While the forum was being updated, my TALs arrived! I got White Light and Road Opener. The latter was supposed to help me find an apartment, but we had already done that by the time it arrived, so I will have to wait to officially test it. However, I can say that it smells like mint chocolate. White Light, on the other hand, I have used a few times already. It has a pleasant enough smell in the bottle, but turns to soap on me. Not an unpleasant sort of soap, but soap nonetheless. However, it works! It's not a magical cure, but it does help me to shed some of the thick layer of dreck that has been accumulating through the semester.
AL-SHAIRAN (clove, peach and orange with cinnamon, patchouli and dark incense notes). Turns into a spicey perfume scent. Nothing special. 2
ALECTO (Olive leaf, raspberry leaf, vetiver and cedarwood). Nice, bit green, but nothing special once dry. 3
AEVAL (A judicious yet powerfully sensual blend, a mingling of justice and sexuality: sage, sweet pea, bold pale musk and warm tonka). Hated this out of the bottle, but not bad, once dry. a warm perfumey smell, but nothing special. 2.5
BEWITCHED (blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk). Starts as sharp berries (irritated my nose, but maybe that was just my allergies?), then mellows into something quite pleasant (the essence of raspberry green tea). 4(?)
BURIAL (deep, brooding forest scents, including juniper and patchouli. The scent of upturned cemetary loam mingling with floral offerings to the dead). This turned into a fragrance that I can only describe as that of the floral soap found in the bathrooms of upper class elderly women. Or at least, that was the precise mental image that it evoked for me, after I wore it for more than 30 minutes. 1
EDEN (fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood). This fragrance is pure love -- delicious and foody and sexy. not the best staying power, but not the worst, either. 5
HARVEST MOON (unknown year, and thus unknown notes) I love this fragrance to bits and pieces, and have thus instituted a thorough plan to try every year of Harvest Moon thus made, in an epic quest to find it again. 5
HARVEST MOON 2004 (The autumnal blooms of clematis, chrysanthemum, narcissus, sunflower, sage and lily twined with Dionysus’ sacred grapes and ivy, a bounty of apple, pumpkin, and ripe berries, and the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, all touched by a gentle breath of festival woodsmoke and sweet wine.). This is not as ohmygodwonderful as the unknown imp, but it's still quite nice. The first time I put it on if had an unpleasant medicinal undertone for the first hour or so, but subsequent applications have not suffered that problem, so I think it's a keeper (which is good, since I have a 5ml bottle of it!) 4.5
PSYCHE (Bulgar rose, Chinese white musk, lavender, orchid and frankincense) This is a pleasant, deep, if somewhat forgettable perfume. It faded fairly quickly. It might be worth a second try, but I'm not sure. 3
PUMPKIN PATCH 5. This was too sweet out of the bottle, but fades to something pleasant -- not too foody, interesting. 3.5-4
TEMPEST (A crisp ozone-tinged breeze. The scent of the first gentle rain before the storm). It smells exactly like the description. No real change from the imp to my skin, either, even after several hours. Well, it faded a bit (obviously), but the scent is still the same, just not as strong. 4
Wanderlust
BAYOU (A lazy, warm deep green scent with a thick aquatic undertone: Spanish moss, evergreen and cypress with watery blue-green notes and an eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms.) Wet: strong! almost putrid coming out of the imp. Dry: blue green. doesn't go soapy on me as I had feared. It's nice enough, but not really grabbing me. 3ish
DUBLIN (The scent of misty forests, damp alder leaf, and the gentlest touch of white rose.) first impression: green and a bit spicy. more evergreen than deciduous. maybe good for my FALO character, in certain seasons? Dry: no major change. I'll need to compare this to the other woodsy scents, like Yew Trees, to really decide if it is worth keeping. It's nice, but so similar to the others that I'm not sure I need more than one of them.
HANGING GARDENS (date palm, ebony, fir, pomegranate, plum, two pears, quince, fig, and grapevine with plumeria, three gardenias and dry rose) a garden full of the ripest fruit and the headiest florals. There are too many different things for me to pick out anything individual, but if Fae is the scent for a clear summer day, this is a scent for a romantic spring/summer night. Not as shifting as some people on the forum found it -- it seems to settle on something fruity and ripe, but supported by the florals. Fades in a few hours, but what doesn't? 3.5?
MACHU PICCHU (Sweet tropical fruits burst through deep, wet rainforest boughs, enormous steamy blossoms, over thin mountaintop breezes, mingled with the soft, rich golden scent of Peruvian a) first impression: green and wet. definately tropical. the hottest nights of the year, in a hamock. a fruity drink. Dry: it is getting a tad soapy. I so hope this is a phase. Please let it be a phase..... Later: might have been a phase, but it disappeared too quickly to be sure. Must try again, possibly during my period, as I will sad if this doesn't work on me.
