waternight

In the imp: Very sweet! Sweet pea dominates, cool and sweet. A hint of tonka. Wet/Drydown: Strongly sweet pea, quickly backed up by the sage in a gently dry fashion. The sweet pea blends beautifully with the pale musk, and the sage stays unobtrusive. I actually would like a bit more sage in this. The sweet pea is very juicy, almost fruity. This doesn’t smell sexual to me, more innocent and youthful, pre-adolescent. Effervescent. Ah, there’s my sage! It doesn’t make the blend smell herbal though, rather it imparts a drier, dustier edge to the sweetness of the sweet pea. Dry: Very well blended. This is predominantly sweet pea, with a dusty edge from the sage and a bit of warmth from the musk and tonka. I like it, but I think I’d like it better if it were more herbal.

In the imp: Smells distinctly woody and herbal, but the musk keeps it from being pure forest. I have no idea what amaranth is or smells like, so I can’t comment on that. Wet/Drydown: Mmm… sharp and woody and herbal, with a sharp spicy musk. Wuh – warrior’s musk is right. I think if I smelled this on a man, that man would immediately become my personal jungle gym. This is a sharp scent, but it’s comforting as well – it really is like a strong, fierce warrior who has a soft heart when it comes to his woman and his family. Now there’s a vaguely sweet note creeping into the blend, but it really works. Oh, this is just delicious. It’s fresh and natural and woodsy/planty, yet sharp and animalistic and… well, kinda naughty-dirty, in a way. It’s sexy as hell. Dry: Becomes significantly sweeter and more resinous. The woody/herbal notes have gone away, leaving me with the musk. I’ll see how Odin is after a few hours.

In the imp: Very light. Vanilla, white musk, and – yes, something chilly and stony. Wet/Drydown: Still very light, but blossoming gently. Amazing – I smell the vanilla and the delicate white musk, but sure enough, there really is something like stone in here, something “geological”. Someone described it as clean rocks next to a river, and that’s exactly right. The vanilla is warm, but the white musk and the stone are definitely chilly. This is just absolutely elegant, delicate, and comforting. Just gorgeous. This is an… intimate scent. It’s what I want my lover to smell on me. Dry: Light and fresh. The edges of the stone note have softened, but it’s definitely still there. This blend ends up as a light, sweet vanilla with a touch of musk and a stony edge. There will definitely be a 5 ml of Black Opal in my future.

In the imp: Mossy and woodsy, faintly piney. Wet/Drydown: Mmm… fir tree! Light, fresh, sharp, natural, and true. It smells sappy and piney, but not overpowering. Fir sap and wood. I’m swooning. I’m in a forest and I love it. Now a bit of the earth note is creeping in, and it blends SO WELL with the fir note. The earth note is lending a bit of dryness to the blend. Another green note, probably the mosses, is making its presence known. All in all, this is very well blended. Dry: Vaguely tree-ish. Unfortunately, Nocnitsa dries down to a very faint, vague, non-descript scent. I wish she had stayed true from her wet stage.

In the imp: The berries and the sage stick out. Wet/Drydown: At first, it’s strongly wild berries, with the sage keeping pace but not overpowering the fruit. It gradually gets sweeter. There’s a stage where it smells like generic wild berry scent. Dry: Dry, the berries and sage fade and it’s primarily a musk scent. I never really get any green tea. I had high hopes for this one since I adore the blackberry note in Glasgow like woah. Oh well.

In the imp: At first I smell the kumquat, but there’s the drier grapefruit and more herbal yuzu underneath. Wet/Drydown: Mmmmmm yuzu, how I love you. This is fresh, dry, herby yuzu. A bit of grapefruit is creeping in, which is lovely. Luckily, the kumquat is behaving, and I’m really not getting anything floral in any noticeable way. Dry: LOVE. Pure love. A delicious blend of the three citrus notes, with yuzu being strongest, kumquat being weakest, and grapefruit providing a lovely middle note. I adore this.

