Keslynn

In the bottle, Poisson is a beautiful vibrant spring floral. On my skin, the fresh floral is still primary. The honey is coming out and warming everything up. It makes me think of my mother's flowerbed when it's being lit by the morning sun. Verdict: I've been wanting a spring floral, and this is it! Absolutely perfect.

On my skin, it's cherries with a coating of powdered sugar. Later, the powdered sugar goes away, and Bloody Mary smells like cherry lollipops with a slight creamy edge. It's sweet but the berries add a nice tartness so it's not over the top. Verdict: Cherry lollipop with a hint of cream. Sassy and yummy. Glad I have a bottle.

HtP stayed remarkably the same from the imp to my skin so I'll skip the "in the imp" part of the review. I love the concept of this perfume, but it doesn't work for me at all. There is a tart fruity element, which to me, smells a little too sweet like fruit that's gone rotten. Also, the amber (which is always hit or miss) goes powdery on me. It's just too much. Verdict: Rotten fruit and baby powder. Off to the swaps.

In the bottle, Abhisarika is a very high floral, rich and heady. High floral means: almost formal smelling. Sexy but not necessarily approachable. Perfumey. On my skin, it's still a very high floral. It smells like a very floral potpourri, but the scent is more three-dimensional, if that makes sense. I can't pick out any rose in the floral, so it's either very well-blended, or this magnificent scent is all orchid. Whatever it is, my nose is glued to my wrist. It's so beautiful. A couple hours later, the rose starts to come out on its own. It's a lovely wet rose. I can definitely smell the musk, and I think the cream might be there smoothing the edges. That high floral is still there, but the other components are coming out to play. I like the "I am supremely floral, bow to me" period a little better, but this is still lovely and engaging. Verdict: A gorgeous floral scent. Seductive but regal. I'm so glad I got a bottle.

I have really come to love Crow Moon. The first time I wore it, I thought it was okay, but now I find myself reaching for it fairly often. It's amazingly complex and gorgeous. In the bottle, it's very earthy and dirty with a hint of evergreen to it. Smells like wet earth in a deep dark forest. On my skin, the moist earthy forest smell is most pronounced at first. This is the very beginning of spring, when there are still patches of snow on the ground. Yet, despite all appearances, the earth is waking up. You can feel the energy of it thrumming beneath your feet, and you can smell it in the soil. Crow Moon captures it perfectly. Later, a hint of something sweeter comes in over the deeper earth notes. Early spring floral where the smell of the greenery is stronger than the scent of the flowers? It's hard for me to describe well. It's not really that flowery, but it is a little brighter and sweeter. At this stage, my boyfriend says it smells "like old-fashioned candy." I can see where he's getting this. It really is like those white candies in the hard candy Christmas mix (the kind that always sticks together in the candy bowl because they're not individually wrapped). Verdict: Complex and very evocative of the time of year. I'm surprised at how much I love this. Glad I have a bottle.

In the imp, Faiza smells very medicinal to me. It's similar to the orangey cough medicine I took last time I had a cold. On my skin, Faiza remains strongly medicinal with an almost fruity overtone. I keep waiting for the scent to morph but it never does. I so wanted this to work because I love snakes. Unfortunately, Faiza and her companions just haven't been working with my chemistry. Verdict: Cough syrupy.

In the imp, Habu has the fresh scent of cut woods. On my skin, the fresh wood scent stays only a moment before turning straight into Lemon Pledge. Unfortunately, it never changes from the Lemon Pledge. Silly, silly chemistry, why couldn't you give me the fresh wood smell? Verdict: Lemon Pledge.

Ohhhhh yum! I know I just spoiled my review, but still... In the imp, Tiresias is all delicious gooey caramel. I know I'm not supposed to eat perfume, but it's hard not to. On my skin, it's still luscious sticky caramel. For a while, I only get caramel, but then this gorgeous lower note sneaks in to ground the food scent. I honestly can't tell what note this is - maybe it's a combo of the others? I think it might be the tobacco I notice most in the grounding note. Whatever it is, it's a perfect complement. Verdict: A warm, delicious and oddly comforting scent. I definitely want a full bottle!

In the imp, it was almost completely orange. The patchouli chimed in enough to twist the orange into a weird cleanser-type orange smell. Not really sure about this one... On my skin, it was still the weird orange cleanser smell. I love patchouli and orange, but for some reason these aren't playing so nice together on me. Later on, the orange fades out so it's all patchouli. This phase is nice, but I can wear straight patchouli to get this effect instead of waiting through the weird cleanser stage. Verdict: I thought I'd adore it, but with my chemistry, the patchouli and orange don't work well together. Off to the swaps.

