Aredhel

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in one word: Cinnamony In the imp: Sweet, very sexy cinnamon! On skin, wet: If I didn't need this wrist, I would be devouring it by now. This is absolutely gorgeous. Cinnamon is the dominant note, of course, but the honeysuckle sweetens it just a bit more. Something is keeping it just this side of foody, which is great. On skin, dry: If I sniff my wrist any harder, I'll sniff off skin. Throw/strength: This has a strong throw, but only lasts about three hours. Conclusion: A creamy, sweet cinnamom? Yes, this is love.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Musky wood. In the imp/bottle: Musky red sandalwood. On skin, wet: Musky! The amber and musk blend together wonderfully, and the sandalwood as a sort of earthy quality to it. On skin, dry: This dries down into a warm, masculine amber scent. After thirty minutes or so, it's all sandalwood on me. Strong, heavy sandalwood. Conclusion: Nice, but very masculine to me. I'd have no problems wearing it despite that, but the sandalwood is way too strong for me.

This is a sharp, biting ginger in the imp/decant. On my skin, it smells almost like a cinnamon/clove mixture. As for it's real purpose... I'm not sure if this was a coincedence, but since first trying it on my skin the other day, I've been finding money everywhere. At work, in my apartment, in my car -- everywhere. Nothing big, mostly coins and $1, but money all the same.

(Reviewing this as a perfume, as I've not used it for other purposes so far) Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Fruity! In the imp/bottle: Cloying, sickly fruit -- tropical fruit, to be precise. On skin, wet: Spiced, over-ripe, decaying tropical fruit. On skin, dry: As someone mentioned, this reminds me of an over-ripe banana. It reminds me of an entire bowl of over-ripe fruit, actually, but most specifically banana. Conclusion: Definitely not for me. This is cloying and syrupy and almost stomach-turning for me. Oh well.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Berry tea! In the imp: Sage, dark musk, green tea and a very dry berry. On skin, wet: Faint, crisp tea and a light berry. On skin, dry: Interesting. The berry is deeper, the tea sharper. The tea tempers the berry very well, and keeps this from smelling like candy, or berry gum. Conclusion: My only issue with this is that it has very little throw. Eventually, I may try mixing this with some unscented lotion, but it's not a priority.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rose soap. In the imp/bottle: This actually smells very fiery! Sharp, cold rose, dragon's blood and something minty. On skin, wet: Rose! Oy, rose. Seems like a few different types (or perhaps it's the dragon's blood turning floral), but rose all the same. On skin, dry: Now I'm getting what others have described as soapy. This really does smell like rose-scented soap. Conclusion: Rose soap? Not for me. It's nice enough in the imp, but once it touches my skin, it's soap -- and I don't like smelling soapy.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Disappointing! In the imp: Deep, rich dragon's blood resin and -- surprise! -- musk! On skin, wet: The dragon's blood dies off *instantly*, leaving a mixture of light, unimpressive musk. On skin, dry: This is odd. Dragon's blood usually loves my skin, but this... doesn't. It's a sickly, barely-there skin musk within twenty minutes. Conclusion: Consider me heart-broken! I love musk, and I love dragon's blood resin, so I thought I'd love this. Definitely not. It's not *bad*, but just very run-of-the-mill, and plain.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Minty rose. In the imp/bottle: Rose! At first, nothing but rose. Beneath that, something minty. On skin, wet: A very strong minty rose. On skin, dry: Same as wet. Strong rose and bitter mint. I can't figure out what kind of mint, though. Something not very pleasant, at any rate. Conclusion: Minty rose. I love mint, but don't care for rose, so I'm not terribly surprised that this turned out badly for me.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Honey. In the imp/bottle: Bitter almond and honey? On skin, wet: This is definitely almond (or, at least, almond to me) and a sweet honey. On skin, dry: After ten minutes, all honey. Thick, cloying, syrupy honey. After an hour, there's also something vaguely floral, but by then it's so faint I can't discern what *sort* of floral. Conclusion: This isn't me. Had the honey not been so overpowering, and that floral popped up sooner, this might have been great.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Skin So Soft. In the imp/bottle: Sweet peach and heavy amber. On skin, wet: Amber and sandalwood, and just the barest hint of peach. On skin, dry: Very round, warm and not at all sweet. There's something here, though, unsettling. I think it's the sandalwood. It reminds me of... ugh, I can't put my finger on it. Conclusion: It took me a few hours, but I've figured out what it turns into on my skin: Avon's Skin So Soft. Problem is, I don't care at all for Skin So Soft, so this won't be sticking around.

