Lamia

Lemon and soft roses.

I almost didn't test this one, because I smelled it and went ARGH CINNAMON BET IT'S GOT CARDAMOM RAWR WELTS RAWR! Fortunately I checked the ingredient list This is hot delicious cinnamon, but not IN YOUR FACE. It's smooth and delicious and sexy, with the sweet powder of successful amber. Sadly, it's a quick fade, but while it lasts it's definately in the top 2 of the Poe scents.

The scent of Death’s seaside throne: luminous aquatic notes threaded through by creeping ivies, white woods, waving kelp and bruised violets. Fresh, this smelled like an aquatic men's cologne. Husband obediently sniffed my wrist and shook his head, "It's too feminine to be a man's cologne". I tried to tell him that it was the aquatic note but after about half an hour of drydown, this has become quite feminine. There is still a sharp "water" element, but the soft floral has risen enough to become a really charming scent. It is very much not my style, but it's a lovely lovely scent.

Delectable dark fruit. This is delicious. I regret deeply that it's such a quick fade.

Blargh soap. Ended up washing it off and replacing with something else. Blargh say I.

This is Roderick Usher: a faded genteel light musk and fougere, heightened by hectic white mint, gleaming mandarin, ethereal tea leaf and gritty blackcurrant brushed by the scent of the tarn that surrounds the House, and the gloom and decay of the walls that hold him. In bottle - men's cologne with a nip Wet on skin - candy Drydown - licorice Dry - beauty product Trade bag

OH my word, this is lovely. Smoky and dark and delectable. It's a quick fade, regretfully, but while it lasts, it's incredible!

There's a queer "plastic-y"ness to this - not the BandAids of The Organ Grinder, but more like the plastic edging of some sort of nitrous facemask you get at the dentist, without the nitrous. It's that dratted jasmine that takes over afterwards. Pity - everything else in this smells pleasant. Trade bag. ETA - FYI, it smells REALLY GOOD when layered with Badger

This started beautifully. In the bottle, strong patchouli (YAY)! On skin, it became a sultry scent, musky and delicious. There was a hint of "soapy" underneath that, but it went away, and went back to being dark and yummy musky. Unfortunately, after about 2 hours, it does turn soapy again. But those first two hours? PHEW NICE!

In the bottle, this smelled quite nice. Fresh on skin, it smelled like eucalyptus/lavender. Drydown turned to, er, oregano and warm homemade tomato sauce Eventually, it turned to an actual soft floral, but then it faded almost instantly once it became nice. Trade bag. Sheesh, my chemistry, I tell ya...

In the bottle: Gouda cheese Fresh on skin: Wintergreen Certs Drydown: chalky cheap stale candy Fully dried: I guess I can snell apples in there, but it's not a happy apple scent. Guh. Erm, yeah. Trade bag.

Yep. Soap. Trade bag.

Pralines, yes. This was extremely foody, a brown sugar molasses cake. There was a brief behind-the-eyeballs stab of some sort of berry, but that lasted mere seconds. A brown sugar Yankee Candle. Trade bag.

When I opened the imp I almost didn't test this - I actually recoiled, as this was the worst sort of sweet girly awful perfume I could imagine. However, I know how cunning Beth is and applied it anyway. The vile blargh sweet ew went away quickly, and within a few minutes this had turned into a very lovely soft feminine scent. A bit on the powdery side, but really quite nice. Quick fade. And so to the trade bag.

Gentle, pleasant. Floral, sandalwood, quick fade.

The day this arrived in my hands, it was extremely hot out, and the postman had actually forgotten it in his vehicle and had to run back out and in to hand it to me. I opened the envelope immediately (duh!) and the bottle was almost hot to the touch. Oh crap, I thought to myself, My Berry Moon is cooked! I opened the bottle anyway and sniffed, and immediately IMed the woman who'd sold me her bottle "Having baked in a hot USPS van for a few hours, this smells like .. like ... berries and tortillas!?" I gave it almost 2 weeks to calm down, and for my chemistry and backlog to ease up. Fresh, it's berries, but not berries in a pie, or jam, or from the freezer. This is a fully-laden bush in the hot sun, the ground is dry and dusty, and there is a strong scent of warm green leaves and branches weaving in and out of these berries. Drydown, this gets fuller and juicier. It does dry back to wilting branches, but oh my those berries, and the honey, and the fig ...!

Raspy floral with nail polish remover. The juniper does eventually fade, but the jasmine lingers and makes faces at passers-by, throwing rocks at drivers. Trade bag.

Damp warm dirt with a hyacinth-esque floral. A more-pleasant Zombi, a less-aggressive Ol' Roswell Cemetery. Quick fade.

Grandmotherish, but also classy and bright. It pulses, alternately fading unexpectedly and then surging back as powerfully as when first applied. Not me, but a clear fine scent.

Man, my skin chemistry must be completely off. There is cocoa in this?? Roses and a freshly-sharpened #2 pencil. Husband laughed at my description, took a sniff of my wrist, and then admitted that my descriptoon "was quite apt. Yep, roses and woodpulp". Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the chicken.

My husband actually volunteered that I smelled like cherry pie, and that he liked it (!) The roses and berries combine deliciously with the patchouli to make a dusty fruity bliss.

A deceptively sweet orchid vanille with a faint trace of stephanotis. Happy vanilla with a pleasant floral. Trade bag.

Pumpkin with sandalwood and orris. Fantastic pumkpin bread. Turns creamy, then settles happily into dusty-pumpkin that surrounds me. Nom.

Fresh, minty. Huh? Yep, minty and cologne. Dries down fast and turns to leather, mint disappears. mmm I like leather. Wait, starting to turn to body. Back to damp leather, back to sour body. Wait, there is some fruit thrown in there. Turns dusty and sharper, the sweat and skin smells are now gone. Tobacco and cumin underneath. Quite a ride, fascinating.

I have no idea what is in here. I know that it reminds me of another scent, and that I really wanted to like it. In the bottle and on skin, it smelled divine, thick and round. It is quite likely that I am projecting here. Or it was complete coincidence. But when I applied it, I grew disctinctly uncomfortable, and when I went t work on a project which has been giving me a lot of joy recently, I was completely insecure about it and yammering at my long-suffering husband to reassure me that it was fine. I had to wash it off, and felt better. Yay for being able to test this incredible blend, but boo for it being mean to me.