Shollin

First sniff: A very men’s-aftershave-y, cologne-y sort of scent. Big on the lavender. Wearing: Well, hell. This smells as fantastic on me as I expected it to on my guy. I might have to get a big bottle for us to share. There’s no wood listed in this, but that’s what I’m smelling – a warm smooth wood scent in among the cologne.

First sniff: Wow. Just… bloody… wow. If anyone ever told me about a rose-based scent that I wouldn’t be able to identify as rose, I’d have thought they were nuts… but Spellbound is so entirely indescribable that I honestly don’t think I could have told you it was rose if I didn’t know that going in. It’s so very, very dark, but in an enticing way… deep sultry amber with the barest hint of a flower I would have recognized in the light. Wearing: Oh, damn damn damn. It’s gone all powdery, the very second it hit my skin. I was so hoping for Rose Red with amber undertones.

First sniff: Utter innocence. Watery citrus sweetness. Wearing: Fruity fruity! I’m pleased that FF doesn’t smell like citrus bubblegum. It’s nice, but doesn’t last long.

First sniff: Another one that’s somewhat hard to pin down. It’s an unusual citrus that smells almost medicinal, but somehow in a good way – I do like the way the Loralei smells, I just can’t tell you what that is. Legend has it that it’s the song, not the scent, of the Loralei that lures sailors to their doom… having smelled this, I know better. Wearing: Wow. I really like this. Orange blossom seems to work really well on me – I guess neroli is the same way. It’s a warm, unusual scent, feminine without being super-girly.

First sniff: I’m having an awfully hard time getting a handle on this one. It almost smells like nothing in the vial – like the center of the scent isn’t there, but the floral violet powder is sprinkled around the outside of what isn’t and I can only smell it when I stop inhaling. Wearing: Vanilla explosion! It wafts up strongly and then wisps away, and I’m left with florals and the barest under-hint of vanilla. And that vanilla undertone warms slowly as it dries. Just beautiful.

First sniff: This smells like pure dismal green vetiver in the vial. Wearing: Murky-weird green blahness. There's almost enough myrrh to cover the vetiver, but... it's just not. I’m rather sad that Sloth isn’t a scent I can wear, because it’s definitely the deadly sin I indulge in most often (though hopefully that’ll change when I move closer to my man ).

A sinful, licentious scent: self-indulgent and luxurious. Mingled heady civet and red Egyptian musk, thickened with opium. First sniff: The first breath, the beginning of the sniff, is glorious red musk, and there's a glimmer of hope... but the civet comes snarling to the surface just after with its thick black animal smell. Wearing: It's the same way on my skin. The red musk glows happily at me and invites me to sniff closer... "c'mon, lean in, you know how well we get along..." and then the civet punches me in the nose and laughs HA-ha as I try to get the scent/taste out of the back of my throat. And that first breath was so very promising...

First sniff: Floral edged with… lemon? Wearing: Powdery floral. Violets and I just don’t get along.

All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun -- darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon. First sniff: Pure almond extract in the vial. Wearing: Yup, still just smells like almond… but darker, shadowed. This is very interesting, and very pleasant.

First sniff: This is not going to be good on me. It’s all sharp resin. Wearing: Hmm. At first touch, resin and mint? Mint incense? No, it’s iris… how very odd. Iris is always so powdery on me, and this is no exception. The inspiration is lovely, but Dance of Death is not my thing.

First sniff: A faintly sweet, slightly floral scent, backed by dryness… but all very faint and subtle. “Dismal green” had me worried, as it’s a perfect description of what vetiver does on my skin, but there doesn’t seem to be any here. Wearing: I put this on a few hours after washing with Villainess’ Killer Beez soap, and when it hit my skin, it exploded into honeyed flowers. It toned down quickly, as always happens when I get a scent explosion, and the wrist-scent is again soft floral backed with dryness. It’s very pretty – I just hope it doesn’t go powdery as it dries. Several hours later: Oh me of little faith. This stayed thoroughly gorgeous all night.

First sniff: The rakshasa I’m familiar with are weretigers, and there’s a certain feline slyness here, a contrast between cold rose and warm wood. Wearing: When first on my skin, it’s very very rose. At a closer sniff, the wood comes out… they aren’t playing too well together, and that’s probably a skin chemistry thing.

The fiery, volatile scent of cinnamon, thickened by myrrh, honeysuckle, and copal. First sniff: Loud cinnamon and sweet almond. Wearing: Mmm. Delicious sweet almond and slightly less-loud cinnamon. Ooh, this smells edible. I like. Very much.

First sniff: White florals and vetiver – two things that are generally horrid on me. Sweet and swampy. Wearing: The aura of Highwayman is quite a bit nicer than the vial scent – it’s all jasmine and gardenia. On my wrist, though, it’s very vetiver, and there’s an almost alcoholic note. Yup – not for me.