In the imp: Green tea and lemon, with a hint of white musk. Wet/Drydown: This scent is heaven. Pure and simple. The lemon sticks around for a few minutes, then fades. Dry: Embalming Fluid dries to become a very predominantly green tea scent. In fact, it smells almost exactly like The Healing Garden’s Green Teatherapy, which I adore. And, best of all, the scent stays strong for hours! I only swiped one little swipe in the crook of my arm to test it out yesterday, and I could smell it wafting around me hours later. I adore this. I love it the way it is, but I want to experiment layering a bit of lemon with it too, maybe Phobos or a lemon EO. Embalming Fluid is a definite winner.

In the imp: Tart, delicious grapefruit, sweetened lightly by the apple blossom, with the barest hint of ginger in the background. Wet/Drydown: Juicy grapefruit and apple. Smells like a fruit salad made of the two fruits, very fresh and juicy. The tart grapefruit note backs off pretty quickly and is replaced by the tea. Ah, now that tartness is back, but it’s not as juicy as before. I get the ginger too, but it’s more of a suggestion of ginger, rather than a full-blown note – a hint of spice. Dry: The tartness and citrus is pretty much all gone, leaving Baobhan Sith as a gentle tea and apple blossom scent. It’s pretty, but I think I’ll experiment with layering with this one. Maybe a grapefruit EO, or something with more ginger. I’m not ready to give up on her just yet!

In the imp: Lemon drops! Wet/Drydown: This is strongly lemon, but it’s lemon candy rather than natural lemon. I get neither grapefruit nor white musk. Dry: It’s strong, heavy, dark, generic “citrus”. On its own, I don’t really like it. I might try layering a tiny drop of it on top of Embalming Fluid, but we’ll see. I so wanted Phobos to work on me. I adore citrusy scents, especially lemon. Alas, it was not to be.

In the imp: Very fruity – strong plum and slightly less strong berries. Sniffing deeply, I catch the roses underneath the fruit, and a hint of the opium. Wet/Drydown: Smells like fruity incense – corrupted fruity incense. The floral note is showing up as a rose/gardenia blend; I’m not getting the lilac. This blend is thick and full and wicked – very evocative of its inspiration. Mmmm… spicy opium is becoming more apparent. This scent is all Woman. Dry: Plum incense, dark and smoky and juicy. A winner.

In the imp: Salty-sweet aquatic. Maybe the barest hint of spice. A faint, creamy-woody note. Wet/Drydown: I can barely smell anything at all. There’s a very faint creamy-wood smell. If I really shove my nose into my skin, I get the sea air and some salt. A bit of gentle spice. But it stays super close to the skin. Someone would have to be practically chewing on me to smell this at all. Ok, it’s a bit stronger now, and the spice is really warming up the cool aquatic base. It’s like Port-au-Prince that’s been way gentled by a sweet aquatic. Dry: The stronger phase didn’t last – it’s faded down to an incredibly faint scent now. It’s nice, but it’s not special enough to slather in order to give it more oomph. Edit: And after an hour or two, it’s gone. There’s a faint suggestion of something lingering around my arm where I applied it, but basically, it’s gone. Off to swaps.

In the imp: I’m not that familiar with moonflower, but I smell a note that I also smell in Moon Rose, so I’m guessing that’s it. I also get the white musk, and maybe a hint of benzoin. Wet/Drydown: The moonflower blossoms on my skin, gently supported by the lusciously dusty jasmine. The jasmine becomes stronger, and the white musk blends seamlessly with the florals. I get the barest hint of ozone, but it doesn’t really stand out. This is quite airy and cool, definitely has an intellectual feel to it. The moonflower is really succeeding at being the dominant note in this blend, but it blends so well with the other notes that it’s not overwhelmingly moonflower. Dry: Gentle and fleeting. The scent has faded – I might have to slather this one. But it’d be worth it, because Urania is gorgeous! Light and lovely, predominantly moonflower with whiffs of jasmine and white musk underneath. So elegant. Unfortunately, Urania was pretty much gone after half an hour. The same happened with Moon Rose, but slathering that one gets it to stick around, so I'll try the same technique with Urania, because she's just so frickin' gorgeous that she deserves it.

