A sophisticated traditional gentleman’s cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli’s passion, tonka bean’s decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss’ cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme.
Reviewed: 07/13/2008
In the imp: A fresh, clean, men's cologne.
Wet: Sharp and clean. I can definitely smell the lavender.
Drydown: I keep looking around to see the good-smelling guy, but it's me. It's very fresh, no patchouli to speak of and the florals are light. I'd like to convince my SO to wear this because I think it would be amazing on a man, but he says it gives him a headache. I'm not particularly looking to smell like a guy, but I could probably layer it well with some of my other oils.
Deep herbs and apple with black amber.
Reviewed: 07/13/2008
In the imp: Apples and spice, like fresh spiced cider.
Wet: Fresh, juicy apples and spice.
Drydown: This has a great throw. It lasts a good while, too, but the apple eventually fades out, leaving the spiciness to dominate. I never got anything herbal from it, just spicy apples with very little morph. I like this very much on my skin, and I think it would make a wonderful room scent. It seems to be a fall scent to me, so I'll tuck this away until the weather starts to cool down again.
The Dark Side of Water: clean and purifying, yet menacing -- lotus and juniper with a hint of mint. A scent dragged up from the depths to the Stygian shore
Reviewed 08/02/2007
I love the way that this starts off. It's a burst of mint when wet, and when it dries it settles into a light, bouncy mint that's grounded by a dash of gin-y juniper. I couldn't smell any florals at all, which is odd because lotus usually gets very sweet on me. Sadly, this was gone in about an hour and left me with a pounding headache. I felt like I'd been drinking gin instead of sniffing it. I may give this another try at a different time of the month, but right now it's just not working for me.
The sticky sweet scent of candy corn!
Reviewed 02/11/2008
In the bottle: Buttered corn. Not candy corn, real corn.
Wet: Creamed corn. Eek!
Drydown: Butter and sugar, maybe nutmeg and cinnamon? The spicy part smells like a bottle of pumpkin pie spice. Thank *goodness* the real corn scent faded! It doesn't really smell like candy corn on me, but it does smell good. It has a very definite fall feel to it. I don't get any of the booziness that some reviews have mentioned, and that makes me happy as most of the Lab's booze notes don't work well on me. This is foody but not overly so; it doesn't scream "Eat me!" in your face the way something like El Dia de Reyes does. I think it would be wearable even for people who don't tend to like foody scents.
A fine confection for discriminating trick or treaters: a fig meat, coconut, and buttercream bonbon rolled in orange rind, mint leaf, cardamom, clove and ginger, dipped in milk chocolate.
Reviewed 07/21/2008
In the bottle: Orange, chocolate, a hint of ginger.
Wet: Lots of orange, with a strong coconut note and a bit of chocolate.
Dry: There's still quite a bit of orange on top. I'm not getting any mint or spices, and the ginger note that was hinted at in the bottle has disappeared. Most of this is wonderful, but the coconut is a bit too strong for my tastes and I probably won't wear it often. Medium to light throw and medium weartime, if I were inclined to wear this for a whole day it would likely be a slatherer.
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.
TP'd Trees! -- Cypress, oak, and pine covered in 2-ply!
Reviewed: 07/06/2008
In the imp: It's not the pine scent I expected. It smells like something labeled "mountain spring fresh" rather than anything piney or woody.
Wet: Wow, is this subtle. Not at all what I expected. It's aquatic and light, slightly powdery.
Drydown: Still very subtle. Not much throw, but it lasted a decently long time. There's a skin-musk-and-powder scent here that reminds me a lot of Enraged Bunny Musk. I've been putting off testing this one because wood notes are so awful on me, but I really, really like this. It's very light and fresh and cool, a perfect scent for the dog days of summer.
Electric ozone, opaline notes, moonflower, white amber, beeswax, and three roses.
Reviewed 03/20/2008
In the imp: Is there something in there? I can't smell anything. How weird.
Wet: Powder, but not baby powder. There's something swirling around underneath that is threatening to turn evil on my skin.
Drydown: Powder, but a creamy powder. I'm not getting any floral notes at all. This is pretty, but it's not something I'll wear often at all. I wanted so badly to hoard this one because of the name, but I think I'll just stick with my imp.
A nocturnal bounty of fae dew-kissed petals and pale fruits: white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon.