In the bottle, it's very fresh! It's like sniffing a fresh-picked carnation, though it's a little sweeter than just carnation by itself. On my skin, this becomes a candied floral. It's smells like a pink conversation heart (one of the Necco ones). Everything blends so well that I can't pick out individual notes. This isn't what I was expecting from the freshness of the bottle sniff, but I like it! Verdict: Cute and flirty. Glad I bought a bottle.

In the bottle, Aries is honeysuckle and pepper with a slight whiff of ginger in the background. On my skin, it's almost all honeysuckle with a slight background of pepper, enough to give the honeysuckle depth. I don't really smell the ginger anymore, and I'm not sure what opoponax smells like so I won't venture to say whether it's there. Mostly, it's a slightly spicy honeysuckle, and it stays that way until it fades. Verdict: Yummy! I love honeysuckle, and this one stays delicious and true on my skin. It's not my sign, but I think I'll end up wearing it a lot anyway. It's a lovely spring scent! Plus, the bottle art rocks.

In the bottle, Ostara is floral with a hint of the cakes faintly in the background. On my skin, I get cakes, cream and I think citrus for the first couple of minutes. This stage reminds me a lot of Haloa though it's almost a little sour to my nose. Next comes the floral stage. A sniff right next to my wrist is a springy mixed floral. The springy mixed floral seems almost muted by something, but maybe it just needs to age and blend more. The throw at this point is very floral and almost rosy. I like the throw better than sniffing my wrist directly. After a couple hours, Ostara gets powdery and then fades away. While I like the scent okay on my skin, when used in ritual, this oil is gorgeous. It's pretty much all lovely spring floral when used to anoint something. Verdict: Ostara is nice on my skin, but it's not one of my favorites. It did knock my socks off in ritual (when used on something other than my skin). Maybe I need to be looking into a scent locket?

In the imp: mmmm spices. Very incensy. On my skin, spices are in the forefront during drydown. It's like taking a deep inhale in the spice cabinet. Yum! Then a higher note comes in. It's sweet but not really that floral to me. It's a lovely accent note to the deeper base of the spices. Later, the flowers gain more ground so they're going halfers with the spices. This stage smells a little like Kanishta to me, with spice instead of opium. Verdict: I like. The spices are so rich and lovely, and the florals compliment them nicely. This one might be a full bottle purchase.

In the imp, this is almost completely almond and honey to me. Unfortunately, almond actually makes me a little nauseous, but I soldier on. I know I keep saying this, but: boy, am I glad I stuck with it! On my skin, the almond is strong at first, but about 15 minutes later, it changes to a rosy floral that is on the verge of going powdery without ever going over the edge. I am enjoying it, but it's not really knocking my socks off. Then... she changes again an hour or so later. This is one moody lady, and I am so intrigued. Now the floral has completely lost the powder edge and become rich and rounded. The honey has really come out as a lovely companion to the flowers, and I think I'm smelling the apple a little too. Now it's knocking my socks off. Seems to have a long weartime, and the throw is strong. Verdict: I dislike the strong almond early on, but Bilquis more than makes up for it by how it smells later. I think I might need a full bottle of this changeable gal.

In the imp, this is all honeydew melon-ish. On my skin, the melon smell is very strong at first and dominates for a long time. I'm usually not a big melon person (I don't eat honeydew or cantaloupe), but this is fresh and nice. Makes me think of that transition time between spring and full-blown summer where it's really warm and lush but not stiflingly humid yet. It's really yummy. Later, the floral and musk come out a little more underneath the luscious melon. It's a very dry sort of floral, like perfume residue left on a pillow. Verdict: This is one of my top 3 out of the Heroines. I'm definitely keeping the imp, and I will try to get a full bottle if I can afford it.

And to think, I almost didn't put this on... In the imp, this smelled strange and offputting. It smelled cloying but with an antiseptic edge. Almost like cologne that has gone slightly bad? I really wish I could describe it better. After dubiously placing some on my skin, the scent morphed into something I love! Now it's mostly a delicious floral standing in a bed of rich herbals. There's also an almost honeyed sweetness to it. The antiseptic scent has blended into the background and actually works very well with the sweet herbal. I think this fits the description very well. At first we quarreled, but this Heroine won me back. Verdict: My surprise love of this series. I think I might be getting a big bottle before she leaves town.

In the bottle, this one smells very cologne-y. I think that frankincense is the culprit. Not quite sure I like it. Upon application, I am now sure I do not like it. It turned instantly into baby powder and urinal cake. Yes, urinal cake. I am so sad about this one. All the notes in the description sounded so tasty, and I really wanted it to work. Verdict: Wah! Maybe another try will make a difference. If not, off to the swaps.

