crebbsgirl

By far, my favourite of the velvet paintings series. This is just wonderful. There is an initial blast of vetiver and anise, but unlike Velvet Tiger, it's smoother and more sophisticated. Velvet Tiger was more abrupt, whereas Velvet Panther is a little more slinky and charming. After the initial vetiver/anise combo, the other notes really start to shine here, blending in such a way that I only get hints of them individually, and the sum is just perfection. Dark, the musk and vanilla simultaneously add sweetness and depth to the vetiver and anise. The woods add a smoothness, the overall effect is dark, sultry and a little slinky. Predatory in a way that seems totally innocuous, until it's too late.

Velvet Tiger was a punch in the face of vetiver and licorice. It remained harsh all through the drydown on my skin, as opposed to Velvet Panther which contains vetiver and anise but is somehow a little more slinky. VT was just uncouth. I got a spicy orange vibe later in the drydown, but it was still a little harsh for me, and I much prefer Velvet Panther of the two.

Skin musk with a slight citrus undertone. The musk is light here, and the blend is a little creamy and sweet. I get the impression of a floral, but its very light and mild. More the impression of rather than the actual scent. The sugar cane takes a WHILE to come out. I didn't detect it until 2+ hours into the drydown. On me, this has very little throw, but it does seem to last. I like it, but I'm not in love with it.

Huh, I guess I don't like coffee. I mean don't get me wrong, I LOVE drinking the stuff, but smelling like it just isn't my thing. This blend on me is predominantly coffee and smoke, with the tonka and wood lending a sweet smoothness. But there's something almost bitter here - and I think it's the coffee. I get an overtly masculine vibe, and this is just uncomfortable for me to wear. That's so weird, I've never had a reaction like this before. It's not that I hate the smell, it's that I'm actually uncomfortable in my own skin while wearing this.

CCXCI O + Wine!! This is yummy! I am 3 for 3 with my Chaos Theory blends. The wine adds a sultry depth to O, and really prevents the powderyness I can sometimes get from just O by itself. This is O debauched. And I love it!

CCCLXXIX Dorian with champaca flower, skin musk and chardonnay. I was a little worried as my skin tends to amp champaca but this is QUITE nice. The chardonnay lightens this up, while the musk gives it a bit of grounding. You can still smell Dorian quite well as the underlying base here. Brilliant.

First I get a lot of neroli, currant and labdanum. As this dries, the patchouli and musk and honey come out and really bring a sweet earthy depth. I LOVE this!!! I'm so happy I didn't pass on it. This is a really comforting blend, a natural scent, and interesting to boot! I can see this one getting a lot of wear.

CDXLVM I was a little worried when I put this on because the initial rush was a little flowery. But as it dried, the flowers disappeared totally. I'm left with Snake Oil and cloves, with a hint of smoke. This is YUM!

Love's Baby Soft + Wood. Something in here went all baby powder of DOOM on me, and the woods tried to make it a little interesting but I have HORRIBLE associations with baby powder so this will NOT be staying with me.

GAH!! FLOWERS!!! And FRUIT!!! Not my friends. I thought this might be tempered by the opium, but the other notes were just too powerful. Too sweet and cloying for me.

Fruity floral with predominant wine and booze notes. This was a little too fruity for me, and a little too floral for me as well. Wine tends to go "juicy" on my skin and that's pretty much what happened here. Much later in the drydown, I got myrrh, but it couldn't save this blend for me.

07 Version: Wow, I surprisingly really like this! And colour me shocked as it contains two of my notes of doom - Rose, and Champaca Flower. Maybe they just cancel eachother out? This is a really amazing blend of mild flowers, honey, and amber, with the vanilla bean and sandalwood simultaneously sweetening and grounding. This is a wonderfully evocative blend, sexy and enticing. I can smell the champaca faintly - whereas normally it comes screaming to the foreground. Rose is waaaay in the background here, and I can only smell it if I really look for it. Overall the feel is warm and creamy.

I was amazed by how much I really liked this. The flower were fairly dominant here, but as a girl who doesn't like florals, I was surprised to find myself huffing my wrists. These are INTERESTING flowers. Non-soapy flowers, non-headache-inducing flowers, non-cloying flowers. The honey was a really great grounding note combined with the smoothness of the wood. I didn't get much of the leather here, it was fairly tame. Overall I really liked this, and I can see myself getting a bottle when I finish the decant.

This was all dragon's blood and red musk on me. I didn't get much in the way of the other notes here, which is unfortunate. I liked it well enough, but I prefer other red musk blends to this one.

I thought I was going to really enjoy this one and in the beginning I did. Something about this was very reminiscent of an artisan shop I frequent in town. It smells of spice and incense and essential oils and smooth woods and silk scarves. However, after a couple hours of wear, it turned to the dreaded Play-Doh smell on me. Gah!

Deep, luscious green and berry scents that evoke images of woodland witchcraft and the raw power of nature: blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk. Berries and a cool note here. This reminds me a little of winter, I don't know if it's the sage or the green tea. The musk here was really light, not overt in the slightest. I liked this, but I'm not really a fan of the berry scents so I don't know how often this will really go into rotation.

Dirt Rose. I'm not kidding that is exactly what I get from this blend. There is a predominant dirt note when I first apply this and as it dries, the rose takes over for me. Gah! Stupid skin chemistry.

This was very light on me. It started as a tropical floral. I think I could detect some white flowers in here. But my skin ate this up after about 1/2 an hour, so I can't speak to how it dries. I liked it well enough while it lasted, but on me this wasn't remarkable.

I think I need to give up on jasmine as a note for me. The two of us just so rarely get along. This went screamy jasmine on me, with very little support from the other notes. Normally clove and I are good friends, but he was nowhere to be seen here. I thought the bourbon vanilla might temper this for me, but no such luck.

PLUM!!! With a hint of floral spice and musk to round it out. Dark and very very sweet. I can see fruity scent lovers really enjoying this, but unfortunately I do not fall into that camp.

This is predominantly rose on me, with a hint of green and I think I'm getting a little incense here too. It's very mysterious smelling. Like a haughty woman. I feel almost regal in this, and it seems to have a very unforgiving vibe to it. It's harsh in vibe - but not in smell. I'm not a fan.

This is beautiful! I'm not one for florals usually, but this is really light and serene. Not overpowering the way some florals can get on my skin. The linden blossom is a standout here, and the herbs give it a green hint, preventing the flowers from going cloying or headache-y. Overall, this is pretty and soothing. Not one I ever would have picked for myself but really really nice.

This is a very summery scent indeed. The hay and dry honey provide a sweet herbal feeling and the wheat adds a grainy feel. This is soft and warm. I like the cardamom here, providing a little spice to make things interesting. The throw is a little powdery, but up close the powder falls away and the complexities of the individual notes come to light. I really like this, and it's comforting too.

Damn you rose!!! I thought this was going to be full of win, and then, predictably, my skin amped the hell out of the rose. While not TOTALLY objectionable like most rose blends are on me, this was still really overpowering rose for me. Much later in the drydown, this became a little more complex, and the benzoin came out more. Unfortunately it just wasn't enough to save this blend for me. Swaps it goes!

I got rose and lavender here. I was mildly concerned that since my skin amps rose, this blend wouldn't work for me. But I really shouldn't have worried. I applied this about 45 minutes before I went to bed, and I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Normally I'm up for about an hour or so after I go to bed. I have some real trouble falling asleep. Not last night! YAY