nekogrrl

CCXXV

In bottle: GRAPE. Or could be the blood note; this reminds me both of The Blood Garden and Head of Holofernes and Candy Phoenix.

Wet on skin: FIZZY GRAPE. Seriously. There is no Penitence here.

Dry on skin: Still /very/ grape. No myrrh or frankincense. The throw is (of course, always happens with blends I don't like) very strong.

Verdict: So going to the swap pile.

CXV

In imp: O with florals.

Wet on skin: EW. The honey in O and the florals are mixing and it is NOT PRETTY (on me). Reminds me of the sniff I took of Flower Moon. This is what it likely would have smelled like on my skin.

Dry on skin: Didn't get there, I had to wash it off.

Verdict: To swaps it goes!

CDI

In bottle: A heavy on the vanilla Snake Oil.

Wet on skin: There's something sweet here other than the Snake Oil, but I have no clue as to what it is. This is Snake Oil enhanced. I'm not getting much of anything different from normal Snake Oil, and that's throwing me off a bit.

Dry on skin: I'm still getting only Snake Oil. (Not that I'm really complaining too much..)

Verdict: Keeping it, for sure, but kinda headscratchy over the apparent lack of extra additions.

CCCXII

In bottle: tea with something green beneath it.

Wet on skin: light musky tea with something green beneath it.

Dry on skin: A bit stronger on the musk, with that lovely green note hanging around still.

I have a feeling this will be quite lovely down the road, once the Dorian has had a chance to age a bit. (Not that I'm not loving it right now..) Keeper!

Wet on skin: the amber is really baby-powdery, and nearly takes over. However, underneath is this lovely orangey glow. (Me to the hubby: But it smells like the sun!)

Dry on skin: The powderiness of the amber has died down, and the frangipani and probably the almond are more prominent, but it's not overwhelming.

Final thoughts: This is a beautiful scent to wear during late spring/early summer, when it's warm but not fully bleah! with the humidity, or to remind yourself there is warmth during winter.

Wet on skin: To me, it was a very white floral (which does not suit me so well). To the hubby, it was 'halfway to bug spray'.

Dry on skin: Mellowed out to a nice light floral, with an undertone of the moss. The cucumber was probably there as well, but it wasn't an OMG cuke! *gag* type of thing.

Overall impression: Very nice, and something I'd wear again thanks to the underlying greenery.

I will have to say 'meh' to this. I was hoping for a more ambery scent, but this is all spiced orange and tangerine. Wet, it smells like a fizzy orange powder, and.. nearly 7 hours later, it still smells the same. At least it has good lasting power, but not a lot of throw.

ADDED May 3:

Wet on skin: FIZZY TANG. Or a fizzy Sweet 'n Tart. It's definitely candy-like, and citrus, and.. fizzy. Reminds me of Candy Phoenix in the fizzyness department.

Dry on skin: No change. Ugh. I have no idea what's doing this in this blend, but it's not working for me.

Wet in bottle: sweet earth.

Wet on skin: lovely sweet earth, with a faint floral note.

Drydown: The floral is a touch stronger, mixing more with the earth notes.

Dry: I feel like I'm in a freshly turned rose bower, but the rose is not as heady, there are other notes keeping it from going HELLO ROSE. It's such a lovely scent.

I'm so glad I hunted down a bottle!

Wet on skin: sake-soaked apricot wood.

Drydown: the apricot comes out more.

Dry: apricot, with a faint hint of the sake. No woods.

Verdict: This is a very clean and fruity scent. I think I'll keep the decant, but won't get a full bottle.

Wet on skin: Pink pepper ahoy!

Drydown: Pink pepper still.

Dry on skin: Pink pepper and I think I'm picking out some of the benzoin.

15 minutes later: Still very pink pepper, and I /might/ be getting some berry goodness.

Verdict: While I like the scent of pink pepper, something this strong isn't much fun.

Wet on skin: Honeyed jasmine.

Drydown: The jasmine fades a bit, the honey is staying strong. The.. rose, I think, is starting to come out.

Dry: It's a nice, sweet floral scent. There's something faintly sharp in the undertone that I don't know what it is, but it adds to the scent rather than distracting from it.

Verdict: It's a nice floral. Not exactly my cup of tea, though.

