Argentwolf

Category: Discontinued Scents Straight out from the imp, it smelled like soap. So, at least I smelled clean, albeit with a sharp touch of lye. And that's the way it stayed, the first few days that I wore it. Today, though, it smelled differently...it actually smelled *good*, and of flowers. (Yes, I tend to persist with scents, even if they don't work right away.) I couldn't really detect any myrrh; I think in the imp I'm mostly smelling ylang ylang and sweet pea. As I put it on, the flowery notes gained a bit of strength, but weren't overpowering in soapiness as they had been before. Dry, I smell sweet pea, and perhaps rose. There *is* a faint bit of soapiness and powder to it, which keeps it from being perfect...but it's definitely an improvement. So, hm, something's definitely going on with my body chemistry. The only notes I've previously experienced have been sweet pea and myrrh, so I'm not sure who the culprit is for the strange, intriguing acrobatics that I'm noticing here. In the end, unfortunately, there was just too much soapiness present to make this one a keeper.

Category: Picnic In Arkham At the very beginning, as I first drew breath to sniff it fresh from the imp, I could detect a faintly-sweet, fruity note. And then...the cedarwood came. The cedar completely dominates this one for me; I cannot smell anything else. And, oddly enough, the sweetly-earthy note that usually defines cedar for me takes on a sharp, high pitch early on in this blend; it reminds me more of pine trees. So, nope...this one just didn't work. (Just between you and me...I found myself thinking, 'This is what Azathoth uses to spray the bathroom with after he uses it'. It's *that* pine-like.)

Category: Ars Amatoria In the imp I could smell musk and a hint of lemon. It was a very elegant mix. As it joined with my body chemistry, the lemon grew a little bit stronger. Unfortunately, it grew faint and wore off really quickly. Just not for me.

Category: Bewitching Brews I smelled mostly cedar and patchouli in this one, with some other vague incense smokiness going on around the edges. Aureus is golden in the way that a chunk of amber is golden; you get that lovely deep aura of radiant wood and patchouli, dark red-gold and bright orange-gold; and then there are those dark swirls and flecks of smoke and leftover incense embers caught up within it. If you are blessed with skin chemistry that highlights incense and smokiness, I suspect that your senses would be going over and over it, like polishing a smooth stone in your palm. I, alas, am not one of those people. As seems to be the norm with incense, this faded quickly on me, though the cedar stuck around for a bit.

Oddly enough, the main scent I got from this was...licorice. Weird! All things considered, however, I did enjoy it; it was soft and delicate on me and had a beguiling femininity to it. It evokes an impish fae quite well in that regard.

Straight out from the imp, it smelled like soap. So, at least I smelled clean, albeit with a sharp touch of lye. And that's the way it stayed, the first few days that I wore it. Today, though, it smelled differently...it actually smelled *good*, and of flowers. (Yes, I tend to persist with scents, even if they don't work right away.) I couldn't really detect any myrrh; I think in the imp I'm mostly smelling ylang ylang and sweet pea. As I put it on, the flowery notes gained a bit of strength, but weren't overpowering in soapiness as they had been before. Dry, I smell sweet pea, and perhaps rose. There *is* a faint bit of soapiness and powder to it, which keeps it from being perfect...but it's definitely an improvement. So, hm, something's definitely going on with my body chemistry. The only notes I've previously experienced have been sweet pea and myrrh, so I'm not sure who the culprit is for the strange, intriguing acrobatics that I'm noticing here. In the end, unfortunately, there was just too much soapiness present to make this one a keeper.

At the very beginning, as I first drew breath to sniff it fresh from the imp, I could detect a faintly-sweet, fruity note. And then...the cedarwood came. The cedar completely dominates this one for me; I cannot smell anything else. And, oddly enough, the sweetly-earthy note that usually defines cedar for me takes on a sharp, high pitch early on in this blend; it reminds me more of pine trees. So, nope...this one just didn't work.

In the imp I could smell musk and a hint of lemon. It was a very elegant mix. As it joined with my body chemistry, the lemon grew a little bit stronger. Unfortunately, it grew faint and wore off really quickly. Just not for me.

I smelled mostly cedar and patchouli in this one, with some other vague incense smokiness going on around the edges. Aureus is golden in the way that a chunk of amber is golden; you get that lovely deep aura of radiant wood and patchouli, dark red-gold and bright orange-gold; and then there are those dark swirls and flecks of smoke and leftover incense embers caught up within it. If you are blessed with skin chemistry that highlights incense and smokiness, I suspect that your senses would be going over and over it, like polishing a smooth stone in your palm. I, alas, am not one of those people. As seems to be the norm with incense, this faded quickly on me, though the cedar stuck around for a bit.

