Leopard403

I literally get compliments *every time* I wear Rose Red 2007. But not in an "I like your perfume" way; in a give-me-a-dreamy-look-and-say "You smell goooood" way (which can be uncomfortable coming from my coworkers and patients ). I admit I am a slut to all rose scents. (Must be the old soul [read: grandma] in me.) But this. THIS is the rose to end all roses. Lush and velvety and wet and fresh, with just a hint of green stem and sharp thorn. This is a sultry rose, a sinister rose, a farthest-you-can-get-from-grandma's-rosewater rose. It makes me feel young and vibrant and sexy. Just glorious.

Just like a greenhouse... and, sadly, just awful on my skin. I mean, it smells like freshly-turned earth, all right, but I don't think I like smelling like earth. This is much more of a novelty scent: "Hey, sniff me! I smell like dirt! Seriously!" And admittedly, I almost kept the bottle simply because I fell in love with the label... but it ended up going to a loving home via swaps.

Sadly, I do not smell the crisp fruit notes so many others love in this blend. To me, this is a floral that starts out overly sweet and sours terribly on my skin. And it gave me a headache.

My boyfriend gave Fairy Wine its best compliment: He is a very logically-minded man, all business and numbers, not really into "fantasy" or any kind of serious fiction, but the first time I wore this, he loved it. I said, "It's new, it's called Fairy Wine." And he buried his face in my hair and said, "It SMELLS like Fairy Wine!" So very unlike him. But he's right! This is a delicate sort of scent, very ethereal. A little floral, a little sweet, a little like fresh sunshine amidst the pixies. Good stuff.

Oh, this is heavenly. Upon first whiff it smells dainty and delicate, but it grows on my skin and becomes delightfully womanly, sexy without being too pompous or assuming. A wonderfully feminine scent that really captures the different aspects of a woman. This certainly captures the character from which it takes its name! I smell mostly the lily, with softer notes of rose in the background and just a hint of vanilla.

Root beer! In the bottle, on my skin, wet, dry: Lovely bubbly root beer!

Hmm. I do love Marae. It smells lovely. But I am a trifle disappointed because it also smells flat. There are no different notes peeking around one another; no top notes that burn off and eventually change the scent on my skin. This smells very nice, but it is not the sophisticated and complicated scent I expected it would be. To me, this is a one-note white floral. Very reminiscent of spring, but with no real depth and interest to it. I will continue to wear it and remain glad I bought a bottle, but I won't buy more, and I won't feel sad to see it go.

Ooh, lovely. Opuhi, I adore you! I was very worried about the ginger note in this blend, and was so pleased to hear that it is a floral awapuhi-type ginger rather than a spicy or rooty ginger. This is a lovely mix of soft vanilla and warm florals. The sweet vanilla reminds me of Teenage Cannibal when huffing from the bottle, but this goes on my skin very smoothly because the florals smell decadent rather than dimestore. This is the sneaky kind of scent that makes people say "You smell nice" rather than "I like your perfume." The difference is a subtle one, but totally worth it!

Ahh, April Fool. How I wanted to love thee. This is the strangest thing: It smells very good. Crisp and fresh and clean, with soft hints of fruit. So this isn't a case of thinking that it smells bad. But it is connected to something in my scent memory that I can't bring to consciousness: And this scent makes me feel bad. Strange, and sad, because I am an April baby and really wanted to smell like springtime.

Okay, truth? The first whiff of this made me cringe. This is STRONG! The notes blend pretty seamlessly, so I am completely unable to pick out which scent creates that strength. Once on my skin, though, I begin to suspect that rum is the culprit, because once that strong top note burns off I am left with a lovely, fruity, Life-Saver-y type scent.

If Starburst candies were fizzy, they would smell like Te Po. Fruity and sparkling, I'd almost rather put it on ice than wear it!

To me, this smells identical to Isle of Eden's Pineapple Stars scent (when IoE does it right, of course): Delicious pineapple with soft vanilla and the teeniest whiff of sweet boozy rum. A wonderful summer scent that I just might need more of.

I adore Alice. It layers well with my favorite Lush products, because to my nose, if you slapped Snowcake and Potion together, you'd get Alice. And it becomes even more glorious as it ages.

Simple: Lovely, juicy, fresh apricot. A pleasant surprise! I mean, I know the description clearly says apricot, but I was shocked by how *real* this is. I wanted to lick it a little.

My first thought: This is similar to Australian Copperhead. My second thought: *sneeze* Third: *sneezesneeze* Yeah, I didn't even get this one onto my skin before I started with the sneezing. (Luckily I like Copperhead, and it doesn't make my nose crazy!)

At first sniff, I thought "Glowing Vulva, is that you?" All I got was hot wood and toffee! Weird. Luckily, once applied, Zarita became all spicy carnation, soft white floral, and warm orange zest. Complex and lovely.

Cream accord, amber, teak, and lotus blossom. This is lovely on me, rich and woody and almost boozy, and very warm. I dabbed just a bit behind my ear to test, and my boyfriend tried to eat my face. Plus, the gleam in his eyes when he asked what scent I was wearing was even better.

This is gorgeous and crisp, an apple with bite. There is a bitter note when wet on my skin, but this dries into a crisp red scent. I can practically hear the snap of Snow White's teeth in that forbidden fruit!

I adore this! Because the description cites "white roses" I was worried that I wouldn't like this as much of the other rose blends, but the resins work perfectly to make this a pert and spicy floral. There is nothing grandmotherly about this rose!

I had high hopes for this scent. I wanted it to be complex: A little green, some cold florals, with the spice and underlying bite of carnation. However, on my skin it just smells like unidentifiable white flowers, with the slightest hint of green fields. It is a lovely scent, very gentle and fresh--it matches the poem beautifully!--but it is just not for me.

Upon first whiff from the bottle, this is very green and somewhat reminiscent of Rose Red. When wet on my skin, it is a green floral with a hint of sweet honey-ish beeswax. When dry, I find the beeswax somewhat off-putting: It is a rather unnatural scent on my skin. Coupled with the loss of the green freshness and the bloom of the white florals, this is too perfume-y sweet for me. I am disappointed in this one; it'll go up for swaps.

This is very medicinal on me. I only smell the cheap pink bubblegum note. No lovely lollipops or womanly perfume here.

To me, this smells like Lush's Snowcake soap with a dollop of cherry cordial on top. I get more of a boozy note than a candy one, though that seems to burn off of my skin quickly leaving notes of bright red cherries and almond. I am so glad I was able to find a bottle!

I adore this! Upon first application, it reminded me of IoE's CSCWEM perfume oil (in which I smell the apple note most heavily, and the funnelcake is soft vanilla in the background). It dries down to a similar scent, slightly Midway-ish with a slightly tart note. Just wonderful. I am so glad I took a chance and bought a bottle!

I had high hopes for this one. I wanted to love it. Vanilla? Honey? Cherry? Dark wine? How could I resist? Unfortonately, the vetiver and musk notes make this very perfume-y and overwhelming on me, similar to my mother's Opium which I could never wear. This is definitely a scent for a bolder woman with a stronger body chemistry.