caitilarkin

In the bottle: Rich fruits backed by Snake Oil spiciness Wet on skin: The fruits are amping--I can pick out the neroli but it's all really very well blended. Dry on skin: After an hour or so, the vanilla in this blend is deeper than in Snake Oil itself, so it keeps the mysterious (sometime medicinal) quality of SO sweeter and fruitier. And the fruit notes themselves aren't going sharp or light, either. Lasted about six hours on my first test. I absolutely love this.

Nothing but love for Strawberry Moon, my favorite lunacy to date. From bottle to eight hours after application, this blend is exactly like fresh strawberries with a little bit of cream and sugar. I don't get any of the dandelion/greens that others have mentioned; it's a deliciously fruity, uncomplicated scent. It has more throw than I expected--I was standing in line at the post office today and the woman in front of me complimented it (and of course she wants a bottle now). How I desperately wish that I had purchased two bottles but I will certainly cherish the one that I have.

In the imp: Boozy candy, yum! Wet on skin: Well, the booze is gone, which is strange since I generally amp any wine or other alcoholic notes. I'm not getting any strawberry ( ) but the candy scent is pleasantly tart and powdery. Dry on skin: On me, this is a light, lovely summer scent. It's nice but similar enough to Candy Phoenix (of which I have plenty) that I won't need a bottle.

In the imp: Fruit smoothie! Wet on skin: Still fruit smoothie (I can't pick out the individual notes) but now with faint tropical florals. Dry on skin: Harrumph. This one doesn't like me. Or maybe it's my skin chemistry this week. In any case, it dries down to a faint, generic, rather sour tropical melange. Further testing of Velvet Tiki is needed.

As previous reviewers have mentioned, this is a lovely blend for those of us who love clean, soapy scents. Wensleydale evokes clean cotton sheets drying on the clothesline in the backyard, the smell of skin just out of a shower with Ivory soap...very soft and innocent. It didn't go lemony or herbal at all on me, and lasted for over twelve hours. This will be another great one for hot weather or long days in stuffy rooms (i.e., at my dismal place of employment).

In the bottle: Uh oh, this smells like a muskier version of Dirty--a lemony skin scent. And Dirty did not like me. Wet on skin: Ah, much better! Now the blend is a light, sugary musk with a dollop of lemon juice. Dry on skin: This will be lovely in hot, humid weather. It dries down to a slightly sugary, clean-but-still-musky skin scent. And despite its lightness, it lasted for over 8 hours on my first skin test.

This was pure heartbreak on me. When the Velvets came out, I read the list of notes for this blend and ordered a bottle unsniffed in a paroxysm of joy. Spiced citrus! Amber! Teak! Licorice! Vetiver! Every one is a verified Note of Win on my skin! But it was not to be. As other reviewers have reported, this was all vetiver all the time on me, with nary a hint of any other note. And I like vetiver, but this is VETIVER.

In the imp: Dusty clove backed by cedar Wet on skin: The clove is well balanced by the cedar and tobacco notes, while the dust note keeps the blend dry rather than foody. Dry on skin: The perfect blend of cloves, tobacco and cedar. I didn't think I would love this but I do!

In the imp: Beautifully blended, musky and deeply sweet I can pick out the juicy tartness of the mandarin and the sweetness of the violet, but everything else is really well melded. Wet on skin: This reminds me very much of On Darkness at this point due to its deep purple florals and unusual combination of notes. There's a little bit of an extra kick from the mandarin, a bit of anise in the background, and a grounding of musk and vetiver instead of incense. Dry on skin: Yup, the Panther has the same purple complexity as On Darkness (one of my all-time favorite BPALs). This is very sexy and sophisticated on me (and I am neither sophisticated nor particularly sexy, so I love that I can wear a scent that at least makes me smell like a siren). I adore this and am trying desperately to talk myself out of a bottle.

Sage hates me, and frankincense often goes too sweet on my skin, but I had hoped that the musk and currant would dominate here. In the imp: Oooh, promising! The Moroccan musk is lovely and so is the currant. I can only detect a distant hint of sage. Yay! Wet on skin: Well, my friend sage is behaving, but the frankincense has amped to a very high, overly sweet state, as it is wont to do. Dry on skin: Crap, crap, crap. It's The Frankincense Show, with a little bit of musk and nary a hint of red currant. All other resins like me; frankincense is the only holdout.

In the imp: Currant and rhubarb with a faint hint of mushroom Wet on skin: Oh dear, the rhubarb is turning very, very tart and clashing with the mushroom. Dry on skin: Sadly, the rhubarb and mushroom were the dominant notes and they did not like each other, or me. The champaca probably didn't help either, as it has a history of going very sharp on me. Ah well.

In the imp: Deliciously musky, woodsy, resiny, metallic pear--very well-blended Wet on skin: I keep waiting for the pear or the pyrite notes to amp, but they're behaving perfectly. Dry on skin: This is the perfect balance of fruit, musk, wood, resin and metal. Marotte is rich without being overpowering, sweet without being cloying, metallic without the sharpness, and the whole blend is grounded by the lovely mahogany and patchouli notes. (Actually, I can barely detect the patchouli at all.) And it lasts over eight hours on me. Total win

In the imp: Lovely rich tonka backed by tobacco and a whiff of coffee Wet on skin: The tonka is very strong--good thing we likes tonka. The coffee is more subdued now, the tobacco is going a tad cigarette-ish and there's a booze note that is going a bit sour. Dry on skin: After about an hour, my skin turns this blend into old cigarettes and cheap whiskey. This is especially sad because the Lab's booze notes usually love me. This is lovely in the imp, just not on my skin. Scent locket time!

