crebbsgirl

Deadly elegance: pale orchid, vanilla amber, black currant, white peach, champaca, coconut, Arabian myrrh, Burmese vetiver, and oude. Smoky peach on me. This was a little sharp when I first applied it, but mellowed considerably as it wore. The coconut didn't make an obvious appearance, but the peach did. Sweet and deep, but I wouldn't call this blend dark. It softens a little during wear, but it fades incredibly quickly. The myrrh and oude help to smooth this out, and there is a definite floral presence, but it's indiscriminate on my skin.

This went oddly bitter on me from the grapefruit/lavender combo. It was a bitter fruity floral. Not something I would ever wear. I could see how this would be very refreshing in the summer months.

Yes, this was bright metallic and ozone on my skin. Not really my thing unfortunately. Metallic scents tend to go to soap on me, and this was no exception.

And.... YUM! This started off a little heavy on the jasmine, which worried me. After a few minutes, the jasmine calmed considerably and blended with the other notes. This is an incredibly sexy, femme-fatale sort of blend. The clove and gunpowder add a bit of spice and grit, adding a darker edge to this scent.

I have to agree with Monster's review! This smells like win and awesomesauce. There is a distinctly aged/vintage vibe about this scent. It's dark and velvetly and mysterious and alluring in a very dangerous kind of way. Smoky and hazy in a way that doesn't smell like smoke, with the plum giving it just a hint of sweetness. This doesn't go powdery on my like I was afraid it was going to. Gwydion nailed it with the "This smells like velvet feels." It does. It really, really, does.

Ok, I feel a little badly for doing this review, but honestly, this was the absolute grossest scent on me ever!! I have no idea what my skin did to these notes, but observe: It was exactly pickles, and then settled into funk. Pass.

I agree with the fruitier Priala reference upthread. This is smoky and sweet, with the vetiver and coconut. It doesn't get into suntan lotion territory for me, thankfully. It's sweet and deep.

This was a salty aquatic on me. There did seem to be a sweet almost fruity vibe on me as well. I could see this being a refreshing summer scent. There is just a hint of flowers here too. Nice, but not really my bag.

Citrus and lavender with a tinge of sweetness. There is also a hint of green, and the juniper lends an almost aquatic vibe. Clean smelling and a little fresh.

This was predominantly spice and frankincense on me. My skin tends to amp frankincense. Sweet and spicy and creamy and resinous. I like it, but I prefer Chimera for a spice scent.

On me this is mostly sassafrass and pine with a very distinctive masculine vibe. It sort of puts me in mind of Schwarzer Mond or something like that. It's very deep and dark, but a manly kind of dark. Slightly sweet, but sharp at the same time. Not something I would be reaching for very often.

Yes, there was something distinctly funky on my skin here. On me, this started out with mint and sage, and a hint of violet. As it dried, the neroli came out and added a bit of citrus and depth to the mix. The metals were very light here, and did not get sharp on my skin. Overall the effect on me was a little disjointed. It just didn't mesh well on my skin.

This started out very benzoin and musky on me. The musk went a little powdery as it dried. The rose didn't amp like I was afraid it was going to. This blend kind of surprised me with its softness. Very light. As it wears, it gets more powdery, but I don't necessarily mind it. It's quite pleasant, but not something I see myself reaching for.

This went to primarily incense and woods on me, with the tobacco very faintly rounding out the scent. Until the rose started to amp. And then, predictably this was all rose all the time. The woods and incense hold their own against the roses for a good long while before losing. But in the end it's mostly rose.

Unfortunately this went mostly soapy on my skin, as most herbal/flowery blends tend to do. Very green and fresh.

This one went pretty generic cologne on me. It went sharp - probably due to the "neon discharge" - which translates to very masculine on my skin. The woods and tobacco weren't enough to smooth it out. They were very present, but didn't overtake the sharpness of the ozone.

On me, this starts out green and sharp. Almost immediately it softens to a more golden herby kind of scent. The maize starts coming out more and lends a bit of a sweetness to round out this blend. I like it a lot more dry than I do in the wet stages, although I'm not sure I really need more than the 1/2 decant I have. I can't see myself reaching for this very often.

I thought I would love this one. Apparently I was very wrong. This went very similar to "Gladdener" on my skin. There was something a little milky and sour, and then the muguet and orris went very sharp on me. I caught faint whiffs of the dusty vanilla, but it wasn't enough to save this for me.

I actually really liked this one, and then I was surprised because I don't normally like anything citrussy. At first application this was exactly sugared lemonade on my skin. It warmed and deepened as it dried, so that it was still light but it had a bit more roundedness and character to it. This is quite refreshing, but not in a sharp way. There wasn't anything that screamed on my skin. I love it.

Powdery musk for me, with an undercurrent of something a little spicy. As it wears, there is a distinct masculine edge that comes out here. I like it, but I have several variations of dark musk scents so I don't think this warrants a spot in my collection. I like it, it's not bad, but it's just not memorable on me.

On me this is buttery cucumber cake. I am not a fan. This is thickly sweet and foody in a most unpleasant way given the current temperatures here. It's not meshing very well with my skin chemistry at all. I'm getting a lot of cucumber and then butter and sweet cake. Pass.

This smells so much like a slightly dangerous Morocco on me it's not even funny. A little similar to Liz but without as much smoke. This is vanilla and leather and a hint of moss. I actually quite like this.

This is incredibly masculine on me, and a little sharp. The olibanum smells like frankincense on my skin, and as the blend continues to wear on my skin, it does the usual playdoh thing. The beginning stages are quite nice, although not as rounded as I would like. Woods and resins with a hint of herbs.

Bergamot and French lavender. I was so sure I reviewed this already, but apparently not. Pontia on me was straight up herby lavender. The bergamot came out after a bit and added a bit of depth, but overall the lavender was BY FAR the dominant note here. I actually really enjoyed it. You have to LOVE lavender to wear this, but if you do, you won't be disappointed. Unfortunately, my skin ate this scent so that after an hour it was completely gone!

So, I was a little wary of the mints, because when I first applied this, I get a BLAST of them on my skin. Quickly, the SO comes out, and it's tempered nicely by the mints. Usually SO is warm and heavy on my skin, here it translates as cooler. The bergamot is very faintly detectable as is the green tea. Both act to provide a lightness to the depth of SO. I quite like this.