outofrhyme

In the bottle: Very perfumey. I can very distinctly get the florals - they're definitely "fresh" and "green," but they don't scream I AM FRESH AND GREEN like other scents I've tried. Wet: Sweet, floral, very perfumey, and not so soapy anymore. Dry down: It's a very soft, powdery floral now. I mostly only smell it with my wrist pressed against my nose, but every now and then I catch just a slight whiff. I don't know that I would characterize it as "chill," but it's lovely. Definitely not quite as "joyful" as Iambe, though - it's not as bright. I can't quite distinguish the individual notes because I don't know enough about what each smells like on its own, though. Final thoughts: I like it and I would wear it - I'm glad I have an imp. I'm not quite sure how much it distinguishes itself from other florals, though.

In the bottle: Ooh, that's yummy. Apricot with a touch of citrus, yet very creamy/soft. Wet: Fresh, fresh, apricot and orange. Dry down: Still smells like apricot and orange, but it's mellowed out. I can get the white musk. Vaguely sweet and creamy. Final thoughts: Subtle, good and fresh - even better than I was hoping for. Definitely young, but not at all too young for me to wear. I like it.

In the bottle: Oh wow, that's good. It's almost like Snake Oil on crack. Something is sweet like the vanilla - I'm guessing that it's the tonka. Definitely getting the chardonnay and something spicy, which is probably in the leather/tobacco. Very feminine, and yet also vaguely masculine. Wet: TONKA/vanilla... with all kinds of subtle tasty things in the background. Dry down: Tonka, rum, sweet with a little tiny bit of spice. I can smell the leather and tobacco when I look for them, but they don't jump out. The masculinity has gone away. This is really good. Final thoughts: So glad I got an imp of this - it's gorgeous. Seductive, and just a little too sweet with just those little subtle hints of other scents, sufficient to give it its name. (Or it's a placebo effect ). It has a vaguely smoky feel to it. Really yummy.

In the bottle: I smell something vaguely unfamiliar, possibly the myrrh. Not picking up the florals, except maybe the slightest hint of jasmine. Wet: Very strange. Hot, somehow. I definitely get the impression of "sophisticated." I think I'm mostly getting the jasmine and myrrh. Dry down: Almost like burnt rubber. Or maybe that's just my reaction to the myrrh going WHOA. Final thoughts: Very dark, very complex, not me. Not sure how much of it is the scent and how much of it is my chemistry. Maybe I'll try it again another time.

In the bottle: Sweet, crisp and aquatic. Not what I was expecting, but I like it. Wet: Green in a very specific way - I smell a very specific plant, but I can't identify it. It's not a harsh green... more of a comforting green. I also smell some floral... but I'm not sure what it's called. Dry down: This is pretty and yet exotic. Something is sweet, possibly the sandalwood and florals, and the herbs give it this little exotic, fresh kick. The longer I wear it, the sweeter it gets, but not in the sugar-vanilla way that my skin usually turns things sweet. Final thoughts: I like it a lot. It's more complex than something that just smells "good." The florals are very creamy and sweet. I can see why people would wear this on interviews - the florals/sandalwood keep it "perfumey," but the herbs make it different.

In the bottle: Florals, herbs. Green, pungent, sharp, acrid. Wet: Predominantly herby. It's still green, pungent and sharp, but something in it is warmer. I get a whiff of the incense, too. Dry down: Still very herby. Almost medicinal, but not so much so that I would give it that label. I can definitely pick out the incense, too, and maybe a hint of florals. Not really getting very much "earth." Later: Umm... starting to get funky and more astringent. Probably my chemistry. Final thoughts: The description actually fits very well (except for the "dark" part), but not in the way that I expected. Reminds me of walking through classical ruins - it feels sunny, somehow, or maybe I've stepped into the shade of a dark building but it's sunny outside, and the plants outside are foreign to me but I can smell them, heated by the sun, their perfume wafting in the windows. Not sure how much I would wear it (especially with the getting funky after awhile), but I'm glad I tried it.