Reviewed 07/05/2008
In the imp: Pear and sweet pea, fairly strong. More floral that fruity.
Wet: Grape juice, a hint of peach and floral. The floral notes take a back seat to the fruits.
Drydown: Refreshing, clean, girlish and innocent. This is very well-blended, no one note takes over although I can definitely smell sweet pea, which happens to be my birthflower. This is a very different pear than the Haunted House '07 scents; those turned into play-doh on my skin, while this stays sparkling and fresh. I see this becoming a favorite summer scent. Medium wear length and it clings close to the skin with little throw, so the sweetness doesn't become overpowering on hot, sticky days.
Monoi de Tahiti, vanilla, white coconut, tuberose, ylang ylang, white musk, red hibiscus, and neroli.
Reviewed: 07/08/2008
In the imp: Flowers and...pixy stix?
Wet: Still flowers and pixy stix. What a strange combination, but it works so far.
Drydown: The candy scent has completely faded out, and left a bouquet of tropical flowers behind. I don't get any coconut or vanilla, just pure, fresh florals. It's not my usual style, but it's pretty and I can see myself wearing it out often. Good throw and wearlength.
Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant.
Reviewed 01/22/2008
In the imp: Cherries! Is this finally the so-juicy-it-makes-me-thirsty scent I've been dying to find?
Wet: Yummy, juicy, ripe to bursting cherries. Oh yes!
Drydown: Wait, what is this? I smell like...sawdust? Freshly cut wood and sawdust. It's very interesting, and quite well blended, but sawdust isn't really on my top ten lists of things to smell like.
Evil was the hour that she saw, and loved, the painter. Gentle beauty and innocent devotion: honeysuckle, carnation, stargazer lily, bluebonnet, vanilla musk, and rice flower.
Reviewed 01/07/2008
My first impression is HELLO FLOWERS! Heh. It's almost overwhelmingly floral. There's an undernote of something tangy that makes the corners of my mouth pucker, something sharp and almost citrus-y. That fades out at about the same time the flowers begin to be tempered by the musk. I don't get much vanilla out of it, though I normally amp vanilla; it smells more like a skin musk on me. This is very feminine and adult, not like my normal foody inclinations but very wearable and pretty. I'm not sure I could use an entire bottle of this, but I might get another imp or two of it.
While Persephone visited the realm of Hades, she tasted one single pomegranate seed, an act which compelled her to remain connected to the Land of the Dead for all eternity. Demeter's grief over her beloved daughter's absence that brings on the bleakness and barrenness of the winter months.
The Fruit of Paradise, the Nectar of Death: bittersweet pomegranate.
Reviewed 01/22/2008
I was a bit nervous when I first put this on. I got a hint of the Vicks-ish note that makes Crypt Queen awful on me, but thankfully it faded after a few moments. It became a gorgeous, juicy fruit scent, just tart enough to make things interesting. I'm so in love. I wish it had more throw, and it fades out very very quickly, but it's so beautiful that it's worth hoarding so that I can slather myself in it repeatedly without guilt.
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.
Gleaming eyes, screeching voices, glistening wings: black amber, black orchid, black currant, olive blossom, wood violet, lavender, blue musk, rose attar, and cedar.
Reviewed 08/26/2007
This was so odd on me.
Emathides started off smelling EXACTLY like Avon Skin So Soft, and it was so strong that I almost gave up on it right then and there. But after it dried it changed to dark, juicy berries with a hint of woodiness underneath. Not my normal scent inclination but very nice all the same, not overpowering but with a good throw. After a few hours it morphed to a very overwhelming baby powder-ish smell. Then that faded out and it became the berry-and-wood scent again, only much lighter. That final stage lasted for another few hours and then poof! It was gone.
It was very pretty and feminine and grown up, and I can see myself wearing this out for formal occasions.
And for once, a scent that I love didn't work better on my kiddo than me! Muahahaha. She tends to lean towards light, floral scents, and this was all musk on her. It was a very light musk, but she didn't like it at all and wound up washing it off after about an hour.
Seaweed, honey, white mint, and ambergris.
Reviewed 03/20/2008
In the imp: This is an exact dupe for Zest soap! And it's strong, too.
Wet: This is an eye opener. It still has that Zest soap smell, and if I sniff it too closely it makes my eyes water.
