byrdie
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Posts posted by byrdie
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Okay, I'm updating my original 2004 answer. My boyfriend gets off on any oils that smell like chocolate, so I'm doing well with:
13
Bliss
Lump of Coal - very sparingly
However, smelling like chocolate doesn't make me feel sexy by default, so my dancing scents tend to be Imp or Loviatar. During the day, I go more for Dorian or O.
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Graveyard Dirt was well...dirt.Exactly like fresh-turned earth.
Zombi ~ fresh-turned earth with roses.
Penny Dreadful ~ fresh-turned earth with sweet florals.
Premature Burial ~ fresh-turned earth with spinach.
Death Cap ~ fresh-turned earth, briefly with mushrooms but ultimately with cupcakes.
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vial ~ a sweetness that only super-sugared Hawaiian Punch could produce. woofah.
wet ~ still sweet, but there's that incense-like mustiness beneath it that I tend to get from the Lab's Voodoo Oils. As a matter of fact, I'm tempted to say that this is a calmer version of Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo.
drying ~ Huh. It's almost like this super-sweet oil was cut with something similar to strawberry incense: the earthiness gives it a desperately needed base, but it's not trying to argue with the sweet top note.
drydown ~ still nearly bubblegum sweet (huh, it reminds me a bit of fig -- but I just read the description and there's no fig in this), but more powdery than anything else.
dry ~ the sweetness and the powderiness are combining into a girly perfumed powder. There's still some berry in it, but this is becoming the sweet of wine rather than candy.
fade ~ yep, girly perfume powder.
5ml ~ Naah. I'll keep the imp, but this isn't making me smell scrummy.
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vial ~ a perfumed powder.
wet ~ a soft powder with cocoa butter in it.
drying ~ i think that there's a sweet floral trying to come through. Lotus, perhaps? Indeed, it's almost completely eclipsed the powder.
drydown ~ its fluctuating. Now its back to being soft powder with cocoa butter in it.
dry ~ its like the memory of cocoa butter on my skin.
fade ~ sweet, soft, warm cocoa butter, all the way down.
5ml ~ someday.
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Vial ~ Buttered rum or scotch. Thus far, my favorite of the Excolo line.
Wet ~ Spiced candy. Butterscotch with an edge. Play with an intent behind it. Frivolity for the practical, yet fiery.
Drying ~ There's a dusty, almost wood like undertone to this. I wish that Anne Bonny, Jolly Roger or Grog smelled like Elegba on me. It's like being in a shack of sea blown lumber while sipping a warm, sweet drink.
Drydown ~ The sweetness has come back. I'm not familiar with the scent of buttered rum, but I'm betting that this is it. It's deeper, not as bright as before. I'm liking it, though I think it;d overpower me if I slathered it for anything other than ritual purposes. And even for that, I'd want good ventilation.
Dry ~ Throughout an eight hour workday, the sweetness faded and the wood-spice foundation became more and more apparent.
Fade ~ I generally avoid the woody scents, but this is a wonderful formula for me. It smells now of after a birthday or Christmas, treats and revelry gone but not forgotten.
Summary ~ In the right workings, this scent would be perfect for ritual. It starts off rather bright and anticipatory, morphs with its own ups and downs and crawls off to rest: tired and giggly, but satisfied.
5ml ~ oooo, child, yes! It's not often that a scent so obviously cries out "ritual" to me: usually that decision is a compromise for being stuck with an oil that smells bad enough to distract from rather than add to a working. I'm not sure I'd think to wear this casually, but I'd reach for it during preparations without a second thought.
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Note ~ this came as part of a payoff I had coming for being bumbjorn's decant beeyotch: helping with the labels and the actual decanting when I can. This was about a half-full imp, which is just fine with me.
TMI ~ At the time of this writing, my period was just turning heavy.
Vial ~ Woody, spicy and somewhat ... effervescent? Tingly? Whatever the actual term, it feels as though its trying to bubble up my nose.
Wet ~ This is sweet the way a middling dry wine can be "a little sweet." Mainly, the wood and the spice are battling it out.
Drying ~ Something similar to vetiver may be creeping into the gray. The fizzy quality is merging with the dry grass to create an almost -- but not quite -- alcoholic-perfume-like experience.
Drydown ~ At this point, the oil is a warm, spicy vetiver. Yep, the evil of the Old Ones can reach us through the Lab. yeech.