In the bottle: A dark scent – I smell the musks and I think the amber, but there’s something dank and humid lurking underneath. Wet/Drydown: First on, the musks are hiding and I’m mainly getting the humid jungle plants, followed by the amber to a lesser extant. After a minute, the musks start to creep in. I get a visual of those orangutans stalking me through the jungle, slowly getting closer. There’s a whiff of the orange peel, floating high on top of everything. Oh my! The apes are here now, surrounding me, leaving me no avenue of escape. This scent is incredibly evocative. Dry: The apes have backed off a bit. They’re still there, but they’re doing other things, occasionally casting an eye in my direction. They’re not quite so menacing now. This is a gorgeous musky blend, with humid plants lurking behind the strong musks.

In the bottle: Cool and green and refreshing. I don’t know what bamboo pulp and oude smell like, so I can’t comment on them, but I do get the teas. There’s almost a faint minty note in the afterscent. Wet/Drydown: Very close to the scent in the bottle. Green and refreshing, with just enough of a bite. Slightly woody. It’s a very green-plant smell, lightly sweetened by the teas. This is just gorgeous. Hmm… now I’m getting a note that’s reminding me of white musk. This scent is both calming and invigorating, if that makes sense. Light, but definitely present. I wish I had more than just ~1/2 a bottle. Dry: Becomes a bit more “purfumey”, but it’s still gorgeous. It’s deepened a bit, taking on a slightly musky tone, and the teas have deepened as well.

In the imp: Juicy pear and light, dewy rose. Like someone dumped Moon Rose on a pear. It’s very juicy and yummy. Wet/Drydown: Very pear-y! Actually smells like the fruit itself, too. The rose is both dusky and dewy at the same time, both sophisticated and fresh/innocent. It’s marvelous. I’m getting a bit more of a musky floral as well, though I really couldn’t say if it’s the magnolia or the plumeria. So far, I really love this – it’s a fruity floral, like my OTB, Glasgow. Dry: A slightly musky fruity floral. Too bad it fades into almost nothing.

In the imp: Strongly woody, without anything sweet to make it smell like perfume. It’s dry wood, pure and simple. Wet/Drydown: Strongly cedar, like first sniff, but I’m getting the sage and bay leaf now as well. This is a dry scent, and very natural. It’s like sitting around a cheery fire that burning dry wood, but this isn’t a smoky scent at all. It’s crisp and dry and wood and herbs. I love it, but I don’t think I want to smell like it. I think it’ll be fabulous as a room scent, so I’ll try it out in my oil diffuser. Dry: Gentle cedar.

I actually received my very first imps on Christmas as a present from my mother, and not wanting to overwhelm myself, I limited myself to testing one per day. I tested Aureus that day, fell in love with it, and put more on when I went to church with my dad. It seemed like an appropriate scent.

In the imp: Very incensey, with some dusty, earthy florals in the background. Wet/Drydown: White florals and herbs. Ooo, and that mossy note is showing up. This is a dusty scent. It really does smell like I’m standing on a dirt road, with that dusty earth blowing around me and the wind bringing me whiffs of flowers. There’s incense here too. Very evocative of the description. I really like this one, it beckons the nose close to the skin. As it dries a bit more, I’m getting a bit more of a sharp, dried-herb note. Dry: Dry, this is predominantly a white floral scent, with just a hint of sweet, smoky incense hiding underneath. It’s pretty, but it doesn’t grab me. Strong throw, too.

In the bottle: First sniff is very sugary-sweet, which I think is the sweet pea. On deeper sniff, I get the crisp, watery lettuce, and a little bit of juicy pear. Wet/Drydown: Alright, mainly sweet pea, but the lettuce and pear are backing it quite nicely, and getting stronger. Oh wow – now I’m getting a warmer floral note that’s slightly herbal, slightly rosey, and it’s GORGEOUS. This smells like purity. Dry: Stunning. This has a gentle, dewy, pure feel to it like Moon Rose does. It’s very feminine and delicate and moonlit. I’ll get a lot of wear out of this one, that’s for sure.

