pkwench

What a lovely, comforting scent. My Hunter Moon arrived today and I just HAD to wear it. It goes on a bit sharp and fruity, but changes almost at the moment of hitting my skin. It evolves into a smokey, incensey floral that fills me with comforting thoughts of warm fires, soft blankets, and a good book while the wind outside is howling amongst a moody drizzle. I am SO glad that I bought Hunter Moon. It's too lovely to think of having missed it. I love the lunar oils!

Love Me:

 

My favorite Voodoo Blend so far! I get the instant vanilla thing out of this one too. And it's LOVELY. Spicey, warm, and just screaming, yes you know it's coming, LOVE ME! A truly glorious scent.

VENICE

 

Vial: I can't pick anything out-there's so much going on here. It's soft, I can tell you that much. Soft, elegant, and a touch sweet.

 

Wet: The scent almost seems to revolve. One moment I think I smell waterlily, the next something green or something lemony. Intriguing!

Overall: Okay, this is going to sound weird. It reminds me of Calliope. But Calliope if you took out the mintyness and replaced it with lemon and rose. It's soft, it's relaxing. It's delicate and feminine. Unfortunately, it also makes me sneeze.

Vial: Ah. This is pleasant. It's a soft, misty smell. It reminds me of various "forest" scents - only nicer.

 

Wet: It strengthens almost instantly and a sort of man's aftershave thing starts happening. Not in a bad way, but yes.

 

Overall: The manly evergreen forest-y aftershave thing sticks around, but it evolves into a manly evergreen forest-y nice scent. It smells PURELY green. IF I close my eyes and smell it, I can almost imagine opening my eyes to a cool, dark forest.

Vial: Sweet rose

 

Wet: Wow! It bursts into a powerful, wild rose - it reminds me of an old scent that B&BW used to have that was, fittingly, called Wild Rose. The Wild Rose was always more tempestuous and exciting than their other rose scents.

 

Overall: The rose stays, but it quickly becomes over powered by something ... I can't describe it. I've encountered this before and I think it's the ylang ylang - which on my skin is a sharp, weird sort of polluted twang. I do believe my body chemistry just killed this for me. Which is sad-I enjoyed the first burst of it so.

Golden Priapus

 

Vial: Juniper and pine! Wowsa! But, creamy too.

 

Wet: Wow. I can instantly smell the vanilla and the amber amongst the juniper and the white pine. YUMMY.

 

It's just so creamy, but where as Snake Oil gets its wickedness from spice, here it's the juniper and pine tweaking the creamyness while the amber hangs back there being its usual resinous sexy self. DAMN, I love this smell. I mean, it smells to die for on me, but this is one of those "put it on the right guy and get naked" scents. It just screams SEX APPEAL! What a billiant combination of scents! *dies*

Vial: Definately a smokey lavender scent.

 

Wet: I get a touch of Nag now and a smokey sensation that, uh, must be the smoky tobacco. LOL

 

Overall: It really doesn't change too much from the wet to the dry. It's mostly a smoky, wispy sort of lavender with a bit of woodiness to it. It's actually very soothing and I think it'd make a great bedtime oil.

Intrigue:

 

Vial: Dry creamy fig. I don't get any cocoa upfront-which I didn't expect

 

Wet: I can't quite explain it. It reminds me somehow of a barely scented suntan lotion slathered onto a piece of bamboo - it's rather peaceful.

 

Overall: It's still that lotion over wood sensation. Which isn't to say that it's woody like Aureus or anything. It's more of a hint. Something that has me going "oh, that's what that is".

Samhain

 

I didn't order this one due to a touch of fear, but thanks be to joyous swaps, I got my first sample of it today. And, woohoo! I'm pleased that I have a tad more coming!

 

It went instantly buggy the moment it hit my skin and I was really afraid that, once again, the curse of Wench physiology/chemistry + patchouli was once again about to = disaster. However, after a bit, this lovely spiced apple thing starts to happen and it's love, love, love all over the place. And, weirder, when I popped it on the second time (because you always have to dab a bit before going out the door, even if it's just to drop off movies), I didn't really notice the buggy phase at all. It's just a twisty, spicey fall scent. I don't think that I would have ever really needed a full 5ml of it, it's very much a dabber in a slathering Wench world, but the shortie and the bit coming yet in the mail are just about perfect, I think.

 

Also, it was gloomy and just damned cold today. Somehow? Samhain seemed perfect. *G*

Black Pearl

 

This is a smooth nutty coconut on me. It's lovely, creamy and comforting. Beautiful!

Sea of Glass

 

Ah, I love aquatics! Sea of Glass is a gorgeous, biting to the point of almost being salty, aquatic floral. It reminds me of a scent I used to wear as a pissy teenager. Le Jardin maybe? Only this is far more refined, far more pure. It's all salty aquatic notes and what I think is blisteringly pure and fresh gardenia. I could have the floral wrong, however.

 

Lovely!