Dry ~ Whether there's actually vetiver in the oil or not, it still smells like it, all the way down. The spice is pretty much gone.
Fade ~ A dusty, powdery, somewhat dry and grassy undertone.
Summary ~ I think this oil is helping me to understand why I don't like vetiver: it lends a rancid, cheap, store-bought perfume edge to these oils. I'm not a fan of perfumes that use alcohol as a carrier anyway, and I think that there's something about the dry grass that triggers the connection for me.
5ml ~ Heck, no.
Postscript ~ Oh, crap. I was resting my wrists on my journal as I took these notes. Now my bound journal smells like vetiver. The unknowable horror keeps making itself known.
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Note ~ An imp from my Halloweenie Lab order.
TMI ~ Aunt Flow is starting to call other relatives to make sure that they clean for her arrival.
Vial ~ Storebought cologne, somewhat sweet.
Wet ~ ugh. I can smell the fumes rising off of my skin. It's like something off my parents' dressing table.
Drying ~ I assume that the base is red musk and spice, and the top layer is sweet flowers. It's turning lighter and more powdery as it dries.
Drydown ~ The ingredients have all recombined into a powdery sweetness layered over an ... economical cologne.
Dry ~ oofah. The same, but with a slight vinegar-ish twinge to it. It's an odd, nosey, round odor that's been added to the overall scent.
Fade ~ The vinegar seems to have run off, leaving the same sweet-over-cheap cologne scent I had before.
Final thoughts ~ For people who wish to mix commonly available perfumes and colognes into lotions and bath products, this could be an oil to experiment with.
5ml ~ It's not my thing, no.
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Note ~ I got this decant from Brumbjorn, I believe.
TMI ~ My period starts next week.
Vial ~ Lavender, perhaps, with a sharp citrus behind it.
Wet ~ Like liquid lavender soap: there's a round, antiseptic note that's -- oddly enough -- merging to sharpen the lavender.
Drying ~ Somehow, I think there's something similar to sour grapefruit behind the lavender and soap scent. The lavender is dulling down a bit -- actually, it's fading at an alarming rate -- and a light, but bitter, citrus is coming through.
Drydown ~ Wow. This is now like sniffing a delicate citrus soap that has a teeny bit of lavender to give it backbone. The citrus is neither bright and perky nor sweet and creamy -- it's a little like orange rind, but not sharp and biting.
Dry ~ It's reached a powdery stage, and enough of the lavender has returned that this is reminding me that lavender is as much a flower as it is an herb. The orange rind -- and the bitterness thereof -- keeps fading in and out.
Fade ~ A soft, powdery citrus soap memory.
Final thoughts ~ I tried this oil to ensure that I'd sleep well after a full but low-sleep weekend. I started to feel droopy after about half an hour after application, and couldn't keep up my end of a phone conversation an hour later. It could have just been exhaustion, but I think those few big sniffs of lavender may have helped, too.
5ml ~ It's nice, but I'm not in love with it. So, no.
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TMI ~ This is the second day of my period. Aunt Flo has been taking her vitamins, let me tell you.
vial ~ A muted citrus under a heavy floral. Oh, rapture.
wet ~ Oh, crap. There's a rose in here. Tea rose? There might also be lotus, or some other aquatic flower.
drying ~ The rose is receding a bit, and giving more time to the other florals. It's going rater musty, which is usually a late stage of aquatics for me. This is like a late-stage Water of Notre over a strong floral. Yeech.
drydown ~ Um. The murk has won, and is turning into a musty powder. I can barely smell the florals now. Wow.
dry ~ Ugh. No. They came back, and it's now a less murky, strong, mixed floral. blech.
fade ~ The fade on this one is consistent: a light powder with a strong floral content.
summary ~ What the frack happened to the aquatic note? Did Aunt Flo chase it away, or what? waah!
5ml ~ Gods, no. This one was already going to be swapped pending review. There's nothing stopping it now!
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Any others?Oooh. Excellent list. In addition, I'd offer up:
Eden ~ "Go forth, multiply and don't let the door hit you on the butt on the way out." - Yaweh, paraphrased.
Eve ~ The first woman per the Bible, mother of the Jews.
High John the Conqueror ~ a male virility assistant.
