diabolique

i was in love with this one on first sniff, but i'm not so sure now. i slathered some on from my imp today. at first, it was medicinal and sickly sweet. it smelled like a room full of little kids sucking on cherry lollipops. the drydown was beautiful. the mahogany and woods started to come out very playfully, and i was reminded immediately of the way jane eyre described her den/living room at gateshead. i can see the blazing fire and the rich, crimson drapes on the windows. unfortunately, i can't smell anything now. i put it all over both of my arms, but i have to get right up to my wrist to smell anything, and it's just the faint smell of cough syrup. i'm practically thrusting coffee beans into my nose now, hoping that i'll be able to smell this again. maybe it disappeared because i still had some traces of hamadryad on.

in the bottle, i couldn't decide if i liked this one. it was on the "this is good, but oooh look at the other goodies!" list, basically. well, since neo-tokyo has completely faded from my skin, i decided to try it. mmmmm! i barely smell the cranberry. in fact, i had no idea it was in here, but now that i do, i get whiffs of it every now and then. my impression of the lampades is a darkened peach color, but not "country" peach. it's more of a tropical peach that's almost red in some spots. it's very smooth. the ginger and mediterranean spices are probably what makes me think, "oh my exotic gods!" this reminds me of titania a lot, only more sophisticated. it seems much more earthy than titania, like the lampades could be titania's mother. they're both very floaty and exotic, fleeting and untouchable. i would imagine kali being the lampades best friend.

in the vial, this is soft, clean, and relaxing. it's not exactly how i expected it. i'm not sure if "clean" is the word i should use, but i can't think of any other way to describe it. when i put it on, it's very breezey and light. it makes me want to be outside sitting in the grass underneath a huge tree on a windy day. this is my ideal spring scent. unfortunately, it basically evaporates on me, as i expected it would. this one was gone within 30 minutes. i like it a lot, though, and i'm really glad to have tried it.

i'm going to be honest. i have no idea why i ordered this one. i love the smell of roses, but i think it's one of those things my skin amplifies. smelling the bottle, this one made me sick. i don't think it smells bad in the least, but that's just what florals (i gag when i even say that word) do to me, especially ones that doesn't have very many ingredients. my other rose scent, harlot, smells beautiful, but i think that's because it has so many layers. this one is just so straight forward on me. i actually think it smells really good, but i can't get over that fear of florals. every time i say the word floral, it envokes images of this horrid "potpourri" spray that was in a cheap white bottle we had when i was a lot younger. talk about being scarred. off to swap with you, vice. i hope you can find a loving home. -sniff-

in the bottle: mmmmhmm. this smells exactly like hypothermya described it: an iced pear. this is absolutely lovely. on: oops, i think i put too much on in my giddy happiness. it smells so concentrated. hee. my nose kind of burns, actually. maybe i should wash some off. ten minutes later: wow, i just walked outside and grandpa yelled, "i can smell you from here!" at the end of the porch. i guess i DID put too much on, but i'm sure the wind has something to do with it. i hope. the drydown wasn't much different than how it is in the bottle. overall, i think this is just beautiful. next time i'll try not to put as much on. it smells beautiful when i catch a whiff of it, but i put so much on that it's way too intense. iced pear, indeed.

it took me three and a half weeks to get my last order. it's taking longer for my july 15th order because it went missing. oh no!

ah well. we've all got them. some people drink too much, some people overeat, some undereat, some people do drugs.. yeah, i smoke cigarettes. naughty!

..shit. we're pretty sure sinusitis is what i have right now. i smoke like a chimney, i've had about 6 bottles of dr. pepper in the past three days, and i just lit some incense. looks like i'm not gonna get better, guys.

i was wondering this myself, dear.

this smells very much like summer to me, especially the lazy part of summer days from 5pm to 8pm. it's golden, warm, and sweet. it's caught between light and heavy. whoever said this was sparkly was dead on. it feels like it should tickle my nose every time i put it up to my wrist. it was in my swap pile, but it seemed like it was calling to me from its little spot in my cabinet, so i picked it back up and gave it a second chance. i'm glad i did, because now i actually kind of like it. i'm not sure if i like it enough to wear it a lot, but it's somewhat comforting.

in the bottle, i thought this smelled delicious. spicy and tangy. i swore i could smell something very citrusy lingering in the background, but my brain is making things up. on my skin, it smells like rootbeer and cedar. it's a bit too woodsy for me, which i find hilarious. i thought i'd love woodsy scents, since i adore incense and the smell of the woods. i don't think i'll want to drink rootbeer for the next month. i like you, old kathmandu, but unfortunately you just don't cut it. off to the swap pile with you.

mmm. i'm going to have to get a big bottle of this. the plum, black currant, and wine is VERY strong on me. i think i'm getting lightheaded. wee.

first sniff, i can smell the berry and the heliotrope. this is very warm, smooth, and sweet. while drying, it's very chaotic and hectic. the musk, amber, and berry are all choking each other to claim the spot as the top note. it never stays in one place for too long. every time i try to pin it down, it moves. it's definitely not the smooth and sweet comforting scent it was when i first smelled it. occasionally, the berry peeks back out. i think i've learned my lesson, i definitely need to stay away from anything with amber or musk. ETA: i just layered glitter on over this one. heliotrope is niiiiiice. mm. i don't think i'll be able to wear carnivale alone. it smells pretty nice with glitter, but i may have to put this one in the swap pile with o and caterpillar.

