elinox

First Sniff: Fresh lemons Initial Wet Application: I guess the lemons I’m getting is really the orange blossoms? There may be a faint whiff of mint keeping this fresh. I think I can also detect the fir and balsam which is keeping this woodsy and nice. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): I liked this and although it got a little soapy with the dry down, it was still fresh lemon and pine needles on the forest floor. Once it dried completely there was mostly the same. My Reaction: I’m mostly getting some balsam with lemon. I had expected this to be darker and I’m surprised I didn’t detect any of the tobacco. Maybe this is what the forests of Transylvania smell like? That’d be nice! Rating: 2

First Sniff: Slightly fake vanilla. Initial Wet Application: Soft vanilla. Not creamy, but still pleasant. So far, this vanilla is similar to my test with Snake Oil; although Hunger is a little more gentle. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As this dries, it stays a soft and light vanilla. It actually gets lighter and so I think it will fade, unlike Snake Oil’s vanilla which lasted all day. My Reaction: I’ll be honest, I’m not impressed with the lab’s vanillas I’ve tried recently. Where’s my milky, creamy sweet stuff? I want the creamy goodness from Obatala, just more sugary vanilla cake! Rating: 2

First Sniff: Ammonia and then snowdrops. Initial Wet Application: This is very light. It’s very gentle and smells like faint clean cotton. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): This goes between ammonia which reminds me of urine and a faint, fake snow smell. I obviously don’t care for the acridness. There’s a tiny bit of milk hiding underneath all of this, but it’s not enough to keep this creamy unfortunately. I think I can also detect beeswax, but it’s faint. My Reaction: I guess the acrid smell is from the blackberry not working well on my skin with the snow. I wanted to like this, for the association and the light snow, but I don’t like the flipside with the ammonia. Rating: 2

First Sniff: Soft and sugary vanilla Initial Wet Application: This is powdery soft so I hope it doesn’t fade into nothingness! There’s some sort of woody, plywood in this too. Sandalwood, is that you? Dry Down (first 15 minutes): Wait...is this becoming more gentle vanilla again? My Reaction: I tried this because it’s the labs #1 seller and because I love vanilla and have been looking for the perfect, sugary sweet vanilla for ages. I wanted to like this, I really did, since it’s so popular, but I just don’t care for the dried out plywood that sandalwood becomes on my skin. It seems to go back and forth between plywood and faint vanilla. It was alright, but still not the vanilla I’m looking for. Rating: 2.5

First Sniff: White aster, light, clean and like really fresh linen. Initial Wet Application: This is light and clean and fresh. It’s lovely, but it’s going to fade away. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): I’m not sure this is even going to make it through the full dry down time; it’s basically nothing already! Nope, 15 minutes in and there’s really nothing there any more. My Reaction: The first sniff was lovely; freshly laundered white linen snapping in a breeze. But it was just too light to last. Rating: 1

First Sniff: Maraschino cherries. Initial Wet Application: The maraschino cherries are still prominent, but not as in-your-face as first sniff. It’s also changing to a warmer, more nutty scent now, which I really like. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): This was lovely as it dried! Warm and nutty with a delicious almond scent. It stays close to the skin though so I hope it doesn’t fade too much more. My Reaction: I really like this, but it’s faint, even after two swipes with the wand. It’s yummy and nutty with a tiny hint of Moroccan vanilla which just makes this lovely. Rating: 4

First Sniff: Pine resin and amber. Initial Wet Application: Heady musk and amber. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): The rosewood seems to place nice with the sandalwood,which is good, as wood notes tend to go plywood on me. As this completed the dry down, then I was getting the dusty, dry sandalwood. My Reaction: This was more gentle than I would have anticipated. And it was very ‘dry wood’ scent. I had hoped for a darker, more sinister and wild woodsy scent. It’s okay, but not something I’d likely reach for often. Rating: 2

First Sniff: Pleasant, boozy vanilla. It's gentle, not in your face, alcohol which I like. Initial Wet Application: Soft bourbon, it's barely alcoholic at all. There's a smooth mint in the background too. Now there's faint lemon drops, which I hope doesn't stick around. It's alright, as far as lemon goes, but I generally don't care for it overall. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): I think I can smell a tiny bit of white chocolate? Something seems to be making the mint soft and lovely. More chocolate please! My Reaction: I liked this. I enjoyed the vanilla/soft mint/slight lemon. I wish the white chocolate had been stronger though. Not something I’d reach for often, but yummy nonetheless. Rating: 3

First Sniff: White cake and red currants. The white cake reminds me of the vanilla in Little Debbie Zebra Cakes. Initial Wet Application: Light, sugary vanilla and faint currants. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As it began the drydown, this was sugary, fake vanilla and was very light. I’ve already lost the yummy white cake smell. My Reaction: After it dried down completely, there was a very faint fake-vanilla scent, but it was unimpressive. I had high hopes for this to be another delicious foody scent, but alas, it’s basically nothing. Oh well. I’ll give this another try later, but the first try didn’t go well. Rating: 1

First Sniff: Raspberries and a sweet musk. Initial Wet Application: Ginger and something reminiscent of bubbles. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): I think I’m detecting faint peaches! As this completed the drydown though, there was dry wood in this too; that I didn’t really care for. My Reaction: This is lovely; it’s ethereal, sweet and light. It’s a bit too faint on my skin, but I like it nonetheless. I prefer the peach sweetness to the wood though. Rating: 3

First Sniff: Golden amber and honey Initial Wet Application: It becomes dry and dusty. And...there’s the patchouli. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As this dried, it was all musky, dry patchouli. I think I can also detect some oakmoss. It’s earthy and definitely masculine. My Reaction: Dry patchouli, musky, masculine and just not my thing. So, to the swap pile this goes. Rating: 1

First Sniff: Gentle, soft musk and light plastic toy (the last is really faint) Initial Wet Application: I’m thinking the plastic toy scent is vanilla, as per the description. This is incredibly light and feminine but it’s barely detectable within the first few minutes. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As this completed the dry down I was getting light peaches which was nice. Maybe white peach? My Reaction: I wanted to like this one, for the peaches, but it was just too light. Plus, the imp leaked so there wasn’t a lot to keep anyway. Rating: 2

First Sniff: Similar to Jack, but with more cinnamon and cream to it. Initial Wet Application: Biting cinnamon and dry wood. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): As this dried down, the cinnamon got a little more tame. It’s still the sharp cinnamon I associate with Red Hots/Big Red gum and I don’t like it. Once this dried completely it was a bit creamier, but it still had spicy cinnamon as the dominant scent. My Reaction: This is better than when I tried it initially, aging has helped make the cinnamon more enjoyable. I’m getting a softer, milky quality to it too which I like. Maybe aging this even further will bring out the cream even more? The longer I have this on, the creamier it gets and eventually, it does bring to mind melted ice cream with vanilla and a small dash of pumpkin spice! It does seem to fade though which is a shame because aging really turned this one around for me! Rating: 3

First Sniff: Jungle flowers and fresh lime. Initial Wet Application: Jasmine and heady flowers. Dry Down (first 15 minutes): The first sniff was interesting, but the wet application leaves something to be desired. It’s already seems to be fading fast! My Reaction: I thought the scent was fading, but it came back to the flowers. The amber is strong and makes this seem ‘thick’ as a scent. I’m still getting strong jungle flowers too which I don’t particularly care for. Rating: 1

I love this show too! (I've only seen season 1 though!) Vanessa: Zombie or Crossroads Sir Malcom: Tavern of Hell Ethan: Loup Garou or Tombstone Dorian Gray: Dorian, obviously Dr. Frankenstein: Miskatonic University