torischroeder9

In the bottle: I can pick out elements of linden blossom, passion flower, and narcissus. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's all calla lily to start out, with elements of narcissus and linden blossom also becoming detectable. As it dries, the florals remain prominent -- lily, linden, narcissus -- but I can start to detect an inkling of the Snake Oil as well. Given time to develop on my skin, the Snake Oil gets stronger but still remains well in the background, showcasing the floral notes but also adding a touch of fullness and roundness as well. I hardly ever detect the vanilla in Snake Oil, but I'm assuming that is at least part of what's acting here. 

This is probably not my most favorite Snake Oil blend, as the Snake Oil is taking a big backseat to the other notes on my skin, rather than actually having them blend together. But it's still a Snake Oil blend, and it's probably one of the few ways I can actually wear lily of any kind. I'll have to think about this.  

Edit: I find myself using this for an after shower/sleep scent quite a lot. On me, lily alone reads as a very "clean" scent, but it's overwhelming. Here, lily and the other florals add enough "clean" to the Snake Oil, so it seems to fit, but I don't get headaches, so that's good, too. It's not something I reach for for every occasion, but it does have its purpose. 

In the bottle: Yes, almond, but also something musky, something floral, and something honey-sweet.

On my skin:

Wet, it's a cacophony of notes. I get, in whiffs, distinct almond, cedar, peony, and something that's almost cherry. As it dries, I get musky, heady orchid. There's a hint of almond, and maybe the cedar is providing additional grounding, and maybe the other florals are rounding out the scent, but the orchid is really the main player at this stage. As it develops, the florals come out stronger, with both almond and honey lending a sticky, almond-tinged sweetness. I'm not sure I love it.    

For me, this is showcasing floral orchid with notes that would make it deeper and richer. Unfortunately, almond and cedar are not notes that typically work well on me -- and they're not working well on me here -- so I suspect the intention is not having the desired effect on my skin. 

(Bottle purchased in eBay lot. Year uncertain.)

In the bottle: I can pick out honey and beeswax, but I can also tell that I'm not picking out all the notes. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's honey first, with beeswax quickly dominating the scent. Dry, it's still mostly beeswax, with a bit of patchouli funk and a bit of well-behaved ambergris (slightly salty ocean, not rancid whale bile, as it often goes on me) around the edges. Unfortunately for me, as the scent starts to develop, the beeswax starts to fade, and the patchouli and ambergris both fight for prominence. 

Huh. Maybe this was a false alarm, or maybe the scent is going to be a continuous morpher on me. A half hour later, and it's back to honey-tinged beeswax with a whisper of patchouli and ambergris. 

I'll definitely have to see how this wears for a whole day and then update. 

In the imp: Musk and something faintly spicy. 

On my skin:

Wet, I can pick out the labdanum. I still get musk. The spice has subsided, at least temporarily, in favor of the labdanum. As it dries, I can pick out the saffron and patchouli. The saffron is lovely and dry and exotic, but the patchouli gives it sort of a funky edge. As it develops, the patchouli mellows but also becomes more central to the scent profile along with the musk and saffron. The labdanum recedes into the background to join the wood spice. 

It's dark and dry and soft and musky and just a bit spicy on me. I like it and find it an appropriate yet wearable version of its namesake. I'm still deciding what I'm going to do with this imp since "I like it" and "I'll find a lot of use for it" are not synonymous. 

In the imp: Tart Granny Smith apple with some kind of grounding note. If I didn't have the list of notes, I might guess sandalwood.

On my skin:

Wet, the tart apple dominates. I do get fresh apple rather than a candy note as has happened for some. As it dries, the more floral note of apple blossom emerges, blending with and possibly becoming just a bit stronger than the apple note, at least on me at this stage. The birch is barely detectable in the background as a grounding note. 

I do get a very fresh, floral, fruity springtime fragrance, but this one just isn't me. Glad I got to try the imp, but I'll be rehoming. 

In the imp: Lemon peel, white tea, and mint are prominent. I can also detect something softly grounding -- probably amber, possibly including teak. 

On my skin: 

Wet, lemon and tea remain prominent. As it dries, I get more tea than lemon -- though the lemon remains a main player -- while the leather becomes more noticeable as well. Ultimately, this remains a rather interesting high-low blend of lemony tea backed by leather on me. It's a very smooth, clean scent with just enough grounding not to be airy or flighty. I get the impression of it being unisex.

In the decant: Soft, sweet fruit and heady musk. I echo the above comment that one of the notes at this phase reminds me of strawberry candy (the kind in the red shiny foil wrappers, done up almost like pineapple shape?). 

