mymymai

ITI: Well, hello clove. The first note from the imp forcibly assaults my nose. It burns and seethes with the dragon's blood resin and labdanum, under which the patchouli slowly bubbles in below.
Wet: Gorgeous! The dragon's blood resin is still strong, but the clove has mellowed out enough to allow the patchouli to blood, creating a spicy, resinous, light sweet dream for anyone who loves Woody Orientals.
Dry: After 6 hours, the scent is sweet, resinous, slightly smoky, and just perfection. The resins meld beautifully with soft, slightly powdery labdanum, the the patchouli and clove and a lovely depth to it. On my bottle list you go.

• ITI: Oh, I like that. Herbs emerge as the first note, a combination of cumin, turmeric, what I think might be sage, thyme, oregano, parsley, and well worn wood.

Wet: The wood warms on my skin ans the cumin and turmeric yield slightly to the more astringent herbs. I pick up something that registers as slightly aquatic and something else that is mildly reminiscent of lemon, under all of it.

Dry: This isn't a particularly long-wearing scent. After 4 hours, I get the faint impression of a kitchen infused with only the memory of herbs.

• ITI: A blast of honey at the forefront is quickly met by coconut and pear, which softens the honey considerably. It smells like the tropical-flavored Coconut waters that natural food stores sell.

Wet: Runts candies and pear. What an odd combination.

Dry: As it settles, the coconut meat and pear seem to overtake some of the honey, but there is still the impression of runts that makes this scent a bit too foody for my taste.

• ITI: It smells like honey cakes, artificial berry freshener, and fake sugar. It reminds me of the scent of a bathroom in a fancy hotel.

Wet: At least the hard candy scent is now that of the cinnamon old-fashioned hard candies that were wrapped in clear paper. Sadly, the beeswax is still honey cake, almost urinal-esque (blame honey notes on my skin), sprayed over with fake strawberry. So far, this is a “No” or me.

Dry: The longer it dried, the more than the artificial strawberry emerged. There was still an unmistakable candy and lavatory gist to it that made me want to wash it off. To the swap pile it goes.

• ITI: Powdery, but pleasantly so like Lush's Silky Underwear dusting powder. There's a slight soapiness to this from the plum, but the dusting of honey powder and green tea keep the scent well balanced and appealing.

Wet: The green tea and white plum are a touch more evident when it touches my skin. Strengthening as it dries, the vanilla flower and ambergris accord work together to create a faint lady-like musky perfume.

Dry: The Combination of vanilla and green tea take on a lotion tone as it tries. It's slightly sweetened with the soapy, clean plum. I'm surprised I like this, honestly. It's pleasant, lady-like, and understated.

• ITI: I get vanilla cream, that smells almost like marzipan to me (a note I loathe) when paired with the almond blossom. The mimosa is there, but it isn't as strong or as vibrant as I'd like. It's like the impression of a mimosa smothered in creamy pastries.

Wet: I'm a bit disappointed, honestly. The scent is sickly sweet initially, almost like children's medicine. I think it might be the mimosa paired with the clear almond blossom and ooey, gooey vanilla. I hope it mellows out.

Dry: The vanilla goo note and almond marzipan-tinged note are still present over the faint mimosa some 6 hours later. Sadly, it's just too cloying for my taste.

• ITI: Whew, the black pepper is strong here, but the addition of cardamom and vetiver make it darkly aggressive and assertively spicy in a positive way. It reads as a bit masculine for now as I cannot detect the vanilla.

Wet: The cardamom jumps out as the top note on my skin, fallowed by the smoky, almost inky vetiver. There's a touch of black pepper, the three notes of which remind me of scored each; however, the addition of faint vanilla keeps the scent from being too desolate. In fact, as it starts to dry on my skin, the vanilla warms up, followed by a sweetened tobacco slinking in from around the edges, shifting the scent to something reminiscent of the best molasses cookie I've ever imagined (without the foody undertones).

Dry: After 8 hours, I was expecting something still spicy and forceful. However, what I'm left with is mostly soft and alluring due to the faint vanilla, vetiver, and tobacco. The cardamom keeps the scent from being too innocent.

• ITI: I was expecting more leather to this scent. Instead, I'm met with comforting saffron set against myrrh and red musk. The leather is almost an after-note, succumbing to the warm tones of the musks and resin.

Wet: It's similar on my skin with a touch more leather, but there's something that reminds me of a good root beer. Interesting.

Dry: After a number of hours, the scent is dusty, the myrrh largely burned out, the leather certainly sun-baked. I get it now. What a brilliant progression!

• ITI: The red cherry, sandalwood, patchouli and opoponax are all clearly evident in the vial, although the combination of the three remind me of a sweet Dragon's Blood. I do wish the smokiness of the labdanum was a bit more evident because the scent is a bit too sweet for me as it stands.

Wet: Ah, it's much more resinous on on my skin, much less cherry, which I'm enjoying. The laudanum is now thick and pendulous, lending the sandalwood and patchouli a more ominous and foreboding tone.

