penemuel

Sweet, fresh soapiness -- definitely not for me. Give me something dirty and musky and I'm good -- this is the diametric opposite of that. It's bright, clean, a little brisk and a touch floral -- and soapy. Definitely fits the character, though!

To me this scent is all sweet, creamy floral. I'm not getting any of the spiciness that the Iris or Carnation should give it. It's a pretty scent, but not a me scent. Floral and possibly foody lovers will like this scent.

I really wanted this to be a combination of its notes on me, but all I seem to be getting is the musk and patchouli. There's possibly a bit of the tobacco in the background, and a smidge of fruit, but beyond that, it's all eaten by musk and patchouli. Lovely art and concept, but I don't see a bottle in my future.

In the imp this is almost startlingly sharp -- the oiled metal really jumps out at me. On my skin, wet, it's already starting to warm up and become burnished and spicy. I can smell the leather, and I do get a bit of the anise, which I'm very happy about. I love licorice and anise, and the fact that it doesn't vanish completely on me is good! Drying down, now, it's all sweet spicy leather and warm burnished metal -- this is a lovely scent and I'm trying to talk myself out of a bottle. I think I'm failing. Maybe I'll see what the OH says -- if she doesn't like it, then I'll be good and stick to imps...

In the imp there is something that comes dangerously close to pee. I don't know if it's the jasmine or what, but it's not there on a light sniff. If I take a deeper sniff, there it is. Some kind of icky stank... On my skin, wet, that note is still there. I hope it doesn't stick around, because that is very unpleasant. Drying down, it's starting to warm up and become a wine/patchouli scent now, with some floral there in the background. It's getting a lot more pleasant, and I have hopes that this won't be terrible on me. It's definitely not a me scent, though, so I'll use up the imp and not buy more. ETA: now it's dry and already fading a bit. The Lab's wine notes seem to do that on my skin. It's quite nice now -- the florals are well behaved and the patchouli is nicely spicy and warm against the fruity wine scent. Still not a me scent, but nowhere near the disaster it could have been.

I bought an imp of this because people said 'if you like Minotaur you'll like this', and at first I really didn't like it -- it was too flowery and sharp. However, I just tried it again today, about six or so months later, and it has mellowed into a wonderful, dark, resinous blend. It really does have similarities to Minotaur, and I think I will have to buy a bottle or two to age along with my Snake Oil. It's sweet, dark, and incensey. My advice to incense lovers is get an imp and try it -- if you don't like it at first, put it away and try it again in six months or so.

No. 93 Engine is AMAZING. Spicy resinous herbal sweet -- all at once! YUM! Oooh -- that must be the beeswax and benzoin, and the saffron, and sage, and *faints* Must have bottle!

This is a lovely scent! It's very herbal and sharp in the imp and when wet, but it quickly dries down to a warm, spicy, oiled metal scent. It doesn't lose the herbal sharpness, but it becomes more burnished and rounded. There's something very specific this reminds me of and I can't place it. I love it, though. Probably a bottle scent. I'm going to go broke on this collection...

I don't know the individual notes in this other than the ozone, but it smells light and clean and slightly sweet, slightly sharp. It's a floral blend, but not heavy floral, and it's actually quite nice. Flower lovers will definitely like it. The resins don't seem to be very noticeable, or they may be what keeps the flowers in check. It's a very pretty scent. Airy.

Sweet creamy high-end rootbeer -- it's definitely the good stuff. It's everything I was hoping it would be, both in the bottle and on my skin. Definitely also the Sassafras root and not the slightly lemony leaves. This is a delicious scent -- and now I want a good bottle of root beer!

I really wanted the smoky volcanic ash and palm, but what I got was dirty rotted vetiver. Ugh. It's wet and slimy and looks like the stuff you find in the bottom of those bagged salads that have been on the shelf too long -- and smells like it, too. I hope my nemesis recedes soon and this becomes what it says it is, because that's such an intriguing idea. But... vetiver. I'm sad. Especially because I bought a bottle unsniffed based on the uniqueness of it. And instead of unique, vetiver. Eugh.

This is an amazing scent for violet lovers. It's a little sweet, but all violet. I don't get most of the other notes, although there's a sharp crispness to it that is probably the mint. I think the sandalwood contributes to the sweetness, and possibly the lilac, although I don't smell lilac in the blend at all. It's a gorgeous scent and easily will become one of my top ten. I need to buy another bottle, FAST. And besides, it's a Steampunk Violet Wand! Kinky! How can I resist?

I do so wish I could smell the lab's non-sweet mint note. I can smell the mint in Green Tree Viper, Tokyo Stomp, and Lick it One More Time (haven't sniffed the other ones to know), but in blends like this it's almost non-existent. I get a bright, sharp, almost brittle scent. The eucalyptus is intensified by the ozone and almost hurts my nose it's so sharp. The flowers seem to be hiding, although I'm sure they're contributing somehow. It almost smells a bit like bug spray (not a plus). And all of a sudden on drydown, there's mint, peeking out from behind everything else! Come here, little mint... He's very shy. This scent is very intense, and illustrates what it's supposed to. I'm just not sure I can weather the bug-spray stage to get to the rest of it.

