maribouquet

Mmm...starts out as a deep, darkened sweet orangey amber...the olive leaf emerges after a half hour or so...and it all dries down to a dusty-sweet incense.

 

I like this much, much more than I expected I would. Definitely keeping my decant.

I also noticed a sweet, nutty almond scent right off the bat - mysterious! As this dries the dragon's blood emerges in a very airy, violet-colored sort of way. I was surprised by how nicely it combined with the scrumptious notes, and would you believe it actually behaved on me?

 

Sweet pea, however, doesn't play nice on me and took over, leaving me with an overly sweet, bathroom-cleaner sort of scent.

 

Still, a very unique combination of notes. Wish it had worked for me!

At first the rum was very strong - I liked it but boozey notes can give me a headache, so I was wary... In the drydown I get a delicious, smooth coconut tempered with soft lilac and a hint of leather underneath.

 

I like the feel of this one - it puts me in mind of a post-coital nap on a leather couch on a summer afternoon.

Wet and fresh on this is mostly a lovely orange blossom, with a smoothness beginning to emerge that I think may be attributed to the mahogany...

 

I'm unfamiliar with many of these notes, so it's hard to say what makes this dry down into an unpleasant sour smell. I suspect the karakarounde as I read that it is similar to jasmine, which tends to dislike me.

 

There is a note in here that smells almost lime-like and fizzy to me that's kind of nice, and the orange lingers a bit, but the sourness overwhelms the good bits for me, sorry to say.

I second ivyandpeony's recommendation of Garden Path with Chickens (one of the new Salon scents.) Fresh, wet, green floral describes it perfectly. It is a divine springtime scent.

Woo! Strong bubblegum scent on first application, and on my dries down into...cinnamon? Kind of a plastic spice? Not great on me.

This starts out on me as a sweet pine, but dries down to a soft, outdoorsy scent with just a hint of evergreen.

 

Oh sad sad disappointment. It's not you, SO, it's me.

 

Aged, fresh, you just smell like play-dough.

 

I'm so sorry.

This is pretty - something seems a little off on me in the drydown but I can't place it. At first I smelled something cherry-like (?) and then lily as it dried.

 

I'm so intrigued that I've found a jasmine blend that doesn't immediately turn into pickled burned rubber that even though this is not an immediate winner on me, I may have to get an imp for research purposes.

In the imp and wet this smells like spicy cinnamon and chai tea.

 

Ouch! It burns. I had to wash it off as it turned my skin red. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Strongly pomegranate and plum at first, and then dries down to a musky, rosy apricot. Very nice, but not really me.

This is a little too dark for me, and something in here smells sour and too woody on my skin - maybe the black herbs?

This is pretty and fresh, but teeters on the edge of air freshener on me. Wish I knew what blackberry and heather smell like on their own so I could appreciate this more. I think I like the drydown best: the berryish note is subdued and I get a nice, fresh, almost-haylike floral scent.

imp: incredibly airy

wet: sweet, somewhat dank scent, like the forest floor

dry: dark greens and florals emerge

 

I can't identify a single thing (big surprise). I think I kind of like it? It's like Bayou under a long, dark shadow.

imp: fruity pez! (ah, that's the lime and citron, I'd guess)

wet: hints of lilac and musk

 

Interesting and very bright, but it's too sharp for my nose, I fear. Tangy, like wood polish.

Oh yum! Pear with juice running down your chin, for sure, plus a bubbly undercurrent (champagne!) and the floral smooths it all out.

 

Great throw and totally delicious. Unabashedly, brightly girly. I may need a bottle.

Oh rats, this vanilla turns into burnt plastic on me. Woe woe woe!

ETA: 45 min later, the weird burnt, sour smell has pretty much faded and I am left with something warm and spicy...almost like clove and vanilla. It's yummy. I'm not giving up on you yet, Hunger! And this gives me hope for Snake Oil, too.

This reminds me a bit of Cloister Graveyard in the snow, in that first on the snow/ozone is most prominent. It settles down like a blanket, wafting with a light ghost of incense dust and the palest trace of flowers...not sure what, though. I want to say lily, but that may just be the incense reminding me of Kostnice.

 

I like this very much, and was thrilled that it lasted all day, even through a few hand washings. Despite its stamina, it is still a light, subtle scent on me, with all the notes on the same plane, none jostling for attention or overwhelming the others.

This smells rich and deep in the imp, a little masculine, but wet on my skin it is a sweet flower (frangipanni? passion flower?) overlaid with with intriguing hints of mineral and salt...I love it. The drydown is equally spectacular: a soft, dark floral with a touch of musk.

 

This is going on my bottle list. It's divine: deep, humid and hidden. Hot like the back of a sleeping dragon.

 

A very bright, spring green floral. Pretty, fresh and beautifully balanced. The gardenia and geranium are at the fore as this dries, but not overpowering. I can definitely smell the grass, too, but it grounds the scent rather than making me feel that I've rolled on the lawn. I do get the sense of a garden, all the notes waving together as flowers, greenery or the clucks of chickens might do in a breeze. I am going to need a bottle of this for when April and May roll around on the lawn instead.

p.s. (1/27) This is so great on its own, but layer it with Shanghai (green tea, lemon & honeysuckle) for an incredible spring surprise.

I really, really love this. For one thing, it really helps with the weepy/exhausted version of PMS I'm wrestling with at the moment. (I'll have to try it on the RAGERAGERAGE version another time ) It is a very uplifting scent.

 

I smell something lemongrassy/eucalyptusish/minty, and can pick up fennel in the drydown.

 

I love love love this stuff, and now that there Bitch bath bombs (!!!) I think I'm going to order myself a crate full.

I love this so much at the beginning: soft, rosy cherry with light musk. So nice. But rosewood tends to turn powdery on me, and it certainly does here. Boo.

I so wanted to like this, but sadly it doesn't work on me. On good days it's a sawdust sweet caramel chocolate, bad days it smells like formaldehyde - must be the whiskey.

Mmm, this is a yummy scent, sort of a buttery, cherry toffee. Whimsical and unique, definitely worth a try!

Wanton.

 

Patchouli and I don't have a good relationship, but Wanton works v. well on me. Granted, it's a strong rose scent - not sure if that's something you'd like or not - but the patchouli behaves and stays very quiet.

 

That is the only patchouli blend I've found that I can wear. (so far.)

 

ETA: Also, Phantom Calliope! Mmm.