myoubi

Dear God this is beautiful.

I was fortunate enough to come by a partial bottle of this beauty (thanks to the generous swapping of lj's miaandmoe) and I am so glad as it has rocketed into my top 10. Havisham is a freezing, vaguely aquatic rose, but a rose that's not at all old-ladyish -- it's slightly herbal, and somehow vaguely spicy. I get a hint of the dust that others have mentioned, but it's not at all unpleasant -- on the contrary, it's a nice grounding note in relation to the other florals. I'm not good at dissecting floral scents, and this one blends into my skin pretty quickly, but leaving a trace of itself behind, it doesn't just disappear (if you know what I mean). If this was a GC, I would bathe in it. As it is, I may never get my hands on more, but that won't stop me trying.

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DISCLAIMINER: None of the ingredients in this perfume, barring currant, agree with me at all. my review is biased accordingly.

In the imp, this smells like red wine and thyme.

On my skin, it's /very/ fruity -- sweet currants and berries, with an undercurrent of rich red alcohol. I was surprised at how sweet and fruity it was, given its namesake. Although I like currant, it was just too berry-y for me.

Ten minutes later, it's basically all red wine. Have you ever put the cork of a bottle of red wine to your nose and sniffed it? That slightly dry, wine-y scent? imagine someone had opened a bottle of raspberry juice in the room, and there you have Lady Macbeth.

I'm sure this is lovely and deep and sexy on someone. On me it just smells like I've been indulging in very expensive vino.

LIME! Coconut. (peppermint?)

In that order.

soooooo not for me.

The lab description prettymuch tells it like it is; unfortunately, I don't know why I keep trying lily perfumes, but it's a note that just doesn't jive with me. For the record, I get more lily than honey, but it is a bold, warm lily (! I swear, not an oxymoron). Lily also hates me. So out it goes.

This smells like it was described to me -- a grown-up, slightly floral vanilla. However, that's /all/ it is -- a grown-up, slightly floral vanilla. I like the scent of it, but it's slightly too warm and sweet for me. Also, my skin amps vanilla like crazy.

*I'm picky about vanilla scents, because vanilla so often smells synthetic or plasticcy or cloying to my nose. This is a true, simple beautiful vanilla, that deepens into lightly floral complexity as time goes on. I like it, it's just not for me.

Preconceptions: Rose doesn't often jive with me -- whether it's lush (like Rose Red/Peacock Queen) or soft and florally, it usually just smells like old lady. That said, I loooooove the scent of rosehip tea, and I wanted Hope to fill that scent niche.

It doesn't smell precisely like rosehip tea, but it goes one better: it smells like sweet rose candy, beautiful and fresh. It's (much) sweeter and prettier than I usually like in fragrances, but it doesn't go old-lady at all! It stays true to the description -- simple and innocent -- and dries down, after hours and hours, to the most subtle feminine perfume. So sad, because her sister turned to instant play-doh on my skin. I /will/ find a way to secure a 5mL...

Banded Sea Snake is one of the snakes that I instantly passed over in at first. I am sooo glad I found an imp.

As many have remarked, it's tough to get a handle on -- and particularly since I don't wear mosses /or/ aquatics, I have no idea what the notes I'm sniffing really smell like. However, on my skin it's an androgynous-to-masculine blend that's warmer and smoother than the original Snake Oil, and less sugar-sweet. I get a little of the saltiness that other people have mentioned, but what comes out most prominently on my skin is the rich olive leaf -- over a backdrop of the Snake Oil spices. You'd never mistake BSS for Snake Oil, but the Snake Oil base is definitely noticeable. Although BSS has a somewhat masculine tone, I don't find it at all difficult to wear -- it has a gravity and depth that's different from my usual cold scents and I'd feel comfortable wearing this with a power suit to the office, or curled up beside the fire on a winter day. On me it hugs fairly close to the skin, but my nose is defective so YMMV.

Once I scrape some more cash together I'm seriously contemplating a bottle of this 'un.

Bah! Why??

Lovely in the imp -- pretty much as the description reads. Sweet violets, a touch cloying but very pleasant.

On my skin -- instant play-doh.

Violet /hates/ me.

Shub. I'm serious. The zippy ginger is like instant backbone on a day when all I want to do is curl up in bed and bawl, and the warmth is very comforting in the winter... it's an I'm-ready-to-face-the-world kind of scent. yumm.

Add another vote for Brides of Dracula, which shouldn't be too hard to find -- it's floating around. I tried Les Bijoux and it was like a fruitier Brides on me. I like Brides much better but YMMV

My imp of this has the consistency of syrup -- delicate, dusky-red syrup. I almost want to keep it for the shade alone.

IN THE IMP it smells like... red musk. but fruity red musk, with overtones of sage. I like red musk, but I have three scents with it already, and it tends to stomp all over everything else...

WET ON SKIN it smells like fruity red musk with lavender, which quickly dries down to... lavender and sage. What do you know, the red musk is actually taking a relative back seat in this blend.

