Ajila

In the bottle –First coconut then a hit of patchouli

 

Wet on me – The rubbery vanilla of the benzoin, the dirtiness of the patchouli and the sweetness of the coconut

 

Dry on me – Initially the patchouli grows stronger and stronger, until it dominates the blend, but eventually it fades leaving a lovely real vanilla ice cream sort of scent

 

Overall – I love the final dry down, but I’m less keen on the ‘I am patchouli hear me roar’ aspect earlier on. I’m in a bit of an odd place hormonally at the moment so I think this is probably worth holding on to and trying again when things have settled down

In the bottle –Very strong damp earth with a slight woody edge

 

Wet on me – The dry wood is now slightly stronger but the damp earth remains the dominant scent

 

Dry on me – Soft masculine woods with just a hint of alcohol

 

Overall – Whilst I like this blend the masculinity combined with the alcohol gives the impression of a traditional aftershave, which puts me off the idea of wearing it

In the bottle –A high note from the orchid, backed by the rich spicy resins

 

Wet on me – A kind of ozony fizziness made dark with the resins and edged by what smells like orange peel

 

Dry on me – For a while it smells like unburnt incense, but gradually it warms and sweetens becoming a sensual amalgamation of the resins

 

Overall – The dry down is a glorious thing, and this blend stays strong on my skin for upwards of 16 hours. This may well become a favourite

In the bottle –The wine, a hint of the clay and something sweet, but not sugar sweet, more like some sort of flower

 

Wet on me – Sharp berryish wine, again with that hint of sweetness behind it

 

Dry on me – Dry crumbling woods and that sweetness, in the end I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s violets

 

Overall – Surprisingly on me this is quite a grown up scent and it’s one that I think I will enjoy wearing

In the bottle –Thick black smoke, that hits the back of your throat, stale beer and a hint of treacle

 

Wet on me – A hint of the treacle, but predominantly thick overpowering smoke

 

Dry on me – Thick smoke, ashes and stale beer. It does finally dry into a sweet, hoppy skin scent, but it’s too little too late

 

Overall – Perhaps if my skin had brought out more of the treacle and not turned the beer sour this would have worked, but how it is

In the bottle –Warm, slightly sweet green herbs – most probably the olive leaf

 

Wet on me – The same deep warm herby scent, but with the cedar wood rising in the background

 

Dry on me – Warm and dry herbs bathed in a sweet skin musk

 

Overall – With the exception of an odd tendency towards I was pleasantly surprised by this blend. However, I can’t imagine it would be one I would reach for.

In the bottle –Dry dirty spices. Actually this is one of the few scents when smelling it in the bottle made me pull away. Wearing it should be interesting

 

Wet on me – The combination of a really animalistic red musk and dirty patchouli make this unpleasantly overpowering on me

 

Dry on me – Warm sweet spices with a rich deep musky undertone

 

Overall – I’m flummoxed the dry down is lovely and it’s the first blend to win me two unsolicited comments in one wear. On the other hand for the first half an hour I don’t want my nose anywhere near the parts of my body with the blend on, which is something of an issue.

In the bottle – Soft red apple and a background of herbs

 

Wet on me – Fresh red apples

 

Dry on me – Mainly apples, before fading into soft green slightly soapy herbs

 

Overall – This blend is pleasant enough, but didn’t excite me

In the bottle – Sharp but sweet mango with just a hint of the green tea

 

Wet on me – Again the mango is dominant, backed by what I would say was melon and with a hint of something peppery

 

Dry on me – A sweet candy-like green fruit with just a hint of pepper behind it

 

Overall – This reminds me of a brighter version of Midwinter’s Eve. It faded quickly, but as it’s a GC I can slather guilt free

In the bottle – Not a lot really, just a hint of cedar

 

Wet on me – Fresh and green, with just a hint of the frangipani

 

Dry on me – A soft creamy, green grass scent

 

Overall – This is nice, but faint and I doubt I’ll wear it

In the bottle – Sweet and soapy, but somewhat indistinct

 

Wet on me – Sharp green soap backed by the thick, treacly sweetness of the condensed milk

 

