for me right now, and I generally like pine or woody-type scents. Wet: It was more pine and pitch once I put it on my skin. I was a bit sad that the clove didn't come through. Dry: Lo and behold - clove! It's a colder scent due to the pine and pitch, but I think I like it much better now that it's had a chance to settle.

ITB: Warm opobalsamum, subtly animalistic musk, and just a touch of a forest-like note. It's warm, Christmas-invoking, and oddly comforting. Wet: It has a more forest berry tone when applied, but it's a true berry tone, not anything artificial. When paired with the musk and the opobalsamum and musk, it turns into something sweetly spicy on my wrist. Dry: It's wonderful - spicy, warm, and slightly musky. It reminds me of Christmas so much - a wonderful winter scent.

ITB: Creamy, warm, decadent vanilla buttercream is the first note that jumps out at me as soon as I open the bottle. I can't quite get the mint, but since I've tested it before, I know it's there. Wet: I smell glorious! The vanilla is not overtly sweet, but still enticing, fluffy (for some reason), and warm. When paired with the cool mint, it makes a combination that is simply irresistible. I want to douse myself in it. Dry: 14 hours later, it's very faint, but I can still pick up the gorgeous blend of these two notes.

ITB: It's sweeter, like in a candy-type way, than I had anticipated. I think it's the winter berry, but it reads as those red berry hard candies that used to be readily available about 15 years ago. I can pick up a little orange blossom and faint rose, but the berry takes the cake. Wet: Artificial berries, orange blossom, red rose, and a bit of sandalwood and angel's trumpet. It's nice, but a little too sweet at the moment. Dry: After 12 hours, the scent is faint, but the berry has settled down, is less artificial, and now that the resin has had time to develop, is much more well-rounded.

ITB: Pungent yet comforting, scents of spruce, juniper, and crisp pine blend together to very much invoke its title of a magnificent Christmas tree. Wet: Gosh, the cool, crisp tone of this scent is amazing though the pine and spruce. I still feel like there might be just a tad of juniper here. Dry: It softens up a bit, but the image of a lovely Christmas tree set in a toasty living room pops into my head each time I sniff.

ITB: I detect a gorgeous white musk mixed with the ephemeral elemi (did I mention that I adore this note?), which is made even more gorgeous but almost masculine spearmint. Wet: There is a bit of a masculine tone, but I just really love the combination of the notes here. The spearmint is a bit stronger on my skin, but it's really gorgeous. Dry: I get elemi, masculine musk, and a touch of spearmint - still very similar to the wet version. I wish it was a touch more feminine, but it's pleasant none the less.

ITB: It's very floral, almost too sweet, but then it reminds me of tea as well with the clove and mandarin orange. I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet. Wet: I can pick up the clove, cypress, myrrh, rosewood, and artemesia. I think I'd like it better without the last note as the scent gives me an uneasy feeling, like it's almost aquatic and the notes are, well, discordant. Dry: The nutmeg and clove work together with the myrrh and orange to turn the scent into something more pleasant. I can detect the musk and rosewood, but I'm still not very fond of the artemesia in this blend.

ITB: Ah, it's bright, cool, fresh, citrusy, slightly sweet, and ever so subtly effervescent. It does remind me of frost delicately glittering as it stretches out before me. Wet: The ambrette seed, immortelle, heady musk, oud, and faint tobacco add a lovely complexity to the clear and enticing orange blossom, pine, safe, and honeysuckle. So far, it's absolutely gorgeous! Dry: After some time, the light florals, honeysuckle and immortelle, settle gently against the tobacco, ambrette, oud, and musk. The pine and orange becomes very faint, lending crispness to the scent without overpowering it.

ITI: It's a clean, fresh, lightly floral scent. I can clearly pick up the gardenia (which thankfully isn't overpowering...yet), geranium, tuberose, and light bergamot and ginger. Wet: The floral is significantly stronger on my skin - gardenia, ginger, geranium, tuberose, a pinch of pink pepper, a trace of pine, and enough honey to make me wary. Dry: After some time, it takes on that honey tone of which I'm not terribly fond. There is enough light floral and ginger for the scent to remain in-offensive, though.

ITI: It's rather nice. I get the impression of warm baking spices, something slightly nutty, and a clean up not overtly sweet floral behind it. Wet: The patchouli is the note I thought was slightly nutty, which is more apparent on my skin. The spices are still warm when paired with the amber (which is behaving for now on my skin). The floral is very faint, but adds a little depth to the scent. Dry: After 11 hours, there is only the most ghostly hint of amber left. Upon reapplication and dry-down #2, it's warm and slightly exotic spices wrapped in a soft blanket of golden amber and just a hint of patchouli.

ITI: It's a slightly sweet blend of spices, cardamom of which is the most prominent. The floral note is present, but it's a lightly powdery floral, like in name-brand perfumes geared to women in their 50s+. Wet: The nutmeg is a bit more evident,. but I still get the same impression regarding the cardamom and the florals. As it starts to dry, though, the headiness of the spice picks up. It seems like there is cinnamon here as well as soft sandalwood. Dry: Gorgeous woody spices and a touch of sweet red rose underneath. It's a gorgeous blend, especially once it starts to settle.

