Leopard403

This remains a mystery to me because it has NO staying power on my skin. None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. It smells intriguing in the imp, like something I should like, sort of soft and beeswax-y, but then I put it on my skin and POOF, gone. It's the damndest thing you ever did see.

By far, this is the winner of the Lupers for me. It is dainty and pretty, but somehow not at all little girl-y. It reminds me of something, but I cannot put my finger on what! I'll report back after thinking on it a while...

I know, I know, amber and musk tend to fare poorly on my skin. But I had such high hopes for all the other notes! Unfortunately I should've stuck with what I know, because all I get from this is that incense-y, drugstore perfume-y-slash-hairspraylike scent I usually get. No sign at all of roses, or lilies, or anything else. Bummer.

Whoa, sweet pea! Wet on my skin and for the first hour, that's all I get, so much so that it's unpleasantly reminiscent of Bath & Body Works' Sweet Pea scent. It is STRONG. But after wearing for a while I can smell the base notes and this starts to become creamier, though it's still quite cloying and perfume-y. Luckily, before giving up on it, I layered it with a little Black Lace, and man, that is HEAVENLY. The sweet pea is tamed and I get the gentle Victorian linen smell with something pink and girly on top. Very nice.

Can't add much to the reviews that are already here: This is Snake Oil plus an O-ish honey. I hope the honey scent stays around as this ages, and I hope it gets better and better like SO does.

I've given this a full wear once, and it smells like hay and dry grasses. Not a fresh scent, either. Not at all what I expected. I'm going to retry in a few weeks, because right now I don't think I like this.

So yes, Vasilissa is as good as everyone says. It starts out as a very pink floral on my skin but as it dries and settles on my skin it turns into a creamy, almost-but-not-quite foody blend. This manages to have a slightly fresh component at the same time that it is sweet and floral, yet grounded in something reminiscent of soft vanilla. It certainly does come together beautifully, and will likely be the first GC bottle I've bought in a very long time.

Damn, Beth is a genius. Wet on my skin, this is all honey and wax. Sort of Burt's Bees-esque. Then, as it dries, it begins to smell exactly like a beeswax candle that's just been blown out: That wisp of smoke that is ever-so-slightly acrid but still manages to smell good, on top of that soft honey waxy smell. Quite lovely, and just as described. Good lasting power, too, and the honey that is left as the last note on my skin is perfect.

Ooooo. *sighs in contentment*

The 2009 version: I'm so glad I was brave enough to skin test this. When sniffing the bottle, and while wet on my skin, this smells like cheap men's aftershave. I was immediately transported back to my childhood, when my family didn't have a lot of money and my father wore this gawd-awful face splash every day. Luckily, we grew and his tastes changed, and I was brave enough to put something that smells like that on my own skin. This really embodies Victoriana, just as it is purported to. It's a creamy scent with something slighly spicy underneath; something sort of dusty that kicks you right in the back of the throat when you huff too hard. It's not boozy, but it's not notable as a vanilla either; and the tobacco, smoke, and musk are scary-sounding but turn out very subtle. This manages to feel old-worldly and dainty at the same time it is deep, dark, and sexy. Quite nice.

Emma is the most mysterious and least predictable of the ladies on my skin. When it is wet on my skin it is OMG HEAVY FLORAL! WHOA! It's sort of tuberose-y, which is really heavy and heady to me and must be the jasmine. But then it dries, and it gets confusing. Sometimes I get a lot of patchouli overlaid with the daintier notes; and sometimes I just get pink girly goodness with a hint of boozy vanilla. This needs more testing over time because it is definitely a morpher, and so far I can't find a pattern.

This doesn't work for me, but I was wary of that red musk and ginger to start with. This is a musky, plummy cocoa scent that manages to somehow smell foody and weirdly dirty at the same time.

This is true honey base note with a hint of lemon, though the overall scent manages to be ever-so-slightly spicy on top of the sweet. Moderate throw, and I have to really slather to get this to last, but it's fun and girly nevertheless.

I see people are getting their deliveries for Black Death and Black Heart. Any pics?

I don't have olfactory cells that can discern details about incense. Some people get hints of rose? Lemon? Chocolate? I'm jealous. To me, this is just "incense." That smokey, sweet, head shop-y, sort of boring "incense."

The perfume of a hellbound soul, gleefully lost to iniquity: blood musk, golden honey, thick black wine, champagne grapes, tobacco flower, plum blossom, tonka bean, oakmoss, carnation, benzoin, opoponax, and sugar cane. This is very heavy and grape-y; I think that's the blood and wine. I get more plum *fruit* than plum *blossom*, too, and that's generally a R/O note for me. This is tempered a bit by the florals, but overall is too heady for me to get away with wearing.

No orange in Jabberwocky to me, this is fresh and manly, heavy on the pine and ozone-y eucalyptus.

Katmandu is a "high" scent, in that it hits me high up in my nose and brain rather than tickling the tip like most scents do. (Do olfactory cells work like tastebuds? Are there "sweet" and "sour" places up in my schnoz?) Anyway, it's a high woody scent, slightly sweet light wood, with a hint of spice. Like freshly-cut but very dry cedar chips and incense.

All I get here is cinnamon potpourri. Weird.

Everything I equate with "masculine" combines in Slobbering Pine: It's piney and aquatic and slightly cologne-y. Would be excellent on my boyfriend, methinks.

Oooh, Lulu is bright and fresh (and yes, quite soapy), just like my beloved Dia. Lots of that sparkly tobacco flower up front, but nicely grounded by the other notes on the drydown.

Oh. Um, yeah. Hilma is not good on me. There is something distinctly, uh, circus-like about it; as in wild animals and elephant dung.

I don't get any peach from Josie. None. That's okay, though, because the magnolia is gorgeous and ever so slightly soapy; just like the complimentary toiletries I used to get in my favorite Savannah bed & breakfast. Josie is obviously a very Southern girl, as this is evocative of thick, lush, heavy Southern air. Love! edit on 2/4 to update: Oh, so there's the peach. Lots of peach. Yowza. Fortunately (because I found the peach so strong as to be cloying and slightly offensive), it burns off my skin in record time, leaving that creamy magnolia behind.

Like filigree, Flora has hints of peaches on my skin, though if I concentrate really hard I can see how that comes from the apple and sandalwood combination. I was worried about that mention of musk, but I can't smell it at all. As others have mentioned, this isn't identifiably fruity nor is it an obvious floral, but it lies somewhere in between the two. It's quite lovely.

Wet, Tin Phoenix is very similar to Whitechapel (and Lush's Avobath) to me. As it dries, it turns into something slightly more sophisticated, and there is something masculine and cologne-y there. Quite a nice surprise, and lasts forever!