Category: Bewitching Blends -- The Conjure Bag In the imp, it had an almost licorice-like quality to it, with lemondrops mixed in. Wet, it smelled like bubblegum -- fresh, pink, juicy sugary gum. Oddly enough, as it dried, there was a sort of...flowery note to it...or perhaps an herbal one...rather powdery and faint and intriguing, after that straight-up sacchirine candy goodness...almost as if Aunt Caroline is revealing her true talents behind that candy-coated mask! Unfortunately, as time went on, it turned plasticky. Very disappointing... Had it stayed in the candy stages, I probably would have liked it a lot more. It does have a soothing quality to it, but quite frankly, *all* the BPAL scents do that for me. If I encounter a bad smell or am having a bad moment, I'll sniff at my wrists and feel better for a bit.

Category: Wanderlust Initially, I smelled the myrrh and wine, with perhaps the honey thrown in...it had a very sticky, tart, juicy sap-like quality to it. As it went on, the stickiness of it went away...just becoming myrrh and wine, with perhaps an herbal tint around the edges. I'm thinking that myrrh is going to be one of those hit-and-miss things with me. This time, it was a miss, and I think it was the wine note that did it...the blend had a sourness to it that did not appeal to me. So, nope, not for me. I liked Anubis better than this, and I'm guessing it's because of the mixture of herbs that was in it...the wine note couldn't come out and outright trash things like it did in Athens.

In the imp, it had an almost licorice-like quality to it, with lemondrops mixed in. Wet, it smelled like bubblegum -- fresh, pink, juicy sugary gum. Oddly enough, as it dried, there was a sort of...flowery note to it...or perhaps an herbal one...rather powdery and faint and intriguing, after that straight-up sacchirine candy goodness. Unfortunately, as time went on, it turned plasticky. Very disappointing... Had it stayed in the candy stages, I probably would have liked it a lot more. It does have a soothing quality to it, but quite frankly, *all* the BPAL scents do that for me. I will probably have to reluctantly give up on this one.

Initially, I smelled the myrrh and wine, with perhaps the honey thrown in...it had a very sticky, tart, juicy sap-like quality to it. As it went on, the stickiness of it went away...just becoming myrrh and wine, with perhaps an herbal tint around the edges. I'm thinking that myrrh is going to be one of those hit-and-miss things with me. This time, it was a miss, and I think it was the wine note that did it...the blend had a sourness to it that did not appeal to me. So, nope, not for me.

Category: Bewitching Brews -- The Conjure Bag In the imp, it smelled warm and spicy, like cinnamon and other spices, with a sugary hint to it...as if someone sexy were baking something sweet in my kitchen! (Hey, one of the many ways to my heart is through my stomach...) If only it had remained like that. As it went on, it immediately smelled like red-hots, or Big Red gum. Not really my idea of sexy, now. An hour later, it's gone. Not even a remote trace of it left to sniff. So, no...not for me.

In the imp, it smelled warm and spicy, like cinnamon and other spices, with a sugary hint to it...as if someone sexy were baking something sweet in my kitchen! (Hey, one of the many ways to my heart is through my stomach...) If only it had remained like that. As it went on, it immediately smelled like red-hots, or Big Red gum. Not really my idea of sexy, now. An hour later, it's gone. Not even a remote trace of it left to sniff. So, no...not for me.

In the imp: Sweet florals with a teensy bit of an edge to it. Wet: When freshly applied, there is a bit of a sharp note to it, more like citrus than pine to my nose. There is a moist aura around it all, as if you're standing near a river and smelling the scent of big bushes laden with flowers nearby. Dry: The sharp note goes away after a while, as does the aquatic undertone, leaving faint traces of flowers. Very pretty. It's not as juicy as Amsterdam, though the floral note, once applied, is similiar...it's sweet, but also grounded, and very fresh and clean-smelling.

Category: Discontinued Scents I pretty much get patchouli from this, with a bit of lavender around the edges. Unfortunately, it didn't get any more complex than that on me. Will pass it on to someone else who can appreciate it more. I do like that patchouli. This is saying something, since I'm used to suffering exposure to it via people who seem to bathe in that instead of hot water and soap. Usually, it tends to crawl up into my sinuses, summon little knife-wielding dervishes, and then dance back and forth up and down my nose. Normally, only pollen does that. There are other incense-like scents in the GC that work better on me than this did, so I'm not too sad about it.