In the bottle: Butterscotch, apple, and caramel, in that order. I think I also can just barely catch a little bit of coconut. Nothing that isn't among the described notes, though. Wet: Wow... definitely getting the butterscotch and the coolness of the apples. Also can definitely make out a hint of coconut rum. Not so much on the caramel. Dry down: Definitely has changed, even though it has essentially the same notes. In order of prominence, I'm getting apple-butterscotch (as in, apple flavored butterscotch, if there is such a thing), (coconut) rum, caramel. Final thoughts: Definitely youthful, candy-sweet... but boozey enough to not be young. A college Halloween party. I can't decide what I think about it... it's definitely good-smelling and tasty, it definitely works fine with my chemistry, I'm just not sure how much it's "me." Which could be attributable to either my current mood or my personality as a whole. I'm definitely glad I tried it, though, and I may end up really glad that I have an imp to keep.

In the bottle: This is so yummy. It smells vaguely like marshmallows, I think, and nuts, or coconut, or something. It's definitely sweet, but not too sweet - a little tiny bit like cotton candy. It's gotta be the brown sugar, the butter, the honey, the "candied" in "candied chestnuts." Wet: I smell the pine/cedar smoke now. And the candied chestnuts as candied chestnuts. Mmm. Dry down: This is rapidly warming up to sitting beside a fire. "Hearth" is dead-on. The pine and cedar smoke take the front seat... but I can also definitely catch the candied chestnuts. Final thoughts: This would make an incredible room scent. Except that I don't scent my room, and I certainly don't have enough of this for doing so. As a perfume, I feel like it feel old, probably due to the pine/smoke. Not necessarily really old, just, older than I am. Not at all youthful. I think it would be great for the holidays, though. It really smells just like chestnuts on a fire... reminds me of a mountain lodge, or something. It's making me nostalgic for something in my past... which, sadly enough, might've been one of the themed hotels at Disney World during Christmas season. Later: it's continuing to change, mostly insofar as the smoke is mellowing out, and it's growing on me even more. I think that "mature" is a better label than "old." And considering that I should soon be breaking away from a college image, it's probably fine for my age. There's also something distinctly comforting about it. I'm really glad I have an imp.

In the bottle: I smell the musk, amber, florals and violet. Pungent, but soft - not too harsh. Wet: Pungent, harsher. I mostly smell the florals, vetiver and musk. Dry down on me: Hmm. There's a little bit of that note that I didn't like in Delphi... or maybe Venice... well, one of the scents that didn't work for me. It's probably something in the "woods." It smells very dry. I'm getting the sandalwood, the vetiver, some florals (including violet). The longer I wear it, the more it evens out, but my skin just doesn't seem to be doing anything very nice with it. Dry down on the boy: Smells a lot better on him than it does on me... though I put much less on him than I put on myself. His skin doesn't amp the vetiver in this the way that mine does - on him, it's much sweeter, but not in a girly way. Final thoughts: Might work for the boy (I'll have to test it in higher quantities, but the little bit that I put on him smelled really yummy), but doesn't really work for me. It might if I let it sit for an hour, but I get impatient with blends that demand that much time for my skin to temper them. It just has the same element that didn't work for me with Delphi/Venice. It's just harsh, pungent floral. Pity Hours later: I'm still not a fan, but the boy thinks it's "tangy" on him and he likes it, so...

