fairnymph

In the bottle: Green, sharp, and fresh with hints of floral; very grassy/planty. Wet: Less sharp, otherwise much the same. Definitely grass and dandelion. Dry: Slightly soapy floral-grass. I like the smell of freshly mown grass, but not so much to wear on its own. Strange that I never amped the florals as I usually do.

Sniffed in imp: Pine, and I think juniper. Juniper is really foul on me, generally, and this that sort. Powerful and astringent.

Sniffed in imp: Slightly spicy caramel, coconut and chocolate cake. I imagine the spice is cinnamon, but this is too foody and the sniffie too dry for me to test on my skin,

PINE, like single note. Not a fan of piney stuff.

Sniffed in imp: Sweet foody incense. Dark, spicy, musty.

In the bottle: Honey, carnation, patchouli. Spicy, mildly sweet, hints of floral and sandalwood. Wet: Gardenia, bam. Sandalwood stronger. Still some carnation and patchouli; barely any honey. Not getting musk. Dry: Honey coming back, carnation too. Still heavy on sandalwood but gardenia has receded somewhat. Patchouli constant. Musk emerging barely. Summary: Sandalwood, honey and patchouli; hints of carnation, gardenia and musk. It's a very dry, mature scent - not for me.

In the bottle: Astoundingly fitting. Bright and strongly herbal, very SHINY, in a sort of slick, golden, oiled way. These are not the silvery, cool, cologney metals of Mechanical Phoenix, but much more unisex and warmer. The sage note hits first, then the oiled metallic notes, and lastly some soft, sweet incense. Wet: The sage softens, becoming less astringent, and more freshly green. Virtually all of those bright metallic notes instantly dissipate, revealing sweet, almost honeyed resin and incense, even a little spice. It's so beautifully melded I find it difficult to pick out individual components. Dry: This amps in sweetness, and must contain either honey or storax/styrax - I'm guessing it's the latter, as it's a resiny sort of honey note. It dominates, with a very soft, mild and pleasant herbal sage below. This reminds me somewhat of Les Bijoux, which makes me think there might be an apple note here. Oddly, the metallic notes seem to have returned, but they flit in and out of the fragrance, giving a sensation of motion. Summary: What a morpher. This is now honeyed resin and very light incense, not dusty or dark, but golden bright. I suspect some myrrh, and exotic, deeply sexy musk. The spice is even fainter (only distinct within an inch or so), and very difficult to pinpoint; my best guess is allspice. The sage has almost disappeared, but the metallic notes remain subtly present. A shining, golden-warm, mildly sweet, faintly herbal-resiny feminine scent. Smooth and complex; layered but harmonious. Lower throw, fades quickly. In opposition slave1, I find this to be the feminine counterpart to the sharper cologne of Mechanical Phoenix. Surprising as more often than not I find our views align. It's an incredibly beautiful and evocative scent; an absolute wrist-sniffer. It's not my style, but I almost want to hang onto it anyway, and use it for ritual or as a room scent. It's soothing, energetic, optimistic. ETA: Perhaps the orange/fruit note that edensixthday observed registered as that apple note to me?

In the bottle: Sweet-tart orange, fresh and light, a combination of just-squeezed juice, mashed pulp, and oily orange zest. Overall very faint. Wet: Sweeter, brighter - a bit more like mandarin almost. This is not at all sour or sharp, but bright and ripe. Juicy, and only a tiny bit tangy. Dry: Woefully faint, and/or my skin is eating this. Despite immense slathering, I get only a very light scent. I do detect a detect some other notes, not just orange aspects, but a wee bit of orange blossom (reminds me of orange blossom water used in cooking) and a hint of a herbal spice, maybe ginger. If this weren't the faintest oil on the planet, I might be able to pin things down more. Summary: Something warm has emerged, maybe heliotrope and/or ti leaf. The drydown is a bit more floral overall, with amped orange blossom, light ginger and possibly some mild dianthus. Faintly sweet orange pulp and mandarin-zest, but the fresh juiciness has long gone. This has the same mild, floral sweetness, mellow citrus, and exotic warmth of Lover's Parodies. Dismal throw, but semi decent lasting power. I'm really disappointed. I love citrus and the juicy freshness in the bottle excited me, but my skin entirely devours that crispness, and most of the scent on the whole. I doubt this would be a strong scent on anyone, however - it's just SO faint.