Blood Kiss

 

The very first whiff of Blood Kiss threw me because it had something next to chocolate in the smell. But, that didn't last and soon, on the second whiff, that musky-incensey-HERE I AM!-scent came out. This one changes a lot from vial to skin and the change is worth it. The cherry and vanilla come out to tone down and sex up the vetiver and musk. The wine blends in with all of this, yielding a potent, heady blend. For the first five minutes that I had this one this morning, I was sure that it was going to go off to the swap pile. It was all right, but still sort of 'eh'. But, as the day wore on and as I touched up the scent with dabs from the wand, I grew to love it more and more. I'm very, very fond of it now and find it to be sensual and whorishly sexy with a biting (no pun!) edge to it. Yum!

Ah, Scherezade.

 

The first thing that I thought when I applied Scherezade today was that it was very much like Dragonfly Blue's Nag Champa. The similarity remains, but where DFBs Nag cools down into a powdery/spice state, Scherezade seems to warm up. I assume this is the musk. It's very much a warm, spicey blend that lends itself well to sweaty thoughts and steamy moments.

 

I love this!

Sugar Skull.

 

I have a terrible tendency to swear, well, in all things, but to really toss out the cheap adjectives when something delights me. Sugar Skull got an instant rush of happy expletives interspersed with "oooh!" "good" and so forth. I could mad lib it and let you fill in the naughty word of your choice, but trust me, my language was base, crude, less than eloquent, and perfect for expressing how completely overjoyed I was by just how damned delightful I found Sugar Skull. Should I eat my arm, lick it, or hump it, WHO KNOWS?

 

The best thing is that it's sweet, but not in a psychotically "NOTICE MEEE!" sort of way. Honestly, I opened Jailbait 2 seconds prior to Sugar Skull and found it to be the sweeter of the two. Sugar Skull is just all good. Brown sugar, caramel, burnt marshmallows, and several shades of orgasmic bliss. Each sniff is quickly followed either by a happy sigh or a yummy sound.

 

Someone needs a T-Shirt that reads "I'm Brilliant!" I'm betting she knows who she is.

Hell's Belle

 

I expected to open Hell's Belle and smell citrus. Wrong! Was I saddened by this? Nope. It's impossible to get into Hell's Belle and have any emotion that's not related to joy, bliss, or pure adoration. The mandarin does show up, but more in the way that you can smell it giving a sort of twist to the creamy smell and the spices. The musk in this just jazzes the whole thing up to create a truly sexy, warm, and delightful blend.

 

And then I mistakenly crossed a little Sugar Skull over the Hell's Belle area and died from bliss overload. Woah.

 

My big bottle list is going to grow to large and crazy dimensions. I find this pleases me. *adds Hell's Belle to big bottle list* *makes mental note that Beth is genius* *chair dances*

Snake Oil

 

My very first response to Snake Oil was thus: "HOW IN THE NAME OF GOD HAVE I GONE SO LONG WITHOUT TRYING THIS?"

 

Yes, and in all caps too.

 

Snake Oil is a delicious, creamy, sexed up, hotter n' hell vanilla. In fact, the spices are so fabulous, that I don't even think of it as vanilla, but as this gorgeous, luxurient blend of spicy, creamy joy.

 

And, yes, because you can think in all caps: I WANT MORE!

 

Lex Talionis

 

The first thing I smelled in the vial was the patchouli. This was a bit unnerving for me because my skin very much amps patchouli and I got a little worried. But, lo, for we have found the first thing I've tried with pathouli that doesn't get turned to funk by my body chemistry. The cedar and the pepper pop up to play, pulling the patchouli down to a very, very dry and manageable place. I didn't detect any grapefruit, but was delighted to smell violet amongst all of those strong, manly scents.

 

It's not a keeper for me, though I was delighted to find a patchouli blend that wasn't too bad for me. But, I saw that one of my swappers had it on their wishlist and, you know, after all of the generous freebies that came in my package-it seemed right to share the love.

 

But, all in all, I'd say Lex Talionis is a bold, confident, and strong scent. I don't think it's purely masculine, though with that first kick, one might fear that it is. Don't worry, give it a chance to blend in and I think you'll find it's a pleaser to the ladies as well as the gents.

You know, it's days like this when I love this forum. Pekeana graciously agreed to decant me a little of this and someone else has already promised to send me another imp of it. Such sharing is good for the soul and being able to try Dia De Los Muertos when I was a fool and didn't order it? GLORIOUS.

 

I don't get a lot of foody notes with DDLM. It has a smokey nature that reminds me in a way of F54. But it's a little more dry, a little more dark eyed vs. dark natured. It blends into a beautiful smokey quasi-floral with something sugary and incensey dancing around in the background. It's a lovely, lovely damned scent and just plain brilliant.

 

(edited for a rather hysterical typo)

Scorpio:

 

Vial: Something strong, but creamy. It almost smells like Sacred Whore dashed with some bitched up Xiuhtecuhtli. Neat!

 

Wet: Wow. It's exotic, but somehow familiar. Notes? Uh, hell if I know, but it's lovely! And it does smell smiliar to a mild Sacred Whore/Xiuhtecuhtli cross.

 

Drying: HOLYGOD. This is DELICIOUS. It's creamy and spicey. It's completely bitchready, playfully sexy, and wholly and completely the smell of being a Scorpio. Damn, Beth. You are GOOD.

