Aredhel

Samhain 2006 Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Odd. In the imp: Pumpkin, allspice, apple cider, and patchouli! Very different from the '04 and '05 version to me. On skin, wet: Samhain '06 is strong. It's sweeter than last year's, and, as I said before, really quite different than the previous two incarnations. However, wet, it's taking on a very weird, bitter, sour, weird kind of pencil-shavings quality. On skin, dry: Sour, bitter, heavy pencil shavings, or something like it. Spicy as well, which is all the more odd. I smell no pumpkin, fir needle, apple, clove, or any of the listed notes but woods and patchouli, and something cloying. Conclusion/Notes: Neither '04, '05, nor '06 have worked for me. Will I try again next year, if Samhain returns? Probably!

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sour flowers. In the imp: This is... weird. Very bitter, and something here really smells like isopropyl alcohol — the absinthe, maybe? On skin, wet: Lilac, rose, and lavender. I get nothing approaching absinthe, blackcurrant, ferns, or sugar. Have I mentioned that I really don't like rose and lavender? On skin, dry: A very strong, sour floral. The sour quality is likely due to the rose, which has a habit of turning sour. Conclusion/Notes: I'm not a floral kind of girl, so this is definitely not something that I'd ever wear, sour quality aside.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Lemon! Pre-review thoughts: Rarely a fan of lemon, I'm trying this merely because I haven't yet. In the imp: Lemon verbena and lemongrass. On skin, wet: Lemon drops! Slightly sweet, sugared lemon verbena and grapefruit, actually, but it really brings lemon drops to mind. On skin, dry: Lemon, lemon, and lemon. My skin amps lemon to the nth degree, so this is strong lemon drop candy. Sugary, musky, sweet lemon candy. Conclusion/Notes: As mentioned above, I very rarely care for lemon notes in perfumes, so this isn't a winner for me.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Bitter apple cider. In the imp: Cold apple cider! It reminds me of something, but I can't figure what. On skin, wet: Bitter green apples. Not apple cider, not cranberries, just... bitter green apples. On skin, dry: A bit more cidery, but still very bitter. There's nothing sour about it, it's just strong, sharp, and, well, bitter. The longer it wears, the smoother, less bitter it becomes, but it takes its sweet time getting to the point where I like it. I can't see myself wanting to wait that long on a regular basis. Conclusion/Notes: No go. Apple notes are tricky for me, and my skin just couldn't deal with the apple note(s) in Punkie Night.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Berry incense. In the imp: Unsurprisingly, I detect currants, cake, and incense. On skin, wet: Myrrh, and plenty of it. Also, an almost floral currant. Nary a sign of cakes, however. On skin, dry: As is wont to happen, the currant's turned sour, and the myrrh is doing whatever evil thing myrrh does on my skin. All Souls is now a cry, dusty, plastic-ly fruity incense blend, which doesn't agree with me at all. Conclusion/Notes: I didn't hold out much hope, given the notes, but I was curious enough to snag a decant. As expected, All Souls just isn't for me.

2006 Version Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Spicy! Pre-review thoughts: The '05 version smelled like bar smoke on me, so here's hoping the '06 version reacts better. In the imp: Sugar, musk, and that familiar ginger-y quality! On skin, wet: Musky sugar. I can't bring the '05 version to sniffable memory, but I like this. Spicy, sugary, musky smoke, but not stale smoke, as I encountered in '05. I'm hesitant to say it, but I like this so far. On skin, dry: This is surprisingly spicy, and it keeps getting spicier as it dries. It smells like cinnamon, but it could be ginger. Unfortunately, after about an hour, it smells a bit like thick incense, and that's never a good thing for me. Conclusion/Notes: Well, '06 is definitely different from '05, but in the end, I still didn't luck out. A shame, since, as a Metro-Detroiter, I really wanted to like Devil's Night.

Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. 2006 version Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Burnt, sugary fruit. Pre-review thoughts: '05 didn't work for me, but given the lovely description, I hold out hope! I've never tried the '04 version. In the imp: Fruity sugar! Brown sugar, perhaps, but nothing like the '05 version. It kind of reminds me of sugared toast. On skin, wet: Aww. Burnt sugar. On skin, dry: Burnt brown sugar syrup and overripe fruit, though nothing specific. I had the same issue with the '05 version, though this is fruitier, and a bit less... brown. Conclusion/Notes: Like '05, Sugar Skull '06 just isn't for me. I wish I knew what note my skin was reacting so badly to.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Black cherry candles. In the imp: Surprisingly, I get no chocolate in the imp, just black cherry. On skin, wet: Black cherry and orange. Still, I detect no chocolate! On skin, dry: Finally: chocolate! Chocolate-covered cherry... candles? This reminds me of a black cherry candle I buy fairly regularly from a local craft market. It's rich and sweet, but also just a bit waxy. Given my history with chocolate, I'd wager that waxy quality is, in fact, the chocolate itself. Conclusion/Notes: I just can't seem to wear chocolate, with one spectacular exception (Candy Butcher). Even if the chocolate had never appeared, this still would've reminded me too much of those cherry candles for me to ever want to wear it as a perfume.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Orange fig. In the imp: Orange, and something darker, almost... metallic? Odd. On skin, wet: Orange! Not a sweet, cool, lush orange, but more of a darkened, earthy orange. Someone above mentioned it, but it really does remind me of Bigelow's Constant Comment tea. On skin, dry: Oranges and earthy fig! As I distinguish each note separately, I love them, but together... well, there's something about the orange-fig combination that just doesn't settle well on my skin. Conclusion/Notes: As I said, individually, the notes are lovely; together, they're just not. Carnal isn't for me, sadly.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Pre-review thoughts: I love every listed note save hyacinth, so wanting to try this was a given. In the imp: Dragon's blood, apple, and musk. I must say, dragon's blood and apple make for a... strange combination. On skin, wet: How unusual! The dragon's blood-apple combination is so strange, but impossibly intriguing. A "I can't stop sniffing" kind of scent. The apple is tart, almost sour, and the dragon's blood is uncharacteristically light. DB, on me, has always been a very deep, warm, spicy, "red" kind of scent, and never flowery. Here, it is a bit flowery, cooler, not nearly as spicy, and closer to orange than red. On skin, dry: Dry, it becomes much sourer, and the hyacinth appears, and it doesn't mingle with the dragon's blood very well on my skin. Something about it seems a little... off. Nothing specific, and nothing I can place, but I can't get past it. Conclusion/Notes: Much too floral and sour for me. I can't figure out exactly what went wrong, but I'm pointing the finger at hyacinth, since the other notes usually love me.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Verbena Pre-review thoughts: As wont as lemon is to takeover blends, I'm not quite sure exactly why I wanted to try this. In the imp: Verbena, ginger, and just a bit of grass. Mostly verbena. On skin, wet: Verbena and grass. Very pretty, but also a bit soapy (due to the verbena). On skin, dry: Lemon soap, and nothing but. No ginger, rain, grass, or sage; just verbena. This is no fault of the blend itself, just my skin and its propensity to amp verbena. Conclusion/Notes: Unsurprisingly, Mag Mell isn't for me, as verbena's never been one of my favourite notes.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Lavender. Pre-review thoughts: The vanilla beans, amber, rooibos, and fig leaf swayed me enough to pick up a bottle of this. I'm kind of hoping I don't like it, because I haven't seen many bottles of it around, which would mean serious hunting if I do, and want more. In the bottle: Vanilla bean! Also, orange, and amber! On skin, wet: Cocoa, vanilla, and a strong tea. It's crisp, but smooth, almost buttery. I think the floral edge I'm detecting is the rose otto, but I'm really liking it (I hate rose notes in perfume), so I'm doubtful. On skin, dry: No, that's not rose otto: it's lavender, and it's strong, as always. The longer it wears, the stronger it becomes, until it eclipses nearly every other listed note, and becomes the herbal-lavender kind of scent I just don't like. Conclusion/Notes: I hate that my skin amps lavender so. I can rarely wear a scent with lavender: it always overshadows everything else. A shame, too, as it started out so wonderfully.

Every Ars Draconis bottle I saw (including bottles of Dragon's Tears and Dragon's Blood, before they turned on me, heh), before the new labels came about had regular, black/white labels.

Has anyone posted photos of the Hallowe'en or Yule labels yet? (Am I just being dense and missing the obvious somewhere?) If not, just to posting! I'm terribly curious. Eh heh, nevermind. I am indeed dense.

