Iceblink

The Lab's cocoa note never fails to please. Here it's mellowed by the marshmallow, creamy and warm. The longer this dries the more it's smelling like cocoa spilled on felt. I do get a slight whiff of glue but it's not unpleasant. This is nice! It's not particularly strong but it's very cozy and cuddly.

This smells just like a cherry Icee! There's a little whiff of "fried" at the beginning but the cherry candy takes over fast. It's cute!

Metallic resin--I always want to like these "metal" scents but they just smell so *masculine*. I love the mental image I get from this--warm, polished gold. This is STRONG and has quite the throw. If metallics are your thing it's just about perfect, but they really don't work on me.

Yes, this is bronze--and SO shimmery. It goes on a little thin and will need a couple of coats to look like it does in the bottle. Really pretty. All of these new polishes are so gorgeous!

The description of Smokestack is dead-on. There's a touch of blue to the gunmetal-grey in this--very nice. It has some shimmer but it's not sparkly like Bordello is--it's more subtle. This is a more elegant, non-emo way to wear black nails.

This is more what I think of as mulberry than burgundy--it's a deep purply berry with some blue tones. I probably wouldn't have bought this one if I'd seen it in person first, as I'm more of a red/wine/black person, but it is a pretty color and makes me think of late spring/early summer; I'll probably love wearing it then!

Oh, this is so pretty. It's a beautiful raspberry color with LOADS of silvery shimmer. I've got it swatched on a piece of paper and the light bouncing off it is just dazzling! If you like Morgause, this is in the same color family. This suits the name "bordello" so well!

The description doesn't lie--this is so black that I thought my bottle was missing the label because the black logo is almost impossible to see next to the polish itself. It makes me think of Agent Cooper's line about liking his coffee "black as midnight on a moonlight night" on Twin Peaks. And it's so opaque!

Overwhelmingly woody in the imp and when fresh. The peach comes out after a few minutes and for a while this was really promising woody-peachy goodness with a whiff of tobacco. The peach then fades, leaving mostly sweet wood behind...a bit of a disappointment as I was hoping for the red musk and currant.

This is one of the most epic fails EVER on me...something in here does NOT like my skin chemistry! It's weirdly planty/vegetal when wet and very off-putting. I do get some of the listed notes once it dries--plum, amaretto--but it's very faint and not worth that awful first 30 minutes or so. Tragic!

Another tropical-fruity Yule! The tonka gives this a warm and almost creamy base for all those florals and the fruits--the yuzu and grapefruit really dominate the blend and the flowers are there but I can't distinguish any of them individually. Warm and pink, indeed! This has pretty good staying power for a citrusy oil. Very cheerful, but not very Yule-y.

Smoky!! Starts out totally smoky vanilla and oakmoss. The latter stages of this are, oddly, quite strong, sweet pimento and patchouli, with the smoky aspect calming down. It's warm and spicy and dark. I'm not sure it's really something I'll wear but I'm going to let it sit for a few days and try it again, because I do like it.

Spiced prunes! I'm surprised at how fruity this is. The rice pudding gives this a thick, heavy (but not cloying) feel--it does smell like something you'd eat in cold weather. The mead isn't making this too boozy; it's just sweet and rich. Wish I was having this for breakfast, actually...it's delicious!

Tropical fruits--lots of guava especially and heavy sugar cane. There's a creaminess underneath all of this that must be the caramel; this blend reminds me just a bit of White Rabbit and Milk Moon 2007 with the creamy/fruity combination (although I like this better!). Not something I'd remotely want to wear in wintertime but I'll want to revisit this one in summer.

The almond in here is LOUD when this is wet. Delicious, but LOUD...but then the apricot comes out and this is so much more interesting and pretty! I love apricot as a note but haven't ever really found a blend with it that I'm totally happy with--this might be the one. Apricot pastry with a bit of cherry sweetness is the result--awesome!

Mmm...this is very creamy eggnog with lots of nutmeg. The coffee is light and not overbearing...a really cozy, warm blend, and not nearly as sweet as the bottle of Egg Nog 2007 I have. I'd like a mug of this right now!

Lots of caramel--the wet stage of this made me think of Red Lantern. The longer it dries the more I'm getting musk and vanilla. A very sweet blend...but I'm picking up on a little patchouli to keep it from going completely caramel candy. This will probably age terrifically and is worth wearing again, definitely.

What an interesting blend this is. I get hazelnut and honey at first but the carrot note and some grain/oats come in to play after a bit and keep this from being all sweet, all the time. I wondered if this would be like Gunpowder, but it's softer and smells more like people food instead of horsey food. Quite nice; I'll need to try this one again and think about a bottle.

Red fruits! And the "jelly" bit is spot-on here; there's something very gummy/gelatiny about this blend. Weirdly, it's not overly boozy on me--usually I amp booze/wine to the point where it's unbearable. This is nice and candy-like.

Whoa. I see what all the fuss is about here. Loads of dry, sexy black musk to open with the cocoa sweetened by tobacco coming out on the drydown. These are three of my favorite notes and they blend wonderfully! This is great; I need a bottle.

The pepper here is really strong in the imp but on my skin it's just spicy cookie goodness. Not overly sweet like some foodie scents are. The only problem is that the longer this dries the more it's starting to smell like cardboard on me. Rats!

I'm not quite sure what to make of this one. My nose keeps saying WATER! and I'm thinking that's the snow. Wet, there was a lot of moss that's calmed down a bit now. The woods are getting stronger as it dries. It's definitely got a snowy forest feel to it. I may need to try this again just to get a better feel for it. Wintry, not overpowering, not much throw.

I'm not a coffee drinker and the smell of straight coffee can really do a number on me but when blended with chocolate and cinnamon?? Oh YES. Dia de los Reyes is straightforward--all four notes are present and accounted for. It's rich and warm. Dry, I'm getting the brown sugar and chocolate most of all, and it's absolutely decadent!

If the cinnamon in this will behave on me and not irritate my skin, this is a winner.

I love the citrusy brightness of this when freshly applied--so cheery!--but that fades fast and I'm left with a whole lot of amber, and frankincense doing its weird thing on me. Not gonna work on me, although I love the concept.

This 13 is morphing like crazy. It begins as OMG FUDGE! and moves on to OMG PRUNES! after about 15 minutes. This prune bit scared me a little because it was *strong* and a little too fruity...but it passed after a few more minutes and now I'm getting a lot of myrrh and incense and tobacco and the flowers are peeking through, just skimming over the surface. Really complex and deep. This is going to age spectacularly. And I love the label!