Dry: Ah, this is the thickly resinous scent for which I was hoping. Swaths of patchouli coil around the opoponax and sandalwood, woodsy and intoxicating. The cherry adds just a touch of sweet that keeps the scent from being entirely too earthy.

• ITB: On first sniff, it does smell like rich cocoa butter, fresh hand-made marshmallows, and gardenia. It's sweetly foody without being too cloying thanks to the white floral tones.

Wet: The gardenia is a touch stronger, but it is the rose that starts to sing on my skin, set against the mallow, honey myrtle, and styrax. I feel like the scent becomes a bit more sophisticated on the skin thanks to the other notes, but it also develops a nutty warmth juxtaposed against the cooler florals. There's a part of me that wishes the mallow were stronger, but I feel like that would make it a little too young for me.

Dry: It smells like sugared vanilla, sweet frankincense, fresh gardenia, and budding rose with a hint of warmth from the mallow. It's absolutely lovely - feminine, foody, and warm.

• ITI: Ooh, it's perfume-y and floral, with a pleasant baby oil undertone and slightly spiciness of carnation swaddled in frankincense.

Wet: It's warm and sweet on my skin - the notes of coconut, amber, full but slightly waxy vanilla, faint frankincense, and a touch of delightful lemongrass waft up to greet my nose. Very pleasant.

Dry: Thankfully, the waxiness of the vanilla dissipates completely under the pointed carnation, spicy patchouli, and warm sandalwood. While it doesn't have much throw it it, it is rather provocative. I'm tempted to add this to my buy list.

• ITI: Ugh, that’s way too aquatic for me. It reminds me of toilet bowl clearer combined with overbearing white florals and anti-freeze.

Wet: It’s a bit nicer on my skin. I get something along lines of lemon verbena, which I suppose might read as neon. The petrichor is more pronounced and more agreeable but slightly honey-ish. The green/aquatic tone is still present and slightly disconcerting, like grass and crushed nettles.

Dry: That’s a negative for me. Floral honey, toilet bowl cleaner, and grime.

• ITI: It's sharp and clean, like men's body wash.

Wet: The scent doesn't change much once applied to the skin. The eucalyptus and ginger are present, along with something cool and something that does read as metal. Every now and then, I get a subtle whiff of a soft, pleasant musk, but not enough to counteract the overtly masculine tone of the scent.

Dry: After 20 minutes, it's back to men's body wash. That's a "no" from me.

• ITI: The scent here smells like clean soap and fresh sakura blossoms. It's quite refreshing.

Wet: Once applied, the scent remains fairly true to form - soapy and slightly sweeter cherry blossoms, but a subtle combination of metallic ozone and something faintly aquatic emerges, which I was not expecting from the scent notes.

Dry: It dries down to heavy soap, very faint cherry blossom. As much as I liked it in the bottle, this is a pass for me.

• ITI: I've already used this a few times, but each time I smell it, it reminds me of a wooden cabin in the middle of the Pacific Northwest. The wood is mild and sweet, but also steeped in delicious, earthy patchouli. Unlike most patchouli scents, this one is not overbearing, but balances brilliantly with the champaca, oudh, and copaiba balsam. The vanilla exists as a middle tone in the bottle, which reminds me of scented candles illuminating the wooden cabin at dusk.
• Wet: On my skin, the patchouli and pepperwod are much stronger, almost to the point of smelling like recent construction, laced with vanilla faint champaca, and just a touch of patchouli. It's interesting how much it's changed from the bottle, but I do hope that the resins amp up a bit more in the dry-down stage.
• Dry: Now that it's dry, the force of the woods have mellowed considerably, allowing the vanilla - warm and creamy - to soar along with the champaca and balsam, while the oudh and pepperwood settle to low-middle notes and the patchouli adds just enough sweet earthiness to temper the other notes, creating a scent that is as evocative as it is peaceful.

• ITI: Hmm, I'm not sure about this one. I do pick up orange, but it's like the Pledge orange. The tobacco paired with hay, however, reminds me of my barn back home, complete with staples that need to be mucked.

Wet: The orange is much more dominant on my skin and moves from Pledge to orange zest. Thankfully, the hay is only faintly present under the tobacco, which is functioning as the middle note so far.

Dry: By the end of my day, the scent was just sweet orange and a hint of tobacco. It's a 5/10 for me because I really dislike how it smelled when applied wet.

• ITI: This is an interesting scent. I can pick up the orange peel and sweet cedar (which reminds me of sweet mint in this iteration) just underneath the dusky tonka and cardamom tea.

Wet: Yes, the cardamom tea is spicy and dominant on my skin, although the orange peel adds a perky, zesty acid to the tone to keep it from skewing too oriental. I also pick up just a touch of the mate here, but the sweet cedar isn't as present on my skin as it was in the imp.

Dry: After 12 hours, only faint orange and cardamom tea remain. It's a pleasing scent, but I just wish some of the complexity of its wet phase lasted throughout my work day.

• ITI: Hmm, that’ interesting. I certainly do get the impression of a light nutty, slightly masculine woody leather (the nagarmotha) on top of a much more unassuming, lighter musk. There is a bit more of a resinous, smoky tone than I had initially anticipated from just those two notes. It reminds me of smoldering frankincense while burning cedar planks for a tasty meal on a dusky twilight eve.