Drydown: That strong soap smell never really leaves. I might wear this if I was dragging and had to wake myself up, but I can't picture myself reaching for this very often. I may try it on my SO to see if it smells better on him.
Red musk, lemon peel, sugar cane, cassia, white sandalwood, mango, and agarwood.
This was the All-Cassia-Channel on my skin. I like cassia, so that didn't bother me, but I wish I could have gotten some other notes from it. I didn't get to give it a fair trial, though, because I started to get burning, itching welts after only a few minutes. I tested it on the back of my hand, which is one of my least reactive zones, so this is definitely a no-go for me.
An exquisite, enigmatic woman sidles up to you, bearing a tray of strange, dusty curios, chocolate creatures, serpentine taffy, and candied skulls. Her skin is dusky, her eyes are heavy-lidded and sensual, her hair is the fine, soft white of spun sugar, and her skin is softly scented with cocoa. She holds a shrunken head aloft, and beckons. Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone.
Reviewed 08/01/2007
I have been wanting to try this since the moment I read the description. I wore this to work today, untested, and I wasn't disappointed at all. Thick, sweet, dark chocolate while wet, it settled into a lovely, more subtle chocolate swirled with vanilla cream upon drydown. The throw was perfect; I could smell it without lifting my wrist to my nose, but it didn't knock down everyone who came within three feet of me either. The only drawback to this oil is that it makes me crave really good, really expensive chocolates like woah; I think if I wore this every day I would gain a ton and a half of weight.
Papaya, blueberry, lemongrass, and gin.
Reviewed 05/02/2008
In the bottle: Sugary sweet fruit, lots of gin.
Wet: A hint of sharpness from the gin, but mostly this is syrupy, over-sweet blueberries.
Drydown: I'm all about the sweet foody scents, but this was overkill while it was wet. Thankfully it calmed down as it dried, becoming lighter and less cloying. It's like a blue raspberry slushy, with a dash of gin, some fizzy club soda, and a twist of lemon. This scent is very summery and so much fun, and I got more compliments wearing it today than any other I've tried. It's got great throw, and it lasted all day long without needing to be reapplied.
The pinnacle of wealth, luxury, self-indulgent pleasure, voluptuousness and sensuality. Bright violet with sweet clove, Mediterranean incense notes and tonka bean.
Reviewed 09/14/2008
In the imp: Violet! This smells a lot like Faith.
Wet: Violet, with a hint of clove underneath.
Drydown: The clove and incense take over and smash down any other note that tries to come out. If I were an incense and clove fan, this would be a favorite.
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.
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.
Affectionately nicknamed 'The Devil's Bake Sale'
Reviewed 08/13/2007
The first few times I wore this, I loved it. LOVE. It was gorgeous. If you are baking cookies and you cream together the butter, vanilla, and sugar, and lick the beaters, that taste is how this smelled.
Then, apparently, my body chemistry shifted. When I put it on yesterday, I had to take off running for the bathroom and wound up throwing up before I could get it all off. It smelled like rancid butter, and even after scrubbing my arms twice it still lingered. Wow. I'm going to keep this around for those times of the month when it's not awful on me, but I'm going to be very, very careful with testing it each time I use it.
Strawberry moon is a blending of strawberries and cream with light, dry lotus and soft ylang ylang and a touch of green tea and sage to bring it closer to Earth.
Reviewed 01/04/2008
This is absolutely beautiful. It's very true-to-life, like a bowl full of fresh strawberries and homemade cream. I don't get the plastic, fake note that other people have mentioned, but I also don't get any hint of tea or anything green at all. This is very fresh and summery and delicious, and it breaks my heart that I adore it so much because I know I'll never be able to afford a bottle of it!
Terminal sugar rush. A little goblin's candy bag, upended.
Smushed candy corn, rock candy dust, marshmallow gunk, strawberry goo, spun blue sugar, globs of salt water taffy, and lint.
Reviewed 09/02/2008
In the bottle: Barely there berry and sugar.
Wet: Thick, sugary syrup, strawberry, and glittering candy. This is strong.
Dry: This is like Strawberry Moon and Treat #1 with a drizzle of Karo syrup on top and just a hint of a linen note to keep it from being sickly sweet. Lots of throw on this one, to my surprise.