Smut '07 In the bottle, this is musky and sugary. The sugary smell is predominant, with the musk as an almost burnt background note. The oil is a very dark brown so I had to rub it in more than other oils. The initial scent was pure candy though the musk kicks in pretty quickly afterwards. I remark to my boyfriend "I smell like slutty candy!" He laughs at me and agrees. This is a very yummy scent. It feels very happy but adult happy - the initial electric pull of attraction. Smut also lasts a long time! I applied it more than 12 hours ago, and I'm still getting whiffs from my cleavage. Yum... Verdict: Love it. Happy and sexy as hell. I think I'm going to need a full bottle before the Lupercalias leave.

In the imp, this one is pure lavender. On my skin, the initial scent is pure lavender, which changes very quickly into a sweet candyish smell (lotus, I guess?). Beneath the sweet note was a very nice hide-and-seek nutmeg. I wouldn't have thought the lotus and nutmeg would play well together, but it ended up being quite nice. The lavender was completely AWOL. Later on, the nutmeg disappeared, but the lavender came back as a background note to the sweet bubblegum/candy smell. I must admit that the total morph from lavender to candy and spice really threw me for a loop. I thought that my unscented lotion had somehow interacted with Paris to make the scent change like that. Turns out that's just how Paris reacts to my body chemistry, though I had to reapply before I figured it out. Verdict: I was expecting lavender, but I got candy. Good thing I like candy. I'll keep the imp, though I probably won't go for a full bottle.

In the bottle, this one smells not all that great. It's acrid and almost bitter (probably from the myrrh) with just a hint of floral. On my skin, it initially smells like it did in the bottle, and it's reminding me of really cheap perfume. I would have been tempted to wash it off, but I was on my way out the door and running late. Good thing I didn't wash it off because it totally changed in a few minutes. The rose really started to come out, and the bitterness disappeared. It's a lovely rosy floral with the darker notes receding to the background. Verdict: Though the initial scent is a bit of a turnoff, this is an enjoyable scent. Not sure if I'll buy a full bottle, but I'm keeping the imp.

In the imp, this one is a gorgeous, sexy rose incense. On my skin, it's still gorgeous, sexy rose incense! This rose isn't old-ladyish at all. It's luxurious. The dragon's blood and wine warm the rose until it's smoky and sultry and somehow mystical too. This scent makes me think of a love/fertility ritual, sacred sex. Verdict: I LOVE it. I got this one as a frimp with my last order, and thank you, lab! I think I will need to buy a full bottle of this one.

In the bottle, this one is sweet (from the almond milk maybe) with a whiff of pine lurking in the background. On my skin, it's the exact opposite. I get pine! with a faint sweet edge to it. I can't really smell the patchouli or tobacco, which is a shame because I like both those scents. This smells like one of those Christmas Candles from Yankee Candle - Christmas Wreath, I'm thinking. It smells nice, but it's not really something I want as perfume. Later, the pine recedes a little, and I start to get the patchouli and tobacco (mmmm). But by this point, the scent has faded so much that I have to stick my nose right up to my arm to smell them. Verdict: A nice sweet piney scent but on me, it's a little too Christmasy. I'm going to have my boyfriend try it on and see how it works for him.

In the bottle, this one smells just like spicy pumpkin pie. Yum! On my skin, it still has the spicy pumpkin pie scent, but it gains a PlayDoh kind of edge to it, which, oddly enough, isn't bad. I'm suspecting the amber is what's causing that, and I'm just happy it didn't turn to straight baby powder on my skin. There's also a fruity scent coming out. It's very light and juicy. A couple hours later, it has faded almost completely, but I can sniff some remnants of the spice and a little of the PlayDoh. Verdict: Quite enjoyable, especially if I'm in a foody mood.

In the bottle, this one is mouth-watering sugared grapefruit or lemon. On my skin, the initial scent is the same as I smelled in the bottle. Then it becomes softer and wispier and slowly takes on a more powdery/cologne kind of note. Eventually, HGM turns into something reminiscent of perfume wafting from the old yellowed pages of a journal or a bundle of love letters. It's soft and haunting. Verdict: Brings up gorgeous gothic images in my head (Jane Eyre style). I will probably use my imp but not quest for more.

I adore ylang ylang so I had to try out this scent. In the bottle, it was a sweet floral with lots of yummy ylang ylang smell. On my skin, I got floral with a surprising fruit smell, kind of like grape candy as others have said. At first, the floral had a cologne-y edge that I didn't like, but it wore off quickly. After a few minutes the musks kicked in, and I'm positively reeling with bliss. The ylang ylang and honey are grounded very nicely by the musks. (I can't tell what the labdanum does because I haven't tried anything else with it to pick out the note.) The fruity note that was so strong at first changes to hide and seek. I keep sniffing my wrists. I used to make my own lotion with ylang ylang and patchouli because I love the high florals grounded with a lower deeper scent. This is the same effect in a lovelier, more complex scent than I could ever make. Verdict: A gorgeously sweet scent. I think I might buy a full bottle of this one.