Dry on me – After going through dusty and coconuty stages if finally settles to a warm, dry tobacco scent

 

Overall – I don’t really know what to make of this blend, sweet and creamy I like and tobacco I like, but this blend never seems to sit right with me

In the bottle – Red musk and a layer of orange peel

Wet on me – Bubbly red musk, oddly I would have said that the throw was all lotus, but I don’t know where that’s coming from

Dry on me – Warm dry red musk sprinkled with brown sugar and flecks of a peppery herb

Overall – Perfect, sensual yet comforting, but also light and up lifting. This is a blend that I could wear every day and be special enough for an occasion

In the bottle – Black currant with the white musk behind it, mouth watering (literally)

 

Wet on me – The deep dark juiciness of the berries alongside the fuzziness of the musk and a hint of soap form the lavender

 

Dry on me – It faded very quickly leaving just a hint of slightly herbal musk

 

Overall – I love the wet stages, but it really doesn’t last very long at all

In the bottle – Roses and a hint of sweet pea

 

Wet on me – Wet lush roses

 

Dry on me – Soft powdery roses

 

Overall – Whilst rose doesn’t particularly ‘amp’ on me it does tend to smother everything else it to submission and this is another example

In the bottle – The leather and cologne are very strong

 

Wet on me – Soft leather with a smooth creamy undertone and hints of lilac cologne and lemon rind

 

Dry on me – Warm sensual leather swirling with thick creamy vanilla and dark heady musks

 

Overall – This is a very masculine, very sexy blend, whilst I will probably wear it myself I yearn for a man to slather it on

In the bottle – Mainly the almond and a touch of saffron

 

Wet on me – Again the almond dominates, but there are hints of a bright warm scent bursting with sunshine behind that first note

 

Dry on me – Once it has settled down this blend is a dead ringer for O on me

 

Overall – I don’t need this and O, but I prefer the wet stages of Bastet so when my O runs out this is what I will replace it with

In the bottle – A green furry scent toped with civet

 

Wet on me – Weirdly this smells of sweet almonds and balloons

 

Dry on me – A soft powdery green scent like talc and fresh cut herbs

 

Overall – Surprisingly light and pretty, but not really me

In the bottle – Nothing, absolutely nothing

 

Wet on me – Furniture polish

 

Dry on me – Very faint musks

 

Overall – Neither my nose nor my skin did much with this, I guess I’m just not the angelic type

In the bottle – I haven’t read the other reviews so I’m just guessing at the notes, but I would say myrrh and sandalwood

 

Wet on me – Heavy resins and woods

 

Dry on me – Warm, earthy resins

 

Overall – Not what I expected at all and not me

In the bottle – Fresh green florals

 

Wet on me – Soft lush tulips

 

Dry on me – Watery florals and (oddly) coffee

 

Overall – This just isn’t my sort of blend

In the bottle – A bonfire with a metallic twang

 

Wet on me – Dark smouldering smoke

 

Dry on me – For the most part this is like ashes and dust on me, but it does finally settle to a soft warm tobacco

 

Overall – I really like the final dry down, but I couldn’t wear this blend

In the bottle – Dry aftershave, with just a hint of the pear in the background

 

Wet on me – The sea breeze with a pale watery pear behind it

 

Dry on me – Clean, crisp ozone

 

Overall – Pleasant enough, but not my sort of blend

In the bottle – Dark and burned and yet somehow juicy. Similar in feel if not in scent to Perversion

 

Wet on me – Clean, cologney scent

 

Dry on me – Slightly sweet ozone, with a dry earth backdrop

 

Overall – Very unusual, but not for me

In the bottle – The cherry blossom and the honey

 

Wet on me – Sweet rich honey with powered florals

 

Dry on me – Sweet, dry, powdery blossoms

 

Overall – I was surprised by how much I liked the initial stages, but in the end it seems to become a little flat

In the bottle – Mainly polished wood

 

Wet on me – The dirtiness of the black musk and patchouli, cut with an odd sort of soapiness

 

Dry on me – The blend softens and becomes warmer, more inviting, but still it retains a dark bitterness

 

Overall – An unusual scent, it seems to be uneasy with itself, which in turn made me uneasy