Jupiter ~ His Greek counterpart, Zeus, was responsible for a lot of god-mortal pregnancies - discontinued
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Before Beth got Crazy Busy, she told me she was exploring this theory that a person's moon sign has a lot to do with the scents they like.I was just thinking that as I was reading this thread. The sun sign is supposed to symbolize our public faces, while the moon sign is more about how we view ourselves. (I think.)
Fire (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius)Earth (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn)
Air (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius)
Water (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces)
Sun: Libra
Moon: Cancer
Rising: Scorpio
Well. That certainly explains why I do so well with aquatics. However, I've noticed that Beth's watery scents tend to ride more on citrus than (yeech) florals. I find some smoky and amber scents pleasing, like Tombstone and The Lion. They have to be very sweet, though.
I guess I'll have to do more research to figure out why I went ga-ga over Graveyard Dirt.
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Note ~ A decant from Hedgie_Lover.
Vial ~ Mango or papaya nectar, possibly the heavy syrup that peaches come in.
Wet ~
I think I want to have this oils' babies. For those who watch the show, consider the theme song to Red Dwarf:- I want to lie
shipwrecked and comatose
drinking fresh mango juice
gold fish shoals
nibbling at my toes
fun, fun, fun
in the sun, sun, sun
That is exactly what the first blast of this on my skin feels like: being outside on a warm day under an umbrella, drinking mango juice as a fresh breeze passes. Oh, baby.
Drying ~ There's a teeny, weenie incense note coming into this one, but the mango is still very much present. As it dries, the incense is turning into a resin and leaning towards the plastic side of things. The mango note is starting to mute a bit, but not horribly. Gosh, one might be tempted to slather to keep this at the wet stage. The horror.
Drydown ~ Mmmm. The components have merged together into giving the muted mango some backbone. Not much, though: it's not leaping off my skin as much as it was initially, alas. It reminds me a little of the drydowns of Midwinter's Eve, Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo and Hollywood Babylon; except it's not a red or purple scent.
Dry ~ The incense note is returning. It's managing to turn the fading mango into something piercing even though it's simultaneously light. Indeed, I wouldn't be shocked if the piercing note was actually jasmine, one of my floral nemeses.
Fade ~ The slightly sweet memory of a mango boogied on my arm, then went away. This all happened within a couple of hours, tops.
Final thoughts ~ Well, I've just slathered myself with this oil twice in the past hour since I wrote a description of how it fades. At its most harsh, it's like peach Jolly Ranchers. But then the breezy quality sets in and ... oooh.
- I want to lie
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TMI ~ I think my egg wandered off to start its own flock. I swear, I'd lose my own head if it weren't fastened on properly.
Note ~ A decant from Hedgie_Lover!
Vial ~ Fruit bunch darkened with rum or some other thick liqueur.
Wet ~ Various wet, juicy fruits laid over a bouquet of fragrant flowers.
Drying ~ A jasmine tea and Hawaiian Punch cooler.
Drydown ~ It's thickened and deepened into something that's rapidly losing most of its juicy sweetness. It's as if the jasmine and the fruit battled it out until its down to one jasmine flower and one random piece of fruit, both kinda tuckered out from the battle. They've kinda collapsed onto each other and are letting their vegetative sweats mingle.
Dry ~ This is fading at an alarming rate. A muted sweetness is present, and my skin isn't dragging out so much jasmine as to be obnoxious. I may even be sensing some pepper. It's okay, but not really me. However, after some determinedly hot days in Seattle, trying this was necessary in the face of a rainy Tuesday (and after a stunning holiday weekend, too!).
Fade ~ Over eight hours later, a memory of sweetness -- not quite pastry quality -- over a plastic amber.
Final thoughts ~ I'm glad that I got to try this oil, but it's not quite my thing. However, it's a potential jasmine scent for jasmine-haters, depending on skin chemistry and sweet tolerance.
5ml ~ Nah. I can even do without the squishy brain.
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TMI ~ I may drop an egg at any moment now.
Note ~ This came in a batch of imps I bought from Gin.
Vial ~ Super-sweet marzipan.
Wet ~ Starts out the same, almost piercing. It starts to deepen into a sweet, perfume-like scent. Gracious. I'm almost starting to develop a headache. Maybe I should have gone for an aquatic today, instead? Or maybe I should just have some water.
Drying ~ Okay, after some water I've decided that part of the headache may be coming from the rather aromatic gentleman on the bus who is sipping beer as a quick breakfast. Hrm. Though maybe I did pick the wrong time of the month to review this oil. It's taking a sharp, talcum-powder turn that I'm not fond of. ugh.