 

Now, I'm off to see if I'm still winning RHM's Scorpio auction!

I've always held a rather pointless affection for the last 3 planets in our solar system. The blue twins have their own frozen mysteries and beauties, but tiny Pluto, the little guy in the back of the class, for some reason I've always had a particular soft spot. So, of course, I had to try Pluto as soon as it was listed. Since it's so recently been dc'd, I'm twice as glad that I did.

Warning, I'm awful at pulling out particular notes. Perhaps the next reviewer will be better at that aspect of it.

In the vial, Pluto is very chilly and almost metallic. There's a sharp, but pleasing, note that goes straight to the nose, forcefully opening up those sinuses and shouting "Smell me, bitch". I loved it for that. *G* It's a very strange thing, what I'm about to say, and only people that have smelled this particular combination will understand what I mean. On the second sniff, Pluto reminds me, not smells like exactly, but reminds me of the linseed and turp combination I used in oil painting in college. I was always heavy with the linseed and a freakishly sloppy painter, so the smell of the linseed in particular always reminds me of that. It's probably also why I find Pluto to be so instantly pleasant. I haven't painted in 10 years, but it made me so happy.

Wet: It holds that same linseed/astringent/metallic quality for a few minutes. It's a very strong and dominating scent, but one you sort of seem powerless to dislike.

Drying: The smell of skin comes out and the strong note tempers down into something smooth.

After about an hour: It's morphed into a lovely, metallic sort of citrus/astringent on skin scent. I know that sounds peculiar, but it's very clean smelling.

Pluto? I love you and will love using my imp! Also, I'm stupidly touched that it came to me tarted.

(ps-I didn't see a thread for Pluto, but if I've mistakenly started one when one already exists, please merge! Thank you!)

White Chapel

 

I have died and gone to the heaven reserved for good smelling souls. WOW.

 

Hypothermya, wonderful person that she is, sold me a 5ml of White Chapel. Even though I was on the one hand stupidly in love with the arrival of fall, something was still mourning summer's passing and I thought a little lime zing would ease the pain.

 

Oh, my. The first whiff of White Chapel is, shit you not, like a big blast of green Fruit Loops. It smells sweet, happy, and just brilliant. After settling on the skin for a bit, the white musk creeps out to mingle with the lime and citron. It hasn't smothered, calmed, or dampened them-just joined the party. And, now, just underneath it I can catch the first strings of the lilacs playing-very soft, very subtle, and what a fabulous undertone to the HITHEREI'MWHITECHAPEL!! that the citron and lime have set.

 

Don't worry, floral fearing souls, White Chapel doesn't go and lay down with the flowers. In fact, it just picks up a few sprigs on its way down the path.

 

This is divine. It's slinky, saucy, sexy citrus and is about ready to be likened to any sort of cleaning fluid as a Hollywood starlet would be likened to a wizened crone.

 

If happiness had a scent? White Chapel might just be it. *loves*

Dana O'Shee

 

*sigh* Once again, Bpal brings me bliss. Ironically, I had Velvet on earlier today and Dana O'Shee seems to me very much like the light side of Velvet's smokey darkness. This could be what I like so much about it.

 

The first crack of the vial yields a bright, supersweet hit of amaretto. It becomes a sweet, honey and powder once it settles a bit. It's similar to Sudha Segara, but where that one gains that lovely ginger twist, Dana O'Shee is just soft. Honey, milk, and that boozy touch of Amaretto. Yum and Eee.

Xiuhtecuhtli

 

I have a difficult time saying it and a harder time describing it. It's an uncommon, exotic spice with wet jungle blooms and a splash of something heady and terribly sexy. Wearing it makes me feel somehow taller and powerful, as if I can see farther, think faster. It's a confidence booster and definately sex in a vial.

Szepasszony

 

Oh, my. What a beautiful scent! Szepasszony reminds me of why I love and despair of Bpal. I find a new, beautiful scent seemingly every time I sample a new batch. Some people have lots of cats? I'm going to have lots of perfume bottles.

 

Szepasszony is a wonderful, sexy salty aquatic with gentle floral notes. Something about it reminds me of a perfume oil I smelled in a Make Scents shop years ago. That was called China Rain and Szepasszony has that same, forlorn aquatic beauty to it. But, of course, perfected. The scent evokes images of pale blossoms having been thrown into a quiet, salty bay.

 

This perfume is orgasmic to the 10th power.

Rakshasa

 

As I love sandalwood and rose, I had high hopes for this one despite the patchouli. Patchouli goes funny on my skin and goes into a spicey, morphed BO kind of scent. Or, maybe that's what Patchouli smells like and it just doesn't agree with my tastes, I don't know.

 

In the vial, I got a strong whiff of headshop patchouli. After applying it, the rose barely, just barely started to creep out. Something about it reminded me very much of the KC Renfest. Something there and something in the scent of Rakshasa were very similar. After a bit, the rose does emerge even more, but the patchouli does as well. It smells nice enough and I think on another person it'd be okay. But that sweaty smell that patchouli does on me just really turned me off.

 

Which kinda made me sad since I tend to love rose and sandalwood so. *pout*