k00kaburra

In bottle: Mysterious and minty! I ought to say straight up that this was a freebie from the lab, and I've never had the pleasure of sampling true absinthe. This definitely makes me curious. On me: This is very herbal. Everything about the scent, from the mints to the wormwood note, scream green. It's all I can think when I smell this. I'm not getting any of the lemon tho'.

In bottle: It smells fuzzy. It sounds stupid, but trust me - it smells like a little fuzzy apricot. Possibly it's a dried apricot - I don't get much of a fresh vibe from it - but it's definitely fuzzy. On me: Sweet and a bit juicier than in the bottle. This is lovely - I wish I'd gotten more of it. It's a great delicate summer scent.

In bottle: Pretty spring floral; reminds me somewhat of honeysuckle. On me: I remember going to apple orchards as a child, and the scent of the blossoms was always very light and subtle. Intensified as it is in this perfume, I find it cloying and overwhelming.

In bottle: This smells almost peppery! It's bitter, not sweet like the navel oranges that I'm most familiar with. It's very sharp with only a hint of the usual sweet citrus. On me: This sweetens considerably on the skin. The tartness is still there, but it now smells more like a fizzy orange candy. Quite nice when you're looking for something simple to wear!

In bottle: Oh, so peachy! Hints of golden amber mingle with a fresh summer peach. I am quite excited. On me: It is rather like peach candy. It is also very bright and sunny; it reminds me of a summer day, sitting in the backyard and eating a peach with the juice running down my chin. It is a bit romantic, too. Utterly charming.

In bottle: Heady jasmine. Man, that's strong. As I close my eyes the gardenia wafts up, and vanilla beneath it. On me: The gentle tea rose rises now, but it's battling the jasmine, which my skin loves to magnify out of control. The vanilla recedes and lets the flowers battle each other. On another girl it would be a delicate bouquet; on me it sours and becomes screaming jasmine, stomping on the other flowers in a rush to overpower the senses. But I am ever an optimist and I do believe I know someone this will be perfect on.

In bottle: Nutty. Chocolate and fig. It's very rich, like a decadent dessert. Something with whipped cream and nuts and fruit, soaked in rum and drizzled with chocolate on top. On me: An animal jumps out when I dab it on. The dessert disappears immediately, although the chocolate drizzles are still lingering. The combination of juniper and fig seems almost lemon-like to me; at any rate, this fruit strengthens but there always seems an animal in the background; a dog lying on the floor at your feet or a cat perched on the back of your chair. It grows smoky and continues to sharpen.

In bottle: Mmmm, vanilla. Almost like buttercream-frosted cookies sitting next to a tea – the tea isn't dominant but you can definitely smell it nearby. It's such an enticing, sexy scent. Hints of lemon complement the vanilla and contribtue to the buttercream flavor. On me: This is so heavenly! Sweet and subtle, this is the lovely sort of fragrance that is equally beautiful on men and women. A man who wears this is a polished dandy, dressed to the 9's with a perfect manicure and a sparkling smile matched only by his electric wit. A women smelling of this is elegant, walking with perfect posture and holding her head perfectly level. Not a hair is out of place, and as she walks her skirts swish faintly. Sophistication in a bottle.

In bottle: This is complicated and earthy. It's very raw and untamed; like the primordial soup that life began in eons ago. I smell dirt and old trees, like a sequoia, and it's very wet, like everything is quite damp. There's hints of aquatics floating about. On me: It's definitely a stronger pine now, but it's still in a damp, dank forest. But there's a bubbling brook running through it, sparkling with clear pure water. Something about this fragrance makes it perfect for having a 'get back to nature' moment. After it's dried the scent of flowers growing at the base of the trees and around the brook start poking through, bringing a subtle sweetness to the perfume.

In bottle: It's a zingy fragrance that makes me think of desert cactus. (Don't know why - I haven't ever smelled a cactus so I don't know how they smell.) It really does make me think of plants growing in the moonlight, flowers slowly opening in the night. On me: Strong fresh flowers and hints of lemon. It makes me think of summer evenings, lying on my back in a meadow and watching for shooting stars, fireflies buzzing around overhead. Quite a lovely, delicate floral bouquet.

In bottle: Mint and lavender. There's something watery - almost melon-y - mellowing out the sharpness of the mint and lavender. It's vaguely fruity as well...very, very unusual. On me: The lavender and other florals grow stronger, as does the lemon. The mint is still there, but it retains so little of its regular bite that I barely notice it. It's quite green, even when the florals are growing in prominance. Very dual in nature...it switches between floral and lemon-mint every few minutes.

In bottle: Chypre! Well, that woke my nose up a bit. The oakmoss seems especially strong, and a darker, almost animal musk complements it nicely. On me: I don't expect to like this so I'm only putting the tiniest dab on my arm. (Oakmoss and I aren't friends.) It's a man's scent, and on the right man I think it would be quite sexy. On me, it's sharp and bitter. No citrus notes at all.