Drydown ~ Wow. This has turned very incense-like. Based on my earlier tries, this is not what I signed up for. It's not bad for incense, but I don't like wearing such oils. Maybe it's my allergies, but I always want to open a window.
Dry ~ This is a high, sharp, sweet powder combined with spice. It's still unpleasantly perfume-like. Gah. My head is starting to swim. What happened to the spicy nookie scent?
Fade ~ The sharpness and most of the spice has left, and now it's mainly sweet powder with a light undertone of incense. It's quite a letdown for me.
Final thoughts ~ I tried this a few times and got "spicy nookie," which I really liked. I tried it a few more times and got spiced talc. This is a very skim chemistry sensitive oil, and that annoys me. Though it's also a great theme for organizing oils: by what smells the best at certain times of the month. I’ll probably do a few more experiments to see if I can recreate the stages I really liked, but if not this one is almost certainly going on the swaps pile. Though I guess it'd make a fascinating house scent with the sweetness. Hmmm.
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TMI ~ I could drop an egg at any moment.
Note ~ This came as a frimp in my Pink Moon order.
Vial ~ A smoky incense, possibly backed with some sort of booze.
Wet ~ Woo. The alcohol may have been a resin. It's cutting sharply through the incense and is turning into plastic on me.
Drying ~ The smoke component is fading a bit. I think there's cedar in here. I'm not finding this oil in the least bit attractive on me.
Drydown ~ Cedar incense. Gosh, hold me back, y'all. I'm a sex machine. Woo, I say, woo-hoo. *cough* Am I failing to understand an obvious connection here? Is smelling wood supposed to inspire others to emulate it?
Dry ~ I think the booze came back, and there's probably a musk in here, too. Maybe this is supposed to promise drunken nookie by a fire? Hrm. It seems that this was just a flare-up. All the scents are mellowing back down tot he point where cedar incense is the dominant note again. This could be yet another oil that affects me as the wearer differently than it does those around me.
Fade ~ Weird. This is taking a turn towards being sweet and smoky, like a low-grade Snake Oil. I've had it on for an hour and a half by now.
Final thoughts ~ I don't think I'm cut out for the Voodoo Blends as a category. My skin tends to highlight the incense note, which distracts me from whatever invigorating properties the oils are supposed to have. If it wasn't for Water of Notre Dame, I'd think the entire line existed just to taunt me. As one of my older sisters once pointed out, I can be too literal at times. If the scent of an oil doesn't leave me feeling sexy, powerful or lighthearted, I'm not going to care what the name on the label is or what the description says. It's like wearing sexy clothing: if I don't feel comfortable in it, I don't care how sexy the cloth is -- I'm not going to be convincing enough in it to carry it well. That's pretty much the way I feel about the Voodoo Blends : they don't affect me well enough to allow me to affect the outside world as planned.
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TMI ~ Aunt Flo is now visiting with Ultraviolet.
Note ~ This one was recommended to me, so I added it to my Pink Moon order.
Vial ~ A lemony citrus with a mint backbone.
Wet ~ A clear, almost stinging candied-lemon. It's verging on the Pledge-like, but something is coming in after it -- a white musk -- to give it backbone again.
Drying ~ Wow. This is starting to remind me of Dorian, but with citrus. There's a creamy component coming in, too. Huh. You know, I think this is how Dorian smelled on the off day, when I was expecting Nathaniel's hair (Anita Blake reference) and got something else. I wonder if, on an off day, Whitechapel would end up smelling like Dorian?
Drydown ~ It's still creamy, but it's softening down. White musk, lime, lilac and citron. Huh. It must be the musk-lilac combination that's creating the thickness, because generally citrus stands up and tap dances on me. Hrm. After a SpicyBrains search, I see that most lilac scents are combined with notes I hate. The only one I really adored was the discontinued Bruja. Alas.
Dry ~ This is so close to Dorian on me that it's frightening, considering that all the have in common notewise is white/light musk. Whitechapel is a little less masculine than Dorian, but only by a degree.
Fade ~ Alas, it fades so well and quickly that I'm getting hints of Highwayman from last night. There's something pleasant, but very thin, over it -- and that's the only saving grace. Crud.