In the bottle: Classic, feminine, slightly powdery floral. Definitely getting the tea rose, violet, and heliotrope. Wet: This reminds me alot of Marie! The violet and tea rose really amp on me. But this is drier from the heliotrope. Dry: Fast drying. It's getting more powdery. I like the geranium in this - it's subtle and fresh. The lily of the valley is coming out and it's not as overwhelming as it can be on me, but I'm still not a fan. Summary: Sweet powdery floral with rose, violet, and heliotrope dominating. I don't like how this sweetens and turns to powder on me.

Sniffed: Light amber coloured oil. Honey, flowers, and herbs. Sweet but not cloying, and very green but not sharp. I get a bit of citrusy melissa, but the rest of the herbs seem to blend into a pleasant smell that reminds me of alcoholic Bitters. Wet: More bitter and medicinal, and almost a little smoky, in an intriguing and pleasant way. I get some white traditional floral, including a little soapy jasmine. This actually reminds me a bit of Defutata. Less sugary, but still honeyed. Spicy in a fresh way - coriander? Dry: More soapy and a little sour - my skin is really amping the jasmine. Also more bitter, really tremendously like Bitters, with lot of calamus and now wormwood. Also, slightly minty - the hyssop has emerged. A tiny bit licorice-y. Later: Going richly, sweetly, and heavily musky. Otherwise, jasmine continues to amp - from a distance, it's definitely the biggest player. It's more complex and balanced up close, though. Summary: Slightly sour, heady jasmine with rich, intense honey and fabulously sexy musk and an edge of minty, bitter herbs. I can see why this is so popular, though the jasmine unfortunately takes over on my skin. Powerful throw and longevity. I washed my hand, which got rid of most of the jasmine and sourness and left an incredible herbal HONEY, almost syrupy - really reminiscent of Honey Moon's drydown. It's almost worth it for that - such a strong honey, too! I keep getting a amazing wafts of it.

In the bottle: Slightly sweet flowers, incense, and soft soil. Amber? Wet: Soil! Amber! Sweet frankincense. Maybe some honey, and some earthy-spicy patchouli. Ginger? The florals smell familiar, but are too blended and nebulous to distinguish. Dry: Slow to dry, and increasingly sweet (vanilla maybe, not honey) and spicy. The amber is warm and soft, and not overly powdery - amazingly. The dirt scent persists. Summary: Sweet, incensey frankincense and a touch of natural vanilla, warm, soft amber, faint spicy ginger, hints of dark patchouli and light blended flowers, and ever-present freshly turned soil. Fascinating blend, but not my style. Low throw.

Sniffed in bottle: Extremely pale yellow oil. Juniper & eucalyptus jump out, followed by cypress and more distant galangal. Green, woodsy, fresh, medicinal, manly. Wet: Way more cypress and still loads of juniper, with much softer eucalyptus. More galangal too. It's very evergreeny, but sort of bright, and almost light in feel despite the strength of the scent. Dry: Eucalyptus quickly burns off, and some pine emerges in a major way. There's still a lot of cypress, but not much galangal any more. Summary: Pine and juniper, with cypress behind. Eucalyptus dissipates. This is surprisingly nice, deep and woodsy and clean all at once, but still a little too piney for me in the end. Great throw & longevity.

In the bottle: Sweet, fruity, floral and herbal! Red currant, honey, rose, and thyme pop out. Wet: Softer, sweeter, and more floral. The red currant is GONE. The vanilla and gardenia are very much there. The rose is much weaker as is the honey. Still some thyme, and I like the emergence of the geranium. Dry: The gardenia has taken over, and with the sweet vanilla, this is sort of creamy-powdery on my skin. The herbal notes and honey are faint, and the rose is completely gone. Summary: After a few hours, it's pretty much straight honey, with a hint of vanilla and thyme. It has great throw. I'm not sure I can endure the powdery-gardenia stage though, and there are other honey scents (Litha, Gennivre) that I prefer.