In the bottle: Strongly ozone and aquatic. There’s a salty-wood note flirting with my nostrils too. And the barest hint of watery floral. Wet/Drydown: Ozone and salty, water-stained wood. I can’t really pick out the scorched grass, though I am getting a vaguely “green” note in here. Mmm… I love the salty-ozone-aquatic thing going on here. This is a cold aquatic – it’s the deep cold of the ocean at night, out in the middle of the water, no land in sight. Dry: Grassy ozone with salty wood and waterlogged florals. I adore this.

In the imp: Honey! This smells exactly like honey to me. Wet/Drydown: The sweet honey note quickly gets deepened by heady resin and spicy herbs. I can smell that clean bite of the balsam. This is a thick, slow-moving, dripping scent. It’s predominantly resin, backed up by the herbs. This is luscious! Dry: Doesn’t change much – stays thick, delicious, golden resin with spicy herbs mixed in. I’m in love with Anubis! Seriously, this blend is TEH SEX. This blend is unbelievably sexy on me. I need a 5ml and I need it now.

In the bottle: Sweet florals, almost fruity. The aquatic note isn’t heavy, it’s more like the note in Tempest. No one note is really distinguishing itself. Wet/Drydown: Very gentle, very sweet – but not sugar sweet. It’s a dewy, fresh-plant-sap sort of sweet. The aquatic note is coming forward a bit, and again, it’s a sweet aquatic. I get a strong blue-green vibe from this. This is soft and gentle and sweet and lovely. Dry: The scent stays true and doesn’t really morph much. The only difference is that the floral note has taken on a slightly jasmine-ish tone. This blend is stunning.

In the imp: Sweet DBR, but not overwhelmingly so, like it can be. I definitely get a smoky note. Roasted DBR! Wet/Drydown: There’s a soft DBR base that sweetens this blend up, but I definitely get the smokiness and leather. This is a gritty blend, but not in the same way that Brimstone is gritty. This is thick and smoky. There’s a dryness that reminds me of Dragon’s Bone, and it’s not the DBR. This is staying pretty smoky. Very evocative – I can easily picture a dragon’s hide smelling like this. Turning very leathery. I really like this. Dry: The grittiness softens, as does the blend as a whole, but it stays a pleasant smoky leather scent, with a hint of DBR sweetness.

In the imp: Very faint – I can barely smell anything out of the imp. If I really whuff at it, I get hints of amber and citrus. Wet/Drydown: First on – citrus and mint. But it’s a gentle mint. The lemon peel and grapefruit are also pretty gentle, not really biting. I think the white tea is calming down those usually-biting notes. There’s a hint of a gentle floral – that’s the orchid. But it’s not overwhelming the other notes. This is very well blended, it’s difficult to pick out separate notes. It’s a sexy, slinky, sophisticated blend. Very polished. There’s a hint of “Department Store Perfume” in this, but it works. Dry: Fades a lot, but I love it. I wish the scent stayed in the wet/drydown phase.

In the imp: First sniff, strongly patchouli and cedarwood. Sniff deeper, and I get the cinnamon, with just a hint of vetiver. Wet/Drydown: Cedar sprinkled with cinnamon. This is softer than I expected, especially since it was so strong in the imp. Hint of vetiver underneath, but it’s behaving quite well. The blend of cedar and cinnamon is unique and interesting. This is pretty darn masculine. Not getting much patchouli. This is spicy-woody. A bit drier – ahhh, there’s the vetiver. The cinnamon is sweetening this blend, but I certainly wouldn’t call it “sweet”. Sharp and spicy and a teensy bit acrid from the vetiver, this blend takes no prisoners – it’ll hurt you if you give it half a chance. It’s staying strongly woody though. Dry: Cedar and vetiver. The vetiver really came out more and the cinnamon receded a bit. It’s very masculine. I generally like masculine scents on me, but this one is just a bit strong for me. I don’t hate it, but I don’t think I’ll wear it.