scourgeotheseas

Stephanotis, cyclamen, heliotrope, white rose and gardenia. Eternal - a lab freebie. In the bottle: The "white floral" smell - it's probably the gardenia or the stephanotis. On me: Gah! I have to figure out which of these notes doesn't play nice with me - gardenia? heliotrope? Something in this blend just smells funny to my nose and makes me want to go wash off immediately. Drydown: Yep. Stinky. There's something in this that my skin disagrees with.

Incantation - a lab freebie! In the bottle: Woodsy, a bit smoky. On me: The first hit is soap, unfortunately. Dial, to be precise. Other notes attempt to show up (smoke, woods, never the lemon, though!) but are beaten back by Dial. Drydown: Eventually this one turns to sandalwood, as all things containing sandalwood do on my skin. But it's a drier, soapier sandalwood than usual. Not a good one for me. Too bad!

Ides of March Wow! I love this one. Usually, green herbal scents aren't my cup of tea, but I was hoping the bergamot and cardamom would keep it fresh and spicy. It's is fantastic - a floral, w/a citrus tang. Citrus, w/fresh herbs. I'd do a more complete description but I've just slathered 1/3 of the bottle on myself during and after a bath and I want to keep the relaxed, refreshed feeling it's given me. Aaaahhhhhh!

Jezebel - borrowed from a friend's new imp pack. In the bottle: Honey and orange blossom, but do I detect just a bit of rose? On me: Honey, closely followed by orange blossom. I can't detect rose as a note on it's own, but I think it's adding to the complex scent of honeyed orange blossoms. Drydown: Weird! Normally sandalwood amps up the minute it hits my skin, but in this blend I can't even smell it. However, I don't really love honey or orange blossom. Even though this is a really beautifully complex scent that I wanted to love for it's description alone, I can't. Plus, it's making me sneeze.

Malice - From my friend's order, which I am stealing to try. In the bottle: Patchouli and myrrh, mostly. On me: Gah! I smell like incense! I smell of a combo of myrrh, patchouli, and ylang ylang. There's no clove in sight. Unfortunately, the notes combine on my skin and I get a powdery, soapy scent with a bit of incense. Well, glad it's in my friend's order.

Old Morocco In the bottle: A creamy vanilla mixed with something that I can't identify but know I've smelled before. On me: The creamy smell is quickly replaced by a combo of spices, light wood, and faint floral. Drydown: This is just faint and kind of nondescript on me. Light, mostly gone to powder, and slightly spicy. Ah, oh well.

Decadence - I swapped for this from a kind forumite... In the bottle: Marzipan. This smells exactly like the jar of marzipan currently in my fridge, disappearing spoonful by spoonful. On me: First there be almonds, but an alcoholic amaretto almond. Then I get a whiff of orange, then just a hint of cinnamon. Drydown: Within a couple of minutes, the amaretto is GONE. Poof, just like that. What's left is an orangey, cinnamony, bubblegummy scent. Don't know where the bubblegum came from, but it's definitely there. It's quite zingy, actually! So I can't decide if I would rather wear this as a perfume, use as a room spritz, or recreate as a cake. It's a gorgeous edible scent!

Luna - a giftie from the Lab! In the bottle: Gah, I'm bad at ones without scent descriptions! Bright, sweet candy and light florals. On me: Sunny, almost cloyingly sweet, and floral. I'm tempted to say this has lotus in it. And jasmine, maybe? A floral bouquet! Drydown: This one's a bit too floral for me, or at least too many florals I'm not completely fond of. It reminds me of the problems I have with "white flowers". whenever they come up in a description.

Harlot - I can't believe I haven't tried this before! In the bottle: Tea rose with a touch of spice. On me: Rose! Almost a soapy rose. As it dries, a little more spiciness comes out, but I feel almost like I'm wearing potpourri. The cinnamon isn't really making itself known yet. Hmm...I really thought I would love this, as rose and cinnamon are two of my favorite notes. But I just can't shake the "potpourri" feeling. I like London and Rose Red a whole lot more, honestly.

Corazon - From the Oblation Caravan circular swap. In the bottle: Mango, mmm. If it smells like this on me, I'll swoon. On me: The mango note is predominant at first. And it's gorgeous - absolutely gorgeous. The warmth of a little bit of musk is starting to join the mango, and it's still heavenly. Oh, and a hint of sage, too. Wow! Drydown: The mango note faded somewhat, and the sage and musk have moved to the forefront. It's still amazing, although I may just have to reapply this every half hour to get that luscious mango smell!

Chiroptera - From the Oblation Caravan circular swap. In the bottle: Sweet, grassy lemon. On me: Lemon is definitely the first note to jump out, but it's a grassy, greenish lemon to me. Gradually, other florals seep in - generally very light and not overpowering. Drydown: This smells of lemon Pledge to me. I wish it were otherwise. Maybe it will change... EDIT: It did. The lemon note finally faded and I was left with a light, slightly herbal floral. Very pretty, finally, but not worth the wait.

Tiphareth - Included in the Oblation Caravan circular swap. In the bottle: Pine, resins, and a light incense. On me: Still light incense - maybe frankincense? That and piney, woody resin. I don't think this is going to work for me. Drydown: Resins and pine, which I'm not really fond of. And unfortunately, it doesn't really remind me of Justice and Mercy.