I really want this oil to smell on me the way it does in the imp. The initial imp scent and first wet stage on my skin is a beautiful mix of warmth and citrus, and it's just so golden and glowing. As it dries down, citrus keeps battling back, but the cedar is trying REALLY hard to go to pencil shavings on me. I keep getting whiffs of the sweet, bright citrus, but then there are those darned pencil shavings. I love cedar and I really wish it wouldn't do this. And I'm not getting any hint of the amber at all... I'll have to try this again on another day and see if it behaves better. If not, I'll try it in my hair or in a locket, because that wet stage is just so lovely! And about an hour and a half later, hello, amber! The pencil shavings have died down -- now it's a nice subtle wood scent, with the sweetness of amber coming to play. Not too much citrus at this point, though.

This is an amazing blend. I ordered ten different bottles (Tikis, Dragon Moon, some Steamworks, and some Pharmacopoeia), opened each one in turn to sniff, and this is the one that made me go WOW! out loud and make my OH stare at me. Then I got up and brought it over to her to sniff, and she also went WOW! It's warm and sensual and sweet but not too much. I don't know what teak or oak smell like on their own, but in this blend I can tell there's a delicious warm wood scent mixing with the sweetness of vanilla, and the tobacco lends a little spiciness to the whole thing. On my skin, it maintains the same deliciousness -- there isn't a single thing wrong with this blend! I already have it on my list for my next order -- must get a backup bottle. Possibly two. I LOVE this scent!

Oh my goodness -- this is a wonderful, wonderful summer scent! It's bright and blueberry fizzy yum in the decant. On my skin, it's blueberry, fizzy, and the lemongrass gives it this lovely sharp edge to keep it from being too sweet. There's an underlying juniper scent (the gin, obviously) that makes it deliciously fresh. This is a happy, bouncy scent, and I am SO glad I bought a bottle!

I like this one -- it's floral, but not overwhelmingly so. It's fresh and green, definitely aquatic, and sweetened by the florals. I didn't buy a bottle, and won't search for one, but I can see myself wearing this again.

Heavy, sweet, smells like LUSH's Pineapple Grunt soap to me. There's definitely a sugary sweet rum/pineapple blend, and possibly hints of the other fruits, but they are being bullied by the rum and pineapple.

My mind goes to the same place, but then I just can't quite figure out what BDSM thing. Maybe some kind of sling... Hmmn.

Got a decant of this. In the vial: it's raining in a forest full of fallen oak leaves. On my skin: rich, damp, loamy earth Drydown: this morphs from the rich, loamy earth scent to an almost incensey scent. I don't get any of the red fruits. I think the incensey scent is the wood. It's a beautiful blend!

Wow! In the decant: fizzy, sweet, a little on the cherry cough syrup side, but I've had that before from a blend I love (Phantom Calliope) and it doesn't alarm me now. On my skin: fizzy, sweet, almond-cherry-fruity-spicy -- it's all of these at once, and it's really hard to pin any one scent down for more than a moment. This is a fun and fruity blend -- the kind of thing that seems to lift your mood. Soon the fruity mellows a little, must be the citrus losing its edge, but there's still a fizziness to it that just makes it FUN. Verdict: Not something I'd wear all the time, but good for a little pick-me-up and perfect for hot summer days!

I was afraid this blend would be Flowers of DOOOOOOM like Pele was, especially after the reviews mentioning the gardenia. However, it's a pleasant surprise. Definitely more floral than I would wear, but like Tiki Queen, I'm not rushing to scrub it off my wrist. It's definitely heady tropical flowers, and a little tiny bit of musk and maybe vanilla behind them. It's a bit less creamy than Tiki Queen, but it's definitely a warm and pretty scent.

I was worried this would be an overwhelming floral like Pele turned out to be for me, but it's actually quite creamy and soft, and very pretty. Definitely floral, and nothing I would buy a bottle of, but I don't have to scrub it off or anything. Anyone who loves florals will probably love this blend.

Testing this right now (it's one of the ones I didn't get a bottle of, because I was worried it would be too floral. Now I'm regretting it a lot because it's not floral at all!) It starts out as a kind of fizzy vanilla, and as it warms up, the fizziness fades leaving behind a slightly spicy and very warm vanilla scent. It's so nice! I really hope I like the ones I did order bottles for as much as this one...

Okay, this may be a supremely dumb question, but I have the bottle and I can not figure the picture out. WHAT is the picture on the blue label (the one on the left)? I can see the woman's face, and her foot, and beyond that I am stumped. You'd think, since my mind is in the gutter permanently, that I'd figure it out, but nope, not working. (I do like that she looks like Chiana from Farscape, though...)