Rating (on skin): 3/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sugary candy. Pre-review thoughts: Well, I'm really not a big fan of any of the listed notes, and it sounds far too sweet for me, but so help me, I'm curious! In the imp: The very first thing that comes to mind is Bubble Yum's Cotton Candy bubble gum. I remember when that variety first came out. I loved it. Oddly, I'm not too fond of the smell. On skin, wet: Sugary-sweet strawberry watermelon. It still smells exactly the way aforementioned cotton candy gum smells and tastes. I can also see where people are getting the Jolly Rancher comparison. On skin, dry: Less cotton candy gum-like, more like watermelon and strawberry lemonade with one or eight too many spoonfuls of sugar. It brings Xanthe to mind — they share a sugary, fruity quality — but this is sweeter, more intense. Whereas Xanthe is a pink colour in my mind, with swirls of yellow, this is a bright yellow, with swirling veins of bright, almost glittery pink and orange. Conclusion/Notes: Nice enough, but I've just never liked watermelon candy (the smell or taste, though I love real watermelon), which is the prominant note in Treat #1 for me.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Waxy leather? Pre-review thoughts: The red musk could go either way, and the honeysuckle, magnolia and patchouli make me just a bit wary, but the ginger, vanilla bean, skin musk, and honeycomb could very well save this for me! In the imp: Red musk, vanilla bean, and honeycomb. The red musk may prove troublesome. On skin, wet: Musky, honey-thickened vanilla and patchouli! Much stronger on the honey than I'd expected. I like it quite a bit in this stage. On skin, dry: As it dries, it becomes much more floral, and lighter. I'm really kind of surprised at how drastically it changed on me. Something about it reminds me of... well, oddly, it reminds me of the way an floral-scented pillar candle's wax smells, close to the bottom of the candle, while said candle's lit, when the wax is warm. Maybe it's the combination of honey, honeysuckle and skin musk. Beneath that strangely-specific smell, I do indeed smell black leather. Warm candle wax on a leather jacket, maybe? As it wears on, it becomes more leather, less flowers. I don't find myself a big fan of black leather. Conclusion/Notes: Had it stayed as it was in the wet stage, I'd probably have sought out a bottle. Unfortunately, I tried it in my Salome locket, but it was too much as it was in the vial. On the other hand, it's a fantastic earthy vanilla-musk-honey on a friend, so I might track down a bottle for her.

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Earthy cider? Pre-review thoughts: So, I admit it: I just wanted to try VQ because it's so hard to come by. I'm hoping it hates me, of course. In the imp: Patchouli and incense. This is a good sign, in that both of those notes hate me. On skin, wet: Smokey patchouli and thick incense. It's spicy as well; clove, perhaps, or maybe cinnamon bark? On skin, dry: Like two others, I get something almost cidery from this, but I also don't get anything specifically apple-like. A smokey, earthy, unspecific cider. It's actually not bad, and it's one of those scents that would grow on me bit by bit, if I gave it half a chance to. Conclusion/Notes: Surprisingly enough, I like VQ. Not nearly enough to pay the exorbitant prices it goes for on Ebay, but enough to consider a swap for more, or to snag a bottle at a reasonable price, if the chance arose.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Harvest-y. Pre-review thoughts: Like many others, I've been trying to snag a decant of this since I discovered BPAL over a year ago. As for the scent itself, it could go either way. In the imp: Very woodsy, herbal cider, and a bit of myrrh. On skin, wet: Herbal, incensey, and thick apple cider. It reminds me just a bit of a scent I get in tarts called "Hillbilly Homebrew Tonic," in that HHT is also a woodsy, almost earthy apple cider. On skin, dry: The blackberry comes out as this dries, as does the ivy. It really does smell like a fall-harvest kind of scent. It's a little earthy, a little fruity, a little herbal, and a little green. I can't stop sniffing it, and it's quickly growing on me. Conclusion/Notes: I love this. Because of that, I almost wish I'd never tried it, scarce as it is. Maybe one day it'll come out again (next year, maybe? I can hope!), but until then, HHT will have to suffice, though it of course lacks the complexity and depth of Mabon, and isn't quite as green or fruity.

Rating (on skin): 0/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Calla lily. Pre-review thoughts: Calla lily is pure evil. I'm not on speaking terms with lilac or violet, either, but they don't hold a candle to calla lily. In the imp: Lilac and calla lily. Unspurpsingly floral. On skin, wet: White, waxy, absolutely evil calla lily. On skin, dry: I can't explain exactly why I dislike calla lily so. It's... a very plastic, waxy, almost chemical-like smell. It's not just BPAL's calla lily, either, so it's nothing against the Lab. There's just the barest hint of lilac beneath the lily, but it doesn't stand a chance. The musk might be faring better, but then again, I can't be sure that's not also the lily. Conclusion/Notes: Others seem to love this, so I'm sure that on everyone else but me, it's a lovely floral. As I've mentioned, it's a calla lily single note on me.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Antique patchouli! Pre-review thoughts: The notes (aside from amber and musk) didn't really appeal to me, but after seeing all the hype swirling around it, I figured I'd snag a bottle when GypsyRoseRed offered to pick things up for people at the October Will-Call over in the LJ comm. Hopefully I didn't waste her time. In the bottle: Patchouli and myrrh. SM is very sweet in the bottle. On skin, wet: Cinnamon? I suppose it's the myrrh, but this is surprisingly spicy. It's also wonderfully musky, and a tad earthy. On skin, dry: This is very, very, very dark, but strangely enough, a bit... light. Well, not heavy, at any rate. This is a musky, spicy, musky patchouli-amber fragrance, and, for some bloody reason, I absolutely adore it. The patchouli is earthy, but it has a quality I can't quite explain. I don't get much myrrh, thankfully, and I'm not so well-versed in notes as to know if I'm "getting" any of the other listed notes. Conclusion/Notes: I absolutely, positively adore SM -- and I couldn't be more surprised by that.