In the bottle: This smells exactly like Wensleydale--a clean, vaguely cottony skin scent. Weird. This scent doesn't seem to have any relationship to O. My imp of O is so strong that I can usually smell it from across the room. Wet on skin: Faint amber and honey with a tiny hint of spice Dry on skin: Spicier, and the honey is overtaking the amber. The blend is still quite faint, so this will be a good one for hot weather. I shall christen this blend A Summertime O.

Like all the other insomniacs who have reviewed TKO, I purchased this in hopes of getting help in my endless quest for a decent night's sleep. Lavender can either be softly floral on me or can go to pungent herbal body odor, so this should be interesting. In the bottle: Sharply herbal, with lavender in the background Wet on skin: Still mostly herbal, but the lavender is a bit more noticeable and is luckily staying away from the dreaded BO morph. Dry on skin: After about an hour, the lavender is at the forefront. I never get the soft vanilla sugar/marshmallow that others have mentioned. Instead, the lavender stays very plant-like (for lack of a better word) and doesn't get sweet or overtly floral. It definitely helps me sleep, so much so that I can only wear it before bed if I definitely don't have to wake up for at least eight hours. Overall, it was very different from what I expected based on previous reviews but it certainly serves its purpose.

The label is smudged and I can't make out any of the numbers. In the bottle: Dorian with extra lemon Wet on skin: The extra lemon is more like lemon verbena--yum! And there's a lovely dollop of ginger as well. Dry on skin: Dorian with soft lemon verbena and ginger! I have officially lucked out with this bottle. Sadly, it only lasted about two hours in my first test. I'll have to see what I can do to increase the wearlength because this is gorgeous.

DII In the bottle: A wood note that registers as oak to my nose with faint florals. No trace of Snake Oil... Wet on skin: The floral note, which I have decided is in the lily family, is amping and threatening to turn soapy. Where is my Snake Oil? Dry on skin: Yep, there is definitely some kind of lily in here being grounded and subdued by a lovely oak note. After about an hour, the scent is quite nice and I will keep it to see how it ages. But it freaks me out that there is absolutely no trace of Snake Oil in this blend--no spices, no vanilla, no red musk--nada.

CCNow didn't send email confirmation of my Lab or Trading Post orders either (the Lab order was Friday, the TP order was placed today). But I printed out the page immediately after hitting the submit button, so at least there's proof if something goes wrong.

In the imp: Very tart citrus Wet on skin: Strong, bitter citrus--sadly, without a touch of sweetness or depth to cut the sharpness Dry on skin: This stayed strong and bitter for several hours, then mercifully faded into nothingness. I am a citrus FIEND, and normally love the Lab's grapefruit and yuzu notes especially. Sadly, this one was too much for me.

I am a hardcore citrus fiend and particularly in love with mandarin orange, but fig is very hit-or-miss on me. In the imp: Orange (which is more like orange blossom at this point) with faint, dark fruitiness in the background that must be the fig Wet on skin: The mandarin orange is much brighter and stronger, and very sweet. Not getting much fig at this point. Dry on skin: Now the mandarin is grounded and subdued by the fig, but the blend still remains bright and tart. So far today, it has lasted about five hours. It's a very straightforward blend--perfect for late spring and all summer, or anytime you don't feel in the mood for a spicy scent. I adore this one! Any citrus lovers out there absolutely must try this one out.

In the imp: Very faint floral, with a buttery/aquatic tang as previous reviewers have mentioned Wet on skin: Antique Lace, is that you? Because it sure smells like you... Dry on skin: Ah, here's that transformation that everyone's been talking about. Now it's mostly a non-foody vanilla, with a distant ocean/floral/buttery scent that I've never experienced before. The blend is also much stronger dry than wet. This lasted about 10 hours on me and garnered a compliment last night, so it's going into the Pile of Win.

In the imp: Tea (much lighter than I had expected) with lots and lots of lemon Wet on skin: Light tea with lots of sugar, cream and lemon--florals very far in the background Dry on skin: This becomes much fainter as it dries, but remains a lovely, creamy tea scent. Luckily, the lemon never turns to Pledge on me in this blend. Dorian will be nice for spring and summer.

Rich purple plums, wildflowers and cream In the imp: Plums floating in a dish of cream Wet on skin: Much greener and lighter than in the imp, probably because of the florals--the plum and cream are still dominant, though Dry on skin: The greenery/wildflowers note fades into the distance, the plum is a bit lighter and the cream is smooth and rich. Lots of throw--I was complimented on this scent last night by people who were nearly a foot away and I had only put a little dab on each wrist. And Prunella was still going strong when I woke up this morning. Bottleworthy! ETA scent description

The Lab's musk notes love me, particularly white musk, so I was excited to try this. In the imp: Very strong white musk, with a hint of floral and...dirt. Huh. That must be the patchouli, but it usually doesn't smell like dirt to me. Wet on skin: I never thought I'd say this, but there is apparently such a thing as too much white musk. Wow. Even the patchouli has fled in terror. Dry on skin: This was quite the morpher. The first hour, the white musk went through a very strong aftershave/hairspray phase. But by the two hour mark, the poppy had emerged to tame the musk into a mellow, springlike blend with just the faintest hint of patchouli for depth. I loved the final phase and it lasted for more than 10 hours. But getting through the hairspray part was very painful. I'll have to retest this one.

In the imp: Rich plum--not too sweet or overripe Wet on skin: The lilac amps for about 15 minutes, but then calms down and blends with the plum and leather. Dry on skin: After about an hour, this is a beautifully blended plum and leather scent with the lilac adding faint sweetness. Once again I am reminded how much I love the lab's leather note. Lasts about 12 hours on me, with the plum being the strongest and longest-lasting note. I'm currently trying to talk myself out of a bottle...