ITI: I don't get whiskey and oak as much as I get strong acetone plus cherry brandy. Wet: There really isn't much of a change once applied to my skin. Although as soon as I give it time to start settling, the cherry aspect begins to die down while the whiskey clearly ramps up. Dry: I'll give it credit where credit is due. It's a morpher. Now it's whiskey, clove, nutmeg, and oak. It's rather pleasant once dried. It's just getting there that's the problem for me.

ITI: It's smells faintly floral with tones of aloe and vanilla. I'm not sure what to make of it yet. Wet: It's somewhat wet smelling (in a slightly aquatic sense) from the aloe, while something smells a bit both dry and floral, which I think is the papyrus. I'm having difficulty smelling much else. It reminds me of summertime in Largo, Florida. Dry: It's overtly floral while still reminding me a bit of some antibacterial cool melon and aloe sanitizing hand wash I have in the bathroom.

ITI: I get ambrette seed, musk, slightly Honey Bucket honey, and touches of fig and apple. Wet: The musk and almond with the honey give off a warm and pleasant impression, like walking into a home when someone is doing his or her holiday baking. I can also still pick up with fig and faint apple. I'm surprised the honey is behaving as well as it is right now on my skin. Dry: I get honey, apple, lily of the valley (which make this a little more complex), musk, and fig. It's much, much better than I had anticipated when I smelled it in the imp.

ITI: It's white ginger and something really floral but soapy at the same time, with a significant acidity to it. It reminds me of red wine that is just starting to turn. Wet: Yeah, there's not much of a difference here, but the acidity is now clearly from the lime. Dry: Oh wow, it's really soapy about 20 minutes after application. It's like powdered detergent with a little lime. As it dries further, the ginger reasserts itself, but it is powdered ginger. The scent as a whole still reminds me of detergent.

ITB: It's warm and slightly resinous, but sweet as well. It reminds me of a body wash I smelled and coveted some 10 years ago, which was honey, coconut, and almond. I know that must be from the bourbon vanilla, almond, and patchouli. It makes me nostalgic, actually. Wet: Strong almond, bourbon vanilla, middling leather and patchouli, with a very faint impression of oak leaf. It's a little more complex on my skin, but it still evokes the same fond memories as in the bottle. Dry: As it dries, the black leather amps on my skin, but it's a nice combination with the bourbon vanilla and almond on my skin.

ITB: Indonesian oil, red ginger, powdery cassia, and a touch of sugar. It's a little powdery in the bottle, but it's worth a try. Wet: Powdery - cassia, cinnamon, and red ginger root (ground), with a hint of vanilla and Indonesian oil. It's certainly strong, but I think I'd like this better if the powdery aspect died down a little. Dry: After 12 hours, the scent is less powdery, sweeter, and much more appealing in its blend of sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and Indonesian oils.

ITB: Dusky, warm amber, sandalwood, and vanilla musk. It's certainly feminine so far. Wet: There is a bit more depth once applied to the skin as the carnation becomes apparent and the vanilla musk along with the sandalwood become much more assertive. Dry: After 12 hours, the scent is still strong and glorious - rich, golden amber, sandalwood, and creamy vanilla musk. I smell fantastic!

ITB: Thick, heady, sweet, subtly fruity, resinous, and faintly smoky - this dragon's blood blend is sumptuous and just so lovely. Wet: It's still very similar to the scent in the bottle. It feels like there is a dark fruit somewhere, but it is beautifully heady and gives me chills when I inhale deeply. Dry: The scent gets a little powdery and slightly floral, but it still maintains the dark fruity sweetness, the heady resinousness, and the subtle smoke. Brilliant!

ITB: It certainly is tropical. There is an overarching ester tone to the scent which masks many of the individual notes save for the peony. Wet: I get peony, jasmine, pineapple (although artificial), pepper, and a touch of ginger. It's still overtly ester-y, which I don't really enjoy. Dry: After an hour, it's a combination of jasmine, peony, mango, white tea, and a subtle hint of ginger. It's much nicer once dried.

ITB: Interesting. I get tonka and strong coconut as the dominant notes in the bottle. I actually like it as it is here. Wet: Coconut is yelling for my attention on my skin and I only get a glimmer for the golden sandalwood and the faintest impression of licorice when I concentrate. Dry: As it dries, the sandalwood becomes more assertive, the clove begins to make itself known, and a dab of the ginger cream plays gently underneath. After several hours, I just get warm coconut with a dash of ginger cream, which I enjoy.

Orris root, Roman chamomile, white sugar, ambergris accord, and cimarrón. ITB: It's dusky, lightly floral slightly woodsy, and a little dark from the ambergris. The chamomile adds a nice sweetness to the duskiness of the orris root. Wet: It's a bit more sweet from the sugar on my skin than in the bottle, and the cimarron and chamomile are peaking through the soft, dusky orris root. I'm a little disappointed that the ambergris is not more dominant, but then again, I adore that note. Dry: All I get now are orris root and white sugar. It's nice, but a bit too sweet for me.

ITB: White sugar, gentle cardamom, and faint bourbon vanilla. It makes my mouth water a little and it reminds me of something soft and fluffy, something almost comforting. Wet: The cardamom is strong and slightly puzzling with the bourbon vanilla and tonka. I like it, but it just strikes me as strange. Dry: Once it begins to settle, the vanilla becomes stronger, as does the white sugar, which is glorious! It's sweet, spicy, and fuzzy all at the same time. It does remind me of a moth, actually.