SHANGHAI (The crisp, clean scent of green tea touched with lemon verbena and honeysuckle.) wet: mm, very fresh and clean. crisp. not in your face lemon like Lolita is. 15 minutes -- clean. fresh. not really crisp. a bit warm, perhaps. dry: subltle. faintly lemony. nice, but nothing special. 3-ish
Bewitching Brews
BLACK PEARL (Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk.) wet: subtle. I can smell the coconut, but there is another tone in the background that I'm not sure I like. The iris, maybe? WHatever it is, it's like an entirely separate scent, totally distinct from the rest. Very odd. Later: mellows into something cool, smooth, and creamy, and a bit sweet. Not edible like my foody scents, but nearly so. 4 second try -- went stale. hmmmm.
DANA O'SHEE (Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name.) wet: edible. sweetened oatmeal, perhaps? reminds me of a facial scrub I used in high school, that I always wanted to eat because it smelled so good. maybe a bit almondy? Please don't change! Dry: oh, joyful scent gods, it doesn't change! It just mellows a bit and then slowly fades away.... but that just means I need to reapply frequently. I can do that :-) 5
FAE (A brilliant, ethereal scent: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss.) peaches! a happy, sweet, summery fragrance, but mostly peaches. Fades into something deeper and richer, becoming an ensemble cast rather than a vehicle for peach. But it's still happy, sweet, summery,and sparkling 4.5
THE HESPERIDES (Their perfume is that of sturdy oak bark, dew-kissed leaves, twilight mist and crisp apple.) wet: apples and something bitter. as it dries, the bitterness goes away and I am left with a crisp, tart, juicy apple. 4
[bArs Draconis][/b]
DRAGON's HEART (A scent pulsing with vitality, warmth and insurmountable strength: dragon's blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant.) warm. I really don't know how else to describe it. I mean, the lab description pretty much says it all. It smells like the best version of dragon's blood ever. As it blends with my skin, it quickly mellows into something that quite literally warms my heart chakra. Some powderyness, but in a good way. Dragon's blood is ussually a bit intense for me, and this mellows it out a bit without taking away from the vitality and strength. Drat. After 2 hours, all that is left is baby powder. I guess this is a 2 then (would have been a 4 otherwise!)
Mad Tea Party
EAT ME (Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants. ) -- wet: tasty, delicious cake. I could eat my wrist. currants come out as it dries, which tempers the sweetness. 4.5
MOCK TURTLE'S LESSONS (blurry aquatic notes, with a confusing, contrary splort of iris, ambrette, green apple, vodka, white mint and a squish of lime.) the precise odor of soap. possibly dawn. 1
Diabolus
HELLCAT (A soft, sensual, luxuriant blend with a wicked bite: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond.) I didn't like it wet, but it dried into something very interesting. I'll have to try it again. 3?
Love Potions
La PETIT MORT (Seduction, sensuality, the Act, and the aftermath all in one. The scent of warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion, touched by the luxuriant potency of ylang ylang and myrrh) wet: I can pick out ylang ylang, and maybe sandalwood? dry: baby powder. dang. 2
LOLITA (Bright, sweet and youthful, but swelling with a poisonous sexuality. Glittering heliotrope, honeysuckle, orange blossom and lemon verbena.) wet: lemon! I really get the lemon verbena right away, though it's backed by some other stuff. 15 minutes -- oh, here's the honeysuckle. VERY sweet. dry: attack of the intense killer sweetened florals. This would be tasty as a tea, but it's way too intense to wear. 2
I ordered a bunch of imps and a 5ml of Eden 2 weeks ago. I know that the lab has a long turn around time, and that I need to be patient and wait my turn, but I want them now!!!!!
In other news, Yew Trees has suddenly become my favorite scent. It's been a lovely outdoorsy fragrance for these nice spring days. Mantis, on the other hand, has become something sickly and almost alcohol-y. wtf?
My Harvest Moon 2006 arrived in the mail yesterday. At first sniff, I was convinced that it was my mystery Harvest Moon. They smell identical wet. However, once on, I can detect a subtle difference. The mystery moon is a tiny bit sweeter, and a tiny bit more apple. I will do another comparison to be sure, since it is soclose, but it looks like the mystery imp may be Harvest Moon 2005. Or not. I might be hallucinating the difference -- it's that subtle.
(oh, and my frimps were hilariously appropriate: rage (which was about right for my mood yesterday, what with finding out I am being evicted), black cat (which I had just been looking at wistfully) and a non-BPAL called brown sugar snaps that just smells divine)
I have been wearing Eden for three days straight now, because it is so comforting in the face of my apartment woes and strep-ish throat. I'm wondering if it was the right choice for my first day back at work, as it is more calming than energizing, but whatever. It makes me happy! Tomorrow, however, I will have to go for something different. Tomorrow I have work, then physical therapy, then a major event a school. I think that will either call for Mantis (my other great love, thus far), or Black Cat. I haven't tried Black Cat yet, but it sounds like the sort of thing that would be good for a crazy, crazy sort of day.