Final thoughts ~ I'm going to have to do a wrist showdown between Dorian and Whitechapel when they can both be at their prime on my skin, because this is just freaky. I wonder how they'd layer? If anything, Whitechapel is making me consider forgiving Dorian for not staying consistent throughout my cycle. I think both make excellent spring scents: they're quite light and innocent, despite the creaminess and the names. Pretty-boy scents, both.
5ml ~ Maybe. First, the showdown!
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The honey scents tend to smell very "dirty sex" on me. La Petit Mort and O in particular. Other scents that you may want to try include Lilith, Blood Lotus, Venom, Whip and Hollywood Babylon. You may try another tactic and slather on some Casanova. It's masculine and very, very sexy.I adore O for feeling sexy, and depending on my skin chemistry Bastet is also great ("spicy nookie"). Loviatar is good a commanding yet sexy feeling. Though, actually, I've gotten a barrista to sniff me while I was wearing Laudanum (which he liked and commented on later) and have gotten compliments when my hair smells like Spooky.
So, there seems to be a difference between what builds my sexual confidence and what others find attractive on me. Go figure.
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Note ~ Perhaps because I stated that I wouldn't touch this oil with a very large pole, it was included as a frimp along with the imp I'd purchased specifically for a friend. drat.
Vial ~ The wood note I'm smelling must be the leather. as to the rest: "the horror! the horror!"
Wet ~ guaaagh! The jasmine and gardenia have combined into something mere mortals should not know. Oh, help! Just smelling it has coated the back of my throat. Crap! I wonder if I have any coffee beans? Ugh. My tongue! *cough*
Drying ~ mother. Okay, that stage is over with. It's calmed down into something sweeter, which I suspect is just an excuse to lure me in for another close-contact sniff. When I do, my nostril hairs try to climb down my throat. This is amazing: I cannot take my usual snort of my wrist for fear of doing myself trauma. But I digress.
Drydown ~ It's turning from chalky to powdery, which is a blessing because that means it's softening a bit. For now. I think the cinnamon (sweet) and leather (base) have ridden into my rescue. I can only assume that the vetiver was involved in the initial assault, but I was too distracted by misery to tell.
Dry ~ Uh-oh. I think the vetiver heard me and is sneaking back out to bully me. There's an odd, dusty-green note that's taking advantage of the powdery floral stage. Great, now I'm coughing again. It's morphing into a random but strong, dusty, powdery floral.
Fade ~ It's fluctuating between a powdery floral and a dusty-dry green note.
Final thoughts ~ I shoulda just used the pole. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but this was as bad or worse than I expected. Indeed, it pretty much justifies my avoidance of strong florals -- or, at least -- the strong ones with which my skin assaults my nose. I don't like jasmine tea, and I don't like jasmine oil. I don't like gardenia in Lush products, and I don't like it in BPAL either. Vetiver may actually cause me breathing problems. Rose tends to trump almost any other ingredient in an oil applied to my skin and just gets boring after a while. Together, they're the nectar of the damned.
5ml ~ Gods why?
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Vial ~ The scent of detergent on freshly laundered sheets.
Wet ~ Maybe I smelled vodka from teh man who just pased the bus stop. Occasionally I get flashes of citrus, but this mainly smells like the detergent aisle at the grocery store.
Drying ~ Sort of a generic conditioner scent, like someone on the bus to work who has freshly shampooed hair might smell.
Drydown ~ Wow! This is fading fast. For a while, I was wondering if this was BPAL's answer to Clean, which I thought was quite acceptable for a commercial perfume. Wait! It's flaring up again. Pear and champagne, I think. I like this stage: it's a little sweet and fizzy on me.
Dry ~ Verrry light, a little sweet. It's starting to turn and merge the detergent back in, though not quite as sharply. It's turning powdery but giving strength to the fruit note. This oil smells like a faerie humped my arm.
Fade ~ It's moving from pear-scented laundry detergent to a slightly sweet powder. I think I put two swipes on each arm less than two hours ago as of this writing. (Later.) The last time I sniffed my wrist before the movie started, I smelled the beginnings of an aquatic. It made me wonder if there's citrus in this oil. The clean, clear smell of water was in here, without the detergent. Odd. Now, hours later, one wrist still smells a little powdery, while the other smells somewhat as if there'd been a sturdy aquatic on it that had kept its watery edge.