If you're looking for something calming, I'd recommend Somnus. It didn't put me to sleep, but it's very, very relaxing. Tarot: Strength is also very calming, to me.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a word or two: Peach In the imp/bottle: Peach wine and an almost heady musk. On skin, wet: This is a gorgeous peach scent. Very juicy and sweet. The amber and musk keep it from being *too* sweet. On skin, dry: This reminds me of peach candy, or a quality peach candle. Just as I'm about to fall in love with it, it's gone. If I attach my nose to my wrist I get a whiff, but that's no good. Conclusion: This would be great for scenting a room, or a lotion, or spray, but it just doesn't last on my skin.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Burnt wax. In the imp/bottle: Thick patchouli and sugary honey. The fig and clove are there as well, but very bitter. Of course, the ylang ylang rears its head, in a sickly sweet way. On skin, wet: Ylang ylang. This reeks of cheap candles, or the plastic flowers aisle in a craft shop. On skin, dry: The honey, patchouli, fig and clove don't play well together, but they might have turned out better, without the ylang ylang. Ylang Ylang almost always ruins scents for me, because it turns into that cheap candle smell. Bitter, burnt wax. Conclusion: Burnt wax? What weird skin.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a word or two: Sandalwood. In the imp/bottle: Spicy, rich cedar atop a thick sandalwood. On skin, wet: There's something here I've never come across, beneath the sandalwood and cedar. It's something spicy, but definitely a note of its own. The lotus, maybe? It's very tricky, but quite pleasant. On skin, dry: I actually really like this one. It stays very warm and spicy, and, if it had vanilla, would probably be what I thought Snake Oil would smell like. Conclusion: This would be great for incense, or scenting little things. I probably wouldn't scent myself or a room with it, as sandalwood after a while gives me a headache, but in small doses, I like this quite a bit.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Smoky pine. In the imp/bottle: This is very bitter, almost like pine. Sort of smoky, too, but just barely. On skin, wet: Bitter, sour orange peels, something darkly floral, and that pine-like note. On skin, dry: There's a smoky/musky note here, but hidden beneath the foresty notes. After a while, the dark floral picks up, but everything -- bitter forest and all -- fades within an hour. Conclusion: This isn't a bad scent, actually, but it *is* a bit bitter.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Lime! In the imp: Heavy, thick, musky lime. On skin, wet: This smells of some sort of lime punch, or lime candy. Very sweet, but very lime. On skin, dry: The only time I get anything but lime is in the imp, and even then, it's just the faintest whiff of musk. After that, it's all lime. Conclusion: Certainly not for me. I'm not a lime fan, but I'd hoped the musk and lilac would balance it out. Go dice.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Stinky cheese! In the imp: Heavy red patchouli and thick, almost syrupy frankincense. On skin, wet: Thick patchouli. There's also something almost musky to this. Beneath all of that, there's something tart, bitter and sharp. I can't place it, but I remember it well from Siren. It smells of bad cheese. On skin, dry: After about twenty minutes, this is almost entirely that "stinky cheese" note. Beneath it, there's still the frankincense and patchouli lingering, but they're outdone by something very acrid and sour. Conclusion: I thought I'd sniffed this way back in March, when I was but a wee newbie. There's nothing about it in my records, though, so I may be wrong. Either way, this is definitely not something I'd want to have a go with again. Now, if I could only figure out what that bad cheese note is...