Once I have tried Black Cat, then I can post my latest batch of mini-reviews.
Bewitching Brews:
AUREUS (True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent).
I swear to the gods, this started out smelling exactly like patchouli. But soon, it definitely developed a cedar tone, which complements the patchouli (if that's really in here) quite nicely. This was nice, but I can make something identical using my own essential oils.
CATHODE (Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints). This smelled nice out of the imp, but got a bit too sharp on me. 2.5
INCANTATION (vetiver, dark woods, crumbling and burnt black sandalwood and a drop of lemon rind). Something in here burns my nose. I can sense the sandalwood and the lemon, and they smell nice, but there is still the nose burning sensation. Ah well. 3
SUDHA SEGARA (Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia). Return of the inexplicable nose burning. If this had any note in common with Incantation, I could eliminate it from all future experiments, but, alas, it does not. The nose burning stopped after about an hour, and the fragrance is nice enough (a combination of chai and soap), but nothing that I would wear again. 2.5
Illyria:
THE APOTHECARY (Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig). Out of the bottle, this was the most perfect green scent in the world. On me, it was the same. Until it completely disappeared an hour later. I may get my own imp of this someday anyway, and try it with moisturizer or something. 5 (without taking into account the disappearance)
LADY MacBETH (sweet Bordeaux wine, blood red currant, thyme and wild berries). On me, this smelled very similar to Bewitched. 3
Rappaccini's Garden:
YEW-TREES (Piercingly sweet berries over evergreen boughs, deepened by the tree's sacred wood). This smelled like yew wood, but sweeter. Hard to describe, but quite nice. 4
Love Potions:
O (Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla). This reminded me a lot of Eden, but I think I liked Eden better. 3.5
Excolo:
VERDANDI (Deep herbs and apple with black amber). I was so excited about this scent. I lovelovelovelovelove apple scents, and I figured this would be amazing. It smells absolutely divine in the bottle -- fresh and green and appley. But on me, it gets much warmer and darker. I'm still not quite sure what I think of it...... 3, I guess. EDIT: I really want to like this fragrance. But.... I don't.
Sin and Salvation:
OBLIVION (Dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron). This is deep and rich and good. Somewhat reminiscent of higher quality men's aftershave, but not in a bad way. It is warm, and a bit dark, but not morose. I find it somewhat comforting, in the way that losing yourself in something larger than you are can be comforting. I really like this one! 4.5
Voodoo:
FIRE OF LOVE (A catalytic, potent love oil used to spark (or rekindle) the flame of desire between lovers). This is a bit too spicy for me to want to wear it as a perfume, but I'll give it a go tonight, and see if it does anything for me ;-) Based purely on fragrance, however, it gets a 2.
Voodoo:
BLACK CAT (Used most often as a key to bringing back the joy one needs to have in life in order for living to feel worthwhile. Brings back a sense of delight in simple pleasures, and creates a surge of childlike curiosity and a youthful sense of fun). This smells.... sharp. And a bit soapy. And I think I sense some dill. It smells pretty good in the bottle, but not so much one me. No, I smell like bad rose scented soap with an after smell of dill.
Love Potions:
HARLOT (Based on a Romany incense blend reputed to induce sexual dreams: Somalian rose, Moroccan rose and Bulgar rose with a sultry dribble of cinnamon). Rose. An unussually deep and rich rose, but rose through and through. 3, but since it is the best pure rose I have ever smelled, I will keep it anyway.
HETAIRAE (A seductive and dazzling blend of golden honey, fiery patchouli, sweet fig and clove, and a blushing touch of ylang ylang). first whiff - medicinal. This really doesn't do anything for me, and is actually kind of irritating, which is odd since I love every single note listed.
Rappaccini's Garden:
MANTIS (Crushed herbs and sweet amber resin with a streak of patchouli, neroli and golden musk). Oh...... beautiful green scent. Fresh. I can't inhale this deeply enough, and it seems to stay as wonderful on my skin. Love! 5
Diabolus:
RAGE (Black amber erupting with a dark volcanic surge of fiery dragon's blood and a burst of melati, rose geranium, mandarin and black currant). This is the aroma of righteous indignation. When I have been pushed to my limit by someone, and then suddenly find the strength within to stand up for myself, this is what I should smell like. That said, I really like this, though I have no idea why. It's invigorating, in much the same way that righteous indignation is. It makes me stand taller. That feeling reduces as it dries, but it doesn't go away. 3 (5 on special days)