Wet on skin: Rose! Holy crap rose!

Dry on skin: Oh holy mess, the frankincense and myrrh are having a hell-for-leather fight with the rose. This is not a good scent. It's making my eyes water!!

Verdict: One of the previous reviewers mentioned she could see her grandmother wearing this. Yeah, this is smelly old lady perfume. Off to swaps it goes!

Wet on skin: Very strong dark chocolate with a hint of cherry.

Drydown: The chocolate tones down and blends more with the cherry. It's getting decent throw.

Dry on skin: This is a very nice chocolate cherry scent. Still decent throw.

Verdict: Probably won't get this as a bottle, as I don't wear chocolate scents very often, but will be holding on to the imp.

Wet on skin: Vanilla musk.

Dry on skin: Faintly musky, with a warmth I'm associating with the moss. I get no cherry blossom out of this, sadly.

Verdict: It's a lovely soft scent, but it's just not 'me'.

Wet on skin: smells very cologne-y and masculine. I can't specifically point to any notes which would be doing this, but it makes me want to try this on the hubby.

Dry on skin: morphs into a softer scent, then almost immediately disappears on me. Sad.

Verdict: I was hoping for something more musky/herbal.

Wet on skin: Dark plum, with a bare hint of.. fecal matter.

Drydown: the fecal matter smell is gone very quickly, which is a good thing!

Dry on skin: Plummy sandalwood.

Verdict: Eeeeh. It's a nice scent, but doesn't wow! me.

Wet on skin: Hello tuberose! It's pretty strong..

Drydown: Tuberose mixing with the tea and probably the yuzu.

Dry on skin: Tuberose and tea with a hint of citrus.

Verdict: This is a very fresh and clean scent. Very nice for spring.

Wet on skin: Wow, what am I smelling? This is such an.. unexpected scent. I think it's the palm date and vanilla. If it stayed like this, I wouldn't be unhappy.

Dry on skin: The vanilla is still prominent, but the ginger and oakmoss are beginning to warm up the scent, and this is becoming just.. YUM.

Verdict: Oh hell yes I'm getting a bottle!

Sniffed in imp: the lily of the valley and plumeria smacked me in the nose. Florals of this magnitude do not work on me, so I'm not even trying this.

This is certainly a true-to-description perfume.

Wet on skin: Very strong white chocolate and strawberries. Both scents are true and do not smell plasticy or fake.

Dry on skin: no change.

Hour later: the scent has faded, and the strawberry note has gone a little plasticy.

Verdict: Not going to get a bottle. It's too sweet, I just wanted to try it.

Mmmmmm...

Wet on skin: Plummy goodness.

Dry on skin: The plum fades somewhat, and the vanilla sandalwood comes more to the fore. Every now and then I get whiffs of rice, but it doesn't really stand out.

Verdict: This is a lovely soft scent, something I'd wear for an elegant night out.

I think I love this scent.

Wet on skin: Sharply spicy, with a hint of sweetness.

Drydown: Pine shavings.

Dry on skin: The teak is coming through, with a touch of sandalwood and musk. This is just lovely.

Verdict: Definitely bottleworthy. I'm hoping the pine shavings will age out - if not, it's blessedly a short phase.

In imp: sweet citrus

Wet on skin: very peachy. Very strong peach.

Drydown: the florals are starting to come out. I can definitely smell the tuberose. The peach is starting to tone down and mix better.

Dry on skin: The peach floral is still there, very close to the skin. I get no lemon peel, no blood orange, no carnation (which is what I was hoping for, to spice up the sweetness).

Verdict: It's nice, but not what I was looking for. Eisheth Zenunim will still be adequate for my peachy needs.

This is such an odd scent on me.

Wet on skin: I get oranges and.. something really clean-smelling.

Dry on skin: The musk has come out more, and maybe the black currant. I really don't know exactly what I'm smelling. It's got this strange.. smoky-clean smell to it.

Verdict: This one DEFINITELY needs a second opinion.

This scent is so not what I expected.

Wet on skin: Very musky, with hints of honey and beeswax.

Dry on skin: Still musky, but with more beeswax and vanilla flower.

Verdict: I'm not sure if I like this on me. Will have to get a second opinion.