megank4

Way violety. Kind of a sugary sweet violet, hint of vanilla, and no gardenia at all. I want to like this, but my headache is saying no.

Yikes. This definetely did not pass the Husband Test. One whiff and he begged me to go wash it off. A little too strong for my tastes too. Perhaps very very lightly applied, or in a lotion or something, but straight from the bottle-no way. Except for Siren and Snake Oil, these Love Potions are really not doing their thing for me.

I bought this in my very first 6-imp order in October. In high school, I was the Queen of Hearts in the play Alice, so I felt I had to try it, even though the notes didn't super-appeal to me. Just now am getting around to really trying it. In the imp- very much cherry, slight hint of calla lily. On me- woah! lily lily lily. No hint of cherry at all. Not even a whisper. I think this is too lily for me. Finally, I don't think the floral blends are for me. I think I prefer more fruity/vanilla concotions.

Chocolate cake. Nothing more, nothing less. No cinnamon, no coffee, and no brown sugar. Sigh. If I wanted to smell like chocolate frosting, I would have smeared myself with it- cheaper and more fun later.

I don't get any hint of tangerine at all with this. It is mostly cedarwood and black amber on me. Very intriguing scent. For a moment, vetiver reared its ugly head, and I thought it was a goner, but it seems to be okay now. For some reason, reminds me of Blood Pearl, but none of the ingredients are the same. Who knows? This fades way too fast- one hour maximum. I also like it better on my skin than in a scent locket. There is a slight difference in the scent. On my skin it seems warmer smelling.

Hmm, this smells like Michael Kors Michael to me, I think it must be the tuberose. I used to really love that scent, but don't know. On me, I mostly smell the jasmine and tuberose. I think this is too headachy sweet for me. I think I might give it to my SIL, she might like it. Smelled the lime in the imp and at first application, but anymore. DH commented that it smelled good, but I don't think it is me. Will try one more wear before off it goes.

This blend was on my "no" list before I got it free from the lab. Not complaining, just saying that it wasn't something that appealed to me, but sometimes I am pleasantly surprised. Smelling in the imp- ugh. Something in this reminds me of Languor, which I hate. Gulp. (Goes off to compare ingredients). Nope. Okay. Here goes. (Applies to easily washoffable wrists). Ugh. Still not appealing. Will try to live with it as long as I can, who knows it might morph into something I really like.

This smells very nice. I love the apricot scent. My problem with it however is that it isn't strong enough for me. I have it on my wrists, neck, and hanging in a scent locket, and still nothing. I still like the apricotiness of Siren better. I don't know if this warrants a big bottle or not. Definetely a winter scent.

This to me smells exactly like Bath and Body works Sweet Pea. I don't get any of the other notes. A nice, pleasant Spring smell, but for the price and lasting power, I think I would go with B&BW.

This one was on my "do not purchase" list, when I received it as a frimp from a decant circle. None of the ingredients appealed to me, but after trying Dee yesterday with leather in it and enjoying it, I decided to try it today. Ick. All smoke. Not quite sure what dragon’s blood smells like, but this scent is not appealing to me. I didn’t scrub it off, just applied another. I think this will be one that I gift to MIL and say “If you like it, I shall buy it for you.”

This is a scent that I would never have bought or knowingly swapped for. Leather? Hell no! Even though I like tonka, there was no way I wanted to give it a try. I received it as a frimp of course, and tried it today for the first time. It didn’t really smell like anything to me in the imp. After application, I can now smell it very well. It is just as everyone says- slight masculine or gender-neutral, libraries. It makes me feel like a sexy librarian (though this could also be due in part to my outfit of the day: glasses, skirt, tights, and boots). I might have to try a sneak attack and dab this on DH, perhaps while he is sleeping. Otherwise, I don’t see him taking too kindly to my trying to dab him with a small plastic wand of essential oil…. We’ll see. At least this one seems to last a long time, unlike some other blends from the lab. Imp: definetely a keeper. Bottle: To be determined. ETA: (Oct 2008) Well, this is def. bottle worthy. It is the scent that I get the most compliments on. I can't wear it all year around, but it is a great Fall/Winter scent. Definetely "sexy librarian", and I can't imagine it on a man. Am reading the book "The Queen's Fool" with John Dee in it, I didn't realize it was the same person! OKay, it is doubly great. ETA: (Nov. 2013) Finishing up my 2007 bottle, and now only have my 2009 bottles. It definitely gets better with age, thicker, more deep. Need to buy a few bottles every year and just stockpile them for use five years later. Same with Snake Oil.

