dawndie

Wet: acrid wood On skin: fragrant sweet wood Half-hour later: more clove and lavender with the sweet woods In conclusion: this was a pleasant combo of fragrant woods and lavender, sweetened slightly by the pom. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, especially since a few of these ingredients can be overwhelming blend-killers on me.

Wet: fizzy citrus On skin: bitter citrus from the grapefruit and lime Half-hour later: mmm, I like this white musk! It's keeping the citrus close by In conclusion: a fizzy sparkling musk. White musk makes me think of the '70s (like Jean Nate!) but this is more wearable and quite refreshing. Groovy!

Wet: jasmine On skin: lots of jasmine and nothing else Half-hour later: a little bit resiny from the benzoin, but still lots of jasmine In conclusion: is it possible to be punched in the face by a flower? Jasmine punches me in the face (and I was light in applying). I'm hearing Lou Reed sing "Vicious / You hit me with a flower." Wish the pomegranate showed up in this one.

Wet: icy cologne On skin: greenery with a bit of smoke Half-hour later: green cologne In conclusion: I also grew up in southern California, and since we were close to the beach and not the foothills we had a lower threat of wildfires. I remember at least a couple of occasions as a kid, though, where fires were close enough that we'd get ash covering our cars and stinging our eyes. This blend is very green -- I expected brown burning things. It's almost clean-smelling, like the smoke is hitting the wall of fog and sea air that is sitting a half-mile onshore.

Wet: rum On skin: is there such a thing as green musk? Green musk with a bit of sweetness Half-hour later: oof, there's the vetiver, sharp astringent and overpowering In conclusion: I liked the beginning, the "green musk" was dark, jungle-like and intriguing. Then the vetiver comes swooping in and claws everything up. Not as strong as in other blends, though. Interesting dark blend, just not my thing.

Wet: incensey red musk On skin: faint Snake Charmer-esque resins Half-hour later: hanging around and getting a bit stronger, but more spicy like Sunbird In conclusion: I was looking forward to this one, the description was so lovely. But I wish this was 100X stronger on me, it seemed to vanish away. Reminds me of Sunbird more than anything else, slightly spicy red musk.

Wet: sharp incense On skin: blast of rosey incense Half-hour later: strong rose incense with a base of sweet dragon's blood (Ron Burgundy says it "stings the nostrils") In conclusion: I love rosey incense blends, like Parlement of Foules and Saint Foutin. This has a nice base with the daemonorops, but do I need another rosey incense blend? Pretty nevertheless.

Wet: light cocoa On skin: sweetened tequila Half-hour later: darker and spicier, spiced maple syrup? In conclusion: this is an interesting one, like Mictecacihuatl (a big favorite from Halloween '08) without the light tobacco. Unfortunately my skin is burning a bit so it cannot be a bottle order, which is a shame.

In bottle: fresh greenery, like A Blade of Grass On skin: watery, clean and green Half-hour later: more dust and a bit of sea air from June Gloom '09 In conclusion: no men's cologne here, just a combination of a couple of "fresh" elements I like. I've been landlocked for years and really miss salty sea air. This one is beautiful, refreshing and simple.

In bottle: sour cherry On skin: slightly sweeter cherry, not as sour Half-hour later: softened nicely with some creamy coconut, but needs to waft -- up close is chemical astringent (amaretto?) In conclusion: I enjoy the boozy Halloween blends released every year -- Spooky, Creepy and now Ghoulish. This one seems to last all day too. Delicious!

In bottle: lemon drops On skin: tart lemon candy Half-hour later: honey has appeared, but this isn't the aggressive O-type honey, this is sweet and lighter In conclusion: this was like candied lemon with a little bit of light honey. I love the sweet honey blends and this one's delicious.

Wet: sweet menthol On skin: lots of smoky wood with a bit of sweetened tobacco Half-hour later: clean foamy soap. Whuck? In conclusion: the soapy ending was totally out of left field, but wasn't soap made out of ashes in ye olden times? So that makes a weird bit of sense. A foreboding description, but not as dark as I feared.

In bottle: strawberry Bubble Yum On skin: sticky sweet syrup Half-hour later: a fizzy, hazy, dusty floral with some spun sugar In conclusion: this blend is perky and refreshing. Great for the August doldrums.