In the bottle: Sweet, slightly heady, fruity floral. Definitely pear, sugar cane, and jasmine coming through. Wet: Softer, but much the same. The freesia and violet are quickly emerging, and they're lovely. The musk is coming out majorly too. I almost find white musk a bit astringent. Despite being light in shade, it's powerful. Dry: (yuzu? lime?), but it's being overpowered by the heady jasmine and what I think is ambergris (amps on me like crazy and makes me feel a bit ill). I can also smell a hint of the bamboo pulp, which is a lovely light aquatic-woody note. Summary: Overall, this is just too sweet. I think it's time for me to wash off based on sweetness + that headiness; I fear a headache. The notes sounded SO amazing and it had such promise, but evil things took over.

In the bottle: Green, planty, astringent. Clean and masculine. Wet: Much the same; maybe a little sharper. Some ozone, too. The astringent green note must be the rosemary, but it doesn't register as such to me. Dry: Faint sort of dry white floral notes have emerged. The sharp plantiness is milder, revealing more ozone. It's still very clean and fresh without being soapy. Summary: Clean, masculine dry white floral with ozone and herbal notes. Strong throw and lasting power. Good for men, not for me.

In the bottle: Sweet, herbal, floral, resiny. Fresh. Wet: Mostly sweet herbal, a bit resiny. It's really hard to distinguish notes, beyond ginger, caraway and bergamot. Very well blended and complex. Dry: The ginger is the strongest note, and it's really lovely and spicy-fresh. Second comes the honey, which is wonderful. I can smell the vanilla in this, but it's a good vanilla on me (rare). Otherwise it's overall a slightly sweet, slightly fruity, spicy-herbal-floral. It's VERY hard to pin down. It's not a 'dark' scent to me, but certainly not a light one either. It's very grown up. Summary: Ginger, musk, oakmoss, honey and hints of sexy womanly floral in the dry down. It's delightful. This is pretty much the ONLY blend in which TWO nemesis-notes, gardenia and vanilla, actually work. TWO in one, wow. Talk about masterful blending. A Potential bottle buy for me.

Sniffed in imp: Sweet, very dark musk and patchouli. Thick and strong. Wet: Smoky, earthy. Tobacco, patchouli, somewhat harsh musk. A bit of sweet, concentrated dark fruit - almost dried, or jammy, beneath. Much lighter on my skin than I'd expected from the bottle. Dry: Not much of a change; it's a bit less smoky and harshly musky, but the patchouli has amped into dirty roots. Things have blended together, the two layers merging into a deeply fruit-earthy blend, but this is barely sweet - the vanilla is not candy or fake, but boozy-gourmand. Later: I can't get over how much less sweet on my skin this is than in the bottle. The wild plum has an herbal-medicinal touch that reminds me of huckleberry or acai, and the very faint pomegranate adds a sour-bright dimension. Summary: Light, somewhat bitter, sour, and medicinal dark fruit over an dark base of rooty, soil-covered patchouli and abrasive, almost plasticky red musk. Faint boozy vanilla adds distant sweetness. Unisex. Decent throw and lasting power. Not my thing at all, but I am surprised by just how much less sweet it is on my skin and the morphing that occurs.

In the bottle: Fresh, bright, minty with some fruit and sweetness. Totally reminds me of peppermint patties! Wet: Less minty, more fruity. I can smell some citrus. I wouldn't have identified it as lemongrass but that must be it. The orange blossom (and other floral notes I can't pinpoint) is coming out more. My skin seems to amp floral, I'm beginning to realize. There must be some musk too - also amped by my skin. Nice and light though. Dry: The honey has really come out. Wow. I can smell it clearly. I'm pretty sure I can smell the sugar cane too. The orange blossom is NOT going to soap on me. Only a hint of mint left - this has mellowed alot. I can't detect the lemongrass anymore. Summary: I'm sad (as usual) that some of the fresher notes have faded, but this is still delicious. It primarily smells like honey after time, with hints of musk and floral notes, other sweet things, and a sliver of mint. This is a really wonderful honey scent - my favourite bpal so far. It holds reasonably well, but not fabulously. Had to get a bottle of this one!

