DifferentDances

Bottle: Dead leaves, ozone, and saffron spice. Wet: Dead, damp, mushy leaves. Drydown: There's a throw of soggy, cold tea leaves. Burnt coffee? Dry: This is a bit of a disappointment - the scent reminds me of our coffee maker after it's been used for making coffee and then tea. There IS a creamy, beautiful scent interlaced with the tea/coffee, but my nose keeps fixating on the tea/coffee remnants. BAH. My rating: 2/5

(Testing from decant) Imp: Juicy, slightly dark pomegranate. Wet: Juicy pomegranate. Drydown: Slightly faded, less juicy pomegranate. Dry: And gone. My rating: 4/5 This is glorious for the brief time it lasts.

Bottle: I think I smell the lettuce, and a hint of the lab's sweet pea and pear notes. Also, something weirdly reminiscent of commercial frozen cookie dough. Wet: The sweet pea ramps up, but there's something weird here. That same cookie dough smell now more like playdough. Drydown: Maybe that playdough smell is frankincense? I don't know, it smells like wet bread. Dry: Sweet pea and weirdly spicy wet bread. My rating: 2/5

Bottle: Overwhelming lavender. Wet: The lavender gets knocked down by the orchid in a body slam and...either the frankincense or the benzoin. Not sure what either of those smell like. Drydown: Orchid. Dry: Sugared orchid. My rating: 3/5

Imp: Black amber and very astringent grapefruit. Wet: The amber warms up the scent and the plums and bergamot make a surprisingly bright entrance. Drydown: Mostly warmed bergamot. This smells like tea! Dry: So weird - the throw about six inches from my skin smells like my mom's perfume. Up close...tea. My rating: 2/5

Imp: Mostly patchouli. Wet: Brief burst of mango that then vanishes quietly into the nuttiness that remains. Is that the fig or patchouli going all nutty? Drydown: Very, very faint patchouli. No throw or variation. Dry: Nothingness close to the skin. There's a slight mango throw, though. My rating: 1/5

Bottle: Rose and cherry cough syrup. Wet: A damp rose; rose water. Drydown: Rose water tempered by something sharp - the cherry cough syrup? And slightly warm. Dry: Pale rose water. My rating: 3/5

Bottle: Wisteria and passion flower and something else that smells like a classic fruity perfume. A slithering sense of moss. And a weird hit of wet socks. Wet: Insta-fade! This doesn't smell like much unless I push my nose up close - and then it smells like a limp floral. I was hoping for the sarsaparilla to pop up. The throw strongly resembles perfume store high-end perfumes. Drydown: A deep, if generic, floral blend. Dry: This is a very 'grownup' floral blend - nothing really sticks out, but it definitely feels like it'd go smashingly with a Versace dress. My rating: 2/5 Not my thing.

Bottle: Sage, soap, green, with yes, a weird coconut fringe. Wet: Dandelion and soap. Drydown: Warmth. With a strong coconut throw. Dry: Weird coconut amber. I was so hoping for another scent similar to my One to Tie, but this is just going all wrong on me. My rating: 1/5

Bottle: Dark musk and dragon's blood. I'm hoping the dragon's blood gets knocked way down on my skin. Wet: The musk is about equal with the dragon's blood. Drydown: Supersoapy dragon's blood. Ew! Dry: And it's all gone. How disappointing! My rating: 1/5

Imp: Smells like medicine you'd rub on an aching joint. Wet: Something bright and airy, like an old favored incense. Drydown: Very herbal, back to medicinal-type smell. Dry: After hours, it's a very pretty blend of florals, but I have many BPALs that do that in less time with more pleasant drying processes. My rating: 2/5

Imp: Lemon and ginger. Wet: Almost vanishes instantaneously. Slight hint of plastic. Drydown: Faint, faint, faint plastic. Dry: And it's gone. My rating: 1/5

Bottle: Soapy florals with a heaping helping of sakura. Wet: Strangely salty sakura. Oh god this is like clean soap, but MY KIND of clean soap, like Japanese foaming facial cleansers, or like the Luxe body wash I grew up with as a kid in Taiwan. Drydown: Less soapy, more sakura. The throw definitely still is a bit shampoo-y or soapy, though. Dry: Almost plastic sakura with a clean feel. My rating: 3/5

