empi girl

I'm glad other people detected a dirt/dust note, since I thought I was going crazy for a moment, and trying to think what else could have caused that scent! Anyway, it is, in the bottle, exactly the same buttery, sugary, salty sweetness that everyone else describes. On me, it stays like this for about 15 minutes and then develops a distinct "dirt-like" note (with the Midway sweetness underlying it). After another 20 minutes or so, the dirt and the sweetness shift places, and it becomes a soft, sweet scent, with just a hint of earth in the background. If the dirt had remained prominent, I wouldn't have liked it, but the earth as a grounding note is interesting, and likeable. I really like this (it smells SO good in the bottle), but my husband does not. For him, it also reminds him of the Midway, but a Midway complete with sultry heat, spinning rides, and roiling stomach. Wonderfully evocative scent though, and he certainly agreed on that! So I'm keeping a few imps worth and swap/sell the rest.

Whoever said this smells like strawberry incense, I agree. It smells like strawberry, with the carnation and poppy adding a fuzzy, spicy, incense quality to it. Interesting, but not something I'd wear often.

A freebie in my last order, which I wouldn't have tried otherwise thanks to the presence of jasmine. But to be honest, I was curious about it because of the almond. Anyway, in the imp it smells like perfumy almonds Wet on the almond is strong with a floral underpinning. The almond is rich, smooth and I like it a lot. The almond fades rapidly though, and the jasmine comes to the fore (I knew it would!). Unfortunately for me, from this point on it becomes jasmine dominated "perfumy" scent, and reminds me quite a bit of Bastet (which I also can't wear). It smells sophisticated, rich, beautiful in it's own way, but not one for me. Off to the swapping block it goes!

In the imp, I smell cinnamon and patchouli, but as soon as it hits the skin, I swear I get whiffs of red musk too (my favorite note!). It is strong on the patchouli at first, but then after 15 minutes softens to a lovely spicy-sweet, cinnamon red musk scent. the patchouli is there too, lending a slight woodiness to the scent. I don't see red musk as an ingredient, but it sure smells like it's here. My husband, who wears Fenris, also smells the red musk (and he doesn't always do well with identifying notes!). At any rate, I really like this blend a lot.

Unfortunately, I do not seem to have had the experience that lots of reviewers had... In the imp: banana and wet leaves. Nice. On: strong initial hit of banana that overwhelms everything else for a few moments, and then softens. It is still there, still recognizeable, but not dominating. My reaction to this on is: yuk. This does not play well on me, and after much thought and sniffing, the closest approximation I can make is that it smells like banana-anise dental anaesthetic. Sad but true. I'm glad others like this and have better experiences, but I'll be swapping it.

On, wet, it smelled very chocolatey-deep dark cocoa powder, with a hint of incense behind it. Then it dries, the cocoa dissappears, and the patchouli and the incense take over. This stage lasts for a few hours, and then the patchouli softens, soft flowers do emerge slightly, and a hint of cocoa returns. It is also super light by this point, but very nice. Overall, I wish the cocoa would last longer, the patchouli were less strong, and the flowers a little earlier. So for me, it isn't a keeper, but I'm sure others will love it!

Just got to try this, and was hoping I'd get cinnamon off of it, but alas, I got herbs, lemon (but not bright and clean and juicy lemon), and perhaps some kind of sharp floral in the background. No cinnamon. Kind of astringent. Not a keeper for me.

In the imp and on when wet, there is a scent of soft rose (not in your face, not astringent, but very mellow) coupled with sandalwood, perhaps a hint of nutmeg and the idea of dry heat. This is really intriguing and unusual, but it does change as it dries. It then becomes more "perfumey" for lack of a better word. Rose is still present, but the other ingredients (except the mandarin, which I don't detect at all) rise up and join the rose to create a soft, sweet, slightly powdery blend which has good staying power, is pretty in it's own way, but for some reason really reminds me of high-quality store-bought perfume that an older woman (say, 60-70) would wear. The plus side is that I have discovered that I can actually wear some roses. But I'm still going to put it on the swap shelf.

Happy to help!

I can't believe I forgot to mention the Lion, when I ordered it just for Fall!

Also, CCnow always waits on charging (I don't know why). It might be that they wait until the lab has the order and is working on it until they charge? I do know that typically I place my order, and it shows up on my statement as being charged 1-2 weeks after it was made. So no worries, the system is confusing, but I'm sure all is well.

I think Queen of Clubs is going to be an Autumnal scent for me, along with Jack and Tintagel. And Ulalume for those wet, grey, damp days. I can't speak about Vinland/La Bella, because my La Bella imp hasn't arrived yet. But about Dublin/Leanan Sidhe: I think Leanan Sidhe is a softer, sweeter, lighter, very feminine form of Dublin. I think it is perfect for spring & summer, but do not think of it for autumn at all. I do think Dublin would be good for Autumn/Winter, as it is a nice green scent, with hints of sweetness and ozone. I never catch the white roses myself, but mainly smell the alder and the forest.

Thought this smelled beautiful in the imp, a lovely wet and sweet floral. Very feminine. On, wet: the glorious sweet wetness stayed for a brief time, like aricher lily-of-the-valley scent. And then it dries: I thought maybe carnation would come on the dry down, and I really like carnation. However, on me it never really manifests itself. Instead the scent morphs from deliciously sweet floral to nose-itchy astringent scent. So I'm swapping this away. The first stage is lovely though, and I wish it had lasted on me.