Kether - Included in the Oblation Caravan circular swap. In the bottle: Astringent and medicinal. I do catch the hint of almond, though. Dry and spicy. On me: Mmmm...almonds. Somehow, this smells "golden" to me. It reminds me of the spicy quality in Ahathoor. Drydown: The astringent quality is slow to leave, but does disappear. The scent morphs into an almost creamy note, with a slight hint of baby powder. It's actually very nice, although it's starting to itch. Boo!

The Lion - From the Oblation Caravan circular swap. In the bottle: A bite of spice. Maybe cinnamon? On me: Mmmm, spicy. This one smells quite amber-y. But not too strong - I'd have thought the Lion would be a little more ferocious. Drydown: Well, this one basically disappeared on me. There's a tiny hint of warm amber left, but in ten minutes it's pretty much gone. Too bad, cause it started out with a bang.

Cerberus - from the Oblation Caravan circular swap. In the bottle: Eu de wet, stinky hound dog mixed with gin. I kid you not. On me: I'm not sure I want to put this on. Well, ok. It's nowhere near as bad as I'd feared on me. First, a whiff of lemon, still with the undertone of juniper berry. Every so often, I get a little hint of cocoa. But mainly lemon. Drydown: This is starting to morph a little, as sometimes I get hint of chocolate and fig, and sometimes it's all lemon, and sometime I swear I'm getting whiffs of dog. Intriguing, but odd. I'm kind of glad I don't own this one.

The sharp tang of ozone and the deep bass growl of thunder over mountain trees Thunderbird - From the Oblation Caravan circular swap. In the bottle: Ozone, but sweet. Very interesting, really. On me: Crisp, sweet, and masculine. Definitely smells kind of like Storm Moon to me, but the sweet note makes it infinitely better. I find this to be quite masculine...

Oisin - From the Oblation Caravan circular swap. In the bottle: Like some man's really nice aftershave. Musky, but light and clean. On me: Yup. I get a very light musk, balanced really nicely with florals and fresh, clean meadowy feeling. Still smells like aftershave, though. Drydown: This is a lovely, soft floral and musk combination. Somehow, it's still a masculine scent. I like it a lot, but would probably enjoy it more on a man. Mmmm...maybe not!

Severin On me: First lemon, then it settles into the bergamot flavored Earl Grey tea blend I was expecting. Just fantastic! Unfortunately, it disappears really quickly on me. It's a great scent, so I might try making it into a spray or mixing it with lotion. Just lovely!

Eris - A freebie from the Lab that was also on my wishlist. Thank you! In the bottle: Honestly? It smells like vomit to me, which is the same reaction I've had to a couple of the voodoo blends. After that, it's sweet and a bit fruity. On me: Well, it doesn't smell like vomit anymore. That's a plus. It starts out as a big sexy floral with a lot of sweet, fruity undertones. Drydown: That stench is sort of hanging around my wrist. It isn't completely disguised by the fruits and flowers, which otherwise remind me of a cross between Bordello and Black Dahlia. Wish I knew what that mystery scent of stinky is... This is, unfortunately, not a winner for me.

The sunken city of the Great God Cthulhu. A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves. R'lyeh - A freebie from the Lab, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have tried it... In the bottle: I'm getting a mixture of pine and mild incense, with a background of murky bog. Freshwater, but slimy. On me: The aquatic note is at the forefront, followed by a mix pine/light floral. Poo! I wanted to smell like evil aquatic grapefruit. Instead, it smells like my arm is rotting. Drydown: Now I'm getting just a faint whiff of citrus, or maybe I just want to. Eventually, the aquatic note sweetens up some, and that's when I begin to smell something reminiscent of grapefruit and burnt sugar. Well, the aquatic note is really dominant here. I loved Danube, and this is a darker, less clean version. I'm not quite sure about it. Especially as I've developed a headache since putting in on. It probably deserves another shot before heading to swaps.

Desire In the bottle: Spicy and warm, but smells a bit weird. On me: Immediately this turns to bug spray, which is the exact same thing that happened with me and Vice. Because of this, picking out individual notes is kind of hard. I can smell a floral, powdery undertone, but the bug spray is kind of drowning out the rest of the scent. Too bad. I wanted to like this one.

Dead Man's Hand This is what I thought De Sade was going to smell like. Pure leather jacket in a bottle! I second all the reviews in front of me - it's like walking into a leather store. Unbelievable. Can't decide if I actually want to wear it, though.

De Sade In the bottle: It smells kind of like leather, but kind of like sweat. Or maybe the two are too closely associated for me not to think of them together. On me: While it smells of leather on me, it also smells vaguely of plastic. While I've really enjoyed this note in blends like Perversion, I think by itself it's a little much for me. It does mellow over time, but then begins to smell kind of like pencil shavings. Not for me, this one.

The Moon In the bottle: Sharp and civet-y. It is immediately unpleasant to my nose. On me: A heavy animal smell, which is totally different than I would have imagined an oil called the Moon smelling like. Very musky or civety – I’m going to wash my arm off now. Blech! I wish I had gotten the jasmine, but nope.

Ace of Cups In the bottle: Sweet cherries. On me: Cherry candies or lollipops. That bright, sweet note fades quickly and is replaced by…musk? That actually comes out very strongly on me. Just as quickly, the musk fades and leaves…nothing. Weird.