Bottle: Pomegranate, wisteria, and a sharp hit of either myrrh or anise? Wet: Something sort of minty or...ack, something out of my childhood but I can't quite identify it. Wisteria is pretty solid. Drydown: Menthol! Something in this reminds me of menthol! The wisteria has knocked the pomegranate out. Dry: Oooh the pomegranate returns! There's an herbal tint to the juicy, floralness, but I'm liking this. My rating: 4/5

Bottle: Bamboo and plum, with a tint of yuzu citrus. Wet: Plum blossom and wisteria, slight overtone of cherry. I kind of miss the bamboo-ness, but damn this is pretty and very Asian feminine. Drydown: All the notes seem to be blending together, though the persimmon is making a late, faint entrance. Where's the pine? I love pine notes... Dry: Persimmon, plum. Very very faint. My rating: 3/5

Bottle: Tall, reedy grasses; honey; I think cardamom? Wet: Fresh-cut grasses with a touch of warm amber. Drydown: Honey wheat. I smell like yummy bread. I'm not sure I want that. Dry: Honeyed amber. What ho, a honey blend that works on me??? My rating: 4/5 This is a blend for when I want to feel like Cleopatra.

Bottle: There's something in here that is making my nose turn; vaguely reminds me of baby diapers. I'm bewildered - there's nothing in the notes list that should be doing this. Strong florals almost overpower whatever that note is, but I can't quite bring myself to put this on my skin. Looking over the notes and seeing only notes that have appeared in blends I haven't liked, I'm not going to test this one. Away it goes!

Bottle: Creamy musk (a la Tamamo, IMO), with something vaguely astringent (the oft-mentioned pickle note, perhaps?). Wet: Wow, this vanishes fast. Still creamy musk, and maybe some woodiness. Drydown: Oh, this is such a pretty musk, but it's so damn FAINT. Dry: There's an almost cookie-dough quality to this musk. How strange... The throw is very pretty, though. My rating: 3/5

Bottle: Lotus, greens (the buttonweed?), and warm, warm pale amber. Also a teeny waft of rose every now and again. Wet: The green florals amp up, and reminds me of Holiday Moon. Drydown: The amber makes a return, and the lotus takes a backburner. There's something almost plastic in this scent. Dry: A very fresh, clean, floral-heavy scent. The amber is but a tint of warmth on the foundation of flowers. My rating: 3/5 Very pretty, but not my thing.

Bottle: Snow, sage, juniper. Wet: Sage, juniper, hint of berries. Drydown: Smoothly blended snowy piney mix. Unfortunately, there is a note of something in here that is scratching the back of my throat... Dry: Something very cool and creamy. My rating: 3/5

Bottle: Warm musk, an aquatic tone, and something fruity. Wet: Muskiness, reeds, salt. Um, and a mild burning sensation. Drydown: Damnit, I smell like cats. Yay, red musk, you are strong. There is a slight salty aquatic overlaying the musk, but it's very, very faint. Dry: Red musk. Argh! I amp red musk like crazy, which would be nice if I actually liked that smell! My rating: 1/5

Bottle: Dragon's blood, resin, cedar, and plastic (is this the mint in Snow White?). Wet: Dragon's blood, cedar. Drydown: Very faint dragon's blood with a touch of plastic. Dry: All but gone. What little is left is the dragon's blood, which I regret to say is not my thing. My rating: 1/5

Bottle: Warmth, some sort of booze. Wet: Wet dirt and flowers. Drydown: Burst of ladylike florals. Whoa, was not expecting this to be so...Sunday church pleasant. Dry: More dirt, more wood, some flowers. This is a very strange scent. I think I like it, but I don't know when I'd wear it or would feel like THIS is the scent for the day. My rating: 3/5

Bottle: Burnt sugar with a floral undertone. Wet: Burnt sugar with a floral undertone. Drydown: Faint burnt sugar with a floral undertone. Dry: Faint burnt sugar. My rating: 2/5 It's pleasant, but I've got a bunch of Sugar Skulls for burnt sugariness.

Bottle: Musky blood and dirt. I....can't bring myself to put this on my skin. It would have to morph into completely different notes for it to be something I like.