On my skin:

Wet, the fruity note comes forward first. It's not decidedly peach on me, though I'd believe it contains peach. As it dries, "peach musk" is a very good description of what it becomes. It's heady and soft on me, fuzzy like peach skin but not sticky sweet like peach juice. Given some time to develop on my skin, the sugared amber also comes out to play, providing a nice backing for the peach musk.  

As others have described, I get the experience of this being a skin-close scent but not a faint scent. It's a very full scent profile; it just doesn't throw far. 

I'm very interested in seeing how this fares in all-day wear. 

In the bottle: Honey and frankincense.

On my skin:

Wet, it's honey and bergamot, with honey as the main note and bergamot providing a bright, citrusy accent. As it dries, the frankincense comes back out, providing a soft, powdery, resin as a grounding note. Ultimately, this settles down to a light, bright, but three-dimensional honey scent on me. The bergamot's citrus is fresh and bright, cutting the honey's sweetness while the frankincense's incensy resin provides a more sedate and grounding sweetness. The honey is still the central note, but I find the bergamot and frankincense keep the honey from becoming cloying or overpowering.

The result on me is a very light and wearable honey. I'd liken it to Matthew 18:6, though I'm finding this Honey Pot blend lighter and brighter than that one. The throw is on the softer side of average, possibly making this a good choice for warmer weather, but frankincense is a great fixative on me, so I get wear length for days. (Okay, maybe not actual days. But a solid 12 hours, however faintly.)

In the decant: Clove and carnation, with the clove predominant. If the sandalwood is contributing, it's serving to bolster the clove's throw. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's clove over carnation. As it dries, the clove remains the top note, though I can find the silkier spice of the carnation underneath. The vanilla absolute is also coming out in the background, adding a layer of smoothness and creaminess to this scent. If I get the sandalwood, it's still as a supporting note underneath the clove. 

Once it develops a little more on my skin, I can pick out the sandalwood independently of the clove -- but the sandalwood is still very much a background note. The carnation and vanilla absolute remain supporters as well, smoothing and silkening the sandalwood-clove combination. I like this a lot. 

In the decant: Oudh. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's still all oudh, sharp and woody. As it dries, it becomes more pungent and -- well, let's face it: At this stage, the oudh is both dominant and stinky on me. Half an hour later, and the oudh is still sour and woodsy and strong. 

Aaaand.... this is just not getting any better on me. I'm usually fairly neutral about oudh, but the oudh in this blend is just not agreeing with me. 

In the imp: Tart floral, which must be my impression of the lilac mixing with the lemon (possibly among other scents). 

On my skin:

Wet, tart floral is the strongest note, with something deeper muddying it up. From the notes listed, I'm guessing the "something deeper" is the cedar. As it dries, I can pick out the green tea in addition to the lilac and lemon, The cedar note settles back a bit, so it's mostly providing grounding to the shared top notes. 

Dry and settled, this is squeaky clean to the point of being astringent on me. I'll have to pass.

In the decant: Rice milk, a light resin that might be frankincense or white amber, and a bit of sweet clove. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's rice milk, frankincense, a bit of vanilla, and a bit of clove. At this stage, it's definitely embodying a sheer, translucent type of scent on me, which is fitting. 

Before it dried, I slathered it, deciding that the scent was sheer enough to warrant slathering, at least for accurate reviewing purposes. As it dries, I get sheer frankincense and sweet clove; the rice milk and vanilla are present in the scent's roundness. It's a little weird to describe, but I would call the scent creamy and full while also calling it soft and sheer. There must be some sandalwood coming out as well because the scent has a more grounded feel than I'd expect from the other notes. But this sandalwood is definitely playing a supporting role rather than a starring one. 

As it develops on my skin, I get a slightly powdery resin note, which is more likely the amber than the frankincense. But it's soft and sweet and meshes well with the vanilla, sandalwood, and clove. 

Like others, I'm finding this scent very pretty and wearable -- but also faint. I'll use up the decant I have as well as the one coming, I think, but I probably don't see myself purchasing a bottle.  

In the imp: Um. Okay. I have tried this three times. Each time, the first whiff I get is of... fried food. Like, the frying oil and breading. If I keep sniffing, I get lemongrass. But if I recap the imp and pull it out again -- fried food. 