DRY I get lavender and mango. and sage. But not aggressive, dry sage -- it's sweetened by the mango. The mango is actually quite prominent, but not to the point of juiciness -- I'm normally put off by sweet, fruity blends and this is quite nice. It stays pretty true on me, a lavender-mango blend with a warm red musk backdrop that wafts up from my wrists. It has good throw but isn't obnoxious.

Unfortunately, when I'm in the mood for a warm scent there are things I have bottles of that I can reach for, and it's not worth this imp's time to keep something so rare when it'll gather dust. I'll pass it on, but it's quite a nice blend -- not, however, something I am gaga for. Maybe someone will swap me for some Ice Queen or Ingenue...

Disclaimer: I'm sick and don't have the greatest nose in the first place. HOWEVER...

...it's hard to identify any single note in this scent, it's very well-blended; the only thing that comes out strongly is the peach blossom, with the patchouli behind it. Everything else just forms this slightly resinous, rather sweet warm haze. It's warm, and slightly fruity, and sweet in a non-sugary way. I like it, and I'm glad I managed to snag a couple of decants, but it's not really a 'me' scent. As lovely as it is, it's just a bit too warm and fruity for my personality.

We'll see if I can swap for some Infatuation...

Thanks to the lovely Jocosa, who frimped me a 1/4 imp of this rare beauty As much as I love this scent, my nose sucks, so this review is almost completely impressionary and I'm awful at picking out notes...

Ice Queen is lovely. It's a subtle, light scent that doesn't scream its presence -- the soft musks ground it in the skin, and when I wear it the wafts I get are of the iciest spruce and some light and unidentified fruits. They aren't juicy fruit scents, but a touch of sweetness that's rendered more complex by some unidentifiable floral. Other than the spruce, which is definately present, the scent is very well-blended -- it doesn't separate out into components and they're tough to tease out even when I'm really hunting. THis one is gorgeous, and will be lovingly saved.

Hmm-mm-mm. I'm not quite sure what to think of this one.

Two things stand out: 1) it's very well-blended; and 2) it's quite a morpher. In the bottle and at first application, I couldn't stand it -- it smelled horribly "perfumey", too strong, tooo dark. Like someone trying too hard to be vampy and sexy. After about 20 minutes, though, it settled down into something I could stand and actually kind of liked -- green without being acidic, floral without being overpowering, dark without being bitter or super-sweet. I left it and went about my business.

Four hours later it's dried down to a marvellous sexy blend with a base of white honey. I wish the white honey came out much more prominently earlier (and I might just try layering it with O to see if that helps...) and I don't like the beginning stages at all; but now it's this delicately swirling, very sexy scent that's dark without being heavy (!!!!) and that hugs close to my skin without being invisible. I love the dry-drydown. I just loathe the beginning.

We'll see. I'll have to live with this one for a bit. But as far as the eventual outcome goes. Faiza is yummmmy.

A lot of people said they were surprised by what they got in this inquisition, but the Ecstasy of Passion fit my story perfectly By fragrance alone I was hoping for True Love, but now that I have this, I'm not disappointed.

In the bottle this kind of scares me -- the red musk is very prominent, and something about the red musk combined with the clove has an almost patchouli-like feel (I don't know, all right? my nose is weird.)

On my skin this is still very spicy red-musk-y, and the clove is definately picking up -- a smudgy, sweet clove, not agressive. This is very well-blended, and I'm having a lot of trouble picking out individual notes, but it's a warm spicy blend... unfortunately, warm spicy blends are rarely my cup of tea :S

The drydown, however, makes it all worthwhile. Curiously I get no vanilla until after about half an hour (vanilla usually amps like crazy on my skin) -- the rich dark bourbon vanilla isn't really present from close up, but from about half a foot away the scent of it begins to hover, mixing with the petitgrain and a hint of clove. Right up against my skin, it's still warm and spicy but the red musk is no longer eating everything else, and the amber is beginning to come out -- not as powdery as it usually is on me, more the creamy amber I've heard other people talk about

VERDICT: I like Passion a lot, particularly after it's had a while to settle down. However, I'm much more comfortable in light, cool, slightly silvery scents than warm spicy musky fragrances, and so I don't think I'll reach for this one often. When I do, though...

This review is for Snow White 2005; I'll tack on my review for 04 when I test it out.

Unlike most reviewers, this one doesn't morph a lot on my skin. It's a cool, fresh scent with a hint of florally sweetness, but it's nontraditional -- I'm not fond of florals /or/ "fresh" smells usually, but this is lovely. It's creamy without being thick, heavy or foody, and there's something dewy-fresh and slightly rosy to it. It hovers close to the skin, and there's a dash coconut in it, but again, it's not heavy or foody, just a touch of sweetness.

Snow White 05 is a very unusual scent, and I'm glad I managed to snag a bottle. If you like light, sweetly clear scents a la La Fee Verte (my personal BPAL favourite) Snow White 05 is a must-try.

