This is a moist, white, freshly-made cupcake with a thick layer of cream-cheese frosting, adorned with a juicy dollop of strawberry pulp. And, as if that wasn't delicious enough, every now and then there is a redolant little whiff of spices...like nutmeg and cinnamon. Did I order a bottle? Are bears Catholic? YUM.
Limited Edition -- Yule 2009
Rather nutty and warm -- I don't get any berries from this at all. It reminds me kind of like dry cereal...whereas Gunpowder was more warm, moist oatmeal. It was fun to try, at least.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Blends
Man, this one is *not* for me. The peppermint and coconut meld together to create a really nauseating scent, like Dimetapp cough syrup. There's a faint hint of dry chalky cocoa behind it, but mostly it's just that weird, gross syrupy scent. Eeek.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Blends
I really wanted to like this one, because I don't run into pear a whole lot as a component, and when it works it's really divine. However, this one didn't click with me. The pear and moonflower were almost sickeningly sweet and cloying, and eventually succumbed to the fate of all the phoenixes on me, turning into generic cologne and fading away.
I do give it major props for giving an aura of sweet, gleaming silver -- so themewise, it captured the aura of silver quite well.
Hm, odd. The first time I tried this, I got all clove and spices and balsam and a hint of orange punch. Not wicked at all, but certainly yummy. Over the day, it morphed into something woody, and by the end of the day was getting a bit soapy...but it behaved so nicely for the majority of its stay that I was willing to forgive that.
Now that I'm sniffing it again, I get primarily bitter mandarin orange, with some balsam or cypress...something sweet but woody. That's a bit more...wicked, I guess. Perhaps things had settled -- I didn't really bother with rolling the imp or anything, this time around.
In both cases, however, I very much like it. I'll need a bottle.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Scents
I get lots of spicy carnation. In fact, it alternates between spicy and creamy, to the point where I'd be pretty convinced that there is honey in this blend -- and a nice, sweet honey at that. For some reason, I wasn't liking this very much at all when I was testing it...there was a weird edge to it that I found off-putting. Now that it has had time to settle, it smells much nicer. Alas that I should discover this after it has been taken back to the graveyard of discontinued scents! I guess I will just hold onto my decant, then, and see how it ages...
Limited Editions -- Yule 2009
Honestly, it smells like the chocolate scratch and sniff stickers I used to go wild over as a kid...dusted with a bit of cinnamon. This is a scent that stays close to the skin, and lasts for a decent amount of time. It's fun, if not bottle-worthy IMHO.
September 2009 Lunacy
This one is sort of a roller coaster for me. At first, it smells a little off -- almost like there's some mustyness in among the leaves, but not quite. Then it actually gets sort of sweet. At its peak, it does evoke a misty autumn day with piles of falling leaves all around; not really rainy or wet, but definitely not dry or smoky, either. It's really like nothing I've smelled before, and I can't put my finger on anything else to describe it...but all things considered, I rather like it.
Limited Edition -- Yule 2009
When I first tried this, I got a spiced plum smell mixed with something like oats...like a warm fruit/oat bread. It wasn't bad, but wasn't great, either. And now, I'm getting boozy spiced prune wine. And wish I could drink it.
I don't recall it having much throw or staying power, though, so it's probably for the best that I didn't get more than this decant.
Category: Bewitching Brews
I could not wait to try Absinthe today. I was worried that I would either not wear enough to scent it beyond initial application, or slather it on and overwhelm everyone around me. But I think I did okay.
In the imp: Very lemony. Oddly enough, when I sniffed the applicator, it had that very strong "Lemon Pledge" scent, while in the imp itself the lemon was more subdued and woody...it reminded me of the inside of a wooden cabinet that had been maintained with, perhaps, lemon oil.
Wet: When first applied, it was still quite lemony, though not in an obnoxious way; it quickly toned down to more of a lemon-drop sort of smell -- sweet and sugary. As it dried, the anise hints came through, in a very soft, sweet way; and very quickly, these two scents blended together into a very pleasant amalgam.
Dry: The scent was delightfully subtle, and yet deceptively strong; I couldn't necessarily smell it on myself, but I would find myself scenting just the faintest hint of it if I would walk back over an area I'd just covered. It lasted all day. I would say that the scent was more 'woody' than herbal -- perhaps that's the wormwood? And around the edges, there was that faint, sweet snap of citrus from the lemon.
I really, really like this scent. I'm trying not to make it my favorite just because it was my first, but hey...shouldn't your first time be a sweet, wonderful experience that you *want* to repeat? Preferably, yes. I'll consider buying a bottle of it later on.
Notes that I liked: The lemon. This may mean that I like citrus scents.
No notes that I particularly disliked. I was afraid about the anise, but it was subtle and behaved itself quite well.
Qualities that I liked: The faint woodiness of it, definitely the citrus snap around the edges, the subtle strength and lasting power.