In imp: sour wine On skin: sangria Half-hour later: fruity wine and a bit of spice In conclusion: I wasn't fortunate enough to try Gluhwein, but this is what I imagine it to smell like. Slightly spiced wine and not so boozy. I'd buy a bottle of this if it were available.

In bottle: whiskey On skin: a smack of Dead Man's Hand leather, then a bourbon sour Half-hour later: sweetened leather with a bit of woody dust from the tobacco In conclusion: leather is the strongest note in this one, slightly sweetened with the booze. Pretty faint too, which is probably a good thing. I shouldn't stroll around work smelling like I got a jump on happy hour. A subtle, enjoyable leather blend.

In bottle: sugared booze On skin: lots of sweet tropical flowers with a watery coconut base Half-hour later: less sugar from the flowers, with nicely sweetened coconut behaving in the background In conclusion: I really like that this is more floral than coconut. Coconut is one of those elusive notes that I think I'll love (even suntan oil scents) but what I buy never jibes with what I imagine I want. Like Obatala, which ends up either plastic or sour. This, however, is light and pretty. I need to slather this one though.

In bottle: dark cherry juice On skin: cherries and musk, yum yum Half-hour later: still musky and sweet In conclusion: instead of being a sugar blast with the cherry and booze, this is like oozing jelly deliciousness. The musk keeps it dark and anchored, and no plastic devolution like Suck It. Delicious!

In bottle: sharp musk On skin: still lots of sharp musk, like fresh Black Lace -- o pointy musk, o pointy pointy... Half-hour later: mellowed out quite a bit with some curling smoke In conclusion: if you walked into a gothy club wearing Black Lace, this is what you smell like upon exiting. BL plus the fancy cigarettes and sweet cologne of someone you'd been sitting next to. I hope this becomes smoother and creamier as it ages, just like Black Lace does!

Yay, fun freebie! Before I sprayed, it smelled like black licorice. After spraying it's more minty, but now I'm thinking it's geranium, like in the Stress Relief Elixir. Really refreshing!

In bottle: baby oil On skin: soft, light honey with a zing of citrus Half-hour later: sweet and creamy citrus In conclusion: this has such an innocent vibe, regardless of the label art. I walked by the Lush store at the mall going to/from lunch today (wish I wasn't with my boss, and could shop for a moment!) and this smells like the hazy aura in front of the store, the mishmash aroma of all the clean, natural, fun products. Delicious!

In bottle: dark pungent musk On skin: lots of musk, mrowr! Half-hour later: mellowed with some dusty champaca and myrrh In conclusion: all the ingredients sounded great, except I was a bit squeamish of the ambergris and star anise. This ends up a sultry combo of dusky musk, like a barely lightened version of Smut.

Wet: peppy minty cocoa On skin: lots of chocolate and mint, creamy melted ice cream Half-hour later: the creamy sweetness has mellowed, but the combo of chocolate and cedar is smelling funky In conclusion: I liked the beginning, but the end result was too discordant. I think it's the cedar, it just won't play nice on my skin.

In bottle: sweetened leather On skin: classic Dead Man's Hand leather with a citrussy *zing* Half-hour later: delicious slightly-sweet leather, something I want to gnaw on In conclusion: I ordered hoping this leather wasn't too gentrified, like the slick leather in DeSade. This is the rustic leather note that I love and is for some reason so calming and comfortable, plus a bit of sweetness from the olive oil and barely any wood to be found. Love it!

In bottle: medicinal antiseptic On skin: dusty wood, like a stable Half-hour later: no change, still lots of dust and wood In conclusion: this was really feral on me, woof! I was hoping for something mellower. I'm also all "where's the cognac?" like when I get home from work and demand vodka. We'll see if this one calms down from its testosterone rampage eventually.

In bottle: dark cocoa with booze On skin: flash of acetone, then a slightly bitter chocolate cordial Half-hour later: still a fancy cordial, sweet and oozing In conclusion: no overt booze, so people shouldn't be wondering if I've been drinking at work. This is a luscious candy scent, but not so sweet that it gives me a headache.