Rating (on skin): 2/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Liquorice? In the imp: Patchouli, cardamom, and just a whif of black cherry. On skin, wet: There's the cherry! Spiced cherry, patchouli and lemon. What an odd combination. On skin, dry: Now, this is odd. Dry, it smells like... cherry cough syrup and black liquorice. Both, at the same time. It's an odd smell, and I'm surprised: I've never gotten the "cough syrup" result from the Lab's cherry note(s). I imagine it's the addition of the verbena, cardamom, and patchouli. As time goes on, the scent leans closer towards the 'liquorice' end of the spectrum, further from the 'cherry cough syrup' side. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. Conclusion/Notes: Definitely not for me. I'm not entirely surprised: verbena and patchouli rarely work in any blend for me, let alone together.

Rating (on skin): 1/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Rose and jasmine. In the bottle: Rose and... vanilla? On skin, wet: Oy, jasmine. And rose. Both notes have the tendency to... well, they amp like frickin' crazy on me. I don't know that I've ever tried something with both notes, so I'm a little... afraid. On skin, dry: I will admit, this smells of a garden, both the flowers and the earth. I've never found a rose note that quite mimics the scent of fresh roses (which I adore) for me, but this comes close. That said, it's much too strong for me, and the jasmine is... well, it's being jasmine. I like jasmine, but I don't love it. There's something else; something deep and green. Moss? Leaves? Green earth? Conclusion/Notes: Rose and jasmine, in equal parts, with a bit of something earthy. Said to say, neither rose, jasmine, nor earth/whatever it really is (if anything) are notes that react particularly well with my skin. Pity, because the rose note itself is quite lovely.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: In the bottle: The first thing that comes to mind? Terry's Chocolate Oranges, specifically the chocolate orange mint sort. I love those damn things, though I rarely have them anymore. On skin, wet: From the off, the fig, coconut and buttercream appear, mixing beautifully with the orange, mint, and chocolate. On skin, dry: This is foody. Why am I swooning? The cardamom and ginger come out, and this becomes a... well, a fig/coconut bonbon rolled in orange rind, a bit of mint, cardamom, and ginger, and dipped in chocolate! The chocolate here is not as... strong, rich, or thick as other BPAL chocolate notes, which is likely a good thing: I imagine a stronger chocolate might've overwhelmed the other notes for me. After a while, this seems less foody to me, though I can't place why. Conclusion/Notes: I love Treat #2, plain and simple. It was the one I was hoping to receive with my T/T order, and I wasn't disappointed! (Don't get me wrong, #1 sounded interesting, but my heart and eyes were always on this one.)

Rating (on skin): 4/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: Wood and rum! In the imp: Salty, spiced rum. It's surprisingly faint in the imp. On skin, wet: Salty, rummy wood and cinnamon. A very odd combination, all told. On skin, dry: Musty, wet wood and very dark, salty rum. It's not something I traditionally care for, but I'm finding myself fond of it. There's something familiar about PR, some strangely comforting, musky quality I can't place. It's very "manly," as such scents go. I might try to persuade my current Boy to bathe give this a go. Conclusion/Notes: Not my bag as far as scents I'd wear myself go, but it might be wonderful on a Boy. Especially mine.

Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in a few words/smilie: In the bottle: Tobacco, patchouli, pine, and a lovely vanilla. On skin, wet: Sweet, fruity, dark woody vanilla. The patchouli, woody vanilla, and pomegranate are the dominant notes while wet. On skin, dry: The pine in this apparently likes to play games with me. Dry, this is a predominately oaken vanilla, with wafts of tobacco, pomegranate, and surprisingly-wonderful patchouli every now and then. Every once in a while, the pine jumps up to say hello, taking me by surprise in an unpleasantly strong way. Then, it backs off again, and I'm in love with Trick II once again. I don't notice any similarity to marijuana, nor have any of the people that I've asked. Conclusion/Notes: I really, really like Trick the Second. It's a wonderfully woodsy, fruity, earthy, oaken vanillic scent. I'm definitely happy with the Post's choice of Tricks!