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.