Final thoughts ~ This isn't me. Even at the pear and champagne stage, it wasn't me. It has moments, but this is another oil that I can't see becoming something I'd really like at other times of the month.
5ml ~ No.
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Note ~ an imp I ordered along with Pink Moon.
Vial ~ a slightly astringent, purple floral note.
Wet ~ Hrm. A leafy, green astringent. Very sharp and not my thing.
Drying ~ Spring-fresh detergent. Oh, lordy -- and this is the imp I'd been waiting for eagerly?
Drydown ~ The astringent / detergent quality is starting to back down into what I could call a powdery floral. what I'm getting reminds me of the cloying undertones of Lush's Bathos bubble bar. It's starting to turn sweet, but is still hanging onto the sharp tang. This is just unfortunate.
Dry ~ Soap. Ivory frickin' soap. As it lightens, it turns more fresh and sweet. Maybe that's finally the violet peeking through.
Fade ~ I never fully smelled the violet. I think this oil lasted a little over eight hours before it gave up. At nearly my bedtime, I smell almost nothing on my wrists -- if anything, a vague powderiness. Strange.
Final thoughts ~ I can't imagine my cycle or lack thereof making this any worse.
5ml ~ No.
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Note ~ I don't think I've ever started writing a review just after having gone to bed.
Vial ~ The smell on my hands after I've brushed them over a neighbor's lavender plant: herbal, medicinal, a little green but definitely lavender in the end.
Wet ~ There's some weird citrus-like note in this ... it borders on the Pledge-like, and I think it's what builds up the medicinal factor of the initial sniff. Problem is, its hard to tell if it's a citrus, let alone what sort, so I was loathe to mention it initially.
Drying ~ I'm no really smelling pepper, am I? Lemon pepper? It's a clean, fresh citrus with a biting but pleasant undertone. Yep, I bet that's black pepper under there. The lavender has backed off almost completely.
Drydown ~ The green is coming back as lavender leaf freshly rubbed between the fingers. It's rather faint and the lemon pepper is all but gone from the first wrist I swiped.
Dry ~ Wow. Now its mainly pepper and green lavender. It's herby and strong. Mmmm. I'm feelin' kinda mellow ...
Fade ~ If I sniff really hard, there's a trace of something dark on the first wrist I tested. For now, though, nightie night.
Morning after ~ Both wrists are lightly powdered with vague baker spice. Wow. I wouldn't have expected that. Hmmm. Could be remnants of Pink Moon in there, too, I guess.
Dreams ~ None that I can remember.
Sleep ~ Pretty solid. I was up a few hours later for a bathroom break, but went back to sleep almost immediately afterwards, which is nearly unheard of for me.
Final thoughts ~ I've tried this one a few times before, and found myself nodding off quickly and sleeping soundly. If I could get into the habit, I'd rely on this oil when stressed to get me through bouts of insomnia.
Layers ~ I'd be curious to see what Nanshe and Laudanum could do together ... perhaps as a last-ever review.
5ml * ~ For practical purposes, almost certainly. I couldn't picture wearing this as a regular perfume, but it's a great sleep aid.
* With a tip o' the nib to UltraViolet.
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TMI ~ Aunt Flow is resting a bit now.
Vial ~ Strawberry creamsicle. *cough* Oh dear, this strong. I've never been so inspired to root for a floral note in my life.
Wet ~ Something scared the strawberry and made it back up a few feet. Either it's a floral and an incense, or it's a soft but insistent floral.
Drying ~ Hrm. Is this the "Pink Sugar" effect that people keep writing about? It's very bright and happy, and it's definitely edging toward the end of my sweet tolerance. Ooookay, something's changed. This is unnerving. It's still very pink, but it's a sexy pink. I would have pegged Lolita as smelling like this. There's either a light musk or the florals got together and decided they'd had enough of this.
Drydown ~ Um. Goodness. Strawberry sugar cookies, maybe? After a while, the florals started turning this into a deeper, sexier smell that was still lightened by the sheer pinkness of it. As far as I can tell, my skin ate and spat out the strawberry a long time ago.
Dry ~ Back up to a sexy pink -- almost a hot pink, really. It's starting to turn a little powdery, which ... good lord. The pink is almost gone on one wrist! I've had this on for little over an hour, and it's fading to a mildly sweet, non-offensive powder. The other wrist -- the second to get swiped -- is still just starting to come out of the deep/hot pink phase.