On my skin:

Okay, wet, I can pick out individual notes better -- jasmine, sandalwood, rose, and lemongrass. I'm not getting anything that's distinctly patchouli or cedar -- and I'm used to those two notes being pretty distinct on me. As it dries, lemongrass comes to the forefront, backed by jasmine and rose, and underscored by a base of... stinky wood? I'm guessing that last bit is the combination of sandalwood and fresh patchouli (and maybe cedar?) on me. As it develops more on my skin, I get... citronella. 

If this repels mosquitoes, I am keeping it. If not, it will probably head to the swaps. 

In the imp: Very eucalyptus -- seriously, my sinus allergies are loving this sniff! -- backed by juniper.

On my skin:

Wet, it's eucalyptus first, juniper next, and finally cypress as a backing note. As it dries, the cypress becomes more prominent though the juniper remains detectable. This cypress-heaviness is where the scent remains on me. It's very evergreeny, with the juniper and eucalyptus serving to lighten and brighten it a bit.

I'm not a fan of pine-type scents (received this as a Lab frimp), so I'll leave this as it is. 

In the imp: Strong cedar and sage in the foreground. They're making the other notes nervous. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's cedar and sage with a trickle of white musk. As it dries, some of the vanilla becomes apparent in the scent's throw, softening it and rounding it out. The overwhelmingness of the cedar and sage recedes, and I can also make out a bit of spicy floral carnation. This is largely where the scent stays, vanilla and cedar and carnation. It's actually got a vanilla component that's stronger than vanilla usually is on me. Still, the cedar remains a very strong backbone. 

It comes across as trending traditionally masculine on me, which is not my cup of scent tea. That said, since this was a Lab frimp, I'm wondering if it's very fresh -- and so if aging might soften the cedar and strengthen the vanilla and carnation.  

In the imp: A slight sweetness I wasn't expecting. Must be the rosin. 

On my skin:

The sweetness continues. Wet, it almost has a pine sap quality. As it dries, it neutralizes to more reminiscent of honey or beeswax. Once it has some time to get to know my skin, a soft, almost powdery worn leather note emerges. It's drier than the rosin but still tinged with a touch of sweetness. Given more time, a smoky note begins to emerge that might be how I'm reading the hemp. (I basing this on the idea that I also get a smoky note, that I otherwise cannot identify, in Banshee Beat.) 

This is actually really nice. Nice enough that I might be able to wear it on its own.

In the imp: Soft, gentle leather and sandalwood. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's much the same; the two notes are relatively balanced. As it dries, the leather becomes more prominent, but it's not an overpowering leather. It's almost... fuzzy? However, after the immediate drydown, the sandalwood becomes the main player. However, the soft leather doesn't disappear. It's more like... fuzzy, leather-wrapped sandalwood?

It's perfectly nice for what it is, but I'm not sure it's me. This scent leans unisex to conventionally masculine. I'd probably love it with a hint of something sweet, but as it is, it seems like a BPAL meant for someone else. 

In the imp: Ambergris backed by patchouli, followed by the breathiness of orange blossom. 

On my skin:

Wet, some carnation spice leaps out of the scent into the throw. It's quickly swallowed up by patch and ambergris. As it dries, it becomes more patchouli-dominant, though I still get whiffs of the orange blossom. At this stage, it's almost like a harsher, less well-rounded Vixen. Given more time, this becomes more patchouli -- marked with the sharpness of fresh patchouli. I do get the occasional passing breath of orange blossom, but it's not much. 

I'm going to go ahead and call this one "needs to age." Absent carnation and sharp patchouli match what I know about how these notes in new v. aged oils tend to behave on me. 

In the imp: Violet and lilac. 

On my skin:

Wet, the lilac jumps to the forefront of the scent, though the violet is well detectable in the background. As it dries, the lilac recedes, and the tuberose emerges -- but it's really violet that's the star of this show. It's a very strong base note at this stage, with the other florals very much serving as accents. Given time to warm and develop, the violet becomes even stronger, until it's basically taking over the scent. 

I'm torn. I like violet as a note. But because of that, I have a number of other violet-prominent perfumes. Compared to the depth of Fallen, the spice of Sybaris, and the lightness of Marie, Nocturne is just sort of plain on me. But it's very violet-forward, so of course I want to like it. I think I'm going to put it away for a little while. I have no idea how old this imp is (source: frimp), so perhaps some aging will change it. Or at least, it will help me determine just how much I like it. 

Like all violet scents on me, I should point out that both the throw and the wear length are longer than average.  

In the bottle: Light and sparkly and powdery. I don't associate it with any kind of commercial perfume because it doesn't smell like alcohol. 

