Rovylern

The scent of the salty seas, bittersweet wine, palm and tropical ferns. In the imp: Something about this reminds me of one of those "After The Rain" air fresheners. Wet: Yep, definitely an air freshener. It's very green and fresh, but something about it comes off artificial and chemical to my nose. Drydown: Wait, where did it go? This was completely gone after only 35 minutes. I put more on, and it disappeared again. I applied it a third time, very heavily, and again it vanished. Apparently I am not meant to smell this for more than half an hour. How very odd.

In the bottle: Sugar, tart strawberry and currant, something herbal. Wet: I get a boozy note mostly, and something under it that smells like...barbecue spices. It's not pleasant. Drydown: This stays very dark and boozy. Whatever is giving me the barbecue impression sticks around too, with a hint of maple syrup added in. This is not good for me. One bottle will stay in the box to age and retest eventually, but one is definitely going to the swaplist.

Sugar cane, blue musk, mahogany, black orchid, black currant, violet, blackberry leaf, teak, strawberry, and dusky rose. In the bottle: Sugar, tart strawberry and currant, something herbal. Wet: I get a boozy note mostly, and something under it that smells like...barbecue spices. It's not pleasant. Drydown: This stays very dark and boozy. Whatever is giving me the barbecue impression sticks around too, with a hint of maple syrup added in. This is not good for me. One bottle will stay in the box to age and retest eventually, but one is definitely going to the swaplist.

In the bottle: I can't pinpoint what I'm smelling, but it smells like something I used to use to mop my floors. Very cleaning-fluidish. Wet: This is so sharp and cold it almost hurts! I can definitely pinpoint the eucalyptus and something else herbal. Drydown: After a few minutes this settles into something that reminds me of Jabberwocky. It's citrus, almost creamy, with a hint of flowers lingering in the background and a tang of eucalyptus giving it all an edge. It's got a light throw, but it lasts a long time. 12 hours and multiple hand-washings after I put this on I could still get whiffs of it if I lifted my hand to my nose. I really didn't expect to like this, but I *really* do. I wish I'd gotten more than one bottle while it was up.

The Moon of Ice shines its pale white light on snow-blanketed hills and barren fields. Icicles dangle from skeletal branches, and the desperate howl of starving men and beasts echo through the darkness. Frost-crusted winter flowers, white pine, eucalyptus, and traditional lunar oils. Reviewed 03/12/2008 In the bottle: I can't pinpoint what I'm smelling, but it smells like something I used to use to mop my floors. Very cleaning-fluidish. Wet: This is so sharp and cold it almost hurts! I can definitely pinpoint the eucalyptus and something else herbal. Drydown: After a few minutes this settles into something that reminds me of Jabberwocky. It's citrus, almost creamy, with a hint of flowers lingering in the background and a tang of eucalyptus giving it all an edge. It's got a light throw, but it lasts a long time. 12 hours and multiple hand-washings after I put this on I could still get whiffs of it if I lifted my hand to my nose. I really didn't expect to like this, but I *really* do. I wish I'd gotten more than one bottle while it was up.

In the bottle: Creamy fruits. Wet: Heavy on the guava and the grapefruit. It's very crisp and clear. Drydown: The longer this sits on my skin the more the floral notes come out. The florals come forward and ground the fruit, while the fruits keep this from becoming too floral. It's a relatively non-foody fruit scent, IMO. It 'feels' very cool and it's appropriate for the coming spring season. I like this a lot. *edited to fix spelling

A lunatic's blend of lunar herbs and blossoms, with lemongrass, guava, pink grapefruit, banyan fruit, hibiscus, and cherry blossom. Reviewed 03/08/2008 In the bottle: Creamy fruits. Wet: Heavy on the guava and the grapefruit. It's very crisp and clear. Drydown: The longer this sits on my skin the more the floral notes come out. The florals come forward and ground the fruit, while the fruits keep this from becoming too floral. It's a relatively non-foody fruit scent, IMO. It 'feels' very cool and it's appropriate for the coming spring season. I like this a lot.

