inhumation

I was generously gifted with a tester of Elf v4. I'm pleased to report that it is good, but not good enough to become a holy grail for me. I get the same perfumey vanilla note that I get in Ava.

This is one of my favorites. such a fresh and happy scent! I get lemon verbena and grassy flowers, with maybe the slightest tinge of lavender and blueberries. very beautiful and complex.

I don't get any cherry candy or dragon's blood at first... it is overwhelmingly, nauseatingly blood on me for ages (very similar to what I got in blood popsicle, minus the "chilly" aspect). I do eventually get a hint of cherry, but it's fleeting. sad.

this has the same vibe on me as two of my absolute favorite bpals, vasilissa and mouse's long and sad tale, except with a touch of bubblegum-ish sweetness from the pink pepper. I LOVE IT!! I can't wait to get my hands on a bottle of this!

I don't really get violet leaf, but straight-up crisp and astringent white tea.

this smells like orange blossom honey in the imp. On skin, it's orange blossom honey with a touch of saffron. it reminds me of Imaginer, but without the peppery kick. It's a fairly simple, cozy scent.

this didn't work for me at all, I get really overwhelming stinky, buttery cookies. it's the same fake buttery vanilla note in detestable putrescence, which also didn't work for me. no mint, no pom.

Like almost everyone else, I don't know what peonies smell like. Little Flora smells like a light floral mixed with cream, just like the description. It is a strangely dry scent, with no sweetness to it at all. definitely not foody. this one would probably be really nice layered with a sweet note.

Ah, nicely aged! sharp berry wine and myrrh at first which dries down to a subtle cake note. Quite lovely.

This smells like the artificial perfume of the potpourri and candles section of places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond when they start stocking up on autumnal themed stuff. Pass.

this one was pretty straight-forward: effervescent, fizzy orange soda!

I was a little worried about this one since honey usually goes to powder on my skin. I didn't have a problem with the honey at all, but rather the perfume was practically non-existent for me. I get a vague whiff of sweetness and patchouli, and that's it. Off to swaps.

callidora was really strong - the husband complained that he could smell me across the room, and that I smelled like "squashed fleas" (!). to my nose, callidora smelled like aperotos eros + something dark and stinky, perhaps the cacao. it was not bad, but not an everyday kinda scent.

it smells like cherries when wet and then dries to a soft dragon's blood. I like both so this one was a win for me!

I had the same experience as aviatrix did - smelled quite sweet and beautiful in the imp, but is practically non-existent on my skin.

strong patchouli and sandalwood. I don't really get much frankincense. this is a little dry and aggressive smelling for daily wear, but it is nice/interesting enough to keep the imp of.

East Indian black patchouli, red sandalwood, dark musk, peru balsam, ambrette seed, vetiver, and ambergris accord. this smells like pot in the bottle. it smells like pot when applied. it smells like pot and dirty bathwater during the drydown. a few hours later, it smells sort of okay - like dirt - but this did not work for me, to say the least.

I have tested this twice now with different imps and got the same result - when freshly applied wet, sybaris is bright and sweet and quite pleasant. unfortunately, as soon as it start drying, a mushroom odor creeps out slowly. soon enough, i can smell nothing but mushrooms and it's quite nauseating. violets usually hate me, but the combination of violet and the other notes was just a complete horror on my skin.

sadly for me, the jasmine blasted practically all the other lovely notes out of existence from start to finish. the honey had tempered the jasmine so that it doesn't edge towards poop (as other jasmine-based perfumes do), but it was still way too much jasmine for my taste.

I had an aged version of smut from 2010. hoooooooo boy, I thought that I was a smutty girl but it was a little overwhelming for me. it was... lusty musks that evoke red wine, bulging sugary red fruits with juices dripping everywhere. and a 10 hour orgy in a steam room. the throw was pretty strong. use with caution.

the roses and jasmine completely beat down the other notes - I don't smell them at all. it's a fistfight between roses and jasmine, and the poopy forces of jasmine have won. swapped.

as soon as I applied gnome to my skin, it was REALLY STRONG bug repellent!! I have no idea what version imp I got (mine was a frimp), but I suspect that it's the newer one, as the label was pretty new-looking. in any case, gnome smelled exactly like raid to me.

hell yeah, truth in advertising, that's red rose and leather alright. it is pretty yet sinister at the same time and definitely does not make me think of old lady rose perfume. there's not that much throw but it's pretty long-lasting. I loooove it.

in the imp, I smell only amber. on wet, it's amber and something green, perhaps the myrtle. during the drydown, it's a soft floral that smells exactly like soap. white commercial soap. dry, it smells like vaguely fruit-scented japanese erasers. I actually like the smell of japanese erasers but I'm not sure about wearing a perfume that smells like that.

on me, this smells almost exactly like Soul of La Traviata (one of my absolute favorites), except without the floral notes. same black plum, same dark wine scent, same almost-earthy bitterness to it. the bitterness reminds me of that bitter taste you get at the back of your tongue when you drink cranberry juice. if you love the dark purpley-red boozy berry scents (like me!), this one should be up your alley.