mazaru

Initially, this is all about the grapes. It fast loses the foody/fruity quality it has in the bottle, and goes through a sweet, subdued phase, with notes that my nose isn't trained well enough to identify yet (I'm guessing frankincense...). And then out comes the myrrh to make my nose tickle and turn the whole thing into baby powder.

There is a cake cooking and it is covered with honey and on me. Mmmmmmm This just keeps getting better and better. I don't get any of the dreaded milk notes, and the honey is the perfect blend of sweet and tasty. I'm a real foody lover, and I can't stop sniffing my wrist. This might have to go on the bottle list...

Dark red and smoky, deep, but my skin drinks all the leather within seconds and soon it's pure dragon's blood, smelling a little like shampoo. Eventually it develops some smoky hints, but on me the lack of leather unbalances the scent completely.

The pinnacle of power, poisoned by sin and indulgence - this is our homage to Classical Roman debauch. Rosemary, bay, pine and a touch of lemon. I barely get any of thie pine in this. Initially, it's a high mix of very strong rosemary and a touch of lemon over the top. It dries down to a delicious green bay/rosemary mix that makes me want to rub my wrists with garlic and fry them. It's a fantastically edible herbal smell on me. My gentleman friend also tried this one out, and on him it smells like, er, making love in the woods. It's more woody and less herbal, much darker, with only the barest touch of lemon at the edges to lighten it. Very sexy.

Wet, this is fascinatingly spicy, thick and heady. It goes through a distressingly baby-powderish phase while it's drying, and settles down to a barely-there layer of spice very close to the skin, on me. It's a lovely, warm, comfortable smell, but the throw is so low that I can't see myself wearing it out.

Oooh, Shoggoth is a good lime, you say? I tried Mr Nancy recently, and while it's absolutely fantastic in its own right, it's not quite the ultimate lime I've been wanting. Are there any other limes you'd recommend?

This is glorious. Just wonderful. Wet, it's dark and vetiver-y, woody and a deep crimson colour. The vetiver quickly softens out and the cherry, vanilla and honey take over. The throw on this is fantastic - a sweet hit of honey and cherry that I can smell whenever I move - and close to the skin there's a deep, woody, vanilla and vetiver mix, not too sweet but incredibly sexy. 'Complex' doesn't cover this - it's intricate. The staying power on me is incredible, too - one light application lasts for anything up to 36 hours. All-time favourite.

Wet: Chocolate, yes, but grainy somehow; a little gritty, sugary, more like cocoa than milk chocolate. Dry: My skin seems to drink milk notes and leave a slightly unpleasant aftertaste, which is a real shame; this is dark, biting, bitter chocolate, strong, spicy and untempered, which would be awesome if it wasn't for the slightly sickly aftertaste of the milk.

I found it impossible to pick out individual notes for this one. In the bottle and when wet, it smelled very fresh, wet, and oddly salty - almost aquatic. On the dry down it softened a little, and became a more rounded VERY BRIGHT NEON GREEN smell, a little ozony, a little fruity, very sharp and glistening. Dry, though, it turned into a sort of generic cologne smell – quite manly and nice to smell, but not something I'd wear.

It's dry, warm and sandy, but most of all it's perfumey. To me, it smells exactly like that 'your parents are going out and your mum smells different' scent that I recall from early childhood. Not unpleasant, but, due to associations, not something I'll wear.

Wet: lovely! Dark, earthy, with the orange blossom forming a really delicious top note. Dry: I smell like a very exciting cupboard. I'd really like to know what's in this cupboard – I'm certain it's fascinating and delicious – but, sadly, it's still a cupboard.

I'd never even thought about trying any of the notes in this before, so was interested to see how it panned out. In the imp, it's a lovely thick heady floral, like the cloud of scent in a garden at summer sunset. On me, the flowers stayed balanced, deep and fresh with no one note dominating. My only quibble is a personal one – the scent seems very feminine and not very 'me'. I like it very much, and if I smelled it on anyone else I think I'd be captivated, but I'm not sure if I'll wear it!

Wet: Mostly mimosa with a touch of blackcurrant. Very clean, crisp and high. Dry: Dusty myrrh. This was the first oil that made me realise my skin dislikes myrrh; I was startled by how quickly the blackcurrant left the building and by how strong the dusty smell became. You win again, skin chemistry.

I found it very difficult to pick out the notes in this at all. A lot of the listed notes are things that I love but that disappear on me. Tea, ginger and sometimes leather and tobacco - a lot of the things that help to ground the scent and keep it dark. It's a lovely smell in the imp – intricate, heady, very golden and high – but on me quickly dries to a dull, powdery, slightly floral smell.

In the bottle, this smells fantastic - thick and boozy yet lightened by the mint. On me, though, it very quickly morphs into a smell very reminiscent of the back of my grandma's cupboards. On my boyfriend, though, the sugar really comes through, and he ends up smelling exactly like really high quality white chocolate. Mmmm.

Wet: This smells delicious. The coconut and benzoin are fantastic together, making a really interesting and dark mix, slightly woody, slightly sweet. Dry: On me, this dries to a single note (and very strong) patchouli - the smell of head shops and incense, rather than goblins. I absolutely loved the wet stages, but this one isn't for me.

Wet: Something is burning. Is someone having a bonfire outside? What's burning? Oh, hang on. It's me. Dry: An unpleasant mix of burned wood, melting carrier bags and, for some reason, patchouli. Gave my imp of this to a housemate, who absolutely loves it.

Wet: I'm getting mostly white musk and jasmine, with just a hint of tea and vanilla. Dry: Pretty much entirely white musk, sadly. The tea has evaporated - which I was sort of expecting, as the same thing happened with Dorian. This works really well on my boyfriend, though. Really well.