Zirah

Clean, light, fresh, lemony. I'm still not getting any of the heavy incense tones others seem to, but that's OK. I smell like sun on linen with a hint of old temple incense. Asked to name this, I would never have gone to Egypt. It smells much more Old South to me, like Georgia in the late summer.

I was so excited to get in on such a limited edition! I was doubly excited when my Cn'S happened in under 2 weeks, and triply excited when the USPS got me the box in TWO DAYS. ...but that was where the excitement ended for me. Sniffing the bottle I can smell chocolate, liqueur and a fruit stand in the sun. Everything seems heavy and over-saturated and I make this face: D: I try it on anyway, knowing that my chemistry does strange, strange things to scents. Wet: Overripe fruit and patchouli. I know there is no patchouli in this blend but that doesn't stop me from smelling like a hippie store. Also, overripe fruit. I cannot describe this smell beyond sickly sweet and tangy. Drydown: Patchouli. My boyfriend poked his head in the room and asked if I'd been burning incense. I smelled like a pagan store -- mixed herbs and spices but utterly generic. Overall impression: I am not pleased. But. I've been told to let the bottle sit and age and not to give up on it yet. I WANT to like this scent SO BADLY because I love 13, Friday the 13th, and the idea of the blend. But it is just NOT WORKING on me right now AT ALL. Sadness!

Simply cool, the essence of Lounge: the scent of a crisp pomegranate martini. Swank delivers where Persephone disappoints. Whereas Persephone smelled like rotting wine on my skin, Swank kept that sweet, tangy pomegranate smell I'd been craving (praise Loki!) and dried down to just a whisper of forbidden fruit. I don't normally go for fruity scents but for pomegranate (and especially this pomegranate) I gladly make an exception.

This is my go-to scent. Not too cloying or heavy, perfect for school or work, light, flowery, yellow, sunshine, fresh. Even my perfume-hating boyfriend has told me I smell nice when I wear (a very very little bit of) it.

This reminds me of a softer version of Leanan Sidhe. It still has the wonderful green, wet scent of the Irish countryside with a sweet note to it. On my skin it sweetens and mellows and picks up a little bit of tang to offset the green. It has good staying power and medium throw. It's a wonderful daytime scent for everyday on me. I only had to smell it once in the imp and on my skin and I NEEDED a bottle.

In the bottle this strikes me as VERY sharp and tangy, almost abrasive. But there are some undercurrents lurking in there that make it intriguing, so on the skin it goes. It's SHARP at first application, almost peppery, the way it bites the nose. However it drys and mellows quickly into a tangy, spicy wood and leather scent with a nice dash of fresh sea air. I'm not sure this is good for everyday wear, but I'm definitely keeping the imp for those days/nights when it's time to break out the leather pants or corset. ARR!

In the bottle: Warm and green. Like a humid summer night. Not heavy, but full and rich. The kind of thing that makes you want to sit out on the porch and watch the lightening bugs. Wet: As soon as it hits my skin I get the hint of amber. The green darkness grows teeth (or talons...). Drydown: Fresh and spicy. Citrus, amber, grounded with the tea and white mint to keep it from becoming too red/orange and heady. I swapped my girlfriend a bottle of Blood Phoenix for this -- on her it smelled like swamp rot, but on me it was just delicious. The Blood Phoenix did her favors it would never do me, so we both feel we came out even.

In the bottle: Grape! Yeow! And blood. Like, animal blood - metal, tang, sweet, sticky. On the skin: I smell like I've just butchered a cow and rolled in the blood. I was tempted to run for the shower but resolved to tough it out for the sake of scent-ology. Dry: STRONG red wine with an undertone of metal and exotic (strong) spice. 1 hour: Faint tang of metal. Overall: Clearly this was not meant for my skin chemstry -- unless perhaps I was trying to smell like I imagine Jack the Ripper might smell (and not in the sex, romantic way). This bottle was swapped with my girlfriend for a bottle of Green Phoenix. On her the Blood Phoenix smells like the most sinfully decadant opium den EVER, with an undertone of blood and danger. What a difference chemistry can make...

In the bottle: Definitely almonds. Something spicy and dangerous underneath. Musky? Wet: Spicy and biting. No fruit or almond to speak of. Less than an hour out the whole thing has gone to powder with a little light floral scent. Maybe a bit of spice under it all but mostly I smell like a granny. Swaps pile for this one. So... is it a bad sign when the flagship scent doesn't like you?