n3m3sis42
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Everything posted by n3m3sis42
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In the bottle: Booze. Wet: More specifically, sweet red wine, or maybe grape-scented purple markers, or kids' cough syrup. And also the almond note, but in a slightly plasticky way. My skin drinks almond, so that's gone quickly. This blend very rapidly becomes about red musk and Dragon's Blood, although I agree with the person that said this smells like the grapey part of Purple Phoenix. Dry: A lovely combination of grapes and resins, with just a hint of carnation. Beautiful.
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In the bottle: It definitely smells green. Something like grass, and a little lime. And I think I can smell the cucumber a bit, too. I had a "Suffering Bastard" at Trader Vic's a few months ago, and it had cucumber in it and smelled a bit like this. Wet: The grass note is the most prominent when I first apply this. I generally have good luck with grassy blends, so here's hoping. This stays pretty true on the drydown, which means that I am mostly smelling grass and cucumber. Dry: This makes me happy. Very green and delicious!
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(I'm reviewing the resurrected 2007 version) This is kind of sad... When I put this on, I immediately started smelling burning rubber. WTF? It dries down to a sort of generic sweet scent that wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. I'll give it another shot in a few weeks, but boooooo. To make matter worse, I accidentally ordered 2 of this. Off to the swaps with the second one for sure!
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In the bottle: Sweet, in a more fruity than floral way, like plum sauce or something like that. And a little spicy. Wet: So far, this is way prettier than I expected. I really expected to be bowled over by cloying florals, and while this is a floral blend, it smells more herbal to me than floral. I do smell the tea rose, which is soft and creamy, not sharp and in your face, although there are some soapy moments during the initial period as it settles into my skin. There is also something that reminds me of lemongrass, which I think is the "spicy" note I smelled in the bottle. Dry: For a blend with so many floral notes, it's not aggressively floral at all. Soft, creamy florals with a splash of spices. Very lovely.
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In the bottle: Dry leaves, sandalwood, and rose. Wet: Almost all rose, with a hint of sandalwood and dry leaves. So far, it's a soft, creamy rose like in Hope, as a opposed to a soapier one like in Peacock Queen. Dry: This dries down to a sweet, creamy, Rose with hints of sandalwood and dry leaves. Very nice, and I bet it will be even nicer as it ages.
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In the bottle: Herbal, but somehow almost creamy. Wet: Sweet and herbal, still with a creamy note. I can definitely smell the dandelion, and after a while I can pick out the sage and chamomile as well. So far, no clove, but it looks like it took a while to come out for most people. Dry: The wear length of this is pretty short, but I like it a lot better than I expected to. Yummy dandelions, tea, and a soft creamy scent that holds it all together.
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In the bottle: A strong, dark scent, similar to some of the "dying leaves" blends from this year's autumn scents. Wet: The same strong scent (which I'm guessing is the oakmoss note?) with a hint of greenery. This becomes much sweeter and almost aquatic (marine accord?) within a minute or two of hitting my skin. It's now becoming rather floral, but they are gentle florals balanced by the other notes so far. Dry: This dries down to a sweet, slightly aquatic floral. Based on that description, I should hate it because I'm not a fan of aquatics or a lot of florals, but it's actually very pretty.
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My husband bought me this! He asked me what I wanted for Hanukkah this year, adn I told him how to find the traveling Salon at Whole Foods. Yay! In the bottle: Musky and a little syrupy. Wet: It really smells like red musk, even though that's not one of the listed notes. After a few minutes, something sharp and sweet emerges, which I can't recognize at first but eventually makes itself known as rose. Dry: This fades a LOT as it dries, and will warrant slathering next time. It dries down to a spicy, musky scent with only a hint of floral. Like several others, I think this will age well.
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In the bottle: It's fairly light, with a hint of sweetness and old book pages. Wet: Hmmm, soapy. Well, maybe not, but it's a very soft, somewhat floral and clean scent. Dry: A little soft and weak... I will wear it and see what happens.