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PRECONCEPTIONS: This was the blend I was most excited for in the entire update, by a long shot. Although Snake Oil itself was iffy on me (straight-up vanilla) I nontheless had high hopes for the Viper.

IN THE BOTTLE: Mint! But not a cold mint like Snowblind or Lick It. It still has that freshness and kick but it's rounder and less nose-clearing.

WET ON SKIN: Still mint! Green mint, though. This is complex -- beneath the mintiness is something warm and subtle.

DRY: The mint is backing off now, and the other notes are coming out. There is a bit of vegetal green tea, but no bergamot as yet. After about ten minutes, the Snake Oil base starts to noticeably peek out and mingle with the other notes.

30 minutes later: This blend is at its best about half an hour after application. The mint, while it doesn't evaporate like Lick It Again, is much reduced to a slightly-buttery hint flitting round the corners. Once again, Snake Oil does its supervanilla thing on me, but here it's complicated by the dry Snake Oil spices, which miraculously I can detect here. I can still smell the green tea but it doesn't have combat boots on. No bergamot for me, though.

I love this blend. I need a hoard of this so that i never ever ever run out -- I'll vacuum-seal and freeze them to preserve 'em if need be. My only caveat is that this blend doesn't last that long on me. While initially it's a solid medium-to-strong, after four hours this is mostly disappeared and after five I can't even smell it with my nose against my wrist. Since I don't carry bottles around with me for reapplication, this is a pain in the butt.

Even so, this snake is yummy.

Snowblind is prettymuch as described. I like it enough to keep, but fortunately it's not something I'll die without.

In the bottle, Snowblind is prettymuch 50-50 mint and vanilla. As it touches my skin, it becomes a rounded, creamy vanilla with just a touch of mint -- drying down, the peppermint mostly wafts off, leaving a cool, creamy and delicious vanilla with a hint of buttermint. It's very lovely, and as vanillas go quite tolerable (normally straight-up vanilla and I have Problems). It will live happily beside my dwindling bottles of Lick It Again and Green Tree Viper, and when it is gone there will be no need for more.

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An aside: I feel so ostentatious wearing this -- like a woman wearing big diamonds out to the grocery store. I put it on when I really feel like treating myself... then go splurge on something huge and creamy.

in the bottle: quite sugary.

Wet on my skin it smells abruptly of champaca, then morphs within minutes to something strangely medicinal. For the next few minutes this smells reminiscent of cough syrup.

This dries down to -- Snake Charmer. Darker, less sweet, and slightly stronger/heavier Snake Charmer. I've already got two bottles of that, so I don't need Temple Viper too.

Ugh! Bubblegum and candy, that's it. Sickly sweet and cloying and won't leave me alone! It lives up to its name, and it's a great concept scent; I, however, never want to smell it again. Someone else can love it.

I'm not even going to write a proper review because I need to wash this stuff off. Yuch!

opium and narcissus with an undertone of myrrh. A beautiful perfume, but I'm not a narcissus fan and it's not something I'd ever wear. Also, this stuff has throw! I'm wearing six different scents on different parts of my forearm and narcissus is the only thing I can smell right now.

This made my skin lovely and soft in the area that I applied it. I can tell that on someone else, this would be dead sexy.

At first, Nemesis goes CYPRESS ginger fig patchouli (...rose, tonka). After about five minutes, the ginger and the cypress settle down and it mellos slightly into a cypress-patchouli blend. Not sweet and rahter too patchouli-y for my liking. Swap for you.

This smells like lemons. Ashy, faint, slightly chemical lemons.

...and something else -- maybe something musky? that I can't name. But definately not smoke.

Not for me.

all of the yule labels this year looked the same -- I can't find a pic of Lick It Again specifically, but the label design is -exactly- the same as the other yule labels, like the Krampus label pictured here

Also I'm soo glad that this year's Smut labels look the same as last year's. They're so cute!

IN THE IMP: I sniffed the imp wand and thought "Yep... definately Snake Oil family." With a sense of dread I realised that even though I hadn't smelled Snake Oil in months this was almost exactly the scent.

WET: More complex; I'm getting more incense than I remember there being in Snake Oil, and there's a smoky/powdery feel that makes it likeable. Snake Oil was almost straight-up vanilla on me, so *anything* more complex is good news.

DRY: mmkay, nicer. There's plum, but not too much, making it sweet; the vanilla is behaving, mostly. Spicy, rather sweeter than I like...

DRY AFTER A BIT: My roommate says it smells like baby powder. That would be the amber. It smells very close to Snake Oil on me, but more complex -- vanilla is stomping on the notes a little less, and it has a delightful smokiness to it. It is ultimately elegant baby powder. Fortunately I've come to like the smell of baby powder, so I'm not sorry I have this. I don't feel the need to forfeit my Starbucks budget for more, though.

(how did I end up with 8mL of this unsniffed? I think I just kept forgetting I'd already bought decants of it...)

ETA: a note... this is not light. Leastwise, not on me. apply with caution.