Wet: There we go, it reminds me of vetiver, but more resinous and with a touch of leather and tones of musk. Perhaps with just a smattering of a bright copper oil as well. Either way. I like it, although it does remind me of some of the Phoenix Steamworks type scents than something from the Metamorphosis collection.

Dry: Wow, the staying power on this one is impressing. I’m at nearly 24 hours and I can clearly pick out a really nice smoky resin. It’s like Vetiver SN, Smokestack, and Myrrh SN all combined to have a really gorgeous love-child.

• ITI: Oh, now that's a really lovely bergamot! Often, the Lab's bergamot notes are shy are retiring, but this one is grand and showy, flanked gorgeously by cedar, neroli, and thick tobacco. Wow!

Wet: It's similar to what I get in the imp, but the lemon peel peaks though, as does that icky jasmine note that just smells like cheap Glade air freshener. Thankfully, the bergamot and neroli are strong enough to rival the jasmine. I'm keeping the fingers crossed that the jasmine note dies down.

Dry: Nope, it's all jasmine air freshener. Boo.

• ITI: heady jasmine sambac, tempered licorice, a jumble of florals, and something that reads as slightly animalistic. Intriguing. It's much more feral than I would expect for a butterfly-type scent.

Wet: The jasmine sambac is a bit stronger on my skin, but it's certainly a more feminine variety of sambac. The licorice is more star anise than licorice candy, and the entire scent seems powdered by orchids and a really delightful freesia note.

Dry: The scent doesn't have a great deal of throw for long. Once it has been dried for four hours, I have to be right up on my wrist to detect much. When there, it's the slight animalistic, floral note with powdered freesia and only the vaguest impression of anise.

• ITI: Oh, this one is fabulous! The yuzu is bright, sweet, and delightful paired with the plum and lime. Oh my gosh, I'm starting to panic just a tad that I may have missed out on something incredibly special.

Wet: The yuzu and mandarin are just incredibly succulent on my skin while the lime and plum provide a delightful fruity balance to the bright, sparkly, light citrus (lime reads as fuller and darker to me, something that is even a bit savory at times). I''m also picking up wafts of spicy carnation and a blueish musk, although no cedar. This is a stand-out scent so far.

Dry: A winner still! Plum peel, mandarin, yuzu, carnation, a gossamer musk, and a faint white thyme. I'm rather miffed that I did not test this earlier as I would have bought a bottle.

• ITI: The scent strikes me as somewhat medicinal, which I think stems from the lavender, chamomile, and marjoram. I’m also picking up something that has a faint bubblegum quality, and I’m not sure which note it is.

Wet: Bubblegum, sandalwood, marjoram, oudh, cedar, chamomile, and lavender- still too medicinal and oddly sweet for me. I’m not too convinced that this is a keeper at all.

Dry: I like this one better now that it has dried. It’s sweeter, but more palatable. The sandalwood is more distinct, the rosewood has appeared and warmed nicely on the skin, while the oudh and lavender have mellowed their medicinal tones and instead settled into something more calming.

• ITI: It's light, breezy, refreshingly citrusy with a touch of yummy vanilla. Oh, this is a really wonderful springtime scent or just a great am pick-me-up.

Wet: On my skin, the China mus emerges, much more delicate than anticipated. I think that is also do to it's paring with white musk, white florals, verbena, neroli, and sandalwood. It's much less citrusy than in the bottle but more balanced and more refined, like an afternoon tea party underneath a sun-drenched gazebo.

Dry: After 4 hours, the scent is still really quite lovely - gentle white florals, subtle lemon verbena, delicate hints of sandalwood, whispers of vanilla and a touch of musk are still distinctly discernible and even have some throw.

• ITI: This scent is really gorgeous, invoking hints of spring from the nearly candied violet note, but there's also a coquettish tone to it thanks to the tonka bean and the heady, resinous incense.

Wet: Yes, it's very much candied violet notes surrounded by bubblegum powder, sweet frankincense and a hint of sandalwood, followed by honeyed tonka. This smells like it would make an amazing aperitif.

Dry: After 15 hours, it's still clearly discernible and incredibly enjoyable. Now that it's had a good time to settle, it smells like the most divine, fluffy, violet-infused creme brulee tart under thick, decadent whipped cream (that's how the incense and clove are reading to me and it's brilliant). I'm in love and it's worth every rich, fluffy, imaginary calorie.

• ITI: It’s almost smoky in the bottle, like vetiver surrounding benzoin, musk, and something slightly tangy and almost minty, which might be the O3. I wasn’t anticipating the smokiness of the scent, but I can certainly see

Wet: It smells clean and dangerous – the O3 and olibanum are light ephemeral when paired with the headier elements like the benzoin and galbanum, that yield a metallic, dangerous vibe. The pepper is present, but only enough to add an interesting depth to the scent.

Dry: The sandalwood and ambergris are the notes that settle down for the long haul, casting the smoky, metallic notes into a more resinous and slightly sweet role. This gets a positive rating from me, but I wish the ambergris was more apparent.