Kali, the Black One, is the fearless Goddess of Destruction, Creation, Energy [in her Shakti aspect] and Dissolution. Also named Kaliratri [black Night] and Kalikamata [black Earth-Mother], she is the fiercest aspect of Devi, the supreme mother goddess. Kali is a protector Goddess, the destroyer of evil spirits and guardian of the faithful. She, along with her consort Shiva, represent the unending cycle of death and birth, sexual union, creation and destruction. Kali annihilates ignorance, maintains the natural order of the world, and blesses those who strive for spiritual awareness and knowledge of true holiness with infinite tenderness and motherly love. The constant, unending Work of Creation is called the "The Play of Kali". This perfume is a blend of the sacred blooms of cassia, hibiscus, musk rose, Himalayan wild tulip, lotus and osmanthus swirled with offertory dark chocolate, red wine, tobacco, balsam and honey. i can't really smell any of the individual notes the strongest, but i'm definitely not smelling the chocolate in this one. the most prevalent scents are the honey, himalayan wild tulip (at least i think that's what i'm smelling), hibiscus, and musk rose. the musk rose is very slight, but it's still there. i am in total love with this scent. i think this may have to become my signature "perfume." i have never smelled perfection like this before. it's smooth and mmmmm. thank you, lab! -frolics hand in hand with kali-

like everyone else, the most prominent note i smelled was the cherry and the almond, with some kind of underlying spice to it. now it's this gentle but rugged almond-bay rum scent. it's a little bit dark and "bad boy"-ish, but it's sweet and gentle. my grandpa thought this scent was gonna be his, but i'll fight to the death for it.

the amber in this one doesn't scream out at me as much as the amber in o did, i think it's pretty mellowed by the golden musk. ack, there's the amber again, but maybe that's just the o i had on earlier screaming out at me.. i can't smell the peach, but this was goooooorgeous in the bottle. i'm interested in seeing how this one turns out on my skin after a couple of hours. ETA: my grandma just said, "you smell like a sheet. you smell like someone just threw you in a washer, sprayed some perfume on you, and hung you outside in the beautiful country to dry." i guess that means she likes it. hee.

Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver. i don't like this one at all, and amazingly, i thought it was going to be my favorite one! i have too many terrible memories of walking through department stores and being bombarded with the "old woman" smell. i didn't mean to put this on because the smell in the bottle made me go, "OLD PEOPLE!" i was opening it up to smell it, perhaps to give it another chance, and a little bit spilled on my fingers. i honestly cannot smell anything but that chemical old person smell. i'm so sad. i wanted to like this one so much. i'm gonna go wash my hands now.

the amber in this really screams at me, and it's not helping my headache. basically, the amber is all i can smell. when i initially put it on, it smelled exactly how it did in the bottle, with the honey and vanilla coming out beautifully, but they all faded into the background and the amber is like "BAM!!" i suppose it smells all right enough to keep the imp. i'll probably want to have it on hand, but i don't suspect i'll be using this. i really want to keep it on longer, but i desperately want to try kali and baron samedi! this is such a beautiful scent. if it weren't for that pesky amber..

i decided this one was too masculine for me, so i made grandpa my guinea pig. when it was wet, all i could smell was green herbs, pepper, and nutmeg. when it dried, all of the scents rounded out beautifully. my grandpa officially smells like christmas thanks to this scent. i just tried this on myself, and it reminds me of that long drive to a friend of the family's house for his wonderful thanksgiving dinner out on his ranch. my family and i would pile up in the car with blankets, pillows, and our dogs, and we would watch the texas country side unfold as we drove farther and farther east. kweku anansi, to me, smells like that piney, chilly, late-autumn/early-winter air, but.. from a distance, i suppose. this made me feel VERY nostalgic.

that's what i thought, but i wasn't sure. thanks!

i have a question about the click'n'ships. if you actually receive one, is there anything you need to do before your order will be sent to you? like, if you somehow miss it, does it not get sent? because my e-mail's server isn't accepting incoming e-mails right now due to a glitch and i'm afraid i'll receive a click'n'ship and not be able to do anything about it.

i'd say anything that's definitely RED. red was a very intense color throughout the movie, and i think the cinematography really focused on it, almost making it seem as though the color is amelie's aura. a floral would be fitting as well, but it would have to be very unique.

i'd look for anything aquatic. i did a search in the reviews for "aquatic" and here's the list for it. you might try water of notre dame. i've never tried it, but check it out.

i received this one from lorajc today (thank you!!). i didn't expect to be getting it so soon. thank you, thank you, thank you! it was a pleasant surprise when i woke up. first sniff: this isn't as sweet as i expected it to be, but it's not that boozy either. i can't pick out anything except the heliotrope. okay, i'll sniff it another time, but i'm not sure if i like this. on wet: it smells exactly how it does in the bottle, but it's starting to mellow out. it actually seems to be turning very sophisticated on me. it smells like a perfume that a 40 year old woman who's married 5 times and taken all her husbands' money would wear. dry: this isn't sweet anymore at all. this has dried down to a powdery scent, and it's very dark. the lotus is really kicking in. the d'anjou pear is slightly peaking out, but the white wine has remained in the background. it's only been on for about ten minutes, and it has that "worn" smell to it, like it just molds to your skin. it smells like two lovers out in the middle of a dancefloor, drunkenly trying to make one another jealous by grinding against other people. the debauchery and drama is there, but the glitter has faded. my grandma likes this one a lot. i'm also on my period, so that could explain why this is a lot darker and weirder on me than i expected. i'll try it again in a couple of days. edit: oh, woah. the lotus just kicked the heliotrope's ass. that's all i can smell now. 9 hours later and this is still going strong. all of the notes have balanced each other out, and it's sweet, but it isn't as loud as i expected it to be. this turns really nice on me, and it lasts such a long time. wow!

awesome. thanks guys, that helped a lot. i'll definitely be using that from now on.