I pretty much get patchouli from this, with a bit of lavender around the edges. Unfortunately, it didn't get any more complex than that on me. Will pass it on to someone else who can appreciate it more.

Category: Discontinued Scents Oh, dear. I *like* this. It's a nice, light floral -- not sweet so much as...natural and a little earthy. It's much like leaning into the buds of a flower that have just opened, that soft velvety odor that you get from a flower that derives beauty more from the shape and color of its petals than from an overwhelming fragrance. That, and it was long-lived in addition to being pretty...so now I'm sad that it got discontinued!

Oh, dear. I *like* this. It's a nice, light floral -- not sweet so much as...natural and a little earthy. It's much like leaning into the buds of a flower that have just opened, that soft velvety odor that you get from a flower that derives beauty more from the shape and color of its petals than from an overwhelming fragrance. That, and it was long-lived in addition to being pretty...so now I'm sad that it got discontinued!

Category: Picnic In Arkham In the imp: Wow. It really does smell like an old person's house. Like...cleanser and very artificial air fresheners trying to cover...something gross. Eeek. This scent morphs quite a bit. When first applied, the florals are predominant, in an almost sickly-sweet way, though having them in open air on the skin does wonders for the geriatric-home smell. Then, there's pine, trees, woodsy scents...perhaps the moss as well. Definitely a sense of earth and loam and undergrowth there. When dry...it actually smells a lot as if you'd come to a halt on a forest path, and were scenting the trees and ferns around you. I'm not familiar with Eastern US trees, but there's definitely a pine smell like Douglas Fir, cedar, redwoods...that's what it reminds me of. I don't believe it's for me (and it didn't last long on me at any rate), but if you like nature scents perhaps you should give this a try. I rather like the way that it morphs around, as it's an interesting phenomena. However, the florals are just too...artificial-seeming, to me. I compare them to something like Aeval or even Amsterdam, and they just don't stack up.

In the imp: Wow. It really does smell like an old person's house. Like...cleanser and very artificial air fresheners trying to cover...something gross. Eeek. This scent morphs quite a bit. When first applied, the florals are predominant, in an almost sickly-sweet way, though having them in open air on the skin does wonders for the geriatric-home smell. Then, there's pine, trees, woodsy scents...perhaps the moss as well. Definitely a sense of earth and loam and undergrowth there. When dry...it actually smells a lot as if you'd come to a halt on a forest path, and were scenting the trees and ferns around you. I'm not familiar with Eastern US trees, but there's definitely a pine smell like Douglas Fir, cedar, redwoods...that's what it reminds me of. I don't believe it's for me (and it didn't last long on me at any rate), but if you like nature scents perhaps you should give this a try.

Category: Bewitching Brews In the imp, there is the sweetness of the lavender, spiced around the edges with the prickly sharpness of rosemary. As it goes on, there's still that very sweet tone with the herbal note throughout...I think I can detect the neroli now. As it dries, it gets light and peppery...herbs and perhaps frankincense. While I'm not exactly a huge fan of lavender, it's a nice, soothing, pretty scent, and would make for a great room scent IMHO. Unfortunately it evaporates pretty quickly on me. But if you're a fan of lavender, well, here you go.

In the imp, there is the sweetness of the lavender, spiced around the edges with the prickly sharpness of rosemary. As it goes on, there's still that very sweet tone with the herbal note throughout...I think I can detect the neroli now. As it dries, it gets light and peppery...herbs and perhaps frankincense. While I'm not exactly a huge fan of lavender, it's a nice, soothing, pretty scent, and would make for a great room scent IMHO. Unfortunately it evaporates pretty quickly on me. But if you're a fan of lavender, well, here you go.

Category: Illyria In the imp, it smells very strongly of tea and ginger, with some sugar thrown in. As it goes on, a more herbal sort of tone comes through. As it dries, though, I smell the tea/ginger again. It's a lovely smell -- I really like the smell of tea. Unfortunately, this scent is so light and fleeting that it will not work for long on me. I think I actually like this better than Aizen-Myoo. The grapefruit in the other scent isn't necessarily unpleasant, but I rather like the gentleness of the ginger in this one better. Just wish my skin didn't suck up tea so well!