mymymai
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Posts posted by mymymai
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- 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. -
White patchouli, oudh, vanilla absolute, copaiba balsam, pepperwood, and champaca flower.- 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.
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- 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. -
- ITI: Hmm, too green, too…sad. I’ll wear something else today. Day 2 – okay, again, I’m getting the same impression. It’s that carrot, wormwood, and mandrake. Boo.
Wet: This scent makes me sad and mournful. The carrot, hemlock, wormwood, mandrake, parsley and vine notes are all nice green notes, but there’s something faintly aquatic to them and medicinal in the sense of need, not want. I just want to do nothing when I’m wearing this.
Dry: At least it’s a bit more floral once it’s dried from the morning glory emerging, but overall, the wet greens and solemnity of the notes as a whole just aren’t for me. -
- ITI: Twenty One reminds me of the Lab's Champagne scents. It's bright and bubbly like their champagne notes, but there is a touch of citrus in there along with something lightly but pleasantly herbal.
Wet: Woo, that's bubbly. It reminds me not of a martini in the strictest but of sparkling champagne, juniper berries, and mimosas. It's certainly very festive.
Dry: Yep, it still smells like the Lab's dried champagne note paired with a touch of lemon rind, but I do pick up on the vermouth now that it has had time to settle. It's not so much a straight up martini, but a a sparkling martini, which I could get behind. -
- ITI: Wow, that smells good. Much better than I had anticipated. I was thinking I'd get a boozy wine scents with tones of sharp floral and pitched herbs. Instead, I get dewberry, fine whisky, subtle ambergris, and a gentleman's cologne when I inhale. It reminds me of a tavern that Manet would have visited.
Wet: It still reminds me of dewberries strongly laced with gardenias, ylang ylang, a gorgeously expensive lavender fougere, a touch of ebony wood, and very nice aged whisky. It reminds me of slipping a refreshing beverage on a cool spring evening, sitting within the confines on a floral be-speckled terraced balcony in New Orleans. Ahhh!
Dry: It's still wonderful - clearly floral (gardenia, ylang ylang), dewberry (I'm not sure what is giving me this not, but it's there), orange blossom, a touch of creaminess, and light splash of whiskey. This is a keeper! -
- ITI: Imperious jasmine, burgundy rose, and dark myrrh notes swirl around in the imp like some kind of magnificent concoction geared for evil dames. I like it in the imp, but I'm not sure how well it will behave on my skin. Jasmine, I'm watching you.
Wet: The jasmine is more of a jasmine I'd associate with a sambac once on my skin. The myrrh and rose are both dark enough to offset with bombastic nature of jasmine, but I'd have to say that the myrrh - earthy, threatening, and faintly masculine - is what really makes the scent with the sweeter florals.
Dry: As it dries down, Wicked does start to go a bit soapy on me thanks to the jasmine note. The rose shrinks back, which is too bad because the rose note is a really lovely, maturely dark but soft note. After about an hour, the jasmine calms down and the rose and myrrh take their stand - both a bit dusky and slightly aged, but alluringly feminine nonetheless. I'm much more of a fan once dry. -
- ITI: This is a very nicely blended mix of herbal, menthol-laced notes alongside fragrant woods and a touch of creaminess. Oh, I like it so far!
Wet: My nose seems to think that the herbal and woody qualities comes from fir and rosemary notes; the creaminess is most certainly a light vanilla. The menthol note is still there, although it skews like eucalyptus. This actually helps my stuff nose. Hmm, I may keep this handy since we are getting into cold season.
Dry: It’s now a creamy, calming, balm-like scent with overtones of fir and faint menthol. It’s really soothing, actually – more so than I expected. -
- ITI: I pick up on a note that reminds me of baby oil for some reason, specifically Johnson & Johnson's. There's a faint green as well as perhaps jasmine or gardenia paired with a deeper resin, like dragon's blood.
Wet: Yeah, it turns rather soapy on my skin, so I'm thinking that the floral note I was smelling earlier is jasmine. It's undercut with a bit of dragon's blood resin, but not enough to combat the mineral oil-soaked jasmine screaming up from my wrist.
Dry: This one doesn't really last all that long. After about 8 hours, I can only pick up a nondescript honeyed floral with the faintest impression of resin. -
- ITI: I know that it's supposed to smell slightly industrial, but I'm getting just a lovely blend of rosemary, eucalyptus, ozone, copper and coal. It reminds me of a smokier, sexier Loup Garou.
Wet: Yes, this really is darkly resinous, with strong swaths of gleaming, oiled copper. The smoldering base does evoke smoke, it is rich, perfumey, dark, and enchanting, like incense and copper in the middle of a dense, woody, eucalyptus-laden park.
Dry: Yummy, incense-y goodness. There surely is myrrh here with dusky coal, a bit of musk, gilded oil and a touch of fir or eucalyptus green. This is brilliant and will be a bottle of mine in the near future. -
- ITI: That neroli and bergamot here are strong, clear, and refreshing. It makes me year for a cup of Earl Gray tea. However, behind those notes saunters in a rush and slightly dangerous musk and sandalwood, lending a seriousness to what would normally be an indolent perfume.
Wet: It still maintains the lovely tones from the neroli and bergamot, but the bergamot paired with the sandalwood and frankincense just flowers on my skin. It's glorious, like rose gold set before a wafting incense-laden censer. The musk, however,still provides a slightly threatening tone to the scent, like shadows that appear darker than normal in that gilded room. I love it and feel empowered for my procedure.
Dry: After nearly 12 hours and begin scrubbed by prepping pads, Titus Andronicus endures. It's sweet from the amber, almost honeyish still, with darkly resinous notes of bergamot and neroli still ambling about below the musk. It's a strong bottle contender. -
- ITI: It reminds me of a tropical summer – suntan lotion, kafir limes, and pina coladas by the beach.
- Wet: Yum! Coconut cream, bright lime, a touch of sugar, and lemon balm. It’s a a very festive, summer scent.
Dry: Interesting. It dries down into suntan lotion, coconut sugar, shredded lime and lemon, and something slightly basic underneath that I cannot place. The vanilla cream turns a little plastic-y on my skin, but I think that’s just me. - ITI: It reminds me of a tropical summer – suntan lotion, kafir limes, and pina coladas by the beach.
The Hierophant and The Empress
in Liliths
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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.