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In the bottle: Something very strong, like a more natural, mossy version of a men's aftershave product. I'm guessing there is an oakmoss note here, but since I don't even know what oakmoss smells like, I guess I am being influenced by the name of this blend. Wet: A somewhat acrid yet intriguing combination of musks and dirts that I'm not sure I am going to like, but you learn the most by trying the blends you're not sure you will like, right? The acrid note calms down quite a bit withint a few minutes. This does definitely have a slightly aquatic note (as others have mentioned), but so far, it's not strong enough to bug me (I generally don't like aquatics). The throw from this somewhat musky. Dry: This dries down pretty masculine on me, but that's not really a bad thing as I'm not the most girly of girls. I'm surprised at how much I actually like this--I was pretty scared of it from the description. On me, it's mostly musks, with only hints of greenery and dirsts and mosses.
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In the bottle: All sweet musks. Wet: Sweet musks and light woods. Not smelling anything even remotely pickle-y. Oh, wait, I spoke too soon... I can sort of see why people are getting pickles, but to me that's not really what it smells like. Dry: A well-blended combination of sweet musks and soft woods. I'm actually surprised that I like this.
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In the imp: Strong woods... not usually a good sign for me since the Lab's woody notes and I do not get along. Wet: (I'm sorry for this!) Wood and Pine Sol. Okay, I'm guessing that the "wood" in this is actually the patchouli/vetiver combo, and the woodiness does calm down after about 5 minutes. However, I'm not getting even a hint of the blood orange and while I don't know for sure what ylang-ylang smells like, I'm pretty sure I am not smelling it here so far. Dry: This is really almost all spicy woods on me, but as it's one of the few woody-smelling blends that actually doesn't go horrid on my skin, I might just wear it a few times and see how I feel about it.
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In the bottle: OMG Green! Not that it's a bad thing. Wet: Green and fresh, with a hint of florals. I am so bad at identifying plant notes. After a while, this becomes almost aquatic, and I'm not sure it's going to work for me (as I hate aquatic notes for the most part). Okay, I take it back... the aquatic bit calms down pretty fast and it's back to green. Dry: Greenery with an odd musty note. I usually let my blends age for about a week before trying them, and this one has only sat for a few days, so it may still need time to settle. I think I will like this one, but the jury is still out.
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In the bottle: Something sweet and creamy, with a hint of pear. Wet: Pear, and a vanilla that smells almost a little coconutty. Dry: Vanilla with a hint of pear. I will need to give this a full wearing in order to determine whether this works on me without fading too much. If not, I think it will make a lovely room scent (if I ever get around to purchasing an oil warmer). Edited to add: This blend goes sort of odd on me. I don't know how to explain it, but it's sort of powdery and musky in a bad way. Like sweet pears and cream mixed with a hint of, um, sweaty crotch scent. It's not horribly unpleasant somehow despite this, but I can't help but think that it's nto what was intended. I can't decide if I want to keep this as a room scent or swap it away.
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In the imp: All I smell is sandalwood. Wet: Sandalwood with a hint of cocoa. We'll see how this works out... I can wear sandalwood EO, but the Lab's sandalwood note sometimes turns to pencil shavings on me. As this dries down some, I can smell exclusively sandalwood... and then all of a sudden, pickles. PICKLES? That can't be a good thing. Dry: Wood, and pickles. Nope. Off to the swap pile!
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I had wanted to try this forever, but never gotten around to ordering an imp. Since the lovely ladyjc sent me one, I figured I would review it posthaste. In the imp: Something incensey, which sort of surprises me, given that I've heard how sweet and nearly foody this blend is. I'm guessing it's the amber? Wet: Ah, here is the sugary bit... vanilla with something else sweet. It becomes almost bubble-gummy as it dries down a bit, and I am smelling the amber again. Dry: On me, this is a sugary, cherry-y (don't you love how I make up my own words?) red musk blend. Gorgeous, and prett much everythign I was hoping it would be. I want to wear this for a full day once or twice before I decide on a full-bottle purchase, but if it works then I will definitely be buying a full bottle.