Fade ~ I'm getting a little chalk in with my sweet powder, now, but that's about it. This ... just kinda goes away. Immediately. I think it spent all it's energy trying to crawl out of the bottle at me upon first sniff.
Final thoughts ~ Well, it calms down nicely, but I'm not sure if it's me. Luckily, I decanted myself an imp, so I can see how things change at other times of the month. The bottle has a pink edged label, with a widdle pink moon drawn on it. Awww!
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Vial ~ Saline, with an old, sturdy grapefruit backing it. My dad used to suggest gargling with "salt water" (salt added to water that had been boiled hot enough to dissolve it a bit) for a sore throat -- this reminds me of that taste.
Wet ~ The musty citrus is there, but the musk took over quickly. No, wait; the musk and the grapefruit are battling it out.
Drying ~ Citrus seems to be a common ingredient in aquatics, and the musk -- I think -- is standing in for skin. Add in the saline and this is where the scent of freshly tear-stained cheeks comes in. It's still morphing on me, though, so sometimes one note rises above the others. I can tell which wrist I swiped first because that one is morphing less, now.
Drydown ~ Mmm, the freshness is coming through. I think the salt and the citrus are really settling down into each other. it's quite refreshing, through in a different way than a truly cathartic cry.
Dry ~ The separate notes are starting to stand out again, but each has an obviously unique job. It's like looking at one the sort of picture that's simultaneously a while candle-stick holder and two black faces. The grapefruit is the dampness. The musk is the skin. The salt is the proof of sorrow or pain. This simply works.
Fade ~ I can almost taste tears on my tongue. This oil is beautiful.
Final thoughts ~ If I'd have discovered Tears earlier, it would have been my first 10ml purchase. If I could effectively lobby for the return of one scent, it'd be this one. It just works.
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Vial ~ Strawberry bubblegum on a warm summer day.
Wet ~ The mojo has started working. There's a pencil-shaving backbone to this scent that keeps it from being cripplingly cloying. Yep, wearing strawberry lipgloss while emptying the pencil sharpener. People who thought that their compulsory school years were the best of their lives may well appreciate this stage.
Drying ~ argh. Natural strawberry seems to come across as artificial on me, so as the strawberry note takes over I find myself getting more and more annoyed. Only my tiny increments: Aunt Caroline's has yet to get so bad that I've wanted to run and wash it off. But ... yargh?
Drydown ~ Wow, this is lightening quickly. The strawberry and the woodish notes have merged. The first time I tired this oil, I thought I was smelling incense behind the fruit note, but I don't think that's it. It's almost chalky, but that's not quite it. I think that this might be the most pleasant of the Voodoo Blends I've tried, though, just because sharp underscent doesn't distract unpleasantly from the top notes. Actually, it distracts quite pleasantly.
Dry ~ Strawberry lipgloss that was applied hours ago. After another half hour, it's starting to develop a slight plastic undertone, whch suggests that there was a resin in the mix.
Fade ~ A light, sweet, powdery finish. If I really concentrate, I can smell the strawberry, still.
Final thoughts ~ I stand by a statement a made months ago: Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo smells exactly like what it is: artificial, pre-packaged joy. There are other scents I can sniff that can make me grin or even giggle. This ... isn't one of them. I understand that the intent is to make me happy, but it takes more than intent with me. I'm stubborn. It's the difference between being depressed and hanging out with a friend who can say the right snarky or witty thing and actually make me smile or even laugh; as opposed to having a stranger walk up to me and say, "Smile, it can't be that bad!" or "Turn that frown upside down!" or "I know there's a smile in there somewhere!" This latter could generate a startled, automatic smile in reaction; but it's not genuine happiness or release. It's the difference between hearing a song on the radio that brings back pleasant memories or that generates wonderful daydreams; and having something as overplayed and relentlessly cheerful as Don't Worry, Be Happy come through the airwaves. I'm glad that this oil actually does manage to bring joy to others. Alas, when I wear it, I feel as though I've failed to get the joke -- or joy, as the case may be.
Sexy, Smutty, Seductive, Provocative... It's All in Here
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An astounding number of the Love Potion oils put me off. I'm not crazy about rose, gardenia, jasmine, dragon's blood ... gah. For me, sexy scents that I like include:
There are some scents that other people find incredible on me that I just detest. I figure that if I'm uncomfortable, then it's pretty much a case of the sexy wearing me than me wearing it.