In the bottle: It smells like a certain milk candy I used to eat when I was young. Wet: Milk, but it's barely there. It reminds me a bit of Chaste Moon. I put on quite a bit, just this short of slathering, and I still have to put my wrist all the way to my nose to smell anything. Drydown: It gets a bit minty, and then suddenly it turns into sour milk and cat pee. Oh skin chemistry, you have failed me once again. *sigh*

May marks the apex of the year's fertility, expresses the reawakening of the sexuality of the Earth and her inhabitants, and May's full moon celebrates both the fecundity of the creatures and flora of this world and the vibrancy, rejuvenation and life-affirming energy of Spring. Milk Moon is Flower Moon's warmer, gentler cousin; it is a scent that emulates the closeness of child and mother. In it, cream and warm honey soften our traditional blend of lunar oils. Reviewed 03/08/2008 In the bottle: It smells like a certain milk candy I used to eat when I was young. Wet: Milk, but it's barely there. It reminds me a bit of Chaste Moon. I put on quite a bit, just this short of slathering, and I still have to put my wrist all the way to my nose to smell anything. Drydown: It gets a bit minty, and then suddenly it turns into sour milk and cat pee. Oh skin chemistry, you have failed me once again. *sigh*

This is absolute silliness in a bottle, and I adore it. A mountain of hard candy is the perfect description for this. I don't get much watermelon, but there's tons of lemon and lime with a dash of strawberry thrown in, with a few pounds of sugar piled on top. It smells like rock candy. I think what I love most about this scent is that it's impossible to sniff it without smiling, you just can't be sad if you're wearing it.

A super-sweet, glittering mountain of crushed hard candy: watermelon, pink lime, lemon, strawberry and piles upon piles of crystalline sugar. Reviewed 03/08/2008 This is absolute silliness in a bottle, and I adore it. A mountain of hard candy is the perfect description for this. I don't get much watermelon, but there's tons of lemon and lime with a dash of strawberry thrown in, with a few pounds of sugar piled on top. It smells like rock candy. I think what I love most about this scent is that it's impossible to sniff it without smiling, you just can't be sad if you're wearing it.

In the imp: This smells sharp, but not citrus sharp. It makes my nose twitch. Wet: Why hello there melon! Wow, that's strong. I can't make out any of the other notes through the melon. Drydown: None of the citrus notes came out for me, sadly. The melon calmed down a lot and blended with the other notes to create a beautiful fruity-floral scent with a hint of something sharp cutting through all sweetness. I'm glad I didn't amp the dragon's blood in this, because it doesn't do well on me. The throw is low, but it lasts a really long time even on my skin, which drinks up oils like a Hummer guzzles down gas. I'm not sure how often I will wear this, but I definitely want a bottle of this before it goes down.

A new year's blessing! Peony, China's national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, lychee for strong family relationships and peace in the home, orange for happiness, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat and quince for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, coconut for longevity, and candied melon for good health, with a splash of blazing red of dragon's blood... to help you scare away the rampaging Nian. Reviewed 03/08/2008 In the imp: This smells sharp, but not citrus sharp. It makes my nose twitch. Wet: Why hello there melon! Wow, that's strong. I can't make out any of the other notes through the melon. Drydown: None of the citrus notes came out for me, sadly. The melon calmed down a lot and blended with the other notes to create a beautiful fruity-floral scent with a hint of something sharp cutting through all sweetness. I'm glad I didn't amp the dragon's blood in this, because it doesn't do well on me. The throw is low, but it lasts a really long time even on my skin, which drinks up oils like a Hummer guzzles down gas. I'm not sure how often I will wear this, but I definitely want a bottle of this before it goes down.

I really wanted this to work on me because I love the concept. I don't know what my skin chemistry is doing, but it turned into cinnamon-spiced celery! What the heck?

Unreleased scent, no description Reviewed 03/08/2008 I really wanted this to work on me because I love the concept. I don't know what my skin chemistry is doing, but it turned into cinnamon-spiced celery! What the heck?

In the imp: Almond, and it's strong. Wet: Almond, a bit of sweetness from the vanilla. I'm not getting any cinnamon, and so far no skin reaction from it either. Drydown: The cinnamon never came forward, and this wound up turning into slightly almondy baby powder. Not unpleasant, but not what I was looking for or expecting. I think it would make a nice room scent, and it might work in a scent locket, but this isn't something I'll be reaching for to wear.

All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun -- darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon. Reviewed: 03/08/2008 In the imp: Almond, and it's strong. Wet: Almond, a bit of sweetness from the vanilla. I'm not getting any cinnamon, and so far no skin reaction from it either. Drydown: The cinnamon never came forward, and this wound up turning into slightly almondy baby powder. Not unpleasant, but not what I was looking for or expecting. I think it would make a nice room scent, and it might work in a scent locket, but this isn't something I'll be reaching for to wear.

In the imp: This reminds me of an Avon perfume my great-grandmother drenched herself in. It's making me really hesitant to try this, but here goes... Wet: Subtle floral, something fresh and green. Not nearly as strong as I thought it would be, thankfully. Drydown: Very pretty and feminine. I scanned some of the previous reviews and saw a lot of people describing this as a pink rose, but in my mind it's pure white, a rosebud just beginning to unfurl. It was on the verge of soapy for a while, but it never quite went over. It smells very fresh and clean, very cool, and it's not overpowering at all. In fact, it's very very light and fades away quickly.