Category: Rappacini's Garden
As with a lot of the Garden scents, I get a lot of 'green' from this -- bark, roots, even a little bit of dirt. There is a bit of sweetness there, as well, as if the deadly tree has bait to lure victims in to sleep forever at its base. It has a nice amount of throw and lasted most of the day.
Category: Mad Tea Party
This smells like sweet, sticky, golden fruit preserves, seasoned with lots of ginger and perhaps a bit of cinnamon as well. Quite lovely! I think it lasted quite a while, as well.
Limited Editions -- Halloween 2009
I can see why this one was so popular! Delicious, warm, spicy apple cider...if I detect the milk note, it's as a creamy/buttery sort of edge to the scent. Super-nice. It's not an overpowering scent, but it will last much of the day on me and give me pleasant little wafts throughout. I think I like this one better than Fearful Pleasure. I of course bought a bottle!
Peachy flowers. While the peach note is really pretty, on me the notes just all meld together into a very generic sort of sweet-fruity-floral scent. It's a bit like a girl who is very pretty and sweet and demure, but also very vapid, and easily-forgotten. I'm sure the character this is based on is *nothing* like that, but it's the personality that seems to be put forth by this blend, to me at least.
Limited Editions -- Yule 2009 -- Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire
I mostly get creamy fruit, so yeah, it's somewhat like Agape. I can't quite identify what fruit I think I'm smelling...I think it's more like cherries, or oranges. Nice and fun, if rather faint.
A retail exclusive from Dark Delicacies
Definitely very fruity...it doesn't *quite* speak grapefruit to me...there's a spicy sort of side to it, like ginger, and a definite ultra-sweet syrupy gooeyness to it, too. It's a weird scent. It's also rather 'young' smelling, like the sort of perfume that would permeate some kind of glittery lip gloss geared toward teens. But, it was appropriate that this was released as part of a summer blockbuster series, because its light, sweet absurdity is perfect for hot, bright, sunny weather...or evoking that sort of atmosphere, should one need it.
Limited Edition -- Yule 2009
To me, this is a spicy aquatic floral. The camellia is sweet and light and fresh, given punch by the peppers. The first time I wore this, it actually seemed to irritate my nose a bit with its peppery spiciness, so I gave up on it. Now that I am revisiting it to review it, it's behaving itself better, so this may age decently. For all its spiciness, it does not have a lot of throw, and seems to wear off after a few hours. Pretty in its own distinct way, but not for me.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Scents
I actually do get straight up lettuce leaf from this! It's so weird. It does do well in evoking lead, as it has a dull gray, soft, almost smokey sort of aura to it. Unfortunately, like almost all the phoenixes, it quickly turns to generic cologne and then fades away.
Category: Sin and Salvation
Another woody, sort of piney scent (to me), but it's clean and full of light, too...like sunlight spreading across curved rafters and pillars of polished wood. If anything, it makes me think of sitting in a church, perhaps before a big ritual or holiday, in the hour or so before everyone else starts arriving; you're alone and you have time to savor the quietness and intimacy. Even though it's not a keeper for me, it's a beautiful image to evoke.
Limited Editions -- Halloween 2009
Like many, I also detected Roses WTF from this. Upon deeply huffing my wrist, however, I can figure out that it's just the way that the almond is interacting with the other components...it's almost like there's almond and orange extract, or orange rind, in with a caramely pastry of some sort. From a distance, that distinction blurs and becomes a rose-like scent. I actually love the way that this scent works, and therefore bought a bottle of it.
Limited Edition -- Halloween 2009 -- The Literary Vampires
At first whiff, it is a wet, resinous patchouli salted with clove and dragon's blood. There is even a slight sort of currant smell, that makes it almost pulpy for a second. Very lovely. This wears off in a flash, and is strong on clove. As dominant as this combination of scents sounds, it really doesn't express itself very much on me...it's more of an intimate scent to be experienced in furtive huffs. This is another one that I will probably end up trading away eventually, albeit very reluctantly.
Category: Excolo
In the imp: Oh my goodness, this was a beautiful scent. It actually brought tears to my eyes for a moment because it was so lovely. Very sweet, definitely redolant with peach, though I could also smell the warm tones of the musk and, I am assuming, amber around it as well.
Wet: Very sweet and peachy. The fruitiness and sweetness predominated.
Dry: The muskier tones come back, but the peach is definitely not to be undermined, and conquers all. It is *almost* a little cloying.
Verdict: I really like this scent, though I am almost thinking that it would be better as a room scent, as unfortunately I think it tends to get a little sour and cloying on me. I'll be willing to try more of it, though.
What I liked: The peach, and I think I liked the amber.
What I didn't like: The fact that yes, I think musk likes to misbehave a little on me. Though thankfully it's just a little.
Overall, I can live with this scent, I just don't feel like it's *perfect* on me. It's so gorgeous, though, that I can't give up on it. I wonder if it would work in a locket, where it is warmed by me but not in contact with my skin. I'll keep the imp around but hold off on getting a bottle for a while, I think.