In imp and on: chocolate. Hershey's chocolate kisses, in fact. I don't detect anything else, and it stays remarkeably true. I prefer Vice though, with the orange blossom added in and softening the chocolate note. I got this as a freebie, and was happy to have tried it, but it isn't my thing. I've swapped it away already.

Got this in my last order, and discovered it is unreleased. Which immediately made me feel like I was special... Anyway... In the imp: a very strong almond note, with underlying hints of cherry. On, wet: Almond on top, with cherry and orange in equal amounts. Very nice. No spice on me yet. 10 minutes later: Almond dissapears. Cherry dissapears. Orange intensifies, and with it, clove. I don't smell cinnamon. This is really really nice, the orange is very strong, the clove adds heat. 20 minutes later: The orange dies down a bit, and the almond reappears. From this point on, it is balanced between orange, clove and almond, with none dominating. This is really nice. It definitly does seem like a cool weather scent, since it seems warming and comforting at the same time. I could actually see this as a room scent too. Just what you need when winter blues hit.

Chaos Theory CDLXIX (469) I've been putting off reviewing this because I couldn't figure out any of the ingredients, and what kind of review would it be to say, "it just smells good!" But having worn it a few times now, I think I can at least describe it... It smells like dark musk, with sugary cotton candy and berries mixed in. In other words, it's kind of like the perfume equivalent of cotton candy: the fluffy yet strong texture of the cotton candy is the musk, with the sweet scent of the cotton candy (maybe raspberry/blackberry cotton candy?) dominating. And it has pretty good staying power. I wore it through a workout, and had traces of scent hours later. I only bought one bottle, and this one seems like a keeper.

Got a freebie of this in my last order, and was very excited, as I've been wanting to try this one! In vial and on it stays remarkably true. It smells like sweet lemon gingersnaps, which I wasn't expecting (was thinking it would be sugared vanilla tea), but which is fantastic! I don't really notice tea, or white musk (which tends to go bad on me). It has really good staying power, and is a beautiful scent. A definite big bottle purchase, as I could see this being good in all seasons-light and clean, but with a little heat from the gingersnaps.

Yummm... I got to try the Lion at the Minnesota meet up, and loved it. I had already ordered an imp, but now will have to get the bottle. I have been looking for a cinnamon scent that worked for me (and tried lots...), and in the Lion, I have found it, when I didn't even think it would be there. It is a lovely muted cinnamon note, balanced with a soft sweetness that must be the amber. There may be a hint of clove on the end, but it is very muted. It's just perfect-not cinnamon red-hots, doesn't turn the skin red, smells wonderful. And yes, there is a hint of grass in it, which I also love. Come Fall, I'll be reaching for this!

I was very excited for the Q of C, since it has some of my favorite notes in it. And it hasn't dissapointed. It is a beautiful scent, at first a strong hit of rich earth, which changes after maybe 10 minutes into a fruity, sweet, slightly spicy yumminess. It reminds me of Blood Countess, but with red fruit instead of purple, or of Bewitched, but clearer, without the musk, and more lush. It's sweet but not cloying; very warm and inviting. It's very nice, I like it a lot!

Something about Tintagel says autumn to me. I love it, and want to wear it now, but it is too rich and warm for hot summer days. But I think it would go perfectly with cool, crisp autumn, grey skies, leaves turning.

I can smell the same musk that was in Scherezade in Morocco. I like it in Morocco better, it balances really nicely with the spices. The spices are blended together so well they are hard to distinguish individually. I don't really notice the carnation much. As it wears, the musk becomes stronger, and the spices dissipate. One hour in, I'm left with a faintly earthlike smell-sweet dirt, if that makes sense! I'm thinking it is the combination of the musk and the carnation. The spices are all gone by now. No sandalwood at all. I have to say, the sweet dirt is interesting (I like earthy scents). I'm going to try it again another day and not be hasty on swapping this one!

An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms. In imp, and wet: pale hothouse flowers, a green scent, not sweet. I don't like it at this point. 15 minutes in: flowers morph and develop a peppery scent/feel (NOT carnation like). Still not liking it. 25 minutes - 4 hours later: pepper quickly changes into clove, and the scent remains a very sweet clove. Oh, this is better.... Staying power: lasted through 3 hours of gardening and humidity. I washed up, and can actually still smell traces. Final analysis: Although I don't like the opening 25 mintues, it dried down into a really lovely scent (imho, sort of the sweetness of clove cigarettes). I haven't decided if I'll need more than the imp, however.

I've been looking for a rose that I like, and this is it! Other roses have given me instant migraines, been too sharp, or too heavy, or become soap. This is just beautiful, rich rose. The leather lends a nice base, but it is the rose that dominates. Not the headachy rose, no soap and not too sharp. I really like this. The only thing is, I don't know if it likes me yet...I wore it and got a small ache in my sinuses. Hopefully unrelated, as it is a beautiful scent!

The greatest of all Aztec cities, and capital of their empire. Amber, hyssop, coriander, epazote, Mexican sage, prickly pear and Mexican tulip poppy. Very sweet, warm and spicy, with all the notes melded together, so I can't identify anything distinct. Not green, not herbal, a floral oriental fragrance I think. As it dries, it bears (on me) a strong similarity to BCBG Sexy. Lasts a good couple hours.

Very pretty, complex perfume with all the notes blending together. Sophisticated and a little "perfumy" for me, which I think is the jasmine. It is the only note I can really detect, and as I don't like it, I will be swapping this. Too bad, because I love the city of Venice, and wanted to love the perfume!