Reading these descriptions, I would almost wonder whether I've got the same perfume, except that the notes line up perfectly. I got mine secondhand, so maybe it's aged or has something else in it. Anyhow, it's TOO girly for my man, and suits me perfectly. In the bottle: Oh wow. That's good. I definitely smell the lavender and I think I smell the lilac, as well as citrus. Definitely lime as an "aftertaste," maybe a hint of musk. It smells good in a sweet, fresh way... not floral fresh, though, and not really fruit fresh either. It's hard to describe. Wet: Citrus. Lemon-pledge, just a little bit. And also definitely the florals. Dry down on me: I think I like this, but I have to admit that it's weird. I can definitely pick out the lime. And the lavender. It's very pleasant, but something about it does feel a little bit insidious. I think it's the musk, plus dissonance between the lime and lavender (seriously, do you expect those scents to go together?), or maybe I'm just being led on by the name... Dry down on the boy: It's mostly lavender and light musk on the boy. I hardly smell the lime at all. It's not exactly girly, but it's close. Final thoughts: I think I like this one a lot. Even though it's a "masculine" scent, I think it's definitely able to be feminine/girly. Actually, I have a hunch that this will become one of my favorites...

In the bottle: Oh my god, it's candy. Sickeningly sweet and cloying. Wet: Still pretty sweet, but better - smells slightly more like roses than like candy Dry down: The cloying/sickly sweetness entirely vanished, just leaving a slightly sweet rose. Pretty! Final Thoughts: This is gorgeous in a girly way, without smelling too young, and one of my favorites.

In the bottle: Wow that's sharp. Some weird things in there... very powerful, almost nauseating. Waaay too much. Wet: Ehh.... no. Dry down on the boy: Much better than wet. But there's this weird note that I can't recognize... it's warm and intense, yet almost too far away to make out. Maybe it's the bay leaves? I don't think I'm thrilled with it. Dry down on me: Oooh. That weird note doesn't stick out on me at all like it did on the boy. Much sweeter on me than on the boy. I can smell the incense and the honey wine, and other things I don't quite understand (probably the laurel/bay), and somehow it's all sweet. But then again, I think my skin turns most scents sweet. Final thoughts: Too strong. Way too strong. Funny story - I put this on right before my Latin class. I put on just as much or less than I put on of any other oil, but when I got in the elevator... wow. The other people in the elevator kept sniffing, trying to figure out what was going on. It was a bit embarrassing, because it really doesn't work with my chemistry.

In the bottle: Whew, not what I was expecting when people called this "sexy" - I'm not smelling any vanilla, just those exotic oils. Wet: Vanilla and spice... better than in the bottle Dry down: Gorgeous. I totally understand why this is so popular. Smells to me like vanilla, musk, sandalwood with a very subtle kick, so subtle that I don't think I can call it "spice." Love love love it. Final Thoughts: Dark and tasty. Still one of my favorites.

In the bottle: Reminds me of Moon Rose, insofar as it smells like I expect a perfume to smell. I smell florals and something sweet... but not sweet in the girlish Persephone way. Wet: It just smells good. It's hard for me to explain how. Dry down: Sweet, but not too sweet to be unprofessional. Like I said before, I can't really explain what the notes are, because they all just blend into each other... that, and I'm not very good at picking out individual notes yet. My guess is that the sandalwood is contributing to the sweetness and helping to keep everything else in line. If I try, I can smell the rose and the jasmine, too, but I don't know how to recognize the other notes. Final Thoughts: I like sweeter scents, which is fortunate, since my body chemistry makes just about everything sweet. This has a very professional feel for me. I wore it to basically all of my interviews, because it was light enough to not be overpowering, sweet enough to feel like me, balanced enough to be inconspicuous, and still professional. I wanted to smell good to boost my self-confidence, and this is what I chose to use.

A crisp, pale, almost translucent rose dusted by moonflower and midnight dew. In the bottle: Stunning. Exactly what I expect a perfume to smell like. I can smell the rose and maybe other floral notes. It's a little bit sweet, but not at all too sweet. Something about it just smells fresh, like a freshly picked rose. Wet: Just like in the bottle, but I feel like it warms a little with the warmth of my skin. Dry down: The notes temper each other, and it still smells like a fresh, dew-covered rose. One that's still on the bush, the day after it has rained. Odd as this sounds, it also smells a little bit like night. I might just be influenced by the name, but when I smell it, I definitely feel that the name is appropriate. There's some note in there that's just a little bit haunting. Final Thoughts: So pretty. So very, very pretty. This was one of the scents that inspired me to place my first BPAL order and I've neglected it terribly. It's really a work of art.

