citharadraconis

This sounded beautiful, and I couldn't wait to try the imp I got from a forumite. Unfortunately, on me the velvety lushness of rose is smothered under an unpleasantly sharp, green herbal note--more leaves than flowers. Nice, but there are rose blends I like better. This one's for swap.

This is lovely. Not fake perfumey rose at all--real, fresh, dewy white roses with ethereal, softly luminous florals in the background, as if you're standing in a rose garden on a moonlit night after rain. I like this better than Rose Red. I'm probably not going to wear this every day, but I'm definitely keeping the imp and may get a bottle of this in future.

In the imp: Ooh, pretty! A nice, sweet apple scent. On my skin: OH GOD WHAT HAPPENED?! The nice apples have gone evil and plasticky on me. This is giving me a headache. On the dry down: The plasticky note receded a little, but there's still something about the apple sweetness that is turning my stomach--and I like candy-fruit scents! Overall: I wanted so much to like this, but I'm afraid it's probably not to be. I'll keep the imp around and try it again later--if I don't change my mind, it's off to swaps. :\

Just received the GC version from the Lab. On opening the imp, my first impression was "My god, I've died and gone to coffee heaven." Wonderful, rich, creamy, slightly boozy coffee with a throw like nobody's business. I want to drink this. Wet on my wrist, it's the same as the imp--delicious coffee nirvana. I'm walking around inhaling my wrist and it looks silly but I DON'T CARE because this is flipping gorgeous. It's so strong, I'm even getting a psychosomatic caffeine buzz. As it dries, the dusty tomes and oakwood halls make an appearance and come increasingly to the fore. I was worried about this stage after reading the "burnt popcorn" reviews, but it's not unpleasant at all. I love the smell of old books, and Beth's hit it spot on. I worked in my college's enormous old library all of last year, and this scent is the same--or would be if we were allowed to drink coffee in the stacks. Overall: Absolute love. The perfect comfort scent, unique and evocative. I probably should've gone with my gut and ordered a 5ml unsniffed, but it's strong enough that the imp should last me a good while. Definitely a future bottle--so glad this is GC.

Simply gorgeous. Very evocative, and difficult to describe--there's citrus in there, aquatics and light florals (lily?) that take over on the drydown, but they're blended so well that you really can't speak of this scent in terms of notes. Just a clear, pure, serene scent that fits its namesake exactly. I've gotten a bottle of this; it's very uplifting and calming, and would probably make a good meditative blend.

I originally received Akuma in a pack of mystery imps and sniffed it without knowing what the notes were. My reaction: bitter herbal ick. I chucked the imp back in my drawer and forgot about it for a few days, until I actually looked up forum reviews and was taken aback by the fruit-candy descriptions. So I decided to give it a try. Initially on my skin, it smells the same as in the imp--dominated by a sharp, almost bitter herbal note that I'm guessing is the neroli. As it dries, though, the neroli recedes and is replaced by a wonderful, sweet orange-raspberry note that smells like orange Tic-Tacs to me (which is good, because I love orange Tic-Tacs) with a faint underlying bite that gives the scent depth. Beautiful. Final reaction: I LOVE THIS! I am so glad I waited out the initial stage, because it's definitely worth it. I have a 5ml on the way as I type.

I love Akuma on the drydown (Orange Tic-Tacs, yum), but in the bottle and initially on my skin it has an unpleasant tang that I think is the neroli gone wild. Any suggestions for scents with a similar orange/citrus candy note?