Origin: decant from Moonarcana Very pepperminty, like a peppermint patty. Yum! Not getting any vanilla wiffs. Fades too quickly. Suitable only for Christmas time.

Ergh. Upon first application, it smells like a nice room spray from Au Nom de la Rose. Later though, it just becomes too strong and, dare I say it? Old-ladyish. Sigh. Perhaps it can find another application, such as burner oil. I don’t think rose perfumes are for me. I finally went and washed it off. Not in my “hate” pile but definetely “don’t want to receive this as a frimp or swap-extra” category. ADDED Jan. 23: This doesn't smell very haughty to me. Perhaps because I am mostly just getting rose, not narcissus.

Wow. My nose is really wonky. I take one sniff « mmm, cinnamon ! » Perhaps it is because I love cinnamon so much. To me, this smells like those Red hot candies, or my spicy Cardamum Cinnamon tea from the Republic of Tea. Good for autumn. ETA: 2 years later, still great. Really smells cinnamon + red musk to me though. Great warm red scent, makes me think that everyone must be crazy in lust with me, and not really safe/appropriate for work.

One word: laundry detergent! Just isn't working on me. Unless it drys down into something different, but at this point I doubt it. Perhaps I will try to sneak some on my guy while he is sleeping and unawares. Otherwise I don't think he will take kindly to "Sweetie, can I dab you with this essential perfume oil from this small flask with a dipper? Pretty please?" ADDED Dec. 22: Erg. Definitely a scrubber. Smelled like honey gone bad somehow.

This doesn't seem to be "Siren" to me, but it still smells very nice. When I first put it on, it was way too much ginger. But then it changed into a nice vanilly apricot, which is exactly like some apricot cookies my mom makes. This is perhaps the first that I have really liked and might order a big bottle of. ETA: I bought a new bottle of this, and it smells completely different. I am hoping it is just a question of aging, and not a reformulation, because I don't like this new version at all. It is way too gingery. Guess I will have to try and age my bottle faster and hang on to the rest of the imp that I have.

This is the first scent on me that has gone from So-So at initial application, Love in an hour, then Hate after two hours. It reminded me so much of a coworker that I had that smelled horribly. Definetely a no for me. Too heavy, cloying, sickly. Too bad. I guess it must be the opium.

Received this imp from another member. I was interested in it because of the grapefruit note. All it makes me think of though are those “Chocolate oranges” that you can buy in the supermarket- the ones shaped like an orange that you break apart and then eat. Yum. Don’t smell grapefruit at all, though perhaps that is the “orange” to my nose. No idea why I get the scent of chocolate. Seems to last rather well on my skin, and is not morphing. Will most likely keep the imp but not buy a big bottle.

My first review! Got home from work and found my package from a swap sitting in my mailbox from the wonderful hadaverde. Couldn't decide which to try first, so just picked one at random, and it was Mata Hari. In the imp: coffee and John Paul Gaultier Classique (one of my favorite perfumes). Must be the vanilla, rum, and tonka bean notes. Initial impression: coffee, perhaps with a dollop of Irish Cream, mixed in a with a spicy tea shop. Feeling quite hungry now, and I don't think this is helping. It is giving me a slightly nauseated feeling. Will have to try again tomorrow when I am not ready to eat someone.

Hi. I found this description on the Scented Salamander website, and the scent sounds interesting. Anyone know of a similar BPAL oil? Description: Kyphi by Alchemy Works has the property of smelling (almost) nothing out of the bottle and to take on life only once it hits the skin an is warmed up by it. The carrier for the scent is olive oil. The perfume smells very natural, dark and spicy, delicious and centering, containing: mastic, amber, sweet flag, aspalathos, camel grass (lemon grass), mint, cinnamon, oasis wine, frankincense, honey, and myrrh. It smells also like ancient Egyptian pastries, which we used to reproduce after antique recipes when we were a child. Perhaps Cairo- The essence of holy Kyphi, beloved incense of the Egyptian Gods. Anyone tried this one? Thanks.