In the bottle: Sweet and spicy - but in a more wistful way than Snake Oil. It's more of a descriptive scent than a seductive scent. I can definitely pick out the florals, and what I presume is the musk/frankincense. Something in there is almost citrusy. Wet: Pretty similar as in the bottle. The rose is a little bitter. Dry down: It's feminine and soft, but not as sweet as the perfumes that I like to wear to feel feminine and soft. It definitely feels a little bit wistful to me, but not in a desolate/lonely way. Final Thoughts: I'll hang on to the imp, but it's not really something that I would wear every day.

In the bottle: Reminds me of soap or laundry detergent or something. Beyond that, I'm not very good at picking out the notes. Wet: Not quite as soapy, but still somewhat soapy. I really think that "laundry detergent" is the best description. The scent is kinda harsh. Dry down: Much the same as above. Sometimes, unusual notes stick out. Final Thoughts: Probably not a keeper. It just isn't something I like smelling or like wearing, and my body chemistry doesn't transform it into anything pretty.

In the bottle: Yummy. Spicy in a men's aftershave kind of way. I can definitely smell the pine, and what might be the opoponax? (That's just a guess - it's a very distinctive, familiar smell, but I don't know what it's called, and I don't know what opoponax is, so...) There's a sharp twang. Wet (on the boy): Yummy... The sharp edge goes away and it smells warmer. Dry down (on the boy): Much sweeter than in the bottle. The sharp tang is basically gone. It's not soft and sweet in a feminine way, but rather sweet in some kind of tasty masculine way. I can definitely still smell the green in it, too. On me: Oh wow... it's still a little bit masculine, but mostly it's spicy leather with a touch of sugar sweetness. Maybe just a bit too much opoponax/patchouli/cedar combination for me to not feel like I'm wearing men's cologne... but it's really really tasty, and the longer I wear it, the more sugary it gets, and the less it smells like men's cologne. I don't think that the men's cologne feel will go away enough for me to justify wearing it, though. Definitely not feminine or girly - feral is a good way to describe it. Final thoughts: It smells really really good on the boy, but too masculine for me.

In the bottle: The cinnamon is really strong. I think I can also smell clove and orange, but it's hard to tell... the cinnamon really dominates. Has a sickly cloying smell. Wet: The cinnamon and clove are still really sharp. I don't smell the orange as much anymore. Dry down: I still smell the cinnamon, but the incense has really come out, and the cinnamon isn't as overpowering. It definitely smells "fiery" - the incense really helps to make it smell like something on fire (not in a nasty smoky/scorched way, but almost in a campfire way or something... or technically an incense way, but whatever). Final thoughts: I'm not sure yet what I think. It's a really nifty smell, and it works really well with the description, but the cinnamon still sticks out a lot and is too identifiably... cinnamon. It's only been about 15 minutes, though, so maybe the cinnamon will become less distinct. Either way, I think I'll hold on to it for awhile, but it's not an "everyday" scent for me. Later: the cinnamon is coming down more and more by the minute, and whole thing is becoming much more balanced and tempered. I like it a lot more now.

Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant. In the bottle: *cough* Cherry throat lozenges, my least favorite thing ever. But without the medicinal twang, and with something different coming out in the background... Wet: Oh. Weird. The cherry is still there, but it immediately took a backseat to the mahogany. Like, immediately. I feel like I smell a hint of chocolate too, but I think it's a trick of the currant and mahogany. Dry down: Ooh, this is pretty nice. It reminds me a little bit of my favorite rooibos tea (rooibos provence). I can definitely smell the currant and the mahogany/woods. Cherries are barely noticeable and complement the currant. Final thoughts: It really, truly, smells "red." The currants/cherries are obvious, but even the woods smell "red." It also definitely smells "regal." Powerful, somehow. I'm a little surprised at how much I like this. I wanted to try it because it's very different from anything else I have so far, and I'm really glad I did. It's really well balanced, and a very interesting scent. I'm really glad the cherries are so understated, because I hate cherry-flavored candy/medicine. I'll definitely hold on to the imp, but I don't think it makes it into my absolute favorites, at least not yet.

In the bottle: Something in there is really sweet. Not in a vanilla or sugar way, but I think in a floral way. It's vaguely familiar, but I can't place it... it might be the gardenia? It's almost floral-candy-sweet in a Persephone way. Wet: Good, it lost the nasty candy cloying edge. Very floral, very fresh. Maybe too floral... in any event, I can definitely smell the gardenia. Not sure what gladiola smells like, but maybe that as well. Not so much of the other stuff. Dry down: Still very, very floral, and very fresh. I'm not getting the non-floral notes at all, but they might be contributing to the impression of a well-balanced bouquet. Final thoughts: I definitely agree with the "beauty" and "joy" in the description - the scent itself is relatively heavy, but the tone is light. It reminds me of a celebration where there are flowers everywhere, particularly one taking place in the spring. Honestly, it might be just a little too floral for me, at least at this time of year. Maybe it'll be a little more "me" in another several minutes, since my skin tends to sweeten everything, and I like sweet scents. Regardless, it is definitely a springtime scent, so I'll probably at least try it again in another couple of months. Actually, in the time it took me to type this, it calmed down a little and reminds me vaguely of Queen Mab (but I still prefer Queen Mab). I think the non-floral notes are starting to peek out a little. I'll put it on again after my shower and I'll update about its continued evolution in a few hours, or maybe tomorrow. Later: okay, so I took enough time before showering for this to mellow out a little more, to what I presume is its final state for me. It is a little sweeter, a little more powdery, and a little softer, but it is still very floral and perfume-y. It smells fine, but doesn't really suit me at this time for year - if it will ever suit me, it will have to be in the spring. 02/09 Update: Iambe is one of the several scents that I am re-trying, as I prepare for my first sale. I liked it previously, but I've decided that it's definitely a keeper. It's a very content scent - a fresh, creamy, sweet floral with a little bit of extra umph added by the white tea. It's not as blatantly pollen-floral as others. The notes are subdued and intertwine beautifully. Iambe will stay in my box for now

In the bottle: My first reaction is, "This is Snake Oil." After a moment, though, the orange starts to come out. If I concentrate, I can pick out orange, vanilla, and something exotic. I think the Snake Oil spicyness comes from the orange and from the black narcissus. As I pull away from the bottle, I get an "aftertaste" of chocolate, which is probably inspired by the vanilla. Wet: It's just divine! Dry down: I like what the vanilla and orange are doing together on my skin - it doesn't really smell "creamsicle" to me like you might expect from vanilla and orange; just, a softer, oranger version of Snake Oil. Spicy, but not as spicy as Snake Oil. It's also both warm and cool at the same time, if that's possible... I'm guessing it's the warmth of the vanilla tempered by the coolness of citrus. Final thoughts: I loved it immediately, both in the bottle and on, but it smelled so much like Snake Oil that I originally thought that the imp was mislabeled. However, I wore Snake Oil for a few days, and then tried smelling the Hunger imp again and applying it right now. I could definitely tell the difference. I love Snake Oil, but I actually think that Hunger works a little bit better on me. I'm ordering a bottle. My first bottle, in fact... Edited to add additional info and to format properly. ETA 2: I got a new bottle of this, and it's very different my aged imp - it's much sharper, much more orange peel. Don't give up on this scent - try letting it age a bit!