steffanina

Hell's Belle- In Bottle: Mm, something floral-sweet like honeysuckle. That must be the magnolia. Wet: Spicy, with the florals underlying. Dry: Hmm, after a while it's just unremarkably floral, quite warm, but not really anything that works for me. Overall: Not for me, though a nice scent in its own right.

Urd- In Bottle: Cherries and patchouli and something a little musky. Wet: Cherry-chocolate bubble gum, it smells like! It's that Juicy Fruit Gum scent under it all. Dry: Fruity and sweet to the end; I like the alcoholic/wine note! Overall: I like.

Love-lies-bleeding- In Bottle: Whoa. Very odd. Sharp and alcoholic--almost like benzoin? But not quite. Wet: A little more flowery now that it's on my skin. Still sharp, and now a little soapy. Dry: Whoa. This is bizarre--there is something like chocolate on my skin now. Chocolate flowers, if there can be such a thing. Overall: Highly interesting!

Fire of Love- In Bottle: Resin and spice. Wet: Lordy, there's civet in this, isn't there. That little dirty-musky-fecal whiff. The spice over it isn't bad, and in fact I'm tolerating the civet itself better than I have in other blends. Granted, the oil is still wet on my wrist! ;-) Dry: Heh. Well, I've found another conditional Voodoo blend. (As opposed to all the rest which just haven't worked for me at all.) There's something about this one that makes the civet smell kind of carnal and not just rank. I will definitely keep this one around to sniff and see if it heightens randy feelings after all. Overall: Conditional but interesting!

Van Van- In Bottle: Spicy; the teensiest suggestion of orange and maybe lavender. I kind of like it even though I don't always like lavender. Wet: Spicy, a little empowering feeling, if that makes any sense. This is the most promising voodoo blend I've smelled on me yet. Dry: Okay, of all the voodoo blends, this is the most pleasing. Unfortunately, that does not mean I actively like it on me. The spicy-orange-lavender is interesting and not at all noxious, but none of the voodoo blends seem to be ones that I would want to wear for a day at the expense of scents I do like. I think I'll keep it to sniff and to see if I change my mind, though. Overall: Very conditional.

Queen of Hearts- In Bottle: Ooh, very pretty light cherry-Jergens-lotion scent. A bit of lily is suggested too. Wet: Same impression of cherry Jergens lotion and lilies, with just a hint of spice. Dry: Hm, unfortunately this sours on me a little. Too bad; I thought it was initially nice for a floral (which are admittedly not usually my thing). Overall: Not so much for me.

Imp: In Bottle: Mm, very grapey, and I can smell the wood-resin of the patchouli. Wet: Fruit and patchouli in a lovely blend! And then the musk starts to show up, not bad. Dry: Hm, the fruit recedes quickly and the musk is really the dominant note. I'm kind of conditional on that musk; some days I'm nearly addicted to it but more days it's a little cloying for me. I do wish the fruit had stayed around longer, but I suspect I'll like having this one around to sniff here and there. Overall: Conditional.

Night-Gaunt: In Bottle: Mmm, tangerine and pomegranate, yummy! Wet: Now I can tell that that fruit is actually grapefruit. Very strongly fruity with just a hint of flowers. Dry: Lovely fruit scent, not too heavy, with no real flowery nonsense to adulterate this one at all. ;-) I really do like this! Overall: I like!

Glasgow- In Bottle: Flowery, more flowery than fruity, and just a hint of mint? Wet: Hm, a soap-like flowery smell. Potentially sneeze-inducing for me. Dry: Huh! All soap and flowers flee and I am left with spearmint. Not a cold mint but a cloying spearmint all the same. Not really what I was hoping for. Overall: Too cloying for me.

Hunger- In Bottle: Kind of baby powdery, with a little diaper-rot underneath. Wet: Sweet plastic diapers. Not too appealing so far. Dry: I'm guessing it's the narcissus, but some florals just smell like a baby's butt to me. Go figure. However the diaper-y smell does lessen and it becomes more like just sweet baby powder after a while, though I don't know that it's worth the dry-down to me. Overall: Not for me.

Severin- In Bottle: Oh, bergamot. Just like Earl Grey tea, which I love! Wet: Bergamot again, a hint of orange but I think that's just native to bergamot and not a separate scent. I think I can sense some sugar in the tea scent, and maybe the leather is coming through? Dry: This is so nice! This is Dorian's older, more reliable cousin--the one that you decide to settle down with after realizing that wastrel Dorian will never give you the respect you want. It's a much gentler scent than I was expecting, and on me the leather is merely hinted at. This is a lightly sweet Earl Grey tea, very lovely. (A note: Neither this nor Dorian actually smell like scents I'd give to a man. They feel like very feminine scents to me.) Overall: I like a lot!

Milk Moon 2007- In Bottle: Milky rich scent with a citrus-fig overthrow. Wet: Hmm, a funny spicy candle scent, a little musty, over the figgy citrus smell. Dry: Oh, good, that musty-spicy candle thing goes away right away. What remains is sweet and foodie and fruity, kind of ginger-creamy with citrus involved. It's nothing like the earlier blend of Milk Moon; it is quite unique! Overall: Nice!