In the bottle: Sweet earl grey tea, herbs, musk. Yum. Wet: Verrrry vanilla-y sweet - the bergamot and herbs are a lot lighter. The tea note is still pretty present, though, as is the musk.. Dry: Still overwhelmingly vanilla-sweet. What happened to the lovely bottle scent? Vanilla, I hate you on my skin. Summary: Sickly sweet vanilla, had to wash off.

In the bottle: Very sweet and almost sharp; CHERRIES! Wet: Still cough-syrupy cherries, though less sickly sweet. Yecccccch. Had to wash off.

In the bottle: Fruit, spruce-y woods. Wet: Fruit, flowers, woods, and arctic breezes - this IS an icy fragrance. The woods in this are almost spicy - i guess that's the spruce - it's pretty strong. The fruit is not too sweet though. The musk is very light, and my skin usually amps musk. Dry: The flowers and musk fade, leaving spruce and fruit, the spruce dominating. It reminds me of Undertow, a bit. Summary: Not of fan of piney/evergreen stuff.

In the bottle: Sweet vanilla and rose. Wet: Same. Quite creamy, but fairly light. The rose smells like tea rose to me. Dry: The rose is still really nice, but the cloyingly sweet vanilla has taken over, and something in this is also making my rosacea flare. Summary: Damn you vanilla and unknown irritating flowers!

2007 version In the bottle: Fresh, full bloom rose. Wet: Same! Reminds me greatly of rose absoluts I've smelled. It's a very true, pure rose. It's not incredibly strong on me - not as rosy as say RR, or Libra. It's closer to the skin. It's definitely fresh; rosy without being green or incensey. Dry: This never ceases to be pure, beautiful, luscious rose on me. I love it. I have too many rose scents but this one is just so pure; I can't resist it on that alone. Summary: It's incredibly regal in its purity; blue-blooded, bold but not bullying. The ultimate rose scent, IMO. And of course, I am a haughty bitch, so it's fitting I'd love this. This is one of my all time faves! Interestingly, I've sniffed the 2005 version and I found it incensey, significantly less fresh and pure and wonderful.

Rose Red 2004 In the bottle: Green, fruity rose. Wet: Even fruitier, slightly rosier, and less green. Dry: Slightly incensey, fruity rose with a hint of greenery. Summary: Too incensey for me. Rose Red 2005 In the bottle: Fresh cut roses, hint of fruit. Wet: Greener, sweeter, but still very fresh and rosy. Dry: Green, green fresh rosiness; the fruity-sweetness has faded. Summary: Stays true, with great throw. So much better than '04 - I'm really shocked! I love it. Rose Red 2007 In the bottle: Strong, sharp, slightly sour and slightly sweet rose. Wet: Far too pungent for me. Very strong throw. So odd that only the 2005 version works for me, though I love Peacock Queen so much more and don't really have need for this. But, it is notable for one of the few times that I DON'T like rose.

In the bottle: Sweet, warm, slightly foody and a little spicy. The honeys, carnation, tonka and almond jump out. Wet: Wow, way more floral and herbal; much less foody-sweet. The carnation has amped majorly, and I can now smell the jasmine. It's not overwhelming as jasmine can be on me - it's still a bit soapy, though. The honeysuckle is there but faint. I'm quite sure the strong herbal presence involves thyme at the very least. Tonka and almond are still present, but definitely in the background, fortunately for me. The honeys are less apparent, too, and that I'm not so happy about. . Dry: The fig is giving this a lot of sensual depth, but isn't cloying the way that fig often is. Crazy strong throw; I can smell it with my hand outstretched as far as my arm goes. Unfortunately, I think the jasmine is really taking over, or else the other notes are fading and the jasmine is not. This was my problem with Honey Moon, too. Summary: Jasmine and thyme with hints of honey. Sadly, as usual, jasmine hates my skin. It is an unrequited love affair we have, Jasmine and I.