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Caramel and dough. In the imp/bottle: Cotton candy, sugar and caramel! On skin, wet: This quickly turns into a sugary dough on my skin. Fortunately, within a minute, the cotten candy and caramel are back. On skin, dry: Sinfully sweet, sugary caramel and sweet dough. Conclusion: I'm normally not into foody scents, but this is absolutely gorgeous.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a word or two: Flowery! In the bottle: There's something fruity in this, but I can't place what. In the bottle, this really reminds me of Mi-Go Brain Canister. On skin, wet: This is just like a floral Mi-Go. Lush, fruity flowers. Very, very sweet. On skin, dry: This doesn't change much from wet; it stays very lush, sweet, almost wet. Did I mention sweet? Almost overly so. Conclusion: Sometimes florals work on me, other times they don't. This is a don't.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Green! In the imp/bottle: This is another complex blend. It's very green. Something grassy right from the start. Beneath that, something else green, something herbal. Tea, perhaps? On skin, wet: This is the 'greenest scent' by Beth I've tried yet. It's also aquatic. And still, that light, herbal note that strikes me as tea. On skin, dry: I adore this. As it dries it quickly dies off, so it would require a bit of slathering to stay strong. Conclusion: Along with being the greenest scent I've tried, it's also, so far, the most calming. It's very relaxing (moreso that Somnus!). I've not yet used it in Tarot workings, so I can't comment on that aspect of this blend.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Rotting trees. In the imp/bottle: This is very hard to pin down. It's smoky, sharp, almost acrid. It smells as if it has anise, and dragon's blood resin as well. On skin, wet: Definitely anise. Also, some sort of wood? Pine, maybe? Something vaguely woodsy, anyway. And dark green. On skin, dry: I wanted to use this while doing Tarot work, but I couldn't get over the smell. Anise never turns out well on me, and pine (or whatever that is) has the habit of turning into rotting trees. This got washed off within an hour. Conclusion: Definitely not something I want to smell again. For anyone who likes anise or pine, though, this might be great.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Milk! In the imp: Oh, this is love! Warm cream and sweet honey. On skin, wet: Pure cream, with an undertone of honey and a slight, warm minty note. This is absolutely gorgeous. On skin, dry: This dries down into a silky, minty, milky honey that lasts for hours. Conclusion: I am officially in love. When I first tried this, I wasn't a mint fan at all, and was thankful I didn't notice any mint. Now, however, I adore mints, and oddly, I get a light minty-ness from MM now! Strange, but wonderful. And yes, Obatala is similar, but but exactly, and not close enough that I could ever give up either in favour of the other. (Both are mostly mily, but Obatala also has a coconut note that I don't get from MM, and MM has a mint that Obatala doesn't have.)

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a word or two: Vetiver. In the imp/bottle: Heavy, warm vetiver and cactus flowers. On skin, wet: A soft rose, along with cactus flowers and vetiver. The rose and cactus flower balance out the vetiver fairly well. On skin, dry: As this dries, everything but the vetiver fades, which results in a dark, heavy, bitter vetiver. Conclusion: Didn't win me over; vetiver rarely turns out well on me, and this was not an exception.

Teddy's gloriously dismal creation. As a lover of rainy days, grey skies and chill air, summer is his antithesis. A spell of June Gloom is always welcome in our household. A bouquet of bright summer flowers dampened by the scent of morning mist and rain. Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a word or two: Lemon. In the imp/bottle: Lemon. Fresh, tart lemon. On skin, wet: Floral lemon. This strikes me as that Lemon Fresh Pinesol stuff. On skin, dry: This doesn't change much as it dries; it now reminds me of lemon dish soap, the very strong sort that seems to permeate everything it touches. Conclusion: This is probably the strongest scent I've tried yet; twelve hours after applying it, it's still going strong. Definitely not my thing, as I'm not a lemon fan, but anyone who *is* would adore this.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a word or two: Flowery cream. In the bottle: Creamy, almost buttery, milky flowers. On skin, wet: A few minutes after applying, something about this threatens -- very seriously -- to turn to sour, spoiled milk. Thankfully, that passes after a few more minutes. On skin, dry: When dry, this is a sweet, floral cream. A simple concept, but a surprisingly complex blend. Conclusion: Chaste Moon is Alice's older sister, a bit sweeter and more floral. I love Alice, and I love Chaste Moon.