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The lovely ladyjc was kind enough to send me a decant of this! In the imp: Buttery pumpkin, similar to the way a lot of the pumpkin blends smell to me in the imp. I know by now how different they can smell when they hit the skin, as I've tried all of this year's Pumpkin Plunder, along with Jack, Pumpkin Cheesecake, and Pumpkin Queen. Wet: Pumpkin and... burning rubber? Oh, no. I have yet to wash off any BPAL blend without first letting it dry down to see what it will smell like, so I'll be letting this one dry just in case it turns out lovely. The burning rubber does back off quite a bit after the first 5 minutes or so, and it's starting to smell like mostly pumpkin and beeswax. Dry: This dries down a lot less scary than I would have imagined. I will use up the imp, but I'm not sure if I will seek out a full bottle, particularly since I own a large number of pumpkin blends already.
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In the bottle: Hmmm, sort of aquatic. Wet: A strange combination of incense, soap and aquatics. This would seem to indicate that this blend may not work on me. Dry: This calms down quite a bit on the drydown. Strong-ish florals and a frost note that's not obnoxiously aquatic (I have trouble with aquatics). I will have to wear this full-on and see how it goes, but I think I like it.
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The wonderful ladyjc swapped this to me... I was so excited to finally get my hands on it! In the bottle: Strong, syrupy sugar, mostly. Reminiscent of Sugar Skull, but not exactly like it. Wet: Thick, syrupy sugar with an undertone of apples. The apple gets stronger as it starts to dry down a little. A little longer, and I swear it's starting to smell almost minty. Dry: Sort of a soft apple-y smell, mingled with brown sugar. I think this one is a keeper. Edited to add: I wore this one today, and it is definitely as yummy as I was hoping it would be! Caramelly, apple-y, love.
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Chunky fruit punch with a generous splash of booze! In the bottle: Mostly booze. Wet: Fruit punch with booze. Go figure. Dry: I'll have to wear this sometime to see how it works on me, because from a wrist-trial, I really can't tell. It's fruity but seems to have a strange undertone that I can't place.
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In the bottle: A sharp rose note that definitely brings to mind Rose Red. Wet: This rose is tempered with something else, making it not as green (or soapy) as Rose Red. Dry: A soft rose scent. I will have to wear it to see if it's "me" or not. If not, off to the swaps!
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In the bottle: Rose, with a hint of something fresh. Wet: This is definitely a rose scent, but it's got something almost fruity about it. Unfortunately, it also goes a bit soapy on me as it begins to dry down. Dry: This dries more green than soapy. It's a sharp, bright rose that I hope will work for me. Edited to add: I gave this its first real, all-day wearing today, and it was a success. I loved it more than I expected, and apparently my husband loves rose scents. I wonder how many of this year's Yules are going to end up being multi-cottle purchases... so far, probably several.
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In the bottle: Something strong and somehow syrupy. Wet: Florals (I believe it's the gardenia), with hints of patchouli underneath. After a few minutes, I begin to smell the citrus note(s). This blends really nicely as it dries down. Dry: I like this a lot better than I thought I would. It's soft florals, lemongrass, and a little bit of patchouli. Edited to add: Apparently, my husband is quite a fan of this blend. Perhaps I'll buy a second bottle before the Yules go away.
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In the bottle: Sweet and almost foody. Wet: Much more incensey/musky than when I initially sniffed it in the bottle, but it's yummy. After a few minutes, HOLY INCENSE, BATMAN! My skin tends to amp those sorts of notes initially, but then a lot of the time it will calm down so I can smell other notes. I'm going to hope for the best with this one. Dry: I can't really describe this one well, because it has a jillion notes and they are all blended really well once it dries down. So, I would say it is sweet and a little creamy, but not really foody, musky, or floral. It's something that's a mix of all three. This one's a keeper.