On my skin:

Wet, I get a soft, powdery scent that I associate with frankincense. It's also effervescent on me, a quality I associate with orange blossom and white musk -- but I don't recognize orange blossom's distinct scent here, so my bet is on the white musk. As it dries, I get whiffs of light, sweet florals -- maybe honeysuckle and lilac or wisteria -- but enveloped in the fizz of the white musk. 

Ultimately, the white musk stays dominant, with some light florals at the center -- and I'm still getting something like a light resin to ground the scent. It's a very clean scent, not overly sweet on me. I'd also describe it as more unisex than conventionally feminine. 

Throw on me is on the lighter side of average, but wear length is average to good. 

2019 edition. 

In the decant: Honey at first sniff, with the Snake Oil coming out the longer I hold the wand to my nose. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's straight up BPAL honey on me. As it dries, the Snake Oil comes out, adding a sultry, gritty quality to the sweet scent. At this point, I'm not sure how I like it. I mean, I like it well enough -- but I love Snake Oil, and I love honey, and I'm just not sure that my feelings for Womb Furie rise to that level. 

Given time to develop on my skin, however, it very much lives up to its promise. The honey tempered by the Snake Oil is sexy and sultry without becoming cloying or overwhelming (as honey can sometimes do on me) while the Snake Oil tempered by the honey is slinky and smooth, without as much patchouli as I get from straight Snake Oil. Don't get me wrong: I still love Snake Oil's patch, but Womb Furie is fabulous on me in its own right. 

It does wear a little closer to my skin than does Snake Oil, but since I'm also considering that this is a pretty work-wearable honey blend on me, that's not necessarily a downside. (For all that I described this as a fairly sexy scent on me, it's not really overtly so. For whatever it's worth, Snake Oil is also fairly work-wearable on me.) 

I will probably be checking sales and swaps to see about the possibility of acquiring at least a partial bottle. 

In the decant: I get grassy hay first. It is sweet, but it doesn't have a distinct honey note, so I can't tell if the sweetness is the hay or the honey. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's hay and a touch of amber. I have slathered it on in hopes of convincing the honey to come out. On the initial drydown, I get some very significant whiffs of grassy hay -- sweet and not sharp, but distinct from any bit of honey-type sweet. A few minutes later, the resinous amber also emerges. It takes about twenty minutes for the honey to really emerge as a note; by this time, it's honey over amber, with hay absolute much in the background. Finally, it's very much a honeyed amber; it does have a touch of green to keep it light and fresh. 

The throw on this stays fairly low on me throughout.  

In the decant: Honey and sparkly, effervescent labdanum. 

On my skin:

Wet, it's honey straight out of the gate. As it dries, it's quite a lot of labdanum close to my skin, but the throw is all honey with just a hint of effervescence. And it is everything I love about honey -- slow, thick, rich, sweet. Given some time to make friends with my skin chemistry, the labdanum does emerge a bit more, adding a beautiful, deep, resinous sweetness to the honey. 

Um. I had not expected to like this blend as much as I do. Once the labdanum becomes as prominent as the honey, the throw brings itself a little closer to my skin. But basically, this is amazing. I'm definitely using up this decant, and I miiiiiiiight need a bottle.  

In the imp: Mostly musk. I can pick out a dark musk first, followed by red musk. 

On my skin:

Wet, I get dragon's blood -- just dragon's blood. This is a little surprising but not unheard of, as musks are often slow developing notes on me. And my estimation is not far off. As it dries, dark musk once again gains prominence, though the dragon's blood is still a main note. Given some time to develop, I find that the musks primarily work to temper the sweetness of the dragon's blood, which is work they're happy to accomplish while remaining in the background. 

On me, this is not too different from Dragon's Heart, except that I think I like the more rounded scent of that blend a bit better. 

In the imp: Dragon's blood, sandalwood, orris, and another dry note that I presume is the blondewood.

On my skin:

Wet, the dragon's blood amps first, though the sandalwood is prominent close to my skin. As it dries, it's a lot of dragon's blood and orris, creating a scent that's sweet and resinous and dry at the same time. It's a little incongruous at this stage, but it's not unpleasant. Once it has some time to sort itself out, the sandalwood comes more into play near my skin, though the throw remains mainly orris decorated with dragon's blood. Ultimately, though, the woods never make a big show on me, and Dragon's Bone ends up being orris and dragon's blood. With my skin chemistry, this is not as dry as is Dragon's Claw, nor is it as prominently dragon's blood as are some of the other Ars Draconis blends. Still, I can't help feeling that this is a blend that would cooperate much better on someone else's skin. 

Lots of throw, though.