Falathwen

This is a complex scent that brought back an assortment of memories, all associated with coming in from the cold. When I first tried it, I got the strong pipe tobacco scent someone mentioned, like a shop I remember from childhood which was always very warm, with a scent of almost fruity tobacco strong enough to feel. Then a woodsy sort of scent came out, which reminded me of walking in Vermont woods…evergreens and leaves mulching as you pause to soak up the warmth of a shaft of sunlight. Finally, it occurred to me to shake the bottle and reapply. That brought out the foody notes and memories of coming home to a warm house full of the scents of baking. This time the scent was more consistent right through dry-down. It lasted a very long while. I want to try this again, for it seems to be such a changeable scent. I also may try layering it with Hesperides to bring out the apple note I was hoping would appear. I can not say this is an immediate favorite, but it is fascinating.

I started off with Hemlock and now that that has worn off I am wearing Persephone because my costume is "a spirit of Autumn." I thought the underworld/winter associations of pomegranate would be appropriate (in fact, we ate one this morning.) I will enjoy Samhain whenever it arrives and will probably wear that next year. -Falathwen

This was a freebie. (I love that custom...so generous and so much fun.) I was excited at the thought of an Arthurian scent. This one has the scent of Sweet Annie to me - a wild plant of graceful shape and wonderful citrus-green scent. It blooms this time of year. I have only encountered it in one place, the community garden in the heart of our city which has a labyrinth and suits the idea of an enchanted valley quite well

Cedar or perhaps cypress seemed to be the strongest note on me when this was wet, though it was softened by something almost sweet. My husband remarked that this stage of the scent reminded him of turmeric, and once he said it I had to agree. As it dried, the scent became more complex, warm, and dark. Dry, the scent reminded me of a combined frankincense and myrrh incense I have used and I agree with the person who compared it the mood set by this one to the midnight mass. I was thinking of the Easter Vigil when the church is dark, except for the fire, and the incense surrounds you. Falathwen

Wet this is Lily of the Valley….and sunscreen? What a weird nose I have. After a few minutes the rose comes in, softened by the myrrh. The beauty of this scent is in the blending. I keep searching for the individual note (and wondering what olibanum smellls like) but am met with a seamless blend which is very strong for hours (almost too strong for me…I felt rather self-conscious) and fades gently into a powdery sweetness which seems to be the end note of florals on me. Falathwen

A strong white floral when wet. I thought gardenia, probably because I had read the description. My husband said clover…which also seemed right even though it is not there. To me, this is a fancy dress scent. It makes me think of an elegant lady dressed for Easter with white gloves and all. It is intense for a long while, like putting your face right into a blossoming bush. I love lilac and the other notes, so that was not a problem, but it would not be an everyday scent for me. When totally dried down hours later it was gentle and powdery. I was surprised to notice that it smelled exactly like "Heaven Scent"…a fragrance I wore as a teenager. Falathwen

Wet, this was briefly a strong floral soap on me, but that passed. Drying, it was similar to Persephone with both fruit and rose balancing each other. I actually did a sniff test. Persephone is fruitier on me and Eve is sweeter. This felt very springlike - bright and intense. As it dried it mellowed, becoming more powdery. It reminded me of playing in the petals of our apple tree and wild rose bush as a very young girl, which I had not thought about in a long time. Falathwen

On my husband this was exactly how I remember the scent of the hemlock spruce outside my childhood house. It was hard to believe it was a blend and not a single note. On me it was "Irish Spring". I had an unstoppable fit of giggles remembering the cheesy commercials for that soap. Still, that held memories too, for it was the soap my parents used for years. Falathwen

On me, when wet, this scent exactly matched a favorite ‘ocean’ scented candle. I have saved that candle for years unburned because I loved the scent so much. It is a morning smell rather than salt march or beach for me - though I would adore a scent that captured those as well. This is more like a scent on the wind which has blown in off both ocean and fields…I definitely catch the saltiness and grassy herb notes that others have mentioned. It stays true and is moderately long lasting on me about two hours. Falathwen

This is more sweet than sweaty on me…like a very fine bath powder I once tried. When wet it was strongly amber and honey. The blend was delightful and remained consistent through dry down. This one was incredibly long lasting. In fact, when I woke up in the morning it was still present but had become pure vanilla at that point…lovely. Edited (2010) I had a friend try this and discovered that amber smells very different and much better on her. On me it is sweet. On her it was very rich.I like this scent, but it is so strong that I can only wear it once in a while.