Monster Bait: Bloody Mary In Bottle: A creamy cherry scent with orange underneath. Wet: This has a little musty bloom along with the cherry-orange scent. Dry: Good, the mustiness goes away quickly! This is pleasantly fruity, a rich cherry-orange that smells nothing like cough syrup. It doesn't morph much after the initial wet-to-dry-down, just stays fruity. Amusingly I sort of wish it did do more, but I shouldn't fault it for just being a nice rich fruit scent. Overall: Nice!

Monster Bait: Tokyo Stomp In Bottle: Mmm, minty and nice. Definitely a hint of vanilla creaminess, not as much as Snowblind but more so than either of the Lick It versions. Wet: A very bright peppermint, almost with a hint of something spicy beneath. Just a hint. Dry: The creaminess comes out as time goes on. This is a very light peppermint, very appealing to a foodie. I think it won't replace Snowblind for me as I'm hugely a foodie and that's even more vanilla-ish to me, but it's a great scent. Overall: I like!

Monster Bait: Ventriloquist Dummy In Bottle: Oh! Spices and candy and--Do you know what this smells like?? This smells exactly like walking into the Bulk Food Warehouse, with all the bins of spices and candies and such! Wet: Very strong wood smell. Nice, though, not too cedarish (I don't like "hamster cage" smell). Dry: Caramelly wood, like the box that was used to store caramels. This is a very neat dry scent. Not likely to be one of my frequently used, I don't think, but it's quite a neat novelty. I swear it smells exactly like the Bulk Food Warehouse. Overall: Novel and I like!

Santo Domingo- In Bottle: A little bit floral, a little bit salt-ozone, and even a tiny bit of evergreen. Wet: Florals bloom. Is that rose? No, I don't think so. Just...florals, subdued ones. And still a little aquatic smell. Dry: I think I like this smell in theory more than for what it is. I love the idea of bay rum and tobacco leaf, but the other bay rum BPAL scent I've tried didn't work for me, smelled old-man-ish. And though this scent fades kind of quickly, does not really proclaim itself *wonderful* for me, it is nice, pleasant, and, hey, it contains bay rum and tobacco leaf, so, yay, I can wear those scents! Overall: Pleasing, for odd reasons!

Loralei- In Bottle: Sweet floral, a little lemony. Wet: A lemony powdery note. The sandalwood is hinted at and I think that really grounds this scent. Dry: Not too remarkable, stays floral, fades a bit quickly, but nothing noxious. I guess it's faint praise when you say, "Nothing noxious" about a scent, oh, well. ;-) Overall: Okay.

Dragon's Heart- In Bottle: Sweet powdery Dragon's Blood above all; nothing else stands out obviously. Wet: Dark and woody, vetiver-like, once it hits. Blends nicely with the Dragon's Blood. Dry: A little bit more dry and dark than straight Dragon's Blood. A nice blend of it! Overall: I like!

Slobbering Pine- In Bottle: Whoa, it's straight Irish Spring! Wet: Soapy, a little fruity, and the pine emerges just a little. Dry: Sharply soapy, a teensy bit eye-watering, but not too badly. I rather like it despite that. It really evokes that clean soapy smell, probably because of the Irish Spring image on first whiff. Overall: Interesting!

The Scales of Deprivation- In Bottle: Resinous, a little dry and sweet. Wet: Sharp and dry and lemony. Dry: An arid scent, a little masculine but powerful-smelling. Not bad! Overall: I like, conditionally.

Nefertiti- In Bottle: Sweet and a little resinous, and a hint of lemon and sandalwood. Wet: A very resinous and woody scent. Light, though. Feels feminine. Dry: Nice! Resinous and warm. Overall: Not hugely remarkable but I like.

Black Lily- In Bottle: A lovely, soapy-light flower scent. Wet: Mmm, what a lovely floral. Soapy-honeysuckle-y. Dry: This is one of the loveliest florals I've ever smelled. It's big and fruity and juicy and yet unmistakably floral, all clean and rain-fresh and seductive. Wonderful. Overall: I love. One of my very favorite florals, just like that.

Enraged Groundhog Musk- In Bottle: Ooh, this reminds me a lot of my all-time favorite, MonsterBait Underbed. There's cinnamon and cream. Wonderful! Wet: Strong cinnamon/cocoa smell. Dry: This dries down to a cinnamon tempered with a little chocolate cake; not quite as deeelish as MonsterBait Underbed but still damned nice. Overall: I like a lot!

Snow-Flakes- In Bottle: Mmm, a little powder, a little mint, definitely a cold scent that evokes winter! Wet: Very true to the in-the-bottle scent. The tiniest bit minty. Dry: It's very much the same! I do like it. It's a great representation of the name. Overall: I like!

Queen of Sheba- In Bottle: Wow, milk and almonds! Yum! Wet: Almond, sweetness, something sharp and flowery but I'm not sure what. Dry: Doesn't linger long, but pretty for that short time. Mostly milk and almonds with just a hint of spice during that time. Overall: I like.