In bottle: Meep? Vaguely Lemon Pledge-like...blended with Ralph Lauren's Blue. It's quite watery to my nose. On me: Very crisp and watery. The grapefruit's very mellow and soft, quite lovely. Florals are starting to blossom in - it's like they've been picked up by the wind and the scent is blowing by. It's very similar to commercial perfumes, and doesn't stand out enough for me to keep it. It just isn't exciting enough, I suppose.

In bottle: Eucalyptus, mint and...coconut? I swear I'm not crazy! I only get that hint of coconut for the tiniest second, and then it's gone. I can't detect specifically what's in here besides the mint and eucalyptus, but I can feel it as a vague floral. Oooo, this is a cold fragrance. It makes me shiver. On me: It's so chilly. The peppermint dominates, but the lotus follows closely. It's an unusual combination, quite light, and instantly brings images of blades of grass completely covered in frost. For some reason my mind continues to think coconut, even though I don't really smell that note.

In bottle: Sweet and slightly aquatic. Quite juicy - it almost feels a bit fruity, but with herbs keeping it green and subtle. On me: Very sweet - there's almost a berry quality to it. If you can imagine berry bubblegum tempered by an astringent herb that has mint's chill but isn't mint, then you've got this fragrance. I don't find this to be a floral fragrance at all, but it's so beautiful. This is very light, so slathering is a must for this fragrance.

In bottle: Cherries? So confused...oh wait, I remember now. There's cherry wood in this blend. The cherry is quite overpowering. There's some sort of sugary, maplesque note wafting up. Not even a ghostly trace of smoke. On me: Wow, these cherries are strong. After the initial blast of cherries fades away, it becomes quite unusual, but pretty. I think I like it. I'll have to try it a few more times to come to a final decision.

In bottle: Cold pine. Traces of berries hidden under the snow. On me: Smells like Bath & Body Work's Winterberry line, but brighter and fresher. It's very crisp, and despite the snowy notes it isn't a cold fragrance. It feels warm - it may be cold outside, somewhere else, but wherever you are is warm and protected. Wonderful!

In bottle: She's so cold and distant. Snow and a sharp wind whipping through the pine trees. It's very strongly mint and evergreen. On me: I thought this would go odd on me, but it's beautiful. The light fruit notes - grapefruit maybe? Some sort of sweet citrus - lurk in the background. The mint's quite prominent, but there's so much going on beneath it that it's very complex. Brrrr. It's a cold scent, and I like it.

In bottle: Wow! This is exactly what I wanted the Spice range at Bath & Body Works to smell like. I don't know exactly what the components of BBW's blend is, but there was too much of one note and not enough of another and overall, it just smelled off and overbearing. Yuletide is like the same notes used in proper proportions to truly capture the spirit of the holidays. On me: Cinnamon, bright red holly berries, hints of pine needles. It really just makes me think Christmas. It's a perfect room fragrance.

In bottle: Mmmm. This smells exactly like the rich beverage my family enjoys at Christmas. Thick and heavy, rich and creamy - our version never had much alcohol in it 'cuz kids drank it, but this has a boozy note that adds to the decandence. On me: This is delicious. I'm so tempted to just drink this little bottle up. It isn't overpowering but it becomes quite light on the skin. I didn't imagine it'd be so lovely. My grandfather, who loved eggnog and was the one we bought it for, passed away earlier this year, and this brings back many lovely memories of him.

In bottle: Yummy. It's slightly less spicy than the gingerbread I'm accustomed to, but it still has the delicious familiarity of gingerbread men in a row dressed in uniforms of icing. On me: It sharpens and becomes closer to the gingerbread I recall. As it dries, the sugar (brown) disappears and it becomes less like a cookie and more like a spice cabinet. Ginger and cloves and hints of cinnamon. The longer I leave this on, the more plastic-y it becomes. Eew?

In bottle: Ah, plums. I love plums, you know. It is my single most favorite note! This is such a sweet sugared fruit. It's very berry-like and bright. On me: Hints of grapefruit? It's sugary fruity candy, man.

In bottle: Juniper, I think. It has that sharp note in it. Others are mentioning pine, so perhaps it's that, and not juniper. I get the two confused sometimes! If this were a color, it'd be a very dark green. I think there is some lavender as well. On me: Reminds me somewhat of Arkham, which was also discontinued recently. On me it is a sharp and rather disagreeable fragrance. After it dries it calms down a bit, but it's still quite discordant.

In bottle: Strong fruity fragrance. The citrusy yuzu is dominant, but everything is so clean. The tea's astrigent qualities must contribute to that. It makes me think of crisp kimonos and the traditional tea ceremony. On me: Yuzu is so strong in this. It reminds me of walking through the produce section of an Asian market like Ranch 99 or Mitsuwa. The cherry blossom never becomes particularly prominant, but it's quite lovely as it appears during the drydown.

In bottle: Pine. Chocolate? Wood. Almost something orange? Weird, that's nothing like what is described in here. On me: Patchouli seems to come through quite strongly. The bottle-to-skin fragrance is completely different! It's quite intriguing. The strange chocolate note is gone...it is now wood chips scattered on the dirt floor of a log cabin. Rich and earthy, and am I insane because that doesn't much match the notes mentioned at all!