I was hoping that this scent would be strongly apricot on me, since that smell brings back happy memories. My chemistry seems to bring out different notes. Even so, it is a very cheerful scent. I actually started laughing the first time I put it on because the scent suprised me. Wet it is strongly reminiscent of cherry incense. It dries down and abruptly changes to a light clove scent which was exactly like an Easter candle I once made with crushed cloves inside it.

This is one of the scents which astonished me by changing completely as it dried down. Wet, it was strong and green with a tinge of floral (probably the heather.) It reminded me of a blackthorn oil I once used. When it dries on me it changes abruptly to a soft blackberry, which was absolutely lovely. Sadly, after the blackberry note came out it faded rather quickly on me. This scent seemed more suited to my husbands nature than to mine. Interestingly, he is of partly Scottish heritage.

This was a free sample with my order, but turned out to be one of my most favorite scents. It is a deep scent both wet and dry. Wet, it is spicy and clear, like a mix of cinnamon and cypress. Strangely, I felt physically strong wearing it. It dries to a scent that is woodsy, floral and almost musky...like a perfume my mother wore. It feels very warm to me and I agree that it would probably be an excellent cold weather scent. It lasts many hours. **Unfortunately, on subsequent wearing it gave me red patches and burning! I solve this by applying it to my clothing rather than on skin, though this prevents the subtle changes that happen when applied directly.

I wore this twice and had two different impressions. On the first wearing I was outside on a very fine day. The fragrance was luminous - rose well-balanced with a slightly musky fruitness of pomegranate. It made me feel very aware of being female. It dried and faded slowly to a soft powdery scent which lasted a long while. On the second wearing, I was inside on a grey and oppressively warm day. The rose scent was overpowering the fruitiness when wet and was catch in your throat strong until it faded once more into the soft powdery scent. I am curious to try this a few more times before forming a final opinion.

This one came as a free sample with my order. It was the only scent which I strongly did not care for, but I do not blame the formula, because the scent of alcohol has strong negative associations for me. The alcohol tang faded quickly, fortunately, but the strawberry scent was overpowering - it was so strong that I had to really try to wash it off.

My patroness is St. Bride/Brigid. I chose this scent because its elements (milk, honey, and grain) are also associated with her. As others have said, this scent remained fairly constant both wet and dry. Light and sweet, it made me feel the same. On me it is almondy. It is a clean, comforting scent....very much like an almond and oatmeal soap I enjoy. It is also similar to a milk and honey fragrance that I am fond of. It lasts quite a while, which suprised me for such a light fragrance.

This was the scent whose description made me decide to order my first set of imps...I had to see if an oil could actually smell like that. As stated, this one is very strong and very sweet. On me the strongest impression of the wet notes is of mocha. As it dries it seems more like melted butter mixed with sugar (I made a comparison sniff check while baking) or toffee. I was hoping for more chocolate. It remains strong for a long time and its richness is both pleasant and distracting. It is not an everyday scent, but would be great fun on holidays.

I chose this one because I thought it might suit my husband, but of course we both tried it. It is certainly complex scent and not easily described...so why I chose it as my first review is a mystery. When wet it is a very crisp green mix, almost sweet...herbs and lime to me. It smells exactly like a room fragrance I once used called “Shell”, so that association made it a little harder to appreciate as a body fragrance. When dry however, it softens to a powdery ginger/green scent - that dry down was delightful and fortunately longer lasting than the original notes.