First sniff: Vetiver and cinnamon. Swamp spice? Wearing: It’s a very true cinnamon, but it’s just mired in the green darkness that is vetiver on my skin. Sigh.

First sniff: Lemon and patchouli. Very, very definite lemon and patchouli. Wearing: Lemon and patchouli. And the tiniest tingle of cedar – but for the most part, lemon and patchouli. I like patchouli almost everywhere I smell it, and this is the happy non-Pledgey lemon, so I’m enjoying this scent. Alas, over the course of the evening the cedar just took over, and cedar and I are not the best of friends.

First sniff: Whoa pear. Soaked in liquor. But it’s a soft scent – not in strength, but in feeling. It’s a drapey, flowy evening gown. Wearing: Oh, that’s just wrong. How can a drapey, flowy evening gown turn into pear-flavoured bubblegum when it hits my skin?

First sniff: As nonsensical as it sounds, Blood is a dark, dangerous cherry. Wearing: Hot damn. Why oh why did this one keep getting pushed off my wishlist? Was it the name? Or possibly those crappy reviews on MUA lo these many moons ago? I should have known better. Dragon’s blood loves me. On my skin, the resin takes over, toning down the sweetness of the cherry and giving the whole thing a fantastic kick of slink. Oh yeah, this one is getting worn a lot. The clove is just barely there, adding just enough sweet spice to make things interesting. No one ever asks me what scent I’m wearing, but I’m hoping they do today, just so I can answer.

First sniff: I like the vial-scent quite a bit. Crisp white mint that almost smothers the powdery floral base. Wearing: Minty minty minty aura – the ultra violets take over when I sniff my wrist. (Also, you don’t want to wipe this stuff in your eye by accident… ow.)

First sniff: Fae has a hard-candy texture to it… it’s sparkling fruit, but with a very strong edge. Wearing: Fruity and sparkly! It’s quite a bit sharper, or firmer, or something, than Imp. The aura has a wonderful peachfuzz warmth. I’m on a tea kick at the moment, and I’d love to find a tea that tastes like this.

First sniff: Dry woods and herbs. Magus is a confident scent, but somewhat withdrawn. Wearing: The scent on my wrists is almost all cedar, but the aura is a gorgeous blend of woods and herbs.

Thanks to roesmoker for the swap, and to kellia for the entirely unexpected decant! First sniff: A clean, chill emptiness. Yog-Sothoth reminds me of scenes from sci-fi shows, or documentaries about space travel, where the astronaut in his magnetic boots is standing on the hull of the ship looking up into… nothing. Just cold, distant stars and vast blackness. Stargazing from the ground is fun, and safe, but there’s something about the idea of looking out at the stars from Up There that freaks me out a bit, and Yog-Sothoth captures that perfectly. Wearing: Perfectly crisp, clean and cold, and still more than a little freaky. I'm having the same trouble describing this scent as y'all are... it's so entirely indefinable. I think Northernminx's mention of "crystal" is right on the nose, though - it is vaguely reminiscent of soap or detergent, but there's a definite sharpness to the edges.

This is the captured scent of a cold, moonless night, lost deep within the darkest wood. Haunting and desolate, this scent evokes images of fairy tale tragedy and half-remembered nightmares. Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress. First sniff: So. Very. Pine. The essence of all that is pine. For any Buffy fans who remember Anya’s discussion of the world with nothing but shrimp… this is the world with nothing but pine trees. It’s the resin and the needles and… oh so pine. Wearing: Yeah, I’m getting redundant here, but… pine. The description mentions “haunting,” and that’s a lovely word for this scent… it’s a dark, spooky forest, not actively menacing but still twitch-inspiring. It’s not as cold on me as the more wintry pine scents (Skadi, Mistletoe et. al.), and there’s a very intriguing something-else wrapped around the pure evergreen that tickles my nose.

First sniff: I’m a raving Celtophile and most of the Irish-inspired scents are wonderful on me… I think this is the second one (after Dublin) that won’t be. This is purely an assumption, based on the heavy soapy-floral fragrance I’m getting from the vial. Wearing: Yup... heavy soapy flowers. I guess it’s the sweetpea that’s ruining everything else, because white musk and tonka are wonderful things, and sage doesn’t generally bother me unless it’s all I can smell. Sorry, Aeval... this just isn't gonna work out.

First sniff: Fresh and astringent, but dark, too. Wearing: Chilly. Chilly and green. I’m amazed that the anise hasn’t come out screaming yet… I like the wet scent quite a bit more than I expected to. (See, this is why I want to try everything!) I’m getting the faintest hint of mint, too. As it dries the licorice does show up a little more, but it isn’t overpowering everything like Kabuki did – the chilly greenness is still the primary note, and the only thing I can smell in the scent-aura.