A crisp, pale, almost translucent rose dusted by moonflower and midnight dew. Reviewed 03/07/2008 IIn the imp: This reminds me of an Avon perfume my great-grandmother drenched herself in. It's making me really hesitant to try this, but here goes... Wet: Subtle floral, something fresh and green. Not nearly as strong as I thought it would be, thankfully. Drydown: Very pretty and feminine. I scanned some of the previous reviews and saw a lot of people describing this as a pink rose, but in my mind it's pure white, a rosebud just beginning to unfurl. It was on the verge of soapy for a while, but it never quite went over. It smells very fresh and clean, very cool, and it's not overpowering at all. In fact, it's very very light and fades away quickly.

I can't believe I haven't posted a review of this scent yet because it's one of my favorites! In the imp: Fresh, juicy apples. Wet: Caramel and apples. This smells like freshly dipped caramel apples, the way you can smell the still-warm caramel and the apple as you take that first bite. Drydown: I'm so happy this doesn't morph on me. I absolutely love it. It smells exactly the same from beginning to end. On my skin it fades pretty quickly, but in my scent locket it lasts and lasts and has a good amount of throw. I only regret not being able to afford a bottle of this at Halloween, because now I'm jealously hoarding my one little imp of it.

Sugar-Slathered Candied Apple -- With a dollop of caramel! Reviewed 03/05/2008 I can't believe I haven't posted a review of this scent yet because it's one of my favorites! In the imp: Fresh, juicy apples. Wet: Caramel and apples. This smells like freshly dipped caramel apples, the way you can smell the still-warm caramel and the apple as you take that first bite. Drydown: I'm so happy this doesn't morph on me. I absolutely love it. It smells exactly the same from beginning to end. On my skin it fades pretty quickly, but in my scent locket it lasts and lasts and has a good amount of throw. I only regret not being able to afford a bottle of this at Halloween, because now I'm jealously hoarding my one little imp of it.

Imp: Very sweet, sugary. A touch of something fruity, but very little. Wet: Sugar and pomegranate. There's no wine or booze note at all. There's an undercurrent of something spicy, like Juicy Fruit gum, as my skin amps the lotus. Drydown: Lotus sometimes has a tendency to turn to cat pee on me, but this doesn't. I never get any wine notes at all, nothing aquatic or herbal that suggest the river reeds or hyssop, nothing earthy or grainy for the barley. This is all lotus and pomegranate, all the time, and the combination of the two is beautiful. It clings close to my skin but lasts forever; ten hours after I applied the first test patch I could still smell it if I sniffed the back of my hand. I can't wait to try this in my scent locket; this is definitely going to be a multi-bottle purchase for me.

THE FLOWER SONG Unknown, Written during Egypt's New Kingdom To hear your voice is pomegranate wine to me: I draw life from hearing it. Could I see you with every glance, It would be better for me Than to eat or to drink. Pomegranate wine, lotus root, river reeds, hyssop, and barley. Reviewed 02/25/2008 Imp: Very sweet, sugary. A touch of something fruity, but very little. Wet: Sugar and pomegranate. There's no wine or booze note at all. There's an undercurrent of something spicy, like Juicy Fruit gum, as my skin amps the lotus. Drydown: Lotus sometimes has a tendency to turn to cat pee on me, but this doesn't. I never get any wine notes at all, nothing aquatic or herbal that suggest the river reeds or hyssop, nothing earthy or grainy for the barley. This is all lotus and pomegranate, all the time, and the combination of the two is beautiful. It clings close to my skin but lasts forever; ten hours after I applied the first test patch I could still smell it if I sniffed the back of my hand. I can't wait to try this in my scent locket; this is definitely going to be a multi-bottle purchase for me.

I'll cut to the chase with this one: there is no morph, no difference between imp and wet and drydown, it is pure chocolate decadence. It is spot-on in capturing the scent of a pan of brownies, fresh out of the oven, with the edges a bit crispy and the middle still gooey and sticky. YUM.

Ok, fine. It isn't really a lump of coal, but brownies and coal are vaguely similar in color! -- and you know you could never be naughty enough for us to really toss a coal at you! After all, we specialize in sin at Black Phoenix. This is the truly sinful scent of a sticky, thick, dark and rich fudge brownie. Reviewed 02/22/2008 I'll cut to the chase with this one: there is no morph, no difference between imp and wet and drydown, it is pure chocolate decadence. It is spot-on in capturing the scent of a pan of brownies, fresh out of the oven, with the edges a bit crispy and the middle still gooey and sticky. YUM.